Tendon Nei Kung Opening the Growing Tendon Power Mantak Chia Edited by: Lee Holden Editor: Lee Holden Contributing Editor: Pierre Morton Illustrator: Juan Li, Udon Jandee Photographer: Sopisnapa Promnon Cover Illustrator: Udon Jandee Design and Production: Suthisa Chaisarn Revised Editing: Jean Chilton Project Manager: W. U. Wei © North Star Trust First published in 2006 by: Universal Tao Publications 274 Moo 7, Luang Nua, Doi Saket, Chiang Mai 50220 Thailand Tel: +66(0)53 495-596 Fax: 495-853 Email: [email protected] Website: universal-tao.com Manufactured in Thailand ISBN: 0-935621-52-0 Contents Introduction to Tendon Nei Kung.......................................... 1 Tendons Nei Kung and Tendons.......................................... 1 Tendons and Ligaments...................................................... 1 Tendon Nei Kung Practice..................................................... 2 Theory.................................................................................. 2 Tendon Nei Kung Forms........................................................ 3 Building the Structure.......................................................... 3 Rocking Forward............................................................ 3 Power Moves from the Ground Up................................ 3 Feet................................................................................ 4 Legs............................................................................... 5 Hips................................................................................ 6 Spine.............................................................................. 8 Scapula.......................................................................... 9 Hands............................................................................. 9 Tongue...........................................................................10 Breath (Chi Pressure)................................................... 11 Coordinating the Heart Beat, Breath and Movements..................................................12 Sensing the Heart Exercise...........................................13 Internalizing....................................................................15 Importance of the Eyes..................................................15 Concentrating on Individual Fingers...............................16 Eight Hand and Arm Positions.............................................17 First Position..................................................................18 Second Position.............................................................19 Third Position.................................................................20 Fourth Position...............................................................21 Fifth Position..................................................................22 Sixth Position.................................................................23 Seventh Position............................................................24 Eighth Position...............................................................25 Tai Chi Chi Kung Stance Application...................................26 General Information.............................................................28 Mung Bean Hitting..................................................................29 Taoist History of Mung Bean Hitting.....................................29 Apparatus............................................................................30 Correct Weight....................................................................31 Hitting with Mung Beans......................................................32 Upper Limbs........................................................................32 Middle Finger Line..........................................................32 Pinky Finger Line...........................................................33 Thumb Line....................................................................34 Back of the Hand...........................................................35 Organs and Lower Limbs................................................... 36 Big Toe Line...................................................................36 Small Toe Line...............................................................37 Middle Toe Line..............................................................38 Back of the Leg Line.....................................................39 Advised Practice for Today’s Life Style................................41 The meditations, practices and techniques described herein are not intended to be used as an alternative or substitute for profes- sional medical treatment and care. If any readers are suffering from illnesses based on mental or emotional disorders, an appropriate professional health care practitioner or therapist should be con- sulted. Such problems should be corrected before you start train- ing. This booklet does not attempt to give any medical diagnosis, treatment, prescription, or remedial recommendation in relation to any human disease, ailment, suffering or physical condition what- soever. Introduction to Tendon Nei Kung Tendons Nei Kung and Tendons Although there are a vast number of benefits that may be obtained from a regular practice of Tendon Nei Kung, the exercise is specifically designed to aid in the growing and strengthening of the tendons. The lastest research on the human body reveals that cultivating strength and physical well being. The tendons are a most vital ingredient. Generally speaking, people have a very limited knowledge on tendons and are far more interested in how to pump and tone their muscles in order to appear strong externally. In cultivating true strength, the tendons have to be included, and knowledge of how to strengthen them is required. Before we go into explaining the exercise itself though, it is helpful to have some basic knowledge about tendons and their nature. Tendons and Ligaments Tendons are the tissue that connect bones to muscle, while ligaments are the tissue that connects two bones together. Ligaments are mainly found in between the joints and are generally short in length. Tendons on the other hand are located through out the body. For example the tendon that connects our heel to our calf muscle (Achilles tendon) is of prominent length. In essence, tendons and ligaments are both connective tissue and made of exactly the same thing. Through out this book we will be referring mostly to tendons, however the Tendon Nei Kung practices are equally as vital and beneficial to the ligaments as they are to the tendons. Bare in mind that when we say tendons we are basically reffering to the body’s connective tissue and are hence referring to the ligaments as well. 1 Tendon Nei Kung Practice Theory The three key instruments that are made use of to grow the tendons in Tendon Nei Kung (tendon changing) are mind, heart and eyes. Together the mind heart and eyes are know in Chinese language as Yi, which again can be translated into the English word “awareness”. The heart is at the very base of this practice. The ancient Taoists followed the theory that the tendons are directly connected to the heart. When the heart contracts, the tendons lightly contract. When the heart expands, the tendons expand. Therefore a vital step in Tendon Nei Kung practice is to be able to strongly sense the beating of the heart so that we can move to its rhythm when doing the forms. This is not such a simple task especially during movement and takes a little persaverance. Meditation (Inners Smile and Microcosmic Orbit) is key. By quieting the mind, we are able to sense the internal organs, and really listen to the rhythm of the heart. If you do not have a deep meditation practice and cannot yet feel the contracting and expanding of your heart, it helps to feel your wrist pulse for a moment to get a feel for the rhythm of your heart beat. This will be discussed later, in more detail, in chapter five. 2 Tendon Nei Kung Forms Building the Structure Rocking Forward The basic movement for the Tendon Nei Kung forms proceeds out of the Iron Shirt I posture. Once in this posture, following the same guidelines and principles of relaxation and alignment, you are ready to start with the movement. Power Moves from the Ground Up Fig. 1 Earth Force. 3 Regardless of style, a universal principle of Tai Chi Chi Kung is that power is generated from below. In other words when generating force, it comes from the earth, to the feet, up through the legs, up the spine and back and travels through the arms where it will finally be expressed in the hands and fingers. Tendon Nei Kung is no different in this regard. In fact it is the very practice of learning to bring the earths enegy up through your body. The aim is to use the mind, assisted by the correct movements to bring the earth’s energy from the ground, through the various tendons of the body and finally into the tendons of the hands. Feet Once you have adopted your Iron Shirt position, you are ready to initiate the movement from below, in other words the feet. First lift and press the toes back whilst gently leaning forward, so that your heals raise off the ground about an inch to an inch and a half. (on return keep the toes on the ground). Fig. 2 Lifting the Toes 4 Legs As your rock forward onto your toes, squeeze the legs slowly from the bottom up. The combination of these feet and leg movements should have you moving up and down about 4 to 6 inches. This movement is used to initiate the gentle whip motion that is used to assist the energy to flow up to the hand tendons in Tendon Nei Kung. Fig. 3 Squeezing the legs- from the bottom to the top 5 Hips Once the force has moved from the legs to the hips, press and squeeze the hip joints and feelt that the hips are folding on each other. Doing this should assist in the sending of the earths force upward towards the tendons in the fingers. Hip Fig. 4 Squeezing the Hip Joints. 6