Dan Tian Development

Dan Tian development sits at the core of authentic internal arts practice. It forms the functional centre from which genuine cultivation unfolds. Within the Nei Gong program, this work is introduced as a clear and practical method. Students are guided step by step, beginning with the preparation of the body so that posture, alignment and breathing create the conditions for the lower Dan Tian to develop. This stage concerns the gathering and regulation of Qi through direct, practical method rather than through imagination or wishful thinking. Although Dan Tian development is frequently mentioned within Qi Gong, it is often poorly understood due to a lack of clear guidance and so, for this reason, the Nei Gong program gives great importance to this aspect of the inner-process. 

The Dan Tian is the KEY to Nei Gong and that is why so much focus is given to this area of practice in the program. 

Qi Gong Training

Qi Gong within the Academy is taught as a method for changing the body and mobilising Qi rather than as a collection of gentle exercises. The training is introduced in a clear and structured manner so that each practice serves a specific function within the overall process of internal development. Students are guided step by step, beginning with exercises that reshape the physical body and open the tissues so that Qi is able to move freely rather than becoming trapped or stagnant.

As the work progresses, the exercises are used to encourage Qi to circulate in a mobile and responsive way. Rather than aiming for relaxation alone, the practices actively transform the body so that it can support internal change.

Approached in this way, Qi Gong becomes a practical tool for conditioning the body and regulating internal movement. It lays the groundwork for deeper Nei Gong practice and ensures that internal cultivation is supported by a body that has been systematically trained to change, adapt and respond.

Dao Yin Training

Dao Yin training within the Nei Gong program is taught as a method for ‘leading and guiding’ Qi in order to purge pathogenic factors and open the body. The practices are introduced in a clear and methodical way so that movement, breath and intention work together to release stagnation and clear accumulated tension from the tissues. 

As the training develops, Dao Yin is used to draw Qi through the channels and internal pathways so that deeper layers of the body are gradually opened. This process supports the expulsion of pathogenic influences while restoring healthy circulation and balance. Approached in this way, Dao Yin becomes a practical and effective tool for clearing the body and re-establishing internal openness. It prepares the system for deeper Nei Gong work by ensuring that Qi can move freely and that the body is no longer obstructing the process of internal cultivation.

Alchemical Methods

Nei Dan alchemy within the Nei Gong program is taught as a precise and progressive method. The training is introduced only once the body and Qi have been prepared so that the conditions required for alchemical work are already in place. Students are guided into the internal processes that allow the lower field to stabilise and function as the basis for further alchemical change.

As the work develops, attention is directed toward the refinement of internal processes that transform Jing to Qi into Shen. This stage concerns the correct use of mind and internal pressure so that the system begins to reorganise itself from within.

The Alchemy of the Northern Dragon Gate sect (Long Men Pai) is taught within the Nei Gong program once students have established a solid foundation in earlier Nei Gong methods. It is the seamless integration of mental work and energetic-based practice and so the main form of cultivation taught by Damo at later stages of development. 

True Internal Training

Transformation of the body and energy lies at the heart of authentic internal arts practice and in the Nei Gong framework this transformation is not an imagined change but a full restructuring of the whole person. Within this understanding, the body itself becomes the laboratory for change: muscles, connective tissues, joints and skeletal alignment are systematically conditioned so that Qi can actually move in a clear and tangible fashion.

Only when the physical body has been reorganised in this way does the energy body begin to awaken in a clearly defined way; the channels become accessible to consciousness and Qi begins to circulate through them win an efficient manner. In this process, Jing is first stabilised and directed, Qi is then mobilised and refined and only later is consciousness (Shen) engaged in ways that allow deeper internal change. Within the Nei Gong program the path is laid out clearly so that the student can experience and actualise these changes in a reliable and integrated way.

Sinew Changing – Yi Jin Jing – 易筋经

Yi Jin Jing is often approached as a collection of exercises, yet in its authentic context it describes a method by which the body and its channel system are fundamentally transformed. ‘Sinew changing’ refers to the reorganisation of the connective tissues that bind the body into a single, integrated structure. As the sinews are trained to become elastic, continuous and responsive, the channels are reshaped alongside them, allowing Qi to move through the body effectively.

Seen in this light, the Yi Jin Jing is not a standalone practice but a set of underlying principles that inform all effective internal arts.

The academy arts are based in Daoist practice and yet, in order to transform the body, the sinew-changing principles inform the entire of the way in which we teach.