Chinese Medicine and the Tao 

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.

Free from desire, you realize the wonder.

Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet all including the wonder and manifestations

come from the same source.

We find this source

when we empty ourselves.

From it everything is."

What is Tao Te Bodywork?

The best way to understand Tao Te Bodywork is through the shared experiences of this work.  This book is inspired and motivated by acual experiences rather than ideals.  The purpose of sharing these understandings is to give support to those that are actually experiencing the work. This includes students, practitioners and clients.

This work is something that anyone can learn and apply. It is not for any “one” group or type of person.  It is not complicated or mysterious. It is actually quite simple and straight forward.  The challenge for many is that it is so simple (and often people’s lives have become so complicated), that many find it difficult to learn. 

This work is not about being a Taoist.  In fact persons who read and enjoy the Tao do not usually consider themselves to be Taoist. Lao-Tzu, the man who wrote the book of Tao was thought of by many as a sage but thought of himself as just a simple old Chinese man. He was himself not a Taoist.  He was just writing about the Chinese concept of the Tao (pronounced dow), which can be translated as meaning, “the inclusive way”.   And Te (pronounced deh), which can be understood as “harmony, virtue, integrity, and truth.”  He didn’t write this simple book for people to follow like a religion or dogma.  He just wrote the book right before he died, for a friend. 

The Tao Te that he wrote is about the simple state of being.  Free of labels and condemning judgments.  He wrote about the Tao that is in our hearts, in the world, and in the universe. 

This little book, the Tao Te Ching (Pronounced jing just means book) actually became one of the most translated and well read books in history.  And due to these different translations, there are many contradictions and opinions. 

We are not interested in contradictions or opinions.  We are not advocating the rigid following of the Tao Te Ching (book).  The book was never written for this purpose.  We are only interested in sharing the experience of Tao Te bodywork, not a bunch of concepts that can mean one thing for one person and another for someone else. Keep this in mind while reading these pages.  Keep your thoughts loose and do not get too caught up in the literal meanings of the words. Try instead to listen with your heart. If you can do this, Tao Te Bodywork will be easier to understand.

How would you begin to express to someone who had never seen color what yellow looks like? Someone who had seen the color yellow before would know what was being talked about with very little explanation, actually it could be expressed to them in just one word, “Yellow.”  But someone who has never seen color will not understand no matter how many words one uses. This is the difficulty that we face when venturing to explain this work. 

Keep this in mind.

A Quote from the Tao

"These teachings are easy to understand

and easy to put into practice.

Yet your intellect will never grasp them,

and if you try to practice them, you'll fail.

These teachings are older than worldly possessions.

If you want to know them,

look inside your heart and it is there."

If you are currently receiving this work, or have received it in the past, you will be more likely to understand these words as an experience. You will probably marvel at how much you may relate to what is written here.

"One who is centered in the Tao

Will follow it without fear.

And universal harmony is perceived,

even amid great pain,

because the heart is at peace.

Music or the smell of good cooking

may make people stop and enjoy.

But the words that          point to the Tao

seem monotonous and without flavor.

Look with your eyes,

and there is nothing to see.

Listen with your ears,

And there is nothing to hear.

But when you trust it,

it is inexhaustible.”