The aim of the physical training we do at the Shaolin Temple is to lead us to Zen. In our hectic lives, our minds become hectic and the best way to cut the circle of thought is through Shaolin Kung Fu and Qigong.
Before you start to play my DVD or follow my book, take a couple of breaths and tell yourself to let go. Let go of your name, and who you think you are, and what's occupying your mind. Letting go is itself belief.
Your body is wise. When it was a baby, it knew how much milk it needed to drink and how much sleep it needed in order to grow. When you train, don't do anything, let the training train you.
My latest DVDs are an at home workout which is as close to having me as a personal trainer as possible. I didn't shoot them in a beautiful location in China because I wanted to demonstrate that wherever you are, whatever situation you are in, that is the perfect place to practice.
Whenever I feel worried or under pressure I go and workout. This doesn't mean I'm not taking care of my worries but I know that a worried mind cannot think clearly. If I'm very worried than I will do circuit training so that my body is challenged to the limit. I finish off with some Qigong and I'm centered again. My energy flowing freely like water and no longer blocked by my discouraging thoughts.
Letting go is underrated. Only when we let go can things come to us. A closed hand receives nothing. A worried mind is like a person running a hundred miles but it not amounting to one step, an Urban Warrior covers a thousand miles with one step.
I make my DVDs in the hope you can access this awakened mind. I hope that through hard training you can learn to rest deeply. Whether you use one of my DVDs or all of them, the practice is the same; keep it calm, steady and sincere.
