Identification of the correct species and variety, as well as correct processing methodology, is critical for the safe usage of natural medicinals, like Aconite/Fu Zi. There is a revival going on amongst practitioners of Chinese Medicine interested in the classical texts and methods.
copyright Eyton J. Shalom, M.S., L.Ac. San Diego, CA All Rights Reserved, Use With Permission
Ayurveda, Acupuncture, and Chinese Medicine in San Diego
http://www.bodymindwellnesscenter.com
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Moxabustion in Winter
In Chinese Medicine moxa-bustion is especially popular in fall and winter, when it is used to warm the channels and strengthen the organ complexes, especially the Adrenal-Digestive axis (Kidney-Spleen).
In fact, it is so much a part of our work, that in Chinese, Acupuncturists are actually called Acupuncture-Moxabustionists.
There are hundreds of varieties of moxa. One is the stick type you can get at any Chinese Herb shop. What you do is light a moxabustion stick and hold it close enough to your skin so as to feel heat without burning. Do this at the locations Zu San Li, San Yin Jiao, Qi Hai and Zhong Wan. Have someone else do it at the space between your physical Kidneys around the 2nd Lumbar vertabrae. What I do in my acupuncture practice here in San Diego is show people the locations, so they can do it at home, first thing in the morning, once or twice a weak.
Acupuncture "points" are actually caves. They are depressions in the surface of the body where the Qi of the channels is easily influenced. The idea is to warm these spaces gradually and deeply; moxa-bustion should feel pleasant, even wonderful. Regular moxabustion (once a fortnight) before and during the winter season will prevent colds and remedy arthritic and other types of pains. In most circumstances application of moxa is beneficial anywhere there is pain. If it feels good, do it!
Moxa sticks are cheap--a dollar for a large cigar sized stick of compressed "moxa" (common name mugwort, latin artemesia vulgaris, Mandarin Chinese ai ye ). To extinguish your moxa stick dip the burning end into some water or sand. Break this carbonized part off next use. Moxa is one of the best self-help tools in Chinese medicine.
Here is a link to a great FB page with everything you ever wanted to know about classical usage and current research on the topic
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moxibustion-The-Power-of-Mugwort-Fire/127985768455
Copyright Eyton J. Shalom, M.S., L.Ac. San Diego, CA All Rights Reserved, Use With PermissionAyurveda, Acupuncture, and Chinese Medicine in San Diegohttp://www.bodymindwellnesscenter.com
In fact, it is so much a part of our work, that in Chinese, Acupuncturists are actually called Acupuncture-Moxabustionists.
There are hundreds of varieties of moxa. One is the stick type you can get at any Chinese Herb shop. What you do is light a moxabustion stick and hold it close enough to your skin so as to feel heat without burning. Do this at the locations Zu San Li, San Yin Jiao, Qi Hai and Zhong Wan. Have someone else do it at the space between your physical Kidneys around the 2nd Lumbar vertabrae. What I do in my acupuncture practice here in San Diego is show people the locations, so they can do it at home, first thing in the morning, once or twice a weak.
Acupuncture "points" are actually caves. They are depressions in the surface of the body where the Qi of the channels is easily influenced. The idea is to warm these spaces gradually and deeply; moxa-bustion should feel pleasant, even wonderful. Regular moxabustion (once a fortnight) before and during the winter season will prevent colds and remedy arthritic and other types of pains. In most circumstances application of moxa is beneficial anywhere there is pain. If it feels good, do it!
Moxa sticks are cheap--a dollar for a large cigar sized stick of compressed "moxa" (common name mugwort, latin artemesia vulgaris, Mandarin Chinese ai ye ). To extinguish your moxa stick dip the burning end into some water or sand. Break this carbonized part off next use. Moxa is one of the best self-help tools in Chinese medicine.
Here is a link to a great FB page with everything you ever wanted to know about classical usage and current research on the topic
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moxibustion-The-Power-of-Mugwort-Fire/127985768455
Copyright Eyton J. Shalom, M.S., L.Ac. San Diego, CA All Rights Reserved, Use With PermissionAyurveda, Acupuncture, and Chinese Medicine in San Diegohttp://www.bodymindwellnesscenter.com
Once again, a reason to exercise. Once again, research that shows that a daily walk might be just as good, and with a lot less stress on the joints, than a daily jog.
"But a cautiously encouraging new study from The Archives of Neurology suggests that for some people, a daily walk or jog could alter the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or change the course of the disease if it begins."
from the NY Times, today,
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/how-exercise-may-keep-alzheimers-at-bay/?src=me&ref=general
Copyright Eyton J. Shalom, M.S., L.Ac. San Diego, CA All Rights Reserved, Use With Permission Ayurveda, Acupuncture, and Chinese Medicine in San Diego http://www.bodymindwellnesscenter.com
"But a cautiously encouraging new study from The Archives of Neurology suggests that for some people, a daily walk or jog could alter the risk of developing Alzheimer’s or change the course of the disease if it begins."
from the NY Times, today,
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/how-exercise-may-keep-alzheimers-at-bay/?src=me&ref=general
Copyright Eyton J. Shalom, M.S., L.Ac. San Diego, CA All Rights Reserved, Use With Permission Ayurveda, Acupuncture, and Chinese Medicine in San Diego http://www.bodymindwellnesscenter.com
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Yoga for Narcissists?
Interesting dialogue on Yoga in the NY Times today. Its kind of harsh to refer to current American yoga that way, but its not entirely untrue; after all its a rather narcissistic society.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/12/is-yoga-for-narcissists/when-high-achievers-do-yoga
live in downtown New York City, where yoga studios are as common as espresso bars. Now we read that people driven into those studios by the stress of their lives often emerge with physical injuries from the stress of the contortions they are asked to perform there. What did you expect? When you gather a group of high-achieving residents of a city whose motto might as well be, "Other people are working harder than you!", and command them to perform in a room full of mirrors, people are going to hurt themselves trying to be the best in class. The word "yoga" means "to yoke": your mind to your body, not your instructor’s. The Hippocratic Oath should also apply to yoga: first, do no harm.
Yoga was never meant to be a competitive sport, like ice hockey. But when it spread to this robustly competitive nation, where it got turbocharged by money -- the U.S. yoga market is worth $6 billion a year -- its original meaning got dispersed. What is now called for is a broader understanding of the meaning of yoga.
The yoga that most Americans are aware of is hatha yoga, only one (and perhaps the least important) of the various types of yoga. Krishna in the Bhagvad-Gita defines them: karma yoga (the yoga of action), bhakti yoga (the yoga of devotion) and jnana yoga (the yoga of knowledge). Volunteering at a soup kitchen is yoga; raising your voice in praise in a gospel choir is yoga; trying to understand how the galaxies shift and why the poor lack shoes is also yoga.
Hatha yoga is not for everyone. The other forms are. Not everyone can -- or should -- stand on their heads, but everyone can use their heads to make the world a better place; yoke their emotions to their intelligence and feel more centered.
In this sense, the greatest teacher of yoga is not Iyengar or Bikram, but Gandhi. “The yogi is not one who sits down to practise breathing exercises,” he wrote in his interpretation of the Gita. “He is one who looks upon all with an equal eye, sees other creatures in himself.” That's one pose that will truly reduce your stress
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/12/is-yoga-for-narcissists/when-high-achievers-do-yoga
live in downtown New York City, where yoga studios are as common as espresso bars. Now we read that people driven into those studios by the stress of their lives often emerge with physical injuries from the stress of the contortions they are asked to perform there. What did you expect? When you gather a group of high-achieving residents of a city whose motto might as well be, "Other people are working harder than you!", and command them to perform in a room full of mirrors, people are going to hurt themselves trying to be the best in class. The word "yoga" means "to yoke": your mind to your body, not your instructor’s. The Hippocratic Oath should also apply to yoga: first, do no harm.
The greatest teacher of yoga is not Iyengar or Bikram, but Gandhi.
The yoga that most Americans are aware of is hatha yoga, only one (and perhaps the least important) of the various types of yoga. Krishna in the Bhagvad-Gita defines them: karma yoga (the yoga of action), bhakti yoga (the yoga of devotion) and jnana yoga (the yoga of knowledge). Volunteering at a soup kitchen is yoga; raising your voice in praise in a gospel choir is yoga; trying to understand how the galaxies shift and why the poor lack shoes is also yoga.
Hatha yoga is not for everyone. The other forms are. Not everyone can -- or should -- stand on their heads, but everyone can use their heads to make the world a better place; yoke their emotions to their intelligence and feel more centered.
In this sense, the greatest teacher of yoga is not Iyengar or Bikram, but Gandhi. “The yogi is not one who sits down to practise breathing exercises,” he wrote in his interpretation of the Gita. “He is one who looks upon all with an equal eye, sees other creatures in himself.” That's one pose that will truly reduce your stress
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