Qi Gong and chronic pain

This is really part 2 in my Qi Gong story and it will not be the last part! Last week I wrote about how I  started out and how much I liked it. As I have chronic pain problems myself in shoulders, neck and arms I was amazed how well I was doing the first 2 weeks I was practising.

That was when an old enemy reared it’s ugly head. Overconfidence. Even for me it is hard to stick to the guidelines of being gentle to my body and not overdoing it under certain circumstances. Maybe they are familiar?

•    I have been doing this for a while now and all is going well, I can move ahead faster.
•    When in a group and there are people who are older than me, or other people with health issues I get the urge to do better.

The last one is a problem for me, I know intellectually that it is wrong and silly but often the body just wants to compete.

This happened a week ago during class. As so often my pain warnings don’t come at once but boy did they come that night! A sleepless night with headaches and severe pain in my shoulders.

At this point it is so easy to give up. To say, ‘See this is not right for me after all. My body can’t take this.”
If that happens to you, be honest. It is not the Qi Gong that made me feel bad, it were my own thoughts about how I wanted to behave. So I did not quit and did very gentle exercises that week, respecting my body.

During the next lesson I was honest and told the group what had happened and what had triggered it. This has the advantage that now the teacher and the other group members will help me not to over perform as well.

Needless to say this week’s lesson went a lot better and I have learnt some valuable lessons.
•    Respect your body
•    Take it easy and stick to your schedule, even if you think you can do more
•    Don’t go it alone, inform others of your weak points and ask for help! Or     ask a friend to give you honest and critical advice.

I would love to read other people’s experiences in this area.