I agree with Gabby and add the following:
When I first began Level II, I would always try and do all the Level I exercises and the the Level II exercises in sequence. If I didn't have time for all of that, I would just do one or two of the Level I exercises for a "warm up" and then concentrate on the Level II exercises until I learned them. I think I did that for about a month and then began the more free form type practice I outline above.
Now, I tend to mix and match at will. From everything I have heard from coaches, senior students and Master Lin, that is part of the system: i.e. to follow the flow of energy.
One mentor/coach told me that some days, he feels just like doing Cloud Hands (from Level II) and nothing else-- even for a long practice session.
I tend to do both Level I and Level II active exercises together. However, I do them in different orders and for different durations depending on how much practice time I have. My ideal practice session is 3 hours minimum, which includes active and sitting meditation. Usually, I do one and a half hours of active exercise, Level I and II (I edited the Level II active exercise audio into four discrete tracks using a shareware mp3 trimming application, so as to give me more variety and flexibily). If I feel like I need support, I use my iPod with all of the exercises from both Levels in a playlist and I choose the "shuffle songs" and "repeat all" settings and the sleep timer for 90 minutes. Then I do a half hour of Tai Chi Chuan, slow, fast and broadsword (I have it on good authority, that Tai Chi is one of the few exceptions to the rule to not do other exercises right before or after SFQ practice--Master Lin does this also!). After that, I do either and hour or a half hour of sitting meditation.
I like using the shuffle setting for the active exercise, because it feels more "playful"-- it is always a different practice and like a box of chocolates, I never know what I am going to get!
I often aim to do some more sitting meditation during the midday "prime time". Some days, I hit it and some days I don't. Most days, lately, I do.
Sometimes, either for "supplementary" practice or even just for the only practice I can get in that day, I will do a 10-30 minute active exercise session. During those smaller, "bite-size" sessions, I will just use a little clock timer I have (it is called the
Invisible Clock, and I live by mine! It helps me a lot during meditation and active exercise, among many other functions it has. It is the size of a small pager, can clip to a belt or a garment and it has many different functions including a meeting timer, a custom timer that can be set for anything from 3 seconds up to one hour and can include up to 6 sub timer settings, a simple count down timer that can be for anything from a second to 999 hours for one time or to repeat indefinitely, as well as up to 12 alarms. It is can either beep-- which I almost never use-- or vibrate. It has 3 levels of vibration and you can even custom order those three to be quieter and less intense for meditation practice or just for to be more private. I use this a lot for active exercise practice). I will just use the timer function to count down five or 10 minutes, in repeating mode and then just do one or two exercises for about 5 or 10 minutes each for anywhere from 15minutes to 30 minutes total, depending on my schedule.
On other days, if I am in the mood to just be on my own with no audio (or just with music), I will set either the custom timer for an hour (with the repeat function on, if I want to do more than an hour) with the 6 subtimers each letting me know when to transition from one exercise to another with their gentle vibration.
When I do either the short or the long practice like that, I just play it by ear and do whatever feels right. I just put it out to the Universe to guide me. And it does!
All of the above, it not necessarly to suggest that you should do what I do (although you are welcome to try any of these suggestions for yourself and see how they fit), but rather to show you how flexible and forgiving this system is.
And even though I agree with Gabby's response, I am sure that for some people, even with physical problems, they might just do Level II exercises, substituting them for Level I and it would work fine.
So hopefully, all of this helps you. The bottom line, is focus on learning the Level II exercises, and listen to your body and the Universal wisdom for how much you still need to do the Level I exercises to keep healthy, confident, strong and loving.
Have fun!
