The following advice, taken from Grandmaster Wong's book Chi Kung for Health and Vitality, will help to maximize the benefits of your Shaolin Chi Kung practice, as well as minimize the potential risks of improper practice.

The 10 Dos:

1. The first and foremost "do" is to practice regularly and consistently. Chi Kung is not a subject like history or biology which you can read up on and become knowledgeable. It is an art which necessitates a lot of practice. If you want good health and vitality, you must not merely read about them, but must practice the proper techniques to acquire them.
   
   
   
2. Practice in natural surroundings where the air is fresh and circulating. Chi kung is not a system of physical exercise where you train bones and muscles, but an internal discipline where the main ingredient is cosmic energy (that is understood as fresh air to most people).. However, if the weather is not favorable, you may practice indoors, provided that the air is not stale. In this situation, it is advisable to open a window.
   
   
   
3. The best time to practice is at sunrise, which chi kung masters refer to as the time of creative energy. Another excellent time is at midnight, which is the time of blossoming energy. Other suitable times are between 7-9 AM and 5-10 PM.
   
   
   
4. Better results are obtained if you practice facing the east. Facing an open sea or an open space is also a good direction. These directions are ideal; that is, they are to be followed if it is feasible. It does not mean that facing other directions is detrimental. Generally speaking, it is fine to practice facing whichever direction you feel most comfortable.
   
   
   
5. Be relaxed and cheerful during your training. The mind is the most important element of chi kung. Much of the benefit derived from chi kung is from the mental aspect, not from the outward form nor even the breath control. A relaxed and cheerful attitude enables you to get the best from the mental aspect.
   
   
   
6. Think gently of cosmic energy flowing into you, cleansing you of illness and toxic waste, and giving you radiant health and vitality. However, you must operate this mental aspect gently.
   
   
   
7. Drink some warm water or other warm beverage before training to facilitate sweating. Sweating is one of the major ways, especially at the beginner's stage, to clear toxic waste from your body. Later, as you progress in your development, you may sweat less.
   
   
   
8. Wear loose clothing and flat-bottomed shoes to facilitate chi flow in your body. Loosen your belt and collar. Take off your watch, rings, and bracelets if they interfere with chi flow.
   
   
   
9. Perform your breathing and movements gently, gracefully, and naturally. In chi kung training, the most important ingredient that you breathe in is not air but cosmic energy. Gentle, graceful breathing and movement facilitates a smooth flow of cosmic energy.
   
   
   
10. Be kind and generous in your dealings with all people. This advice has been given by many great chi kung masters throughout history. The reason is not just altruism: because our universe is intricately and organically interconnected, being kind and generous to others will result in being kind and generous to yourself. Opening your heart will greatly enhance your progress in chi kung.
    
    

The 10 Don'ts:

1. Don't stop or interrupt your daily practice. This is the most common cause of students failing to attain good results. If you practice on and off, you will not get good results even if you practice for a long time, for you will miss the essential cumulative effect of chi kung training. When you think you are too busy, or feel you are too lazy, even just a few minutes of practice will help to maintain your progress. On the other hand, don't over-practice until you become tired.
   
   
2. Don't practice in crowded, noisy, smelly, or dirty places where the air is stale or polluted. The polluted air, or negative energy, that you take in will offset the little benefit you get from your physical movements, thus making the training more harmful than beneficial.
   
   
   
3. Don't practice at noon, or when it is very hot. Past masters said that during such unfavorable times, the cosmic energy is too "forceful."
   
   
   
4. Don't practice near a cemetery, in a violently moving vehicle, or in a thunderstorm. The chi near a cemetery is too "dead" or yin. A violently moving vehicle may cause the chi in the student to flow astray, while the chi during a thunderstorm is so powerfully charged that is can be harmful to body cells.>
   
   
5. Don't practice when you are tense, irritated, furious, frightened, or anxious. These negative emotions block energy flow and are harmful to the "heart," which in Chinese often refers to the mind.Chi kung actually helps us to overcome these negative emotions (or negative energy), but if they are too overwhelming, it is better to stop practicing for the time being.
   
   
   
6. If you have any problems on your mind, put them aside, at least during your chi kung practice (After practice, if you still want your problems, you may take them back.) One useful way to drop your mental problems during practice is to be gently mindful of what you are practicing.
   
   
7. Don't have a heavy meal or a cold bath immediately before or after your training; neither should you be hungry. A heavy meal interferes with chi flow, while the cold from the water may enter your body through pores in your skin (which open up during chi kung practice).
   
   
8. Don't wear tight clothing nor practice bare-footed outdoors. Tight clothing restricts physical movements as well as internal chi flow. Negative energy from the ground may enter your feet if you are bare-footed.
   
   
   
9. Don't use force in your breathing nor exert force in your chi kung movements. It is a common misconception among beginners to think that the more forcefully they breathe, the more force they will develop. What is breathed in is not just air, but cosmic energy, and forced breathing or forced movements constrict the flow of cosmic energy.
   
   
   
10. Don't be mean or malicious in any of your dealings with people. In addition to the cosmic dimension of meanness and malice rebounding to the mean and malicious person because of the interconnectedness of the universe, at a more personal level, the negative energy generated when a person becomes mean or malicious is harmful to himself.

Related Articles:

• Getting the Best Benefits from your Training
• Aims and Objectives in Kung Fu Practice

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