4 Small Steps To Wellness

1) One small step

"When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur... Don't look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time." John Wooden - successful basketball coach

Taking one small step makes our training manageable. If you can keep your skill over the winter months and not lose your stamina or technique this means you are improving. If you've stopped training, then take two movements from The Eight Treasures Qigong form and practice them for a few minutes every morning. It will make you feel better and give you the motivation to keep going.

2) Integrate the training into your life

Everything we do can be an expression of our Shaolin training. When we stand in a queue we can spend that time to go over in our mind the form we are practicing. When we walk to the supermarket we can walk quickly to help our fitness. If you have kids, go to the park and play football or tag. Teach your kids how to do the Five Fundamental Stances and have fun with it.

3) Get outside

The more you stay inside the more you start to feel lazy so try to go outside at least once a week and do your training in a park or an outside space. It may be a little cold but the autumn air is cool and refreshing. Training outside can help to ground and connect us with the greater Qi.  

4) Stay in the present moment

 "The moon's reflection on the surface of the water moves incessantly. Yet the moon shines and goes nowhere; it stays but it moves"

Now never returns. Every breath we breathe can never come back. The breath that comes after is never the one that came before. Yesterday was yesterday and today is different. If we can concentrate on the here and now then we can keep our practice fresh and new.

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Shaolin Xi Sui Jing and Ee Jin Gong Qigong

The most famous Qigong forms that come from the Shaolin Temple in China are called Xi Sui Jing and Ee Jin Gong. Ee Jin purifies the muscles and tendons and Xi Sui purifies the bone marrow. Shaolin monks have trained in these two forms for thousands of years and they continue to train in these forms because they know that this Qigong enables them to be their best at kung fu.

Two wings of a bird

I am always emphasising how important it is to train in both Qigong and kung fu. Or internal and external. Even if you are not a martial artist, for good health and longevity you should train in Qigong. It is like the two wings of a bird. Qigong helps you to stretch better, kick better and punch better. Not only does it increase your speed, power, and stamina but it also increases your concentration and balances your mind and body. It gives you the strength and foundation to practice intense physical training without the fear of burn out. Qigong insures our internal organs work properly, only when our internal organs work properly can we be at our most efficient. The Shaolin monks used Qigong to help them gain enlightenment, the Taoists to live the longest life possible. We can use Qigong to stay healthy and maximise the power of our martial art. You don’t need to do Shaolin kung fu to practice Qigong, you can do Karate, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, what ever martial art’s you do, Qigong will take you to the peak of your power.

Shaolin Energy Massage

One important aspect of Xi Sui Jing and EE Jin Gong is the self-massage that we do when we’ve finished the form. At first we use a bamboo brush which has a hundred and eight bamboo rods. Massaging with the Shaolin energy brush create vibrations which relieve stress and tension in the muscles, assist in unblocking the  channels, and help the body to detox through the stimulation of the lymphatic system. It cleans the skin and helps the Qi and blood to flow properly. It acts as a natural battery charger for the body. If we are only interested in health then we continue to use this bamboo brush but if we are a martial artist then - when we move to Volume 3 of The Way of Qi Gong - we begin to use the metal brush.

Massage for fighters

When you get to this stage, it means you can use power to hit yourself and the power of vibration goes inside your bone marrow. This is one of the reasons why it cleans your body. If you want to be a fighter then you must use the iron brush to hit yourself. The stronger you are, the harder you can hit yourself and your body will feel happy. If your body can’t take the pain then it means there’s something wrong. You have to be very careful with this training as you don’t want to risk damaging your internal organs. There should never be any feelings of pain. If there are this means that your internal organs are not strong enough and you need to slow down, check your training programme and see where you are going wrong. You should never hit use the metal brush unless you are under the supervision of a qualified master.

Body of stone

The combination of Qigong and self-massage is enough to make our body strong like stone but a stone isn’t a weapon. So how do we go on to use our body of stone and turn it into a weapon? I come back again to the two wings of a bird. We need both internal and external. In this modern world, I feel that some people have lost the true meaning of Shaolin. They believe that all they need to do is focus on their fighting skills to be a good fighter, or they believe that all they need to do is focus on their Qigong and forget all about external. Or they think of Shaolin as something that looks nice but is useless. Shaolin does have performance in it but it should never be reduced to that or it becomes little more than a dance. A dance is not a martial art. A dance can not help us in the ring, it can not help us to defend ourselves, and neither can it help us to live a long and healthy life. But authentic Shaolin can. All we need to do is step onto the path and follow the steps that your master shows you or I demonstrate on my Shaolin Warrior series of DVDs.

House of health

Qigong is not a secret. It just takes practice. Focus on the breathing with the movement together. This is the key to unlocking the door. The Qigong forms are the blueprint for you to build your house with. Day by day, moment by moment your practice is the bricks that build your house of health.

It takes time and patience. When you master Qigong, your Qi begins to circle around your body from your head to your feet and back again.  You can then use your internal organs and your Qi to lift weight that wouldn’t be possible with muscle alone. This increases the feeling and power of the Qi just like we need water pressure for water to run through our taps, we practice with weights to increase the power of our Qi.

But this level of training can never be practiced alone but only with a qualified master where as Xi Sui Jing and EE Jin Gong and the Shaolin Energy Massage can all be learnt and mastered directly from my books or DVDs. These Qigong’s are not only safe but powerful. Even if done wrong, they can’t harm the body, it just means they are little more than a stretching exercise.
 

I believe that the practice of Qigong is as vital as eating and now that I’m thirty-six it’s only through my Qigong practice that I can continue to train in kung fu and keep my power, stamina and fitness level at a high level. If you are skeptical, then don’t take my word for it but discover for yourself  and see what Shaolin Qigong can do for you.

The Power of Desire: How To Find A Way To Love The Things You Hate

In order to shoot my book: Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity, I had to train harder than I usually train because I knew that I had to climb mountains with heavy camera equipment and lights and when I got to the top I had to perform Shaolin movements and jumps and kicks over and over again so it would look perfect for the book.

Before I left for China, as well as my regular Shaolin training I stepped up my stamina training. At six am in the morning there I would be on the treadmill running for one and a half hours. I began to dread the treadmill and half-way through my training I really felt sick at the sight of that treadmill!

In order to continue my training, I had to find a way to replace hate with love. I did this is by setting daily challenges for myself to run faster or further and when I achieved them I felt happy. If I had kept up the "I hate the treadmill" attitude then I would have lost my physical strength and energy. From this experience I realised an important lesson. My desire to make a good book over-ruled any objections that I had to training hard and that is the reason I found ways to keep going.

We are ruled by desire. Desire is a powerful energy which we can use in our training. Whether you are a serious martial artist or you have just picked up my martial art's DVDs with a vague interest in Qigong or getting fit, the desire is the same. We all want to live long, healthy and happy life. Shaolin training helps us to achieve this.

You may have other goals: self-defence, lose weight, get fit or be a great martial artist. Shaolin can help you do this too. But these are long term goals and we need to use the energy of desire that is right here now.

Utilise this energy into small goals and achievements. Replace negative self-talk with positive attitudes. Try swapping " I hate" to "I love" and let your mind find a way to love what you hate. Let your mind be as flexible as your body. Challenge yourself. Even if you only practice a little Qigong every now and again, begin to see yourself as a true Shaolin warrior and keep in touch with the real warrior not only when you train but when you are at work or with your family or at play.

Shaolin Qigong and Kung Fu is not just for martial artists but for anyone who wants to live a long and healthy life. e>