Below is an article written by author and Qi Gong instructor Cindy Engel who attended the 2007 summer camp. It outlines the fact that the course was fairly intense and that sometimes the cleansing process can be slightly unpleasant with side effects such as diarrhoea a good sign of the body beginning to clear itself out. These course are intended for those who are prepared to push themselves as they are fairly intense. They are more advanced than the 1 or 2 day workshops taught for the rest of the year.

Nei Gung in the Brecon Beacons by Cindy Engel (2007)

This July Damien Mitchell (known as Damo) held his first public Nei Gong workshop in the Brecon Beacons of south Wales.

I’ve seen students gyrate and hurl about in Dr Shen’s workshops apparently under his control but although I have felt internal movement (like a baby turning inside my belly) I’ve never felt the need to run about the room and, like many others, I have wondered whether much of this phenomenon is caused by autosuggestion. The scientist in me wants to understand things, even if they turn out to be something of nothing, so I came to Damo’s workshop with a willingness to explore.

He has a high-octane approach to teaching and the weekend was packed with Taiji, Nei Gong, Animal Frolics, Bagua and short lectures. We worked until midnight on Friday night and started again at 7am Saturday morning. By the first afternoon I was floored. Sunday morning, two others couldn’t get up out of bed until lunchtime.

I was there to explore one aspect of Nei Gong in particular, namely Dantien awakening. In my personal Qi Gong practice I spend a great deal of time rooting, grounding, connecting with my centre, releasing and dissolving physical and emotional tension but this work was different. The aim was to break my root by taking my weight forward over the front of the feet whilst continuing to sink. Using reverse breathing we massaged the lower belly and deliberately set up a degree of musclular tension throughout the postures. The combination produced a vibration that spread upwards through the body out along the arms to the fingers. This ‘vibration force’ produced several effects; one of which was intense nausea. Another was a feeling of standing on wobbling foundations, like I no longer had a ‘base’. This seemed to be what was throwing some students around. It was at this point that two new students decided this was too weird for them and left the course.

Despite my lower Dantien now bouncing around like a ball in a lotto machine, I could hold my body still. If I did allow my body to follow the Dantien, the movement was spontaneous and enjoyable but there was no need as my Dantien was moving independently of my physical body. I admit I felt al little annoyed by other students as I wanted to experience the more subtle internal sensations without having to dodge people flying about the room (but that’s intolerance for you).

Thankfully, Damo then got us to use our intention to direct movement of the Dantien without moving externally. This was the most interesting part for me as I found that I could move this lively ball of energy in any direction I wanted with immediate effect. A figure of 8 felt the most peculiar, as the Dantien seemed to invert on itself in the centre. Very strong contractions of deep abdominal muscles went with this work and for someone like me who is (how shall I put it) a bit slack along the ventral surface it was amazing to discover such abdominal strength. My abdomen sucked right in and rolled about as I made intentions to move the Dantien. Who would have thought that my belly could be so impressive?!

The youngest students were certainly the most active, for longest. Many of us experienced diarrhoea and other abdominal reactions after the class. Internal work does exactly what it says on the tin: works your insides. Traditionally, Nei Gong requires a period of preparatory diet, celibacy, and Qi Gong and, as I had just stepped out of normal life, I decided to back off for a bit and rest.

Later, we worked in pairs and found that we could influence each other’s Dantien by moving our own. If I flipped mine horizontally my partner swung around horizontally. If I flipped mine vertically, they flipped forwards or backwards depending on the direction. Bearing in mind these were only internal movements, so there was no physical mimicry going on. This exercise seemed to freak out a few new students as they found it hard to believe they could influence another person from a distance even though they were doing it. As a Shiatsu therapist I don’t have a problem with the idea that my mind can influence another body. That is, after all, how energy workers influence health in another but what impressed me here was the speed with which Damo got these phenomena to be experienced by the group. All those students who stayed the course were able to cause movement in others from a distance. In other words, we all got a nursery taste of ‘empty force’.

What happened when we put the Dantien activation into Taiji and Bagua is another story altogether and one which I am not able to relate adequately due to my lack of expertise in both.

Damo intends to offer these workshops once a year and I recommend them with a proviso to prepare well. I still don’t feel a need to spin around the room, but I do appreciate that something a lot more interesting than autosuggestion is going on with this work and I am already signed up for next year.

Shotokan

The picture above shows Damo sparring with other Black Belts in a Shotokan Karate Class in Wells, Somerset.

A lot of snobbery exists amongst Internal Artists towards External Arts which they often view as inferior, Japanese styles in particular are often seen as extremely inferior.

The truth is that all styles are only as good as the practitioner and every Martial Artist can learn a lot from looking at the strengths and weakness of their own and other styles. Many key principles of the Martial Arts are universal and can be carried from one system to another once they have been mastered.

External Arts such as Karate or Gong Fu work internally on the practitioners psyche. They can strengthen a students will power and teach them to relax under pressure if they are practiced correctly, It is worth remembering that the vast majority of styles should be practiced with a relaxed mind and body, tension should be avoided as much as possible even if training externally.

More articles will be posted in the future:

Nei Gung in the Brecon Beacons by Cindy Engel (2007)