Friday, January 5, 2018

Healing reactions according to Taoism

 Healing reactions can occur when you practice yoga, T’ai Chi, Qi Gongmeditation, or other traditional exercises. Taoism has a very clear interpretation of the phenomena. The following is for your reference:

I. Generally, a healing reaction goes through the following three stages:

(1) Looking for (potential) illnesses

When Qi flow is hindered by greater resistance from blockages in the body and cannot go through a problem area, it will find an alternative route. Such a process will repeatedly kick in when Qi encounters other blockages at the alternative routes. These continuous attempts can help remove minor problems, while revealing more severe ones that the body has yet to gather
enough energy to expel.

(2) Revealing illnesses
Most meridian blockages will clear in the first stage. The energy level is enhanced through persistent practice. The stronger energy will focus on the identified blockages and charge at them with a greater force. As a result, various symptoms will worsen, followed by the revelation of all sorts of illnesses.

This is when the body is fighting against illnesses 
and experiencing agonies, and it is also the most 
critical stage. During this process, there will be 
obvious “discomforts,” and the symptoms will 
aggravate. If you were to do a medical check-up 
then, the test results would most likely indicate a 
temporary state of abnormalities. That is why this 
stage is always dubbed the dà sǐ dà huó (大死
大活, death and revival) stage—indeed, to some 
extent, this is the darkness before dawn breaks. 
Unfortunately, many fail to understand this 
healing cycle and stop their practice half way 
through. Without going through this dire state of 
suffering, it is impossible to embrace a new lease 
on life, let alone the effects of “body overhaul” 
and “rejuvenation.”

(3) Fighting off illnesses
After Qi’s repeated attempts to go through the problem areas, the body’s energy continues to be boosted with continued practice. Under the constant pressure of stronger Qi flow, the 
problems (i.e., major areas of Qi and blood 
stagnation) will gradually recede and eventually 
disappear. And you will feel the symptoms 
subsiding and eventually going away.

II. Three types of illnesses discovered and cured
 during healing reactions

The process of looking for and revealing illnesses 
does not advance according to a person’s will or 
perception. The Qi flow follows a law of its own. 
It reveals both known and unknown illnesses. This 
may cause confusion and even anxiety in those 
who do not understand how it works. Some 
people may even think that their practice has 
gone wrong—the existing illnesses are still there, 
and more “new” diseases are produced through 
the practice. In actual fact, these are natural, 
desired effects of the practice. And you cannot 
just resolve the existing problems, but need to 
have the body go through a thorough, 
comprehensive healing process. Only then can 
such a process be considered a complete overhaul 
of the body.

This process targets the following three types of illnesses:

(1) Past injuries and illnesses

This type refers to past injuries and illnesses, some of which may have been cured years ago. However, during the healing process, involved tissues underwent certain changes (tissue 
adhesion, scars, etc.), and there can exist 
meridian blockages. When Qi is trying to go 
through these blockages, the person feels pain, 
soreness, swelling, and other sensations. It 
appears to be the “relapse” of past injuries and 
illnesses, but they are uncovered for thorough healing.

(2) Existing illnesses
This type refers to existing illnesses that you are aware of. When Qi hits at the problem areas, you may suffer more severe symptoms.

(3) Future illnesses
Future illnesses fall into three sub-categories:

a. Existing illnesses that you are unaware of and are left undetected due to lack of obvious symptoms;

b. Illnesses that do not manifest symptoms at the early stage (for example, deficiency of Kidney energy, stagnation of Liver energy, or excess of Heart fire).

c. Latent illnesses that can manifest in the future.

Despite the fact that we might be unaware of these problems in the body or that they might not be detected in medical check-ups, you will be able to feel their presence when healing reactions occur.

To conclude, persistence is essential for those 
who want to self-heal through the practice. Experiencing healing reactions is an important and necessary step toward recovery. Only when you go through this stage can you heal from all past, existing, and latent health problems and be assured of future good health.

How do you deal with healing reactions during PaidaLajin?

Everyone who self-heals with PaidaLajin inevitably experiences some healing reactions, including the most common sensations of pain, soreness, and swelling. These reactions are positive signs of recovery. The general law is that the stronger the healing reactions, the more accurate the diagnosis is, and the better the self-healing effects are.

Normally, diseases and their symptoms will temporarily worsen during PaidaLajin. For instance, hypertensive patients may have higher blood pressure, diabetics may have higher blood sugar, and patients with various pains may feel greater pain. The more diseases you have, the more healing reactions you might experience during Paidalajin. These are all good signs. There 
is no need to panic. Instead, you should feel lucky and be grateful.

The healing reactions that each of us experiences 
is different due to age, physical condition, and 
other factors. People with the same disease can 
experience different healing reactions. This is 
because all diseases are complex ones, and 
behind a disease with a particular name are other 
known and unknown diseases. As a result, the 
healing reactions that different people experience 
are not comparable.

Whatever healing reactions occur, your top priority is to protect your heart, because according to Chinese medicine, heart is the King in charge of everything pertaining to our wellbeing. The first measure for dealing with most healing reactions is to slap on the inner elbows and Neiguan acupoint, because the Heart, Pericardium, and Lung meridians run through 
these areas, and important acupoints along these meridians are located there.

(1) Common healing reactions include pain, chills, 
cramps, hunger, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, insomnia, and itchiness. The most severe reactions are dizziness and coma. When these symptoms appear, slap on the inner elbows and the Neiguan acupoint. In severe cases, slap heavily. If the symptoms are not yet relieved, slap all along the inner side of each arm. When
someone is in a coma, two people can simultaneously slap on the patient’s inner elbows and Neiguan acupoint on both arms.

(2) Cramps: Slap on the inner elbows, the back of the feet, and at and around the affected areas.

(3) Stomach ache, tummy ache, and nausea: Slap on the Zusanli acupoint, inner elbows, Neiguan acupoint, and the back of the hands.

(4) Headache: Slap on the affected area and the entire head, the back of the hands, inner elbows, and the Neiguan acupoint.

(5) Gall bladder pain: Slap along the Gall Bladder meridian on the outer side of each leg, inner elbows, and the Neiguan acupoint.

(6) Itchiness: Slap on the affected areas, inner side of each knee, inner elbows, and the Neiguan acupoint.

The efficacy of these Paida measures is improved when the patient also stretches on a Lajin bench. For other healing reactions not mentioned here, please refer to Chapter IV, Section I. Acute Symptoms.

When you experience healing reactions during PaidaLajin practice, it is best to eat less or fast. This way, most of the self-healing energy activated by PaidaLajin can be used to burn wastes and toxins in the body and turn them into treasured energy that the body needs. Otherwise, the energy will be used to digest food. The result can be more loss than gain.

When you experience healing reactions, and feel weak and fatigued, you can drink some ginger and jujube tea (cut ginger into slices, add over a dozen red jujubes and boil them in water for 20–30 minutes. Add some brown sugar when the tea is ready) to nourish Qi and blood. Please remember to drink it when it is warm.

There are many testimonials of ordinary people dealing with healing reactions during PaidaLajin. 

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