NaeGa ShinJang

 We call this “the heart of GiCheon” because it tells everything about GiCheon and also has every study in it.

  At the heart of GiCheon is NaeGa ShinJang (Nae: inner or myself, Ga: structure, Shin: God or spirit, Jang: palm - inner spirit palm position or that of one's spirit growing near the heavens or being equal to it), a difficult stance that trainees lovingly and deploringly call "The Hardship." It's an awkward looking position that resembles the form a phoenix (a symbol of Korea in ancient times and that of Korean president today) assumes before hatching her eggs. 

How to pose

1. The legs are spread shoulder-length, feet firmly pressed flat against the floor, and the ankles (toes before) are turned inward at a sharp angle (the YeokGeun principle), creating one triangle shape, while the legs are bent down and inward, creating yet another triangle that extends from the navel to the ankles. 
2. The knees are then bent down and inward, as close to the floor as they can possibly go while still maintaining a space approximately the size of two fists between them.
3. The back is arched -- buttocks pushed out and shoulders back -- so that strain is put on the long, vertical muscles that run down both sides of the spine.
4. The arms are then stretched out in front, above shoulder-height, with palms pressed outward. The ankles, knees, waist, shoulders, and wrists are locked tight in the YeokGeun position.

 Originally, it is said that the nameless GiCheon sages practiced NaeGa ShinJang from sunrise to sunset while facing the Sun on the East Sea . And they didn’t allow applicants (pupils or students) to learn GiCheon unless they could do NaeGa ShinJang for two hours (an hour in ancient Korean time) before they started. When DaeYang JinIhn began to teach GiCheon in the late 1960’s or early 1970’s, he also required people to do it for two hours for training and was surprised at finding out they couldn’t stand even for a few minutes. Then he shortened the time limit for an hour, later, tens of minutes and today 5 minutes.  

 The Name

 NaeGa ShinJang is a way of discipline of keeping one’s spirit inside the body or becoming spiritually independent against all odds. However,Other names include “GiCheon TaeYang YeokGeun NaeGa ShinJang (TaeYang: the sun - This pose are conducted, originally facing to the rising Sun in the East)” or “MahBeop NaeGa ShinJang" or “Mah Beop (riding horse position).”  The latter referring to a method Korean ancestors used to mount a horse. Many of the basic taichi, kungfu, and other martial arts positions are assumed to have been traced back to NaeGa ShinJang.

 Consider three-dimensional space as four main directions: east, west, north, south, up, and down.The divine spirit, or 'Shin' (for NaeGa ShinJang) in Korean, is understood to perceive all of these directions equally at all times and to their fullest extent. The GiCheon practitioner must therefore focus on conceiving of mind and body in this way, ie. in relation to all directions at infinite distance. 

The Benefits  

 NaeGa ShinJang has also verifiable healing powers. It stimulates all of the major acupunctural points on the body and opens the Gi channels, making it possible for many ailments and diseases to heal naturally. People suffering from serious ailments such as scoliosis or slipped discs, shoulder pain, cancer, heart diseses, hypertension, arthritis, paralysis, apoplexy, aging problems, diabetes, chronic headaches, and even obesity have all experienced dramatic improvement after practicing GiCheon regularly for six months or more.  

 NaeGa ShinJang not only develops both of the Eum and Yang muscles together but also strengthens the bones and ligaments. It means that when a strike of the weapon, for example, a stick or wooden sword can be less outstandingly damaged to an experienced practitioner (Please remind the TahTong). It also intensifies abdominal power by accumulating the Gi in the body, expands and develops three abdomens (the lower, middle and upper abdomen) simultaneously.   

The Principle of NaeGa ShinJang: Hardship and Middle Path (YeokGeun)

 The Philosophy: The Truth, itself

   NaeGa ShinJang is a self-contained truth -- an end within itself. In other words, it isn't necessary for students to ponder abstract questions about the nature of the cosmos or to strive for spiritual awakening while in this position. Surely enough, a trainee will reach a state of meditation in this stance, in part because it is nearly impossible not to breathe deeply from the abdomen while holding this position. All that remains is for the student to completely empty his or her mind of all prejudices and expectations -- to allow for spiritual awakening to occur spontaneously.    

 Throughout all movements, the back should be arched -- buttocks pushed out and shoulders back -- so that strain is put on the long, vertical muscles that run down both sides of the spine. In NaeGa ShinJang, students feel an extreme stretch in the ankles and outer shin muscles, and intense strain on the quads, buttocks, muscles of the back and shoulders. The muscles in the neck and shoulders are not tensed to the point of being "uptight" which quite many people can’t, however. The neck remains relaxed, the eyes closed, and the breath as steadily and deeply as possible.  

The cumulative effect of NaeGa ShinJang is considerable, although not unbearable, physical and mental pain/hardship. NaeGa ShinJang is a course of one’s fighting against his inner-self physically and mentally so students are required to hold this position for as long as possible, five minutes being the minimum for beginners. More advanced students might hold the position for well over an hour. Students can have their inner-selves newly changed while experiencing the “death (death-like-hardship)” and overcoming it. 

One can experience it but can’t describe or explain well by words or writings and that’s why GiCheon emphasizes on a body practice (or a real experience) much than those.

NaeGa ShinJang in the icy stream

 When one holds NaeGa NaeGa ShinJang properly in a static way (i.e. not lowering arms/hands below the shoulders at all), it makes the practitioner’s body hot in 5 to 10 minutes almost without any exception. And the longer he holds the much sweat he gets like having a shower so he can’t feel any cold even in the icy stream.  

The TahTong and its Benefits  

  One of the reasons NaeGa ShinJang is so effective in treating illnesses is that it incorporates one of the therapies used in oriental medicine to treat patients suffering from paralysis, a treatment called Tah Tong (Tah: beat, Tong: flow). Using bamboo rods, oriental doctors of the long distant past would literally beat patients suffering from paralysis or apoplexy to help stimulate the affected part of the body.  

  In GiCheon too, TahTong is used to treat a kind of paralysis -- paralytic or stagnant Gi. In the NaeGa ShinJang position, a GiCheon teacher will beat students on the back, arms, and legs with a set of thin bamboo sticks, or for more power, one large bamboo rod, wooden stick, wooden sword, and even iron stick.  

  To the uninitiated, it sounds masochistic, but the pain of TahTong is really quite mild, especially when compared to its benefits. The stimulation on the skin and muscles breaks through the blocked Gi channels, causing a tingling sensation throughout the body. And in areas where there is a pre-existing injury, TahTong creates a greater feeling of strength and stability -- less hardship, in effect, than before the treatment. It’s importantly used for HwalMyeong.  

  This is also one of the few instances in which the GiCheon master comes into physical contact with trainees during practice and it's believed that the master passes on some portion of his power, some of his Gi, to his students through TahTong. It is said that TahTong would have been performed to only a selected student when GiCheon passed down in the mountains because of its enormous outcome.  

  NaeGa ShinJang is one of the greatest contributions of GiCheon, offering trainees extraordinary benefits. Through it, students learn the virtues of patience and perseverance, and can experience mental catharsis and unimaginable physical and mental empowerment -- something that cannot be expressed in words alone.