POWER Of QI Complementary Chinese Medicine
About Ping Tao
Ping Tao also known as Shaolin Temple secular monk Shi Yong Yi 释永義 is a trained Chinese medicine doctor, meditation master, lecturer, philosopher, advisor, speaker, and martial arts trainer. He was born in Europe and pursued his education in China at Hubei University of Chinese Medicine. After that, he undertook studies in psychopathology and behavioral science at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.
He immersed himself in the training of Gong Fu at the Shaolin temple, focusing on both Shaolin's scholarly (Wen) and martial (Wu) aspects. His years of study at the temple led him to become one of the few lay Western warrior monk disciples (武僧 俗家弟子), covering Chinese medicine, Qigong, Chan Buddhism, philosophy, and Gong Fu 功夫,(martial arts).
Ping Tao is committed to delivering empathetic care and placing patients at the forefront of their health care journey. His approach to Chinese medicine is inclusive of all age groups, genders, and health concerns, encompassing both physical and psychological aspects. Central to his practice is the patient-provider relationship. By fostering enduring connections with patients, he is able to develop a comprehensive understanding of their health, providing tailored guidance and treatment. In addition to addressing documented concerns, he dedicates attention to considering broader health factors in the patient’s life, such as nutrition, psychological well-being, and lifestyle.
Education
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MSAOM in Oriental Medicine from the University of Hubei, China in Oriental Medicine (1978).
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MA in Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Health Psychopathology from KUL in Belgium (2009).
Medical Qigong - Yi Jia Gong
An alternative to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture is Yi Jia Gong, also known as Medical Qigong. The energy cultivation practices within the discipline of Yi Jia Gong play a significant role in the framework of Chinese medicine. Yi Jia Gong, a potent and comprehensive Buddhist practice, leverages the practitioner's cultivated energy to fortify the patient's energy field, or "Qi," and harnesses it for comprehensive mind and body healing. Yijia 医家 Gong medicine is not intended to replace orthodox medicine, but rather to complement it. Yi Jia Gong, or in an easy understood way, called healing medicine cultivation is a non-needle, non-invasive method of energetic Chinese medicine. Medical Qigong or Yijia Gong has been used as a healing modality by many in hospitals and clinics across China alongside western or traditional medicine and other TCM methods of treating the whole body for optimum health. Medical Qigong is considered an ancient treasure and one of the oldest branches of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Yijia Gong or Medical Qigong is an energy therapy which stems from the core belief that fields of energy called meridians exist in the body, and as such can be manipulated. Healing occurs through balancing Qi (Chee), the vital energy that is held to animate the body internally and which surrounds and pervades all living creatures. The term ‘meridian’ describes the overall energy distribution system of Chinese Medicine and helps us to understand how basic substances of the body (Qi, blood, and body fluids) permeate the whole body.
Disruptions in the flow of Qi energy of the body occur throughout our lifetime because of poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, injuries, surgery, suppression of emotions, and aging. The goal of Yijia Gong is to correct these Qi energetic imbalances and blockages. This enables the body to strengthen and regulate the internal organs, the nervous system, and the immune system, relieve pain, regulate hormones, and strengthen and release deep-seated emotions and stress. Qi can pass through air and clothing, so there is no need to disrobe. The practitioner may apply a light touch, to guide and manipulate the movement of Qi. The patient may feel varying sensations as the Qi moves, such as warmth, tingling, coolness, vibration, and sometimes twitching as the stagnant energy releases. Medical qigong is a complete system of health care that recognizes the root causes of symptoms or disease and treats the patient as a whole, instead of focusing on an illness or diagnosis. Practiced as an excellent complement to Western medicine, Chinese medicine may successfully treat people with conditions which Western medicine finds resistant or ambiguous.
Commonly, patients find the sessions extremely relaxing and rejuvenating. Sometimes patients may become aware of uncomfortable emotions that have been suppressed and have an emotional release either during or after the treatment. Good health and longevity are what we all pursue, and most people are concerned about ways to prevent disease and strengthen their bodies, which is the emphasis of Yi Jia Gong. The concept of it pays attention to physical pains, and at the same time is also concerned with emotional and spiritual suffering. As one of the primary goals of Medical Qigong therapy is to release toxic emotions from within the body's tissues, having an emotional release is extremely beneficial to one's psychological and physiological well-being.
“With the right kinds of energy, every disease is curable.”
Services
The Power of Qi.
Heal and transform body, mind and spirit.
Yi Jia Gong - Medical Qigong
Yi Jia Gong, is a non-needle, non-invasive method of energetic Chinese medicine. Medical qigong is a complete system of health care that recognizes the root causes of symptoms or disease and treats the patient as a whole, instead of focusing on an illness or diagnosis.
Conscious in Healing
Lift your emotional well-being. Conscious living reduces stress and pain, helping you to be healthier throughout your life. For example, mindfulness can have a positive influence on thoughts and emotions during and after a session. And a meditation practice can bring greater levels of emotional well-being, reducing negative emotions and increasing levels of pain tolerance. It has been shown to have a positive influence on conditions such as asthma, cancer, chronic pain, and heart disease.
Self Cultivation
Self-cultivation is the cultivation, integration and coordination of mind, body, and spirit. Although self-cultivation may be practiced as a form of psychotherapy, it goes beyond healing, self-development and self-improvement. Self-cultivation employs the harmonization of physical movement, breath, and mental focus centered around the stimulus of distinctive processes in the body-mind-spirit continuum.
TESTIMONIALS
What My Patients Have to Say
Along with information on the site about my treatments and how they work, I’d like to offer you patient testimonials so that you can read first-hand what patients have to say about the process of Yi Jia Gong. These testimonials are copied verbatim, with no words changed from the original letters I was sent.
Ping Tao is an amazing healer. The level of his healing is deep, gentle and genuine. He has helped me with all of the symptoms of my Coeliac, pain issues, and even stress when flying and emotional issues. I have had some amazing experiences while he is healing me with Qigong healing. I can feel the healing process he started still going on in my body days after I leave. He has truly changed my life! I am so grateful that Ping Tao is always there for me. I am in much better shape than before and optimistic for increasing health as time goes on.
With love and gratitude
Brenda Bergeron
Greensboro, NC
Over 2 years ago I twisted my ankle going down some steps. After months of indescribable pain, I was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).
This is a nerve ending condition where the nerve endings send pain messages to the brain for physical damage that no longer exists. The prognosis is horrible, no chance of a cure was given. The limb would discolor and turn into a useless “claw”.
Not only that, but there was a good chance it would go to the other limbs. I went on a personal mission to beat the odds, no matter cost or time. I had always been active, going to the YMCA 3 days a week, backpacking and tennis. I fought sinking into depression with this hopeless diagnosis. To ease the pain for two years, I wore only slippers, no matter the weather or the occasion and I often had to use a cane.
I could not stand through an entire hymn at church. Not being able to stand for a couple of minutes or walk more than 20 feet without stopping was a huge disability for my personal life as well as my career. I could not drive a car with my right foot.
I had to throw my leg over the passenger seat and drive with my left foot. I could not go up or down stairs without extreme difficulty. This was especially difficult with 4 children upstairs. I tried RSD drugs in the maximum quantities, often barely able to endure the side effects. RSD targeting physical therapy for a severe sprained ankle was torture.
My super sensitive foot was subject to a swirling pit of hot sand for 30 minutes at the time, 3 times a week. I received six spinal injections at a pain clinic and seventeen local block injections directly into the affected foot. The last medical advice I was given was to have a TENS unit implanted in my spine. I asked my orthopedic doctor about ways to correct my breathing and holistic therapies.
He was very supportive, and I was given Ping Tao’s name. He told me not to spend a lot of time analyzing, but to trust the process of illness and healing. Those words and my confidence in him freed me to get on with the work of healing. In sessions with Ping Tao, he would work on my body’s energy channels while explaining all along in layman’s terms. It was so empowering to understand how my energy was off balance and to feel the energy being redirected. It is absolutely freeing. In the days and weeks between visits I recall images and phrases Ping Tao shared with me. When I surrender my mind to these thoughts the energy within me stirs in an incredible healing way. In about 4 months I have progressed into wearing shoes and hiking boots again and going up and down stairs. Driving with my right foot while using my left foot to brake and cutting my medications to 1/3 of what I was taking before. My daily walking is back to normal although I can’t walk miles, but I am progressing. Only on some occasions I am reminded of the pain. I can stand in one spot for minutes now before I must move my foot and I feel I no longer have a disability now.
My future is bright, and I am empowered to continue my progress.
Peace to you,
Barbara Wike
North Carolina
I first met Ping Tao OMD, about three years ago. I had been diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (an untreatable form of bone marrow dysfunction) in 2000 and was suffering with weakness and constant fatigue from lowered blood counts and frequent illness due to suppressed immune function. In addition to having this condition, I was diagnosed in 2004 with Fibromyalgia and severe allergies to almost all trees and grasses. I could not sleep at night, was in constant pain, too tired to function during the day, had frequent episodes of hives and severe swelling around my face and extremities, and quite stressed and depressed over my condition.
The doctor’s treatment plan was simply large doses of prescription pain medication, antihistamines, steroids, anti-depressants, sleep medication and stimulants to counteract fatigue. When I asked if there was anything pro-active, I could do, I was referred to physical therapy to relieve muscle and joint pain. One of administrators at this practice suggested I get in touch with Dr. Ping Tao. She had heard that he had some good success with healing patients who had multiple sclerosis (which my sister suffers from) and that he was going to be teaching a Tai Chi class in a local temple. The first time I met him, I noticed that just being in the same room with him made me feel better. Occasionally, he asked me something or shared a bit of his history with me. After talking for a while, I felt like long lost friend, and when it came time me to leave, I was left with a sense of peace and hope. I made an appointment to come back the next day for a treatment and official consultation. The treatment space was very comfortable and his behavior extremely professional. Each step was explained in advance, and any questions were welcomed and thoroughly explained. The healing session was based on the ancient science of Chinese Energy Healing. Almost as soon as it started, I began to feel better and by the end of the first treatment I felt almost like a different person.
I felt lighter and happier and peaceful, and at the same time, my energy was much higher. I slept well for the first night in months. I returned for several additional treatment sessions, each of which had the same effect. The most important thing that Ping Tao did for me however was to teach me HOW to heal myself and WHY I was getting ill in the first place. He did not promise any miracles or suggest in any way that I should not follow my doctor’s treatment orders. He just made me see how intertwined the body and spirit are, and how each affects the other.
For medical treatments to succeed, there must be a change. That change is what Ping Tao encouraged and supported with his treatment. He taught me that the body wishes to be healthy, and that by finding and removing obstacles (such as stress, and bad habits) we can allow our bodies to return to health. That disease is an un-natural state, and by realigning our natural energy patterns, our natural ability to heal is brought back into being. So not only is Ping Tao a healer, but he is also a great teacher.
My medical records over the past several years serve as testimony that cannot be disputed. My blood counts have returned to an almost normal level - something that my hematologist cannot explain. By following Dr. Ping Tao’s advice and instructions, I have learned to face myself without fear and judgment, how to acknowledge my feelings and give them the opportunity to teach me what I need to know and do, how to breathe properly so that my body has the oxygen it needs to operate and the importance of being still and knowing myself. I am taking far less medication and having far fewer symptoms and have learned to treat much of my pain and allergic reactions with meditation and qigong exercises instead of drugs. While Dr. Ping Tao is a gifted healer, he will not do what you are not ready for.
At the same time of our initial meeting, I also decided to attend the Tai Chi classes
Dr. Ping Tao teaches, and our weekly class became a refuge from the outside world, a place I could find peace for an hour and renew my commitment to a healthy mind and body. And most importantly, I find myself knowing that I can and will continue to improve in both health and spirit if I am willing to work at it. Having the wisdom and clarity of thought available through Dr. Ping Tao is a resource of indeterminable value. As a healer, and a teacher, Dr. ping Tao is an amazing and gifted man. I look upon his presence in my life with great honor and would recommend his work to anyone in need of healing in their life.
Kelly Francies
Greensboro, NC
Dr. Ping Tao is a wonderful healer and teacher, I've had the pleasure of working with. His help has been and continues to be instrumental in moving me beyond chronic illness. Before I found Dr. Ping Tao, I felt that I was not making the progress that I could've been making. Understanding the body mind and spirit connection wasn't penetrating my life as deeply as I thought it would. From the first meeting,
Dr. Ping Tao’s honesty and faith in Medical Qigong really struck a chord with me. His vast knowledge of Yi Jia Gong, this ancient modality of Chinese medicine is right here and available. Through his healing abilities, guidance, and wealth of information, I'm confident that I'm well.
Margaret Holt
Kernersville, NC
Dr. Ping Tao is a truly extraordinary human being. I've never met anyone like him, and he is an amazing Chinese medicine doctor and teacher. I met Dr. Ping Tao seven years ago when I signed up for his Taiji classes and meditation program.
I got to know him, and I found myself looking forward to every class he taught.
I connected with his healing ability and interpretation of the human body’s Qi or essence in ways that I never heard before. Like very useful ways that help my understanding of the philosophy behind the healing process in Oriental medicine.
With his help I now understand concepts I spent so much effort trying to get before from other Chinese medicine practitioners and have now put them into my healing.
I am grateful for the impact he has had on my life. I recommend him greatly.
Michael Rizzo
New York, NY
I do not have much spare time to call my own. Solitude, which replenishes my soul and helps me prepare for the requisite contact with humans, is difficult for me to come by these days. I enrolled in a Taiji class recently. My aim is to set aside twenty minutes a day for Taiji once I have become proficient. It is a slow go. My Shifu (Teacher), Ping Tao is amazing, though. He was born in Belgium and became a warrior monk through Shaolin Temple in China. As a Chan Buddhist monk he earned two medical degrees in Chinese medicine, then moved to Greensboro, NC, and has been here ever since. He has such a gentle and encouraging spirit. This is a good thing in someone who could tear one's arms and legs off and beat them with it.
Dennis Johnson
Greensboro, NC