The color red is considered very auspicious to the Chinese. During the Chinese New Year, which will be coming up on the new moon in mid-February this year, many things are red – red dress, red decoration, red cakes, etc. These are viewed as bringers of luck, prosperity and success. Not only do the Chinese dress in the color red during the new year celebrations but also during weddings, both bride and groom; this is to symbolize joy, happiness and a fruitful union. It is also common to place Chinese Red Dates, along with peanuts, longans and lotus seeds on the bridal bed, as a salutation of fruitfulness. These Dates are also often gifted by the Chinese to a person as a symbol of wishing one health and vitality in life.

In the Chinese Materia Medica the herb Fructus Zizyphus Jujubae, Hóng Zǎo  紅 棗 is also known as the Chinese Red Date. Sometimes it is called Big Date,  Dà Zǎo 大 棗. These fruits are not the same as the dates we know from our regular grocery stores in Switzerland, which are palm dates. Hóng Zǎo actually looks red (as the image above) or so dark that they are almost black, mostly dried and are used in soups, teas or alcohols, made into paste for sweet cakes and used in Chinese Herbal Medicine. Its flavor is sweet and its temperature neutral. Most times when an herb is sweet, it is used for tonification. It enters the channels of the Spleen and Stomach. It is a food-grade herb, which means it can be consumed very regularly as food. As such, it makes sense that it enters the Spleen and Stomach channels, as these organs are like the power-generators for our bodies; they digest our food and create vital substance to maintain life. Hóng Zǎo nourishes both Qi and Blood in the body and calms the Spirit. But its true power is in its ability to support, moderate and harmonize the effects of harsh herbs in an herbal formula. For instance, if a formula were to be on a bitter side, which is often the case with expellant ones that would have anti-bacterial or anti-viral capabilities, an herb like Hóng Zǎo would be added to moderate the flavor as well as neutralize the coldness of these herbs. This would make the formula more easily acceptable to the taste and digestibility of the body.

As Mary Poppins sang, “Just a spoon full of sugar, helps the medicine go down…” - Hóng Zǎo does that too. The Chinese view sweet medicine also as medicine, not just bitter ones and they put it into the medicinal formula directly, to create balance. No need for a spoon full of sugar when you have Hóng Zǎo.
 
 
 
 
Image by SW Yang on Pixabay

There is a commonly quoted idiom in English, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is something that I have come to take as a kind of life philosophy, in viewing people, places, plants and situations in life. Plants especially are deep reminders of this principle, as they appear to be simple and mundane beings to our human eyes, often unworthy of our attention. They however, are much older beings than we humans are; plant life has existed since 500 million years and Homo sapiens around 300 thousand years. Most plants produce their own food through photosynthesis, thus they are self-sustaining with the help of the Sun. They produce oxygen in the process, and become food for other living beings on Earth, such as humans; they are thereby essential for life on this planet.

One of these mundane-looking beings is Licorice, Glycyrrhiza, which is Greek meaning “sweet root.” The Chinese use the root too but call it Gān Cǎo 甘草 which means “Sweet Grass.” Radix Glycyrrhiza uralensis is the species used in Chinese Medicine. It is the most utilized herb in the Chinese Materia Medica, together with other herbs in classical formulae, which is the Chinese medical way of using herbal medicine. The Chinese use the ‘team effect’ in treating with Herbal Medicine; seldom is an herb used alone, to ensure that the positive effects of the prescription are emphasized and the negative neutralized. Licorice is so often used in formulae due to its ability to harmonize the effects of other herbs. It is a balancer, a neutralizer and an envoy. Its flavor is sweet and its temperature neutral. In some text it is stated that  Gān Cǎo  enters all the 12 channels, particularly to the Heart, Lung, Spleen and Stomach. Licorice on its own tonifies Spleen Qi, moistens the Lung, stops coughing, clears heat and toxicity, moderates spasm and pain. As stated before, it is a moderator and harmonizer, as it is used as an antidote for toxic substances.

Another form of Licorice is used in Chinese Medicine, Zhì Gān Cǎo 炙甘草.This is a prepared form of Licorice, where it is fried with Honey. Honey Fēng Mì 蜂蜜 on its own tonifies the Spleen and Stomach, moisten the Lung and Large Intestines, as well as eliminate toxicity from the body especially from the skin. This is already what Gān Cǎo does, but when honey-fried, it further strengthens Licorice’s capacity to tonify, moisten and detoxify the individual organs.

It is probably the trait of Licorice to communicate with all the 12 channels of the body that makes it so adaptable; it is able to ‘speak the language’ of each channel and thus become a kind of ambassador. I have an image of this herb as a being that is able to connect with its gentle voice to other powerful herbs, urging them to aid a human being with her/his ailment. On the other end, Gān Cǎo whispers to our different channels in its proper language in a mild, sweet tone, bringing the healing effects of the other herbs to the right places, assessing the situation of what is needed, how much gets distributed and where in a proper manner.

When we view this herbaceous plant, with its little leaves and light purple flowers, we underestimate its real power in its root to connect and harmonize in our bodies. Just as we look at those brown, unimpressive roots, we would not imagine that Licorice could perform such profound tasks in our bodies. Like old books, which may look dull or unimpressive, Licorice’s external appearance disguises its true power to neutralize toxicity, strengthen the Qi and harmonize in our bodies.
 
 
 

Image Licorice root by gate74 on Pixabay
Image Licorice plant from wikicommons

As we head toward the darkest day of the year, the Winter Solstice, I feel the need to find my roots, like the trees do. This can be in the practices that I do in Qi Gong and Meditation or even in the food and herbs that I ingest. A few years back, I wrote about the famous herb, Ginger. We find it in stores here like any other produce; recently I even came across Ginger grown in Switzerland. It has become one of those common household herb all over the world. It can be used as food, as a beverage and as medicine, when one knows how. This is the power of this plant.

Ginger originates from Maritime South-East Asia, which includes Malaysia, the place where I was born and raised. From this area, this plant began to spread to places like India, China and Arabia, which then came to Europe via the Roman empire. The Chinese described in text written in the Warring States period (475–221 BCE) how Confucius ate Ginger with every meal.

In the Chinese Materia Medica, Ginger is listed in a few different forms. They are fresh Ginger (Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, 生姜 Shēng Jīang), Ginger peel (Cortex Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, 生姜皮 Shēng Jīang Pí), dried Ginger (Rhizoma Zingiberis Officinalis, 干姜 Gān Jīang) and quick-fried Ginger (Zingiberis Rhizoma Praeparata, 炮姜Páo Jīang). This is because Ginger is a very versatile being. Each form can have one or more of the the abilities to warm, heat up, disperse edema, dispel the effects of toxic substances or harmonize the effects of other herbs.

In its fresh form, just like we get them here in the normal grocery store, Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, 生姜 Shēng Jīang, is a food-grade herb. As such, one can cook it with other ingredients to enhance the taste of that particular food, like fish, meat or vegetables. In some Asian supermarkets, you may find young ginger, that which is yellowish in color with a green stem protruding out of the rhizome. This form is a little less warming than the older brown version. Herbal decoctions regularly containing multiple Herbs, prescribed by a Chinese medical practitioner, often includes Ginger to harmonize the Herbal Formula combinations; aiding better absorption of the Herbs into the body and to prevent possible toxic side-effects from other potent Herbs. In fact, I have read that Ginger can be used as a remedy for food poisoning, and is cooked with fish in order to neutralize toxins in many traditions. 
 
In the everyday, we can grate it, make an Herbal infusion out of it just by adding hot water and letting it steep for 10 minutes just as a beverage. This can be very helpful too if you had symptoms like chills and/or fever caused by the common cold virus. In fact, making a foot-bath or a whole-body-bath with this infusion till one gets warm and sweaty would also help expel what we call "Wind-Cold Invasion" in Chinese Medicine. If you wanted to enhance the digestive effect of Ginger, then you can throw in a couple of slices of Ginger into a pot with water and cook it for at least 15 minutes. This infusion would be less spicy but more warming for the Stomach, good for stopping nausea and vomiting in pregnancy or otherwise, help relieve bloating and digestive distress. Shēng Jīang enters the Lung, Spleen and Stomach, is spicy and warm. In contrast, Shēng Jīang Pí, Ginger Peel is spicy-cool and is good for edema and promoting urination. 
 
As with anything, too much of a good thing transforms it into a hindrance. If you tend to heat in your system, then too much Ginger will overheat you. A spicy flavor will circulate Qi and too much circulation will dry out the body. Use moderately or speak with your practitioner, if Ginger is appropriate for you. I find that this is one of the many simple herbal foods that I almost always have at home or with me when I travel. One of our favorite meals is rice with chicken, cooked with Ginger, soya sauce and Sesame oil; a simple but scrumptious recipe passed down to me from my mother, which is also a postpartum remedy. Like so much around the world, people have used food as medicine since time in memorial. It is only us modern urban-dwelling, city-folk, who are often times disconnected from nature, who question the validity of food being able to affect our health or never really realize that what we put into our bodies might affect who we become.

Ginger’s power lies in its versatility to transform from home remedy, to medicine, to regular beverage for the everyday. It doesn’t have to have fancy packaging or come out of a gilded bottle to be potent. It is this simplicity that makes Ginger mighty.
 


Image Ginger Root by Engin Akyurt on pexels.com

In the year 1988, the song “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” was released by the American rock band Cinderella. I heard it a few years later, in my teen phase where rock music was totally cool. The song itself is not unique; boy has girl, boy doesn’t appreciate girl, girl leaves boy, boy laments his loss and wishes girl was still with him. I personally think that this isn’t such a great song, but the title is so appropriate to the human life story.

One of the things that we humans in the modern world do not like to openly talk about is our feces; the waste that we produce out of our bodies, from eating, digesting and creating energy as well as life-giving substances such as blood, to maintain life in our bodies. In English, we name it all sorts of names: poo, poop or kaka for kids, excrement, stools or feces for adults and of course those curse-words we use when we get mad, like shit or turd. One of the best ones that I find when someone wants to say that they have to go expel some feces but is embarrassed to describe the action, so they get a little vague by saying, “I have to go do a number 2.” We tend to get embarrassed as well as scared about our own waste, and for that matter any kind of fluid or substance we produce from our bodies like urine or sweat or menstrual blood, to the point of having to hide or mask it with perfume or deodorant. But the fact is, if we didn’t have them, we would not be able to live or function well.

In Chinese Medicine as with Western physiology, the Large Intestine is in charge of receiving the digested and sorted material, that has already passed through the Stomach and the Small Intestine. The job of the Large Intestine is to further absorb the fluids as well as electrolytes, and most importantly create the stool to expel the waste out of the body. If the Large Intestine did not do its work, our bodies would be poisoned by the bacteria and toxins that need to be released out in the form of the feces. The walls of the Colon are so intricately “designed,” like the rest of Gastrointestinal (GI) tract, it is made up of 4 layers. From inward to outward, the layers of the lumen (tube) are: mucosa, submucosa, muscular layer and, adventitia and serosa. These layers prevent the bacteria, that are transiting out of our bodies, from entering the rest of the body, and help the movement of stool with peristalsis. The layers are nourished by blood vessels, have multiple plexuses of blood, nerve and lymphatic innervations; thus, maintaining a strong connection to the immune, circulatory and nervous systems. It is only in recent years, Western science has acknowledged the gut as an organ for more than just dealing with feces; it has been dubbed the Second Brain. They are starting to realize that even emotional states, such as depression, or dis-eases such as autism or multiple sclerosis, could be linked to the GI tract.

Chinese Medicine views the Large Intestine as a partner organ to the Lung; the Large Intestine being the lower conduit and the Lung the upper, of the Metal element. The season of Metal, which is where we currently are, is Autumn. It is the season of going inward, letting go of the external manifestation, which are not beneficial to us and condensing the pure energy within. Its cardinal direction is the West, where the sun sets, once more the allusion to going inward as the brightness of the sun diminishes. The color of Metal is white, for purity; this is fascinating when one realizes that the Lung and Large Intestine both have the task to maintain purity in the upper and lower ends of the body. The emotion associated with Metal is self-confidence when the organism is in balance, and self-critical as well as grief, when not. The flavor of Metal is acrid, sharp on the tongue, like a metal sword cutting through soft tissue.

I came across a fascinating documentary about toilets, sewage and waste; how our societies have dealt with their waste across the centuries. The toilet, the appliance that we all use multiple times a day but is not really thought about, until of course when it doesn’t work. And what about where our feces go once we flush the toilet? We often do not want to see, or smell, or even pay attention to where the pipes that move our waste pass through or where the sewage plant of our area is.

Next time you go to the toilet to make a bowel movement, look into the toilet bowl and see what your gut produced from the substances you ingested. Take a look at the Bristol Stool Chart, see what type of stool your colon produced. Be grateful for the ability your body has, to remove waste from your system, absorb nutrients that are beneficial to it and protect the rest of the organs from the unbeneficial bacteria that may have tagged along for the ride. Remember that song I mentioned at the start – Don’t Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Gone? Be the person that appreciated what s/he had and didn’t have to lament after losing it.
 
 







Image Bristol Stool Chart from Stanford University
Image Abdomen-Intestine by MD.ABDULLAH AL-AMIR on Pixabay

Before I moved to a place with 4 seasons, that was about 30 years ago to go to university, I had only heard of them but never really experienced them; I had moved away from the equatorial tropics, where there is only really 2 seasons - warm dry and warm rainy seasons. I only then became aware of the distinct differences each season presents. Many would describe that there are 4 seasons. But as I got to studying Chinese Medicine, we were made aware of a fifth: Late Summer. This is a season where plants and trees come to fruition, like summer squash, early apple and pear, or nuts. In the USA, people sometimes called it Indian Summer, what I have come to understand as a time of mild weather before the cold of Autumn sets in, which was first observed by the Native Americans. I have come to know of it here in Switzerland as Altweibersommer. But what has revealed itself to me is that this Earth element season is also the time that manifests between seasons; a transition time to create a smooth flow from one season to the next.

The Japanese call it the Doyo period: it is defined as the 18 days before the season changes at the Equinoxes and the Solstices. Through the sharing of ancient Chinese philosophy and medical knowledge with the Japanese, they began to interpret and observe Nature around them through this lens. The Japanese, like the Chinese, observed a distinct period of time between these celestial events that we experience on Earth in relation to the Sun. These Doyo periods often bring a mildness to the climate, a warming that would signify that a change is coming. This is what we are experiencing here right now and in many other places in the world. In fact, we humans have affected our environment so strongly that I believe the Doyo period is beginning to extend longer than the 18 days, sometimes going on for a month or more, that we all, humans, animals and plants, get so confused to the point that we don’t know head from tail anymore; for instance, 18 degrees Celsius here in the Basel area in late December not so long ago, made plants and animals come out of hibernation too early, not to mention us humans getting unusual viral infections.





Chinese medical philosophy tells us that this is the time of Earth element. The binding element that allows for smooth transition into the next phase. It is linked to the color yellow, the organs of Spleen, Stomach and Pancreas; the organs of our Center. These organs are responsible for transforming food, through the action of digestion, into Qi and Blood, our resources for life, as well as transporting fluid and vital substances around the body. The tissues of the body that reveal the Earth’s energy are muscles, and the orifice is the mouth, including the lips. Makes sense, doesn’t it?  The place where nourishment comes into the body and the sounds of singing that come out of the body, are actions of Earth that occur through the mouth and lips.

The emotion associated with the Earth is a pensiveness, being thoughtful of people, beings and situations around us; this is when our Earth element is in balance. An imbalanced expression reveals worry, where thoughts churns around in us in circles, never finding a place of calmness. The Spleen is the seat of Thought and Intention, Yì. Hence, we are reminded that our consumption of information, digital or print or in any other form, also needs to be digested by our Earth organs energetically. What happens when our digestive system is overwhelmed by junk food? We get constipation or diarrhea. What happens when our Spleen is overwhelmed by news and information? Probably “thought constipation,” or what I used to tell my kids when they were binge watching on their mobile phones, "digital diarrhea," or other digestive problems, ruminating through our body-minds in the middle of the night.

The flavor of the Earth phase is sweetness, the taste of mammalian life’s ultimate nourishment - Mother’s milk. And furthermore, the sweetness of Mother Earth’s produce, like a crunchy, juicy red apple or a soft, moist orange sweet potato, nourishes us with a wholesomeness that no artificial, factory-made substance can. On the subject of Mother (human and Earth, respectively), there is an action of transformation constantly happening in our everyday life without us ever acknowledging it; the transformation from fruit/vegetable/grain/meat into food in our kitchens and ending up as meals on our dinner tables, as well as those from food to compost in the Earth, enriching the soil for the next year’s planting. Mother Nature is intelligent, there is no wastage; just the cycle of life, death, rebirth, transforming from one to another and beginning all over again.

It is now the time to give the space for transformation; let go of what we don’t need, this may include food or media consumption, but also thoughts and things that don’t nourish us. When we start to honor transformation, we can embrace change and we can mature; like the plump caterpillar metamorphosizing into a butterfly.
 
 
 

Image 5 Element Doyo by Elaine
Image butterfly cocoon by GLady from Pixabay

About a month ago, we were still in the throes of Summer. It got up to 35 degrees Celsius  even in August, which is unusual for us here in Switzerland. But this has become the norm all over the world. We are in the midst of big change, of our Earth overheating but it is not new; the heating and cooling of the Earth has been happening for 4.54 billion years but us humans are sure contributing large amounts to the current overheating in a short amount of time by how we choose to live.

Not so far back in the past, in 1989, the American singer, Billy Joel released a song – “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” In this song, he lists some of the events in world history from his birth year, 1949, till that year when he turned 40; he released the song in September 1989. Little did he know that in November of that year, the Berlin Wall fell, signifying the end of the Cold War; thus helping this song to catapult to the top of the music charts around the world. When I heard this song then as a teen, I didn’t quite understand it. He lists many things that was significant to the Western world, but most especially to an American; I was an Asian teen with little experience and knowledge of world events at that point in time.

Since I began studying Chinese Medicine, I have been fascinated by the Theory of the 5 Phases or Elements, Wǔ Xíng. This theory is not just applied in Chinese Medicine, but also in Chinese philosophy, science, politics, education, music, martial arts and probably anything to do with life. In medicine, we are taught that there are 12 Regular Channel/ Meridians, which are connected to 12 organs. All of these 12 have 1 of the 5-Elements associated with them; each Element has 2 partner organs except for Fire, which has 4. Just with this circumstance, one can assume that Fire is a very important element in Chinese Medicine. These organs are the Heart, Pericardium, Small Intestines and Triple Burner, Sān Jiāo; the Heart being defined as the Emperor of the organs. Just with this detail of having 4 Fire-Element-organs in the body, we can imagine that Chinese Medicine views humans to have a tendency to build up heat in the body.

Fire is important for life but too much of it would create an imbalance. We need a certain amount of warmth in the body in order that our natural body functions work. However, when we have too much heat, it would make the functions go into overdrive and burn out. Is this not the dis-ease of our time? In Qi Gong manuscripts, there are referrals from the Eight Trigrams (Bā Guà) to Kǎn, Water and Lí, Fire. Qi Gong Master, Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming describes in his book, The Root of Chinese Qi Gong:

“Kan is Water and represents Yin in relationship to Li, which represents Fire and Yang. Qigong practitioners believe theoretically that your body is always too Yang unless you are sick and have not eaten for a long time, in which case your body may be more Yin. When your body is always Yang, it is degenerating and burning out. It is believed that this is the cause of aging. If you are able to use Water to cool down your body, you will be able to slow down the degeneration process and thereby lengthen your life […] Fire and Water mean many things in your body. The first concerns your Qi. Qi is classified as Fire or Water […] The Qi which is pure and is able to cool both your physical and spiritual bodies is considered Water Qi.”

Therefore, many of the Qi Gong forms are for developing Water Qi, to cool and balance Fire Qi within our beings. A balance between these two kinds of Qi is what creates health. According to Dr. Yang, this can be achieved by having proper food and fresh air, regulating the Mind and Breath, steadying the Spirit and some special Qi Gong meditative practices.

Dr. Yang also hints that our thoughts and Intention, Yì, is shaped by Kǎn and Lí, Water and Fire; if we are fiery in our beings, we begin to have fiery thoughts and actions. This is often what we observe in Chinese Medicine, if someone has an imbalance of heat in her/his body, s/he will begin to manifest irritation, anger, obsessive and manic behavior, to the point of being violent toward the people around her/him. I believe this imbalance, within many individuals, is one of the causes that drove societies to seek to dominate and conquer others. I came across a very good documentary many years ago about fossil fuel, its origins as well of its effects on our planet and its living beings, called Crude: The Incredible Journey of Oil. It traces how the tiny phytoplankton from 160 million years ago, floating in an ancient ocean that makes up what is now the Arabian peninsula, stored the power of the Sun in the state of carbon and with the pressures of the Earth, became “fossilized Jurassic sunlight” deep within the Earth to conceive what we know as crude oil. It also creates an awareness of how our modern lives have been shaped by crude oil; from petrol in the car that transports us around, to the plastic of our kids’ toys to the skincare products that we put on our faces. We have become so detached and disconnected from life around us, that we may be unaware that the excess Fire within us is devouring us and all around us.

Billy Joel’s song chorus goes:

 “We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it.”

But I disagree, we may not have started the Fire, but we are fueling it. It is time to stop. We can choose to balance it out with the Element of Water, in how we live and what we practice in our everyday.
 
 

Reference
Yang, J.M. (1997) 2nd.Ed. The Root of Chinese Qi Gong. Wolfeboro, NH, USA: YMAA Publication Center.
 
 

Image by ulrikebohr570 on Pixabay

The year is 1988, I am in a pre-competition intensive training camp for rhythmic gymnastics. One of our coaches, Coach Annie is doing mental training with us. This is the first time we have ever done anything non-physical in training. She gets us all to lie down on the training carpet. She leads us through a small relaxation exercise and then she asks us to imagine ourselves performing our routine as perfectly as we can, without any mistakes. She tells us to do this as often as we can, but we never really get to this again as a group; trust a 14-year-old to do extra work outside of regular training. About 8 years later, I am in university taking a psychology-in-sport class. Our professor is telling us that research and studies are showing us that athletes who use visualization and mental training in combination with physical training perform better than those who do not. This fascinates me, as I had already had a taster 8 years before. I ask myself what it is that one is training when one does mental training. Some will say that it is training the Mind, but what is the Mind and where is it?

Interestingly, when many in society speak of the Mind, we point to our head; I was researching the Mind on the internet and Wikipedia’s first image is of a head with symbols in it. In the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries online, it states that the noun ‘mind,’ when referring to the ability to think, refers to “the part of a person that makes them able to be aware of things, to think and to feel.” This definition does not specify any parts of the body, which is quite wise of Oxford Dictionaries to do so, as there is quite a lot of scientific evidence available these days which show us that what we define as faculties of the Mind are actually not only located in the head, i.e. brain, but everywhere in the body. Often times, what is defined as the Mind is referring to cognitive functions such as perception, reasoning, awareness and memory, psychological capacities of both conscious and unconscious, as well as feeling, motivation and behavior. The definition of Mind in the West encompasses a very broad dimension, as such it can become very vague and often times gets misconstrued as just the brain. What is clear is that the Mind is not just in the brain; hence, the term Bodymind has begun to be in more common usage over the last few decades.

In Chinese Medicine, what has been translated as Mind is actually called 神 shén. The Chinese character shén has two parts, the radical on the left means god or deity, on the right it means to explain. Together they mean god, spirit or expressive. Shén in Chinese Medicine refers to the mental ability on one hand, as well as the emotional and spiritual aspects of a human being. Mental activity and consciousness are said to dwell in the Heart. The Chinese medical scholar, Giovanni Maciocia states that “five functions are affected by the state of the Heart: Mental activity (including emotion), Consciousness, Memory, Thinking, Sleep.” The Chinese medical view goes further to describe Will Power Zhì as residing in the Kidneys, Thought Yì  in the Spleen, the Ethereal Soul Hún as related to the Liver and the Corporeal Soul Pò corresponding to the Lung. Therefore, for thousands of years the Chinese have viewed the Mind as being in the body as well as in the head; this corresponds to the Bodymind concept.

When I ponder back to my time as an athlete at 14 years old, using visualization techniques to perform better physically, I realize that the seeds of Bodymind were already being planted in me. I was already being trained to view my being as a whole being, not as the sum of parts, all it needed was regular practice. Now, I still prepare my intellectual Mind for exams or presentations by warming up my body, as I did as a gymnast and dancer, by stretching and moving my physical body. Just as I still do visualizations of my Tai Ji Quan/ Qi Gong form when I am on public transportation and can’t practice it physically. For me, the Mind is the Body and the Body, the Mind.
 
 
Reference
Macioca, G. (1998). The Foundations of Chinese Medicine. London: Churchill Livingstone.
 
 
 
Image by AdinaVoicu on Pixabay

A couple of months ago, I was asked to contribute an article to the journal of our Swiss TCM Professional Organization, TCM-FVS. It was to be about Endometriosis and how it can be treated with Tui Na Massage. I went through the process of researching the current available research and treatment methods for Endometriosis in biomedicine, as well as my own knowledge and experience in treating this condition.

First of all, to understand the word Endometriosis, we must understand its Latin-Greek description. Endo as a prefix, means “inner” or “within,” Metr- is “uterus,” together they refer to the inner lining of the uterus. Osis as a suffix to any word means “disease” or “abnormal.” It helps to have studied medical terminology in university. Endometrium refers to the inner lining of the Uterus. Therefore, Endometriosis refers to abnormal endometrial lining. In a healthy human uterus, the endometrium thickens and sheds with every menstrual cycle, flowing through the cervix, into the vagina and out of the body. In Endometriosis, some hypothesize that there is an incomplete or even a backflow of menstrual blood, causing a stasis of blood not only in the Uterus, but also on the organs surrounding the Uterus, like the uterine tubes, ovaries, rectum or intestines. When the endometrium does not completely shed but remains stagnant in the Uterus, this is called Adenomyosis, not Endometriosis. The most common symptom for both conditions is pain, before or during menses, dysmenorrhea, or even with sexual intercourse, dyspareunia. There are finally other newer hypotheses being suggested. I say "finally" because this hypothesis is almost a 100-years old proposed by Sampson and has not been proven or unproven. It is the oldest of the hypotheses, as Endometriosis has been ignored as a condition in biomedical field for a long time and many observe the reasons to be a neglect of female-health issues; not taking women-s health complains as serious health conditions.

In Chinese Medicine, conditions such as Endometriosis, which is by no means the only female uro-genital condition, have mostly to do with stagnation; stagnation of Qi, Blood, Dampness, Phlegm. These cause blockage in flow and can result in physical masses, when not brought into motion over a long period of time. For Chinese Medicine, the result of the stagnation is only one part of the picture; we ask the questions of how and why, the process of which this stagnation is occurring. If we were to view the body like a river, flowing with water, nourishing and creating little ecosystems wherever it flows; then the Uterus would be one of these areas of movement and life. Like in a river, if the amount of energy and water is lacking, there will be too little movement and nourishment; thereby, causing stasis and/ or deficiency. Sometimes in a river, we also find debris from upstream, garbage that shouldn’t be there but is, which can cause blockage and changes in flow, as well as change the environment within the river. This is also what can happen in our bodies, as such we maintain regular flow of Qi and Blood in the body with Tui Na Massage, Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine.

In my research, observation and experience about treating people with Endometriosis, I have found that every person’s story is different, as such needs an individually-tailored strategy. I have also found that we in our modern society tend to look outward, instead of inward for answers and solutions; we try to find the info about our own bodies outside us, instead of within us. So often the clues and answers are right there within us, we just have to take time to connect, listen and feel, in order to understand.

I have attached the article I wrote in English, which appeared in German in the June 2025 Yin Yang TCM Fachmagazin. But before you read it, place your hands on your abdomen and connect with your being inwards.
 
 
The Healing Power of Touch: Tui Na in the Treatment of Endometriosis

 
Image by SimonLeeMaryan on Pixabay

“She has got to stand up for herself,” “He won’t take this lying down,” “Does that sit well with you?” – These are some of the common English phrases used in everyday speech. Without even thinking about it, we reference our physical posture, which our physical bodies manifest, in descriptions of actions and situations we experience in our lives. No matter how much we may want to deny it, our physical body shapes us and the reality around us. Even the word that we use to describe that we can comprehend what another person or situation is trying to convey to us, the verb “to understand” or “verstehen” in English and German respectively, is a physical posture reference.

Our physical bodies shape our reality and our experience of the world. We often forget this and in fact, take a very important detail for granted: we as human beings are the only species of mammals who can stand and walk upright for long periods of time. This is called Bipedalism. Often I observe my cat stands on her 4 legs, which is Quadrupedalism, rubbing on my lower leg. I never realize how tall she could be if she stood up on 2 legs until she does for those short moments and I am astounded that she almost reaches my hip; she expands from about 30 centimeters to 80 centimeters, which is more than double her quadrupedal height. This makes me understand the advantage humans have over other animals; that we Homo sapiens appear bigger to other animals, giving us a kind of watchtower-sight of things as well as appearing bigger, therefore, providing a size advantage over other animals, such as to my cat. I get proof of this whenever I play-rough with her on the ground, she gets overly enthusiastic and tries to attack me, but if I stand up to my full height, she retreats and acknowledges my dominance. In this case, size does matter. Standing and walking on 2 legs do have advantages.

Our human bodies took about 6 million years to become bipedal, as seen in the current fossil records found all over the world. Standing on 2 legs changed our anatomy and therefore changed our posture. In addition to lying, we can stand as well as sit upright. In fact, being upright is the ideal posture for balance as well as energy-optimal alignment for our bodies; if we do not have an upright posture, the muscles and connective tissues of our back, shoulders, hips, chest and abdomen cannot completely perform contraction and relaxation, thereby creating tension and pain in the body. But this is only the physical aspect of life in the human body. The moment we slump in the spine, not only do we have compression of organs, connective tissues and muscles, which then adjust the blood circulation of the whole body, our senses, such as our sight, perceive a different view of our external environment, the nervous system begins to be affected, triggering a whole host of events; thereby creating a change in our emotional mood. Our external view of the world, along with the physiological changes, affect our internal one. If you don’t believe this happens in your body, just try it for yourself for a 30-minute period but not longer, to prevent lasting negative effects to your being.

Not only is this change personal, the people around us judge us by our posture all the time, even if they deny it. The moment we walk into a room, judgements are already made just by how we are perceived by our posture. Upright posture conveys confidence, assurance and professionalism. If we were going to a job interview, this would be a positive advantage, if the potential employers were looking for someone competent. These first impressions set the stage for the rest of the interview and interactions. We only have to look up the word “upright” in a Thesaurus in order to understand how perceptions of our physical uprightness are not just physical: “decent,” “honest,” “honorable,” or “conscientious.” People read these moral attributes from our upright posture, even though we in society constantly declare that we are objective and unemotional.

Chinese Medicine designates the Jing Jin, Sinew/ Tendino-Muscular Channels as foundations of upright posture. These channels flow as suggested by their English translation, in the areas of the tendons, muscles, as well as ligaments and fasciae; these include externally on the area of the skin, as well as internally in and around the internal organs. Jing Jin are defined as conduits of Wei Qi, Protective Qi. By this, we can deduce that the Chinese attribute upright posture to the protection of the body. As such, exercise practices such as Qi Gong and Tai Ji Quan are an essential part of Chinese Medicine in maintaining health. I will discuss Jing Jin in future blogposts.

Do you remember as a kid how the adults around you would nag you about your posture? – “Sit up straight,” or “Don’t slouch.”  I hate to say it but they were right; if we had listened then and made adjustments to our bodies, we are probably reaping the benefits of their wisdom. If however we didn’t, it’s never too late. It takes a little more time and awareness as an adult but it’s still possible to make adjustments. It's all about practice, keep at it!
 
 

 
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The other day, a friend and I watched a movie made in the year 1931. It was fascinating as the credits for the movie came at the start of it, unlike these days where it comes at the end. It made me think of all those moments I was at the movie theatre, when the credits and the music played at the end of the movie and most of the audience would just be walking out; most of us do not pay much attention to the names and job titles, that move at a rapid pace and are projected in so small a font, one would maybe catch one name out of every ten. There are often almost a thousand names but most of us aren’t even aware of who they are or what they do, except for the main actors and possibly directors or producers, who get bigger fonts and spaces for their names. These are the people we never see in the movie but are essential in the production of the film.

Back in the day when I was a teenager, I had daydreams of being an actor; of being the star of a movie, walking down the red carpet, being looked at and being admired. I was a rhythmic gymnast from age 12 to 16, as well as a dancer till 30, so being put in the spotlight was part of my life for a little bit, whenever I was on the competition floor or on the dance stage. When I became a coach at age 17, I learned to hold space for my gymnasts; this included multiple training sessions in a gym giving instruction, listening to lots of music, editing to fit the music pieces into a-minute-and-a half sequences, doing choreography; repetition day-in and day-out. Then competition day came, I woke up early with the gymnasts, did hair and make-up for them, led warm-ups and waited with the nervous gymnasts till their turns to perform came. Then when their minute-and-a-half routines were in progress, I had no control over the situation, I just had to stand by and watch in the background. If they performed as we had trained and were successful, then they were on the podium receiving their medals and flowers; I was on the sidelines clapping joyfully for all the fruits of our labours. If they didn’t perform well and they were emotionally down, I was there to console them and hold their hand after. There are no medals for the coaches. That is the life of a background artist.

In university, I minored in dance; every Spring we had a big stage production. One Spring, I was part of the dance production class, meaning that we learnt everything from performing on stage, to doing lighting, tech and music, to setting up props; we dressed in black, ran around doing jobs backstage looking inconspicuous but at the same time making sure that the performers were making their cues and being in the right place at the right time. Those backstage-helpers were there for most of the rehearsals and all the performances, but were not on stage at the end of the show, taking bows or receiving applause in front of the audience. In fact, when everyone went home, they were cleaning the stage front as well as back, and packing up material. It is essentially one of those jobs that we see on the movie-credits rapidly moving up the screen, that not many notice - the background artist.

I believe the biggest role of the background artist I have played so far is being a Mother, and I capitalize the `M,´ as it is a role so often overlooked. Many years ago as I worked as a dance coach for an artistic gymnastics academy in California, one of my bosses, Donna told me to enjoy my time and the attention then, as I had just gotten married, because once I had kids, she said everything would be about the children and everybody would ask how your kids are doing and not how you are. She was right. As a parent, not only is one the child-bearer, nurturer, care-giver, one is also the taxi-driver, psychologist, manager, etc. This is THE ultimate background artist job. One has to play every role possible, except being the center of attention, unless things do not work, in which case the Mother is often given the fault. There are often no credits given when things work out and let’s not talk about the salary, there is no financial renumeration. One of the most important “jobs” in life and is seldom positively acknowledged by our society. What we get as Mothers is one day in the year as acknowledgement, in most places on the second Sunday in May, which has been exploited by capitalism to sell us more stuff.

Let’s give real credit where it is due to the most essential background artist, who makes things work rain or shine. This Mother’s Day, let’s do something different, let’s not get stuff for our Mothers but gift them something real and meaningful, like time together or a home-cooked meal or a hand-made gift. Gift your Mom from the Heart and be present with her, leave the store-bought stuff in the store!




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