Six thousand years ago in ancient China a practice was hidden from the public. It brought wealth and happiness to the lives of the people who controlled the chi energy. Chi is described as invisible energy, “life’s breath or energy that binds life together” (“The Ancient” par. 1). Only the masters and the wealthy knew about the practice but, after 3,000 years of it being hidden from the public it was no longer contained in China but was moving westward (Shen 6). This practice that controls your attitude, luck and emotions is known as feng shui. Previously, feng shui was named Kan-Yu, Kan meaning “heaven’s way” or study of the universe and Yu meaning “earth’s way” or study of earth. Another name for feng shui was the Qing Wu Method, which means the “way of the sun and earth” (Shen 11). Many people today spend thousands of dollars to involve feng shui into their living and work space to remove stress from themselves; many people also look for it in existing homes before they live in them (“New” par. 2). Recently, this practice was getting popular with stressed Europeans, Canadians, and Americans who wanted to bring harmony to their life (Shen 22). Involving feng shui into homes or an office allows energy to flow freely through the space which harmonizes the environment, causes positive emotions, and increases personal prosperity. Feng shui is the “art of placement” (Shen 6). Arrangements of furniture and plants and the locations of water and lighting can make significant effects on the space and allow the energy move in freely (Shen 5). When determining where to place objects a good rule to follow is curves allows energy to move gradually. If furniture is going in a straight line to a certain area the chi will move to... ... middle of paper ... .... . Samson, Jamie. "Feng Shui." Feng Shui. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. . Shen, Zaihong, and Stephen Skinner. Feng Shui Harmonizing Your Inner & Outer Space. New York, New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2001. Print. "The Benefits of Feng Shui." The Times Of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., 3 Feb. 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2013. . Venjara, Sana. "Experts Guide to Feng Shui." ABC News. ABC News Network, 26 June 2013. Web. 09 Oct. 2013. .
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One of the most relaxing forms of martial arts, T'ai Chi, can help to overcome such problems as arthritis, rheumatism, back problems, lack of balance, high blood pressure, stress, post-traumatic stress, lack of energy, and more. T'ai Chi is a non violent form of the martial arts whose roots are derived from the Chinese and correlated with Traditional Chinese Medicinal techniques. There are many forms of T'ai Chi, including T'ai Chi Chuan and T'ai Chi Chih; all of which have been studied for thousands of years to improve the Chinese way of life. There have been many records of the origin of T'ai Chi reaching as far back as over 3500 years ago. In addition to a Chinese Martial Art, T'ai Chi has origins related to Taoism, which revolved around calmness, "tranquillity of mind," and the improvement of health and persona (wysiwg://25/http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/tai-chi.html). Monks employed T'ai Chi as means of be coming more in tune with their bodies and their environment. Therefore, this martial art helped them to "defend themselves against bandits and warlords through physical health and spiritual growth" (http://www.maui.net/~taichi4u/overview.html).
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Confucianism and Daoism are two influential schools of thoughts that have existed in ancient China around the 6th century BCE. The former, led by the politician and philosopher Confucius, proposed that humans live in society according to a set of predefined rules and that they transform society through political action. Whereas the latter, led by the philosopher Lao-Tzu, promoted the idea of inaction; people should go with the flow instead of taking action to control their lives and dominate their surroundings. Although, at first glance Daoism and Confucianism seem to be two opposing philosophies, a more in depth analysis of two of their key ideas –filial piety and education—reveals that they do share some similarities.
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As the basis of Acupuncture, Shen Nung theorized that the body had an energy force running throughout it. This energy force is known as Qi (roughly pronounced Chee). The Qi consists of all essential life activities which include the spiritual, emotional, mental and the physical aspects of life. A person's health is influenced by the flow of Qi in the body, in combination with the universal forces of Yin and Yang
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