just like any other red-blooded american, i'm skeptical of any kind of medicine that doesn't involve pills, syrups, or spoonfuls of sugar. if i wake up sneezing, i take an allergy pill. if i wake up coughing and sneezing, i take some cold syrup. so you can imagine my surprise when my first session of traditional chinese bodywork ended in me feeling just downright great. it's always been on my list of things to try, so i guess never was a true skeptic. but when people start talking about energy channels and opening of the wind gates, i tend to glaze over and start thinking about what's on television.
my friend sharon, who i've known for years, went down that path while in her early twenties. she started out as a massage therapist and, after years of study and devotion, has now moved into a practice of chinese medicine called chi nei tsang. it's a traditional taoist form of medicine that mixes massage with emotional therapy and goes straight to the root of any problems with digestion and muscle fatigue by working on the energy of the internal organs. you've heard of chi if you've ever studied kung fu, tai chi, or chi kung — it's the same thing and all of the practices are interconnected. i know, it all sounds very hippie, but one of the benefits of living in a liberal and diverse city such as san francisco is that i can try out things like chi nei tsang for myself and decide whether or not i respond.
since my digestion is always just a little funny (i suppose all the taquerias and "breakfasts while walking" don't help), i decided to sit for a chi nei tsang session. i told my friend sharon about every single problem, every ache and pain, from head to toe. admittedly, i have it very easy as far as health issues go, but everyone could be feeling better, right?
sharon started by laying me down on the table and putting her hands on my head. after a few minutes of guided breathing and relaxation, she moved to my belly. chi nei tsang teaches that there are eight compass points around the navel that correspond to the eight major internal organs. one for the liver, one for the stomach, one for the heart, and so on. she worked on these one by one by placing her elbow on the point and applying pressure as i breathed in. my stomach goes up, her elbow goes down, and it stays there for about a minute and a half.
the first point felt like somebody pushing their elbow into my abdomen really hard. the second point felt more like a thumb applying light pressure to my stomach, like they were sticking a postage stamp onto my skin. the third point felt about the same, and i started thinking, wow this is pretty cool. on the next point, it suddenly felt like sharon was driving a hot railroad spike into my stomach. as soon as her elbow went an inch or two into my belly, i felt a sharp and intense stabbing pain. her elbow didn't feel like an elbow anymore. i honestly thought she had switched to a finger or a thumb because the center of the pain was that acute. i breathed into it and my whole body began shaking. i groaned a little, and when i exhaled, my upper lip began to tremble. sharon dug deeper on my next inhalation, and my hands and toes started to shake. the didn't get any stronger, so i was doing my best to not freak out about it. meanwhile, i started sweating uncontrollably from head to toe. i could feel the perspiration building up on my forehead. she moved on to the next point, which was just as traumatic as the last one. however, for some reason, i didn't feel nervous or hesitant. i felt a little elated, like the pain had brought me a new kind of joy. this went on for the next three points, all of them hurting like a hot needle dipped in poison. when the session ended, i had sweated through the sheets on the table and i was ready for a big glass of water.
afterwards, sharon explained to me that the points which i reacted to the most strongly were the points for the liver, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine. the liver responded with pain because of the toxins in my body. i had drank more than a few beers the night before, so this made sense. also, i usually drink a beer or two a day six days a week. the constant toxification of my liver was really hurting me. and the digestive tract wasn't getting any love from the way i eat either. sharon, the sweetheart that she is, refused to judge my lifestyle, but instead made a plea that i understand what happened on the table and that the choices i make effect me for a long time after i make them.
i truly did feel elated after the session. i had that jumping-up-and-down kind of energy. i felt extremely powerful. as the bus arrived at the bus stop to take me home, i felt impulsive. i reached under the wheel well, lifted the bus into the air, and flung it across the intersection in one great sweep of my arms. it landed with a crash of bending metal and breaking glass on the other side of the street. women and children ran screaming. in a single hurried leap, i flew off into the night.
Posted by snackfight at January 27, 2004 06:37 PM