Chinese medicine and physical exercise

Posted on May 8, 2008
Filed Under Cultivation, QiGong, Year of Sagely Living | 12 Comments

Lately, I’ve been considering any holes I can find in my Classical Chinese Medicine education here at NCNM. Amazingly, there aren’t many. It’s hard to put together a top notch program in any topic, much less one as complicated as Chinese medicine. One place I have found myself without much to go on is in understanding the role of physical exercise in health according to this medicine. I’ve learned things here and there, both in class and in my own study, but the information is confusing and definitely conflicts with my own experience in places. In this article, I’d like to briefly discuss what I feel I have learned and the problems I’ve found therein. I hope that you will add your input in the comments. Some of what I write below will be in explicit TCM terms, as most of the docs I’ve talked to about this subject know that system best.

What I’ve learned about physical exercise since starting school in Chinese Medicine:

In general, vigorous exercise is not recommended. This is particularly the case when the exercise is productive of lots of sweat. The thought is that the discharge of so much sweat inevitably damages Heart Yang, given that Heart Yang is used to expel sweat from the pores. Instead, gentler forms such as Qigong, Taiji and sometimes Yoga are recommended. These are said to build the body from the inside in a way that does not damage any vital substance of the body.
Many of our doctors mention of how overwork can be very bad for the muscles and tendons and deplete both the Blood and the Qi. This is often mentioned mostly with relation to labor, but also non-working exercise. We are frequently asked to consider the lot of laboring people worldwide. They are often physically strong, but become ill easily and have shortened life.
Much of the negative information we get about exercise concerns specific habits. For instance, showering or soaking in water directly after being very sweaty (with open pores). It is said that this (common) practice pulls dampness into the body and creates conditions of damp and hot damp in the middle jiao. Lifting very heavy weights over long periods of time are widely regarded (by most medicine) to be difficult for the joints, tendons and even bones. Another commonly mentioned problem is the tendency for many weight lifters to be building a sort of “muscle shell” that only conceals a hollow interior. Their muscles are very strong, very impressive, but the person is ultimately weak on a number of levels.
There are often discussions about the importance of protecting the Heart. We often hear worry about making the Heart work so hard and wasting its precious Qi and Yang. Sometimes we will discuss various spiritual theories about the length of a person’s life being determined by a pre-determined number of heartbeats or breaths. I don’t think this information is regarded very seriously, we simply discuss it as something intriguing to consider.

I can understand much of this. For instance, it is certainly important that we don’t overwork ourselves. I see many people exercising in the name of health who seem to be making gains (losing weight, gaining muscle) but possibly at the expense of their longevity because of heavy wear on the joints and Heart. Further, the practice of being hot and sweaty and immediately going into the sauna or hot shower has always made me cringe a little.

On the other hand, we need to be mindful of the current state of most Americans. Another thing that we hear railed about at school is the danger of being overweight - leading a sedentary lifestyle. So, while exercising too much is certainly a bad thing and we can advise our patients to avoid it, we do need to help our overweight and out of shape patients! It seems that most Chinese medicine doctors would have us just eat a moderate diet, sleep well and do gentle movement in order to stay healthy. This sounds fantastic, but it doesn’t seem to work for everyone. It also makes one wonder what to do with a person who comes in already suffering from an overweight condition. Often overweight conditions are helped with dampness draining formulas and SP rectification, but again, this doesn’t seem to work for everyone. Some of the work seems to need to come from the person themselves.

Anciently, of course, most people were doing hard labor. In many of the Qigong forms we use, we visualize doing various kinds of labor (grinding the millstone, for instance). So, there is obviously some kind of recognition of the physical benefit of hard work. But, again, as explained above - it’s clear to anyone that too much hard physical labor is not great for a person.

I’m interested in this topic for two reasons. First, I expect to have plenty of fitness-challenged patients walking through my door in just over a year’s time. I want to know how to talk to them in a way that makes sense, will help them understand a course of action and yet also be rooted in Classical Chinese Medical principles. Second, as part of my revised Year of Sagely Living goal, I plan to engage in a program of focused physical exercise to help achieve a more optimal physique. Why do this? Well, by anyone’s measure I do need it and also I find that the process (exercise, focusing on what’s going on with my body) is very pleasurable and gives me lots of energy in a way that doesn’t feel at all jittery or strange.

I’m interested to hear others’ thoughts and experiences with this topic. What have you learned? What have you rejected? Please comment!

Note: For the record, my current plan is to balance my physical cultivation through a combination of walking/bike-riding, weight lifting, gardening, Qigong and yoga. I am also doing some work with diet, but mostly just watching portion sizes and eating until I am about 3/4 full. This seems to work the best for me. I’ll probably track my progress on the YSL page, if you’re interested. I will be watching, particularly, my experience of some of this information listed above and monitoring my energy levels very carefully.

Eric

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Deepest Health LIVES!

Posted on May 6, 2008
Filed Under Blogging, Year of Sagely Living | 12 Comments

It’s true, my friends, Deepest Health is still around. It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted, but I shall fail you no more. I needed some time to rejuvenate my brain and - perhaps more than that - reevaluate why I created this blog in the first place. I spent a lot of time working on this last summer, and I think my work has paid off handsomely. But, frankly, it can get a little wearing sometimes.

The same is true of the Year of Sagely Living. I am the kind of person who seems to be able to do a whole lot without tiring. However, I can only do this if I understand on a deep level WHY I am doing it. With life getting so busy as the reality of being in the clinic and starting my own business start to set in… well, it’s easy to lose sight of why I do the things that I do. I think you can relate?

Out of this extended hiatus has come two things - both of which I would like to share. This will be followed rather shortly with Continue Reading…

Classical Chinese Medicine events in Portland, OR

Posted on April 20, 2008
Filed Under CM News, Personal Development, The profession | 2 Comments

I know not everyone is lucky enough to live in or around Portland, OR. ;) I would still like to announce these events - they are more than worth the travel cost and time, I assure you. Click on the flyers for bigger versions, you should be able to click on the flyer when it opens in another window to zoom in even more.

If you’re having a hard time seeing the flyer, you can go to the NCNM Continuing Education event website and scroll down the page to May events.

For those experiencing trouble, here’s a quick summary:

1. Dr. Liu Lihong and Dr. Tang Nong

Classical Chinese Medicine in Modern China
Pearls of Wisdom from the Shanghan Lun

Date: May 10, 2008 9:30 – 5:30 // Location: NCNM Ross Island Campus; Portland, OR, Great Hall

This 2-part,1-day seminar will feature the combined genius of the two founders of China’s first official research institute for the clinical application of classical Chinese medicine. Professor Tang, chair of the Institute at Guangxi College of TCM, is the charismatic leader who made deadlines as China’s youngest hospital director. Dr. Liu, co-chair of the Institute and its medical Continue Reading…

Classical Chinese Medicine resources on the web

Posted on April 19, 2008
Filed Under Blogging, Learning | 7 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about what’s available on the web for people interested in Chinese Medicine. Living in Portland, OR, I have so many amazing wellsprings of knowledge and experience all around me, I sometimes forget that other folks are relatively more isolated from the information they seek. The Internet is a fantastic source for both the more and the less isolated. You just have to know where to look! I’m in the process of updating my Resources page, but I thought I would do a more in depth review of a few of the most promising resources.

1. ClassicalChineseMedicine.org : Internet home of Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, PhD the founder and continued inspiration behind the incredible Classical Chinese Medicine program at National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR. I’ve talked many times about Heiner Fruehauf on this site, but let it suffice to say that he is what drew me to this medicine and what he has taught me has helped me to expand my ideas not only about health and healing, but about the world and my place in it.

There are some articles available for free available along the top of the main page, Continue Reading…

On entering into a philosophical morass: Chinese medicine and Western science

Posted on April 10, 2008
Filed Under Learning, The profession, Theory | 32 Comments

Let’s get something straight. I’m very confused about the role of Western scientific research as it is currently practiced in verifying the claims of practitioners of Chinese medicine. Various studies, including the famous “sham acupuncture” study seem to challenge the premise that the theoretical bases of Chinese medicine are an accurate description of reality and our interactions with it. For instance, concerning the study referenced above, if any old needle through the skin will cure migraines - what of channel theory? What of our highly developed ideas about acupuncture techniques? Similar doubt is cast on Chinese herbalism by placebo controlled double blind studies showing no significant improvement in patient outcomes with the administration of various herbal extracts or even, in some cases, whole herbal formulas. What gives? Why spend all this money to learn a highly nuanced medical system if that system can’t stand on its own two feet? (Yes, I know, there are plenty of studies that verify CM’s efficacy, but that’s beside my specific point here).

I’ve talked in various articles on this site about my basic opinion about the relationship between Western science and Chinese medicine. At my Continue Reading…