Chinese Medicine: Is It Alright for Christians? - 12/12/00 10:44 PM
In the West Chinese medicine has become a much practiced and even respected alternative therapy for many medical problems and ailments. Is Chinese medicine something that Bible believing Christians should use? To answer that question it will be necessary to look at the underlying beliefs and theories of Chinese medicine and how it is practiced, then compare these with the inspired writings.
The most commonly practiced and best known of the Chinese medical arts are acupuncture and acupressure. Also being used are Moxibustion, massage, herbal medicine and Tai Chi. More on these later.
The basis of all Chinese medicine is the belief in chi (it can be written qi or ch'i) and is pronounces chee. It is the basic concept not only of the medical arts, but also of the martial arts of Asia. In japan it is referred to as ki and in India it is called prana, words which generally translate "breath." Very simply it is the "life force" or electricity of living things. Gong means the manipulation and gathering or build up of Qi inside one's body, thus qigong is the essence of Chinese medicine. "Qi gong or ‘energy work' uses simple movement exercises, breath and sensory awareness, and relaxation techniques to build qi." There are two kinds of chi: internal and external. There is internal qigong that involves the manipulation of qi within one's own body with exercise. External qigong is projection of one's internal qi towards another body. "Though difficult to define, measure, or explain, ch'i lies at the root of martial and meditative arts practices."
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Qi must be understood in terms of Taoism. Chinese medicine is based on the understanding that we are at one with Tao. Tao according to Otto Franke, is ‘the key to the mysterious intermingling of Heaven and Earth. It means the Way and was a method of maintaining harmony between this world and the beyond, that is, by shaping earthly conduct to correspond completely with the demands of the other world."
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However one sees ch'i, it is almost always perceived as a subtle force, produced by mental discipline and manifest in so-called internal arts. Consequently, many martial artists believe in a distinction between internal and external (or soft/hard) styles. By simple definition, if an art is being performed by a living entity, it must contain an internal component; likewise for external. If a ch'i-based art is to be seen as different from an external art, it is because the emphasis is on subtle techniques that use pressure points, deceptive approach, and a disciplined gentleness in delivery. Practitioners of "internal" styles do not "retire" as they pass their athletic prime; they are better at age 80 than at age 30.
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Eisenberg [an American who studied Chinese medicine in China] learned from his Chinese teachers that there are three origins of Qi for the individual. Original Qi is that type of Qi transmitted from your parents to you. This type of Qi is unique. It is yours from the moment of conception. However, it is finite and over time it is used up little by little. The second type of Qi is nutritional Qi. This is Qi that is gotten from foods you eat. It is constantly being used by the person and must be replenished. The third type of Qi is extracted from the air you breath. It too, is used up and must be replenished.
The center of the chi is in the lower abdomen.
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Imagine that you are a belly dancer doing hip gyrations--these movements, by the way, are part of a sacred healing dance tradition from the Middle East, originally practiced by women preparing for childbirth. Now imagine the movements getting smaller and smaller until your body is hardly moving at all, yet you still sense motion within the belly. The feeling of subtle rotating energy is actually very pleasant. The "energy ball" massages the internal organs, relaxes the diaphragm (causing a deepening and slowing down of the breath), and awakens an awareness of the body's untapped potentials. In conventional qigong and Taijiquan practice, this sensation is called dan tian nei zhuan, inner rotation of the dan tian (elixir field).
Yet another follower of Eastern healing techniques explains prana as:
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In more esoteric terms, there are many names for the energy permeating the human body. It is called Chi or Ki or Prana and many other names. It is the animating force that gives and sustains life. Prana is a Sanskrit word derived from pra, meaning forth, and an, meaning to breath or move or live. Thus the the literal meaning of Prana is life-breath or life-energy or breath forth. There can be no life without this energy. The source of prana is the Sun, but we can also get it indirectly from air, plants and earth.
Yoga is probably the oldest codified form of directing the chi. You can read more about yoga on this forum at http://www.maritime-sda-online.org/cgi-bin/forumdisplay.cgi?action=disp layprivate&number=8&topic=000018
------------------ [This message has been edited by Linda Sutton (edited December 12, 2000).]
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Even so come, Lord Jesus
Linda