Integrating Body and Emotion in the Cosmic Flow

Review

“This wonderful book is a jewel for anyone interested in the interweaving of Chi Kung and Craniosacral Work, two of the oldest healing traditions. You will learn how to bring these ancient healing practices into daily life in simple, practical ways. A superb resource for self-care and self-growth!”, Hugh Milne, author of The Heart of Listening and founder of Visionary Craniosacral Work

Product Description

Craniosacral therapy and Chi Kung practices to harmonize emotions, release chronic tensions, and optimize the flow of energy

• Provides illustrated instructions for movement exercises, breathwork, self-massage, and emotional intelligence meditations to free the flow of energy in the body

• Reveals clear parallels between the craniosacral rhythm and the flow of chi

• Explains how to release energetic blockages and emotional and physiological knots, activate the energetic pumps of the 3 tan tiens, and tap in to the Cosmic Flow

Exploring the connections between Western craniosacral therapy and Chi Kung, Taoist master Mantak Chia and craniosacral instructor Joyce Thom detail movement exercises, breathwork practices, self-massage techniques, and focused meditations from Taoist and other wisdom traditions to release and harmonize the flow of energy in the body and optimize our potential for physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

The authors link the craniosacral rhythm--the gentle flow of cerebrospinal fluid from the head (cranium) to the tailbone (sacrum)--and the flow of chi throughout the body, circulated by the pumps of the three tan tiens. They explain how these subtle energetic flows indicate the harmony or disharmony of the whole person and are greatly affected by physical traumas, chronic tensions, and unresolved emotions. For example, the psoas muscle, known in Taoism as the muscle of the Soul, connects the spine to the legs and is the first muscle to contract when anger or fear triggers our fight-or-flight response. Often a storehouse of subconscious stressors, this muscle’s sensitivity is connected to many common ailments like back pain.

Providing step-by-step illustrated exercise instructions, the authors explain how to identify and unwind energetic blockages and emotional and physiological knots. They explore emotional intelligence exercises for tuning in to our hearts so we can listen to our bodies’ messages and learn to relieve related emotional burdens. They also reveal how to activate the cranial, respiratory/cardiac, and sacral pumps of the three tan tiens to optimize the body’s energetic flow and explain how, when our energy is flowing freely, we can enter the Cosmic Flow--a state of calm well-being and extraordinary creativity where we find ourselves truly at one with the universe.

About the Author

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.

Joyce Thom is a craniosacral instructor with a master’s degree in medical qi gong, advanced certification in traditional Asian therapies, and degrees from Yale and Princeton. The founder of The PATH, a healing and teaching organization, she teaches seminars around the world.

As founder and director of ThePATH.us and EnergyAtWork.co, Joyce is passionate about sharing her thirty plus years of experience in meditation, energy cultivation, and the healing arts. She teaches seminars around the world in Craniosacral Work, Chi Kung, consciousness studies, energy skills, and traditional Asian therapies.

Joyce began studying meditation, acupressure, and Qi cultivation as a student of martial arts in 1979. Since 1986, she has focused on the healing aspects of these ancient Eastern practices. She holds a Masters of Medical Qi Gong from the International Institute of Medical Qi Gong and advanced certification in Traditional Asian Therapies from the Acupressure Institute, where she was on the faculty for nine years. Joyce has been fascinated with the Taoist approach to life since her youth.

Trained in several modern Western healing arts, Joyce integrates the best of both worlds into her sessions and workshops. She began her craniosacral journey at the Heartwood and Upledger Institutes and deepened her practice with biodynamic and Visionary CranioSacral Work at the Milne Institute, where she has been an instructor since 2007. Her clear and compassionate style invites and inspires people to fulfill more and more of their potential.

Joyce has a B.A. from Yale and an M.P.A. in public and international affairs from Princeton. Prior to focusing on her private practice and teaching, Joyce was a senior executive in general management, strategy, and marketing at leading Silicon Valley companies. In the 1990s, she co-founded and was CEO of a technology company that developed and patented innovations in the field of data infrastructure. With her years of experience in high-pressure environments, Joyce emphasizes the importance of staying balanced, centered, and fluid so we can continue to be effective, creative, and radiantly healthy throughout our lives. For more information, visit www.ThePATH.us and www.EnergyAtWork.co