Setting up a daily qigong practice is straightforward — maintaining one is where most people struggle. If you’re finding it hard to stay consistent, you’re not alone. Here are 10 strategies that have worked for practitioners of chi kung (also written as qigong) over the long term, drawn from over a decade of daily practice.
- Set a Fixed Time — Choose a time each day when you’re unlikely to be disturbed, and protect it. Negotiate with family or partners if needed. The goal is a non-negotiable slot: “It’s 8pm — time for qigong.”
- Get Up 15 Minutes Earlier — We spend a third of our lives asleep. Shifting your alarm by 15 minutes is a small ask for a practice that pays back considerably more. Prepare your clothes and space the night before so there’s no friction when the alarm goes off. That warm, comfortable “I can’t get up” feeling disappears the moment your feet touch the floor — and it’s replaced by something much better.
- Make a Contract — Accountability works. Tell someone what you’re committing to, and agree on a consequence if you don’t follow through. One approach: for every day you skip practice, you owe a set amount to someone you care about. For every 28 days you maintain it, you give yourself a meaningful reward. Written or spoken, make it feel binding — because it is.
- Find an Accountability Partner — Agree with someone what you’ll both do if you miss practice, and what you’ll do to celebrate 28 days of consistency. Having someone else invested in your progress changes the dynamic significantly.
- Increase Your Understanding — Doubt is the main obstacle when building a new qigong habit. The more you understand what you’re doing and why it works, the less doubt can take hold. Review any course materials you have, ask questions, read widely. Understanding sustains commitment.
- Be Realistic — Qigong is not a 30-day cure. It’s powerful, and you can feel effects quickly — especially if you’ve learned directly from a qualified instructor — but significant change comes from regular, correct practice over time. You didn’t arrive at your current state of health overnight, and you won’t transform it overnight either.
- Get Clear on Your Why — Remind yourself why you started. What will you lose if you stop? What becomes possible if you continue? People are motivated differently: some are driven by the reward ahead, others by the cost of not acting. Know which applies to you, and use it.
- Treat It as Sacred Time — Many consistent qigong practitioners treat their practice time as non-negotiable personal time. If the phone rings or the doorbell goes — too bad. You give a great deal of time to others. A healthy, well-practised version of you serves everyone better. Make your practice a priority, not a casualty.
- Practice With Like-Minded People — Regular qigong practice with a group is more enjoyable and easier to sustain. Being able to discuss your practice with people who understand it is genuinely valuable. If you stop 100 people on the street, the vast majority will never have heard of qigong — find the ones who have.
- Start Again — Every Time — Every time your practice stops, start again as quickly as possible. Drop the guilt. Erratic practice won’t deliver the full benefits of qigong, but restarting is always worth it. The Chinese define success simply: “Fall over seven times, stand up eight.” Never give up on something that matters to you.
If you’re struggling to maintain a daily qigong practice, pick one strategy from this list and apply it this week — just one. Consistency built on small commitments tends to outlast motivation built on big intentions.
To learn qigong the way we practice it at Qigong15, take a look at the online course — you can even try it for free.
