Category Archives: shaolin temple

Ten Tips From A Shaolin Monk On How To Stay Young Forever

January 20, 2016anti-agening medicine, bamboo brush massage, buddha, burnt out, chi gong, chigong, chinese energy exercsies, enrgy exercises, fix stress, health and wellness, how not to be overwhelmed by the news, jade, ki gong, mindbodyworkout, optimizethebody, overcome negative emotions, peace, qigongworkout, shaolin monk, shaolin qigong, shaolin temple, shaolin temple calm, Uncategorizedanti-ageing, liveyoung, qigong, qigongbbook, tentipstostayyoungShifu Yan Lei Team

Most people realise health is the most important thing but how many people live by this belief? We usually make the excuse of having no time like a friend of mine who called to say he was unwell. I asked him to come and visit me so I could teach him Qigong, he told me he didn’t have time, I said to him, but when you are sick you will have time to go to hospital because you have no choice. The next day he came and studied with me for seven days.

We need to start today. In order to help us stay on the path to health I have translated an extract from one of the Shaolin Classics. Written by a monk who was a great martial artist and scholar, here he gives advice to lay people as to how to stay young and healthy.

Ten Tips From A Shaolin Monk On How To Stay Young

1) Don’t think too much. Thinking takes energy. Thinking can make you look old.

2) Don’t talk too much. Most people either talk or do. Better to do.

3) When you work, work for 40 minutes then stop for 10 minutes. When you look at something all the time, it can damage your eyes and also your internal organs and peace.

4) When you are happy, you need to control your happiness, if you lose control then you damage your lung energy.

5) Don’t worry too much or get angry because this damages your liver and your intestines.

6) When you eat food don’t eat too much, always make sure you are not quite full as this can damage your spleen. When you feel a bit hungry then eat a little.

7) When you do things, take your time, don’t hurry too much. Remember the saying “Hasten slowly you will soon arrive”

8)If you only do physical exercise all the time and you never do Qigong this makes you lose your balance and you will become impatient. You lose the Yin of your body. Exercise balances the Yin and the Yang.

9)If you never exercise, just peace, meditation, soft training, Qigong, then this doesn’t give you Yang energy so you use up your Yang energy.

10) Shaolin Gong Fu gives you everything. The purpose of our training is to balance our Yin and Yang. How many hours is not important. It’s down to knowing what your body needs.

Subscribe to my newsletter and get your free e-book: Instant Zen: Your 7 Day Mind & Body Workout.

5 Tips for Mastering Your Shaolin Forms

September 21, 2015chinese martial arts, kung fu book, kung fu forms, kung fu workout, shaolin temple, shaolin warrior, shaolin workoutchinese martial arts, kung fu book, kung fu download, kung fu forms, shaolin forms, shaolin kung fu, shaolin warrior, shaolin workoutShifu Yan Lei Team

Shaolin Forms teach the many muscle groups in our body to work together. They are the only exercise I’ve come across where every muscle is engaged and you’re simultaneously building flexibility, strength, endurance, balance, and power. These ancient forms teach us how to move in our modern life, whether that’s carrying our groceries home or climbing the stairs to the subway. Everything becomes part of our training: total mind-body wellness

Here’s My Top 5 Tips for Mastering Your Forms:

Learn the 5 Fundamental Stances and 5 Basic Kicks – Every Shaolin form, whether it’s Qigong or Kung Fu is made up of Five Fundamental Stances and Five Fundamental Kicks. Master these stances and kicks first before you move onto practicing Shaolin Forms.
Give It Meaning – Make sure that your breathing, movement, and even your eyes work together. Make your stance have meaning so that people can see you have a strong foundation.

Have Good Flexibility – Most people are familiar with the impressive quick fluid forms of the Shaolin Monks in performance. This is due to their flexibility. When you do the form, you don’t want it to be stiff, you want it to be fluid. Never skip the stretching part of your workout.

Use Your Heart – Use your heart to practice each movement so that your form has soul inside. If your mind shifts and you keep thinking of other things, gently bring it back. You need to be right here and now when you practice.

Slow It Down then Pace It Down- It’s a good idea to practice kung fu forms as slow as we practice Qigong so we can get the feel for the movements and get the form exactly correct. Try varying the pace each time you practice and see how if feels. The more you’ve mastered the form, the quicker you can practice.

Shifu teaches the 5 Fundamental Stances in his book Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity

He teaches the 5 Fundamental Stances and the 5 Fundamental Kicks in his DVD and download, Shaolin Workout 1 and his book Instant Fitness: The Shaolin Kung Fu Workout. (released in October)

Your Pathway To Zen

January 13, 2015bamboo brush massage, buddha, chi gong, chinese energy exercsies, fix stress, health, health and wellness, jade, kung fu, qigong, qigong workout, qigongworkout, shaolin monk, shaolin temple, shaolin temple calm, stressed out busniness man, warrior buddhist sotry, warrior buddhist story, zen buddhism chanbuddhist way to increase happiness, health and wellnes, kung fu, peace and zen, relieve stress, Rou Quan, shaoin kung fu, Shaolin Qigong, shaolin temple of zen, shaolinqigong workout, stress of modern life, you already are what you want to becomeShifu Yan Lei Team

There’s an ancient Buddhist story about a wrestler who wore a precious jewel in his hair. During a match, he received a blow to his head. Without him realizing it, the jewel dropped into his wound. When the wound healed, the jewel was covered by a scar. Every day the wrestler looked for his jewel, never realizing that it was inside him all the time.

This is the same for all of us. Peace and enlightenment are not and never have been outside our mind. All we have to do to access this great peace is come back to our natural state of being.

Just as the wrestler lost his jewel through acts of violence. We lose connection with our natural peaceful state when we give into anger, aggression and other emotions that don’t increase our or other people’s happiness.

Modern life puts a strong focus on looking outwards at some future time when things will be better. What we want – whether that’s peace or a better life – is always out there and one step away. But what this teaching instructs is: we already are what we want to become. It’s already within us. If we look beneath our hurts, disappointments and wounds, we can rediscover our jewel.

Whenever I feel disconnected from myself or my mind is turbulent I practice Qigong or Rou Quan and it doesn’t take long before my mind goes back to its natural state of peace.

Daily practice of Qigong changes the neural pathways in our brain. The founder of Zen, Bodhidharma gave us a roadmap that shows us clearly how to use Shaolin Qigong and Kung Fu as a pathway to Zen. This spacious peaceful state of mind is not only reserved for Shaolin monks but for everyone, those of any religion and those of none.

Habit energy drags us down. So set yourself small reminders that you’re on the path of the Urban Shaolin Warrior. This can be uplifting pictures and quotes from people that inspire you or – like the Shaolin Monks do – wear a Jade amulet or mala so the reminder is with you all the time. And practice Shaolin at least four times a week, even if it’s just 5 minutes a day, this is much more beneficial than a long once a week practice. And don’t forget to share how you get on in the comments below or by tweeting me.

Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout is available as a book worldwide & in the USA & Canada an ebook on apple & amazon.

Shifu Yan Lei teaches Qigong as a DVD and download and Kung Fu as a DVD and download.

Rou Quan is available as a DVD ( bottom of the page)

Jade wrist malas and amulets come from Shifu’s province in China.

Train Like A Shaolin Monk In The Songshang Mountains In China. July – August 2016

January 6, 2015kungfusummercamp, shaolin kung fu, shaolin temple, shaolinsummercampkung fu summer camp, qigong summer camp, shaolin summercamp, songshang mountains, trainattheshaolintempleShifu Yan Lei Team

Please click Shaolin Summer Camp 2016 for the updated details of the Shaolin Summer Camp 2016.

From Friday 31st July 2015 – Friday 28th August 2015 I’ll be teaching a Shaolin Summer Camp in the Songshang Mountains, a few kilometers away from the Shaolin Temple in China. You’ll train like a Shaolin Monk in authentic Shaolin Kung Fu and Qigong, three times a day, 6 days a week. You can train for a minimum of two weeks or the whole month. The focus will be on training hard! This is not a holiday. Sample Schedule: Most of your training will be done outside. You will start the day with a run up the mountain then come back and do a kung fu session with the emphasis on strength and stamina training, you will then cool down with some Qigong. After you’ve finished training, breakfast will be served. This is usually steamed bread, congee, pickled vegetables and stir fried vegetables. After breakfast you’ll rest and we’ll start our training again mid-morning, with a focus on getting your form and techniques correct. Lunch will be served at 1pm. After lunch it’s advisable to sleep to help your body recover from the hard training. In the afternoon you’ll train for another 3 hours. At 6pm we’ll have dinner. Evenings will be spent reading or doing internal training such as Qigong or meditating. I will teach in English. Who Is Is Suitable For? Anyone over the age of 18 who has a passion for Shaolin. You MUST be a non-smoker and no alcohol is allowed during your stay. Do I have to be good at Kung Fu and Qigong? Beginner’s are welcome but to get the most out of our stay it’s good to have a basic fitness level and a grounding in kung fu. No matter what level you are, you’ll be training in a non-competitive friendly environment Weather: It’s usually between 30 – 36 so we train in the early morning before it gets hot, and we train inside when the weather is at it’s hottest. You need to bring lots of training clothes. Terrain: We are based amongst the mountains. You can see one of the areas where you’ll be training in this video. PRICE: £1000 for two weeks. ( about $1520.00 US dollars) £1500 for one month. ( about $2285.00 US Dollars). You can start your training in any of those weeks.

What You Get: 1) 6 hours of training per day – This is a professional way to build up your internal and external strength. Training will be in Shaolin Kung Fu and Qigong. 2) Accommodation – You will stay in a shared room with one other person. The room has an en-suite bathroom and air conditioning. 3) Meals – All of your meals will be provided. This will be healthy, hearty, Chinese food, locally grown. Please let us know if you have any special dietary requirements, We will do our best to accommodate. What you need to provide: A valid passport and Chinese visa. Your flight to China and travel to the venue. Travel Insurance Training clothes, running shoes, training shoes, flip flops or sandals, and towels. Pocket money to buy water, and snacks. There will be the option of visiting the Shaolin Temple and the Bodhidharma Cave and you will need to pay the admission fee. Getting There: The nearest airport to Shaolin Temple is Zhengzhou. The nearest city is Dengfeng. There are regular flights from Beijing to Zhenghou, and it’s possible to book them on the day at the airport. We can arrange pick up and drop off at Zhengzhou airport. The price will be a maximum of £80.00 depending on the number of people. Once you register, we’ll try and put you with other people who are traveling to make the cost as low as possible. Address: China, Henan Province, Dengfeng City, Leijia Gou, Shaolin Temple International School. The venue is the blue dot on the map. Payment Details: Payment needs to be made by bank transfer. All payments must be made in full by 30th June. We can only accept currency in sterling pound. Cancellations for All Retreats: If you cancel 4 weeks before your arrival date, we will be happy to refund you but a cancellation fee of £100.00 will be charged plus £100.00 for the application form. If you cancel less than 4 weeks before your arrival date, there is a cancellation fee of 50% of the total contribution of your stay. If you cancel anytime in the week before your arrival date, there is no refund. Reserve Your Spot: We are a small group and places are limited so please book early. Email info@shifuyanlei.co.uk. Palmo will send you an application form, and a link to pay a non-refundable deposit of £100.00 which will be off-set from your training fee. She’s happy to answer any queries you may have.

Action Plan: 7 Ways To Live Your Best Martial Art’s Year Ever

January 6, 2015chi gong, health and wellness, High Intensity Training, HIT training and the martial artist, kug gu, martial arts, shaolin templebodhidharma, chinese ch'an, gong fu, ki gong, kung fu, martial arts, qigong, qigong workout, shaolin temple, shaolinworkout, zen buddhism, zen workoutShifu Yan Lei Team

Kick off 2015 with these actionable training tips that will reset your martial art’s focus and help you live your best martial art’s ever.

Make A Goalless Goal Shaolin Training doesn’t underestimate a person’s strength of body and mind. The masters knew how much we could achieve and they wouldn’t let us get away with anything less. The first goal young disciples have when they come to the Shaolin Temple is “Never Give Up“. Once that statement is made, it’s like sitting on a plane and knowing the destination is Beijing. We don’t need to think anymore about where we’re heading. Our mind is no longer caught up thinking maybe I should head to Chicago or London instead. There’s no way we can get off the plane, so we let go and focus on the journey. The goalless goal is away of simplifying our life.

Just Do It Forget willpower, it runs out. That’s why it’s important to train at least 4 times a week and if possible at the same time. Training like this changes the neural pathways in the brain and makes training a habit rather than something you have to make yourself do. Do you need to make yourself brush your teeth in the morning?

Sharpen Your Knife Shaolin Training encompasses the fitness of a fighter coupled with the internal training of a Zen master. You’re not training in Shaolin if you don’t train both Qigong and Kung Fu. If you do another martial art, you still need to train in both of these in order to balance your body and prolong your martial art’s life. A professional cook must sharpen her knife in order for it to be functional. Qigong is the sharpening of the knife. Kung Fu is the knife being used.

High Intensity Training High Intensity Training has been used by Shaolin Martial Artists for hundreds of years. Research has shown that high intensity training is a more effective workout than longer moderate workouts. Not only that but high intensity training is the only way to keep your metabolism high for several hours afterwards which means you keep burning calories. Moderate exercise doesn’t do this.

Get Bored In order to perfect your martial art you need to repeat the same movement thousands and thousands of times. Don’t allow pride to get in your way. Practice the movements that challenge you and you find the hardest. You have to work hard, often, and consistently in order to see results.

Stretch Dynamically Why are Shaolin monks so flexible? Because we do two types of stretching: static and dynamic. The Shaolin dynamic stretching we do are the five basic kicks, and the five stances from Shaolin Workout 1. This opens the hips and warms up the leg muscles. When our muscles are warm we then statically stretch our legs. A flexible body is a relaxed body, centered and more in tune with itself. Flexibility improves posture, makes training easier and helps the Qi to flow around the body.

Be A Disciple Of The Bodhidharma The Bodhidharma gave us a roadmap with clear instructions as to how use martial arts as a meditation. Each person who learns from me, either in person or with my DVDs and downloads is a student of the Bodhidharma. In the West we tend to over complicate things. My master never allowed me to do this. Coming from a Zen Temple meant I wasn’t allowed to ask my master many questions because if he gave me answers then they would be his answers and this would cloud my direct experience. Keep your training simple. Combine Qigong with Kung Fu. Focus on your breath and your movement. Don’t over complicate. Don’t judge yourself or others. Just do it. This means you a disciple of the Bodhidharma. This means you are training in Zen.

Shifu teaches a graded Shaolin path, you can learn from his books, DVDs, and downloads. He designed his Never Give Up t-shirt to help you stay motivated on your Shaolin Path.

Share your experience in the comments below or on Twitter.

A Shaolin Disciple’s Daily Workout, Diet, and Meditation

December 8, 2014circuit training, HIT training, kung fu, qigong, shaolin bootcamp, shaolin temple, zen buddhism, zen meditationbodhidharma, bone marrw cleansing, diet and meditation, eight treasure, shaolin qigong workout, shaolin workout, zen buddhism. chanShifu Yan Lei Team

What’s your daily workout like?

My training day starts with either a 10 or 12k jog or interval running, sprinting 800 meters then resting for 800 meters and doing this 4 times or varying my runs like I show in my youtube video. I then do circuit training, the same as on my DVDs though I mix the punches and kicks together. It’s important to sweat when you’re training. Only this is true training. In the afternoon I do bag work, and pad work if there’s someone at the temple to hold pads. I finish off with Iron Shirt Qigong and combine Iron Shirt conditioning with the Instant Health Massage using a metal brush so that I cleanse my bones.

Can the average person hack Shaolin training?

Shaolin is for everybody. Of course the average person doesn’t have 4 hours a day to train but a lot can be accomplished in one hour five days a week. This is enough to be healthy and fit. If you’re not close to a school and train from my DVDs then all you need to do is define your goal and make a program. The best DVDs for fitness are the Bootcamp and Circuit Training DVDs but you need a level of fitness before you can embark on them. Like all things, take one step at a time. Most people have no desire to do hard Qigong but they have a desire to have more energy and increase their longevity so they do Eight Treasures.

You’ll talk about the Shaolin Monk’s diet in another post, but how important is diet to you?

The more you do Shaolin martial arts, the more you tune into your body and the harder it is to eat badly. If you’re craving unhealthy food, don’t worry about it, start working out the Shaolin way and the cravings will go away of their own accord. Before I train I eat a lot of noodle and vegetable with some meat then a banana, which is a great thing to eat before training as it helps to keep sugar levels up. We don’t use ovens in China but something new I’ve discovered in the West is roasted sweet potato. Very healthy and a better carbohydrate than potato. I eat fruit and nuts through out the day. I tend to cook two days food in advance so when I come home and I’m hungry my food is already prepared.

How focused are you on Buddhism and Zen meditation?

I’m a simple person. I feel that many Western people read too many books and this makes their mind complicated. My master gave me one sutra, The Hui Neng Sutra and he told me not to sit in meditation but to make training my meditation. Zen is about experience, not knowledge. When people do kung fu or Qigong forms, they get a taste of this Zen experience and then there are no questions. The important thing is not to look outside, but work with where you are and what you have here and now. There’s no need to go to the temple, the temple is right here and now. But you need to be still to find it.

Shifu Yan Lei teaches Shaolin Qigong ( available as a book, DVD and download)

Also available on the apple store and amazon as a kindle.(USA only, UK to follow in 2015).

Shifu Yan Lei teaches Shaolin Kung Fu available as a download and DVD.

Feeling Burnt Out? Five Simple Steps To Unleash Your Energy

December 2, 2014buddha, burnt out, enrgy exercises, jade, qigong workout, shaolin temple, shaolin workout, temple of zenchinese jade, feeling burn out, jade, kung fu, qigong, shaolin templeShifu Yan Lei Team

It’s easy to feel sluggish at this time of year especially if you live in a country like here in the UK where it’s cold and grey. But you’re a Shaolin Warrior all year round so here’s my top five steps to keeping active and inspired over the winter months.

1. Get Moving

The more you sit in front of a computer, the less you will want to workout. At the end of your working day your body will tell you that it’s tired and give you another excuse to skip your workout. But if you can motivate yourself to push through your tiredness, once you begin to move, you’ll be surprised to find that you feel energized. This is because movement and exercise unleash your body’s energy. You are born to move. You are not born to sit all day. Your Shaolin Workout brings your body and mind in harmony. It’s only when your body and mind are working in harmony that you can feel truly energized and happy.

2. Use Your Shaolin Workout As A Refuge

We tend to be goal focused and driven in our work so it’s good to take the pressure off when it comes to your workouts. Use your workout as a time to tune out of your daily life and tune into your body. Each of your workouts gives your body a different experience. There is the challenging anaerobic training from the Kung Fu Workouts, and the internal balancing Qigong Workout. As you move through these different workouts be aware of the different energy-producing states and what effect they have on your mind and body. What do you feel when starting the workout? How do you feel when you’ve finished?

3. Be Your Best Friend

The Buddha said that it is our mind which makes the world. When I was young boy at the temple I had the arrogance to disagree with the Buddha and think he was wrong! But now I realize that he is exactly right. We can be in the most beautiful place in the world but if our minds are angry or depressed then we can’t appreciate it. Our life is created by our thoughts. Thoughts can be trained just like muscles. Thoughts are energy so be aware of whether your thoughts are bringing you positive Qi or negative Qi. Tune into the positive and let go of the negative.

4. Wear Jade

If you spend most of your time in front of the computer then balance this out by wearing jade. Alongside Qigong, jade has been used for thousands of years in China as a powerful longevity tool. I know that the West doesn’t have this tradition but the Chinese believe that jade is a living thing that can give us positive Qi. Not only the stone itself but also the carving. When I’m not training I wear a jade Guan Yin. Authentic Jade is from the earth, it contains a life force of its own. But you don’t need to have blind belief. If you stand by a waterfall or on top of a mountain, you will feel very different than if you sit at your computer. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that a computer does not give us longevity energy!

5. Take One Step Today

These are four simple steps to increase your energy. Take one step each week and then by the end of the month you will have taken all of the steps. Remember, when you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur.

Learn Shaolin Kung Fu and Qigong from Shifu Yan Lei’s DVDs and download

Gobi Desert Jade Buddha Amulets, Dark Green Jade, and Jade Wrist Malas and available from www.shifuyanlei.com

7 super-effective training tips from the Shaolin Temple of Zen

November 11, 2014chinese energy exercsies, fitness, health and wellness, kung fu, martial arts, mindbodyworkout, qigongworkout, shaolin temple, wellnessbamboo brush, kung fu online, medicine buddha, qi massage, qigong self-massage, qigong workout, shaolin kung fu workout, shaolin temple of zenShifu Yan Lei Team

The world of traditional physical exercise is beginning to catch up with what Shaolin 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. Here our 7 super-effective training tips from the Shaolin Temple.

1. Skip stretching before your workout, your ligaments will thank you.

Stretching before a warm up has no benefit and doesn’t bolster performance. Start with a gentle warm up and when the muscles feel warm and loose do two types of stretching: static and dynamic. If you already train with my DVDs, downloads or books then you’ll be already doing it this way.

2. Your body is smart already

Shaolin Qigong and Kung Fu helps you go beyond your small individual self and find a connection with the fabric of the Universe. It doesn’t give you anything new; it simply connects you with your body’s internal power and automatic wisdom.

3. Not all workouts are created equal.

A person can look strong but this doesn’t mean they’re healthy. Body builders may be inflexible and internally weak. Yoga practioners may be flexible but ask him or her to perform a martial art’s kick and they have no power or speed. The Shaolin Workout is a full body workout which addresses every single body part and integrates flexibility and strength with power and speed.

4. Balancing Yin and Yang is the key to health and longevity.

A bird can’t fly with one wing. You can’t be 100% healthy and fit without a balance between Qigong and Kung Fu. This is the two wings of a bird. Qigong is your Yin training, which melts the barrier between your mind and body while kung fu is your Yang training, which pushes your limits and raises your awareness of your unlimited capabilities

5. Self-massage matters.

The Shaolin Temple has a long tradition of self-massage, which is one of the oldest healing practices. Massaging with the bamboo rods of the Instant Health Massage Brush combines sports, acupressure and deep tissue in one massage. Because the self-massage is convenient and cheap – it’s just the cost of a brush – you can do it on a daily basis after you’ve finished your training or if you’re pushed for time, a few times a week.

6. What you give, you receive.

Food is medicine and fuel for your body. What you give to your body, you receive. You give it fast food, you receive energy slumps, sluggishness and sugar drops. You give it wholesome food, you receive high energy, vitality and stable sugar levels.

7. No Mud, no Lotus

Lotuses grow from mud. It’s the same with you. All of your problems, all of the stuff you don’t like about your life make up the mud so that your lotuses can take root and bloom. Beautiful lotuses can only grow from the un-beautiful. Everything you experience can help you to become a happier person. The Buddha said, “It’s your mind which makes the world, speak or act with a pure mind and happiness will follow as your shadow. ”

Shifu Yan Lei teaches Shaolin Kung Fu as a download and DVD

Shifu Yan Lei teaches Shaolin Qigong as a download, DVD, and book

5 Fundamental Training Tools Of A Shaolin Kung Fu Monk

November 4, 2014health and wellness, kung fu, martial arts, shaolin templefive fundamental kicks, gong fu, kung fu, kung fu download, shaolin kung fu, shaolin kung fu workout, shaolinworkout, shaoln stances, train like a shaolin monkShifu Yan Lei Team

A house can only stay strong with good foundations. It’s the same with your kung fu. The movements in Shaolin Workout Volume 1 are your foundation. If you were to get on a plane and study at the Shaolin Temple in China, these are the movements you would learn.

These exercises were created thousands of years ago so why do Shaolin Monks still study them? Because they’re the only movements where every muscle is engaged and you’re simultaneously building flexibility, strength, endurance, balance, and power in one fully integrated unit. They then teach you how to move in your modern life, whether that’s carrying your groceries home or climbing the stairs to the subway. Everything becomes part of your training: total mind-body wellness.

The tools you need for total- mind body wellness are the same tools you need as a Shaolin martial artist.

Stamina – Shaolin stamina training consists of short bursts of intense exercise. Research has shown that it’s one of the most effective ways to build fitness levels and lose weight.
Flexibility – Shaolin Monks stretch the whole body from the neck down and include dynamic stretching as well as static.
The Five Fundamental Kicks – These kicks are one of the reasons Shaolin Monks are so flexible. Don’t underestimate them. They open the hips at the same time as stretching the leg. (I practiced hundreds of them every day as a boy at the temple and still practice them today. They are a great warm up for fighting kicks and bag work.)
The Five Fundamental Stances – Stances work the legs as hard as any squat or lunge and there’s a purpose to them, self-defence, internal and external strength, as well as acting as a gateway to the forms.
Traditional Combinations – These ancient forms come from nature. They awaken the body, helping us to let go of our small self and experience a connection with the very fabric of the Universe. They bring us closer to the meditation experience of Zen.

We call it the Shaolin Workout but we could call it the Zen Shaolin Workout because all of the movements are done with your heart and mind fully engaged. If you’ve been training with my DVDs and downloads for many years, always remember to go back to Shaolin Workout Volume 1 and go through the fundamentals of your training.

If you’re just starting out then do Shaolin Workout Volume 1 for about 6 weeks before moving onto the next one. Don’t get too comfortable. It’s imperative to vary your routine. Once you know the moves and you can go through the workout then work with Volume 2 and Volume 3 so your weekly warrior training will look like this: Monday – Workout 1. Tuesday – Workout 2. Wednesday – Workout 3. Thursday – Workout 1 . Friday – Workout 2 or 3. Saturday – Self-training without the DVDs.

The training is designed to transform you into a martial artist. This means you become fighting fit, flexible, have strong willpower, inner confidence, sharp reflexes, peaceful sleep, an abundance of energy, look younger than your years, and there is a glow to your skin and eyes.

Shaolin Workout Volume 1, 2 and 3 are available as a download and DVD

Join the Shaolin Warrior Facebook page for students studying with Shifu Yan Lei around the world.

The Science Of Stretching: 7 Tips To Maximize Your Flexibility

September 30, 2014first 20 minutes, health and wellness, martial arts, science of stretching, shaolin monk, shaolin temple, stretching20 minutes, qigong book, qigong dvd, science of stretching, shaolin temple stretching, the first twenty minutesShifu Yan Lei Team

There’s a belief in the West that the only way to flexibility is through static stretching but latest research shows that the way Shaolin Monks warm up and stretch is the way to get maximum performance from your workout.

“Dynamic stretching may be the most important element of a warm up… it involves moving and waking the tissues that will be called upon during the subsequent exercise.” The First Twenty Minutes.

At the Shaolin Temple we do two types of stretching: static and dynamic. The Shaolin dynamic stretching we do is the Five Fundamental Kicks, and the Five Fundamental Stances. These movements open the hips and warm up the leg muscles. We’ve stretched and warmed up our muscles this way for thousands of years.

Want to gain the flexibility of a Shaolin Monk? Follow these simple steps below.

7 Steps To Maximize Your Flexibility

1. Stretch am and pm

My early morning sessions at the Shaolin Temple always began with a mountain run then we would take time to stretch our muscles before beginning our kung fu training session. Stretching in the morning is harder than in the evening but it’s one of the best ways to increase flexibility.

2. Always stretch after your workout

Your joints and muscles are warm, which means you can go further with your stretch. It also helps to decrease the build up of lactic acid in your muscles. Not stretching after a workout leads to stiff muscles.

3. Do the Five Fundamental Shaolin Kicks

These kicks increase flexibility to not only the legs but crucially the hips. Start off in a relaxed and loose way, kicking from the hip rather than from the leg. Stretch in between the kicks to loosen the leg and kick again. When you move into the splits you’ll be surprised how much further you can go.

4. Do The Five Fundamental Shaolin Stances

These stances open the hips, stretch out the legs including the calf muscles, and make the whole body move as one. They are an excellent way to increase strength in the muscles while stretching them at the same time.

5. Find creative ways to include stretching in your day-to-day life

If you like to watch TV then find a way to stretch while you watch TV. On the escalator, place your left heel a little off the step and stretch out your calf muscle.

6. Alternate your stretching

Our bodies quickly adapt so alternate your stretching and consistently challenge your body.

7. Focus on Optimal Flexibility for you

We all need to have a certain amount of flexibility but remember we are all different. It’s crucial that you never push yourself too hard and you work with your own body. If you want to get your head on your knees, don’t strain to get there or bend your legs in the process. Remember there never should be any pain when you stretch only patience.

I teach warm up, stretching, The Five Fundamental Kicks and The Five Fundamental Stances in my DVD, Shaolin Workout Volume 1

I teach warm up, stretching, and The Five Fundamental Stances in my book, Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity