Tuina and Qigong Experiences - was Introduction

[Guest guest]

>

> I agree with the view on blockages being the principle cause of

> disease, The more I get

> into this the more I realize the less I know (apologies if that's a

> tad esoteric, I have a

> background in music: same story there with the quantum leap in

> theories of music

> harmony in Jazz - BUGGER!!), so it seems that whilst the theories of

> TCM are the basis for

> training, each practitioner finds their own way within it and works

> with what they find best.

> There's no two guitarists playing the same way, but there's only

> twleve notes to play.

 

Yes, I very much agree. I have practice many things in my life. As you

I practiced jazz piano for a while as well as many sports, arts, and

dance activities. At the end each practitioner indeed finds their own

way within it and works with what they find best. Very, very much in

line with my own experiences.

 

> Each treatment is

> set out in a kind of " recipe " manner: follow these instructions for

> this ailment. In addition

> the the course notes, we have the " Chinese Massage Therapy " book,

> Shandong Science &

> Tech.

 

This is very similar to the way I was taught in a local TCM school.

They also recommended the same text which I found very useful.

However, it is much different from the approach that I am currently

learning. In addition, as you suggested above, I bring much of my own

techniques into the learning process which people respond to very

well. So I experiment with different approaches and adjust for each

person.

 

> While he states he does not do Qi Gong, the

> energy is definite and powerful.

 

Yes, I understand. There are many ways to nurture and store qi. Qigong

is one approach, but any martial arts will do the same thing if

practiced in a relaxed manner. At the end, I found discovered, they

are all the same.

 

> Prior to that I practiced yoga and still do.

> Man I wish I had been doing Yoga for that long!!

 

Yes, yoga is a very good complement to the practice, since it

stretches out the muscles and sinews along the qi to flow more easily.

In addition, yoga prana practice is very similar to qigong/taiji

practice. Both are complementary to each other.

 

> Your experience within this framework must come in great use.

 

Yes, the practice allows me to nurture qi as well as developing

greater awareness (sensitivity) in the process.

 

I learned Taiji when I started out, but

> personally have always had

> the " bug " for Qi Gong and have stuck with it.

 

Yes, for me they are both excellent practices for increasing awareness

and developing and storing qi. Sometimes I do one and sometimes the

other. It all depends what I want to do when I wake up in the morning.

:-)

 

> While the emphasis for the Qi Gong being taught is on the

> practitioner's energetic state, it

> follows that the patient will receive the benefit of this. One of my

> teachers said it beutifully

> " We aim to have your massage become Qi Gong, have everything in your

> life become Qi Gong " .

 

Yes, this is very true. It is all very symmetrical.

 

>

>

> Agreed that we will find different approaches work for different

> ailments more effectively

> than others. A collegue has found in his clinic that Tuina works

> better for moving

> stagnation, while needles work better for other treatments. I have

> wondered how the

> " faith " or preference of a practitioner for a method will effect the

> outcome of the treatment

> as well.

 

Yes, I agree. I believe that the practitioner/patient relationship is

very important since it is basically an exchange of energy (no matter

what is being exchanged, e.g. herbs, intent, energy, pills) and how it

is given and received is all part of the " event " . It is no surprise

that " placebo " does so well in experiments. :-) A simple smile is

often of great value.

 

> >

> Standard treatament in China for Tuina is no longer than twenty

> minutes. However, these

> are the hospitals where there are 10,000 outpatients per week. Ivan's

> treatments last from

> 20 - 60 minutes, depending on the condition. He has found that 30

> minutes is better for

> the patient, and himself all round. It's not a matter of the money,

> but the patient being the

> only focus during the session. No time for distractions.

 

My own experiences is that 1 - 1.5 hour works very well though at

times I spend even more time. It depends upon what the client is

saying and requesting. My doctor spends 40 minutes with me nowadays

(we talk for the rest of the time), but he spent more than an hour

each session when I first started visiting him. Typically, he likes to

spend at least one hour with each new patient since he has to

manipulate the whole body (muscles, sinews, skeleton) as well as clear

cold (stagnant) qi using qigong. Even with his experience, it requires

at least one hour to do all of this work, especially if the spine is

frozen in spots. If the full work is not completed, then the cold qi

is not fully released from the body and it will just linger there. So

there are practical issues to the protocol, but on the other hand it

works really well. :-)

 

> Rich, thankyou for your interest and invitation for dialogue!

 

Thank you for sharing your experiences with me. I enjoy hearing how

others practice and the issues that doctors face in China. For

example, my doctor told me that he had to see 120 patients a day in

China. This type of restriction clearly affected the type of protocol

that he could use, even if it was different from the one he would have

like to use based upon his own training. I guess life is a series of

compromises. :-)

 

Take care,

Rich