Qi Gong in 45 Seconds

I accidentally ended up on a hippie commune over my school break.  The events that lead me to the event taking place on that strip of green in Austin are tangential; and while I did not get what I thought I was looking for, I did attain significantly useful information.

I've been in a judgemental and socially conservative head space recently.  While I know it is not my right or my business to judge others, you could imagine what was going through my head when a self-proclaimed Shaman wearing feathered earrings from "Supreme Science Qi Gong" started a lecture on things like "Warrior Breathing" and the reason sea turtles live so long.

Actually, I think the reason I stayed in the class was because of that plug on sea turtles.  I've always had an unexplainable fondness for those creatures.  As she spoke on the importance of breath for health and vitality (sea turtles take really deep breaths) I started liking her class.  Still judging the crap out of myself plus everyone else, I decided to try the breathing exercises regardless and I started liking what I was experiencing more and more.

I made some pretty wild connections over the next day that are all hot selling points on the importance of breath -- about increasing oxygen levels in the brain, about the meaning behind Lung Qi's function to disperse and descend, about the use of points like Yin Tang and Du 26 to stimulate circulation in the Circle of Willis, about...well, you get the point.  However, what closed the sale for me is that Supreme Science Qi Gong's 9 Breath Meditation can be done in 45 seconds.  For those of us who are busy and impatient, and for our clients who "don't have time to meditate" -- this technique is a gold mine.

If you are undisciplined like I am, then I recommend taking a class from a 9 Breath instructor in your area: http://community.qirevolution.com/.  The class I took lasted 45 minutes.  Yes: in 45 minutes you learn a technique that can be executed in 45 seconds for more energy, clarity and serenity.  No: they are not paying me to say this.

I know there are some critics out there who regard 9 Breath Meditation as nothing more than hyperventilation.  I'm doing research to understand the balance between oxygen and CO2 in the bloodstream and how offgassing CO2 leads to temporary vasoconstriction followed by reflexive vasodilation of and consequent perfusion of oxygen enriched blood during the deep-breathing portion of the technique.  My findings (for better or for worse) will be posted as an addendum in the comment section of this blog.

How To Make Honey Pills

Other than being a bit tedious, this process is pretty easy and rewarding:

1) Grind your herbs into a powder.  It helps tremendously if you have an electric herb grinder.
2) Add enough honey to your herb powder to make a thick paste.  It doesn't take much, so easy does it!
3) Roll the paste into balls that are small enough to swallow (this is the time-consuming part).  I found that rolling the paste into a long "snake", then pinching off pieces from the end and rolling them between my palms was the most efficient method.  Keeping your hands slightly moist with a bit of water makes the process a little less painful.
4) Place the balls onto parchment paper and bake on low heat (about 200F degrees) for 15 to 20 minutes.  The heat will enhance and warming and drying properties of the herbs you use, so make your selections accordingly or adjust your formula as needed.
5) Allow your pills to cool.  They should be firm enough to bottle and store.  If they are still gummy, bake them longer or use less honey for your next batch.

Herb ID: Dang Gui

Dang Gui (aka "Dong Quai" or "Women's Ginseng") is a famous herbal from China known by traditional doctors to nourish and invigorate the blood.  Modern research in China has suggested that the herb can coordinate the contractions of the uterus during menstruation, dilate coronary arteries and decrease platelet aggregation, amongst other actions.  Due to the popularity of the herb, many forms are available.

Top: Dang Gui slices, as we all know them, pulled out of a bag of herbs I was prescribed at the school clinic.  The supplier was probably May Way or Spring Wind.

Right: "You're Drinking Liquid Gold" Dang Gui (read: expensive), whole, from a reputable herb supplier in my Asian neighborhood.  Beautiful and fragrant, though I've only taken it once, hence I don't have enough data to determine if the difference in effectiveness is worth the cost.

Left: From what I can tell, this is a Dang Gui Root Roll-Up.  The smell is right, but it looks weird.  After boiling, it looked like this (which isn't normal -- plant based herbs don't usually disolve):

Highly Sensitive People

All the students at my school dream of having super powers.  They cackle on and on about sensing energies, they practice Qi Gong in the hopes of gaining Jesus-like abilities, they speculate about their past lives in China/Japan/Atlantis/etc. ...then, when someone walks through the doors with real spiritual gifts that haven't been disciplined, everyone runs to Western medicine to turn off the noise.  We as a culture have a nasty habit of letting our highly sensitive citizens get caught in a mental health system that is designed to destroy them, rather than fostering and nurturing those gifts so that such people might become magnificent healers.  Rather than teaching these folks how to discipline their Qi so that it may be used for good, we push them to pop pills that burn out the Kidney meridian, deplete the Jing, and destroy the Sea of Marrow.  In short, high sensitivity without discipline (according to the West) looks like psychosis and mental instability.  Yet, these people have the potential to be awesome practitioners if we try feeding them instead of poisoning them.

Just a thought.  Consider it.

Memo: "Sanitize your Phone & Keyboard."

So I rolled into work for the morning Tuesday shift at the gym, turned on the lights, checked the students in for class, responded to my emails, processed contracts, took phone inquiries, etc. ...just another normal day at the office.  Then, at about 2pm I logged onto Facebook to access the gym's fan page and got a private message from my coworker that read, "I'd disinfect the computer & phone with those clear defense wipes before you touch anything. I think I got the GERMS! :( I'll see you later, though."

Awesome.  So my buddy's cooties were all over the front desk that I had been molesting all day without any second thoughts, AND she was going to come breathe on me during the shift change.  As someone with the immune system of an inbred 80-year-old, this did not bode well for me.

Actions taken after Lysol bombing my work area: FLUIDS!  Plus: 1000mg chewable vitamin C, "Cold Quell" from Blue Poppy (the king herb is Ban Lan Gen, which might be the most badass antiviral I've discovered in a long while), and an essential oil diffuser of star anise at bedside for two nights (the famous antiviral, "Tamiflu" was derived from star anise).

Guess what? --  I didn't get sick.  WIN.

Entering 2012 with Eyes Wide Open

I just received confirmation from an outside source (a doctor of Oriental Medicine in Oregon) that most of what we learn in institutionalized acupuncture programs doesn't work in real life. Apparently, it's not just my school: the problem is system-wide, so think twice before transferring. Granted, there are always going to be those few gifted people with abundant Qi, whose needle prescriptions don't matter as much as the practitioner doing the needling. You know the type: these people can treat dozens of patient and not get tired because they have a good connection to pre-heaven. I am not one of those people, though I wish I were. It makes for a very successful career in the art of healing people. I've got the heart and the smarts, but the connection needs work.  If you are reading this, I imagine some of you may be in the same boat.  You wouldn't be reading this blog if you didn't need more help getting the medicine to work.

I know that there is a small group of students at my university, with eyes wide open, who collectively feel as frustrated and pissed off as I do about the hoops we must navigate in order to get a lousy acupuncture license before we begin learning medicine that works. This program is rigorous, expensive and full of difficult people. So why do we stay and put up with it if the stuff we're learning is a false system? Should I have gone to chiropractic school instead?

Here's the silver lining: there IS a system that works, but it's beyond what they are giving you in your classes. At my school, the system that works is whispered in secret from the Chinese speaking professors to the Chinese speaking students behind closed doors. English speaking students need to graduate and pay for continuing education to gain access to the same information.

This great divide in our community is a major contributing factor as to why we continue losing rights as a field. It's the reason chiropractors can needle their patients with two weeks of training and massage therapists are using cupping to treat cellulite in day spas. We as practitioners are not a successfully unified force; therefore we have no lobby or ability to exert political power.

Until the new generation of Chinese practitioners of Chinese medicine step up to bridge the gap between East and West, I predict that we will continue to get the doormat treatment from other sectors of the health care industry. However, I don't see the vast majority of my classmates as the type who would speak out against the corruption in the system as long as they continue to benefit from the privileges of being a part of the "in" crowd. They are mostly too ethically weak. How about you, dear reader?  Perhaps your moral fiber is strong enough.  Honor is not a dying virtue.  It has always been exceedingly rare.

So, I invite you to continue following and listening as I continue Living Chinese Medicine. Please feel free to post a comment or send an email if you find out something I don't know. Knowledge is the power to help heal our patients, and (in my humble opinion) helping others is the ultimate life goal. Happy 2012, friends.

Herb ID: Da Zao

In Chinese herbology, there are two types of Da Zao (big jujube) commonly available.  Hong Zao (red jujube) is often used as a food additive because its bright color makes prepared dishes look more beautiful.  I have heard several opinions on Hei Zao (black jujube).  I am unclear as to if Hei Zao is a genetic variant of Da Zao, or if Hei Zao is simply Hong Zao that has been smoked.  I can't find unprepared Hei Zao in any of the local Chinese markets in my city, nor have I been able to find live plants at the specialty nurseries (I hear that Da Zao grows well in Texas). 

Allegedly, this mysterious Hei Zao is preferred as a medicine by hard-core Chinese practitioners, however others tell me that the smoked Da Zao, which is also called Hei Zao (like the one at the top of the picture seen above) is simply a flavor additive for use in hot pot.  If you're like me (I smell everything), you may have noticed that a lot of Chinese herbs purchased at your local grocer have a distinct smoky odor.  From what I know, these herbs are smoked to enhance the aroma of the meals to which they are added.

Please also note that the Chinese jujube is not the same as the dates we are accustomed to eating in Western culture.  Dates from the Middle East and Southeast Asia are a different species from the Chinese jujube, which is sometimes called the Chinese date.  The therapeutic properties of the Middle Eastern date are not the same as the jujube; the two can not be used interchangeably in medicine.

Note the two Hong Zao in the photograph: the three small jujubes on the left are from a 2-for-1 package special at one of the herbs stores I frequent.  They are not the best quality.  As I mentioned in previous posts, it is wise to question the quality of any herb that is on sale or available at a price that seems too good to be true.  The two jujubes on the right were given to my by a clinical supervisor that has discriminating taste in herbs.  They are big, glossy, and dark red with a sweet fragrance and intact skin.  While the smaller jujubes are genuine, their therapeutic properties are inferior.  Be aware of herbs that seem too light, spongy, or lack aroma.  All other things being equal, you do get what you pay for in this field.