 by Joann Flora, Acupressure, Nutrition Counseling, Qigong December 15, 2002
by Dan Hart, Ketchikan, AK Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) maintains that we have everything we need for optimum health. TCM defines the vital life force energy, or qi, as being that "thing" we all have. If our qi is in balance, we have health; if qi is out of balance, we have dis-ease and ultimately disease as we understand it in the west. Imbalance may also produce accidents, as we are more prone to them when our energetic equilibrium is off. But most of us have no medical training, so how can we possibly take charge of our health? How can we know how to stay 'in balance'? Our qi is kept in balance by food we eat (gu qi), the air we breathe (da qi), our reserve energy (jing qi), and how we live our daily life. Do we harbor anger and resentment? Have we stuffed unprocessed grief into our bodies? Are we living with fear? What, in other words, are we actually doing to assure or sabotage our health and well being? First and foremost, we must
not sabotage ourselves. Holding onto negative emotions, practicing
habits that we know are unhealthy, consuming foods we know will
aggravate a health concern, and sedentary living are all behaviors
that will come back to get us. Excesses of all kinds are exactly
what they appear to be: too much. Whether it be food, alcohol,
sleep, supplements, exercise, or medications (even prescribed),
too much is too much. If a low calorie diet is a good idea, does
that mean we reduce it to 500 calories a day to make it better?
Of course not. If we know we need more exercise, should we launch
into a highly aerobic program seven days a week? Certainly not.
Too much of a good thing can be as unhealthy as too much of a
bad thing. A varied, nutritious diet of whole foods, a broad
spectrum liquid multivitamin and mineral, plenty of clean water,
reasonable exercise and adequate rest go along way to maintaining
balance. The point to all this is that
those who are most successful in managing their disease, rather
than having the disease managing them, are those who are most
proactive in their own care. Case in point: I was asked by a
woman in her early 20's if I could help her for pain in her ribs.
Test showed that nothing was broken or dislocated; pain medication
was offered with the advice that she would have to get used to
the pain. I suggested a course of acupressure, glucosamine and
chondroitin sulfate for the health of the connective tissue in
her ribs, and rest from skate boarding. She began to feel better
very quickly and is back to skate board riding. Her recovery
was complete in less than six months following three treatments,
rest, and supplementation. Case in point: In 1997 a woman in
her 50's called from her job. She was in so much pain from a
herniated disc and referred sciatic pain descending her left
leg that she couldn't function at her job; could I see her right
away? She was afraid of back surgery. She received an acupressure
session that lasted the better part of two hours. We worked slowly
and systematically from the neck down to open the energy of the
complete spine and relax all of the back musculature. At the
end of the session I gave her some manual traction on her low
back and we both heard an audible pop. I asked her what happened.
She shifted on the table for a moment, testing her condition,
and announced that her disc was back in place and she had no
more pain. I recommended a follow up visit to her physician and
didn't see her again till 2001. Case in point: A client with
Adult Onset Diabetes was struggling with his weight vs increasing
insulin requirements. He reported that he often felt like a toxic
dump with all the meds he was taking. Pacific Northwest Natives
have long used a tincture made from the devils club rhizome in
treating diabetes. I suggested he might want to try supplementing
with this tincture at mealtime. His requirement for insulin began
to decline to the point that he was able to manage his blood
sugar through diet and the herb, no longer requiring insulin
injections.
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