Healer, Heal Thyself (Part Two)

In the May newsletter, we talked about how many of the senior students at Shakti's Elements came to Tai Chi because we had serious health problems that our practice has helped us to overcome. This week I wanted to talk about a few of the lessons we have learned, and how we can use them in practical ways to keep ourselves healthy. With this in mind:

1) Awareness

Our most potent technique for healing our bodies is our awareness. The very first thing we ever learn in class is discovery, which literally teaches us to be aware of what is going on in our body at an almost microscopic level, and to “discover” the problems in our body while they are still small.

On another level, it means having an awareness of how our body is put together, and knowing the tools to address a malady. There's an ongoing lecture series at the studio which teaches us about our physiology, and how to address problems when they first appear. This is, of course, invaluable, and hearkens back to the ancient commandment “Know Thyself.”

But awareness of a problem, and of possible cures, is not enough in and of itself. Awareness must be followed by, and joined with action:

2) The master fixes something before it has a chance to get out of hand

Recently, I was talking to another student, and she mentioned that some of her knee problems were coming back. I said that she might want to ice her knees, and she said “Well, it's really not that bad.”

My response was “Do you really want to wait until it becomes that bad?”

All the awareness in the world does us no good if we don't have the will to act to fix a problem. The Tao says “Confront the difficult while it is still easy” (Tao, Chapter 63), or, to paraphrase an old saying, “The Wise man does now what the fool does later.”

While we all have occasional muscle soreness, or tenderness, when something begins to become a persistent pain, it is the right moment to take time out and consider what the cause of this pain is, and to address it, before it gets out of hand.

3) Ice to treat swelling and inflammation, heat to release stagnation

Things like swelling, inflammation, and tendonitis are best treated with ice. Once inflammation has subsided, general muscle soreness can be treated with heat. If you're unsure of the difference, talk to Master Zi for more guidance.

4) What you eat is your very first medicine

Be gentle with your body. Many drugs are the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to address a problem which has gotten out of hand. But as we've already said, in Tai Chi, we try to address problems before they get out of hand.

Part of what we learn is how to heal ourselves through proper diet. All of my life I've had dark bags under my eyes. I have memories of people commenting on it a couple of times a year. Finally, someone told me that it was a sign of Kidney deficiency, and if I would only eat beets, or celery, it would probably go right away. I was, as you might imagine, quite skeptical. But I tried it. Very quickly, the circles disappeared.

If you've got any swelling or tendonitis, you may want to try eating a little extra ginger, pineapple, or fishes high in Omega-3 fatty acids – all of which are natural anti-inflammatories. For other problems, consult with Master Zi, or senior students Paige Olsen and Julie Festa– all of whom a fountain of knowledge on these subjects.

5) The Cure is Often the Opposite of the Cause

When you experience some kind of injury, think about what caused it – what action, or series of events made it happen? Then, often, the curative action is the opposite of the one that caused the injury.

For example, sometimes, when I'm reading, and looking down at a book in my lap, my neck will get out of alignment. Since I've learned this technique from Master Zi, when this happens, I'll tilt my head back, and look up at the ceiling, or sky, and simply relax like that for 60 seconds, maybe even two minutes. Often, by doing this, and being patient, I can hear, and feel my neck popping back into alignment. Similarly, many back problem caused by poor posture can be addressed by doing exercises which incorporate movements opposite of that poor posture.

We also see this principle in nature, where often the cures for poisons co-exist, or grow very near to the poisons themselves. For example, Jewel Weed often grows near Poison Ivy, and can be used to alleviate it.

6) Disperse the Energy

Tai Chi doesn't have locks, it has keys. It's about freeing and dispersing, not trapping, and holding on to things. Sometimes, when we have a pain, a part of our mind will want to “shut that part of the body off” and pretend it cannot feel it. This can sometimes help us continue to move, and get things done for a while, but it can often be a temporary solution at best, and at worst, it can exacerbate the problem.

Sometimes there is something called a “sympathetic response” in which the muscles around something that is hurting will start to tighten up, and build tension. Sometimes, when I'm working very hard, and not doing enough practice, and slumping at my computer, a vertebrae in my back, between my shoulder blades will slip out of alignment.

If left untreated, it can be unbearably painful. I have difficulty sleeping, and soon enough, my whole back will lock up so I can hardly move. From Tai Chi, I've learned that as soon as I feel my back starting to slip out of alignment, (our first tip, awareness) I stop what I'm doing, and focus my intent (our second tip, dealing with problems while they're still small) and I begin to breath into the hurt area, and focus on relaxing and dispersing the stagnation, and straightening my spine.

In Tai Chi, we say “Chi follows Yi,” which means “Energy follows Intent.” (As Master Zi once put it “If you know this, then your life changes, because you know what is going on with the car you're driving -- aka, your body.)

In this case, by taking time out, and slowly releasing the stagnation, I can often fix the problem in a few minutes, and save myself a day or two of agony.

However, as Master Zi once said, there's a tremendous amount of fear in yielding. In this technique, one must open that part of the brain trying to shut down the pain, and sit in the discomfort of it, working to slowly release it.

7) Do Your Work (Don't Forget to Take Your Medicine)

There is a saying that “Every day the master takes his bitters (herbs), because he knows that every day is hard.” Herbs may not taste good, but they are good for us. And our practice may not always be pleasant, but it is also very, very good for us.

When you do your practice, be it Tai Chi, or Yoga, the sweat you work through is the “bitter” or tonic, or medicine, and by doing it regularly, we build up sweat equity – we make a deposit into our virtual “Health Savings Account” so that way we will have something in the bank to withdraw on in times of illness.

Tai Chi can't keep us from getting into a car accident, or from getting food poisoning, or even from getting sick. Despite our best efforts, life still happens. But Tai Chi can make sure that when something unfortunate happens, like, say, a car accident followed by a surgery that might paralyze another person (like in Master Zi's case) that we go into that in the best possible health, and that we have developed tools to speed our recovery.

But as always, Tai Chi gives back to you what you put into it. Do your work, practice diligently, attend class, do your seva, and have the highest possible balance in your “virtual health savings account,” because life happens, and it's best to be prepared.