It Sounds Belly-rific

About 5 months ago I read an intriguing article about belly massage (Chi Nei Tsang) that really got me interested in finding a practitioner with experience in this area. Recently I read another article that made me want to try out this CNT therapy, and I thought I'd share a little of what I read. In the article titled Belly Up, by Frances Lefkowitz, our stomachs are a storehouse for physical and emotional issues. This makes sense to me because when I'm really stressed or have a lot of emotional turmoil, it affects my stomach and digestion quite a bit. Also, about 5 years ago I received a Reiki session where the lady performing the therapy told me I most likely had bottled up anger and unresolved issues causing a tremendous strain on my liver. The same day an iridologist told me I had a spot on my liver from built up agitation. Although it seemed easy to blow it off as just some hoax, I actually was going through a difficult time with some unresolved issues in my life. And maybe my liver really was being affected by it, who knows? A few years ago I began suffering from headaches quite often, and was seeing a chiropractor regularly. Although I received temporary relief, I never felt like the underlying cause was ever addressed. Perhaps it was emotional, perhaps it was physical. Either way, I still had headaches. Since then I have overcome a lot of emotional crap on my own. My headaches still come and go, but I wonder if this belly massage technique could help me.
Here are a few blurps from the author of this article.

Give me a back rub any day. Knead my shoulders, neck, even my head. But the belly is a very different story. A private space, shy and vulnerable, my abdomen rarely gets touched by hands other than my own. It would take a leap of faith to allow a stranger to probe this tender region.
Like much of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the goal of chi nei tsang lies in harmonizing your internal systems...encouraging the body toward health from it's core outward. As I would come to see, however, something else happens when you allow your long neglected abdominal skin, tissues, and organs to be massaged. Surrendering to your vulnerability brings on a relaxation of the deepest kind. ...this is called the parasympathetic state, and is "where healing takes place." ...the technique detoxifies the body, releases long stored tensions, and stimulates the circulatory, metabolic, and lymphatic processes. Furthermore, it can aid digestion on multiple levels---easing intestinal troubles while helping you process "stuck" emotional and energetic issues. Because emotions are stored in the gut, "working on the belly allows us to work directly on the feelings," says Marin (founder of the Chi Nei Tsang Institute in Oakland, California.) Profound emotional releases are not uncommon, and several clients I spoke with experienced tears, visions, or long-forgotten memories during their treatments.

Like most people, I had never allowed my belly to be massaged, so there was a lifetime of trouble stored there. It's no wonder it emitted sharp throbs as it let itself go.

To read the entire article, click here.

I think it sounds really interesting. But now I want to know what you guys think of this and any other alternative medicines such as acupuncture, iridology, hypnosis, etc. Let me know if you've ever tried it or know someone who has!