Qigong is a very gentle form of exercise similar to tai chi, I did it as part of a physiotherapy programme and found it to be very beneficial.

I do know of the smile qigong for ME DVD that you speak of. I do not know your physical abilities so would advise perhaps just starting with the warm up exercises to see how you get on. With any kind of exercise we have to be careful not to overdo, we can always add in more slowly over time if we find we can consistently manage a certain level ( say over several weeks) without it setting off an increase in symptoms.

Hope you find the qigong as beneficial as I did.

Thanks for your input. You know if there are any free sample exercises online?

http:/www.albanyqigong.com/images/alb_qigong_8pieces.pdf

Some diagrams and explanations of some moves, although these do vary from the DVD that we mentioned.

Jen

Sorry, that link doesn't seem to work, will double check it later

You might go to www.chicenter.com which is a website for
Mingtong Gu.
or google his name and see what comes up. He might have
a Y tube demo, I don't know.
He's a very gifted Chinese teacher on the west
coast. I have taken one of his workshops, have his sound
healing and a couple other dvds. Or call 1-800-959-2892
and ask if they have any demos or free samples. It's worth a
try. The moves are gentle and focus on relaxation and moving
your 'chi' energy. I loved the classes I've taken. I agree with
Jennifer. We have to go at our own pace. Good luck with
this.

I had a weird experience going to some Qigong classes. I didn't like the instructor and there were barely any physical healing exercises. Most of it was mental meditation with a lot of new age stuff thrown in and dietary advice that I tried and didn't find helpful or practical.

I may have been better off going to a regular Qigong class that emphasizes movement.

Thanks for bringing this up, though and to Jennifer too for the link. That is something I could try too.

I have a DVD on Qigong for Detoxing that I have never tried. Maybe I will give that one a go.

Yoga is the thing that is helping me out a lot. I'm still fatigued and pretty bad off some days but my energy is little better and somehow things are getting done around here slowly but surely.

Yes, moving the energy in the body is very helpful if not critical. The more your energy flows, the healthier you will be. At least, that's what I've found in my own experience. In the beginning, I had to go very slowly with yoga so that I didn't hurt myself because my muscles were that tight and contracted. Sometimes, that meant just one posture a day. Later, I found a style of yoga called Yin Yoga that was focused on being in a posture for an extended period of time. The poses were gentle enough so that I would feel my muscles stretch and relax. Most recently, I've been able to do even a gentle flow which is something I absolutely could not do a few years ago. The main thing is to listen to your body and not overdo even if it means just doing a few of the postures in the back of the room.
Things that also help me to move energy are connecting with nature whenever possible even if it means sitting by a window and looking out if that's all you can do. Surrounding yourself with things you love is also important (it opens up channels in the body where healing can occur.) Breath practice where you follow your breath through the body is also helpful and will help one to disconnect from the head. When we're always thinking we get disconnected from our bodies and tension forms in the tissues and then we feel tight and stuck and in pain. At least those are some of things that help get my energy moving. Let your heart open to the present moment while exercising and throughout the day whenever you can so that you keep the flow going in your body. Hope this helps.

I have a friend here on DS who does qigong! She has CFS and Fibro. I'll see if can get her to comment on this thread. This much I know from her....qigong has helped her Fibro pain and mobility tremendously! She loves this. It also helped her in the fatigue part of our illness!! I've heard others say the same. It's a good thing from what I've heard, not just from my friend, from quite a few people.

Let's see if I can get her on here!!