I'm in my eighth week now at Original Yin Qi Gong Gym and I haven't felt this good in a long time.  There are still things that I'm unsure about, but there are many, many things I am grateful for.  And one thing I'm sure that Albert is a very gifted healer and I'm sure that I am a breathing fool.  I'm falling ever more in love with breath, not just the unconscious, in-and-out breath of survival; I'm in love with the full, deep, muscle-stretching, bottom-of-the-spine-flattening, clear-out-the-stagnate-and-blocked-energy kind of breath.  Albert's focus on breathing deeply - "Big chest, big chest!" - may be the biggest gift I've received from him.  In this breathing I have found incredible physical and emotional release, expansion, and full-body-tingling joy.  The rub is that this kind of breathing comes after and as a result of Albert's unique and painful style of stretching (see blog post "A Lesson in Pain" for more on his stretching).  However, having worked hard at building my strength over the last month, I am better able to handle this stretching.  It helps too that Albert has eased up on the severity and frequency of the stretching.

The other important parts of my recovery have been an improved diet and lots of rest.  Neither of these things has been particularly easy.  Treat-food is what I normally turn to when I want a reward for hard and painful work or when I'm feeling lonely.  And slowing down so I can rest has its challenges when there is so much that I'm inspired to do and create.  But it has been overwhelmingly worth it, probably more than I know.  If you ever get the chance to take a couple of months off, or longer or shorter, to just rest and heal and reinvigorate your body, go for it.  To be in a natural state of vitality is a second chance: a second chance for your body to be fully alive and a second chance for you to get clear on your values and choices about how you want to live. 

My body needed healing mainly due to three years of living in a house that had mould and probably a carbon monoxide leak.  I've learned that mould and carbon monoxide can have debilitating and lasting impacts on health.  My main symptom was regular periods of exhaustion.  Women can experience greater impacts than men, and certainly my ex-wife had greater health difficulties than I.  It is not easy to trace the symptoms back to mould or carbon monoxide, so I encourage some research if you think you might be affected by either or both.  www.carbon-monoxide-survivor.com is one resource that may be helpful.

I believe I have more recovering to do, but I am very grateful for the increased energy and strength I'm experiencing.  I fully endorse Albert's work and his Qi Gong Gym, albeit with an important caveat:  he is not interested in those looking for superficial or quick-fix healing.  What is very important to him is that he and his clients have what he calls a 50/50 relationship.  He does 50% of the process with his stretching and guidance, and the client does the other 50% with putting in time and effort with training and with lifestyle and diet improvements.  He is clearly of an eastern ethos where discipline and respect are paramount.  Clients who come to dabble stimulate frustration for Albert.  This healing is his passion and he wants to inspire others towards vitality by teaching them what he's developed.  Like any teacher, the students who put in the effort are usually the ones most enjoyable to teach.  Teachers who inspire me the most are ones who find a way to inspire commitment and discipline in the more challenging students, without burning out of course.

Sometimes I question whether Albert could have more compassion and different approaches for the clients who are not as committed or disciplined as he would like.  But compassion is a slippery art; it can slide into enabling and/or a depletion of energy for the healer or teacher.  Albert practices a fierce compassion; he wouldn't be able to treat us all us much as he does otherwise.  I'm not sure how artful his practice of fierce compassion is.  It may be great; it may have room to improve.  I'm not sure because I have much to learn about fierce compassion.  Another reason I'm here is to recover from sliding too far towards the enabling and depleting side.

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