Two Minute Health Tricks From The Shaolin Temple Of Zen

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 Health Massage

Don't have time to do Qigong? Five minutes of the Instant Health Massage after you've stepped out of the shower will increases circulation, stimulate the lymphatic system, open the meridian lines and act as a natural battery charger. To find out more click here:

 Five minute Form

Speed up a Qigong form or slow down a Kung Fu form. Moving through these ancient Shaolin forms helps us to tap into our inner flow and access a peace that can easily be lost in the midst of our busy life. 

Eating Meditation

Don't have time to meditate? Have time to eat? Turn that into your meditation. Tune into your breath and the awareness of the food you're eating. Being aware of the food you're eating, automatically slows down your eating, aids digestion and helps reduce stress. By the end of your meal you'll feel calm and connected. You can also do a tea meditation. 

Get Out Of Your Head - The Mindful Way

Researchers are finding out that mindfulness has been shown to increase happiness. Originally a Buddhist term, the word mindfulness  is now becoming as ubiquitous as the word Zen. But what exactly is it? Going to the gym and running on the running machine while watching TV is not being mindful. Going through a Qigong or Kung Fu form while concentrating on the breath and the movement is. I’m not judging the person on the running machine. It’s okay to be mindless every now and again, but if our goal is to be happy then factoring in more sessions of mindfulness and less sessions of mindlessness will help us to achieve this. 

A student came to me the other day and said that she’d been meditating for 20 minutes every morning but she didn’t feel any different. For true transformation to occur, we need to integrate mindfulness into our day to day life. The Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, advises us to use a ringing phone or a red traffic light as a tool to remind us to come back to ourselves and breath three times. What are we doing with our time now? Are we happy? If not, why not? Willpower is like the groceries we buy at the supermarket, it runs out. This is why we need to integrate our practice into our daily life so it’s no longer about willpower, it is a habit to us and this habit then becomes a way of life.

For true transformation to occur we need to get out of our heads. What I mean by this is we need to give our mind a break and ground ourselves in our body. Since coming to the UK, I have seen many people on a Friday night going to a pub and drinking lots of beer and wine. My students have told me that they are getting out of their heads. In China we don’t have this culture, so at first I couldn’t understand why people stand up all evening in a crowded room and drink a lot and don’t eat anything. But now I understand. These people feel stress and this is the only way they know to get away from their stress. But their way is mindless rather than mindful and it will only give them temporary relief and a headache in the morning. A Qigong or Kung Fu Workout is a mindful and positive way to deal with stress. 

Our body is a miniature universe and our Qi is the inexhaustible energy of the universe which underpins our existence. It’s always there for us, just as a waterfall is always flowing regardless of whether we are there to look at it or not. Going through a Qigong or Kung Fu form helps us to be mindful. It shifts our energy and focus from our small mind with its endless circle of thoughts, plans and worries to our universal mind. It stimulate brain chemicals in our mind that are linked to happiness. If our mind and body are in harmony then peace naturally occurs without us having to work at it. Tapping into the universal mind gives us a happiness that no one can take away from us. Happiness is our most natural state of being. We deserve it.

Meditation Aids help us to live happily in the present moment. 

Live Young

Most Western doctors and researchers describe the ageing of the human body as being similar to the ageing of man-made machines. The damage can be periodically repaired leading to an extension of the machine's functional lifetime, just as is routinely done with cars.  But what if we could postpone the effects of ageing before any damage occurred? 


Aerobic exercise has been shown to prevent memory loss, heart disease, diabetes, depression and obesity. Weight training stops our muscles from shrinking as we get older. But what about our internal organs? Because we can't see them, we tend to only think of them when something goes wrong with them. But it's the internal organs that govern the body. They are the key to living young and having excellent health.


There is only one way of exercising the internal organs and that is through the practice of Qigong and Qigong self-massage.  Qigong is quite literally exercise for the internal organs. Not only does it protect the internal organs, it stimulates them and gets rid of energy blockages  which could lead to illness. The immediate effect is an increase in energy. The long term effect is a slowing down of the ageing process of the body together with prevention of injury and disease.

The Qigong forms I teach in my book and DVDs are the original Buddhist forms from the Shaolin Temple of Zen in China. These are Zen forms and they are practiced with this in mind. There is no need to understand any complicated Qi theory or to concentrate on one particular part of the body. The only instruction is to concentrate on the movement and the breath. That is all. The wisdom of the body knows what to do.  If the mind is too full up with ideas and theory then the wisdom of the body can never manifest.  


The Instant Health self-massage plays a crucial part in exercising the internal organs. It works on many different levels. The bamboo brush works on the surface level, helping to detoxify the body by cleaning out the lymphatic system, softening the skin, removing blockages,  acting as a natural battery charger for the body, and making the Qigong more effective through helping to open the meridian channels.

I have a new improved bamboo brush available from my website, if your brush has Shaolin Temple in black Chinese writing written on the handle then you have this new brush. This new brush is a  stronger design than the last brush and should last for many years. Most people are happy to keep using the bamboo brush. But to go to a deeper level in our Qigong, we need to use a metal brush.

The metal brush is nearly 2kg and if looked after properly will last a lifetime. It took me many years to find someone who could make  this specialised equipment to my specific specifications. The weight, length and number of metal rods needs to be correct so it can work effectively. But how does it work?

Before washing machines were invented, the way to wash our clothes was to beat them against a rock. Some people still clean rugs this way, they hang them on the line and beat the dust out of them. The metal brush works in a similar way. Not only does it detoxify the body, and work on the internal organs like the bamboo brush but the vibrations from the brush go into the very marrow of our bone; cleansing and detoxifying it.  Why is it important to cleanse the bone marrow?

As we get older, the production of  red blood cells start to slow down. This is a major factor in the ageing process. I have no evidence for this but I believe that use of the metal brush, reinvigorates the marrow of our bone so that the production of red blood cells continue at a similar speed as when we were younger.  

Most people who do intensive exercise, for example professional footballers, age quite rapidly and burn out when their in their thirties. Shaolin monks and disciples do as much exercise but do not age or burnout in the same way. This is because we practice Qigong and Qigong self-massage.

I know that many Western people have massage from other people when they need something fixing like an injury or they feel stress or tired. There's nothing wrong with this kind of massage but self-massage aims to prevent the body getting run down, the aim is to prevent disease before it happens.

Many people associate The Shaolin Temple with body conditioning for combat but the temple have a long tradition of self-massage. Here in the West, I know some people find self -massage strange.  All I  can say is that if you haven't tasted coca cola, I can write volumes about the taste but you will never understand until you have actually tasted it for yourself. Self-massage is a vital key to keep your body balanced, healthy and well. Try it and you will see.

Good health not only benefits ourselves but also our family and the rest of society.  It's easy to forget the importance of health when we are healthy. It's only when it's taken away from us do we realise that without we cannot have a rich and fulfilled life without it. So appreciate your health and invest in it by practicing Qigong and Qigong massage for a long and healthy life. 

Want to learn Qigong?  Click here. 
For more information on the massage brushes click here

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

People always say health is the most important thing but how many people live by this belief? 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.


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The Future Of Exercise

Powerful strategies for optimzing your body and mind

I believe that practicing martial arts or going through your life without practicing Qigong is like driving a car and never topping up the air in the tyres. The air is our Qi, it gets us places. Take the air out of the tyre and the car will go nowhere, take the air out of our bodies and we die. It is as simple as that. On a basic level Qi is breath, it flows where the blood flows, but on a deeper level it is the energy matrix of the body and when we do Shaolin Training we optimize it on daily basis to get the most out of ourselves.

This is what the Shaolin Temple mean when they emphasise the importance of internal and external. The external is the kung fu, the things we can see, the internal is what is going on inside of us, and to optimize our energy we mix internal and external together.

Shaolin Steel Jacket

A good example of this is Shaolin Steel Jacket. In order for me to be able to do this, I have to have good stamina but I also I need to practice Qigong. It is the Qi that protects my body. I direct my Qi to my ribs or my back and I deflect the pain away so it acts like a mirror, when a person kicks me, their power is deflected and turned back on themselves so it hurts them instead of me. That is the amazing power of Qi.

The Competitive Edge

The majority of people use Qi to unblock the channels and optimize the efficiency of the body. In China, top-level businessmen and women practice Qigong so that they can focus and have full energy for the day ahead. They believe it gives them a competitive edge. Martial artists use it to make their bodies into weapons or simply to give them a stronger and longer martial art's life.

The balance of yin and yang

When I first went to the Shaolin Temple to begin my training, I was fourteen years old and 90% of my training was kung fu – external - training and only 10% was Qigong – internal - training. To be honest, I used to find internal training boring and I wasn’t convinced that there was such a thing as Qi. But I wanted to learn Shaolin Steel Jacket and in order to do this I had no choice. It was only when I saw the effectiveness of the Qigong movements that I became interested in Qi.

As I get older I don't need to practice 90% kung fu, and if I did I would quickly burn myself out. The reason boxers and footballers usually retire in their thirties is not only because their stamina is not as strong but also because their body feels weaker, and this is one of the ways in which martial arts differs from sport. As martial artists, our thirties are the time when we have the maturity and experience to go deeper into the internal techniques. We change the yin and yang of our training so that we may do 60% kung fu and 40% Qi Gong but as I get older this may become as much as 90% Qi Gong and 10% kung fu.

The key to staying young isn't to work out until our endorphins make us happy but to be clever and learn how to balance our external training with our internal training.

How far can you go?

If we have a car, every now and again we check the air pressure, especially if we are about to go on a long journey. We need to do the same thing with our body. What is it telling you? How much can you do today? How much can you push yourself?

This is something, which is difficult for a martial artist to judge because we know we have to push ourselves to improve. Martial arts are about taking us beyond our limits. The training challenges us and this is one of the reasons why we love martial arts so much. It takes us away from the smallness of our self and connects us with a tradition that is thousands of years old and it also gives us unity with our fellow martial artists. There is something exhilarating about our body being able to do something that we never thought possible.

But no matter what martial arts you do, or even if you don’t do martial arts, if you want to sustain your martial art's life then you need to do internal training. If it's not part of your tradition then take it from another tradition.

Right Now

The history of the Shaolin Temple was built on monks going out to different provinces and taking the good things then bringing them back and finely tuning them. It's important that we don't stay stuck but we keep evolving. Remember the lesson of impermanence. Nothing is fixed and solid. Just as our bodies are impermanent and constantly changing so should our training change and adapt to where our bodies are right now in the present moment.

Less is more

My advice is at the end of your martial art's or workout session, finish with some Qigong. In the beginning, you may – like I did – feel bored. But if this happens remind yourself that Qigong has been around for thousands of years. If it were rubbish then it wouldn't be practiced anymore. It is a time-tested technique of putting energy back into your body but it yields nothing to an impatient bored mind. The practice needs to have quality so it's best to start off with doing less, just five minutes a day.

The Eight Treasures Qigong

The Eight Treasures Qigong is possibly the most popular Qi Gong form in China. I teach it in my book Instant Health and also my DVD The Way Of Qigong. It consists of eight sections so it's easy to break them down. Take one section from The Eight Treasures Qi Gong and practice this movement, and then build up a little bit more each day until you are working through a whole form. Try to get into a daily routine. We don't think about brushing our teeth because it's a habit. Try to make a habit of doing Qigong.

It's important to have patience. Our minds are like puppies, we know when we bring a puppy into the house it's naughty and we have to train it. This is the same with our mind. We have to give it direction and leadership and soon our body will start to enjoy the increase in energy and we will want to do Qigong.

Beginner's mind

Shaolin Qigong comes from a Ch'an or Zen tradition so we don't think about where the energy is going. The important aspect of this is to have a no thinking beginner's type mind. Practice with a heart and mind placed firmly on the practice and from this your own experience will grow. You will become aware of energy naturally; your body will direct you. Don't complicate things. The secret to a successful Qigong practice is to make sure your breathing is one with your movement. Don’t add anything more. Keep it simple.

The Shaolin Energy Massage

Just as top-level Olympic athletes have regular massages, we also finish our Qigong practice with a self-massage. And we use The Instant Health Massage Brush to do this. I use a metal one because I practice Shaolin Steel Jacket but The Instant Health Massage Brush that my students use is made from bamboo and consists of 108 bamboo rods. It is designed for a person seeking health, and for martial artists it is also the first step to body conditioning.

Not only does it relieve tight muscles but it also assists in unblocking the acupuncture channels, and helps the body to detox through the stimulation of the lymphatic system. This is a natural battery charger for the body. We do this massage when we have finished our Qi Gong training and it takes about five or ten minutes.

The future of exercise

The future of exercise is changing, just as yoga has become more mainstream, I believe Qigong will follow. New research is proving its effectiveness and I hope to see not only martial artists use it but boxers and athletes and runners and footballers.

Life is about energy. When we love something or feel passionate about something then we have a lot of energy. Our love for martial arts gives us the mental energy to keep training. The Qi in our bodies gives us the physical energy to keep training.

I like to think that even when I'm in my sixties I'll still be kicking and punching bags and running up mountains. I'll still be discovering more and more about martial arts because martial arts is like the ocean, it's never ending and I am a beginner who is always learning. It is only through the Qi that I can continue to do this.

Go for it!

If I explain to you the taste of an apple, it's not the same as you actually taking a bite from an apple. It's the same with Qigong. I believe it will help you to run faster or punch quicker and it will give you more energy not only for your martial art's training but your day-to-day life. But I ask you not to take my word for it but go and try it out for yourself.