Author’s note: This article is summarized from various sources, and attributions are linked within. Author is not receiving any compensation from the practitioner, and wrote the article merely to share a positive experience.
Can your back issues, pain, uneven hips and other spine maladies be cured in one non-surgical visit? If you’d asked me that question a few weeks ago I’d say of course not. Now I’m rethinking my answer.
My daughter was recently invited to a spa day in East L.A.. One of the treatments offered was a Tai Chi Treatment™️ which was purported to realign her spine. Ben Sanchez of Ting Jin Healing’s in Lake Arrowhead had traveled to the event and offered ten-minute treatments. As a mother to a toddler and a practicing doula, she’s familiar with the lower back pain resulting from balancing a baby on her hip. She came home that day feeling taller and more flexible. She was standing up very straight and her posture was better. She urged me to contact Ben Sanchez.
Looking up Ting Jin Healing’s site, I was intrigued. Per the site, they:
“provide quick, painless, and lasting relief from chronic stiffness, pain, misalignment, and joint injury. This is done using a 2-person system based in traditional Tai Chi Chuan, that decalcifies the connective tissue, opens the joints and lengthens the structure, restoring mobility and function, while creating space in the body via gentle, intelligent traction. Tai Chi Treatment™️ requires mastery of internal force (jin) and the ability to feel or listen deep into the patient's body/structure (ting), and grew out of a school of internal Tai Chi Chuan in Taiwan. The mastery of these internal martial skills makes the system extremely rare, with only a handful of practitioners world wide.”
I’ve had back issues for over 20 years, and have seen many chiropractors with no long-term fixes. I recently developed sciatica and was told my hips were uneven.
I made an appointment in Lake Arrowhead for the 30 minute Tai Chi Treatment™️, but Ben was planning a trip out to Topanga for a one day event at the Tara Santuary with Azita Moallef. This saved me a hotel stay and a 2.5 hour drive each way. Look for a follow up article about Azita and her services.
Last Friday I had my session and was shocked to have gained ¾ of an inch in height. Note, I measured myself before I left to see if I would truly gain height by decompessing my spine. Additionally my hips are now even, though they were off an inch, and I can bend down and touch the backs of my hands to the floor. My sciatica is about 90% better and some additional stretching should do the trick.
So how does this work? Before my treatment I had a peaceful acupuncture session by Avita. That treatment relaxed my muscles completely. Once that was complete, Ben and his treatment partner took over.
My experience involved lying face down on a massage table for most of the time. Ben would feel areas of my hips, pelvis, vertebrae, knees and other areas (though he used medical terms), through my clothes (no need to derobe). He was in constant communication with his treatment partner who held my ankles. He would hold his hands a certain way on the trouble spots, and she would tug at the appropriate time, and then he would check the area again. None of it hurt, except some minor discomfort when they worked on the sciatic nerves along my leg, and even that was less painful than a deep tissue massage.
After I flipped over onto my back and had more minor adjustments, none of them as jarring as a typical chiropractic visit, I was done and encouraged to rest for a while. The Tara Sanctuary is nestled in the hills of Topanga and is truly idlyllic and magical. The sound of birds, the mild breeze, and the view of trees from a lovely patio overlooking the hills was a perfect end to the visit.
When I stood, gently and with help, I noticed the difference immediately.
If you’re wondering if this is a massage or true chiropractic treatment, the site explains it well: “The Tai Chi Treatment system is pure tai chi in a medical application. This is not massage or chiropractic, though the benefits can certainly be like a combination of the two - restored structural alignment, release of stuck tissue or stiffness, etc. It is truly unlike any other bodywork modality.”
There are no age restrictions on patients with only a few conditions that preclude treatment: “recent surgeries, lacerations, wasting diseases or tissue disorders (such as severe osteoporosis), and any delicate medical implants that might be damaged by traction based treatments.”
Contact Ben Sanchez at to schedule your appointment. Yelp reviews here.
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