Tantra Tao Healing Massage

by James Khan

Tantra Tao Healing Massage is an eclectic form of massage therapy that addresses the energetic, physiological, somatic, sensual and spiritual needs of a person.

It is a synthesis of Indian Yogic and Chinese Taoist energy based massage and healing therapies with modern understandings of anatomy, physiology, bio-chemistry, somatic body psychology and somatic psychotherapy.

It is applied, practical and effective energy medicine and body therapy. At its core is the concept of energy and essence: chi/prana, polarity, yin/yang, eros, the sacredness of the sensual body and healing via the five elements.

It is a sensuous, naturist, relaxing massage, using pure essential aromatherapy oils.

It page gives an explanation as well as an overview of the theoretical lineage behind its synergistic components. This is intended for persons that wish to train as Tantra Tao Massage therapists.

feet massage

Tantra

Tantra is the Royal path of Yoga or Union. A gentle process of awakening the kundalini life force to experience magical states. Tantra path is about uniting love, spirituality and sexuality in full awareness. It is an exciting experiential journey to the discovery of deeper states of desire, love, ecstasy and bliss.

Tantra predates Christianity, when people had no concept of sin, guilt or shame with their physical body and were happy to wholeheartedly explore touch, the senses, pleasure, consciousness and experience physical, emotional and spiritual growth.

Tantra training involves awkening and raising the kundalini – kundalini kriyas, the fire breath, deep rhythmic belly breathing, yoga poses, moola bandha and uddiyana bandha.

Energy and Essence (Chi and Jing)

Taoist practices harness the energy of the cosmos (chi/prana) and brings it into the body to heal and for spiritual development. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), energy flows in the living body in different forms, represented by the five elements (energy types) of Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth. These elements are associated with the seasons. In TCM there are five seasons, the fours seasons of Autumn (Metal), Winter (Water), Spring (Wood), Summer (Fire) plus late Summer (Earth).

Energy flows through a wiring system called meridians, which transport electrons, photons and nutrients in the body. Each element has a yin and a yang meridian associated with it. The fire element is special and has 2 pairs. This gives a total of 6 yin and yang meridian pairs.

In our body energy (chi) is converted to essence (jing). Essence refers to the fluids in the body: the blood, plasma, hormones, sperm and other vital bodily fluids. Energy and essence in the living body gives us our bioenergy. It can be viewed as fire and water, the other three elements support this process of letting the fire burn and the water to flow.

Five Pillars and 5 Elements

Tantra tao healing massage is organised as five pillars and the Taoist 5 elements for training and educational purposes. The first four pillars provide the student with essential groundwork for the inner and energetic aspects of the massage work. The fifth pillar provides the details: massage techniques, taoist five element theory and related TCM practices.

This bodywork training and regular practice enhances your life energy (Qi), essence (Jing) and spirit (Shen). Qi, Jing and Shen are the ‘Three Treasures in Taoist healing practices.

The massage practice also incorporates modern massage and bodywork practices including Swedish Massage, Aromatherapy massage, Reichian breathwork, Somatic Psychotherapy and Psycho-sexual Release.

Each “Pillar” is a body of knowledge and training that together with the other four makes a comprehensive whole.

The Five Pillars
1. Breathing, centering
2. Conscious touch, somatic, sensual focus
3. Rocking and Releasing
4. Yoga Asanas: Postures, Positions and Movement
5. Massage Technique and Theory

Tantra Tao Massage Elements

Five element massage – helping the fire burn brightly, allowing the water to flow unhindered.
The water feeds the wood (liver, blood, organs), the wood continuously burns to sustain the life fire. The resulting ash, helps the earth to form metal, which creates more water and repeat the natural cycle. This energy transformation process is natural, never ending, like the seasons. Our task is to build energy by focussed breathing, relaxation and tension: remove any blockages or hindrances to this life energy flow in the living body.
TCM theory applied to healing massage: chi (life force, energy), a gift from the Tao, separates in the body to five forms or aspects of bio energy (fire, water, metal, wood, earth).
See the body charts below showing organs, elements, meridians. Each element is a different form and quality of energy, each serving a different function, each with a yin and Yang meridian or energy pathways in the body. This gives the 10 meridians, plus an additional two for the heart or fire element, plus the two special conception vessel and governor vessel, give us the 14 meridians explored in depth in acupuncture, acupressure, shiatsu and Thai yoga.
Energy can be deficient in one or more meridians; it can be in excess in another. The task in energy healing massage and bodywork is to increase the energy and allow it to flow. Then the fire burns brightly and the water flows freely, you feel natural arousal (fire burns) and have orgasms (water flows)
Connecting, Rocking and Pulsing – continuous, rhythmic application of pressure and movement on the skeleton, skin, muscles, ligaments and fascia.
Energy follows thought. In the body, energy flows where attention goes. It gets stuck, tense, stale, where there is repression, depression, stress, guilt, shame, negativity. Energy healing bodywork releases and replenishes the energy, allowing the body to relax and heal.
Mind-body pattern reconditioning – dissolving body armoring, replacing negative unconscious patterns with positive. Replacing guilt, shame, negative self image and emotions in the body with positive ones.
Reflexology – Hand and Foot massage. The feet and hands are a microcosm of the body, with energy points that can effect the meridians of the entire body. Reflexology/Thai/Shiatsu technique help heal the entire body.

Legs/Thighs – muscles, ligaments, joints, pressure points and meridians
Yoni massage – optional, details below
Hara, Dan Tien – massage of the belly and chest, tissues, muscles, meridians and energy/reflex points.
Arms and hands – meridians, muscles, joints and reflexes
Head massage – meridians, shiatsu/acupuncture points, indian head/scalp, ‘chumpi’ routine
Facial – Forehead, eye lids, eyes, cheeks, jaws – tissues, meridians and reflex points
Neck – Tissues, muscles, nerves, reflexes, with gentle stretches
Ears – ears have many reflex points, massage of which heals the entire body.
Back massage – legs, buttocks, lower back, upper back. Shiatsu/Acupuncture points and meridians, stretch the joints and limbs, bare foot ‘chavutti’ based techniques

Tantra Tao Massage and Healing

Physical Benefits of Full Body Massage include:

Promote relaxation
Relieve stress and tension
Manage muscle, joint and other pain
Improved circulation
Decreased muscle stiffness
Decreased joint inflammation
Better quality of sleep
Quicker recovery between workouts.
Improved flexibility.
Less pain and soreness.
Strengthened immune response

Numerous scientific health studies, some listed by the AAMT at the end of this page, have confirmed physiological and psychological benefits of regular massage.

Conscious touch and somatic sensual embodiment

Conscious touch and somatic sensual embodiment form the second pillar of tantra tao massage..

We have a basic need for touch; babies can die if denied touch. Animals like dogs and cats express love by touch, if not touched they can become moody and depressed.

Children deprived of touch do not grow normally, various regions of the brain such as those used for interpersonal relationships to not develop. Lack of physical touch can lead to mental health issues, depression, anxiety and stress. The body releases cortisol as a response to stress, which can raise heart rate, blood pressure, tension and breathing rate. This effects our physical health, compromises our immunity and basic digestive functions so we do not absorb nutrients from food.

Conscious touch concerns the energy, emotion and intent behind the physical touch. It is touching another from the heart with acceptance and unconditional love. You consciously fill your touch with love, compassion, tenderness and care.

Somatic sensual mbodiment practices use the senses, the body and sensual pleasure as the means to our healing.

Trauma stored in the body

Trauma is created when the stress exceeds the limit level that the body can handle. This trauma is stored in the body, particularly the muscles, pelvis and belly regions. Over time this creates what Wilhelm Reich called our body armour, a defence mechanism which shields us from the pain associated with the trauma.

Overcomming Guilt, Shame and Negative Body Conditioning

Overcomming this conditioning, this unconscious Christian brainwashing and releasing the stress and tesnion created in the bidy, helps rid the body of the trauma. This trauma is not released by psychotherapy or pharmaceutical drugs. Traditional psychotherapy therapy can help one become aware of the neurosis, but does not release it.

Over the years, Reichian breath and somatic bodywork practices have developed to help release tension and rid the body of stored trauma. As Dr Reich explained, failure to release this pent up life energy causes neurosis in adults.

Endorphins and Massage

During this massage your body releases powerful bio-active chemicals and hormones into your body like endorphins, oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin and phenylethylamine. These substances make us feel better, release stress and heal us of the countless mental ills that inflict us. They help us to experience love, feel good and lead a happy, fulfilling life.

The massage also helps calm the peripheral nervous system, release tensions, release emotions, reduce pains and trauma, letting you feel love and connection.

Rocking and Releasing

Rocking and releasing is the third pillar of tantra tao healing massage. When a baby cries, the mother instinctly holds it and gently rocks it to lull it to sleep. Gentle rocking helps relax, lull the mind, facilitating letting go and giving space for built up tension to be released. By gentle rocking, muscle relaxation and autonomous nerve system functions are enhanced. Rocking also allows the release of habitual harmful psychological thought patterns stored in the body.

The gentle, repetitive vibrations can help stimulate nerves, awakening neglected parts of the body, relieve muscular and emotional tension and stress.

Yoni Massage

Yoni is the sacred space for women, located at the energetic centre of the body. It is the origin of life. This is optional as it can be frightening for some because of inherited social and religious sin, guilt and shame issues connected to this area. It can be exciting, liberating and orgasmic for others.

Yoni massage is healing and nourishing at the emotional, physical and spiritual levels. It generates a nourishing and expansive energy that is felt as pleasure and healing in the entire body.

Tantra Tao Massage and Somatic Practice

Learning to bring attention to the body, build energy and explore pleasure.

Receiving Tantra Tao Healing Massage is not only passively receiving touch, it also encourages active participation in ones healing by breathing, somatic focus, tension and relaxation. The practice guides you with yogic and taoist meditation techniques to relax, empty the monkey mind and focus on the somatic body and the present moment.

Somatic practice helps you bring attention to your body, connect with your body centre, your pelvis, your sacred space, your life and power source. By full focus on your body and senses of perception, you get to a tranquil state of no mind, or a positive mind-body state, where you occupy the mind with positive imagery and positive thoughts about your body.

You will be guided to breathe deeply, breathe using your belly rather than your chest. You learn how to bring energy, focus and attention into your body.

Like learning to drive, you first learn, then practice – then automatically connect with the energy flow of your centre, tense and flex the urogenital muscles and nerves, as well as the nerves, muscles and energy pathways of the entire body.

You feel the energy flowing, possibly as waves of pleasure in your body, becoming more aware as you let go, relax and surrender to the flow.

Body to Body Massage

Tantra Tao massage is done on the floor and not on a massage table. This allows the therapists whole body weight to be used to give the massage, making it more effective, therapeutic and healing. This is part of the third pillar, “Yoga Asanas: Postures, Positions and Movement”. Here, in addition to skilful use of the hands, the tantra tao therapist uses other parts of the body such as thumbs, elbows, knees, feet and bodyweight.

Body to body massage postures, positions and the movement possibilities in each position, are exciting skills that need extensive learning and extensive practice to perfect.

Mindfulness and rising above your negative thoughts and conditioning

As you relax, focus and breathe you build energy, you become grounded and also become mindful of all thoughts and emotions that arise. With practice you learn to rise above them, you become a different person and they no longer disturb your tranquillity and peace of mind.

You will then have started your journey of healing, self-development, self-mastery and self-realisation.

Psychology, Psychotherapy and Tantra Tao Healing Massage

Practical bodywork based psychotherapy is a modern approach to understanding and healing oneself. It is based on the work of Freud, Yung, Reich, Dr Lowen and other pioneers in the field of body psychotherapy, also called somatic psychology – the body perceived from within,

Freud, was a genius and is considered the father of Psychology. He was inspired in part by Shakespeare. He marvelled at how well the bard understood the inner working of the psyche that formed character and showed why we do the things that we do. Lady Macbeth, for example, displayed what Freud called ‘neurotic’ and ‘psychotic’ behaviour. She keeps washing her hands, even in her sleep, sleepwalking. “will these hands never be clean?” she asks. The doctor, who observes and ministers to her, cannot help. “This disease is beyond my practice”, he says.

Freud, a doctor of Medicine, was determined to find the cause of the disease of mental affliction, and offer a cure to his patients. After years of careful, practical research, he understood some of the workings of the psyche. Freud explained that there was a large part of us that was unconscious, what he called the ‘sub-conscious mind’, which formed some 90% of the mind, 10% or less being conscious mind.

He explained it in terms if id, superego and ego. Neurosis arises as a result of conflict between the urges of the Id (the basic, instinctive, primal, animal, natural urges that we all have) and the super-ego (the ‘moral’, guilt and shame ridden representation of the society in the unconscious mind). The ego (what a persons identifies as) develops as it balances and adjusts to these opposing forces of the id (self) and superego (the sexually ill, guilt ridden, repressed society).

This all happens below or outside our conscious awareness (we are not aware of it). This is why he called it the unconscious or sub-conscious. Healing and self-development start to happen when we become conscious of the unconscious conditioning. We can the make the journey to freedom, liberation where we are no longer controlled or ruled by these conditioning and behaviour patterns. Patterns that we acquired when were young, and not able to discriminate or validate the conditioning as true or correct – we just absorbed it like a sponge absorbs dirty water.

Freud explained that a child’s psychic development happens alongside his/her physical sexual development – the oral, anal and genital phases in particular. First to develop is the oral phase, where the pleasure centers of the mouth, tongue and smell are activated. Then comes the anal phase of biological and related psychological development, where the nerves along the anus are activated. Then the genital phase and so on. Freud showed that neurotic behaviour such as smoking (oral), compulsive (anal retentive) and depression could be helped by the patient becoming conscious of the cause of the mental illness. The cause is a suppression or repression of a basic natural urge, and the attaching or ‘anchoring’ of negative emotions of fear, guilt, shame and ‘dirt’ to this natural, basic sexual urge.

Christianity – Conditioning, Guilt and Body Shame and Trauma

Powerful emotions such as shame, guilt, fear, disgust, anger, helplessness, associated with one’s sexuality are stored in the body, particularly in the tissues of the pelvic region and sexual organs as tension. This happens because natural sexuality is considered a great ‘sin’ in Christian dogma, which is built around the concept of a non sexual Virgin Birth:

Dogma: “Jesus was born without sex, without sin, Mary was a virgin who never consumated her marriage. We are all sinners, fornicators who need to be saved by the blood of Jesus, born without sex. The purpose of ‘moral’, ‘good’, ‘Christian’ life is not have sex or any bodily pleasure (sins of the flesh) at all costs, so that one goes straight to heaven.”

This moral conditioning, which is contrary to nature, is very deep, it has been reinforced in generations after generations for some 2000 years. It is the basic reason that neurosis exists and persists in the body. In the modern world,

In the midern world, unconscious Christian dogma is the dominant force. Our society is neurotic at its core, just below the surface.

Society today is deeply conditioned by false Christian ideas of sin, guilt and shame. Society believes that the child’s perfectly natural biological growth and development of pleasure urges are ‘perverse’ (according to its religious beliefs about sex being a sin), and wants to eradicate it.

Society (modern society is all largely Christian) does everything it can to ‘educate’ the child to stop doing the things that it naturally wants to. This basic form of child abuse society calls ‘civilising’ the child by freeing it from its natural God givem animal instincts, disconnecting it from its own sex, pleasure and reproductive organs, and turning the child into a robot, a cog in the wheel as it were.

In time, the child then grows to become an unnatural, robotic, mentally ill adult that, just like everyone else, is a well-adjusted member of a mentally sick society.

If the child does not adjust, then it is given powerful psychotic drugs to keep it sick, and put its natural, organic animal self in chains.

Tantra Tao healing therapy is about self-development and liberation, that is to free oneself of these strong mental chains. Neurosis is not natural, you don’t see it in nature. Animals living away from humans are not neurotic or psychotic and live quite happily.

Wilhelm Reich: The Function of the Orgasm

Weilhelm Reich, Freud’s protégé, first outlined the functions of the orgasm in 1927 and dedicated his paper called ‘the Function of the Orgasm’ to Freud. In this and his other works, Reich explained that the orgasm does not have a reproductive function or the survival related ‘fight or flight’ function, that it has a healing and self-development function. He concluded that “there is only one thing wrong with neurotic patients: the lack of full and repeated sexual satisfaction“

Reich called the energy generated by the orgasm as “orgone” and described it as the healing life force or God force of the living organism. It can be thought of as a gift from nature to help heal our neurosis, psychosis, release stress and remove body armor or cellular memories held in our body. Reich’s orgone is the same chi, prana and kundalini life force researched by yogi’s and Taoists.

In 1933 Reich explained in his ‘Mass Psychology of Fascism’ that the fascist mind arose because of sexual repression. Reich called the communists ‘red fascists’ as the mind set was identical to the Nazi fascists, with sexual repression at its root.

Yung was asked how he thought Hitler managed to manipulate the psyche of the entire German nation. Yung said that Hitler didn’t manipulate the public’s psyche, he was the representation of it.

Both Freud and Reich were Jewish, a religion that pre-dated Christianity, when concepts of sexual sin, guilt and shame didn’t exist. The Old Testament is very positive about sex, as are all religious texts that pre-date Christianity. This was also the case in all other older civilisations such as the Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Chinese and Indian, which were built , organised and revolved around sex, pleasure and love.

This changed when Rome adopted Christianity as the state religion, when sexual suppression was systematically enforced on everyone. Around 400 years after Jesus, the ‘reformed’ new Roman crackpots taught that sex was a sin, that Mary and Joseph never had sex, never consummated their marriage, that Jesus was born without sex, born without sin, that since we all either had sex or were born because of sex we were all sinners – “born sinners” as they tell us, who had to repent, confess and drink the blood of Jesus to be saved from the fires of hell.

Being such sinners, we all had to be in mortal fear of a bearded old man, with a stick. We had to feel guilt and shame of our own physical body, particularly the genitals. They had to be covered at all times, never seen, touched, enjoyed or even thought about.

The world famed Roman bath houses and massage traditions were all shut down by the new Christians. The new Christian priests taught that women were evil temptresses, and started to kill women by labelling them as ‘witches’. Hundreds of thousands to millions of natural, healthy women were killed in public ceremonies’, which acted as re-enforcement to the conditioning (the brain-washing) and the attachment of fear, guilt and shame to ones sexuality.

This unconscious guilt, fear and shame, and the associated loss of personal power of the citizen led the whole of Europe to the dark ages, dark ages that we have not yet emerged from. This very powerful Christian conditioning is still there, even stronger and more dangerous today then 1500 years ago. Dangerous as it lies just below the surface of our supposedly enlightened, advanced society.

As we still live under this unconscious Christian conditioning of sin, guilt and shame associated with anything to do with the body, Reich and his revolutionary orgasmatherapy was attacked and ridiculed by everyone, particularly in Austria, Germany, Norway and the US.

The Americans didn’t like his research into sexuality and the orgasm. Reich was arrested and imprisoned by the FBI, had all the many tons of his priceless research papers burned by the FDA. Reich was eventually killed by the US Government, he died in a state penitentiary, allegedly of a heart attack.

Things have improved somewhat over the years largely because of Freud and Reich’s efforts, and the work of their students and pioneers inspired by them. Reich’s lectures and work helped develop body psychotherapy, somatic psychology gestalt therapy, bio-energetics, primal release, dance therapy and most modern psycho sexual research and bodywork. Reich is acknowledged and credited as being the father of the sexual revolution.

Recent research on sex and the orgasm has shown that it does indeed have many positive health effects as Reich explained. These include relieving overall stress, boost immunity, boost the libido, improve women’s bladder control, lower blood pressure, lower heart attack risk, improve cardiovascular health, strengthen your pelvic floor muscles, boost self-esteem, improve intimacy, reduce prostate cancer risk, reduce depression, help with insomnia, help alleviate pain, stimulate general brain function, improve your ability to focus and help you live longer.

Holistic Five Pillar Massage Training

Holistic five pillar massage is an inclusive approach that includes modern Reichian inspired bodywork based psychotherapy and eastern spiritual traditions of China and India. It is a sacred physical and spiritual practice, where the thinking mind with its unconscious guilt and shame is allowed or persuaded to clean itself of its own dirt, and not interfere with the exploration, pleasure, enjoyment, healing and psychic development.

Holistic five pillar massage needs to be experienced and practised rather then read about. If you are interested in the therapy or in training, please contact us.

As well as 1 to 1 sessions, we also offer regular practical Holistic Five Pillar Massage courses, covering the theory and practice of five pillar massage, energy work, body work and meditation.

Regular five pillar massage training practice will make the process automatic, natural, requiring no thought, free flowing and enjoyable for both the receiver and the giver.

They are practical training sessions with elements of:

Traditional Thai Yoga Massage
Acupuncture/Shiatsu
Traditional Asian Foot Massage/Reflexology
Swedish Massage
Aromatherapy
Moving Meditation
Healing Tao/Chi Gung
Tantra Massage

Learning or experiencing the holistic five pillar massage therapy is a journey in self-development and liberation. You learn to tune into yourself and your body, you will improve yourself as you learn more about you and grow.

Being an inclusive art form, there is always more to learn, explore, synthesise and enjoy.

Regular massage practice will make the process automatic, natural, requiring no thought, free flowing and enjoyable to both the receiver and the giver.

female accupunture

reflexology

stones massage

Holistic Five Pillar Massage is given from the heart, with love. It is given for the pure, genuine pleasure and joy that comes from giving pleasure and happiness to another.

It is the application of what Rumi said:

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do