The art of living and thriving

“Maintaining order rather than correcting disorder is the ultimate principle of wisdom. To cure a disease after it has appeared is like digging a well when one feels thirsty, or forging weapons after the war has already begun.’”

— Nei Jing, 2nd Century BC (Ancient Chinese Medical Text)

In modern medicine, there is no illness unless there is something measurable and seen. If a slew of tests come up negative for any known disease, there is little, if anything,  modern medicine can offer. We are considered healthy and sound even if we report discomfort and pain. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, most illnesses are considered in advanced stages by the time they are registered in our modern medical tests. Any feelings of discomfort or pain, physically, emotionally or psychologically are important information that indicates imbalance. These imbalances can often be detected in the pulse, on the tongue, through history, palpation and careful observation. The more sensitive and responsive a patient is to imbalance, the earlier the correction can be made, the better the outcome.

 I often have patients that are sheepish in their concerns. They say they experience headaches, or stomach woes or fatigue or difficulty sleeping and then they quickly add, but it’s not really a big deal. Just wondering if it’s something that Chinese Medicine can help. Often times, I sense that they feel some embarrassment to bring up such “non-issues.” They are surprised when I applaud them for their sensitivity and encourage them to tell me more about these minor ailments that they have. I tell them that if we don’t pay attention to the non-issues then they may develop into real issues--recognizable pathology-- and then it’s much more difficult to treat.

In modern life, we are encouraged to override minor discomfort in the name of productivity and busy-ness. We even consider many imbalances normal, such as,  menstrual cramps, fatigue, upset stomach, minor aches and pains, forgetfulness and anxiety--only to name a few. We accept these conditions as a part of modern living. Patients often refuse treatment unless what ails keeps them home from work or interrupts their daily life. It is only then, that something is considered wrong because productivity has been interrupted.

Part of my work is to re-connect and re-sensitize patients to their bodies. And a large part of that is helping patients prioritize feelings and sensations and to recognize them as important information for healing. It is no easy task, when one has overridden these feelings for a long time to begin to hear what the body is saying. To start, it may be important to follow some simple rules and rhythms that support re-connection such as, sleeping and waking at prescribed times, eating nourishing foods, moving our bodies daily and taking a bit of time off every day for relaxation. Over time, your body will feel respected and cared for rather than slave driven towards tasks and duties. And you can begin to develop a relationship of mutual respect, each listening and responsive to the other. Then when something feels off, you can recognize it and attend to it.

This harmonizing and balancing in daily life is the heart of what Traditional Chinese Medicine is about. It is about wellness, not illness.  It is the art of living and thriving.

In Health & Community,

Thuy

Healing yourself is the most radical thing you can do.

During challenging times in the world our collective attention is often turned outwards. With the upcoming elections and with so much political and social unrest, I’ve recently felt called to emphasize the importance of turning inward where our ability to heal and to connect is strongest.

Our message at BCA is Heal Yourself Heal Your Community. This message rings so true to me, especially during these challenging times. I’d like to remind you all that in order to heal our external world, we must also heal our internal worlds and vice versa. It can’t be otherwise.

 An inherent aspect of Chinese Medicine is taking care of illness at its roots. It is not merely a symptomatic treatment. Recently while thinking about radical activism, I looked up the etymology of the word radical. It comes from the word rad, as in radish, meaning from the roots. In that sense, Chinese Medicine is a radical medicine. Searching for the roots of a problem and understanding internal and external relationships, a practitioner of Chinese Medicine will often trace a problem’s origins to connections well beyond the body. For example, a headache may be linked to liver constraint which may be linked to stress which may be linked to overwork which may be linked to ambition which may be linked to parental influence which may be linked to cultural values. We can even trace these cultural values back further to religious, economic and political influences depending on how far reaching we want to examine the influences of outer world to our internal state of being--our health.

 I know it can be overwhelming work when we increase our awareness of external impacts on our health and healing, but it can also be empowering. Awareness is the beginning of true healing, allowing us to see things we did not see before and empowering us to make different choices. It’s easy to lose sight of the things and people that sustain our well-being when we feel the demands of day to day living. Often times, to get by, we take away quality time with our loved ones, lose sleep, skip play, forget to move our bodies, eat too quickly and stay plugged into our devices 24/7. We then feel depleted and in response, we drink coffee to stay awake, drink alcohol to relax and take sleeping pills to get to sleep. If we turn our attention outwards to the news and external events in this state, we will feel that we have to DO more and run faster.

 For a moment, let’s pause and care for ourselves in simple ways. Let’s connect with friends, get to bed early, take a walk in nature, play with the kids. It will help us regain our health and it is also a conscious choice to interrupt a system where the demands are too high for our health and well-being. When enough people interrupt the system, then the system will change to reflect our values. So when we say Heal Yourself Heal Your Community, it’s not just a nice sounding slogan. It’s a plea for healing on all levels and a reminder of the power you hold with your own awareness and choices. Radical action is addressing and changing a problem at its roots. Perhaps the most radical thing you can do for yourself and for the world in the midst of these trying times is to choose to heal yourself.

 In Health & Community,

Thuy