Martial Arts and the Healing Community Dr Gregory T. Lawton

Building a Healing Community The Role of the Internal Martial Arts

In this article we will explore a possible role for the martial arts, specifically, the internal martial and healing arts of Dao Yin, Chi Kung, Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, and Hsing Yi Chuan, as paths to both personal and community healing and transformation. The internal healing and martial arts share the same healing principles as are found in systems of Asian medicine including Acupuncture, Acupressure, Tui Na, Gua Sha, Moxibustion, and Cupping as well as Asian herbal and dietary health practices. In this article we will ask and answer the question, “Can these same principles be successfully applied to healing the ills of our communities?”

“First there must be order and harmony within your own mind. Then this order will spread to your family, then to the community, and finally to your entire kingdom. Only then can you have peace and harmony.”

— Confucius

Confucius was a Philosopher, Teacher, and Sage 551 to 479 BCE

The Internal Energy of Individual and Community Transformational Processes

There has never been a time when healing ourselves and our communities has been more important than it is now. There has never been a time when humanity has faced such severe intellectual and mental tests. There has never been a time when the mass population of humanity has faced the magnitude and danger that it does today. There has never been a time when the body politic of humanity has needed the healing balm of unity, equality, and justice more urgently than it does now. There has never been a time when the internal martial arts community, defined by its holistic mind, body, and spirit philosophy and practices, has had a greater opportunity and responsibility to contribute to the wellbeing and healing of our students and communities.

“…black darkness is enshrouding all regions, … all countries are burning with the flame of dissension, and the fire of war and carnage is blazing throughout the East and the West.” — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

The fundamental principles inculcated with the internal arts of Dao Yin, Chi Kung, Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, and Hsing Yi Chuan not only, when correctly practiced, apply to our individual lives and personal growth and development, but also to our immediate relationships with family, friends, and peers as well as to our communities. Just as healthy cells form healthy organs and cells, so do healthy people create healthy relationships and communities. To paraphrase Confucius, we must be healthy and balanced within our own selves to contribute to and participate in well ordered communities.

One of the primary objectives of this article, and indeed to the martial art and health instruction that we offer through our school, is to assist students along the path of their own healing and personal transformation. We cannot change our students’ hearts, but we can point in the direction of that change.

“I am here to encourage you, to assist you, to simply point the way for you. My responsibility is to lift you up, not carry you along. Therefore, lift your burden, arise, and struggle. Take the steps along the path of your life, your special life. Find your truth, your goodness, your gifts and use them no matter what the cost, no matter what the sacrifice. The truth is this — life lived without knowing yourself and acting on that knowledge is a sad, faded dream of what your life might have been.”

— Scent of a Forgotten Flower

Assisting a student to climb a tree at a training seminar.

Students and practitioners of the internal martial arts study and practice these arts for many reasons and foremost among those reasons are personal health and growth as well as self-empowerment. Teachers of the martial arts are responsible for nurturing growth in their students and this growth is demonstrated through their maturation into good people and citizens. In this manner the internal martial arts are a cornerstone for building the foundation of communities.

A primary characteristic of a healing community is to guide people along the path of personal transformation. It is an inherent characteristic of a healthy community to nurture growth within the individual members of the group and for the group to celebrate this growth among its members when growth is recognized and is achieved. Isn’t this same goal a goal that is shared by every competent and mature martial arts instructor? Isn’t this growth nurtured through the gains that we make through our daily practice of our art?

“The ancients, wanting to clarify and diffuse throughout the empire that light which comes from looking straight into the heart and then acting, first set up good government in their own states; wanting good government in their own states, they first established order in their own families; wanting order in the home, they first disciplined themselves; desiring self-discipline, they rectified their own hearts; and wanting to rectify their hearts, they sought precise verbal definitions of their inarticulate thoughts. Wishing to attain precise verbal definitions, they set to extend their knowledge to the utmost. This completion of knowledge is rooted in sorting things into organic categories.” — Confucius

Breath-Work, Hard Work (Kung Fu), and Meditation in the Transformative Process

Sifu John Aldred compounding herbal medicines in our Asian medicine and acupuncture program

A hallmark of the internal martial arts, such as Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, and Hsing Yi Chuan, is the idea of internal energy as conceptualized as jing, chi, and shen, as a benevolent healing energy that regulates and maintains normal body functions, provides for regeneration of the body and its cells, tissues, and organs, and is the vital force that promotes life and contributes to longevity. The internal martial arts, although differing, in form and technique, share a common belief in these internal forces of jing, chi, and shen and their utilization in both martial and healing applications.

Like the rise and fall of your bosom the Universe moves. Like the in and out breath of the sleeping infant the Universe moves. The breath of life is in all things. Listen! Can you hear the flow? Perhaps you are breathing to the rhythm of life. Perhaps you breathe a part of it, and it breathes all of you. Perhaps this is oneness. To move with breath is to move in harmony. — Scent of a Forgotten Flower

A hallmark of the internal martial arts, such as Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, and Hsing Yi Chuan, is the idea of internal energy as conceptualized as jing, chi, and shen, as a benevolent healing energy that regulates and maintains normal body functions, provides for regeneration of the body and its cells, tissues, and organs, and is the vital force that promotes life and contributes to longevity. The internal martial arts, although differing, in form and technique, share a common belief in these internal forces of jing, chi, and shen and their utilization in both martial and healing applications.

A martial artist, trained and experienced in Dao Yin or Asian yoga practices will use breathwork, meditation, and esoteric physical exercises to strengthen the muscles, tendons, bones, and fascia of their body’s connective tissue system. This “work” goes by different names such as iron shirt chi kung, bone marrow cleansing or reeling silk sinew training, but the objectives of each style or form of these training techniques are the same. A martial artist deepened and accomplished in these ancient esoteric practices will become stronger, healthier, and more resistant to stress, injury, and the aging process. In Asian medical practices this accomplishment is known as preserving the Three Treasures of jing, chi, and shen. Simply stated jing represents our original birth energy and the energy of our vital lifeforce, chi derived from breath, food, water, and internal health practices, is the energy of healing, repair, growth, and revitalization, and shen is the “light” of our spiritual energy derived from the soul.

Consider this, why is breath so important in Dao Yin, Chi Kung, Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, and Hsing Yi Chuan? The breathing patterns of these internal health exercise forms and martial arts incorporate the conscious use of the lungs, diaphragm, abdominal, and intercostal muscles, as well as the nose and mouth to facilitate the flow of chi throughout the body. Chi, life force, or energy, blood and breath, is conceptualized as a subtle but powerful force that governs the processes of cellular growth and maintenance and which in term imparts stamina, strength, health, wellness, and longevity.

Breath and proper breathing technique is the foundation of every movement and posture in Dao Yin, Chi Kung, Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, and Hsing Yi Chuan and yet many of the most accomplished internal martial artists have failed to master even the most basic levels of breath and muscular control. I know this because I have spent over sixty years training and practicing the martial and healing arts and because many martial artists have, over the years, ended up in my medical clinic and on my treatment table where I have evaluated, poked, prodded, and treated them for various diseases and disorders. There is a reason why Indian yogi’s, Tibetan and Shaolin monks hold breathwork, body control, and meditation in such high regard and that reason is because those arts are essential to the path of mastery in the martial arts, and life. It is a lazy student of the internal martial and healing arts that does not realize this and apply these practices to his or her daily life.

“You can successfully force people to follow a certain course, but you cannot force them to understand it.” — Confucius

There are many breathing techniques that are utilized within the internal martial arts and while, for example, the abdominal breath differs from the reverse breath in important details, they both share certain fundamental physical and physiological characteristics that are based upon correct posture and the isolation of specific muscles. Without correct posture, whether static or dynamic (standing in ma bu — horse stance) or moving through a martial arts forms postures) all movement originates from the feet and legs and builds power in the lower Dan Tien. By lower Dan Tien I am primarily referring to the anatomical area called the perineum. It is in

the perineum that the ability to isolate specific muscle groups is critical for the performance of correct breathing technique. The ma bu or horse stance is the most underappreciated, but most important stance in internal martial arts.

The perineum is a vitally important area for internal martial artists and indeed anyone studying and attempting to master breath and muscular control. The perineum is defined as the surface region in both males and females between the pubic symphysis and the coccyx. The perineum is below the pelvic diaphragm at the base or bottom of the pelvic area and between the legs. It is an area that includes anteriorly the genitals and posteriorly the anus.

The practice of breathwork, especially the reverse breath, packing breath, tortoise breath, and abdominal churning exercises, are firmly based upon exquisite muscular control, contraction, and “drawing or lifting up” of the muscles and energy from the perineum area and moving it along the Conception Vessel meridian. If an internal martial artist is not capable of performing breathwork demonstrating profound muscular control of the lower abdominal and pelvic muscles, specifically the ability to isolate, contract, and “draw up” the lower pelvic muscles attached to the pubic symphysis while tucking under the coccyx in a manner like bending a bow, then they have not acquired the ability to regulate jing, chi, and shen or to release martial Fa Jing in the correct manner! Any physical strength such a martial artist demonstrates is just that, common muscular strength due to the natural inherit physical attributes that they possess, it is not true power or Fa Jing. Physical strength as we know fades with time and eventual aging due to cell and organ death, true internal power is far more enduring.

The relationship between movement and breath is a struggle against the normal state of disruption and dissipation that characterizes much of our daily life as we attempt to achieve a state of inner-harmony or balance between mind, body, and spirit or jing, chi, and shen. The daily activities and anxieties of life form the substance of our daily tests and difficulties which measure both our resolve and ability to obtain inner-harmony or balance. What is being described here is the two-fold process of building up and tearing down. This process is a constant struggle between the forces that promote life and those that lead to death. This is true for the individual and it also describes our relationships and the transformation of our communities and cultures.

Therefore, our goal through the dedicated practice of Dao Yin, Chi Kung, Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, and Hsing Yi Chuan is to become still, quiet, reflective, and peaceful. Our tools to accomplish this are Dao Yin, Chi Kung, Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, and Hsing Yi Chuan. It is the principles of the internal martial arts that we must constantly strive to cultivate in our lives.

These principles include:

1. Use soft to overcome hard 2. Use calm against agitation 3. Use small energy to neutralize big energy 4. Retreating is better than resisting

These same principles may be conceived as metaphors for the transformative energies needed to change our relationships and communities.

Other basic internal energy practices involve skills like rooting to the earth, centering our concentration and hearts, and watchful relaxation (sung). These arts are a science of behavior and way of being that attempts to quiet the mind and relax the body by concentration on breath. Pause for a moment to consider the implication of this. Agitation and causes of anxiety exist all around us. Through the continual practice of breath and the principles of internal energy training, we learn how to focus our energies on calmness and stillness. The student becomes like the eye of a hurricane, with a calm center surrounded by the whirling forces of destruction. These practices not only benefit the body and the flow of life energy it receives, but they also offer us a center of focus, a retreat or sanctuary to enter when faced with fear, anxiety, and agitation.

“He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.” — Confucius

I define breath as love in action. The Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh said, "Breathing in, I calm my body. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment."

"My soul spills into yours and is blended Because my soul has absorbed your fragrance, I cherish it. Every drop of blood I spill says to the earth: I blend with my Beloved when I participate in love. In this house of mud and water My heart has fallen to ruins. Enter this house, my love, or let me leave." - Rumi

To experience this “wonderful moment” through the internal martial arts, try the following exercise:

1. Stand in the "Hold the ball" position 2. Review the basic principles of Tai Chi Chuan and follow them A. Imagine that your head is hanging from a string B. Look forward C. Keep your mouth closed with a relaxed jaw D. Touch your tongue lightly to the roof of your mouth E. Breathe through your nose F. Relax your body G. Keep your head and spine comfortably relaxed H. Allow the weight of your shoulders and elbows to gently fall downwards

3. Become aware of the sensation of chi throughout your entire body 4. Feel that your body is pulsating with chi 5. Experience this pulsation and chi as a magnetic force 6. Shift your awareness of your body completely into the feeling of this magnetic force 7. Feel that life and light are flowing through you and from you 8. Feel the power, the love, and the freedom of this healing energy

The internal martial arts that you are studying are far different from aerobics or stretching classes. They are far more profound; they are not simply an exercise for physical conditioning. The practices of these arts will transform your mind, body, and spirit. They will change your heart and lead to your spiritual transformation. When you develop and experience internal energy and it beings to radiate from you, you become a “magnetic force of attraction” and a conduit for healing.

The internal martial arts and Eastern healing arts of acupuncture and Asian medicine offer the practitioner of these arts a unique form of healing from several perspectives:

The internal martial arts focus on the whole person, mind, body, and spirit or jing, chi, and shen. The internal martial arts recognize and cultivate internal energy as jing and chi. The internal martial arts recognize that internal energy strengthens the practitioner of the martial arts physically, increases mental clarity, balances emotions, balances the body and its systems, contributes to health and well-being, and promotes longevity. The internal martial arts by strengthening and balancing the body and its functions provide resistance to disease and injury. The practice of the internal martial arts and the obtainment of the aforementioned health benefits are a solo practice leading to individual self-mastery. Ultimately, the internal martial arts, while contributing to our own balance and inner harmony lead us to healthy relationships with family, friends, and peers. The internal martial arts employ methods of healing which are nurturing to the normal physiological processes of the body and that help to establish homeostasis, balance, and harmony. Holistic health care employs modalities of treatment which engage and connect with a person’s mind, body, and spiritual nature. Accomplished internal healing is more than the sum of its individual parts. The internal esoteric practices of Tai Chi Chuan, Pakua Chang, and Hsing Yi Chuan are more than the sum of their individual parts or practices. It is the proper combination and consistent diligent practice of these arts which leads to strength, resilience, balance, health, and longevity. Jing, chi, and shen are not just energies; they are a power that heals on a physical level and form a connection to our spiritual reality.

Good health and well-being cannot exist within an environment that is not healthy or that does not promote peace and harmony, this realization leads to the “straight path” and to a path broader and wider than those without this understanding will walk.

The Internal Martial Artist as an Architect of Healing Communities

Due to the unique and transformative aspects of internal training and its organic and holistic characteristics it blends and merges well with concepts of community building. I recognized this aspect of the internal martial arts and healing arts several decades ago and because of this realization I created a martial art and healing community around my practice of Acupuncture and the Asian healing arts. I knew that as a single individual I was limited by my personal and professional abilities as well as by time and energy — as to how I could effectively engage with and serve my patients and students. By creating a healing community, I combined the resources, talents, abilities, and energy of many individuals in a healing community thereby using the power of unity to magnify the energy and power needed to transform lives.

I think courage and I become courage. I think unity and I become one. I think love and I become all love.

Scent of a Forgotten Flower

My favorite definition of unity is “the condition of being one," unity is oneness, but what is oneness? I like to think of unity or oneness in terms of science and chemistry. If we take elements of hydrogen and oxygen, two highly explosive “fire” elements, and combine them together as H20, we get water, one of the most powerful forces on earth. This is how I like to think about and define unity as uniting to become more powerful than we would be singly.

“You are water, fire, heaven and earth, spirit and flesh. You are a drop, a river, an ocean. You are oneness.”

From Scent of a Forgotten Flower

What is a healing community? It is any group of individuals who unite around a common purpose and measurable goals and objectives. A healing community can take many forms and be centered upon different concepts or missions. It may be a group of healers, a spiritual community, or as I first began — a martial arts community.

My first attempt to build a healing community centered around the development of the Blue Heron Academy martial art program for women in transition who were victims of rape, incest, and domestic abuse and later led to the establishment of the Academy’s career programs in the healing arts and sciences such as Acupuncture, Asian medicine, and medical manual therapies. The martial arts program transformed into a vocational education program because of my realization that women in transition needed vocational training and jobs so they could support themselves and their families. Our first healing community was built around the combined energies and talents of several dozen dedicated individuals and led to the development of a community clinic that treated individuals from the mission district, the homeless, and individuals with AIDS.

Along the path my students helped to write our school mission statement.

The purpose of our training in the art, science, and philosophy of the martial arts is to:

• To see ourselves and others as spiritual beings. • To trust that which is the highest in ourselves. • To spiritualize our lives. • To appreciate human diversity and to embrace the unity of mankind. • To independently investigate life and to search for truth. • To recognize that for each generation there is a path to knowledge and truth. • To experience and explore our innate healing abilities. • To live without harm to others. • To overcome fear and prejudice. • To accept our inherent right to defend ourselves. • To integrate with others, and still remain true to ourselves. • To accept each other’s experiences with love. • To accept personal responsibility for our own lives and our choices in life. • To realize we are free to change our lives as we choose. • To fully appreciate the blessedness of life in all its aspects. • To be grateful for the gifts we receive.

A primary characteristic of a healing community is to guide people along the path of personal transformation. It is an inherent characteristic of a healthy community to nurture growth within the individual members of the group and for the group to celebrate this growth among its members when growth is recognized and is achieved.

The healing community must transform itself from within. If the community remains centered on a single personality, a Guru or a Sifu, or if the healing community fails to transform from within, the unity of the community will dissolve, and the community will perish. Healing communities often begin around the personality of a strong and talented individual but if that individual does not willingly share power and authority and nurture others in their growth, the community will sicken and die.

“Do not let a leader lead you on a bad path.” — Confucius

A healing community brings people together to love and to support each other along the journey of personal growth and healing. An individual teacher or student is limited by many personal factors in assisting individuals who due to mental illness or personal injury are thrust into the midst of a healing crisis. Our governments and our health care system are failing at the most fundamental levels because they do not recognize or accept solutions beyond laws or money. Good governments can guide the healing of communities but at the grassroots level it is people joining in a common cause that bring about healing and growth.

It is my most fervent hope that you will all arise, lead others towards true healing, and contribute to the establishment of a healing communities. To this end, I leave you with these words from our school unity statement.

TO ALL OTHERS I SAY THIS

Although we may come from different paths to these sacred arts, you are my brother and sister. I welcome you to both this art and profession. I recognize the beauty in your hands, mind, and heart. I celebrate the unity within our diversity. I see richness and reward in our sharing of knowledge and experience.

As you are my brother and sister, I will uplift you. If you are alone, I will be your friend. If you need assistance, without hesitation I will support you, if you are broken, I will mend you, to those that speak against you I will arise to defend you.

If you need my good counsel or teaching it is yours, if you are unable to pay for my succor, you will not need to, for I will stand by your side regardless. I will reach out to uplift you regardless. I will open my arms to you regardless.

May we never forget that we are more alike than different. May we always recognize our most vital bond through these arts. May we always realize that if there is a time for healing it is now, and it is always. For if we are not reconciled among ourselves, from where will healing come?

Art, and Photography: Many of the images and the art used in this article are taken from the authors book entitled, Tai Chi Chuan, A Students Lessons.

Confucius: The Great Digest, the Unwobbling Pivot, the Analects, Author Ta hsüeh Translated by Ezra Pound, Publisher New Directions 1969, 1951, Original from Pennsylvania State University Digitized Aug 22, 2009]

Bahá’í Prayers: A Selection of Prayers Revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Compiled by the United States Bahá’í Publishing Trust, https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/prayers/

Scent of a Forgotten Flower, Dr. Gregory T. Lawton, MuyBlue Publications, 2010, 2017, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Tai Chi Chuan, A Student’s Lessons, Dr. Gregory T. Lawton, A Collection of Lectures from the Blue Heron Academy by Dr. Gregory T. Lawton, First Edition, May 2011, MuyBlue Publications, Grand Rapids, Michigan

About the author:

Gregory T. Lawton, D.C., D.N., D.Ac. is a licensed chiropractor, naprapath, and acupuncturist. He is the founder of the Blue Heron Academy of Healing Arts and Sciences where he teaches biomedicine, medical manual therapy, and Asian medicine. Dr. Lawton is nationally board certified in radiology, physiotherapy, manual medicine, and acupuncture.

Dr. Gregory T. Lawton began his martial art training as a child. He has trained in western boxing, wrestling, and Asian martial arts such as Aikido, Jujitsu, Kenpo, and Tai Chi Chuan.

Dr. Lawton’s main and most noted Tai Chi Chuan instructor was Professor Chi-Kwang Huo. Professor Huo was a renowned Chinese scholar, artist, and calligrapher who served as Taiwan's ambassador to the Vatican and France. He was a friend of Pablo Picasso. Professor Huo was a highly accomplished martial artist, and he was a student of Yang Shao Hou of the Yang Family.

Dr. Lawton has been a member of the Baha’i Faith since 1970 and follows the Faith’s principles related to the promotion of world peace and unity.