The Tao Blog

Taoist practices and philosophies for health and wellness. -Andrew McCart, PhD, Senior Instructor in the Healing Tao

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Book Release—The Alchemist’s Tao te Ching: Transforming Your Lead Into Gold
https://t.co/D5w80N60yl

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Cultivating Virtue and the Five Elements Framework

1Wood– Kindness, and Growth
Expansive, flexible, and forward-moving, akin to a tree growing upward.
Virtue-the ability to show kindness, compassion, and empathy toward others.

https://t.co/QFdo6A2NWP

📸: @MantakChia

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

New Beginnings: The Lunar New Year

The concept of a “new beginning” is embedded in cultural traditions, spiritual philosophies, and personal transformations— a marker of renewal, signaling a fresh cycle of time and an opportunity for growth.

https://t.co/474A6JPtP6

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Generating Saliva or “Red Dragon Stirs the Sea”

In a seated, meditative position, move the tongue around the mouth in a circular direction around the teeth 36 times in each direction. It can be done on the outside of the teeth, inside, or both.

https://t.co/DkA0AnTFqz

#taoism

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Pulsing Meditation

“Pulsing” is a technique of concentrating on a specific place in the body. Pulsing meditation directs energy to parts of the body and blood flow goes where the mind is focusing.

https://t.co/oWjsGkcgoa

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Tai Chi and a Tree

Taoists teach that trees mediate between the sun/moon/stars and the earth. They go into the earth and reach up toward the heavens.They hold strong in storms, yet have to be flexible:

https://t.co/cmA7zP0s05

#tao #taichi #meditation #yoga #shiatsu #taoism

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Earth Energy Rises to Heal the Body

Massage the “five earth gates” referenced in the photo. The Kidney-1 points at the ball of the foot, the Pericardium-8 points at of the hands, and the point just below the navel:

https://t.co/UqDo0QdDRA

#tao #taichi #meditation #yoga #reiki

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Sexual Energy Massage

The energetic massage of the reproductive organs can be one of the most important practices for restoring health and vitality to the sexual centers:

https://t.co/khTUkPraCb

#tao #taichi #chikung #meditation #yoga #reiki #shiatsu #taoist #taoism #massage

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

High Blood Pressure

…results from inflammation of the inner walls of arteries. Once the artery is inflamed, the endothelial lining becomes swollen and narrows the artery. This causes high blood pressure:

https://t.co/q7OPBbqT0a

#tao #taichi #chikung #meditation #yoga #taoism

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Chakras and Glands

The word chakra has Sanskrit describes the way they interact with the body. The term chakra is helpful, because it is so well known and describes the same places in the body that Taoists call energy centers

https://t.co/5tvi1uUdwa

#taoism #taichi #meditation

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Relax for Health

Taoist teachers feel that emotional stress can cause a variety of harm to our physical body and vital organs. They also believe that love and compassion are a natural antidote to stress:

https://t.co/Ggi0eyabCk

#tao #taichi #chikung #meditation #yoga #taoism

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Honoring Nature

Parts of modern culture seems to want to conquer and control nature through clear-cutting forests, commercial farming, and the strip-mining of minerals:

https://t.co/aTGMxavMkj

#tao #taichi #zen #chikung #meditation #yoga #reiki #shiatsu #taoist #taoism

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Self-Healing and Wholeness

The lower abdomen or lower tan tien is where life begins and where Taoist meditation begins in the body. If you’ve never tried slow, deep, belly breathing, this is the place to start:

https://t.co/WsFSLP5hrg

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

“Only he who has no use for the empire is fit to be entrusted with it.”

—Zhuangzi, The Complete Works of Chuang Tzu

#tao #taichi #chikung #meditation #yoga #reiki #shiatsu #taoist #taoism #massage #spirituality #mindfulness #fengshui #kungfu #martialarts #chinesemedicine

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Fusion of Five Elements Practice

Taoists talk and write about ‘becoming one with nature,’ and they also have methodical practices for making connections between the inner and outer universes.

https://t.co/kDA6NNwRTm

#tao #taichi #zen #meditation #yoga #reiki #taoism #massage

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Moon Connection 

A moon connection developed through meditation and chi kung can lead to a deeper awareness of the unconscious:

https://t.co/glT2PwD2Oo

#tao #taichi #zen #chikung #meditation #yoga #reiki #shiatsu #taoist #taoism #massage

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Mixing Sun and Moon

A more advanced Taoist practice is the mixing of the sun and moon. Breathing back and forth between natural bodies and their corresponding organs energies the body:

https://t.co/qBhUgjmJPw

#tao #taichi #chikung #meditation #yoga #shiatsu #taoism #massage

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Meditation

Taoists speak about the ability to have Delta brain waves while awake. These brain waves are typically only present during deep sleep:

https://t.co/Pk3Ae8571e

#tao #taichi #zen #chikung #meditation #yoga #reiki #shiatsu #taoist #taoism #massage

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Belt Channel – Dai Mai

The Eight Extraordinary Meridians represent the deepest energetic structure of the body. These are the meridians that form first in utero:

https://t.co/JLmuJW7UYs

#tao #taichi #zen #chikung #meditation #yoga #reiki #shiatsu #taoism #mindfulness #fengshui

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

The Quality of Chi 

Taoist masters say the quality of one’s life is the quality of chi they have flowing in the body. Taoist practices were designed to cultivate life energy at a high level:

https://t.co/QqlYAFkxUV

#tao #taichi #zen #meditation #yoga #reiki #shiatsu #taoism

[The Tao Blog @TaoFlowing]

Massage the Chest

One practice for opening the Heart is to use self- massage to loosen tightness in the muscle and tissues surrounding the heart.

https://t.co/Blq693Pj1e

#tao #taichi #chikung #meditation #yoga #reiki #shiatsu #taoism #massage #spirituality #mindfulness