Hi everyone,

Just wondering how many rounds of each level 1 active exercises one should aim for as a beginner ?

Would it be better to spend a few minutes on each one ?

Looking forward to getting started.

Thanks.

Frank.

Hi,
The time spent in any exercise/exercises is more relevant than the number of reps. It takes qi about a half a hour to complete a cycle within the body, and that unit of time is relevant to the practice. One unit can be referred to as a season and four seasons a complete year. Anything, or more or less, all falls into good, better and best. In other words, good is the worst you can do.
You don't have to be concerned about creating a specific balance regarding how long you do one exercise versus another. They all have their own effective means of clearing energy blockages and stimulating qi flow. It is important to close each session with harvesting qi, and bouncing beforehand is good. How you frame your session , or open and close the session.
In the beginning, I followed Master Lin's lead as given in the tapes or CD's.
Love,
gallen

Thanks for the quick reply

that's just what i needed to know.

I'm just getting started on this too and had the same question, how long should each exercise be done. I know Master Linn recommends 2 hours total for the best results and he also says that more time should be spent on non-active than active exercises, generally. If you have a specific disease, like cancer, that you are working on, what is best or does it vary with the type of cancer and location?

Aloha Oleary25,

When just starting, or having physical issues you'll want to spend 75% of your tie doing the active exercises, sprinkling in a meditation to cover the other 25%. So if you have set aside 30 minutes each day for qigong, your routine could look something like doing 2 or 3 active exercises for two days, followed my a sitting meditation on day three, and then repeat.

If you want to commit to two hours, a suggestion would be going through the active exercise set (CD #5 = about 50 minutes), skipping the Harvesting of Qi, and go right into one of the sitting meditation (my pick would be the hour-long CD included in the Dleuxe/Level Two course). The active exercises help prepare you to go deeper in your meditation.

Does Chunyi have some suggestions and specfics he's found helpful for working with cancer, etc? Yes. And know that you have a very powerful tool in the Small Universe meditation and great training in the Self Concentration exercise - both found in Level One.

Much Love, Shawn

or sitting, such as harvesting Qi...What should you do if you are physically unable to do the active exercises standing?

Doing them lying down= good
Doing them sitting, better
Doing them standing =best.

Can't move a limb? visualize that limb doing it's job when the rest of the body does it's job.

Your spine won't move the way chunyi's does? Then do it with a smaller motion, maybe even mostly in your mind - the message still gets there.

Much Love on Monday,

Shawn

Thanks Shawn! This is the way I started a couple of months ago. I am in process of healing two slipped discs and when I started I couldn't stand up for more than a couple of minutes and couldn't sit straight either. I started by laying flat on my bed and moving as best I could. When I could do all the movements laying down, I started some of them sitting, etc.. I can now do most sitting and a few standing.

I am confident that eventually I will be able to do the full active exercise (level 1) standing as long as I keep with the program.

So you think that Qi gong is more important for the well-being than meditation?

Aloha JohnA,

I'm not sure what you're getting at since active exercise and mediation are apart of Spring Forest Qigong.

Much Love,



Shawn

I mean, what do you think gives most for being happy? If you had to choose only one method to do. I do both and will always do, 34 min with SFQ and one hour meditation each day.

According to taoism (and others), they emphasize the importance of the inner organs influence on peoples feelings and physical condition (which seems to be what SFQ also does), while the buddism says that meditation is the King road to God.

Aloha JohnA,

My answer would be whatever is needed at the time. Yes, in later levels there aren't active exercises and it focuses on the sitting meditations. Even at this level, there are times when the active exercises are where one needs to be.

After you've done Levels one and two for a while, and are doing pretty well physically, consider doing the Virtual Compass from Level Two - not only for the best direction to face for your current session, but for the best exercise/meditation for you at that moment. Trust what you get and do it - even if it's one that you'd rather not do.

Some will think I'm ducking your question, but I think you'll understand what I'm saying. There is balance in everything: yin/Yang as well as passive/Active meditation.

Much Love, Shawn

Thank you

I understand well what you mean. I haven`t put myself into those type of meditations yet...doing another type of practise so I may have something to look forward to.
I have read that the basic exercises in Level 1 needs to be done the whole life. I have the impression that Lin does it

Aloha JohnA,

You could be a Level Three, Four, Five, etc. student, or a master and Chunyi would still recommend doing the Small Universe meditation.

Once you build the energy in your lower dantian and start to do the Level Two active exercises, you'll revisit the Level One exercises if you find yourself ill.

Much Love, Shawn