To everything there is a season…
—ECCLESIASTES 3:1
Qigong is more than exercise. It is a healing discipline for the body, mind, and spirit. Some of the rules that govern qigong practice differ antly from those that apply to calisthenics, aerobics, or working out at a gym. Since one of qigong’s goals is greater harmony between inside and outside, between yourself and nature, when and where you practice can influence the effectiveness of qigong techniques. Even good qigong exercises are less effective at the wrong time of day or in uncomfortable surroundings.
Most people practice qigong in a daily “wellness workout,” designed to prevent disease and improve or maintain health. The workout, lasting from ten minutes to an hour or longer, consists of dynamic exercises, self-massage, and, sometimes, meditation. Additionally, we all experience times when particular parts of the body are calling for attention, whether due to disease or just feelings of discomfort. To cure a specific problem, we practice therapeutic qigong techniques, either instead of or in addition to the normal daily practice. The daily workout occurs at a fixed time each day. Therapeutic qigong is practiced whenever it is needed.
The period from 12 midnight until 12 noon is called sheng qi “the time of the living breath.” It is best to practice your qigong wellness workout in the middle of this period, at about 6 A.M. The early morning is the “springtime” of the day. The winter portion of the day, from noon until midnight, is called si qi “the time of the dead breath.” Seeds planted in the early spring bear the healthiest fruit; those planted during the winter are less hardy. The living breath peaks at sunrise, the ideal time for qigong training. The effects of morning practice are long-lasting and cumulative. You are likely to still feel pleasantly energized in the afternoon. As each day passes, your supply of qi increases.
While you are learning new qigong techniques, it is a good idea to have at least two practice times, one just for yourself, to build the qi and enjoy, and another “homework” time to review and memorize techniques and details. Do your homework after the morning wellness workout, whenever your schedule allows. Review instructions and practice the exercises slowly and carefully, over and over again until your body can do them automatically. But remember that the time for yourself is the early morning. If you have to get ready for work or prepare the kids for school, try getting up an hour earlier. You can’t take care of others effectively if you are not taking care of yourself. Your family will appreciate that the more qi-full you are, the more cheerful you are. (And breakfast seems to taste better if the cook is happy.) If your schedule just doesn’t permit early-morning qigong, then find whatever time you can.
On the other hand, if you have time to spare, there is no prohibition against more than one wellness workout per day. This would be in addition to the important morning practice and your “homework” review session. If your normal workout is at sunrise, try another one at sunset. Qigong is a wonderful way to punctuate the daylight hours. The energetic and beautiful exercises feel completely natural at these times of day, probably the human equivalent of birdsongs.
No matter what time of day you practice, always wait at least two hours after eating a meal. There is a saying, “If the belly is filled with food, there is no room for qi.” A full belly interferes with breathing and movement. Digestion uses qi, making less available for qigong. It also diverts qi to the digestive system, away from the areas of the body that are the focus of your exercises. If you eat after practice, wait at least one half hour after your session to allow time for residual effects of qigong practice. After the half hour “cooling down” time, the qi will be settled and you will be ready for normal activities.
There is a simple, commonsense way to harmonize your exercise routine—the wellness workout, “homework” sessions, or Western exercises—with the time of day and the season. In the morning, progress from stillness to movement. Start your workout with relaxation and quiet meditation. Then practice more active forms of qigong. Save jogging or aerobic activity for the last phase of your morning workout. In the evening we naturally want to unwind, slow down, and prepare for sleep. Start with the most vigorous exercise, progress through slower and gentler techniques, and finish with silent meditation. Thus your actions are in harmony with the yin and yang cycles of the day.
Similarly, in the spring emphasize dynamic qigong exercises to open the body to the currents of fresh energy in nature. In the winter, emphasize meditation and gentler, slower exercises to conserve energy and build warmth.
Western science has found that the strength of the immune system fluctuates through each twenty-four-hour period.1 It is strongest at about 7 A.M. and weakest at about one in the morning—an interesting parallel to the Chinese idea of living and dead breaths. Chinese medicine maintains that the circadian rhythm governs the health of not only the immune system but of each internal organ. Thus, practicing qigong at a certain hour affects one organ more than another.
As the qi circulates through the body, the internal organs experience periods of peak and minimum functioning (see Table 4 below). For instance, at 12 noon, the heart is stimulated by a strong flow of qi. Martial artists are advised never to strike someone in the chest at this time, as it could damage the heart. However, this is a propitious time to do heart qigong. The stomach qi peaks between 7 and 9 A.M. This is when digestion and assimilation are most efficient and is thus the best time for breakfast. One could also use this period to practice qigong for curing ulcers or weak digestion. As a general rule, use the peak periods to work therapeutically on specific organs.
In Between Heaven and Earth, Harriet Beinfield and Efrem Korngold point out that disease symptoms also tend to appear at fairly predictable times. “Symptoms of excess appear during peak hours, those of deficiency during the ebb tides of Qi.”2 To find the period of “ebb tide” of an organ just look across the chart to the opposite time period. For instance, lower back pain, which is often a symptom of excess kidney qi, is likely to be more pronounced between 5 and 7 P.M., the time when kidney energy peaks. If the kidneys are deficient and weak, then one will probably experience low vitality between 5 and 7 A.M. Heart attack, a symptom of excess qi, occurs more frequently around noon. On the other hand, heart failure and symptoms of insufficiency such as shortness of breath tend to be more pronounced at midnight. Looking opposite the heart, to the gallbladder, we see that gallstone pain will be more severe late at night. However, if the gallbladder is weak and not producing enough bile, it will be difficult to digest heavy, oily foods between 11 A.M. and 1 P.M., its period of minimum functioning. Even healthy individuals should avoid eating heavy foods at this time.
TABLE 4: PEAK PERIODS OF VISCERAL QI
| 11 P.M.-1 A.M. Gallbladder | 11 A.M.-1 P.M. Heart |
| 1 A.M.-3 A.M. Liver | 1 P.M.-3 P.M. Small Intestine |
| 3 A.M.-5 A.M. Lung | 3 P.M.-5 P.M. Bladder |
| 5 A.M.-7 A.M. Large Intestine | 5 P.M.-7 P.M. Kidney |
| 7 A.M.-9 A.M. Stomach | 7 P.M.-9 P.M. Pericardium |
| 9 A.M.-11 A.M. Spleen | 9 P.M.-11 P.M. Triple Burner3 |
In order to overcome a serious, life-threatening condition, the ancient Daoists of China advised practicing qigong frequently and intensively, during “the Four Sacred Periods”: Sunrise, Sunset, Midday, and Midnight. In the course of the year, these periods correspond to Spring Equinox, Autumn Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Winter Solstice, respectively. At such times of transition, when yin is changing to yang or yang is changing to yin—whether during the day or the year—we are more susceptible to disease. We can also use these periods to maximize the benefits of qigong in curing disease.
One of the most extraordinary Daoist scholars and practitioners I have met is Mr. Xie, a retired government employee from Hong Kong. When Mr. Xie was diagnosed with incurable and inoperable cancer, he began to practice qigong for eight hours a day, two hours at each of the Sacred periods. He also took Chinese herbs, as prescribed by an acupuncturist. Three months later there was no trace of cancer. Today, fifteen years later, he remains in excellent health. Mr. Xie advises most individuals to practice qigong at sunrise and sunset, with the greatest emphasis placed on morning practice. Only in extreme circumstances, add midday and midnight training.4
Mr. Xie would be the first to admit that in general qigong practice, more is not necessarily better. The golden rule is moderation. Water your garden a little bit every day. Harrison Moretz, director of the Taoist Studies Institute of Seattle, astutely notes, “Even if you know your garden will require ten thousand gallons of water in the course of the year and x amount of sunlight, this does not mean you should, at the beginning of spring, dump this water all at once or expose your seedlings to a thousand ultraviolet lamps!”5 Increase the length of qigong practice gradually. At the end of your practice, you should feel more alive and pleasantly satiated, as after a good meal. Start with ten or fifteen minutes a day. Each week add a few more minutes to your routine. After several months, you should be familiar enough with the effects and benefits of qigong that you can find your own optimal length, according to your schedule, needs, and abilities. This is no fixed rule. Most long-term students enjoy about forty minutes in the morning and twenty minutes in the evening. I will present some suggested training schedules in Chapter 16.
It is important to practice in a quiet, well-ventilated area with as much natural lighting as possible. Outdoors is ideal if the weather is comfortable. Extremes of heat, cold, damp, or wind should be avoided, since these “pernicious influences,” as they are called in Chinese medicine, can cause disease. Many qigong masters advise practicing in a forest of pine, spruce, or other evergreens. These trees are symbols of longevity, maintaining their color through the four seasons. The forest’s balance of light and shadow helps restore balance of internal yin and yang. Water also has a positive influence on qigong. Practicing near a small stream had a resonant effect on the internal energy, helping the qi to flow smoothly in the meridians. Lakes calm the mind and create a serene mood. Does this mean that you must live in the wilderness in order to practice qigong? You can find nature wherever you are. In Beijing, Shanghai, and other Chinese cities, millions of people go to the parks each morning to practice qigong.
Even the direction you face can influence the efficacy of qigong techniques. A popular traditional practice is for men to always face north, women to face south when practicing qigong. North is the direction of cold, yin. When men face north, they absorb yin qi, balancing their yang. South is the direction of warmth, yang. When women face south, they absorb yang qi, balancing their yin. However, even these rules must occasionally be varied according to circumstances. Men who are weak, debilitated, or excessively withdrawn and introspective may need the firelike energy of the South. Women who are out of touch with their nurturing side and who have problems controlling anger or aggression may need the yin of the North.
TABLE 5: THE FIVE DIRECTIONS
| East | South | Center | West | North |
| Spring | Summer | Late Summer | Autumn | Winter |
| Liver | Heart | Spleen | Lung | Kidney |
| Gallbladder | Small Intest. | Stomach | Large Intest. | Bladder |
Some qigong practices require facing a specific direction. For instance, Taiji Quan, perhaps the most popular healing exercise in the world, is named after Beiji,6 the Polestar. The Polestar teaches stillness within motion; it is the unmoving pivot around which the constellations seem to turn. Both male and female Taiji Quan players face north to absorb the influence of this star.
In the philosophy of Wei Bo-yang, discussed in the second chapter of this book, nature is seen as a web of interconnected phenomena. Things of a similar nature, such as the east and springtime or the west and autumn, are linked together and influence each other. This philosophy led to the qigong practice of coordinating direction, season, and organ (Table 5).
For instance, in the spring, face east to bring more qi to the liver and gallbladder. In the summer, face south, the direction of the heart and small intestine. During late summer (what we might call “Indian Summer,” a separate season for the Chinese), face any direction, while imagining the qi coming up from the ground. This adds healing qi to the spleen and stomach. During the fall, face west in order to harmonize with the qi of the season and to heal the lungs and large intestine. In the winter, practice qigong facing north, letting the winter qi heal the kidneys and bladder.
Qigong recognizes that nature is an important facet of healing. We are part of the natural environment; we grow out of it in the same way that a wave emerges from the ocean or a tree grows in the forest. While practicing qigong, let nature become part of your experience. Do not “space out” or become preoccupied by internal sensations. In quiet meditative qigong, you can sense the power of the seasons and directions, the feel of the ground, the sun and gentle breeze on the skin. The ears are open and hearing the sounds of nature. In more active qigong, the eyes are generally open and allowing the natural world in, a pure, innocent appreciation, with no need to think about or label.
Isn’t nature always practicing qigong? The trees “expel the old breaths, draw in the new.” The clouds are moving fluidly, without sign of excess, depletion, or stagnation. The animals, because they are in harmony with nature, demonstrate balance, coordination, and grace, the qualities of a qigong master.