Neigong
Neigong
NEIGONG ancient Chinese longevity technique
Neigong is a series of Chinese exercises, that have been brought to the US by a martial arts master in its pure and ancient form, undiluted for Westerners. I was studying with Master Ham King Koo who was still teaching at age 96. The positive effects on health can be felt very quickly, long before one has learned the entire taiji form. This is a form of “self-acupuncture” enabling the practitioner to be aware of and circulate the chi throughout the various energy meridians. The practice of this “soft” martial art, will lead to great strength, flexibility and a peaceful demeanor. Through meditation, we calm the mind/heart intention. Using thousand-year-old physical exercises, we rid the body of illness. This dual cultivation allows us to return to a natural state of balance and harmony.
NEIGONG CLASSES
include Taoist meditation techniques, YiJinJing or QiGong exercises, and a taijiquan form. This is a “soft” martial art form which has been used for health and longevity. The qi (chi), or life energy, cannot flow when there is any restriction. Through these practices we can alleviate any rigidity or block to the circulation of qi. Many exercises can strengthen or build muscles, but if we cannot at the same time be soft there will be no flow of energy or health.
Qigong includes specific exercises to balance the qi. They work on each joint in the body specifically, and work towards strength, flexibility, breathing, and serenity.
The taijiquan form balances the qi, moves every joint in the body, and promotes general health and longevity.
Beginning Class
Standing meditation.
Basic QiGong exercises, for strength, flexibility, and understanding the basic way of moving used in the taiji form.
First chapter of the taiji form.
Dr. RainBow Casey has devoted her life to help people get healthy and begin the process of aging in reverse. She has been teaching Neigong since 1985. Through her work with nutrition and fasting and the art of NeiGong, no one need ever fear getting sick or aging.
She is available in Southern California for NeiGong classes or private instruction in your home.
for classes in New York City the Society for Nanlaoshu (212) 353-2585
The following is excerpted from a lecture given by Master Koo on June 30, 1988:
Neigong practitioners recognize that the body functions in unknown and mysterious ways. each one of us has a body, yet none of us quite understand how it functions. Neigong knowledge is embedded in the many techniques handed down from the past. In every region of China, particular practices and unique phenomena appear. Across these differing practices, the common thread that the Taoists pursue is longevity. They believe that a person should be able to live very long, and in fact, can even be immortal.
In the old days, lacking scientific understanding, practitioners had to use parables to explain things. They used analogies: the sky, the earth, the universe, and the five elements of the universe to explain the phenomena of the body. The Taoists divided the qi in the universe into six different kinds. Thus they said the body also has six different kinds of qi. When the qi from the universe and the qi within your body connect, they will interact and begin to change.
Heaven is Yang and earth is Yin. We represent the phenomena of the world as being two parts, with man in the middle. Our bodies are a microcosm of the universe. All six qi, three yin and three yang, that exist in the universe also exist in our bodies.
When the universal qi and bodily qi meet, a person can be damaged. When in a position that might cause damage, you must think of a way to protect yourself. In summer, most people put on the air conditioning and in winter, the heat. They seek external help to counter the universal qi. People who have excellent health don’t need this external help. They are not afraid of the cold or hot weather. The external qi wants to enter the body, but the body does not respond, and it doesn’t become ill.
Taoists realize that man existed before there was language. People have always sought to live. Early man knew that to live, he had to first relate to the world outside. Wind, snow, rain, thunder, any of these conditions induced some kind of fearful reaction. The first step for man to live in the universe was to understand the changes that occur within the universe. A person has to either find shelter from or join and be harmonious with the changes of the outside world.
Taoists look for guidance in nature: heaven, earth, and the universal mystery they contain. Joining forces with the universal mystery, mimicking the strategies of heaven and earth, is the Taoist’s way. However, in heaven and on the earth, if we are born, we must die. Now, because we don’t want to die, we must understand how death occurs. First, we are born, a perfect specimen, very healthy. Gradually, we become old. After growing old, we become ill, and after illness, we die. This is nature, what happens to all life.
If we do become ill, what are we going to do? We will repair ourselves! What do we use to repair? Well, what is the material that made us grow? Whatever the material that we use to grow, that same material we use to repair. Man grows because of the working of qi. As qi is depleted, man grows old. Taoists practice to cultivate and conserve qi. Taoists seek first to augment their growth, to grow closer to the ideal; and second to limit the decay, to slow down the aging process.
The qi is intangible. Although it doesn’t have shape or substance, qi is something, and that something can change into something tangible, like a baby. During gestation, the body grows gradually. Gradually the many, many parts of the body form, from an origin of nothingness. The qi is also capable of the reverse change, from all these parts of the body back into nothing.
Qi is controlled by yi, mind intention. The mind controls the yi, which combines with the heart. We don’t know where thought comes from, but it connects to the heart, and these two in combination make us behave and think in a certain way.
The mind, heart, and intention, taken as a unit, we call spirit or character. Anxious, tame, peaceful, greedy, generous, and many other types, everybody has a different character. We don’t know where it comes form, but spirit does exist.
A body is needed to house the spirit. The body is material. When the spirit combines with the body, we call this life. Yi directs the body. Spirit and body are connected by the qi. Qi connects the movement of the body and the mind intention.
The qi is ruled by the five major organs. Inside our bodies, just as in the universe outside, the different qi work together, interacting with and regulating each other. When they are balanced, you don’t have illness. When the qi are imbalanced, stronger on one side than another, this kind of change causes problems. The neigong practitioner makes both the hollow and solid organs within the body even, balancing the qi.
To direct the qi, it must be gathered. First, don’t let it dissipate through thoughts focused outside the self or by actions that dissipate the qi. Rather be peaceful, allowing the qi to naturally return and gradually accumulate.
The emotions of life - anger, joy, worry, sadness and fear - all dissipate the qi. When the qi dissipates, it is very easy to get ill. Therefore, don’t have so many emotions. Try to become very peaceful and gather all your qi together. When we are very, very peaceful, we can look inward. When the qi gathers, it will illuminate what went wrong inside. The first step in our practice is to become peaceful.
There have been recordings in books of people attaining immortality, but no one knows where these immortals are today. It is only in the books. For the time being at least, let’s not believe the books. We can intend that we help ourselves, lengthen our lives and not become ill so often. When we do become ill, we can use our own capabilities to cure. Be peaceful and make the qi and the blood harmonize with each other.