Deepest Health Chinese Medicine Podcast Episode 3 : The power of self cultivation
Hey everyone,
It’s Friday and time for another podcast. I’m hoping to invest in some equipment to make the podcast a little more refined in the future, but for now I hope things sound alright. This week I discuss the power of self-cultivation for Chinese medicine (and all) physicians. I also discuss why I think it’s so important to care for our patients from the time they step in the clinic door until the time that they leave. I ramble a bit, but hopefully it’s endearing and not annoying. ;) This one weighs in at about 20 minutes and almost 30MB. The podcasting software that I have been using needs updating, so you may see some changes in the way that the podcast is displayed in the relatively near future.
Some links I discuss in the podcast:
- My beloved alma mater : NCNM
- Some articles of my own that I mention:
- Website of Heiner Fruehauf, founding professor of the Classical Chinese Medicine department at NCNM
Please click on the player below to hear the podcast, you should also be able to right click and download it or - NEW! - download it via iTunes! Please let me know if you have any technical issues and I can help you troubleshoot.
Deepest Health Chinese Medicine podcast : Episode 3 [20:24m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (103)Thanks as always,
Eric
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Tags: Acupuncture, Blogging, clinic, Cultivation, heiner fruehauf, meditation, ncnm, Podcast, QiGong, Student LifeRelated posts
Why I am about to become slave to the clock
As I described in my last post on the Year of Sagely Living, March is meant to have us focus on the balance of rest and activity in our lives. I’ve thought more about this category than the two prior, because nothing immediately sprang to mind as a perfect practice to undertake. This is especially true because I am attempting to maintain my January and February practices and having some success with both of them.
Ultimately, because I’m trying to stay as focused on explicit Chinese Medicine material as possible, I think I’m going to focus on the organ clock. It’s such a ubiquitous part of our lives at school, we talk about it in almost every class. Some laughingly shrug it off, others take it seriously but don’t seem to evaluate it much. I’d like to use March as a kind of organ clock laboratory. Using Brandon Brown’s widget to help me keep to the true organ system periods, I will be doing a brief (3-5 minute) meditation on the organ systems as the energy reaches its peak within each. This will require me to be vigilant in watching the clock, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem because of the relatively regimented quality of my normal schedule.
There are some caveats. Obviously, sometimes I will be in class when I should be doing a meditation. I won’t be able to do each organ system every day. Over the course of March, however, I should get a good sense of the reality of the organ clock at each position. Another problem is that I will be sleeping during a portion of the organ system times. I considered having a weekend where I set an alarm for each organ system during the night to get a sense of their qualities. However, because we have finals coming as well as our clinical entrance exams, I don’t think that’s a fantastic idea. The most yin of the organ systems are going to have to wait to be tested.
Along with this, I will continue to maintain my practice of leaving Sunday completely open for family time - rest and relaxation. Saturday is also a family/home day, but I let myself do some work-related things such as my Weekly Review. I have already seen such great benefit from doing this, I can’t think of any reason not to continue.
One final goal, and I’m afraid this is a bit of a doozy. The “one goal at a time” advocates will not be happy with my do-it-all approach. :) Starting tomorrow, I will begin weaning myself until I reach a solid habit of waking at 5am. The early morning time is my very favorite and while I currently wake around 6, I don’t feel that it is early enough. I would like to take that early morning time to recharge myself in a variety of ways - through brisk walks through the neighborhood, Yijing readings, tea on the deck, Qigong, meditation or any other quiet activity that fits well with the gentle early morning energy. I have lots of help on how to achieve this goal - many bloggers have written about it. Steve Pavlina is one of my favorites as far as this topic is concerned.
So, to recap - my March Year of Sagely Living practices are:
1. Organ clock meditations during the peaks of the energy for each organ system.
2. Continuing my practice of spending weekends on family/home oriented rest and relaxation.
3. Going through the process to achieve the goal of waking at 5am daily - including weekends.
Thanks for listening.
Eric
Tags: balance, meditation, organ system, Organ systems, personal commitment, Personal Development, relaxation, Year of Sagely LivingRelated posts
Why should doctors cultivate compassion?
Three excellent blogs, Urbanmonk.net, The Middle Way.net, and kentonwhitman.com have collaborated to create a group writing project around the topic of compassion. They have titled the project “Spread the love NOW,” an imperative statement for an imperative topic! It’s a great time of year to be thinking deeply about compassion and other related topics, so I thought I would add some thoughts of my own. If you have an online journal or blog, consider visiting that link and participating in the project yourself. Entries need to be posted by the 5th of January, 2008. As if joining your voice with so many others to talk about such a worthy subject isn’t enough benefit alone, there’s also a prize involved. Visit the Urbanmonk.net link above to learn more.
Compassion is a natural theme for a blog about medicine. However, it is too seldom discussed explicitly in medical settings. Sometimes it seems that it is assumed that people come to medicine naturally aligned with the principles of compassionate living and that their medical practice will be informed by those principles. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Some come to medicine because of family tradition, others because of hopes of monetary gain, still others sort of by accident - they choose it out of a book or from some career counseling service’s list. Of course there are many, particularly in the natural medicine fields, who do come for all of the right reasons. Further, even people primarily motivated by some of the above can be exceptionally compassionate individuals. Regardless of one’s motivation for entering the medical field or one’s natural tendency with regards to compassion, it is a topic that should be carefully considered and a trait that should be vigorously cultivated.
The philosophical roots of Chinese medicine are full of descriptions of the necessary attitude for a good physician. While Chinese medical science should not be equated with the philosophical systems that gave rise to it, we can look to those systems to understand the medicine more fully. Interestingly, all three of the major Chinese spiritual systems - Daoism, Confucianism and Buddhism - take compassion to be one of the highest virtues. In Daoism, compassion is one of the three jewels that all good people should seek to cultivate. Compassion is at the very heart of Buddhist thought, no doubt about it. In Confucianism, too, compassion is a most sought virtue and some sources indicate that Confucius believed that all other virtues flowed from this one. I’d like to briefly explore the Confucian understanding of Compassion and suggest some ways that physicians and physicians-in-training can incorporate this vital virtue into their own lives and medical practices.
The word for compassion is Ren 仁 and can also be translated as benevolence, humility, humanity and mercy. The character is composed of the person radical on the left and the symbol for “2″ on the right. It indicates either a cluster of two persons or the relationship between two people. It is my understanding that this virtue has been explained in many ways by different Confucian philosophers. One of the major points of contention concerns towards whom we are meant to have this special attitude. Some contend that it should be shown to all people (universal love) others indicate that it is reserved for those we owe some filial debt - such as our parents. Despite these differences, the essence can be agreed upon by anyone. When taking action in the world, we must always consider how our actions will impact other human beings. We must act in such a way that it does not support the desires/wishes of one person at the detriment of others. In essence, we must think of the humanity of others and act in such a way that we respect and honor the core of humanness within every person.
What does this mean in medicine? Simply this - that your primary concern is a doctor is to respect the humanness of each patient. They are not your experimental laboratories, they are not marks to push your products on, they are not intentionally being difficult or any of those other petty little things we all think at one time or another. Thus, they shouldn’t be treated as such. They should be always and everywhere treated in exactly the same manner as you would have yourself treated, with respect, openness - and yes, even a kind of love.
How can we learn to embody this principle? Well, any of the basic self-cultivational practices will certainly help. Meditation helps our minds to quiet and this in turn will help us to notice when our thoughts turn to less than compassionate directions. One practice I can suggest is to stop immediately any speech or thought about any person, patient or not, that you would not want them to hear you thinking or saying. You might also want to look into volunteering your time to a local charity, particularly one that serves sectors of the public that you traditionally find difficult. In exposing yourself repeatedly to people you find difficult, you may be more able to work through your troubling feelings.
In general, I believe that thinking carefully about our relationship with the virtue of compassion is one of the most important practices we can work with as physicians and future physicians. How does compassion play out in your daily life? Learned any particularly poignant lessons about this virtue? Share your thoughts and experiences with us in the comments. If you would like to read more articles like this one, be sure to subscribe to this blog via RSS feed or via email.
Eric
Tags: Character, compassion, Cultivation, meditation, professional-development, virtueRelated posts
8 Reasons you should do Qigong even if you don’t want to
I just got back from a QiGong retreat this weekend. As part of our program at NCNM, we learn Qigong within a specific lineage that we are privileged to access via one of our program founders, Heiner Fruehauf. It’s an amazing addition to our education. We take a practicum each term where once a week we learn from a teacher and are encouraged to have our own practice outside of class. We learn many forms as well as therapeutic applications of various movements that we can teach our patients. But the crown jewel of the Qigong portion of our education is the Qigong retreats. Once a term (so about every 3.5 months) we go to a beautiful natural area for three days with our teacher and our classmates and do Qigong for many hours a day. I’ll go into the retreats in another entry, but this time I’d like to talk about something else. Before you read, you might want to check out my recent entry discussing the nature and practice of Qigong.
The prevailing problem that I have, and I’m sure I’m not alone, is maintaining a regular practice outside of class and retreats. Our program is a challenging one and I have a lot of extra-curricular activity that, along with my family and personal commitments, pushes me to the limits of tolerance. So sometimes doing Qigong can seem like an impossible “extra” that is simply unnecessary. After all, noone is grading me on whether I do Qigong every day! So I thought I would offer my list of reasons why it is important to maintain a rock solid Qigong practice even in the face of intolerable schedule chaos. Many of these reasons will pertain to people who do some other practice, or people who aren’t in the field of Chinese medicine.
1. Personal cultivation is the foundation of authentic Chinese medicine practice.
In numerous Classical sources, personal cultivation is seen as the ground from which great practitioners are grown. We have been told by many professors how important it is to cultivate our own energy to a high level in service of increasing our sensitivity and proclivity as acupuncturists. Even in herbalism, a calm and refined mind will serve us well. Of course, Qigong isn’t the only practice that can help us in this regard - but given that it has both moving and still forms, uses visualization and internal silence for meditation and keeps the channels open and flowing it seems a particularly ideal practice.
2. Qigong helps keep your body healthy.
The forms that I learn combine stretching, isometric work, deep breathing, core strengthening and some cardiovascular elements. All of these elements are balanced quite well and while some forms may leave you quite breathless, you never feel pummeled or exhausted like you might with some more popular forms of exercise. Combine this with the fact that most forms focus on the opening of channels and removal of stagnation from problem areas and you have a program for total physical wellness. Definitely a good thing for Chinese medicine students that are forced to be sedentary much of the time.
3. You can use some forms of Qigong to study, if necessary.
Again for Chinese medicine students, and perhaps for other students, you can use Qigong as an addition to your study techniques. I have already discussed how you can use Qigong to help you study acupuncture points and channels. However, you can use Qigong - especially any repetitive portions of a form - as a way to more deeply integrate knowledge about the human body. If you are studying muscles, for instance, you can focus on each muscle you are using in a particular form as you are using them and try to remember the origin, insertion and action. If you can think of any novel uses of Qigong in studying, please do let us know in the comments.
4. Qigong is an effective stress reducer.
Perhaps a bit redundant, but it’s important to note that I have found Qigong to be a very effective reducer of overwhelming stress. When my practice is regular and fully engaged, I don’t notice little things and I certainly don’t worry about them. I don’t get headaches, I don’t crave so much sugar and caffeine and I think my academic performance improves. You may not notice ALL of these benefits, but I would be surprised if you didn’t experience some of them. This effect may come from the opening and coursing of the channels, it may come from the spiritual benefits of diving deep inside or it may simply be a by-product of taking some time for myself.
5. The more you repeat a form the better able you will be to teach others that form.
One of the goals in learning Qigong in our program is gaining the ability to teach forms and parts of forms to others. Why would we do this? Well, as practitioners we might teach the forms to our patients or to a class in order to help them gain all the benefits I am discussing. We might also teach specific techniques to patients experiencing particular symptoms - such as high blood pressure or headaches. I have heard students discuss offering free Qigong classes in the morning at their clinic as a way to extend or intensify acupuncture and herbal treatment. Many people find that when they practice Qigong in addition to getting regular treatment from a practitioner, they get better faster and the effects are longer lasting. Practicing the forms often will help you to give these benefits to your patients in the future.
6. It’s a great way to wake your body up and ready yourself for the day.
I like to do simple forms in the morning as an alternative to coffee. Some of you coffee-heads are laughing right now, I know, because I used to be one! You may think you can’t live without your coffee, but I bet you can. Just for one week, try doing a 30 minute Qigong session BEFORE your coffee and instead of going directly to brew up a pot just go inside and see if you really need it. I bet 9 times out of 10 you will find that you can forgo the cup of joe. While I don’t demonize coffee consumption like some people do, I think it’s a mistake to allow your body to become dependent on too many substances. We’re already dependent on carbohydrates, protein, minerals, vitamins, water and oxygen - why add yet ANOTHER thing you can’t live without?
7. Failing that, it’s an excellent way to let go of the day and ready yourself for sleep.
Sometimes I don’t manage to get up early enough to do a morning form. Sometimes I can’t find time for it through the day. If this happens, I always always find time to do a simple and non-energizing form in the evening. For my friends on the Qigong retreat this weekend - I think you know what form I’m talking about. *wink wink* Seriously, though, doing one of the sitting forms or simply standing in Universe stance after some brief movement can really help me settle down from the day. If I’m feeling particularly energized, sometimes I do a walking form around the yard and imagine all my cares and thoughts going out of my feet and into the ground. Nearly always this helps me go to sleep and stay asleep.
8. It’s a multi-purpose way to attend to your spiritual health.
Although I try not to find my spirituality in my medicine, Qigong is a great bridge between the two. It can be part of the medical system, is based on the same principles and definitely helps you cultivate your inner awareness of spiritual dimensions of reality. As I’ve said before, it can be a method of meditation and also can be seen as a form of prayer. Sometimes I will do a physically intense form and follow that with a deep meditation session. Because my channels are open and my energy harmonious, I can sit for longer periods and find myself to be much less distracted.
Do you do Qigong? Do you have a regular practice? Tell us how you manage to keep to it in the comments.
Eric
Tags: Acupuncture, Classical Texts (general), classical-chinese-medicine, deep-breathing, education, habits, Learning, meditation, Personal Development, QiGong, spiritualityRelated posts
Chinese medicine lifehacks - 3 simple tips to defeat insomnia
I’m experimenting with some new content types. I’d like to be comfortable with releasing some less weighty content. Plus, maybe you all are sort of sick of wading through those big ones? Let me know in the comments. Regardless, they’re not going away, so for you theory lovers - the somewhat wordy posts will continue. :D
In the Chinese medicine lifehack series of posts - I’ll try just writing quick things I’ve learned from Chinese medicine to help me with common problems. Today? Insomnia.
As I mentioned in my article about ways to ensure your insomnia continues, I sometimes suffer from a lack of sleep. In Chinese medicine, there are a lot of potential causes for insomnia. But all of them share one simple feature - they self perpetuate. Which is to say that insomnia begets insomnia. Simplistically speaking, the phrase “burning the midnight oil” has some truth to it - when you stay awake too late, you consume Qi and especially Blood, among other negative effects. This, in turn, will make it more difficult for you to sleep - both that night and following nights. It’s self-reinforcing. Because of this, it is of vital importance that you interrupt the cycle as soon as possible.
At this point, when I wake up at some ungodly hour or simply fail to fall asleep, I have three things I do to get back in dreamland quickly. Perhaps they will help you as well. I should also note that if you have serious insomnia, your best bet is to find a good Chinese medicine physician. But these steps should help you when you’re up and need to get back to sleep.
1. Make myself a cup of blood tonifying tea : Often, there is some deficiency of Blood at the root of insomnia. This is especially the case if the insomnia has to do with too much work or general life stress (not stress from deaths in the family or extreme situations). I must say that the below is not a proper formula, but it’s ok in a pinch. I have provided links to sources where available - if you use those links, I do get a small portion of the sale price, all of that money goes to get me through school so I appreciate it very much. Regardless, all of these herbs should be available from your local health food store or Chinese medicinary. Be sure to check for Angelica sinensis - there are North American variants available and I’m not sure
- 2 parts Astragalus (Huang Qi) preferably honey fried (Zhi Huang Qi) - no, it’s not vegan. I sometimes “honey fry” my own with agave nectar, you can fry it up with a little honey in a frying pan until the honey is well absorbed. I haven’t done any testing to see whether agave nectar is a sufficient substitution, but it’s something I plan on investigating. I use local, raw honey when I find it necessary for medicinal purposes.
- 1 part (Dang Gui, Tang Kui) - Available through Chinese Herbs Direct
- 1 part Longnan fruit (Long Yan Rou) - You may need to go to a Chinese herbal medicinary or a Chinese grocery store for these
I put all of these in a Bodum glass teapot (I love this thing)
When I’m having a lot of episodes of insomnia, I’ll drink this tea often. It definitely helps. When it gets really bad, I go and see one of my many excellent doctors.
2. Do deep breathing exercises
After I drink my tea, and even while I’m drinking, I do some simple visualization and deep breathing. I take very slow, intentful breaths either sitting or lying and with my feet contacting the floor. On the inhale, I do two visualizations. First, I imagine that the energy of my body is moving down, contacting my heart, kidneys, lower abdomen and finally down to my feet and out into the floor. Second, I imagine a gentle golden yellow ball of light in my lower abdomen that expands slightly during the breath. On the exhale, I imagine cool, clear energy rising from the ground through my feet and going up to my heart and brain - contacting my lower abdomen and kidneys on the way up. Be very careful to focus equally on inhale and exhale, perhaps even a little more on the exhale. Do this for at least 10 minutes. It may put you to sleep on its own.
3. Make contact with Kidney 1
If I’m still not tired enough to go to sleep at this point, I continue my focused breathing in an inclined position in bed. In this position, I find Kidney-1 (here is a location guide for Kidney 1) and press firmly. While I breath, I make sure to focus strongly here - particularly on the inhale. Kidney 1’s name is Yong Quan or Gushing/rushing spring. This cooling and grounding energy will help to pull the excess activity out of your Heart/head. It is also the wood point on this water channel and as such may nourish the wood Liver which is often deficient or stagnant in cases of insomnia. I sometimes have to hold this point for 90 seconds, sometimes for 5 minutes.
I hope this helps.
Eric
Tags: acupressure, chinese-herb, chinese-herbs, deep-breathing, habits, herbs, Home remedies, insomnia, meditation
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