Restore and Rejuvenate with Chi Nei Tsang
by Gilles Marin

"Only when we are in touch with ourselves can we be in touch with others." - Gilles Marin

Gilles Marin, in his article "Restore and Rejuvenate with Chi Nei Tsang," asks, " … must doing massage lead to physical and emotional exhaustion?" He answers, "not according to those who practice chi nei tsang." Literally, "internal organs chi transformation," chi nei tsang, writes Marin, is an ancient self-care practice that provides a method for unblocking energy, and allows the body to fully function to its potential. Marin discusses chi nei tsang as a practice for balancing positive and negative emotions, as a remedy for chronic pain, immune disorders, and distresses of the emotional and spiritual kind. To help promote a healthy metabolism, Marin describes several exercises for practicing chi nei tsang as a meditation, such as the inner smile shower and bath: Visualizing "a shower bag full of smiles … showering down on you" or "… sink gradually, layer after layer … absorbing the smiles like a sponge." A chi nei tsang self-massage that stimulates detoxification and can help to "unravel deep-seated patterns of tension" is given with step-by-step instructions and pictures.