october2007archive



Resonance		The Newsletter of Chinese Medicine and Holistic Health October 2007

Hello, and Happy Frost Falls. I can only say happy fall, winter, etc. for so many years, so I have decided to open with a mention of the Solar-Year Qi instead. This is year-long cycle of 24 periods, each of which lasts approximately 2 weeks. These cycles, referred to as Joints and Breaths, are tied to the solstices and equinoxes. They indicate points of change in weather and corresponding behavior patterns, known respectively as Heavenly Qi and Earthly Xing.

The current period of Frost Falls lasts until November 7. It is followed by Winter Begins on November 8, which marks the first day of winter by Chinese standards. Two additional periods, Light Snows and Heavy Snows, preceed the start of Winter Solstice on December 22, which marks the start of winter in the West.

In my experience, these Solar-Year Qi cycles are accurate indicators of subtle changes in the environment. If you know the cycles and watch for changes, they are generally easy to perceive. Chinese medicine is a map of the flow of energy not only in the human body, but in environment as well. Awareness of these patterns of energy flow can help us to sense our connection with the outer world, and to move through the days more smoothly.

I hope you enjoy this edition of Resonance. The next one should be out in December.

Inside This Edition

	Endeavor and Destiny Three Important Rules for Injury Don't Miss the Big Picture It's Not Just One Thing

Three Important Rules for Injury

I am endlessly fascinated by the similarity of response people have to a given situation. Psychologically, we may each show up in our own unique way. But in terms of the end result, I observe the same patterns take place day after day in my practice. This is a very brief article about acute injuries - neck pain, back pain, tendonitis, fractures, sprains and strains, black and blue marks, pulled muscles, etc. Specifically, it is an observation of how people generally respond to injures, and some basic guidelines in Chinese medicine for dealing with them.

There are three mistakes I see on a daily basis. Observation of the following three rules will insure a more rapid and complete recovery from injury, be it acute or chronic:

Don't Miss the Big Picture

This article is a response to the question, "Are there any foods I can eat or exercises I can practice to help my condition?" The answer to this question is always "yes and yes", but there is a bigger picture which generally is overlooked. It is assumed in Chinese medicine that people will care for themselves by eating well, exercising, practicing Qi Gong (Chinese energy exercises) and relaxation exercises, and obtaining proper rest. In fact, the great Chinese doctor Sun Si-miao said that diet and lifestyle should be adjusted before treatment with herbs and acupuncture is administered at all. In the West, we do exactly the opposite.

It's Not Just One Thing

The idea for this article came to me while I was scrubbing small pieces of dill, coated with some olive oil, out of the grooves of my Mr. Bento soup container (I'll come back to Mr. Bento later). I remembered some basic chemistry and physics, and noticed that there were at least five observable factors at work in the cleaning of the container. There was the water itself, the heat of the water, the pressure of the water, the soap, and the scrubbing with a cloth, all interacting with both the material of the container itself and the food which I was rinsing off of it.

Endeavor and Destiny

Endeavor and Destiny is the name of a chapter from the 4th century A.D. Taoist text The Book of Lieh-tzu (the most well known work of this genre is the Tao Te Ching from the 3rd century B.C.). This chapter is a commentary, told through stories and parables, on the issue of what comes through effort and what is out of our control. The excerpt below is from A.C. Graham's translation The Book of Lieh-tzu - A Classic of Tao, published by Columbia University Press.

In the following story, Chi Liang is ill and his sons call three doctors, named Chiao, Yu, and Lu to examine him:

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