- Start carefully; allow progress to be slow but sure.
- Relax deeply and allow the mind to be free of concerns.
- Practice daily if possible; results come from consistency and perseverance.
- Approach each practice from the richness of deep intention and belief in healing.
- Ease, rather than physicality actives one’s Qi.
- Don’t be fooled by the fact that Qigong doesn’t seem like much; it is profoundly healing.
- Don’t expect too much too soon; expand your practice slowly.
- Repeatedly check that you are not tensing muscles.
- Practice in a way that works best for you – always slow and easy. It doesn’t have to be exactly like the instructor. Learn to feel your own energetic body.
- The width of the stance and depth of the legs depends upon one’s physical comfort.
- Forms can also be done from a seated position. Instead of sinking in the legs, we think of sinking more into the lower dan tien/the belly/into the seat of the chair with the tailbone.
- If ever you feel light headed or dizzy, simply stop the form and bring the hands into the lower dan tien. Know that the Qi is moving thru blockages in the body.
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PRACTICING AT HOME
Find a quiet, comfortable place without interruptions. Turn off your phone. Warm up the body a bit with our opening exercises or a few minutes of gentle shaking of the body.
When transitioning from form to form, it is ideal to allow the arms to float out into neutrality.
There is no particular order to the forms, nor a specific number of repetitions ~ experiment.
To end a practice: (1) draw the hands consciously into the lower dan tien at the belly (right over left), or (2) cross the hands over the chest and onto the shoulders (right over left) into Heart Protection Stance. Always do this as a way to close your practice with intention. Pause a moment or two and thank yourself.
