Mind and Body Connection Pt 1

Classes have begun for this year and I am filled with reflections on Nei Gong training. Seeing the development and transformation in those who study with me inspires me to continue instructing them and to study deeper into the arts and their process. There can be many benefits when developing with Nei Gong, though I find one of the most impacting for many people is the greater degree of mind and body connection that arises.

Many people want to improve and maintain their health with good practices that support them. Physical exercise is usually a great start and sometimes they will find internal practices like Taiji (Tai Chi) or Qi Gong when they realize a holistic view of health maintenance. Though I’ve noticed that when people seek out and come to train Nei Gong, they often can be seeking great transformation of themselves. This was certainly the case for myself and many who I’ve studied alongside, as well as many who study with me now. Often a physical injury or overcoming a mental hurdle can be a catalyst to seek assistance for change.

When one is exposed to the energetic mechanics and aspects of life as explored through Nei Gong, there is a new perspective of the world that opens up. The realm of Qi becomes a tangibly explorable experience and the doorways of subtle reality become real. Bridging the inner and outer world as well as gaining experience in the subtle world brings about a new level of connection within our being. This connection only amplifies with more training…

The mind and body are two of the most tangible aspects of our being that people first become aware of and begin to work with. We clearly have a physical vessel that we interact in life with, though we also have the seemingly inner world of the mind that also interacts with the world. These two are important because they essentially produce our experience of life. Our inner world and outer world you could say, though they are reflections of each other as well. One key realization I’ve come to know is that the mind and body are not separate entities by any means, and that they greatly affect the other. With time and practice, our mind and body connection increases greatly from Nei Gong. We learn how to listen (“Ting”) into the body and allow it’s natural intelligence to function. When you know how to truly and attentively listen, transformation can happen. To apply correct listening inside your being allows you to access the information that your body systems contain—which is a vast amount of information!…! This isn’t some wooly statement that has no evidence behind it. Students of Nei Gong will first encounter listening into the body as they discover hidden habitual tensions stored in various layers. We all know our obvious tensions, but as you unravel them and follow these tensions with awareness you will often be lead into the realm of mind. This may sound strange at first for a physical tension to have roots in the mind, but it isn’t so hard to see when you consider it. Our mental state dictates much of how we ‘feel’, but how we feel also gives us a somatic experience in the body. Think of how emotions make your body feel—anger, worry, anxiety, sadness, etc can all effect us greatly though they may only even be generated by thoughts or perceptions of the mind. This is why it is good to have discipline of your mind, because poor quality thoughts will effect the body in a poor way. And this also works with how you care for your physical body or even your surrounding environment, these will effect the quality of your mind.

Hopefully that is not too hard to see how the mind and body impact each other, it’s becoming much more common for modern folks to acknowledge this. Now consider that you can increase the degree of connection and influence upon each other. When you eat quality, wholesome food, it will assist in producing quality mental functioning as well as bodily functioning. When you maintain good mental balance, it assists the physical functioning of your body. But why do the mind and body have such effect upon each other? How does this happen? The energetic functioning of Qi can answer these questions. Nei Gong specializes in development of the internal environment of the body and the cultivation of Qi. When you develop with your energetic body, you begin to work with the bridge between our mind and body. Qi sits at the pivot between the two, acting as a catalyst of manifestation for how something will transform across the spectrum of of Being. As you develop and progress with internal training, it becomes very clear that our mind and body influence each other. When you have good mental states and maintain a good level of general health, you will be full of energy for activities or to apply toward whatever life brings. This is also how the principles of Yang Sheng Fa or “life nourishing principles” become quite important for an internal practitioner – how we treat our mind and body will directly impact our health of both aspects. 

There are always times of struggle or hardship in life. How we handle ourselves in these situations dictates how we are affected. When I’ve fallen into a mental funk, it usually affects my habits/patterns and my physical health quite quickly – bringing awareness to the matter. It can sometimes be hard to see ourselves when we become grouchy or in a sour mood, but with higher degree of mind-body connection, your body will soon tell you! The same can happen when our body becomes sickly with poor treatment of it. Poor quality food, lack of sleep, or other factors like a chaotic environment will definitely begin to impact our mental functioning and the quality of our thinking. This is an aspect that many people don’t want to acknowledge or may not even be aware of. Though with training we can learn to adjust our connection or sensitivity to internal and external factors just like a dial. In the beginning it often feels like an on/off switch, and can be difficult to connect or feel like an exposed nerve all the time. With practice and diligent working with your self, you will find that connection and sensitivity are very much an adjustable dial.

When you treat your body and mind well with good nourishment, rest and whatever is needed for healthy mental functioning, there is a deeper world of connection that opens up. Your emotional intelligence can increase as you become more aware of what you feel as well as how to understand what you are feeling. With good discipline of your mind, even a chaotic environment can affect you less because you’re able to regulate your mind which affects the body. As you progress and develop energetically, students can gain more control of bodily functioning. One example that is quite useful within my own life, is being able to release urine or bowels whenever you need to via sinking of the Qi. ….This could sound odd, but many people also struggle with this basic functioning of their body. Often before bed or going on an adventure or flight, I can command my body to release whatever it is holding – this is only one small example of better mind-body connection. Being connected internally is reflected externally as well, the microcosm/macrocosm reflection. This enables one to connect with other people and living things more skillfully, perhaps even nature and beyond! And with a topic like this, there is much more to discuss…to be continued!