Once again, I bow to the power of Chinese herbals. Or, at least, correctly prescribed herbals. I have a patient who suffers from hyperhidrosis. Basically, she busts out in a sweat that soaks her and whatever she is wearing. The situation is worse in stressful situations, which is a real bummer as she is a lawyer. Stressful situations are legal's stock in trade.
Chinese medicine calls sweat the, "fluid of the heart." Indeed, sweat, the loss of fluid, definitely has an effect on blood, since that water lost by sweating has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is from the bloodstream. This is why professional cyclists experience an increase in their blood viscosity during a Grand Tour, such as the Tour de France, and why replenishing fluids is so important.
The Heart is situated in the Upper Jiao (or Upper Burner) along with the Lungs. The Heart is also Fire, and if out of control, or disturbed in some way, this Fire may effect the Lungs, which are Metal. The Lungs control the pores of the skin, the gateway for sweat. So, if Heart-Fire starts to burn too bright, or a little out of control due to a disturbance to the Heart-Spirit, either by stress, fear, or some other emotional factor, the Lungs may lose their ability to control the pores effectively, and allow inappropriate sweat, further effecting the Heart.
For this patient, it was important not to let this sweat get too out of control, otherwise, the condition could progress to a stage of fulminant Heart-Fire, with real Shen (Spirit) disturbance, and night sweating and further to Yin Deficiency Fire.
I prescribed for her a modified version of Mu Li San (Oyster Shell Powder). This marvelously balanced formula is ideal for strengthening the Lung-Metal control over the pores, and has cool medicinals in it to help curb Heart-Fire before it gets too hot, and astringes sweat. The cool, salty oyster shell, Concha Ostreae, nourishes the Heart Yin, soothes irritability, and contains fluids. Along with qi tonifying astragalus (Rx. Astragali Membranacei) and Heart-nourishing wheat (Semen Tritici Aestevi L.), harmony is restored to the Upper Burner between the Heart and Lungs, stopping inappropriate sweating, and easing the Heart-Spirit.
I mentioned that this formula is modified, and since she is a little blood-deficient, I added He Shou Wu and Shu Di Huang for her, both blood tonics. After taking this formula in the form of granules (100g), she told me her sweating had stopped. I love when that happens.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Yoga, Taijiquan, and the Human Ego
A friend of mine recently brought me an article that appeared in the New York Times. Entitled, "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body," by William J. Broad, this article has been making the rounds on Facebook and other sharing sites, and is creating quite a buzz out there in the blogo/twitter/sharing-verse. As pointed out in an article in the British paper The Guardian, proponents have been knocked off their yoga mats and are anything but serene about the article and its allegations.
Perhaps this should come as no surprise, as The Guardian notes that yoga is now a $5 billion a year industry; mats, tapes, DVDs, classes. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that no industry likes to be attacked, and it will retaliate, no matter if they espouse a philosophy of inner peace and balance.
Having studied and taught taijiquan for some time, it's not hard to see how injuries occur in a class setting like yoga. Simply put, people's egos get in the way of the actual learning; both the ego of the teacher and the student (I'm guilty of this also). People in packed yoga classes can get bullied into trying postures, or asanas, that are simply beyond their point of development (teacher ego), or the over-enthusiastic pupil can try things that are too advanced for him/her (pupil ego). Years ago, I taught a free taiji class under the Queensboro bridge, and I kept trying to get one student to practice a basic posture. Inevitably, she'd sneak over to where I was with the more advanced pupils, and try to do what they were doing. Patience often times is not a quality you find in abundance.
Srila Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, in his seminal book, "Bhagavad Gita: As It Is," said of yoga, "Unless the mind is controlled, the practice of yoga (for show) is simply a waste of time." He also goes on to denigrate the enthusiastic practice of hatha yoga and its popularity in the West. For a guru like Prabhupad, yoga is not about exercise, but about union with the Supreme, and without that, there is no yoga.
Although perhaps a bit extreme in his outlook, Prabhupad does touch on an important aspect to all these practices, be they yoga or taijiquan; that is the role of the mind. All such practices are for helping to control the mind and curbing ego; not strengthening ego by taking pride in what posture you can do. Perhaps this kind of pride is inevitable; people naturally take pride in their achievements, in something they worked hard to acquire. But the ones who have achieved ability through hard work are also the ones most apt to recognize the arduousness of the journey, and should be the ones to advice caution, and patience in these practices, not haste. Sometimes, of course, these high-level teachers also forget what it was to have been a beginner, and try to hurry their charges along, but that doesn't result in ability so much as it does with injury.
Studying taiji under Mr. Yu was this type of experience. Mr. Yu, in his late 60s and early 70s, was able to do things that most people one-third his age could not do. The discipline he had over his own body was awe inspiring. As a form instructor, he was very exacting and demanding. But, for me, after three years or so of studying his form, I had to leave him. My knees couldn't take it. I had to find another way, and I did, in the taiji forms of Yang Zhenduo and his grandson and heir, Yang Jun. One has to find the way that fits them, and not contort themselves to fit the way of another, and this, also, ties in with mind.
When your practice flows, and everything is as it should be, the mind can become quiet. You can be absorbed in what you're doing, rather than in stretching for something you're not ready for. When I teach class these days, I'm aware of how much my students are ready for and how much they can strive for. I don't insist on deeper stances, only what the person can do. I do try to encourage them to stretch, but not past their limits. Limits may readjust, but this is a process of growth, not force. When the mind is calm, limits are seen as milestones, and not as barriers to punch through.
So, maintain your practice, but do it mindfully. Use this practice to curb your ego, not enlarge it.
Perhaps this should come as no surprise, as The Guardian notes that yoga is now a $5 billion a year industry; mats, tapes, DVDs, classes. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's that no industry likes to be attacked, and it will retaliate, no matter if they espouse a philosophy of inner peace and balance.
Having studied and taught taijiquan for some time, it's not hard to see how injuries occur in a class setting like yoga. Simply put, people's egos get in the way of the actual learning; both the ego of the teacher and the student (I'm guilty of this also). People in packed yoga classes can get bullied into trying postures, or asanas, that are simply beyond their point of development (teacher ego), or the over-enthusiastic pupil can try things that are too advanced for him/her (pupil ego). Years ago, I taught a free taiji class under the Queensboro bridge, and I kept trying to get one student to practice a basic posture. Inevitably, she'd sneak over to where I was with the more advanced pupils, and try to do what they were doing. Patience often times is not a quality you find in abundance.
Srila Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, in his seminal book, "Bhagavad Gita: As It Is," said of yoga, "Unless the mind is controlled, the practice of yoga (for show) is simply a waste of time." He also goes on to denigrate the enthusiastic practice of hatha yoga and its popularity in the West. For a guru like Prabhupad, yoga is not about exercise, but about union with the Supreme, and without that, there is no yoga.
Although perhaps a bit extreme in his outlook, Prabhupad does touch on an important aspect to all these practices, be they yoga or taijiquan; that is the role of the mind. All such practices are for helping to control the mind and curbing ego; not strengthening ego by taking pride in what posture you can do. Perhaps this kind of pride is inevitable; people naturally take pride in their achievements, in something they worked hard to acquire. But the ones who have achieved ability through hard work are also the ones most apt to recognize the arduousness of the journey, and should be the ones to advice caution, and patience in these practices, not haste. Sometimes, of course, these high-level teachers also forget what it was to have been a beginner, and try to hurry their charges along, but that doesn't result in ability so much as it does with injury.
Studying taiji under Mr. Yu was this type of experience. Mr. Yu, in his late 60s and early 70s, was able to do things that most people one-third his age could not do. The discipline he had over his own body was awe inspiring. As a form instructor, he was very exacting and demanding. But, for me, after three years or so of studying his form, I had to leave him. My knees couldn't take it. I had to find another way, and I did, in the taiji forms of Yang Zhenduo and his grandson and heir, Yang Jun. One has to find the way that fits them, and not contort themselves to fit the way of another, and this, also, ties in with mind.
When your practice flows, and everything is as it should be, the mind can become quiet. You can be absorbed in what you're doing, rather than in stretching for something you're not ready for. When I teach class these days, I'm aware of how much my students are ready for and how much they can strive for. I don't insist on deeper stances, only what the person can do. I do try to encourage them to stretch, but not past their limits. Limits may readjust, but this is a process of growth, not force. When the mind is calm, limits are seen as milestones, and not as barriers to punch through.
So, maintain your practice, but do it mindfully. Use this practice to curb your ego, not enlarge it.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Finally, A Real Treatment!
Working no-fault insurance in New York, if you're an acupuncturist, is a really thankless job sometimes. Mostly, the job at these clinics isn't so much centered on efficacy of treatment as it is on raw speed. That's because in New York, the insurance doesn't pay as much as it used to. As a result, clinics go for sheer volume, and get the acupuncturist to see as many clients as he/she can. I don't make the rules, I only play by them.
Sometimes, however, you can get the opportunity to sneak a real treatment in. This morning, I saw a man who had come in before anyone else had arrived. His neck was practically locked into looking forward, and his right arm is so badly injured, he virtually has no range of motion.
Tongue and pulse weren't as important in this case, as he mostly had very severe qi and blood stagnation due to trauma, but he did report that he felt cold, mostly. However, treatment focused on freeing qi and blood, and relieving his muscles.
Following the protocols in Callison's book, I mostly needled for the motor points of the trapezius (GB 21) and the splenius muscles (SI 16) on his right side. After, I needled a lot of GB points as he lay supine, including GB 41, 34, 23, and GB 8 threaded toward 9.
After treatment, the patient was able to move rotate his head a considerable degree more, but still not fully. He was advised to come in again early the next day so that treatment could continue in the same vane.
Sometimes, however, you can get the opportunity to sneak a real treatment in. This morning, I saw a man who had come in before anyone else had arrived. His neck was practically locked into looking forward, and his right arm is so badly injured, he virtually has no range of motion.
Tongue and pulse weren't as important in this case, as he mostly had very severe qi and blood stagnation due to trauma, but he did report that he felt cold, mostly. However, treatment focused on freeing qi and blood, and relieving his muscles.
Following the protocols in Callison's book, I mostly needled for the motor points of the trapezius (GB 21) and the splenius muscles (SI 16) on his right side. After, I needled a lot of GB points as he lay supine, including GB 41, 34, 23, and GB 8 threaded toward 9.
After treatment, the patient was able to move rotate his head a considerable degree more, but still not fully. He was advised to come in again early the next day so that treatment could continue in the same vane.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Dangerous Precedents
Recently, Congress has taken up a bill called the Enemy Expatriation Act. Joe Lieberman is the sponsor. Essentially, this Act, if passed, would allow the government to strip anyone of their American citizenship, even if they are not convicted of anything. In short, the evil that started with the Patriot Act, continued with the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) now reaches its apogee with this, the EEA.
It's been a long time coming, the extreme right wing's wet dream of creating a police state here in America. While the Arab world revolts, and throws off its chains, American politicians are trying to got the opposite direction and forge chains for Americans. Why Evil Joe Lieb hates America so much is a mystery, but what he's doing is nothing less than treason. The protections in the U.S. Constitution apply to every American. What Joe and his ilk are trying to do is do an end-run around that by simply re-defining what an American is.
This has to be fought, by everyone, no matter what your political affiliation. This act will do nothing to make people safer; in point of fact, it will put people in danger from their own government. Any government which tries to stop up protest, expression, and transparency has lost the "Mandate of Heaven" so to speak. The Mandarins in charge in D.C. know this full well, and this is why they are acting to strip and gut the Constitutional rights of every citizen.
My friends, act. Act now. Act forcefully. Do not allow the passage of this bill. If it does pass, fight it with every ounce of your being. Do it before the standard issue jackboots come to kick in your door.
It's been a long time coming, the extreme right wing's wet dream of creating a police state here in America. While the Arab world revolts, and throws off its chains, American politicians are trying to got the opposite direction and forge chains for Americans. Why Evil Joe Lieb hates America so much is a mystery, but what he's doing is nothing less than treason. The protections in the U.S. Constitution apply to every American. What Joe and his ilk are trying to do is do an end-run around that by simply re-defining what an American is.
This has to be fought, by everyone, no matter what your political affiliation. This act will do nothing to make people safer; in point of fact, it will put people in danger from their own government. Any government which tries to stop up protest, expression, and transparency has lost the "Mandate of Heaven" so to speak. The Mandarins in charge in D.C. know this full well, and this is why they are acting to strip and gut the Constitutional rights of every citizen.
My friends, act. Act now. Act forcefully. Do not allow the passage of this bill. If it does pass, fight it with every ounce of your being. Do it before the standard issue jackboots come to kick in your door.
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