From the author: An article from the series “The Tao of Alexander Lowen.” Reflection on the basic principle of body-oriented therapy, grounding, from the point of view of the ancient Chinese teaching about energy processes. I want to be a woman - a lover, the chosen one of worthy men. But what does it take to become the chosen one? Let's imagine that all women can be divided into two natural types: Earthly Woman and Unearthly Woman. There is such an expression as “unearthly beauty”! But I propose to use the term “unearthly” to designate a special female sublimity, belonging to the world of the Spirit, that is, the desire for spiritual improvement. What type of woman do you think will be in demand by most European men? Of course, Earthly! Why? Yes, because “earthly values” are the ability to accept and process everything that the chosen man gives. The function of the Earth is to bear fruit, and this is also one of the most important properties from the point of view of evolution and procreation. Therefore, no matter how unearthly beauty, isolation from earthly values ​​is not so attractive in the long term. Women's grounding practices, which are based on ancient sacred knowledge, are studied with great respect by our contemporaries. Techniques based on dance-whirling and interaction with the elements of the Earth have repeatedly confirmed their effectiveness. Moreover, whirling dance is a universal cultural phenomenon that has no special connection with the gender of those who adapted this ritual. For example, men who profess Sufism also use ritual whirling to immerse themselves in a special state of consciousness. And grounding as a way to restore the natural connection between body and mind has become the basic practice of body-oriented therapy, founded by Alexander Lowen. The concept of body-oriented therapy is extremely close to the teachings of the Ancient East. In works devoted to bioenergetic analysis, the author refers to the philosophy and practices of Zen Buddhism, and to explain the interaction of opposite principles of energy uses the Taoist concepts of “yin” and “yang.” However, Zen Buddhism, as one of the Japanese religious and philosophical teachings, and Taoism, as the ancient Chinese science of the interaction between man and the Universe, have a lot in common due to historical reasons. Zen Buddhism grew out of Chinese Chan Buddhism, which, in turn, became an eclecticism of Buddhism and Taoism. In the “Collection of Bioenergetic Experiments,” Lowen offers exercises that allow you to feel the connection of your feet with the surface, that is, with the Earth as a natural element, and make sure The point is that moving the center of gravity from top to bottom allows you to establish strong contact with reality and realize your natural self. “In a broad sense, feeling grounded allows you to establish contact with reality. He (or she) is rooted to the earth, identified with his own body, aware of his sexuality and oriented toward pleasure.” The founder of body-oriented therapy absolutely sensed an important evolutionary trend. A play on words suggests itself: Lowen felt the fading of sensitivity against the background of the progress of intelligence. Preserving physical, mental and mental health is unthinkable without a “proportionate” sensory sphere that is in balance with the sphere of thinking. The merit of Lowen's teaching is the return to homo sapiens of natural sensuality, lost in the pursuit of rationality. Homo sensualis or homo sensitives, “feeling man” is the next, higher stage of evolution, which we have yet to ascend. Followers of Taoist ancient science say: “Where there is thought, there is energy.” Bringing attention to the lower body or shifting the center of gravity downward increases the individual's sensitivity and restores the natural energy balance. “Grounding involves bringing a person to a state where his center of gravity is slightly lower than normal, that is, closer to the ground.” For representatives of Western civilization, this is certainly a revolutionary step! However, "thinbusiness" of the East - a casket that does not open so easily! Even a perfectly grounded Westerner will remain far from natural balance and energy harmony, just as China itself is geographically far from the civilized center of Europe. Why? Let's figure it out! Let's turn to the teachings of Ancient China, which is based on the study of natural energy processes that connect together the physicality and mentality of the individual. The Chinese do not have the concept of “grounding,” but their picture of the world is based on “three pillars,” conventionally called “one,” “two,” and “five.” “One” is Tao, “five” is the system of five primary elements, which we will talk about later, in relation to Lowen’s theory. Now we have to deal with the basic term “two”. These are two polar components of vital energy, qi or chi, which exist exclusively in interconnection, opposition, eternal movement and the transition of one state to another - “yin” and “yang”. Yin and yang are darkness and light, North and South, night and day, life and death. The list of polarities can be endless. It is important for us that Earth and Sky represent the fundamental pair of the Taoist universe, in which yin is impossible without yang, and Earth is impossible without Heaven. Chinese teaching calls for perceiving any object or phenomenon ambivalently - in the unity and struggle of two principles. Therefore, grounding in the understanding of the Taoists is impossible, how can I put it more precisely, without exaltation, ascension, heaven - somehow dissonant. Simply put, if there is to be support on Earth, then there must certainly be “reliance on Heaven.” The energy structure of a person, corresponding to the ancient Chinese concept, is like a battery with two poles. The upper pole is located at the top of the head, called Bai Hui and is considered the center of connection of all masculine energies, both in men and women. The opposite pole is located in the center of the perineum, called Hui Yin and is considered the center of connection of all feminine energies, regardless of gender. Later, the upper pole began to be designated with a “plus” sign, and the lower one with a “minus” sign. In the understanding of the followers of Taoist teaching, contact with reality is achieved through the connection of the “top” with Heaven, and the “bottom” with the Earth, and even then very conditionally. More precisely, this contact depends on sensations in every cell of the body, and not just in the feet. And if the Masters of the old schools had participated in the creation of the theory of body-oriented therapy, they would certainly have proposed not to shift the center of gravity, fixating on one zone, but to maintain in consciousness a fragile balance between “top” and “bottom”, which are never in one “weight.” A simple Chinese argument in favor of the fact that “there is no truth in legs” - stories of people who lost legs or were born without legs, for whom disability did not become a sentence prohibiting them from collecting energy and becoming even stronger individuals. The energy field of many people who are deprived of the ability to walk evokes admiration, while “walking” and firmly standing individuals, who give the impression of relatively well-off psycho-emotionally and energetic people, have a weak aura and produce energy resources within the limits of their capabilities. There are a lot of Taoist schools in China. The level of these schools differs significantly. There are schools that transmit the simplest knowledge, and there are schools that have inherited information that is carefully protected from widespread dissemination. The ban on transferring knowledge to the West remained until the advent of the 21st century, and only after the onset of the millennium did a gradual lifting of some of the bans begin. This is how the ancient teaching became available to Western researchers of Taoist philosophy, carefully adapted for use by our contemporaries by the professor of medicine, one of the greatest and most authoritative Masters of Tao, Pang He Ming. Professor Pang Ming received a classical European medical education and has extensive practical experience. At the same time, he is the heir to ancient knowledge, thanks to a family in which the study of Tao has become a tradition. Pan Ming succeeded for the first time!