The Yin And Yang Of Fitness – Integrating Qigong With CrossFit
- Jul 25, 2024
- 5 min read
Written by Nicole Lee, Qigong Devotee, Mentor & Guide
Nicole Lee is an experienced Qigong Teacher, Practitioner and Holistic Health mentor. After delivering thousands of classes and workshops and over a decade of devotion to Qigong, she specialises in training others to share this subtle, yet powerful modality.
As a kid, I tried practically every sport available until I found one I both enjoyed and was reasonably good at. It happened to be tennis. I played for many years but haven’t picked up a racket in a while now!
From gym addiction to life transformation at 33
As a young adult, I played some sports mainly for social benefits. When I was about 30, I started going to the gym. I wasn’t into it but felt a pressure or necessity to exercise. By the time I was about 32, I had developed what I guess was an addiction to the gym. I used to go 6 days a week, sometimes twice a day!
At 33, I completely upended my life. I left my career, sold most of my possessions, donned a backpack, and set off for South America. I took a jump rope with me to do some exercise.
In the 18 months after that, there wasn't much jumping rope. However, I did reconnect with nature and remembered my childhood love of the outdoors. Hiking became my new preferred exercise.
Hiking was more than exercise, though; it was a connection with spirit. It was a connection to something greater than myself. I have a distinct memory of being on the Inca Trail in Peru and experiencing a transcendental moment of stillness, connection, and awe.
The unlikely path to Qigong
I could never have predicted the path ahead from that point. I had never even heard of Qigong when it was suggested to me in 2012. I would never have guessed that it would become a passion for me and the beginning of both my vocation and spiritual awakening.
As I’ve traversed this Dao, I’ve been drawn deeper inward and into the great work of the Self and the purposeful contribution of sharing the practices and techniques with others. I started out simply enjoying the movement, presence, and ease that the physical forms and movements of Qigong gifted me. As my awareness expanded and I worked on healing many aspects related to my childhood and younger self, I was called into the types of practices intended to nourish my spirit — these are known as Shen Gong.
A couple of months ago, I acknowledged that while Qigong is an incredible movement therapy, as I get older, I need muscle. It’s well known now that retaining muscle and building a strong physical body into middle age and elderhood is essential in maintaining strength and mobility. It’s even associated with all-cause mortality risk. I needed to build my grandma's body (in my case, step-grandma!).
CrossFit: The yang to my yin
So, I started doing CrossFit. Can you believe it?! I barely can. I’m thinking of it as the Yang to my Yin.
I’m not saying that Qigong doesn’t help maintain physical strength, flexibility, and mobility—it certainly does. It is said:
A Daoist Master’s outside appearance is ordinary; Qigong doesn’t give you abs! Their body will have surprising strength, tone, flexibility, and endurance, enabling them to frolic through life, never fighting the flow of life or being out of alignment with their own body.
I have been enjoying CrossFit, and I’ve noticed an increase in my strength and muscle mass. I’m more toned too. I’ve also noticed some other things:
It feels a little cult-y. Everyone’s in the gym merch, and there’s a distinctive dogma.
There’s a definitive "go hard or go home" mentality, to the point of making yourself physically ill from pushing so hard. I’m not into it.
There’s a lot of terrible posture and alignment—more in fellow participants. I wonder why there’s not more awareness around that.
While they do advocate for mental and cognitive contribution, there is absolutely NO connection to spirit.
The missing connection to spirit in modern exercise
That last point is a clincher for me. When I began to consider this more deeply, I realized that in most modern exercise techniques, there is no connection to spirit. Think about it—in typical gym classes, in F45, in Pilates, in Functional Patterns—it’s not a consideration. I will acknowledge at this point that the personality of the teacher or instructor no doubt influences this.
One of the fundamental principles of Qigong is awareness of the precepts of Body, Mind, and Spirit. The practice is holistic. It’s not all about the physical. It’s about integrating the parts of oneself; we’d call it intermingling The Three Treasures.
I get it that the label "spirit" can be considered woo-woo, be associated with religion, or the pop- culture of crystal tiaras and flowing white linen. You might be reading this wondering how spirit is even relevant to exercise.
Spirit is the connection with your aliveness—your energy—your Qi. Along with your connection to the collective, nature, and the universe.
Even if you’re an atheist, it’s your connection with yourself as the creator of your life.
Integrating body, mind, and spirit in exercise
How can we not bring spirit into every aspect of our lives? Especially movement therapy and exercise. When we’re more present and aware of our energy, our posture, our alignment, and ourselves—body, mind, and spirit—we express ourselves holistically.
When we’re connected to all the parts of ourselves and we express ourselves from an integrated space, we’re not making ourselves vomit from exercise. We’re not mindlessly pulling at ski ergs or thrusting stupid heavy things above our heads.
I often speak of how Qigong is everything we do. It’s the way you breathe, eat, and engage with the world and other people. It’s how you move and connect, how you think, the expression of your emotions and nervous system.
It’s also how we exercise.
Bridging Qigong and mainstream exercise
I’d love to see Qigong paired with CrossFit, or at the classic gym. I’d love to see what would happen when body, mind, and spirit were brought into mainstream exercise. The most challenging aspect would be conditioning people to feel their Qi—it’s subtle, and most people are used to feeling muscular engagement rather than energy activation!
I’m planning on continuing CrossFit for now. I’m also planning on continuing to show up in the workout with body, mind, and spirit. When you feel your internal Qi and activate that during strength training, it really takes it up a notch.
Bring body, mind and spirit into your fitness and exercise regime. Discover Qigong with my free video series and guide here.
Nicole Lee, Qigong Devotee, Mentor & Guide
Nicole Lee is an internationally certified Qigong teacher, with training encompassing both Modern and Classical Qigong styles. Over a span of more than ten years instructing Qigong, she has witnessed the transformative impact of this gentle practice on physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Nicole approaches Qigong with reverence, advocating for a modern and contemporary perspective to make this ancient healing art accessible to those leading busy and demanding lives.
