It's a good idea to have some small things in your home to remind you that you need to train. Whenever I travel, I always wear a Jade Buddha amulet. This isn't just for good luck, this also reminds me to be peaceful. If something difficult happens, I tell myself to calm myself down. I also carry a small Buddha with me. Before any important decision, I meditate for twenty minutes to clear my mind.
I also take my Instant Health Massage Brush with me, and a skipping rope in case I can't find a place to run then I can find a small park to skip for half an hour. This means, I never have an excuse not to train.
In my office I have a Jade Energy Stone and a Wooden Star Palm Massager in front of my computer. When I work at the computer a lot, I stop and use this to massage my hands for a while.
These are all powerful things to remind myself to have a positive mental outlook and to keep training. These positive things I surround myself with, make me feel that I'm not even training, this is just my routine, this is part of my life.
Different things inspire different people, think about what inspires you. Can you see it every day? Small changes in our environment can help us to activate our health and fitness goals and make them real. Research has shown that even simple things like using a smaller plate helps us to eat less.
If you're environment isn't positive then change it so it is. Make sure that your environment is supporting and not hindering your goals.
For many years, my on-line students have asked me to provide them with the metal brush they have seen me using in my book and DVDs. I have been reluctant to do this without seeing the student first because this metal brush is not like the bamboo brush, if used incorrectly, it can cause damage to the body.
The person who uses this brush needs to be trained correctly and train with responsibility. But now that many of my students have followed all of the training from my first DVD through to my fifteenth, I feel, if their body is telling them they are ready to use this brush, then they are.
This is a professional brush, only to be used by highly trained martial artists, fighters, Qigong masters. It is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18, pregnant women, old people or health seekers. The Instant Health bamboo massage brush is perfect for most people and they should continue to use this rather than change to this metal brush. The bamboo brush is safe to use for all people.
I had this metal brush hand-made to my specific specifications. It was difficult to find someone who could make it for me, and I only have a limited number available. This is a very heavy metal brush, it weighs about 1.6 kg and has 108 metal rods. Shaolin Temple is carved in Chinese on the end of the brush. If used correctly, it will last a lifetime.
Safety Guidelines for Using The Metal Massage Brush
1) The brush needs to be cleaned with a soft cloth before use.
2) The brush must never be used on the head, face or any other sensitive area.
3) Keep the brush in a private place away from children and adults.
4) Never share the brush with another person.
5) Never use this brush without doing Qigong first.
6) Warm up with the bamboo brush first then move onto the metal brush.
7) Do not use this brush for body conditioning unless you have had direct training from a qualified master.
8) Only use this brush for self-massage after the Qigong Forms that I teach on my DVDs.
9) Your body should feel happy when you massage. Listen to your body. If something feels wrong or there is any pain, stop immediately.
10) Exercise extreme caution. Remember, this brush has the potential to damage your internal organs. Make sure you know and understand what you are doing. If in doubt, seek advice from a qualified instructor.
Apart from Qigong Volume 1, all of the above give precise instructions as to how to do the Instant Health Massage. The instructions are the same for the bamboo brush and the metal brush. If you are using the metal brush, warm up with the bamboo brush first. The metal brush gives a deeper vibration to the bones.
I've also made this video to give more clarification on the different uses of the brushes. This is only for a guide and is not a teaching video. Please refer to my teaching DVDs and books for correct instructions on the self-massage.
I recently had a student who was a chess player. He came to study Shaolin with me for two weeks. He asked me if he needed stamina when he played chess, I said, yes, it would help him, because when you play chess, you need to be steps ahead, working out your moves and your opponent's moves. This is the same as fighting but every teacher or coach knows that if their student don't have stamina then it doesn't matter how good they are, they can't use their skills. This means, you have build your stamina. Through building your stamina you build the strength of your mind.
When you're tired, you can't show your weakness, you have to pretend that you still have stamina. If your opponent finds out then this is your weakness and he can beat you. Sometimes you have to learn how to hide your feelings, it's the same when you have an injury, you have to hide your injury. This is the same as a chess player who makes a bad move, he can't show it or give up, he has to hide.
The warrior fights to the end. The warrior is really competing with him or herself. His competitor is his teacher
When I taught this chess player, I made him do a lot of physical exercise; running, punches, squats, press ups. All training that had nothing to do with the mind. He wanted to give up but I pushed him. He trained with me every day for two weeks. Towards the end of his training, I made his training plan a little easier and suddenly he found out he strong he was. Everyday he trained, I would do just 25 minutes of Qigong to show him how to balance his Yin and Yang. I didn't want to do too much because I didn't want him to think.
He told me that the Shaolin training gave him a lot of confidence and he felt stronger when he played chess because he no longer cared whether he won or lose, he only thought how to make a strong move and how to conquer himself. If he made a mistake, it didn't matter, he just kept going, sometimes he could change the situation from bad to good but the most important thing was that he always gave his best.
