Some qigong lecturers demand that you simply apply 2 hours on daily basis. I’ve by no means been a type of lecturers. That’s as a result of I didn’t do it that approach, and I at all times attempt to apply what I educate.
I additionally know from my very own expertise that this type of recommendation doesn’t work. The success price for this technique is ridiculously low, in all probability round 2-3%.
If solely a tiny proportion of your college students are in a position to implement your recommendation, then one thing is incorrect.
The reality is that working towards 2 hours a day is outrageously onerous, even if you’re determined for therapeutic.
And but…and but…
Typically, you actually DO must apply for two hours per day. Qigong is drugs. As with all drugs, the dosage issues.
When deep therapeutic is required, the next dose of qigong can be required.
Usually, I encourage my college students to apply for ~quarter-hour per session. From there, I encourage them to do ~quarter-hour twice per day, as soon as within the morning, after which once more within the afternoon or night. In order that’s a complete of ~half-hour per day.
Some college students stick to quarter-hour as soon as a day and get good outcomes. Whenever you do quarter-hour on daily basis religiously, and once you observe the 5-Section Routine, you get great bang on your buck.
Nonetheless, I can confidently say that even this — simply quarter-hour as soon as per day — is difficult. With the precise technique you are able to do it, however don’t anticipate it to be simple.
The strategy that I take advantage of known as the 2-Minute Methodology. In brief, as a substitute of demanding that you simply instantly begin working towards for quarter-hour on daily basis (and shaming you in the event you don’t), I encourage you to begin with 2 minutes per day.
Or in the event you fall off the horse and cease working towards qigong, then the way in which to get again up by doing 2 minutes a day. Identical technique.
If you are able to do 2 minutes a day, then you may ultimately do quarter-hour per day.
And right here’s the following a part of that equation: If you are able to do quarter-hour per day, then you are able to do 2 hours.
Let’s again up a bit. Why is it so rattling onerous to do quarter-hour per day, not to mention 2 hours per day? What’s up with that?
Right here’s some perspective for you. The fashionable idea of a qigong college didn’t exist for a lot of the historical past of this artwork. There have been 4 foremost settings for studying and working towards qigong up to now:
- A temple setting (like Shaolin or Wudang)
- The grasp’s home
- A navy setting
- An appointment with a Chinese language doctor
Discover that every one 4 of those environments got here with built-in self-discipline:
- In the event you had been in a Buddhist or Taoist temple, you then would have had a inflexible schedule in addition to neighborhood accountability.
- In the event you had been studying on the grasp’s home, then it will have been a each day affair and you’d have been continuously below his or her watchful eye.
- In the event you had been within the navy, you then would have discovered and practiced qigong below strict navy self-discipline.
- In case your Chinese language doctor prescribed qigong, you then would seemingly have discovered it 1-on-1 and even perhaps seen them each day.
In different phrases, most qigong apply occurred in a very completely different setting again then. They actually weren’t coping with getting youngsters prepared for varsity, making espresso earlier than work, working out for groceries, or fixing the rattling WiFi router (once more!).
The closest comparability now we have within the twenty first century is a therapeutic retreat. For instance, at my qigong retreat in Costa Rica, the place we do 4-6 hours of qigong per day, college students by no means wrestle with self-discipline. They simply put within the time.
I’m not making excuses for you or for myself. There ARE methods to change into a disciplined practitioner of qigong within the fashionable period. However beating your self up since you lack willpower will not be certainly one of them.
Within the 4 conventional environments above, lecturers would typically use a bamboo persist with manually alter college students and even whack them after they made errors. I’ve by no means finished this, not simply because it’s unlawful (are you able to think about the lawsuits?) but additionally as a result of I’m a contemporary educator and I don’t subscribe to this type of outdated pedagogy.
I’ll by no means hit you with a bamboo stick. So why are you hitting your self with a figurative stick? Why would you anticipate one thing like that to work? There are different methods to get your self to apply extra — ways in which really work.
Not too long ago, I obtained an electronic mail from a longtime pupil who’s going through a severe well being disaster. He’s an older gentleman, however not too outdated. He instructed me, bluntly, that he’s not able to die.
In a scenario like this, quarter-hour twice per day is an effective begin, nevertheless it’s in all probability not sufficient. We have to improve the dosage. Quite a bit.
I inspired him to work as much as 2 hours per day. This consists of his tai chi apply, in addition to his sitting meditation apply (which he discovered elsewhere).
People can do unimaginable issues when confronted with their very own mortality. However not at all times. Typically, college students will merely hand over hope. Or they are going to beat themselves up with a figurative bamboo stick.
This explicit pupil doesn’t have time to waste. There’s no time for self-deprecation. There’s no time for despair. And there’s no time to make use of ineffective strategies for rising his qigong dosage.
Let’s give attention to what actually works.
I made the choice years in the past to not berate my college students for not working towards extra. I not even chastise them in the event that they struggled to do quarter-hour. As a substitute, I might use fashionable educating strategies, optimistic reinforcement, and most significantly, main by instance.
If you recognize my story, you recognize that I struggled to apply even whereas desperately needing qigong to heal my melancholy. It was throughout my wrestle that I found what I now name the 2-Minute Methodology.
As we speak, as a substitute of telling college students to apply 2 hours per day, I inform them to begin with 2 minutes a day. The two-minute session acts as a placeholder for a future 15-minute session. Later, as soon as you might be doing a stable quarter-hour per day, you may repeat the method by including a 2-minute session to the alternative finish of the day. This then turns into a placeholder on your 2nd session.
In different phrases, the development appears one thing like this:
- 2 minutes as soon as per day
- quarter-hour 2-3 occasions per week, changing these 2 minute periods (whereas sustaining 2 minutes on the opposite days)
- quarter-hour as soon as per day
- quarter-hour as soon as per day + 2 minutes as soon as per day in a brand new time slot
- quarter-hour twice per day
This development follows the traditional Chinese language idea of jiànjìn (漸進) , which interprets to “gradual progress” or “step-by-step development”.
However that’s nonetheless solely half-hour a day. So how will we improve to 2 hours?
Extra Amount, Identical High quality
I at all times encourage college students to make use of high-quality periods, and that recommendation hasn’t modified. For novices, it’s a lot, a lot simpler to maintain the standard excessive throughout a 15-minute session than throughout a 1-hour session. It’s simpler to pay attention and focus for quarter-hour, whether or not it’s qigong or another form of work.
Conserving the standard excessive like this ensures that we are literally doing qigong and never simply waving our arms gently within the air. In my college, this implies getting into right into a meditative state, utilizing qigong workout routines as shifting meditation, producing an power stream, letting the qi stream freely, consolidating the qi at dantian, and so forth. We name all of this the 5-Section Routine.
As soon as the standard is excessive, upon getting a really feel for it — then you can begin to extend the amount too. The trick is to progress regularly.
In the event you regularly improve the time of your apply periods, it is possible for you to to maintain the standard excessive. It’s no completely different than regularly rising the quantity of weight that you’re lifting. On this case, it’s your focus that can get stronger relatively than your muscle mass.
Learn how to Steadily Improve
So right here’s how it will look in the event you had been to regularly improve your amount. Let’s begin with the unique components:
- Stage 1: 2 minutes as soon as per day
- Stage 2: quarter-hour as soon as per day (in the identical time slot)
- Stage 3: quarter-hour as soon as per day + 2 minutes as soon as per day (in a brand new time slot)
- Stage 4: quarter-hour twice per day
Let’s assume that you simply’ve made it to stage 4 and you have already got a morning and night session. Now let’s simply proceed:
- Stage 5: 20 minutes within the morning + quarter-hour within the night
- Stage 6: 20 minutes twice per day
- Stage 7: half-hour within the morning + 20 minutes within the night
- Stage 8: half-hour twice per day
I encourage you to elongate only one session at a time. This fashion, you may make sure that you’re protecting the standard excessive since you nonetheless have a shorter session to check it to.
If you’re in a rush due to a therapeutic disaster like the scholar I discussed above, then you may transfer extra rapidly by means of the levels. However I don’t advocate that you simply skip forward.
40-Minutes 2x Per Day
As soon as you’re employed as much as about 40-minutes 2x per day (i.e. 1 hour and 20 minutes complete), you’ll have some choices to make. However first, congrats!The reality is that 40 minutes twice per day is extremely highly effective drugs in the event you keep constant. Nice work!
However some individuals may nonetheless want extra. I’ve been a type of individuals myself. So if you wish to stand up to 2 hours per day, then you are able to do one of many following:
- Add a third session, utilizing the gradual progress technique from above.
- Add an analogous artwork, like yoga or tai chi
- Add sitting meditation
- Use strolling meditation
Including a third, high-quality session will be onerous for many individuals. If you are able to do it, extra energy to you. However in the event you can’t due to work or youngsters or each, then strive one of many different choices.
If all else fails, do half-hour of strolling meditation every day. Strolling is drugs by itself and it’s an ideal complement to qigong. You may make it much more therapeutic by strolling in nature, and by including One Finger Zen.
When you’ve got an current yoga or tai chi apply, or if you wish to mud certainly one of these off, then nice. Use that as your third session. It may possibly go instantly earlier than or after certainly one of your current qigong periods.
When you’ve got an current or rusty sitting meditation apply, then add that someplace. This may tremendously amplify the ability of your 2 qigong periods.
After all, you may also regularly improve the length of every qigong session till they’re 1 hour every. However many college students discover it onerous to maintain the standard excessive for 1-hour periods.
In the event you’re a pupil of mine, you then’re in all probability questioning — however how will we do an extended session? Under are some examples, with the tough variety of minutes listed.
In the event you’re not a pupil of mine…then what are you ready for? You possibly can go study the 5-Section Routine without spending a dime right here.
Instance 1 (40 minutes)
- Coming into Zen (2.5)
- 2 favourite qigong workout routines (5)
- FBSW (5)
- 2 extra favorites (5)
- FBSW (5)
- 2 extra favorites (5)
- FBSW (5)
- Stillness (5)
- Closing (2.5)
Instance 2 (40 Minutes)
- Coming into Zen (2.5)
- Favourite dynamic qigong train #1 (3.3)
- Favourite dynamic qigong train #2 (3.3)
- Favourite dynamic qigong train #3 (3.3)
- FBSW (5)
- Hugging the Tree (10)
- FBSW (5)
- Stillness (5)
- Closing (2.5)
Instance 3 (40 minutes)
- Coming into Zen (2.5)
- Favourite dynamic qigong train #1 (2.5)
- Favourite dynamic qigong train #2 (2.5)
- FBSW (5)
- Favourite dynamic qigong train #3 (2.5)
- Favourite dynamic qigong train #4 (2.5)
- FBSW (5)
- 1% Forgiveness (5)
- FBSW or 5 Animal Play (5)
- Stillness (5)
- Closing (2.5)
Instance 4 (40 Minutes)
- Coming into Zen (2.5)
- Favourite dynamic qigong train #1 (2)
- Favourite dynamic qigong train #2 (2)
- Favourite dynamic qigong train #3 (2)
- FBSW (3)
- Wuji Stance (2)
- Single-Leg Stance (2 minutes complete, 1 minute either side)
- Bow-Arrow Stance (2 minutes complete, 1 minute either side)
- Hugging the Tree (10)
- FBSW (5)
- Stillness (5)
- Closing (2.5)
These are simply examples. And the occasions are simply tough estimates. You don’t have to be timing these things right down to the minute.
For my lively college students, in the event you’d like some longer guided meditations like this, let me know within the feedback under. I’m busy with my ebook in the intervening time, however I can attempt to file some longer meditations in the event you suppose that they are going to be helpful.
Summing Up
Qigong is satisfying, makes us really feel higher instantly, and brings quite a few advantages over time. And but…it’s nonetheless onerous to apply.
If you wish to apply on daily basis, whether or not meaning quarter-hour per day or 2 hours per day, use the 2-Minute Methodology and gradual progress.
Greatest regards, Sifu Anthony 
I’m Anthony Korahais, and I used qigong to heal from medical melancholy, low again ache, anxiousness, and continual fatigue. I’ve already taught 1000’s of individuals from all around the world the best way to use qigong for their very own cussed well being challenges. Because the director of Flowing Zen, I am totally dedicated to serving to individuals with these arts. Along with my weblog, I additionally educate on-line programs and supply in-person retreats and workshops.
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