Chia Mantak - Chi kung for womens health and sexual vitality : a handbook of simple exercises and techniques

Acknowledgments

The Universal Healing Tao publications staff involved in the preparation and production of Chi Kung for Womens Health and Sexual Vitality extend our gratitude to the many generations of Taoist masters who have passed on their special lineage, in the form of an unbroken oral transmission, over thousands of years. We thank Taoist Master I Yun (Yi Eng) for his openness in transmitting the formulas of Taoist Inner Alchemy.

We offer our eternal gratitude to our parents and teachers for their many gifts to us. Remembering them brings joy and satisfaction to our continued efforts in presenting the Universal Healing Tao system. As always, their contribution has been crucial in presenting the concepts and techniques of the Universal Healing Tao.

We wish to thank the thousands of unknown men and women of the Chinese healing arts who developed many of the methods and ideas presented in this book. We offer our gratitude to Bob Zuraw for sharing his kindness, healing techniques, and Taoist understandings.

We thank the many contributors essential to this books final form: the editorial and production staff at Inner Traditions/Destiny Books for their efforts to clarify the text and produce a handsome new edition of the book and Nancy Yeilding for her line edit of the new edition.

We also wish to thank Colin Drown, Matthew Koren, Otto Thamboon, our senior instructors Wilbert and Saumya Wils, and Charles Morris for their editorial work on the earlier edition of this book. A special thanks goes to our Thai production team: Hirunyathorn Punsan, Sopitnapa Promnon, Udon Jandee, and Suthisa Chaisam.

Putting Chi Kung for Womens Health and Sexual Vitality into Practice

The practices described in this book have been used successfully for thousands of years by Taoists trained by personal instruction. Readers should not undertake the practice without receiving personal transmission and training from a certified instructor of the Universal Healing Tao, since certain of these practices, if done improperly, may cause injury or result in health problems. This book is intended to supplement individual training by the Universal Healing Tao and to serve as a reference guide for these practices. Anyone who undertakes these practices on the basis of this book alone does so entirely at her own risk.

The meditations, practices, and techniques described herein are not intended to be used as an alternative or substitute for professional medical treatment and care. If any readers are suffering from illnesses based on mental or emotional disorders, an appropriate professional health care practitioner or therapist should be consulted. Such problems should be corrected before you start training.

Neither the Universal Healing Tao nor its staff and instructors can be responsible for the consequences of any practice or misuse of the information contained in this book. If the reader undertakes any exercise without strictly following the instructions, notes, and warnings, the responsibility must lie solely with the reader.

This book does not attempt to give any medical diagnosis, treatment, prescription, or remedial recommendation in relation to any human disease, ailment, suffering, or physical condition whatsoever.

Introduction

After over fifty years of sharing Chi Kung daily practices for womens health through the Universal Healing Tao system, we find it hard to believe that 60 percent of women after the age of thirty suffer from some form of gynecological malfunctioning or cancer, which can lead ultimately to death. The simple techniques of Chi Kung for women enable every woman to literally get in touch with her urogenital area and eliminate such problems and discomforts by just simply touching herself with the proper intentions. At the suggestion of Ehud Sperling, the publisher of Inner Traditions/Destiny Books, we have gathered together in this book a series of Universal Healing Tao techniques and daily exercises that will support the health of the female reproductive system and sexual vitality.

Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, which feed off the body to maintain this growth. When a cell is damaged or altered without repair to its system, it usually dies. However, cancer cells, also termed malignant cells or tumor cells, proliferate and a mass of cells develops. Many cancers and the abnormal cells that compose the cancer tissue are further identified by the name of the tissue that the cells originate from, such as lung cancer, breast cancer, uterine cancer, or colon cancer.

There are five main types of cancer that affect a womans reproductive organs: cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar. As a group, they are referred to as gynecologic cancer. (A sixth type of gynecologic cancer is the very rare fallopian tube cancer.) Uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women in the United States and it is the most commonly diagnosed gynecologic cancer. All women are at risk for uterine cancer, and the risk increases with age. Uterine cancer usually occurs during or after menopause. The risk is increased by obesity and by taking estrogen-alone hormone replacement therapy (also called menopausal hormone therapy). Each year, approximately 35,000 women in the United States get uterine cancer.

The symptoms of uterine cancer include unusual vaginal bleeding or discharge, trouble urinating, pelvic pain, and pain during intercourse. Generally, the tumor grows slowly and remains confined to the area for many years. During this time, the tumor produces little or no symptoms or outward signs (abnormalities on physical examination). However, all uterine cancers do not behave similarly. Some aggressive types of uterine cancer grow and spread more rapidly than others and can cause a significant shortening of life expectancy in women affected by them. A trained pathologist observing uterus biopsy specimens under the microscope can calculate a measure of uterine cancer. As the cancer advances, however, it can spread beyond the uterus into the surrounding tissues. Moreover, the cancer also can metastasize, spreading throughout other areas of the body, such as the bones, lungs, and liver. Symptoms and signs, therefore, are more often associated with advanced uterine cancer.

When uterine cancer is found early, treatment is most effective. Treatment varies depending on your overall health, how advanced the cancer is, and whether hormones affect its growth. Many low-risk tumors can be safely followed with active surveillance. Through conventional medicine, curative treatment generally involves surgery, various forms of radiation therapy, or, less commonly, cryosurgery; hormonal therapy and chemotherapy are generally reserved for cases of advanced disease. The age and underlying health of the woman, the extent of metastasis, appearance under the microscope, and response of the cancer to initial treatment are important in determining the outcome of the disease. The decision whether or not to treat localized uterine cancer with curative intent is a patient trade-off between the expected beneficial and harmful effects in terms of patient survival and quality of life.

Food and sex are humankinds greatest appetites. From a Taoists point of view they also offer opportunities for our greatest healing exercises, if we have the proper understanding of how use them to heal our bodies. From the Universal Healing Tao system, as demonstrated in the Destiny Books editions of several Universal Healing Tao publicationsparticularly Healing Love through the Tao, Bone Marrow Nei Kung, Cosmic Detox, and Cosmic Nutritionwe have assembled a sequence of Chi Kung for women daily practices that will balance and maintain the sexual organs, while rejuvenating your sexual vitality.