Mantak Chia - 26 Dec

Dedicated to healers everywhere

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank the thousands of unknown men and women of the Chinese healing arts who developed many of the techniques and concepts presented in this book. I also wish to thank the Chi Nei Tsang teacher Dr. Mui Yimwattana and the Taoist master Yi Eng, both of whom worked so patiently to teach their students.

Without remembering my parents, my teachers, and my son, Max, my continued efforts in presenting the Universal Tao system would be without joy or satisfaction. For their gifts, I offer my eternal gratitude and love.

I thank Juan Li for his beautiful illustrations. As always, his contribution has been crucial in presenting the concepts and techniques of the Universal Tao.

I wish to thank David Flatley for his editorial work on and contributions to the first printing of this book, as well as for his ideas for the cover. I appreciate his research and great labor.

Mui Yimwattana

I wish to thank Valerie Meszaros for her editorial contributions to the revised edition of this book; I also wish to thank our instructors, Rem Heisserer and Rene Navarro, for their insightful contributions to the revised version.

I thank Gilles Marin for his technical editing and clear writing throughout the book.

Thank you to Dan Treelite Reardon for his valuable information and writing regarding communicating with trees.

I also wish to express thanks to other contributing writers, some of whom have worked with me for many years to prepare this manuscript: Valerie Meszaros, Shanti Batton, Ruth Cartet, Ron Diana, Juan Li, Rene Navarro, and Larry Tupper. I thank Dr. Nicole Tremblay for presenting chapter 13.

I thank Ivan Salgado for the cover illustration and design. Further, I wish to express my gratitude to all the instructors and students who have offered their time and advice to enhance this system, especially Larry Tupper, Ron Diana, Gilles Marin, Juan Li, and Dr. Angela C. Shen. I thank Susan Aaron, Esq., and Gary Oshinsky, Esq., for their legal advice.

Finally, I thank the following people for their varied and helpful contributions: William Evans, Particia Capek, Linda Hoffer, Jeeraporn Saeheng, Orathai Vudhisethakrit, Michael Winn, Dr. Alejandro Domingo, Dr. Louis Shen, Chong Mi Mueller, Oliver Pfeffer, Lisa Giglioli, Dr. John Cuadrado, Melinda Mills, Karl Danskin, Luis Nunez, Masahiro Ouchi, Rem Heisserer, Mary Beth Soares, Ming Chu Sim, Walter Beckley, Kyle Cline, Mary Anne Hilido, and Evelyn Ward of Universal Dynamic Resources, San Francisco, who shared their knowledge with me, never imagining it would eventually be taught to Westerners. I acknowledge special thanks to Roberta Prada and Roderick Kettlewell for encouraging the production of this book, for their input on the original manuscript, and for their editing regarding technical procedures.

Without my mother and my son, Max, the book would have been academic; for their gifts, my gratitude and love.

Putting Chi Nei Tsang 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 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 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 his or 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. Any reader suffering from illness based on a psychological or emotional disorder should consult an appropriate professional health care practitioner or therapist. Such problems should be corrected before you start training.

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.

Neither the Universal 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.

Introduction

What Is Chi Nei Tsang?

The Taoist sages of ancient China observed that humans often develop energy blockages in their internal organs that result in knots and tangles in their abdomens. These obstructions occur at the center of the bodys vital functions and constrict the flow of chi (energy), our life force. The negative emotions of fear, anger, anxiety, depression, and worry cause the most damage. Problems can also be caused by overwork, stress, accidents, surgery, drugs, toxins, poor food, and bad posture.

Through meditative practices the sages learned to look within themselves. They discovered that the internal organs connect with the five forces of the universe and provide a link between the human microcosm and the universal macrocosm. The organs contain the essences of the spiritual force of a human being. They also provide the physical lines of force that hold the body together and give it structure.

When obstructed the internal organs store unhealthy energies that can overflow into other bodily systems and surface as negative emotions and sickness. Always in search of an outlet, these negative emotions and toxic energies create a perpetual cycle of negativity and stress (see fig. 1). If the negative emotions cant find an outlet, they fester in the organs or move into the abdomen, the bodys garbage dump. The abdomen can process some emotional garbage, but more often it cant keep up with the flow. The energetic center of the body located at the navel becomes congested and cut off from the rest of the body.

Fig. 1. A negative energy cycle leads to knots and tangles in the abdomen.

CHI NEI TSANG: A METHOD TO CLEAR BLOCKED ENERGY

Chi, the life-force energy, moves through the bodys internal channels, nervous system, blood vessels, and lymph glands. These systems concentrate and cross paths in the abdomen, which acts as their control center. Tensions, worries, and stresses of the day, month, or year accumulate there and are seldom dispersed. These disturbances can cause physical tangling and knotting of the nerves, blood vessels, and lymph nodes. The result is the gradual obstruction of energy circulation.

The ancient Taoists realized that negative emotions cause serious damage to your health, impairing both physical and spiritual functions. They understood that each human emotion is an expression of energy and that certain emotions could indicate the negative energy behind many physical ailments. They also identified a specific cycle of relationships between the emotions and the organs. For example, the experience of a knot in your stomach indicates the presence of worry, the negative emotion that accumulates in the stomach and spleen.

The Taoists discovered that most maladies could be healed once the underlying toxins and negative forces were released from the body. They developed the art of Chi Nei Tsang to recycle and transform negative energies that obstruct the internal organs and cause knots in the abdomen. Chi Nei Tsang clears out the toxins, bad emotions, and excessive heat or heat deficiencies that cause the organs to malfunction (fig. 2).