Neigong Demystified
Neigong is difficult to describe and define in a few simple
sentences. Much of the information available is vague and romanticised. It’s
often made out to be mysterious and esoteric. There are examples of Internal
Martial Arts Masters who have used it to deliver and withstand massive blows
without using excessive muscular force and tension. Traditionally martial
artists were reluctant to reveal their ‘secrets’ (i.e. the bio-mechanics of
their neigong exercises) to the general public and only passed them on to a few
trusted disciples. Additionally, often
the people translating texts from Chinese or writing articles haven’t practised
the material so can’t describe it effectively.
The aim of this article is provide a relatively simple definition of
neigong and to introduce and describe some of its key components. It shouldn’t
be viewed as a complete or comprehensive guide.
Wang Shu Jin and Robert W Smith
Translation (內 功)
The character nei (內)
means internal or inside. Gong (功)
means time/effort or in this context skill. (It’s the same character as in gongfu or
qigong.) Therefore ‘Internal work’ or ‘Internal skill’ are the simplest
translations. However it’s not clear what this means or refers to. It can mean
different things to different people. Often Chinese terms (such as qigong,
gongfu) are not used in the same way in English as they are in Chinese, for
example ‘Gongfu’ actually means skill not martial arts in Mandarin Chinese.
Wikipedia translates it vaguely as “any set of Chinese breathing, meditation
and spiritual practice disciplines associated with Daoism”; this definition
could encompass a wide variety of exercises and activities. It’s more common to
hear the term used to describe specific exercises (resembling qigong) that aim
to increase ‘internal strength’.
What
is the difference between neigong and qigong?
I’ve
often heard the terms used interchangeably and for many years had no idea how
to answer this question. I still don’t have a simple or concise answer. Both
terms are somewhat vague, ambiguous, and flexible. Therefore any attempt to
answer this question is subjective and involves semantics i.e. the answer
depends upon how you choose to define them. I’ve heard a variety of answers to
this question these include:
- They’re basically the same
- Qigong starts from the outside and works inwards, while neigong starts from the inside and works outwards
- Neigong is a type of qigong (and even that Qigong is a type of Neigong)
- Qigong is to improve health, while neigong is to increase internal power
- Qigong moves of energy using body using body movement while neigong moves energy using the mind
- Neigong is the alphabet (or building blocks) of all qigong, taijiquan, baguazhang and xingyiquan.
Paul Cavel
performing the ‘Marriage of Heaven and Earth’ neigong set
Neigong
components versus Neigong sets
I
think it’s necessary to differentiate between neigong components and neigong
sets. Components refers to training elements, such as abdominal breathing,
pulsing joints and cavities, internal stretching of soft tissues etc. Whereas
neigong sets are specific exercises, like ‘Marriage of Heaven and Earth’ or ‘Energy
gates’ that are designed to practice these components. These are relatively simple and repetitive in terms of
their external movements. Once students are able to perform the components in
the neigong sets they can then integrate them gradually into any taijiquan,
xingyiquan and baguazhang forms that they practice. Although it’s possible to integrate
components directly into forms it is much more difficult, because their
movements are much more complicated than those of the neigong sets.
Few
schools teach neigong openly or in public. It’s usually only taught to ‘inside
the door’ students who may have to swear an oath of secrecy and not be
permitted to teach or disseminate the material they are taught. Naturally different schools and styles have
their own unique systems that they want to protect and promote. So the elements
described this article may not be present in all neigong systems. For example although
Mantak Chia’s ‘Bone Marrow washing neigong’ contains breathing methods, fascia
stretching and stimulation of the lymphatic system, but it uses very different
methods to those described in this article.
Bruce Frantzis perhaps
the most well-known westerner teaching neigong
My first
neigong teacher Paul Cavel has identified two primary streams for the early
stages of neigong practice:
· Gaining
conscious control over the soft tissues of the body
· Developing
the ability to pulse (or open and close) the joints and cavities of the body
Both of
these streams contain various layers of practice (for example gaining control
over soft tissues includes bending, stretching, lengthening, rotating, wrapping
etc). The number cavities and amount of soft tissue means that mastering these
streams is a formidable task. Although there are other important elements/components
of neigong, I believe that these are two of the most beneficial for beginners.
What is Internal
stretching?
Stretching
the soft tissue is one of the most important components of neigong. ‘Soft
tissue’ can refer to anything in the body that is not bone. It includes tendons, ligaments, fascia, synovial
membranes (fluid in joints), muscles, nerves and blood vessels. Relatively few people know about fascia- the
glue that holds everything together. It is a stretchy layer of fibrous tissue
that surrounds every muscle, blood vessel and internal organ - an interconnected
web that holds all the soft tissues and organs in place. This means certain
internal stretches have the potential to gently massage the internal organs (by
pulling on the fascia that surrounds them).
Fascia under magnification.
The translucent, white, stretchy membrane that
we see in meat is fascia.
How can we stretch fascia and tendons?
The easiest way to experience an internal
stretch is to gently move the shoulder blades and elbows away from the spine.
If you stand up straight and hold your arms out in front of you, and then
slowly move your hands away from your body without straightening your elbows;
this should generate an internal stretch in the upper torso. This stretch can
be amplified by rotating the arms as you move your hands. Ensure the spine
remains straight and upright and make sure that the stretches and rotations
remain balanced (i.e. don’t stretch one arm more), smooth, and relaxed. More
powerful internal stretches can be generated in the lower body using kwa (kua)
squats and weight shifting. When the stretches of the upper and lower body are
combined with other neigong components such as breathing methods, pulsing
(opening and closing) and precise body alignments this can generate a powerful
‘internal pressure’ in the abdomen.
If the elastic represents the tendons, fascia
and muscles, the ball would represent the feet and hands then the bat would be
the spine. A shift in body weight that moves the tailbone should initiate the
stretch (this was not the case in the exercise I described as the spine did not
move). The movement of the hands is
sequentially behind that of the spine. There is a brief lag time between when
the spine begins moving and when the hands begin to extending out and when the
spine stops moving in one direction the hands should continue moving in that
direction for a split second before they are pulled back by the elastic (i.e.
the tendons and fascia).
Opening and closing (also called pulsing)
Openings encourage stretches and closings
should be performed as the stretches are released. To begin with the easiest
parts of the body to open and close are the 5 bows (the spine, 2 arms and 2
legs). The next phase could be to include larger cavities such as the palms and
armpits. Eventually we want to be able to pulse every joint and cavity of the
body simultaneously. Of course there are hundreds of these and pulsing smaller
cavities and joints, like the spaces between the vertebrae requires a very high
level of awareness and control. It’s much easier to develop this in neigong
sets such as ‘Circling Hands’ or ‘Marriage of Heaven and Earth’ where the
movements are relatively simple, so all the attention can be focussed on the
openings and closings. All Chinese internal martial arts forms contain openings
in the yang movements and closings in the yin movements. However it’s often made
more complicated by the turning and weight shifting. For example as the weight shifts
onto the right side that side of the body may close causing the left side to open
and vice versa. Increasing the number cavities that you are able to pulse will
increase your ability to expand and open when emitting force (fa jin in
Mandarin), thus increasing the power of your punches, kicks and pushes. But
more useful benefits include releasing tension, removing toxins, stimulating
the movement of fluids and improving the functioning of the immune system
The Lymphatic system
The lymphatic system is a
series of vessels throughout the body that drain fluid from tissues. It has a
number of functions. It transports bacteria to the lymph nodes where they are attacked by white blood cells (i.e. it fights infections).
It absorbs and transports fatty acids from the digestive system. And it helps
remove toxins and waste materials from the body by removing interstitial fluid
from the tissues. The lymph system relies on body movement to
pump the lymph (a colourless fluid that is similar to blood) around the body. Pulsing cavities, especially those of the
armpits, neck and inguinal groves, which contain lots of lymph nodes, will
enhance the movement of fluids and improve the functioning of the lymphatic
system. Rhythmic contractions of all the lymphatic vessels and the tissues that
surround these will pump the lymph much more effectively than external
movements.
Diagram
(a) shows the major components of the lymphatic system. Diagram (b) shows how
waste material is removed from tissue cells, and diagram (c) is a lymph node.
Alignments
Correct alignments are a pre-requisite for
effective internal stretching and pulsing. The spine should remain as straight
as possible. The sacrum (the tailbone at the base of the spine) should be tucked
under at all times. If the lower back becomes arched the internal stretching
and pulsing in the lower body will be greatly diminished. The shoulders and
hips should remain parallel (with each other and the ground). One common
mistake is for people to turn the shoulders more than the hips. The feet, knees and hip joints should remain
in line. If these alignments are not correct the student risks damaging joints
and ligaments. Although these alignments
seem simple, maintaining them precisely at all times is surprisingly difficult.
Even a minor deviation can dramatically reduce the effectiveness of your
practice. It is much better to maintain these alignments and only perform very
small (external) movements rather than to perform much larger movements that
compromise these alignments.
Conclusion and health
warning/disclaimer
If your taijiquan, baguazhang or xingyiquan
doesn’t contain any neigong elements then it shouldn’t be considered an
’internal martial art’. Unfortunately, as many taijiquan forms have been
simplified and proliferated much of the neigong material has been neglected or
lost. Synthesizing the neigong components and integrating them into martial
arts forms requires a great deal of honesty, patience and awareness. It’s easy
to kid yourself and visualise that you’re doing them correctly. Neigong also
requires a lot of physical exertion, many people don’t expect this as the
external movements are slow, smooth, and relaxed. Studying neigong isn’t easy
or without risk. The ‘internal pressure’ needs to be built up gradually.
Sometimes traumas (both physical and emotional) can cause blockages deep inside
the body. Practising neigong may release these blockages, which may lead to a
release of negative emotions. So neigong should only be studied under the
careful supervision from experienced teachers. The feats of strength shown in
the pictures of of Bruce Frantzis and Wang Shu Jin are the results of years of
study under high level teachers followed by diligent daily practise. It should
be noted that the potential benefits are much more profound than simply hitting
hard or withstanding blows. They include being more consciously aware of what
going on inside your body. Energising the immune system, and releasing toxins
and tension from the body.
The definitions provided of the lymphatic
system, fascia, soft tissues and interstitial fluids are simplified and incomplete.
More information can be found at the links below.
Further reading and references
neigong
http://www.energyarts.com/three-levels-fundamental-neigong-training
Fascia and the Lymphatic system
http://brightonbagua.co.uk/qi-gong/
