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Chinese Medicine Articles |
Tension
According to Chinese medical theory tension inside the body goes hand in hand with a blockage of internal energy (chi, or ki in Japanese). A blockage of internal energy is called stagnation of chi or stagnant chi. Tension, stiffness and stagnation go hand in hand. When these three states arise in an organ or body part, the chi cannot circulate freely and the body’s internal balance will be disturbed. The symptoms are pain, discomfort, increased tension and in extreme cases disease or death. A healthy body is relaxed, supple and the energy circulates freely. An unhealthy body will be stiff, with internal tension and a blockage or stagnation in energy. And a dead body is completely stiff and stagnant. A newborn baby is normally in perfect health, completely soft and supple.
When an energy lockage occurs in an organ or body part tension will follow, and vice versa. From a western medical perspective tension reduces blood circulation, and reduced blood circulation causes tension or malfunction; so from the western medical perspective blockage and tension go hand in hand to. In China there is the saying “the chi goes with the blood and the blood goes with the chi”.
In internal martial arts theory tension and chi blockage also go together. The fundamental principal of internal martial arts is relaxation in technique and motion. Tension in the mind and the body go together. If the mind is tense (fear, anger, agitation) the body will mirror this tension, and if the body develops tension the mind will become agitated. The best mental state for combat is calm and relaxed and alert. The best physical state is likewise calm, relaxed and ready. A tense mind cannot react and command swiftly, and a tense body cannot move quickly and efficiently, and it burns up and wastes energy constantly. Tense fighters become tired and useless very quickly.
So tension is to be avoided, both from a medical and martial perspective.
Getting rid of Tension
There are many ways of getting rid of tension, but mindfulness is the most important. If the mind is not “in” the body tension will not be sensed and the mind will be unable to relieve it. If the mind is not in the mind, tension that arises in the mind will go unnoticed and the mind will not be able to relieve it.
If disease occurs due to tension you should see a medical practitioner, but you can relieve ordinary tension yourself, using simple mindfulness.
Here follows an exercise in mindful tension relief. You can do it anywhere, any time.
Breathing away Tension:
Breathing is the ideal way of getting the mind “in” the body. It is also the ideal way of focussing or calming the mind. The following exercise uses breath to relieve physical or mental tension:
• Assume a proper posture
• Relax
• Try to sense where the most tension is inside your body • Try to feel that organ or body part
• Put your mind ‘in” the organ or body part and consciously let go of the tension • On every in breath, breathe relaxation into the body part
• On every out breath, breathe tension out of the body part
• It may help to breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth.
This exercise might sound simple but it is not so easy to be mindful, the mind tends to wander. Although the exercise focuses on physical tension it is also ideal for relieving mental tension and agitation. A simpler exercise for relieving fear or anger tension is as follows:
• Focus on the dantien (the “centre”, a an area about 4 finger widths under the navel)
• Bring the centre of your breathing down from the upper chest to the dantien (“breathe into the dantien”)
• Relax
Good luck! |
