The Best Time …and Place to Train
By Paul Cavel
In ancient times, internal arts training often started just before dawn and was usually done outside. Taoists found that morning practice not only warms up the body’s systems by circulating blood and chi, but also wakes up the intuitive aspects of the mind. Starting the day on solid footing enables your positive potential to manifest more so than skipping the opportunity because it allows you to check in with yourself, and dial in and set your intent for the day accordingly.
However, the concerns in the Water Method go deeper. The natural environment and the ever-changing energies at play are considered to be of great importance. They enable and provide the support for understanding, both of yourself and universal principles which guide and give shape to reality as we experience it. This literally starts with standing under the stars and tuning into the Elemental and Universal Energy flows, so you can eventually harmonise with them. Taoists say that your path will be wrought with influences, so it helps to have experiential knowledge of what is real and what is false, what is you and not you. Then you can stay true to yourself and less easily become swayed.
The Time of Rising Chi
Dawn is the time of rising chi, which allows you to blend with and most easily access the rising chi of the planet. Tuning into the rising wave of chi arouses the senses and the mind, making it possible to draw upon this freely available, abundant source of energy. Early morning practice aids in helping you sync with our mother of all mothers, the Earth.
Training with THE HELP OF Trees
Of course, practising in nature – whether in your garden, a park or a rural setting – aids in forging a stronger link to these natural energies. This occurs for two primary reasons: first, to some degree, you are insulated from the chi of the environment all the time you remain indoors, inside modern buildings made of synthetic materials; more importantly, trees act like a conduit for chi – sucking it up from the earth via their roots, and billowing chi out into the atmosphere through their branches and leaves in the morning, with the rising sun. They draw chi in and sink it back down into the earth in the evening, with the setting sun.
Training near trees naturally magnifies chi flows, especially those associated with the Wood Element. Trees can help you strongly circulate your qi, blood and other bodily fluids, which literally flushes the body with life-sustaining nutrients, and pushes waste and toxins out of the physical body and stagnancies out of the etheric field.
Over time, you can become ever-more sensitive to the distinct qualities and subtleties in chi from the various elements in your environment. This, in turn, helps develop your awareness of your own chi as well as that of others.
Diminish Psychic Interference
Psychic energy is also a factor when considering when and where to practice. The depth of psychic interference changes from place to place, as do all levels of chi, but it also changes according to the time of day. The most psychically clear time is an hour or so before dawn. The most disturbed times are lunchtime and after work since activity levels are at their height as people emerge from their working environments and begin to awaken different aspects of their consciousness. The earlier in the morning you practice, the less psychic inference you will experience.
Modern RESEARCH
Scientific studies focus on more practical aspects of morning practice, such as sustainability of training over time, increased metabolic rate for prolonged periods and appetite regulation. Of all the benefits, the most promising findings shed light on the complex and multifaceted mind-body link. It is widely accepted that regular exercise can improve mood, mental health and well-being, but, as studies are refined and potentially misleading variables can be better accounted for, we are learning more about the inextricable feedback loop between the mind’s intent and the performance of the body’s major systems (e.g., circulatory, digestive, endocrine, immune, lymphatic, nervous and respiratory). Getting your body up and running optimally at the start of your day provides momentum for healthy and balanced operations all day long, heading off stress spikes and keeping emotional swings in check — before the dam breaks.
Practice In Your Own Time
Getting up before dawn could be challenging for anyone on a daily basis, so don’t let the great be the enemy of what is good for you. If you find it too difficult or impossible to practice in the morning – even on rare occasions – don’t use this information as a weapon against your practice.
Ultimately, training at a regular time, no matter what time, will yield better results than no time. You can quickly dismiss any thoughts of “I didn’t get to practice this morning, so I won’t practise at all”! The best time to practise is when it feels right for you with some sense of commitment to meet yourself there each day. That said, if you can find even a few minutes in the morning to practise, you might also find that you naturally maintain your training rhythm while reaping maximum returns on your time investment.
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