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The Most Important Shaolin Exercise To Incorporate Into Your Workout Today

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Shaolin Monks train as much as Olympic athletes but we don’t have an army of massage therapists and physiotherapists. Our only weapon against illness and injury is a simple bamboo brush. Self- massage with this bamboo brush along with Qigong is the one thing we have relied on for thousands of years.

The investment for the brush is small – less than the cost of one professional massage – but the pay off is huge. You can use it after any workout – it doesn’t need to be Qigong – or you can use if after your shower. It’s most effective if done at least four times a week

7 Reasons You Need To Do The Instant Health Massage Today

  • 1. Prevent Injury – Blood can’t flow freely through tight muscles. Through releasing tension in your muscles, you increase blood flow and release the chance of injury.
  • 2. Unblock The Meridian Channels – Meridian lines are small rivers that flow where the blood flows. They get blocked through stress or mild illness. The Instant Health Massage works in the same way as acupuncture, opening the meridian channels and unblocking the channels.
  • 3. Charge Up Your Qi – The massage increases the power of your Kung Fu and Qigong because it helps your body work in harmony. A body in harmony is a powerful body.
  • 4. Stimulate The Lymphatic System  – Lymphatic congestion can lead to inflammation and disease. Water retention or mild swelling – so called false fat  – is a sign of a sluggish lymphatic system. The Instant Health Massage stimulates the lymphatic system, releases toxins, and helps the other organs in your body work harmoniously.

  • 5. Boost Immunity –  A recent study showed that people who received a massage had an increased number of lymphocytes, which are white blood cells that play a large role in defending the body from disease. They were also shown to have less of the stress hormone, cortisol.
  • 6. Fix Stress  – The gentle beating action has a calming effect on the mind and releases endorphins in the body. As the mind relaxes, the body does too.
  • 7. Improve Circulation – The light vibrational movements help the blood to flow through your body. Although research has not been done on this brush, a recent study published in Medical Science Monitor found that “Five minutes of vibration ( such as a vibration plate) produced significant increases in skin blood flow.”

Shaolin Temple Martial Arts focuses on health from the inside out. Skin is the largest organ in our body. Through regular massage, we look after this outer organ as well as all of our inner organs. I have been doing this massage ( I use the metal brush as well as the bamboo brush) for more than twenty- five years now and still gain as much benefit today as I did when I first started. Please share your experience with the Instant Health Massage in the comments below.

I teach the Instant Health Massage in my Qigong book and all of my Qigong DVDs apart from The Way Of Qigong Volume 1. If you’re totally new I recommend The Shaolin Qigong Beginner’s Bundle.

 

Instant Calm: The Shaolin Temple Anxiety Cure That Works Every Time

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When I was a boy at the Shaolin Temple, my master told me the natural state of our mind is open and peaceful. It’s hard to believe this when we’re in the midst of anxiety, turning a problem over and over in our mind. The more we think, the worse it gets. Chances are the texture of our breathing has changed, and our stomach is tight. It’s these small changes in the energy of our body that overtime  can play a part in creating illness.

The thoughts that create tension are a type of Qi. Our energy is totally taken up by them. They are a wind, catching us and lifting us off our feet. In order to transform confusion into clarity, we need to use a different mind to the mind that is immersed in our problems. We need to access the mind of openness. An effective way to do this is by moving through a Qigong form. It’s impossible for an anxious mind to exist inside a relaxed body.

As we move through the form, our Qi shifts naturally and effortlessly, without us having to use our mind. Our body is wise. Rather than getting locked up in the tightness of our anxiety, we  use our body wisdom to relax. If you are very stressed you may need to do Qigong for an hour, or you may feel relief after only a few movements.

Once you have completed  the form, your lungs have expanded, your body is relaxed, and all tension has melted away. This is because you’ve stepped out of the Qi of anxiety and into the Qi of peace. Your problem is still there but it’s no longer unmanageable. From this big spacious mind, you now have clarity.

Thoughts and worries are only clouds in the sky. Shaolin Qigong blows them away and enables us to get back to an open mind, clear of confusion. You can then incorporate these peaceful feelings into your every day life by practicing walking, sitting, eating and drinking tea meditation.

Habit energy is strong, pulling us back to our untrained ways. This is why the meditation aids I brought  from China are not cushions or mala beads but every day items such as key rings, lotus bags, malas, and amulets. Jade Energy stones can sit next to our computer as a reminder to bring us back to the present moment.  Bringing Shaolin into day to day life is the heart of Zen practice.

Fighting Weight: Your 6 Step Plan To Staying At Your Optimal Weight For Peak Performance

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One of the questions I get asked the most is about diet. I’ll go into the specifics of food in a later article, but here’s a 6 Step Plan to get you started!

1) Eat Early

I’m not suggesting you get up at 5 am like we do at the temple but make sure that you eat a good breakfast within an hour of waking. A study from the University of Texas showed that the fewer calories people ate early in the day, the more total calories they ate during the day as a whole. Try to eat at least 25% of your calories for breakfast.

2) Eat Before Exercise

Eating before you exercise with enhance your martial arts training and increase fat burning. Research has shown that the body burns more calories during exercise after a meal. If it’s a big meal then allow four hours, if it’s a small meal allow two hours, if you’re training early in the morning then make sure you eat a smoothie like the one I make in Urban Warrior. Ensure it contains nuts and seeds and more vegetables than fruit.

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3) Eat After Exercise

There is a two hour window after exercise when it’s best to eat food. During this time the body burns calories faster as the metabolism is still working faster. Eating a meal that contains protein, carbohydrate and water helps the body to recover, replenishes the martial artist’s glycogen stores and maximizes muscle to fat ratio.

4) Eat Mindfully

At the Shaolin Temple we eat in silence so we can meditate on our food. Try doing this in McDonalds and I think you will be put off your food. Eating mindfully helps us to really tune into our body therefore aiding our desire to eat healthy foods. It helps us to eat slowly which means there’s more time for us to feel full. Research has shown that mindful eating leads to eating less.

5) Eat Healthy

Not all calories are the same. Eat lean protein, fresh fruit and vegetables, healthy oils and snack on nuts. Pizza is high calories with very little nutritional benefit. Nuts are high in calories and high in nutritional benefit. Try to eat food that is as close to nature as possible and stay away from processed foods. I’m not a fan of energy drinks or protein shakes. I never heard of these things till I came to the UK. While I know some of my students like to use them I don’t believe they are necessary. Best to get all your nutrients from natural food.

6) Eat Less

If you’ve got into very bad eating habits, my advice is don’t change them. Just start training in both Kung Fu and Qigong. These martial arts change your body holistically from the inside out and you’ll be surprised to find that your body craves healthy food without you having to push yourself, you’ll also find that you naturally eat just as much as you need. Remember, if you don’t eat well then you can’t train well.

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

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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.

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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.

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Shaolin Monk Stamina:Your 20 Day Training Plan

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Shaolin Martial Art’s is about training your mind as much as your body. Whatever you’re end goal is, stick to your plan, use your heart to make your training a routine, and find a way to love your training.
There are 5 rules that Shaolin Monks follow to gain exceptional stamina:
  • 20 Days None Stop Training – Usually it’s better for the body to take 1 day off a week. But if you want to dramatically improve your skill then train for 20 days non-stop. This applies for Qigong as well as Kung Fu. This method is a fast track to Shaolin Stamina.
  • Kill Your Muscles – you need to ache a lot! Ache is different from pain. You need to know the difference. Pain is bad. Ache is good. If you’re not aching, you’re not progressing.
  • Kill Your Lung – you are training anaerobically. This word literally means “living without air”, you need to push yourself so hard that you at your limit. It’s hard to do by yourself and you need to be careful and stay safe! This is why this is not suitable for beginners. This type of training is for martial artists who already know their bodies and want to take their martial art to the next level.
  • Do More Than You Think You Can – Just when you get to the point where you feel you can’t do anymore,  do more. When you do 20 push ups, do 21. When you get to the end of your run, sprint.
  • Take Small Steps – Start off by setting yourself small targets and build from there. If you haven’t ran for along time then don’t expect to be able to run 10k straight away. Run 3k. It’s the same with my DVDs, do half the DVD or work at a slower pace and do half the exercises and build from there.
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A martial artist trains intelligently. While building our stamina we’re also making our punch and kick quicker and stronger. This is why in my Circuit Training DVDs, I mix punches with push ups and kicks with squats. This makes your muscle lean, powerful and have quality. This isn’t about body building. We’re training to create intelligent useful muscle. A person may be able to squat with 100kg weights but they can’t raise their knee 100 times. Always remember that martial arts is different because you’re not just training for stamina, you’re training for your martial arts.
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 Your 20 Day Training Program
Before you begin your training, warm up with a run either outside, on a machine or on the spot or skip for ten minutes. Increase the length of your run/ skip each week then at the beginning of the week go back to a short run and increase your run again throughout the week.
Day 1 – Bootcamp Volume 1
Day 2 Bootcamp Volume 2
Day 3 – Circuit Training 1 – first 3 sets. Followed by 15 minutes of Qigong For Upper Body
Day 4 Circuit Training 2 – first 3 sets. followed by 15 minutes of Qigong For Lower Body
Day 5 Bootcamp Volume 1
Day 6 Bootcamp Volume 2
Day 7 Circuit Training 1
Day 8 Circuit Training 2
Day 9 Circuit Training 1 – Followed by 15 minutes of Qigong For Upper Body
Day 10 Circuit Training 2 followed by 15 minutes of Qigong For Lower Body
Day 11 Bootcamp Volume 1
Day 12 Bootcamp Volume 2
Day 13 Circuit Training 1 – 30 minutes Qigong For Upper Body
Day 14 Circuit Training 2  – 30 minutes Qigong For Lower Body
Day 15 Circuit Training 1 – 30 minutes Qigong For Upper Body
Day 16 Circuit Training 2  – 30 minutes Qigong For Lower Body
Day 17 Bootcamp Volume 1
Day 18 Bootcamp Volume 2
Day 19 Circuit Training 1 + Qigong For Upper Body
Day 20 Circuit Training 2 + Qigong For Lower Body
Click here for more details on the Shaolin Fitness bundle.
Click here or more details on Qigong For Upper and Lower Body

Click here for free e-book: Instant Zen: Your 7 Day Mind & Body Workout

 Please share in the comments below how you got on or on the Facebook page created for all the Shaolin Warrior brothers and sisters. Happy Training!

Rules Of The Shaolin Warrior – Part 1. Health and Fitness

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yellow mt1-00217The world of Western traditional physical exercise is beginning to catch up with what Shaolin Warriors have known for thousands of years. Fitness is not just about burning calories and sweating. It’s about being healthy from the inside out. Research is revealing that this mind-body fitness not only keeps us healthy but also greatly helps to banish stress, increase happiness, and aid longevity.  

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  1. Train Your Mind As Hard As Your Body    –  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. Shaolin Forms – both Qigong and Kung Fu – are the only exercise I’ve come across where every muscle is engaged and we’re simultaneously building flexibility, strength, endurance, balance, and power. They then 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
  2.  Switch Your Workouts – One day Shaolin Warrior’s train in the Five Fundamental kicks and stances from Shaolin Kung Fu Workout 1, on another day they train Circuit, on another bag work, and on another day Qigong. Keep surprising your body so it never reaches a plateau.
  3. Inside Out Fitness – For true health and fitness we need to practise stretching and Qigong. The Shaolin Warrior always finishes their training with Qigong. This enhances the power of their external training, extends and deepens their martial arts, and balances their Yin and Yang.yellow mt1-00225
  4. Effortless Effort –  A Shaolin Warrior’s movements look easy. When they run they tell their body to keep light and positive. When they punch they tell their body to relax. When they kick, they know exactly which muscle they need to use and which muscle they don’t. When they practise Qigong they know when they need to inhale and when they need to exhale. They focus on what they need to focus on and this gives them confidence and power. They understand that if their mind is strong then their body is strong and if their body is strong then their mind is strong. It’s not possible to separate the two out.meditation-00136
  5. Train Hard – A smith puts gold through the fire so she can mould it into the shape of jewelry she wants. Our martial art’s is the fire we put our mind and body through so we can mould ourselves into the martial artist we want to be. If it’s not difficult, if it’s not challenging, there can be no transformation.
  6. A Zen Koan – Shaolin Warriors use the breath to link the mind and body. They focus on the present moment because it is the only moment when we can be truly alive. This is why – in the past – Masters sometimes used shock tactics or said Koans in an attempt to awaken their student to what life really is.
  7. What is the sound of one hand clapping? – If we try to understand with our intellect then we’ll never understand and if we try to do martial arts with our intellect we shall never understand.  Only when we have cultivated strong willpower and let go of our mind can we move to hard training to build up our stamina level and create a Shaolin Warrior’s mind and body.

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Learn Shaolin Qigong and Kung Fu with Shifu Yan Lei. Downloads, DVDs, books and training equipment available from shifuyanlei.com. Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity is also available as an e-book on amazon and apple in the US