Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong Beginner Clarifications

I am grateful for this forum and for your willingness to share what you learn and experience with others.

In my first steps of trying to learn the "how" of Qigong, I've had a couple of questions:
1) Just where on the roof of your mouth do you put your tongue? Just behind the teeth or up in the rounded part?

2) When you lean over your elbows in Harmony of Universal Energy, are you supposed to keep your knee straight? Mine wants to bend into the lean...

3) My breathing feels so shallow when I pull my spine up really straight - Is this the way it is supposed to be or will it deepen in time?

4) I can't breathe as slowly as the Sitting Meditation Om's and Mo's - can I sneak in an extra little inhalation and exhalation in between? I know I'm supposed to be relaxed, but my body tenses up as I keep trying to inhale past my lungs being full...

5) I do a series of stretches and mat exercises every morning and would like to do them after my Qigong - or do I need to wait a period of time?

6) Most "exercise" programs say to drink a lot of water before during and after exercise, and I'm getting the impression that I shouldn't do this with Qigong. Or is it that it just shouldn't be cold?

7) Would it hurt my Qi energy to take a warm shower afterwards? Or how about if I take my shower when I first get up and then do Qigong?

8) After 2 hours of doing Qigong and the meditation and my stretching and my exercises (whew) on an empty stomach, I'm hungry - are there any recommendations as to when you should eat breakfast? Should I avoid cold foods (protein shake, etc.)?

I'm not trying to be uptight and anal about all this, but just want to retain the good benefits I recieve by knowing ahead of time what will help it rather than hinder it.

It would also be interesting to read how others have fit this into their days and what you do when, etc.

Thank you, all, for your wisdom!

Love and kindness,
Valentine

Hi Valentine

I'll leave more experieced people to comment on many of these matters but with regard to where you put your tongue, just behind my tongue works for me and feels comfortable. I can't believe that up in the rounded bit wouldn't work but it feels less relaxed and I am beginning to feel that relaxed is right in this regard. We'll see what others say.

In Harmony of the universe I just tried to straighten my knee and it felt very odd. I've always bent the knee on the same side as the way I'm leaning and kept the other straight. I don't have the manual to hand - can you make it out in that or in the video?

Breathing in this way felt odd to me at first and it seemed as if i couldn't get a 'full' breath. Now it seems just fine to me and I notice I breath like that sometimes when I am relaxing. Chunyi Lin cautions against taking in your stomach too far on one of the tapes so I guess there isn't the same range of movement as in deep 'normal' breathing but as I say this seems not to matter. It begins to feel normal and nicely relaxed after a while.

Having a shower before the active exercises has been fine for me. I eat breakfast 30 minutes after the exercises but if I'm feeling hungry I eat breakfast and wait 30 minutes before starting. It seems fine either way. I've wondered about the warm water question myself so I await that reply from others with interest.

Love,

Kev

I highly suggest not taking or being around any water until at least 30 minutes after your exercises. You can lose alot of energy that way.

Thank you, both, for your advice. I hope someday I will be able to help a "newbie" with such great information.
By the way, I've found an interesting book on Qigong that you might like, too, if you haven't seen it already:

"Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body" by B.K. Frantzis.

Love and Kindness to all
Valentine

Aloha Valentine,

Sorry this will be a quick (out the door response)...

1) Just where on the roof of your mouth do you put your tongue? Just behind the teeth or up in the rounded part? Just behind the teeth. There are different benefits to putting the tongue in the middle or the back of the roof of the mouth. For now just place it on the roof of the mouth just behind the teeth and forget about it during the exercises

2) When you lean over your elbows in Harmony of Universal Energy, are you supposed to keep your knee straight? Mine wants to bend into the lean...
Both your knees always stay bent, and yes you will probably find yourself bending and learning a bit with that outside leg, don't spend any time thinking on it.

3) My breathing feels so shallow when I pull my spine up really straight - Is this the way it is supposed to be or will it deepen in time?When your straightening your spine (referring to the Self Concentration exercise?), your not stressing straining on the stretch -it's more like a half energetic and half a relaxed expanse. Let me know if this is not what you were referring to.

4) I can't breathe as slowly as the Sitting Meditation Om's and Mo's - can I sneak in an extra little inhalation and exhalation in between? I know I'm supposed to be relaxed, but my body tenses up as I keep trying to inhale past my lungs being full... let go of the filling up the lungs and concider the perspective of letting the body fill every cell at it's own speed with energy. This may help letting go of keeping up with the OM'ing & Moa'ing. You can take an extra breath if you'd like.

5) I do a series of stretches and mat exercises every morning and would like to do them after my Qigong - or do I need to wait a period of time? Is it possible to do them before the qigong? As long as their not a big strenuous yogic workout unto itself, that would seem to be the place to do them.

6) Most "exercise" programs say to drink a lot of water before during and after exercise, and I'm getting the impression that I shouldn't do this with Qigong. Or is it that it just shouldn't be cold? You do not need to hydrate before and during the exercises as one would in the gym. Get plenty of water during the day and limit your intake before and after qigong, staying away from cold water

7) Would it hurt my Qi energy to take a warm shower afterwards? Or how about if I take my shower when I first get up and then do Qigong?Do it when you get up before doing the qigong. Once again -refraining from the cold water

8) After 2 hours of doing Qigong and the meditation and my stretching and my exercises (whew) on an empty stomach, I'm hungry - are there any recommendations as to when you should eat breakfast? Should I avoid cold foods (protein shake, etc.)? refrain from cold foods 30 minutes before and after your qigong practice. Good, Better, Best...do not each 30 min before or after the work also. If you chose to eat, then you choose to eat. Is that best -no, it's just that some of the energy you've accumulated and is settling in the body from the work will go into the digestion of the food, rather than the healing and channels it was intended for.

Much Love and a great weekend,

Shawn

Hello ,

quote:

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Originally posted by Shawn_Grim:
5) I do a series of stretches and mat exercises every morning and would like to do them after my Qigong - or do I need to wait a period of time? Is it possible to do them before the qigong? As long as their not a big strenuous yogic workout unto itself, that would seem to be the place to do them.

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When? Before or after?

Thank you!

Never mind, now that I've paid a little more attention to the writting, I see where your answer begins.

Is it possible to do them before the qigong?

That makes it before.

Bye!

>>You do not need to hydrate before and during the exercises as one would in the gym. Get plenty of water during the day and limit your intake before and after qigong, staying away from cold water<<

Shawn, I'm not sure if I understand this. Do you mean we should stay away from cold water altogether, or just 30 minutes before and after doing SFQ? Also, does the 30 minutes apply to both active and sitting exercises, or does it only apply to active exercises?

Thanks

quote:

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Originally posted by swingkid:

Shawn, I'm not sure if I understand this. Do you mean we should stay away from cold water altogether, or just 30 minutes before and after doing SFQ? Also, does the 30 minutes apply to both active and sitting exercises, or does it only apply to active exercises?

Thanks

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Hello!

I'd say stay away from cold water altogether. When you drink cold water your body has to heat it anyway.

And there've been cases of deaths due to drinking cold water after making exercise, while the body is still really hot.

In any case, as Shawn says, limit your water intake before and after practicing SFQ, be it active or sitting exercises. You're moving energy in both cases.

I've applied SFQ rules to my Centerpointe sessions, just in case.

Cold water is fine for sipping in the restaurant. However, when you are thirsty and are going to pound down 8 oz to a quart in less than a minute I will say stay away from the cold stuff.

In my late 20's I discouvered this. I'd go out and sweat for an hour get a few minutes break before starting again. In that time I would gozzle water from the fountain. It didn't take more than a few episodes of cramps and charging to the can to make the connection. I started carrying a water bottle after that discouvery. Now, I prefer to drink room temperture or only cool water. I usually down 10 oz in a single drink and then start the second 10 oz.

In fact, if I down 10 oz of cold water (tap cold not ice cold). I will breakout in a sweat in about a minute. The message is the body's thermal regulation system is quick and drastic. Also if the brain gets mixed signals, that triggers survival reactions. It figures it's getting mixed signals because something is wrong... like you've eaten someting bad so start the evacuating.

That's a little more than just loosing the energy needed to heat it. Althought I'm sure that's important too.

Sending love,
Iam2