Medical T'ai chi and Qigong

The T'ai chi doctor diagnoses in two ways — physical and mental, or external and internal.
Mentally unbalanced attitudes usually manifest themselves in some physical ailment and if
the practitioner is able to recognise
these imbalances s/he is able to treat the physical disease, thereby treating the mental disease.
On a very basic level, and
keeping in mind that there are many variants in diagnosis of this kind, we have an imbalance
of yin and yang. If a person is
overly quiet and reticent, then there is usually a yang deficiency, whereas if the person is too
outgoing and extrovert then there
is a yin deficiency. Other mental disorders are caused by the same imbalance on a more
sensitive level and must be treated with
caution. Also, it must be remembered that certain people will seem to have a yin deficiency
but in fact may be covering up for a
yang deficiency, and vice versa. This can become evident in the way a person performs the
T'ai chi movements. If for example
a person is extremely extrovert and loud, but the movements are very small and close to the
body, then they are probably using
the extroversion to cover up introversion. Usually just learning the T'ai chi form will cure this
condition, and after some time you
will note that the movements become more open and well balanced and the mental condition
improves.
Teaching a patient the T'ai chi form treats overall ailments and is used to balance the whole
body internally and externally over
a period of time. But sometimes a more direct approach is needed to cure a certain disease, so
that the movements will
become easier to learn. For this we must look at the physical way of diagnosis using T'ai chi
and Qigong.
Physical diagnosis using T'ai chi and Qigong
Qigong is said to be able to bring a person’s physical and mental situation into a state of
balance, so we are able to use this to
diagnose.
Observe the person in a Qigong position. If the palms are in the same place as they started
after about five minutes, and every
other part of the body is in the correct position, then just performing T'ai chi and Qigong will
be enough to bring that person
back to good health provided the diet is healthy. However if the palms move independently,
or the shoulders or arms, etc., then
there is something wrong.
For instance, if the left palm drops to a lower position and the patient is unaware of this, there
may be a yang deficiency
somewhere in the left-hand side of the body. If the left palm rises then there may be a yin
deficiency. The deficiency could be in
any of the organs on that side of the body. Sometimes if the ailment is not too far advanced,
simply righting the palms,
shoulders, elbows, etc. will cure the disease over a period of time, but if not then we must use
the T'ai chi form to diagnose
which organ the deficiency or abundance is in.
12
Remember that every posture from the T'ai chi form relates to a certain organ in the body, so
we are able to use this for
diagnosis. Using the above case, if a person’s left palm keeps dropping during Qigong we
know this indicates a yang deficiency
somewhere on the left-hand side. We then look at all the postures which deal with the organs
of the left hand side such as ‘
Grasping Bird’s Tail’ or ‘Fair Lady Works at Shuttles’ etc. If the patient finds great difficulty
in performing any one of these
postures, and bearing in mind that most people find T'ai chi difficult at first, then the problem
may lie in the organ that is related
to that posture. If the extremely difficult posture is ‘Grasping Bird’s Tail’ then this indicates a
colon problem; if the posture is ‘
Fair Lady at Shuttles; a heart problem. My book Power T’ai Chi Ch'uan, No.1 covers most of
the postures and their related
organs.
Once the condition has been diagnosed we can then use the appropriate posture from the T'ai
chi form as a Qigong stance to
cure that organ.
It must be remembered that a patient in an advanced stage of illness cannot usually be cured
with these methods, because it
takes some time for the treatment to work. Firstly the patient must be well enough to perform
Qigong and then the T'ai chi
form, so in these cases the patient should be sent to a very good acupuncturist or to a western
doctor who may have to use the
only means left — the knife. It is our job as therapeutic movement practitioners to stop the
patient from getting ill in the first
place.
The natural therapist looks at the person as a whole —diet, lifestyle, sexual habits, and in fact
everything that the patient does
from day to day. We must look at why the condition has come about and then work out ways
to break the cycle so that the
disease does not recur. It is not enough to put a Band-Aid on a bleeding finger — we must
stop the patient continuing to cut the
finger.
Pa-kua
Pa-kua chang is an ancient Chinese martial/healing art, and is much less widely known than
its brother, T'ai chi ch'uan. Pa-kua,
like T'ai chi can produce some amazing healing results.
The exact origins of pa-kua are not known, but we do know that its basis is found in the
Chinese Book of Changes or the I
Ching. The I Ching is one of the oldest books from ancient Chinese culture and is used as a
kind of bible — it is said to be
able to predict the future and many people use it only as a book of prophesy.
The basic philosophy is one of softness overcoming hardness, and the use of the yielding
principle instead of force on force,
rather like the philosophy of a man called Jesus. Pa-kua is also based upon the Tao and once
again we see the non-aggressive
or yielding factor Taoism is a philosophy, which predates the more scientific Confucianism.
The 1-jing is said to cover every possible change that occurs in nature and in pa-kua we also
cover these changes within the
various palm changes, thus bringing ourselves a little closer to the Universe.
Certain animal movements are copied during the practice of pa-kua and have immediate
healing benefits on the body because
of the way in which we twist and turn, activating every acupuncture meridian and exercising
every muscle and tendon in the
body
As with T'ai chi after some time of practice, we generate the internal energy called ch’i and
so every organ is bathed in life
giving force.
Some of the pa-kua postures are shown in photographs 23 to 26. These postures can be used
in a static position using natural
breath, or within the context of the pa-kua form. Photos No. 23 & 24: Photos No. 25 & 26
49
13

Taoist yoga
During the so-called ‘primitive period’ in China (10,000-3000 BC), the Chinese looked into
the supernatural and mystical
forces of the body. It is commonly thought that during this period the acupuncture meridians
were slowly discovered, as were
the many different herbs still in use today.
The acupuncture meridians were first used to open up the energy centres of the body for self-
realisation, in much the same way
that Indian yogis do today, but now acupuncture is used mainly for healing. Taoism
flourished from about 300 BC until the birth
of Christ. From Taoism we have received the great internal arts such as T'ai chi ch’uan, pa-
kua chang, Taoist yoga and
Qigong. These were all based upon ‘doing by not doing’. This concept can be explained by
comparing Indian and Chinese
yoga. If both arts were practised side by side we would see that the India yogi (in most cases)
would be performing more
movement than the Chinese yogi. In actual fact the Chinese yogi would be doing more work
than the Indian would by ‘not
doing’. The Chinese yogi would hold very difficult stances for long periods of time with little
or no movement. These isometric
postures were said to be able to send the energy around the body and open up all of the
channels of ch’i or life-force when
performed in conjunction with certain breathing techniques.
During the primitive period, the Chinese developed eight basic postures, most of which were
in a squatting or sitting position.
Around 200 BC, Bodhidhama or Ta-Mo, an Indian Monk, visited the Chinese temple at
Shaolin, (Little Forest), and increased
the postures to 18. He was also responsible for teaching the Chinese martial artists certain
internal methods to increase the
power of their art. Later the Chinese arts became more internal and the great arts such as T'ai
chi were born.
As with Indian yoga, Taoist yoga deals first with the body and then with the mind and spirit,
believing that we must have a
healthy body in which to house the spirit. It is the physical postures that look somewhat like
Indian yoga. The Chinese way is to
develop flexibility adaptability and suppleness of the body as a whole. Taoist or Chinese yoga
uses a form of internal massage
called ‘movement within stillness’.
The postures of Taoist yoga are held for long periods in order to toughen the body and mind
as a whole. Discipline and
emotional control are used to overcome the physical pain brought about from this method.
Nowadays the basic principle is
retained but [he postures are not held until breaking point and a softer attitude is adopted.
Each of these postures has a certain effect on the meridians and so affects each organ
individually.
Photograph 27 shows the ‘Sitting Duck Posture’ which affects the stomach meridian by
gently stretching it and then twisting it
to cause further activation. This posture is used to help digestion disorders and flatulence. It
also gently stretches the upper leg
ball joint ligaments and muscles. The posture is held until a mild shaking occurs. Do practise
gently at first, and if you are elderly
be very careful not to hold the posture for too long as leg pain can occur if the ligaments are
very out of condition. The
breathing is deep but not forced, and the head is straight and relaxed. Photos No. 27, 28, 29 &
30
Photograph 28 shows the ‘Leopard Posture’ and affects the spleen. It is useful for treating
cold hands and feet, and also tones
the entire lymphatic system. Keep relaxed into the posture.
Photograph 29 shows the ‘Dragon Posture’. This affects the stomach and kidneys and
generally tones up the muscles of the
whole body. Photograph 30 shows the ‘Dragon Extension’. Breathe in just before going on to
the extension and breathe out
when finished. This is also good for eliminating fear.
Photograph 31 shows the ‘Chicken Posture’. This posture acts upon the gall bladder and large
intestine and should be held
until a mild shaking occurs. This is especially useful after eating too much animal fat and
shoulder pain occurs. You might also
take a glass of water to which some pure lemon juice has been added, to help break down the
animal fat. This posture is also
14
good for bowel problems.
Photograph 32 shows the ‘Turtle Posture’. This posture affects the heart meridian and is very
good at keeping anger at bay It
is also good for insomnia caused by ‘fire in the heart’. People with heart troubles should take
it easy with this posture. Photos
No. 31, 32, 33 & 34
Photograph 33 shows the ‘Bat Posture’. This is good for the central nervous system and
works by gently twisting the spine. It
is also good for developing leg muscle tone. The posture should be held for about 30 seconds
to one minute.
The ‘Wild Horse Posture’ is seen in photograph 34. This posture is said to act upon the lungs
because of the type of breathing
used with it. While standing in this posture expand the lungs by inhaling then exhale with
great force as you say ‘Tssss’.
All these postures will have an almost immediate effect, so as with all exercise, take it gently
and experiment with what you can
or cannot do.
Taoist yoga covers a wide range of exercises and virtually anything that is done with a
relaxed mind and stretches the body can
be called Taoist yoga. Many of the T'ai chi postures can be called Taoist yoga, as can many of
the pa-kua postures.
Chinese self massage
There are two ways of using Chinese methods of healing. The first and least common way
makes use of the ch’i by putting it
into the patient, using acupuncture needles to reduce the skin’s resistance, point massage, etc.
The second, more common way
is to simply manipulate the various acupuncture points to cause them to activate. To heal
ourselves we can either build up our ch
’i using Qigong, and cause the ch’i to flow with T'ai chi or we can manipulate our own
points. In self-massage we manipulate
our points and stimulate the ch’i we already have.
The method
There is a set routine starting from the head and moving down. Sit on the floor in a lotus or
cross-legged position. The palms
are held as shown in photograph 35; the eyes are slightly closed with the tongue pressed
lightly to the hard palate. The
shoulders are relaxed and the back straight and vertical to the ground. Photos No. 35 & 36
After a short time of meditation rub the palms together for about 10 seconds to create some
heat. Then place the index and
middle fingers of each hand onto the forehead as shown in photograph 36. Rub the fingers
back and forth lightly all over the
forehead for about 10 seconds, then take the palms back down to the knees in a circular
movement and meditate again for
about 10 seconds, breathing deeply but gently.
Next, rub the palms together again and place the same fingers over each eye and rub gently
for 10 seconds, covering the whole
closed eye and the eye socket. Take the palms back to the knees.
Rub the palms together again and take the same fingers up to the ears and rub the whole ear
for about 10 seconds, including