I was fortunate enough to be able to attend my Shaolin School's annual Qi retreat held in Pensacola Beach, Florida. I began studying Taiji and Qigong at the LIU International Shaolin Institute under my Shifu, Grand Master Shi Deru, Shaolin Temple Southern Yard 31st generation indoor disciple and teacher of martial arts, traditional medicine, health and wellness.
The retreat is an annual event and offers two full days of instruction in Chan (Zen) meditation for cleansing the body and quieting the mind; Qigong and Qi guided exercises to improve mental and physical well-being and balance Qi flow; and Tai Gong to help increase muscle power and improve mental and physical well being to allow for the freedom from emotional and mental attachments.
Various other forms of Qigong are instructed to learn how to breath and stretch in various postures to relax the muscles, tendons, and ligaments; and to cleanse the Qi channels to improve Qi flow and balance for self-healing and detoxification.
The following is the review I wrote of my experience at the retreat for Shifu:
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This past weekend's Qi Retreat was an extremely enlightening weekend that further enhanced my study of Qigong and internal Kung Fu. I feel that the best way to learn anything is through complete immersion and that is exactly what this retreat provided, a full weekend of meditation, Qi and Qigong practice with Shifu and my Shaolin Institute brothers and sisters.
While this weekend presented many different aspects pertaining to the study of Qi as well as the review of, and introduction to, various meditation, Qigong and Taigong exercises, I feel like I walked away with so much more-the understanding of what Kung Fu training is really about.
The importance of training, whether it is internal or external Kung Fu, is not solely in the practice of the movements for an hour or two a day. The real value is in adopting the Kung Fu lifestyle.
When we truly live in Kung Fu and combine that with our daily meditation and Qigong practice, we can then discover-or rather rediscover-our true nature, our true self. In doing so, this allows us to completely detach from our ego and thus detach from the external things we mistakenly believe will bring us happiness and freedom. It allows us to live in the present free from any regrets of the past and worries of the future.
True freedom and happiness is unique to each of us as individuals; however, for all of us it comes from looking deep within ourselves which allows for the rediscovery of our true nature. In doing so we become free to live in the world without worry, fear or stress.
The path to this self discovery is through a combination of meditation, training and living in Kung Fu. When this happens, as Shifu taught us, we travel the path of Chan and enlightenment.
If you are looking for an opportunity to enhance your Kung Fu practice, I highly recommend attending the Qi Retreat-you will be very happy that you did!
Shifu, thank you for the opportunity to learn from you and for sharing your wisdom with us!
With my sincerest appreciation and deepest gratitude,
Scott Shetler
Check out this great video compilation put together by Tom Kreutzer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
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Stay Healthy AND Strong!
-Scott
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