Things to know before practicing Chi Kung

. Don’t practice on a full or empty stomach. Just like any other form of physical exercise, practicing on a full or empty stomach will harm you. If you feel a little hunger when practicing in the morning, swallow your saliva.

. Don’t practice when you are emotionally unstable. It will harm your spirit and help negative emotions grow in you.

. Don’t practice when you are distracted, either by your thought or other external factors. Your mind needs to be calm and concentrate in order to focus both internally and externally.

. Don’t practice when you are extremely tired. Rest first.

. Don’t practice in the rain, or windy outside. Even sudden change in weather will effect your chi, making it unsuitable for practicing chi kung.

. After practice, don’t eat or drink immediately. It will cause the chi you have cultivated to scatter, because consuming food or even drinking demands chi to the spleen.

. Don’t engage in sexual activity 2 hours before and after practice, until you have mastered the way of managing sexual energy. Do so will drain out the energy you have just cultivated through practice. If the chi is not in the right place (kidneys) during sex, your body will then draw energy from the bones and marrow, which will in turn weaken your body.

. Don’t use too much strength. Inappropriate use of muscular strength will block off the chi circulation, causing stagnant chi which in turn causes illness. Don’t expand your chest and tighten your abdominal as they teach in the military. It will cause your chi to rise to your chest, causing discomfort in the chest area. And don’t force your breath, it will cause you to become tense and unnatural. In his condition, chi will not flow smoothly. All these three "don’t" are known as the "Three Harms" in internal school.

. Women who practice during menstruation are fine. But in some cases, it might cause a heavier flow of period, because chi kung causes more blood to circulate in your body. If discomfort develops, slow down or stop your practice until you feel better.

. People in old age with high blood pressure should avoid bringing chi to the higher centers such as the head and the chest. Because "Wherever the mind goes, the chi will go. When the chi goes, the blood follows". This is the basic principle of internal art. The same rule applies to people with low blood pressure, so avoid bringing chi to your feet.

. Don’t practice during pregnancy until you have check with a qualified Oriental-Medicine doctor, or a chi kung sifu.

. Do practice diligently and persistently. Although you might not be able to feel anything for the first few weeks, persistence practice is the key. It is said in internal school that: "One day of practice will gain you a day’s worth of experience. But a day of non-practice, will lose you ten days’ worth of experience." If you practice everyday, your rate of progression is constantly increasing. If you stop practicing, your rate of progression will drop. It is like driving a manual car with unlimited gears. You are constantly up shifting. But if you have to come into a stop, you will have to start from idle to first gear again.

. Maintaining a good posture: head should feel like it is suspended by a string, tucking in your chin gently, shoulders dropped, relax the sternum, and round your chest. Also touching your tongue to the roof of your mouth, gently lift up your Perineum (Hui Yin) point, and tilt in your tailbone. This will connect your Microcosmic Orbit channel and help you support your weight on your skeletal structure. This posture should be kept in every practice.

. Closing form: after each practice, whether it’s been an hour or a minute, you must collect your chi back to the Dantien. It will help you avoid unnecessary side effects.