TCM Mike

On Jan 23^rd , 2012 it will be the year of the yang water dragon. The water element is associated with blue or black, so that is why it is also known as the year of the black dragon. So what does this have to do with our health?

Well, if we have a mathematical way of predicting how the environment will change over the year, then we can predict the most common health issues people will have this year. It’s like checking the weather forecast before you get dressed to go outside. So the weather for our health this coming year has to do with the Water phase. The Water phase is associated with the Shaoyin system and in English that basically means our kidneys and adrenal system. This year will also be a yang year, so the most common ailments will likely be problems with fluid metabolism and reproductive function. Also, because the kidneys play a big role in regulating our heart, there will likely be more heart related problems this year as well.

So, how did we come to this prediction? As I’ve said before, time is not linear according to the Chinese calendar, but it is cyclical, just like the seasons, and consists of sixty year cycles known as the sexagenary cycle. It is based on 10 cycles of celestial bodies and 12 cycles of the earth. These celestial bodies include the water-star (Mercury), the metal-star (Venus), the fire-star (Mars), the wood-star (Jupiter), and the soil-star (Saturn). Anyway, due to this cyclical view of time, the Chinese did not have a continuous year count and started again from one with each new emperor. It wasn’t important to know how much time had passed, but it was of extreme importance to know how the celestial bodies affected the environment.

So from this sexagenary cycle we know that is coming year is Rén Chén ( 壬辰). Rén is the 9^th of 10 celestial stems; it is associated with yang and the water phase (the planet Mercury), and Chén is the 5^th of 12 earth branches and associated with the dragon. This year will be the 29^th year of the 60 year cycle. This is how we know Kidney yang will be affected this year. If you would like an in depth explanation of the Chinese calendar, you can take a look at this paper by Helmer Aslaksen http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/calendar/cal.pdf.

I hope you have a prosperous and healthy year. 恭喜发财! Gōng xǐ fā cái!

I was asked a while ago to write an article about how Chinese Medicine can treat male reproductive problems, and one of the reasons it’s taken me so long to write is because anything that causes a change in normal physiological functioning of the body can cause an ailment.  This caused me great difficulty in determining what to write.  Because almost anything can cause an ailment, including reproductive problems, I think it’s best to show you how ailments are seen from a Chinese medicine perspective.  So lets use one of the most important books in Chinese medicine, Huangdi’s Canon of Medicine: Fundamental Questions (Huangdi NeiJing: SuWen).

This book was allegedly written around 100-200 BCE. However, Huangdi is said to have ruled from 2697–2597 BCE. So it’s anyone’s guess as to when the book was actually written. Suffice it to say, the language used thousands of years ago was quite different from now. So instead of me writing down each concept and explaining every single one, I will paraphrase and try to explain the essence of the message.

Huangdi asked, “Why doesn’t the functioning of the human body match that of the universe?”

Qibo answered, “Actually, when you do calculations, every number looks different. Instead of focusing on the numbers being different, follow the principles to get the correct answer.” (Ch. 6)

So why is what Qibo said relevant? He’s saying that the normal functioning of the human body does in fact match that of the universe. We are all a part of it. If you want to treat ailments, instead of focusing on the differences between diseases, focus on following the principles (of the universe) and you will be able to treat almost anything. In other words, understand how the body functions normally and help it get back there.

One way to assess what is wrong with the body is through the Eight Principles. These principles are to determine if the nature of the ailment is Yin or Yang, cold or hot; if the problem originates from the inside or the outside of the body, and if the patient presents with robustness or weakness.

Once the nature of the ailment is determined, then steps can be taken to bring the body back to a healthy state. So if the cause of the problem is from cold, then heat is used to warm up the body. This heat can be from warming herbs, a heat lamp, the burning of mugwort, or even from certain acupuncture techniques. In a similar way, if the cause of the problem is from heat, then cooling herbs or acupuncture techniques can be utilized to clear heat from the body.

As you can see, there are a variety of ways an ailment may present itself. Even though two people may present with the same problem, the cause of the problem may differ. If the cause is different, then so is the treatment. Similarly, two people may present with different ailments, but if the cause is the same then the treatment is the same. That is why Chinese medicine has the saying, “different diseases can be treated with the same medicine, but the same disease may need to be treated with different medicine.”

By following universal principles for the treatment of disease, it’s reasonable to think that there may be help for every ailment imaginable. It’s like adding. Follow the principles of mathematics when you want to add two numbers together, and this principle of adding will apply to every number imaginable.

The Traditional Chinese Medicine Association of BC presents the award winning documentary film 9000 Needles at 7:00pm Tuesday June 14th, 2011 at First†Metropolitan United Church. Admission is by donation with proceeds going to a Chinese medicine charity (I think it will be Acupuncture Without Borders).

Having faced the confines of the American health care system after suffering a stroke, 40 year-old Devin Dearth travels to Tianjin, China in search of the rehabilitation he needs.  You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl2GGU63ZFc

For more info, please visit the Facebook event page and help spread the word

I’m trying to organize a fund-raiser for a Chinese medicine charity by screening the documentary film 9000 needless here in Victoria. The TCMABC is helping to sponsor the event and I need to find a venue. If you know of a venue here in Victoria or a great Chinese medicine charity to give to, please contact me. I was thinking that acupuncture without borders would be a good TCM charity to give to, but if you think there are other deserving Chinese medicine related charities please let me know.

Also, I recently gained my licence to be a practitioner of Chinese medicine and can now prescribe customized herbal formulas; I moved my practice from Achieve Health to Spring Wellness on April 1; I am getting my own logo and redesigning this website.  Hopefully you will see the changes on this site in the next few months.

And finally, Marylin Zink of The Herbal Collective Magazine has asked me to write an article on male fertility issues and I’m currently in the process of writing that.  I will also post the article on this site.

Coffee has a strong effect on three main physiological systems, the Jueyin, Shaoyin, and Taiyang systems to be specific. These systems are often translated as organs in the body such as the Liver, Pericardium, Heart, Kidney, Bladder, and Small Intestine. In order to have health, we need yin and yang to be in a state of homeostasis. In other words, these organs need to be functioning in harmony with one another. What coffee does is cause the organs in our body to be in disharmony with each other by forcing yang to stay up. Forcing yang up will give people a false sense of energy. This is why people get a heightened sense of alertness after they’ve had a cup of coffee in the morning.

Anyway, the Liver is responsible for the upward movement of yang and by keeping yang up, the Heart and Kidney stop communicating well with each other. Over time, this can lead to insomnia, anxiety, high blood pressure, memory issues, jitters, frequent urination, dry skin, a lack of will power, reproductive problems, hot flashes, a shortened life span, and many other issues.

So are these effects from caffeine? Well, no, it’s from the nature of coffee. Tea has caffeine, but it has different effects on the body. I haven’t met too many people who get a heightened sense of alertness after drinking a cup of tea first thing in the morning. It’s the strong bitter flavour and the roasting process of coffee that strongly affects Heart yang.

Drinking coffee then, ought be treated like consuming ice cream, fast food, or alcohol. Over time consuming it regularly will lead to health issues. There is a saying in TCM that is fitting here: “Toxic substances can be life saving, and normally harmless substances can lead to death.” It all has to do with balance.

I think this is a really interesting question that boils down to understanding some concepts in epistemology, specifically inductive and deductive reasoning. Epistemology is the study of knowledge. Exactly how do you know that you know something? The scientific method is one way to obtain knowledge, but that doesn’t mean there are not other ways of obtaining knowledge. Chinese medicine predates the scientific method and the ancient Chinese explained the world through concepts like Yin, Yang, and Qi among others.

I would love to know how the ancient Chinese obtained their knowledge, but unless we can develop a way to time travel and speak with them, I don’t think we can ever truly know. I am pretty sure, though, that the ancient Chinese used both deductive and inductive reasoning. First, an example of deductive reasoning: Heat usually helps to keep a person from feeling cold. That person is feeling cold. Therefore, heat usually helps to keep that person from feeling cold. This particular example describes Yin (cold) and Yang (warm) and it is the cornerstone of Chinese medicine. This type of reasoning is also applied to Chinese herbal medicine: These particular (warm) herbs usually help with yang deficiency (cold). This person is yang deficient (cold). Therefore, these (warm) herbs will usually help this person with yang deficiency (cold). By understanding such concepts we don’t really need to know if this particular herb or acupuncture point is good for treating one specific ailment. All we need to understand is the nature of the herbs or acupuncture points and the nature of the conditions we are trying to address. In this respect, Chinese medicine can help with just about any health issue.

So how do we know the nature of the acupuncture points, herbs, or the conditions we are trying to address? Well, ancient texts tell us, and this is where inductive reasoning comes in. Here’s an example: Since heat helped to keep that person warm yesterday, and heat helped to keep that person warm today, chances are heat will help keep that person warm tomorrow. Obviously in this case, the conclusion may not be true. It could be summer and the person may be really hot and in desperate need of cooling off. Let’s look at the sun though. The sun rose yesterday and it rose today, so chances are the sun will rise tomorrow. Does the conclusion for the sun example seem more true than the conclusion about using heat? It seems more plausible because the sun has risen daily for quite some time and because of that, there is an increased probability that sun will rise tomorrow. However, there is no guarantee that the sun will rise tomorrow. Now how about billions of people over thousands of years being helped everyday with Chinese medicine? In 2009, the Chengdu university of TCM hospital that I studied at had around 4,000 outpatients per day with over 90% of these patients getting better. That’s only one hospital in one city! Can you imagine how many people have been helped with Chinese medicine in other hospitals and in other cities just in 2009 alone?

Of course inductive reasoning doesn’t actually prove anything. It only gives a logical idea as to what is most probable. There is no guarantee that the sun will rise and there is no guarantee that Chinese medicine will always work, but when you use inductive reasoning, you can clearly see that it’s highly probable that the conclusion of sun rising and Chinese medicine working is correct.

If you would like more information about epistemology there’s a great introduction here and for an idea of the philosophy of science there’s an interesting essay here.

Yin (阴) and Yang (阳) describe the observable the patterns of our universe. The ancient Chinese took a tall pole and observed how the sun cast shadows and determined that a year is about 365.25 days. They drew the year in a circle because a circle best represents a cycle. They also noticed that the big dipper points in different directions in different seasons and concluded that there are four main directions on earth. Each direction then also represents a different season. They also noticed that the moon goes through cycles of about fifteen days and so they divided the year into 15 day segments. You can fit 24 of these segments on a circle. (15 x 24 = 360) Anyway, you get something that looks like this once you put it all together:

Yang then represents all the things in our world that active and warm, and yin represents all things that are inactive and cold. Everything can be divided into yin and yang, but only in relation to something else. Day is yang compared to night. A blizzard during the day would be more yang than a clear winter night. If I stand still and compare the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, my head would be more yang because the sun can shine on my head, but it can’t shine on the bottom of my feet (when I’m standing normally) so my feet would be more yin. In our bodies, all the hollow organs, like the large intestine, are considered yang in comparison to the solid organs, like the liver. Our hearts are considered more yang in comparison to the blood it pumps. When yin and yang are in harmony, then we have good health. If they aren’t in harmony, we have poor health.  If the sun never set, plants would die and if the sun never rose, plants would also die. In order for plants to live, yin and yang need to be in harmony. Our bodies are no different. We need yin and yang to be in harmony. We need both activity and rest and neither one should be excessive.

For more information about yin and yang check out sacredlotus.com or chinesefortunecalendar.com

Also feel free to contact me or leave a comment below.

You probably already know that many health problems are associated with a lack of sleep, but if you can improve your sleep then chances are you will be sick less often.  This could mean fewer sick days from work, or enjoying more time with family and friends.   So lets get to it shall we?

1. Ideally, we should be trying to go to sleep when the sun sets and waking up when the sun rises. So in the summer the healthiest sleep pattern is going to bed late and waking up early. Whereas in the winter, the healthiest sleep pattern is going to bed early and waking up late. But in our society where it is hard to do that, we should at least be trying to get to sleep well before 11pm. 11pm is when the mind/spirit moves internally.
2. Control worry and stress levels. This is often easier said than done, but well worth it. There are many ways to deal with stress and one of the best books I’ve read on the subject is How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie. It offers some great steps to eliminating worry, stress, and anxiety in your life. Also, many people react to stress by breathing shallowly, so remember to breath deep into your abdomen (below your navel). If you tend to breath shallowly, try making it a habit to breathe deeper every time you pass through a doorway.
3. Stop drinking coffee and limit your consumption of alcohol. Coffee keeps Yang up and Yin down. It breaks the communication between the Heart and Kidney systems. If you really love the flavour of coffee, you can try pu erh tea. Pu erh tea is great for digestion, helps lower cholesterol levels, and it is healthier than coffee. Too much alcohol will add heat and toxins to the body disturbing the harmony of Yin and Yang.
4. Try not to eat any later than 1 hour before you go to sleep and only eat until you’re about 70-75% full. If you eat too close to going to sleep, then your digestive function will be working while the rest of you is trying to sleep. This like trying to go to sleep in the middle of a constriction site. On the other hand, going to bed hungry can be just as bad.
5. That being said, you should also be eating a healthy diet. A diet high in cheese, or greasy, fatty and sugary foods tend to stagnate the meridians and block the flow of Qi in the body. If Yang can’t go down because it’s blocked, then you’ll stay awake and may even have pain. Also, by eating properly, you’ll ensure that you are getting the proper nutrients to all the organs in your body.
6. In addition to eating well be sure to get adequate exercise. Exercise will help circulate Qi and Blood and ensure that they flow smoothly to nourish your body. The improved circulation will then give your entire body enough nourishment and will help keep your body healthy.
7. If you keep your mind working late, then you’ll have a harder time quieting it. Just like eating, you should try to rest and relax your mind at least 1 hour before you try to sleep.
8. Sleeping in a proper environment also helps. Is your pillow too old? Is your mattress firm enough? Sleeping in a clean and tidy room will also help to free your mind of clutter.
9. And finally do something for yourself. I find that a lot of patients with insomnia tend to neglect this. They will often work for other people all the time and spend more time making sure everything is done for their job, family and friends, but won’t spend time for themselves. So, if you’re not doing it already, make some time for yourself once a day. All you need is one hour in the morning or evening. You could do Yoga, or Tai Chi, meditation, or even have a relaxing bath. Just make the time for yourself. You could also have a nice warm bubble bath with lavender, some soft music and one glass of red wine.

If you’re doing all of those and still not getting adequate sleep then you may want to have acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine to get your body back into the habit of sleeping. A general rule of thumb is that for every year you’ve had a condition, it requires 1 month of weekly treatments. There are exceptions however, and some people may only need one or two treatments while others may need much more frequent treatments for a longer period of time.

The 4708^th Chinese year is here! It’s the year of the female white rabbit! If you take a look into how the ancient Chinese developed their way to record time, you’ll notice that it’s not linear and they took into consideration the cycles of the sun, the moon and other celestial bodies. This way of recording time follows a sixty year cycle so it’s called the sexagenary cycle. It is based on 10 cycles of celestial bodies and 12 cycles of the earth. These bodies include the water-star (Mercury), the metal-star (Venus), the fire-star (Mars), the wood-star (Jupiter), and the earth-star (Saturn). Anyway, this 4708^th year is called Xīn-Mǎo ( 辛卯 ) Xīn is the 8^th of 10 celestial stems, Xin is yin and associated with the metal phase (or the planet Venus) and Mǎo is the 4^th of 12 earthy branches and associated with the rabbit. This year is the 28^th of the 60 year cycle. You can take a look at this website to see it in chart form and it may make more sense that way.

So what does this all have to do with your health? Well, it’s been long known that the external environment has an impact on our health. And if you have a mathematical way of predicting how the environment will change over the years, then you may be able to mathematically predict what kind of health issues the environment will have on people in the coming year. According to the calculations, this year is supposed to be dryer and warmer than average and because it’s a yin metal year, there could be higher than usual Lung related problems. So if you’re a smoker and trying to quit, now is probably a good time to renew your New Year’s resolution.

Anyway, I hope you get the chance to enjoy some of the Chinese New Year festivities if there are any where you live. 恭喜发财! Gōng xǐ fā cái!

I was told the other day, by someone I shall leave unnamed, that it’s not necessary to make a Chinese medicine diagnosis in order to perform acupuncture. I not only find this absurd, I think it is dangerous. In any form of medicine there should be a proper diagnosis before a practitioner commences any sort of treatment. Without a proper diagnosis there is no way to properly treat an illness and actual harm can be done by giving the wrong treatment.

There are people, however, who diagnose according to allopathic medicine and use acupuncture needles to treat certain disorders. That’s all fine and dandy, but it’s not acupuncture. They’re just using acupuncture needles. What they are really doing is dry needling. This would be like me using herbs and calling them pharmaceutical drugs. The herbs and pharmaceutical drugs are composed of chemicals that can treat illnesses, but they aren’t the same. If I claimed that I was prescribing pharmaceutical drugs according to a Chinese medical diagnosis and was using herbs, wouldn’t that be cause for alarm? So then, why should the use of the word acupuncture be any different?

Acupuncture comes from Chinese medicine and who better to understand the effects of acupuncture than someone well versed in Chinese medical theory? Those who understand Chinese medicine will no doubt know how acupuncture affects the body, especially with regards to the circulation of Qi. This understanding of Qi is one of the reasons the selection of acupuncture points used in any given treatment is dependant on the diagnosis.

So please do yourself a favour when you decide to get acupuncture and find out if the person you’re getting it from is qualified to make a Chinese medicine diagnosis. In BC, you can find out by checking the CTCMA website.