Using Traditional Chinese Medicine To Heal Common Gardening Injuries

By Sally Perkins

Gardening has become a favorite hobby worldwide as a study indicates that in 2020, over 20 million novice gardeners began planting and digging in the soil for the first time in their lives. Not only has it become a great pastime and stress-reliever, but gardening has also enabled many individuals to grow their own food in their backyard. Though gardening has multiple benefits for physical and mental health, it also comes with its own set of hazards that can lead to injuries and various body aches and pains. Fortunately, there are ancient Chinese remedies that you can use to deal with these various injuries and have a pain-free time in the garden.

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For cuts and scrapes

Getting injured in the garden is a common occurrence for both novice and seasoned gardeners. In fact, the American Society for Surgery of the Hand notes that emergency rooms treat more than 400,000 gardening-related accidents each year. Some of the most common injuries include cuts and scrapes, and while most cases may not warrant a trip to the hospital, they still need to be looked after to prevent infection. The ancient Chinese typically used a combination of four plant-derived ingredients, which are agrimony, sacred lotus, frankincense, and cattail pollen, to heal wounds. You can find a pulverized version of these four ingredients in Chinese herbal stores and apply the mixture to cuts, scrapes and wounds to speed up healing and reduce scar formation. You may also use powdered Yunnan Baiyao to treat bleeding cuts or wounds to prevent further blood loss. Just make sure to clean the wound or scrapes thoroughly before applying the powder to minimize the risk of infection.

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For sunburn

Gardeners are at a high risk for sunburn. Not only can it lead to pain and discomfort, but constant and prolonged exposure to the sun may also cause skin aging and skin cancer. To prevent sunburn, it's important to apply sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 before going outside. Gardeners should also have a shady spot in the garden where they can rest and seek respite from the hot sun. Consider creating a sitting area under a shady tree by installing a comfortable hammock, then add a small table where you can put drinks or a bottle of water so you can hydrate while you rest. If you do get a sunburn though, there are several things you can do to relieve the pain.

Traditional Chinese medicine views sunburn to be a condition wherein damp heat is trapped in the skin, and it's usually treated with a combination of topical herb therapy, rehydration, and acupuncture to release the trapped heat. For a sunburn, TCM practitioners often recommend eating cooling foods such as celery, cucumber, watermelon, pears, and cantaloupes. Drinking a glass of water every hour, as well as some green tea and calendula tea, is also recommended to repair skin cell damage from sunburn. A topical application of aloe vera gel mixed with crushed dandelion greens is also used to soothe redness and pain.

Gardening is a healthy hobby that can benefit your life in so many ways. Though it does come with some hazards, you can stay safe and have an enjoyable time in your backyard by staying hydrated, protecting yourself from the sun, and using tools carefully. Should you get scrapes, cuts, or a sunburn while gardening, consider using traditional Chinese medicine to heal your skin, and always consult a professional before using any herbal remedies.

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by Emma

Ancient Chinese Remedies To Cure Common Personal Hygiene Problems

By Sally Perkins

Having good hygiene is one of the easiest ways to protect yourself against common illnesses. Taking good care of yourself also benefits your overall wellbeing, improves your social interactions, and boosts your confidence. However, a recent study has shown that most people do not adhere to basic hygiene guidelines, and 42 percent of people admit that they don't wash their hands each time they use the restroom. Moreover, while two thirds of Americans shower everyday, some people rush through the process, and aren't cleaning themselves the right way. Bad hygiene can lead to infection and discomfort, and while medication can reverse the effect of poor hygiene habits, using ancient Chinese remedies can also help to cure the following common personal hygiene problems naturally.

Bacterial vaginosis

One in three women will get bacterial vaginosis at some point in their life. While bacterial vaginosis, or BV, isn't a serious problem, it can cause a lot of discomfort, since it causes pain or itching in and outside of the vagina, a burning sensation when urinating, discharge, and a fishy odour emanating from the vagina, which seems to get stronger after sex. BV happens when there is an imbalance in the pH levels in the vaginal area, and the disrupted pH levels may be caused by various factors such as using certain condom or vaginal douche brands, having a new sex partner, or having multiple sex partners.

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To improv e vaginal health naturally and get rid of BV, you can use a gentle vaginal wash, eat yogurt, and cut back on sugary treats to restore your pH balance. You may also consider using traditional Chinese medicine, such as dong quai, which TCM practitioners prescribe to treat female health and reproductive problems. This plant grows in East Asia, and the roots are harvested to make tea, powders, drinks, and tablets. Just like yogurt and other fermented foods, dong quai is rich in probiotics, and it may help to restore the vagina's pH levels and alleviate discomfort. Drinking tea made from red clover flowers can also help to relieve the symptoms of BV. To make the tea, steep two and a half teaspoons of red clover flowers in three quarters of a cup of hot water for 15 minutes, and then drink the tea after meals.

Bad breath

TCM practitioners believe that bad breath may be the result of stomach problems. Moreover, eating too much spicy food and smoking is believed to cause halitosis, so TCM experts usually recommend eating milder foods to cure this hygiene problem. Consuming white fungus soup with honey is also believed to get rid of toxins that can cause bad breath. To prepare, simply cook the white fungus in plain water until it softens, stir in honey, and eat daily to get rid of bad breath.

Excessive sweating

Excessive sweating can lead to skin problems and body odor. Showering daily can keep your skin healthy and odor-free, but to address the health issue directly, you may want to consider acupuncture to reduce sweating. To treat excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis, acupuncturists insert needles in various areas of the body to alleviate armpit and palm sweating, night sweats, and sweating in other parts of the body. Since excessive sweating is believed to be a symptom of anxiety problems, TCM practitioners may also recommend taking xiao yao san, which is a blend of herbs that is used in ancient Chinese healing practices to reduce depression, pain and anxiety. It can be drunk as a tea, or taken in pill form for convenience.

Good hygiene can boost your self-confidence and protect you from a variety of illnesses. If you're currently dealing with bacterial vaginosis, bad breath, or excessive sweating, consider these ancient Chinese remedies to cure your personal hygiene problem, but remember to consult a certified TCM to get the best results.

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by Emma

Acupuncture for Weight Loss

By Dr Bruce Stafford

For over a millennium, health practitioners living within the Far East have been using Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to help their patients with their mind, body and spirit. Studies have shown that within recent years, more people within western countries are now searching for ‘alternative’ methods to improve their general health – particularly towards acupuncture for weight loss. Acupuncture helps identify with the root causes of the weight loss to help your body deal with it
accordingly:

Here’s how acupuncture can help you finally lose the weight:

Repairing Your Digestion

If your digestive system is not functioning properly, this will also inhibit your body’s ability to lose weight. You will know if it’s not working properly if you experience symptoms of bloating, reflux, nausea, constipation, lose bowels or IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

This is because your body will be producing an excessive amount of ‘Damp’ or ‘Phlegm’ in Chinese Medicine terms (The closest term we can use to explain this would be ‘inflammation’) and you’ll know if you have a lot of Damp or Phlegm if you experience sinus problems or chronic allergies, if you feel exhausted or lethargic in the mornings, have loose bowels, feel sluggish and tired and experience bloating.

Acupuncture for weight loss helps return your digestion back to normal by stimulating your body’s natural blood flow to your stomach and spleen to strengthen their function so they start to work properly again which is important for weight loss as not only will you be able to lose weight more easily, but you’ll also feel lighter and have more energy.

Balancing Your Natural Hormones

The body naturally produces fat-producing hormones such as cortisol, estrogen and insulin as well as fat-burning hormones such as adrenaline, human growth hormone, testosterone, insulin growth factor and glucagon. For many people, their fat-producing hormones are over-stimulated and much too active, while their fat-burning hormones are under-stimulated and not active enough.

Acupuncture for weight loss corrects your organ function, particularly your Liver, Kidney, Stomach and Spleen which are all crucial in the synthesis and secretion of the correct number of hormones for weight-loss.

Furthermore, Acupuncture may also assist with better sleep, reduce your pain and stress levels, which will in turn reduce the amount of cortisol (a key fat-making hormone) your body is producing to help you lose weight. When all these organs start to function properly again, your natural fat-controlling hormones will start to stabilize making it easier for you to lose weight.

Making Weight Loss Easier

Acupuncture for weight loss is also used in appetite suppression, to prevent you from feeling hungry all the time and to stave off cravings (especially for sweet or savoury foods) and keep you ‘cool’ and relaxed while you lose weight.

Whilst it’s extremely important to get your digestion and hormonal balance working in balance, you will also need to watch what you eat. It is this combination that makes acupuncture for weight loss so effective.

Correcting the Root Cause of Weight Gain

Not only does acupuncture for weight loss help you to lose weight, it is also helps facilitate in the identification of the root cause of the source of the problem and why you gained weight in the first place.

On top of this, acupuncture is also helping to improve your overall health. So if you want to lose weight and feel great doing it, acupuncture may be the answer you’ve been looking for.

Here is a handy infographic with 5 Chinese Medicine Weight Loss Secrets.

Author Bio
Dr Bruce Stafford (Chinese Medicine) is the owner and founder of Emperor’s Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine in Melbourne, Australia

He has trained with some of the world’s best-know Masters in Australia, Taiwan and the USA. Bruce has treated thousands of patients using acupuncture for weight loss at Emperor’s Acupuncture and Chinese herbs to help improve organ function to rebalance the body’s natural fat-controlling hormones.

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by Emma

Supporting a Safe and Healthy Pregnancy Using Traditional Chinese Medicine

By Sally Perkins

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) diagnoses are now included in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) of the World Health Organization (WHO) beginning 2022. The inclusion is good news for practitioners and patients, as TCM is increasingly becoming a part of global health care. One of the areas where TCM can help is during pregnancy where a woman can manifest symptoms that need intervention or treatment. Chinese medicine, when used properly, could offer a safe option to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

Herbal Medicine for Expectant Mothers

TCM has several components such as acupuncture and herbal medicine. Much in the same way that traditional medicine can assist in improving fertility rates and eventually in conceiving, it can also help during the gestation period. Pregnant women can take herbs such as ginger, chamomile, or peppermint that reduce the symptoms of early pregnancy specifically nausea or morning sickness.

However, it should be noted that there are other complications that may arise if you are pregnant. As the body undergoes hormonal changes, you will also experience side effects. For example, the placenta produces hormones that can contribute to an accumulation of glucose in the blood. If your pancreas cannot produce enough insulin, sugar levels will increase and a pregnant woman might develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Fortunately, it resolves once a woman has completed pregnancy or has given birth.

In the meantime, there are several things that you can do to control GDM. If properly used, herbal medicine can help bring down glucose levels. Other ways to manage the symptoms of GDM include wearing of stockings for good circulation, paying attention to diets, and exercising.

Acupuncture to Consolidate Energy

Acupuncture is another key component of TCM that can benefit pregnant women. It should be noted that the usual precautions apply - avoidance of infection and dangerous pressure points.

For expectant moms, you don’t want to touch pressure points that can induce any pain, touch vital organs, or puncture the fetus. In addition, there is a list of acupuncture points that must be avoided because of their oxytocic effect which may induce the mother to go into labor or at worst, a miscarriage. Overall, acupuncture may be practiced using gentle needling that will aim to enhance a woman’s energy without over stimulating or disturbing the pregnancy.

TCM can benefit a pregnant woman in several ways. It can consolidate her energy, improve mood and enhance overall health contributing to a safe and healthy pregnancy.

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by Emma

Incorporating Chinese Medicine Into Your Weight Loss Program

By Sally Perkins

Half of Americans say they are trying to lose weight. That’s over 163 million people in the United States alone who are unhappy with their weight, and that doesn’t take into account the rest of the people around the world who are also trying to be healthier. Traditional Chinese Medicine has many principles that contribute to weight loss and a healthier lifestyle, as it relates to food consumption, digestion, metabolism, and other bodily functions that relate to weight. There are many of these principles you can incorporate into your daily routine to aid your body in processing fuel and help with weight loss.

Definitely Your Cup Of Tea

Igor Miske

Many people equate tea, especially green tea and black teas like oolong, with Chinese culture. This is for good reason, as many Chinese people drink tea every day, and it is thought that drinking tea has many health benefits. Tea contains polyphenols, a specific type of antioxidant, which can help keep your metabolism from slowing as you lose weight. Polyphenols can also assist with digestive issues, and, as with other antioxidants, help repair cells. You can reap the benefits of polyphenols by drinking just one cup of tea per day. You can easily add this to your daily routine; just brew one cup every morning as part of your morning ritual. Just like other small habit changes you can make to improve your health, like drinking more water, standing instead of sitting at work, or going to bed half an hour earlier in order to get more sleep, this is a small modification that can yield great benefits. Sometimes the best way to make positive changes for overall health is to make one or two small changes at a time, allowing those changes to become habits before taking on more.

Eating For Energy

Qi is the energy that runs through our bodies, and maintaining a healthy, balanced qi is essential for proper health. Habits that drain your energy can be detrimental to your weight loss efforts. Unhealthy habits like eating late at night, eating raw, cold foods, and skipping breakfast can stress your digestive organs and cause your qi to become unbalanced. Something as small as adding breakfast to your daily routine can help to restore balance to your body and increase your energy, making it easier for your body to lose weight.

Joseph Gonzalez

Supplement Your Diet

In addition to eating the right foods for your organs and to aid in digestion and energy levels, there are many Chinese herbs that can help with weight loss. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is believed that excessive weight is caused by an accumulation of “dampness,” and therefore attempts to lose weight are made by relieving this dampness. Herbs that help to balance this condition and aid in weight loss include Bao He Wan, He Ye or lotus leaf, Fu Ling and Huang Qi. You can develop a supplement plan with a TCM specialist, and by adding your personalized combination to your diet, you can help restore your body’s balance.

Traditional Chinese Medicine can assist with weight loss, whether you subscribe to TCM principles completely and transform your lifestyle, or simply incorporate some of them into your existing routine. You can use TCM to aid you with a particular issue, or to achieve a generally healthier way of life. Traditional Chinese Medicine can be highly customized to create a specialized regimen for your body and your lifestyle and weight loss needs. The more research you can do on Chinese medicine and the different ways it can improve your body’s functionality, the more ideas you can integrate into your life.

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Traditional Chinese Medicine in Today’s Cuban Health Care

By John Voigt

In Cuba, the legends abound about outstanding Chinese doctors of the nineteenth century who helped create a foundation for the use of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in twenty-first century Cuba. (See “Not Even the Chinese Doctor Can Save Him” in the May issue.) Nevertheless, TCM’s acceptance and use by the Cuban medical establishment did not happen overnight. Historically and during the beginnings of the Revolution, TCM along with most other Alternative Medicine was rejected by the Cuban government and by a majority of its western trained doctors. As in the past century, the Establishment considered such healing modalities “antiquated occult quackery.” Such things were an anathema to Marxist Communist beliefs.

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The Political and Economic Situation.

With the US Embargo beginning in 1960, and the withdrawal of USSR support in 1991, along with the internal problems of their socialist-communist economy, Cuba was and remains economically devastated. There were and still are massive shortages in pharmaceutical drugs and medical supplies for the doctors, clinics, and hospitals that service the Cuban people. (Things are much different for tourists. See Modern Health Care for Tourists below.) Today in 2018 hospitals and clinics for the common people of Cuba all too often have little or no drugs, soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, bed sheets or pillowcases—not even aspirin! Often there are no hypodermic needles, or used ones are washed in bleach and reused. Relatives living in Florida smuggle in prescription drugs.

Amazingly even with these horrid conditions, the World Health Organization’s latest report in 2016 has Cuba with an average healthcare expenditure of $2,475 per person; Cubans have approximately the same life expectancy (males 77/females 81) as Americans (males 76/females 81) who average a healthcare expenditure of $9,403 per person. Source: http://www.who.int/countries/cub/en/ and http://www.who.int/countries/usa/en/

Cubans even have a lower rate of infant mortality than that of the USA. Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2091rank.html

These figures — $2,475 and $9,403 are not typos — they represent among other things Cuba’s extensive use of alternative medicines and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM); as well as governmental enforced implementations of beliefs and lifestyles somewhat similar to Chinese and Asian ways of life, such as the paradigm that preventing an illness is easier than curing one, or the importance of daily socially required group gymnastics such as taijiquan or qigong. Or of small teams of doctors and nurses going throughout the entire country rigorously enforcing mandated medical examinations, or actively having people reduce or end smoking. Both Cubans and traditional Chinese health practitioners believe health is not just the absence of illness, instead, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. For both Cuban leaders and Confucius, the health of the human body and mind is an integral necessity for the very important health of the society. In Cuba, revolutionary health practices are a part of a continuing revolución. For Cuban lawmakers, if for no other reason, healthy people are important because they make healthy workers, soldiers, and government officials. The political reality is clear: no health means no revolution. Admittedly Cuba is a totalitarian government, something that Americans understandably will not accept, but at least in a theoretical — yet highly practical sense — there is much for us in America to learn from Cuba.

Returning to past historical realities, since the 1960s until the present the enormous difficulties presented by the American Embargo, and especially the subsequent lack of medicines and supplies, the Cuban medical establishment was forced to search for new approaches. Health officials began to incorporate techniques outside the scope of what doctors had previously been taught in the universities. After all, for a century Chinese doctors in Cuba had shown that TCM affected cures for certain illnesses that western medicine had not. Some skeptical doctors even started planting medicinal herbs in their backyards; at least they would have something to give to their sick patients.

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TCM Becomes Official.

Beginning in the late 1980s medical students in Cuban universities began to be trained in alternative techniques. An executive report, “The Analysis of The Health Sector in Cuba” issued in 1996 by the Ministry of Public Health (Ministerio de Salud Pública) outlined this new approach:

The strategic objective of the National Health System is to give priority to the development of natural and traditional medicine. The “Program of Development” initiated in 1991, includes the search for active medicinal principals of plants, their clinical testing, and the subsequent generalization of the results so that they can be progressively incorporated into the techniques and procedures of the East Asian medical tradition.

By 2009 the Ministry moved to a full acceptance and legally enforced implementation of these radical methodologies as befitting a revolutionary culture. These changes were made official in August 20, 2009, with the publication of Resolución Ministerial No 261/2009. Below are key excerpts from this document along with several annotations made by the author. TCM is only a part of the Resolution no. 261, nevertheless it is hoped the reader will find the document interesting. With it, Cuba is probably pursuing Alternative Medicine more than any other country in the world. The original text in Spanish may be found at “Resolución Ministerial No 261/2009” at http://legislacion.sld.cu/index.php?P=FullRecord&ID=210

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MINISTERIAL RESOLUTION NO. 261/2009 Republic of Cuba

RESOLVE - FIRST: To approve for medical care, teaching, and scientific research in health services throughout the country national, [with] the following types of Natural Traditional Medicine.

1- Phytotherapy. [Medical treatment based on the use of plants and plant substances.]

2- Apiterapia. [Therapeutic use of bee venom, and other bee products such as honey, pollen, and royal jelly.]

3- Traditional Asian Medicine:

a) Acupuncture. b) Catgut sutures sewn into acupoints.
c) Stimulation of acupuncture points: [by use of]
Drugs
Light
Temperature
Mechanical [devices].
Ultrasonic [devices].
Electricity
Magnetism
Microsystems of the Asian Traditional Medicine [such as ear acupuncture].

4- Ozone therapy.

5- Homeopathy.

6- Flower Therapy:

a) Bach Flower Remedies, [solutions of brandy and weak dilutions of flower material in water.]

7- Hydrotherapy: mineral springs, mineral baths, Peloids [clay or mud baths], thermal baths.

Helium Therapy – (Heliotalasoterapia). [Heliox is a breathing gas composed of a mixture of helium (He) and oxygen (O2). It is a medical treatment for patients who have difficulty breathing, For example, croup, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.]
Traditional Therapeutic Exercises: [The Pan American Health Organization spelled out these exercises as: Taijiquan (usually Yang Style). Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa (created by Dr. Zhuang Yuan Ming; see ‪ Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa 18 Terapias Anterior on YouTube). Wushu (commonly called “Kung Fu.”) Qi Gong, and Hatha Yoga.] “Each movement is to be chosen with a modifiable therapeutic purpose according to the traditional medical diagnosis of the subject or patient.”] Ejercicios Terapéuticos Tradicionales.

http://www.paho.org/

Naturist Nutritional counseling. [“In addition to meeting established nutritional requirements. Can include a vegetarian or macrobiotic diet, and traditional practices as used in Traditional Asian diagnosis. You should be aware of existing products in Cuba.”] Ministerio de Salud Pública, 2011. http://files.sld.cu/mednat/files/2014/08/prog-nac-mtn-2012.pdf ].

THIRD: The Deputy Minister attending Medical Assistance is authorized to issue the instructions considered necessary for the implementation and enforcement of this resolution.

Starting in 2016 all medical graduates in Cuba, including nurses and dentists, are required to learn Medicina Tradicional y Natural (MTN) which includes various Cuban versions of TCM. Almost all local clinics and hospitals of Cuba now offer Traditional Chinese Medicine, where acupuncture, reflexology, massage, heat treatments and liniments are the order of the day. Also, 30% of Cuban legally approved medicines are herbal. [Source: author interview with a Cuban physician in Havana, June 2016.]

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE IN THE CUBAN STYLE.

[Note: If you have any medical problem see a health professional. This article uses information derived from Cuban sources and is to be used only for educational purposes.]

Acupuncture and Acupressure are used in a majority of hospitals and health clinics, however often with variations such as Auriculoterapia or Ear Acupuncture which is based on the theory that the auricle, the outer portion of the ear, is a microsystem which reflects the entire body. Auriculoterapia is said to cure many conditions such as headaches, sciatica, lumbago, joint pain, depression, melancholy, insomnia, liver and digestive problems. In Cuba, it is also used to control obesity, addiction to cigars and cigarettes, and as an anesthetic in surgery.

Cubans have extended this concept to using acupoints on the face, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet to function as mirror images of the acupoints throughout the entire body. Patients may be prescribed a do-it-yourself continuous treatment where a tiny seed is taped to the body part and the patient is instructed to press the seed during the day.

Taping a seed to an auriculotherapy point.

An aspect of Herbal medicine is added to this by using the seeds of the Mexican Thisel, also called the Mexican poppy, which the Spanish found the natives in Mexico used for healing. This plant can be poisonous; nevertheless the colonial Spanish added this plant to their pharmacopeia and called it cardosanto. It was used to relieve kidney pain, to help expel a torn placenta, and in general to help cleanse the body after childbirth. It has also been used to treat malaria [see Argemone Mexicana, Wikipedia.]

Electro-acupuncture – (Electropuntura) combines the use of needles with electrical stimulation by sending a small electrical current through the needle after insertion into an acupuncture point. Instruments used usually consist of two parts: a needle and an electric current stimulator. There are different types of stimulators, some use AC or DC electricity, high or low frequency, continual or intermittent electrical pulsations. It is primarily used as an analgesic for all types of pain. It is also applied to alleviate the pain during childbirth, as well as anesthetic for some operations, including caesarean sections.

Source: Wikipedia Commons

Diet Therapy is used in relation to healing a specific illness; often it is used with pharmaceutical drugs if they are available.

Tuina or therapeutic massage is used to promote a more harmonious balanced flow of qi (bio-electrical energy) to cure diseases and promote health. In Cuba, as elsewhere, the practitioner’s hands are used to massage muscles and tendons. Acupressure techniques to affect the qi flow, and manipulation techniques to restructure musculoskeletal and ligament relationships may be added. Liniments, poultices and herbal balms, often from plants native to Cuba, may be used to increase the benefits of the treatment.

Moxibustion - (Moxibustión) is a method that treats and prevents diseases and corrects energy imbalances by applying heat through cones or moxa cigars burning on certain points of the human body. The raw material most commonly used for this technique is the dried leaves of the mugwort plant ground to a fine powder. In Cuba incense, and the wicks of oil lamps also are used.

Indirect Moxibustion – (Moxibustión Indirecta) is a method Cubans use that combines acupuncture with moxibustion. It is indicated for the treatment of joint pain due to cold and moisture. A little burning moxa is carefully applied to the handle of the inserted needle.

Another technique also called indirect moxibustion has an insulating ingredient placed between the slowly burning moxa cone and the skin of the client. The healing properties of the substance are considered added to the healing properties of the moxibustion. For example, one slice of ginger approximately 0.2 cm thick is recommended for a weak spleen and stomach, joint or abdominal pain and other symptoms of yang deficiency.

Garlic is used in the same manner as ginger. It is indicated for scrofula, skin infections and poisonous insect bites in their early stages.

Salt: the navel is filled with salt and a large moxa cone is placed over it. This is indicated for cases of cold limbs, weak and imperceptible pulse, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Phytotherapy (Fitoterapia – or “Plant Therapy”). This refers to the use of medicinal plants and vegetables and their derivatives to prevent, alleviate or cure diseases. Given Cuban history there is a heavy influence of Afro-Cuban practices. Currently various governmental health agencies are investigating methods and techniques to streamline and modernize Phytotherapy in line with the basic requirements of “safety, quality and efficacy.” American and African techniques are being actively studied and used along with traditional Chinese and native Cuban methodologies.

[The species most frequently used in Phytotherapy are Cocos nucifera L. (Arecaceae), Bidens pilosa L. (Asteraceae), Cissus sicyoides L. (Vitaceae), Erythroxylum havanense Jacq. (Erythroxylaceae) and Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (L.) Vahl. (Verbenaceae).] Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15013195].

------------------

Modern Health Care for Tourists. Today hospitals for tourists are in much better condition than those for native Cubans. These hospitals can be world-class 21st century facilities, and they are expensive. Generally speaking they are closed to regular Cubans, who have their own Government controlled free healthcare. The turismo de salud [“Health Tourism”] programs are understood to be a method to raise money for the impoverished country. Tourists and foreign diplomats combine vacations with state of the art health care which often includes Traditional Chinese Medicine and other more exotic health care alternatives.

Hydrotherapy at a turismo de salud [“Tourism of Health”] clinic.
Source: https://cubanosporelmundo.com/2015/09/28/turismo-de-salud/

Children Learn Plant Medicine

Children begin studying the multiple uses of medicinal plants in primary school, learning to grow and tend their own plots of faloe, chamomile, and mint, and later they conduct scientific studies about their uses. Radio and Television programs instruct people on how to relieve common stomach upset and headaches by pressing key points. Acupuncture is offered at all three levels of health care [primary care physician, clinic, hospital]. Cuban biochemists have produced a number of new alternative medicines, including PPG (policosanol), a natural product derived from sugarcane wax that is effective at reducing total cholesterol and LDL levels, and Vimang, a natural product derived from the bark of mango trees. [source: Healthcare in Cuba. Wikipedia.]

In Cuba since 2006 no cases of acute hepatitis B reported in children under 15 years of age.
Source: http://www.radio26.cu/2016/05/11/cuba-sin-hepatitis-b-aguda-en-menores-de-cinco-anos/

A short coda as a conclusion. ¡A Ese No lo Salva, Ni el Medico Chino! —“Not Even The Chinese Doctor Can Save Him!” is a popular slang expression that first appeared in mid-19th century Cuba. This article ends with the thought that in 2018 whoever that “Chinese Doctor” was, he or she might now actually be able to “Save Him!” and bring “Him,” (their patient), back to a state of health. Or better yet, with the use of TCM and other alternative medicine preventative techniques, the patient never would have gotten sick in the first place.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

This article originally appeared as part of “Traditional Chinese Medicine in Cuba” in Qi Journal, vol. 26/3; autumn 2016. It is used with the permission of the author, who may be contacted at john.voigt@comcast.net

Sources.

Beautiful Decay: Cuba's Race To Save Havana's Architecture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9roxiC-fBDk

Sean Brotherton. Revolutionary Medicine: Health and the Body in Post-Soviet Cuba. Duke University, 2012.

Lisa Chiu. A Short History of the Chinese in Cuba. http://chineseculture.about.com

“Cuban Characters.” http://www.thecubanhistory.com/2015/02/cuban-characters-not-even-the-chinese-doctor-can-save-you-personajes-de-cuba-no-te-salva-ni-el-medico-chino/

EcuRed: Medicina tradicional asiática. http://www.ecured.cu/Medicina_tradicional_asiática

Carlos García. Cham-Bom-Biá: el médico chino. http://www.canarizame.com/2014/12/23/cham-bom-bia-el-medico-chino/

Enrique Jorge Hernández González. La Medicina Bioenergética y Natural: su aplicación en la Isla de la Juventud (página 2).

http://www.monografias.com/trabajos72/ natural/medicina-bioenergetica-natural2.shtml

Enrique Jorge Hernández González. Perfeccionamiento del desempeño profesional en la aplicación de la medicina natural y tradicional. http://www.monografias.com/trabajos-pdf2/desempeno-profesional-medicina-natural-tradicional/desempeno-profesional-medicina-natural-tradicional.shtml

Jácome. No Te Salva ni el Médico Chino. https://www.facebook.com/CubaEnLaMemoria/posts/1209701712375197:0

Junior Vega Jiménez. “Juan Cham-Bom-Bian: itinerary of the"Chinese Doctor" from the Havana to ward Cárdenas. Brief historical notes. http://scielo.sld.cu/pdf/rhcm/v14n5/rhcm03515.pdf

Paul Kadetz and Johann Perdomo Delgado.

“Slaves, Revolutions, Embargoes, and Needles: The Political Economy of Acupuncture in Cuba.” Asian Medicine 6 (2010–11), 95–122. [also at]

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275506985_Slaves_Revolutions_Embargoes_and_Needles_The_Political_Economy_of_Acupuncture_in_Cuba

Yovanny Ferrer Lozano. Chang Pon Piang: Un médico chino. http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1684-18242014000600010

La medicina china y su presencia en Cuba.

http://bvs.sld.cu/revistas/his/his%2095/hist0595.htm

Medicina tradicional asiática. http://www.ecured.cu/Medicina_tradicional_asi%C3%A1tica#Fuente

Ministerio de Salud Pública. Programa Para el Desarrollo y la Generalizacion de la Medicina Tradicional y Natural, 2011. [Ministry of Public Health. Program for Development and Generalization of Traditional and Natural Medicine, 2011.] http://files.sld.cu/mednat/files/2014/08/prog-nac-mtn-2012.pdf

Moral R. Peñalver. “Juan Chambombián; el médico chino. Averiguaciones en torno a un popular personaje.” Revista Bohemia 1981; 5(16), 7-10.

La pluma del Tocororo: El Médico Chino. https://almejeiras.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/el-medico-chino/

Resolución Ministerial No 261/2009. http://legislacion.sld.cu/index.php?P=FullRecord&ID=210

**Beautiful featured image photo by Ellen Carlson Hanse on Unsplash

by Emma

The Strangest Chinese Energy Healing Ever Reported - Part Two

By John Voigt

In Part One details were given about an extraterrestrial sending universal healing qi-energy into a thirty-eight year old man, “Cao Gong” (an alias) which he immediately used to heal a very sick thirteen year old girl. This took place aboard a UFO in Qinhuangdao, an area about sixty miles east of Beijing. Our brief analysis continues with Cao’s return to his family’s apartment in Beijing.

Right After the Abduction and Healing

The male and female extraterrestrials and Cao Gong entered as they had left two hours and twenty minutes before, by floating in through a wall, this time into his nine year old son’s bedroom. The boy, “Cao Xing” (also an alias) awoke. He said, “What happened to the nerve [or “nerves” the Chinese is unclear] in my head that controls sleeping?” Cao Gong was amazed at such grownup words coming from his young son. (Were the ETs controlling the boy’s mind somehow? Could they have been controlling Cao Gong’s mind as well?) After the ETs left, again by floating through a wall, the boy spoke, “How did these people enter my room? And how did they leave like that?” (Later investigators saw this as circumstantial evidence that Cao Gong was not alone in actually witnessing the two extraterrestrials.)

It was now 2:20 AM. By 4:00 AM that same night Cao Gong was on the phone with a member of the Beijing UFO Research Association, a Miss Ma Linghuan, seeking an explanation for what had just happened to him.

The Investigation of the Abduction Begins [张靖平]

Zhang Jingping, Director of Investigations of the World Chinese UFO Federation, decided to take on the case, and by April of 2000 he began a through investigation.

After several hypnotic regression sessions, a lie detection session, physiological tests, and talks with Beijing police examiners, and other ufologists, Cao Gong’s story was found to be believable and truthful—at least he was honestly reporting what he had experienced. It seemed unlikely that he dreamt any of it: everything points to the probable fact that he was awake when his abduction took place. (His nine year old son also had seen the two aliens when his father was returned home.) On November, 2002, two years after the abduction took place, the girl, Xiao Xiaomei (an alias), now completely healthy, with a baby and a job with her a live-in lover cleaning other people’s homes, was found in Qinhuangdao, the city where the healing had taken place. The case is said to remain open, but no new information has been released as of September, 2017. Perhaps this analysis in Chinese Medicine Living will generate further information from our readers.

Cao Gong, and Xiao Xiaomei (an alias) two years after the abduction
Source: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4ca903250102e6h6.html

Cao Gong, UFO investigator Zhang Jingping, and Xiao Xiaomei
Source: http://news.qq.com/a/20080916/000852_8.htm

About Energy Healing

The use of external energy for healing is a worldwide technique from ancient times to today. The Christian Laying on of Hands, Reiki, and Healing Touch are all examples that have produced healings that western medicine can not properly explain or duplicate. The Chinese have been especially proficient and successful with this kind of healing―after all they have been doing it much longer and more extensively than any other people. For example, there is the legend―(I suggest that legends are somehow based on historical realities)―of the Yellow Emperor, (died 2598 BC), credited as being the founder of Chinese Medicine.

100-yuan banknote (1938) with a dragon and the Yellow Emperor who was said to have been taken up to heaven by a dragon. In ancient China UFOs were called dragons.
Source: Wikipedia.

In his court there was a shaman priest named Zhu You who practiced healing by emitting qi combined with sacred prayers. In the “Bible” of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine it is written that, “In earlier times most illnesses were treated in the manner of Zhu You.” (Chapter 13). Today in China this healing modality is called “External Qi Therapy” - Wai qi liaofa - 外气疗法.

About Qi

Chinese Traditional Form
Source: Google

气

Chinese Simple (“Modern”) Form
Source: Chineseetamology.org

Qi (pronounced “chee” in a descending tone) is a highly complex term that gains its meaning from within the context in which it is placed. Although impossible to get an exact translation of the word in English, it is often called “vital life energy.” In traditional Chinese thought, Qi is usually thought to be the underlying force of all of life, matter and consciousness in the universe. Within humans Qi may be understood as a being a bio-electric interface between conscious awareness and the physical body. As such, qi is the energetic foundation and cause of life. [For more about Qi see: http://qi-encyclopedia.com/ .]

More commonly and less accurately, the term Qi is used to describe its sensuous manifestations. For example in the Cao Gong abduction case: the sensations Cao Gong felt in the qi transmissions from the extraterrestrial into his GV-14 acupuncture point, and then what he felt as he sent qi into the sick girl: “a burst of heat, rivers of radiating pins and needles, numbing electrical-like discharges.” Even the glow of health coming from the healed girl certain people might colloquially call “good qi.” But strictly speaking these are not proper definitions.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), well-being is gained through the harmonious flow of qi. However, if qi is in excess or deficient in the organs and/or energy meridians of the human body, or if it is of the wrong kind, as with the foul gaseous energy removed from girl, Xiao Xiaomei, sickness and death is often the result.

Healing Qi-Energy from an Extraterrestrial’s Perspective

The male extraterrestrial told Cao Gong aboard the UFO: “Don’t be nervous. We are like you. Our universal life energies [yuzhou nengliang -宇宙能量] are the same. You’re invited here to be in an experiment in which earth people heal other earth people by using the abilities and capacities of this energetic force [neng li 能力].”

After the girl was healed, Cao Gong asked, “What’s going on? How can this be?” Extraterrestrial male answered, “Because you are in physically good health, I could supply you with universal cosmic light (yuzhou guāng - 宇宙光 ), electricity (dian - 电), and scientific magnetic energy (cineng - 磁能). Since such magnetic energetic abilities are not mutually repulsive, you were able to transmit it to her. Because she needed it, she absorbed it. This is very normal.”

The last thing that the male ET said to Cao Gong was, “Thank you for your cooperation. With it our experiment has been very successful. Because our superconducting magnetic healing energies are too intense for earth people to directly receive, we used a really healthy earthling like yourself to be the conduit to harmonize (tiao jie – to adjust, regulate, harmonize, reconcile) the qi and transmit it to the girl.”

Those Chinese words, tiao jie … qi, may be the best summary ever given of what Traditional Chinese Medicine is all about: to adjust, regulate, and harmonize the qi in the patient.

Bad (pathogenic) Xie Qi

Qi can cause illness as well as heal it. This bad qi is called Xie Qi. It is pronounced “shay” in a rising tone, “chee” in a falling) tone. In the healing abduction it probably was cause of the girl’s black and grey complexion as well as the noxious stuff that oozed out of her. Cao Gong described it this way: The semi-transparent covering surrounding the girl began to fill with a foul (wu zhou - 污浊 ) gaseous/energetic substance (qi ti -气体.).

Various Meanings of Xie (邪):

Formal TCM translations offer: Pathogenic (disease causing) – Turbid – Toxic. Especially telling is what the word means in Chinese everyday colloquially speech: “Bad” – “Evil” - “Demonic” – “Devil” – “Killing.”

Xie Qi is caused by such factors as wind, cold, heat, wet, dry hot (fire) , improper diet, phlegm, polluted atmosphere and improper life style behavior. Emotional unbalance can both be caused and/or create xie qi. The girl, Xiao Xiaomei , only thirteen years old, was mentally challenged and unmarried. She may have been in the beginning stages of an unwanted pregnancy at that time. (Within the two years after the abduction she had given birth to her baby.)

For more about Xie (Turbid) Qi see http://qi-encyclopedia.com/index.asp?article=TurbidQi

Calling Out to the Reader For Answers

This is an invitation for you, the reader, to add your knowledge and experience to the Cao Gong-Extraterrestrial healing event. Email me at john.voigt@comcast.net. Selected replies will chosen for publication in Chinese Medicine Living. Your name and email address will not be given without your approval.

E - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.

Is it necessary to ask permission before doing a Sending?

Absolutely yes. The practitioner must ask permission from the receiver before emanating qi. To send without gaining approval is insulting, offensive and invasive.

Is it “your” qi that you are sending? Or does it come from somewhere else?

Well, yes and no to both questions. At one level qi is the energy you have brought into your body by breathing and eating; and have built up and preserved through qigong practices, as well as by reducing or eliminating physical and emotional problems. Additionally it is important to reduce or stop the loss of Jing (often thought of as being sperm or ovum, which is only partially true.) Jing is better understood as being a highly perfected subtle energetic potentiality: in other words the essence of life. So from this perspective, you are not the one sending your qi, but rather only being a conduit for a universal force that is flowing its jing-essence-qi down and through you.

The Chinese character for "Qi"

Where does this essence come from? Many healers cannot, or refuse to, answer that question. Others simply say it comes from nature, or the sun, or the direction of certain stars. There isn’t enough space here, nor do I have the wisdom, to explore this much further, except to point out that throughout the ages mystics when in visionary states perceive all and everything as a unity in a universal consciousness. So much so that each of our individual consciousnesses appear as being joined together within a larger and more profound reality. Personally I call this reality the Dao (Tao), but here definitions are not that important; rather it is about experiencing, manifesting and using this Power. A number of quantum scientists have reached a similar understanding in believing that such things are beyond rational verbal definitions, but nevertheless do offer entrances into practical applications in the use of energy. Likewise EQH offers practical applications in the use of Life Energy (Qi). Whatever your specific beliefs, this more speculative approach offers possibilities to help prevent a basic problem in sending healing qi: the depletion of the healer’s personal qi. It no longer is just “your” qi. It comes from the outside and through you. However, there are different schools of though about whose qi is it anyway.

Can Healing Energy be Sent from a Distance?

Yes. But the sender and recipient should agree on a specific time; and make sure the client understands that at that chosen time he or she is not to be driving a car, or using anything (machinery, tools, etc.), or doing anything where an accident could take place. Once on the telephone just before doing a distance external qi healing, I half-joked to a client “not to be on a roof repairing leaks” – which was just what she was about to do!

This lovely image from thoughtco.com

About the Sending: How Often and for How Long?

Paul Dong offers this advice: Depending on the severity of the condition, a send is required every day or every other day. Concerning the health of the healer he writes, the more internal qi you give out the weaker you become, therefore: “One to three healings a day are about the right number… A young healer with strong power can do as many as six healings in one day… One session usually takes 10 or 15 to 20 minutes, or up to 30 minutes in more serious cases. The first healing session for a new client should be no longer than 10 minutes.” [Paul Dong, Healing Force, pp. 84; 90-91].

This beautiful image from deborahking.com

How Long Does EQH Take to Learn?

Two of the preeminent masters of External Qi offer slightly deferring suggestions: “People should at least go on doing Qigong exercises for 2 – 3 years in order to be able to emit the “external Qi” without doing any harm to his own health.” [Lin Housheng, p. 332]. “By practicing [‘healing chi kung’] an hour a day, one can master it in nine months to a year.” [Paul Dong, p. 24]. Slowly and steadily practice your sending qi skills. First send to qi sensitive family members and friends. Then begin the healing practice with those afflicted with minor conditions such as a sprained ankle, a cold, a sore muscle, then slowly go to more serious conditions. And never approach this as a silly party game; it’s unlikely, but people could get hurt that way.

Sure it seems to work sometimes but isn’t it just psychosomatic or a placebo?

To do controlled scientific experiments on the “validity” of EQH there would have to be Healing Qi Emissions done without a qi-energy component. But that by definition would not an External Qi Send: you cannot have a healing life energy transmission of qi without the qi. Even if possible, if the psychological suggestions of EQH were removed then the qi energy and the information it contains would be compromised or blocked. Nevertheless, the energetic components of qi have often been measured. If interested see the scientific study done by Kevin Chen Ph.D. MPH, An Analytic Review of Studies on Measuring Effects of External Qi in China. An abstract is available on the internet. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15285273

A personal anecdote about someone being unable to accept the validity of EQH. I am sure the reader will draw his or her own conclusions. I was offering a qigong class at a local senior center. No one came and I was about to leave when a middle-aged man entered who had great difficulty walking. We spoke and he told me his story: he was a Vietnam veteran who had gone through several operations for a war injury in his right hip and there had possibly been some botched surgeries. He was in continual pain, but because he was frightened about becoming addicted he took no prescribed painkillers. I offered to send him healing qi and he agreed. As the qi was pouring through me into him, we both could feel it. After a send of ten minutes I stopped. He looked stunned. I asked what was happening and how did he feel? He answered that the pain was gone. He continued to silently mull over the experience. Finally he said to me, ”But what happened, that is only psychosomatic.” I was taken aback but answered him, “But it seemed to have worked.” He shrugged, and seemingly continued to do his best to reject what just had taken place. I told him when I would again be at the senior center and if he wanted another send I would do it. And at no cost—perhaps that was my biggest mistake—but whatever the case I never saw him again. I deeply hope he is better.

There is another thing that causes many people to disregard and discredit External Qi Healings: the phony internet healers and quacks. As a rule of thumb stay away from anyone who claims he or she can heal terminal illnesses, and who charges exorbitant fees for their services. If a so-called healer has many cancer clients and all except a few die, the charlatan can point to ones who are still alive as proof of their healing “powers and abilities.” In all of this both seller and buyer beware!

Isn’t it the same as Reiki or Therapeutic Touch?

There are obvious similarities, but EQH comes from and uses Traditional Chinese Medical concepts of the inter-relationships of Energy-Body-Mind-Breath to bring about well-being. Generally speaking in Reiki and Therapeutic Touch the practitioner touches the client, but in EQH generally this does not happen. Also unlike Therapeutic Touch, and other so called “Energy Healing”—and even much of contemporary Medical Qi Gong—EQH does not deal with Western medical belief systems, although many today, especially in China, are trying to scientifically justify EQH. (This is not necessarily a bad thing for it may lead to a better understanding and more productive use of this exciting healing modality.)

Conclusion.

Remember there is a difference between healing and being healthy: there are situations where even the most accomplished energy healer cannot “cure” their patient; but with energy healing there is an opportunity of bringing someone who is terminally ill to a place of mental and spiritual health which can make the process of dying be no more than a passing from one sphere of existence to another higher one.

This beautiful image from spiritualunite.com

The author may be contacted at john.voigt@comcast.net

------------------------

F - Bibliography.

Bi Yongsheng. Chinese Qigong Outgoing-Qi Therapy. Shandong Science and Technology Press, 1997. https://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Qigong-Outgoing-Qi-Therapy-Yongsheng/dp/7533110412

Kevin Chen, Ph.D. MPH. “An Analytic Review of Studies on Measuring Effects of External Qi in China” [abstract]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15285273

ibid. “A Criticism of Qigong with Pseudoscience Method--Book Review of Qigong: Chinese Medicine or Pseudoscience?” https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242424421_A_Review_of_Lin_Zixin's_Book_Qigong_Chinese_Medicine_or_Pseudoscience

Paul Dong & Thomas Raffill. Empty Force: The Power of Chi for Self-Defense and Energy Healing. Blue Snake Books, 2006. https://books.google.com/books/about/Empty_Force.html?id=zHwoS80noVoC

Roger Jahnke. The Healing Promise of Qi. Contemporary Books, 2002. https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Healing_Promise_of_Qi_Creating_Extra.html?id=Y3FcaF4V6AIC&source=kp_cover

Professor Jerry Alan Johnson. The Secret Teachings of Chinese Energetic Medicine [in five volumes]. http://qi-encyclopedia.com/index.asp?author=Professor-Jerry-Alan-Johnson

Lin Housheng. 300 Questions on Qigong Exercises. Guangdong Science and Technology Press, 1994. https://www.amazon.com/300-Questions-Qigong-Exercises-Housheng/dp/7535912699

Shou-Yu Liang & Wen-Ching Wu. Qigong Empowerment. Way of the Dragon, 1997. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1889659029/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

Tianjun Liu, and Xiao Mei Qiang, editors. Chinese Medical Qigong. Singing Dragon. 2013. https://books.google.com/books/about/Chinese_Medical_Qigong.html?id=anlyarISmyAC

Bryn Orr. Wai Qi Liao Fa – Healing By External Qi Projection. VitalityLink Finder. http://www.vitalitylink.com/article-qi-gong-1132-wai-liao-healing-external-projection-energy

John Voigt. External Qi for Healing. Qi Journal, vol. 24/no.1, Spring 2014. http://www.qi-journal.com/store.asp?-token.S=qi&ID=3187

Ibid. Taiji Qigong … Lin Housheng. https://www.qi-journal.com/Qigong.asp?Name=Taiji%20Qigong%20%E2%80%93%20Shibashi%20and%20Lin%20Housheng&-token.D=Article

Yijin Jing [see:] “Muscle/Tendon Change Classic.”

http://www.egreenway.com/qigong/yijinjing.htm#Biblio

Zhan Zhuang [see:] “Zhang Zhuang: Standing (like a wooden) Post.” Qi Journal vol. 23, no. 2: Summer 2013. Also Mark Cohen. “Zhan Zhuang.” Qi Journal vol. 23, no. 4: Winter 2013-2014.

LINKS - YouTube

“New John Chang video.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aos0hnwiHt8

Sifu Kelly Kwan. “Qi Energy Projection - Chi (Qi) Healing 布氣.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9fGiPSBUUA

“Qi Gong Powerful Qi Emission.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVNvzZ24JmE

by Emma

The Ethics of Healing – The “Hippocratic” Oath of China’s King of Medicine, Sun Simiao

Compiled by John Voigt

Sun Simiao (581-682) was an outstanding Chinese physician, scholar and author who lived during the Tang Dynasty. Called the “King of Medicine” (Yaowang) Sun Simiao is said to have founded Chinese gynecology, pediatrics and geriatrics as individual healing modalities. [FN-1]

The “Hippocratic” Oath of China’s King of Medicine, Sun Simiao : Chinese Medicine Living This image By 猫猫的日记本 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikipedia

Sun Simiao wrote the earliest medical encyclopedia in China, the Essential Formulas for Emergencies [Worth] a Thousand Pieces of Gold (Beiji Qian Jin Yao Fang), and the Supplement to the Formulas of a Thousand Gold Worth (Qian Jin Yi Fang). The first book lists about 5,300 prescriptions for medicines, the second book 2,000. Each book is composed of thirty volumes.

He is also known for his essay "On the Absolute Sincerity of Great Physicians," which has been called "the Chinese Hippocratic Oath." It is found in the opening chapter of the first of the above mentioned books. This portion of the book is still required reading for Chinese physicians. [FN-2]

Sun Simiao - China's God of Medicine : Chinese Medicine Living

Sun Simiao is also portrayed as a god of medicine, here seated on a tiger and holding a dragon above his head.
This image from itmonline.org

On the Absolute Sincerity of Great Physicians: The Healer’s Oath of Sun Simiao [FN-3]

When I go to treat an illness I first must calm my mind and make steadfast my intentions.
I shall not give way to idle wishes and desires but should first develop an attitude of compassion.
I vow to rescue all living beings from their sufferings.
If anyone comes to me because of an illness or any other difficulty I will not concern myself with whether they are powerful or humble, rich or poor, old or young, beautiful or ugly.
Enemies, relatives, good friends, Chinese or barbarians, foolish and wise, they all are the same to me. I will think of each of them of them as a close and loved relative - or indeed as if it was I who had been struck down by an illness.
I shall not worry about my own life or my fortunes or misfortunes. My purpose is to preserve the life of others.
I shall not hide away in the mountains. Day and night, in cold and heat, in hunger, thirst and fatigue, I will single-mindedly go to the rescue. If I am able to act in this manner I may approach being a great doctor for those who are sick. If I act contrary to these precepts I am no more than a great thief to those who are alive.
People all too often look with contempt on those who suffer from abominable things, such as ulcers or diarrhea, however I shall maintain an attitude of compassion, sympathy and care. Never in a great physician should there arise an attitude of rejection.
I will not glory in my reputation. I will not discredit other physicians while I praise my own virtues.
Thus I shall fulfill my responsibilities and my destiny as a physician until I am no longer capable of fulfilling my obligations, or until the end of my lifetime.

China’s King of Medicine, Sun Simiao : Chinese Medicine Living

Sun Simiao.
This image from chinaexpat.com

In many ways Sun Simiao was a product of Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian thought.

For example, Sun Simiao’s thoughts about showing complete compassion to all living things is distinctly Buddhist. In Essential Formulas for Emergencies [Worth] a Thousand Pieces of Gold he wrote: When love of life is concerned, man and animal are equal [therefore] I do not suggest the use of any living creature as a medicine or healing agent. This does not concern the gadflies and the leeches. They have already perished when they reach the market, and it is therefore permissible to use them. As to the hen's eggs, we have to say the following: before their content has been hatched out, they can be used in very urgent cases. Otherwise, one should not burden oneself with this. To avoid their use is a sign of great wisdom, but this will never be attained.

He also shows Daoist beliefs in rejecting the praise of others. He wrote: Lao-tzu has said, When the conduct of men visibly reveals virtue, the humans themselves will reward it. If, however, men commit virtues secretly, the spirits will reward them. When the conduct of men visibly reveals misdeeds, the humans themselves will take retribution. If, however, men commit their misdeeds secretly, the spirits will take retribution. When comparing these alternatives and the respective rewards that will be given in the time after this life and still during this life, how could one ever make a wrong decision?

Confucian ideology shows itself in various admonitions about the virtuous characteristics required of a physician: “In the homes of patients a physician must speak politely, and not indulge in fine food and drink.” “Wherever someone's life is at stake, one should neither act hastily, nor rely on one's own superiority and ability, and least of all keep one's own reputation in mind. This would not correspond to the demands of humaneness.”

Sun Simiao is not devoid of a sense of personal irony when he writes about physicians conceited about their own skills. “Someone who has accidently healed a disease, walks about with head raised, shows conceit and proclaims that no one in the entire world can measure up to him.” … “In this respect all physicians are evidently incurable.” When he write “all physicians” might he also be pointing a finger at himself?

In summary, Sun Simiao placed the cause and treatment of illness within a social and spiritual context. He articulated the need for a physician to understand the relationship between the art of healing and their own inner state of being and enlightenment, and the society within which they and the patient lived. He believed such understanding would help the overall effectiveness of the provided treatment, as the healer recognized and gained a deeper connection to their role in restoring the patient to health. This is the basis of his code of ethics for physicians.

Further Comments

There is another classic Oath for Chinese Physicians which was written by Hua Tuo (c.140-208) [ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hua-Tuo]. Sun Simiao may have used it as a starting point for his code.

The Vow of Hua Tuo

Treat people equally irrespective of their high or low status, of their poverty or wealth, of their distinction or obscurity.

Do not run after riches, fear no hardships and toils, and take it as your first duty to take pity on the old and help the young. [source: Bob Flaws. Master Hua’s Classic of the Central Viscera.]

Hua Tuo - Chinese Master Physician : Chinese Medicine Living This lovely image from alchetron.com

Footnotes

[FN-1] Newland magazine. [ http://www.newlandmagazine.com.au/vision/article/429]

[FN-2] [Wikipedia, “Sun Simiao.”] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Simiao

[FN-3] The translation used in this article was compiled from the following sources:

Gregory M. Casey. “Mystic Dao.” http://www.mysticdao.com/#!The-Healers-Oath/cfkc/2ECEF164-1D5B-4F27-94EE-F8600BA10F38

“Code of Ethics.” http://www.heartofhealingacupuncture.com/code_of_ethics

Albert R. Jonsen. A Short History of Medical Ethics. pp. 36-37.

“King of Medicine: Sun Simiao.” http://www.newlandmagazine.com.au/vision/article/429

“The Oath of Sun Si Miao for Physicians of Traditional Chinese Medicine.” http://www.heartofhealingacupuncture.com/code_of_ethics

“On the Sublime Sincerity of the Eminent Physician.” http://www.happygoatproductions.com/qianjinfang-ethics

Subhuti Dharmananda. Sun Simiao: Author of the Earliest Chinese Encyclopedia for Clinical Practice. http://www.itmonline.org/arts/sunsimiao.htm

Daniel Fu-Chang Tsai. “Ancient Chinese medical ethics and the four principles of biomedical ethics” [in] Journal of Medical Ethics 1999;25. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC479240/pdf/jmedeth00005-0025.pdf

Paul U. Unschuld. Medical Ethics in Imperial China, A Study in Historical Anthropology. https://books.google.com/books?id=T8mB9rfZCBMC&pg=PR3&lpg=PR3&dq=Medical+Ethics+in+Imperial+China,+A+Study+in+Historical+Anthropology&source=bl&ots=lMi2Gb4Eiu&sig=Otaed6OOK9rLv622amqw7qb58hA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjT0rOlrNvNAhWJVz4KHQpRBgAQ6AEIGjAB#v=onepage&q=whenever%20a%20great%20physician%20&f=false 1979 University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

For Further Information:

“Hua Tuo.” http://alchetron.com/Hua-Tuo-1042352-W

“King of Medicine: Sun Simiao.” http://www.newlandmagazine.com.au/vision/article/429

“Lessons from Sun Si Miao - a Chinese patron deity of physicians.” pss.org. http://www.pss.org.sg/whats-happening/e-bulletin/issue-no-30/lessons-sun-si-miao-chinese-patron-deity-physicians#.V30DEyMrJL8

The story of China’s ‘King of Medicine’ is being told through ancient art. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5jCXq97vO8

“Sun Simiao.” tcm.cchinesecio.com. [ http://tcm.chinesecio.com/en/article/2009-09/18/content_66490.htm]

“Sun Simiao.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Simiao

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*** The lovely feature image of Sun Simiao from Amazon.com

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by admin

Vipassana 2.0.

By Emma Suttie, D.Ac, AP

I am constantly reminded that the moment I think I might know something about something, I really don't know it at all. Sometimes this is a kind and gentle reminder, and sometimes it is like being hit by a train. Vipassana is the ultimate truth teller.

I have just returned from another foray into the bewildering/fantastical/frightening world that is my subconscious. That trip manifested itself as a 10 day Vipassana meditation in Georgia. It was my second, and so very different from the first. My reference above to the "thinking I know something" and the "not really knowing it at all" were at play during my time there. The reminders came gently, but relentlessly, with the cold, the hunger pangs, the bad taste in my mouth and my walks in the woods.

I tried to go having no expectations. I had only been once, and, intellectually at least, I thought, every time will be different. You are a different human being each time, arriving with different baggage that needs unpacking. But, even though I understood it with my mind, I didn't really believe it, because I was surprised and to be honest, a little disappointed each time something was different. Immediately I am reminded of the Sanscrit word for impermanence - annicca which we heard over and over again. Let things arise and then pass away. Don't have expectations. Just observe without craving or aversion. Lovely words, such lovely words...

The two experiences were wildly different. I was surprised by how different they were, but I now have to consider that it was a different human being that attended a year and a half ago than the one that arrived on that cold Georgia morning a couple of weeks ago. I was wildly different. Both times.

One of the first observations I had about the difference was that this was a very yin experience. Very contracted. Serious, and a little dark. This was partially the weather I am sure, it was cold as @#*! (in Georgia, really?) and it felt like we were all struggling with our psyches as well as the cold in our bones for ten days straight. Waking up at 4am to haul yourself out of a moderately warm bed to plunge yourself into the middle of the night where you could see your breath and there was ice on things was simply more than I could bear on some mornings. I slept in my hat and sometimes my scarf, and I wore the one pair of long underwear I had day and night for ten days. (I lost my dignity long ago...). Another reason for the yin nature of this experience was also I think that the average age of most of the ladies participating was over 50 which was really interesting. I felt young. (whee!)

My first experience was in late June/July and it was hot as the devil. It was lush and green and everything felt very alive, including all of us. The experience felt like it was awakening something in me, something dormant and decidedly yang in nature. Also, most of the girls were under 30. There were a couple of older ladies, but the rest were young. It was a very expansive energy and much lighter. Less serious. There was joy in the air amid the occasional snore and sob heard in the meditation hall. An occasional titter when someone farted while we were all concentrating so hard.

The Silence

The ten days (actually it is eleven) that you are there, you are completely silent. There is no speaking. There is also no technology of any kind, so you hand over your phones, tablets and all things technological when you arrive. You cannot have books, pens or paper either. And there is no eye contact. This may sound harsh and kind of a terrible way to spend ten days, but honestly, it is the best way for you to get the most out of the experience. And it is sort of awesome.

Personally, I loved the silence. Both times, I was sort of sad when we were allowed to speak again. The world gets loud, and so do your thoughts. How many times in your life do you spend ten days in the woods being completely silent? What HAPPENS to you when you remove the noise from the outside world and the noise coming out of your face? Well, it gets quiet. Really quiet, and eventually, something amazing happens. Your mind gets quiet as well. And when it stops churning and running and make believing (I did a lot of that), then some pretty profound stuff can happen. And some painful things too. For me, this time was a lot about the pain. I brought a lot of it with me, and I knew I was going to have to face it while I was there, because there were no distractions and there is nowhere else to go. Vipassana is like holding up a very large mirror helping you to see things the way they really are. That is the definition of Vipassana. And sometimes the way things really are isn't pretty. But that's ok, because it will pass. It isn't permanent.

I found that this time I knew the mechanics of things, the way things worked. The logistics. And this seemed to free my mind up for deeper, slightly scarier and more intense work. I had a lot to work through this time. The last time I went with a problem, a question I was grappling with and a curiosity about what this thing was and what it was going to do to me, but this time I was arriving after a complete life collapse. And what I wondered about this time was that if I delved deep into the darkness that had become my world of late, if I would ever come out. If I faced my demons, if they would overcome me or if I would come out the other side, back into the light. I am happy to say that I did come out the other side, and was reminded that darkness can't exist without light. They are both there. Always. It just depends on which one you are focussing on at any particular moment.

My favourite part of each day was the hour after lunch when I would walk in the woods. The woods are so wonderful and full of healing energy. When there is no outside (or inside) noise, it is like every tree, every insect and every blade of grass is speaking to you. It is the hum of nature, the qi of everything that is alive. I remember this from the last time too. Nature becomes so powerful. So communicative. I wanted to touch everything. Appropriately. I picked up leaves, ran my hands along ferns and touched the bark of trees communicating back to nature through my hands. Interestingly, everyone else seemed to be feeling the same thing. All the ladies could be seen out and walking in the forest, drinking in every bit of energy that radiated from it. Some would be standing looking up at trees, crouching looking at something on the ground or inspecting some flower or plant along the path. At one point early in the ten days, something cool happened. Someone drew a heart with a stick in the sand on the path. I smiled when I saw it. Every time I saw it. And then some lovely being made a piece of art out of different coloured leaves and twigs and left it by the path for others to enjoy. And as the days went on, more and more of these lovely pieces of art began to appear along the path, like a burst of creativity, being pushed out through nature by the ladies in our dorm. I was amazed at how creative they were. And how up lifting. I was excited to get out each day and see what new ones would be waiting.

Something I was not expecting was that I didn't sleep. The last time I slept like a corpse. Every night. I was practically asleep before I got into my bunk, but this time I feel like I didn't sleep a whole night the entire time I was there. I felt haunted. And was uncomfortable in my bed. It wasn't my bed that was uncomfortable, it was me. My mind was uncomfortable. My thoughts restless and dark. Sometimes I was still awake when the gong rang at 4am and wondered how I would sit for 12 hours in meditation on no sleep. But amazingly, I did it. Every day.

Another thing I noticed about this time more than the last was the need (or attempt) to overcome the body. There are three meditations in the day where you are asked to sit for one hour straight and not move. You work up to this, and I think these start on day three or four. At first, you feel like you are going to be paralyzed. That your knees will explode or that you will simply go insane. I know because when speaking to the girls at the end, we had all had this thought. More than once. But after a few sessions, you start to be able to sit, and to not move and you sort of surrender your body to it and that helps. Eventually, you can drop into it no problem when only a few days before you were sure they were going to have to carry you out of there on a stretcher. You are not "in" your body identified with it, you are a casual observer, looking from the outside. This is the point. Start with the body, and move it into your life. Its a powerful lesson.

The lesson is compounded by the fact that as an "old" student - which means that you have done at least one full ten day Vipassana course - that you will not eat after the 11am meal. At 5pm there is a snack which consists of tea and fruit for "new" students, but old students must refrain from eating. So... breakfast is at 6:30am, and lunch is at 11am... then you don't eat again until 6:30 the next morning. Now, I don't know about you, but I am a lover of food. Eating is like the best part of my day. I am also not a breakfast person as it takes my stomach a while to wake up. This usually happens fully at around lunch time. This caused serious problems considering 11am was the only meal my stomach was awake for. I had to really maximize that meal without looking like a greedy lunatic. For the first few days I did pretty well. I just decided, well, there is no food after lunch so don't think about it. Even at 5pm when the others were eating, I made a point not to look at the fruit they were eating and that did it. I just didn't think about it and therefore, wasn't hungry. Then on about day 4 I accidentally made eye contact with a bowl brimming with delicious and tasty looking fruits and it was all over. It was all I (and my poor stomach) could think about for the afternoon and evening meditations. All 8 hours of them. I was hungry. SOOOooooooo hungry. And that continued every day until the end. I managed, but the feeling of hunger never went away. I am not sure my stomach will ever forgive me.

Another thing that is granted to "old" students is a meditation cell for some of your ten days. I was given a cell for two whole days. The meditation cells are in a hallway located behind a mysterious door next to the meditation hall. I remember last time I was there wondering fiercely what was behind that door and what the meditation cells were like... Behind the door is a narrow hallway and 5 or 6 doors, all very close together. I was in cell number one, the first. I opened the door and there was a meditation cushion on the floor. That was it, it was the size of a meditation cushion with enough space to open the door. I spent two intense days in that cell, burning through all the painful emotions that I brought with me. Those were by far the most intense days for me, but it was a good chance to feel through them and finally let them go.

All in all I am so glad that I went. People asked when I got home if it was a good experience. It was a difficult experience, but a worthwhile one. I came back exhausted and had lost some weight, but I felt clean. Purified. It was a healing experience. A friend who had come with me and I spoke at length on the way home in the car and this was a fascinating and extremely edifying conversation. How interesting how two people could have the same experience, but, at the same time have a completely different experience. It was a really helpful conversation.

Again, I am struck by how pure it remains. It doesn't matter what you believe, what colour you are or what your background is, all are welcome. The goal is to bring human beings out of suffering by teaching them to gain mastery over their minds. A worthy goal, and one the planet so desperately needs. I think the intensity of the experience is really up to each individual. How deep you are willing to dig, how much light you are willing to shine on the dark places. And what you brought with you. I will go back. I am going to try to go every year to keep myself sane. As an attempt to be a better healer and a better human being. It is a work in progress.

*Image from Root Down Coaching & Yoga

If you would like to read about my first 10 Day Silent Vipassana Retreat, you can do so here - My 10 Day Vipassana Retreat. If you would like to learn more about Vipassana meditation, you can watch this excellent documentary called The Dhamma Brothers. It will leave you inspired. :)

Vipassana 2.0 : Chinese Medicine Living

by admin

traditional Chinese medicine

Using Traditional Chinese Medicine To Heal Common Gardening Injuries

For cuts and scrapes

For sunburn

Bacterial vaginosis

Bad breath

Excessive sweating

Repairing Your Digestion

Balancing Your Natural Hormones

Making Weight Loss Easier

Correcting the Root Cause of Weight Gain

Download Our Sheets - Living With The Seasons in Chinese Medicine

Are You A Practitioner?

Herbal Medicine for Expectant Mothers

Acupuncture to Consolidate Energy

Download Our Sheets - Living With The Seasons in Chinese Medicine

Are You A Practitioner?

Definitely Your Cup Of Tea

Eating For Energy

Supplement Your Diet

Download Our Sheets - Nutrition

Download Our Sheets - Living With The Seasons in Chinese Medicine

Are You A Practitioner?

The Political and Economic Situation.

TCM Becomes Official.

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE IN THE CUBAN STYLE.

Children Learn Plant Medicine

Sources.

Right After the Abduction and Healing

The Investigation of the Abduction Begins [张靖平]

About Energy Healing

About Qi

气

Healing Qi-Energy from an Extraterrestrial’s Perspective

Bad (pathogenic) Xie Qi

Various Meanings of Xie (邪):

Calling Out to the Reader For Answers

Suggested Possible Questions – (but any comments about the healing are welcome)

SOURCES USED

Further Information About External Qi Therapy

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

E - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS.

Is it necessary to ask permission before doing a Sending?

Is it “your” qi that you are sending? Or does it come from somewhere else?

Can Healing Energy be Sent from a Distance?

About the Sending: How Often and for How Long?

How Long Does EQH Take to Learn?

Sure it seems to work sometimes but isn’t it just psychosomatic or a placebo?

Isn’t it the same as Reiki or Therapeutic Touch?

Conclusion.

F - Bibliography.

LINKS - YouTube

On the Absolute Sincerity of Great Physicians: The Healer’s Oath of Sun Simiao [FN-3]

Further Comments

The Vow of Hua Tuo

Footnotes

For Further Information:

The Silence

Suggested Possible Questions –
(but any comments about the healing are welcome)