For the best results possible it is important to practise regularly. However, having small children can make it somewhat challenging to find the time. Before, a parent shared here on the webpage how they’ve dealt with this period of time in their lives. Now you can read what another parent has to say. To read what the first parent said, click here.
My children are now quite big (8 and 11 years old) and can do things on their own, so finding time for Qigong is not that hard. I practise when they’ve gone to bed, since they can fall asleep on their own, or when they play on the computer. I also practise on my lunch break. Since I work from home, I can choose myself when to work.
However, it hasn’t always been this easy to practise in my everyday life. I was never able to put my children in the carrier and practise while they slept, because they always wanted to lie on my stomach. So I only had the opportunity to practise when someone else watched them.
My salvation was to have 20 minutes for myself in the morning when the childrens’ father handled everything before going to work. I practised only Shenxin Qigong, because the exercise is short and effective. I never skipped my morning training, it helped me cope with the rest of the day in a good way.
My advice to Qigong practitioners who have small children is to set a routine in the morning where your partner does all the chores for 29 minutes. They can handle this. If you don’t have a partner you can try doing some Snake Arm, Dun Qiang, finger training and combing when it suits you. These exercises don’t take up much time and it’s ok if you get interrupted while doing them. Another advice I wish I’d known about earlier: Try doing La Qi before you pick your kids up at kindergarden – that will make it much smoother!
To all of you who have small children and are struggling: it will get easier! Until then; you do what you can. It’s better to do a small effort than none!
