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Ivan Petkov

What do we usually wish for ourselves? It is to be alive and well. Regardless of age, society and culture, life and longevity are the two most valuable things for everyone. They are the main prerequisite without which everything else to which everyone aspires loses its meaning or becomes impossible. Life is our greatest asset! Other values ​​such as happiness, love, luck and all the other good things which we often wish for come after health and longevity. But how can we achieve all this?
            I would like to present to you a different perspective, namely that of the Universal Healing Tao system created by Master Mantak Chia. The system combines ancient Taoist practices which were developed more than 5,000 years ago and applies them to modern life.

Brief history of Taoism

            The history of Tao, which is one of the three most widely-spread and most popular teachings in China along with Buddhism and Confucianism, dates back to the times before the appearance of writing, to the dawn of human civilization. The people of the tribes who had settled around the Yellow River (Huang He) gathered around the fires at night and tried to understand the world in which they lived. The wisest of them, those who were able to heal, divine, make weather forecasts and read the signs of the earth and natural forces, were shamans of the tribes. The name of the legendary shaman, Yu, who, according to legend, could climb into the sky, travel among the stars and turn into a bear, is known even today. The steps performed by Yu to become a bear have remained to this day and some communities in China currently perform them as a ritual.

                                             The steps performed by shaman Yu to become a bear

            With the advent of ancient civilizations and a sedentary lifestyle in the age of literature about 5,000 years ago, shamanic practices had gradually become typical for the common people. Rulers and aristocrats began recruiting shamans as advisers, diviners and healers. Shamanism had become an institution with rules and duties including the summoning of spirits, interpretation of dreams and signs, causing rain, healing and astrology. During this period, southern China had remained wilder and uncivilized, and it was the homeland of Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism.
            According to some sources, Lao Tzu was influenced by the shamanic practices that had been preserved in their original form in southern China. Lao Tzu, whose real name was Li Er, was in charge of the repository of documents in the principality of Zhou, which was a modest administrative service. After leaving his office, he decided to retire and, while leaving the principality, a guard stopped him and asked him to write something about the teaching he was following. Lao Tzu had become known for his ideas of a natural lifestyle.
            According to legend, there was a meeting between him and another great contemporary of his, namely Confucius. After the meeting, Confucius told his students that Lao Tzu was scary and mysterious like a dragon. "Tao Te Ching", a work of 81 verses written by Lao Tzu, was the first written document about Taoism. Lao Tzu wrote it around 500 BC and presented in it his ideas of the Sage who follows the path, but without having to make any special efforts or to pursue any ambition. The Sage, according to Lao Tzu, follows the natural laws of the universe and is in harmony with it.

                                       Lao Tzu leaves the principality of Zhou and heads west

            In the following epochs, Taoism took on many forms and changed in accordance with the views of its followers. There was magical and divinatory Taoism whose followers were adhering to the practices of shamans. There were shamans serving emperors and nobles in search of "the elixir of immortality". The contact with Buddhism gave rise to religious Taoism, the purpose of which is enlightenment.
             Taoist hermits "gave birth" to styles of martial arts and developed Chinese medicine; they were natural scientists, alchemists, astronomers. The names of Ge Hong who, for the first time, described in a book the searches and the daily round of Taoist hermits, of Zhang Sanfeng who was the founder of T'ai chi ch'uan, the most popular martial art across the world, which has a therapeutic and meditative aspect, and of many others have lived through the ages.

                                                                 The immortal Taos

             In general, Taoist societies were hidden and esoteric most of the time. A teacher passed on his knowledge to a student and all written sources were too metaphorical to be understood by a casual reader without the necessary explanations. The socio-economic changes in the early and mid-20th century had led to the opening of this knowledge to the general public. Taoist teachers arrived in the West, particularly in the United States, where they found the first of their students in the late 1970s.

The system of Universal Healing Tao

 

            Master Mantak Chia is one of those Taoist teachers who had arrived in America and had brought the long kept secret of Taoist practices to his students from the West. This cooperation resulted in the appearance of the first books written in plain language and supported by studies of western medicine.

Mantak Chia is subjected to tests which show that, while awake and practising Taoist methods, his brain emits waves similar to those of a man asleep.

            The practices and concepts are already explained and described in detail, and accompanied by numerous drawings. The ancient treatises which seem complicated and incomprehensible have been fully explained. Lots of promotional materials and training films have appeared during this process. A system of logically arranged practices which complement each other has been finally developed as well as a system of training with three main sections.
            The first includes basic practices that can improve your health, strengthen your body and balance your emotions. This section also includes Taoist sexual techniques which I will present below. The second major section is the section in which a person can help others and which consists of different therapeutic practices and massages. The third major section includes advanced practices for spiritual development. All practices are arranged in a sequence that allows the smooth and consistent introduction of beginners to them.
            It is a great advantage that the development of the system involved a large number of Master Chia’s students from the West who have put rational and logical thinking into it, thus making it suitable for every modern man. This has not happened at the expense of the principles of Taoist tradition. Taoist practices evolve and change according to the requirements of the era, preserving, at the same time, their continuity and the principles on which they were built.
            Currently Master Chia is living in Thailand. The headquarters of Universal Healing Tao, the training centre "Tao Garden", is located there too. The word "master" in Taoist teachings is used for everyone who has completed his training with his teacher and, in turn, has the right to teach the whole system of practices, develop it and add to it. Master Chia has obtained this right from his teacher Master Yi Eng. There are instructors in the system who cover different levels which show their learning progress. The mastering of the practices resembles the modern forms of education and every degree is defended with an examination and a test of the skills of the potential instructor.

Basic principles

            It is very difficult to write about the essence of Tao. Tao is not God, a saint or idol who can take on a specific shape, or to whom you can address your requests. The word means "path" and we use it to describe the force that is behind everything that exists. Tao is not a religion and does not fit into any frames, so it makes no sense to use big words on the subject. Taoist practices, in turn, are quite specific. They are related to strengthening the body, balancing the mind and emotions, and to developing the full potential of each person.
            All practices are based on the assumption that everything on Earth exists in pairs: hot and cold, light and dark, fast and slow, sun and moon, male and female, wet and dry, etc. This division reflects two forces, two principles that can explain everything outside and inside us. These are the Yin and Yang forces:

Balancing these two forces leads to harmony and balance. I will illustrate how this happens in practice in the descriptions of the practices below.

            It is interesting to know that Taoists do not talk of theory and theoretical knowledge which you must learn before starting to practise it. All knowledge, they say, must come from your direct experience. To know means that you can. Personal experience, they say, is more important than the teacher and the teaching or, in other words, "Ten grams of experience are worth more than tons of theory." Let me present to you some of the basic practices which I believe will be useful to you.

Tao Yin

           Tao Yin is an ancient and distinctive system of exercises which aim not only to improve the physical condition and to preserve the health of those who practise them but also to balance and develop their inner qualities. Tao Yin means, "channelling energy". At the physical level, the exercises stretch tendons, strengthen muscles, stir and open the joints and the spine. At another level, they help balance the emotions which Taoists associate with the most important internal organs. Body stretching and twisting help restore the internal temperature at which the internal organs are functioning in the best possible way.
            The upper half of the body is warmer and the lower is colder, so you have to cool the upper half and heat the lower. The organs and muscles are surrounded by membranes called fascia (connective tissue), the main function of which is to maintain adequate warmth for each organ. When we are under stress, the body tightens and fascia hardens, thus retaining the excessive heat in the body. Body tightening is the reason for headaches, superheating of the heart may lead to a heart attack and so on for each of the organs.
            I will present to you two very simple preparatory exercises that you can do in the morning and use as a means of awakening, and add to your natural morning stretching. You can also do them during your break at work to exercise and to prevent blood and lymph congestion. They are really quite easy and do not require special time and place for practising.

            The first exercise is called "Striking heels into the ground to prevent 100 diseases". Stand on tiptoe and then step down with a jerk onto your heels. This will result in a slight internal vibration which is a kind of massage of the internal organs. Alternatively, you can bounce. Repeat for at least 2-3 minutes in order for the exercise to be effective.

            The second exercise is called "Loosening of joints". Gently shake one of your limbs as if you want to shake off something from it. You can gradually include two limbs and the whole body. Stand on one leg, as only advanced Taoists are able to raise it. I am just kidding. I recommend that you warm up the kidneys in the morning by rubbing them with your hands until they warm up. This activates the adrenal glands and serves as a great substitute for your morning coffee. In addition, for those who are not practising Tao Yin, limber up your joints as well as your spine and neck with slow circular movements, but be careful.

                                        Lymphatic drainage - the removal of toxins from the body

The first two exercises serve as lymphatic drainage and facilitate the cleansing of your body.

Inner smile and six healing sounds

            Taoists have found out that, due to the strong negative emotions that we know as "stress", the body tightens, thus overheating the internal organs. In turn, the increased temperature intensifies the strong negative emotions and their repetition. This forms a circle. Other factors that intensify the negative emotions include bad posture of the body when some of the organs are pressed and unhealthy eating.
            Taoists have also found out that each emotion is associated with a specific organ in our body. We know from experience that strong emotions can be the cause of a heart attack or ulcers. In each culture, the heart is associated with hatred ("I hate you with all my heart") but it is also associated with love ("I love you with all my heart"). Everyone you ask will indicate the heart as the centre of love rather than the kidney, for example. The spleen (hence the stomach and pancreas) is associated with anxiety which causes ulcers whereas the positive emotion is honesty.
            The lungs are associated with sadness (when one is sad, he or she sighs; deep sadness can lead to loss of will to live) and the positive feeling is courage. Martial arts have long known this and that is why the fighters learn how to breathe properly in order to become as brave as tigers. When the kidneys are not functioning properly, they cause fear (adrenaline from the adrenal glands) and, when balanced, they are a source of tenderness. The liver is the seat of anger (alcohol dulls the anger but at a high price) and generates kindness when balanced.

Heart: hatred <- > love

Spleen: anxiety <- > honesty

Lungs: sadness <- > courage

Kidneys: fear <- > tenderness

Liver: anger <- > kindness

            The "inner smile" uses the power of smile, making it more powerful and directing it inside us to transform the negative emotions into positive ones. Have you noticed that when you are smiling at someone, you can make him or she smile too? We feel better when someone smiles at us too.
            Here is a very easy way to practise the inner smile: smile as if you are smiling at a loved one. Breathe in and direct the feeling of smile inside you, allowing the light and warmth of the smile to gradually slacken the muscles of your face, head, neck, shoulders and let it go down your body. If you lose the feeling, you can smile again with your mouth and eyes and continue from the point you have reached before that. It is better to allow the inner smile to go deep inside your body, because the most difficult thing is to realize and remove the stress that rests deeper inside us. Its influence can last long after we have been under stress and after we have even forgotten about it.
            Events which have left deep marks in one’s mind in childhood, for example, and which have provoked strong negative emotions sink deep inside the person, affecting his or her life even though the person does not remember the specific event. It is very important not only to recognize that negative energy but also to transform the energy of the trauma into positive energy, after which it will not affect you any longer.
            On a daily level, the inner smile is a great way to start your day and finish it. If you do this exercise in the morning, you will be in a good mood during the day. If you do it in the evening, it will transform the negative emotions of the day and you will have a nice, restful sleep. If you "process" the emotions in this way they will not stay inside you and will not harm you; moreover, you will have at your disposal the additional energy obtained through the "recycling" of the negative emotions.
             The six healing sounds complement the "inner smile". They are used to remove the heat and toxins from the body. Taoists believe that many of the needless and waste substances, instead of being discarded, remain inside us because of the strong negative emotions. The reason is again the tightening of the body due to stress. Moreover, every sound is a vibration and Taoists have found out that this vibration has a positive influence on the appropriate internal organ.

Lung’s sound: SSSSSSSSSSSSS

Kidney’s sound: CHUUUUUUUUUUUU

Liver’s sound: SHSHSHSHSHSHSH

Heart’s sound: HAAAAAAAAAA

Spleen’s sound: HUUUUUUUU (from the throat)

            Initially the sounds should be performed loudly and clearly, and then they should be gradually turned into vibrations and internal sounds. Thus, they can be performed at any time and any place. There are many ways to perform the sounds as well as postures which help cleanse your body. Because of the short format of this article, I cannot describe everything in detail. However, even if performed without special postures, the sounds work and help.
            The basic practices involve self-massage practices which have the same goals as the ones previously mentioned, namely to activate the vital energy, eliminate fatigue and cleanse the body. Cleansing of the body, not only at a physical, but also at an emotional and mental level, is very important because Taoist practices increase the quality and quantity of the vital energy we have. If you do not cleanse any of those levels, then the energy will intensify each negative emotion which has remained inside you. The basic practices are so important that, regardless of the progress in different practices, the person always turns back to them.

            Taoist sexual practices are known as sexual alchemy or sexual Kung Fu (skill). Taoists use all the natural processes of our body and our psyche - we saw how they make the smile more powerful and direct it inside the body; how they use our ability to make sounds. Similarly, they have found out how to improve the sexual act at all levels of experience. Taoists believe that sexual energy is a creative energy because it has the power of creating life. This energy is used only a few times in our lives according to its particular purpose. In all the other hundreds or even thousands of times when we are making love, this energy is used to satisfy both partners.
            Unlike other mammals, we, humans, can experience different levels of the sexual act and everything associated with it:

Physical (pleasure) - at the level of the sexual organs
Emotional (love) - at the level of the heart
Spiritual (romantic) - at the level of mind

            Unfortunately, modern societies confine sexual education only to the explanation of how to prevent ourselves from diseases and unwanted pregnancy. In the best-case scenario, they present various practices which increase the pleasure of sex. This is more than doing nothing but it is not enough. We see that, according to Taoists, there are two more levels at which nothing is being done. And things are far from satisfactory even at the physical level. In general, sexuality is filled more with frustration, dissatisfaction, stress, shame rather than with the good things that we associate with it, namely satisfaction, pleasure and love.
            Taoists believe that, at the physical level, sexual energy is responsible for the health of your entire body. Because this energy is able to create new life, it is reasonable to assume that nature puts the best essence of us into the sperm and ova. Moreover, this best essence means energy from each organ and system in our body. As we all know, we use this "selected" genetic material only a few times in our lives and waste it during the rest of our lives. This applies more to men because women have a monthly cycle and they lose their sex energy once a month. Furthermore, the monthly cycle in women has a cleansing effect as well.
            What is the significance of sexual practices for women at this level? It is balancing female hormones and the cycle which the practice regulates and reduces to 1-2 days. At the next level, women learn how to reach multi-orgasm that is not locked only in the area of the genitals and is of high intensity. They also include the practice of jade egg which maintains in perfect health the glands and muscles responsible for the proper functioning of the female reproductive system. This practice is an excellent prevention regarding the formation of a variety of tumours and conditions which are caused by blood congestion in the pelvis. The exercises with the egg along with the massage of the breast protect women from breast cancer and therefore, this practice is recommended to women of all ages.
            For men, the practice is different, because they ejaculate during the sexual act. Taoists have found out that orgasm and ejaculation are not connected and that they are two separate processes taking place at the same time. At this level, men learn how to avoid ejaculation and, thereby, increase the duration and pleasure by expanding it from the genital area throughout the body.
            These practices are not complicated but because of the short size of the article it is impossible to describe them in detail and in a way which will help you apply them. Moreover, they require prior skills in the basic practices previously mentioned because sexual energy has the ability of enhancing emotions and, as I stated before, it is likely to intensify the negative emotions if we are not balanced at least to a small degree.
            At the emotional level, this is the attraction that lovers feel. The attraction between two people is like the attraction between two magnets. Unfortunately, as time goes by, the worries and cares of living together and the reduction of sexual energy reduce the attraction between the partners. Taoists make a very precise difference between being strongly and emotionally in love and this high level of attraction. As is already clear, they avoid the extremes in terms of emotions.
             However, they believe that if both partners’ sexual energy is high then they can preserve the strength of their attraction, because their personal magnetic field will be stronger. Taoists are convinced that you do not need to do anything else but to keep your thoughts, emotions and sexual energy balanced in order for this attraction to be present. Because this knowledge has not been available to the majority of people, we resort to persuasion, quarrels, jealousy and the whole range of emotions familiar to us in our personal relationships.
            The sexual practices focus first on the personal development rather than on claims to the other person. Practices which open the heart centre and which are associated with the development of unconditional love help develop this type of relationship. These practices are part of the meditation of the "Small heavenly circle", which is another of the basic Taoist practices.
            At the spiritual level, that of romantic love, the practices develop the ability of transforming sexual energy into a pure creative energy that can be used as an inspiration in our daily lives. Taoists believe that what artists experience and describe as a "muse" or "inspiration" is nothing else but sexual energy which they have spontaneously spread throughout the body. Some of the great artists had a muse of flesh and blood whereas the others used different drugs. The transformation of sexual energy into a pure creative energy automatically takes place in our bodies as long as we are able to make it climb up the channels through which the vital energy is flowing inside us. Note that we are talking about energy which is "climbing up" rather than of sexual fluids.

            It sounds complicated but, in fact, these are natural processes and it only takes time to learn the various practices. For more information, I would recommend Mantak Chia’s books about the cultivation of sexual energy which can be found on the book market or as e-books on the web.

                                          The energy of tendons - the vital energy Chi

            Instead of a conclusion, I would like to share my personal experience with Taoist practices. I have been dealing more seriously with them for three years now. The system is designed to meet the requirement of modern lifestyle. As you see, Taoists use natural physiological processes as the basis of all their practices. Anyway, I stretch in the morning and why not add an inner smile and a little extra stretching and "bending" of the body. It takes not more than 15-20 minutes.
            Similarly I use the "Healing sounds" when I need them. I can do this exercise everywhere and as appropriate. If there are people around me, I do it without sounds, so no one knows what I am doing; if I am alone, I bring out as many negative emotions as I can. I am trying to keep myselfwell- stretched and in good shape and I am using Tao Yin exercises for this purpose. Taoist practices are a great addition to any sport, if a person decides that he or she wants something more dynamic.
            Let me be clear that the practices are not a panacea. They do what they have been created for and can improve our lives by changing ourselves. We cannot control or change the events and the people around us but we can change the way we perceive the developments around us and the way they affect us.
            I am a very emotional person and, through the practices, I have found out that I am keeping a lot of things inside myself. I am trying to change the things I do not like or those that hurt me but the process is very slow because they have been inside me for years. Taoist practices are a way of life. You cannot exercise them once and believe that they will be effective as long as you live. This would be better but it is unreal because we do not stop creating emotions and unpleasant things are constantly happening to us. What I like is that they work for me personally.
             The Universal Healing Tao system has attracted me for several reasons. Firstly, it is developing and trying to include everything like medical achievements and scientific research that might help those who are practising it understand it better. Secondly, in the system, there is respect for the people from whom we obtain knowledge but this is not a cult to a guru. Thirdly, it all depends on the practitioner as no one is pushing me, checking or restricting me. This is because the system applies the Taoist principle of knowledge sharing. If every person in a group shares the difficulties encountered and the group finds a solution to them, then all who are experiencing similar difficulties can benefit from this solution. We are social creatures and we easily learn in a group. Discipline is important for our independent daily activities.
            I would say in conclusion that the people who are practising this system are like everyone else, they are neither better, nor worse. There is no perfect system like there are no perfect people. I am saying this because I do not want the readers to have unrealistic and idealistic expectations. However, there is a friendly attitude and a spirit of sharing and then, it all depends on your personal interests, abilities and desire for self-discovery.