Tao of Nutrition

In modern nutrition there is a tendency to label foods as either "good for you" or "bad for you". This can lead for an endless search for the panacea food: one week we are told to eat only raw food, another week high protein, another week it is high fibre, another it is low-fat.

In Taoist Nutrition, there is no such thing as a "good" or a "bad" food. Instead we see that each food has it's own energetic qualities, and thus different foods suit different people at different times.

The Taoist Medicine Wheel, or Five Elements Map, can be used to understand these energetics. Some foods are contractive, like the energy of winter or night time. We call this "yin"*, and such foods gather our energy inwards and downwards. For example, salty fooods and heavy meats are contractive. Others are expansive, like the energy of summer or midday. We call them "yang"* and they lift our energy up and out. Fo example, raw foods and fruits. There are also balancing foods that gather chi in the centre and help us to find harmony, such as whole grains and root vegetables.

The Five Flavours fit into the Five Element map.....
- Salty and mineralised foods contract and thus correspond to the Water element. 
- Sour draws in and tightens and is used to move chi in the liver and gallbladder of the Wood element.
- Bitter cools and calms and is used to tame the Fire element.
- Pungent expels, and is used for the clearing out of the lungs and large intestine of the Metal element.
- Sweet harmonises, and the full-sweet flavour (of grains, root vegetables and beans) is used to bring us to our centre and improve digestive ability.

Taoist Nutrition is a delicate artistry, working with the chi of the individual and the chi of foods to bring about wholeness or healing.

Workshops: Taoist Nutriton and Diagnostic Skills
June 1st-7th, 2008 and also September 7th-14th, 2008
Tao Garden, Chaing Mai

This workshop will teach you about the principles of Taoist Nutrition, as well as basic diagnostic techniques that can be used to help find the right food for the individual. Theoretical teaching will be balanced with experience: learning to "see chi" of food and people. Meditations will be used to teach participants to feel the flow of chi around the five elements. Taoist Nutrition looks at every level; from the nutrients within the food to the emotional relationship that we have with that food.

In addition to Nutrition, there will be self-abdominal massage and chi gung exercises to improve digestive health.

This course is ideal for healers, nutritionists and bodyworkers who wish to learn the taoist approach, as well as anyone wishing to improve their won health and relationship with food.

       25,200 baht shared 1 star accomodation
       30,200 baht single occupancy 1 star accomodation

Costs are fully inclusive of accomodation in a stunning nature setting, with three delicious Taoist meals a day, including a large amount of organic produce grown on site. Morning chi gung and evening Tao Yin Yoga and Meditation is also included. There is a huge range of healing treatment availbale at teh Pakua Integrated Medical Centre within the resort.

Click here to book online

www.tao-garden.com for more details, contact us through this webpage or book by sending an email to retreatreservation@tao-garden.com

* The use of the words "yin" and "yang" in Taoist Nutrition correspond to Traditional Chinese Medicine, and it is actually the reverse usage of Macrobiotics. However, the principles are inter-changeable.