Energy Training Explained

Conscious and Purposeful use of the Body to build up Qi Energy

Energy Training combines a variety of effective and enjoyable techniques to develop your mind, body and spirit connection. These include respiratory meditation; meridian focused exercises; holding, or burning postures; and martial arts. It is one of the most tangible ways to experience the body-mind connection and build up, and strengthen, one’s subtle energy reserves. 

Many of our regular class attendees comment on the improvements, they notice, to their health and vitality. This type of training improves your health by activating the body's energy system, which switches on the body's natural self-healing power. It also helps bring about an holistic balance to your life by awakening you to your body's natural energy cycles; and as you become sensitised to energy, this often brings awareness to the energy of everything around you.

Connecting to energy, changes our perception and perspective of life and the world around us; enabling us to feel more connected and unified with everything.

Through the programmes, you will find a way into your body, into your mind, and finally to the ultimate reality of your Higher Self. Energy Training provides an opportunity to learn how to experience a wide spectrum of energy sensations which range from denser physical qualities, progressing to subtler forms. Every class uses energy accumulation practices to enhance Physical Health, build Mental Fortitude, and fuel Spiritual Growth. 

This rest of this page explains some of the basic principles of energy training. It describes the body's energy centres and explains how energy training helps you to fuel your awakening.

Fuel Your Awakening

According to traditional Taoist philosophy, everything in the universe achieves balance through the circulation of two different kinds of energy:  Yin and Yang. We exist in constant energy exchange with our surroundings and our bodies are continually receiving and expelling energy in our own private energy dance with the cosmos.

There are many characterisations of the energies flowing through the body, and its useful to acknowledge that we are referring to the energy of consciousness.

In its broader sense, this is the pulsation of the universe itself. This energy is given the name Ki, Chi, Qi, Prana, Kundalini, and many others. 

There are different names usually given to the different functions that consciousness performs in the body.

As we understand that different concentrations and vibrations of consciousness produce everything that exists in the universe; we can extrapolate that the frequency bands that produces the body, provide the appropriate type of energies to nourish the various systems of the body.

The primary channels of Yin Yang energy in the body are called the Governor Vessel, and the Conception Vessel.

Many of the other Meridians branch off from these Vessels (another word for channel); and some take on Yin energy and others Yang.

In Elemental Warrior, we learned that these energies are represented in the body as Water (Yin) energy traveling up the Governor Vessel and Fire energy (Yang) which moves along the Conception Vessel.

The meridians are like a system of streams, rivers, and oceans. Ki flows through the meridians to the organs and various parts of the body. The movement of blood through our system is the responsibility of Ki. When our energy system is in optimal flow, the water energy, originating in the Kidneys, rises along the Governor Vessel at the back to cool and clear the head.

Fire energy from the heart sinks along the Conception Vessel, at the front, to the lower energy centre - which we call Dan Tien or Dahn Jon - and warms the lower abdomen.  When this flow is achieved, we are in harmony and the body can maintain optimum health.

Harmony, and balance, is maintained when our Qi is able to circulate around the body freely, without obstruction, and is able to be replenished from the universal store by means of the food and fluids we consume, our breath, and our physical activity. Harmony usually gets disrupted by our thoughts and emotions. Anxiety, anger and rage, and other similar emotions, generally tend to get stuck in the body as those states distract us from our natural ability to disperse these energies.

So our disturbed states cause our Conception meridian to become blocked, restricting the flow of fire energy from the heart to the lower abdomen. Interestingly, this causes our mouths to become dry and our saliva takes on a bitter taste. We get thrown out of balance, as the Fire energy can no longer descend, so it rises up and burns off the Water energy, breaking the Yin Yang balance. This happens easily if the energy centre in our lower abdomen is weak.

Normally, when we are settled and at peace, it is the water energy that ascends and the fire energy that descends. When this happens our mouths fill with sweet saliva. When we swallow this saliva we are filled with even more energy and our minds become clearer.

Energy Training begins by building a strong energy centre in our lower abdomen.

It also sensitises you to your own energy system, so that you can start to shift unwanted energies on your own (where the mind goes energy follows).

Traditional Taoist philosophy recognises three energy centres in the body that store the many types of Qi energy that flows through our meridians. The Taoist collective name for these is the three treasures of the human body. The type of energy that fills these centres gets purer and finer as our training matures and we increase our vibration. Jing energy is stored in the lower energy centre (just bellow the belly button). Jing is the primal life force and comes from a number of sources including, our parents at conception (pre natal Jing), the air and the food we eat (post natal Jing). The Jing we inherit from our parents determines our lifespan. Eastern traditions warn against wasting it carelessly. It powers the majority of the body's systems. This energy is used up very easily through overwork, excessive exercise and excessive sexual activity. When it is depleted, we have a decreased sexual libido and a decreased desire to work - we feel lethargic and lazy.

Jing affects our attitude, gives us our drive and Integrity, cleanliness of character, confidence and courage. The more we can build up our Post natal Jing, the longer we are able to live.

In the Energy Training Classes, we are working on accumulating this Jing Qi energy and we have provided a means to safely energise yourself, whilst staying grounded. When we apply concentrated effort (focus the mind on the Lower Abdomen, with correct movement and breathing), this increases our post natal Jing, which enables us to accumulate vitality and power; as well as helping with focus and mood.

Continuous training helps to build up Jing Qi energy and as you fill the lower energy centre this energy condenses and refines and is then transmuted to a more refined Qi. This refined Qi activates your middle energy centre, which is also known as the heart centre in some traditions, as this is also where it is located. 

Once the middle energy centre is filled with refined Qi energy, it becomes activated.

You may have already experienced a kundalini rush that burst open your heart chakra, and for a brief moment in time the world seemed like an awesome place, you loved everything and everyone; and then all went back to normal. With the right type for focus and training the refined Qi energy stabilises and the middle energy centre maintains it’s activation. This refined Qi then matures. The matured Qi opens our Conception meridian in the chest and the optimal energy flow is achieved and maintained.

If we lack Jing energy in the lower energy centre, fail to keep up the practice, or cause improper flow of Qi with our emotions and thoughts, then the middle energy centre shrinks and contracts.

Remember Qi energy is consciousness; and matured Qi is practically synonymous with mind energy ( where the mind goes energy follows...). We are literally refining the energy of the mind.

Matured Qi energy is squandered by excessive talking and feebleness of character, and its depletion leads to gluttony, triggered by feeling unfulfilled or unsatisfied. It provides an attitude of trust, generosity and good judgement; and we feel satiated. We become warmer and more virtuous humans.

Many systems attribute the heart centre, as being the seat of the Soul, the place where our true nature and purest vibration resides. When we animate and activate our heart centres and sustain it with matured Qi energy (which is a higher vibration), we operate from our Soul’s vibrational frequency - our speech and behaviour becomes purer and ethical and this overrides our intentions. When Qi matures and concentrates, with regular focus and training, the Qi transmutes to Shen.

Shen is the finer energy (higher vibrational energy) that powers and fuels our wisdom, creative insight and sharpens our wit and ability to reason. Shen is very refined spiritual energy.

When you notice someone glowing with a purity, like babies do, you are noticing their Shen - their spirit. This energy is squandered through excessive thinking and busy-ness of thoughts, and when it is depleted, you will feel extremely drowsy and mentally drained. As a regular trainer, you would have had fleeting glimpses of Shen. Have you noticed when you have bursts of continuous practice, how you get bursts of creative inspiration and synchronicity, and life seems to make sense for a while, and you seem to know your purpose; or you get direct connections with Spirit?    That is Shen.

Awakening Shen, develops our upper energy centre, the third eye. Shen awakens when we open our heart centres and our own pure love increases within us. With the brilliance of Shen energy powering our thoughts and attitudes, we become self directing, and are able to correctly determine how we should live as a Divine, or Shamanic Human and how we can control our minds to achieve this purpose.

Shen does not function properly without a full Jing and Matured Qi. As you can see, Shamanic Energy Training facilitates you to power your own growth and awakening.

Qi and Mind are almost like a closed loop system. Conscious application of Mind through concentration creates Qi, and, as you may have realised, Energy creates Mind. Your state of mind is influenced by the energies of your environment and immediate surroundings, and these influence your mind and mood. Mind is consciousness, the energy of everything. Where we focus our mind, this concentrates the energy of consciousness.

The Physical Training we provide helps us accumulate Jing and Mature Qi. This then provides the fuel to power Shen. The Shamanic elements of the Programme are there to teach you how to direct your Shen. If you have weak Jing and Qi then you may not be able to progress very rapidly in Shamanic Work, or you will drain your Pre Natal Jing quickly. Most of the issues that we notice with practitioners who do Shamanic work, stem from depleted Jing - they lack the power to ground, energetic strength to protect their aura, and the vitality to be able to send their consciousness to where they wish it to travel inter-dimensionally.

The Warrior Series ( Elemental Warrior, Meridian Awakening, and Chakra Warrior) has been designed to help you remove stuck, stagnant energies and replenish and activate the energies in the body. This series shows participants how to use the energies of the elements to energise their lower Dan Tiens, and begin to build up their Post Natal Jing Qi. A natural result of training is a lightness of being, and a relaxed and calm state, caused by the removal of the energies of old emotions from the cells and organs and the opening up of the meridians.

The Dragon Series ( White Dragon and Red Dragon) will facilitate the build up of Post Natal Jing and it's refinement to Matured Qi to Open your heart Centre. It first corrects the skeletal alignment so that the energy paths are further unblocked and aligned correctly.

Participants then get to practice the conscious movement of Qi throughout the body and this builds up the appropriate ‘muscle memory’ or experience you will need to be able to direct Qi outside of your body to help heal others and to ensure you manifest your ideas.

Our Bodies are like rechargeable batteries, and energy training is an efficient form of recharge. If you stop for too long a period, you quickly use up your Post natal Jing and then you use up the Pre Natal (or Heaven given) Jing, which shortens your life span. Warrior training is our longevity programme and our gift to the community.