Two Minute Health Tricks From The Shaolin Temple Of Zen

Training in Shaolin Martial Arts is a lifestyle that involves eating well, working out at least an hour five times a week as well as practicing Qigong. But if you're finding that you're busier than usual and can't fit in your regular training, one of these quick practices can still keep you on the Shaolin path.

 Green Tea

Green tea is the best food source of a group called catechins. In test tubes, catechins are more powerful than vitamins C and E in halting oxidative damage to cells and appear to have other disease-fighting properties. Want to find out more about the health properties of drinking green tea? click here 

Qigong Workout Press Ups

Just doing ten Qigong press ups from my Qigong Workout every day will increase your upper body strength, and increase the flexibility of your back. A strong back is the foundation of a fit and healthy body. These press ups work the triceps hard so when you do regular press ups you'll find them easier.

Instant Health Massage

Don't have time to do Qigong? Five minutes of the Instant Health Massage after you've stepped out of the shower will increases circulation, stimulate the lymphatic system, open the meridian lines and act as a natural battery charger. To find out more click here:

 Five minute Form

Speed up a Qigong form or slow down a Kung Fu form. Moving through these ancient Shaolin forms helps us to tap into our inner flow and access a peace that can easily be lost in the midst of our busy life. 

Eating Meditation

Don't have time to meditate? Have time to eat? Turn that into your meditation. Tune into your breath and the awareness of the food you're eating. Being aware of the food you're eating, automatically slows down your eating, aids digestion and helps reduce stress. By the end of your meal you'll feel calm and connected. You can also do a tea meditation. 

Just Do It - How To Achieve Your Dream

When I was seven years old, my mother asked me if I had dream? I said, "Yes, I want to become a martial artist." Then she asked me, "Do you know which is the highest part of your body?" I said, "My head and my hair." My mum said, "No, it's your hands." She told me, "Your mind make your dream happen but your mind cannot make your dream come true, only your hands can do that. This means, you can't just think, you need to do."

 Life is about doing, not thinking. Action not words.

I'm a martial artist. A martial artist doesn't just teach people, he also trains. If you only teach and never train then you never learn new things and you can't grow as a teacher. I want my students to make a decision: know what you want to do, make a strong plan and challenge yourself to make your body healthier and healthier. 

Take action today. 

Shifu Yan Lei teaches a graded path of Shaolin Kung Fu & Qigong. For more details of how you can learn in your home click here

The Shaolin Way To Happiness

The Buddha said the one thing we all seek is happiness. And my martial art's practice is one of my greatest sources of happiness. The ancient movements of Qigong and Kung Fu that were practiced by monks and nuns thousands of years ago on the mountains of China, give me a feeling of calm and happiness. And I can see that my students feel the same way so I have been interested to read some research that may help us understand why we feel so happy when we practice.

Aerobic exercise triggers brain growth

Recent research by Cambridge University scientists have shown that aerobic exercise stimulates the growth of new brain cells and improves the memory and ability to learn. The study was conducted on two groups of mice, one which had unlimited access to a running machine and the other which did not. The mice were put through a series of memory tests, and the mice that had been running were almost twice as successful as the sedentary mice, which got steadily worse as the tests progressed. Researchers are not yet clear on exactly why exercise triggers the growth of brain cells, but speculate it may be because exercise increases blood flow, or because it elevates certain hormone levels. Exercise has long been known to reduce stress and help with alleviating depressions and this may be because it reduces the level of the hormone cortisol. 

Martial Art’s gives us greater aerobic ability

Research by the British Journal of Sport’s Science shows that people in their forties and fifties who regularly practice martial arts have greater aerobic ability, balance, flexibility, muscle endurance, strength and less body fat than the sedentary controls matched for age and sex.

Meditation has a positive effect on mental health 

On-going research on the brain demonstrates that it can learn, adapt and re-sculpture itself on the basis of experience and training. Just as London cab drivers' grey matter enlarges and adapts to help them store a detailed mental map of the city, a meditator's brains change and adapt. Scientists are starting to become aware of what Shaolin Monks have known for centuries – meditation has a positive effect on mental health. Several neuroscientists in the US have stated that meditation increases brain activity in the areas of the brain controlling emotion, happiness and enthusiasm. Meditation can help us to feel calmer and happier and more understanding of other people.

Martial Arts Is Not Just For Martial Artists

Meditation used to be only practiced by those engaged on a strict religious path, yoga used to be practiced only by Indian Yogis but today, people from all walks of life practice, and more and more people will take up the practice of martial arts. Shaolin martial arts combines aerobic exercise with Qigong and meditation in one fully combined unit, targeting the mind as well as the body. It not only gives us an aerobic workout but it also helps us to relax, focus and maintain balance. 

Yin and Yang Training 

The Shaolin Temple have always emphasized the importance of Yang training (aerobic) which Yin training (Qigong). If a person only does one then they will not gain full benefit of the health they can achieve. Yin and Yang are like the two wings of a bird; we need both so we can fly. 

Qigong not only increases the potency of our martial arts or aerobic activity, it also lengthens our martial art’s life. Of course, an older person doesn't need to train as hard as a young person but they still need to train. It’s down to the crucial percentage factor. How much Yin training and how much Yang training. And I explain this in more detail in my book Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity.

So if you ever feel you don't have enough time to exercise, remind yourself that taking time out for your workout gives you more time. And make sure you do Yin and Yang training to get the most out of your workout. 

The best time to start training? NOW!

Heaven Is Now Or Never

 “Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train.”

Morihei Ueshiba

Whether we are fat, thin, old, young, healthy or unhealthy, we all share a mind and body that can be trained. If we step onto the path of Shaolin with intellligence and determination, I am confident that we can bring to our life the health and wholeness that we all seek.

Being healthy and whole means we take care of our minds at the same time as we take care of our bodies. Our mind plays a vital part in keeping us healthy. A happy mind makes a healthy body, and the key to happiness or unhappiness is in how we use our mind.

Most of us have minds that roam about like untrained puppies. Our martial arts practice -  whether it’s Qigong, Kung Fu or both - acts as an anchor and tethers our mind.  Once you start to workout with my DVDs, let this become a  refuge from your daily activities. A time to let go of the small self and allow the big self to concentrate on the posture and breathing.

This act of surrender creates an enormous freedom.  We just have to learn how to get out of our own way and once we can do that, we begin to harmonize with the universal life. Through our workout, we come back to ourselves. When our training session is finished and we go back to our daily life, we find that mind is clear and calm. But this clarity and calmness is just a by product. It is always important that we remind ourselves to do our workout without any goal or desire for profit.

 In the West there is a very strong emphasis on the individual and personal choice. But for all of us, our life is not just inside our body but it is a constant exchange with the life of the universe. We continually take in air, food, water, thoughts, energy, ideas, pictures. So where does the individual begin and end?

One thing that we all have in common is we want to be happy. Thich Nhaht Hanh, the great Zen master said that we can only find  heaven in the hear and now. There is no better place or better time or anywhere else to be.  The Qigong and Kung Fu that I teach on my DVDs are the Shaolin Way to Zen. Make this the year where you expect more from yourself and expect nothing. 

Click here to step on the path of the Shaolin Way Of Zen

One Small Step To Transform Your Training

 For this blog post you will need a pen and paper.

 What small step can you take to improve your health and fitness? 

Or, if you're a martial artist or fighter, what small step can you take to make your skill better?

Write it down  - writing something down increases the likelihood that you will do it.  

Don't make it ambitious - The Tao Te Ching says: "With expectation, One will always perceive the boundary" 

Make sure it's simple and doable.

If it isn't then think again.

Schedule this small step into your diary for the whole month.

Make a note of where you are now so that you will be able to see the improvement you've made.

Keep acting on this small step. (This one step is something you're going to build on later on and I'll explain how in next month's blog post. )

The famous basketball coach, John Wooden says, "When you improve a little every day, eventually big things occur. Don't look for the big quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time... and eventually a big gain is made."

The Tao Te Ching says, "A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Starts With A Single Step."

Trust in their wisdom. Trust in this small step. Don't doubt it. Just Do It. 

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Five Simple Tips To Lose Belly Fat

Whenever I go back to China, I'm so happy to see my friends and family that I eat too much delicious food, and  I'm always much heavier coming back to the UK than I was leaving. I used to be able to lose weight quickly but now I'm in my late thirties, I find it harder to shift and I notice that all the fat goes to one place: my belly. Belly fat slows a fighter down and for middle-aged people it can lead to health problems  later on. The belly is a very stubborn keeper of fat. To successfully shift weight from this place, we need to tackle it from not only a fat burning angle but also hormonal and diet. These are my top tips.

1) Eat breakfast

Studies show that people who eat a quality breakfast, consume less calories during the day as whole. If you're like me, and you like to workout after waking, then eat a banana or a healthy milkshake. I use a food processor to blend  a banana with some cashews, walnuts and milk. Food eaten before a workout boosts performance and enhances your workout.

2) Reduce Cortisol Levels

Too much stress leads to an increase in cortisol which leads to fat gathering around the belly.  Holistic workouts like Qigong balance the hormones so it's important to factor these in as part of your workout. If you're  rundown, stressed or busy then take a holiday from your workout and focus only on doing  Qigong. Once you're feeling better then do a regular workout and include strength training, cardio and interval training. Shaolin Kung Fu has all of these elements in one fully integrated unit.

3) Eat Mindfully

At the temple we say a prayer to our food before eating it and use the eating of our food as a meditation. Mindful eating not only makes us eat more slowly, and enjoy our food, it also helps us to eat less.

4) Eat less fat and sugar

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables, grains and healthy proteins.  Try to cook your own food. Avoid processed food, ready-meals, cakes and sugary drinks. I never saw cereals before I came to the West. They are full of sugar and salt. Try not to eat these types of cereals and also don't drink sugary drinks more than once a week.

5) Listen to your body

Our life is complicated enough so don't over complicate your healthy living and workout. Listen to your body, tune in to it on a daily basis and listen to your own intelligence. Your body has the intelligence of the universe, it knows what it's doing. Let it talk to you and take action on its guidance. 

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