Neigong Demystified

Neigong is difficult to describe and define in a fewsimple sentences. Much of the information available isvague and romanticised. It’s often made out to bemysterious and esoteric. There are examples of InternalMartial Arts Masters who have used it to deliver andwithstand massive blows without using excessivemuscular force and tension. Traditionally martialartists were reluctant to reveal their ‘secrets’ (i.e.the bio-mechanics of their neigong exercises) to thegeneral public and only passed them on to a few trusteddisciples. Additionally, often the people translatingtexts from Chinese or writing articles haven’tpractised the material so can’t describe iteffectively. The aim of this article is provide arelatively simple definition of neigong and tointroduce and describe some of its key components. Itshouldn’t be viewed as a complete or comprehensiveguide.

Wang Shu Jin and Robert W Smith

Translation (內 內)

The character nei ( 內 ) means internal or inside. Gong(內) means time/effort or in this context skill. (It’sthe same character as in gongfu or qigong.) Therefore‘Internal work’ or ‘Internal skill’ are the simplesttranslations. However it’s not clear what this means orrefers to. It can mean different things to differentpeople. Often Chinese terms (such as qigong, gongfu)are not used in the same way in English as they are inChinese, for example ‘Gongfu’ actually means skill notmartial arts in Mandarin Chinese. Wikipedia translatesit vaguely as “any set of Chinese breathing, meditationand spiritual practice disciplines associated withDaoism”; this definition could encompass a wide varietyof exercises and activities. It’s more common to hearthe term used to describe specific exercises(resembling qigong) that aim to increase ‘internalstrength’.

What is the difference between neigong and qigong?

I’ve often heard the terms used interchangeably andfor many years had no idea how to answer thisquestion. I still don’t have a simple or conciseanswer. Both terms are somewhat vague, ambiguous, andflexible. Therefore any attempt to answer thisquestion is subjective and involves semantics i.e.the answer depends upon how you choose to definethem. I’ve heard a variety of answers to thisquestion these include:

They’re basically the same

Qigong starts from the outside and works inwards,while neigong starts from the inside and worksoutwards

Neigong is a type of qigong (and even that Qigong isa type of Neigong)

Qigong is to improve health, while neigong is toincrease internal power

Qigong moves of energy using body using body movementwhile neigong moves energy using the mind

Neigong is the alphabet (or building blocks) of allqigong, taijiquan, baguazhang and xingyiquan.

These can all be considered valid answers. If pushed togive an answer I would be inclined to describe qigongas being energetic exercises mainly practised toimprove health. And say that neigong is a type ofqigong that focuses more (but not exclusively) ongenerating ‘whole body strength’. This strength comesfrom a synergy of precise alignments, internalstretching and a pulsing of joints and cavities ratherthan through merely building up individual muscles.

Paul Cavel performing the ‘Marriage of Heaven andEarth’ neigong set

Neigong components versus Neigong sets

I think it’s necessary to differentiate between neigongcomponents and neigong sets. Components refers totraining elements, such as abdominal breathing, pulsingjoints and cavities, internal stretching of softtissues etc. Whereas neigong sets are specificexercises, like ‘Marriage of Heaven and Earth’ or‘Energy gates’ that are designed to practice thesecomponents. These are relatively simple and repetitivein terms of their external movements. Once students areable to perform the components in the neigong sets theycan then integrate them gradually into any taijiquan,xingyiquan and baguazhang forms that they practice.Although it’s possible to integrate components directlyinto forms it is much more difficult, because their

movements are much more complicated than those of theneigong sets.

Few schools teach neigong openly or in public. It’susually only taught to ‘inside the door’ students whomay have to swear an oath of secrecy and not bepermitted to teach or disseminate the material they aretaught. Naturally different schools and styles havetheir own unique systems that they want to protect andpromote. So the elements described this article may notbe present in all neigong systems. For example althoughMantak Chia’s ‘Bone Marrow washing neigong’ containsbreathing methods, fascia stretching and stimulation ofthe lymphatic system, but it uses very differentmethods to those described in this article.

Bruce Frantzis perhaps the most well-known westernerteaching neigong

My first neigong teacher Paul Cavel has identified twoprimary streams for the early stages of neigongpractice:

Gaining conscious control over the soft tissues ofthe body

Developing the ability to pulse (or open and close)the joints and cavities of the body

Both of these streams contain various layers ofpractice (for example gaining control over soft tissuesincludes bending, stretching, lengthening, rotating,wrapping etc). The number cavities and amount of softtissue means that mastering these streams is aformidable task. Although there are other importantelements/components of neigong, I believe that theseare two of the most beneficial for beginners.

What is Internal stretching?

Stretching the soft tissue is one of the most importantcomponents of neigong. ‘Soft tissue’ can refer toanything in the body that is not bone. It includestendons, ligaments, fascia, synovial membranes (fluidin joints), muscles, nerves and blood vessels.Relatively few people know about fascia- the glue thatholds everything together. It is a stretchy layer offibrous tissue that surrounds every muscle, bloodvessel and internal organ - an interconnected web thatholds all the soft tissues and organs in place. Thismeans certain internal stretches have the potential to

gently massage the internal organs (by pulling on thefascia 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 togently move the shoulder blades and elbows away fromthe spine. If you stand up straight and hold your armsout in front of you, and then slowly move your handsaway from your body without straightening your elbows;this should generate an internal stretch in the uppertorso. This stretch can be amplified by rotating thearms as you move your hands. Ensure the spine remainsstraight and upright and make sure that the stretchesand rotations remain balanced (i.e. don’t stretch onearm more), smooth, and relaxed. More powerful internalstretches can be generated in the lower body using kwa(kua) squats and weight shifting. When the stretches ofthe upper and lower body are combined with otherneigong components such as breathing methods, pulsing

(opening and closing) and precise body alignments thiscan generate a powerful ‘internal pressure’ in theabdomen.

If the elastic represents the tendons, fascia andmuscles, the ball would represent the feet and handsthen the bat would be the spine. A shift in body weightthat moves the tailbone should initiate the stretch(this was not the case in the exercise I described asthe spine did not move). The movement of the hands issequentially behind that of the spine. There is a brieflag time between when the spine begins moving and whenthe hands begin to extending out and when the spinestops moving in one direction the hands should continuemoving in that direction for a split second before theyare pulled back by the elastic (i.e. the tendons andfascia).

Opening and closing (also called pulsing)

Openings encourage stretches and closings should beperformed as the stretches are released. To begin withthe easiest parts of the body to open and close are the

5 bows (the spine, 2 arms and 2 legs). The next phasecould be to include larger cavities such as the palmsand armpits. Eventually we want to be able to pulseevery joint and cavity of the body simultaneously. Ofcourse there are hundreds of these and pulsing smallercavities and joints, like the spaces between thevertebrae requires a very high level of awareness andcontrol. It’s much easier to develop this in neigongsets such as ‘Circling Hands’ or ‘Marriage of Heavenand Earth’ where the movements are relatively simple,so all the attention can be focussed on the openingsand closings. All Chinese internal martial arts formscontain openings in the yang movements and closings inthe yin movements. However it’s often made morecomplicated by the turning and weight shifting. Forexample as the weight shifts onto the right side thatside of the body may close causing the left side toopen and vice versa. Increasing the number cavitiesthat you are able to pulse will increase your abilityto expand and open when emitting force (fa jin inMandarin), thus increasing the power of your punches,kicks and pushes. But more useful benefits includereleasing tension, removing toxins, stimulating themovement of fluids and improving the functioning of theimmune system

The Lymphatic system

The lymphatic system is a series of vessels throughoutthe body that drain fluid from tissues. It has a numberof functions. It transports white blood cells to helpfight infections. It absorbs and transports fatty acidsfrom the digestive system. And it helps remove toxinsand waste materials from the body by removinginterstitial fluid from the tissues. The lymph systemrelies on body movement to pump the lymph (a colourlessfluid that is similar to blood) around the body.Pulsing cavities, especially those of the armpits, neckand inguinal groves, which contain lots of lymph nodes,will enhance the movement of fluids and improve thefunctioning of the lymphatic system. Rhythmiccontractions of all the lymphatic vessels and thetissues that surround these will pump the lymph muchmore effectively than external movements.

Diagram (a) shows the major components of the lymphaticsystem. 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 effectiveinternal stretching and pulsing. The spine shouldremain as straight as possible. The sacrum (thetailbone at the base of the spine) should be tuckedunder at all times. If the lower back becomes archedthe internal stretching and pulsing in the lower bodywill be greatly diminished. The shoulders and hipsshould remain parallel (with each other and theground). One common mistake is for people to turn theshoulders more than the hips. The feet, knees and hipjoints should remain in line. If these alignments arenot correct the student risks damaging joints andligaments. Although these alignments seem simple,maintaining them precisely at all times is surprisinglydifficult. Even a minor deviation can dramaticallyreduce the effectiveness of your practice. It is muchbetter to maintain these alignments and only performvery small (external) movements rather than to performmuch larger movements that compromise these alignments.

Conclusion and health warning/disclaimer

If your taijiquan, baguazhang or xingyiquan doesn’tcontain any neigong elements then it shouldn’t be

considered an ’internal martial art’. Unfortunately, asmany taijiquan forms have been simplified andproliferated much of the neigong material has beenneglected or lost. Synthesizing the neigong componentsand integrating them into martial arts forms requires agreat deal of honesty, patience and awareness. It’seasy to kid yourself and visualise that you’re doingthem correctly. Neigong also requires a lot of physicalexertion, many people don’t expect this as the externalmovements are slow, smooth, and relaxed. Studyingneigong isn’t easy or without risk. The ‘internalpressure’ needs to be built up gradually. Sometimestraumas (both physical and emotional) can causeblockages deep inside the body. Practising neigong mayrelease these blockages, which may lead to a release ofnegative emotions. So neigong should only be studiedunder the careful supervision from experiencedteachers. The feats of strength shown in the picturesof of Bruce Frantzis and Wang Shu Jin are the resultsof years of study under high level teachers followed bydiligent daily practise. It should be noted that thepotential benefits are much more profound than simplyhitting hard or withstanding blows. They include beingmore consciously aware of what going on inside yourbody. Energising the immune system, and releasingtoxins 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 befound at the links below.

Further reading and referencesneigong

http://imos-journal.net/pulsing-the-joints-of-the-body-in-qigong-tai-chi-bagua/

http://medicalqigonguk.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/just-what-is-nei-gong/

http://imos-journal.net/essential-neigong-exercises/

http://www.energyarts.com/three-levels-fundamental-neigong-training

http://www.neijiaquan.co.uk/Neigong.htm

http://www.energyarts.com/glossary/term/195

http://www.internalartsinternational.com/qi-gong-nei-gong/

Fascia and the Lymphatic system

http://brightonbagua.co.uk/qi-gong/

http://www.treatmentmassage.com/structural-integration/what-is-fascia.html

http://cookdingskitchen.blogspot.com/2014/04/external-and-internal-stretching-for.html

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Lymphatic_system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lymphatic_system#Function

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstitial_fluid

http://www.livescience.com/26983-lymphatic-system.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/lymphatic/question138.htm