Hello Shawn,

I've been experiencing a bit of a conflict in terms of how I'm going to include weight training and qigong practice in the a.m.

Y'see, I go to the gym in the morning (5:00am), 6 days a week; 3 days weight train, the other 3 for cardio, for 45 - 60 minutes. Should I perform the gigong postures, breathing, etc., after my gym workout or would I experience equally good results if practice gigong in the evening when I get back from work (7:00pm), before dinner?

Thx in advance for your time and input.

Be well,

Web

WebCrawler, I know the conflict for time and I'm sure the your answer is different than mind. Doing physical exercise is a form of balancing your qi. It it Yang energy and balances against the Yin energy of mental work.

I've had several months off of my physical exercise routine and it was a mistake for me. I'm just starting back at it. However, I often incorporate SFQ into my exercise. If the intensity is not too high, I'll abdomin breathing. I'll open my channels and relax into any resistance work. It really does help.

If I'm sitting on a stationary bike I will go into the emptiness and basically do a meditation. Some I do small universe but usually I do self-concentration. I usually set the bike for a hills or interval type course, but I don't even notice when the resistance levels change. I just have a nice steady cadence and breathing and the time just flies by and finish the ride feeling great; dripping wet but great.

Getting back to your question. There is no wrong time. The better time for the active exercise is the 5 to 7 time frame (morning or evening). Doing it after an exercise is great, if you have the time. Do your cool-down and then into SFQ. You've started your qi flowing with the exercise, just get into the meditation and enjoy.

You are better than I at determining what is the right balance of exercise and SFQ. Learning to find you balance is qigong.

You are perfection.
Iam2

Aloha webcrawler 2010,

Congratulations on you commitment to your exercise regimen. It will support the work you do with Spring Forest Qigong, and vise-versa.

Allow the workout it's time to settle in your system (30 minutes should do), and then do your SFQ exercises or meditation. Doing them a half hour before dinner would be good as well.

There are general optimal times to do the work as well as optimal directions and times for each of us personally. To get the most out of your time spent with the exercises and mediations, give you body time to settle down after doing other energetic work or strenuous workouts.

It will be interesting for Iam2 to check in with himself to see if when lifting/moving heavy weights, his body automatically does the reserve breathing. Just something to notice - not that I'm recommending here to do reverses breathing or S.U. during strenuous exercise.

Much Love, Shawn

IAM2/Shawn,

Excellent posts, Guys! Thx greatly for your input and valuable advice. I now have a definite and clearer understanding about how I'm going to balance these two regimens in my daily schedule.

Best,

Web