What is Daoist Medicine?
Damo Mitchell studied various systems of Chinese medical practice including the contemporary TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), CCM (Classical Chinese Medicine) which is largely based upon time, astrology and its connection to human health and Nei Gong Medicine.
Nei Gong medicine is an internal system of healthcare based upon the cultivation-skill of the practitioner and the ability to emit and control Qi at will.
These systems, combined with extensive study of Daoism and its alchemical methods, have shaped Damo’s personal practice into a unique form of Chinese Medical Practice which he now shares through the Xian Tian College of Chinese Medicine.
The Human Body
The Daoist view of the ‘body’ is that it is not contained only to the physical form as we usually understand it in the West. Instead, it is comprised of a series of layers or ‘sheaths’ which serve to anchor the spirit of Shen down into the material realm. These layers comprise of the physical, the energetic, the mental, the spiritual, the causal and more. Each is a reflection of the state of the other layers and their collective health is then experienced within the tangible experience of the physiological form. It is here, within the balance of these ‘layers’ that Chinese medicine is applied.
On the level of physicality, we divide the body up into six key inter-transformational divisions. Between these six divisions – Qi, Blood, Body Fluids, Yin and Yang convert and develop in order to govern the functional activities of life. This model is the basis of how we understand life and health according to the Daoist model of Chinese medicine. When the functions of the six divisions are in harmony with one another then a person will be returned to a place of well-being.
Treatment
The ancient Chinese developed a whole system of healthcare that had various methodologies. These methods were seen as tools through which the skilled doctor could intervene in and transform the nature of their patients well-being.
The basis of Daoist bodywork was a form of massage known as Tui-Na (Push-Grasp). The skilled doctor developed their technique of touch, their Qi and the quality of their tendon-strength in order to move stagnation, nourish deficiency and adjust the alignment of their patients body.
Daoist Acupuncture uses fine, sterile needles which are inserted into specific points on the patients body in order to change the quality of the Qi moving within the channels and organ systems. The level of subtle adjustment to the energy-body that may be carried out with Acupuncture needles is unparalleled.
Wai Qi Liao Fa is the emission of Qi directly from the doctors body into their patients energetic system. Through the emission of Qi, it is possible to harmonise and change the Qi of the patients body.
Xing (Nature) and Ming (Life-Path)
Human life exists between two poles known as Xing and Ming. If these two poles can be brought into harmony with one another then human-life will be led towards a state of well-being.
Human nature is an expression of how both Soul and Spirit harmonise with the great expression of Heaven’s movement. It is via this connection to higher being that we understand our place in life. This understanding then dictates the quality and experience we have of our emotional-being. The root of many diseases lay in the state of this part of our mind and this is why the Xing must be transformed as a part of Chinese medical treatment.
If Xing is healthy then a person will move into line with their Ming or ‘life-path’. The Ming is the journey a person takes from their point of birth to their death. This journey may be smooth or bumpy depending upon the quality of our Xing and this quality is often expressed through our physical health. In the case of internally-originating disease, the Xing is used to harmonise the Ming and in the case of externally-originating diseases the Ming is used to harmonise the Xing. When these two poles are brought in line with one another then auspicious transformation may take place.
Energetic Anatomy
Jing Luo, Dan Tian and Yin Yang
Channel System
The channel system is an extension of the mind down through the human body. Comprising of 72 key pathways, the Jing Luo network carries the ‘fluid of the mind’ along with functional Qi and Blood to the organs, tissues and extremities of the body.
Through Chinese medical treatment, these channels are accessed and adjusted in order to help transform a patient’s state of well-being. We may access the surface channels through physical touch, the subtler channels through the use of needles and the deepest branches through the use of Qi emission.
Each channel is a distinct part of a Yin/Yang functional system of the body that works to connect consciousness with the organs and tissues of the body as well as to transport fluids, Qi and Blood around the body-system. The channels are named after their location and Yin/Yang phase correspondence and it is through direct intervention with these channels that we enact change.
Yin & Yang Qi
The energy body is governed by the actions and movements of two types of Qi known as Yin and Yang. These two forces work as one whole in order to lead, structure and store the body’s vital Qi. This Qi is gathered and held in reserve within several ‘Ocean’s of Qi’ known as the Dan Tian.
The Dan Tian may be developed by the practitioner through Nei Gong training in order to cultivate their inner-skill and they are also governed within the body of the patient so as to help them on their path to good health.
If a practitioner of Chinese medicine understands the ‘Ocean’s of Qi’ then they are able to harmonise and balance the two poles of Yin and Yang during their treaments. In modern Chinese medicine practice, many of these skills have been lost and this is a real shame since potent transformation may be initiated through this type of work.
The Body Fires
The source of life is Fire. If this fire is allowed to go out then the body will cool, stagnate and become diseased. If the fire burns too brightly, then the mind will become agitated and there may be damage to the Qi and fluids of the body. It is one of the tasks of the Chinese medical practitioner to ensure that the ‘Fire of Life’ is ignited and maintained at the correct level.
This original fire was born at the point of consciousness blinking into existence and it then manifest itself within the body as a series of warming flames. These include the ‘Emperor Fire’ of the Heart, the vital ‘Ministerial Fire’ and the supporting ‘Ming Fire’ derived from the original essence.
The relationship that exists between these three key fires and a number of smaller ones is understood through the foundational theory of the six-divisions of Yin and Yang. This model is then expressed onto the channels and regions of the body. We have various ways to work with these fires through our practice and part of our skillset is to understand whether we should stoke these fires or help the patient by cooling and calming their influence.
If we can govern the flames of the body, we can control the root of vitality itself.
Personal Cultivation
One vitally important factor within the practice of Chinese Medicine is your own personal cultivation. The quality of mind and the level of the practitioners Qi will dictate just how potent their treatments are.
The Daoist practitioner learns to develop the quality and power of their Dan Tian so that their own personal Qi may be used within their treatments. Whether it is through Qi emission, physical touch or via the vessel of the needles, the Daoist medicine practitioner may add to the strength of their work to varying degrees according to how far they have taken their own internal training.
The Daoist medicine practitioner should serve as an example to their patient. Whether this be through the quality of their mind, the strength of their own vitality or through direct influence of their own Qi-field, the very presence of a true Chinese medicine practitioner should have an influence upon their patient’s well-being.
Another aspect of energetic practice that we should be aware of is how one person’s energy can influence another’s like two tuning forks. In the case of therapeutics, there is an exchange taking place on an energetic level. Part of practice is understanding how to manage this exchange so that it takes place on a beneficial level for the patient and also to ensure that the practitioner avoids picking up pathogens from the patient and becoming burnt-out.
Environmental Influence
One of the key ideas of Daoist philosophy that we should keep in mind is that human-beings are an integrated part of the wider environment. Rather than existing as individuals, devoid of any influence from the world around us, we are a part of nature itself.
According to the Daoist model of life, nature expresses itself via six key types of Qi that reflect the pressure, thermal and moisture changes that the environment goes through on a cyclical basis. These six key types of Qi are then subdivided once more three times into 18 key influences upon the body which are then matched within the ‘inner-environment’ of the body. If the body is healthy and we understand these rhythms then nature itself will help us to sustain our health. A part of sickness is moving out of synch with these environmental influences and then, rather than being beneficial to our state of health, they become causative factors of disease.
A part of Daoist medicine is learning to understand, manage and harmonise with these influential factors for both ourselves and for our patients.