A Discourse on the Traditional Practice of Energy Cultivation, Transformation, and Healing Abstract: Healing with energy generated by a provider has always been a big part of massage bodywork, especially in the practice of Asian modalities (Tu-na, Acupressure, Ayurvedic, Shiatsu, Reflexology, etc.) Energy Healing, as a traditional practice, is in and of itself a entirely separate and HUGE institution of cultural history and study. This is a tradition with thousands of years of development and evolution, with numerous practitioners who formed different schools of discipline and contributed to the methodology. As such, it is truly a “discipline” and a methodology of training. We will discuss the fundamentals and try to de-mystify many misunderstandings and dispel the wide-spread misconceptions about this tradition. Tui-Na – “Tui” means push, and “Na” means grasp. Tui-Na is the technique for relaxing and strengthening tissues and tendons. It is a deep-tissue massage primarily using effleurage and petrissage. Acupressure - Applying the same principles as Acupuncture but performed without the needles. It is non-intrusive, and requires no medication. Acupressure manipulates pressure points to channel energy through the entire body for the maintenance of health, in addition to treatment and prevention of chronic ailments QiGong – Energy development and channeling through meridian lines in the body. The form of bodywork treatment taught in this class will require the study of “internal energy” or qi. Qi-Gong literally means the practice of energy. This discipline is often referred to as “Internal Alchemy” – development of energy through meditation and calisthenics practices. See the “Golden Elixir” webpage by Fabrizio Pregadio of Stanford University for an introduction to the Taoist QiGong tradition: http://www.goldenelixir.com/jindan.html An-Mo – “An” means pressure, and “Mo” means touch. An-Mo is the methodology of applying pressure on muscles and tissues. Structural Manipulation - Assisted movement to improve range of motion and promote circulation between connective tissues. These are effective techniques for the * Prevention * Relaxation * Maintenance * Treatments for common chronic ailments: Allergy, Asthma, Back Pain, Depression, Digestive Disorders, Fibromyalgia, Frozen Shoulders, Insomnia, Migraine Headache, Myofascial Pain, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sciatica, Sports Injuries The Five-Element Theory * Body types, herbs, environment, and treatment methods are categorized generally into 5 Elements: Wood (East), Fire (South), Metal (West), Water (North), and Earth (Center) Quick notes on the relationship between the 5 Elements and positions: The above relationship is valid only in the Northern Hemisphere, where North is leading towards North Pole and South is towards the Equator. If you are in the Southern Hemisphere, this relationship is reversed: North is Fire (Equator), South is Water (South Pole). There are 2 types of Earth properties: The 4-Aspect Earth and the Standalone Earth. The 4-Aspect Earth means the inclusion of the Wood, Metal, Water, and Fire properties, whereas the Standalone Earth is pure Earth. * Equilibrium means having the properties of all 5 Elements in optimal balance – there is no significant lack or excess in any of the properties. * Applying treatment for illnesses varies on the body type and the methodology. As an example: A person with significant Fire property would require herbs with Water property, if the goal of the treatment is to balance the element (water mitigating fire), and would require herbs with the Wood property, if the treatment is to boost the element (wood fueling fire). In some cases, if the water-based herb is not available, or the goal is to cut down a bit of excessive Fire, metal-based herb can be substituted (fire is wasted in melting metal). We all know ginseng is an energy-boosting herb, and green tea is an anti-oxidant. However, these can only applied on people with the proper body type. A cold-based person should use Korean or Chinese ginseng, which is heat-based, whereas a heat-based person should use North American ginseng. This is a recommendation, not a binding rule, since other herbs can be added to help boost or mitigate certain undesirable properties in the herbs. Even though green tea has some health benefits, it is extremely cold-based and should be avoided by a cold-based person. Meridian Theory Traditional Chinese Medicine defines 12 Main Meridians and 8 "Odd or Strange" Meridians. These are related to internal organs and other body parts. > Lung Meridian (Yin, Metal) > Large Intestine Meridian (Yang, Metal) > Stomach Meridian (Yang, Earth) > Spleen Meridian (Yin, Earth) > Heart Meridian (Yin, Fire) > Small Intestine (Yang, Fire) > Bladder Meridian (Yang, Water) > Kidney Meridian (Yin, Water) > Pericardium Meridian (Yin, Fire) > Triple Burner Meridian (Yang, Fire) > Gallbladder Meridian (Yang, Wood) > Liver Meridian (Yin, Wood) Some quick notes on the nature of Meridians: Yin and Yang literally translates into “negative” and “positive”, respectively, but not in the sense of “bad” and “good”. In practice, these describe the quality of the property. In most cases, Yin denotes recessive, hidden, quiet, or weak attributes, whereas Yang denotes dominant, open, exuberant, or blatant properties. For example: A blade of grass is of Yin Wood property, when a Sequoia tree is of Yang Wood property. The 8 Odd Meridians * The Conception Vessel (Yin) * The Governing Vessel (Yang) * The Thrusting Vessel * The Belt Vessel * Yang Regulatory Channel * Yin Regulatory Channel * Yang Connecting Channel * Yin Connecting Channel The 8 “Strange”, or “Odd” Meridians are the main transports of energy supply to the 12 meridians. These are the essential pathways for the process and development of internal alchemy: * the cultivation of the Jing * the transformation of Qi * and ultimately, the manifestation of Shen – the Spiritual Energy A quick note on the Odd Meridians: Why are these meridians called “strange” or “odd”? Personally, I believe this is the result of some general misunderstanding and sloppiness in classification. In general, these meridians are considered strange, because, unlike other meridians, they do not relate to any internal organs and do not contain pressure points of their own. However, this is not true with the Governing Vessel and the Conception Vessel, which do have their own pressure points. So, in many literatures, the Governing and Conception Vessels are grouped with the 12 Meridians and they are classified as the 14 Meridians. Many acupuncturists also refer to the 8 meridians as “Odd”, in the sense of “even and odd”. The reason for that is largely because the Governing Vessel, Conception Vessel, Thrusting Channel, and the Circular Channel are all singular entities whereas the 12 Meridians all come in pairs (left side – right side). However, the Regulatory and Connecting Channels do have left-right pairs. So, they should not be lumped together as Odd Meridians. At any rate, whatever names you want to call these, the 8 Odd Meridians are essential in the energy channeling process, which is the foundation of Asian health work. The 8 Odd Meridians are usually studied and treated separately from the 12 Meridians from the perspective of energy development (Internal Alchemy). A Short Note on Energy Healing Healing with energy (or Qi) is a long tradition that can be dated back thousands of years. The practice is based on the theory that Qi is the essence of life that sustains all the functions of the body. Therefore, Qi can be developed, preserved, and enhanced for self-preservation, and at a higher level, for healing. However, the cultivation and development of the healing energy is a rigorous and sophisticated discipline. Over the centuries, different approaches and training methodologies have been developed and propagated. In very general terms, these methodologies can be categorized as follows: * In terms of philosophy: > The Open Practice – most traditional Buddhism, Confucianism, Medical practices fall into the category > The Hidden Practice – Tantric (Tibetan) Buddhism > Half-Open and Half-Hidden – Taoism (Daoism) * In terms of approach: > The Purist approach – most traditional Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Medical practices fall into this category. > The Coupling approach – Tantric Buddhism and some Taoist Schools fall into this category. * In terms of training: > Through active Movements > Through static Stances > Through static Sitting – i.e. the Lotus Position many people are familiar with > Through Deep Sleep De-Mystifying Energy Healing * If you have a million dollars, it will only take a few hours (or less) for anyone to show you how to spend your money. This begs the question: How do you get the million dollars in the first place? Unless you are already rich, for most people, it takes a long and laborious process to make that amount of money. * Similarly with Healing Energy – it cannot be developed for healing over the course of a few hours, few days, or even few weeks. If someone offers a short-term class to teach singing and dancing, and promises that the student who has no background will obtain the skills of a professional singer or dancer by just coming to class for a few hours for a few days, or even few weeks, you will probably laugh at the teacher’s claim. However, if a teacher offers a weekend seminar to turn students into healers, many people will fall for that. ************************************************ Think about this for a moment: Is healing that much easier than singing or dancing professionally? Even the most basic certified massage therapy program requires hundreds of hours. ************************************************ * The million dollar question, literally, is “how do you develop the healing energy in such a short time?” Some instructor would like you to believe healing energy comes from Nature and it is all around us. Simply put: this is not true. Even if there is energy around us, it cannot be used for healing unless it is first processed by the human body, much like food and nutrition. Similarly, water falls, windmills, sunlight all generate energy. However, the raw energy cannot be used directly on your appliances; it has to be harnessed, processed, and controlled before it can be used for your TV or refrigerator. Otherwise, why can’t the patient receive energy directly from Nature, instead of having to go through a “healer” or “medium”? Ie. If you can breathe the air on your own, why pay someone else to put air in a bottle and give it to you? * The Healing Energy is developed from the essential elements inside the body. The ancient Taoists likened the human body to a cauldron, where you gather and process all the necessary ingredients to cause catalytic reactions. The process of transforming the essential ingredients into useful Healing Energy is sometimes referred to as Internal Alchemy. It is a long and laborious process (not unlike saving up a million dollars) that requires proper and diligent training and persistent practice over a very long period of time (in most cases the training amounts to decades). * You go see a Western doctor for a headache, and the doctor prescribes to you a certain medicine as remedy. The next time, you have an infection in the stomach, and you go see the same doctor. The doctor prescribes the same medicine as last time. The next time, you contract a virus, you go to the same doctor and he again prescribes the same medicine. At this point, you are probably wondering what medicine your doctor is prescribing for curing any and all diseases. Is there such thing as a panacea that can treat everything effectively? Strangely, when so-called “energy healers” apply the same method for treating everything, few people have the good sense to question the validity and logic of the process. * Similarly with Energy Healing – the application of the methodology varies greatly depending on the illness, the body type of the patient, and symptoms. The practice must be combined with solid fundamental understanding of the Meridian and 5-Element Theories, in addition to sound knowledge in Anatomy and Pathology. ************************************************ In other words, Energy Healing is not random, or “intuitive”, as some claim. It is methodical and systematic. The effects of the energy are felt immediately with the application. If the process cannot be explained rationally and logically, it is probably not effective. A methodology can be taught and learned only if it can be explained. If a methodology cannot be transmitted effectively, it is not very useful for the majority of the population. Some References to Energy Practices: The “Big Three” traditions of energy development and transcendental transformation are Chinese Taoism, Indian Hinduism/Buddhism, and Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. Taoist Internal Alchemy: The practice of Taoist Internal Alchemy and physical transformation http://venus.unive.it/dsao/pregadio/articles/intro/intro_1.html Asian Indian Hindi/Buddhist tradition of Kundalini and Prana: The following articles discusses the relationship between energy development and the reproductive hormones. http://biologyofkundalini.com/article.php?story=TheKundaliniGland Tibetan Tantric Practice: Internet search for Jiang Wei Qiao (Jiang Weiqiao), author of “Yin Shi Zi” Meditation Techniques. Jiang was a professor at the Beijing University in the 1940’s. In his publication, he outlined and explained his journey and practice in energy meditation. His discipline was a combination of Chinese Taoism and Tibetan “Diamond Vehicle” Meditation. The following is a brief discussion by Lian Sheng, a Tantric Buddhist practitioner, on the fundamental practice of Bo Ping Qi (Treasure Vase Energy). Today I shall talk about Bao Ping Qi again. A disciple asked me this question: "What is the best time to cultivate Bao Ping Qi?" I have answered this question before when I gave a series of talk on the whole book of "The general discussion on the sequence in cultivating Tantrayana ". There are two schools of thought on the timing of cultivation. One school advocates that Bao Ping Qi can only be cultivated after having union with one's personal deity. Another school believes that Bao Ping Qi can be cultivated concurrently with the four basic fundamentals - i.e. immediately after one has taken refuge and receives empowerment. I believe Bao Ping Qi marks the beginning of inner Tantra. It is a watershed. I am leaving the decision to you. You can begin the cultivation after you have a union with your personal deity, or you may begin to cultivate Bao Ping Qi after you have taken refuge and received empowerment. Knowing the details of Bao Ping Qi is more important. In the book "Black Gold", Guru Padmasambhava told an important oral tradition: "Bao Ping Qi is of utmost importance, all virtues derive from it!" Hence we must cultivate Bao Ping Qi. Why is it called treasure vase breathing practice? The upper Qi forms half a vase and the lower Qi forms another half a vase, hence it is known as treasure Vase breathing Practice. Actually there are three types of Bao Ping Qi. The first type One's Qi accumulates at one's navel chakra. The second type one's Qi accumulates at one's heart chakra. And the last type one's Qi flows in one's whole body. Once the Qi at our heart is mobilized, we will be in deep trouble. And it is not advisable to cultivate the Qi in one's whole body until we have mastered the Qi accumulating at our Dan Tian. Hence we shall only talk about the Qi accumulating at our Dan Tian. The oral tradition consists of four key words: Yin (inhale) Man (full) Xiao (Disperse) San (Scatter) I have taught all of you before. Inhale a gulp of air and hold it at the lower Dan Tian slowly. When the Qi is full, we must force the upper Qi down and lift the lower Qi up. The Qi so compressed will form into the shape of two treasure vases and converge at the Dan Tian. It is important that we remember this oral tradition by heart. Why must we suppress the upper Qi and uplift the lower Qi? So that Qi will enter our central column; and become useable. Qi that can't enter our central column is useless and is considered unwholesome. The main purpose of cultivating Qi is to change our hindrance into wisdom. While exhaling, we must not breathe out all the Qi. We should keep a bit of Qi, so that we can use it whenever we need. There are two different approaches to cultivating Bao Ping Qi, namely the soft approach and the vigourous approach. The inhalation for the former is slow, fine and long; while the inhalation for the latter is fast, strong and short. I want to caution you that the latter approach has some shortcomings, it may cause injury. In particular, when the Qi must be rushed to our head (known as She Xi in Chinese), we may have the symptoms of headache, toothache, bleeding noses, and sore eyes. Worse still, our lives might be shortened. Hence we shall talk about it in a later day. We are using the soft approach to learn Bao Ping Qi. Once Qi fills our body, we will disperse it gradually. How? First, we try to discharge it through our pores using our thought. Second, we use our thought to disperse it through our crown. Failing which, we should hold the breath until the very last moment then we exhale it through our noses and mouth. Holding the breath is key to success We begin inner Tantra cultivation by trying to hold our breath for two minutes. Don¡¦t push yourself too hard. You may try half a minute, and gradually increase to one minute, one and a half-minutes. Eventually you will be able to hold your breath for two minutes. You can use the Qi withheld in your body to cultivate the six doctrines of Naropa - Rainbow light Great attainment, to ignite the psychic heat, and to melt the bright spot (drop). In the book Wu Gin (black gold), Guru Padmasambhava stressed that the most important oral tradition should be "All virtues derive from cultivating Treasure Vase breathing practice". How do we disperse the Qi? We can disperse it through our pores, or through our head. Once we cannot hold our breath anymore, we must force the remaining air out through our noses and mouth. Remember all this should be done softly not violently. The secret of moving Qi lies in Xia Ti (Qi below (Dan Tian) must be uplifted) and Shang Ya (Qi above (Dan Tian) must be suppressed and forced downwards). We can feel the Qi in our body form into a treasure vase and converge at our Dan Tian. We must remember that only Qi that enters into our central column will turn into wisdom. Only after we have mastered the art of Treasure Vase Breathing Practice then we are able to use it to ignite our psychic heat. Bao Ping Qi is the foundation of inner Tantra; while four basic fundamentals are the foundations of outer Tantra. That is all for today. Om Mani Padme Hum 3 Copyright T. Wong – AcuRelief 2006-2008