7 SECRETS OFQIGONG

NOW... SUNNY DEVON 8:30 P.M.Discover 7 secrets that make the difference between qigong and qigong form.

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Perhaps upwards of 90% of what is taught as Qigong today, is actually more correctly what we’d call Qigong form. Qigong form will offer you the benefits of gentle exercise, but is not powerful enough to offer you the benefits of Qigong. In this report discover the 7 secrets that make the difference between Qigong form and Qigong.

Introduc)on

Seven  secrets  of  high  level  Qigong(Transcript  taken  from  the  DVD  by  the  same  name)

Marcus:    Hi  thanks  for  joining  us,  I’m  going  to  share  seven  secrets  that  make  the  difference  between  high  level  Qigong  and   low   level  Qigong.     I’m  joined  today   by   my   very   good   friend  and  special  guest   Jordan  Francis,  who  is  also  a  teacher  of  Qigong,  we’ve  got  a  lot  of  material  to  cover  and  before  we  go  any  further  I  just  want  to  kind  of  dangle  a  liGle  hook  in  front  of  you  -­‐  at  the  end  of  the  recording  I’m  going  to  share  with  you  a  simple,  liGle  technique  but  a  very  powerful  technique  called  The  Point  Massage.    You  know  the  one  I  mean  Jordan?  

Jordan:     Oh  yeah  sure.  

Marcus:    Some  people  refer   to  it   as  like  a  face  liP  without   the  knives.  Well  what   I’ll  do  is  at  the  end  of  the  recording  I’ll  share  that  with  you.  So  make  sure  you  stay  with  us  unRl  the  end  and  like  I  said  enjoy  the  video  and  we’ll  get  started  now

Secret  1:  What  is  Qigong?

Jordan:     Okay  then,  let’s  start  with  secret  number  1  the  history  of  Qigong  perhaps  you  could  tell  us  the  history  of  Qigong.

Marcus:    It’s  a  liGle  tricky  because  Qigong  has  a  record  going  back  5000  plus  years.  I  remember  Sifu  telling  me  that  in  a  museum,  I  forget  which  one,  there  is  this  piece  of  jade  that’s  got  11  Chinese  characters  on  it  that  are  an  explanaRon  of  a  high  level  Qigong  technique  known  as  the  small  universe  and  that  jade  has  been  proven  to  be  5000  years  old,  but   I  think  qigong  is  considerably  older  than  that.   Imagine  if  you  drew  a  dot  on  a  piece  of  paper  and  then  start  drawing  two  lines  from  that  dot,   if   you  have  just   1   degree  difference  in  the  angle  between  the  lines  over  a  5000  year  period  you’ll  find  that  there’s  a  big  gap  between  those  two  lines.    Now  add  into  the  mix  different  religious  beliefs  different  social   economic,   and   all   the   different   kind   of   things   that   happen   in  history  and  society.  

It’s  very  easy  to  see  that  suddenly  you’ve  got  a  lot  of  different  styles  of  Qigong  a  lot   of  different  schools  of  Qigong.     You’ve  got  Taoist  Qigong   ,  you’ve  got  Buddhist  Qigong,  you’ve  got  all  kind  of  different  religions  that  have  got  Qigong  related  to  them,  you  have  marRal  arts  Qigong.  There  are  so  many  different  types.  And  what  I  would  like  to  go  over  with  you  a  liGle  bit  is  the  kind  of  Qigong  we  teach.          

And  that’s  Shaolin  Qigong  so  the  legend  is  that  about  1500  years  ago,  the  Very  Venerable  Bodhidharma  who  is  considered  to  be  the  first  patriarch  of  Chinese  Chan  or  Zen  and  the  28th  patriarch  of  Indian  Buddhism  visited  the  Shaolin  monastery.  

Whilst  he  was  there  he  found  the  monks  in  very   poor  health  because  they   would  spend  hours  and  hours  at   a  Rme   leaning   over   copying   scriptures   from   one  book   to   another,   and  obviously   their  posture  was  very  messed  up  and  everything  wasn’t  parRcularly  very  good  and  at  that  Rme,  there  was  

a  philosophy   that   the  body   was  just   a  hindrance   like  a  dirty   bag  of   bones  that  got   in   the  way   of  spiritual  culRvaRon.  

Now  Bodhidharma  had  a  very  different  take  on  this,  he  felt  that  spiritual  culRvaRon  is  probably  the  hardest  undertaking  that  a  human  is  going  to  do,  and  to  be  able  to  do  that  much  beGer  your  body  needs  to  be  in  great  shape,  so  Bodhidharma  finding  the  monks  of  the  Shaolin  monastery  in  poor  health  taught  them  a  series  of  3  different  exercises  but  the  one  that  we’ll  focus  on  is  the  Shaolin  18  Lohan  Hands.

Using   these   Qigong   exercises   they   were   able   to   improve   their   health   and   their   vitality   which  obviously  helped  to  improve  their  mental  ability  and  also  their  spiritual  culRvaRon.  And  it  might  be  interesRng  for   you  to  know  that  the  Shaolin  18  Lohan  Hands  was  the  forerunner   of  Lohan  kung  fu.  And  obviously   it  seems  interesRng  if  you  know  anything  about  Qigong  to  think  that  gentle  external  movements  could  actually  go  on  to  become  a  formidable  marRal  art.

Jordan:     Now  as  we  all  know  from  the  Hong  Kong  movies  and  yes,  it  is  quite  a  jump  from  health  to  combat

Marcus:    That’s  right  from  gentle  flowing  movements  to  full  on  craziness.

Jordan:     So  can  we  break  down  the  different  types  of  Qigong  to  make  it  a  liGle  more  understandable  then.

Marcus:    Sure,  but  keep  in  mind  that  I’m  going  to  be  making  broad  generalizaRons  here  because  otherwise  this  whole  DVD  and  another  6  of  them  would  just  be  covering  this  parRcular  aspect  alone  and  obviously  Rmes  pressing.   But   you  have  different   levels  if   you  like  because  with  Qigong  you  are  working  with  health  and  vitality,  longevity,  internal  force,  mental  clarity  and    spiritual  culRvaRon.  So  the  the  lowest  level  Qigong  if  you  like  although  it’s  sRll  very   ‘high’  if  done  properly   is  self  manifested  Qi  flow  and  preGy  much  what  you’re  doing  is  you’re  using  the  actual  external  movements  of  Qigong  to  generate  a  flow  of  energy   and  I’ll  discuss  in  more  detail  later  why   that’s  so  important.  But,  preGy  much  it’s  Qigong  you  would  use  if  you  had  a  clear  medical  problem,  for  example  if  you  suffer  from  asthma  or  diabetes,   or   if   there’s   a  very   clear   health   issue   that’s   the   kind   of  Qigong  you  would  want  to  look  at.  

  If  you  find  that   you’re  in  relaRvely  good  health,  you’re  not  aware  of  any   parRcular   health   issues  happening   for   you.   Then   you  would  be  more   interested   in   doing  dynamic   Qigong.   And  dynamic   Qigong   is  probably,  if  you  know  anything  about  Qigong,  is  what  you  might  think  of  as  being  the  stereotype  of  Qigong,  it’s  a  series  of  movements  going  on.  

Again,   this  parRcular   type  of   Qigong   is  about   generaRng   a  flow   of  energy   and  using  that   energy  to  remove  blockages  again  I’ll  go  over  this   in  more   detail   later,   but   whereas   the   self   manifested  medical  Qigong  combines  two,  three,  or  more  different  qigong  exercises,  with  the  dynamic  you  usually  just  focus  on  one  parRcular  exercise.  

At   a  higher   level  you  have  a  type  of  Qigong   known  as  Zhan  Zhuang  which  is  where  you  use  one  paGern  and  you  hold  it  staRcally,  for  example:  golden  bridge  and  you  just  hold   the   stance  and   then   you   just   breathe   and   relax   and   relax   and   relax.   Now,   Zhan   Zhuang   is  predominately  used  by  marRal  arRsts  to  develop  internal  force  and  internal  force  is  preGy  much  what  

keeps  you  going  all  day.  But  you  have  to  be  very  careful  Zhan  Zhuang  is  something  that  you  have  to  treat  with  great  respect.    Especially  if  you’re  crazy  enough  to  learn  it  from  a  book  or  a  video  and  not  learn  it  directly  from  a  master  of  the  art.  

Why  must  you  be  careful?    Because  there  is  only  one  paGern,  if  you  get  the  one  paGern  wrong  you  get  the  whole  pracRce  wrong.  And  because  it’s  very  powerful,  you  can  do  yourself  a  lot  more  harm  than   good.   So   in   my   opinion   Zhan   Zhuang   is   a  much   higher   level  Qigong   best   learned   from   an  instructor.

Jordan:     Sure

Marcus:    Then  you’ve  got  the  highest  level  of  Qigong  which  would  be  techniques  like  the  small  universe.  Or  what   some  people  might   know  as  the  microcosmic   orbit.   The  connecRng  of   the  Ren   and   the  Du  meridians,  and  we’ll  go  into  more  detail  about  meridians  in  a  minute.  

  And  then  you  have  the  big  universe  and  so  on,   I  don’t   really   want   to   talk  to  you   too  much  about  these  types  of  Qigong,  because  I  would  never  ever  want  to  learn  these  from  a  book.    Small  universe  and  big  universe  are  such  high  level  arts  that  you’ve  got  to  learn  them  from  a  master,  it’s  as  simple  as  that  in  my  opinion.

Jordan:   Yeah,  absolutely

Marcus:   These   levels   don’t   really   exist,   they   are  more   like   of   an   aid   for   people   learning   about   Qigong.    Generally  you  have:

o Medical  Qigong   -­‐  which  is  relaRvely   low   level  and   is  used  for  overcoming  illness.

o Dynamic  Qigong   -­‐  qigong  exercises  for   those  who  are  healthy   and  want  to  stay   that  way  and  increase  their  energy.  

o Qigong  for  the  Scholar  -­‐  that  helps  students  and  those  interested   in   creaRvity   to   expand   and   uRlize   the  power  of  their  mind.  

o Qigong   for   the  warrior   -­‐  a  warrior  has  got   to  be  able  to  make  split   decisions,   making  the  right   decision  or  the  wrong  decision   in  baGle  could  be  the  difference  between  life  and  death.  And  fortunately  we  don’t  find  ourselves  living  in  such  Rmes  anymore.  But  obviously  if  you’re  in  business  you  need  to  be  able  to  make  a  decision  based  on  the  facts  that   you’ve  got   and  you  need  to  be  able  to  make  that  decision  quick.

o Qigong   for   spiritual  cul:va:on   –   the  highest   level  of  qigong.     And  you  know  as  I’ve  said  before,   spiritual  culRvaRon   is   one   of   the   hardest   endeavors   that   a  human  can  undertake.  

Now  if  you’re  lucky,  there  are  certain  types  of  Qigong  you  can  pracRce  that  can  cover  two  or  more  of  these  different  types  of  qigong  I’ve  menRoned.    For  example  let’s  say   if  you  took  a  qigong  exercise  called  li<ing  the  sky   a  form  of  dynamic  Qigong.  This  can  be  used  to  overcome  illness.  It  can  help  the  increase  energy,  it  can  help  the  scholar  to  develop  mental  clarity,  and  If  you  want  to  work  on  spiritual  culRvaRon,  then  you  can  also  use  it  to  culRvate  the  spirit.  

The   key   here,   and   the   important   aspect   to   remember   is   that   it   depends   on   the   level   of   the  pracRRoner  as  to  what  results  you  can  expect  to  gain.    For  example,  if  you  have  a  very  high  level  art  but   a  low   level   pracRRoner,   the   results  are  going   to   be  quite   low.   But   if   you   have  a  high   level  pracRRoner,   they  can  take  something  that  seems  low  level  and  get  a  lot  of  very  high  level  benefits  from  it.

Jordan:     It’s  quite  a  stretch,  especially   for  westerners,  we’re  very  much  fixed  on  what  we  see,  the  visual  and  the  movements.     So  a  person  could  be  doing  what   looks  to  be  a  very   simple  qigong  exercise  like  liPing   the  sky,   but   they   can  be  working  on  any   different   level  according   to   their   skill  that   they’re  applying  to  it,  it’s  fascinaRng.

Marcus:    And  liPing  the  sky   is  one  of  the  first   qigong  exercises  we  cover   in  the  Qigong  Secrets  Home  Study  Course,  I  think  it’s  covered  in  weeks  3  and  4,  so  you  can  get  to  find  out  more  about  that.

Jordan:     It’s  a  fantasRc  exercise.    Marcus,  what  does  Qigong  do,  I  mean  what’s  in  it?

Marcus:   In  a  nutshell,   there  are  two  main  aims  to  Qigong,   one  is  to  remove  the  blockages  to  harmonious  energy  flow,  and  this  will  become  clearer  later  on  I  promise  and  the  second,  once  the  blockages  have  been  removed  the  aim  of  pracRcing  Qigong  is  to  increase  the  energy  flow.

Jordan:     Now  we  have  got  an  idea  of  Qigong  and  it’s  scope  it’s  quite  a  wide  scope

Marcus:    It’s  a  big  umbrella  term

Jordan:     So  how  can  we  fit  this  into  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine?

Marcus:    Brilliant

Jordan:   Perhaps  that  would  help

Marcus:    TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine  theory   is  fundamental  to  the  success  if  you  like  of  Qigong,  Qigong  is  based  on  the  principals  of  tradiRonal  Chinese  medicine  and  without  those  foundaRons  than  Qigong  would  not  be  as  powerful  as  it  is,  which  leads  us  nicely  into  secret  number  2.

Secret  2:  How  Qigong  works

Jordan:   We’re  going   to   look  at   TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine  and   discover   what  why   it’s  so  important   to  Qigong.    But  first,  perhaps  you  could  give  us  an  overview  of  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine.

Marcus:    The  first   thing  to  say   is  that   people  who  study  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine  study   it   for   years  and  years.  So,  please  take  everything  that’s  said  here  as  being  a  complete  simplified,  gross  overview,  I’m  just  giving  you  a  Rny  snapshot.  

  There  are  five  main  branches  of  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine  you  can  consider.    

1. Acupuncture  –  I’m  sure  every  body  has  heard  of  acupuncture.

2. Tuina  –   Is  not  so  well  known,  but  that’s  changing.    It   is  a  therapeuRc  massage,  it   really   gets  in  there.    It  can  feel  very   uncomfortable  at  the  Rme,  but  can  give  long  term  relief  from  muscular  skeletal  injuries.

3. Herbs  –  mixtures  of  herbs  known  to  have  certain  qualiRes  are  prescribed  to  overcome  illness.

4. Diet   –  TCM  has  a  very   exhausRve  approach  to  diet.    It  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  kind  of  ‘fad’  diets  that  we  may   think  of  in  the  West.    This  branch  of  TCM  looks  specifically   at  how  diet  can  overcome    illness  and  disease.

5. Qigong   –   the  art   of  deliberately   working  on  your   bodies  vital  energy   to   improve  health  and  enhance  life.

All  five  branches  of   TCM   are  seeking  to  achieve  the  same  aim  and  that  is  to  promote  harmonious  energy  flow.  And  we’re  gemng  very   close  I  promise  to  that  point  where  I  will  explain  more  on  what  that  is.

Jordan:     I  think  that  leads  into  the  key  quesRon  now,  what  is  Qi?  Can  you  give  us  an  explanaRon  of  Qi  that  we  can  understand?

Marcus:    There  is  a  book  in  my  bookcase  at  home.    It’s  Rtle  is  Qi  and  it  is  100’s  of  pages  long.    So  it’s  going  to  be  very   difficult   to  explain  what  Qi  is  here  in   such  a  short   space.   But   in  a  nutshell  the  way  we’re  looking  at  Qi  you  can  think  of  it  as  you’re  bodies  vital  energy,  vital  energy  is  the  ‘juice’  that  keeps  you  and  me  alive  that  keeps  all  the  systems  in  the  body  funcRoning.  

  Vital  energy   or  Qi  is  what’s  allowing  me  to  look  in  the  camera  now  and  then  think:   ‘okay   now  I’m  going  to  look  at  Jordan  and  talk  more  about  vital  energy’.  It  keeps  everything  moving  and  in  fact  you  can  think  of  it  as  the  basic  building  block  of  life.  If  we  take  this  table  for  example  and  then  go  down  to  a  deeper   level  and  look  at  it   through  a  microscope  you  might   see  the  threads  on  the  table  cloth,  if  you  went  deeper  and  deeper  you’d  see  atoms  and  electrons  if  you  went  deeper  and  deeper  as  far  as  you  could  possibly  go,  at  the  very  basic  component  is  Qi,  is  energy.  

  So  for  example  if  I  put  my  hands  like  this  then  it  may  look  like  there  is  just  empty  space  between  my  hands  but  preGy  much  there  is  Qi  between  my  hands.  We’re  actually   swimming  through  Qi,  we’re  surrounded  with  Qi  and  we’re  swimming  through  Qi.

Jordan:   I  like  that

Marcus:   Qi  is  the  vital  essence  of  life.

Jordan:     Very  good,  so  what  does  Qi  do  in  the  body?    Where  does  it  flow?    How  does  it  work?  

Marcus:   Excellent,  so,  again  this  really  is  the  ‘in  a  nutshell’  version,  I  go  into  this  in  much  more  detail  in  the  home  study  course.    So  remember  this  is  an  overview,  but  it  will  help  our  understanding.  

  There  are  two  core  principals  of  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine:

1. Yin/Yang  Theory  -­‐  it’s  very  important,  I’m  sure  everybody’s  heard  of  yin  yang  you  know  the  round  symbol  with  the  two  fish  chasing  each  other.  Yin/Yang  theory  is  a  concept  you  can’t  go  into  a  shop  

and  buy  a  bag  of  yin  you  can’t  get  some  yang  and  nothing  is  absolutely  yin  or  yang.  It’s  a  theory  of  relaRvity  not  like  Einstein’s  e  equals  m  c  squared.  

Imagine  that  I  had  a  dog,  suppose  my  dog  is  sat  here  and  over  there  we  have  an  ant.    I  could  say  that   the   dog   was   yang   in   this   relaRonship   because   it’s   big   and   the   ant   was   yin   because  compared  to  the  dog  it’s  small  

Now,  suppose  we  take  a  different  relaRonship,  we  bring  an  elephant  into  the  room.  In  this  new  relaRonship  the  dog  now  becomes  yin,  because  the  elephant  is  yang  (big).    Bear   in  mind  that  this  theory  of  relaRvity  doesn’t  just  apply  to  maGers  of  size.

Nothing   is  absolutely   yin  and  nothing   is  absolutely   yang.  When  we  apply   Yin/Yang   theory   to  health  we  take  the  aspect  of  yin  to  be  our   bodies  natural  ability   to  be  healthy,   it’s  natural  for  you  to  have  good  health,  okay  that’s  an  important  fact.  And  then  we  take  the  yang  aspects  to  be  anything  that  causes  illness  whether  it’s  bacteria  in  food,  or  adverse  weather  condiRons,  or  stress  and  worry,   that’s  all  labeled  as  yang.   And  as  long  as  we  have  yin  yang   harmony,   then  we’ll  have  good  health.  

2. Meridians   -­‐  think  of  the  meridians  as  the  energy  streams  within  your  body.   There  are  twelve  primary   meridians,   primary   because  they   pass  through   internal  organs.   And   there  are  eight  secondary  meridians.

When  your  vital  energy  or  Qi  is  flowing  harmoniously  through  these  energy  streams  in  the  body  you  have  what  we  call  good  health.   If   the  flow  of  qi  is  blocked  than  you  can  have  sickness,  illness,   disease.     The  severity   of   the  blockage  will  relate  to  the  severity   of   the  illness.       If   a  blockage  stops  the  flow  of  qi  completely,  death  quickly  follows.    

We  need   to  be   aware  of   these   two   core  principals  of   TCM   because  without   them   qigong   can’t  possibly  work.

Jordan:     Okay  with  that   in  mind  very  briefly  of   course,  what   actually   is  happening  when  someone  pracRces  Qigong?

Marcus:    When  you’re  pracRcing  Qigong  what  you’re  doing  is  you’re  seeking  to  influence  the  flow  of  energy  so  you’re  trying  to  generate  more  energy  more  is  not  parRcularly  a  good  term  for  it,  you’re  trying  to  get  rid  of  the  blockages  to  harmonious  energy  flow.  

  Qi  if  you  like  has  an  intelligence  all  of  Its  own,  so  for  example  let’s  say   this  table  was  on  a  slant  and  I  took  the  water  from  the  vase  and  I  poured  it  out,  the  water  would  just  fall  off  the  table.      The  water  doesn’t  think  about  flowing  off  the  table,  it  just  does.    Water  flows  to  the  lowest  point  naturally.    Qi  always  flows  to   the  areas  of  low  energy   and  the  areas  of   low  energy   in  your   body   are  where  the  blockages  are.  So  you  don’t  need  to  know  where  the  blockages  are  you  use  your  pracRce  of  qigong  to  generate  an  energy/qi  flow,  you  then  let  go  and  you  let  your  qi  do  the  work.

Secret  3:  There  is  only  one  illness

Jordan:   Secret  number   three  there  is  only  one  illness  in  tradiRonal  Chinese  medicine,  can  you  tell  us  more  about  that.

Marcus:    Sure,   if  you  remember   back  to  secret  number   two  I  spoke  about  yin  yang  theory.   And  how  if  you  have  a  harmony  between  yin,  your  body’s  natural  ability  to  take  care  of  its  self  and  to  be  healthy  and  full  of  vitality  and  yang  which  we  said  was  everything  that  causes  ill  health  and  disease,   if  you  have  that  yin  yang  harmony  then  you  will  have  good  health.  Give  me  some  illnesses

Jordan:   Stress

Marcus:   And  another

Jordan:   Heart  disease

Marcus:   And  another

Jordan:   Liver  disease

Marcus:   Stress,  Heart  disease,  headaches,  diabetes,  asthma  and  so  on.   Regardless  of  the  name  you  give  to  the  symptoms  of  the  illness,  from  a  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine  viewpoint  the  only   illness  that  there  is,  is  this  yin-­‐yang  disharmony.  For   example   let’s   say   I’ve   got   sickness   and   diarrhea.   What   might   have  happened?  Well  I  might   have  eaten   an   egg  mayonnaise   sandwich  at   lunch  which  was  2  weeks  past  it’s  sell  by  date  and  riddled  with  salmonella.  

  Even  though  my  yin  (my  bodies  natural  ability  to  look  aPer  itself)  is  quite  high  and   strong,   there   is   suddenly   a  massive   increase   in   the   amount   of   yang  causing  agents  in  my  body  and  as  a  result  I  get  sick.

  Regardless  of   the  symptoms  from  a  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine  viewpoint  there  is  only  one  illness  and  that   illness  is  yin-­‐yang  disharmony  and  if  we  can  restore  this  harmony  you  have  good  health  again.

Jordan:   Okay   so  when  this  harmony,  we  get  the  harmony  back,  what’s  actually   occurred  in  the  body   to  get  that  harmony  back.  How  does  Qigong  achieve  that?

Marcus:   The  causes  of  yin-­‐yang  disharmony  are  blockages  to  harmonious  energy  flow  through  the  meridians,  the  energy  streams,  of  the  body.  

  Qigong  seeks  to  remove  these  blockages,  and  to  aid  understanding  we  can  categorize  blockages  into  4  types:

  Physical  –  these  are  usually  caused  by  poor  posture  or  physical  injury  to  the  body,  like  a  cut  or  a  blow  of  some  kind.

  Emo:onal  –  constantly  being  in  a  negaRve  emoRonal  state  i.e.  worried,  stressful,  fearful,  anxious  etc  will  effect  health.  

  Mental  –  the  main  cause  of  mental  blockages  is  obsessive  thinking,  or  thinking  too  much.

  Spiritual  –  depression  is  perhaps  the  most  common  example  of  a  spiritual  blockage.

  Now  obviously  when  something  happens  to  us  it  doesn’t   just  cause  a  physical  blockage  or  a  mental  blockage,  because  we’re  holisRc  beings  something  can  happen  to  us  and  it  usually  has  an  effect  on  all  four  aspects  so  it’s  important  to  keep  that  in  mind.

    When  we’re  pracRcing  Qigong  we’re  seeking  first  of  all  to  get  rid  of  the  physical,  emoRonal,  mental  and  spiritual  blockages  so  that  we  have  harmonious  energy   flow,  which  means  we  have  yin-­‐yang  harmony.    Once  we  have  achieved  this  we  then  seek  to  increase  the  flow  of  energy   so  that  we  have  vitality  and  longevity.

Perhaps  the  most  useful  ‘take  away’  from  this  secret   is  that  from  the  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine  viewpoint  there  is  no  such  thing  as  an  incurable  illness.  But  there’s  a  caveat  to  that.    It  doesn’t  mean  that  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine  can  cure  every  illness.  If  the  illness  has  been  leP  unchecked  for  too  long  then  it  may  not  be  possible  to  fully  restore  yin-­‐yang  harmony.  

Jordan:   So  perhaps  then   to  finish  up  this  part  we  can  have  an  example  of  how  Qigong  overcomes  stress,  anxiety,  depression.

Marcus:   Sure,  remember  the  meridians  I  spoke  of,  the  energy  streams  of  the  body?  One  of  those  meridians  is  called  the  heart  meridian.   And  it’s  important   to  realize  that  when  we  talk  about   the  heart   from  a  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine  viewpoint  we’re  not  talking  just  about  the  four   chambered  muscle  in  your  chest  that  pumps  deoxygenated  and  oxygenated  blood  around  the  body.  

  From  a  TradiRonal  Chinese  Medicine  viewpoint  the  organs  tend  to  be  more  symbolic  and  they   also  have  funcRons.  So  the  heart  does  a  lot  of   things  and  it   is  known  as  the  Emperor  because  it   is  the  supreme  ruler.     The  heart   houses  your   Shen,   or   Spirit   and  from  the  TCM   viewpoint   if   someone’s  depressed  then  there  is  some  kind  of  blockage  to  do  with  the  heart  meridian.  

  So  you  would  pracRce  qigong   exercises  that   have  been   documented  to  bring   relief   and  to   clear  blockages  from  the  heart  meridian.  One  of  those  may  be    ‘Emperor  Walks  Heart  Opens’  or  it  may  be  Green  Dragon  SeparaRng  Water.  And  perhaps  one  of  the  best  paGerns,  I  mean  I’ve  certainly  used  it  to  help  people  overcome  their  depression,   is  buGerfly  dancing  in  front  of   flowers  and   it’s  the  first  qigong  exercise  we  cover   in  the  home  study   course.       It’s  the  first   exercise  we  cover   because  it’s  simple  and  it’s  powerful.  

Jordan:   Wonderful,   so   the  folks  are   probably   wondering   how   is  this  a  viable  alternaRve  or   is  it   a  viable  alternaRve  to  western  medicine?

Marcus:    Good  point.    You  see  the  thing  to  bear  in  mind  is  that  TCM  has  kept  one  of  the  largest  populaRons  on  the  planet  healthy   and  well  and  that  populaRon  also  has  had  one  of  the  longest  conRnuous  records  of  documented  history  on  the  planet.  

  We  haven’t  got  Rme  to  cover  it  here,  but   in  the  home  study   course  I  share  many  areas  where  TCM  has  been  someRmes  hundreds  of  years  in  front  of  western  medicinal  breakthroughs  in  technology.  

  But   there   is   one   thing   I   really   want   to  make  clear,  absolutely   clear.     I  want  to  go  on   record   and   make   this   point:   I’m   not  saying   TCM   is   beGer   than   western  medicine.     Asking   which   is  best   is  not   a  good  quesRon.    A  much  beGer  quesRon  is  which   is   more   appropriate   for   the  situaRon?

  Imagine  I  have  a  bad   car   accident   then   I  want   a   paramedic   there   as   quickly   as  possible   and   I   want   to   be   taken   to  Accident   &   Emergency   and  I  want   all  the  benefits   that   we   have   of   the   wonderful  western  medical  tradiRon.  

  But   if  I  was  suffering  from  say   depression  or   stress  or   something   that   you   couldn’t  clearly  point  at  and  say  “Ah,  yes  Mr  Santer,  I  see  your  head  is  falling  off  we  need  to  take  care  of  that”.  Then  I  would  definitely  want  more  of  a  Qigong  approach  to  actually  overcome  that.  

  I  hope  I  have  made  it  perfectly  clear  I  am  not  saying  that  TCM  is  beGer  than  western  medicine  it   is  a  case  of  what  is  the  most  appropriate  for  the  actual  situaRon  presented.  I  think  we’re  straight  on  that

Jordan:   Very  good  thank  you.  So  that’s  secret  3

Marcus:    And  now  we’ll  get  onto  secret  4

Secret  4:  How  to  take  back  the  power  for  your  health  happiness  and  well  being.

Jordan:     Secret  number   4:  why   15  minutes   just  a  quarter   of  an   hour  a   day  can   really   help  us  overcome  our  illness  and  maintain  life.

Marcus:    One  key  point  to  make  about  that  though  is  that  you  have  to  be  pracRcing  high  level  Qigong.  And  the  next   secret  and  the  secret  aPer   that  will  give  you  a  very  good  understanding  of  the  key  differences  the  differences  between  high  level  and  low  level  Qigong.  

  The  key  thing  to  remember  is  that  if  you’re  pracRcing  high  level  Qigong,  then  you  shouldn’t  have  to  spend  an  hour  every  day  doing  it.  

  So  the  first  key  clue  if  you’re  going  to  check  out  a  qigong  school  because  you  want  to  find  out   if  it’s  teaching  high  level  Qigong  –  if  they   say  you  need  to  pracRce  what  they   teach  you  for  an  hour  at   a  Rme,  then  you’re  probably  going  to  have  to  conRnue  your  search.

Anything  that  is  high  level  should  give  you  great  results  in  a  shorter  Rme,  that’s  how  you  disRnguish  what  is  high  level  in  my   book.  Remember   that  Shaolin  Qigong  has  its  origins  at  the  Shaolin  Temple.    The  Shaolin  Temple,  was  an  imperial  temple  which  meant  that  not  any  old  Tom,  Dick  or  Harry  could  go  along  to,  despite  what  it  says  in  the  film.  

  I  love  those  Kung  Fu  movies  where  the  hero’s  say:   “Let’s  go  to  Shaolin  and  learn  kung  fu,  we  can  overcome  our  oppressors  and  get  our  revenge!”  

No.   Shaolin   was   an   imperial   temple   it’s   where   reRred   generals   and   high   ranking   government  ministers  and  officials  went  to  culRvate  when  they  finished  giving  everything  to  their   families  and  to  society.  

Remember,   harmonious   energy   flow   through   the  meridians  of  the  body   equals  health.    When  you  have  vigorous   flow,   like   a   rushing   stream   through   the  meridians  of  the  body  then  you  have  vitality.  And  when  you   have   an   abundance   of   fast   flowing   Qi   with   no  blockages  then  you  have  longevity,  but  you’ve  got  to  be  pracRcing  high  level  Qigong.

Jordan:     Qigong  is  such  a  big  subject,   I  think  we  could  be  here  a  long  Rme,  but  could  you  tell  us  what  the  5  main  reasons  are  for  pracRcing  qigong?

Marcus:    Well  if   I  was  more  professional  I  would  have  memorized  them.  But  as  I  said  it  took  me  two  days  to  make  a  five  minute  film.

Jordan:     Stop  boasRng.

Marcus:   The  five  main  benefits  the  reasons  why  you  would  want  to  pracRce  Qigong.  

1. Health  &  Vitality  –  The  base  building  block.    There’s  no  point  learning  how  to  become  one  with  the  Cosmos  if  you’re  riddled  with  some  sickness  or   illness.    You  want  to  take  care  of  that  first  and   health   and   vitality   benefits   are  perhaps   the  main   reasons  why   many   people   pracRce  qigong.

2. Longevity  –   once  the  energy   streams,  meridians,   of  the  body   are  blockage  free  and  we  have  good  health,  we  then  want  to  increase  that  flow  of  energy  unRl  we  have  an  abundance    of  it,  that  is  what  gives  a  person  longevity  and  is  the  second  main  benefit  of  pracRcing  qigong.

3. Internal   Force   -­‐  many   years  ago  as  a  marRal  arRst,   I  used  to  think  that   internal  force  was  all  about  being  able  to  hit  people  so  that  they   couldn’t   get  back  up  again.  Because  it  wasn’t   just  the  physical  damage  you  caused  you  transferred  your  energy  and  their  heart  exploded  just  with  a  touch.    I’m  older,  wiser  and  more  mature  now,  internal  force  supposedly  can  do  those  things,  but  there  are  more  useful  benefits  to  be  had  from  internal  force.

Think  of  internal  force  as  ‘energy  plus’.      It  gives  you  the  energy  to  work,  rest  and  play  and  make  you  beGer  at  everything  you  do.

4. Mental   Cul?va?on   –   many   scholars,   arRsts   and   students   pracRce   qigong   to   benefit   from  developing  the  mind.    Let’s  take  the  sun  as  an  example.    If  the  sun  shines  on  a  piece  of  paper,  the  paper  gets  warm.    But  if  we  take  a  magnifying  glass  and  focus  the  suns  rays,  the  heat  is  now  hot  enough  to  set  the  paper  alight.    Think  of  qigong  as  the  magnifying  glass  that  allows  you  to  focus  the  power  of  your  mind.    But  without  semng  your  books  on  fire.

5. Spiritual  Cul?va?on  -­‐  like  I’ve  said  it’s  the  hardest  endeavor  a  human  can  undertake  and  many  people  just   aren’t   ready   for   it,   so  if   you  aren’t   interested   in  spiritual  culRvaRon  don’t  worry  about  it.    But  if  you  are  Qigong  is  a  powerful  tool.

Jordan:   That’s  good,  you  don’t  have  to  sign  up  for  everything  when  you  do  Qigong.  It’s  a  very  personal  thing.  So  why  would  someone  pracRce  Qigong  instead  of  doing  some  other  alternaRve  art,  what’re  the  core  benefits?

Marcus:   One  of  the  main  things  that   I’ve  always  loved  about  pracRcing  Qigong  is  that  wherever   you  go  you  can  pracRce  it,  it’s  not  like  you  need  to  get  access  to  a  staRonary  bike  or  you  need  to  be  able  access  a  bench  press  machine.  If  I’ve  got  to  go  away  on  business  I  never  have  to  worry  about  staying  at  a  hotel  with  a  gym.  

  So  wherever  you  go,  because  there  is  no  equipment,  you  are  the  equipment,  you  are  the  gym,  you  can  do  your  Qigong.  Obviously  there  are  some  places  where  you  don’t  want  to  pracRce  qigong  and  I’ll  cover  that  in  more  detail  in  the  course.  But  preGy  much  wherever  you  are  you  can  do  Qigong.  

  There  are  no  expensive  gym  memberships  as  well.   I  mean  there  is  a  frightening  staRsRc   that  most  people  that   take  a  gym  membership  won’t   go   for   longer   than   3  months  but   will  pay   their   gym  membership  for  considerably  more  months  aPer   that.  The  gyms  know  that  which  is  why   they  make  you  sign  up  for  at  least  3  to  6  months  beforehand.  Another  great  benefit  of  pracRcing  Qigong  is  that  there  is  no  expensive  equipment  to  buy.    You  don’t  need  to  go  out  and  buy  a  $100  pair  of  trainers.  God  I’m  thinking  in  dollars.

Jordan:   I  do  that  too

Marcus:    There’s  no  need  to  go  out  and  buy  expensive  clothing  or  go  out  and  get  your  own  bicycle,  or  a  fancy  mat.   There’s  no  need   to  buy   anything   all,   you  need  is  some  comfortable  clothes  some  flat   soled  shoes  and  you’re  good  to  go.  

  And  the  third  thing  I  like  about   it   is  there’s  no  expensive  supplements  to  take,   lets  be  honest  most  vitamins  or   minerals  that   people   take   just   end  up  as  being   expensive  urine,   if   you’ll  pardon  the  gratuity   of   that.   So,   Qigong   a  complete  art,   you  can  take  it   anywhere,   you  don’t   need  any   extra  material  and  you  don’t  need  to  take  anything  extra  when  you  do  it,  it  really  is  a  high  level  art.

Jordan:   Talk  about  convenience,  it’s  amazing.

Secret  5:  The  three  core  skills  of  high  level  Qigong

Jordan:     Secret  5  I  like  this  one  parRcularly,   I  teach  Qigong  to  my   students.   I’ve  read  your  book,   this  book’s  been  helpful  to  me,  it  gives  a  great  map  on  how  I  can  approach  teaching  Qigong  more  systemaRcally.  

And  when  I  talk  about  high  level  Qigong   I   talk   about  the  three  core  skills  of  high  level  Qigong.    Please  tell  us  a  bit  more.

Marcus:   The   three   core   skills   this   is   very   much   the   most  important   stuff  on  this  video   if  you  like.     Qigong  is  a  marriage  of   form,   energy   and  mind,   if   one   of   those  aspects  is  missing  parRcularly  the  energy  and  the  mind  aspects,   then   I   would   quesRon   whether   you   are  pracRcing   Qigong   at   all.   One   of   the  most   important  aspects  of  Qigong  is  the  mind  aspect.    The  first  of   the  three  core  skills  is  entering  the  Qigong  state  of  mind.  It  is   a   heightened   state   of   awareness   or   an   immense  sensaRon  of  relaxaRon  if   you  like.   It   is  important   that  when  you  do  Qigong   you   are   in   this  Qigong  state  of  mind.  

  The  second  core  skill  is  Qi  flow,  or  more  poeRcally  known  as  flowing   breeze  swaying  willows  and  if  you  remember  we  talked  about  how  we  generate  energy  flow,  we  let   go  and  energy   flows  through  the  meridians  of   the  body   and  gets  rid  of  the  blockages.  Well  it’s  during  flowing  breeze  swaying  willows  where  a  lot  of  those  blockages  can  be  got  rid  of  and  where   the  Qi   is  busily   working   on   removing   blockages,   whether   physical,   emoRonal,   mental,   or  spiritual,  doesn’t  maGer.    Flowing  breeze  swaying  willows  can  literally  be  just  that  -­‐  somebody  gently  flowing,  to  something  which  is  quite  extreme  –   I  mean,  Jordan,   I’m  sure  you’ve  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  70  or  80  students  in  the  class  in  Qi  flow.

Jordan:      I  certainly  have,  yes,  it’s  quite  a  scene.    There  are  a  lot  of  people  going  through  some  cleansing,  but  it’s  just  the  energy  clearing  through  the  blockages.

Marcus:     It’s  a  good  point,  because  there  may  be    one  person  crying,  somebody  next  to  them  may  be  rolling  on  the  floor,  but  they’re  not  doing  anything,  they’re  just  lemng  go  and  lemng  the  work  be  done  for  them.    It’s  Wu  Wei,  do  nothing,  and  let  everything  be  done  for  you,  they’re  not  consciously  thinking,  “Oh,  I’m  going  to  laugh  now,”  or  “I’m  going  to  roll  on  the  floor  now.”    But  if  you  have  Qigong  without  flowing  breeze  swaying  willows,  then  I  really  would  quesRon  the  benefits  you’re  actually  going  to  get  from  it.     So,   it’s  very   important   if  you’re  doing  qigong  to  have  flowing  breeze  swaying  willows,  but  from  the  experience  I’ve  had  of  other  qigong  schools  it’s  very  rare,  I  haven’t  come  across  it.

Jordan:      Seldom  talked  about.

Marcus:   Yeah,   it  really   is,  and  the  third  core  skill  is  standing  meditaRon.    If   you  think  of  the  flowing  breeze  swaying  willows  as  being  movement,  yang,  then  standing  meditaRon  you  can  think  of  as  the  yin,  the  sRllness,  and  it’s  preGy  much  just  like  if  you’ve  got  a  thousand  pounds  on  the  table  and  you  want  to  keep  it  safe,  so  you’re  going  to  put  it  away.    And  the  standing  meditaRon,  is  like  the  consolidaRon  of  your  pracRce,  bringing  everything  together,  and  like  I  said  at  the  start  of  this,  you  know,  qigong  is  a  marriage  of  form,   energy,   and  mind,   and  if  you  bring   the  three  components  together,   then  you’ll  have  high  level  qigong.    

  So,  when  you’re  out   there  looking  for  a  school  to  learn  qigong  from,  try   to  make  sure  that  what   it  teaches  is  a  marriage  of  form,  energy   and  mind.    All  schools  have  qigong  forms.    The  form  is  very  

obvious,  and  you’ll  have  some  schools  where  all  they   do  is  form,  and  they   tell  you  to  go  away   and  pracRce  this  form  a  hundred  Rmes  a  day,  or  for  an  hour,  or   however   long.     It’s  the  energy  and  the  mind  aspects  that  you  need  to  look  for,  the  entering  a  qigong  state  of  mind,  flowing  breeze  swaying  willows  and  standing  meditaRon,  so  make  sure  you  look  out  for  those  three.

Jordan:      So   really,   we’re   gemng   down   to   the   difference   here   between   the  techniques  and  the  skills,  because,   everybody’s  going   to  have  qigong  form,  going  to  do  some  sort  of  movement,  those  are  techniques.    But  it’s   the   energy   and   the   mind   aspects,   those   two   parts   that   are  important  skills.

Marcus:   Yeah,   that’s  right,   it’s  a  good  point   because   the   form’s  the  external  part,   so   you   can  see  the   form,   but   qigong   form   is  not   qigong,   you  know,  you’re  not  going  to  get  great  benefits.    Now,  if  you  have  these  three  core  skills,   then  you  can  take  a  technique  and  get   the  benefits  from  that  qigong  form.  

  For   example,   let’s  say   I  took   the  qigong   exercise  –   Looking   back   to  carrying  the  moon,  or  carrying   the  moon  as  it’s  someRmes  known.     I  could  look  at   the  technique  in  a  book,  but  because  I  have  the  skills,  I  could  very  quickly  get  the  benefits  from  that  technique.    There’s  a  big  difference  between  skills  and  techniques,  it  took  me  years  to  learn  this,  and  when  I  did    my  pracRce  went  through  the  roof,  because  there’s  a  saying  in  marRal  arts  circles  that  you  don’t   fear   the  marRal  arRst  who  knows  a  hundred  kicks  but  has  only  had  the  Rme  to  pracRce  each  one  a  hundred  Rmes,  you  fear   the  marRal  arRst  who  knows  one  kick,  but  has  pracRced  it  ten  thousand  Rmes.

Jordan:      That’s  so  true.

Marcus:  You  must  be  careful  because  there’s  this  noRon  that,  repeRRon  is  the  mother  of  skill,  that’s  not  quite  true.    It’s  correct  repeRRon  that’s  the  mother  of  skill,  okay,  because  if  you  do  something  wrongly  ten  thousand  Rmes,  you’re  going  to  be  very  skillful  at  doing  it  wrongly.

Jordan:     Yeah.    No  one  will  be  able  to  match  it  (laughing)  you’ll  be  ahead  of  the  curve,  but—

Marcus:    The  second  point  I’d  like  to  make  on  this  is  that  skills  are  virtually   impossible  to  learn  from  a  book,  or  from  a  video,  they’re  best  learned  from,  from  a  master  or  a  teacher.    And  an  example    I  like  to  give  of  this  concept  is  this.    Years  ago  I  was  very  much  into  skateboarding,  and  I  wanted  to  learn  how  to  do  a  trick  called  an  “Ollie”,  it’s  a  bit  like  a  bunny  hop  on  a  BMX,  it  looks  really  cool.

Jordan:     I  didn’t  know  this!

Marcus:    And  I  used  to,  at  that  point,  I  used  to  believe,  I  was  a  bit  of  a  late  starter,  but  you  know,  probably  too  old  to  be  on  a  skateboard,  but—

Jordan:      That  was  last  week,  folks!

Marcus:  That’s  right.    But  I  used  to  be  a  big  believer  in  you  could  learn  anything  from  a  book,  so  I  went  down  to  the  library,  I  got  a  book  on  skateboarding…  and  read  how  to  do  an  Ollie.    It  sounds  really  simple.    I  re-­‐read  a  few  Rmes  and  then  I’m  off  to  pracRce.

Jordan:      (laughing)

Marcus:  I  fell  off  many,  many,  many  Rmes,  and  eventually  all  I  did  was  I  just  went  to  see  somebody,  you  know,  one  of  the  kids  that  was  doing  one,  and  I  said,   “Hey,   can  you  teach  me  how  to  do  that?”  and  we  spent  an  aPernoon  doing  it,  and  I  could  do  it.    Skateboarding  is  a  high  level  art,  but  qigong’s  an  even  higher  level  art,  so—

Jordan:      So  you’re  not  bringing  out  a  skateboarding  course?

Marcus:  No,  no,  no,   the  skateboarding  course  is  going  to  have  to  wait.    But,  basically   the  point  I’m  trying  to  make  is  that   the  skills  of  qigong,   in  fact   any   skills  are  best   learned  from  a  master,   or  at   least   a,   a  competent  instructor.

Jordan:      At  least  someone  at  least  a  level  or  two  above  you.

Marcus:   Yeah,   in  fact,   it’s  a  bit  off   topic  here,   but   I  would  just   like  to  menRon  as  it   seems  appropriate,  the  three  requirements  for  success  in  any  endeavor,  I  know  that’s  a  bit  of  a  bold  claim—

Jordan:     It  is,  quite.    Just  three?

Marcus:     Just  three,  only  three,  I’ll  see  if  I  can  pull  it  off.    So,  the  first   requirement  is  the  master,  okay?    You  need  to  make  sure  you’re  learning  from  someone  who  is  a  master  of  whatever  technique  you  want  to  learn.    So  let’s  say  you’ve  been  not  doing  great  ollies  on  a  skateboard.    I  need  to  find  a  master,  or  somebody  who  is  a  master  of  doing  ollies  on  a  skateboard.    

  The  second  requirement  is  the  method,  you  know,  they  have  to  be  using  a  method  that’s  tried  and  tested  for  making  you  good  at  being  able  to  do  ollies  on  a  skateboard.  It  can’t  be  haphazard,  it  has  to  be  systemized,  structured,  so  that  if  you  follow  the  method,  you’ll  consistently  get  the  result.    Which  in  this  example  is  you  can  do  great  ollies.    

  The  third  and  the  most   important  requirement  for  success  in  any  endeavor  is  the  student.    You  see,  you  can  have  the  greatest  master   teaching  the  ulRmate  method  in  the  universe,  but  if  you  don’t  do  the  work,  if  they  say,  right,  you  need  to  do  ten  minutes  of  this  every  day,   if  you  don’t  do  that,  and  you  don’t  get   the  results,  it’s  not   the  master’s  fault,   it’s  not  the  method’s  fault,   it’s  your   fault.  And  that’s  perhaps  why  they   say   that  great  masters  are  rare,  and  it’s  true,  and  great  methods  are  rare,  but  perhaps  even  rarer  is  great  students.  Sorry  to  go  off  on  a  side  there.

Jordan:      Marcus,  why  is  qigong  form  so  prevalent  today?

Marcus:    Great  quesRon.    If  you  remember,  Qigong,  high  level  qigong  is  a  marriage  of  form,  energy,  and  mind.    Now,  the  form  aspect  is  the  visual  aspect,  you  can  see  it,  if  someone’s  doing  this  you  can  copy  that,  if  someone’s  doing  this  you  can  copy  that,  but  it’s  the  energy  and  the  mind  aspects,  you  can’t  see  those  parRcular  aspects,  so  therefore  it’s  very  hard  to  copy  them  unless  you’ve  been  taught  them  directly.    

  Now,  one  of  the  downsides  of  high  level  qigong  is  that  is  has  been  a  jealously  guarded,  closely   kept  secret  of  an  elite  few  for  a  very  long  period  of  Rme.    

  Whether  it’s  high  ranking  marRal  arRsts,  scholars,  warrior  monks,  it’s  oPen  been  the  case  that  many  students  will  leave  their   learning   from  a  master   before  they’re  actually   been  given  the  key   to  the  door,  if  you  like,  the  invisible  aspects  of  the  art,  so  a  lot  of  teachers  have  gone  on  and  taught  just  the  form  aspect.    

  They  may’ve  got   benefits  themselves,   and  they’ve  then  gone  on   to  teach  qigong  form,   it  has  benefits,   and  those  benefits  are  on  par  with  what  you’d  get  from  gentle  physical  exercise.    But   it’s   not   powerful   enough   to   give   the   kind   of   health,  vitality,   mental  clarity,   spiritual  culRvaRon   benefits   that   we  want.    

  Another  reason  qigong  form  is  so  common  today  is  that,  well,  it’s  hard  for  me  to  believe  this,  but  a  lot  of  people  will  start  teaching  aPer  watching  a  video,  or  pracRcing  from  a  book  for  a  period  of  Rme.    They  will  then  take  it  upon  themselves  and  start   thinking  that   somehow  they’re  ready   to  start   teaching.    And   it’s  interesRng,   we’ve  never   lived   in  a  more  interesRng  Rme   if   you   ask   me,   the   amount   of   interesRng   arcane  knowledge  that  we  have  access  to.

  Today   you  can  get   access  to   top  secret   texts  that   you  were  never  able  to  get  hold  of.    In  the  past  people  would  sacrifice  their  giant  fortunes  and  give  up  their,  kingships  or  Rtles  to  be  able  to  learn  this  parRcular  informaRon,  or   to  get  access  to  this  knowledge.    People  would  fight  for  this  knowledge.    And  yet  now  you  can  go  onto  Google,  Amazon,  visit  your   local  bookstore  and  you  can  get   the  Tao  Te  Ching,  you  can  get  the  small  universe…   It’s  crazy,  because  a  lot  of   these  texts,  especially,   from   the  Taoist   side  of   things,  were  deliberately   wriGen   in   secreRve,   arcane,   esoteric  language  that  was  virtually   impossible  to  decipher   unless  you’d  been  iniRated  into  the  art  itself,   so  unless  you  were  a  high  ranking  Taoist  pracRRoner   of  the  art,   the  notes  you’d  have  in  front  of  you  would  make  no  sense  whatsoever.

Jordan:      Nonsense.

Marcus:  Nonsense!    So,  this  is  why  a  lot  of  the  internal  aspects  of  the  energy  arts,   the  energy  and  the  mind  aspects  are  missing,   or   someRmes  even  worse  they’re  misinterpreted  because  someone  will  take  some  text   and  think,   “Yeah,   right,  okay,   so  I’ve  got   to  walk   around  with  a  donkey   bladder   on  my  head,   and  that’s  going   to  help  me  aGain  some  parRcular   skill,”   but   that’s  probably   a  reference  to  something  else.    If  you  were  iniRated  into  that  school,  you  would  know  that  that’s  actually  a  code,  or  actually  a  reference  to  something  else.

Jordan:      Secret  language  code,  there.

Marcus:   Yeah.    And  remember  that  a  lot  of  the  original  texts  for  qigong,  were  wriGen  in  Chinese,  and  have  therefore  been  translated,  and  a  lot  gets  lost  in  translaRon.    A   lot   of  people  may   have  incomplete  studies  from  people,  the  masters  they’ve  been  learning  from,  and  also  the  Cultural  RevoluRon  and  the  effect  that  that’s  had  on  a  lot  of  the  internal  energy  arts.    That’s  the  reason  why   there’s  a  lot  of  qigong   form  out   there,   and  let  me  just   say,   it’s  not   evil,   it’s  not  a  bad  thing,   but   if   you  want   the  

benefits  of  great  health,  wonderful  vitality,  longevity,  mental  clarity,  and  spiritual  culRvaRon,  you’ve  got  to  learn  high  level  qigong.

Secret  6:    A  PERFECT  Approach  to  Learning  Qigong  

Jordan:      Secret  number  six.    So,  referring  to  the  book  again,  I’ve  noted  that  for  the  book  you  actually  devised  a  system   to   help   your   students   remember   the  process.    You  came  up  with  the  PERFECT  system.    So  perhaps  you  could  tell  us  what  PERFECT  stands  for.

Marcus:   I   noRced   that   when   I’d   be   teaching,   I’d   start  teaching   something   and   I’d   stand   here,   then   I’d  move   onto   a  different   aspect   and   I’d   be   here,   I  noRced  I  was  moving.    So  I  started  thinking  about  it   and   I   realized   that   between   starRng   your  pracRce   and   fiPeen   minutes   later   ending   your  pracRce,   I   felt   that   there   were   seven   clearly  defined  steps,  and  when  I  started  learning  qigong  myself   I’d   find   someRmes   I’d   forget   what   came  next.     I  don’t   know   about   you,   but   I’d   be  going  through  and  I’d  get  stuck  trying  to  remember  what  I  was  meant  to  be  doing  now.

Jordan:     Yeah.

Marcus:  It  took  me  quite  a  few  months  just  to  get  happy  with  what  I  was  doing  in  that  fiPeen  minutes  because  I’d  have  to  remember  what  came  next,  and  obviously  high  level  qigong  is  a  marriage  of  form,  energy,  and  mind.    If  your  mind’s  like,  “What  is  it  that  happens  next?”  that’s  really  not  good  for  maintaining  a  qigong  state  of  mind  that  we  menRoned.      

  So  I  found  that   “PERFECT”  was  a  great   liGle  tool,  and  it’s  just  a  tool,  that  can  help  people  to  know  what  comes  next,   in  a  short  period  of  Rme.    Then  they  don’t  have  to  break  their  wonderful  qigong  state  of  mind  and  can  focus  on  gemng  the  benefits  of  Qigong  instead.    

  So  briefly,  and  I  cover  PERFECT  in  great  detail  in  the  home  study  course,  but  I  haven’t  got  Rme  to  go  into  much  detail  here,  but  I’ll  just,  an  overview.    So,  the  P  stands  for  prepara:on.    If  you’re  going  to  do  anything,  you  need  to  be  prepared  to  do  it.    And  that’s  all  I’ve  got  to  say  about  that  one  (laughing)  it  really  would  take  forever,  I’m  resisRng  the  urge  to  go  on  and  on.    So  then  you  have  the  E,  which  is  entering  a  qigong  state  of  mind,  which  we  menRoned  earlier  on,  and  that’s  one  of  the  three  core  skills.    You  then  have  the  R,  which  is  really  smiling   from  the  heart.    This  is  something  that   is  simple  when  you  know  how  to  do  it,  but  confusing  as  hell  if  you  don’t.

Jordan:      It’s  a  skill.

Marcus:    You’re  right,  It  is  a  skill.     It  is  not  a  technique,  it’s  a  skill.    Then  you  have  F,  which  is  the  form.    That’s  the  bit   that   you  can  see,  so  everyone,   the  form  is  the  easy  part,   if  you  like.     Then  you  have  the  E,  which  is  energy  flow,  or  flowing  breeze  swaying  willows,  which  is  the  second  of  the  core  skills,  and  that’s  where  the  healing  takes  place,   gemng  rid  of  the  blockages,  or   increasing  the  flow  of  energy  

through  the  meridians  if  you’ve  got  rid  of  the  blockages.    It’s  always  important  to  clear  blockages  and  then  build,  if  you  do  it  the  other  way  around  you  get  trouble.    

  Think  of  a  hose  pipe  with  a  lot  of  bends  and  it’s  been  outside  for  the  last  six  years  and  hasn’t  been  used,   if  you  suddenly,  turn  on  the  tap  and  put  a  lot  of  pressure  in,  you’re  going  to  get  trouble.    It’s  not  a  great  analogy  because  meridians  don’t  have  defined  boundaries  like  that,  but   it  gives  you  an  idea.    

  So,  flowing  breeze  swaying  willows,  the  energy  flow.    Then  you  have  the  C  which  is  cosmic  balance,  or   standing   meditaRon   and   finally   you   have  the  T,   the  :me   to   end,   because   it’s  very,   very,   very  important  when  you  finish  your  qigong  pracRce  that  you  finish  off  properly.    

Again,  I’ll  give  you  an  example  of  this.    I  was  up  in  Nomngham  years  ago  and  I  went  to  get  a  massage,  and  it  was  a  beauty  treatment  if  you  like,  it  wasn’t  a  Tuina  -­‐  therapeuRc  massage  where  they  make  you  feel  like  “EEEWWGH!”  (laughing),  it  was  a  massage  where  you’re  just  like  “Ahhhhhh”  so  I  poured  myself  off  the  bench  at  the  end  of  it  and  I  opened  the  door  to  go  home,  and  I  went  straight  into  Nomngham  rush  hour  traffic,  it  was  such  an  assault  on  my  senses  –  such  a  jolt,  a  shock  –  that  whatever  benefits  I  got  from  having  the  relaxing  massage  were  completely  lost,  and  I  probably  created  a  hundred  more  blockages  than  I  had  before  I  went  in.

  So  it’s  important  when  you  finish  your  pracRce,  that  you  finish  properly  because  when  you’re  doing  your  pracRce  you’re  in  a  heightened  state  of  awareness.     You’ve  got  to  be  careful  going  from  that  place  to  going  out  and  doing  your  work,  or  playing  with  your  friends,  or  doing  whatever  it  is  that  you  do,  so  finishing  your  pracRce  correctly  is  very   important.    And,  PERFECT  is  a  nice  liGle  acronym,  you  have  to  stretch  a  few  of  the  words  to  make  it  fit,  but  overall,  PERFECT  is  just  a  tool  that  helps  people  get  the  benefits  of  qigong  quicker  because  they’re  not  thinking  “What  comes  next?”  all  the  Rme.

Jordan:     FantasRc.

Secret  7:    Don’t  Believe  the  Hype

Jordan:      Secret  number  seven.    This  qigong  is  starRng  to  sound  a  bit  too  good,  and  I’m  sure  people  want  to  know,   are  there   any   flaws,   is  there   anybody   it’s  not   for,   is   it   for   absolutely   everybody,   is  there  anything  wrong  with  it?

Marcus:    That’s  a  good  quesRon.    I  mean,  the,  whilst  everyone  can  benefit  from  the  Shaolin  arts,  the  Shaolin  arts  are  not   for  everybody.     I  remember  when  I  first   started  learning,  10   years  ago  now,  I  quickly  realized   there  were  three  major   flaws  with   Shaolin  qigong.     The  first   one   is  that   it   really   is  best  learned  directly   from  a  master,  and  at  that  Rme,  my  master   lived  seven  thousand  miles  away   from  me  and  spent  nine  months  of  the  year  traveling  around  the  world.    So  I  had  lots  of  Rme  where  I  had  quesRons  and  it  took  a  while  to  get  an  answer,  which  isn't’  a  brilliant  way  to  learn,

  The   second   flaw,   if   you   like,   is   that   you   have   got   to   do   the   work,   nobody   can   do   it   for   you.    Remember,  we  talked  about  the  master,  the  method,  and  the  student?    The  master  shows  you  the  way,  but  you  must  make  the  effort.    Qigong  is  no  thirty   day  miracle  cure,  you  have  to  do  the  work,  and  that’s  fiPeen  minutes  every  single  day.     If  you’re  hardcore,   if  you  want  the  fast  track  to  results  and  benefits,  you’ll  do  thirty  minutes  –  you’ll  do  a  fiPeen  minute  session  in  the  morning  and  a  fiPeen  minute  session  in  the  evening.    But,   nobody   can  do  that  for  you,  and  if  your   pracRce  is  haphazard  

your  results  will  be  haphazard.    It   took  me  probably   one  or  two  years  to  actually  establish  a  proper  daily  pracRce.

Jordan:      Sure.    But  amazingly,  that’s  a  very  short  period  of  Rme.    FiPeen  minutes  can  easily  be  squeezed  into  a  morning  or  an  evening.

Marcus:    That’s  right,  but  that  leads  onto  the  third  flaw,  because  pracRcing  Qigong  does  require  discipline  and  commitment.    It  requires  discipline,  and  I’ve  found,  and  please  take  this  to  heart,  I’ve  found  I  had  to  actually  schedule,  to  start  with  I  had  to  schedule  that  fiPeen  minutes  in  the  morning  and  that  fiPeen  minutes  in  the  evening.    Because  otherwise,  life  just  seems  to  happen.    

  If  you’re  not  good  at  taking  care  of  things,  things  just  seem  to  happen,  and  before  I’d  know  it  it’d  be  Rme  to  go  out  to  work,  or  Rme  to  sit  and  spend  some  Rme  with  my  wife,  and  the  Rme  had  gone.    So  you  really  have  got  to  commit,   it’s  not  something  you  can  just  do  for  a  week  and  then  expect   to  be  the  healthiest,  most  vibrant  person,  and  spiritually   culRvated  person  on  the  planet,  it’s  not  going  to  happen.    Like  I  said,  its  not  some  thirty-­‐day  miracle  cure,  you’ve  got  to  be  commiGed  to  it.    

  And,  I  guess  there  are  certain  people  for  who  Shaolin  qigong  really  isn’t  for.    If  you’re  somebody  who  likes  to  have  everything  done  for   you,   you  know,   if  you  like  to  go  to  a  health  spa  and  just   lounge  around  and  do  nothing  and  just  let  everybody  do  everything  for  you,  then  Qigong  really  isn’t  for  you.    

  If  you  also  like  to  believe  that  there’s  a  pill  for  every  single  ill,  you  know  like  “Oh,  I’ve  got  something  wrong  with  me,   right,  I’ll  go  to  my  doctor’s,  they’ll  give  me  something  for   it,  they’ll  tell  me  what  to  do,”   then   Shaolin   qigong   probably   isn’t   for   you,   so   don’t   waste   your   precious  Rme   –   the  most  precious  thing  we  have  in  life  I  think  is  Rme,  because  once  it’s  gone  it’s  gone,   so  don’t  waste  your  precious  finite  valuable  Rme  learning  Qigong  if  you  like  to  have  everything  done  for  you  and  if  you  think  there’s  a  pill  for  every  ill.    

  But,  if  you’re  prepared  to  commit,  prepared  to  follow  instrucRons,  and  most  importantly,  if  you  want  to  take  back  the  power   and  the  responsibility   for   your   health,  your   vitality,  your   well-­‐being,   your  happiness,   if  you  want   to  be  in  control  of  that  and  you  want  to  be  able  to  manage  that  effecRvely,  then  I  certainly  believe  that  Shaolin  Qigong  is  probably  the  best  tool  that  you  can  use.

Jordan:    Great.    Well,   the  control  element   is  a  big  one  for  me,   because  I  didn’t  like  pumng  the  responsibility  of  my  health  in  other  people’s  hands,  you  know,  I  like  to,  as  much  as  possible,  keep  that  control,  you  know,  be  responsible  for  my  own  health.

Marcus:    That  right.    Another  ‘off  topic’  discussion,  the  reason  this  book  got  wriGen  was  I  remember   reading  an  arRcle  in  The  Telegraph   years  ago   that   really   boldly   said   Britain   is   becoming   a   naRon   that  believes  in  a  pill  for  every  ill,  and  there  was  some  study  that  they’d  done,   that  preGy  much  we  were  just   thinking  like  “Oh,   I’ve  got   a  cold,  I’ll  go  to  the  doctor’s  and  get  me  a  pill…  I’ve  got  guts  ache  I’ll  go   to   the  cupboard   and   take  a  pill”   that   scared  me,   that   really  scared   me,   I’d   been   pracRcing   four   or   five   years   then   and   I’d  witnessed  the  effects  and  benefits  of  Qigong  in  my  own  life  and  in  so  many  other  people  lives  and  I  thought  if  only  people  knew  about  this  Qigong!    So,  I’ve  got  that  to  thank  for  wriRng  the  book.

Jordan:      It’s  a  flip  though,   because  a  lot  of  people  look  at  health  as  a  sort  of   curaRve  thing,   like  you  get   a  problem,  then  you  go  and  get  a  fix.    And  that’s  great,  you  know,  when  you’ve  got  a  problem  you’ve  got  to  get  a  fix,  sure,  but  this  is  also  prevenRve,  you  can  just  stop  all  that  aggravaRon  ahead  of  Rme.

Marcus:   It’s  a  really   good  point   Jordan,  because  when  you’re  young,   it’s  very   easy   to   take  your   health  for  granted.    Generally,  and  I’ve  certainly  have  been  guilty  of  this,  we  don’t  actually  start  doing  anything  for  our  health  and  vitality   unRl  it’s  too  late,  unRl  the  yin  yang  harmony   is  way  out  of  balance.     So,  Qigong   is  brilliant   for  maintaining  health,   for   developing  health,   and  the  great   thing  is,  and  Jordan  you  know,  obviously   as  someone  who’s  tried  it   yourself,   that   you  don’t   have  to  wait  ages  to  start  gemng  the  benefits,  even  though  it’s  something  you  have  to  do  on  a  daily  basis  for   preferably   the  rest  of  your  life,  you  do  get  benefits  quite  quickly.

Jordan:      But  frankly,   it’s  not  an  instant  cure,   it’s  not  a  thirty   day  wonder   thing,  but  you  do  one  session,  and  you  feel  beGer  aPer  than  before  you  started.    In  that  sense,  you’re  already  gemng  some  benefits.

Marcus:   That’s  right,   you   feel  calm  –   the  amount  of  Rmes  I  finished  my   pracRce  and  I’m   just   kind  of   like  “Wow”  it’s  very  common,  so  whilst  15  minutes  once  or  twice  a  day  may  sound  like  a  chore,  unRl  you  start  trying  it  for  yourself,  you’re  not  going  to  find  out.

Jordan:      Now  at   the  start,   I  think  you  did  menRon  some  sort   of   promise  that   you  were  going   to   give  the  people,  didn’t  you?

Marcus:    Have  we  covered  all  seven  secrets?

Jordan:      Yeah,  this  is  it,  we’re  here,  we  need  that  hook.

Marcus:    Okay,  so  that  leads  us  nicely  into  that  bonus  I  promised  you  at  the  start  of  the  video.

Bonus:    Who  Else  Wants  a  Beau)ful,  Youthful  Complexion?

Marcus:  At  the  start  of  the  video,  I  did  promise  to  share  something  with  you,  and  if  we  go  back  to  PERFECT,  just  quickly,  remember  T  was  :me  to  end,  and  how  it’s  important   to  finish  your  Qigong  pracRce  off  correctly.    Well,  as  part  of  that,  and  there’s  quite  a  few  parts  in  that  parRcular  leGer  if  you  like,  and  one  of  them  is  the  facial  massage,  one  of  them  is  point  massage,  and  one  of  them  is  banging  the  heavenly  drum,  and  I  thought  it  would  be  fun  to  show  you  those.

  Because  you  can  also  benefit  from  them  without  doing  Qigong,  remember  I  spoke  about  the  energy  channels  of  the  body   called  meridians?    Well,  on  those  energy   channels,  let’s  take  acupuncture  for  example,   they   put   needles   into   specific   points   on   the  meridians   where   they   know   that   if   they  sRmulate  those  points,  it  gives  a  tried  and  tested  effect.    

  There  are  a  lot  of  these  points  on  the  face.    So,  that’s  why  when  we  do  the  point  massage  it  can  be  quite  beneficial,  and  help  to  give  a  youthful  glow,  and  if  you  have  problems  with  the  skin  or   your  complexion,  this  is  a  wonderful  liGle  tool,   it’ll  take  you  five  minutes  if  that,  so  I’ll  quickly  go  through  the  facial  massage.    

  PreGy  much,  you  just  rub  your  hands  together,  make  sure  your  palms  are  nice  and  warm,  and  when  they’re   nice   and   warm   just   gently,   dab   the   palms   of   your   hands   against   the   eyes,   just   gently  nourishing  the  eyes.    Dab,  dab,  dab,  dab,  dab.    

  And  then  with  the  fingerRps,   just  make  small  circles  around  the  eye  sockets,   gradually  making  the  circles  larger  and  larger,  unRl  you’re  massaging  your  face,  your  head,  and  your  neck.    In  circles,   it’s  a  circular  movement,  and  be  gentle,  don’t  be  too  rough.    

  So  that’s  the  facial  massage,  then  the  point  massage.    So,  you  can  either  use  your  index  finger  or  your  middle  finger,  and  preGy  much  it’s  just  applying  firm  pressure  and  then  making  liGle  circles.    

  So  we  start  right  in  the  corner  of  the  eyes,  just  gentle  press  and  liGle  circles,  and  then  come  to  where  the  eyebrows  would  meet,  and  now  sweep  along  the  eyebrows.    Now  midway  on  the  eyebrow  –  you  can  always  tell  when  you’ve  got   the  right  places  because  you  feel,   like,   these  liGle  depressions  on  your  skull—

Jordan:      It  just  seems  to  fit.

Marcus:   Yeah,   the  fingerRps  just   fit   in.     Then  come  to  the  end  of   the  eyebrow,   then  come  to   the  outside  corners  of  your  eyes,  then  come  to  the  lower  half  of  the  eye,  back  to  the  center,  and  then  make  long  sweeps  down  the  side  of  the  nose,  and  then  where  the  nostrils  kind  of  curve  in  just  sort  of  sink  the  fingers  in  there  and  jiggle  it   around  a  liGle  bit.    Then  with  the  big  fleshy   part  of   the  base  of  your  thumb,  just  gently   place  it  on  the  temples  and  in  small  circles  in  the  same  direcRon,  so  this  kind  of  direcRon,  as  when  you  were  doing  the  facial  massage,  just  gently  massage  the  temples.    And  this  is  a  good  test  to  see  if  you  can  follow  instrucRons  because  the  keyword  here  is  gently,  okay?    Then,  back  to  the  fingers,  and  what  you  do  is  preGy  much  where  the  jaw  goes  up  into  the  back  of  the  ear  you’re  just  going  to  stuff  your  fingers  in  there,  don’t  press  too  hard  otherwise  you’ll  start  coughing,  

Marcus:   Just  press  and  then  just   in  small  circles,  and  that’s  the  point  massage,   these  points  all  have  names  which  I  can’t  repeat,  but  they’re  in  the  book.  So,  That’s  the  point  massage.  

 NOTE:  Please  view  the  next  two  pages  for  diagrams  that  will  help  you  make  sense  of  the  text  above.    You  can  also  watch  the  video  on  Youtube  hGp://youtu.be/1VmeRCOyMJU  

  The  final  part   is  banging   the  heavenly   drum  and  it’s  24  Rmes  another  test   to  see  if  you  can  follow  instrucRons.   It’s  not  22   it’s  not  26  Rmes,   it’s  24  Rmes.  So  preGy  much  what’s  happening   is  you’re  sealing  your   ears  off  and  then  you’re  either   flicking  by   pumng   the  index  finger   against   the  middle  finger  and  flicking.  Or  you  can  just  use  the  fingers  and  pat  the  back  of  the  head,  it’ll  make  sense  in  a  second.  But  preGy  much  what’s  happening  is  it  gives  the  spine  spinal  cord  a  wakeup  call.    

  Banging  the  heavenly  drum  is  kind  of  like  shaking  the  rust  off  the  spinal  column.  

  So  you  are  going  to  close  the  ears  and  flick  or  tap  24  Rmes.  And  you’ll  know  if  you  got  it  right  because  you  will  hear  a  boom  boom  if  you  hear  a  kind  of  “bap  bap  bap”  you  need  to  get  a  beGer  seal  over  the  ears.  So  we’ll  do  this  24   Rmes.   And  that’s  it  we’ve  finished.   It  doesn’t   have  to  be  quick,   it   doesn’t  have  to  be  fast,  at  your  pace,  but  it  does  have  to  be  24  Rmes.  Which  brings  us  very  nicely  to  the  end,  So  what   I  would  like  to  do  is  thank  you  for  watching  the  video  and  I  would  like  to  thank  Jordan  for  traveling  down  to  pay  me  a  visit.

Jordan:     My  pleasure  thanks  for  lemng  me  come  down  here,  and  share  the  moment.

Marcus:   If  there  is  only  one  lesson  people  take  from  our  talk,  it   is  this:  Qigong  is  best   learned  directly   from  a  master   or   at   least   a  suitably   qualified  master.   But   and  it’s  one  of   the  reasons  I  made  the  Qigong  Secrets  home  study  course  is  that  I  know  that  for  whatever  reason  there  are  lots  of  people  who  are  unable   to   find   a   suitably   qualified   instructor   or   master   but   who   are   genuinely   dedicated   and  commiGed  and  want  to  take  back  responsibility   for  their  health  and  vitality.    They  want  to  learn  high  level  Qigong.   But   for  whatever   reason,   traveling   thousands  of  miles  to  learn  from  somebody   isn’t  always  pracRcal.

  So  I  wanted  to  make  something  for  those  people  who’re  genuine,  commiGed,  and  want  to  learn  high  level  Qigong  –  that’s  why   I  created  the  Qigong  Secrets  online  course.     If  anyone  wants  to  find  out  more,  please  visit:  hGp://enjoyqigong.com  

About The Author

Marcus Santer is founder and Chief instructor at Qigong15. Creator of the PERFECT Qigong System, the 22 week online Qigong home study course and author of 3 books on all aspects of Qigong. His aim is to help you live a happier, healthier and longer life through the practice of Qigong. More info here:

http://enjoyqigong.com http://shaolinchikungbook.comhttp://smilingfromtheheart.comhttp://qigong365.com/qigong-daily-book/