Besides My Family Thinking I’m Crazy…

I thought I’d be dead by now. Years of over-thinking and over-drinking left my organs in bad shape, especially my kidneys and bladder.

Liquids went straight through me, and sometimes came out hot. Ouch.

I started drinking more water and cut back on alcohol and sodium to cool the burning, but I still had to go to the bathroom way too often… It interrupted trips, hang-outs, sleep, everything…

I wondered if I had permanent organ damage… I was a “regular” at the bathroom, throughout the day and night, always needing to “drain the dragon.”

It wasn’t fun.

I learned to reduce stressful thoughts and over-drinking through breathwork meditations, but I still had to use the bathroom — frequently.

I tried all sorts of remedies including exercise, yoga and switching out my diet. These efforts helped, but it wasn’t until I discovered an ancient healing practice that things really turned around. But first I should mention I also had a problem knee…

I somehow developed a “trick knee” that liked to pop randomly. Sometimes it suddenly hurt if the humidity changed. I thought it was permanent, a result of “aging.”

So what fixed two unrelated problems in the same blow? Well, it was more like a thousand blows…

I discovered a practice called Louhan Patting, a form in Qigong (which translates to “the cultivation of life force energy”).

What is Louhan Patting?

The Qigong technique involves lightly slapping or striking the body on various pressure points. I do it on my arms, my torso, my legs, my knees, even on my face.

The practice instantly made me feel more energetic, like my body was “popping” and pulsating with power. This feels good!

Surprisingly, it also lifted my mood in the mornings when the evil hormone cortisol likes to run amok… The good feelings kept me on the routine every morning.

People started saying I looked better. I had more color in my face from better circulation, a more chiseled jawline and better skin elasticity.

Also, I saw an increase in my overall energy and optimism. Louhan Patting makes the body respond as if in pain, causing it to release natural opiates like serotonin and dopamine.

I kept doing the routine for the feel-good benefits, not realizing it was also healing things on a deeper level…

Aside from tapping or slapping pressure points, the technique involves forming a fist and lightly rubbing or knocking pressure points to stimulate organ meridians, including for the kidneys and bladder.

Somehow, with all the slapping and patting, I must have:

• boosted circulation, flowing nutrients to injured areas, repairing tissues
• stimulated the body to clear out stagnated blood and inflammation
• energized the cells and boosted immune system activity
• activated natural healing through stimulation of the kidney and bladder meridians

I slowly stopped having to go to the bathroom as much…

One day, I noticed I went half the day without needing to “go.” Whoa… My nights were less interrupted too, as my life suddenly became my own again, and not at the mercy of an over-active bladder.

In addition, something else quietly healed during this time: my knee.

The technique includes slapping the knees on the sides and back, and like something out of a karate movie, my trick knee stopped playing tricks on me.

A fellow Qigong instructor, Don Fiore, detailed the benefits of patting in various areas. Here is his summary combined with my own additions:

Up and down center torso: heats up core
Top and underside of arms — heart and lungs
Torso and under armpits — lymphatics and spleen
Mid-torso sides — liver and spleen lower
Chest — kidney meridian
Butt — bladder meridian
Pinkie side of the hand — the small intestine (“karate chop” these areas)
The lower back — kidneys and adrenals
The face and points around the jawline — improves complexion
The sides of the neck — helps prevent sore throats
Forehead & back of neck — aids sinus and reduces headaches, stimulates bladder meridian and endocrine system
Corner of eyes — gall bladder
Under eyes — stomach
Rubbing the ears — ears contain over 100 acupressure points
Between the eyes — bladder meridian and endocrine system
Tapping the upper lip — called the governing vessel, good for the brain
Lower lip — called the conception vessel, also good for the brain
Side of knees — one spot there is “Stomach 36,” said to strengthen the whole immune system and boost longevity

There are other pressure points, but they’re learned properly through a video.

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