Author: Team Qigong15

Staying motivated with qigong practice is one of the most common challenges practitioners face — especially in the early months. Two large-scale studies tracking over 5,000 people worldwide identified which motivation strategies actually produce results, and which ones don’t. Here’s what the research found, applied to qigong practice.

What Doesn’t Work

The studies, run by Professor Richard Wiseman and detailed in his book 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot, found that people who used the following strategies were unlikely to achieve their goals:

• Using a celebrity or role model as inspiration
• Focusing on what will go wrong if they don’t succeed
• Trying to suppress unhelpful thoughts
• Relying on willpower alone
• Fantasising about how good life will be once the goal is achieved

5 Strategies That Significantly Increase Success

By contrast, people who used the following five strategies significantly increased their likelihood of achieving their goals.

1. Make a Step-by-Step Plan

If you’re learning under the guidance of a good qigong teacher or following a structured course, this is straightforward — follow the instructions in sequence. If you’re working more independently, map out what you’ll practice and when. Vague intentions don’t become habits; plans do.

2. Tell Other People About Your Goals

First, get clear on what you want from your qigong practice — and write it down. Aims are long term (six months or more); objectives are shorter term and measurable. Post them somewhere visible.

Then share them — but choose carefully who you tell. Some people will encourage you when the going gets tough. Others will, for their own reasons, be indifferent or actively discouraging. Tell the first group, not the second.

3. Focus on the Positive Outcome

Regularly spend a few minutes imagining what you’ll be able to feel, do, or experience once you achieve your aims. Doing this at the end of each practice session works well. This is distinct from fantasy — it’s deliberate, grounded visualisation of a realistic outcome.

4. Reward Yourself for Progress

Don’t wait until you’ve reached your final goal to acknowledge progress. Practiced a full week without missing a session? That deserves a reward. Met a short-term objective? Reward. Rewards don’t need to be expensive — just meaningful enough to reinforce the behaviour.

5. Record Your Progress

As Peter Drucker put it: what gets measured gets managed. If you’re not tracking your practice and its effects at least monthly, you have no reliable way of knowing whether you’re moving toward your aims or away from them. A simple progress journal or tracker is enough.

Putting It Together

These five strategies work because they replace passive wishing with active structure. Applied to qigong, the combination of a clear plan, social accountability, positive focus, regular rewards, and honest measurement creates conditions where consistent practice becomes the path of least resistance — not a daily act of willpower.

For practical strategies on building the habit of daily practice in the first place, see 10 Ways to Build a Regular Qigong Practice — a useful companion to the motivation framework above.

To learn qigong the way it’s practiced at Qigong15, take a look at the online course — week one is free.

If you’re practicing real qigong — not just qigong form — one of the most common mistakes is practicing multiple exercises in a single session. This page explains why that undermines your results, and what to do instead.

The Mistake: Treating Qigong Like a Sequence of Forms

A common question from newer practitioners goes something like this: “Why practice one form per session? Wouldn’t it be better to practice Lifting the Sky, Butterfly Dancing, Shooting Arrows, and Plucking Stars all in the same session?”

It’s a reasonable question — and it reveals a misunderstanding that holds a lot of practitioners back.

The mistake is thinking that the forms of qigong are qigong. They aren’t. They’re forms — the external movements that, when practiced with correct energy and a Qigong State of Mind (QSoM), produce real qigong. Without those skills, you’re doing gentle exercise. The form is not the art.

Why Different Forms Produce Different Results

Each qigong exercise works on specific meridians — the energy channels that run through the body and connect to the organs. Different exercises influence different meridians, and as a result, produce different types of energy flow.

When you practice one form in a session, your energy flow is directed and coherent. When you practice several forms back to back, the energy flows compete and fragment — you get less of everything rather than more.

This is also why many practitioners taught by Tai Chi teachers don’t get the results they expect from qigong. Tai Chi is typically practiced as a sequence of forms performed one after another — and teachers trained in that tradition often apply the same structure to qigong. The outward movements may look similar, but the underlying approach is fundamentally different.

How to Apply This in Practice

Focus on one qigong exercise per session. Over time you’ll notice that certain exercises suit you better than others — some will produce stronger energy flow, some will address specific areas more effectively. Practicing one form at a time is what allows you to discover this.

Practicing several forms in one session — what might be called Self Manifested Energy Flow — is an advanced approach used in specific contexts. It is not the standard method for building qigong skill, and is not appropriate until the underlying skills are well established.

The qigong practiced at Qigong15 is high level, which is also why sessions are short — 15 minutes of correct practice is enough. More is not better. Overpracticing can lead to problems that come from not following instructions rather than from qigong itself.

The Broader Point

Qigong skills — entering a QSoM, generating energy flow, standing meditation — take time and correct guidance to develop. Focusing on one form at a time is part of how those skills deepen. If you’re unsure whether what you’re practicing is genuine qigong or qigong form, the Qigong vs Qigong Form page covers how to tell the difference.

To learn qigong the way it’s practiced at Qigong15, take a look at the online course — week one is free.

The ideal way to learn qigong is directly from a qualified teacher. But that’s not always possible — travel, cost, family commitments, and geography all get in the way. For the many people who are serious about learning qigong but can’t learn in person, an online course is a genuine and worthwhile alternative.

It helps to know what you’re looking for. Not all online qigong courses are equal, and a poor choice costs you more than money — it costs you time. Here’s a simple framework for evaluating your options:

Good: Learning from a well-written qigong book
Better: Learning from a good online qigong course
Best: Learning directly from a qualified qigong teacher

The goal of this page is to help you find the best online option available to you.

5 Things to Check Before Choosing an Online Qigong Course

1. Check the instructor’s credentials

What is their background? How long have they been teaching qigong specifically? Be cautious of instructors who claim expertise across many different disciplines simultaneously — qigong takes years of dedicated practice to master, and breadth of claims can be a sign of shallow depth in any one area.

2. Evaluate what’s actually being offered

A course without video is little better than a book — and a book is more portable. Check how the material is delivered: is it accessible without high technical literacy? Is there support available if you get stuck or have questions? Look carefully at the claims the course makes — do they seem realistic, or outlandish?

3. Check whether it’s comprehensive and systematic

A good qigong course should cover five qualities:

• Comprehensive — the material is complete, not partial
• Right level — pitched correctly for where you are as a practitioner
• Systematic — presented in a clear, step-by-step progression
• Beneficial — genuinely meets your aims and objectives
• Enjoyable — engaging enough to sustain regular practice

Does the course you’re considering meet all five?

4. Look at what others are saying

Search the course name and the instructor’s name online. Look for independent feedback on forums and social media — not just testimonials on the course page itself. What are people saying about results after completing the course?

5. Check for a money-back guarantee

The cost of delivering an online course is low compared to physical books or DVDs. What you’re paying for is the quality of the content — specifically, how well it helps you meet your goals. Any instructor confident in their material should be willing to offer a guarantee. A 30-day money-back guarantee is a reasonable minimum.

A Course That Meets All Five Criteria

The Qigong Secrets Home Study Course was built with each of these criteria in mind. It’s a structured programme with video instruction and a clear progression from foundations to advanced practice — and you can work through it at whatever pace suits you. A free preview is available so you can evaluate the course before committing. If it’s not right for you, that’s fine — but it’s a strong place to start your search.

In PERFECT Qigong, the R stands for Relax — and one of the most powerful tools for achieving genuine relaxation is Smiling from the Heart. It sounds simple. It is simple. But the science behind why it works is worth understanding, because it changes how you approach the practice.

What Science Says About Smiling

There are two types of smile worth knowing about:

• The Duchenne smile — a genuine smile that reaches from the mouth all the way to the eyes, named after the 19th-century neurologist who first described it
• The Pan Am smile — a surface smile involving only the mouth, named after the trained expression used to greet airline passengers

The intuitive assumption is that only a genuine Duchenne smile produces health benefits. Recent research suggests otherwise. Even a physically induced smile — one where the face is mechanically arranged into a smiling position, without any emotional trigger — produces measurable effects:

• Lower heart rate
• Reduced stress levels
• Improved immune function

In one study, volunteers holding a pencil between their teeth (which forces the lower face into a smile position) reported feeling happier than volunteers holding the pencil between their lips (which forces a frown) — without either group being told why they were holding the pencil.

The finding is straightforward: you tend to feel whatever expression you wear on your face, even when that expression is physically rather than emotionally generated.

What This Means for Qigong Practice

This is why Smiling from the Heart is built into the PERFECT Qigong system as a deliberate practice tool. If even a surface smile shifts your emotional and physiological state, a genuine, deep smile — one generated from the heart rather than the face — produces effects that go considerably further.

Smiling from the Heart in qigong is not about performing happiness. It is a skill: the deliberate generation of a warm, genuine inner smile that permeates the practice and deepens relaxation and energy flow in ways that a neutral or tense state of mind cannot.

A Common Mistake to Avoid

If you already practice Smiling from the Heart, make sure you’re not keeping it locked inside your formal qigong sessions. It is a skill you can apply at any point during the day — while walking, working, or waiting. The more consistently it’s practiced outside of formal sessions, the more natural and powerful it becomes within them.

Where to Learn It

Full instructions for Smiling from the Heart — written, video, and audio — are available in Smiling From The Heart, along with guidance on the other six steps of the PERFECT Qigong system. For an introduction to the system itself, see the PERFECT Qigong page.

One of the most common points of uncertainty for qigong students — new and experienced alike — isn’t how to practice. It’s which practice to commit to. Which exercise set. Which teacher. Which style. With a tradition spanning thousands of years and dozens of schools, the options can feel overwhelming.

A simple decision-making approach, borrowed from a children’s game, can cut through that uncertainty quickly.

The Hotter/Colder Method

You’ve probably played Hotter/Colder as a child — someone hides an object, and as you move around the room they tell you whether you’re getting warmer or colder. You don’t need a map or a plan. You just follow the heat.

The same principle applies when choosing a qigong path. When facing two options, ask yourself honestly: which one feels hotter?

Not which one looks more impressive, or which one a friend recommended, or which one seems most rigorous. Which one genuinely draws you?

Applying It to Qigong Decisions

Here are the kinds of choices where this approach is useful:

• Which exercise set to focus on — The 18 Lohan Hands is a complete set with broad health benefits. Zhan Zhuang builds internal force through stance training. Ba Duan Jin is gentle and widely practiced. Which feels hotter to you right now?
• Whether to learn from a teacher or self-study — Learning directly from a qualified instructor produces better results, but isn’t always accessible. An online course is the next best option. Which path is actually available to you — and which feels more sustainable?
• How much time to commit — 15 minutes daily practiced consistently produces better results than an hour practiced occasionally. Does a shorter daily commitment feel hotter than an ambitious schedule you won’t maintain?
• Which health focus to prioritise — Some people come to qigong for physical health, others for mental clarity, stress relief, or spiritual development. Which of the five main reasons people practice qigong feels most relevant to where you are right now?

You Don’t Need Certainty — You Just Need a Direction

Many qigong students delay committing to a practice because they want to be sure they’re making the right choice. But certainty rarely arrives before you begin. What the hotter/colder method offers isn’t certainty — it’s a direction. And a direction is enough to start.

You don’t need to know what your practice will look like in five years. You just need to decide whether one option feels hotter than another — and then follow it with consistency and commitment.

The real challenge, as any honest teacher will tell you, isn’t choosing a path. It’s staying on it. For practical guidance on that, see 10 Ways to Build a Regular Qigong Practice.

If you’re hoping qigong will help you lose weight, the honest answer is: it depends on why you’re carrying excess weight in the first place. Qigong is one of the most powerful tools available for health and vitality — but it is not a fat loss tool in the conventional sense. Here’s what that means in practice.

When Qigong Can Help With Weight Loss

If your weight is linked to emotional eating — overeating under stress, anxiety, or emotional pressure — then qigong is an excellent and genuinely effective tool. The relaxation, breathing, and energy flow components of correct qigong practice work directly on the emotional root causes of unhelpful eating habits.

Qigong is particularly strong at addressing problems with an emotional cause at their root. For conditions like stress, anxiety, worry, and mild to moderate depression — all of which can drive overeating — it is hard to match. If this describes your situation, exercises like Green Dragon Separating Water and Butterfly Dancing in Front of Flowers are worth exploring, alongside the guidance on the best qigong exercises for depression.

When Qigong Alone Is Not Enough

If your weight is not linked to emotional eating, qigong on its own is unlikely to produce meaningful fat loss. This is not a criticism of qigong — it reflects what qigong is for. Qigong generates and cultivates energy; it is not designed as a calorie-burning exercise. Expecting it to function as one misunderstands the art.

Fat loss, when not emotionally driven, comes down to energy balance — consuming fewer calories than the body uses over time. Qigong does not directly address this equation.

What Qigong Does Contribute

Even where qigong is not the primary fat loss tool, it contributes meaningfully to the broader picture of health:

• Reduces stress — a significant driver of both emotional eating and hormonal conditions that affect weight
• Improves emotional stability and resilience
• Supports energy and vitality, making other healthy habits easier to maintain
• Promotes better sleep — poor sleep is closely linked to weight gain

In this sense, qigong works best as part of a broader approach to health rather than as a standalone fat loss solution — unless, again, emotional eating is the root cause.

Practicing Qigong Correctly Makes the Difference

Whatever role qigong plays in your health goals, the benefits above only apply when it is practiced correctly — as qigong, not just qigong form. See Qigong vs Qigong Form for a full explanation of this distinction.

If you’re new to qigong or want to build a practice with genuine health benefits, learning qigong online is a practical starting point — or explore the qigong exercises section to get familiar with the 18 Lohan Hands set.