News and Articles
BORN IN LOVE
A few years ago our son, Shunryu was born. He was born in a wonderful, almost effortless way. Consciously. Naturally. Without interference or drugs. Arriving at home in a little over an hour. Supported throughout pregnancy and in labour with Healing-Shiatsu and gentle, skilful breathing, postural adjustment and stretching.
The essence of Healing-Shiatsu is that with the quality of just being and meeting the other person healing and recovery will take place. With my hands I hold and meet the ki or energy within the various meridians and parts of the body. With touch and intention I invite the energy to go where needed. Pains and discomfort lessen or disappear and, most importantly in healing, attitudes change.
The process is of support and guidance rather than treatment or cure. This way of healing encourages responsibility and self-reliance; within each person is the power to be well and happy.
Healing-Shiatsu is an ideal way of providing support through the many bodily and mental changes, and empowering a woman in taking responsibility for their pregnancy and in achieving a conscious and natural childbirth. It encourages self-awareness and trust in ones direct experience over that of any health authority.
A woman can become more in tune with the needs of her body and unborn child.
For many women pregnancy is a period of great change and growth. New depths and sensitivities are experienced. The developing foetus is also highly sensitive and dependent on the wellbeing and happiness of the mother. The focus is naturally drawn to the quality of “being” rather than too much business and “doing”.
I know an experienced midwife who said she could tell whether a pregnant woman will have a good and trouble free labour by the quality of ease she expresses.
Through my work in mindfulness meditation, Tai-Ji and Shiatsu I have developed a comprehensive range of body skills. Out of which there are some simple breathing, relaxation and stretching exercises that I have found to be particularly appropriate to a happy and healthy pregnancy and childbirth. These exercises are given in addition to the Shiatsu session. There emphasis is on relaxation, opening and letting-go.
There essence is the out breath.
To learn to let go on the out breath and to trust the body are perhaps the most important skills to take into labour. There are also some very effective shiatsu points, especially around the sacrum and lower leg that give pain relief and help with the processes of opening and expelling.
Chris Sheehan. For more information: www.eryritai-ji.co.uk Email: chris@eryritai-ji.co.uk Tel: 01766 771065
TAI-JI
(This article was originally written in 2003 for a local newspaper in Wales)The Tao that can be Taoed is not the Tao
Tai-Ji is a movement and creative awareness practice, which directly works on persons potential for growth.
For a further understanding we can look at the Chinese written language for Tai-Ji. In the first diagram we have an image of a balanced and open human being with humility and concentration of inner potential. A picture when we feel open and good about ourselves.
For this reason it is also the image I use for Healing-Shiatsu.
In the Chinese character for Ji, the picture on the left shows a growing tree, a motif for our wish for growth and expansion, to take on new challenges and our ability for transcendence. The right motifs show the humble human stretching, balancing and polarising between Heaven and Earth. There is a centre and the Yin/Yang dance and union. JI is a blueprint. A guide, a mirror reflection of our body as Teacher. It shows the body’s innate intelligence and wisdom.
One of the most important principles of Tai-Ji is Wu-Wei, which simply put means getting out of the way and allowing our true nature to come through. It is going with the flow without controlling or checking. We learn to come from a place of being rather than doing, allowing “more and more of less and less”
To allow flow is Tai-Ji. To dance, to play, and to “relax into” is Tai-Ji. If we don’t get it, instead of trying harder we try softer.
To relax the body, open the posture and free the breathing and to work with our imaginative awareness are important Tai-Ji principles.
Tai-Ji is more than just learning a broken down, uniform and robotic, one, two, three drill sequence of movements that we get a certificate for and try to impress other people with. The Tai-Ji forms (organic and choreographed series of movements) are there to help us find and enhance our unique Chi and life energy expression. The forms are not a dead second hand pass down from an ancient Chinese Master which we constrict ourselves into in order to appear authentic. A form can never be authentic, but only our Spirit. A form should always be living and evolving, it is there to transcend. Gradually the form becomes our own. So now when someone asks me what form I do I now take delight in replying, “Chris Form”.
The practice of Tai-Ji is open to people of all abilities and ages. It can profoundly benefit our health and wellbeing A force for Unifying and bringing into balance, developing good feeling, focus and awareness.
I do not teach Tai-Ji principally for self-defence. I find a lot of the more Martial forms consist largely of macho posturing and bravado
A good Martial artist will never get into a fight. The Art is to live skilfully and with peace.
Tai-Ji could be seen as a happy Martial art with the practice forming a powerful basis of self defence We learn to develop our Tantien, the centred chi reservoir in the Hara, giving inner strength and confidence; to expand and focus our awareness; to relax, yield and flow with our body and mind.
By changing the posture we learn not to advertise ourselves as victims.
A Buddhist monk and myself were once confronted by half a dozen violent Yobs armed with Iron bars and baseball bats. There was no escape route. Then I remembered to breathe out.
With the thought that within ones space (a globe or bubble of protection around the being) we have complete safety we faced them and they backed off.
Tai-Ji helps us to be who we are within our own culture and life situation. When we follow our own true way, or as Joseph Campbell said, “follow your bliss”, we discover the universal way, the Tao. The Tao cannot be intellectually thought out. As Lois Armstrong said of Jazz, “If you need to ask what it is you will never know”. To experience Tao we swing it, dig it and go with it.
“IF you Anita got the swing it Anita worth a thing”.
Tai-Ji and the Tao are not exotic or mysterious philosophies from China with its pseudoinscrutable following, but a guide to our own truth and treasure within.
Just because a truth arises out of a Culture we do not need to imitate or impose upon us the conditionings of that culture in order to get to the Truth.
The sound of rain needs no interpretation.
I have shared Tea with friends observing all the spirit of a Japanese Tea Ceremony using an electric kettle, PG Tips.
Formalised Religions have had their day. Now is the time for individual Human freedom and Spirituality.
Essentially I do not see Zen or Satipathana (mindfulness practice) as being Buddhist, but a basic self reliant Spiritual practice.
In the Gospels Christ says, “I am the Lord of the Dance”, which is a very inspiring Tai-Ji statement!
If you can dance you can do Tai-Ji. To dance is not to become fixed or stuck, but to embrace difficulties, insecurities and the vastness of the not known. Realising that within the Dance that all is well.
The late Peter Ustinov said, “Beliefs divide people. Doubt brings people together”. Tai-Ji practice helps us to renew ourselves each day.
This Easter (2003) I spent two weeks in Zurich, Switzerland studying with my Teacher, the Internationally recognised Tai-Ji Master, Chung-Liang al Huang. He is the author of the Tai-Ji classic, Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain. Alan Watts described him as, “….. A truly superior teacher who works on others as the sun and rain upon plants”. Along with Tai-Ji dancing, warm up boogies (including an afternoon of blissfull movement to Andreas Vollenweiders spontaneous string playing), in depth form evolving and Taoist philosophy we looked at the Zen Monkey and the Moon Koan. The Monkey holds on tight to a branch with one hand and with the other tries futilely to grasp for the reflection of the moon in the water, only to experience dissatisfaction. When he finally lets go of the branch and falls to the ground he looks up and sees the moon in the sky!!
There is also a story of a man clinging by his fingertips to the edge of a cliff, precipice below. He calls up to God for advice. God replies, “let go and all will be well”. The man thinks for a while and then says, “Is there anyone else I can ask”.
This article is dedicated to all those who generously gave encouragement, support and sponsorship towards my recent studies in Switzerland.N.B. Tai-Ji instead of Tai-Chi because it looks more like it sounds. Ji and Chi have different meanings. Chi is life force.
For further information on Tai-Ji with Chris Sheehan, Tel: 01239 891550
My Way as a Healer
By Chris Sheehan.(Article writen in 2001 for a local newspaper in Wales)
Recognising that many difficulties arise from the concepts of beginnings and ends, rather than seeing things change and merge into other forms, this article begins with me as a twenty year old when I was “lucky” enough to meet and begin a fourteen year friendship with the Meditation Master, John Garrie, Roshi.
Roshi John was a brilliant and unique teacher of freedom through the ancient ways of Satipatthana and Zen. As with all great Zen Masters he was controversial and iconoclastic, who with directness and fathomless compassion brought the Spiritual path down to its bare bones and made it relevant to the modern western mind (even getting through to one of his more stubborn and stupid of Students – He would often refer to me as His boy!).
This practice gave me skills as a Healer and insight into the true origin of dis-ease, the removal of blocks to change and the establishment of balance and health. Later I found my healing expression in the Healing-Shiatsu form; an application of mindfulness meditation to Shiatsu.
Shiatsu dates back to the same origins as Acupuncture in China over 3000 years ago.Shiatsu works with Meridian lines, or subtle magnetic energy channels,that run throughout the body and connect with the main internal organs. Their quality of flow has a profound effect on the whole health of the person.
I underwent a vigorous seven-year training in Healing-Shiatsu with Sonia Moriceau (“a Tiger in Lambs clothing”), Meditation and Shiatsu Teacher who formed the first professional Shiatsu School in Britain. This involved a thorough, sometimes difficult, investigation of oneself in the light of the workings of the Five Elements and flow of chi in the Meridian lines as well as a first rate training in Shiatsu theory, technique and form.
My Healing form is gentle and non-intrusive and with the healing powers of the five elements supports and prepares the person for change and recovery.
When working many clients have “seen” various beings working through me; from Buddhist deities, White Eagle to one long-term client who would regularly emerge from the session in disbelief at not finding six Japanese Zen Monks sitting in the room with us! For me these are interpretations and Healing comes from emptiness, from the simple working on the quality of being.
Over the years I have found great benefit in the freeing practice of Tai-Ji dancing and Chi-Kung. Along with the practice of Zen and Shiatsu the spiritual and physical centre and home is in, the Hara or Tantien.The place of now, of simplicity, power and ease where can be found a point of stillness, the diamond in the dustbin.
