There are three ways to 'get' the ch'i : using the breath, alignment of the body position, and using focused thought or concentrated intention. The school gives most emphasis at the beginning stages of study to alignment of the body position and using focused thought.
After the body is aligned correctly it is necessary to 'draw out the bones.' This means that all the major joints have a feeling of separation. To achieve this the heaviness of the body is allowed to sink downwards, the crown of the head is drawn upwards, the front of the body is opened laterally away from the mid-line, and the arms are drawn out and elongated through all of the major joints. This is not easy but comes with practice.
Some joints are particularly difficult to open. The elbow for example will probable need to be given more careful attention. In my experience it was helpful to hold the upper arm with the free hand and try to lengthen and move the lower arm away from the upper arm until it was possible to see the separation visually.
I remember working on this for several weeks. However, if the bones are not drawn out the circulation of ch'i will not be able to reach the stage where it flows freely throughout the whole body. This is a necessary stage before reaching the later stages of development.
Aligning the body, relaxing deeply and drawing out the bones is still not enough to activate the ch'i. Because when any one relaxes deeply without t'ai chi or ch'i kung training, the ch'i will tend mirror the mental state. If the shen is not raised then although the ch'i will manifest it will not become enlivened and be able to follow the mind intent or Yi.