Smile to Your Organs. Trust Me, It Feels Good.
Posted in hints of inspiration travel by on Jul 19 2011
Got your attention, eh? My first day at Tao Garden Holistic Health Spa in Northern Thailand seemed to be rather fabulously typical to an internationally renowned health spa with a Master Taoist spiritual leader, until a beautiful German woman told me to smile to my organs. Now that’s a new approach!
But as new as it might seem, that concept as well as many others that form the base of the Tao philosophy at the foundation of Tao Garden are rooted in over two thousand years of tradition and practice.
Your inner smile is sure to be found and radiated from within at Tao Garden in Chiang Mai, one of the world’s top holistic health retreats. Master Mantak Chia welcomes you to his magic land, where his teachings and the practices of Tao are celebrated by a daily lifestyle of nourishment, care and compassion. (See pictures of Tao Garden here)
So, as I left Tao Garden today, the top ten gems that I was gifted by my time in this beautiful place (not counting all of my new international friends!) are below.
1) SMILE. To yourself, others and most importantly, to your organs. Ok, so the first two seem easy, enough. But think about it, how often do you smile, to yourself? You often smile at someone, in reflection to something, but how often do you really look within and give yourself a loving smile? Try it now. You’ll feel a weight lift from your chest. Now, smile to your organs? Sounds pretty crazy, but through a simple daily exercise of drawing awareness, breath and love into the very things that provide you life and wellness, you would be amazed at how your body thanks you. Have health issues? Anxiety? Depression? Lost sense of self? In the Tao health philosophy, the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual all work, or don’t work, due to connectivity or lack thereof. Everything needs oxygen to live, and love to prosper.
2) BALANCE THE YIN AND THE YANG. One of the foundational premises of the Tao philosophy, the yin and the yang is a representation of our most fundamental core compositional components: the masculine and the feminine. As Master Chiang says, “Always balance the positive with the negative. Electricity no work without negative and positive. Neither body. Push down, the earth pushes back.”
Feeling emotional? Sick? The Six Healing Sounds practice changes the negative into positive energy to improve health and spiritual energy. The quickest and most profound results come from a daily practice of about twenty minutes. “You do it, you get it; you don’t do it, you don’t get it!”
3) THE CIRCLE OF LIFE. Tight chest? Headaches? Caught up in your head? Running on the hamster wheel? Try this. Release your head and heart energy down into Mother Earth and envision pure light energy coming from the heavens to replace it. This practice results in energy being recycling and purified, to be shared again with others in the spirit of community evolution. The flow of energy (chi) is one of Taoism’s primary points of wellness. When chi is blocked, you have increased sickness and disease. Communities are weak. This flow of energy talk might be a bit beyond your metaphysical comfort zone, but just think about it like this…you will never have a smooth and efficient ride on the highway if you keep getting stopped by accidents. Clear the accidents, happy journeys! The highways connect us all.
4) RESPECT AND HONOR. Everywhere you go in Thailand, you will see pictures of people for reverence- family, politicians, the heads of a Buddhist monasteries. Remembrances are a beautiful thing, we must know where we came from to know where we are going. The standard greeting in Thailand is a head bow with hands in prayer, showing respect for all. The connection starts, and ends, with respect.
5) BUILD MONUMENTS. Temples, temples everywhere. Never underestimate the power of reminders to keep you conscious and aware of the things you want to continue to respect and honor in your life. It does not have to be a form of worship, but could also be a subtle structure that grabs your subconscious attention in the name of a higher good and/or gives you a destination at which to engage in a wellness practice. We must never lose site of our principles. But, it takes practice. I’ll take a reminder any day!
6) CLEAN YOUR CELLS. The open secret to physical health? Clean cells (all 6.5 trillion of them) and clean blood. The qualities Master Chia envisioned for Tao Garden focus on this state of clean: good air, good water, good food, good chi, good heart, good intention. What is this chi anyway? It is life force. It needs to be sustained through smart choices and purposeful actions.
7) BE PLAYFUL. Don’t lose your connection with that inner child and DEFINITELY don’t take yourself too seriously. Thai people are the sweetest people I know. They giggle and laugh, a lot. They make jokes and their lighthearted approach to life cannot help but brighten your day. Seriously, what pill are they on? The reality of it is, it’s a cultural practice, a foundational pillar of happiness, translated into a way of being that circumvents the premise that you have to grab for medication to be happy. I’ll toast to that!
DON’T BE SCARED TO TRY THE UNKNOWN. I came to Tao Garden in search of answers. For over a year and a half, I have been battling health issues with a list of symptoms too long to write. Extreme fatigue, vertigo, naseousness, inflammation, rashes, spots in my eyesight, extreme intestinal issues, and on and on and on. With the major meltdown after I retuned from a trip to Africa In February of 2010, easy call was parasites. Yet, I tried everything seemingly available to me eastern and western medicine style, and still could not quite fully recover. My journey to Tao Garden was to experience their large diversity of medical treatments. And that I did. I sat with a machine that electronically zapped the bacteria and parasites in my body; I had my colon thoroughly cleansed; I had extensive specialty abdominal massages; my blood was taken from my body, cleaned with UV light and infused with ozone; I sat in boiling infrared saunas for sessions upon sessions; I drank olive oil and did a liver flush that had me crying to God at 5 am…anyway, you get the picture. I am happy to report that I feel strong, clear and in touch…the most promising state I have been in for a while. Don’t doubt what you haven’t tried.
9) JUST SAY NO TO ELEPHANT RIDES. When I came to Thailand, you better bet one of the things at the top of my list was to ride an elephant. One of those childhood dreams, that gets passed into your adult psyche. Without being given a reason to question, it remains a thing that tops your international wish list. I signed myself right up for a trip to the elephant kingdom, a tourist trap that imprisons elephants and walks them up and down rivers all day with overly enthusiastic tourists just like me on their backs. Thankfully, I ran into Nicolas that night, a French student of Master Chia’s who enlightened me to the Tao philosophy surrounding animals. And all of the sudden, the light shone. Here I am, being all zen and conscious, and yet not questioning my selfish desire to engage in supporting the abuse of one of my fellow earthly creatures. It’s not revolution (against the accepted practices), it’s evolution. Let’s think about our actions, every one of them, with a discerning eye to what is right and what is wrong.
10) AUTHENTICITY. There are many paths, but they lead to one. As global citizens, we are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happy space (thank you Kevin). They teach you at Tao Garden to master yourself. Become your own teacher and healer, and in doing so, reclaim your health, wealth, longevity and spirit. Be authentic…listen closely to what makes your soul sing, and let it guide you. Then learn the notes, master the song and start composing. The concerto just gets more and more beautiful along the way.
I know I will be back to Tao Garden, and when I do, Taeng at the Yellow House down the road will still be there, welcoming visitors and serving up all your favorite coffee shop items and the cutest keepsakes that you can imagine. Until then, I bow to all my new friends and the staff at Tao Garden who lined my wellness path.
Learn about Master Mantak Chia.
Learn about Tao Garden.
