I once received a message from someone who said:
“I’ve been practicing for many years, but instead of getting healthier, my body is deteriorating. Why is this happening?”
It reminded me of something from my teenage years, when I was still in school. One of my grandmother’s close friends passed away suddenly. I remember my grandmother saying that her friend had been physically weak and had started practicing Falun Gong, hoping to improve her health. At the time, Falun Gong was quite popular in China. But in our family, no one was really involved in spiritual practice, and we didn’t know much about these things. Honestly, we thought it was all superstitious nonsense. We couldn't understand why she would engage in that kind of thing.
Apparently, during her retreat, she ate very little—or perhaps nothing at all—for several days. Not long after returning home, she passed away. What stuck with me most was what my grandmother said:
“She must have starved herself. Why didn’t they let her eat?”
Looking back now, I realize what she was doing was most likely “bigu” (fasting)—a Taoist practice that involves refraining from food for a certain number of days. It’s often practiced in secluded environments and can last 3, 7, 14, or even 21 days—usually in multiples of 7. Nowadays, some Taoist temples in China still organize similar retreats. In addition to fasting, there are also practices where people meditate together in seclusion for several days.
But here's the key question: Are these practices suitable for everyone?
Absolutely not. Especially for those who are new to spiritual cultivation, caution is essential. You should never jump straight into intensive practices without proper preparation. Everyone’s karma, physical constitution, and energetic imprints are different. Whether it’s physical cultivation or internal spiritual work, it must always follow a gradual, step-by-step process—starting from a true understanding of your own body.
If you suddenly change your habits or open up powerful energies in your system without understanding your physical and energetic state, you may trigger latent karma and activate repressed illness energy. If your personal energy isn’t strong enough to handle this, it could result in worsening symptoms rather than healing.
Some practitioners are too eager for results. But true cultivation is not about chasing external sensations or spiritual highs. The core of practice lies in cultivating the heart—not merely listening to spiritual teachings, forcing yourself to tolerate everything, or trying to feel “connected to all things.” And it certainly isn’t about confusing merit accumulation with true spiritual growth.
The real beginning is cultivating awareness.
In awareness, you learn to see through illusion.
In seeing through illusion, you begin to dissolve the ego.
If the approach to mental cultivation is flawed, it will directly affect how your karmic energies manifest in the body. Sitting meditation, fasting, or other physical techniques are just tools—not the foundation. If you haven’t even grasped how to properly work with your mind and ego, and you rush into body-focused methods, it’s no surprise when things go wrong.
Often, the manifestation of illness isn't from the body itself—it’s from unresolved ego attachments.
The more impatient you are, the more likely you are to chase after contradictory methods. Everything seems to make sense, yet nothing truly helps, and in the end, it wastes your time.
Some people carry deep karmic imprints and have extremely chaotic energy fields. In these cases, the priority should be to restore the body’s basic functions and gradually clear energy blocks. If someone like this starts by activating side channels or tries to force open the crown chakra without preparation, it will likely release a storm of karmic illness energy, leading to worse outcomes.
That’s why it’s so important to assess your body before you begin, and to observe your body throughout the process. Adjust your practice methods accordingly, depending on how your body responds.
Physical and mental health are gifts that often come as a natural side-effect of authentic spiritual practice. It’s normal to experience temporary symptoms while clearing blockages in your energy system—but this should be short-lived. With each layer of illness energy that’s released, your body should become lighter and more vibrant.
If you’re seeing no improvement—or worse, you feel like your condition is declining—then it’s time to seriously evaluate your methods. You may need to adjust your approach before more damage is done.