How the Chinese organ clock yields a more nuanced view of the Heart
Here I will present a basic overview of TCM information concerning the Heart and then add a layer of information gleaned from the Organ clock (a more CCM way of looking at things). I want to do this to demonstrate how the Classical approach yields a more nuanced view than the straight organ-based TCM approach does, including a small aspect of the clinical relevance of this approach. Disclaimer : I’m still a student. :)
The Heart is a central organ system. From the perspective of governmental metaphor, the Heart is most easily compared to the Ruler of feudal society. What does the ruler do? It’s tempting to simply say that he rules and leave it at that. However, most rulers through history have acted less as hands-on managers of their empires and acted more as figureheads - acting as moral compasses, inspiring and motivating the people when needed, acting as interpreters of Divine law and generally providing a center point around which the wheel of government turned. The Heart is said to provide a similar function for the human body. To look at this and say that the Heart is “most important” would be erroneous. The Emperor without his ministers, without the workers, without the land - is nothing. It is an interdependent system. But, still, the Emperor is crucial and a lot of attention should be paid to those things that are crucial. We’ll do so now.
In TCM, the Heart is said to have many functions/associations:
- The Heart contains the Shen, which rules the other “spirits” of the Zang organs
- Shen, as I have explained briefly elsewhere, can be translated as “Spirit” but it contains more meaning than the normal English concept of Spirit. Many contemporary commentators talk about Shen simply as consciousness, but I feel it is more than that.
- The Heart governs the Blood Vessels
- The Heart acts as Ruler of the other organ systems
- The Heart, as related to the brain and consciousness, is in charge of many mental processes (one can see this as similar to the Heart’s function via its relationship to Shen - the fire of consciousness)
- The Heart propels the Blood
- The Heart governs speech
- There are other attributes, but these are the main ones mentioned in a variety of texts.
In truth, despite all of these things, most Heart related pathologies diagnosed in TCM have to do with mental function or, sometimes, heart organ abnormalities (such as blood stasis in the Heart yielding angina). In clinic, I mostly see Heart Qi/Blood deficiency (with palpitations and poor memory) and some version of the confusingly named “Heart Fire” resulting in insomnia, anxiety and some type of vexation. Rarely do I see doctors diagnosing a problem with the heart when there are circulation problems (blood vessels) or speech problems. Further, I think that there should be more attention paid to the fact that, as EMPEROR of the other organ systems, the Heart may be a great place to look when a seemingly unrelated pathology is difficult to cure with the methods we would normally utilize. While I will not focus much on blood vessel or speech problems in this article - I would like to do so in the future.
For now, to help us understand the Heart a little more deeply, I offer a brief exposition of some of the basic symbols associated with the Heart on the Chinese medicine organ clock. I will then describe some ways we can use this understanding to expand on the basic information we learn from TCM literature.
What do we learn about the Heart organ system from the organ clock?
Temporal nature : 11-1pm (High Noon) and the Summer Solstice
At first glance, the pairing of the Heart with high noon makes intuitive sense. This is the time we associate with the zenith of the sun, the burning off of morning fogs, the time when all things are apparent, illuminated, complete. But look again at the symbol for the taiji and superimpose this over the organ clock. Remember these symbol fields are multi-layered and 
while some aren’t meant to be compared one-to-one, the flow of Yin and Yang through the organ clock (and through the days on Earth) is a crucial piece of information in our understanding of organ systems.
This is the time of the birth of the Yin. Which brings us to another temporal aspect of the Heart - it is situated at the time of the Summer solstice. The solstice is the time of the greatest day length - so again, it is all flourishing and awake and alive. However, the hidden principle is the one of the birth of the dark - for the zenith of a thing always brings about its immediate descent into expiration. What goes up must come down.
What does this tell us about the Heart? That while it is a very Yang organ, as the Emperor should be, but it also contains a deep Yin principle within it. Our professor, Heiner Fruehauf, often relates the Heart to the feminine principle - which makes sense given this information. In that way, it may be more accurate for us to think of the Heart as the Empress - or some amalgam of the Emperor and Empress. Here is perfect control, high intelligence, beauty, grace, compassion, mercy and power. It is an intensely active principle - Yang - but with this huge strength of the Yin.
Why do I say that the strength of Yin is large when it is, in reality, just the beginning of the growth of Yin? Because the entire momentum of Yin’s growth starts at this point - it somehow contains the whole force of the future splendor of Yin’s fullness. It is strong in the sense that is young, vital, and on the ascent.
I think this Yin principle is very important. At the height of summer, at the height of noon, this is when we may have the tendency to go all upward and outward - but it is crucially important that we go within, nourish our deep spiritual nature. Some cultural customs bear this out - such as the tradition of the midday siesta and the many spiritual activities that go on around the summer solstice. I think that, in some ways, the failure to do this can be seen in American capitalist culture. The principle of constant up, out, grow, flourish is often not balanced with careful reflection, willingness to “stand down,” controlled descent and respect for the more passive aspects of the universe. This failure has penetrated the consciousness of many American people and others affected by this philosophy and may have something to do with much of the pathology we see today. More about this later.
Earthly Branch Wu : combined with the symbolism of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac
The Earthly branch Wu 午, reinforces what we’ve already discussed about the Summer Solstice - given that it is the Earthly branch associated with that part of the year. It is a picture of either a battering ram or a mortar and pestle, and thus we see again the idea of death or destruction in this life affirming and light giving symbol of the Heart. Wu 午 is also associated with the number five insofar that it is pronounced the same as 五, Wu - “five.”
This brings us to consideration of the association of the number five and the Heart. We should note that we’re talking about the fifth month when we talk about the Heart. The number five is extremely important in Chinese cosmology - witness the deep symbolism of the five elements and a whole variety of other symbolism assocaited with five. There’s just so much that I could say in this realm (and actually did, but then deleted to save your poor eyes) but I will have to stop here for the sake of article length.
The Earthly Branch Wu 午 is related to the Horse in the Chinese Zodiac. Remember, the Earthly Branches were associated with an animal to help them be easier to understand by the common people. The Horse is a particularly fascinating symbol for the Heart, which I could talk for a long time about. But consider just a few simple items. The horse is tireless, constantly galloping away, carrying great loads, even fighting in battle - just as our physical Heart must
persist throughout our lifetimes. The horse seems to share a Shen level connection with the human being - a really close rider and horse seem to read one another’s minds, few verbal commands are needed when the relationship is strong. The horse is one of the most beloved animals in all cultures, people sometimes take better care of their horses than they do their children!
I am certain there is more to understand about the horse - I would love to hear what people come up with in the comments to this post - please post below!
As always, there are many more symbols that we can pull from the organ clock to help us understand the Heart more deeply - but let’s work with what we have so far.
How does this help us understand the Heart more completely?
There’s a lot one could say about these symbols. The most important take-home message I have received is the crucial nature of respecting the Yin nature of the Heart. However, I don’t think you should start dousing your anxiety ridden patients with cooling herbs! On the contrary, they probably need Fu Zi. Which actually brings me to an important relationship and my overall point. You’ll excuse me if I diverge a bit into conjecture and philosophical exploration? Thanks.
We often talk about the relationship of the Heart and Kidney - fire and water. They are obviously related via their Liuqi designation of Shaoyin, or lesser Yin. We learn that the Shaoyin fire of the Heart must descend through the Earth to reach the Shaoyin water of the Kidney. In doing so, the cold Kidney water, the depth of our wisdom and lineage, is animated by the pure fire of Spirit and consciousness. Wisdom without use of that wisdom is nothing but a lifeless puddle. Likewise, the pure Kidney water must be steamed up to cool and contain the sometimes over-exuberant Heart Shen. Consciousness without wisdom quickly becomes tyranny and zealotry.
This is one way that I understand the importance of using Fu Zi even in the case of patients who appear to have lots of flaring Heat - such as patients with intense insomnia and anxiety. So many TCM physicians would balk at serving Fu Zi to such a patient. To provide one example of a powerful use of this principle, let’s go to that little book known as the Shang Han Lun.
下之後．復發汗．晝日煩躁不得眠．夜而安靜．不
嘔不渴．無表證．脈沈微者．乾薑附子湯主之
Xià zhīhòu．fù fāhàn．zhòurì fánzào bùdé mián．yè ér ānjìng．bù
ǒu bù kě. wú biǎozhèng．mài chén wēi, shēn wú dà rè zhě,gān jiāng fùzǐ tāng zhǔ zhī.
When precipitation has been used, yet sweating is then promoted so that the person in the daytime is vexed, agitated and sleepless, but by night time becomes peaceful and retching, thirst, exterios signs and great generalized heat are all absent, and the pulse is sunken adn faint, then Gan Jiang Fu Zi Tang governs (Mitchell/Ye/Wiseman version).
While I would like to think that most doctors would see patient with this picture - particularly the faint pulse - and realize that an intensely warming formula can be indicated, I think that most would still shun such strength and instead use something milder, more cooling, and most likely less effective.
One more point and then I’ll close this article. I believe that this fire-water relationship and the general Yin nature of the Heart leads us to realize the wisdom of having a well-developed spirituality. Only by combining the deep wisdom of contemplation (dwelling in the water) with the animating ecstacy of consciousness (dwelling in the fire) can we have balance. Advising our patients to nourish themselves in this way - of course without necessarily promoting a particular practice or tradition - may go a long way to helping them achieve greater health.
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Tags: balance, clinic, earthly branches, fire, heiner fruehauf, horse, insomnia, law, organ system, Organ systems, organ-clock, shang-han-lun, spirituality, symbolism, taiji, traditional-chinese-medicine, waterRelated posts
Chinese medicine and the senses : Part I : Scent
As I have been contemplating this new project that Abdallah and I have begun, I’ve found myself stymied at times. The aim of the project is clear, but the methodology is less so. Simply, everything that we’ve said in our introductory posts makes a ton of sense on a variety of levels, but when it gets down to “doing,” things become a little unclear. I know what I want to put out (multi-media posts that draw all of us deeper into our relationship with the world and its interpenetration with Chinese medical concepts) but how do I get the inputs to create the outputs?
Why is this harder than it sounds?
In the United States, and I suppose in most Western countries, our sensory experiences are more or less controlled. For the most part they are stifled, except for sight and hearing which are simply overwhelmed. Actually, thinking about it, we overwhelm all of our senses - limiting what they experience to a set number of approved, mostly synthetic items and then amping those up to the nth degree. I’ve grown up in the States my entire life, thus I’m subject to this dismal state of affairs. Fortunately, through Qigong and other experiences, I’ve gradually learned to lighten up, literally and figuratively.
Regardless, I find that fully utilizing my sensory capabilities requires effort - most of all it requires intention. The sense of smell is particularly interesting. So, to start a short series on the senses and how to return them to their natural state and attune them to a higher degree than ever - I’ll offer my thoughts on the sense of smell.
Chinese medicine and the sense of smell
In Chapter 11 of the Neijing Suwen, it says:
“故五氣入鼻藏於心肺．心肺有病．而鼻為之不利也”
This has been translated in a couple of different ways. The basic translation says:
“When the five Qi/odors enter the nose, they are stored in the Heart and Lung. Heart and Lung disease is detrimental for the nose.”
Maoshing Ni goes on to posit that the five scents are really “the five qi of environmental energy that we breathe in.” Regardless of the fact that I don’t see this particular statement in the text (thus underscoring my basic problem with Ni’s translation) it is interesting to contemplate. What is odor? Certainly it is Qi - but beyond that? In thinking about this, consider the Neijing’s statement that the odors are 藏/cang/stored by the Heart and Lung. The Lung makes a lot of sense given that the nose is the orifice of the Lung in both a Western and Chinese context. But what does it mean to say that the Lung receives and stores these odors? One could posit that they become part of the Qi that then rains down on the body as heavenly restorative water/Qi. I’m not sure if that position could be supported by the texts.
More interesting to me is the relation of odors and the Heart. What can it mean that the Heart stores odors? You’ll excuse me if I offer my own simple theories. As famously studied by Gilles Laurent at Cal Tech, there is a powerful association between scent and human memory. Nothing brings back a scene or person to the mind like a scent last experienced in that scene or with that person. When considering this idea, I most naturally think about the smell of my clothing when I come back from my mother’s house on a visit. I smell her for weeks afterward - and though the smell is created in part from her detergent, there is more to it than that. The scent is wrapped up in emotion, the scent contains not just detergent fragrances, but her spaghetti sauce aroma, her hair, the smell of Idaho, cold winters, the essence of what comes from her pores as a product of all she eats, drinks… well, you get the idea. The memories triggered are as complex.
Consider also the devotional aspects of scent - incense of various kinds have been used in religious ceremony and other spiritual activity since time immemorial. The Catholics still use incense as part of Mass, as do some Episcopalian congregations. Buddhist and Hindu shrines are nearly always adorned with incense censers. We can also think about the effects of Moxibustion using artemesia. While some people hate moxa for its thick smoke and messy nature, I find it to bring an essential element to treatments where it is indicated. While not explicitly of a spiritual nature, I do believe that there is something of an offering that occurs when using moxa in treatment.
This relationship of memory and spirituality to the sense of smell helps me to link it to the Heart. While we often talk about the Kidney as being the storehouse of memory in Chinese Medicine, from what I’ve read and learned, the type of memory held by the Kidney is more primal, older and is less easily accessed by consciousness. The Heart seems a likely place (especially in its relationship to the Western concept of mind) to store the memories of this life. The Heart’s relationship to Shen makes its connection to human spirituality quite clear.
In classical five element acupuncture, the art of smelling is still employed. The five odors, discussed first in the Neijing, are assessed by the practitioner to help understand the primary pathology of the patient, as well as used as a key in discovering the patient’s landscape tendency (constitutional factor). This is one of the most difficult diagnostic techniques for Westerners, as I’ve already hinted at. I find it to be incredibly difficult, personally, particularly given how so many patients cover up their natural odor as a matter of course. For the sake of completeness, I should list the five odors!
- Fire : scorched - one of my professors says that this is the smell of recently dried clothes
- Earth : fragrant - like rotten vegetables or new compost
- Metal : rotten - like a garbage bin or feces
- Water : putrid - like urine or stale wine
- Wood : rancid - like rancid oil, mcdonalds
Scent and herbal medicine
Briefly, what is the role of scent in Chinese herbal medicine? Most would say, “There is no role!” I disagree. One of the reasons I am a huge proponent of patients taking home and cooking their own bulk herbs is because of the experience they gain by doing so. Looking at the herbs, smelling them in their dried state, allowing the smell to permeate their living space, smelling their powerful odors when drinking - all of this, in my opinion, is part of the therapy. While many patients are unwilling to have this experience, it is one I encourage and have benefited from personally. The worst case scenario with regards to this would be taking pills of granuled Chinese herbs. I believe the move in this direction is detrimental, but understand when some patients choose this path.
Scent and the natural world
The sense of smell is much more emphasized in certain animals, including dogs. The sense of smell is a fantastic way to seek out prey that is not yet within range of the vision. While animals that live their lives in the air can afford to skimp on smell and focus on vision, animals that do most of their hunting in forests and tall grass fields need an alternative way to seek out their prey.
The natural world is full of odor. The sweet decay of Pacific Northwestern forest floors. The acrid, putrid, complicated smells of downtown sidewalks. The unbearable sweetness of babies nursing for the first time. Blood, urine, feces, animals marking their territory with complicated brews of hormones and urine - these less pleasant smells are just as much a part as any of the others. The human world is no different in this respect, though we would like it to be so.
Fearless smelling
Being able to integrate myself fully into the world using all of my senses is the primary methodology of this Chinese Medicine awareness project. So, how to proceed with the sense of smell? My first trick will be simply to allow myself to smell everything, without reservation. This means making a conscious effort to breathe deeply through my nose at all times. I will also be going out of my way to smell things that are likely to be interesting or complex. I will also be practicing this during tea drinking. The difference in smell between two otherwise similar puerh teas, for example, can be remarkable and really impacts the experience of the tea. This, of course, brings me around to the importance of smell for TASTE - but perhaps that’s for another article.
Do you have any ideas of how one can integrate the exercise of the sense of smell into daily living? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Tags: heart, herbs, lung, nature, neijing, scent, senses, spirituality, The ProjectRelated posts
Welcome to Carnival of Healing #114 at Deepest Health
Hey everyone,
I’m happy to be hosting another Carnival of Healing, this one should help you prepare for the winter’s contemplation with ease. The last Carnival was graciously hosted by Debra Moorhead.com and next week’s will be in the capable hands of the writers at Where We Relax. I’m sure I’ll host again sometime in the future - why don’t you think about submitting a post when that time comes around? You can always check out the Carnival of Healing archives for ideas and, if you have a blog, offer to host the carnival yourself! It’s a worthy pursuit. Now for the posts…
At the always enlightening Urbanmonk.net, we learn something of the truth about loneliness, self-love, ego, selfishness and the often tenuous balance between these features of human existence.
Evan from a great Chinese medicine related blog, Acupuncture is Easy, presents some interesting food for thought concerning the environmental and social aspects of acupuncture in his article, Acupuncture, Ecology and Social Justice.
Abdallah at one of my favorite blogs, Even Unto China, offers us an intriguing perspective on the role of music in true health. He integrates insights from his experience with Islam and his understanding of Chinese medicine theory, with a little Chinese etymology thrown in for good measure. Don’t miss this one.
A late addition to the Carnival, a fantastic beginners article about my personal favorite Classical Chinese Medicine text - the Shang Han Lun. This is put together by a CM colleague and fellow blogger, G. Michael Reynolds over at his blog, Life Giving Sword. I think you’ll really enjoy this article, so take the time to read it through.
Helfgott blog, an up and coming natural medicine blog hosted by Helfgott Research Institute in Portland, OR reveals to us the lesser known benefits of a sweet treat, honey. And yes, before you say it, I know that it seems contradictory for a vegan to support an article about honey. It’s an informative read regardless of your stance on this sensitive issue.
Since exercise is an essential feature of health in any medical system, it seems right to present to you Stanimir Sotirov’s simple and accessible article, What is Pilates? posted at All About Your Body And Spirit.
Roger Knight who writes at The Happy and Prosperous Blog presents a helpful introduction to Homeopathy in his article, Myth, Magic or Medicine Part 1 | The Happy and Prosperous Blog.
Carole Fogarty of the Healthy Living Lounge presents a timely gift for the holiday season, titled, The one and only zen gift to give your children. In this time of hyper consumerism, sometimes it can be helpful to be reminded that sometimes the most profound gifts we give are the least material.
Mark A. Rayner reveals to us The History Of Medicine In A Nutshell at a blog with an intriguing title, The Skwib. I love how this article is both lighthearted and heartbreaking at the same time - not to mention accurate!
At Little Seeds we read about Windhorse, a philosophy of personal empowerment with ancient roots. A truly fascinating read.
In an article somewhat similar to the first in this carnival, Matthew Spears presents Breaking through the chains of identity at his site, Loving Awareness. With both of these perspectives, I think you will be thinking about your identity and its role in your life of deepest health.
Answering a concern that many modern people have, ananga offers an article titled What if I’m Too Tense to Relax? at Living By Design a well designed and informative site on natural health and personal development.
Last but definitely not least, SJ Yee offers a rich anecdotal article, Detoxifying the body, My 10 day Vegan Diet Experience. If you’ve been reading this blog long, you’ll know that this is a topic close to my heart. It’s a short article, but should give a boost to anyone considering trying a vegan diet.
Thanks for reading through these articles, folks. Hopefully they will give you both ideas and inspiration! Happy winter!
Eric
Tags: Acupuncture, blog carnival, Character, ego, exercise, natural-medicine, Personal Development, spirituality, vegan
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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
6 Ways that Meditation is going to revolutionize your academic life
One of Deepest Health’s readers, Katrina, mentioned that she wonders about the benefits of meditation for students. There are a hundred and one articles out there showing simple meditation procedures, equally as many discussing the health benefits of this practice. So, I thought I’d take a slightly different angle and discuss the specific benefits I have experienced from meditation and then list the methods I recommend in brief. My hope is that this information will help students to see the benefit of meditation and encourage them to add a regular practice to their already busy schedule.
Tags: academics, erics-habits, focus, habits, meditation, professional-development, spirituality, students, study
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