A Few Practitioners

Here are the stories of some of the practitioners who have helped make Chi Nei Tsang so widely known:

Jessica Herridge

I came to Kris’ Chi Nei Tsang course by way of an interest in digestive health. A neighbour brought Chi Nei Tsang to my attention, thinking I’d be curious, knowing of my interest in gut health and the impact it has on general wellbeing. She was right. Kris’ course piqued my interest and I signed up.

Kris’ course embraces a number of elements, not just the practical weekends, making it a robust programme that supports the building of knowledge and experience over time. The mixture of 3 full weekends of practical training with Kris as well as having to take separate mentoring sessions, self -learning with hands-on case studies and taking the first two stages of Anamarta’s Jade Egg course mean it’s a comprehensive learning programme. It gives you time to think and consider the purpose of Chi Nei Tsang and how it can play a positive role in your own life as well as those with whom you practice.

The first full weekend of training acted as great introduction to the practice. It gave me an opportunity to try hands-on massage which I’d never done before. It was great to be in a group where everyone was there for the same reason and keen to participate.

The first weekend cemented my interest in Chi Nei Tsang. I decided I would complete the full course in order to achieve my Chi Nei Tsang level 1."

The first weekend cemented my interest in Chi Nei Tsang. I decided I would complete the full course in order to achieve my Chi Nei Tsang level 1.

I am lucky enough to have a great Chi Nei Tsang practitioner, Liz Kendall, who also trained with Kris, on my doorstep. She became my mentor. Having regular mentoring sessions with Liz helped me maintain momentum and gave me support when I started working with volunteers to gain practical experience.

Case studies are a vital part of truly understanding the benefits of Chi Nei Tsang.

Completing a number of case studies and mentoring sessions before the second full weekend of training with Kris really helped to set the foundations. I got so much more out of the second weekend of training because I’d immerse myself in Chi Nei Tsang practice. I could better appreciate the nuances and subtleties of the practice. It meant I could move on from just the functional process of massage and connect with the other person on a deeper level.

After the second full weekend, I continued to build experience through case studies, mentoring sessions and Anamarta’s course. The volunteers with whom I practiced really started to notice a difference in their experience and I felt a confidence grow in me and I got more from each session too. Chi Nei Tsang is one of those practices where you never stop learning.

The final full weekend of training came at the right time crystalising all that I had learnt from Chi Nei Tsang to propel me forward into my next chapter. The benefits of Chi Nei Tsang continue to reveal themselves to me. I am really delighted to have achieved my Chi Nei Tsang level 1 and have this great practice as part of my life.'

Guhyasakhi aka Bernadette

I became interested in CNT to complement the Shiatsu practice I had at the time. I was also training with the London Healing Tao and developed a deep respect and appreciation for my teachers Kris Deva North and Mantak Chia. I had been building skills in sensing the energy and using it for healing, especially being able to 'read' the hara (tummy region) and understand how the client's own healing processes could be enhanced. CNT took this to another skill level and enabled me to sense a broader range of qualities of each of the meridian energies and their corresponding organs in the hara.

During the CNT Training I felt more aware of subtle nuances in the hara and overall body. This included how the energy flowed (or did not due to blockages) and a range of emotional and energetic communications coming from and going between the internal organs of the hara. When I received treatments I felt emotional energies flowing and expressions of thoughts and feelings during the healing process. My fingers and hands became stronger, more agile and freer to move and intuitively communicate directly with unconscious, embodied processes deep within the psyche of the individual.

CNT plays a large part in my work as a bodywork therapist and (emerging) shamanic practitioner. I get regular messages from people asking for sessions - either as part of their ongoing healing and transformation journey, or for a specific ailment happening in their lives. They can find out more here: https://holisticeducation.co.uk/holistic-therapies/chi-nei-tsang/

CNT includes working with trees and their energy. This has continued through the years and I regularly visit particular trees to enlist their support in the treatment sessions. They also help with clarifying my own energy and staying grounded and effective in this work. I have also led workshops supporting others in deepening a connection with nature through trees.

CNT also helps me to keep my own energy field clear and help healing processes to continue. Life has ups and downs and working on myself, doing self-CNT, helps me to be more resilient in life and compassionate towards myself and others.

CNT includes sharing practices with others so that they can support their own healing.

Alex West

Hello, I'm Alex West. I was studying in the Zen School of Shiatsu around 1995 when I first became aware of Chi Nei Tsang. I was also studying the Taoist practices of Mantak Chia.

Chi Nei Tsang represents an ability to go deeply into the activity in the body. The training is quite intense in a hands-on sort of way, and you have to do a lot of practice treatments as you have to focus on the navel and the abdominal area, also on the lymphatic system and other parts of the anatomy of the body, the circulatory system and the nervous system. Having done so many treatments you develop a level of confidence that only comes through practice.

The part it plays in my life now is that when I want to help somebody, especially in the digestive area around the abdomen, you can really help. It works in such a way as to untangle knots in the fascia tissue in the body and this releases deepy held tensions.

I suppose the biggest difference between Chi Nei Tsang and other forms of healing is that its permanent. Once you've released these knots they don't come back. You can heal at a deep level by releasing knots and tangles in the body. You learn to work powerfully and more deeply and make an impact on the body with a permanent effect for the good when you're doing hands-on healing treatments. That probably summarises it as best I can.

William Edwards

I am not sure whether I actually discovered chi nei tsang or whether chi nei tsang synchronistically presented itself to me. From a very young age I was always highly aware of the powerful energy and consciousness within my belly and noticed that emotional or stressful events induced a response within this space.

Then one day back in late 2015, when browsing online for massage courses, I came across chi nei tsang and Kris’s website and knew immediately that this was something I needed to plunge straight into. After a chat on the phone with Kris, I registered for all three weekends necessary to qualify and then, not long after, for the Steps 1 to 3 of the Universal Healing Tao.

I can honestly say that I have never looked back and that chi nei tsang has been utterly life changing.

Beyond the daily enriching self-care element of chi nei tsang, seeing its impact upon my student’s lives has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Whether it has been helping people to ease tightness and chronic pain around years old surgical wounds, helping to ease digestive issues or areas of tension; or simply seeing individuals overcome negative feelings about their bellies or express amazement at how their navels have changed shape over a number of sessions, practicing chi nei tsang has been a unique and amazing way to create a positive and ongoing impact on the lives of the many people I have treated.

Star Freudenberg

My partner from many years ago introduced the concept of CNT to me where at the time I was in a stressful corporate role and needed help for grounding, digestion and mental and physical wellbeing.

Constantly aware of the discipline and dedication that was required for this training. I learned so much and am still learning. It took me months to really begin to understand and embody the knowledge. I recognised so many shifts happened in my life as a result.

Gut health is my speciality and as such I embody the principles of this work multiple times a day and am very grateful to see the changes I can bring to my patients lives. I have felt so empowered from this training as whenever I have any obstacles arise, I have tools and resources at my disposal and maintenance tools as well to keep me well in the good times too.

Sahassa

My experience prior to training as a Chi Nei Tsang practitioner were in therapeutic movement, dance and physical health education. I also trained in body-mind centring yoga and Qi Gong.

I was searching for a number of years for a body based practice, but few really addressed the whole person on all levels until I came across Chi Nei Tsang.

What attracted me? An ancient holistic wisdom practice promotes the importance of the wellbeing of the practitioner; link between gut and brain health; process to empower student to become their own healer; treatment promotes healing on a physical emotional and spiritual level with evidence to support this.

The course led by Kris Deva North was both flexible in the time you complete it and structured in content - excellent practice based with theoretical support, work on own cultivation of chi was awesome, as well as discussions between participants initiated by Kris. .

After qualifying as a Chi Nei Tsang practitioner I initiated and led groups of young girls and women in East London in Breath work, Qi gong and chi self-massage: a very successful project.

I held a private treatment practice and during the ‘pandemic’ successfully moved this online.

I've returned to my private practice and continue with teaching breath work and Qi gong live.

Liz Kendall

Having trained in Shiatsu with Kris I had felt how the abdomen or “hara” can speak to us, including it in every treatment.

Chi Nei Tsang offered the chance to explore the abdomen more deeply and to incorporate Taoist meditations such as the Six Healing Sounds and Inner Smile that I’d found so effective in managing my emotions.

It was fascinating to learn, with enjoyable treatment exchanges and the ongoing benefits of self-massage.

Chi Nei Tsang offers techniques that my clients can experience as a receiver, then practice at home with confidence to improve their health.