Greetings from the North Shore of Lake Superior! I'm here with my husband celebrating our anniversary. This is one of my favorite places to practice kungfu and qigong. Everywhere you turn up here, you're practically tripping on a beautiful vista. So it only seems fitting that this week we talk about where some of the most ideal spots for training are, as well as those most suitable to everyday life.
One of the most common questions I get from my students is about where they should practice their qigong. Where is the best place? Like most things in life, there isn't just one simple answer. For our purposes, there's the ideal best place to practice, and the practical best place to practice.
Under the best of circumstances, practicing in nature is always ideal. Shaolin Wahnam Cosmos Qigong focuses on taking in energy from the cosmos all around us, so it only makes sense that an outdoor expanse in clean air makes for a perfect place to practice. According to one of the qigong classics, the best place to practice is outside with mountains behind you and running water in front of you. The flowing water of a river helps to transport away any negative energy we expel in our practice. Indeed, some of my most powerful training sessions have occurred in this very setting. In my perfect world cartoon bubble, I have a house by the ocean with rolling hills in the background which greets me every morning when I go outside to train. But that's my cartoon bubble and this is Minnesota.
So what about the rest of the time? What about when you're not on vacation and it's Monday morning but you want your practice to be a jumpstart to your mile-long to-do list? The first and most obvious answer is your yard, if space permits. No yard? No problem. Parks also provide a great space to practice qigong. Okay, great Molly, but what if it's raining? What if I'm not quite comfortable practicing outside yet? What if (as is the case six months out of the year here) it's -40° and there's five feet of snow on the ground?
Even if you can't practice outside, you can still reap the benefits of your training inside your own home. Here's a few practical points to consider for setting up your indoor practice space. Allow yourself room. See that there's nothing you can bump into or trip over in your qi flow. Weather permitting, keep a window open. This also allows any negative energy expelled to flow out the window. Make sure there are no ledges or railings you could fall over. Although that seems obvious, safety first is an important principle in our kungfu and qigong training.
Fear not if it's wintertime and you can't open the window. Simply leave time for the room to air out after you conclude your practice. Your plants actually benefit from all of the offal expelled in your qi flow, case in point: 14 happy orchids in my living room.
How to set up your practice for the best benefits is something I talk about in my weekly classes. Here you get to experience platinum card qigong and get a clear path to how to fully integrate it into your life. Having an amazing skill and being able to use it simply, every day, puts you on the path to health, joy, and success. Ready to sign up? Classes start next week!
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