Is There A Remarkable Connection Between Roller Skating and Neigong?
Could there be a connection between roller skating and Neigong?
Initially similarities between roller skating and 3000 year old Chinese Internal Arts may seem implausible, but as you travel down their respective paths, the correlations become impossible to deny. At the very least, these arts complement one another very well.
Is it possible that when two arts separated by millennia, culture, and geography finally meet, their transformative powers are exponentiated? Are we at an evolutionary intersection and finally ready to explore secrets that have remained largely undiscovered?
Neigong, which means ‘internal skill’ or ‘internal work’, is a millenniums old, Chinese practice with roots in Daoism and alchemical training, it’s the core of internal Chinese martial arts such as: Tai Chi, Xing-yi Quan, and Bagua. The focus of these arts is on opening and strengthening the deepest energy channels in the body with the aim of enhancing and balancing the flow of qi (life force energy).
Qi is believed to be the vital energy that flows through the body, and is responsible for overall health and vitality. Circular movement is thought to help cultivate and circulate Qi throughout the body, helping to balance and harmonize the body’s energy systems, improve circulation, enhance mental clarity and concentration, and promote overall physical and emotional well-being.
External Work, Internal Harmony
These practices are external work with internal harmony. They involve the coordination of physical movement, breathing techniques, and meditation with the aim of enhancing and balancing the flow of qi. Just because someone performs the arm movements or gets in Neigong postures, doesn’t mean that they are cultivating qi. And cultivating qi is the point! It’s entirely possible to look like you are doing these practices, but if you are not doing the internal work, you are just going through the motions and will not affect change.
Rhythm skating is similar- if one just learns a series of tricks, or footwork without incorporating the flow, the groove, the inner work, it’s not actually the art of rhythm skating. However, when one goes to a deep level with skating there is no denying that something unusual happens. Something that feels like what Neigong practitioners have been describing for centuries.
“I can feel the power of Qi, I can benefit from the universal Qi. The Daoist practitioners, they have realized this and that’s why we have been practicing Qi Gong.”
Master Gu
Master Gu grew up in the Wudang mountains and has taught Qi Gong there for the past 20 years.
Here is a brief video of him explaining energy work and the power of Qi.
Culture, politics, and religion are some of the forces that have kept Neigong a relative secret. Additionally these ancient arts are incredibly intricate. Many of these practices are based in Chinese medicine and are complex and difficult for Westerners to digest. The beauty of our interconnected world is that we no longer have to venture far to seek out these ideas. In fact, we may only have to put on our skates and travel within ourselves to begin this journey.
We’ll continue down this path in coming posts, so stay tuned.