Chi Kung and alcohol

[Casper]

Should you give up drinking alcoholic beverages once you've started practicing chi kung or can you drink beers, whine ect?

[Andrew]

Depends on the system of Chi Kung you practice. The Shaolin Cosmos Chi Kung taught by Shaolin Wahnam does not require the practitioner to abstain from anything. Some systems tell the practitioner to avoid coffee, tea, alcohol, sex, etc., etc. This is not the case with our system.

I enjoy a beer or a glass of wine or even a whisky. Actually I touched on this topic recently in a discussion with Sifu. We laughed because he was drinking a coffee and I was drinking a beer at the time.

Chi Kung should enhance your life and not make you give up things you enjoy.

Andrew

[Casper]

Thank you for your answer.
I am joyful that I still get to practice Chi Kung (Lifting the sky and Carrying the moon from Sifu Wong's books) and enjoy the benefits of my pratice and still get to enjoy a glass of beer.

[Charles David]

Caveat

To further the conversation:

If one has had problems with alcohol in the past it would be unwise to think that you can begin drinking because you are doing Chi Kung. I would hate to see someone start to drink again because they thought that their Chi Kung was going to make their problem a thing of the past. While I believe that Chi Kung could very well provide some defense against a relapse, I do not think it wise to tempt fate.

[Andrew]

This is excellent advice and an important reminder Cha. It works for smoking, drinking, drugs --- any form of addiction.

Either you do (drink/smoke/....) or you don't. There is no half way for an ex-addict.

This is also confirmed by experience. I was a smoker and quit and went back to them so many times. In fact I started Chi Kung initially to stop smoking. Now I do not even consider trying a single one any more for exactly this reason.

Andrew

[Chiahua]

Chi Kung should enhance your life and not make you give up things you enjoy...
...
This is also confirmed by experience. I was a smoker and quit and went back to them so many times. In fact I started Chi Kung initially to stop smoking. Now I do not even consider trying a single one any more for exactly this reason.
...

Interesting though, because I feel chi kung actually changes your perception of what is "enjoyable". For instance, on the discussion of mindful eating, one may start out enjoying junk food, but as your sensitivity increases, you become keenly aware of how bad the food really makes you feel. The idea of what becomes "enjoyable" shifts, making that cigarrette or Big Mac much less enticing.

[shaolin_mike]

I agree and with regards to entertainment maybe first one will enjoy getting drunk out of ones mind but as time passes and they progress they will actually enjoy being sober more
Least thats what happened to me

[parrapiti]

Vitality and "the Serene Force"

Dear fellow Chi Kung practitioners!

As of me, I would have not taken up the practice of Shaolin Wahnam Chi Kung if I had to quit coffee, wine or red meat. As a proud Colombian, I teach Shaolin Wahnam Chi Kung with several "coffee" breaks throughout the course. It is great to multiply the Shaolin arts and support the legal crops of my country!

Now, from a more serious point of view, one of the most important aspects of Shaolin Wahnam Chi Kung is the conciouss development of vitality, and several times I´ve heard Sifu Wong explain "vitality" as the capacity to enjoy life to its fullest extent. Adding to this thought, I just read Sifu Rama´s recently published book on Shaolin Chi Kung - la Fuerza Serena (the Serene Force). After a beautiful foreword by Sifu Wong, Sifu Rama starts his book by saying that "You can just exist, or you can make the decision to also LIVE...".
Life includes a lot of different kinds of pleausures. They are different for each one of us. And each of those "pleasures" has limits, after which they lose their quality and become vices. "Vitality" in Shaolin Wahnam Chi Kung gives us the capacity to enjoy Life´s pleasures and the willpower to know the limits to avoid excess. As our School recommends, one should practice Shaolin Wahnam Chi Kung a maximum of twice a day, and each session should not exceed 15-20 minutes. There is also a set of recommendations about time of the day and place of practice. Negligent practice during non-recommended times or places, or more practice than recommended would be harmful. Does that mean that Shaolin Wahnam Chi Kung is harmful? No!
Excess and bad timing and/or spacing/placing is harmful - especially if performed purposefully wrong!
The same goes for alcohol intake, coffee, sex, or any other "pleasure".
I ´ve enjoyed several great cups of coffee with Sifu Wong, several cups of good wine with Sifu Rama and I am looking forward to many more non-excessive pleasures of practice and play with them in the future.

Salud!

Piti Parra Duque

[yeniseri]

Middle way

Alcohol is not bad. It is the excess that is the problem.
If one is drinking alcohol more than practicing, then it is a distraction.

[shaolin_mike]

No I agree alcohol will not do great harm to your body if taken in small amounts. It can tend to be a hindrance if you are going to seriously take up meditation as it is not favourable to helping you focus but as for enjoying life it does help a little.
One thing I've noticd with myself is that I used to drink more on social occasions before I began practicing chi kung. Nowadays I can relax and let go by myself naturally so I feel less of a need to drink but I have nothing against a beer or a glass of wine with friends it adds to the 'enjoyment of pleasures' that parrapiti speaks of.

[Antonius]

Nice post, Piti.

[parrapiti]

Thank you Anthony!

Happy Thanksgiving to you. We don´t celebrate that holiday in Colombia, but today I´ll give thanks to all with a good Shaolin Chi Kung practice and a nice cup of coffee afterwards!

I travel to the US very often and have tought some Shaolin Chi Kung courses in Oregon in the past. I hope to be able to meet you soon, share some practice and have a nice cup of coffee or glass of wine together!

Your brother,

Piti Parra Duque

[Antonius]

Thanks, Piti. Sounds good. Good chi kung. Good coffee. Good wine. Good times.

[Chiahua]

I travel to the US very often and have tought some Shaolin Chi Kung courses in Oregon in the past. I hope to be able to meet you soon, share some practice and have a nice cup of coffee or glass of wine together!

If you teach in the Portland area, do let me know--I would be willing to help you find a good cup of coffee and some wine!
And Happy Turkey day!!! (Happy Thanksgiving, that is)

[Cragget]

G'day everyone.

I'm really happy I came across this post. Yay beer! I used to get drunk with my friends at least once a month but I don't feel I really want to these days...I hardly even feel like having beer at home after work! Now that I've been told alcohol dulls the mind, I'll be quite happy to be the designated driver. I'll save my lucidity for practice, thanks