T'ai Chi Ch'üan Feng Shou Kung Fu Health and Massage Lee Forum Guestbook Taoist Poetry Links
Health Arts
Chi Yin and Yang The 5 Elements K'ai Men Acupressure and Massage Dietary Herbs Meditation
Chi
Within T'ai Chi, and especially its health arts, Chi is the elixir of life. It has different manifestations, from the dense solid form that makes ub the solidity of our bodies to the
more subtle form of the blood and water in us, to even more subtle forms of breath, thought and 'spirit'.
Taoist exercises concentate on ones breathing, which helps to circulate Chi around the body. Once you learn to breathe properly and coordinate your breathing, you can begin to
be aware of more subtleties and generate, store and direct Chi.
Yin and Yang
Yin and Yang are the 2 fundamental qualities of the Tao, which is everything in the universe. They oppose, but complement each other.
Every thing has two sides, but remember too that that everything has two halves with a top and bottom, back and front, inside and outside, and so on.
Yin and Yang are forces that make up the universe, and in so doing also make us what we are.
In nature, as in the seasons, there are Yin times, (Winter), and Yang times, (Summer). When there is balance and harmony,
the yearly cycle continues and all is well with nature. But imbalance causes disease. These forces also apply to our body,
health and wellbeing.
The 5 Elements
Wu Hsiang, the Five Elements are of fundamental importance to the Chinese Health Arts. The Five Elements
are basically classifications of Yin and Yang; They are : Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. They represent the 5 forces of energy,
or the 5 sections of change that exist within the universe.
They are also "breaths" (i.e., active energies), the idea of which enabled the philosophers to construct a coherent system of correspondences and
participations linking all phenomena of the macrocosm and the microcosm. Associated with spatial directions, seasons of the year, colours, musical
notes, animals, and other aspects of nature, they also correspond, in the human body, to the five inner organs. The Taoist techniques of longevity
are grounded in these correspondences. The idea behind such techniques was that of nourishing the inner organs with the essences corresponding
to their respective phases and during the season dominated by the latter.
They comprise a detailed system used in everything from diagnosis to treatment.
When in harmony, they balance each other and create harmony and health, but when in conflict they cause disharmong and dis-ease.
The following table shows just a few of their correspondences used in Traditional Chinese Medicine :
WOOD
FIRE
EARTH
METAL
WATER
Organs
Liver
Heart
Spleen/Pancreas
Lungs
Kidneys
Seasons
Spring
Summer
Late Summer
Autumn
Winter
Emotions
Shouting
Laughing
Singing
Crying
Groaning
K'ai Men
K'ai Men (Open Door) comprises of short sequences of movements with in and out breathing. Thay have an extended form with your normal breathing are each contains benefits for specific complaints. Thay also hold martial applications as are done in the standard stances and postures.
Acupressure and Massage
This is a huge area that focuses on the meridians of the body and specific techniques of hand massage. The concept of meridians goes way back to ancient China and says that the body contains lines (or channels) of Chi energy that take Chi and circulate it to the organs and around the body. As well as learning the meridians, the acupoints are also learned.
Dietary
The ancient Taoists formulated a system of beneficial foods to eat. The basic premise is to eat local food that is organic and in season.
See here for further information and recipes.
Herbs
Herbs are an important element of health and should be used wisely in cooking. Within the realm of Tradional Chinese Medicine, herbs are classified according to their beneficial usage for specific aliments and normally used in conjunction with dietary and massage treatments.
Meditation
The whole of T'ai Chi Ch'üan is a form of meditation in itself, but there are also stand-alone meditational techniques for cultivating energy and quietening the Mind.
T'ai Chi Ch'üan
Feng Shou Kung Fu
Health and Massage
Lee Forum
Guestbook
Taoist Poetry
Links