Written by Mei Ying Sheng, MD
translated by Ted W. Knecht
A Case History
Ms. Huang Min Zhun, a 30 year old female, is a teacher at the Shenzhen Government Kindergarten school. On May 4, 1993, Ms. Huang entered the Shenzhen People's Hospital due to swelling in the upper right section of the abdomen and a gradual weakening of the body's health. Upon completion of an ultrasound, the doctors determined the illness to be a cyst growing on the liver. Due to the economic situation of the patient, the doctors prescribed medicine rather than surgery. The doctors suggested that if after two months the cyst does not disappear, an operation would be required to remove the cyst from the liver. Ms. Huang was quite distressed upon hearing this possibility.
Friends suggested that Ms. Huang come to Li Zhi Park in Shenzhen to learn Yang style Taijiquan from the author. The author has been able to treat and cure many people with serious illnesses and diseases over the years. After being diagnosed with a liver cyst, Ms. Huang began participating in Yang style Taijiquan classes each morning and evening (one hour per class). After two months the patient returned to the hospital for a checkup on her illness. Test results indicated that the cyst had decreased in size. Ms. Huang was overjoyed by the news. She continued to practice Yang style for another half a year. The condition of her health had totally reversed into a much stronger person. The cyst had totally disappeared and the liver was completely normal.
Discussion
Since the author has been promoting and teaching Yang style Taijiquan over the past 40 years, there have been many people who have been cured of liver aliments through the practice of Taijiquan when medicine would not work. In Sichuan Province there was a government official, Mr. Liu Chao, who was diagnosed with a tumor in the abdomen the size of a duck egg. No drugs were able to help dissolve the tumor and surgery was too dangerous. However, after a half a year of practice in Yang style Taijiquan, the tumor disappeared and never returned. Consequently, the ability for Taijiquan to help treat cysts and tumors within the abdomen region is quite amazing and very hopeful for those who have lost hope. Presently, there is insufficient medical research and testing with regards to the physiological effects and abilities of Taijiquan. Subsequently, the author can only offer limited examples from his own experience with those several people who have practiced Yang style Taijiquan and were cured of illness. Even though there are only a few examples, based on the author's research, as to the value of Taijiquan in the treatment of liver ailments, it is still noteworthy to describe for promoting the healing effects of this art.
A "liver cyst" is an abnormal growth produced by the cells of the body which divide and become unregulated and begin to grow under different functions of time. This category belongs to the non malignant type of tumor. Tumors originate from normal cells which change in form. Cystic tumors are partial expressions of the body's overall unhealthy condition. The physical phenomena of cellular growth and division is a basic question in the medical field. Accordingly, these medical examples can provide evidence that Taijiquan has healing functions toward the treatment of this physical phenomena.
Chinese medicine believes that the human being is a complete and united entity. A cyst may represent the disharmony of the blood and internal energy (Qi), the emptiness and weakness of the internal energy, an imbalance of Yin and Yang, and the loss in the regulation of the internal organs. "Disharmony of the blood and internal energy" means that the internal energy is stagnant thereby stopping the regular circulation of the blood. Chinese medicine states that the "internal energy is the commander and the blood is the mother". When the blood does not move, then sickness will appear.
Internal Energy View Point
What then is "internal energy"? According to modern scientific testing, inside the internal body there exists biological electricity, magnetic induction, particle flow, alpha rays, infrared rays, and various other substances. These substances are the basic components of human beings which are found within the movement of the internal human body. The motion of these substances within the human body is called "internal energy" or "Qi". Under normal circumstances, internal energy can regulate normal physiological activities based on the physical requirements of the body. If the internal energy is diverted from normal physiological activities or is placed in an unbalanced circumstance, the physiological abilities of the body's organ network could break down and cause illness and/or disease.
The movement of internal energy within the body flows along the various meridians. Among these meridians there are several acupuncture points that are quite active for promoting the circulation of internal energy. When a fist is formed, the position where the tip of the middle finger touches within the palm is called the "inner Lao Gong point". On the opposite side of the palm, the point is called the "outer Lao Gong point".
These two points are considered the gateway by which the internal Qi is emitted outward and the external Qi is received inward. The left palm of males is considered "Yang" or positive in nature and the left palm is considered "Yin" or negative. The opposite arrangement in palms is applied to females. This means the left palm is "Yin" and the right palm is "Yang". As a note, in ancient times this arrangement was denoted by "male left, female right".
According to modern scientific testing the left hand of males is a positive (+) electrical field and the right hand is a negative (-) electrical field. Women are the opposite in which the left hand has a negative (-) electrical field and the right hand has a positive (+) electrical field. The point three fingers below the navel is called the "Qi Hai" point or the lower Dan Tian; the point along the center of the body between the nipples is called the "Shan Zhong" point or the middle Dantian; and the point between the eyebrows along the center of the head is called the "Yin Tang" point or the upper Dantian. These three Dantians can produce an emission of energy toward the outer environment. When the Lao Gong points of the hands pass near any of these Dantians during the practice of Taijiquan and/or Qigong, the Daoist would refer to this as "collecting internal energy (Long Qi)".
Practitioners of Taijiquan who are attuned to the circulation internal energy will experience sensations of swelling, numbness, heat, etc... in the Lao Gong point(s) during the process of "Long Qi" in Taijiquan practice. When there is a mutual feeling or sensation of magnetic resistance between the Lao Gong point(s) and the Dantian(s), this is the process the human body produces during the transfer of energy. In the Classics this is meant by "the intent and the internal energy mutually follows each other", "the outer shape guides the internal energy", and "the internal energy impulses the outer shape".
There are numerous actions within the Yang style Taijiquan routine that contain the "Long Qi" movement. An example of this is the "Left Ward Off" movement found within "Grasp Sparrow's Tail": After the right palm moves from the outside front of the right hip passing up to the front of the upper Dantian collecting Qi (Long Qi), the palm faces down; at the same time, the left palm passes the front of the lower Dantian in an arc ward motion collecting Qi; after which the palm turns to face up. When the left hand begins to ward off (peng) in an upward motion and the right hand moves down in a pull down (cai) motions, the two Lao Gong points of both palms spread past each other in front of the middle Dantian. When the two palms pass each other, many people will feel a brief magnetic force between the two palms.
Another example is the transition from "Repulse Monkey" into "Diagonal Flying" in which the left palm moves up toward the right in an arc passing the front of the upper Dantian (palm facing down); the right palm moves down in an arc passing the front of the lower Dantian (palm facing up). When the left palm moves down in a pull down (cai) manner, the right palm moves up in a splitting (lie) fashion. The two inner Lao Gong points of the palms will pass each other in front of the middle Dantian in which a brief magnetic sensation should be felt by many.
Because the left hand of males is Yang (Yin for females) when it passes the upper Dantian in the process of "Long Qi", the sensations in the palms will be extremely apparent. When the two palms mutually pass each other in front of the middle Dantian, the sensations of internal energy in the two palms should be intensified. If there is an imbalance in Yin and Yang within the body, the process of "Long Qi" can aid in the regulation of the internal energy. If there is an excess of internal energy within the body, the excess will be expelled; if there is a deficiency of internal energy, then the body will be nourished by an increase in internal energy. This process will restore and strengthen the normal physiological functions of the human body.
Other movements in the Yang style Taijiquan routine where the process of the Lao Gong points within the palms passes the Dantians include "Wild Horse Parts Mane", "White Crane Spreads Wings", etc... "High Pat on Horse with Threading Palm" is an example in which the palms pass each other at the middle Dantian and separate to the upper and lower Dan Tians; following, the left palm threads to the front in which the outer Lao Gong point passes the outer Lao Gong point of the right palm at middle Dantian height. This category of movement produces various phenomena in the practice of the routine. It can be used to "open the meridians, balance Yin and Yang, and regulate the blood and internal energy". In terms of treating illness, these movements can invigorate the circulation of blood to dissolve away disease.
Like the above examples, there are many other movements in the Yang style routine which produce Qi sensations when the left and right Lao Gong points pass along the paths of the lower, middle, and upper Dantians. Within all of these techniques, was is a coincident that the founders of Taijiquan incorporated combative techniques with the cultivation techniques of Daoism or did they intentionally develop the methods of "the intent leading the internal energy and the internal energy leading the strength" and "when the intent arrives the internal energy arrives and when the internal energy arrives then strength arrives"?
The author struggled with this question for many years, but fortunately he had the opportunity to study with the famous Qigong and Taijiquan master, late Master Ma Li Tang. Mr. Ma was able to answer the question that the author held for years. He stated that "the art of Taijiquan originally had developed with the intention of both the Daoist methods of cultivation and the combative techniques of the martial arts. The healing properties of this style is very effective without the adverse side effects of other qigong styles. Taijiquan is a high level form of moving qigong as well as a high level form of self-defense...".
According to recent scientific research in China, the internal energy found within the human body can be released out of the body and also be absorbed into the body from the surrounding environment. In qigong there has been a saying which says "the internal energy (nei qi) is emitted outward and the external energy (wai qi) is collected inward". When a group performs a routine of Taijiquan simultaneously, there will be an increase in the strength of internal energy within each practitioner. It is possible to develop a relatively large "Qi field" within the surrounding area of the Taijiquan practitioners. The internal energy which is generated by people is not completely the same, especially the internal energy generated between male and female. Due to this phenomena, internal energy can be a "mutual restorer of Yin and Yang" to strengthen the body and to treat disease. From this discussion one can realize that the internal energy of Taijiquan is not just the air that we breathe into the body, but is a profound substance.
Balancing Yin and Yang
"In Taiji there is nowhere that is not Taiji." The universe is a complete manifestation of "Taiji". The body of all humans and other animals is a small "Taiji" found within the universal 'Taiji". Each of these large and small "Taiji" manifestations are mutually open and mixing with the continuous changes of Yin and Yang to form one "Qi". Just as Lao Zi once said: "The Dao produces one, one produces two, two produces three, three produces the 10,000 things; there blended influences brings harmony." For example, the dawn period of morning represents the time when darkness of Yin is leaving and daylight of Yang is arriving. At this time, life should be in perfect balance with nature such as when one opens the eyes to awake to the sound of the rooster and the flowers outside lift up to face the rising sun in the east. The plants begin to expel oxygen and to intake carbon dioxide. At night the reverse of the morning is conducted by all creature, the rooster returns to it's roost, plants reverse their "breathing processes", the flower faces the setting sun in the west.
These natural phenomena of change is a natural occurrence in the process of continual change within Yin and Yang. This is the natural rule of biological mutual existence. Consequently, during the practice of Taijiquan in doors, one should turn off all electrical appliances to prevent disturbance toward the human electrical field. The ideal areas for the practice of Taijiquan is in a field covered with morning dew, next to a lake, next to trees, or in a grassy field. For people who live a life of material existence, they should try to find a set time (regular schedule) for the practice of Taijiquan in order to "return to nature". As Lao Zi said: "humans are modeled on the earth, earth is modeled on heaven, heaven is modeled on the Dao, and the Dao is modeled on nature".
Traditional Chinese medicine considers that sickness in humans is caused by the imbalance of Yin and Yang. Consequently, the most ideal time to practice Taijiquan is in the morning and evening when Yin and Yang are in balance. By practicing Taijiquan when both Yin and Yang are in balance, one can therefore regulate and balance the changes of Yin and Yang of the body and the universe. This is what is meant by "harmonizing heaven and human into one body".
Taijiquan is a form of exercise which utilizes the waist to generate the silk reeling movements within the entire body. The large degree of motion and the deep breathing conducted in the abdominal region will produce a natural massaging effect toward the internal organs within the torso region. There will be a light, smooth rubbing action conducted on the liver to aid in improving the circulation of blood and to strengthen the physiological functions of the liver. This will consequently help to remove and cleanse the liver of any foreign material such as cysts and tumors.
Conclusion
China's Zhong Shan Medical College has recently provided evidence that the practice of Taijiquan can increase the immune system (immune proteins) within the body. Based on the evidence of the women who was cured of the liver cyst through the practice of Taijiquan, the author can offer the following conclusions.
According to the description of the patient by her doctors, the ultrasound revealed a liver cyst a half a year prior to the on start of Taijiquan practice. After a half of year of continued practice of Yang style Taijiquan, the next results of the ultrasound showed no signs of a liver cyst. From this one can speculate that since Taijiquan can treat the body of liver cysts, then it may be possible to prevent the occurrence of liver cysts and other ailments of the liver through the ongoing practice of Taijiquan. In this way, Taijiquan can be a type of preventive medicine.
It has been the experience of the author that there are quite a few people with liver cysts and other live ailments. The author feels that if we can maintain our health through the practice of Taijiquan rather than being subject to the knife of surgery, it will relieve the tremendous pain of both the body and the wallet.