01.27.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 7:06 am by Administrator
Recommended reading: “Yin Yoga, Outline of a quiet practice” by Paul Grilley
Key Concept:
1. Muscle is Yang, Connective tissue is Yin;
2. Meridians and acupuncture points are related to connective tissues;
Based on the above concept, when we stretch connective tissues, we are activating meridians. Therefore, Tai Chi and yoga (Yin yoga) are closely associated by their goals of practice–moving the energy along meridians and promoting self healing. The differences are from outside. Tai Chi is in constant moving forms, while Yin yoga is in stationary poses.
Key Practice (apply to both Tai Chi and Yin Yoga):
1. Relax muscles–let moves and poses have less Yang elements, so the Yin energy will grow.
2. Feel internally expanding–more by your mind, sometimes breathing can facilitate that feeling. That’s why Tai Chi and Yoga all require good breathing technique.
3. Twisting provides another dimension of movements which has more Yin than Yang. In yoga, twisting poses provide great benefits to central nerve system. In Tai Chi, especially Chen Style Tai Chi, twisting has another name–slik reeling (Chan Si, in Chinese). Silk reeling is the important skill in Tai Chi. Silk reeling is all over the body, which keep meridians unimpeded.
There are no “scientific” measurements to quantify (yin) energy. Do we need “science” to verify the chi? Or can we just believe the chi and practice Tai Chi and yoga? Obviously, we are doing Tai Chi and Yoga. We didn’t wait “scientific” prove. We feel great after Tai Chi and yoga. That’s enough.
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01.23.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 3:55 am by Administrator
Important Points:
UB1 (Jingming), UB2 (Zanzhu), UB7 (Tongtian), UB9 (Yuzhen), UB10 (Tianzhu),
UB13 (fei (lung) shu), UB15 (xin (heart) shu), UB18 (gan (liver) shu), UB19 (dan (gall bladder) shu), UB20 (pi (spleen) shu), UB21 (wei (stomach) shu), UB22 (sanjiao shu), UB23 (shen shu), UB24 (qihai shu), UB25 (da chang (large intestine) shu), UB27 (xiao chang (small intestine) shu), UB28 (pangguang (urinary bladder) shu),
UB37 (Yinmen), UB40 (Weizhong)
UB meridian is the largest detoxifying channel in the body. In order to remove toxins from the body, UB meridians have to be kept unimpeded. If the toxins are accumulated and not removed, various kinds of problems will occur in the body.
In my Tui Na routine, I will work on the whole back first (include UB13 to UB28), then back of legs and feet (include UB37, UB40, to UB67). It’s like doing the plumbing work, open this main detoxifying channel. If the person hasn’t had massage for a long time and the body has already accumulated too much toxin, he/she may feel overwhelmed by the Tui Na session, may feel sick after Tui Na. This is the normal reaction. The key is to drink lots of water and let the toxins flush out the body through urination.
UB meridian is like the sewage system. The wastes are collected. But before draining out the system, the wastes must be treated. In our body, the treatment is done by kidney and kidney meridian.
In my years of Tui Na practice, I’ve seen different people had different reaction after their Tui Na session. For most people, they felt great. For some people, if they were in bad shape, they might feel awful, due to toxins overwhelming the body. For other people, if they drank lots of water, they might feel OK. But if they drank wine or other alcoholic beverage, they would feel sick. Because alcohol will increase the burden on kidney. It’s as if the sewage treatment unit capacity is reduced, the the sewage overflow and contaminate the whole city. So, alcohol will do strange things to your body. You may feel headache, you may vomit (another sign that the detoxification goes in the other direction), or pain on some parts of your body. But these symptoms will go away eventually. You should continue the detoxification process.
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01.15.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:38 pm by Administrator
Fibromyalgia (FM): chronic pain; coupled with debilitating fatigue, abnormal sleep architecture, functional bowel disturbances, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety and depressive symptoms. (Wikipedia)
This morning, when I turned on the NPR, doctors, scientists, researchers, patients were talking about fibromyalgia. So many people are affected by fibromyalgia, so much money have been put into research and study, yet, so little people can do about it. Doctors are frustrated, because they cannot pinpoint what the causes are. Patients are frustrated, because they cannot get much help from doctors, and they suffer every day.
This is a perfect example how important the preventive and alternative medicines should take part in our lives. Chronic is not acute. The problem has been developed slowly, maybe for years. But people ignored the signs of the problem. Finally the problem became persistent, widespread, and difficult to treat with the current western medicine (pills).
Pain, based on traditional Chinese medicine, is caused by the blockage of Chi (energy) flow. Regular Tui Na (Chinese massage) can remove the blockage and allow the Chi flow freely. The pain will not stay in your body. On the other hand, if the pain is not taken care of, or the blockage is not removed, it will finally hurt meridians, and eventually affect major organs and develop much serious and complicated problems. Depending on which meridian is affected more, people have different sub symptoms besides pain. Even at this fully onset stage, Tui Na is the choice of treatment.
I have treated people with chronic pain successfully, with Tui Na, Gua Sha, and Ba Guan.
In the next a few days, I will discuss in more details about the Tui Na treatment and self care through yoga and Tai Chi.
(for your information only)
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01.13.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:17 am by Administrator
Cold and flu are more common in cold weather and during the changing of the seasons (usually from warm to cold season). In Western medicine, they are attributed to viruses and/or bacteria. If you get cold or flu, what you can do is to rest, and take pain relievers, and wait until the end of its running course which is about a week or so.
In Traditional Chinese medicine, cold and flu are related to the exposure to cold and damp. The Lung meridian is hurt, weakened, or blocked, depending on the severity. The body cannot get rid itself the toxins efficiently. So your nose is running. Your head is stuffy. Your sinuses are closed. Your whole body is aching.
Understanding that the cold and flu is caused by cold invasion, Traditional Chinese Medicine has very simple ways of treating it. Gua Sha (skin scraping), Ba Guan (cupping), and Tui Na (massage) are very effective. Two meridians–Lung (L) meridian and Urinary Bladder (UB) meridian–are the areas needed to be worked on.
Stimulating the L meridian can strengthen the respiratory function, clearing the throat, eliminating cold elements from your lung. UB meridian is the general channel of detoxification. Massaging, scraping, or cupping the UB condensed back area can move the toxins out of your body, and improve your general immune system. Your body will recover faster.
Last month I had vacation in Japan and China for three weeks. In the last two days of my stay in Shanghai, my body finally could not stand the cold and damp weather and pollution. I started to have sore throat and running nose. With the long flight back to Phoenix, my condition worsened. When I was in San Francisco Airport waiting for my next flight, I did Yin Yoga, to strengthen and improve the UB meridian. I didn’t waste time for self healing. When I finally arrived at home (after 24 hours of total traveling time), before I went to bed, I used my Gua Sha board to scrape my Lung meridians (left and right). My chest turned deep red, which was a good sign. In a simple way of saying, the toxins were removed from my body. My Lung meridians were strengthened by removing the blockage. After 14 hours of sleep, when I woke up in the morning, my nose stopped running, my throat didn’t hurt any more. I was perfectly fine.
(for your information only)
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01.08.08
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:34 pm by Administrator
2008 will be an exciting year for me, because in the past year, I finally could piece together Tai Chi, yoga, and Tui Na by a common thread–Qi (or Chi). As simple as that, it took me many years of study, practice, and experience. The quest is still going on, but I feel the joy of searching, I feel my healing power is growing as I gain more knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine. Health is lifestyle. We need to pay attention to our body, invest in our health. Don’t wait until we get sick to seek intervention.
After you learn Tai Chi and yoga, you can practice every day by yourself. Through the movements and stretching, your body is realigned, adjusted, balanced, re-energized, refreshed, and tuned for optimal healing.
Regularly receiving Tui Na will have the same benefits of daily Tai Chi and yoga. A typical session of Tui Na will cover working all 14 meridians, with stretching, rocking, pressing, kneading, and rolling techniques. The healing happens when your body is relaxed, and blockages are removed.
Take good care of your body, your life will be more joyful.
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