Tag Archives: bodhidharma

Live Young: Why Your Internal Workout Is More Important Than You Think

anti-agening medicine, chi gong, chigong, chineselongevity, fix stress, ki gong, longevity, qigong, qigong workout, , , , , , , , ,

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I’ve been interested in the latest research done by scientists who want to discover how to slow the ageing process down. What they have discovered is that we all age at different rates. One of the ways in which they calculate what they call “ageing scores” is by testing how well the organs are functioning. Those with the highest score have the best organ function and are the least likely to die.

qi gong-00339This demonstrates how important our organs are. We notice ageing of our skin but we never think about our internal organs until something goes wrong. Shaolin Qigong is the only exercise I know that stretches and exercises the internal organs. Kung Fu doesn’t do this, yoga doesn’t do this, and meditation doesn’t do this. Aerobic exercise does use the heart but what about the kidneys, liver, gall bladder etc?

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Keeping our body strong internally is one of the keys to keeping our mind strong and living well into old age. It’s optimal to keep up a regular practice of at least three times a week. And finish with the Instant Health Massage. The Instant Health Massage is a way of sustaining the energy from our Qigong and clearing any blockages from the body.

As we progress, we move onto massaging with the metal brush. The vibration from this brush is so deep that it cleanses the very marrow of our bones. Red blood cells are produced by bone marrow. It is believed that using the metal brush, cleanses the marrow and this creates new blood cells so that even our blood doesn’t age.

I am in awe of the wisdom passed down from our Shaolin Ancestors. Their desire for a long life was so they could have more time to attain enlightenment. Their motivation was pure. They wanted nothing more than to help all beings find peace in their life. Each time we practice Shaolin Qigong, we connect with their wisdom and  enter the path of peace and longevity.

You can learn Shaolin Qigong and the Instant Health Massage from Shifu Yan Lei via his bestselling book (about to go into its 4th reprint) Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity – also available on Amazon as a kindle.

 And via his DVDs and downloads: The Way Of Qigong Volume 1, 2, and 3

Your Pathway To Zen

kungfuworkout, qigongworkout, shaolinmonastery, shaolinworkout, shaolinzen, urbanzen, zen buddhism chan, zenbuddhism, zencalm, , , , , , , , ,


IMG_0815It’s not possible to take Zen out of Shaolin martial arts because Shaolin martial arts were born from Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen. Shaolin Martial Arts is a pathway to Zen. How is this possible? Because the movements cut through the thinking mind. This thinking mind is not the mind that experiences Zen. We have another mind. A mind that cannot be approached from a thinking perspective. A mind that is untouched by our thinking or anything we have done or anything that has been done to us. Zen Buddhists call it our Pure Light Mind. You can think of it as basic goodness that exists in all of us. We all have it. It’s our potential to become a Buddha. Buddha simply means awakened one. Someone who has woken up to see the world as it really is.

If we throw some red dye into the sea, it will not turn the sea red, as the sea is so vast and expansive. Our minds have the capacity to be vast and expansive too yet if someone shouts at us or insults us, we tend to get angry, this is a measure of how expansive our mind is and how much work we need to do.

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I have a lot of experience of anger. When I was 15 years old, I was always getting into fights. My Master – who is now the Shaolin Abbot – was fed up of coming to the police station to get me out of jail so he sent me to a very well known Zen master.

In the Cultural Revolution when Mao was destroying all the temples, this master risked his life to stay in the temple. For many years he lived in this destroyed temple and when Buddhism was allowed to flourish again he started to re-build the temple. Every morning he would sit in meditation and chant and I would train. He asked me to sit with him but I had no patience to sit. After a few weeks of trying to get me to sit he told me to make training my meditation.

That sentence has resonated with me all my life. When I came back to the Shaolin Temple, my training was no longer a series of exercises or a way of being able to learn new fighting techniques so that I could conquer other people but it became my meditation.

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To train in Shaolin doesn’t mean we need to become Buddhists or believe in the Buddha. I don’t see myself as a Buddhist even though I come from a Buddhist Temple. I see myself a martial artist with a wish to understand life. A wish to not get pulled in by my unhelpful emotions and a wish to increase my helpful emotions. I see the Buddha as a wonderful psychologist who had a great understanding about how our minds work.

So whenever you train, and whatever you train in, use your training as your refuge and your meditation. This will install peace and strength in you. This will mean, however difficult your life is, you always have something to come back to, something you can rely on.

Willpower is like petrol, it runs out. This is why Shaolin Monks cultivate daily habits so it becomes a part of our life. If you are coming on my Shaolin Summer Camp this year then you will live in this way so you can take home some of those habits that you’ve cultivated.

For more information on Shifu Yan Lei’s books, DVDs, downloads and martial art’s training equipment click here

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

chi gong, health and wellness, High Intensity Training, HIT training and the martial artist, kug gu, martial arts, shaolin temple, , , , , , , , , , ,

yellow mt1-00054Kick 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.

  1. 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.
  1. 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?

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  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.

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  1. 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.
  1. 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

circuit training, HIT training, kung fu, qigong, shaolin bootcamp, shaolin temple, zen buddhism, zen meditation, , , , , ,

yellow mt4-00029What’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.

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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.

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 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.

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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.