FARMINGTON — As the hum of Main Street traffic flowed by the gazebo in Meetinghouse Park Monday, a small group went through the crane-like motions of Qi-Gong.

“It helps me to breathe and with centering,” participant Sally Clark said. “I can’t help but smile.”

Half-hour free sessions of Qi-Gong, pronounced chi gong, are being offered on Mondays at 12:30 p.m. in the park’s gazebo by Sandy Thomason. It’s a gentle form of exercise with slow and easy motions like cranes, she said. It’s similar to yoga but it’s all done standing, which helps improve balance.

“It helps with increased energy, helps me focus and is a good general stretch,” said Thomason, who learned the art of Tai Chi while in acupuncture school. She has been trained to teach it.

Quietly and slowly moving hands, arms, legs and torso to Thomason’s soft voice, another participant said she finds the mid-day break relaxing and different from other types of exercise.

Thomason urges the exercisers to center on the energy pulling it within and then pushing or flicking away the energy you don’t need. Imagine the horizon around you and pull the energy toward you, she said.

After each set, participants rub their hands to create warmth to give their faces a quick massage followed by lightly pulling their ears.

“Pulling the ears is a great stress relaxer,” she told the group.

The exercise helps increase body balance as slow, focused movements are done first on one leg, then another. One of several Qi-Gong exercises from the Chinese, the crane-style puts different motions together and is fun and easy, Thomason said.

Monday classes will be offered throughout the summer in the gazebo. There is no registration and classes are free. People are welcome to just show up, she said.

abryant@sunjournal.com

Qi-Gong instructor Sandy Thomason leads a group through the crane-like  exercises Monday in the gazebo in Meetinghouse Park in Farmington. A half-hour Monday class is being offered for free this summer at 12:30 p.m. The gentle, slow and easy motions help with balance and centering.

Qi-Gong instructor Sandy Thomason leads a group through the crane-like  exercises
Monday in the gazebo in Meetinghouse Park in Farmington. A half-hour
Monday class is being offered for free this summer at 12:30 p.m. The
gentle, slow and easy motions help with balance and centering.