Qi Gong and Fatigue

[Joe Shaer]

Hello everyone,

I am a beginner and have been practicing the 8 piece brocade (standing) for a few months now. I practice twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, with eight repetitions for each piece.

1. I have just increased my repititions to ten per piece. I don't know if this is related but my muscles fatigued and my body feels somewhat drained. Could it be that I am overtained? Dr. Yang, in his video, mentioned that the 8 piece brocade should be done at least once a day so I don't think I over did it.

2. If my fatigue is from the training, should I keep training nonetheless in order to break the stagnant chi? From Dr. Yang's video, my understanding is that a person must keep "moving" and training, despite the ailment he or she is feeling, in order to break through the stagnant chi. Dr. Yang then gave the example of a person with arthritis and how they must keep moving their body and joints to free up the stagnant chi and prevent arthritis. Does this same concept apply to all ailments?


Thanks for your time.
Joe

[Moon Knight]

The 8 Pieces of Brocade is a very gentle exercise. It takes a lot of intense exercise to cause a truly overtrained state in an individual; a state where their nervous system is going to pieces.

Do you wake up with an unusually high heart rate (relative to your past morning heart rate)?

Have you had any sexual disfunction lately?

Any recurring nervous twitches or muscle spasms?

Even a yes to one of those is not even a guarantee of being overtrained, but I definitely would not worry if you do not have one of those symptoms.

First, realize that it's normal to feel some muscle soreness and mild fatigue the day of and/or the day after you exercise, especially if you increase the intensity of the workout. Your body will adapt soon.

If this is becomes a lingering problem though, for instance soreness lasting for more than a day after training (at least when the training is gentle like qigong) or fatigue that seems to leave your muscles at less than 90% of their normal fitness, you may have a problem.

Again, I don't believe it is overtraining. I would consider whether you are getting appropriate rest (amount, quality, and timing of sleep) and whether you are refueling your body appropriately (quantity and quality of food, and how well your body is successfully digesting the food).

Good luck.

[yeniseri]

I am a beginner and have been practicing the 8 piece brocade (standing) for a few months now. I practice twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, with eight repetitions for each piece.

1. I have just increased my repititions to ten per piece. I don't know if this is related but my muscles fatigued and my body feels somewhat drained. Could it be that I am overtained? Dr. Yang, in his video, mentioned that the 8 piece brocade should be done at least once a day so I don't think I over did it.

2. If my fatigue is from the training, should I keep training nonetheless in order to break the stagnant chi? From Dr. Yang's video, my understanding is that a person must keep "moving" and training, despite the ailment he or she is feeling, in order to break through the stagnant chi. Dr. Yang then gave the example of a person with arthritis and how they must keep moving their body and joints to free up the stagnant chi and prevent arthritis. Does this same concept apply to all ailments?

Thanks for your time.
Joe

If you are fatigued after doing baduanjin then you need to do a regimen with less movement but more breathing. Perhaps more standing (zhanzhuang / taijizhuang). Keep in mind that this may imply a nutritional base that is causing the fatigue or an age factor!

Continue with the 10-15 minutes duration for 3-4 times a day
Some things to consider:
a. weight
b. more passive stretching
c. WHR (waist hip ratio)
d. BMI (body mass index)

The last 2 you can look up. Institute walking as a life long endeavour!

[dmattwads]

Speaking of fatigue

Lately I have been really really tired and weak all the time, no matter how much sleep I get, and I'm not really sure why, or what to do about it.

[yeniseri]

TIme of sleep can affect fatigue (degree).
1. Going to bed between 2030 and 2130 is an excellent way to control the sleep/wake cycle and allow normal patterns to take over.
2. Better to eat between 1730-1800hrs so food can digest and get an PM walk. Type of food can affect fatigue.
3. If simple suggestions do not work then perhaps a medical check is necessary!

[Dvivid]

Try a fast of eating only organic fruits in the AM, and organic vegetables in the PM. Do not eat after dark. Go to bed by 10PM.

Exercise every day. Stimulate your muscles until you gently strengthen the arms, legs, and torso. The Eight Brocades is great for this.

Remind yourself to breathe slowly and deeply all day, every day, not just during your qigong.

The amount of oxygen your body can assimilate is directly proportional to the amount of energy you will manifest.

[Joe Shaer]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your replies.

I have been trying Qigong (8 piece brocade) for a few months now and I it doesn't seem to give me more energy (not that I am noticing at least). I don't know if it's because I am not getting sufficient oxygen into due to my deviated nasal septum and sinus problems. I am having surgery to fix this soon. The doc said that this will improve my sports performances much better since my nasal air passage will be much clearer. But I still expected the Qigong will give me some feeling of benefits none the less.

I believe I do eat healhy foods for the most part although I do tend to go to bed late and sometimes eat then immediately go to sleep. I should probably try going to bed two hour after eating.

[joeblast]

break a good sweat every day (or most days at least) and after a few weeks you should see a pickup.

[Lo Han]

Hey all,

My 2cents:

do a standing practice, like holding the ball.
then move on to 8 section brocade.

If you have time to learn and practice,
Xingyi 5 fists and Bagua circle walking
will also reap in the benefits.

This should help in general and with the fatique stuff.

Good luck and be relaxed and persistant,
Lo Han

[clairvoyager]

There's been some good posts already so I'll just say this.

Qigong has to work, noticiably, within weeks or a couple of months at most, of daily practice. The changes may be subtle, but there needs to be changes, for the better. Otherwise you are training incorrectly.

Tune in to your inner awareness, see what makes you feel refreshed or tired, exercise your awareness all day long to find that out. Seek a qualified qigong teacher and ask. Books, DVDs, and internet forums, can only give you guidelines, but if you don't know how to adapt them to your circumstances, then they can instead mislead you.

Good luck and be sure to report back with what you find, we will all learn.