The Eyes Have it


This is the second in a series of blogs I will do on face reading. This information comes from Lillian Bridges’ book about Chinese face reading.


Eyes are the most expressive feature on the face and are the most easily marked with the passage of time. One has to look at eye size, shape, set, and corners. The size of someone’s eyes is determined by the vertical height of the eye in proportion to the rest of the face. Large eyes are associated with the openness of the heart and people born with large eyes have abundant fire energy. People with large eyes are more prone to be emotional and expressive. They react to their feelings before thinking. The genetic structure of the eye is not as important as how open people hold their eyes. How much the iris shows is what counts. If someone born with large eyes narrows their eyes, they are suppressing their emotions which may be a wise thing to do as these individuals tend to be more naïve and vulnerable and are therefore more easily disappointed.

By contrast, small-eyed people are better able to control their emotions and when they hold their eyes open they are trying to be more receptive and expressive. Small eyes mean that the fire energy is pushed into the brain so these individuals are more apt to have an active mental life and logically plan and calculate their reactions. They naturally have a more difficult time in expressing their emotions and are introspective. These individuals watch people carefully and have a tendency to be skeptical and wary of others.

There are five basic eye shapes. The round eye is nearly as wide as it is long. Round-eyed people have highly curved upper and lower lids and almost all of their irises show. These individuals are usually gregarious, emotional, and speak their minds easily. They tend to be dramatic and can have intense mood swings. These people are usually bold and possess abundant charm that can easily soothe ruffled feathers that they may cause. A variation of round eyes is large eyes. Large eyes are longer and the lower lid is straighter. These individuals live by their emotions and tend to be impulsive. They are usually quite attractive to the opposite sex and are sociable and charming. These individuals tend to be artistic and need to be creative to be happy. They do not like strict rules or confinement and enjoy living in their fantasy world.

Little eyes are the third type of eye shape. These eyes are much narrower and shorter. Individuals with little eyes are introverted, cautious and have a great need for privacy. These individuals hide their emotions from others and sometimes from themselves. They scrutinize people and situations and can be suspicious. People with little eyes are much more comfortable with thinking than with feeling. They are very good with details and are usually quite trustworthy and good at keeping secrets.

Almond shaped eyes are the fourth eye shape. Almond eyes have a slight curve on the top and bottom eyelids with most of the iris showing. This eye shape is longer than it is high. This shape is considered exotic because it conveys a sense of mystery. Individuals with almond eyes are sensitive, warm and yet exhibit caution and control over how best to express their emotions. They are considered to have more common sense than larger eyed people. These individuals are balanced in that they are open enough to receive and cautious enough to evaluate what they have gotten.

Rectangular eyes are the last eye shape. Rectangular eyes have eyelids that go straight across the iris. These eyes are much longer than they are high. Rectangular-eyed people are usually good at business because they rely more on logic and thinking than emotions and feeling. These individuals are difficult to get to know but are capable of great passion. These individuals have difficulty in expressing emotions, but are loyal to friends, which they normally keep for the long term. They are conscious of money and social status and are prone to envy. They can be very perceptive about other people’s motives.

The distance between the two eyes determines eye set. The average distance between the two eyes is one eye length. Anything over that distance is considered to be wide-set eyes and by contrast, narrow-set eyes are shorter than one eye length between the eyes. People with wide-set eyes are usually adaptable, flexible and tolerant. They tend to see life from a broad perspective and may have trouble concentrating on details. They are usually innovating thinkers and can appreciate alternative views of life.

By contrast, close-set eyes belong to individuals who are generally less tolerant of views other than their own. They do have the ability to concentrate and focus on details; they possess strong analytical skills and have keen powers of observation.

The slant of the eye is determined by whether one corner of the eye is higher than the other. When the outer corner is higher than the inner corner, this is an upturned eye and may be referred to as cat’s eyes. These individuals are generally optimistic, curious and ambitious. They can quickly spot an opportunity and are often entertaining and clever. A down-turned eye is just the opposite in that the outer corner of the eye is lower than the inner corner. These individuals are more prone to pessimism and discouragement and are often softhearted and kind.

The inner canthus is the corner of the eye closest to the nose. In face reading, it corresponds to the ability to use words, especially when used in anger. It’s a very simple correlation, the sharper the corner, the sharper the tongue. The more rounded the corner, the more words are chosen tactfully and carefully. When the inner canthus comes to a point, words are used with great accuracy. If the inner canthus is pointed and curved downwards, these individuals can use words as weapons when angry.

As long as we are discussing the set of eyes, we may as well mention eye depth. The depth of the eye indicates whether someone is an extrovert or an introvert. Deep-set eyes belong to introvert and thinkers and protruding eyes belong to extroverts who are usually bold and impulsive.

Eyelashes are the last feature. Long, thick and full lashes generally belong to emotional, romantic people. More pragmatic and realistic individuals tend to have straighter and thinner eyelashes.

So, there you have it. The next time you meet a stranger, you now have several tools you can use to evaluate what sort of an individual is standing in front of you as you look into their eyes.

Chinese Face Reading

Reading faces in order to determine illness has a long history in Chinese medicine. Unfortunately, my school devoted only one three-hour lecture to the subject that I found inadequate to put the information to any good use. Fortunately, though, I recently finished a book by Lillian Bridges entitled “Face Reading in Chinese Medicine” that has sufficiently filled in the gaps. The information she offers in her book about analyzing faces is something that we may know innately, but she has broken it down by the various face components and has used the information that she has compiled over the past twenty something years to teach businessmen in areas of hiring and marketing, lawyers in facial characteristics to look for in picking juries, singles in choosing a mate, and physicians, nurses and oriental medicine practitioners on how to diagnose illness.

Face reading was a predominant means of diagnosis for illness in oriental medicine thousands of years ago when it was considered inappropriate for oriental doctors to palpate and examine female patients. Female patients would point to female nude statues to indicate where they were feeling discomfort and the doctor would assimilate this information with the facial diagnosis as well as tongue and pulse diagnosis. The Chinese still use face reading today but more as a fortune-telling tool. They believe that the face tells what has happened to the individual as well as where they will probably end up if they stay on the same path.

Face reading is not only the domain of the Chinese. Both Aristotle and Plato wrote about faces. Their writings introduced face reading to Europe. It was not a novel idea to our country either. Abraham Lincoln chose his cabinet members based on their faces and an out-of-print Maytag Sales Manual from the early 1900s taught how to read faces to sell appliances.

The Chinese believe that the face records traumatic events that occur during life. They have a saying that from birth to the age of 25 you have the face that your mother gave you; from 25 to 50 you have the face that you create and from 50 on you have the face that you deserve. Remember when your mother would tell you not to make that face because it would freeze that way? Well, she was right. Your make an expression over and over again, it will mark your face. If you don’t like a particular wrinkle that you have, put a piece of tape over the wrinkle and every time that you feel the tape pull, stop and ask yourself what emotion you are feeling at that moment. See if you can find insight into why you are feeling that particular emotion and ask yourself if it is something you need to feel or if it is an emotion you can release.

The Pivot from Yang to Yin

Although it is hard to fathom given the incredibly warm weather we have been having , we entered the Fall season on September 21. Fall marks the pivot from the yang activity of summer to the yin stillness of winter. It is the time to harvest the bounty that grew during the summer. It is also the time to organize and prepare for the winter months ahead.

One of the beautiful aspects of Chinese medicine is that the ancient Chinese physicians observed the natural cycles of the seasons and recorded the best practices for staying healthy and harmonizing our energy with the season.

As each of the seasons has a corresponding element, metal corresponds to Fall. The metal element governs the mind, organization, order, and stability. People tend to be more reflective, turning inward to work and families. In nature, the life force is also turning inward and flowing down into the roots. Animals are turning inward by burrowing into the earth or stocking up supplies for the winter. It is a time to organize and prepare for the season ahead and a time to reflect.

Just as each of the seasons has a corresponding element, each also has an associated emotion. That of fall is grief and sadness. Those who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD may negatively feel the effects of the shorter days. It is important during this time of year to keep the mind clear and release negative emotions which can impact health more strongly during this season.

The pathway or meridian system corresponding to fall is the Lung and Large Intestine. These two meridian systems are paired. The Lung is yin and is the only meridian system that directly interacts with the environment by taking in air from the outside into the lungs. Its partner, the Large Intestine is yang. Together they are in charge of respiration, digestion and elimination. Common symptoms associated with imbalances in these two systems are respiratory problems such as asthma, shortness of breath, frequent colds, sinus congestion, constipation and skin problems.

During the fall, the body is particularly susceptible to wind and dryness. Chinese medicine believes that one thousand diseases are carried on the wind. The back of the neck is the most vulnerable part of the body for the wind to attack; therefore, it is important to keep the back of the neck covered during windy days. Dryness can cause symptoms of coughing, dry nose, sore throat, dry skin, dry hair and scalp, dry mouth and cracked lips and hard and dry stools.

Adding more nourishing yin foods to your diet promote body fluid, soothe the lung and protect from dryness. Fall is the time to start eating more cooked foods and less raw foods such as salads. Substituting salads for soups and stews that contain tuber vegetables such as potatoes and yams help support the lung and large intestine. Other foods that help support the lung and large intestine are pears, winter squash, broccoli, cauliflower, figs, leeks, pomegranate, cabbage, brussel sprouts.

Fall is the time to begin revising our eating habits to eat more in keeping with the season. The taste associated with fall is spicy or pungent. Adding ginger and cinnamon to food also helps promote the lung and large intestine.

Taking deep breaths and filling your lungs with that crisp fall air also promotes lung qi. So many of us live in a state of “flight or fight” and breathe very shallowly. Studies have shown that breathing deeply lowers blood pressure, provides more oxygen to the brain for clearer thinking and to the body for more energy as well as calms the mind.

Chinese Pathways

My charming friend here to the left is an acupuncture model displaying all the points on the left side of his body. And of course, as I have mentioned before, everything in Chinese medicine is either yin or yang. Yang pertains to that part of the body facing the sun which means the back and sides of the body since China was an agrarian society and farmers’ backs and sides were what were exposed to the sun. Yin, of course, was the opposite; all the pathways not facing the sun.

Twelve of the pathways are named after the organs in the body and points on these pathways do affect the organs that they are named after. Of these twelve pathways, there are six yang pathways: three begin on the hands and ascend up the arms to the head and three begin on the head and descend to the feet. There are also six yin pathways: three begin on the body and descend down the arm and three begin on the feet and ascend up the body.

The three yang meridian pathways that begin on the head are the Stomach, Urinary Bladder and Gall Bladder. All three of these pathways descend and end at the feet. Their yin partners are the three pathways that begin on the feet and end on the body. The Kidney yin meridian pairs with Urinary Bladder: Liver pairs with Gall Bladder, and Spleen pairs with stomach.

The three yang meridians that begin on the hands and end at the head are the Large Intestine, Triple Heater (in charge of metabolism) and the Small Intestine. Their yin partners begin on the body and end on the hands. The yin Lung pathway pairs with Large Intestine; Heart pairs with Small Intestine; and, Pericardium pairs with Triple Heater.

The most powerful points are those from the elbows and knees down to the hands and feet. The majority of the points I use in my practice are on the lower arms and legs because of their effectiveness. For example, for a toothache, I may use a point on the stomach meridian close to the second toe because the stomach meridian actually runs down the side of the mouth and out the middle toe. The points closest to the second toe are so powerful; a toothache can be stopped very quickly, within seconds. That explains why many points used in acupuncture treatments may be completely opposite of where the problem lies and hopefully explains to you why they are selected. Its all in the power of the points!!

Longevity Secret of Orchestra Conductors

In a recent breathing workshop I took, our teacher, Linda MacDonald, presented the participants with an article about the longevity of orchestra conductors that I wanted to share because I found it very interesting.

Were you aware that orchestra conductors live longer than almost any other groups of people? Many famous conductors lived into their 80s and 90s when the average life expectancy was only 50. These conductors include Leopold Stokowski who lived to 95, Pablo Casals at 96, Nadia Boulanger at 90 and Arturo Toscanini at 89.

These conductors not only lived a long life, but they were vital and vibrant into their later years. Researchers at first thought that it was the exposure to music over long periods of time that enhanced their longevity, but this longevity did not prove true for other musicians.

The secret lies in the arm movement or “wing flapping” that conductors do in a very vigorous manner while performing. Research supports that upper body exercises provide better cardiovascular workout than lower body exercises such as walking, jogging or bicycling. So, rather than killing yourself running or jogging, you can get a good workout by spending ten minutes a day doing simple conducting movements.

Upper body movements expand the muscles of the chest and open the lungs. When the lungs are expanded, oxygen floods the body. In addition, the heart pumps more vigorously propelling blood to muscles and organs. When blood and oxygen can reach tight constricted areas blood pressure becomes lower and better circulation is provided for the brain which helps sharpen your thinking.

What a deal for such a simple activity!! The next time, you’re slumped over your desk and feeling fatigued, take a break by getting up, expanding your chest and flap away for a few minutes. I bet you’ll feel better.

A new Logo for the Acupuncture Center of Northern Virginia

I've been busily preparing an e-newsletter which will debut in August. A dear friend of mine suggested that I have a logo for the newsletter and I decided to use the bagua pictured here.

I'm sure you all recognize the yin and yang symbols in the middle which depict that balance and co-dependence of opposites. The yin is the dark comma and symbolizes the nurturing supportive part of line and the lighter yang side symbolizes action and movement.

The lines surrounding the yin yang or wuji symbol are known as the bagua. The broken lines represent yin and the unbroken lines represent yang. The bagua dates back to the "I Ching" or the Book of Changes. Each grouping of three lines represents an element, a season and an acupuncture meridian. The symbol of summer is fire and is represented by the two unbroken lines on either side of the broken line to the left of the wuji symbol and directly in the middle.

The bagua has had great significance during each of the major Chinese dynasties and certain aspects of the bagua have changed with each dynasty which adds to its complexity. Doubling each of the groupings of three so that six lines are drawn represents the twelve acupuncture meridians that run through the body. As each of those six lines represent specific points and have specific meaning in the balancing process for acupuncture, I hope you can appreciate why I chose this symbol to represent my acupuncture practice. I use it everyday to determine what points I'm going to use to help someone become balanced. Afterall, balance means wellness.

Attributes of Late Summer

Chinese culture recognizes late summer as a separate season that corresponds to late August and early September. Just as fire is the element of summer and the heart is the predominant organ; the earth is the element of late summer when the spleen and the stomach become predominant. Just as joy is the emotion associated with fire, compassion and worry are associated with the earth element. The taste associated with late summer is sweet and the associated color is yellow.

Late summer is the time of transition from the yang cycle of the seasons to the yin aspect; from the growth phases of spring and summer to the time of harvest and rest in the fall and winter. The earth element also represents this transitional center position between yin and yang. The spleen and stomach convert the nutrition of food, which is yin to energy needed to perform life’s activities, which are yang.

In Chinese medicine, the spleen is the most important organ for producing energy in the body. It has five main functions: transforming food into energy, transporting energy throughout the body, warms the body, holds the organs in place, and ensures that blood circulates in the body.

Individuals in harmony with the season are strong, have good endurance, good appetites and digestion, have fertile imagination and are generally hard working and practical. Those individuals that are out of balance with the season show general signs of a spleen-stomach imbalance. This imbalance is characterized by chronic fatigue, a feeling of “being stuck” that prevents them from being creative. These individuals typically have weak digestion which may be accompanied by nausea, poor appetite, abdominal bloating and loose stools.

Your Heart's Delight

Over the millennium, Chinese medicine evolved into assigning seasons to the various organ systems. Summer time belongs to the Heart and its partner organ, the Small Intestine. Summer is the most yang season of the year when the days are the longest and the sun is the hottest. Energy has moved outward and it calls for living creatures to be outside and interacting with nature. The Chinese associate summer with the emotion of joy and expressing the Heart’s desire.

Chinese medicine considers the Heart to be the “emperor of the body”. The Heart rules the mind and houses the spirit. Research done by the Heartmath Institute now acknowledges what the Chinese have known for thousands of years that there are more neural pathways from the Heart to the brain than from the brain to the Heart. The Chinese have long believed that the Heart governs our emotional health, memory, thinking and sleeping.

A strong Heart is synonymous with a hearty constitution and a strong, vigorous life style. As in Western medicine, Chinese medicine also recognizes that the Heart controls the blood coursing through its pathways to nourish the body. Therefore, the Heart’s influence over the mind and body makes it supreme to the other functions of the body’s organs.

The Heart is yin compared to its yang partner organ, the Small Intestine. The main function of the Small Intestine is to separate and transform food. It also determines our ability to make clear decisions and sound judgments and is sometimes called the “Abdominal Brain” in Chinese medicine. So, not only does the Small Intestine receive and break down food so that it provides nourishment to the body and sends that which is unusable to the Large Intestine, it also receives and assimilates nourishment from the emotions, mental activity and spirit.

Some of the signs and symptoms that may indicate an imbalance in the Heart and Small Intestine include on an emotional level, anxiety, lack of joy, lack of social warmth, mental confusion, poor self-esteem, inability to make decisions, restlessness, and sadness. On a physical level, symptoms may include anemia, heart problems, digestive problems, poor circulation, sweating, and urinary problems.

Fire is the element that rules the Heart and Small Intestine. Just as we protect ourselves in winter from the cold, it is equally important to be mindful of the excesses of heat. Coherence with nature points to being more active and being outside, but not to the degree to cause heat stroke. As my esteemed teacher, Dr. Tan says, “keep yin and yang in your heart”, meaning to balance activity with rest.

The optimal foods to eat during the summer months are light cooling foods such as melons, seasonal fruits and fresh leafy green vegetables. These foods are going to be lighter and brighter in color and higher in water content which helps to keep our bodies cool.

Bitter is the flavor that supports the Heart and Small Intestine. Leafy green vegetables that are classified as bitter in Chinese medicine include escarole, watercress, endive, lettuce, and collard greens. Fortunately, coffee and chocolate are also considered bitter. Remember though, everything in moderation. To keep your meals exciting, use spices such as fresh ginger, cayenne, and black pepper. These spices will initially raise the body temperature, drawing heat out of the body through perspiration.

May you find your Heart’s desire this summer and be nourished.

Unfairness and Heart Risk

It’s been ages again since I’ve written to my blog. Now that all the plants have been pruned, transferred, replanted or dug up, I now hope to have a little more time to attend to my blog.

A news blurb from the Heart Math Institute that sends out periodic e-newsletters recently caught my eye about a study conducted in England that found that people with a deep sense of injustice had a 55 percent higher chance of suffering from serious heart disease. Researchers believe that a sense of injustice engenders negative emotions which prompt biochemical changes in the body.

The study looked at 8,000 senior civil servants working for the U.K. government over an 11 year period. The participating civil servants were asked to rank from one to six their agreement with the statement, “I often have the feeling that I am being treated unfairly.”

The results showed that those reporting more unfair treatment had a greater risk of suffering a heart attack or angina.

It reminded me of another study I read about in the Washington Post which showed the benefits of altruism and health. Although completely opposite of the study mentioned above, this study showed that our brains may be hardwired to perform altruistic acts by helping each other. The study showed that the act of helping others in need did in fact, release endorphins and other “feel good” hormones in the brain.

Studies in contrast and something to ponder. . .

The Seven Levels of Healing

For the past 2500 years, Chinese medicine has recognized the importance that the mind and spirit has on the health of the body. Its premise defines health as a balance between the mind, body and spirit. At long last, Western medicine has begun to appreciate the value of looking at health from a more multi-dimensional framework and the huge impact emotions and beliefs have on the general health of individuals.

Jeremy Geffen, an oncologist in Boulder, Colorado who embraces a multi-dimensional approach to health has formulated seven levels of healing that his staff uses in caring for patients of his medical practice. I offer these steps here because of the simplicity and clarity that each of these steps provide as a means to finding optimal health and living a meaningful life especially when an individual’s health has become compromised.

The first three steps address the immediate needs of an individual facing a serious health issue. Educating the patient on their illness and all the possible modalities of care allow the patient to take an active role in healing. Connecting with others to provide support is the next step which modern medicine can now confirm the benefit of this support through a growing body of scientific evidence. Introducing complementary and alternative healing modalities is the third step to support the patient and their immune system.

The next two steps deal with “the mind”. The first is emotional healing by exploring feelings and emotions and learning to release negative emotions and replacing them with love, forgiveness and acceptance. The second step explores an individual’s belief system and how that influences personal meaning assigned to life experiences.

The last two steps delve into the spiritual element of life. The first looks at life assessment by exploring the aspirations, goals and purposes of patients’ lives. The second explores the nature of spirit that embraces the nonphysical aspect of life that exists outside of time and space and connects with the source of love, joy and peace.

I was profoundly touched to read Dr. Geffen’s guest editorial in “Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine” in which he expounded his seven steps to healing because the importance of mind and spirit played such a major role in healing, a belief the Chinese have held over the millennia.

The War Against Cancer

The editor’s page in the January/February edition of “Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine” pointed out that western medicine has lost the war against cancer. This is based on data that shows that deaths from cancer are stable or increasing despite all the treatment therapies used to combat cancer. In 2005, cancer was the cause of death of 570,000 people in this country. This is the equivalent to one in three people having cancer in their lifetime.

It takes an average of thirty years for cancer cells to develop into the clinical manifestation of a solid tumor. This means that roughly 17 million Americans are walking around with cancer that is somewhere on the continuum from the nascent development of cancer cells to the clinical manifestation of a full blown cancer.

The article went on to point out that western medicine’s failure is because it enters the fight at the manifestation of cancer rather than earlier where the likelihood of preventing or reversing latent cancers would be far easier.

The editor recalled that when he rotated through oncology in medical school, he asked his professor what percentage of cancers was related to diet. He was shocked when his professor answered “70 percent”.

Having read this article, I was reminded of a lecture I heard while in school about a famous ancient Chinese medical doctor who theorized that most diseases originated in the digestive tract. At the time I questioned the validity of this famous doctor’s theory. Now, I suspect this ancient doctor’s theory was right

The simplicity and magic of Chinese medicine lies in its Taoist root that “maintaining order rather than correcting disorder is the ultimate principle of wisdom. To cure disease after it has appeared is like digging a well when one already feels thirsty or forging weapons after the war has already begun.”

Emotions and the Environment

It’s been several weeks since I’ve written to my blog. A busy schedule at work, preparing for taxes and preparing for spring when the weather was still spring-like devoured my time.

Today, I wanted to report on a conference I recently attended in Virginia Beach where Gregg Braden spoke over Easter weekend. Gregg Braden is a former scientist in the space industry that has devoted the past fifteen to twenty years to linking spirituality to science. He has written several books, The Divine Matrix, being the latest. He has also done several fascinating audio programs which discuss his travels all over the world exploring the belief systems of many varied cultures. I have become a real devotee of his work and find all of it very thought provoking and worthy of presenting one kernel of his message here.

I am also very much attracted to the message found in the movie and book by the same name, The Secret. This book points out the power of our thoughts and emotions on the events that occur in our life. Negative emotions and feelings evoke negative circumstances and positive emotions and feelings evoke positive circumstances.

Gregg takes the message of the Law of Attraction as proposed in The Secret to the cosmic level. Our feelings and emotions have a very real effect on the environment. Scientific data has proven that when DNA is introduced to a group of photons in an experiment, the photons align themselves along beside the DNA. Prior to the introduction, the photons were randomly moving. When the DNA is removed, the photons still hold the same patterns as if the DNA were still present. In essence, our mere presence affects everything that surrounds us as the world is made up of photons and neutrons.

Another experiment showed how emotions affect our DNA. Anger, frustration, and other negative emotions cause DNA to contract into a ball that can easily lead to mutation. On the other hand, positive emotions such as joy, gratitude and appreciation cause DNA to relax to the point of replication.

I am certainly not a scientist and admittedly, I did not take any notes during Mr. Braden’s conference. What I did walk away with from the conference, was that our emotions also play a role in the climate change we experience and we have a responsibility to “clean up our act” in how we treat each other and our world.

Feng Shui and Clutter

The literal translation of feng shui means wind (feng) water (shui). The practice of feng shui dates back thousands of years and can attribute its foundation to the “I Ching”, the ancient Chinese book of philosophy that describes how man can live in harmony with his environment. Figuratively, feng shui means the art of living in harmony with the surrounding environment. Although feng shui is not part of traditional Chinese medicine, it does originate from the same philosophy that how we live in our environment directly impacts our well-being. The fundamental purpose of Chinese medicine is to bring the body into harmony, which in turn strengthens the immune system, soothes the spirit, and wards off disease. The same can be said of feng shui. To bring harmony into the home promotes health by creating a space to nurture the soul as well as the body.

Bringing harmony into the home also creates a sense of peace, a respite from the busyness of the world, and a place to nurture our family and ourselves. Feng shui recognizes that our homes are extensions of ourselves. They mirror who we are, where we have been and where we are going. Quantum physics confirms that everything is vibrating energy. All physical matter has its own vibrational pattern, no matter how solid it appears. This also includes the empty space that surrounds us as well as our own being. The study of feng shui concerns itself with this energy and how it flows through our home. The underlying belief is that promoting the optimal flow of energy through the home will bring beneficial changes in wealth, health, happiness, opportunities, and relationships.

Clutter in the home negatively affects this optimal flow of energy. Clutter means an accumulation of too much stuff without proper organization. Just as stagnant energy in the body can cause pain, disharmony and disease, clutter can cause stagnant energy in the home. Clutter signifies confusion, lack of focus, instability, or chaos. A cluttered home may indicate that the occupant has too much going on and lacks direction and a sense of priorities. Clutter can represent confusion about what a person stands for and what their goals are in life.

Not only does clutter represent confusion, it also can represent old baggage. Clutter in the form of old, worn-out, seldom used items points to an individual who is holding on to old ideas or attitudes that clutter their psyche. Their old baggage they hold onto in their home may be holding them back from making a fresh start or taking a more opportune path in life.

Obstacles are another form of clutter that causes energy to get stuck in a home. Creating obstacles with piles of stuff impedes movement on a physical level and hampers progress in attaining goals on a more spiritual level.

From a feng shui perspective, clearing out the clutter in the home can actually clear up difficulties in one’s life by promoting the smooth flow of energy. Free space allows the energy to flow in the home which in turn attracts new opportunities to appear and enhances creativity.

New Studies Just Released About Acupuncture

So many of my patients ask me how acupuncture works. I often find it difficult to answer this question from a research-based, western diagnostic viewpoint as fitting traditional Chinese medicine into the paradigm of western medicine and its scientifically-based research is the same of fitting the proverbial square peg into a round hole. It just doesn’t work.

However, there are a few studies that have been conducted, most of them in Europe, which does document the efficacy and acupuncture. One Swedish study showed that acupuncture helped relieve pelvic pain for pregnant women, a common problem for women world wide.

A German study consisting of more than 3,600 adults who had hip and knee arthritis pain showed that acupuncture was able to provide pain relief during treatment and at three and six months intervals after treatment. Based on the results of the study, Germany is now considering adding acupuncture to its standard coverage in its health system.

A study conducted in this country by the National Center for Contemporary and Alternative Medicine confirmed the use of acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment for the treatment of arthritis.

Another study performed in this country showed acupuncture to be effective in treating overactive bladders. The study was published in Obstretics and Gynecology. The study concluded that four weekly treatments showed significant improvement in bladder control, frequency of urination and urgency.

Cultivating Qi

Many of you know about yoga as a form of exercise originating in India that includes stretches, breathing exercises and meditation. The Chinese parallel to yoga is qi gong, which can be translated as the cultivation of qi. Qi is the equivalent of prana, the yogic term for life breath. You can think of qi and prana as that which separates the living from the dead. The whole basis of Chinese medicine is to bring the body into harmony by moving qi and blood through the body. When there are blockages of either qi or blood, disharmony results that ultimately causes disease.


Just as there are various forms of yoga, there are different forms of qi gong as well. Qi gong can consist primarily of sitting or standing meditation or limited and slowly executed physical motion. No matter what form is practiced, focusing on deep breathing is a fundamental part of qi gong.

Researchers, mainly in China and Europe, have been able to document the flow of qi through the meridians or pathways used in acupuncture, but they have not been able to directly link the benefits of practicing qi gong until recently when several studies show promising results from the practice of qi gong.

One study conducted in Shanghai over 20 years included over 400 people who had high blood pressure. All of the participants took medication for their blood pressure. Half of the research subjects practiced qi gong twice daily for thirty minutes. Over the course of the study, thirty percent of the qi gong group was able to reduce their medication as compared to an increase of blood pressure and medication for the control group who did not practice qi gong.

Another study indicated that the practice of qi gong promoted bone density. A bone density study of men between the ages of 50 and 69 showed significant improvement in those who practiced qi gong daily as compared to those who did not.

A study of the effects of chemotherapy also indicated that the practice of qi gong lessened the effects of chemotherapy. Those subjects practicing qi gong improved their strength, appetite, bowel function and weight as compared to the control group.

Acknowledging the Spring Within

Although it's hard to believe, given the fact that the Washington area is currently inundated with snow, spring will officially arrive in a few weeks with the spring equinox on March 21st. I thought you may want to know what spring means from a traditional Chinese medical perspective so that you may be aware of the subtle changes your body may experience in the weeks ahead.

In order to appreciate the correspondence of internal changes that our body may be undergoing, let’s first look at what’s going on in nature. From a yin and yang perspective, the world is transitioning from winter, the most yin season, into spring, the beginning of the yang cycle of the year. Tree sap that has stayed dormant in its roots during winter will soon begin to flow upwards and burst forth with new growth. As I go on my daily strolls with my dogs through the neighborhood I can already see daffodils and crocuses beginning to emerge. As the warmer weather approaches, nature will soon provide us with the vibrant colors of spring flowers. The qi of the earth or life force has started its ascent upward and outward reversing its flow of inward and downward during the autumn and winter months.

Internally, the qi of our bodies has also started its ascent upwards and outwards. How many of you are now more inclined to go out and take a walk with the warmer weather as compared to winter when you were glad to stay inside? Remember the giddiness of spring fever when you were a kid when it was just great to be alive? That’s how we’re supposed to feel with the upward ascent of qi. What can you do to encourage this feeling of joy and appreciate the spring within?

Perhaps one way is to examine the philosophy of Hippocrates who believed that food is your best medicine. As a health practitioner of oriental medicine, I strongly encourage patients to eat according to the seasons in order to maintain optimal health. Just as winter is the time to encourage the inward and downward flow of qi by eating stews and soups made up primarily of tubers and root vegetables, eating lightly during spring will encourage qi to flow upward and outward. Now is the time to consider shedding those extra pounds by consuming only fresh whole foods and staying away from all processed foods.

One of the best ways to encourage the upward raising of qi is to pursue a liver detoxifcation program for the next few weeks. It's an excellent way to cleanse the body of all the accumulated toxins. The easiest way to follow a liver detoxification is to purchase one from your local health food store and follow the suggested regimen for the next several weeks. It usually requires restricting the intake of alcohol, limiting fats and sugars and concentrating on whole foods. In addition, herbs in capsule form are taken both morning and evening to help flush the toxins out.

Winter R and R

Just last week I was enjoying the warmth and hospitality of the Sandals Resort in Antigua. Getting away for a week of down time in the winter is good for the soul, renews the spirit, refreshes the mind and relaxes the body.

Although as I sit here and write this, the winds are beginning to howl outside as the temperature drop, I can still envision the warmth and the complete state of relaxation I was feeling last week. I'm going to try and hold on to that feeling as long as I can.

It certainly makes me aware of how important it is for all of us to get away from the normal stresses of life and seek out those wonderful vacation spots where one can completely relax and enjoy being alive. I try to offer to my patients tools that they can use to help improve their health and state of being. I have been remiss in suggesting vacations, but after last week, I will probably suggest to everyone who walks into my clinic that a winter vacation is in order.

Feeling Fulfilled

I subscribe to a newsletter from the Heart Math group (heartmath.com). They’re a wonderful organization that researches how emotions play such a powerful role on our health and well-being.

One of their recent newsletters provided some food for thought on discovering core values. Core values give meaning to life and make us who we are. Living by the principles of our core value rejuvenates our spirit, gives us a sense of purpose and creates a sense of well-being. When our values are aligned with what we do, we feel fulfilled.

When we are aligned, we are acting from our heart. The more we act from the heart, the better able we are to feel compassion, love, joy, appreciation, and the better life seems to work for us.

So take a few minutes to ask yourself the following questions:

What matters most to you?
What’s important to you in your work life?
What’s important to you outside of work?
What values do the people you admire exemplify?
What motivates you to work hard?
Which values are you consistently living?
Which ones would you like to live more?

Feeling fulfilled nourishes us on all levels – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Discovering “core values” and living those values is a pathway to better health.

Coffee Lovers Rejoice

Those of you who enjoy a good cup of coffee can do so now without guilt. The September '06 Alternative Medicine Magazine had a small blurb about research studies that have shown that coffee has positive impacts on ailments such as asthma, type-2 diabetes, lack of stamina and focus and even Parkinson's disease. A University of Scranton study showed coffee beating out cranberries and tea in antioxidant levels.

Another study shows that coffee helps reduce the risk of cirrhosis of the liver; as much as 22 percent for a single cup of coffee a day. Apparently the benefits are dose related, meaning the more coffee you drink the more benefit you derive.

A word of caution however; caffeine does increase heart rates and blood pressure. Also, drinking coffee late in the afternoon can make falling asleep difficult.

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Enjoy Your Food to Nourish your Body

It is difficult to turn on the television, pick up a magazine, or read a newspaper without finding some reference to the necessity of eating properly to maintain a healthy weight. Within the past two years, the newest food pyramid was published emphasizing the intake of whole grains and cereals. Obesity in America has become a major health issue in newspaper headlines. Television commercials for weight loss programs bombard the airwaves day and night. All of the health magazines that I have in my office emphasize eating balanced meals consisting of plenty of vegetables and fruit. I have even dedicated many of my “From An Eastern Perspective” columns in the Old Town Crier to the need to eat properly and according to the season.

However, something that I have failed to emphasize and that has also been ignored by all the news articles, television commercials and magazine ads is the absolute need to enjoy eating in order to receive optimum nutrient absorption. Research has shown that nutrient absorption is 60 to 70 percent greater when the food is eaten in a relaxed state versus in a harried or agitated state. Just as drug research not only studies how the test drug affects the body, it also studies how the body affects the drug. If the body breaks down the drug in the stomach and excretes it through the colon without any absorption, then the drug is useless. The same concept holds true for food. No matter how wonderfully organic a food may be, if the consumer of that food is emotionally upset or eating hurriedly, the nutrient absorption declines dramatically as compared to eating the same food in a relaxed and calm state of mind.

One train of thought of why so many Americans have a weight problem is that we have lost the ability to savor food and enjoy it. We eat quickly, wolfing down a large quantity of food to fill a void so that we can go on to the next task. If we ate slowly, after about twenty minutes our digestive feedback system would kick in and we would feel full; perhaps consuming half the calories we would have if we had inhaled a larger meal. The nutrient absorption of the meal eaten more slowly would also be higher.

What happens when we eat food under stress? The safety mechanism of the central nervous system comes into play switching on the sympathetic response to stress. This feedback system has evolved over thousands of years to protect us from life-threatening events. When the body activates the stress response, blood pressure increases, hormones such as cortisol are released into the blood stream to provide energy, the blood flow is rerouted away from the midsection to the brain for quick thinking and to the legs and arms to provide power for quick action. The digestive system shuts down. When the body is geared to protecting you from a saber-toothed tiger, digesting this morning’s breakfast is of little concern.

So, let’s update this scenario. You grab a muffin on your way out the door to work and eat it as you dodge traffic because you’re already late. Lunch is inhaled at your desk while you’re answering your phone and trying to complete a deadline. You return home and eat dinner in front of the television while thinking about the miserable day you had at work. The body has been on high alert all day and has initiated the stress response thus shutting down the digestive system. Is it any wonder that you have abdominal pains and feel that food is just sitting there in your stomach? Well, that is exactly what is happening. Food is just sitting in your stomach awaiting the parasympathetic response to turn digestion on which may take several hours.

Let’s examine this further as to what is really going on from a physiological standpoint. When digestion is turned off in response to stress, salivation in the mouth is decreased which is the first step in digestion; enzymes that breakdown protein, fat and carbohydrates in the stomach are decreased, and blood flow to the small intestine is decreased. The limitation of blood flow to the small intestine can decrease the nutrient assimilation by as much as four-fold. This means that all of the nutrients that would have been absorbed if food were eaten in a relaxed state are excreted. Other byproducts of the stress response that can remain in the body are increased blood cholesterol, elevated cortisol and insulin, gastrointestinal reflux, decreased levels of essential hormones such as growth hormone, sex hormones, and thyroid hormones, and reduced presence of healthy gut flora just to name a few.

Digestion really begins in the mind. It begins when we experience the pleasure and satisfaction we feel to the aroma, taste, and visual stimulation of a meal. Nutritional experts estimate that as much as thirty to forty percent of the total digestive response is due to our awareness of what we’re eating. Think about your all time favorite meal for a moment and focus on what it smells like, the texture of the food on your tongue, the pleasure you feel as you are chewing. Is your mouth watering in response to this thought? Smelling food, tasting, chewing and being aware of what we eat initiates the parasympathetic response. Anticipation and awareness of our meal initiates increased salivation in our mouth, gastric acid and enzymes in our stomach and the full production of pancreatic enzymes. Blood rushes to the digestive organs so that the stomach rhythmically contracts, and electrolyte concentrations shift in preparation for the anticipated incoming food.

What happens when we are not consciously aware of what we are eating? If we eat a meal on the go or are preoccupied with doing another task at the same time, our brain has not experienced the taste, pleasure, aroma, and satisfaction from food and registers this missed experience as hunger. The brain doesn’t remember stuffing down the breakfast muffin, or inhaling the lunch salad between phone calls and answering emails or absent-mindedly eating dinner in front of the television. The brain simply remembers not being satisfied which registers as hunger so we reach for more food.

In closing, enjoying our food plays just as big a role in nourishing our bodies as eating all the correct foods. Take time to enjoy your breakfast, get out from behind your desk and enjoy your lunch, prepare a decent supper and focus on what you’re eating. Use this time to decompress and relax so that the food you eat can also nourish you.

Guidelines to Good Health and Those Who Follow

In the back of the Journal of Chinese Medicine, there is a section called "News, News, News" which is just chock a block full of little tidbits of health studies conducted all over the world. I'm always perusing the literature I receive to report in this blog and also to serve as reference material for my monthly submissions to the Old Town Crier newspaper.

This following study appeared in the October '06 edition of the Journal. Over 153,000 Americans were contacted by telephone to survey how many of them followed the four guidelines for good health: not smoking, maintaining a normal weight, eating five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, and exercising for thirty minutes five times a week. Responses showed that 76 percent of those contacted did not smoke, 40 percent maintained a good weight, 23 percent ate five servings of fruits and vegetables, and 22 percent exercised.

How many followed all four guidelines? Only three percent - a shocking number considering that following all four guidelines has greater benefit for health than anything that medicine can offer and that following these guidelines could eliminate most chronic diseases as stated by the authors of the study which was sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mini-Meditation for Health and Beauty

I must report that I don't live the most exciting of lives. Last night I was catching up on my reading while my dearly beloved was watching football. I was looking through my AARP magazine and ran across a blurb on taking a breather for stress reduction and it reminded me of a simlar blurb in the June 2006 edition of Alternative Medicine.

I'm always looking for nuggets to report on in this blog as I feel very impassioned about self care tools that will sustain health and provide a higher quality of life. These two articles fill the bill and are worthy of being repeated here.

This mini-meditation exercise involves taking three to five minutes to breathe deeply. Sit in a comfortable chair, feet flat on the chair. Inhale slowly taking five to seven seconds to inhale through your nose. Each inhalation should be a "belly" breath; meaning that if you had your hand on your belly, each inhalation would extend your belly and push your hand up. As you exhale slowly, your hand would sink back into your belly as your belly recedes. You can either exhale through your nose or through your mouth. The important thing is to do it slowly.

Unfortunately, most of us have forgotten that we used to breathe through our bellies just as babies do quite naturally. Most of us breathe shallowly in our upper chests.

Taking a breather twice a day reduces muscle and emotional tension and temporarily lowers blood pressure and heart rate. It also delivers additional oxygen to cells. Dr. David Katz,MD, cited by AARP, also reports that there is some evidence that brief, regular deep breathing can reduce food cravings, and may improve sleep quality and enhance energy levels.

Dr. Judity Orloff, MD, cited in Alternative Medicine, approaches the mini-meditation from the perspective that peace emanating from within promotes stress reduction, energizes, and restores composure when aggravated.

In addition to the deep and slow breathing, she also adds placing your palm over your heart and visualizing a positive experience that you have had and then focusing on a feeling of love and peace that can be felt flowing throughout the body.

Adding her technique of focus will accentuate the benefits of the mini-meditation as well as put you in a better frame of mind for the rest of the day.

Have You Flossed Today?

Several years ago I remember reading in a health magazine that flossing everyday helped reduce heart disease. At that time, it was suspected that decayed food particles left in the mouth leached out of the mouth cavity and could become lodged near heart valves where it eroded the valves and thus contributed to heart disease. When I mentioned it to my dentist, she confirmed that research was ongoing about the corollation between dental and overall health.

A February 2006 conference sponsored by the American Dental Association and the American Medical Association concluded that gum and mouth disease is associated with more widespread ailments in the body. An alarming percentage of Americans, over 80 percent suffer with some form of periodontal disease. Researchers presenting papers at the conference believe that oral disease can trigger other disorders because oral bacteria enters the bloodstream and either causes inflammation of other tissues or triggers an inflammatory immune response.

The research concluded that there was an association with premature delivery and moderate to serious dental disease, almost doubling the risk. Also, untreated periodontal disease may exacerbate diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

After reading this, I remembered reading the earlier article and I have made more of an effort to keep my teeth and mouth clean, especially at night. It's much easier to floss now than think about recovering from a valve replacement later.

An Attitude of Gratitude

To write an article for publication in the Old Town Crier requires that it be submitted about two weeks prior to publication. As I sit here and write my column for the January paper, Christmas is still several days away and the winter solstice will begin tomorrow evening. I’m trying to envision what sort of mood will prevail for many of us right on the heels of the holidays.

Many of us may be glad they are over. All the frenetic activity will have ceased and life can return to normal. Some of us may feel more let down with the passing of the holidays and all the excitement that they generate. Others of us may feel renewed with the chance to begin afresh in the new year.

Whatever the mood you may be feeling, embracing an attitude of gratitude will help you put life in perspective for the New Year. Hopefully, during the lull between the holidays, you had time to reflect and take stock of what’s really important in your life and to acknowledge that importance.

Many of us take our lives for granted and let the petty annoyances drive our moods rather than being grateful for all the many moments of beauty that present themselves everyday. From a Chinese perspective, allowing these petty annoyances to drive our emotions constricts the movement of qi in our bodies which can lead to imbalance. On the other hand, by embracing an attitude of gratitude where we can appreciate what life has to offer expands our qi and helps to maintain balance.

Here are a few suggestions that you may want to keep in mind to keep the qi flowing throughout the rest of the year.

Create a thank you list. We’re all accustomed to making lists in order to keep ourselves organized. Grocery lists, to do lists, Christmas card lists are necessities. Your most recent lists may have been your Christmas gift list. Why not add a new list to include a thank you list of everything you are grateful for by jotting down those things that bring you a sense of satisfaction and peace. When you’re feeling down you can pull out this list for an immediate spirit booster. The joy in life comes in segments of seconds, not hours, such as the beauty of a sunrise or the warmth of a child’s smile. In time, this list will be far longer than any of the more mundane lists to which we attach such importance.

Say thank you often. Unfortunately, most of us do not acknowledge all the efforts people make for us. A simple thank you goes a long way in human relations so say it in public, say in private, send a thank you email, write a thank you note, make a telephone call for the sole purpose of thanking someone.

Accept, acknowledge, and appreciate. Substitute these three “A’s”: accept acknowledge and appreciate for the three “C’s”: complaining, condemning, and criticizing. The three “A’s” will expand your shen, or spirit and will help to develop positive relationships with coworkers, friends and family members. The three “C’s” constrict shen which can lead to emotional imbalances if too frequently used.

Putting it all in perspective. I’d like to leave you with a quote from George Washington Carver –

“How far you go in your life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.”

Additions for the Medicine Cabinet

The holidays got the best of me and it's been weeks since I've published anything to this blogspot. As we have had a mild winter so far in the Washington area, I am concerned that there will be some lingering viruses that are usually killed off over a typically colder winter season.

The magazine, Alternative Medicine, noted in their June 2006 three additions that one can add to the medicine cabinet to help combat avian flu. I mention them here in this blog as they would be good additions to consider taking at the first signs that you may be coming down with the flu. These symptoms include achiness, headaches, fatigue, and general malaise.

Selenium

Research done at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill shows that deficient selenium in the body compromises the immune system and allows a flu virus to mutate into a more aggressive strain of virus. Dr. Marcus Laux, a naturopathic physician recommends taking 200 mcg of selenium daily and increasing the dose to 400 mcg during an active infection.

N-Acetylceysteine

A study performed in Genoa, Italy on 262 people showed that one in four individuals taking NAC developed flu symptoms and those were generally mild as compared to the four out of five people taking placebos who had far more debilitating flu symptoms. The study used 600 mg of NAC twice daily during the flu season and the dosage can be increased to 3,000 to 4,000 mg daily during an active infection.

L-Lysine

Research conduced in China has shown that L-Lysine enhanced the immune system in combatting the hepatitis B virus and has great potential in preventing infections. Lysine prevents replication which prevents the virus from spreading in the body. A dosage of 500 to 2000 mg is recommended daily.

Olive Leaf Extract

Additionally, olive leaf extract, acts to boost the immune system and is a supplement that I take during the fall and winter months.