A fully illustrated guide to abdominal massage for improved cardiovascular health, organ detoxification, and enhanced vital energy • Includes fully illustrated massage instructions to open restricted blood vessels, direct blood flow for healing, balancing blood pressure, and detoxifying organs • Details specific massage treatments for many common ailments such as lower back pain, sciatica, asthma, headaches, and reproductive issues • Explains the ancient art of reading pulses to diagnose organ health • Reveals how blood acts as the vehicle for our vital energy Blood and chi often flow side by side throughout the body, the blood acting as the vehicle for our vital energy. Areas of slow or congested circulation lead to blockages in the flow of vital energy and toxin accumulation in the body. The practice of Life Pulse Massage allows these blockages to be cleared, revitalizing cardiovascular function, detoxifying the organs, and restoring the flow of blood and chi throughout the body. In this fully illustrated guide to Life Pulse Massage, Master Mantak Chia details abdominal massage practices to open restricted blood vessels, direct blood flow to specific areas for healing, release arterial tension to rebalance high or low blood pressure, and detoxify individual organs and body systems such as the liver, lungs, lymph nodes, and colon. He shows how to clear and activate the master pulses of the navel and aorta and synchronize these master pulses with the 52 pulses of the whole body for optimum circulation and energy balance. He explains the ancient art of reading pulses to diagnose organ health as well as how to recognize internal health states through the unique positions and shapes of the navel. Detailing specific Life Pulse Massage treatments for many common ailments such as lower back pain, sciatica, asthma, headaches, and reproductive issues, Master Chia shows how liberating the flow of blood and chi can prevent illness before it takes hold, revitalize the organs, and set the stage for optimum health. Mantak Chia, world-famous Inner Alchemy and Qi Gong master, founded the Universal Healing Tao System in 1979 and has taught and certified tens of thousands of students and instructors all over the world. The director of the Tao Garden Health Spa and Resort in northern Thailand, he is the author of more than 50 books, including Chi Self-Massage and Chi Nei Tsang . Aisha Sieburth is a senior instructor of the Universal Healing Tao System. She lives and works in Avignon, France, as director of the School of the Tao of Vitality and Soulimet Association. Chapter 5 Clearing and Activating the Master Pulses Life Pulse Massage Procedure Parts 1 and 2 Pulse is life. From the beginning of existence, our Original Pulse is affected by the primordial pulse of the cosmos. At the moment of conception the pulses of the ovule, sperm, and cosmos converge in a field of electromagnetic energy charged with unique genetic information. This Original Pulse beats within the first cells, forming the embryonic body from the central pulse of the abdominal tissues. Energy and blood are distributed from within the abdominal pulse even before the heart and other organs are formed. The pulse is the movement of our vital essence: each pulsation acts as a pump, combining the liquid matter of blood with chi energy to carry the oxygen, information, and nourishment necessary to clean, feed, and protect the entire body. With every pulse, blood moves through progressive levels of refinement: graduating from a state of matter to liquid to vapor, or chi. Blood as a liquid is the interface between the solid state of the physical body and the gaseous invisible form of chi. Chi animates the consciousness of blood, expressed in the movement of the pulse through the space and time of the body’s inner rhythm. Blood is animated with its own intelligence. Observing and working with its vital flow permits the body’s pharmacy to play its role. By noticing where blood flow slows down you can diagnose where sickness begins. A healthy pulse provides optimum blood flow and is a fundamental element to good health. Life Pulse Massage is a holistic healing therapy that focuses on releasing, activating, and harmonizing blood flow to clean, nourish, and regenerate the tissues and the organs of the body, improving vital chi flow. It clears, activates, and balances more than fifty pulse sites in the body. Ancient Taoist culture has provided us with natural and simple methods for correcting the body’s imbalances. This chapter is concerned with clearing and activating the pulses of the body so that they can function in a synchronized system. We begin by working on the abdomen to reposition tissues and arteries, centering energy, balancing body timing, and using the blood flow to flush out debris and toxins. We work from the navel center out toward the peripheral pulses of the arms and legs to balance and synchronize all the pulses