The Tao of Health

Taoism, also known as The Tao, or The Way, has over 3000 years of history relating to the study of how the balance of mind, body and spirit can affect health. When all three are in balance we are well, when they are not in balance we become ill. For a host of reasons people are now rediscovering natural ways to empower their ability to self heal. For those of you interested in beginning this path I would like to recommend the following two books: Chi Nei Tsang: Internal Organs Chi Massage by Mantak and Maneewan Chia, and the Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing by Daniel Reid.

In the first book Chi Nei Tsang Mantak Chia and his wife Maneewan write about how ancient Taoist sages observed that humans often develop energy blockages in their internal organs that result in knots and tangles in their abdomens. It is now common knowledge that over 80% of human illness comes from some type of emotional stress. The negative energy caused by negative emotional stress, such as fear, worry, hate and anger can impair both physical and spiritual functions.

This negative emotional energy turns into toxins that affect our organs. Worry affects the heart, depression affects the lungs, fear the kidneys and anger the liver. Ancient Taoists developed the art of Chi Nei Tsang to recycle and transform negative energies that obstruct the internal organs and knots in the abdomen. Chi Nei Tsang: Internal Organs Chi Massage will provide a clear understanding of ways to self-heal using ancient healing techniques which focus on abdomen and organ massage. The Korean Taoist Ki energy stress management technique of Chunsoo also starts in the abdominal area. The Chia book will teach you ways to address many different types of common ailments.

In the Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing Daniel Reid provides an easy to follow guide to the traditional Taoist approach to self-care, including basic principles of physical and emotional health, nutrition and diet, herbal remedies, breathing exercises, meditation methods, sexual yoga and energy control techniques. The list of therapeutic food recipes and herbal tonics can provide an excellent option to prescription or over-the- counter drugs that can, over time, become harmful to the immune system.

In both books you will learn how to bring balance to the flow of the body’s vital energy known as Chi in China and Ki in Japan and Korea. If you would like to start taking control over your ability to self-heal, you should have these two books in your library. I will teach a four-week workshop this spring under the City College of New York’s Adult and Continuing Education program entitled: The Tao of Health, Happiness and Longevity. If you are interested you can register online at www.ccny.edu/ace in the personal development section, or you can call the college at 212 650-7312. If this subject is of interest, but you are not in New York, you can visit my blog at www.theartofwarogers.com