Chinese Healing Exercises (26 page)

The final location is a single point above the nose, between the eyebrows, on the centerline of the brow
(
Fig 8.8D
on previous page
).
This point is commonly referred to as “the third eye,” and its Chinese name,
Yintang
, is translated as “Seal Hall” or “Hall of Impression.” Traditionally the point is used to clear wind and reduce pain, benefiting the eyes and nose. In spiritual traditions, it represents and enhances wisdom and enlightenment.

There are two basic approaches to stimulating these points. If you have nasal problems (congestion, a stuffy or runny nose, sneezing, etc.), here's how to determine the approach that's best for you. If you have chronic nasal problems, allergies, and/or you are typically tired or run-down, your nasal problems are most likely due to an underlying deficiency. In that case, treat the points starting at the tip of your nose and work up to Yintang. While the function of the individual points will still clear wind and heat as well as open your nasal passages, you'll be directing healthy qi from the air inward, to build and strengthen your body at the same time. If your nose is congested due to an acute cold or flu, external pathogens are creating a temporary local excess, and in order to best clear that out, treat the points starting from Yintang and work toward the tip of your nose. If you are generally healthy and just want to address your nose and lungs as part of an overall health maintenance protocol, stimulating the points from the tip of your nose toward Yintang will be best for most
people, but feel free to experiment and see what feels best to you.

To stimulate the points, apply firm, steady pressure to each pair of points for about ten seconds, and then move to the next one in whichever direction you've selected. At Yintang, you can use a single index finger, or place the tip of one index finger over the other if you feel a need for stronger stimulation. Repeat this sequence three times. You can do this two, three, or even more times throughout the day. That's a good idea if you are experiencing any sinus problems.

You may feel some initial discomfort when pressing on any or all of these points. That indicates there is local stagnation, of qi or blood. If you want to disperse that stagnation first, you can make small circling motions with your fingertips as you apply pressure. It may still take a number of days of regular treatment for the discomfort to completely disperse, so don't be discouraged if it doesn't stop right away.

Mouth Exercises

10. Teeth Clicking and Tapping

This is the first of three exercises for the mouth. Because the teeth are considered to be extensions of bones and bones are the body tissue associated with the Kidneys, this practice will benefit the Kidneys as well as the teeth and gums. It's a type of paidagong and as such will disperse qi stagnation locally while stimulating blood flow around the roots of the teeth. Because it's practiced in a focused manner, it has the potential to strengthen and harden the teeth in the same way focused weight-bearing exercises can increase bone density in other parts of the body.

Simply click your teeth together, firmly enough to hear the tapping audibly. Unless you have some untreated tooth decay or infection, you should not feel any pain or discomfort from this. While I've never heard of anyone chipping a tooth from this practice, take care not to be so vigorous that you may cause that type of damage. Do your best to ensure that all your teeth tap together for at least part of the practice. If your teeth don't align perfectly (few people's do), you will need to emphasize different portions of your mouth at different times to affect all of your teeth. The traditional number of clicks is thirty-six, and it's okay to do more if you'd like.

11. Tongue Circles the Teeth/Red Dragon Dances

The tongue is the organ most responsible for our sense of taste. Chinese medicine also recognizes its connection to the Heart, and the two organs are associated. This relationship may be most easily understood if we consider the use of the tongue in deep kissing, which stimulates heart-centered feelings of romantic love. The Chinese also believe the heart to be the seat of consciousness, so the tongue is used to express and communicate all manner of ideas and heartfelt emotions, aiding in creating a relational connection between all people.

In this first of two related exercises, sometimes called Red Dragon Dances (the tongue being likened to a red dragon; red is the color associated with the fire element, and so with the Heart), the tongue is exercised so more blood is drawn to it, which benefits the heart; saliva is generated, cleansing the tongue to improve the sense of taste, and is further used in the following exercise; and the mind is gently stimulated, refreshing thought and by extension the other senses.

Place your tongue anywhere on the outside surface of your teeth, between your teeth and lips. Circle your tongue clockwise or counterclockwise around the outer surface of all of your teeth, doing your best to make sure your tongue touches every tooth. Do this twelve times in one direction, and then reverse direction for another twelve times. This is usually enough to generate an ample amount of saliva. Hold this saliva in your mouth and do not swallow it. If there's not much saliva, you can repeat this another twelve times in each direction. Now you're ready to do the second exercise.

12. Saliva Swish and Swallow

Saliva is an extremely useful fluid produced in the salivary glands around the mouth. It begins the process of digestion, both by providing a liquid medium in which to dissolve food substances, and because it contains the enzyme amylase, which breaks down starchy carbohydrates. It is mildly antibacterial, containing the enzyme lysozyme, which breaks down (lyses) many types of bacteria and other microbes. It is alkalizing, which also inhibits bacterial proliferation and neutralizes acidity, helping to reduce the formation of cavities in the teeth. Additionally, it is one type of Jing essence, a nutritional and qi-rich substance as understood by Chinese medicine. All in all, saliva is a wonderful body fluid, more remarkable than most people know.

Using the saliva you collected in Red Dragon Dances, swish that around your mouth like you might any mouthwash. It's actually more healthy than any mouthwash you can buy. Doing this will clean your teeth, gums, and tongue. Swishing for the traditional number of thirty-six times, you will likely collect even more saliva than what you began with. Because of all its healthful properties, you don't want to spit it out, but rather swallow it instead, allowing you to absorb those healthful benefits. You could swallow it all at once, and you'll get all the physical benefits from doing that, but there's another option if you want to aid your mind to tune in to the related energetics.

This is guidance I often give to my students in qigong and taiji classes, when they are learning to feel their Dantian, the main energy center having to do with all physical form and function. For many people, the Dantian can be difficult to feel in earlier stages of practice, but most find that this makes it much easier. Sit or stand still, quiet your mind, and mentally divide the saliva into approximate thirds. Swallow one third, and feel it travel down toward and then to your stomach. The physical saliva will stop there, of course, but because it is a Jing essence and contains qi, the energy continues down the centerline of your body all the way to the Dantian. You can feel a subtle yet distinct “thunk” as it reaches the Dantian, a couple of inches below your navel. Repeat this two more times, with the second and third thirds of your saliva. That reinforces your perception of your Dantian, making it easier to find the next time, eventually making it easy to feel using your mind alone at any time. This optional practice is only for people interested in working with their qi, and not necessary for the basic physical benefits to happen.

Closing Exercise

13. Face Wash and Wipe Down

This is a necessary concluding step to be done after the preceding face, head, and sense organ exercises. The daily lives of most people bring excessive amounts of qi to the head, because of the overuse of the eyes in particular, reading, working at a computer, and watching television. Listening to music or lectures throughout the day, and being involved in any sort of mental work similarly brings a lot of qi to the head, and care must be taken to remove that qi, or it can, and often does, get stuck and create a variety of problems. Some of those prob
lems may include headache, eye strain, diminished vision, ringing in the ears, cloudy think
ing, memory problems, or any number of other sensory, emotional, or cognitive changes. Most of the exercises in this section are designed in part to disperse any such excess, but it's not an absolute guarantee, especially in someone conditioned to bring qi upward out of daily habit, so this Wipe Down is an important final step.

Begin by rubbing your hands together as you did for the Eye Cupping exercise above, for the same reasons given there. Then rub your hands over your face as though you were washing it, using just enough pressure to move the muscles under your skin. This activates the qi and moves the blood, in no particular direction, just stirring and breaking up any pockets of stagnation that might be present. Do this for just a few minutes, being sure to wash over every area of your face, neck, and head. Then place your hands at the top of your head, keep them in physical contact with your body, and wipe down the front of your face, neck, chest, and belly, to just below your belly button. Bring them to the top of your head once more, and wipe down the sides of your head, over your ears, the sides of your neck, and then again down the front of your chest and belly, to just below your belly button. Bring your hands to the top of your head one last time, and wipe down the back of your head and neck, and then again down the front of your chest and belly, to just below your belly button. You can do this sequence one to three times, more or less to taste. On the last time, leave your hands just below your belly button for a minute or so, and allow your mind to gently focus and settle there. The wiping-down motion will bring the qi out of your head and into your body, which is the most important part of this ending practice. Even if you can't sense qi at all, placing your hands just below your belly button and focusing your mind there will direct your qi to your Dantian. To whatever extent you may be able to store qi, even unconsciously, this will facilitate that process.

[contents]

Nine

Glands

Within the scope of this book, the simplest and most direct way to affect and benefit most of the glands involves one technique, paidagong tapping and patting; not much explanation will be necessary. The few exceptions are included in the descriptions that follow. Glandular health is very important, and it is seldom (if ever) addressed in more conventional exercise and self-care systems.

Glandular secretions affect every aspect of human functioning through all stages of life from birth to death. If we additionally understand glandular secretions to be Jing essences, we can extend that to say that we are influenced by them from the moment of conception, and perhaps even earlier than that. The range of influence includes growth, development, cellular repair and regeneration (and by extension, how quickly and how well we age), sexuality and procreation, immune support, metabolism, energy production, nutrient utilization, emotional balance, mental perception, everything that is hormonally regulated, and many things that have no obvious hormonal correlation. Consequently, maintaining glandular health is of utmost importance.

1. Pineal Tap

The pineal gland is about the size of a pea. It's located near the center of the brain, between the two brain hemispheres. It converts nerve signals from the sympathetic system into hormone signals, establishing a connection between the endocrine and nervous systems. Among other things, it secretes melatonin, which regulates sleep/wake cycles and plays a role in sexual development. Readers with a spiritual or metaphysical orientation know that it is associated with the upper Dantian from a Chinese perspective, or the sixth chakra in Indian spiritual philosophy. Its awakening is linked to spiritual development and increased psychic awareness and ability.

Using either or both the index and middle fingers singly, simultaneously, or alternating, tap the region directly between your eyebrows, at the point colloquially referred to as the third eye. Although the pineal gland is near the center of the brain, there is an energy pathway that connects directly to it from the external third eye, which is exactly why it's a popular point of focus in many meditation practices. You may feel a bony indentation there, or you may not. The tapping should be gentle and even, and it should produce a pleasant sensation, almost like a very mild tickle.

Tap for just a minute or two. There is no set number of taps. Remember that you want to make incremental improvement over time. Trying to do it all at once by tapping for a long time will not work, and will in fact be counterproductive. Whether or not one does energy practices, this is a region where qi easily gets stuck. One common manifestation of that is a headache in that location. Overthinking, worry, and overuse of the eyes, as well as energy practices that bring energy up the body but incompletely circulate it back down (either by design or by practitioner error or inexperience) are just a few things that can cause qi to get stuck there.

2. Pituitary and Hypothalamus Tap

The pituitary gland is located at the base of the brain between the optic nerves, in front of the spinal cord. This small endocrine organ is often called the “Master Gland” because it directs other endocrine glands, to suppress or induce their hormone production. One of its most well-known hormone secretions, human growth hormone (HGH), is involved with cellular growth and repair, as well as regulating the activity of other glands, and is thought by many to be our internal “fountain of youth.” High circulating levels of HGH halts and may even reverse many of the signs of aging. The pituitary also acts on the muscles and kidneys, and stores some of the hormones produced by the hypothalamus.

The hypothalamus lies just below the thalamus (a relay center for sensory and motor pathways in the brain), deeply buried in the brain, near the center of the cranial cavity. It has a special structural and functional relationship with the pituitary gland, which dangles below it, attached by a thin stalk of nerve fibers and blood vessel connections.

It is the control center for many autonomic functions of the peripheral nervous system. Connections with structures of the endocrine and nervous systems enable the hypothalamus to play a vital role in maintaining homeostasis, regulating body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate. It influences ovarian and testicular function, mood and behavior, sleep cycles, energy levels, and general metabolism. Sometimes called “the brain of the brain,” almost everything the hypothalamus does relates to the management of brain and body connection, linking the mind to the body. Because of their very close anatomical location and some functional interdependence, this exercise addresses the pituitary and hypothalamus at the same time.

The easiest way to do this tap is to take more of a “ray gun” approach, sending a relatively large wave through the head. There are more narrow, focused methods, but this way is very effective and anyone can do it. Make loose, soft fists with each hand, and at the back of the head, tap the base of the skull, just below the bone and close to either side of the neck vertebrae. You can use either the knuckle side of the four fingers at the front of each hand
(
Fig 9.1
on next page
),
or for a slightly more directed focus, the little finger side of each fist
(
Fig 9.2
on next page
).
You can hold your head completely upright, or incline it slightly forward if that gives you easier access to the base of your skull. Alternate hand taps rapidly, and direct the force of your right hand toward your left eye, and your left hand toward your right eye. That will ensure that the wave travels through both the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus. You may also feel a more diffuse wave traveling through most or all of the rest of your head. That's normal and provides some secondary benefit. An additional secondary benefit is this will soften and relax the tight neck muscles that most people have at the juncture of the head and back of the neck.

Tap for just a minute or two. There is no set number of taps. Remember that you want to make incremental improvement over time. Trying to do it all at once by tapping for a long time will not work, and will in fact be counterproductive.

3. Thyroid Massage

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that sits low on the front of the neck, below your Adam's apple, along the front of the windpipe. It secretes several thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones act throughout the body, influencing metabolism, growth and development, and body temperature. It is crucial for brain development in infancy and childhood; in adults it facilitates the functioning of the nervous, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal systems. This massage will additionally benefit the parathyroid glands, four pea-sized bodies located behind the thyroid gland. They increase calcium levels in the blood, helping to maintain bone quality and an adequate supply of calcium needed for muscle movement and signal transmission within the cells.

Energetically, there are a number of acupoints along the front of the neck, on the Stomach and Large Intestine meridians. With its paired Yin organ, the Spleen, the Stomach influences gastrointestinal and muscle function. The Large Intestine's paired Yin organ is the Lungs. Lungs and Spleen are involved in metabolism, notably in the areas of energy production. This dovetails with comparable thyroid functions. The base of the throat is also the seat of the fifth chakra, which has to do with communication, self-expression, and creativity as it relates to communicating self-expression. Honest communication and self-expression are often discouraged and suppressed in our culture, in the workplace and even at home, so the throat is another area where qi will frequently become stuck.

Since the front of the neck is more sensitive and less well protected by thick muscle or bone, this exercise is not a paidagong, but a type of massage done in three stages. For the purpose of this exercise, the designations of “right hand, left hand” are arbitrary, and you can reverse them if you are more comfortable doing so.

Place the thumb and index finger of your left hand at the base of your throat, directly on your collarbone, to the outside of the bony bumps you will feel there. Gripping the base of your neck and collarbones lightly, exert some downward pressure on your collarbones. Place your right hand directly over your left, right thumb over left index finger, right index finger over left thumb. Gently but firmly grasp the sides of your throat, and slide your right hand up, stretching your throat until your fingers reach the inside of your jawbone
(
Fig 9.3
on next page
).
You will feel the sides of the base of your tongue there. Push gently upward for a couple of seconds. Repeat this stretch and lift your throat two more times.

After the third repetition, keep your right hand just below your jaw, and remove your left hand to begin the second part of this exercise. Now you can add the middle and ring fingers of your right hand to get a better grip on your throat. Starting just below your jaw, move your throat side to side, just enough so you can clearly feel it move back and forth a few times. You should not feel any pain, and you should not feel like you are choking yourself. Then move your hand downward a bit, and repeat. Depending on the size of your hand and length of your neck, you may be able to divide your throat into three, four, or five regions as you move it side to side one region at a time. You might feel or hear small crunching sounds as bound tissue is released. You may feel a slight tickle in your throat prompting you to cough. Both of those reactions are normal. One pass down your neck is usually enough, but if you want to do this two or three times, that's okay too.

The last part of this exercise is direct point massage. Most of these points are not standard acupoints, since needles are directed into the portion of the meridians that are in the muscle and not into the throat itself. Here, you will use your thumb and index finger like a pincer, directing force toward the sides of, and whenever possible just behind, your throat. From the previous two exercises, you will have felt small ridges at the sides of your throat. Starting at the top of your throat, use your thumb and index finger to press into the space between two of those ridges. Use light to moderate pressure only. You only want to make a solid enough contact so that you can physically move the tissue below your fingertips. When you have that contact, make small circling motions with your fingers, ten times in one direction, and then ten times in the opposite direction. Then move your fingers down to the next space you are able to feel between the ridges and repeat. Continue down the neck in this way until you get to the base of your throat.

Caution:
In men and women, when you get to the level of the thyroid cartilage, the prominent Adam's apple in men, there will be more of a bony feeling. In fact there is a bone just above the thyroid cartilage, called the hyoid bone, which is flexible yet delicate, so take care in any bony region you feel. Sometimes tilting your head back slightly will open your neck enough to feel for the depression between ridges there too, but you may need to skip over that region entirely. Do not put direct pressure on any bony protrusion you may encounter.