Health and Fitness

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 He...

The world of Western traditional physical exercise is beginning to catch up with what  martial artists have known for thousands of years. Fitness is not just about burning calories and sweating. It’s about being healthy from the inside out and using breath and movement as a way to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves.  Research is revealing that this mind-body fitness not only keeps us healthy but also greatly helps to banish stress and is aids longevity. Planting the seed As martial artists, we trust that our final goal of conquering ourselves will be reached effortlessly. The goal is the seed. Through being in the moment and turning up for our martial art’s training sessions we carefully nurture that seed. When we are ready this seed becomes the goal we planted all of those years ago without us having to tinker with it or turn our thoughts to it. It’s almost like something we put away in a drawer and forgot about.  But training is not possible without some basic lev...

At the Shaolin Temple, once a disciple begins to study one of the seventy-two styles, they are given a specific Qigong and a specific recipe to make a body conditioning tincture. In the past, the monks used to lie in baths of these tinctures but today we apply this tincture to our body. After making up this tincture, the disciples then adapt it slightly and each disciple has his own recipe.   Mine is made from twenty-five natural herbs, roots and barks. Some of the herbs help the blood to flow, some help to strengthen the bones, others help the muscles to relax. This medicine can also be used for injuries, bruising, and some people say that it can be effective for repetitive strain injury though I have no experience of this so I don’t know if this is true. My own experience is in body conditioning. I used it when I was learning Shaolin Steel Jacket and I could never have endured this hard training without the aid of this special medicine. The first thing we do when we do body co...