Chua Ka was self massage practiced by the Huns which they believed would increase success in battle.
Today it can be used to clear cellular memory and increase success in whatever personal battles you face.
Cellular memory is the physical remembrance of
occurrences that were not cleared on the emotional and mental levels.
They can take the form of past injuries, but more often than not it is
just that dull reoccurring ache that acts up once in a while.
Sometimes people become emotional during
massage because massage can trigger and clear cellular memory. I have
been with several clients that have suddenly reacted emotionally
because the emotion that had been blocked is now seeking expression.
As the therapist, I usually don't know (and
often the client doesn't know) what the experience is, and it is not
necessary for either of us to know. After the emotional release very
often the client feels better emotionally, and the body has more
movement and range of motion in the area I was working on that
triggered the emotion.
I also find that people have more range of
motion in their lives as afterward. What I mean is that a release of
cellular memory is often followed with a new reaction to an an
experience that has already occurred often in the person's lifetime.
As a very basic example, if someone played
softball once as a kid and was hit in the arm with the ball, but wasn't
able to express the pain that he/she was experiencing at the time (due
to embarrassment or whatever), that person carries that cellular memory
around until it is released. If that person comes to me and starts
crying when I massage his/her arm, the next time he/she is asked to
play softball, he/she might agree to play even though, previous to the
emotional release, the same person had refused for years.
The Huns practiced Chua Ka (also described
as "cleaning the bones") because felt that if they were still
energetically holding on to old issues and experiences when facing the
challenge of a new battle, those experiences would hold back the
warrior emotionally, physically, mentally and psychically from
performing the best warriorship that he could.
The Art of Chua Ka
Chua Ka is a very slow process so put at least an hour aside. The Huns
would spend several hours 'cleaning' every bone in the body, but I
highly recommend you start with the feet (which will take some time,
since there are 26 bones in each foot) and work your way up. It is
better to take your time than to rush through the whole body.
I like to enjoy Chua Ka as a special
ritual, so I take a salt bath beforehand, and then light some candles,
release a few drops of aromatherapy essential oils into a burner (I
like myrrh essential oil because it reminds me of the incense they used
to burn in church when I was a kid) and put on some instrumental music
or a CD of nature sounds. Sometimes I also place my favorite crystals
around me for even more energetic healing support.
Take 5 minutes to breath deeply and relax. If you
know how to ground your energy, this is a great time to do that. If you
don't know how to do that, become aware as best you can of the energy
field around you. Imagine a bubble of white or colored light around
you, ten feet in all directions, and that there is one cord connecting
you to the center of the earth coming out of the bottom of your spine,
and another cord coming out of the top of your head connecting you to
the infinite heavens.
Gently place your hand on the bone you are choosing to
work on. Allow it to stay there for a while and become aware of the
different levels there, both the soft tissue and bone.
Gradually apply more pressure. Imagine your hand
actually sinking into flesh, through the layers of fascia. If you do
this slowly enough, you will feel as if your hand has sunk into the
body and that you are touching the hard surface of the bone.
This is the part that involves a bit of creativity.
When I get to the point in the Chua Ka ritual when I am 'touching'
bone, I imagine a white light radiating from the tips of my fingers. I
consider it to be energy drawn up from the earth and drawn down through
the heavens through the cords I created earlier. I visualize the white
light surrounding the bone (or part of the bone, if you're working on a
big bone like the femur) and that this light is washing away any and
all debris around the bone. I visualize the debris gently falling off
into the ground to be neutralized. I send love to that area of my body
through this light.
As I'm writing this I'm noticing there is the
potential for a lot to be lost in the translation of actual process to
written word. "Visualizing light surrounding the bone" sounds a bit
silly even to me, and I've been doing Chua Ka for some time now. Please
trust the process and know that intention is everything, particularly
in regards to healing (especially energy healing).
We live in a quantum physical universe where nothing
is truly solid. I don't want to get to deep about it, but if you want
to learn some basic information about quantum physics, I highly
recommend watching What the Bleep do We Know.
When I feel I have thoroughly cleaned the bone, I slowly
start drawing my hand away from the bone. Please take at least a couple
minutes to do this because it will be jarring to the muscle if you
remove your hand quickly after being 'inside' the muscle so deeply.
When my hand has returned to the surface, I remove my hand from that part and move on to the next muscle. Repeat the process.
When ready to complete the ritual, again, mentally
visualize the cord from the bottom of the spine to the center of the
earth. I like to also assert, "All energy that is not my own, return to
source."
Some Things to Keep in Mind:
You may or may not have an emotional release
during the Chua Ka ritual. If you don't, don't worry... the process is
still quite effective. Sometimes the release comes up to a few days
later.
If you don't think you are 'getting it', try it a
few more times. Most people don't 'get' Chua Ka the first time (I
didn't). After a while you will start to understand what it feels like
to touch different layers of the body energetically. I would advise you
to take more time to sink through the muscle into the bone because the
body won't let you in if you attempt to sink too fast.
If you are 'getting it'... GREAT! Chua Ka is a
precursor to deep tissue, which is all about sinking into the body. I
still recommend you stay away from deep tissue if you are not a professional massage therapist, but this will give you an idea of what it feels like.
After a Chua Ka session, I strongly recommend
staying in and having some quite time. Your energy field will probably
be more open than usual, so it's best to NOT enter spaces that are
chaotic, noisy and/or crowded.
Finally, if you've tried several times and Chua Ka
still isn't doing it for you, try something that is less oriented
toward the energetic body like the tennis ball self massage.
