The scene is set. Two Tai Ji Quan players are about to engage in a fight. They stand facing each other, neither begins, neither moves. They wait for the other to begin the attack. They are standing still, yet nothing is static. Qi is flowing, they are both sensing the subtle changes of the other and the environment. Through sensing, comes awareness. A Tai Ji Quan player will have an edge over the other, if her/his ability to sense is more acute. The moment one begins an attack, s/he has begun a forward, outward motion of energy, transmitting her/his information of her/his energetic distribution to the opponent, who will then utilize this energy to a counterattack. As such, no Tai Ji Quan player would make the first move, unless s/he is sure that her/his Qi is stronger than the other. Check out this clip from the movie "Hero," from many years back. It is not of Tai Ji Quan but demonstrates what I am trying to describe very well.   
 
Tài Jí Qúan太極拳, sometimes written as Tai Chi Chuan (Wade-Giles romanization), translates as "Supreme Ultimate Fist." As you may have read in a previous post, Tai Ji Quan is a martial art with Chinese roots. It is estimated that 300 million people from at least 57 different countries practice Tai Ji Quan, making it one of the most practiced martial arts in the world. However, many have no idea that it a martial art, even those who practice it, as it has been transformed into a method of maintaining health or a form of dance. And why should it not be so? If something has the ability to adapt better in a changing environment over a period of time, then this adaptation will ensure its survival. This is something that has helped Tai Ji Quan to persist and thrive in the world, as people of all ages, children, adult and elderly practice this art with different emphasis and intentions set by its practitioner. Maybe it is even this skill to adapt to change, which is in itself a flexibility in being, that the Tai Ji Quan practitioner acquires through the practice of this art. One image my Tai Ji Quan teacher, Donald Rubbo, used to present was of bamboo. He described how bamboo is flexible and bends with the wind without breaking, as compared to rigid trees that may be strong but break due to the lack of flexibility under the strain of strong winds.  
 
Tai Ji Quan is considered an internal martial art, meaning that the energetic work is done inside the body, versus an external focus where emphasis is placed on external strength. It is based on Daoist philosophy and the principles of Yīn-Yáng, which many of us know as the diagram with the black and white 'fish;' white fish with black eye and black fish with white eye. Master Huang, master of Tai Ji Quan, calligraphy and dance, describes the philosophy of Tai Ji and Yin-Yang very well through movement as well as intellectually. One of the Daoist ideas that is key to Tai Ji Quan and Chinese Medicine is the principle that we, all living beings living in this world, are connections between Heaven and Earth; the sacred trinity. If we learn to be and stay connected constantly to this Heaven-Earth power, we are always filled with Qi; thus, we are able to conserve our own personal Qi and Jing (life Essence) to maintain life in our bodies. A manifestation of Yin-Yang is in the form of the elements Fire and Water: 
 
"Fire rises and water flows down. Water can put fire out when placed on top. This is reversing. It is a natural law that never changes. However, when the water flows down and you put your pot under it to stop it from reaching its extreme limit, the result is the boiling of water. This is called Yin-Yang reversal theory that allows one to make use of the natural laws. The T'ai Chi boxing system is based on this reversal theory, which is used in every aspect of the skill." (Kuo, Guttman, 1994, p.1)
 
Tai Ji Quan applies these philosophical principles into movement and through practicing these movements regularly, we begin to embody these principles in living our daily lives.
 
Going back to that first scene in which I described the two players; my teacher used to emphasize to us to 'play' Tai Ji Quan when we got too serious thinking and trying to make the correct form or application. We learned to move slowly but also quickly, when it was needed. In moving slow, one becomes aware of the subtle changes in weight distribution on the different aspects of the feet; thus aiding in balance training. Also, the awareness of the space around oneself, the elements in the environment and that a gentle flick of the finger, when one is connected to her/his Dān Tían, can move boulders. One aspect of Tai Ji Quan is form training, Tào Lù, where one performs the empty-hand or weapon form without contact, and if so it is choreographed. This is how many people practice Tai Ji Quan, especially if it is for health and it works on the basic form. Tùi Shǒu is Pushing Hands; this is the application of the form with contact to another practitioner but only to push the hand to uproot her/his stance, not to strike, punch or hurt. Another two aspects are the Nèi Gōng and Qī Gōng, which translate as "internal work" and "Qi work" respectively. These refer to breathing techniques, meditation, awareness training, meridian stretching as well as stillness practice. For me these are the most important aspects of the practice because they work on the unseen, deeper connections of the individual to Heaven-Earth and the clarity of mind to dis/engage in a confrontation. With stillness in body, the mind learns to become still but the Qi flows relentlessly.
 
 
 
Reference
Kuo Lien-Ying/ translated by Guttmann (1994): The T'ai Chi Boxing Chronicle. Berkeley, CA, USA: North Atlantic Books 
 
 
 
 
Image by Ron on Pixabay

​​One morning last week, I was sitting eating my breakfast at the dining table, looking at the flower that my son received from his graduation ceremony the evening before. It was a red Gerbera, with a long stem and fine petals. The night before, I had hastily found a container to put it in as we got home. But at that present moment of observing the flower, I realized that the container, rather low and broad, did not hold or support the Gerbera at all. What this flower being needed was a long, slim vessel. So, right after my breakfast I went to look for one and I imagined I found the right one to complement it. This got me wondering about the word "complement." 
 
The noun "complement" in English comes from French, referring to "means of completing; that which completes; what is needed to complete or fill up." As a verb it means to "make complete." If one were to begin an internet search with the word "complementary," we get suggestions like "complementary colors," "complementary angles" and "complementary medicine." 
 
Looking at the picture above, the color wheel, we see a chart for complementary colors used by artists and graphic designers to create contrasts that catch the eye, as well as the attention. In the middle are the 3 primary colors and when we want to find the complementary color for let's say red, we add blue and yellow together and we get green. These 2 colors are complementary to each other. The outer circle shows us the complementary colors in opposition to each other in different shades of the primary and secondary mixes. This color concept is really about how one color enhances the other.

​Then there are complementary angles referring to 2 angles that add up to 90°, which is a right angle. This is basic geometry we learned in math class. For example, if an angle is 30°, then the other will be 60°, adding the sum total to 90°. In this case, the 2 angles complete each other.
 
To have a complement is to be made whole and completed. I like this description to explain Complementary Medicine. This term was created in the 1980s to describe medical and therapeutic practices that did not/were not allowed to be fitted into conventional medicine. Chinese Medicine has landed in this category in the West, as it did not fit into the model created by the dominant allopathic medicine. To be very honest, I find that it is rightfully so. When I understand the word complementary as being "made whole," I am proud to say I practice this form of medicine. Then, my focus is to help a person be/feel whole and well; not cut up into pieces and detached from her/himself. For me the focus of medicine is the person, the individual and what their body-mind needs to be healthy. In feeling healthy and thriving, the individual feels empowered; thus, being able to live well and make healthy life-style choices for her/himself.
 
As I go back to the example of my son's Gerbera, I observe the being as it is and try to understand what it needs to thrive in its environment. I help it by providing the appropriate container and the nourishment, that it may feel safe, nurtured and supported enough to grow for the time that it is with me. As we know, we are not here in our present state or situation forever; life is finite, we should cherish the time we have been given and have gratitude for the experience. As such, I also know that at one point this being will have to go to its next stage of life and I, who have provided this container must learn to let go, to give this being the possibility to move on. In doing so, I am a complement to that being. 


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Image Color Wheel by vector portal-pixel77
Image Angle by bjus

​I never really thought about when my journey to becoming a healer began until a few years ago. As a child, my mom would get us kids to give her leg massages in the evening, after a long day standing. I guess, it was her way of keeping in Touch and connection to us, as we in my Asian family didn't continue getting hugs when we reached school-age. Often during these moments of Touch, we would share about my day in school or stories from my mom about her childhood. I can now see that the seed of becoming a healer was being planted then when I was about 7 years old; that I would one day choose the path of Touch as my livelihood. Of course, like in gardening, one can plant many seeds but only some will come to fruition, with the right amount of nourishment and environment conducive to growth for that particular seed. As I began studying Chinese Medicine over 20 years ago, I became aware how Touch came very naturally to my hands. What I had felt in my hands and my being as a younger person, became illuminated through the view of Chinese Medicine, Acupuncture, Qi Gong and Tui Na hand techniques.
 
Many methods of massage exist all over the world, as I stated in my last blogpost. I imagine that different traditions imparted this knowledge very differently: orally, by physical demonstration and/or by writing and drawing. As historians look for clues as to the when massage began to exist in human societies, they are finding images from Egypt and writings in Mesopotamia around 2000 BCE, writings around 700 BCE in China and Greece and 500 BCE India and Thailand. These culture where we have found physical evidence of massage or the laying-of-hands, are cultures that recorded information in the form of writing and drawing early on, as such we have evidence of massage's existence. However, I am confident that humans already knew of massage and healing with hands much earlier on than the physical evidence shows. We, in the Chinese tradition, are lucky to have written records passed down to us in an unbroken line till this day.   
 
A few posts back, I began introducing Acupuncture Points, which I would like to continue doing. There are 303 Acu-Points on the Regular Organ Meridians; this is not including Acu-Points on the Extraordinary Meridians of the Ren and Du Mai, or the Extra-Points such as the Hua-Tuo-Jia-Ji Points. If we add these together, there would be 390 Acu-Points. Yet there would still be even more Extra Acu-Points that don't lie on a particular channel but are used symptomatically. But let us just say that there are 390 Acu-Points on the body and of these, there are 90 that lie on the back, on and along the spine, as well as the shoulders blades. This accounts for almost a quarter of the Acu-Points on the whole body. This is not a coincidence. The back of the body is what we in Chinese Medicine describe as the Yang aspect of the body. The longest Yang channel, the Urinary Bladder with 67 Acu-Points, has  most of its Acu-Points on the posterior body. Many of these Acu-Points have direct connections to internal organs, as such can directly influence the state of these organs. For instance, BL-15 心俞 Xīn Shū, translated as Heart Transporter, treats issues with the Heart organ such as heart and chest pain, palpitations and arrhythmia. Interestingly when we look at how Western anatomy locates the Heart organ, at the level of the 5th and the 6th rib on the left side of the body, it correlates with the Chinese Medical location of BL-15, at the level below the 5th vertebra. For Chinese Medicine, the Heart also houses the Mind; when we say mind, we refer to the Spirit and the emotions. Some of the other indications for this Acu-Point are also poor memory, anxiety, disorientation, mania-depression and insomnia. As one can observe, this is an important point. Now imagine 88 other Acu-Points like this on the back, connecting to almost all the main internal organs like the Lung, Liver and Kidneys. Then, we realize that the back is a very crucial aspect of the body. In treating these points on the back externally, we can affect the body internally.
 

​Acu-Points can be utilized with different methods in Chinese Medicine. An Acu-Point like BL-15 can be stimulated by metal in the form of Acupuncture needles, by plant and flame with Moxibustion, by external vacuum pressure with glass Cupping, friction with a ceramic spoon with Gua Sha and by hand with Tuī Ná-Àn Mó. My view is that the most versatile and most needed of all methods in our times is the touch of the hand. It is the most basic of all methods, that if a practitioner did not have the ability to touch with the hand, in my opinion, the other methods would be less effective. It is for me like my mom used to say, when we grumbled about not having cutlery to eat with when we were out and about, "Hands were made before spoons." If the skill of the hand is not present, then any tool that is held in the hand would not be able to compensate for the lack of skill. Tuī means to push, Ná is to grasp, Àn is to press and Mó is to rub in circular motion. So, the name for the Chinese system of massage is after 4 techniques that are used in treatment. There are obviously many more hand techniques in the massage. Tuī Ná-Àn Mó can be very vigorous and forceful, resembling chiropractic manipulation; which would make it more a Yang style Tui Na. But it can also be gentle, subtle and mild, sometimes no more than just laying-of-hands on a body area or finger pressure on some Acu-Point; which would be a Yin Style Tui Na. This depends on the practitioner and the needs of the patient. Whether Yin or Yang, the goal of the treatment is to affect the body-mind as a whole in a beneficial way.
 
Very often I have found in my practice of Tui Na that I tend to massage the back, stimulating the Acu-Points, like BL-15 to affect the whole body and their internal organs. In the process of doing that the muscle and fasciae tension from daily life can be released as well as other acute issues like pain resolved, allowing free flow of Qi and Blood through the body. Tui Na doesn't just provide symptomatic relief but deep release of blockages as well as strengthening of the whole body. Like in Acupuncture with needles, each Acu-Point can be stimulated with the hand. What has come to my awareness is that new scientific research is showing why we need or desire our backs to be massaged. Professor Francis McGlone, a neuroscientist, has been researching how a nerve fiber called C-tactile afferent, which responds to gentle touch that activates the area of the brain for positive feelings, is abound on our backs compared to any other area of the body. He hypothesizes that having more C-tactile afferent fibers on our backs has to do with our evolutionary need for social-bonding, as we can't really reach our own backs in order to massage it, but someone else can. Thus, strengthens our social bonds to each other. Professor McGlone's findings fascinates me, as it explains to me what the tradition of medicine I chose to practice is doing from another perspective. The ancient Chinese saw Acu-Points on the back and the current Western science sees C-tactile afferent. Whatever it is, we, as individual human beings, feel it and sense how it affects our lives. In Touch, we bond. Through bonding, we create relationships. In relationships, we find connection. Thus, enabling healing.  
 




Image Tui Na by Okapi     
Image Back Acu-Points by Elaine

 
What first drew me to study Chinese Medicine or more specifically Acupuncture and Tui Na massage, the 2 bodywork methods of Chinese Medicine, is that you have it all on your own body. I can be anywhere, at any point in time and if I feel some sort of symptom coming on, such as a headache, I could press an Acu-Point on my own body to relieve it. This does not mean that the symptom may completely disappear, as it may be that I have to change the environment or situation that I am in, in order that the headache can dissipate completely. But being able to press a point on my own body to relieve the pain, till I can alter the space that I am in, is quite empowering.
 
The Chinese call Acupuncture, 針灸 Zhēn Jiǔ,which actually refers to both Acupuncture and Moxibustion. The Zhēn character has a metal or gold character on the left, which also contains the character for Earth, 土 Tǔ, and threading a string through a hole of a needle on the right. Jiǔ has the Fire character below and above the phonetic character to create the sound Jiǔ. In English, the word "Acupuncture" first presents itself in the late 17th century; a combination of Latin for needle, acus, and punctura, pricking. This is most probably a description from observations from Western physicians who traveled East Asia at that period in time. As you read these two descriptions of what we call Acupuncture in the West, you come to realise that the Chinese refer to more than just the "pricking of needles" when it comes to Acupuncture. They are referring to the elements of Metal, Earth and Fire coming together, with precision of "threading a needle." Moxibustion is performed with the burning of the plant Artemisia vulgaris on or by an Acu-Point. For me this incorporates the elements Metal, Earth, Fire and Wood. If you have ever had direct Moxa, you will also have had Water being used to moisten the skin. Hence, all of the 5 Elements are being incorporated into a treatment.
 
Even the translation for the word Acupuncture Point is not the same as what the Chinese understand. As Ellis, Wiseman and Boss explain:
 
'The word "point" indicates a linear coordinate, i.e., the intersection of two lines, a dot on the skin suitable for the insertion of needles or the application of some other stimulation. The Chinese character for acupuncture point,  穴  xuè, brings to mind a "cave" or "hole." The meaning is clear from the two parts of the character: the top portion represents a roof, while the bottom portion is a character on its own, meaning to divide or remove. The combined meaning of the two parts is a dwelling that is made by removing dirt or rocks, i.e., a cave, a hole, a den.' (Ellis, Wiseman, Boss, 1989)    
 
In the West, students of Chinese Medicine are taught the names of Acu-Points with an association to an organ and a number, for instance Large Intestine 4 (LI-4). In the Chinese-speaking world, students are taught in traditional names, some a thousand years old, depending on the lineage that their teacher holds. The Acu-Point I mentioned before, LI-4, is named 合谷 Hé Gŭ in Chinese, meaning Union Valley. As you can already observe from this name, there is an image of a valley where two mountains unite. One interpretation of this name is that it refers to the location of Hé Gŭ, between the "mountains" of the thumb and the index finger, where there is a valley-like depression. 
 
This Acu-Point is on the Large Intestine channel, as such it will treat issues with digestion like diarrhea. It is also used to treat headaches as it is the control point of the head, regulating the face, eyes, nose, mouth and ears, as well as pain in other parts of the body. It also helps in treatment of colds and flus. One other very special indication is that it induces labour or stimulates uterine contractions to aid in menstrual cramps. Hé Gŭ is also what we call a Yuan-Source Point; it is one of the Acu-points in a category of points that hold the Source of Qi for its designated organ channel. As you may have observed from its indications, this is a special Acu-Point that is used often as it can have profound effects on many parts of the body.
 
You can locate this Acu-Point by making a fist with one hand and covering the fist with your other hand cupped over, as in the image. Where the thumb of the top hand lands is where Hé Gŭ is located. This is the called the "palm-hold-fist" greeting, the way many Chinese people greet others since thousands of years. When you press on this Acu-Point you will feel a sensation that is stinging or heaviness, which is the stimulation that you want to have in order to affect the body. 
 
I find pressing Acu-Points on my own body a very good way to be connected to my being. The points do not always manifest the same sensation, as our bodies are in constant flux within and with our environment. Try finding Hé Gŭ on yourself, begin your own journey to yourself.   
 
    
 
 



Reference
Ellis, Andrew / Wiseman, Nigel / Boss, Ken (1989): Grasping the Wind. Brookline, MA, USA: Paradigm Publications
 
 
 

Image Mountain Lake by GSquare on Pixabay
​Image Palm-Hold-Fist by Elaine

"An apple a day, keeps the doctor away," is a common English adage. I recall as a young student in school, where the girls used to pass on friendship books to write details of ourselves as a remembrance and this was one of the little adages included. I thought it funny and cute. We don't have apples growing naturally in tropical Malaysia; all our apples came from China, Australia, New Zealand or USA. They weren't always the crunchy, juicy, sweet apples we have here in Switzerland. Sometimes, they were soft and powdery on the inside but outside was bright red. No wonder, as they had to be shipped a couple of thousands of kilometers to get to me. The first time I saw an apple tree laden with fruits, ready to be plucked and crunched into, it felt like a dream, like something from a fairytale. What I did not realize then is that apples are very special fruits and symbols of life and bearers of nourishment, holding the power of spring and summer in its flesh.
 
Malus domestica, is the Latin name for the fruit we now know as apple. It is an ancestor of Malus sieversii, which is a wild form of apple native to the mountains in central Asia, in countries like Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Malus sylvestris, European crabapple, found all over Europe. Apples appear to have been around for over thousands of years and have over 7500 cultivars. What also is amazing about this fruit is that it comes from the family of Rosaceae, the Rose. All the relatives of plants that we had no idea of, native to an area and migrating from one place to another and then becoming almost natural to that place over a period of time, as we humans. Have you ever cut an apple horizontally? I normally don't but when I did, this is what I found, a star with five points. Wow! What a revelation for me! The pentagram is sacred in many cultures, the Celts, the ancient Greeks, Romans, Jewish tradition...to name a few. It is also relevant in mathematics and geometry. In Chinese Medicine, it represents the 5 Elements (refer to the diagram in my first post in February 2019). All these years, I have been eating my apple and was never ever aware it had this form within it.  
 
Now is the time of the apple harvest, late summer into autumn, the time of Earth and Metal in Chinese Medicine. As such, the apple affects the organs of the Spleen, Stomach, Lung, Large Intestines and also the Gall Bladder, by nature of its medicinal properties. All herbs and foods in the Chinese Materia Medica, have organs associated with it, a temperature, tastes, which also have connections to organs and its specific functions. Apple is cooling, as most fruits are, and has a sweet, sour taste. This means that apple will cool down warm conditions or heat in the body, its sweetness will nourish Qi and the sour will astringe fluid. So, when we look at its functions of reducing and clearing heat in the body, moistening dryness, stimulating digestion, as well as tonifying Qi and Blood, it all makes sense with the tastes and temperature. It also will cool down heat in the Lung, protecting it from cigarette smoke, stimulate appetite, help lower cholesterol and toxic metal levels in the body. You can grate apple and make a poultice for sunburn and conjunctivitis. Of course, be aware that if you have a tendency to feel cold and have sensitive digestion, like loose stools, you should not overeat apple. Cooking it may help that it be absorbed better, like in the case of babies, who have weak digestive systems. 
 
Remarkable isn't it?  Something so common, found in every grocery store at the moment, or somebody's yard falling to the ground as no one had time to pick it, can do all that. We take too many things for granted. Maybe the simple things in life, right in front of our eyes, hold the magic and the miracle of healing and health. For us in Chinese Medicine, we take the perspective that "Food is Medicine." What you eat in the everyday, affects how your body and mind functions.  Don't just eat apple, because someone told you it's good for you, eat it and sense how it makes you feel, in mind and body. With this, I propose a new adage,
"If you want to stay healthy, listen to your body (and mind ;-))".


Image: apple by Pixabay user bernwaeltz
Image: 5-pointed-star apple by Elaine