June 22nd, 2011. "Summer Solstice", the 4th small Summer season arrives

      “Summer Solstice” is another well known season. Being the opposite of the Winter Solstice, Summer Solstice arrives when the celestial longitude reaches 90 degree, and the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun to its maximum extent. This is when the Northern Tropic, AKA Tropic of Cancer, which refers to the circle of latitude on the Earth that marks the most northerly position at which the Sun may appear directly overhead at its zenith, comes to place. In this day we will have the longest day time and the shortest night in the year.

      Although being the “Noon” of the year, this is not the hottest time yet. As the heat is still accumulating near the earth surface and it will reach its real peak around mid July to Mid August. According to the Yin-Yang theory, when one side reaches the most, it will start to reduce and the opposite side will start to increase. In Chinese, Summer Solstice “夏至” literally means “Summer Most” or “Yang Most”. This is when the Yang energy has reaches its most and start to die down and the Yin energy start to grow. Just like Winter Solstice, Summer Solstice is also one of the most important seasons of year. During this season we need to not only take advantage of the strong Yang energy, but also protect and nourish the new born Yin energy.

      The key word of summer is “长”, means “grow”, “express” or “boost”. “Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon” stated that during summer time “Keep the mind anger-free; Let flowers be in full bloom; Free the energy; Express the emotions; This is the 'grow' energy of the summer”. Meaning during the summer we should keep the mind happy, open, content, and balanced. Like the plants need the sunlight to grow, we should communicate with the external energy, stay passionate, optimistic and extroversive to help smoothening the energy flow. There is another famous saying “心静自然凉”, meaning in the hot season, one can still acquire natural coolness through a peaceful and calm heart (mind). This is classic rule of summer mental cultivation.

      Living wise, we should stay with the summer rule of “Sleep late, wake up early”. “Heat harm the Qi easy”, is because we sweat more and the body can lose too much fluid easy thus cause all kinds of problems. When doing outdoor activities, we should avoid the hottest time of the day, instead try to take regular nap during this time. The best times of the day to do outdoor activities are early morning and dawn. Go to places with water or trees where the air is fresh and cool. Stay with mild exercises such as walking, jogging and Tai Chi, because we don’t want to over sweat, which can harm both Yin and Yang energy. After exercises, drink a cup of salty water or salty green bean soup, but don’t drink too much ice cold water. Also never take a cold water shower, which can cause problems like arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis in a long run. Regular warm water shower is recommended. During summer time, our body is “open”, physically meaning the skin and pores are open, this also makes the harmful energy “enters” the body easy. Therefore make sure to adjust the room temperature well. Although it’s hot, while asleep try not to have the fan or AC blowing directly at your bed.

      Eating wise, according to the 5-element theory, summer is the heart time, and if the heart (fire) is too strong it will harm the lungs (metal). We also lose lot body fluid from sweating, as sweat is the fluid of the heart, if the heart loses too much fluid and don’t have enough mineral (salt), it may not function right. Therefore the TCM believes this is the time to eat more sour (to solidify the surface), and more salty (to make up for what the heart has lost). Also according to the Yin-Yang theory, during summer time our Yin energy is hiding inside, meaning the inside of our body (organs) is actually colder than outside (skin), therefore we should actually avoid eating or drinking too much cold in the summer. Please notice the key word being “too much”, back to our balancing theory that nothing is absolute good or bad, it only becomes harmful when there is too much. Eating things like watermelon, green bean soup or sour plum will help to reduce the excessive body heat, but taking too much will make the already cold organs even colder, especially the stomach and spleen, then cause stomach flu, diarrhea and vomiting.

      To make it simply, here are three key words for summer eating: Balance, Base(alkali) and Water. Balance refers to nutrition balance and intake-spend balance. During summer time our body metabolism is stronger thus produce more acid than usually. Base foods, such as most vegetable and fruits, are to counterbalance those acids. Also avoid too much acid foods such as red meat, soda drinks, dairy product and sugar. Finally, drink enough water to stay hydrated.

June 6th, 2011. "Grain in Ear", the 3rd small Summer season arrives

      Grain in Ear is when the celestial longitude reaches 75 degree. Being the 3rd small summer season and the 2nd hot season, the weather is in general stabilized.

      During this season one main health symptom is laziness, or tiredness. Mainly it is because of the high temperature and humidity. This makes us harder to sweat so our body is high in humidity internally as well. When internal wetness meets external humidity and heat, it will make our body “sticky” and heavy.

      Again, our basic principle of staying healthy is to improve our body function and energy level. And the basic principle to achieve that is to stay “smooth” both physically and emotionally. These are the words I repeat almost for very small season we talk about, because they are that important.

      We mentioned before that for summer we need to go to bed late and get up early. This is to help us taking full advantage of the sun light, AKA Yang energy for us. Drink enough water so at least our body is hydrated and able to sweat. Also we have entered the season when we can actually take more shower, this will help the body to release the extract body heat. But one thing to remember is try NOT to take shower right after sweating. Wait for a little bit so the water or extra wetness will not be able to harm the body through the open pores. Just as the “Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon” says, “wetness right after sweating will cause acne (skin problems)”.

      Food wise we need to stay with the “summer rule” which is lite and mild. Eat more grain and greens but less meat. Summer is also the season of “bitter”. Bitter is the taste of heart and it will help us to lower the “heart fire”. Meanwhile since we sweat more, make sure to also eat enough salt, not over eating, to make up for the lost. Salty is also the opposite of bitter, so maintain a good bitter-salty level will also help our heart-kidney relationship staying balanced, which is very important for summer.

May 21st, 2011. "Grain Fills", the 2nd small Summer season arrives

      "Grain Fills" is the 2nd small summer season and the 1st small hot season. The celestial longitude reaches 60 degree. From now on the temperature will reach a new high level. But meanwhile the amount of rain will increase too, and it can still be cold during early morning and at night, also after rain. Make sure still cover yourself well during sleep to avoid catching cold.

  
      It is recommended to go to bed later but get up earlier. Here the "late" only means about 10pm in ancient time, or soon after sunset. As the sun rises early, so should we. This will guarantee us to take full advantage of the summer Yang energy. However, in these days if we do so, some of us may feel sleepy or tired during daytime. One way to adjust it is to take short naps during day time. That is noon nap for most of us. It doesn't need to be long and try to lie down instead of resting your head on the table or desk. Resting or sleeping on desk can cause temporary low blood pressure and lower the blood supply in the brain, which can make us even more tired. If you really don't have the luxury to take a good nap, you can at least take a short walk or meditate.
      
      Besides the heat, this is also a season with high humidity and sometimes wind. One common issue is skin problem such as rashes and rubella. TCM considers these issues have several causes:

1. Internal humidity meets external heat wind or cold wind, the "battle" takes place under the skin level therefore causing reactions.
2. "Overheated" stomach meets harmful wind, internal heat "trapped" at the skin level then cause reactions
3. Taking too much rich or heavy food that produce too much fluid inside the body, then being heated by body heat, the fluid starts to surface thus cause reactions.

Although they seems to be different, we can still see the common reasons which are:

1. The skin doesn't "breath" right. This is usually caused by cold. When the skin is hit by cold, pores will close.The solution is to make sure stay warm even in a hot day so you can sweat well. That is to allow the skin "breath" better so you will not retain fluid either. Avoid too much cold drinks and possibly try not to use air conditioner too often.
2. Too much unprocessed energy stays inside of the body. This is usually caused by inappropriate food. The solution is simple, eat light and mild food meanwhile take good care of your digestive system.

      Recommended foods include red bean, barley, green bean, cucumber, celery, water chestnut, black wood fungus, carrot, tomato, water melon, yam and fish. Avoid heavy and rich food such as fat, too much seafood, deep fried food, strong spices (raw garlic, scallion, horseradish, hot pepper, etc), especially for those who are not in ideal health condition. 

May 6th, 2011. "Beginning of Summer ", the 1st small Summer season arrives

      Many of us consider Summer solstice (around June 22nd) as the beginning of summer, but the Chinese sees that as the "peak" of the summer. And since that day on, Yang energy starts to drop and Yin energy starts to grow. Back to the real "beginning of summer", which indicates the end of spring and the beginning of summer season. This is also the last warm small season, and next small season will be the starts of hot season.

      For human beings, summer is the Heart (and small intestine) season. Ancient Chinese believed that summer energy directly connect and interact with our heart energy. Naturally, how to take care of our heart will be the main topic throughout the whole summer season.

      TCM describes heart as the "master of the body" or "the emperor of the organs". And heart is the "house" of human's soul or spirit. Therefore the word "Heart" in Chinese (心）has 2 meanings: the actual physical heart and the mind or consciousness (the acceptances or reactions to the external environment, such as mental activity, thought and emotions).

      Functions wise, heart is in charge of blood and pulse, also emotions ("Shen" 神, in Chinese). The first part is easy to understand as that is the known physical functions of the heart. Heart is also the organ of emotions, as we mentioned earlier that heart is the house of souls or spirits. In general sense, "Shen"(soul or spirit) means the external expression of human life, such as body shape, face color, eye expressions, speech, response, body languages or so. In narrower sense, it means the emotion, mental activities or consciousness. "Essence" is the material foundation of both human life and "Shen". "Shen" originally come from the "congenital essence" when the embryo is formed. During growth our Shen is supported and nourished by food and water we have. Shen also have two physical functions: 1, under normal condition, it accept and react to objective stimulations to conduct mental, conscious and emotional activities; 2, it acts as the master or conductor of life activities, therefore it is considered as the emperor of all other organs. All other organs work coordinately under the orders of the heart.
      
      Although summer has officially arrived, the temperature can still be low in early morning or late at night, and very different from day time. Therefore don't be too "excited" about the hot daytime and forget to wear enough for nighttime. Also, take full advantage of the summer Yang energy by going to bed a little bit late (not late late) and getting up earlier (with sun rise). A short nap at noon will be even better if possible. As the summer energy increases, we human beings sometimes are easily irritated. Therefore another key method for summer health preservation is "calm-cultivation". Try not to have strong emotional impacts, especially extreme excitement or anger. Do some activities that will calm the body and mind such as gardening, walking, fishing, meditating, Yoga, and Tai Chi. Summer is the heart season and "happiness" is the heart emotion. Stay in a happy but calm mood is the best way to communicate with your heart energy and nourish it. For body fluid, heart is connected with sweat, or we can say sweat is the "heart fluid". In this sense, according to the balanced theory, we DO need to allow our body to sweat in order for us to fit into the summer, meanwhile we also need to make sure that we do not over sweat so we won't lose our "heart fluid". Drink enough water to stay hydrated. During this small season (1st summer season), only milder exercises are recommended.
      
      Regarding food, as this is the time when our liver energy is getting weaker but heart energy getting stronger, the main rule is to help the kidney energy and balance the stomach energy. Lite and mild food is always recommended, plus food that are low in fat, high in fiber and easy to digest. 

April 20th, 2011. "Corn Rain ", the 6th small Spring season arrives

      "Corn Rain" is the 6th and last small Spring season, and yes, we are in summer after this season. The name "corn rain" in Chinese means "the rain waters the corns". It indicates the end of frost and the temperature will rise more obviously. The amount of rain will also increase and this will help the plants and crop on earth to grow fast.

  

      As human beings, we need to be prepare for the high humidity in this season. We may not be able to change the season but we can do things to adjust our condition to fit into the season and the universal energy. One of the major health issue in this season is neuralgia such as intercostal neuralgia, sciatica and trigeminal neuralgia.

      Nerve related pain is usually considered as "emotional pain" in TCM, so keep a good emotional condition is the basic. Avoid strong emotional impact, especially anger. Also,TCM believe that moisture (dampness) is one of the major causes for this kind of pain, along with cold and heat; they team up to harm the body and create energy stagnations, sometimes also known as "arthritis". Even though during day time the temperature can be high, but in the early morning and late night it can still be cold. Therefore make sure still be cautious about adjusting your clothes. Stay warm when it's cold and stay active when it's warm, then the conditions for neuralgia will not meet and you will be pain-free. Another issue in spring is allergy, TCM believe this is also cold related. There are internal cold in our body, and symptoms such as tearing and sneezing are our body's self-protection behavior. I have an old post about this topic. Both issues have a common cause which is cold. This can be the "leftover" cold from the winter, which is already in you; and new cold from the spring, which can be avoided. So our suggestion for you is to try to increase your internal temperature, and drinking warm water is the easiest way. Here we are talking about water that is warmer than your body temperature, so "room temperature" usually doesn't qualify. Also, again, dress accordingly.

      During the last 18 days of ever big season, our stomach and spleen will be at very high energy level too. So this is also the good time to take advantage of our high digestive energy. If you find your appetite getting better, don't be nervous, enjoy it and eat some good food instead. As the digestive energy is high, we are able to consume some food that we may not be able to in the past days. Especially for those who are trying to lose weight, starving oneself has been proven being the wrong way to lose weight. We mentioned that often our weight is caused by incomplete digestion. So in order to lose the weight, you must first eat more good food to "supply" your digestion system. So this is the good time to take care of your stomach and you will be surprised that you may lose weight by eating more.

      Several common food are recommended, which include spinach, bean sprout, Chinese yam, bamboo shoot, buckwheat, millet, black sesame and other kind of bean or seed produces. Still, eat less sour but more sweet, and a little spicy food.

      

April 5th, 2011. "Clear and Bright ", the 5th small Spring season arrives

      "Clear and Bright"(Qing Ming in Chinese Pin Yin) is the 5th Spring season and the 2nd warm season of the year. Just like its name, this season is bright and clear, the gloomy feeling from winter has left us, key is blue and earth is awaking, trees and even some flowers start to bloom, and the temperature will continue rising. And this is the golden time for farmers to plant new seeds, and for people to plant new trees.


      As both the "heaven energy" (temperature) and "earth energy"(rising energy) is at a new level, we people fit in as well. By this season, the spring rising energy has reached a very high level, and you may notice there are more angry people around you. This is the result of extreme high liver energy. Liver is considered as "wood"(tree) in the 5-element system, and "wood" feeds "fire", which is the heart. The last thing we want in this season is the "double-fire" of liver and heart, because this can cause high blood pressure, and for those who are already dealing with high blood pressure this will be the risky time.


      Good news is, if there is YIN, then there must be YANG to balance it. If we know what may cause trouble, there will be solutions. The term "high blood pressure" or "hypertension" is one of the most used terms in our life. We all know the symptoms and possible damages it can cause to the body. But according to TCM, the cause of hypertension varies. The pathology is comprehensive. Therefore in order to treat it effectively, we must figure out the closest cause first. The general reasons for hypertension include aging, emotion imbalance, long term energy over-spending, and wrong diet. And common hypertension types include:

1. Low in Yin energy causing weak-hyper Yang energy: Headache, dizziness, tinnitus，blurry vision, insomnia or dreamy, sore lower back and knees, red face, numbness. This is usually caused by chronic emotional stress and imbalanced diet. Work on balancing and easing the emotional condition and use Chrysanthemum tea as simple food remedy.
2. Yin energy weakened in Liver and Kidney: Dizziness with blurry vision, dry eyes, tinnitus or deafness, sore and weak lower back and knees, heels pain. This is usually caused by aging and energy overspent. Use honey as simple food remedy.
3. Low in both Yin and Yang energy: Vertigo, pale and dull face, heat rush, short-breathed, sore and weak lower back and knees，frequent micturition during sleep or retain fluid (water swollen). 

Therefore TCM does not support the idea of depending on medications. Instead, use the medication for temporary or emergency conditions to earn more time and opportunities to treat the root causes. The treatment for hypertension must be comprehensive, which should not only include physical manipulation but also emotional adjustments. TCM believes that emotions play big roles in the cause of hypertension. This can be verified as the blood pressure rises fast when people are experiencing extreme emotions, such as anger, happiness,fear or sadness. Therefore besides necessary medical treatments, adjusting the emotional condition is the other kind of essential treatment. But this has to be done by the patients themselves, under proper instructions by the therapists of course. Tai Chi or Qi Gong is always the first choices for inner energy balancing exercises. If doing regular exercises, choose mild ones like jogging or walking. Avoid intense competitive sports to prevent over-excited emotions. Avoid weight lifting to prevent possible risks from breath-holding. Try to develop a steady, regular and mild eating pattern, no devouring (in any sense).


      The name "Clear and Bright" (Qing Ming) also refers to the traditional Chinese Qing Ming Festival, or "All souls day".  This is the time to remember the dead and the dearly departed. More important, it is a period to honor and to pay respect to one's deceased ancestors and family members. Because it reinforces the ethic of filial piety, Qing Ming is a major Chinese festival. This festival falls in early spring, on the 106th day after the winter solstice. It is a "spring" festival, and it is an occasion for the whole family to leave the home and to sweep the graves of their ancestors. Chinese being practical people this sweeping of the graves is given an extended period, that is, usually 10 days before and after Qing Ming day. In some area it may last one month long. As the rising warm air meets the cold air more often, there will also be some raining or misty days during the "clear and bright". The sentimental people walk in the light rain toward cemetery to see their long-lost loved ones, this makes another typical "Qing Ming" picture. As the famous Chinese poem said:

Drizzling rain falls like tears on the Qing Ming Mourning Day;

The mourners' heart is breaking on their way.

Where can a winehouse be found to drown the sadness?

A cowherd points to Almond Flower Village in the distance.

      Interestingly, several things people do the most during the season and festival benefit the health as well. One is kowtow, meaning you kneel and bow so low as to have your head touching the ground. This is the act of deep respect. Meanwhile this movement allows you to move many joints and muscles in your body that you usually do not exercise. This movement is also a "energy-directing" exercise of Taoist Qi Gong, It's proven to increase the energy and blood flow in the body to prevent angiosclerosis, hypertension and stroke. However, this works the best as preventive exercise and if you already have hypertension this may NOT be the best move for you. The other one, believe or not, is sobbing, or crying. If I mention the word "catharsis" then this may seem to make more sense to you.  Crying is believed to be a great method of releasing the "trapped" liver energy as TCM believes liver is connected with eyes and tear. It can be considered as detoxing, especially liver toxin. For those who are under lots of pressure everyday, man or woman, crying can be a very good way for you to release the tension and prevent any further blockage in the body. If you are lucky enough to have some very understanding family member, friends or even therapists around you, they are your best support.

      As the universe is getting "clear and bright", accept the universal energy and make yourself clear and bright as well.

Regarding Sleep Apnea & more

      The main symptom of sleep apnea is the abnormal pause in breathing. It can last a few seconds to minutes and sadly some will even suffocate and die from it. People who suffer from sleep apnea usually have no problem falling asleep, but they snore loudly and during snoring sleep apnea may occur. They can be woke up often by suffocation but fall back to asleep, then wake again and fall asleep again...Others may see them as having a deep and nice sleep but themselves will feel the opposite. In a long run this can cause chronic fatigue and low energy in day time. Some may even fall asleep while driving. 

      However, most of us do snore sometime and that is considered normal. Normal snoring is different from the symptom of sleep apnea. Many of us who snore do not suffer from sleep apnea, but some who suffers from it may not snore. Therefore make sure to seek medical professionals for diagnosis. 

      According to TCM theory. when human falls asleep, some body functional forces/energy stop working, the "spirit" (the force that controls the immaterial aspects of human being is called "spirit" by TCM. Roughly, it can be considered as brain and heart functions) will hide back in the liver and get rest. Meanwhile the "soul" (the force that controls the physical functions of human being, such as breath, senses, evacuation, ect. is called "soul" in TCM. Roughly it can be considered as the spinal functions) will start working, and "soul" is stored in the lungs. Healthy people has normal lungs function during sleep. But snoring indicates the malfunction of the lungs and also can be seen as low in "soul" energy. Many patients had operation to treat the symptoms, disregarding the result, we are not in favor of any unnecessary operations or surgeries. 

      The "branch" cause for snoring is the swollen in throat structures; The "root" cause is because excessive fluid (phlegm) is blocking the throat, trachea,bronchus or even alveolus, therefore interfering the normal oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange process. When awake, one can manually cough out the phlegm, but not while asleep. 

      Some suggestions for these people includes: Lite dinner: Don't eat too much, avoid salty and greasy food. Eat more whole food; And white radish: Drink white radish soup or simply eat it raw with the skin.This will help with eliminating phlegm. 

      The other deeper cause for snoring and sleep apnea is hyperlipemia (high cholesterol or blood fat,and fatty liver). This requires longer and more systematic treatments. Avoiding too much fat and cholesterol is necessary but not quite enough. Improving the body digestive system function is more important for one to break down and burn the fat.

      The key is to increase the temperature of small intestine. This is the essential condition for the digestive enzyme to fully function. Drink no cold drinks especially during meal. Also the TCM believes fruits are cold in nature and can cause negative effects to some patients, therefore our opinion is for those who are high in blood fat should avoid fruits, again, you may not agree with this point and it's up to you to interpret. If you like tea, avoid green tea but drink more red or black tea. You can add a little bit of salt but no milk. Also eat less deep-fried food,but more roasted or baked food (especially grain products) instead. These all will help with transforming the blood fat.

      One simply herbal/food remedy is orange vessels.You can easily collect them from oranges, dry them and then make your "orange vessels tea", this is a very effective remedy for lowing blood fat or cholesterol.