Sunday, March 25, 2007
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.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, March 02, 2007
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.
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.
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