Qigong is Medicine for Yogic Practitioners
One of the most exciting things I learned in studying traditional Daoist Energy Healing and the inner yogas upon which Buddhist tantra is founded, is that much of what we know of as "energetic medicine" comes from the practices of yogins in deep retreat, who used these methods to create balance and optimal health to support their inner practice.
These understandings do not have to be at odds with modern medicine! As we've seen, many strange feats of yogis, such as raising their body temperature, slowing heart rate, and other methods of mind-body integration have been demonstrated in the lab. This data pairs well with what we know about placebos, nocebos, and all the other ways our minds have a profound influence on our physical body.
When meditators emerged from the cave or hut, they often carried with them a profound understanding of the interactions between the mind, body, and spirit -
they could offer these to the general public as a way of experiencing greater health, peace, and joy. This was a next step in the long human lineage of "shamanic" or indigenous medicine, which was born both from trial and error and from visionary experiences.
Over the years, these understandings of our mind-body connections became codified into systems like traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, Tibetan Medicine, and the like.
Our medical qigong practices are the treasury of millennia of practitioners exploring how the spirit can balance the mind, ease the heart, and harmonize the body.
This year, when I teach our annual Daoist Energy Healing retreat, I'll once again give people the option of online attendance - due to the global disruptions of the Covid pandemic. But there's a bright side!
I've been prompted to share methods I haven't taught publicly before, that not only allow one to utilize the Daoist science of therapeutic touch and energy to support others, but to take advantage of the "yogi method" of energetic self-healing.
Originally, I thought to share this just so people who might not be able to come in person, and didn't have an easy practice partner at home could practice along,
As I've been developing this year's curriculum, it struck me that it could be a powerful gift when our world needs healing so deeply, and when many of us may still be struggling with the fact that we've had to be in our meditation cave a lot during these strange times!
In any event, I hope your path of healing brings you harmony this Spring, and there's still a day and a half to sign up if you'd like to attend this year's healing arts retreat from home! https://templestyle.mykajabi.com/Daoist-Energy-Healing
