Wisdom of Ancient Ways by Andrew Clauer
As modern medicine moves forward it increasingly adopts and adapts ancient ways to help those in need. Only 35 years ago, acupuncture was not recognized by the AMA. Now, pharmaceutical companies are using the knowledge of tribal healers to gather important herbal information, discovering many new medicines. Chi-Kung and meditation are now commonly offered as alternative healthcare practices in many hospitals around the country. People are finding help through traditional healing modalities in their search for alternative answers to problems that modern medicine has been unsuccessful in treating.
From the Taoists of ancient China, Chi Nei Tsang (CNT) is beginning to be introduced. Chi Nei Tsang (pronounced chee nay tsang), is a form of abdominal bodywork focusing on improving the overall health and function of the internal organs. Using guided breathwork, physical manipulations, Chi-Kung and meditation, CNT teaches students how to identify and break personal patterns of tension in the body.
Our bellies should be soft like a baby’s, allowing the free movement of food, blood, lymph and energy(chi) through the organs and surrounding tissues. This allows the organs to function at peak performance. As a strategy against pain we learn how to protect ourselves by contracting the tissues in the areas where we feel it, disconnecting from these places in the body. As we go through life we start having more and more of these tensions. Eventually the organs stop moving the way they should in the belly and begin adhering to each other, the hips, ribs or the diaphragm. Toxins build up in these areas, and as less circulation of fluids and energy get into these places, various symptoms begin to occur. Symptoms are actually healthy signals from the body, telling us that we need to change something in our life, to bring our attention inside to see and change what we are doing that is unhealthy. Symptoms are a healthy response to an unhealthy situation. If we learn how to listen and care for our inner selves it’s amazing how quickly the body can return to a state of good health.
Western medicine tends to take away our power to take care of ourselves. We have been taught to listen to the words of doctors, and have forgotten how to listen to our own internal needs. Instead of listening to the communication that the body is sending we mask the symptom with drugs or surgery. When the message of the symptom is ignored, the body then needs to come up with something stronger to get that message through. CNT empowers its students to take control of their own care, to listen to their inner truths, and improve their own health without the need of getting so sick that medication or surgery is required. Often even conditions that have progressed to these levels can be dramatically improved or even eliminated altogether. As the body starts returning to a healthier state, it is common to have the attending physician prescribe lower dosages of medication for chronic conditions, or even eliminate the need to medicate.
This ancient practice was used to increase vitality, longevity, and create an over-all feeling of well being. As people continue to practice CNT, they become more and more attuned to what is happening in the body, their proficiency grows, and they become stronger and healthier.
Healing is a personal choice; CNT offers, through its applied wisdom, the mechanisms to locate personal patterns of tensions, to release these blockages and restore our life to its wholeness. CNT is of great benefit to anyone interested in taking an active role in their own health. It is easily integrated and enhances any existing bodywork practice. Many have reported significant results in digestive and gall bladder disorders, drug and liver toxicity, breathing problems, high/low blood pressure, hiatal hernias, fibroids, menstrual cramp, impotence, infertility, and myofascial and chronic pain disorders. CNT addresses the whole body, bringing it in the direction of balance.
Andrew Clauer is the director of the Chi Nei Tsang center in San Francisco, CA. He is a certified Instructor who has been lecturing and teaching classes nationwide. To learn more about Chi Nei Tsang and upcoming classes, please visit www.cntcenter.com or call 415 487-7412