Health and Fitness

Most Western doctors and researchers describe the ageing of the human body as being similar to the ageing of man-made machines. The damage can be periodically repaired leading to an extension of the machine's functional lifetime, just as is routinely done with cars.  But what if we could postpone the effects of ageing before any damage occurred?   Aerobic exercise has been shown to prevent memory loss, heart disease, diabetes, depression and obesity. Weight training stops our muscles from shrinking as we get older. But what about our internal organs? Because we can't see them, we tend to only think of them when something goes wrong with them. But it's the internal organs that govern the body. They are the key to living young and having excellent health. There is only one way of exercising the internal organs and that is through the practice of Qigong and Qigong self-massage.  Qigong is quite literally exercise for the internal organs. Not only does it protect the internal...

INVEST IN YOURSELF At the Shaolin Temple, we get up every morning at five-thirty, and go for a run up the mountain. This is like putting money into a saving’s account. If we do not have the stamina then we will not be able to practice the skill. When we come back from the mountain, we practice five basic stances, five basic kicks and stretching. Learning martial arts is no different from learning maths or English, if we cannot add two plus two then we cannot progress to algebra, if we cannot read the alphabet then we can never read Shakespeare. This is the reason we study these very basic skills. Only when our body is getting stronger do we then start to learn some internal and external forms, and only when our master feels we are ready do we progress to studying fighting punches and kicks and then start to fight in the ring. THE IMPORTANCE OF QI We also practice body conditioning. I specialise in Shaolin Steel Jacket. The reason I specialise in Shaolin Steel Jacket is because I am sma...

“Bodhidharma travelled to the East to teach these two Yi Jin and Xi Sui classics. A bird like the crane is able to live long, an animal like the fox can be immortal, a human who cannot learn from these classics is worse than the birds and animals.”   The Mind and Body of a Buddha   Ee Jin Jing makes your muscles and tendons strong, flexible, fast and powerful while building up the health of your internal organs. Xi means wash and Sui means bone marrow.   Xi Sui   means clean your bone marrow. The aim of Xi Sui Gong is to detoxify the body and cleanse the unhealthy aspects of the mind. The highest aim is to help us reach enlightenment and give us the mind and body of a Buddha. But even if we can’t gain enlightenment in this lifetime, the least this Qigong can do is give us a long, healthy, and peaceful life.   Connecting With Our True Nature     It is vitally important that we use our heart to train, not just our body. We can train as regularly ...