Last Saturday I taught a group of students a practice just for World Taiji & Qigong Day. One of my students sent this image and asked if I could expand upon it. I think its pretty good for anyone on a reminder to not fall astray from the path. Every system or approach has beliefs and these five or good for any level.

The insider notes for this could be:

• A Mentor is key: A good mentor/teacher will enlighten you how to practice and follow best practices in Qigong. Having a guide is key to getting results in practice. It will be ultimately rest within you to make them actualize or not. Practice rests with the practitioner; you will have to muster the desire to perfect youre practice. Take youre practice seriously and beware of times of when you get undisciplined and too content.

• Practice daily if possible; even 5 minutes a day is better than no minutes. Doing something is always better than nothing. Even at 5 minutes daily it will keep you engaged and wont cause get emotional guilt from not following through on youre practice obligations to yourself. 

•  Do a early morning (3am-9am) routine for gathering the daily positive energy for nurturing and balancing deficient conditions and stress. The quality of your health will change dramatically once you make the shift to a more balanced cycle that coincides with nature of the universe.  

•  Do a night time practice after a long day to bring you into tranquility, peacefulness and contentment. The nigh time practice should begin prior to sundown and end at the onset of nightfall. This will help balance youre body/mind and help you to sleep on a regular times. Avoid staying up to late and minimize computer and TV use prior to bed as well. Night time sleep is crucial for proper health and wellness.

•  Practice Weekly within a group it will take you further than on youre own. People are stronger in numbers; you will most likely get further faster and a better understanding within a group. Another benefit is the collective consciousness of the energy field of the group aids as well. 

•  Personal participation is a core requirement in learning. You can relate to this to even in high school and college; most of the best successful students were involved in groups and many activities. They usually turn out to be the leaders in their fields. It enriches youre experiences so you connect with practice and many times - many questions and answers in the moment can be asked and answered by a teacher.

 I think if these are the above are most important based from teaching countless classes and students since the mid 1990's. They illustrate some basics to follow and to assist in one not becoming lost and astray, in Qigong.

GWA