Nei Gong Program
“It is vitally important to a practitioner’s development that they build a strong foundation. The body needs transforming, the breath needs mastering and the Dan Tian needs to be cultivated”
Our Structured Nei Gong Foundation Programs
Without a doubt, the most important part of any student’s practice is the quality of their foundation. If the foundation is weak, then everything built upon it will be unstable; this will result in poor practice outcomes. For this reason, we have set up these structured Nei Gong programs where our teachers help to guide students through the all-important early stages of practice.
Students taking part in these structured programs meet up for 18 days per year which are divided up into five events annually, taught by Damo & senior teachers within Lotus Nei Gong.
Course Outcomes
- Correct structure of body according to Nei Gong (內功) principles
- Development of Yi Jin Jing (易筋經) ‘sinew-changing’ practice
- Establishing of correct breathing principles
- Building the lower Dan Tian (丹田), this is one of the most vital and elusive qualities within the internal arts
- How to mobilise the Qi (氣) through the channel system of the body
- How to utilise Yin (陰) and Yang (陽) Qi (氣) within practice to develop health, strength and internal skill
- Clearing the channels of pathogenic factors which impact our physical and mental health
- Studying principles and correct practice of Qi Gong (氣功)
- Studying principles and correct practice of Dao Yin (導引)
- Learning how to clear, move and build Qi (氣) within the body
- How to establish a personal practice that can last you a lifetime
- How to understand the evolution from physical to energetic to medical to spiritual as practice-emphases
The material taught on our Nei Gong program matches the syllabus taught within the ‘internal arts academy’ online school but we are also teaching other material that is usually only taught within the Lotus Nei Gong live events. These live events are suitable for those new to the internal arts as well as those with prior experience of arts such as Qi Gong and Nei Gong within other schools.
What this means is students on these courses will cover the entire of the Lotus Nei Gong International level 1 syllabus in great detail.
The Teachers
The programs are taught by Damo Mitchell, Roni Edlund and then other experienced senior teachers within the school. Each of these seniors had been with Damo for many years and so each haver a wealth of knowledge and experience within these arts.
On each program, Damo Mitchell will be teaching the students on a 10 day retreat each year + through contact on Zoom events.
Other training, which takes place, over a series of weekends each year is headed up by senior teachers within the Lotus Nei Gong School who will guide students into developing their own regular training routine.
These structured courses, which we have run previously in the UK, Europe and the USA, provide students with the expertise required to go deep into Nei G0ong practice, assisted by a number of skilled teachers who are passionate over, and live, these arts as a lifestyle.
內功
Dan Tian Gong is the quintessential practice for those interested in mastering the internal arts. Through a series of methods, starting simple and then developing into more intricate in nature, the Dan Tian may be developed, awakened and filled with Qi. This begins to ‘charge the body’s battery’ so that practice becomes stronger and more effective.
Yi Jin Jing or Sinew Changing is taught, not as a series of prescribed exercise patterns, but as a process based upon ancient principles. Students are taken through the transformative process of the Yi Jin Jing so that their body may be converted into a vehicle more suitable for inner work.
Hui Chun or Returning to Spring exercises are an alchemical seated set which help to restore the body’s Qi to a refined and healthy state. Simple and yet profound, the set consists of 30 movements and postures which strengthen the viscera and rejuvenate the body. These are a core part of how we shall work to build upon a solid platform of good health.
Ji Ben Qi Gong exercises are taught in order to help the student understand how to align, mobilise and develop the channels of the body so that Qi may circulate freely. These are fundamental to ensuring that the body is open enough to receive the extra energy which we build and store within the ‘battery’ of the lower Dan Tian.
Dao Yin, sometimes known as Daoist Yoga, are taught to help open the body joints and to pass Qi through the ‘gates’ of the body which are generally closed in the early stages of development. Various Dao Yin movements are used, some simple in nature and some more complex with longer sequences involved.
The Microcosmic Orbit is one of the more well known aspects of Nei Gong and Qi Gong training and yet it is widely misunderstood. Students shall cover this complex aspect of internal training in great detail as a part of the training so that it becomes a transformational practice rather than an empty visualisation exercise.
These are just some of the key exercises and practicers taught on the Nei Gong Program. For this training, we have our foundation and set exercises which we work on, but then, the speed of progression and dedication of the student cohort dictates if we take this further still.
Course Outline
Here is a brief outline of the two-year long foundation program which takes the form of 18 days per year for the first two years and then 12 days for the final year. This totals 48 days of face-to-face tuition as well as ongoing Zoom classes during this time.
Year 1 –
- 4 x Weekends
- 1 x 10-day long intensive retreat
Year 2 –
- 4 x Weekends
- 1 x 10-day long intensive retreat
Year 3 –
- 2 x Weekends
- 1 x 8-day long intensive retreat
Alongside these in-person days of teaching. We shall also have 4 zoom meet-ups of either 1 or 2 days of teaching which will be headed by either Damo or one of his senior teachers. These Zoom online-classes will be spaced throughout the year.
The Ethos
Many people whom struggle with their Qi Gong and Nei Gong practice, struggle for the following reasons:
- They don’t have acess to the correct method
- They don’t know how to structure their practice
- They don’t understand how to best utilise the exercises in order to move through the inner-process
Too often, people are just taught sets of slow, moving exercises but not shown how to actually use these exercises to move through the Nei Gong process. This is why having an understanding of how to develop a regular and structured practice is vital to progression through the arts.
These are the reasons why we set up these structured programs. They are not ‘teacher training’ courses where you are guaranteed a certificate of ‘mastery’ after such a short period of time. These are programs to help you personally develop in the Nei Gong process and do this in the healthiest and most efficient manner. Each of our teachers is highly trained and very experienced; they have all that is needed to help ensure that students learn well and so ensure that the future of the ancient lineages is healthily ensured.
From here, this healthy foundation, it is also much easier for us in Lotus Nei Gong to then take students deeper into the Nei Gong process or alchemical methods.
A Lifetime of Practice
The aim of these 2.5 year long training events is for students who complete the training to become intimately familiar with the practices and processes of both Qi Gong & Nei Gong practice. Elements of Nei Dan will be explored as well, but the emphasis for the training will be on developing skill at the practices of opening the body’s channels, building & developing Qi and internal energy. These skills build a foundation in health, internal skill and spiritual growth.
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The material taught on this course matches the Level 1 syllabus of the Lotus Nei Gong School and those who have attended these trainings and completed this training are pleasantly surprised at the depth and effectiveness of these methods.
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All students completing this training will be set up with a practice which they may utilise for the rest of their life. An effective lifelong practice of this kind gives access to transformational training which assists in every apsect of a person’s life. Integrate a high-level internal practice originating from the Daoist tradition into your life and carry with you tools to keep you healthy, centered and developing toweards a true spiritual destination.
Lotus Nei Gong and its associated online school, the Internal Arts Academy, have grown to become globally trusted sources of authentic internal arts training. Each year, hundreds of people from around the globe come together to study with Damo Mitchell and his senior teachers. Our community is strong and the level of dedication high. Come and find out why we, as a school, have become the place where so many turn when they are seeking to study the Daoist and Internal Arts of the East.
The methods taught are the result of Damo Mitchell’s near 40 years of in-depth study in both the West and across China, South East Asia and more. After a lifetime of practice, Damo is well placed to help guide modern people into a study of these ancient arts.
There are three factors involved in a practitioner developing into an expert within an arts such as Nei Gong:
- A skilled teacher
- An effective system
- A regular and correctly organised practice
The aim of these structured 2.5 year courses is to help provide and guide students into all three of these aspects of high-level internal arts training.
Year 1 Lesson Plan
The lesson plan for the first year of the structured program is outlined below. These are just the rough plans to give an example of how we structure out lessons. These plans are likely to adjust according to the needs of the group but they at least provide an idea of what you will be studying.
Weekend 1
Introduction to the principles of Nei Gong, the core standing practice of Wuji, developing the body for Nei Gong training through sinew-changing work, awakening the lower Dan Tian and helping it to establish within students body’s.
Weekend 2
Continued development of the lower Dan Tian and principles of building and mobilising Qi, Dan Tian Gong as a practice and further exploration of body development skills.
Weekend 3
The foundations of moving Qigong practice as well as their start of Hui Chun principles and further development of body physical and energetic body. Students will look to understand how breath, body and mind work together as one integrated unit to establish connection to Qi.
Weekend 4
Continuation of Hui Chun and static Qigong training. The principles of health and inner power development are focused upon here.
10 Day Retreat
On this lengthy 10 day retreat with Damo and his seniors, students will go deeper into energetic practice with a focus upon strong development of Qi, circulating and purging pathogenic Qi from the system. Transmission and Qi emission will be a part of the teaching method and students will begin to tailor their inner systems to match their own specific strengths and weaknesses. The first year will be consolidated and students will be helped to move deep into inner work.
Zoom Events
There will be four Zoom events for students to join which will take place on months where there is no meet-up training events scheduled. On these events, students will look at various aspects of the internal arts as required.
A Note on Teaching
The 2.5 year long structured Nei Gong program is not a teacher training program. It is a detailed, high-level program designed to teach students how to develop their own practice and how to go far within the internal arts. We do not believe in short, two-week teacher qualifications or anything like this as this is, to us, tantamount to fraud and we dont support courses with guaranteed passes and teaching certificates at the end. Instead, we teach people how to develop a practice for themselves over two and half years which is, to us, a realistic amount of time to develop a basis in such arts.
What we SHALL do though, is, at the end of the structured course, invite personally those who have reached a certain level of expertise over the years, those who have shown themselves to be dedicated to their personal practice and those who have shown themselves to be upright of character, to a further teacher-training option. This will be a small program taking place over half a year, which will make the whole event 3 years long for those in attendance (2.5 foundations + 6 months invite-only teacher training) and after completion, successful graduates will THEN be given a certificate to show that they are fully recognised teachers by Lotus Nei Gong and Damo Mitchell. In this way, studnets may know they honestly deserve the rank of teacher and that they have actual skill in these arts rather than simply having been humoured and patronised with a meaningless certificate which they essentially bought.
Course Location
Details coming soon
Practical Details
Details coming soon but the structured course will begin in 2024. If you want to stay up to date on all this, please subscribe to the location you’re interested in, and we shall send you info when the event is ready to run.