Our last newsletter spoke of the spring season of birth, with its many attributes associated with it. For many of you, seasonal changes can be directly associated with specific kinds of health issues. Sometimes these health issues can be timed to the week or even the day as the new season is ushered in. Sinus, bronchial or hay fever patterns plague many of you during the spring season and into the summer while others have no problems. Why? Could it be related to specific deficiencies [i.e., Yin fluids or cooling energy] that were not gathered and stored during the fall and winter months by proper diet and herbal formulas? The answer is yes. I am describing a simple remedy to what could be a much more complex and convoluted problem requiring an in depth look at all the patterns associated with disharmonies such as red eyes, sneezing and headaches brought on by the spring season. Still, I will generalize here to begin to convey the Chinese Medicine theories and how they can answer many unanswered questions in regards to strange and chronic health issues.
For some of you this may be review, for others a brand new door will be opening to a wonderful and common sense view of health and healing looking through the eyes of Chinese Medicine.
Now that we have established that spring is the season of-birth, a new lunar year's beginning; we can now look at summer as the next phase of life: growth. If you planted a garden in the spring, it is summer where the actual growth of the fruit or vegetable happens due to the highest level of yang occurring in reference to the closeness of the sun's energy. It is the metabolic power of the sun's [yang] fire acting upon the earth [yin] solid that makes growth successful. How is it that some people can fully tolerate the sunlight for hours at a time while others cannot even take a few minutes without getting sick? It really is this type of question that Chinese Medicine's theory is based upon.
Case Study
I worked on a case where the client could not tolerate any temperatures above 62˚...exactly. She was also never able to sweat, no matter how much the amount of physical excursion she produced. Her Chinese Medicine patterns where numerous making her very complex. I had her on three different formulas for one year with positive changes throughout that time. The next summer she experienced a new sensation for the first time: sweat and heat tolerance. She could actually work in her garden past the noon hour [well over 62˚] and had sweat running down her face after turning a pile of compost! She was blood, qi and yin deficient with a much depleted digestion. An important note here is that she started taking formulas in her late sixties. She initially told me that she believed Chinese Medicine could finally help her after seeking out a plethora of heath practitioners without relief or clarity and no-one could "figure her out". She stated that after researching Chinese Medicine, she knew that its ability to create multiple levels of patterns would be the only way to view and address her complex health issues. Summer was her worst season...not any more!
Let's take a deeper look at the Summer Fire season with an emphasis on the Five Element Theory. The associated Organ System is the Heart/Small Intestine System. The Heart is named the 'Emperor' sitting high in your body, with its yang aspect being the top burner of the Triple Burner System helping to transform fluids properly. It controls the fluids of sweat and blood and houses the mind, spirit [a.k.a. shen] and consciousness. The tip of your tongue can be viewed to assess the Heart Organ System patterns and problems as it is the opening to the Heart Organ System. To expand on this idea, emotional imbalances such as: over-joy, mania, pressured or incoherent speech, hyperactivity [physical and mental] may be assisted by taking the Heart Organ System into consideration. Here is a list of associated Summer/Fire disharmonies that do not necessarily have to occur during the summer season:
- Sores on tongue
- Dry mouth
- Hives
- Skin rashes/heat
- Take stimulants due to burnt out Qi
- Chest Pain
- Broken veins and blood vessels
- Irregular heart beats
- Mental disease
- Heartburn
- UTI
- Vascular disease and so on...
Yes, the summer season can definitely exacerbate these conditions, but they can occur year round. Here is a partial list of associated patterns:
- Heart fire
- Stomach fire
- Kidney & Lung Yin Deficiency
- Liver fire
- Shen disturbance
- Heart fire shifting downwards
Another way that we can look at assisting these patterns is by utilizing Yin and Blood formulas that can help balance the effulgent fire element leading to the resultant above patterns. The problem may not be too much yang/fire, but not enough yin/blood/cooling to balance and harmonize the situation. There are many other paths to consider, such as digestion, which specific herbs to use, which pattern or multiple patterns to address, but this is a good place to start. When choosing a formula you must take into consideration the disharmonies that are associated with a particular pattern. There are varying subtleties with each and every Chinese Herbal Formula. One or two added or deleted herbs in a formula really do make quite a difference. Without a Chinese Herbalist assisting you, the best way to understand the formulas is to study the conveniently listed disharmonies [i.e., dry skin, red face, constipation...] with each of our products. Studying individual herbs may help, but in the end could prove to be futile!
Keeping It Cool: Water Intake & Hydration
The last area I want to go over, especially during the summer season, concerns the idea of water intake and hydration. Staying hydrated, any time of the year, is basic to your health and longevity. Healthy physiological hydration of your body can be reflected in many ways. Here are a few: elastic, glowing and wrinkle-free skin, moist eyes [not too dry or over-tearing], a healthy and elastic vascular system, proper moistening of your sinuses, healthy and regular fecal elimination, proper levels of saliva, proper internal lubricating of your pleural cavity [the space where your lungs reside]. If you have ever had the pain of pleurisy, you'll know what I am referring to. Any one of these areas can have too much, or too little fluid levels.
Just drinking a bunch of water all day long cannot correct these levels, or assure proper hydration, if your 'irrigation system' is not working properly. I tell this to people every day when explaining the hows and whys of Chinese Medicine. Think of a car that is way out of tune. Filling the gas tank all day won't do anything to improve gas mileage. It is an internal problem. A dirty spark plug, miscalculated air/fuel ratio, improper air pressure in the tires or broken cooling system can all affect your car's mpg. Once again, fluid volume doesn't equal proper hydration. A properly functioning mechanism, organic or mechanical, is the answer. It is all about fluid metabolism.
A very common, mixed and complicated pattern that we see with many people is: thirst without the ability to ingest fluids. This is a mixed-pattern where part of your body is starving for fluids, but another part is unable to ingest and transform fluids. This leads back to the first problem that being the thirst trigger, due to a level of dehydration. Is this a case of which came first: the chicken or the egg? Maybe, but let's simplify the thought and say it is based on a pattern where the Spleen Organ System is very damp due to a diet of cold, raw foods and liquids. This can overwhelm the digestive process and bog things up. Associated disharmonies can be low energy, weight gain, foggy thinking and muscle pain.
Formulas such as Six Gentlemen Teapills, Six Gentlemen Plus Teapills or our Golden Cabinet Digestion Formula may be very useful. Of course a diet change would have to be initiated or you will be back at square one.
Fluid metabolism is a major cornerstone within Chinese Medicine. By taking into consideration your own disharmonies and treating them with the appropriate Chinese Herbal Formulas, you will always be affecting your in-valuable fluid metabolism, leading to a better and longer life.
