As part of his annual North American tour, Tao master Mantak Chia will lead a teacher training in Universal Healing Tao (UHT) June 9-25 at Eastover Estate and Retreat.

“The best tool for stress management and self-healing is over 5,000 years old and being brought back to western culture through Mantak Chia,” says Eastover’s owner, Yingxing Wang. “The Inner Smile meditation induces a state of deep relaxation that dissolves physical and mental tensions that can cause energetic blockages and illness. For this reason, it is always used as a preparation or warm-up in other meditations and qigong exercises that circulate the chi.”

We’re often so out of touch with our bodies and emotions that we don’t notice inner disharmony until it manifests as serious illness, Chia says. “Many people think that qigong has to involve moving the arms and legs. But the most important part of qigong is actually being aware of the chi flow in our body. Practicing the Inner Smile daily gives us a regularly scheduled time to look inside, to keep in touch with the state of our inner organs, with our chi, with our breath and with our emotions. We can then spot problems at their inception, making it easier to nip them in the bud.”

UHT offers a natural way to preserve vitality as we age. “As people grow older, their life force weakens, often resulting in illness and suffering,” Chia says. “Using drugs to combat illness drains so much of the body’s life force that there may be not enough energy left to maintain health. The basic practices of UHT ensure that we retain enough vital energy.”

Eastover, located in Lenox, MA, minutes from Tanglewood Music Center and Kriplau Yoga Center, hosts organized retreats as well as individual visitors. See their spring programs in Natural Awakenings’ calendar pages or at Eastover.com.