Mantak Chia, Chi Nei Tsang, and the UHT System

Many believe that Chi Nei Tsang is an ancient Chinese traditional healing modality, but it isn’t really. Well … it is and it isn’t.

Introduction

In fact, Mantak Chia, the creator of Chi Nei Tsang developed something “new.” Yet, don’t get me wrong here — he never made a secret about it. It’s clearly stated on the Chi Nei Tsang official website as: “Chi Nei Tsang, or CNT, is an ancient form of detoxifying, energizing, abdominal massage. It blends Chinese and Thai massage and meditation techniques, making it truly different from any other healing modality.”

However, the thing is that many Chi Nei Tsang practitioners, instructors, and other professionals in the massage and bodywork community refer to the modality as “an ancient Chinese abdominal healing system.” That gives a false idea about the practice, but okay, it can be pardoned, because Chi Nei Tsang, certainly for its theoretical foundation, draws heavily on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) concepts, notably on Taoist principles.

Anyway, nothing inherently wrong with new healing modalities — the “trick” had been done before. A nice example is that of Shiatsu being considered a Japanese “traditional” bodywork modality, but which actually emerged only recently at the beginning of the 20th century. Shiatsu developed out of Anma (Japanese traditional massage) which apparently was itself an adaptation of Tuina (Chinese Traditional Massage).

Who is Mantak Chia?

Born in Thailand in 1944 to Chinese parents, he’s the creator of the Universal Healing Tao System (UHT), Healing Tao, and (his form of) Tao Yoga. Apart from that he is the director of the Universal Healing Tao Center and the Tao Garden Health Spa & Resort in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Currently, Mantak Chia lives in Chiang Mai, but he travels intensively around the world giving workshops, courses, lectures, and the like.

Already as a young boy he learned Tai Chi Chuan, Aikido, Qigong, Thai Boxing (Muay Thai), and Kung Fu. He was gradually initiated in Taoist, Buddhist and Zen teachings and healing methods. Later on he worked and lived in the USA, studied Western anatomy and medical science for a while, finally integrating all his knowledge and experience into his Universal Healing Tao System (UHT).

The UHT System – Five Branches

The UHT system is made up of five different branches: Tao Energy Cultivation, Healing Love, Chi Nei Tsang, Internal Martial Arts, and Inner Alchemy.

Mantak Chia wrote numerous books about UHT and created as many DVDs and videos (Universal Tao TV), he runs a large Online Shop, and a incredibly vast UHT System and Chi Nei Tsang certification program with many practitioners and instructors around the world who you can find listed on the Universal Healing Tao Instructors website.

In 1994, he started building the Tao Garden Health Resort and Healing Tao Training Center in Chiang Mai which was completed and inaugurated in the year 2000. In 2003, he opened the Tao Garden Holistic Medical Spa using Western and Eastern modalities and technologies which include Traditional Thai Massage, India Ayurveda Therapies, and Chi Nei Tsang.

Over the years, Master Chia’s Universal Healing Tao System developed, grew and well … it keeps expanding. Several new or existing healing modalities like for instance Thai Tok Sen, Karsai Nei Tsang, Multi-Orgasmic teachings, the Dark Room, and Inner Alchemy Practices and Astrology were added, revised, or “upgraded.”

To fully grasp what Mantak Chia and his organization are offering, how things are arranged and fit together exactly is, without any exaggeration, an art in itself. Perhaps adding a “Universal Healing Tao Discoverer & Practitioner” program and certification to the UHT system would not be a luxury at all!

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