I know that qigong is supposed to be relaxing... and in a way it is, but I also find it often to be extremely stimulating. This is good, of course, for martial arts practice, but bad for my sleep patterns. Sometimes on days when I've practiced a lot of qigong, especially if I did so later in the day, I find that when it's time to go to bed, even if my body and mind are tired, my dantian wants to get up and dance. I mean, once it gets stimulated and the qi is flowing up and down my spine and my stomach feels like it's a gurgling vat of energy it can be really hard to go to sleep... Meditation and exercise both alleviate the sense of restlessness to some extent, but it can still be problem. Does anybody else get this? Do you think I'm doing something wrong or should I just limit my practice to the mornings? Is there anything you can do to make the qi quiet down for the evening? Any experiences or advice would be much appreciated.
Generally I've been advised to do qigong first thing in the morning, but I think it also depends on the type of qigong you're doing and also your own natural body clock. I try not to set my schedule in stone, as things change from day to day (ie. some days you have to rush off first thing, other days I'm out until very late at night). However, when I am doing alot of training, I prefer to do my qigong and neigong in the morning and my martial forms at night. Yes, I have found that at times this stuff can keep me awake, but my old teacher once gave me some advice on this. If you're lying in bed and your energy is bursting upwards and outwards, he said that its a good opportunity to practice using your yi to sink the qi down... still letting it rotate up your back and down the front, but each time letting it sink and settle more into the tan tian. Its a great exercise that calms me both physically and mentally, and soon puts me to sleep. Hope this helps!
After qigong or taiji practice I always do a few minutes of standing qigong or seated meditation. When doing qigong it is important to settle your qi after practice. This helps to calm the body and also allows the body to absorb the qi which it has collected during practice. One thing that can also lead to insomnia is doing a long practice session just before going to bed. After intense or prolonged periods of execise, the body's adrenaline levels can remain elevated for several hours. It could be that reducing your practice time in the evening, or the intensity of the practice may lead to a better nights sleep. Hopefully this will be of some use to you.
Intersting but you are the dude who has been publicly criticising me. Mmm, I hope you find someone who can help you. All the best, Gerard
Onyomi, Sitting meditation postures recommended: 1. Lotus (need Yoga instructor to teach you the master sitting posture or you can get hurt BIG TIME!), semi-lotus (can be learned alone and as good as the first though). Check this out: http://www.yoga-age.com/modern/asanas.html 2. Chair/stool Techniques: 1. Daoist, i.e. Xiao Zhou Tian Yu also called Microcosmic Orbit 2. Buddhist, i.e. Vipassana (very recommended for beginners and non-beginners as well). 3. Hindu, i.e. Kriya Yoga Hope all this info is helpful and you get a better sleep.
Wow, not pointless Thank you, Gerard, for a post containing actual information and not so much condescension. I freely admit that I am a beginner to Qigong and meditation. I've done Chinese Martial Arts for about five years but only began the serious study of Qigong about a year ago. One thing I should point out, though, is that Xiaozhou-tian and Dazhou-tian refer not to the circulation of the du and renmai as compared to the circulation to the rest of the body, but rather to the circulation within the body versus the circulation outside of the body (i.e. the universe). The xiaozhou-tian or "little universe" is the body and the dazhou-tian or "great universe" is all the qi outside the body.
Microcosmic orbit is done following the Du and Ren Mai channels. Macrocosmic orbit is done by circulating qi in the limbs, out to the surface of the skin, and into the bone marrow.
You may find this other link also helpful: http://www.meditation-techniques.net/meditations/grandcirculationofbreath.htm
Xiaozhoutian and Dazhoutian It is a common misconception that Xiaozhou-tian and Dazhou-tian refer to so-called "small" versus "grand" circulation. The Xiaozhou-tian most definitely refers to the qi within the body, whereas the Dazhou-tian refers to all the qi outside the body. I think better translations would be "the inner universe" and "the outer universe," rather than "circulation" or "orbit."
I forgot, It's important that for everyone who has finished any kind of static meditations to perform a series of stretching (gentle of the dynamic kind) and massaging exercises to avoid qi stagnation. Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists don't do them and they end up getting sick and develop major health problems, i.e. arthritis, rheumatism, even mental illness because of this. Good luck
