Tevia Feng - Five Animal Qigong: Awaken Your Body Mind and Spirit

5 ANIMAL QIGONG

Awaken Your Body, Mind, and Spirit

by Tevia Feng

FOREWORD

When I let go of who I am, I become what I might be.

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

If you were to ask me to describe the author of this book in one sentence, I would say:

Master Tevia Feng is a master of his craft, - a powerhouse; he lives and breathes Qigong, fully practicing what he preaches, and inspires people from all walks of life, nations and ages to journey into energy cultivation and to make a commitment to it.

Bringing his original blend of traditional Qigong practices, combined with modern sports science and fascia research to the printed word, Tevia provides here a holistic approach to learning about Five Element Qigong. He has over three decades of experience and intensive training to draw upon, runs his successful White Tiger Qigong school, and has developed numerous printed and audio-visual materials in this field.

Tevia wants Qigong to be an approachable modality, so this book is broken down into easily accessible sections: taking you on a journey to the mountains of China, sharing Qigong principles, guiding you through the practices with clear pictures and instructions, and helping you to understand the short and long-term results of making Five Animal Qigong a regular part of your life.

He stresses the importance of developing sensitivity to ones inner landscape during practice, so that the profound effects this Qigong has at both the superficial and deeper levels of the body, mind and spirit can be more fully grasped. We get out of Qigong what we are willing to put in, and if we practice consistently, we can effect long-lasting changes to our entire fascia, nervous system and posture and, of course, our energy flow!

As one of Master Tevias students, I hope that this book will either be used as a useful adjunct to having already trained with him, or inspire you to seek out one of his schools one day.

The written word can provide an insightful learning platform, and this book is no exception. Still, I hope for your benefit that you will one day get to put into practice with Tevia what you have learnt here. Nothing beats the experience of training with the Master in the flesh!

Sarah Divine

White Tiger Qigong Instructor and Student

As a student of Qigong, I travelled China seeking the greatest masters. On my first visit, I contacted a number of schools in the Wudang Mountains, a small range and region in the northwestern part of Hubei, China, just south of Shiyan . This location is home to a famous complex of Taoist temples and monasteries associated with the god Xuan Wu. It is also believed to be the birthplace and center of Taoism in China and the place to study the Taoist arts. A monk there told me that all the real monks are gone and that I would only find experiences for tourists. Continuing my quest, I met a true master when I was in Southern China and ended up studying with him.

I was walking around a local tea shop when I saw a sign reading I-Ching Teachings Here. I walked in with a friend, who happens to be a lawyer and speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, and English. It is here that we came upon a Taoist monk wearing a red robe, who was very lively and had tons of energy. His back was upright and his voice was commanding. Come! Drink tea! he said. He wore a jade amulet around his neck, which he was rubbing while looking at me. Later I learned that his amulet has the ability to change color depending upon the persons energy, enabling him to see who is good and who is bad. At the time, I simply thought him to be just an odd guy rubbing an amulet; then he began talking to me about tea.

The tea ceremony is inextricably connected with Taoism. The Taoists tea ceremony focuses on the harmony between nature and human. As you prepare to drink tea, your mind should have a connection with the natural spirit. While drinking the tea, you should quiet the mind, be mindful and free your mind of any thoughts. It is believed that through the tea ceremony you have a direct connection to nature. Tea is also the most absorbent part of all the plants, absorbing flavors and energies. It is important where it grows, and equally important that the constellations are aligned with it when it grows.

While in the tea shop, I saw a little old man dressed in rags. He was wearing a ragged Northface jacket with a hole in it that was held together with scotch tape. He was holding up an empty plastic bottle with a flashlight. What is that guy doing? I asked. The Taoist Monk wearing the amulet replied, You want to know about IChing? Go to this man with the flashlight. The old man dressed in rags spoke to me in Cantonese, which my friend could luckily translate. The old man said, If you really want to learn about I-Ching, I recommend this guy. He wrote down a name. On enquiry, I learnt that this guy had died 5 years before. When I returned to the tea shop, I told the old man I couldnt find this guy. He died. So, he replied Try this guy he knows a lot. The little old man was testing my will and perseverance. He wanted to know if I really wanted to learn about the I-Ching.

At the time, I didnt know that he was testing me. I went home and searched but never found this guy. So, I went back a third time and I told the man, I couldnt find him. He said Ok, come to Wu Yi Shan. You come, you will learn about the I-Ching up there. The monk brewing the tea had invited me there to see his wild tea. They said to come in May, two months from then, which I did. When I disembarked from the plane two months later, I was met by the monk and the same old man in ragged clothing, who greeted me in perfect English. I was taken aback.

Welcome to Wu Yi Shan. he said. Now, usually when you do business with the Chinese they will put you up in a five-star hotel. They put me up in a terrible hotel and treated me to a noodle stand at the roadside. In the next few days, they upgraded my accommodation a couple of times, each place better than the previous. I started to realize that the little old man in the ragged clothing commanded the monk. I thought that he was likely the boss and I was intrigued. He was originally very unassuming and had me believe that he was merely along for the ride. Every day he said, I dont know that much, but and then he would teach me about the I-Ching. Eventually he invited me to stay at his home, which I was surprised to find was a palace! The tea table alone was worth 100,000 USD. He was drinking tea that cost tens of thousands of dollars. He said to me, When you meet a real Taoist master, you will not know who he is, as he hides his real powers.

The little old man in the rags and the taped Northface jacket turned out to be the Abbot of Tien Ji Tao sect, a secret sect of Taoism. His master fled during the communist revolution and was a Taoist nun who passed the lineage down to him. How did you get so much money? I asked. Money is a game to me. he replied. I dress in rags. I used the I-Ching to do business like a game. When you really understand I-Ching, you can play everything like a fiddle.

I ended up living with him in this spectacular palace and he would teach me all day. He never charged me a dime, and gave me this amazing knowledge. I became the only foreigner to ever study with this sect. As I met the few other disciples, I realized that all were very carefully chosen.

There are many Qigong teachers who teach as a hobby. I have dedicated my life to this path, and Ive been lucky to travel the world and meet many different teachers, who have become the source of all this wisdom. Speaking Mandarin also helped as it opened a world most foreigners never get to experience. I have been given inside information, and I care about putting it together in a way that the Western mind can understand.

By: Tevia Feng