For those unfamilliar with your life and background, please share key experiences that led you to connect with Master Mantak Chia. 

About 28 years ago, I had severe scoliosis.  The double curvature in my spine impeded organ and gland function such that by 5 PM each day I had to lie flat on my back or I was too exhausted to function.  Digestion was horrible and my fascia and lymphatic systems were constantly inflamed or overtaxed.

At that time I was the fairy god manager for a small theater company in Minneapolis. The artistic director came to the studio one day with the garage sale find… he paid $0.50 for a book and a cassette tape by a man I’d never heard of, Master Mantak Chia. The book and tape spoke of bringing the smiling mind inside the body to facilitate change on a molecular level. We, the artistic director and I, begin to incorporate these techniques into massage therapy sessions directed at straightening my spine. About seven months later I was sitting by myself on a stone bridge that overlooked a waterfall and realized I had been sitting up straight, without effort, for about 10 minutes. I wept.

Love synchronicity! As it happens, I had a scoliosis, though not as severe as yours.  Part of growing aware of energy flow certainly changed by relationship to my body. Tears are like peeling the layers away of what we no longer need in order to grow conscious of the next step of our destiny, is that not so? 

It was at that moment that I had an epiphany . I had to meet this master. I had to incorporate these practices into my life. Within a few months I found myself in New York City sitting feet away from Master Chia as he taught the same practices contained in the book and cassette. I asked him how he became so good at Medical QiGong, so powerful. And his reply was,” I became a teacher. I have to practice every day.”  

Daily acts of self-love change how everything is created and experienced. Is this encounter with Master Chia the turning point that prompted you to become a certified UHT practitioner?

All of the above are the key life experiences that lead me to connect with Master Chia and become a certified Universal Healing Tao (UHT) practitioner and educator by 1995.

How have the practices you teach changed the way you see and feel within yourself?

My own digestive issues, my own body aches were the greatest motivators for becoming specialized in the healing arts.  We tend to teach that which we need to learn J

What simple yet life-altering message! We teach what we are meant to learn. Master Chia himself also offers a wealth of insights, such as those during a recent London Real interview on How to strengthen your Chi. It resonates that we draw into our lives exactly what we need with perfect timing.

Your sharing here Sarina, reminds us of the power beyond, how we orchestrate exactly what the Soul needs on its unique path of growth.  When we permit it, intuition is the reliable guide for going with our feelings, embracing the unforeseen shifts in our life purpose and directon. 

As you are returning to Australia for upcoming workshops to follow up on your 2016 and 2017 visits, why is it especially useful for massage therapists and other healers to take this training?

As interest continues to grow in Chi Nei Tsang (CNT), I am coming in July to offer a unique 3 day course.

This trainig is the perfect adjunct to any healing practitioners repertoire. It addresses 70% of the clients immune system, ability to digest, absorb and eliminate, muscular tension and pain, inflammation, organ health, mental health and emotional health…all with one modality!

Let's begin with the basics: what is Chi Nei Tsang (CNT)?  Why do people do it or benefit from it?

CNT abdominal massage is a combination of hands on visceral massage and energy work (QiGong, Chi Kung). Technically, it is a healing branch of Medical QiGong (medicinal energy work). Medicine deals with the health and well-being of the body. Balance and rebalance are important when people feel less than optimium.

Taoist nature is also symbolic, about being without force.  It is the way of allowing.  Please expand on this intelligent energy.

The Soul and Spirit are intelligent energy. They condense energy to incarnate into a body to interconnect, grow and develop the energy. 

Think of Qi (Energy) in its simplest form as “electromagnetic energy”.  The same stuff that sparks throughout the brain and nervous system.  If there is a clear pathway to each part of the body the electromagnetic energy will bring information via that pathway to every organ, gland and cell.  If the pathway gets congested, we simply do not have the energy required to facilitate fullest function or the information the body requires for the constant state of self adjustment and self healing.  If electromagnetic energy is cut off long enough, systems begin failing. 

CNT can assist the body in removing emotional and physical blockages to allow for maximum energetic flow.

And unhindered flow is the natural state of being. The impact of emotional blockages is so often unrecognized and underestimated.  Your Intro to Chi Nei Tsang (CNT) recognizes the flow of energy, how it affects health and points people to learn practices to help localize issues and heal. Many people can appreciate and benefit from the such teachings. 

This said, how does this relate to the flow of Chi and healthy sexuality?What impact does it have on Anti-Aging, cellular regeneration, Restorative energy? 

It takes energy to orgasm.  It takes energy to self heal and stay young.  It takes energy to live fully.  

Ah-ha! mastering energy is key to mastering emotions and mastering oneself.  So many paths available to us.Reminding people sexual energy is simply another channel of flow that can be blocked or open is itself illuminating about so much more happening in and around the body.

On this note, some of our visitors ask if you can expand on the Jade Egg practice. 

This is an exercise tool that will be discussed during the course. Over 5000 years ago, it was understood that women create energy with their menstrual cycles and do not have to lose that energy (outward).  Jade Egg practice can be used to pull energy upward (in particular, energy in the ovaries and the uterus). The upcoming course will introduce this technique as a step one can move into in more depth as boundaries, use of space and energy are mastered.

What does the upcoming 3-day course curriculum in July 2018 involve exactly?

The Ultimate Training for Massage Therapists-  Items covered for Gold Coast CNT Level One Certification Workshop

Diagnostic tools
At least 2 fascia and skin clearing Chi Nei Tsang protocols
Seated Medical QiGong (Inner Alchemy organs meditation)
At least 3 colon detox Chi Nei Tsang protocols
At least 2 small intestine Chi Nei Tsang protocols
1 Nerve Activation technique for improving organ function
1 psoas release technique
Basic nutrition for intestinal health education
1 acid reflux technique
1 spine release technique (erector muscles)
Multiple abdominal self-massage techniques
Introduction to the Jade Egg exercises for women (men have opportunity to learn as well)
You will leave this course with specific Medical QiGong and Chi Nei Tsang abdominal massage protocols and exercises to activate and detoxify the body. You will understand why optimal organ, brain and spine function are the secrets to radiant health and longevity and have a clear understanding of what Chi Nei Tsang and seated Medical QiGong can do to improve physical and mental health.

That sounds jam-packed. I hear Adam Gokmen is also offering some pre-course UHT exercises.

By the way, can you expand on the idea of Tendon power?

We will not be addressing that in depth this time (in the upcoming course).  However, it should be known that electromagnetic energy travels through the nerve and skeletal systems, through the tendons and in to each muscle.  If the tendons are hard and blocked, muscle tissue does not get the signal to respond fully.  Over time the tissue reacts by shortening due to lack of use.  This REALLY hurts J We all need good tendon health to stay young and strong. 

Ultimately, Tendon Power is one secret to strength, youth & suppleness.  If the tendon is too hard, the energy signal cannot penetrate so the muscle will not fire at full capacity.  The muscle will become stiff and this hurts!  Also, hard tendons increase the chance of over stretching, which causes hypermobility or tearing.  Different massage techniques exist to work out the knots.   

Knots do occur in other part of the body as well.  Digestive issues arise for many people that are often poorly understood.  How can a person use abdominal massage to loosen food in the belly (release undigested food) as an option to/ if not doing a colonic?

Daily self-massage, done a particular way, literally breaks up and moves stuck fecal matter in both the large and small intestine.  Done weekly or more, Chi Nei Tsang abdominal self-massage can also induce peristaltic action in the large intestine thus moving food for a lifetime with no unnatural or invasive action. 

Furthermore, Chi Nei Tsang abdominal massage is an educational experience that includes conversation that will guide a person to “feel” when something they ate did or did not “agree” with them.  If we avoid foods that inflame the intestines and are conscious about maintaining healthy gut bacteria, we are more likely to digest, absorb and eliminate effectively each day and forego the need for outside sources to clean out.

Your encouragement to feel the way through health and wellness is so powerful. 

Please share some practices to circulate energy to help release tightness in the diaphragm, heart, lungs, kidneys, spleen and pancreas or other organs you view as significant. What can people do to stabilize and eliminate recurrent energetic imbalances?

I will do that and more in class J However the list below has links to specific practices, in a specific order that will energize and detoxify the organs as well as stabilize energetic imbalances over time.

Basic Medical QiGong practices that train us to send smiling energy to the organs, transform negative emotional energy in to positive vitality, circulate, refine and store our own life force are:

The Inner Smile Meditation

The Six Healing Sounds Meditation

The MicroCosmic Orbit Meditation

What would you recommend for people to feel more physically free and clean in their bodies? 

Come to class and begin your Medical QiGong training now.  Don’t wait.  Every day you spend emotionally or physically out of control is a day less appreciated. 

 Whether you are a therapist looking to integrate this into your practice or just looking to improve your own health, this course is for everyone interested in taking health to the next level!

If you truly cannot create a space to study with a living teacher, then begin study on line.  Eventually, you will master your thought processes and manifest your living teacher.  Master yourself, master your life.

What is the Healing Love practice?

Healing Love is the name Tao Master Mantak Chia gave to the art of cultivating, refining, circulating and storing reproductive energy for men and women. 

The title is exclusively used by Universal Healing Tao certified educators across the globe and their students.

The Gold Coast course will touch on this briefly as we discus why the Jade Egg practice for women helps strengthen the urogenital diaphragm and the importance of doing so.

How do Chi Nei Tsang and Medical QiGong practices revitalize physical and mental health? 

Since Chi Nei Tsang abdominal massage is a branch of Medical QiGong it, like most QiGong forms, addresses the physical, mental and energetic parts of ourselves.  The nature of this particular practice at its root is to simultaneously energize and detoxify.  The practice proves that electromagnetic energy is influenced by human emotion and indeed, human emotions generate their own Qi (Chi). 

Chi Nei Tsang supports not only the body to stay clean and energized, but offers tools to transform negative emotional energy in to positive vitality for health and longevity.

What can people do regularly to strengthen the relationship between humanity, the planet Earth and the universe?

Remember the Law of Attraction is in play 24 hours a day.  The Universe mirrors back what is in your heart and mind promptly…positive or negative.  If your desire is to be connected to your community, your planet and your self, then visualize this daily and make it happen.

Smile.  Accept the things you cannot change…and remember that nine times out of ten the patient on the operating table is ourself J