What is Shen Gong? How this ancient practice can help you heal and grow
Shen Gong is an ancient Chinese Daoist practice that focuses on cultivating the spirit and energy within oneself, in a way that can be hugely healing and personally transformative.
Shen Gong practices bring together Qigong forms and movements with breathwork, meditation and reflective, contemplative study.
Together, this creates a deeply connective mind-body practice.
While Qigong helps us to balance the physical and improve the functioning of the body, Shen Gong helps us to balance our emotions, mind and spirit, and the flow of those energies within.
Key differences between Shen Gong and Qigong
The Daoists believe we have incarnated into this earthly realm to learn to balance the polarities, to balance Yin and Yang — up and down, side to side, back and forth!
In Qigong — which is quite commonly known in mainstream modern culture now — our focus is on the physical body and the flow of ‘Qi’.
The energy that flows through the 12 main meridians of the body is considered postnatal Qi. The acupressure, gentle stretches and flowing movements of Qigong help the body systems function better, regulating the nervous system and improving the flow of blood and body fluids.
People often experience a release of stress and tension and enjoy a sense of clarity and ease during and after practising Qigong.
Shen Gong is a lesser-known stream of Daoist tradition… It is the skill of the Self — essentially knowing and developing who you are.
In Shen Gong practice, we work on understanding and evolving our psyche through the awareness of our tendencies, triggers, traumas and emotions.
We do this through conscious self-development, somatic embodiment and bringing the unconscious parts of ourselves to light.
The practices that fall into the Shen Gong domain work with a different type of energy in the body known as prenatal Qi. This relates to the initial movements of energy that happen after conception and through our first cycle of development, which in Daoist tradition is seven to eight years.
Shen Gong is known as the skill of the Self
Many people initially turn to Qigong for its general physical and mental health benefits.
However, I’ve observed that those who practice regularly are naturally drawn into the deeper work of Shen Gong.
You could simply think of Shen Gong as Qigong for Self Development. Not very sexy and it certainly won’t give you abs!
It’s as if — once our postnatal energy system begins to move and flow more freely through regular Qigong practice — our consciousness awakens, our hearts open and our body, mind and spirit seek to flow the deeper internal Qi within the Eight Extraordinary Vessels.
This is the skill of the spirit and the path of the heart. This is why I describe the exploration of Shen Gong as the Dao of the Heart.
What are Shen Gong practices and how do they differ from Qigong?
A core aspect of Shen Gong is to delve into the psyche or Self, to better understand who you are and why you are that way!
We seek to uncover ourselves and become more connected to our true nature, which in this tradition is referred to as Xing (pronounced shing). One’s nature is a combination of our thoughts, desires, emotions and beliefs along with the ideas, patterns and programs that are imprinted upon us from our society and culture.
As we become more aware of ourselves and how we live our lives, often we find there’s energy from past experiences that seeks to be released from the body, which might happen through the expression of emotion or tears.
Sometimes people discover that they have coping behaviours or non-beneficial habits that they use as a way to numb or disassociate themselves from their feelings or aspects of their past they don’t want to see.
Shen Gong combines inner reflection and physical movement — which can evolve consciousness and transform your life
While the reflective and contemplative aspect is an essential part of Shen Gong, it’s not enough to only be in the intellect when doing transformational personal work.
The energy (Qi) needs to be physically moved through the body, to be somatically expressed.
When we’re able to unlock and release stagnant and trapped energy and improve the flow of prenatal Qi, it’s a combination that has the power to evolve consciousness and transform our lives.
The term "Qi" is now fairly well known in mainstream culture, with many people recognizing it as meaning energy or life force.
In contrast, the word "Shen" is less widely understood. It translates to "Spirit" and is also associated with joy, love, and the heart. In oriental medicine, it is believed that all emotions affect the heart and can scatter or disturb our Shen (spirit) which in turn affects our organs, blood, essence and Qi.
So, Shen Gong helps us develop the skill of the Self through balancing our polarities of the physical and the spiritual.
How you can start practising Shen Gong to unlock self-healing and personal growth
Doing deep inner work on your own is HARD — it can be easy to avoid, disassociate or distract. Just like how practising Qigong in a group setting feels wonderful, pursuing the path of Shen Gong in a group or with a guide is helpful too.
Allowing time and space for the deeper work of self-development, supported by a teacher and like-minded individuals on a similar path creates a nurturing and supportive environment for connecting to your inner power and higher self.
The Dao of the Heart is essentially a lifelong process of awakening.
While at times we might not consciously be engaged in the deep work of the soul, that’s perfect because if we remember we’re here to learn to balance Yin and Yang, we need the other side of that too which is joy and fun!
My experience of the Dao of the Heart has been that the more deep work of the Self I engage in, the more I uncover the different parts of myself. And as I bring more of myself to light, life becomes as the more rich, meaningful and magical.
In-person Dao of the Heart immersions are offered twice a year in Melbourne and on the Sunshine Coast. A fully online group program is offered in January each year. 💗
