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    The Inner Smile: Increasing Chi through the Cultivation of Joy
    The Inner Smile: Increasing Chi through the Cultivation of Joy
    The Inner Smile: Increasing Chi through the Cultivation of Joy
    Ebook99 pages1 hour

    The Inner Smile: Increasing Chi through the Cultivation of Joy

    By Mantak Chia

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    About this ebook

    A guide to the foundational practice of “smiling to the organs” to promote deep relaxation and internal health

    • Presents exercises that dissolve the physical and mental tensions that can cause energy blockages and unhealthy chi flow

    • Shows how to recognize illness at its inception on the organ level and how to balance the emotions to heal it

    The Inner Smile is a practice that focuses gratitude and joy on the internal organs to resolve the physical and mental tensions that can lead to illness. In Taoism negative emotions--anger, sadness, depression, fear, and worry--are seen as low-grade energy that causes chronic disease and steals our major life force by creating energy blockages. Master Mantak Chia shows that the internal awareness produced by the simple yet powerful Inner Smile meditation practice flushes the organs of poisonous negative energy that may be blocking chi energy flow in order to nourish the entire body.

    Just as a genuine outer smile transmits positive energy and has the power to warm and heal, an inner smile produces a high grade of energy that promotes powerful internal healing, deep relaxation, happiness, and longevity. Smiling to the organs and thanking them for the work they do helps to reawaken the intelligence of the body, which, once activated, can dissipate emotional imbalances and inner disharmony before serious illness manifests.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInner Traditions/Bear & Company
    Release dateAug 12, 2008
    ISBN9781594778438
    Author

    Mantak Chia

    A student of several Taoist masters, Mantak Chia founded the Healing Tao System in North America in 1979 and developed it worldwide as European Tao Yoga and Universal Healing Tao. He has taught and certified tens of thousands of students and instructors from all over the world and tours the United States annually, giving workshops and lectures. He is the director of the Tao Garden Health Spa and the Universal Healing Tao training center in northern Thailand and is the author of 50 books, including Taoist Foreplay, Inner Smile, Cosmic Fusion, Sexual Reflexology, and the bestselling The Multi-Orgasmic Man.

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      Book preview

      The Inner Smile - Mantak Chia

      What Is the Universal Tao?

      The Universal Tao is a self-help system for curing and preventing illness and stress, and for enhancing all aspects of life. Its key concept is increasing vital energy, or chi, through easy techniques and physical exercises. This life-force energy is then circulated through the acupuncture meridians of the body and channeled into health, vitality, balanced emotions, and creative and spiritual expression.

      A practical system accessible to everybody, the Universal Tao is a modern expression of Taoist practices that are centuries old. Many of these techniques were formerly known only to an elite group of Taoist masters and hand-picked students. I have formulated these powerful practices into a comprehensive system, which I began teaching to the public at large in my native Thailand in 1973. In 1978, I brought this system to the Western world. I then opened the Universal Tao Center in New York and began teaching the practices there. Today, we teach our system in various places throughout the United States and Europe. Though spiritual in its foundation, the Universal Tao is not a religion. It is compatible with all religions, as well as with agnosticism and atheism. There are no rituals to perform and no gurus to surrender to. The master and the teacher are highly respected, but they are not deified.

      The entire system of the Universal Tao has three levels:

      1. Level I concentrates on universal energy, strengthening and calming the body.

      2. Level II concentrates on changing negative emotions into strong, positive energy.

      3. Level III concentrates on creative and spiritual practices.

      This book presents a detailed description and instructions for the Inner Smile meditation, an essential beginning practice for Level I of the system. All levels include both mental (meditative) practices and physical disciplines, such as Tai Chi, Pakua, and Iron Shirt Chi Kung. The foundation course called the Microcosmic Orbit is covered in my first book, Awaken Healing Energy Through the Tao, but is also summarized in this book as part of a daily practice. For a description of other courses and for the addresses and phone numbers of the Universal Tao centers, visit the Web site given at the end of this book.

      TAOISM AND SOME BASIC CONCEPTS IN CHINESE HEALING

      Taoism is the foundation of Chinese philosophy and medicine developed over 5,000 to 8,000 years of study and observation. It is also the mother of acupuncture and the inspiration for modern body-oriented therapies, such as acupressure, Rolfing, and the Feldenkrais method. The Tao has been described as natural law or natural order, the constantly changing cycle of the seasons, an art, a method, a power, and a path of direction.

      In the Taoist view, harmony and balance are essential for health. Taoists see the body as a whole; therefore, stress or injury to one organ, gland, or system weakens the entire body. The body is also self-regulating and will naturally move toward balance if allowed to.

      Illness is caused by a blockage of energy. Too much or too little energy in one part of the body results in disease to that part and stresses the entire body. The Universal Tao teaches us how to correct this imbalance by awakening the chi, or vital energy, and circulating it to the needed areas.

      The Taoist system links each organ to one of the five elements in nature: metal, water, wood, fire, and earth. It also connects them to a season of the year, a color, and a quality in nature (wet, dry, warm, windy, etc.). This relationship often describes the characteristics of that organ. For example, the heart is linked to summer, fire, and red; a healthy heart is associated with excitement and warmth. The season of an organ is the one in which the organ is dominant or working the hardest.

      Body, mind, and spirit are totally integrated in the Taoist view. Therefore, Chinese medicine finds that negative emotions, such as anger, fear, or cruelty, and excessive amounts of positive emotions, such as too much joy or excitement, can injure the organs and cause disease. Both the Inner Smile (covered in this book) and the Six Healing Sounds (covered in other Universal Tao books) help to balance the emotions as well as to improve health. For complete instructions on the Six Healing Sounds, see Six Healing Sounds.

      ILLNESS STARTS AS A PROBLEM WITH THE ENERGY LEVEL

      A problem may exist for many years before it physically manifests as a disease. The problem may appear as a blockage or as a decrease of the chi energy level, leading to a chi imbalance in particular parts or organs of the body. If we become aware of the chi imbalance when it first occurs, we have a long grace period in which to correct it.

      Many people don’t regard bad temper or negative emotions as sickness. In Taoism, we regard these as the beginning of the imbalance of the chi energy in the system, just as bad breath or body odor can be the beginning signs of weakness or illness of the liver, kidneys, or stomach.

      Stubbornness can be caused by an imbalance of the heart energy. Malodorous sweat can be due to a dysfunction of the kidneys, which have lost the filtering function to eliminate excess water contained in the body fluids. Cowardice and fear can be due to an imbalance of the lung or kidney energy. Back pain can be caused by an imbalance of the kidneys and bladder. And we can trace many other

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