We all want to get healthy and do it in a natural way. People in the Far East have the same desires and they go about in ways we may not understand or may not know how to do. In this article, we are going to look at various parts of the Far East and Healing and health modalities you might never have heard of from places like Japan, China India and Tibet as well as Chicago.
Sit Back and relax pour yourself a cup of your favorite beverage as you are about to enter a world of health and healing you may not believe is possible. But, it is all true and documented. When you are done reading this article, you will know where to find the resources to learn how to do the same things yourself.
Enter The World of The Far East Healing and Health
The India Strongman who Blended Yoga With Bodybuilding
What better place to start out exploration of Far Easter Health Techniques then in India. Most of you are aware that it is the home of Yoga which most everyone on the planet has heard a little bit about and its benefits for your health. But I bet you never knew it was fused with Bodybuilding as a form of rebellion against the British Empire.
In The early 1920’s and 30’s was a renaissance of sorts throughout Europe and American where strongmen were giving exhibitions and showing their biceps and pecs for a price. The Iron-man was the hero of the day and boys were scrambling to snap up copies of pulp magazines that had stories about their favorite strongman.
During this time India was Chafing under British rule and comments made in parliament about the weakness of the Indian male and he was “enfeebled”. To counter this image being foisted on to the Indian people a man who called himself Professor KV Iyer studied the bodybuilding techniques of famous strongmen such as Eugene Sandow and others and fused it with the spiritual practice and exercises of Yoga to recreate himself into the image of the perfect man. Being a strict vegetarian and studied Vedic literature, this mystical strongman started a cult following with nationalistic overtures. This was to be a slap in the face of the colonial rulers of the time and the cult following of body building yoga adepts still exists today in India.
Iyer and his followers created a “Physical Culture Religion” that they called “The Yogic School of Physical Culture”. Many pictures of the time show Iyer in heroic poses brandishing tradition Indian weapons. He in fact claimed as having “a body that the gods covet”.
The truth of the matter this was the spark that spread across India and boys and men of all walks of life began to follow Iyer’s example. In America today there are many schools of yoga, but none as far as I am aware that follow the regime laid down by Iyer and his followers in the 1920’s and is still prevalent in India today.
http://www.wellnesscoachingforlife.com/Muscle-Cult
So, next time you want to practice Yoga, add a twist and follow some of the exercises that changed the face of India.
Mysterious Energy That Can Heal
We now go to Japan to learn from masters of a secret Energy source that can be used for healing. Most people would say “Reiki!” However, this Energy predates Reiki by a few thousand years. It has and is being used by various men in the past and continues today:
Ugajin Yasuo who has been tested measured as capable of generating electricity and accomplishes healing feats. Who can also smash river stones to dust.
Marvin Yoder an American missionary and Mennonite healer in Tokyo who runs a unique chiropractic clinic where laying on of hands is practiced.
Koichi Tohei one of the few 10 degree Aikido Adepts on earth who can project his energy into people to get curative results.
Kozo Nishino who teaches thousands how to tap into this energy at will for health and vitality.
Each of these men comes from different walks in life and yet all of them project energy from their bodies that has been demonstrated medically to affect the human body in profound ways that Western Science is still at a loss to explain.
Today by following a regime of breathing and special exercises reminiscent of dancing almost anyone can develop these powers in themselves.
Enrolling in an Aikido Class in Chicago or above a Japanese import store in Japan town that closed in 2013 you can learn first how to breathe properly, Then you learn to move and finally you learn how to feel energy and how to direct it to various places in your body.
There is no magic involved, simply the disciplined application of mind and body working together linked by breathing. The Chicago Ki Society and the various Aikido schools scattered about Chicago have been teaching this mind body discipline for over 40 years now in one place or another. The author of Aura Ki Healing Shojiro Sugiyama taught above Toguri Imports and it was there demonstrations of using this energy were a once a week occurrence.http://www.amazon.com/Aura-Ki-Healing-2002-Edition/dp/0966904842
People are invited to come in off the street and participate at any of the many schools and in these classes and you can almost immediately feel the energy and often can perform feats that astonish themselves.
The Midwest Aikido Center is also, where the techniques of using Ki or internal energy are also taught as well with more of a martial flavoring to it.
In Evanston for many years now students and teachers alike have been practicing how to move in harmony and generate this mysterious internal energy for health, exercise and self-defense at the Chicago Ki society.
So if you are ever in the Windy City stop by and say hello the folks there. who are happy to show you how you can begin to use this energy for yourself and improve your health and well-being.
Masters of Empty Force
Going now to Hong Kong we find systems that are very similar to those we found in Chicago. Here among the teeming millions are teachers who teach you how to generate internal energy just by standing still.
The English translation of this art is called “Standing Like a Tree” and its main proponent in the 21st century is a man named Kam Chuen Lam and he teaches in Hong Kong and abroad the secret system that is at the heart of the Chinese martial arts. In his book The Way of Energy, he introduces us to how ancient Chinese masters developed and harnessed this energy and now uses it to heal many of the ills facing people to day like Cancer, Heart disease and Stress three of the major killer of people in the Western World.
http://www.wellnesscoachingforlife.com/Way-of-Energy
By adopting a posture that links the body with itself and aligns it properly, Internal energy flows automatically to where it is lacking. Starting out with just 5 minutes a day you gradually build up you, endurance and cardio health step by step and at the same time feel your energy levels soar. Mr. Lam has since written 2 other books in the same vein expanding on this marvelous system of doing nothing to get more energy.
There are other masters in Hong Kong as well who teach similar techniques, which they call “Empty Force” or some also, call it Ling Kong Jing or QiGong. http://www.powells.com/biblio/9781583941348
But probably the best series done in the west on this subject is the “Warriors of Stillness” Trilogy by Jan Diepersloot, which chronicles his experiences with 3 of the masters of the martial arts that deal with internal energy. Cai Songfang a Taiji master who teaches in Macau, Hong Kong and California. The other 2 masters Han Xingyuan Yu Pengxi of Yiquan.http://warriorsofstillness.com/
No discussion of internal energy would be complete with a mention of one of the most documented of these energy master Yan Xin he has written a number of books and is a national treasure of China, Who has taught at Harvard and Tsinghua univesities. He has met with world leaders and two US Presidents, Bill Clinton and George Bush.
He lectures and teaches about the use of how internal Energy medicine will revolutionize how we view health. You can view his books on the internet and find his 9 step Qigong routine at http://zhusb.fortunecity.ws/intro/9step.html
You needed travel all the way to Hong Kong to learn the secrets of Internal Energy. You can learn it in the comfort of your own home.
Yoga For Your Fingers?
Traveling from Hong Kong back to India are going to look a form of yoga it only uses your fingers. That’s right the Yoga science of Mudras is a form of Yoga that was once thought lost but thanks to a Vedic scholar it has been rediscovered and now is avail bile for you to use today.
In the Vedic traditions of Ayurvedic medicine, the fingers have Channels that run the length of the arms and throughout the body, which is very similar in fact to the Chinese system of meridians. http://www.scribd.com/doc/140422285/Yoga-Asana-Pranayama-Mudra-Bandha
In Mudra yoga, you short these energy conduits together to redirect Prana (The Indian term for Internal Energy) to the channels that are deficient and this balances your energy system. Acharya Keshav Dev rediscovered these ancient systems during his studies of ancient Vedic texts. http://www.mudrasforhealing.com/
In his own words taken from his website, Mudras can accomplish the following.:
Mudras can bring about miraculous change and improvement in our body.
They also develop virtuosity, social amiability, non-violence, piety and courteous dispositions.
Mudras look like miraculous remedies. They provide instant relief in many illnesses.
Mudra helps in Kundalini Yoga to awaken the Cosmic Energy and to unite consciousness of inner Supreme Soul.
Mudras generate Powers to provide all round development of mind & body, which brings peace and happiness.
Mudras help in molding the Physical, Mental and even the Moral aspects of the individual.
Mudras can cure almost any ailment from simple earache to heart attack.
All Godly and superhuman persons like Lord Mahavir, Gautam Buddha, Lord Shankaracharya and others used to remain in these Mudras.
Mudras have extra ordinary powers, practice of Mudras brings about a quick and fundamental reversal of the destructive changes in the human body.
Some Mudras can balance the elements of the body within 45 minutes while some are fast enough to act within a few seconds.
Practice of some of the Mudras regularly can cure Insomnia, Arthritis, improves memory.
Mudras are significant and simple yogic function by which one can develop internal and external dispositions.
Detailed descriptions of Mudras are found in Tantra Shastra, Upasana Shastra, Nritya Shastra, Art of Sculpture etc.
As you can see this is a pretty big set of claims. However, there are a growing number of people who use this form of yoga to help them and swear by them. Delving a little deeper into the subject you discover this information is common to China and Japan as well.
In the Chinese martial arts, there are over 108 Mudras that are practiced by Masters who have achieved a high level of proficiency in their respective arts.
In Japan, the Ninja Assassins practiced a form called Kuji-In of the Nine cuts, which has 9 Mudras that focus the mind for superhuman feats. Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba practiced Shingon Mudra Techniques and some of them were claimed to be the inner secrets of Aikido Enlightenment.
So the next time you see someone you think is twiddling his or her thumbs that may not be the case at all. They may be healing themselves or focusing their Internal Energies.
Sounds that Do What?
Sound can calm the nerves and it can heal as well. The Japanese science of the Kototama believes that certain sounds convey power and energy. Kototama means sound spirits and the man who brought it to American shores was one of the greatest of Morihei Ueshiba founder of Aikido’s students. Masahilo Nakazono was also a student of George Oshawa the founder the Macrobiotics movement. When he came to America got acupuncture legalized and opened the Kototama Institute in Santa Fe which turned out many Holistic healers over the years and others who studied the Kototama Theory such as Fabian Maman who founded the Tama do Academy which teaches today Tai chi and a combination of sound and color therapy modalities.
In fact, if you look on the internet today, many of the practitioners of the healing arts trace their lineage back to Santa Fe.
What is the Kototama Theory?
It basically boils down to the belief that sounds can control the elements of the Universe and as such, you can start the wheels into motion for healing or other purposes, much like the Kabala of the Hebrew religion. Kototama is based on the Japanese Syllabi and the 75 sounds that make up the Japanese language.
These sounds are said to be cosmic shorthand to invoking the gods to do your will in the real world.
By following the rules of Kototama, you evolve to higher level of being and along the way gain supernatural abilities. This follows along with Hindu beliefs about the science of Mantras. Nakazono always said he didn’t want to become a Godman as he put it and tells a story about the spirit of Ueshiba coming to him in 1969 and attempted to pass on the power of Aikido to him while he was teaching in France. He rejected that power and wanted to stay a normal man. Before he finally came to America, he was rated as the most proficient Aikido’s in Europe.
Ueshiba put his secrets in what he called Doka (Teachings of the Way)which is written according to Kototama theory. John Stevens gathered them together and created a small pocket book of them called “The Art of Peace”.
http://www.wellnesscoachingforlife.com/Art-of-Peace
If you want to learn more about Nakazono’s thoughts on Kototama his books are available from www.kototamabooks.com.
Bangkok Taoist Master
Moving to Thailand we have Mantak Chia who has been teaching healing there for a goodly number of years with his wife at the “Healing Tao Center”. Mantak is the author of vertible library on the subjects of Taiji, Qigong, Taoist Tantric Yoga and Sexual Alchemy.
He teaches his system in a series of 9 steps and has written books to cover them.
Most people however recommend you start with “Awakening the Healing Energy through the Tao”. Of course, if you have the money it is now a simple flight to Bangkok where you can attend the classes yourself at the Universal Tao Center or the Tao Garden SPA and resort.
However many find the books and videos simple enough to follow. In the Awaking the Healing Energy you are introduced to the concepts of chi or Internal Energy and how to generate it and move it about. You will learn about the various Chakras and how to activate them. You later on will learn to rotate the energy through what is called the microcosmic orbit up your spine to the top of your head and then down the front to meet at the Hui-Yin point at the perineum and then back up again. You will learn about different ways to breath and finally you will learn about the Large Heavenly Cycle where you rotate your energy through your arms and legs as well.
Another of the books(“How to Cultivate Male Sexual Energy”) he uses to teach with, builds upon what you learned in the 1st book and you as a man will learn how to cultivate your male sexual energy for better health. This one goes in deep about how to use the energy for health as well as for curing things like impotence and goes into great detail on exercises to be done alone or with a partner. This book has over 285 pages.
The third book is for a woman and is basically the same book but written for her. “Healing Love through the Tao: Cultivating Female Sexual Energy”. This book covers how a woman can develop her microcosmic orbit and learn to move her Energies about. While the two books are similar, many of the issues talked about are defiantly not the same. It is recommended that both books be read to get a full understanding of how the Tantric system of yoga works and how the merging of the two energies of male and Female result in the ultimate expression of bliss possible.
In the Follow on 30 something books Mantak builds his system step by step, making this one of the most complete libraries on natural self-healing methods available today. Some of the exercises taught in the “Iron Shirt kung fu” book are not actually meant to done as involves attaching weights to the groin area of a man and self tapping massage using an iron whisk like device is not recommend to be done as is shown for educational purposes only.
All and all Grandmaster Chia has built a worldwide following and has written a large library of healing information that can help if you want to cultivate your Internal Energy.
http://www.wellnesscoachingforlife.com/Mantak-Chia
http://universal-tao.com/
Tantra Isn’t what your think It IS
Tantra in India has similar connotations as Mantak Chia’s system however it is closer to the source and goes into much more detail on The Chakras and the development of Kundalini Energy. If you want to get the full picture of what is happening and how it can help you with your health and wellbeing. It is recommended to go with Gopi Krishna’s book on Kundalini Energy “The Awakening of Kundalini”.
Then to see what you can actually do and the results you can achieve get a copy of John Mumford’s book “A Chakra and Kundalini Workbook”. Mr. Mumford has reached a level of expertise that is truly phenomenal and he shows you step by step to develop yourself to a level that most non Asians ever reach.
http://www.wellnesscoachingforlife.com/Chakra-Kundalini
If you wish to go deeper into the spiritual realm and develop those latent powers we all possess his book on the “Magical Tattwas” Which introduces the Tattawa cards and how to use them for you personal development.
http://www.wellnesscoachingforlife.com/magical-tattwa
As you can see Tantra, Kundalini and physical exercise are all intertwined in the Indian systems. We in the west try to separate them into their component parts and try to ignore the parts that either doesn’t interest us, as we are a materialistic culture. The problem is these systems were designed to work over each other raise a person on all levels and this is not shown too often, as our society doesn’t want to admit there is something out there we can’t explain with all our computers and high tech gadgets.
Breath control is nature’s computer speed regulator. By controlling your breath you learn to control your mind and you shift gears and can do different things better, smoother and faster. Pranayama Breathing is taught in most Yoga Classes. However are you aware of Brain Breathing?
This has a direct effect on the brain and the nervous system. There is a form of yoga called Swara Yoga, in Swara Yoga and it has three parts left Right and Both which controls various functions of the body and mind. Left is for Mental Actions, Right for Physical Actions And Both together is spiritual action. So, by learning to control which nostril or both we gain better control of our mental, physical and spiritual makeup.
The practitioners of Swara Yoga claim this breathing controls the positive and Negative energies and by doing this we gain control of our mental and Pranic activities.
But, by Breathing to the various parts of our brain we can stimulate them and focus our energies to where they are needed improving our flow of energy throughout our bodies. This is the true secret of Brain Breathing.
Is Tibet Still All That Mysterious?
Our last stop is Tibet, still a land of mystery and magic, where strange mental powers and esoteric yoga practices persist to this day. One in particular, which has interesting side benefits, is the practice of Tumo. This is the ability to generate heat. Which if you’ve ever been in Chicago in the winter and watched the polar bear club dive into the frigid water of Lake Michigan you can see where I am going with this. However this is an ability you can learn on your own.
If you’ve ever heard of the Iceman you already know what’s next. His real name is Wim Hof. He has taught himself the secret of Tumo and is able to run climb and play in conditions that would put the rest of us into the hospital with Pneumonia. However if you learn a little of theirs control, you become healthier if you control your body temperature and you get fewer cases of cold and the FLU which is more important now days with the new bugs that come out every year.
http://www.wellnesscoachingforlife.com/ice-man
Aikidoists participate in cold weather swimming as well. This ability as was stated before can be learned and by generating an isothermal condition in your body you can also lose weight and fight off infection before it can take hold.
http://www.wellnesscoachingforlife.com/ki-daily
The other ability that the Tibetan monks possess is the ability to run long distances without tiring. This skill has also been duplicated here in the US and is called ChiRunning. This technique or one like it was known to both the Ninja of old Japan, The Apache Dog Soldier, the Zulu Warrior and Navy SEALs as all of them had the ability to run long distances and be able to function at the end of the run.
“ChiRunning” by Danny Dreyer is a technique of running that he and a Taiji master developed to relax the body while running and enter an altered state that allows the body to use more of the available resources of the body without tiring or injury.
http://www.wellnesscoachingforlife.com/chi-running
This has various possibilities in a city like Chicago where walking to a from the office wear out your feet. Chiwalking instead of running alleviates this by using relaxation and proper body posture to help you walk in a less taxing manner.
Of course if you want to be really fit you could try to do one of the Ultra marathons that are a 100 mile run to test if you have properly learned the ChiRunning techniques.
You can see what once was considered magical and mysterious in Tibet is now being used in various ways today to help us lead healthier lifestyles and use more of our innate abilities.
In this article we have taken a whirlwind tour of…
In this article we have taken a whirlwind tour of some of the more unusual ways that the Far East has to offer in the way of health and healing systems. Some of them are on the fringe of believability. However all are being used today successfully. You now have sufficient material to duplicate any of what you’ve read about today and try it for yourself.
We have seen Internal Energy techniques taught in Chicago, Mudras from India, China and Japan. Tantra is taught in a Taoist flavor or with a Hindu flair. All in All you’ve been presented with some of the most powerful health and healing techniques available in the world
All of the techniques shown today seem to work for people who use them. You now have options you never had before to explore and try for yourself. Sometime conventional means don’t work for some people. These methods may have the answer you have been searching for in your quest for a better life. I hope you have enjoy reading about these techniques as much as I have had presenting them to you.
