How Long Should I Practice?

Different traditions have different answers. Here's mine.

Invariably, in my Qigong courses, we discuss how long a Cosmos Qigong practice session lasts. It’s important to note that every style has its own methods and traditions, and the length of a practice session varies depending on that. Cosmos Qigong is unique in that a session is much shorter compared to other styles of Qigong. I can only speak to my own tradition, but it’s important to know why this is when others may practice for 20-30 minutes at a time, and sometimes even longer.

The methodology we learn in Cosmos Qigong is extremely efficient. From the first day, we learn how to enter into a deep Qigong state, which makes even our beginning level dynamic patterns such as Lifting the Sky and Carrying the Moon already quite powerful. Add to that the skill of Self-Manifested Qi Flow, which we practice following most of our Qigong patterns, and you have a practice that gives you a lot of benefit in a short period of time. Grandmaster Wong always used to say that we in Shaolin Wahnam don’t say this to be boastful, it’s just a fact.

But if less is more, then surely more is more, right?

Not exactly.

Too much training in a short period of time leads to over-cleansing and over training. Yes, you may benefit, but training for long periods of time such as 20 minutes or more is simply too much energy for your body all at once. It needs time to process it so that you can progress gently. Revving the engine a little bit will warm your car up faster. Revving it too much will ultimately damage the engine.

When I was still in acupuncture school, and well into my training with Grandmaster Wong, I had to take the school’s Qigong class, which met for one two and a half hour-long class each week, and was mostly spent practicing different Qigong exercises. Even though none of those exercises were within my own lineage, as an accomplished practitioner you naturally apply your skills to other styles of Qigong. While this is great for learning, it’s not so great when you do it for that long in one sitting. I would leave class frequently feeling ill, requiring an enormous Qi flow when I got home to blow off all of the extra energy, and usually couldn’t sleep after class. This is definitely too much of a good thing.

If you can get life-changing results in 10-15 minutes of practice a day (at least if you’re training Cosmos Qigong), then just let it be a blessing and use the rest of your time to just enjoy yourself. I also remember how my Sifu would frequently say that we shouldn’t view our practice as a burden and a tax on our time, but rather to enhance our daily lives. This is a refreshing approach for most of us who want to feel grounded, centered, and joyful, but who also frequently short on time to do this.

Undoubtedly, you may already be aware of all of this if you have been practicing Cosmos Qigong for some time. If you’ve been thinking about adding mindfulness into your life, come check out the on-demand courses I have available. Or stay tuned to this blog for updates on 2027 classes. You can tap into the best of yourself, and it doesn’t take a lifetime to do it either.