Is it OK to practice to Qigong or meditation during an eclipse?

Great question came in this week! "Maria, should I practice meditation, Qigong or other energy practices during an eclipse?" In this quick insight (only 12 min) episode I share about why we do, or don't practice Qigong, mediation and healing work during eclipses and in other whether conditions.  Please join me!

Transcript episode #049 | The Art Of Tuning In Podcast with Maria Furlano

0:01

Intro - Welcome to the Art of tuning in podcast with Maria Furlano, sharing insights, tools and conversations to inspire your energetic well being.

0:13 Hello, everybody, welcome. This is Maria Furlano. Thanks for being here on the art of tuning in podcast. I have a question that I received this week. And it's it's timing based because we're moving into eclipses. We have a lunar eclipse coming up this Wednesday on May 26. And we have, I believe, a solar eclipse coming up on June 14. And Laura sent me this great question this week. So thank you, Laura. And your question, is

"Maria, is it good to practice meditation or Qi Gong? Or other energetic practices during eclipses?"

Perfect question. And I have an answer for you. So thank you, first of all, for sending in your question. I really do appreciate when you guys do that, because it really helps me know what it is you're interested in.

1:11

So first of all, I will get right to the point. It is not suggested in meditation or Qigong to practice when there is an eclipse being it solar, or lunar.

1:26

We're talking about the timeframe of the Eclipse. So we're not talking about all day, we're talking about before the Eclipse, during the eclipse and just after the Eclipse.

1:39

So depending on where you are in the world, you will need to look at of course what timeframe that is for you, if you are looking to put your practice around that. But the reason is, is because when we do Qi Gong, and I'm going to talk about a couple other weather conditions as well. This is really an episode about when to practice and when not to practice Qi Gong, because we do have times when we just don't recommend it.

2:09

We absorb nature, we absorb the energy of nature, when we practice meditation when we practice Qi Gong, when we practice Tai Chi.

2:20

When we practice, energetic practices part of what we are doing is we are connecting with the energy of nature, we are connecting with day evening, we are connecting with our surroundings. This is another reason why when we do practice energetic arts, we don't, for example, do our Qigong practice on top of let's say, a dump site, right? We do it in healthy, clean areas, because we are absorbing the air quality, we are absorbing the natural environment. So where you practice and when you practice does make a difference in how you build your cheat.

3:08

When there is an eclipse going on, it is considered that the energy at that time is unstable. Now, that's not a bad thing. It just means that things are shifting, things are moving in a different way. And that if we put ourselves in an energetic practice, where the energy at that time is unstable, it's not good for our own energy. 3:31 And I want to point out because I know a lot of healers, listen to this podcast and take my courses. And if you're doing the healing work, including in person and including distance healing work, it's also not advised to do that healing work during eclipses. Nor, of course, is it advise to receive a healing during an eclipse. And again, this is just because the energy at that time is considered fluctuating and unstable. And when we're doing that kind of work or receiving that kind of work, we want groundedness we want to have alignment with what we're doing.

4:12

So what can you do during an eclipse? Well, you can watch it, if you can see it, but if you really want to do something that connects with yourself, I really suggest journaling or creating art. If you're feeling like I want to do something in this energy that's creative. Those two things will allow you to be with the energy and creating but not having you go into a different state like you might do during your meditation, or your Qigong or your Tai Chi practice.

4:47

And other conditions that we generally say not to practice Qigong or meditation or Tai Chi in if you're outside and there's a lot of wind so on a very windy The day, it can be warm wind or cool wind or cold wind, it doesn't matter the temperature, it's the blowing of the wind on the body that we tend to move away from. Even if you wear a scarf to protect your neck. And you know, if you've trained with me, I talk constantly about wearing a scarf and protecting the back of your neck. And that is because when we expose the back of our neck to wind or cold, that can actually seep into the body and not only cause physical aches and pains, but it can cause us to not feel well. Wind should not be blowing on us while we practice. And this includes a fan, it's not advisable to stand in front of a fan and do your practice of meditation, or Qi Gong or Tai Chi or give a healing or receive a healing with a fan blowing on you. Because when we're doing energetic practices or receiving energy, all of our pores in our body will open, we have energy moving, we have circulation moving. And as we open to the energy, we are actually opening to this wind that's constantly blowing on us. And that is not healthy.

6:17

When it's really, really warm out. Now, if it's just summertime, and it's warm, that's okay. Although we always suggest that you practice Qigong in the early morning hours, or you practice in the late or early evening or evening hours when it's cooler.

6:37

But let's say that it's really, really hot out that we're dealing with, you know, extreme kinds of heat. Naturally, I mean, it would make sense to most people, we would not practice Qigong during that time, or Tai Chi. Meditation may be a little bit different, because it's very quiescent, and very calming. We really want to just rest the heart rest the energy during when it's really, really warm. We don't want the body to have to exude any more energy, you know, we don't want it to have to output because the body's already working really hard to keep us nice and cool. Taking a nap this time would be great, or just sitting in the beautiful shade and just let your body rest.

7:24

The other thing that we don't tend to practice in even though it is beautiful, it's so beautiful, is heavy fog. And that's a real temptation for me, because I actually love the fog. And there is just such a beautiful mystic quality about the fog. But it isn't advisable in heavy fog or in rain, or in any kind of real damp condition. And the reason for that, again, is because our pores are opening, we are exposing our body to dampness to coldness, and that seeps into the body and can cause aches and pains and feeling unwell. 8:08 Also, as a side note of that, we tend to stay away from sitting on cold benches, if you were to sit on, let's say, cement bench. The problem with that is that the cold from the bench can actually seep into the joints of your hips. And over time, especially if you do that over and over again, that can cause problems in the bones and the joints. We are very, very cautious and aware of conditions that hit the body.

8:44

The other thing that we don't practice in is thunderstorms and lightning. And this is more besides the fact that if there's rain and things like that, but now we're talking also about practicing indoors. We don't practice indoors or outdoors in thunderstorms or lightning, the energy is fluctuating we have turbulent energy with the skies with a storm. But also because when we start to meditate, or we go into Qi Gong. If you're new to Qigong, Qi Gong is really a moving meditation, you're doing movements that move the energy in the body that clear the energy in the body that cultivate or strengthen the energy of the body and Tai Chi as well. And when you're doing these movements, your whole nervous system begins to relax and you move into a really expanded state. So if you're practicing that, and then all of a sudden there's thunder, or there's lightning, this actually will jar are energy and it shocks the energy of the heart. Now we're talking about the hearts energy, meaning that it startles us and that is not We want to happen when we are practicing. 10:03 If for some reason you are startled when you're practicing your energetic work, you know, maybe somebody slams a door or the doorbell rings or the phone goes off or a car alarm goes off, you know, there's there's a million things, siren. If something like that happens during your practice, you want to pause, whatever you're doing, meditating, moving, whatever it is, and you want to quickly drop into your belly, and breathe deeply into your belly. The reason why we do this as we want to anchor the energy of the heart, and then of course, breathe into your feet. Or if you're seated in meditation, you want to breathe into the earth, you just want to take the time to calm the startling of your heart. If you have been startled, you'll feel your heart begin to race, you want that to calm completely before continuing. And if you need to pause, you still want to calm completely before ending your practice and coming out of it. So that's just a general rule of thumb. And also, of course, why thunderstorms and lightning are not the best way to practice.

11:15

So just a real quick episode today to jump in here and answer that great question from Laura. Again, I appreciate it.

11:24

I hope this helps you in your practice if they brought up more questions for you or something that you didn't understand. Contact me at the art of tuning in.com Let me know I thank you all for listening. Have a great week and a great eclipse and I will see you next week.

11:43

Outro - Thank you for tuning in. If you'd like to learn more and elevate your energetic well being I invite you to visit theartoftuningin.com where you can learn all about our online studio. I look forward to meeting you there.