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Tai Ji Quan: The Art of Awareness

1/9/2022

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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
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Finding Joy in Movement

15/8/2022

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There is a theory in Chinese Medicine that the Qi flow in Meridians/ Channels are already in existence when we are born into the world as babies. However, only through nourishment - by way of (mother's) milk and care, life experience and movement, do these Channels get stronger as well as more distinct. As I have explained in a previous post, only when these conditions are fulfilled and with the time through childhood, can these Qi 'Rivers' fill up and the access points develop. Thus, the Acupuncture-Points also come to maturity sometime around puberty, if all the criteria of nourishment are fulfilled. 
 
With this in mind, we realize that Movement is a key ingredient in the growth and development of a human being. In childhood, we get to know the world and our bodies through Movement. The child touches its face and realizes for the first time that it has a face, when it feels it in its hand and the corresponding sense of its hand on its face. It swings its arms, kicks its legs and finds its center, to finally turn sideways; this is when it finds its true potential of its mobility. Then the process begins, to crawling, standing and walking; all this in the span of about 8 to 18 months. Children need to move with their bodies and in the environment throughout their childhood in order to develop muscles, fasciae, organs, bones, experience and understanding of self within space. When I say, "understanding," I am referring not just to the intellectual but also to the physical, emotional, spatial and energetic understanding. Due to fact that our mainstream "conventional" world very seldom speaks of energetics or the existence of an energetic world, many of us are energetic "toddlers." We may sense something of an energy as children, but we are seldom given impulses or feedback or much less schooling to develop ourselves from this perspective.
 
Many of us experience Movement through our childhood in the form of sport, especially for males, as our society frequently views Movement forms, such as dance often times ballet, mostly for females. Thus, Movement has become gender-defined. Look at our mainstream school system in Switzerland, the only Movement subject on the schedule is "sport." In many sports, one is often not focused on developing the internal environment of the being but more so learning the rules of the game, sport-specific skills such as eye-limb-ball coordination, maybe tactical strategy or team cohesion, most prominently competition and winning. Any other forms of Movement outside of the "sanctioned" sports are considered odd. Yoga or I must mention Yoga Asanas - the posture practice of Yoga, since Yoga encompasses far more than physical practice, has become more conventional but again more dominant in the female population. Some Yoga Asanas resemble acrobatics, which is also considered a sport; therefore, something that looks like sport is more acceptable to our society. I hear of so many "traumatized" by school sports; many at a young and tender age were forced to participate in Movement based on competition, failed to meet this standard and were scarred from being branded "uncoordinated" or even "failures". If we as a society concentrate on Movement for competition, then what we will reap is a small number of winners, since there is often only 1 winner in most sport forms, and a large population of casualties, broken from the battle. They, or we, are left to pick up the pieces of their broken beings. How can this be sustainable or even logical for the wellbeing of our society?
 
What drew me, and still draws me, to Tai Ji Quan, Qi Gong and Yoga is the internal focus to Movement; the internal environment of my being and the work I put into developing it can be manifested as/ in external Movements of my body. This is not to say that there are no Tai Ji Quan, Qi Gong or Yoga practitioners who are externally-focused; some are, that is where they place their intention and therefore they stay on the exterior. For me, it is about what is inside us that matters and not how good it looks in front of a mirror or on some social media platform. If the focus is only on the outside or in competition with others, then we become nothing more than a vacant shell, hollow and empty on the inside but having shiny adornments to cover up the emptiness inside. I was lucky, I found joy in Movement, even if just physical and external, early on in life. Then, even the distress of injury later could not extinguish my desire to find Movement. In fact, when my external body could not manifest Movement, I found internal Movement. For this I am grateful to my bodymind. This is what I am trying to share with others, the joy of connection to our own bodies, external and internal, the joy of Moving. Because Movement is life, so let's live!   
 
 
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Photo by Amanda Napitu on Pixabay

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My Early Encounters with Tai Ji Quan

28/7/2022

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"Big watermelon, cut half. Serve left, serve right." - This is what I remember of Tai Ji Quan as a child growing up in Malaysia. We were at my uncle's and aunt's house for Chinese New Year celebrations and they wanted to share that new video that they were following along with to learn Tai Ji Quan. As I listened and watched, I thought then, "old people's exercise."
 
As I got to the US, I was in a modern contemporary dance class in university. The teacher, a former professional dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company in her mid-30s, started to introduce some movements from Tai Ji Quan in our dance class. I thought, "Oh, my...big watermelon is back. Maybe there is something to this movement form, maybe I need to be more open to it, maybe it isn't just for old people." When I was injured from dancing later, I decided to take a Tai Ji Quan course taught by a physical education professor from China, who was doing a study on Tai Ji Quan and balance in the elderly at my university. I thought then that the movements of Tai Ji Quan were actually quite circular and inward-focused; in contrast to ballet, which were more focused on creating long lines that extend outward.
 
When I finally got to Chinese Medicine school, I knew that I wanted to study Qi Gong to aid in my energetic studies. I looked for a teacher near to where I lived, I found Shi Fu Donald and Cheryl Lynne Rubbo; they taught Qi Gong, Tai Ji Quan and Shao Lin Quan Gong Fu. After Qi Gong class, Tai Ji Quan would often begin and I saw people of all ages, children-teenagers from 10 years old onward, and adults from 20 to 70. My teachers were in their 40s. They were doing robust exercises, not just round watermelon-serving movements ;-) but low, deep stances that required strength and flexibility to perform. They were jumping, kicking, punching and blocking, sometimes in slow motion but also in normal or fast speed. It was then that I realized that Tai Ji Quan is a martial art; that some people actually practice this form of movement in order to fight and defend themselves from attack. My Shi Fu had the ability to apply their skills in combat but they chose to use them for health purposes; to train the body-mind to find healing and balance in life. I was encouraged by my Shi Fu to join Tai Ji Quan class too and later on Shao Lin Quan.
 
It took me a while to un-train my body, from the tension-filled holding and overextending style, which is normal in ballet, to a relaxed, easy sustaining of a posture or in performance of a movement. What is asked for in the practice of Tai Ji Quan is holding poses without muscular tension and moving in a flowing manner with little effort. This is the concept of Sōng 鬆 ; to let go of muscular tension and, enable Qi to flow as well as sustain postures and movement. Every time I thought I was getting it, Shi Fu Donald would tell me to relax and let go of the tension I was holding. Another focus of Tai Ji Quan that I find so vital and challenging is the movement that comes from the centre, the Dān Tían 丹田 . I had often heard in ballet classes to "move from my centre," but nobody could ever explain or showed me what that meant. This I learned vey quickly with my Tai Ji Quan teacher, as every time I would perform a movement he would come over to show me the martial application of it and my stance would crumble, if I was not moving or connected to my centre. Another aspect that I developed from the practice was patience and humility. Since I began learning organized movement from the age of 5, learning movement comes quick to me, but my Shi Fu would introduce to me 1 posture of the 64 from the Guang Ping Yang Style Tai Ji Quan form over a period of weeks, sometimes months. So, I learned to be patient and persevere in my repetitive practice of the same movements, sometimes at very slow speeds and sometimes on my own, as the other more advanced students continued on with the 64 movements.
 
As I look back on my first contact with Tai Ji Quan as a young person in Malaysia and what I later experienced practicing it, I realized that I was young and arrogant; too busy indulging in my youthful strength and sneering at those I imagined to be inferior to me. Making a movement like a big watermelon may sound silly, but it is an easy way to remember how to make the circular movement with the arms - a mnemonic. Like many things in Tai Ji Quan, or for that matter Chinese Medicine, it may seem simple but is effective and often times profound. As I have once mentioned in a previous post, there is a Chinese saying, "When you are ill, get Acupuncture/ Moxibustion, Tui Na and take Herbal Medicine. If you want to stay healthy, sleep enough and eat healthy. If you want to build strength, practice Tai Ji Quan/ Qi Gong." This is what I have observed for myself, Tai Ji Quan has helped me to develop not only physical strength in my body but also mental resilience in the face of challenging situations. Most importantly the patience and humility to approach life and the people I encounter. 




​Photo by Elaine
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In Search of Centre

27/9/2021

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The Chinese character for Centre or Middle is, 中 Zhōng in Mandarin. I recently looked up a Wiktionary etymology of this character and it describes 2 versions of this pictogram: one being a target, the rectangle box being shot through by an arrow, the second, derived possibly from a more ancient character as in the image above, being a flagpole with a drum being beaten by the wind, placed in the centre of a field to gather people together and to detect the direction of the wind. The meaning of this character, Zhōng, is either "middle" or "centre" or "to hit the centre" or "to attain."  

It is quite unknown to many that the name for the country China is not what Chinese people call their own country. They call their country Zhōng Guó,中國, meaning "Middle State" or "Middle Country." The modern mainland Chinese call their country Zhōng Huá Rén Mín Gòng Hé Guó, People's Republic of China. "China" was a name given to them by the Persians, or possibly ancient Indians and then adopted by the Europeans. There are many reasons that led to the people of China calling their country Zhōng Guó, which archaeological sources date back to the period known as the Warring States Period, ca. 471 to 221 BCE. But what has then occurred is that the medicine that we called Chinese Medicine, which is called in Mandarin Zhōng Yī,中醫, directly translates as "Middle Medicine." 

It only recently occurred to me that a "Medicine of the Middle" is about finding the Centre, which for me also refers to finding balance. This is true of Chinese Medicine, there is a focus in finding balance within the individual; the individual within her/his social-emotional, physical and spiritual environment. The concepts of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases/Elements, which are the basis of Chinese Medicine, are about balance. Over 10 years ago, I was in a course for Shonishin, Japanese Children's Acupuncture, with Dr. Thomas Wernicke. He got us to lay like babies, in order that we understand the perspective of the world that babies have. One of the important growth milestones for a baby is rolling, either from belly to back or reverse, which typically occurs between the 4th and 6th month in a healthy child. Before a baby can perform this, it must first find its midline, that means hands and feet, right and left must be able to connect with each other. Once they can perform this on a regular basis, the body will be able to tip sideways, and they begin their movement journey towards being upright. This was an illuminating moment for me. I became more aware of my own Centre as well as how important it is to be Centred in order to be alive and thriving. 
  
It has been a few years now since I began practicing Yoga. What has drawn me to practice it regularly in recent years has been the connection I sense with myself internally and externally as well as, what I perceive as a playfulness with my own body(-mind). After spending my early years of life till my 20s dancing on my feet and the next few decades practicing rooting through my feet-legs through Tai Ji Quan/Qi Gong, I find being upside-down on my head, arm and hands just fabulously exciting. My most recent goal is the Handstand; the description of Handstand is very deceiving as it not just about trying to stand on the hands. Through this process, I am evolving a new awareness of balance and my Centre, not just in the literal sense but also in my life. I am finding that balance is not a static place/event; it is a constant fluctuation between stillness and movement. Some days I achieve balance on my hands for 3 seconds and another for just a milli-second. I receive minute information from different body parts like the base of my hand or my phalanges (the bones of my fingers) on where my balance is. I find that I am in constant "conversation" with my body and its different parts. It brings me into the here-and-now, because if for one split second of handstanding I lose my focus, I may fall painfully on my head. I accept all these gratefully as I know deep inside me, a cauldron of deep knowing is in the brewing.
 
As we just passed the Autumn Equinox (time of equal day and night) last week, I had the feeling that balance is being called for. We can all definitely find a little more balance in our lives and what better way than to become aware of our Centres. Take a moment of quietness and stillness in either standing, sitting or lying. Become aware of your body in space. Then, ask yourself, "Where is my Centre?" and just listen to your body answering.
 
 
 
Image Headstand by Aron H.
Image Zhōng Bronz Inscription and Silk Script from Wiktionary
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Spring: Time to Get Stretching

27/2/2021

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I was outside these past few days enjoying the warmth of the sunlight and the scent of spring. There is still a chill in the air but you can feel the earth is warming up and the plants are twisting their way out of the earth to reach the sunlight. It is the return of life and the energetic motion of rising upward. 
 
In Chinese Medicine, it is the time of the Wood element with the color green and the climate of wind; hence, be mindful of the cool wind when you go outside to get sunlight. The organs that are associated with Wood are the Liver and Gallbladder. They govern the sense organ of sight, the eyes, and the tissues are the sinews. Interestingly, the emotion related to this time of year is anger/ frustration and the sound of shouting. I say "interestingly" because one would imagine after a long, cold winter, it feels like a relief to have sunlight and warmth. Which it is, if we are allowed to grow outward. But if you imagine yourself as a plant breaking through stone to come out to the light but being restricted when you have all that powerful energy in you, you would become frustrated and at some point, angry. It is a time of movement. All that storing of qi inward in winter needs to start to move outward. As the Yellow Emperor Inner Classic or Huang Di Nei Jing, Su Wen Chapter 2 states:
 
"The three months of spring,
they denote effusion and spreading.
In heaven and earth everything comes to life;
the myriad beings prosper.
Go to rest late at night and rise early.
Move through the courtyard with long strides."
 
It is the time of the year to move our bodies and minds. This is why many of us feel like beginning new projects or starting to exercise. It is not just us humans but the energy of the season that inspires us to movement. The reference to "move through the courtyard with long strides" arouses in me the feeling of stretching.
 
I like stretching. I began formal dance training at the age of 5 and continue movement training even till the present. I feel blessed when I can move and stretch. It is like breathing for me, existential and essential for life. When the Chinese say "sinews," they refer to tendons, ligaments and fasciae. This is fascinating as I realized that being flexible has more to do with our connective tissue, which are made up of collagenous, elastic and reticular fibers, than to do with our muscles or bones. More and more scientific research into the body is revealing that we do not know everything about the body. For the longest time anatomists thought that they discovered all there is to know about human anatomy. Then not so long ago, they realized that fasciae are not just "junk" tissues around organs and muscle, but a deep network of tissues that connect the whole body. Currently, more connective tissues are being discovered and they are realizing that stretching is a very important component to having a healthy body. In The Science of Stretch, Dr. Helene Langevin describes her research with stretching connective tissue with acupuncture and how deep the effects of this stretch are on a person. 
 
For me, stretching goes even deeper than connective tissue; stretching my physical body brings me deeper into my mental, emotional and spiritual being. This is why I like practicing Tai Ji Quan, Qi Gong and Yoga. These practices incorporate breath, movement and stretching of my body, as well as the awareness of Qi. I have learned to focus and discipline my body-mind, being aware of sensations in my being as well as the environment that envelops me. I have learned to distinguish between a beneficial, stretching sensation and the sensation of ripping, piercing pain when I have overstretched; in other words, I have come to know the healthy boundaries of my body. This does not stop at the physical body, it extends to my awareness of the other aspects of my being, be it emotional, mental or energetic.
 
If you are sitting in your chair right now reading this blogpost, begin by opening your chest to the sky and lifting your arms above you. Feel how good that feels. It is now the time to move, turn off your digital device and get stretching!  
 
  
 
 
Reference
Unschuld Paul U. (2003): Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen - Nature, Knowledge, Imagery in an Ancient Chinese Medical Test. London: University of California Press, Ltd.
 
 
 
Image by kevin burt on Pixabay
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Wu Ji: The Great No-Thing-ness

7/1/2021

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We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.
 
We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.
 
We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.
 
We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.
                                                                                Dao De Jing, Chapter 11 by Lao Zi
 
In Chinese philosophy and Qi Gong there is a concept of Wu Ji, which can be translated as "The Great Nothingness" or "The Supreme Emptiness." You may often see a Chinese/Japanese calligraphy of a circle, like the one above, this is Wu Ji. This calligraphy hangs on our wall at ICM in the space where we practice Qi Gong/Tai Ji Quan/Yoga. On a few occasions, as I was practicing with students, I began explaining this concept of Wu Ji and only through my explaining this profound subject have I begun to see a fragment of the larger picture that the ancient philosophers were referring to. 
 
As we look at the image above, we see the black ink of the circle but what of the space inside of the circle? That is Wu Ji. It embodies that Great Emptiness. It is both space and time. One of the insights to Wu Ji came to me one day as I was attempting to explain it as I was teaching. I realized as I looked at the image that Wu Ji is "filled emptiness"; the circle may be empty but it is not deflated. 
 
I recall my teacher, Shi Fu Donald leading us in meditation many years ago. He led us to that moment/place before Yin and Yang, before the "I" becomes. It was a very profound moment for me; I was pondering what would be before Yin and Yang, a sense of wonder manifested in me. All through our training in Qi Gong/Tai Ji Quan, we first find Wu Ji and then begins movement, physical or energetic. It has come to me that Wu Ji is "before the beginning." It is even a specific position in sitting or standing, as well as a moment, space or state before we begin a practice. Shi Fu Donald also taught us a Qi Gong form called Wu Ji Qi Gong or Primordial Qi Gong. 
 
When we read the Chapter of the Dao De Jing (Pin-Yin for Tao Te Ching) above, this is what Lao Zi is trying to convey to us. He is trying to show us that the space in the middle of the wheel, the emptiness in the cup, the space in the house and non-being is what creates us as well as our reality. Lao Zi was a famous Chinese philosopher who lived around the 6th century BCE. He is said to have founded Daoism and wrote the Dao De Jing, which has 81 chapters written in verses like the one above, each barely filling a page. It is, after the bible, the second most translated text in the world. As with many things in life, "less is more."
 
Next time you look at your hand, look into the spaces between your fingers. Your hand exists because the spaces between your fingers exist. This time of winter invites us to look into the spaces in between. There are very few leaves on the trees but there is more space between the branches. Just as we can give ourselves more time and space in our lives between appointments or work to find Wu Ji in our everyday.
 
 
Reference
Lao-Tzu, translated by Stephen Mitchell (2011): Tao Te Ching - The Book of the Way. London: Kyle Books.
 
 
 
Image Wu Ji by Elaine 
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Jing: A Chinese Medical Perspective of Life

15/10/2019

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As I began my studies in university in the US in the mid-1990s, I was in a class for cultural anthropology. One of the first themes we discussed was, "Nature vs. Nurture." Does a living being get shaped by her/his environment in the manner of behavior and physical traits, or does s/he come into the world with certain characteristics both physical and mental that are already present within and predestined, that manifest throughout her/his lifetime? This debate has been going on in the Western scholarly tradition since the 17th century and continues on till today in the form of Behavioral Psychology and Medical Genetics.
 
In Chinese Medicine, this is not a debate. It is clear in the philosophy of the medicine that life on earth, human beings included, is the fusion of the energies of Heaven and Earth. In our medical text, the Yellow Emperor Internal Classics - Basic Questions (Huang Di Nei Jing - Su Wen), written probably around the 2nd century BCE, it states in Chapter 25, "A human being results from the Qi of Heaven and Earth...The union of the Qi of Heaven and Earth is called human being." 
From this union comes Jing or Life Essence, which is the blending of energies from the mother and father to create the individual, and the nourishment to sustain life. When we speak of Jing, we refer to both Pre-Heaven and Post-Heaven Essences; Pre-Heaven being that which we receive from our parents and Post-Heaven being that which is derived from air, food as well as fluids, as we are born into the world. One may conclude that Pre-Heaven Jing alludes to genetic information and Post-Heaven Jing the influence of the environment. Already at the point when a child is born onto the earth, takes its first breath and begins suckling (or not) at the breast of her/his mother, the individual is being shaped by both her/his genetic inheritance, the nourishment provided from the environment and his caregiver, as well as the process in which s/he enters into the world. Sounds complex, doesn't it? I believe it is, as within these first few minutes of life, we enter into the world that is already in existence, carrying the hopes and dreams of our ancestors as well as ourselves as individuals, and the process in which we are birthed into the world shapes what comes later.
 
Chinese Medicine believes that we are both formed by our genetic inheritance and by our environment that we live in. The manner in which we behave and live in the world is determined by both the body (physical, emotional and mental) we have in this lifetime and the environment that we grow up in, whether it be the people around us or the climate that we live in. It is good to understand how we came to be, why we are here, but I believe what is more important is what we do in this lifetime. How we live with our Jing affect all around us, people, other living beings and our environment. Here is a view from a Chinese medical scholar, Giovanni Macioca in his book "Foundations of Chinese Medicine" on Pre-Heaven Jing:
 
"This Pre-Heaven Essence is what determines each person constitutional make-up, strength and vitality. It is what makes each individual unique... Some say this Essence is 'fixed' in quantity and quality. However, it can be positively affected, even if not quantitively increased. The best way to affect one's Pre-Heaven Essence is by striving for balance in one's life activities: balance between work and rest, restraint in sexual activity and balanced diet...A direct way to positively influence one's Essence is through breathing exercises and such exercises as Tai Ji Quan and Qi Gong."   
 
So, the Chinese medical answer to the debate of "Nature vs. Nurture" is that it is both "Nature and Nurture." It is Nature that gives us a form and a path, and Nurture gives us the means to walk the path. We are both of these and more, we have the free will to choose how we live, and what we do in our lifetime.


Photo by Aron H.
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Retreat: Reconnecting to the Essence of Life

10/8/2019

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PictureInn River as it passes Scuol
"To retreat" means to take a step back or to withdraw. Often this word was used in war or fighting strategy, which most often presents a negative situation of being in an inferior position or impending defeat. However, there is another indication to it, meaning to take time out or away from our everyday lives to a calm, secluded place. Many spiritual traditions have practiced this as a way of intensifying the connection to the divine, by focusing the mind, spirit, maybe the body in specific practices such as meditation or prayer or physical movement. 
 
This past July, as every July for the past 10 years, my family and I were in the area of Ftan/Scuol, in Canton Graubunden, where the Inn River flows out of Switzerland into Austria. ICM has organized a Tai Ji Quan and Qi Gong retreat in this area for that long along with some Qi Gong colleagues from Appenzell. My husband, Frank, and our colleague, Petra, lead the practice, which lasts half a day ending by lunch. It has been our experience that we visit a wonderful environment, where the energy of the land is strong and nature pure, but we almost never had time outside of training time to see the sights or do our own exploration of the area. Over the years we have planned retreats that last only till lunchtime and participants can go off on their own later in the day to do whatever it is that they need to continue their process of withdrawing from their everyday lives and finding what they need to regenerate, whether it be resting, bathing in thermal baths or taking a hike in nature.
 
Many times now, we have discussed changing the venue of our Summer Retreat and every time we have decided to stay in this area of Switzerland. Scuol/Ftan lies in the Lower Engadine region of Graubunden. Looking at a map a few weeks ago, I finally found out why it's called Engadine. "En" is the Romansh name for Inn, hence, Engadine is the "Valley of the En River". The Inn River is the only river in Switzerland that ends in the Black Sea as it merges with the Danube River in Passau, Germany. It begins in Piz Bernina (4049m) and flows downward through Scuol (1290m) and then into Austria. It has a special blue-green color and the powerful current enlivens the spirit, inspiring calmness and awe. This is not the only body of water that exists in the area. Between the towns of Scuol, Ftan (1648m), Sent (1440m) and Vulpera (1287m) are many underground springs that flow mineral water, rich in minerals like iron, magnesium, calcium and even natural carbon dioxide, giving the water a natural sparkling quality. Since the 1300s, people have been coming to this area to bathe in the thermal baths and drink in mineral drinking halls. Surrounding all these are mountains over 3000 metres high, many covered in Swiss Stone Pine trees. In the region, Europe's highest forest of Pinus cembra lies at 2400m, grow trees as old as 700 years. The Swiss National Park is close by, where wildlife like deer, alpine ibex, marmots, and plants like Edelweiss and Arnica montana grow freely.
 
As you can imagine, these are all reasons that draw us to return here every year, to practice Tai Ji Quan and Qi Gong in an environment so rich and vibrant in Qi. My  feeling is also that here in these mountains, heaven meets earth more intensely and the 5 elements (Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal) are at their purest and so vividly present, as well as so easily accessible. This is an environment with little industry and I get a sense of respect of the elements from the people who live here. They take care to beautify and adorn the many fountains, through which mineral water from the many springs flow into, with flowers and sculptures. The water is pure, refreshing and perfect for drinking. There is a public thermal bath here that you can bathe in, while looking out into the mountains, which my father described as "being in heaven" when he bathed here a few years ago. All the retreat participants often tell us how well and strong they feel after practicing and being in this environment, even if it were their first time practicing Tai Ji Quan and Qi Gong. So next July ( July 12-17, 2020 ), do come practice with us and retreat into this place of wonder that still exists. You may be surprised by what you find in nature and within yourself.

Picture
Fountain in Scuol from Chalzina Spring
Picture
Fountain in Scuol from Vi Spring
Photos by Elaine.
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    Elaine Yap

    I am a Chinese Medicine practitioner at ICM, mother of 2 sons, living on my third continent. I'd love to share with you my perspectives on healing, TCM, movement, plants, social change and life.

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