Chinese Medicine - Find Balance in Your Emotional Body

In the previous articles on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the principles and causes of disharmony were divided into four areas:

External Causes 

Internal Causes 

Neither Internal nor External Causes

Physical Constitution. 

With two blogs dedicated to the External Causes and Physical Constitution, this article will detail the aspect of Internal Causes through analysis of the emotional body. 

Photo by Mark Daynes on Unsplash

Photo by Mark Daynes on Unsplash

The Types of Human Emotion

Our emotional body is the aspect of yourself that is primed and ready to feel. Everything triggers emotions and influences the way we think, what we do and say. 

Different situations cause us to react with a wide range of emotions. What makes one person happy could make another person sad or angry. If we remain emotionally upset for a long time or we go through a very sudden or serve emotional trauma the mind finds it hard to adjust to these mental disturbances. This can cause disharmony in the body that can then represent in our physical body through disease. 

TCM considers the internal organs as influencing not only the physical body but also the psychological and spiritual aspects. Major causes of disharmony are considered to be psychological and are referred to as the seven emotions -  Anger, Joy, Sadness, Grief, Pensiveness, Fear, and Fright.

These emotions pair with an element and are associated with a season. 

It's important to note that these emotions are not considered good or bad. It is about balancing them. For example, too much joy is as imbalanced as too much grief.

Finding Balance in the Emotional Body

The key to finding balance as according to TCM is to be aware of how your emotions may influence your body and what exacerbates disharmonies. Below are some general guidelines for each of the seven emotions and initial ways to look at balancing your emotions.

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Note that the above table lists general information for educational purposes. It is important to embark on the TCM journey slowly, making gradual changes and consult a qualified professional along the way.

Wishing you the best health on your journey!

xo Robyn Saurine - Founder of Humane Yoga.

Chinese Medicine - Maintaining Health in Your Physical Body

Our physical body is an object made up of cells and organs grouped as one. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) determines we have vital energy called "Qi" that serves to keep us alive within our body. This is often referred to as human energy fields or prana and is the vital force that governs the day to day change.

The Energy Fields in the Body

Known across many philosophies such as the Qi Energy System or the Chakra System, energy fields are believed to exist at various levels. Such as physical, etheric, astral, mental and pure spirit or casual. TCM suggests that Qi flows through the body via energy channels called meridian lines as a non-tangible energetic system. The etheric body is seen as the closest association to the physical system with the meridian lines forming an interface between the physical and etheric. We access this interface through acupuncture points that flow along the meridian lines.

For a visual representation of the meridian lines please refer to this video.

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Your Constitution and How it Impacts Your Health

While Qi governs the day to day change in the body the Jing is our "essence" that governs long term change. There are two components of Jing.

The first is called the Congenital Jing. Formed in the act of conception it is the basis for prenatal growth and nourishment of an embryo. It fixes the constitution and characteristics of a person that they will take through life.

The second component of Jing is postnatal and is obtained through ingesting foods and is called the Postnatal Jing. Both of these components form the Jing energy in your body. Commonly called your Constitution.

The kidneys govern our constitution and are associated with the water element (refer to the previous blog article for an explanation on the elements). They are the most yin of all the elements and are the body's most important reservoir of essential energy. Like with a plant in a pot the resources in the pot are not infinite. When they are used up the plant will no longer have nourishment. The plant relies on the storage of resources for its nourishment.

Our kidneys are the foundation of yin and yang and govern our energy by:

  • Storing your life essence, Jing

  • Being responsible for reproduction

  • Creating and filtering blood

  • Controlling water balance

  • Housing our will and control fear

  • Ensuring the growth of our hair and bone

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Ways to Balance Your Physical Body

Maintaining harmony in the physical body is a daily practice and changes just as often. Depending on the season we will require different activities. Below are some suggestions to start with:

  • Take light exercises such as walking, swimming or dancing

  • Allow time for relaxation such as having a bath or reading a book

  • Rest the body properly by turning off devices an hour before bed

  • Meditate and do yoga 1-2 times a week

  • Eating warm, cooked foods from organic vegetables and meats where possible

  • Chewing your food well and eating slowly

  • Getting acupuncture for back and health issues

In the final article under Robyn's residency, she'll focus on the emotional body. How it is impacted through external and internal forces as well as our constitution and ways to seek balance and harmony.

#ChineseMedicine #RelaxedHumans #Health #Wellbeing #SeasonalHealth

Chinese Medicine - How the Seasons Impact Us.

Humans are in a constant state of flux through the changes in our bodies and the environment. According to TCM, we are healthy and alive because our body is in a state of harmony. That is our Yin and Yang is balanced. When our bodies are in harmony any disruption to our health is quickly restored and balance is maintained. It is when this balance is broken and not restored that we feel ill and disease occurs.

In TCM the causes of disease into four general categories:

External Causes - the external climate

Internal Causes - emotional distress that impact the internal organs

Neither Internal or External Causes - other facts such as diet, trauma and sexual activity.

Physical Constitution - Genetic strengthens and weakness in our body chemistry inherited from our parents.

The Features of the Seasons.

The external causes are linked to a specific season where they are seen to be weakened. These external factors and seasonal linkages are:

Wind associated with Spring

Heat/Fire associated with Summer

Dampness associated with Late Summer

Dryness associated with Autumn

Cold associated with Winter

You may have noticed that there is an extra season in listed above called Late Summer. This is a specific period of high humidity that affects the body as we transition to Autumn.

In turn, each season is linked to an element, which impacts particular body organs and tissues, emotions, colours and tastes. The below table summarises each of these for each season.

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Since this article is being written as Australia moves into winter we'll focus on this season as an example of how to apply the TCM seasonal approach.

Winter Time Story

In the winter the water is cold and I don't feel like drinking it so my bladder is empty. The things I hear make me fearful so my bones ache. The fear makes me see black. I want to hide and eat salty chips.

The above story outlines how we can be impacted during the winter season. To maintain the sense of harmony, mentioned at the beginning of this article, during a specific season TCM outlines how to support the organs directly affected, nurturing the body by eating healthy foods and nourishing ourselves mentally and emotionally.

In winter we do this by:

  • Resting, Replenishing and Relaxing by sleeping and having "me time"

  • Keeping the lower back warm and covered and, getting acupuncture for back issues

  • Wearing socks for cold feet and using foot soaks

  • Walking and doing yoga (particularly those practices based on clearing the energy lines associated with the organs called meridian lines)

  • Eating cooked neutral foods with warming spices like rice or fresh ginger and avoiding caffeine and alcohol.

This is a very basic summary of how to maintain harmony in the body during winter. It is important to note that any external climatic conditions can affect us during other seasons like cold hail in the summertime which may bring imbalance both our fire and water elements. The key is, to begin with, the basic principles then increase your knowledge and application of TCM over time to obtain the full benefits.

In the next edition of Robyn's residency, we'll look at physical body balancing through understanding your physical constitution, understanding energy centres (meridian lines) and steps to take to maintain balance in your physical body.

#ChineseMedicine #RelaxedHumans #Health #Wellbeing #SeasonalHealth

Chinese Medicine - What is it and Why Should You Care

The birth of Chinese Medicine is estimated to date back to the period of the Shang Dynasty (1766 - 1100BC). A Bronze Age, based on the domestication of plants and animals where most members of society lived in small hamlets (or settlements) causing a class structure to emerge of peasants and the ruling elite. The people during these times had concerns about health and held a long tradition of healing practices to treat illnesses but diseases, as we understand them were rare. Illnesses were disturbances of the individual as a whole once remedied the individual could resume normal activities. Whereas diseases were transmitted socially with natural influences the cause. Over time these theories have evolved into rational medicine stemming from a philosophical tradition. In 1973 a 2100-year-old tomb was found to contain a set of textbooks printed on silk that outlined the principles of Chinese medicine such as pulse-taking, yin/yang and diagnostic techniques.

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Defining This Ancient Medicine

Chinese Medicine is simply the consideration of the human being as a whole mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually to treat a medical problem. It now is called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Practitioners use many tools to treat a patient. Some of the treatments include herbalism, acupuncture, moxibustion, acupressure, Qi Gong, or food therapy.

How Does this Relate to Us Modern Day Humans?

TCM is beneficial in modern-day society as it's holistic, treating the whole person rather than the symptoms, looks towards prevention rather than cure and can treat those suffering from illnesses that cannot be cured by contemporary medicine.

The benefits of understanding the key principles of TCM is best stated by Dr Duo Gao in the book, Chinese Medicine -

"...to change people's thoughts on healthy living and attempt to achieve a positive outlook whereby we realise that what we eat, how we take mental or physical exercise, and how the world and our environment affect us all have everyday implications on our state of health. "

In the next edition of Robyn's residency, we'll dive into the features of Chinese Medicine and how to use apply these principles in your life.

#ChineseMedicine #RelaxedHumans #Health #Wellbeing