More chi!

The following is an excerpt from the book The Shaolin Workout
by Sifu Shi Yan Ming
Published by Rodale; May 2006;$29.95US/$39.95CAN; 1-59486-400-4
Copyright © 2006 Sifu Shi Yan Ming

More chi! Train harder!

Sifu often encourages his students with the cheer "More chi! Train harder!"

What does this mean?

Chi (also spelled qi) is often translated as "life force." It is similar to what we in the West mean by "energy," but it's much more than that. Chi is the vital force that flows through all things -- humans, animals, plants, rocks, microbes, mountains. Chi connects us to all other things in the universe. It is the source of all spiritual, mental, and physical energy and health. It is dynamic, circulating in us like our blood. It has been compared to electricity flowing through circuits, and to the force flowing around magnetic poles.

When our minds, hearts, and bodies are in harmony and in balance, the chi flows freely, helping us to live beautiful lives. When our lives are out of balance, the chi may be blocked or depleted. Stimulating the correct flow of chi can heal us when we are sick and invigorate us when we are tired.

Chi is the force that gives kung fu masters like Sifu their incredible power. It is through stimulating and guiding the flow of chi that we train and push our bodies to actions we might never have known we could do before. This is why we constantly cheer one another on with the cry "More chi! Train harder!" The more chi you put into your exercises and movements, the harder you are able to train. The harder you train, the more you master your body and its movements, and the more chi you'll have.

Some beginners fear that they'll never be able to master certain stretches or movements. It's not unusual to experience some muscle pain when first performing certain exercises and stretches. A "pulled muscle" is a muscle that's not used to being stretched and worked. In the modern world, we use our legs for so little. We sit all day in our cars, at our desks, on the sofa, watching TV. Now you're suddenly asking your muscles to do some work. It's no wonder they're sore!

The wrong way to respond to that sore muscle is to tense up, physically or mentally. Tension will only block the flow of chi to that muscle.

The right way to respond is to relax your body and your mind, extend your body and your mind, and train harder. Athletes have that saying, "No pain, no gain." That's what "Train harder!" means as well. Don't back away from the work, don't tense up, and certainly don't give up. If you give up on your exercises, you give up on yourself. Have faith and confidence in yourself, and tomorrow the stretch you found difficult will feel easier. The next day, it will be easier still.

Today, think about how you can apply this warrior's attitude to your whole life. The more chi you put into your life, the more you'll get out of your life. When you feel like you just can't face another day of washing and folding the kids' laundry . . . when your boss drops an extra stack of paperwork on your desk an hour before quitting time . . . when you get home exhausted after fighting rush hour and plop down on the sofa, and your son asks you to help him with his math homework. Whatever chores, problems, or responsibilities you face today, don't flinch from them, don't avoid them, don't feel defeated by them. Tackle them head-on. Put more chi into it and get it done. Train harder!

Reprinted from: The Shaolin Workout: 28 Days to Transforming Your Body and Soul the Warrior's Way by Sifu Shi Yan Ming © 2006 Rodale Inc. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com.

Author
Sifu Shi Yan Ming, a 34th-generation Shaolin warrior monk, is respected not only in the martial arts world but also in the entertainment world by stars like Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, and the Wu-Tang Clan. His kung fu classes have been featured in USA Today, The New York Times, New York Daily News, and Entertainment Weekly. Brian Gray of Inside Kung Fu magazine has called him a "living treasure of China." He has also appeared on the Discovery Channel, MTV, and CNBC, among other major networks. Sifu Shi Yan Ming lives in New York City.

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Stay Healthy - Learn To Meditate

Wondering how people who live to be 100 with a great quality of life do it? In his book, “Aging Well,” Harvard researcher, George Vaillant, M.D., found out just what centurions do. They cultivate a sense of peace, well-being and maintain a positive attitude. How? Here’s one of their biggest secrets: meditation. What’s ironic about meditation is, it has just become known in the West as a healing technique, but it has been practiced for ages in the East. So in my quest to give you easy sensible ways to purify your energy, I'll begin by defining meditation, then I'll show you how easy it is to apply to your daily routine.

Meditation Defined
Meditational exercises primarily use the experience of the body and thought as a means to reconnect with the environment and its healing power. Meditation, when practiced frequently, has been proven to promote inner peace and wellness. Meditation is also a mental practice in which the mind is directed to one area, often the breath. It draws its energy from the human connection to nature and creates a sense of unity or one-ness with it.

This unity has been shown to increase communication with the spirit of the body. It has also been known to allow positive thoughts in and to stimulate positive physiological and psychological effects. Meditation techniques are easy to learn and can easily be incorporated into any lifestyle. If practiced regularly, meditation will bring balance to your body and mind.

General benefits of meditation and breathing exercises include:

• Deep inner peace
• Improved self-esteem
• Increased creativity
• Physical health/healing
• Reduced medical care
• Slowing/reversal of aging
• Reversing of heart disease
• Stimulation of the body’s immune system
• Reduced stress

I have found there is really no one right ways to meditate. Here are a couple of my favorite meditational exercises that will get you started. Remember, there is no wrong path here. Try these, or simply sit in silence for 20 minutes, daily. You’ll be glad you did.

Meditative Grounding Exercise

• Sit with your legs crossed in a comfortable (Indian-style) position with your hands relaxed on you lap. Close your eyes and imagine a beam of light dropping from the base of your spine through the earth and connecting you to its center.

• Allow this beam of light to expand in width until it is wider than your own body and envelopes it. This is your personal space.

This exercise places you totally in your body and reminds you that you are anchored to the earth. Remember, the more grounded you are, the more aware you are. Sense the presence of your higher self: listen to its voice.

Energy Cleaning Exercise

Now that you are grounded, it’s important that you cleanse this personal space. Often we collect other people’s energies and are not aware of it. We do this both through interaction with others and basic activities of daily living.

• To remove all foreign energies from your space, imagine holding a brush and sweeping away the debris.

• Allow the debris to fall to the ground and become washed away. Let the light from the previous exercise envelop your body and spread its healing energy to the edge of your space, forming a protective force field around you.

Cleaning out the area surrounding your body will keep you grounded, define your personal boundaries and declare your space. Then choose who and what you wish to enter you space, keeping disease and illness out.

Breathing Exercise

• Follow your breath as you slowly inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Count with each exhale until you reach 10 then begin again at one.

• If you find yourself past 10, acknowledge this and begin again at one from wherever you are.

• Imagine your body’s cells being replaced with fresh, pure oxygen and positive healing energy from this power source. Picture yourself exhaling old cells, stress, illness and worries.

• Let your thoughts pass through your mind like drifting clouds. Let them in and gently let them pass through. If the mind should harbor a negative thought, refocus on the breath.

• Thank any persistent negative thoughts for coming into your mind then gently let them go.

• Listen only for the positive, pronounced voice; the voice of your body.

Retrieve Your Energy Exercise

Since foreign energy often resides in your space, let’s also assume that you leave energy in other places. After completing the preceding exercises it is necessary to re-energize and call energy back.

• Imagine you have an energy magnet used to attract your energy back to you. Visualize energy flowing back to you, filling your body with light, health and empowerment.

• Allow a few minutes for the process.

Journal Questions:

1. Record in your journal any problem or trouble you may be having – emotional, physical or otherwise. Let problems go and give them over to your meditation.

2. Do you notice solutions coming to you throughout the day? Do you notice with regular meditation that your body and mind are becoming calmer and clearer?

Ideas To Consider:

1. Make time for your spirit daily. Exhibit behaviors and self talk that show your reverence for yourself.

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The Shaolin Workout - Harmony

The following is an excerpt from the book The Shaolin Workout
by Sifu Shi Yan Ming
Published by Rodale; May 2006;$29.95US/$39.95CAN; 1-59486-400-4
Copyright © 2006 Sifu Shi Yan Ming

My heart is in harmony with my mind. My mind is in harmony with my chi. My chi is in harmony with my power.

There are intrinsic harmonies between certain parts of the body. Your hands are in harmony with your feet. Your elbows are in harmony with your knees. And your shoulders are in harmony with your hips. As you continue to train the warrior's way, you will begin to find all the muscles and joints in your body working in harmony, giving you a strength and endurance you've probably never felt before. The Shaolin Workout trains your body from head to toe. No single muscle or limb can be anywhere near as strong as when all your muscles work together.

These physical harmonies reflect spiritual and mental harmonies: Your heart is in harmony with your mind. Your mind is in harmony with your chi. Your chi is in harmony with your power.

These are inseparable relationships. You can't separate your heart from your mind, or your mind from your body. The physical and the mental are linked. When your body is weak and tired, so is your mind. When your body falls asleep, your mind stops working, too. And by the same token, if you exhaust your mind, your body will be exhausted, too. If you're thinking and worrying so much at night that you can't rest, the next day your body will have no chi. You'll be doing your workout Sleeping Style!

That is why we relax both our bodies and our minds. We want flexible minds in flexible bodies.

If you find yourself getting stressed-out today -- at your desk at work, in a long line at the supermarket, wherever it is -- take a moment to relax. If your mind is stressed, your body tenses. You feel the muscles in your neck tighten, and your shoulders hunching. Your chest constricts, and you can't breathe right. You can give yourself a headache or stomachache.

When you're tense, you can't celebrate your beautiful life. Loosen up. Relax your body and your mind. Stand up from your desk and do your neck stretches and shoulder rotations. Or do them standing right there in that supermarket line. Who cares if other people are watching? Untense those muscles, and you'll relieve some of the mental stress as well. It's not magic or mumbo jumbo. It's your body and mind working in harmony. And now that you're relaxed, you'll see how much easier it is to get through the task at hand. A relaxed mind in a relaxed body allows the chi to flow and releases your power.

Try it today. You'll see.

Reprinted from: The Shaolin Workout: 28 Days to Transforming Your Body and Soul the Warrior's Way by Sifu Shi Yan Ming © 2006 Rodale Inc. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com.

Author
Sifu Shi Yan Ming, a 34th-generation Shaolin warrior monk, is respected not only in the martial arts world but also in the entertainment world by stars like Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, and the Wu-Tang Clan. His kung fu classes have been featured in USA Today, The New York Times, New York Daily News, and Entertainment Weekly. Brian Gray of Inside Kung Fu magazine has called him a "living treasure of China." He has also appeared on the Discovery Channel, MTV, and CNBC, among other major networks. Sifu Shi Yan Ming lives in New York City.

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