Nei Gung

[JadeRabbit]

Hi

 

I've recently started Nei Gung as part of my Taiji practice, but don't understand how it will benefit me? My taiji teacher say's it'll stop me getting hurt if I get hit (which sounds fair). In the system I'm learning there are 12 yin and 12 yang movements, although I've only been shown the first 8 yin so far.

 

I'm also confused about the Three Treasures; Jing, Qi and Shen, how they interelate also how I can cultivate through Nei Gung / Taiji practice?

 

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Ian]

Hi

 

I've recently started Nei Gung as part of my Taiji practice, but don't understand how it will benefit me? My taiji teacher say's it'll stop me getting hurt if I get hit (which sounds fair). In the system I'm learning there are 12 yin and 12 yang movements, although I've only been shown the first 8 yin so far.

 

I'm also confused about the Three Treasures; Jing, Qi and Shen, how they interelate also how I can cultivate through Nei Gung / Taiji practice?

 

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

An initial word of warning: we can't seem to agree, on this forum, even about what nei gung actually is.

 

So I would suggest to ignore, for now, any advice which you can't test physically and see if it feels good and stable for you, right now.

[orb]

Hi

 

I've recently started Nei Gung as part of my Taiji practice, but don't understand how it will benefit me? My taiji teacher say's it'll stop me getting hurt if I get hit (which sounds fair). In the system I'm learning there are 12 yin and 12 yang movements, although I've only been shown the first 8 yin so far.

 

I'm also confused about the Three Treasures; Jing, Qi and Shen, how they interelate also how I can cultivate through Nei Gung / Taiji practice?

 

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

Also, I'm a bit confused why are you asking the forum something that you should be asking your teacher. I mean that the main idea for getting a teacher is to ask him questions and learn whatever he is teaching you....

[Aetherous]

The best way to find out how it will benefit you is to practice it yourself and see. If you ask your teacher, they may be telling you lies or at least exaggerating the truth.

 

For a good overview on jing, qi and shen check out The Root of Chinese Qigong by Jwing Ming.

[mjjbecker]

..

Edited June 29, 2009 by mjjbecker

[JadeRabbit]

You say you recently started, so maybe it is a time for just getting on with your training and not worrying too much about it.

 

If you trust your teacher, you should not be too concerned. Trust is key here. You won't get all the information you want up front. It just doesn't happen that way in tradition styles. You will be told stuff as you progress to point you in the right direction. If your teacher likes you, and has a high enough understanding, you will be shown the high level 'keys' to understanding. If not, well, that is the way it goes.

 

Are you studying Wu or Wudang style?

 

Thanks for all the reponses so far. I understand what you're saying, i'll just be patient.

 

Regarding style, it's Wudang.

 

Also, I'm a bit confused why are you asking the forum something that you should be asking your teacher. I mean that the main idea for getting a teacher is to ask him questions and learn whatever he is teaching you....

 

Orb - my teacher is a very practical person who isn't interested in spirituality or Taoism. Since beginning Taiji, I've become very interested in Taoism and Buddhism, more so than the martial aspects of Taiji, and am hoping to get a better understanding of my practice.

 

Thanks.

[steve]

Jade Rabbit - It's great to see you beginning Tai Ji practice. Good luck! It's worth the effort.

 

Here's a perspective I'd like to share, FWIW. The brain's job is to 'understand' things. It takes in info, compares it to memory and knowledge, then creates an image and stores it. At some point, it accepts an image as reality, feels secure that it 'understands' reality as a result and moves on. It does this with everything!

 

You think flower, the image in your brain pops up, and you think you know what flower is. But do you really? Or do you just feel comfortble because you've seen several before and you 'understand' it and know if it's harmful or helpful or neutral, so you know how to deal with 'flower' and you can move on. If it's something new - you aren't secure until you know if it's harmful, helpful, or neutral and so the cycle repeats itself.

 

In practicing Tai Ji, Nei Gong, Qi Gong, Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation), Jing Zuo (sitting meditation) and so forth, your brain will struggle to do the same and that is one of the things that makes it so challenging to persist in practice without giving up, looking for a different practice and so forth. But what if you do 'understand' what's going on? Do you really? Does it matter? Does understanding really help? Is it really meaningful in this area? Can you 'understand' a practice like this after a month or two or ten years? These are experiential practices. You benefit from them by the doing, not so much by the analysis or 'understanding'. The practices are likely to improve your understanding of a lot of things in your life and in the world over time and 'understanding' the practices themselves to a large degree is part of that process and will come in stages over time as well.

 

So I think it's important to find a teacher that you have confidence in and trust that they're guiding you properly. That is critical. The teacher and student, and their relationship, IMO, is more importatn even that the style (provided that it's, at least, a credible style). Give yourself over to the practice for a while (6 months at least, this is a slow process) and let your whole being, mind and body, experience how it changes as you progress. Try not to let the mind trick you with it's 'understanding' because that's really nothing more than a very useful survival skill that keeps us farther from harmful stuff and closer to beneficial stuff. I think all of us would pretty much agree that Tai Ji, Qi Gong, Nei Gong, and meditation practices are helpful when done with a qualified teacher so be comfortable that you are secure in these practices.

 

I hope that helps in some way.

Enjoy the journey!

Don't get too hung up on the destination, it will be there when you get there.

In fact you are already always there, but that's for a different post...

Best regards,