OUR TRADITION The Taoist Water Method from Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching

OUR TRADITION: THE WATER METHOD The Water Method is the ancient Taoist Tradition of Chi Gung and Meditation which Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching refers to. Its diffusion to the public and the West has been hindered several times in Chinese history. Our tradition traces back to the Taoist Sage Liu Hung Chieh, who passed down the Lao Tzu Water Method to his disciple and adopted son, Bruce K. Frantzis. In 1986, before dying, Liu encouraged the spread of this system in the West. Mr. Frantzis then founded a renewed school for instructors, from which comes Cosimo Mendis. In Oriental energy practices there are two traditions: the Fire and the Water Tradition. While the Fire Method has come to the West earlier and spread faster, the Water Method is less common to be found even in China. Both are valid. Though those who start with Fire techniques need some Water techniques to complete their physical and spiritual Taoist paths, those who start with the Water Method techniques do not need to learn the Fire approach to reach the highest levels in the Taoist system. The Fire Method is based on the Macrocosmic and Microcosmic Orbit Chi Gung exercises, the Water Method is based on the Dissolving process - it is the only one to teach it - and includes the Orbit exercises afterwards. The Fire Method is sometimes cathartic and mostly based on the adult physiology mechanisms. The Water Method gradually dissolves the internal tensions and awakens the newborn child physiological mechanisms. It brings us to the awareness of our bodily feelings without using extreme visualization techniques. To imagine being a Formula One driver does not mean to be one for real… The Fire Method is sometimes faster, although it may have unstable results, and some risks - depending on each individual personality - for our nervous system. Would you rather hold in your hands a burning paper or some evaporating water? Dissolving. It is a soft internal technique that teaches how to dissipate energy blockages at the physical, mental and emotional level. It includes two kinds. The outer Dissolving - taught in the Water Method Chi Gung - effective at the physical and basic emotion level. The Inner Dissolving - taught in Taoist Water Meditation - effective on all of our eight energy bodies. CHI GUNG & NEI GUNG The Water Method Chi Gung we teach contains the 16 components of Taoist Nei Gung. Nei Gung means "inner skill" and is the foundation of all Chinese internal martial arts and health practices. Nei Gung works with all of the body's energy pathways, opens and closes all the body's tissues (joints, muscles, connective tissues, internal organs, glands, blood vessels, lymphatic pumps, respiratory system, cerebrospinal system and brain) simultaneously to produce a powerful synergy effect on the mind, body, and spirit. Nei Gung alleviates chronic stress and pain and increases the body's strength, flexibility, coordination, and balance. Nei Gung practice produces energy safely and systematically as it revitalizes and calms our heart and mind. OUR TEACHING METHOD In China, as well as in the West, it is easier to find the "open door" teaching (so called because classes are usually held in parks): the master moves, the students try to imitate the master's movements. The master will not talk about those invisible fine details that nevertheless are the essence of Chi Gung. These details differentiate Chi Gung from Western physical exercises and external martial arts (Karate, Judo), and are responsible for Chi development. Only the most astute students will be able to guess them. The master will offer them, when the time comes, a "closed door" teaching: the foremost students will then have the opportunity to touch the master's body, feel from which body parts the movement must come, and benefit from the master's body transmission. These will get the so said "secrets" of the art, and become the best to carry the tradition forward. To carry on the tradition is not our main target, though. We instead decided to teach "closed door" to all of our students. We make the "secrets" available to all those who want to learn them. We have been instructed to do so by our teachers, and we keep on doing it to spread to as many people as possible the benefits of Chi Gung and the other Internal Arts. We think that these benefits are greatly important for the wellness of all. QI GONG, CHI KUNG, OR CHI GUNG? Chinese language uses ideograms, that correspond to sounds. There are three methods of transliteration: 1- Pin Yin system: Qi Gong. It was developed by the Chinese when the communist government was trying to raise the literacy rate in China. Many words, when written in English, do not sound anything like the original Chinese pronunciation, as in the case of Qi Gong. It is still used in some European countries. 2- Wade-Giles system: Chi Kung. Invented by German monks, used by ancient translators who were not able to speak Chinese correctly. Today it is used in Taiwan and some Anglo-Saxon countries. 3- Yale system: Chi Gung. Developed at the Yale university to teach English speakers how to speak Chinese, it is the closest way to the original Chinese pronunciation. It is used extensively in USA and England. We decided to use the Yale system in this site.

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