Freeing the qi and force of life

The lift glides noiselessly to the top floor of a 10-storey residential building in Beijing and I step toward my appointment with the same anticipation I came with last time. I am hoping Master Liu Qing will beat me with a stick. Two sticks, in fact.

Liu, 41, is a martial artist from Cangzhou, Hebei province.

But he is not waiting behind his door for any sort of combat. Using training that includes health-oriented offshoots of martial arts, his holistic practice in Beijing and Zhuhai includes Chinese qigong (Chinese breathing exercise) massage, the mechanics of martial arts, acupuncture, scraping, cupping and sports medicine.

Actually the "stick" treatment I'm anticipating is a pair of cloth tubes about the size of small umbrellas packed with sand, beans and herbs.

In Liu's hands, the effect is like drumming. His technique is energetic and stings like the devil, yet it's oddly soothing.

Liu has made a point of studying Western and contemporary medicine, but his art is firmly rooted in Chinese tradition. Upon arrival, visitors are waved to a seat at a low tea table, a wide, glass-topped bronze bowl surrounded by four legless chairs.

As we sip the fragrant beverage, Liu wants to know how I feel (good), how my sleep has been since my last treatment (fair), and whether I've been doing the neck and shoulder exercises he suggested last time (maybe).

His English is at the same level as my Chinese - a few essential phrases - but there is no serious communication barrier. Liu will grab his Samsung smartphone and its Youdao translation app as needed, but mostly his eyes and hands tell him what he needs to know.

On Liu's treatment table, the programme usually begins with some qigong massage designed to increase blood flow and release the body's natural energy.

The free flow of qi - or life force - improves organ function and metabolic balance, according to TCM. Besides improving hearing, sight, smell and taste, Liu said it's effective for common chronic and some acute diseases.

Acupressure is a therapy applied by fingertips in seven different actions: chop, poke, beat, capture ("snatching" with five fingers), grab, hit and seal. There are 365 acupoints lying along 14 meridians. The stimulation improves blood flow and is said to eliminate sickness and disease.

Masters like Liu said they could channel the energy inside us and also transmit their energy to us like a telepathic booster shot.

I want to "feel the warm energy" in my lower back as he promises - and often I'm sure I do.

That is especially true near the end of a session when he told me to lie flat on my back and relax. Liu will strike a small gong four times, about a minute apart, and each time I feel the sound ripple through my entire being.

It's a frisson of pure wonder, perhaps the "integration of body and soul" that is also one of Liu's avowed specialties. But it's a good feeling, and it will bring me back for another session very soon.

mikepeters@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/20/2014 page22)