Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Iggy Pop Practices Qi Gong


I caught an interview with Iggy Pop on the radio the other morning, and for a brief moment it sounded like he said he practices qi gong to stay fit and trim. After a little bit of research, I thought I'd share what I'd found, spoken by the man himself:
You've had almost thirty years in the spotlight. What do you do to stay fit and sane?

Half of it's just the simple shit, like, I try not to work too hard, too often, and try to avoid people. You know how I lurk. I avoid human beings, and I try to like sleep at night and get up in the morning. I eat what people say you shouldn't eat, but really good quality. So I devour gigantic steaks, cooked, fried, in butter and shit. Only really good ones. I don't eat much crud. And then I'll have fried eggs and bread dipped in olive oil. I don't snack a lot -- when I eat it's so fucking good. I have chocolate ice cream for dessert, you know. I get all satisfied, and that's it. And I do this exercise -- that's the one thing that really kind of helps my motor run. I do this sort of Chinese exercise called Qi-gong. It's very similar to Tai Chi, which I also do a little of. And I do that shit for about a half-hour a day. - Rolling Stone

Qigong is such a powerful form of energy that some of the masters in China can walk on tissue paper. You know -- twelve large men cannot push me. There are guys who can do that shit. I've learned enough of the qigong to deal with the musician's lifestyle. - Esquire

I’m 26 years old, and I have love handles. You’re 56 with a six-pack. What’s your workout regimen?
I do about 40 minutes a day of qi gong, the fundamental exercises of tai chi. It looks like nothing, but if you learn from somebody who knows the shit, it’s really hard. Or I’ll swim about 200 yards in a pool, just to get a little bulk. I’m about 140 pounds, but I was a big boy when I graduated high school — 160 pounds. Singers look funny at 160, unless you’re in Lynyrd Skynyrd. - Blender

What is your vital daily ritual?
I do Qi Gong. It’s Chinese shit, like Tai Chi. If you get good enough at it, then you can walk through fire and start a cult. - exclaim.ca


3 comments:

Rebecca Komer-Bright, L.Ac., Dip.OM said...

My favorite quote......"then you can walk through fire and start a cult." I love Iggy!

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Custer Wolf said...

Iggy is on to something. Just doing soft qigong has done wonders for my stress levels and insomnia.