2017 American President Long Weekend PaidaLajin Retreat

Prior to this year's American President long weekend, my friend Cat posted the following event on the Google Calendar to invite our other friends to join us.

Welcome to our special weekend Paidalajin retreat! This retreat is organized by a group of interested practitioners of self-healing techniques in pursuit of good health and happiness. This is the second time the group will meet for the retreat since last September.

For those who are new to Paidalajin, a seminar will be offered Saturday morning to introduce you to the basic concept of Chinese medicine and Paidalajin practice. A demonstration of the techniques will also be performed during the seminar.

Please browse pailala.org website to gain a basic understanding of this self-healing technique. Please read blog entry on our last retreat to learn what this Paidalajin weekend sleepover retreat is all about.

During the two-day of treat, we will also go through detoxification by only drinking a tea brewed with ginger and Chinese dates. You are welcome to fast with us if you would like to.

Lastly, if you plan to sleepover Friday and Saturday night, please bring a sleeping bag. Plan to arrive before 8:00 PM on Friday. If you are only doing the day time practice, please plan to arrive by 9:00 am on Saturday.

1. Seminar - 9:00 a.m. on Saturday

2. Sleepover - Friday night, Saturday night

3. PaidaLajin throughout the daytime

We were lucky with the weather over that weekend. Saturday suddenly became unseasonably warm - even the snow geese got the message ahead of the time. We were informed by the local news that large numbers of snow geese arrived early to the nearby lake for a takeoff to Canada. Many families drove to watch the migrant birds, we, on the contrast, resisted from the temptation of going out to the lake, stayed in Cat's basement working diligently, helped each other do the PaidaLajin.

One of the advantages of attending a PaidaLajin workshop is that you feel less panic when going through healing crisis because those experienced coaches would turn peril into safety. Although our party was less formal or effective compared to an officially held workshop, we were able to recognize and handle those healing crisis safely with ease.

Healing Crisis

1. Burping

Cat secured the title of 'Burping Queen' again this time. Her body seemed to be inflated especially when we were doing the wall-hitting exercise. 'Sorry, if the gas does not come out from my mouth, it has to be out somewhere else.' While burping continuously, Cat was a little embarrassed by the burping noises she made. We didn't mind that at all because it was not a time to be polite or paying attention to etiquette. We were close enough to slap each other. It was nice to witness the healing crises like this.

2. White coating of tongue

Three of us (Cat, Sherry and I) started the fasting on Saturday. During the fasting, we drank ginger and Chinese red dates soup to raise up the Yang energy in our bodies. At the end of the first day, we stick out our tongues and made some comparisons. Both Cat's and my tongues were covered with a white coating, which showed that our bodies were expelling the cold Qi during the fasting and PaidaLajin. I took a note by doing selfies on those three days. As you can see, the color of my tongue improved day by day. By the end of the 3rd day, it wasn't as white as the first day.

3. Normal Urination and Defecation

During the fasting, we ate nothing but drank theginger and Chinese red dates soup. According to Sherry and Cat, both of them had bowel movements on the first two days. Cat had more than twice each day. While we were meditating in the backyard on Sunday afternoon, she left me alone for her second bowel movement that day. Later she told us that she had another sticky poop. As for me, I didn’t have mine until the 3rd day.

4. Cold finger tips and feeling cold

Each morning we started the day's PaidaLajin by doing the wall-hitting and waist twirling exercises in the basement. The heater that we used to keep ourselves warm in the basement became unnecessary for a short period of time because we all sweat a lot. But soon it regained its popularity once we started the PaidaLajin. I always preferred sitting next to the heater so that I could keep my hands warm from time to time.

In our group paida, we've all experienced severe surging of Sha and feeling cold in our bodies, especially in the hands and the finger tips. Sunday morning before other friends showed up for the paida, Cat, Sherry and I formed a small team to do Paida and Lajin at the same time. We took turns to lie down on the Lajin bench, had the other two to slap the both arms. 15 minutes for each leg. When it was my turn, I felt that fifteen minutes took a lot out of me. It brought me back to the day when I was in labor in the hospital - a very unpleasant memory of feeling freezing cold in that operation room. I had a Cesarean section due to a hard labor. They gave me a local anesthetic, I didn't feel any pain at all, but felt extremely cold throughout the operation. The room temperature was very low. 'I am cold, too cold.' I murmured, hoped that my husband would hear me, but no one took any notice of my complaint. From what I was told later, I went into a coma with high fever shortly after the operation. This might explain why my body stores so much cold Qi. Knowing that Cat has a big heat pat made of red beans, I asked her to heat it up in Microwave for one minute, wrap the person's both hands with the red bean pad. It works perfectly! The warm pad greatly eased our un-comfortableness. As for me, I was able to set my mind free from feeling cold, start to enjoy the slapping, because once the sha was out, the area being slapped felt extremely warm and comfortable. Later, that red bean pad was put in a good use - we used it to cover the bare skin or the area that being just slapped of the person; or used it to as a cushion between the person's hand and my supporting leg. By doing so, I believe it actually protected me from receiving any cold from the other person.

Overall, I was delighted that I experienced expelling the cold through finger tips. You may be wondering why. Let me quote a portion from Master Xiao's article 'Self-Healing - The Way Forward to Humanity' to explain why having such healing crisis is expected and why it is a good sign for the healing.

Illness and aging are caused by energy deficiency and blockade of energy channels, i.e. the meridians system. PaidaLajin directly boosts energy, both at the stimulated areas and all over the body. For instance, when a certain part of the body is slapped, it warms up quickly, and this warmth gradually spread all over the body; when you slap all over the body, the entire body warms up. The same is true with Lajin. The general rule is, the more painful PaidaLajinis, the faster the internal heat is produced. That is why we dub the pain of PaidaLajin 'Pain Medicine.' Persistent pain during and after PaidaLajin is continuous intake of the 'Pain Medicine.' We often see people stretching on Lajin benches sweating heavily, although they just lie there motionlessly, sometimes even in cold weather. The boosted energy quickly clears blockages in the meridians, and heads to wherever it is supposed to go. Diseases are thus healed during this natural process. Where does the boosted energy come from? From the wastes, toxins and other pathogenic substances (such as lumps, tumors, cold-dampness, etc.) burnt during PaidaLajin. PaidaLajin helps to detoxify, reduce weight, heal pains and diseases, and enhance Qi and blood flow.

That being said, we would feel cold when the cold qi is being expelled out of the body. Isn't that a delight thing to experience?

Never Give Up Finding a Cure

 

 This is not the life a 36-year-old should have! Eric signed with a sorrow when he mentioned about his wife. This is also a moving story that a loving husband diligently searches for all means to find a cure for his wife.

I met Eric - Maya's husband later that Saturday afternoon. Maya brought him to us after she attended my presentation. She tried PaidaLajin in the group before she left home for the baby. Maya is Cat's coworker. When Cat saw Maya walking with a stick one day, she recommended the PaidaLajin self-healing method to her and invited her to this party. Because of her leg problems, I did paida on both of her back knees. She was different from anyone I had met - she hug her leg with big laughter when I applied paida on her. It took me a while to figure out that that was her unique way of communication by saying 'ouch.' She stayed with us trying both Paida and Lajin for as long as she could. Before she left, I comforted her that the Sha appeared on her skin wouldn't last long, but she might feel some soreness or tightened skin around the area being slapped. She should worry nothing if things seemed to get worse because in order to get fully recovered from illness, one would have to experience many healing crisis, which might appear as set-backs.

 

After Maya and another friend left us, we couldn't wait any longer going outside to enjoy the sun. We jogged in the warm sun for over twenty minutes, and then enjoyed another fifteen minutes' meditative standing in the backyard of Cat's house. It wasn't long when Maya and her husband showed up unexpected after we returned from the outdoor exercises. This time she came with a walking stick. I think that she made a good decision by bringing her husband along for a second visit, because her husband Eric is very inquisitive. He loves to dig up roots and get to know the bottom of things. I was very happy to have this opportunity to have a dialogue directly with the couple.

When I introduced the relation between aging and body temperature according to Master Xiao's article - Self-Healing - The Way Forward to Humanity (PaidaLajin also directly increases the body temperature. Whether through observation of the nature, or according to Chinese and Western medicine, we know that diseases are mostly cold-induced. All sorts of viruses, tumors and blockages are caused by cold-related stagnation. And during the aging process, the body temperature drops continually. When a person dies, the body cools down completely. PaidaLajin increases the body temperature both locally and holistically. This is the natural result when the self-healing mechanism is empowered to do a better job. In other words, it is the inner vitality that is rejuvenated and extended. As long as the body’s capacity to produce heat in vivo is recovered and enhanced, it will have better disease-resistant and anti-aging abilities.) Eric responded thoughtfully, 'I am a coast guard. After I received dozens of vaccine injections, something happened to my body mysteriously - my feet, hands and lower abdomen have no longer feel warm.' Although he exercises a lot, this cold symptom has never improved since. We chatted a lot about health. Before the couple left, he expressed the interest of joining us on the next day's PaidaLajin.

Sunday before the noon, four more friends showed up at Cat's house, including Eric. We did the group Paida on the head. I paired up with Eric so that I can teach him how to slap the eight locations on the head working alone or with a partner. He felt pain on every location, especially on the neck. Sometimes he had to call a short break. By the end of the Paida session, his T-shirt was soaked wet, but both hands were freezing cold. I signalled him to touch the arm of Jenny's mom, the 91-year-old paidalajin activist, whose arms were still warm. So did he. Suddenly had a cold touch, Jenny's mom stared at me, said loudly, 'his hand so cold!'

While I was helping Jenny's mom with her hips and legs, Cat took Eric and the other friend down to the basement to practice the wall-hitting exercise and Lajin. Later, I went down to join them. They told me that he had a tough time on the bench. I suggested he let me do the paida on his knees first before trying the bench again. He agreed delightedly. After my paida job on the back of his knee caps was done, Eric bent down to touch the floor again. This time he was a little closer to the floor; he then tried the Lajin bench for the second time, was able to extend his lajin time from original one minute to three minutes each leg. We all cheered for his quick improvement. He himself was very proud as well. Eric likes to crack jokes.Whenever he couldn't tolerant the pain any more, he would slap himself and made fun of himself: Slap the weakness away!

 

Seek Fortune on her own

Sherry has been practicing PaidaLajin with us for about three years. She tries to attend most of our events. This time, she joined me to have the sleepover in Cat's home. On the way to Cat's, Sherry complained to me that she was having some pain on her knees and ankles. I asked her how often she did the Paida and Lajin, whether she had implemented her after-retirement daily Paidalajin plans. She gave me an affirmative answer, but also added a shocking reality - instead of playing tennis once a week, she now plays four times a week. At hearing this, I couldn't believe my ears, because we had this conversation several times before. Although tennis is a good sport activity, it is no longer suitable for the people at her age to play. It causes more harm than benefit. Sherry agrees, but has trouble to give it up. Whenever I think about her case, I tend to refer her as an example of both positive and negative. She believes in the nature therapies, and has been persistently practicing it. PaidaLajin has helped her to ease the pain of knees and ankles; but on the other hand, she falls into this repetitive patterns by playing tennis which is too hard for her body.

 

One more minute please!

All good things must come to an end. Right before Sherry and I were ready to hit the road, Cat begged me to slap her for one more minute. She was slapping her own hand for about half an hour. It became swollen and filled with lumps and dark color sha. What worried her the most was she could no longer move her fingers. They got stiff and swollen. I took her hand over, and gave her a few strong hits. In a few seconds, she could move her fingers. In the past two days, when we did the paida on each other, one time I was working on her left arm. When the time (15 minutes) was up, I noticed there was a small 'blue berry' surging on her forearm. I told everyone to give me one more minute to slap more sha out of it. Cat didn't disappoint me, I was able to take this photo as a “one-minute-paida souvenir."

I really appreciate Cat hosted this PaidaLajin retreat at her home this time. She is going to impact more people with this PaidaLajin self-healing method. Because she herself has benefited a lot from the PaidaLajin. It was her who suggested I prepare an article to introduce Paidalajin to novice practitioners. Therefore, I worked on a bilingual blog “拍打拉筋新手入門須知”right after I was back home. The best way of helping others is to help ourselves first, to become healthy person and a positive energy to influence others. Master Xiao once predicted that PaidaLajin will become a popular resort for people to spend their long weekend or vacation time. We have already done so twice, and are planning our next sleepover at another friend Jenny's home in May. If you are interested, why not trying a party like this?