Articles
The Yang Energy of Springtime - How Disease Happens and How to Heal
©Rebekah McPhee Demirel 2011Chinese medicine recognizes not just four but five seasons, which correspond with the five elements and acupuncture channels (or meridians) in the body. The five elements and yin/yang theory form the basis of Chinese medicine, as developed more than five thousand years ago.
Each meridian has a season, element, colour, time of day, and even emotion corresponding with it, and these can heighten either healing or the chances of developing problems with certain areas of the body. For instance, looking at the most yin and the most yang times of the year, the season of spring is the most yang, whereas, winter is the most yin time of the year. Yin is represented by the water element, coldness, contraction, darkness, silence, the colour black, the feminine, the kidneys and the emotion of fear. Yang, on the other hand, is represented by the wood element, warmth, growth, light, sound, the colour green, male energy, the liver and the emotion of anger. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to see that spring time is when things grow and expand, as we anticipate the warmth and openness of spring and summer.
The liver is a very hard working organ, metabolizing every substance we take into our bodies, producing enzymes and filtering blood to rid the body of toxins. Chinese medicine sees the liver as doing all these jobs and also controlling the smooth flow of qi or energy. Qi is dynamic and ever fluctuating with factors such as the time of year, intake of food, amount of sleep and especially, our emotional state of mind. Nothing can cause the common Chinese medicine syndrome of liver qi stagnation more than anger and frustration, especially if it is not discharged in a healthy way but instead remains blocked by negative thinking. Of course it’s very common to feel frustration and even anger in our daily lives. We have our jobs, family issues, politics and even the daily commute to the office to make us feel on edge. The problem arises when the frustrations have no outlet to be discharged and can turn into chronic stress. Negative thinking leads to negative emotions, which impacts the nervous system and hormonal/endocrine system and consequently, the immune system. The effects of chronic stress on health are very well documented and form the basis for the field of medicine called psychoneuroendocrineimmunnology (see especially the best selling book When the Body Says No, by physician and author Gabor Matè. Simply put, the stress response of fight or flight, impacts the brain, nervous system and therefore the immune system, contributing to a long list of autoimmune diseases like lupus, Crohns, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis and type 2 diabetes, to name a few. Modern medicine struggles to treat these diseases with medications, to keep them at bay, largely unsuccessfully, while the root cause of the disease goes most often ignored. Fortunately, cutting-edge medical research shows how modern medicine can improve and learn from time-tested holistic therapies and healing modalities like Chinese Medicine to give a more well-rounded approach to not just controlling but to actually healing disease. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are used with several other techniques including dietary therapy, gua sha, cupping, and qi gong to help restore balance and vitality. Other therapies like professional counselling and trauma therapy can help give voice to old hurts and fears and can be instrumental in letting go of some of what binds us into unhealthy patterns. Many studies show how physical exercise, especially where there is deep breathing, sweating and a release of pent up energy can also soothe and strengthen the body, mind and spirit. Martial arts like karate, kung fu, tai chi and qi gong are some of the traditional ways to cultivate health and longevity and discipline, but any vigorous physical activity you enjoy will help to keep the qi moving to prevent disease and maintain health.
As with any disease, when one imbalance occurs, there can be a domino effect on other areas of the body, but this can also mean that when the root of the problem is found and treated effectively, many other “mysterious” conditions can resolve.
Chinese medicine is a holistic healing art and it works because of its special diagnostic methods, which find the root cause of a particular disease or syndrome and work to treat from that aspect, rather than just treating the symptoms.
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From Monday Magazine 's Body, Mind & Spirit 2008:
From Monday Magazine 's Body, Mind & Spirit 2008. Reprinted with permission.
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Menopause In A New Global Consciousness
Springtime is how we describe this time of year and also how traditional Chinese medicine describes the time of life when a woman is moving into a new phase known as perimenopause and menopause. The Second Springtime may seem like a strange way to talk about a time, which many women find difficult and uncomfortable, with its hot flashes, headaches, insomnia, weight gain and irritability, to name a few, but there is good reason to see the immense potential underneath the challenges of this time of life.
Right now there are more than 60 million menopausal and perimenopausal women in Canada and the U.S. Because of the baby boom of the 50s and 60s baby girls who were born during that time have all reached an age when they find themselves in the midst of a monumental change to all aspects of their lives, due to part of a natural cycle of life which should be celebrated as a right of passage! Instead, these women are experiencing signs and symptoms, which are ignored, endured, overmedicated by ill-informed doctors (with accompanying harmful side effects) or ridiculed by others who do not understand. This unprecedented number of women in the same stage of life has the potential to create real and lasting change in politics and medicine for the health of women everywhere.
In her groundbreaking new book “The Second Springtime” Menopause In A New Global Consciousness, Acupuncturist and Counsellor Rebekah McPhee, illuminates and entertains her readers with simplicity, compassion and humor through candid and sometimes raw personal anecdotes, her own patient histories and the latest independent clinical studies and research in women’s health. Her down to earth style engages, inspires and educates regarding the most relevant and urgent women’s health issues including menopause, perimenopause, PMS, fibroids, endometriosis, ovarian disease, breast disease, chronic fatigue, thyroid disorders, adrenal burnout, cardiovascular issues and many more. She clarifies and demystifies hormone replacement therapy, pharmaceutical drugs, and herbal medicine for women to make informed choices with their doctors and highlights several holistic therapies from meditation and tai chi to acupuncture and naturopathy. Throughout readers will feel Rebekah’s passion as she speaks about the mind/body connection and emerging science of psychoneuroimunology, which shows how what we think, becomes how we feel both emotionally and physically.
The Second Springtime is the first book of its kind especially for women to link the knowledge of modern medicine and the secrets of ancient wisdom. It is sure to attract a lot of attention and open a lot of minds in people everywhere. You will read it again and again!
