Do you remember what it feels like the first time you hear a robin’s song heralding a newborn spring? Or when the first blades of green grass start erupting from the newly thawed ground after a long and cold winter? Maybe you feel it as a rising sense of expansion in your chest, or deep breaths just coming a little easier. Maybe it’s a lightening of your step or of your spirit. However your experience may be, this is a beautiful moment to participate in, and represents the rising of the Wood Movement (often mistranslated as wood “element”) that occurs in Spring.
Lessons of the Forest
We so often think of wood in terms of our wooden desk, bookshelves or walking stick. The hard and dense material that we use in construction—this is dead wood. To capture the traditional view of the Wood Movement, we have to engage with living wood; with the metaphor of growing and thriving plant life. This movement roots itself in earth and is powerfully grounding (yin aspect). This movement also grows naturally and powerfully up towards the light and expansion (yang aspect), and it does these two things in equal and balanced measure.
The upward growth is an experience of movement towards the heavens that can only occur in a consistent and sustained way, through howling winds and driving storms because its strong rooting keeps it connected to the nourishment and stability of earth. It is the suppleness and flexibility of bamboo swaying in the wind, as well as the strength of weeds pushing through cracks in the concrete blocks of a sidewalk. It is the power and strength of dynamically responsive growth out into the world.
Lessons of the Body
The wood element in the human being is strongly associated with smooth movement, expansion and grounding on multiple levels. At the level of our biology, this includes progression of the monthly menstrual cycle and the daily sleep/wake cycle. The movement of our digestive tract and circulation, as well as the transition between tension and relaxation in our muscles are all linked with Wood. If the Wood Movement is inflexible, we can get neck and shoulder tension from tight muscles, or painful cramps and constipation in our digestive tract. If it is not rooted well enough and is ungrounded, there can be headaches or dizziness, and eventually high blood pressure.
Lessons of the Spirit
At our intellectual and emotional levels of being, the Wood Movement embodies the qualities of flexibility, responsiveness, grounding, and growth. It is perfectly natural to feel anger or frustration if someone has just cut you off in traffic. Moving from one emotion to another in response to what is happening in our lives is normal and healthy. Still feeling angry 20 minutes later when the situation is long past is when problems can arise. If we lose the freedom to move and progress from one emotion to another in timing with our life, we lose our ability to perceive and live freely in the present moment because we are too preoccupied with those patterns of thought or emotion that have become stuck. This is wood in its stagnant state.
Consider a vine that meets an obstacle on its path. Is it likely that the vine’s primary meditation is on the obstacle, focusing or obsessing over it? The vine simply grows around the obstacle so that it can continue to reach towards the sun. The primary meditation of the vine focuses on the light rather than the obstacle, and this is one lesson that can be taken from the Wood Movement. Shifting our own wood movement may begin with a simple, but often difficult, shift in the content of our focus.
Once mastered inwardly, the Wood Movement can manifest itself externally with the powerful support, strength and capability we can share with others as a result of, and a part of, our own growth and expansion. A concept similar to our ideas of the power embodied in true kindness and compassion, leadership, social work and charity—movements toward the light.
Lessons of the Ages
The Wood Movement is the last of the Five Movements in this series of articles on the Wu Xing, or “Five Elements/Movements” of traditional Chinese thought. They are often misunderstood, since many translations from Chinese to English are hindered either by the language barrier or depth of comprehension. We are called to translate these insights into those forms of thought that are immediately and presently relevant and true to our own lives here, today. These articles are my own little manifestation of moving forward and up into the light and out into the world of Upstate New York culture and thinking, while still being grounded in the deeper truths of the Chinese tradition and its frame of reference. I hope that they can facilitate freedom and growth for you who have read them.
Fear, Wisdom and the Deep Ocean of the Individual: The Water Movement of the Chinese Five “Elements”
What happens to you when you sit quietly and look out onto a horizon filled with ocean? A clear mountain stream, or a favorite lake when no one else is around? There is something majestic and deeply soothing about water that it can be so still and calm, but in constant motion. The depths of the sea can draw us into the depths of ourselves, and a fast moving stream can remind us of how effortless the movement of life can be when it is simply following its way, like water following the gravity and curves of its landscape. These very same intuitions and connections have been made for centuries, and those ancient sages that formulated the Five Movement (sometimes called Five Element) philosophy studied this in detail when considering the Water Movement.
Lessons of the Seasons
In the changing of the seasons, the Water Movement is the winter. In the fall we had the inward movement of what matters most to our lives, and the letting go of more exterior concerns. In the winter we have the full transition to our depths. Take a walk in the frozen woods of New York in January and you can feel that stillness. Nature is meditating upon herself before arising again to explore the outward world of spring. As a part of nature, the Five Movement philosophy advises us to embrace stillness and introspection in our lives during the winter months. It is a perfect time for deep meditations and contemplations using a very soft focus on effortless awareness, rather than actively moving a lot of energy around.
Lessons of the Body
In our physical bodies, the water movement is associated with the healthy elimination of fluid waste and urination. No real head-scratcher there! The water element is also in charge of the underlying vitality of our reproductive system, as well as our bones, bone marrow, brain and joints. These processes, including structural stability and the ability to reproduce, are very deep and fundamental to who we are as physical beings. Keeping the water element in good health and conserving its vital presence in our lives is very important in both short term health and the process of aging. This includes managing our sleep, choosing valuable nutrients in our diet, proper hydration, not pushing ourselves so far that we are pulling from our reserves, and the pursuit of wisdom over excitement or trends; a steady and smooth flow.
Lessons of the Spirit
The water movement is characterized by inward and downward movement that goes to the very depths. When we are moving with it, we are operating from a place of calmness akin to quiet wisdom and contentment, with the resonant quality of deep power. When in balance, it is the quiet presence of one who is following the way of their life without resistance or internal strife, combined with the vigor of will found in the understanding and acceptance of that fact. It is not just the calm depths of our inner world, it is the power and stability that can arise from such a place, particularly when it is well preserved and cared for. It is the calmness that we can hold to so that we can act from compassion and inner strength rather than knee-jerk or unconscious responses.
The negative emotion of the Water Movement is fear. Fear is the concept that we may not survive; that our wellbeing is in danger; or that it will be if a certain action or event takes place. When fear is operating as it should, it gives rise to positive action toward survival and thriving. When fear lingers or overwhelms, it leads to the nearly opposite effect of mental paralysis, or “freezing up.” This is frozen water—vitality and vigor that has been locked down and restrained due to our response to real or imagined circumstances.
Frozen water cannot irrigate fields, relieve thirst, or moisten tissue. It is not “bad water,” it is just locked up in a way that prevents it from nourishing its environment. If warmed and thawed by love and inspiration, it becomes free and productive once again. This highlights a central relationship between the water of the kidneys and the fire of the heart. Heart fire (sincere and honest connection with self, others, and nature; love) warms the kidney water to keep it flowing. Kidney water cools the heart fire to prevent it from flaring and turning into mania or anxiety. This central pivot within us links the most fundamental aspect of our being (the inner peace and virility of Water), with the most elevated aspect (the connection with nature and each other represented by Fire).
Lessons of the Ages
The Water Movement is the gift of effortless motion, or stillness within motion along a natural path, as well as a sense of peaceful depth and virility. It tends toward the inward and downward directions, and relates to very deep physical processes including reproduction and skeletal structure. We can experience it within during deep meditation. We can experience it when sitting at peace by a body of water; and we can experience it in the quiet, low thrum that speaks to itself deep in the woods of a northeastern winter. With the cold months coming upon us now, try taking the time to “go with the flow” this season, and enjoy the inward movement of reflection. Like the ancients, perhaps you too will discover why Water, more than any other of the Five “Elements,” has been associated with an ideal that we treasure today here in the West: wisdom.
Inspiration, Integrity and the Fine Art of Letting Go: the Metal Movement of the Chinese Five “Elements”
In traditional Japanese sword work, life and death were decided by centimeters and fractions of a second. The positioning of the sword, the posture of the mind and alignment of the body were trained for hours on end, diligently refined moment by moment, and year after year. The movement from one posture to another and forms of cutting were likewise practiced and examined until any excess movement or hesitation were stripped away to find, in that inspiration born of necessity and honest training, only the most precise and effective techniques that could be known and grasped. This was not for show or merely for art, this was first and foremost for the survival of self, family and community—the very most important of things.
This is a poignant example of the metal movement (often called the metal element) within the traditional Chinese theory of the Five Movements. It is the refinement and clarification of what is most vital and important; the preservation of that which matters most, and the cutting away of that which does not serve or hinders the free movement of life. It involves the strength and the act of letting go, as well as the openness and perception to receive.
Lessons of the Seasons
The season of the year associated with the metal movement is the fall. The plant forms that have grown, spread and flourished through spring (associated with the wood movement) and summer (fire) are now cut down to attain their most essential elements—a separation of the grain from the husk. The grain is protected and stored to preserve life through the stillness of winter (water), and the shafts and husks are let go so that they can return to the soil and transform (earth). At the same time, in the plant kingdom, leaves are released to blanket and merge with the soil as trees move their focus and resources into their depths to likewise preserve the essentials of life through the cold winter.
Lessons of the Spirit
In our psyche, metal movement is the penetration of insight into the depths of who we are; the clarification and preservation of what we value most in our lives and ourselves; and the letting go of items and actions that are not in tune with our highest ideals and needs. This continually clears the way and makes room for new inspiration that keeps with the pace and rhythms of life, preventing a sort of freezing and isolation within a prison of the past, or a sense of being lost in a sea of excess thoughts and concerns.
The metal movement also involves the courage and the integrity to live in this way- according to our highest values, regardless of what temptations or short cuts may come across our paths. It holds the understanding that courage is not a lack of fear, it is choosing according to the way of our highest ideals even though we are afraid or tempted by things like vanity and social validation. It is the choice of compassion in an age of anger and blame, and the strength of independence required to walk lonesome paths where few choose to go.
Lessons of the Body
In our bodies, the metal movement is associated with our lungs and large intestine. It is both the breath of fresh inspiration, and the exhalation of that which would become a poison to our lives were it to accumulate. Without exhalation, there is no room for inhalation, and vice versa. The large intestine works to absorb water and eliminate solid waste. In addition to preventing uncomfortable back-ups, this elimination also allows that which doesn’t serve us to return to the cycles of nature to transform and become the fertilizer of new life. Our letting go is not an act of judgement and destruction, but an act of release and renewal. As the saying goes, one being’s waste is another’s treasure... any gardener could tell you!
Lessons of the Ages
The season of fall, the lung, the large intestine, and the meditative and insightful practice of the master swordsman are not definitions of the metal movement, they are examples of it. It is by our experience of these things that we can learn of the metal movement, and then take that lesson into new and unexpected areas to find clarity and insight. Where do you see the movement of inspiration, of preserving what is most vital, and of letting go in the cause of freedom and renewal? The ancient and timeless ideas contained within the Five Movements are not to serve as rules to follow, but as offerings of insight to enrich the miraculous, wonderous and enormous event that is the living of a life. Enjoy!!!
The Earth Movement of the Traditional Chinese Five Elements
The Earth Movement: Eternity and Nourishment within the Five “Elements” of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Let’s begin by stepping into a time machine. This is not a time machine that will take us back to the dinosaurs, or to try out a shiny new hover car. This time machine allows us to observe a pristine forest in fast motion over the course of 10,000 years.
We see seasons come and go; great trees reaching up into the sky, fresh green leaves drunk on sunlight and dancing in the winds, lightning flashing and fire consuming, and new life springing up from soil enriched by fallen ancestors. Over and over we see physical forms appear and fade, but the life that runs through them continues unbroken. What is it that takes the life that was a fallen leaf and transforms it into a fertile resource for the next generation? That is the earth movement. It is the way by which life moves from one form to another.
Transforming, Processing and Nourishing
Within the life of a human this has a powerful connection to our ability to nourish ourselves and others. We eat the leaves or flesh of another being, and by some mysterious process they become the stuff of us—our cells, our bones, and the energy that runs through both to animate them. What was once broccoli is now me. This wondrous transformation was called the earth movement by the founders of the Five Movements philosophy (often mistranslated as the Five Elements philosophy).
In a similar manner, our lives serve us challenges and gifts, obstacles and opportunities. Taking in those experiences and “digesting” them into understanding, inspiration, motivation and learning allows us to move forward and grow. A sustenance of the mind and spirit absorbed from and processed from the living of our lives is the earth movement. In a sense, we are our lives lived.
Planets and Dirt
It should be said that there are completely separate phrases in the Chinese language for planet earth and for earth with the meaning of soil. The earth movement is not a reference to the planet, it is a reference to the soil. Just as the fallen tree is reabsorbed into the soil to form fertilizer for the seeds of that tree and others to grow, the earth movement is the process by which life moves from one form to another, from one physical reference point to another, in a continuous and unbroken flow that began with the very beginning of life itself.
Take a second to ponder on that. Visualize it. Go out into the woods and feel it in the depths of your being. You and all you see, every blade of grass, every beast, every mosquito… every manifestation of life has an unbroken line back to the beginning of everything, and forward to what will continue to live on this planet for billions of years to come. That is a miracle that we live every moment! Taste the deliciousness!
One Moves Through All
There are notions in many native cultures concerning a sort of spirit that moves in all things, connecting them in an unbroken way. This isn’t just metaphysics, this is observation and connection to the reality of our existence. Where did my body come from if not the minerals, calories and proteins of those who have lived before me; and where will my body go if not back to the grass and fields on which the progeny of tomorrow will walk, eat and love?
The earth movement is that movement that connects these generations, and these different physical beings one to the other. It is also a connection between each other in every moment. When the fire movement of my grandmother wells up to reach out to me and warms me with a hug, that grandmother’s love becomes the love within me and my life as well. In another way, when a stranger drops frustration into my path, it can become the lesson and growth of tolerance and forgiveness within my life.
Do you see how the earth movement relates so intimately with the nourishment of ourselves, physically and consciously? I hope so! Play with these ideas. Digest them and make them yours! In that way the teachings and legacies of the ancient past become the nourishment and growth of our own understanding and becoming.
Medicaid in Ohio Expands to Include Acupuncture
A First of It's Kind
Ohio becomes the first state to cover acupuncture with Medicaid. In response to the epidemic of opioid addiction largely created by the overuse of opioids for pain management in the medical community, Ohio is now allowing access to natural pain management in the form of acupuncture. Citing successful and growing studies on acupuncture, the program will allow its members to have covered acupuncture for low back pain and migraines. We're next New York, let's get it going!
The Fire Movement: Dance of Bliss
This blog is a part of my efforts to provide a reference for some of the concepts found in traditional Chinese Medicine. This article was written by me, and first published in the June 2018 issue of the journal Healing Springs. Please see my article on The Five Movements for an overview of the Five Movement Theory (a better translation for what is often called the Five Element Theory)
Finding the Fire
Create the experience of being a part of natural grace within your mind. Picture yourself as the plum blossom tree of the meditative garden. Your roots are strong and healthy, your leaves full and at their ease as the wind describes and defines their movement. The light of the sun warms and gives itself to you in a deathless gift of life and vitality. The moisture and nutrients of the soil that hug and protect your roots rise within to meet this penetrating starlight as you embody the joining of the heavens and earth. Life flows, moves and transforms.
Something moves to the forefront of you—a drive to expand, to rise up and to continue the life that was entrusted to you by countless ancestors. At the very culmination of your woody branches, you bloom. Vulnerable, delicate petals unfold to show the world your very essence in a courageous call to the wild: see me, come to me. Life recognizes life, the industrious buzzing of small wings carry pollen from stamen to pistil, and life moves forward into its next incarnation.
This sort of movement within a living being corresponds to the traditional element, or movement, called fire. Fire tends to be warm and move upwards, it has an intimate role in our relationships and interaction with the world outside of ourselves, and has more to do with truthfulness than toughness. In traditional Chinese medical thought, it is associated with the human heart.
The Heart of the Matter
In Acupuncture and traditional Taoist texts, the heart is the receiving place of our intuitive and internal knowledge of virtue, and the way to live a good life. It is the seat of our interaction and understanding of the natural world, and the gateway through which we can experience that natural world at the most intimate level. It is likewise the place where we can receive the most intimate of connections with the natural world—our relationships with family, loved ones and friends. The closer we are with each other in pure, truthful and sincere terms, the more our fire burns with one light, and the more we are aware of that connection.
Simple Joys and Complex Problems
The emotional experience traditionally associated with the fire movement—joy and contentment—is not surprising considering the above. When we are in harmony with our natural environment and surrounded with healthy and honest relationships, it is a natural outcome to feel warmed and deeply peaceful. This is the precise reason why many traditional teachings from China and southeastern Asia deal with the elimination of desire and fear.
When we are concerned with personal gain, competition, greed, fear and the like, then our attention is focused on these things to the point of obscuring our connection to the heart, and the freedom of the fire movement to glow throughout the being. When we choose to deny something our heart knows to be true, we necessarily create a shadow within that connection to our heart, as well. The song of nature is most often experienced as a soft and fluid melody within the heart, and requires a special sort of focus and courage to listen to consistently. The quieting of the rational mind and disciplined management of desire and selfishness opens the way to hearing the song more clearly.
When fire movement is too hot and is flaring, we may feel manic and jittery, and our sleep may be disturbed. When fire movement is stifled and obscured, we may feel a lack of joy or zest for life, and a sense of isolation or disconnection. If fire movement and the heart are stifled strongly enough, we can also feel lost or without direction.
Fire and the Other Four Movements
Other than keeping the heart free of the haze of wanting and denial, what else is crucial to the healthy movement of fire within us? In the phases of the Five Elements, or Five Movements, fire arises from the wood, and is kept in check by the water. Keeping these two movements healthy is a powerful way of balancing and supporting our fire. Please join me in the next issue of the Healing Springs Journal to explore these other ancient movements, and continue our journey toward balance with, and within, all five.
Sanctuary
What Does Sanctuary Mean to You?
The concept of a sanctuary includes a space or circumstance where we feel protected and safe; a place where we can breathe easy and feel at peace. A sanctuary can be a physical location, or perhaps it can even include loved ones. Some might say that wherever they are with their dog and family is a sanctuary.
When I think of a sanctuary I am reminded of a shelter my son and I built a few years back. We constructed it together from fallen wood and ground litter. Somewhat insulated, mostly waterproof and just big enough for two to seek shelter in, it was certainly no majestic piece of architecture or fortified enclosure. Although the shelter itself could not have been said to be "great" like the Coliseum in Rome, it was built with a great love, and that love saturated the quiet corner of the woods that it occupied. Maybe that is what made it feel so restorative and comforting to be in. A Sanctuary.
I strive to make Silver Moon a sanctuary for all who visit it, but how about you? What is your sanctuary?
Forest Baths
Healing in Nature
If you've seen me more than a few times, chances are I have encouraged you at least once (possibly many times : ) to spend time in and around nature and trees. There is a reason for that, and scientists are slowly uncovering it. Check out this study on "forest bathing" from the International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology.
Subjects are taken to spend hours in forested areas, then tests are run to look for physical changes. Researches have found significantly increased immune function, improved hormonal balance with reduced stress hormones and changes that can help prevent cancer. Some of these effects last at least a week after having left the forest! How does being in a forest have such a positive effect? Most of you who know me can probably guess what I would say, but what do you think?
I'm Now Credentialed with Empire Blue Cross
Empire Blue Cross
Just a brief announcement that I am now in network with Empire Blue Cross. The picture is from a camp-out/hike my firstborn son and I took many a year ago. I'm feeling reminiscent...he is beginning his university education to become an Environmental Engineer next Fall! So very, very proud!
The Five Movements of Traditional Chinese Medicine
The Five What?
The Healing Springs Journal has been kind enough to publish some of my ramblings on traditional Chinese medicine and though. Below is a piece that I wrote on a subject that has been almost universally mistranslated as the "Five Elements." A more accurate translation that is key to understanding the true spirit of this metaphorical source of traditional wisdom is the "Five Movements." To find out why, and to learn about how this ancient philosophy describes a path to balance within our lives, please check out the article below, and let me know what you think!
Embracing Balance and Discovering Vitality With The Five “Elements”
Part One: The Fundamentals
We often speak of balance in our lives and of how important it is. An important topic to consider when seeking balance is: what exactly is it that we’re balancing? A solid understanding of what we are balancing can give us a more concrete idea of what success will look like, and how to get there.
The Wu Xing, or as they are often translated “Five Elements,” have provided that important framework for understanding balance dating back over 2,000 years. They arise from observations of nature: changes of the seasons, the cycles of life, the balance of natural ecosystems, and the balance of the systems within our own body. By gaining a deeper and more practical understanding of these Wu Xing, perhaps we, too, can find insight that will help us achieve balance within ourselves.
In this first article we will examine the five as a group, and talk about the fundamental ideas embodied in this ancient and timeless philosophy. Why are there five? How do they interact? What do we mean by Xing or Element? In following issues of Healing Springs, we will delve into each of the five Xing individually.
What’s In a Name?
The name “Five Elements” is misleading to most people. As modern English speakers, we associate “elements” with substances. The elements of chemistry are the different kinds of atoms that make up all matter that we are familiar with—the basic building blocks. Gold, oxygen, and aluminum are elements.
The phrase Five Elements makes it seem as if it is a theory of five “elementary” substances of life—five basic building blocks from which all other things are made. Although that is true of the four elements of ancient Greek thought, it is entirely different from the ancient Chinese way of thinking. To reclaim the ancient philosophy in its true form, let us return directly to the original Chinese phrase, the Wu Xing.
Refining Translations
Wu refers to the number five. Xing, however, is not at all referring to “elements” as we usually think of them. The Chinese symbol for Xing is the image of a human being who is taking a step or stride, and the meaning is of movement rather than substance. The Wu Xing are more accurately interpreted as the “Five Movements.” Changing this one word from element to movement opens the door to seeing the philosophy behind the name in a profoundly more clear and enlightening way. The Wu Xing refer to the natural movement of life in a balanced and organized way that gives vitality and health.
By the Numbers
Why five movements? Why not three, or four, or two hundred? The number five is not an accident, and arrives very organically from the naturalistic cosmology that existed in ancient China. Understanding how we arrive at five is entirely necessary to understanding this ancient concept.
Here, I suggest the use of numbers as a way of understanding the “progression of becoming.” It is a way that life was understood in ancient China, in a step-by-step way from its most primal and basic form, to its most developed and sophisticated forms. It is a way of thinking that gave birth to the Five Movements.
1) At the beginning is the number one. One is the coming into existence, the primary becoming. In short: Something exists.
2) Once you have something that exists, for its existence to be recognizable or meaningful, there must be something that it is not. This is represented by the concept of yin and yang: the two positive and negative poles of existence such as light and darkness, outward and inward.
3) The third step is all of the interaction and exchange between yin and yang. The field and the force between the positive and negative poles of a magnet is a great example of this. The differences between yin and yang provide for the movement and animation of existence. This third level, the movement of life, is called “qi.”
4) Fourth, we have the movement and animation of life spreading out in the four directions of the compass, or in the three dimensions of space and one dimension of time. It is the conception of the movement of existence through space and time.
5) Now we finally get to our subject, the five! Five is the organization of life’s movement in four directions or dimensions surrounding a center. With the addition of a center around which to orient movement, there is the concept of cycles, including the seasons of the year. There is also the organization of life centered within a living being. This is why there are Five Movements, and where they fit in.
As a treat for your meditation, consider the above progression during your next practice. Then, approach the concept of what is “before” the one. This is what Joseph Campbell would call the Transcendent, the place towards which the deep teachings of the sages point.
Balance: Generation and Control
In an elegant system of thinking in which universal unity is a fundamental truth, these five movements are always in relation to each other. They exist as aspects of a single whole, and flow into each other as well as against each other, but are never in isolation. Now that we have established that there are Five Movements, we can shift to the specifics of how those five move.
The Five Movements interact with each other in two very important ways. In one way, one movement gives rise to another. This is called the generation cycle. It proceeds in this order: Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water, Water generates Wood and Wood generates Fire.
This is a continuous cycle of becoming and feeding one into the other. Balance in this aspect means that when fire movement is flowing as it does in nature, it gives rise to and strengthens earth type movement, which strengthens and gives rise to metal type movement, and so on. Imbalance can occur if the movement gets stifled in one particular phase of movement, blocked from flowing into its next phase, or simply gets weakened by too many demands.
Think of it this way: When a stream winding through a forest is flowing well, all is watered and healthy. If the stream becomes blocked, the area before the blockage can get backed up and flooded while the area after the block begins to dry up and become parched. Or, if one part of the stream is taxed too sorely (a thirsty herd of buffalo have found our stream), then the stream from there on will be too weak and dry. A smooth and plentiful flow from one place to the next is vital to the balance of the forest.
The second way is the control cycle. This is how the Five Movements interact to keep each other from excess. It proceeds in this order: Fire controls Metal, Metal controls Wood, Wood controls Earth, Earth controls Water, and Water controls Fire. Balance in this aspect means that if one movement becomes excessive, the movement that controls it will serve to limit the excess and guide the movement back to a natural state. If fire flares too hot, water can cool it; if wood grows unwieldy, metal can hedge it in. Imbalance can occur when one movement is excessive to the point of dominating the movement that should serve to control it; or if the movement that should control it is weakened to the point of being ineffective.
Think of it this way: If our stream were to be seen after a heavy rainfall, the strength of its movement could be so strong that it would overflow its banks and flood the forest. Alternatively, if the banks of the stream were weakened by erosion or deforestation, they could weaken to the point of not being able to contain our stream at even its normal levels, and once again there is flooding, or disorder.
The Next Step
Tantalized yet?! I hope so. The theory of the Wu Xing, or Five Movements is a powerful and life-affirming tool to examine and promote balance within an individual life, and between an individual life and all of nature. Now that we have some understanding of how these movements interact with each other, we can move on to a deeper understanding of the movements themselves, and what they look like in our everyday lives. Please check out my individual blogs coming up on each of the five movements individually. These were originally written and published in the Healing Springs Journal, but I am reproducing them here as a sort of resource for those who may be interested.
Brain Candy
Meditation and Being Well
Research on meditation is increasing as clinical results and patient accounts of how powerful and helpful meditation is becomes impossible to ignore. In a study published in the January 30, 2011 issue of the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, investigators found that in just 8 weeks of daily meditative practice, test subjects changed the physical structure of their brains.
Areas of the brain associated with emotional balancing, attention, empathy, compassion, learning and self-awareness actually changed in density as measured by MRI studies. In just 8 weeks! This is one of the first studies showing the physical changes in the brain that go along with the improved mental and emotional well being people consciously feel as a result of beginning meditative practices.
How does this study affect our view of consciousness and the brain? It was the conscious decision and conscious activity of meditating that initiated the physical changes in the brain. Does that agree with the theory that consciousness arises directly from brain activity; or does it indicate that consciousness comes first? What do you think? Meditate on it!
The Origins of Acupuncture
How Was Acupuncture Discovered?
This is a question that I get at least once per week in my practice: How was acupuncture discovered, and by whom?
Well, the short answer is that nobody knows! The earliest texts we have are from the Mawangdui tombs. Fun facts: these texts include 11 rather than today's 12 regular acupuncture channels, and show a different interpretation of how the channels flow than the one most broadly used today. There is no indication within these written records and diagrams of where these concepts originated, but the development of the ideas within them clearly indicate that they significantly predate the 2,200 year old Mawangdui tomb.
So...How Was Acupuncture Discovered?!
We have only theories, but here are a few to consider:
- The institutional Chinese theory is that it was happenstance. For example, someone was shot with an arrow in the leg (or some similar puncture injury), and noticed that their shoulder pain got better.
- One theory historians have put forth is that acupuncture developed from an ancient shamanic practice of thrusting spears into the air to dispel evil spirits. This thinking was then turned inwardly to expel the evils within (duh duhn duuuuuhn!)
- Lastly, there is the sage/wise person theory. This theory holds that introspective geniuses of the past were able to quiet their minds and open their awareness to the point of becoming aware of these subtle flows within the body, and developed ways to influence those flows towards health and healing.
So what do you think? How was acupuncture discovered and developed? We may never have historically verifiable information to settle the question, but it is fun to speculate on. The question of acupuncture's origin is a fascinating one, but I am most excited by exploring where it is today, and where it is going!
Pondering the Moon
Full Moon
We in the U.S. often think of the moon as something representative of feminine power, and the feminine aspect of the natural world. This is also very true of traditional Chinese thought. The moon is one of the most frequently used symbols in traditional texts for the yin power within nature (please see my earlier blog on yin/yang).
We often think of a full moon as the culmination, or peak, of feminine power within the 29.5 day cycle of the moon's phases. This moon is a bright and demanding presence in the night sky. Traditionally this is understood to be the time that the yin, or feminine aspect, is actually at its weakest. Yin is dark and still, where yang is bright and active. When the moon is at its brightest, the bright light of the sun (traditional symbol of yang) cuts through the deep and still night, penetrating darkness (yin) with light (yang).
I have no idea whatsoever if crime rates go up at the full moon, and have only anecdotal accounts of friends and clients who don't sleep as well during the full moon. If this is true, it may be related to that yang (wakeful) movement within the typically yin (restful) night. Not to worry, though! Like waves approaching, cresting and receding on our shores, it is merely the comings and goings of life's natural rhythm.
If you find yourself awake some night of a full moon, perhaps look up at that majestic companion of ours and ponder how activity and stillness mix and flow into each other in your own life, and where your own balance may be found.
What is Qi?
Welcome to another blog focused on discussing some fundamental concepts from traditional Chinese medicine! Today we will provide a brief introduction to one of the most well known and misunderstood concepts from Chinese Medicine: the concept of "qi."
Many Acupuncturists and Qi Gong practitioners would simply say that Qi is “energy.” The reason that I avoid this interpretation is that it just replaces one mysterious concept with another. What is energy? “Energy” is a term that will mean one thing to an athlete, another to a chemical engineer, and yet another to a meditator or Reiki practitioner. A great amount of confusion has come directly out of using this term “energy” so broadly, and in so many different contexts. So rather than switch one mystery for another, I will attempt to give the traditional context for the term Qi.
Traditional Chinese thought orders our reality “by the numbers.” The first is, perhaps a little obviously, the number one. This points to the concept that the universe is considered as a whole, and that all within it is a part of that whole. The second is the level of two: this is the concept of Yin/Yang. Yin/yang recognizes all of the “dualistic” concepts we have: up/down, light/dark, movement/stillness, positive/negative and so on. Out of these polar opposites, the three is born. Three is considered to be the level of both qi and human beings. Like the electrical flow between the positive and negative poles of a battery, qi is all of the movement, interaction and happenings between the yin and yang poles of the universe.
From the above, we can understand that at the most fundamental level, qi refers to the movement and operation of life and existence. This includes things we consider physical phenomena, such as the pull between opposite poles of a magnet, the light from a light bulb, breathing, digestion, the sound of a song and the warmth of an embrace. Also included in the concept of Qi are the subtle flows of vitality within and throughout the body that animate and give vitality to our being, subtle flows that we currently lack the ability to physically measure or easily quantify.
It is foundational to an accurate understanding of Qi that all of the above are included. If we look only at the physically measurable, or only at the subtle, then we are not seeing the full picture. In traditional Chinese medical theory, Qi is the interaction and operation of the movement between all dualities, including physical and non-physical (yin and yang). Also vital to remember is that even though Qi is at the level of the three, it is still held within the broader and all-inclusive concept of oneness.
Avoiding Supplement Overload
I wrote an article on this topic for the Saratoga Healing Springs Journal February/March issue. I provided some helpful and important guidelines on how to avoid taking too many supplements. Included are discussions on how we sometimes end up with too many supplements on our list, and how to bring the list back down to a manageable and more effective combination. The best herbalists I've ever worked under and with have always emphasized diet and lifestyle first, with very targeted supplements and herbs filling in where a stronger fix is needed. Please check it out, and let me know what you think!
Medicaid in Ohio Expands for Acupuncture!
As of January of 2018, Ohio medicaid patients will now have acupuncture performed by a licensed acupuncturist covered for their low back pain and migraines. These are two areas where there has been very active research into acupuncture over the past 15 years, and the results are in: it works great, and costs less. In a country faced with an opioid epidemic brought on in significant part by the over-prescribing of these dangerous drugs, acupuncture is an essential, compassionate and effective strategy for pain management whose time has come.
Write your representatives here in Albany, New York and your health insurance company to let them know that acupuncture is proven as safe, effective and very low cost, and that you deserve to have it covered! If Ohio can do it, we can too!
Yin and Yang: Balance and Elegance
Yin/Yang Theory
I would like to begin using this website’s blog as a reference for those in the Albany area and beyond who are interested in some of the concepts associated with acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. The first place to start is most certainly the concept of yin and yang.
The theory of Yin/Yang is the theory of opposites that oppose, balance, control and compliment each other. Yin is often symbolized with water and tends toward darkness, coldness and stillness. Yang is often symbolized with fire and tends toward brightness, heat and movement. They are defined by their relationship to each other, and are always relative. Neither has any meaning on their own, and by definition never exist in isolation from each other. For example: can you imagine the concept of up without the concept of down?
Yin and yang are the ultimate points of reference for each other. Like the positive and negative poles of a magnet create a magnetic field and magnetic force between them, Yin and Yang form the reference points between which the movements and interactions of life occur. Think of it this way: our lives are a combination of the physical substances of our body that come from the earth (yin), and the energy of the light (harnessed through photosynthesis) coming from the sun (yang). Just as the interplay between positive and negative charges of subatomic particles drives the reactions of chemistry, the interplay between yin and yang drive the happenings and animation of our lives.
Good Sleep Habits
Good Sleep Quantity and Quality
Getting the right amount of sleep is essential to feeling physically, mentally and emotionally healthy. We don't want to just be in bed for eight hours, we want those eight hours to be deep and sound sleep. Here are some tips that can help:
- Build your routine: the body loves stable and consistent habits. Make bed time a regular time for every night of the week. Perhaps practice your daily meditation, take a nice bath or other calming activities during the hour before bed time.
- Embrace stillness: avoid overloading on stimulation within an hour or two of bedtime. This may be scary movies, action-packed adventure books, or just the news.
- Embrace the bedroom as a sanctuary: try to avoid doing anything in the bedroom that doesn't involve sleep or being cozy with your partner. Invest in thick curtains and avoid lighting in the bedroom during your sleep hours; a sound/noise machine can be helpful where complete silence is not an option
- "Light therapy:" light is a very powerful stimulant that tells the brain it is time to wake up. Expose yourself to natural light during the day, and avoid light at bedtime and in the middle of the night as much as possible.
- Avoid stimulants: these include alcohol, tobacco and caffeine. Alcohol can make you sleepy initially, but a few hours later its metabolism has a stimulant effect that can disrupt deep and quality sleep.
- Keep naps short and early: if you have trouble sleeping at night, daytime naps are a natural place to look for catching up. In general, keep the naps under 30 minutes, and during the earlier part of the day.
- Exercise: a regular and robust exercise routine is beneficial for so many reasons, and sleep is one of them. Exercise can reduce stress and release excess energy and anxiety. Exercise is a short-term stimulant for the body, and is best done at least a few hours before bed time.
- Pets in the bedroom: an emotional topic for many. Just be honest with yourself. If you sleep great with your pet around, wonderful! If your pet wakes you or disrupts your sleep, it's time to think about creating some healthy boundaries.
Help Support Logan Fogg and his Family
Think Globally, Act Locally, and Love Bravely
Logan Fogg is ten months old, and as tough as anyone you've ever met. His proud grandmother tells me he takes a round of chemotherapy, and still sports a smile that could brighten any room.
Logan's family is asking Albany, NY and the Capital Region to support Logan's care and his family's constant and unfailing efforts to support him every day he is in the hospital or going in for treatment. Please visit their website to offer your support, or maybe even share a story of loved ones you have supported through cancer treatment and recovery: http://loganstrong.org/
When we help another human being in this way, we help to heal ourselves, and our community. Help make the Fogg family's 2018 be one of joy, hope and healing.
Consumer Reports Supports Acupuncture for Back Pain
Hello Albany, NY! In another big step forward for Acupuncture, the June 2017 issue of Consumer Reports magazine, a journal devoted to informing and protecting consumers, has a feature piece on effective relief from back pain.
Consumer Reports, June 2017
The article highlights the best options for people dealing with back pain, and that acupuncture and other natural means of healing are now understood to be the best choice for most people. Natural methods of dealing with and eliminating back pain have stood the test of time, and now have thoroughly stood the test of clinical research.
Some of the treatment options covered by the article are:
- Acupuncture
- Exercise
- Tai Chi
- Yoga
- Physical Therapy and Stretching
These are the same treatments now recommended by the American College of Physicians in their Clinical Guidelines for Back Pain. (See my blog). The results are definitive and clear- Acupuncture has left the "coo-coo" section of the medical fringe, and has won well-deserved acceptance in mainstream medicine!
Here is a link to another article on the Consumer Reports website on back pain that may interest you: The Better Way to Get Back Pain Relief