Craniosacral Chi Kung

Integrating Body and Emotion in the Cosmic Flow

Mantak Chia, Joyce Thom

• Publisher: Destiny Books
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781620554241
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Alternative & Complementary Medicine

Craniosacral therapy and Chi Kung practices to harmonize emotions, release chronic tensions, and optimize the flow of energy • Provides illustrated instructions for movement exercises, breathwork, self-massage, and emotional intelligence meditations to free the flow of energy in the body • Reveals clear parallels between the craniosacral rhythm and the flow of chi • Explains how to release energetic blockages and emotional and physiological knots, activate the energetic pumps of the 3 tan tiens, and tap in to the Cosmic Flow Exploring the connections between Western craniosacral therapy and Chi Kung, Taoist master Mantak Chia and craniosacral instructor Joyce Thom detail movement exercises, breathwork practices, self-massage techniques, and focused meditations from Taoist and other wisdom traditions to release and harmonize the flow of energy in the body and optimize our potential for physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The authors link the craniosacral rhythm--the gentle flow of cerebrospinal fluid from the head (cranium) to the tailbone (sacrum)--and the flow of chi throughout the body, circulated by the pumps of the three tan tiens. They explain how these subtle energetic flows indicate the harmony or disharmony of the whole person and are greatly affected by physical traumas, chronic tensions, and unresolved emotions. For example, the psoas muscle, known in Taoism as the muscle of the Soul, connects the spine to the legs and is the first muscle to contract when anger or fear triggers our fight-or-flight response. Often a storehouse of subconscious stressors, this muscle's sensitivity is connected to many common ailments like back pain. Providing step-by-step illustrated exercise instructions, the authors explain how to identify and unwind energetic blockages and emotional and physiological knots. They explore emotional intelligence exercises for tuning in to our hearts so we can listen to our bodies' messages and learn to relieve related emotional burdens. They also reveal how to activate the cranial, respiratory/cardiac, and sacral pumps of the three tan tiens to optimize the body's energetic flow and explain how, when our energy is flowing freely, we can enter the Cosmic Flow--a state of calm well-being and extraordinary creativity where we find ourselves truly at one with the universe.

PART ONE

Physical Flow

Part 1 introduces the concepts of Flow from the Taoist and Western craniosacral perspectives. The individual chapters explore the importance of Flow to our physical, emotional, and mental health. They also explain the assessment of Flow as understood in the craniosacral approach, which considers tempo, magnitude, balance, and quality.

After learning to assess Flow, we will explore the four major pumps that activate it: the cardiac, respiratory, cranial, and sacral pumping systems that circulate fluids, nutrients, and energies throughout the body. We will build awareness of these pumps through our kinesthetic sense of the connection and flow among them. For some of us, the craniosacral connection has been disrupted by injury, illness, or lifestyle issues. As you practice moving the cranium and sacrum together in a harmonious, synchronous way, you will build new neural network communication pathways (or strengthen existing ones), which will help you become more fluid and integrated on multiple levels. As a result, you will not only move differently but also feel more connected with your body in deeper and more profound ways.

In addition to physical exercises, we’ll also use guided meditations to experience Flow in our bones, tissues, and fluids, and to enhance our awareness of those flows. In so doing, we increase our ability to track and adjust these flows as needed. For example, if you become aware that you are tired and your throat is sore, you can rest and take Vitamin C so that you do not get sick. Likewise, if you notice less flow at certain times or in particular areas, you can meditate or do your practices to cultivate and generate more chi and greater flow, increasing your resilience and vitality.

1

Working with Cosmic Flow

Western and Taoist Approaches

The dictionary definition of flow is “to move in a steady and continuous way; to circulate; to proceed smoothly and readily.”¹ In a larger context, we might say that while we are “in the flow,” we are focused, engaged, and energized, and that our actions feel purposeful, enjoyable, and effortless. If you think of a time when you felt “in the zone”—perhaps playing sports, creating something, having an “on” day of great efficiency at work, playing music, or practicing Chi Kung—and remember how that felt, you can connect with the feeling of Flow.

Intuitively, we understand that being “in the flow” is beneficial, but getting there can be challenging. Flow can be present—or absent—on physical, emotional, mental, energetic, and spiritual levels. While Western medicine acknowledges the link between good health and good circulation through the body’s pumping systems, it does not suggest many ways to improve those flows other than exercise.

TAOIST COSMIC FLOW

Because energy flow is an essential element of Taoism, Chi Kung practices have focused for thousands of years on improving it. Taoism’s emphasis on harmonious flow is relevant in today’s world, not only for our health, but also for our relationships, careers, and personal growth. By using Chi Kung to balance flow, we can become more healthy, connected, abundant, and energized.

Fig. 1.1. Taoist Flow—the flow of the river

CRANIOSACRAL FLOW

Craniosacral Work is a Western holistic healing modality, based on osteopathy, that optimizes the flow of energy throughout the body. The name refers to practitioners’ attention to the craniosacral rhythm, which is the flow of cerebrospinal fluid from the head (cranium) to the tailbone (sacrum). This rhythmic movement is generated by pressure changes throughout the head and spine during the production and absorption of cerebrospinal fluid; its subtle flow indicates the harmony or disharmony of the whole person (fig. 1.2).

By working with the body’s inherent healing processes to restore the natural movement of the fluids, tissues, and bones, craniosacral practitioners can assist their clients to release painful or restricted conditions anywhere in the system. By bringing greater awareness to the internal flows of the client, craniosacral practitioners facilitate and empower the client’s self-healing process. Craniosacral Work can be helpful in calming the mind, harmonizing the emotions, and encouraging physical well-being. Like Chi Kung practices, the meditative states that occur with Craniosacral Work facilitate a deeper mind-body-spirit connection that is healing and deeply rejuvenating on all levels.

Fig. 1.2. Craniosacral Flow

THE PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF FLOW

On a basic physical level, Flow is critically important for providing the connection, communication, and resilience that our systems need to function.

Connection: In order to live, we need to keep oxygen, blood, and nutrients moving through our bodies. Movement bathes each of the body’s structures, bringing nourishment to organs, tissues, and bones. Like a highway system with open roads and flowing traffic, a well-connected body allows vital supplies to move from where they are produced to where they are needed. On an energy level, Flow connects and distributes vital chi to all parts of body.

Communication: Using another analogy, the Internet, we can see how Flow allows information to be shared effortlessly. Healthy flow enables one part of the body to communicate with other parts so that coordination, action, and good decision-making can take place. Without the flow of information through the sensory nervous system, for example, we wouldn’t notice sensations critical for our health like pain or pleasure, hunger or satiation, hot or cold. The brain then uses this information to make decisions and take action: communication along our motor nerves tells our muscles to move.

Resilience: Resilience is the ability to be strong, healthy, and successful when encountering challenges. When our energies are flowing appropriately, our systems can adjust dynamically to changes and optimize themselves. When water meets an obstacle, it adjusts “fluidly”—perhaps by going around, moving through, sinking below, or eventually eroding the obstacle. Water is only unable to continue on its path when there is insufficient flow. The practices of Taoism and Craniosacral Work cultivate the inherent wisdom of the body and its propensity to return toward health whenever possible. Flow facilitates this intelligent process of adaptation and ongoing rebalancing.

Flow and Our Health

In the West, science uses machines, such as the electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalogram (EEG), to measure the rhythms and flows of the body’s shifting electromagnetic field. Through research and study, medicine has established the average ranges for healthy individuals and uses readings outside those ranges to flag potential health issues.

Much of Taoist practice is based on the notion that chi or life-force energy must flow to be healthy. If energy becomes stagnant, blocked, or weakened, our health is adversely affected. Traditionally, Asian physicians assess the movement of chi in the meridians, tissues, organs, and bones by feeling the pulses. By listening to the quality of these flows, a skilled practitioner would know what issues were arising and how to be of assistance in helping to resolve them. In this cosmology, pain and disease are believed to result directly from poor flow—movement that is either excessive or deficient. Conversely, health and harmony come from abundant chi that is flowing in a balanced way through all the systems.

THE BROADER BENEFITS OF FLOW

From the simple pulsations of single-celled amoebas to the multiyear migrations of the whales, life on this planet is organized around rhythms and flows. In humans, our internal pumping systems circulate oxygen, blood, and cerebrospina...

Table of contents

• Cover Image
• Title Page
• Acknowledgments
• Table of Contents
• List of Practices Covered in Craniosacral Chi Kung
• Putting Craniosacral Chi Kung into Practice
• Introduction
• Part One: Physical Flow
• Part Two: Emotional and Mental Flows
• Part Three: Spiritual Flow
• Appendix 1: Cosmic Cranial-Elemental Connections
• Appendix 2: Additional Pumps
• Footnotes
• Endnotes
• Bibliography
• Online Resources
• About the Authors
• About Inner Traditions • Bear & Company
• Books of Related Interest
• The Universal Healing Tao System and Training Center
• Copyright & Permissions
• Index