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Chi Nei Tsang - Working Both on the Physical and Emotional Level in the Abdomen By Marie-France Collin "And what is it you do?" I was asked at social gatherings. "I go around town digging in bellies," I answered. "And it's like a box of chocolate. You never know what you are going to get." Indeed! I learned from the first Chi Nei Tsang class that the small intestines are called the second brain, and all emotions affect them. In fact, many languages have sayings such as "I can't stomach this," "this gives me butterflies" or "I have a gut feeling." Chi Nei Tsang teaches us that these sayings can be taken literally. It should not surprise us as Chinese medical practitioners because we also know that the Zang organ system has its own set of emotions. And doesn't the small intestine bear some physical resemblance to the brain? It is easy to take for granted the emotion/physical organ connection. But, how about allowing those organs to release an unexpressed burden? How about allowing the patient to get in touch with those emotions and release constraint? During my years of practice, I have come across two main types of people: the ones who willfully participate in the exploration of their beings and the ones who just want to get rid of their physical ailments without touching what is underneath. By principle, I do not want to force anyone who is not ready or is unwilling to go into unknown territory. But, when we start exploring a particular issue, knowledge does rise from the depths of the belly. In our first case, a woman in her late thirties with the complaint of digestive problems never reported any particular change during her four months of treatment. She was evasive when I asked her. However, she later told me that she had a lot of emotional release between sessions. She asked for some advice from her priest as to what she should do. Wisely, he advised her to continue the work. We only stopped for two months during summer holidays. When we resumed our sessions, she said, "Before when I walked, I could feel my weight. Now when I walk it is like I am dancing." Another woman found out some astonishing things about herself. This woman was 40 years old and called me for Chi Nei Tsang. At this point in her life, she was still grieving over her two previous miscarriages that happened 15 years before. During the course of the Chi Nei Tsang sessions, she discovered what had prevented her from bringing the pregnancies to term. "It's the responsibility, she said. "It is too much responsibility to bring children into the world." She had been raised by a single father and felt that he had to sacrifice a lot for her. When she felt this knowledge come from deep inside her body, she sat up straight with big eyes and smiled. A big weight was lifted from her shoulders. She was surprised that a little knowledge could melt away so many years of grief. On the other hand, the treatment can remain purely at the physical level. A typical case involved a woman in her early forties. She had complained of constipation for about 15 years with only two or three bowel movements a week. She was skeptical and extremely sensitive during her first session. I could not put my hands on her abdomen without her jumping. I decided then to start energetically with my hands above her abdomen. I engaged her in conversation, and while conversing with her my hands touched the skin, gradually making my way to and through the skin. I was not able to go deep, but I could still create some movement. That was Thursday. The following week she reported that she had gone to the bathroom the whole weekend. She was so enthusiastic that she brought me her teenaged daughter to treat. It took us four months with two sessions a week the first two months and then one session a week for the last two months. The result was that she was able to resume her life with untied bowels. I continued seeing her socially for the next two years, and she continued to do self-massage, reporting no more problems. Similarly, a woman with six years of diarrhea was so debilitated that she had to stop working. She felt the urge as soon as she stepped foot on the street, went to stores or anywhere else. Nine times a day was her average. She was able to start controlling the urge after the first session when I taught her intense abdominal breathing. It took us one year of treatment until she was able to return to work. She was able to manage her day with only two bowel movements a day. In addition, she stopped smoking and could sing to herself again. In another case, a man diagnosed with a herniated disk came to me for Chi Nei Tsang. During one of the sessions, I was working on a knot in the area of Huang Shu Kidney 16. It was very hard to untie. I took a needle to stimulate the point. He felt the qi go right through to his back. I then retrieved the needle and could continue my work. I could go deeper into his belly with my fingers. His pain finally subsided after several months of work, even though he had sporadic treatments. Chi Nei Tsang can be combined with any other technique. I often compliment it with Tui Na, acupuncture, moxa, cupping or Gua Sha. For musculoskeletal problems, I start in the abdomen with Chi Nei Tsang and continue the treatment with other modalities. I have had successful results with constipation, diarrhea, acid reflux, herniated disks, menstrual cramps and breathing difficulties, among others. Working on the abdomen is aimed at clearing any tension, any knots that contribute to physical pain in other parts of the body and at clearing the mind. Clearing the second brain helps bring clarity to the first brain. We can now understand better the correlation between the two, thanks to the research of neuroscientists who have established the existence of the enteric nervous system in the past few years. (See Michael D. Gershon, M.D., The Second Brain , HarperCollins Publishers, 1998.) The best rewards for me are with the people who find the reason behind their ailment, make peace with it and can go forward on a new path. When asked what is my goal, I always answer, "I want to help people feel good with who they are."
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