Shaolin Nei Gong – Year Two
The Second Year
After the first year (or years) of dedicated training, your entire body will be filled with plentiful Jing or Life Essence.
Said another way, you should be feeling a lot more ‘Mojo’!
Your muscles, membranes, and fascia (Jin) are becoming denser and stronger, and are filling with an abundance of that gel full of precursors (Ye). This is necessary and ensures much more dense collagen structures and interconnections. This muscle density and/or muscle volume will depend on how thoroughly you have developed and tested your whole body for strength, endurance, flexibility, and shock resistance.
In the Second Year, the purpose is to explore interactions that require a higher level of embodied awareness, while exploring more refined versions of Pandiculation and Tensegrity training. The focus of your resistance training will shift to increasing Jing/Essence as muscle density and Elastin levels, while also improving nerve conduction throughout your whole body. This cultivates even more potent aspects of training your Mind within the interactive capacities of sensation, contraction, release, momentum, and stillness.
This year is an invitation to refine every aspect of your practice, how you learn and train, and to actively begin the Alchemic, or subtle aspects of the Muscle Tendon transformation process. This year is dedicated to restoring, refining, and maximizing your Jing/Essence. In TCM your Kidneys and Liver share the root of Yin and Yang. The is expressed as Jing, which ensures your vitality and longevity if it is in abundance and harmony.
The Yin aspects of Jing and Jin are improved through building muscle density and muscle volume (if needed), improving joint flexibility, higher collagen levels in all connective tissues and bones, nerve flossing (which stimulate nerve growth), percussive body conditioning, healthy nutrition, self-massage, and facial rejuvenation practices. Although, from a Chan/Zen perspective, physical appearance and personal beauty are not a great concern, from a social and behavioral perspective, it is natural to want to be as attractive and charismatic as possible.
The Yang aspects include Shaolin Wall Staring Meditation, State Shifting Breathwork, the coherent focus (Yi Nian) necessary for this level of Inner Cultivation. This year, your Yi Nian training will need to be precise, unwavering, and interactively subtle. As well, the sensual joy of Conscious Embodiment, and the realization that Yang can only remain present when rooted in sufficient Yin.
Recommendation for the Second Year
- 12 Gestures of Wei Tuo - (Four Layers of Every Gesture)
- Tan Fu's External Vigor - (Four Layers of Every Posture)
- Daoist Heavy Hands - (Four Layers of Bone Marrow Washing)
- Shaolin Seated Wall Staring Meditation - Five Breaths of Yi Nian
- Restore Your Core and Floor Work (Wo Gong)
- Shaolin Tan Tui – Four Techniques for Leg Strength and Power
- 18 Fa Jin Heavy Staff Strengthening Form
- Stone Locks/Kettlebells - two
- Whole Body Nerve Flossing Flow (and individual nerves)
- Gymitations – Second Series and Muscle Anatomy
- Circuit Training – Year Two
- Pai Da – Two – Using Bean Bags or Bamboo
- Anti-Aging Protocols and Facial Rejuvenation Massage
- Cupping and Gua Sha
- Building your External Elixir (Wai Dan 外丹)
Completing this level of Shaolin Nei Gong is lifechanging. It was for me. If you are a martial artist, a Chan/Zen practitioner, or on the path of Daoist Immortality, your embodied and energetic capacity will increase greatly.