What is it?
According to traditional Chinese medicine, chi is the vital life force energy that activates bodily processes. and move through the body's internal channels. If the chi is healthy and harmonious, the body can regulate the flow. But when the body is suffering from stress and tension, the chi can't flow freely, and this is said to cause illness.
Symptoms of chi problems include a weak immune system, constipation, bloating, gas, muscle pain, back pain, weak organs, menstrual cramps, infertility and skin problems.
Taoist monks in ancient Chinese monasteries observed that chi blockages created knots in the abdominal region, which is said to be the energy centre. They developed a massage system, chi nei tsang, to detoxify, strengthen and refine their bodies so they could perform their spiritual practices. This form of massage is now offered regularly in Hong Kong by practitioner Buathon Thienarrom. She lives in Thailand and works at upmarket health resort Chiva Som in Thailand, but visits Hong Kong regularly.
How does it work?
The therapy uses qigong (breathing exercises and controlled movements) to help create a balance of body, mind and spirit using the five elements of Chinese medicine and what the Taoists discovered. It focuses on the navel area, where various key breathing, vascular, lymphatic, nervous, muscular and meridian points supposedly come together.
It's said to increase energy flow to the internal organs by massaging the energy centre around the navel with deep but gentle touches. Buathon (right) says it frees blockages in the abdomen and guides chi through the entire body, detoxifying and strengthening the system. Buathon combines the therapy with Thai-style massage (manipulating pressure points) of other parts of the body, such as the upper chest.