IV. Nei Kung can be practiced at any age and any level of physical fitness.
You do not have to be young or in great shape to do Nei Kung. It is not exercise or "body building" as we are accustomed to in the west. Deeply rooted in Taoist philosophy, Nei Kung espouses a holistic and organic approach to fitness rather than a muscle specific and mechanistic one. Most conditioning routines are analogous to carpentry: Jump in and start pounding and sawing until you get that wood to look like a table. Nei Kung is more like gardening: Plant a seed and carefully cultivate it into a living tree. "Go with Nature" is the abiding maxim here.
If you can stand on two legs you can practice Nei Kung. The essence of this discipline is in executing ten successive postures of precise body alignment coordinated with regulated breathing. The measure of difficulty is in the duration of time and the degree of physical extension to which any individual posture is held. The purpose is at root to stimulate and accumulate energy not expend it in order to sculpt muscle tissue . Accordingly, if someone is weakened and out of shape, shorter durations and lesser extensions will readily restore vitality. If the individual is in better condition, then longer durations and greater extensions are appropriate. If the capacity at first is only a thimble, then fill the thimble to the brim. Soon it will be a cup, then a bucket, then a tank.
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You do not have to be young or in great shape to do Nei Kung. It is not exercise or "body building" as we are accustomed to in the west. Deeply rooted in Taoist philosophy, Nei Kung espouses a holistic and organic approach to fitness rather than a muscle specific and mechanistic one. Most conditioning routines are analogous to carpentry: Jump in and start pounding and sawing until you get that wood to look like a table. Nei Kung is more like gardening: Plant a seed and carefully cultivate it into a living tree. "Go with Nature" is the abiding maxim here.
If you can stand on two legs you can practice Nei Kung. The essence of this discipline is in executing ten successive postures of precise body alignment coordinated with regulated breathing. The measure of difficulty is in the duration of time and the degree of physical extension to which any individual posture is held. The purpose is at root to stimulate and accumulate energy not expend it in order to sculpt muscle tissue . Accordingly, if someone is weakened and out of shape, shorter durations and lesser extensions will readily restore vitality. If the individual is in better condition, then longer durations and greater extensions are appropriate. If the capacity at first is only a thimble, then fill the thimble to the brim. Soon it will be a cup, then a bucket, then a tank.