Each moment can be an expansion of knowledge. [Photo courtesy of Noel Plaugher]

Embracing the New

Let me give you an example. I was a second-degree black belt when I began studying the internal art of Xing Yi Chuan. It was somewhat similar to what I had studied before, but it had internal elements that I had to learn. I found that I really loved that particular aspect of Xing Yi. For me, embracing that unknown area was very beneficial to my health and all of my martial arts training. As I learned more about the Qigong found in Xing Yi, I became an advocate for the standing postures because they had changed my body and mind for the better. I felt so strongly that I wrote a book about it. I was glad that I decided to try something new and found that it provided elements that added nicely to what I had been doing.

Years later, I was at my friend’s martial arts school and I decided after watching him teach numerous grappling classes that I needed to learn some grappling. Students in my school had asked about it, plus I thought it was a good idea since all of my experience was primarily with striking arts. This began my pursuit of Judo.

I still remember the first time I did Randori (free practice) with my classmate. The instruction part of the class was over and we had been working on techniques for both standing and ground work. We were then instructed to do Randori for one minute and then switch partners. A minute didn’t seem very long to me. I thought to myself “Well, I have been doing these other arts for a long time so…whoa!” He had gripped onto my collar and pulled me suddenly in one direction, and then threw me in another. I landed with a hard thud. He quickly followed me to the ground, landing on me with his body. (I could swear I felt my ribs flex a little, ugh.) He was on top of me quickly working towards a submission, and I tried desperately to think about what to do, “Crap! How the hell do I… Ok, I think I am supposed to move to the…” I suddenly felt burning pain in my elbow as it was being hyperextended and I tapped furiously against his leg. He had pinned me with an arm bar. We quickly stood up, although I got up a little slower than he did, and we began to do it all again. It felt much longer, but it had only been a few seconds into that minute. This was going to be a long minute. We went on until the time was up, and I realized that I had a lot to learn.

That experience was quite a wake-up call for me, and I immediately understood why some people choose to learn something different, and why some stick to what they do best already.

All of my training has helped everything else I do. [Photo courtesy of Noel Plaugher]

Get Out of the Familiar

Sticking to what you are an expert in, and are comfortable with, gives you a certain safety with the familiar. It is uncomfortable to place yourself in an unfamiliar environment, but that is when you really learn, and when you are really tested. If you like to feel secure, then it is very uncomfortable to throw yourself into the metaphorical deep end of the pool, but it is probably very necessary for your own personal growth.

As a martial artist, I think exposure to new things is necessary, whether you embrace them or not – If for no other reason, one must keep their ego in check. It is too easy to be an “expert” with theories and logical reasons why you have all of the answers, but that is not reality. There are unknowns and a randomness of how events unfold that makes the comfort of certainty the main reason that it should be shunned. Certaity is not real.

When I extracted myself from that environment of certainty, it left me with the reality of who I really am. When there is nothing familiar around you, you stand metaphorically naked, stripped bare. It can be unpleasant if you see things you don’t like. There are things that were likely always there, but now are unable to remain hidden, and so they must be changed or accepted. But, to be the best you can be, it is important to see who you really are.

Since studying martial arts, and trying many new things, I have been able to add these new elements to my repertoire. Ironically, rather than finding an amalgamation of differences, I have found a plethora of similarities. Even between seemingly unrelated things like Judo and Qigong there are still similarities. I found that the better my standing Qigong training, the more comfortable I was with my Judo because the use of energy and whole-body power is a part of both. My comfort with close proximity from Judo has enhanced my previous training and provided some interesting insight into the use of motion that I learned previously in other arts. All of my training has helped everything else I do.

I have always enjoyed learning, and I feel stagnant when I am not challenged or learning new things. For me, the most empowered feeling is not putting on my black belt, but putting on a white belt. With a new and untraveled road of knowledge in front of me, I know that I will be learning all new things and having new adventures. Each moment will be an expansion of my knowledge in an endless collection toward my own self-mastery. I urge you; do something different and challenge yourself this week.

More on challenging yourself:

Why Better Than Average Isn’t Good Enough for Me

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What you are about to read is the sole foundation of my life’s work. With rigorous testing, countless hours of experimenting, and the spearheading of groundbreaking research, my staff and I have been able to isolate a few ideas that are consistent with all strength athletes.

I have seen firsthand how connecting with the spiritual body and take training to a new level.

Ancient Chinese Medicine

First, a quick background. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can be traced back over 5,000 years. Tribal shamans, priests, and mystics were developing techniques for healing before the inception of the written language. Using a variety of methods, the core of all things Chinese Medicine goes back to one common theme – a balanced body is a thriving, healthy body. Restore harmony in the body, balance the yin and yang, and keep the qi moving and we have a person who can combat illness and live for a hundred years.

“Spirituality and medicine cannot be separated when we are talking about Chinese medicine.”

If you were to walk into any hospital in China, you would see that acupuncture, herbs, massage, and Qigong are down the hall from the operating rooms and pharmacy. The blending of their own philosophy with some of our Western techniques give the citizens of China one of the most complete healthcare systems on Earth.

Daoism and Its Influence on TCM

Daoism (Taoism) is one of the three major religions of China. Confucianism and Buddhism round out the big three. Typically credited to Lao Tzu (Laozi) and his masterpiece the Tao Te Ching from the 4th century BC, this spiritual system can actually be traced back to nearly 3,000 BC to Huang Di or the Yellow Emperor.

The Huangdi Neijing (or Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic) is the holy grail of ancient Chinese medicine text. Any TCM practitioner worth his or her salt has spent countless hours buried in this work, and this text is saturated with Daoist philosophy. Spirituality and medicine cannot be separated when we are talking about Chinese medicine.

The Three Bodies

The idea of the “three bodies” is at the core of Chinese medicine’s approach to treating the sick – and what can help the strength athlete, too. When I see patients, I work on three versions of them:

1. The physical body (jing)
2. The emotional or energetic body (Qi)
3. The spirit body (shen)

An anatomical drawing from the “Huangdi Neijing.”

Think of three separate versions of the person walking into my clinic that make the whole person. All three work on differing levels of vibration and are governed by the density of energy.

1. The physical body is the one we all see, the material, everything in the third dimension. It is the tissues, fluids, and bones of the body.
2. The energetic body is a carbon copy of the physical body, but the energy is vibrating at a higher frequency and above the material world. It is the home of emotions and associated with everything we talk about when we are talking about Qi.
3. The spiritual body is in some circles considered to be the most important and influential of the three. The spiritual body is linked to everything we associate with thought and intention. It is also the part of that connects us to our understanding of divinity.

A Day in the Life of a Qigong Doctor

When a sick patient comes to my clinic, I can’t spend my entire time looking at the disease they are presenting me with. Take breast cancer for example. In the Western medical mind, the cancer is the outcome or final step in their illness. Eastern-trained doctors look at the tumor as the symptom of something greater.

“Our bodies are influenced by the philosophy of the three bodies. No one is exempt.”

My sifu used to tell us the cancer is the budding flower of the plant. Yes, surgery and some of the aggressive Western approaches to cancer treatment remove the flower, but unfortunately the root system is left intact and we will see the flower bloom again over time. In order to remove the entire plant, we must kill it at its roots. More often than not, those roots are in the energetic (emotional) or the spiritual body, and the physical body simply ends up presenting the disharmony in the form of a tumor.

The reason I bring up cancer is because it scares the crap out of all of us. But what most cancer survivors will tell you is that their diagnosis and experience was a gift of sorts. It is the darkest time of their life, but is also a time where they got their lives in order, their relationship with “the Divine” established, and their thinking on track. Their healing came from a complete change in perspective, a will to live, and a readiness to make personal changes at any cost – not just consuming a mountain of pills and enduring countless painful surgeries.

A woodcut illustration of the practice Xixin tuicang (meaning, “wash the heart and retire to a hidden place”)

Why These Ideas Apply to You and Your Training

You are healthy, right? Your eating is dialed, your training is on point, and everything with your body is as it should be – or is it? Our bodies are influenced by the philosophy of the three bodies. No one is exempt. While you might have all of your training ducks in a row, you may be neglecting the energetic and spiritual bodies.

And remember what we just discussed. In the majority of the cancer patients I see the roots of the disease are firmly planted in the person’s emotions and/or spirit. Because they have issues with managing emotions (stress being the biggest storm of all) or are in some sort of spiritual crisis, their physical body is manifesting the symptom of the problem via disease. But just because you, as an athlete, aren’t battling a life-threatening illness doesn’t make you ineligible for experiencing the problems that come with disharmony of the three bodies.

“In the majority of the cancer patients I see the roots of the disease are firmly planted in the person’s emotions and/or spirit.”

How many of you are in a training hole right now? You’ve cleaned up your diet, changed trainers, and joined a new gym but for some reason can’t get over the hump. You are likely in a rut because of stagnation in the bodies we can’t see. Recovery, adaptation, and fundamental gains are as influenced by your emotions and connection to the cosmos as much as your diet is.

This isn’t pseudo-science, this isn’t religious dogma, and I’m not some quack pushing a product. What I am doing is helping you open your mind to the notion that if we can heal cancer by getting someone’s emotions in order (which happens all the time) or get some other nasty chronic disease resolved by getting your spiritual house in order, don’t you think we can balance some hormones or get your inflammation levels down in the same manner?

So, What Should I Do?

It’s simple. The emotional/energy body can be sorted through meditation, Qigong, yoga, tai chi, etc. All of these practices have enormous positive influence on getting the energy body back in rhythm. You don’t have to be a master of any kind to reap the benefits of a twenty-minute daily practice of any of the above. If you are willing to drop $200 a month on supplements, then you can find twenty minutes in your day to nurture this aspect of who you are. Find a coach, teacher, or yogi in your area or download a meditation app on your phone.

“I could care less what your religious slants are or how you define yourself spiritually. But a regular practice that focuses on the spirit can create balance in the spiritual body.”

When it comes to the spirit body, that’s up to you. Your idea of “Divinity” is your own. I call myself a Daoist/Catholic/Buddhist/Pagan. I could care less what your religious slants are or how you define yourself spiritually. But a regular practice that focuses on the spirit can create balance in the spiritual body. Now, with your training and your emotional/energy practice of choice, you have an unbeatable combination of tools to keep the three versions of you thriving.

You can connect with this aspect of yourself anytime, anywhere.

Practice What You Preach

I am going to let you into my personal life to give you an example of someone who is doing exactly what this article is talking about.

I wake up every morning (besides weekends) at 3:45am. Once my bathroom “responsibilities” are complete, I lie back down and meditate for 22 minutes using an app called Omvana and focus my meditation on something called the six-phase meditation.

“If you are willing to drop $200 a month on supplements, then you can find twenty minutes in your day to nurture this aspect of who you are.”

I train every morning, whether it be cardio, weights, or kettlebells. At 11:00am I lead a group of athletes and my staff in a twenty-minute Qigong recharge. My afternoons and evenings typically involve one more training session of some kind. And to be perfectly honest, I pray all day long.

I do all of this while holding down a full-time coaching job at Cal Poly, having a thriving medical Qigong practice in town, being married to my wife of seven years, and proudly being the father of three small children.

Do I have challenges with things like stress? No doubt. But I also have the blood work of a 21-year-old at the young age of forty. My gains are continual and my body is becoming the best it has ever been.

Reach Your Full Potential

Friends, what we are talking about here is real. Your emotions and sense of Divinity are the soil you plant your efforts in when it comes to performance and strength gains. Take the time to train all aspects of yourself. Grow emotionally and spiritually as you train to grow physically.

More Like This:

• Qigong: The New (Ancient) Way of Improving Health and Performance
• How Meditation Can Heal Your Adrenal System
• The True Meaning of Having Heart
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photo 1 by Capt. Ryan Powell, via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 2 by Wellcome Images, via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 3 by Wellcome Images, via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 4 courtesy of Shutterstock.

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