Ma Huang and it's all in the mind and EXERCISE!!!

[Guest guest]

Hi

 

> > get a raw-herb formula prescribed. She took the

> herbs

> > and felt better every time she took them, and lo

> and

> > behold, she belatedly found out that FuLing had

> > been an ingredient.

 

> I do need to point out that allergies do occur

> sometimes, and they are not in the patient's mind.

 

Maybe, but for sure it was in her mind this time. I'm

not actually disagreeing with you, I just have never

seen the term " allergy " well defined, and I do believe

it's another of those trash diagnosis where everything

without a clear explanation gets thrown in. Like I

know a man who was diagnosed by his doctor of having

an allergy to cold water. I know that I'm allergic to

this sexual-heroin/stick-child advertising which is so

pupular now - everytime I see one of these billboards

my eyes itch and feel hot and I have a pain in my ribs

and I find that I'm yelling and stomping around.

hahaha

 

All of our experiences as human beings are real. We

are just responsible for finding a clear and correct

source for these symptoms and not just throw them into

the Catch-All Container.

 

> Sometimes Fu Ling can cause problems when there is

> Phlegm. Also when a person suffers from both

> Dampness and Dryness.

 

EXACTLY. EXACTLY!! Instead of saying allergy, I

have found that with enough conscientous thought, we

can arrive at a TCM imbalance which allows us to see

the source of the " allergy " and therefore correct it.

Simply saying " allergy " does two things: abrogates us

from responsibility and stops the thought process.

 

I believe we have been done a _great_ disservice by

the western establishment with their extremely unjust

judgement of " hypochondriacs " , because now people have

reacted the opposite way (and have gone to the same

place the western MDs are, interestingly) and try to

find a Real, physical, " non-mind " , reason for their

symptoms (if that's possible)... and perhaps have

trouble realising that there's no separation between

the mind and the body, that our perception of what is

mind and what is body is simply an abitrary screen

drawn across " wholeness " .

Anyway, it's very difficult to remove that screen,

arbitrary as it might be, so...

I'd like to state that having something created by

your mind is not an insult, it's not a de-validisation

of your condition, it is actually GOOD NEWS, because

how many of you out there really want to have an

organic disturbance?! We should always _seriously_

consider the " created by mind " scenario when looking

at our various signs and symptoms. Note how I also

said signs.

All of us on this forum should know how much prayer /

visualisation affects recovery from disease, but so

often I hear the opposite, people trying to find a

" real " reason for their symptoms, instead of realising

that our minds are as real as anything else.

 

I am a bit of an expert on this because my mother had

liver cancer with an EMOTIONAL pathogenesis. That

means it came from her mind primarily, people. It WAS

cancer and it DID come from her mind. WM of course

didn't differentiate it that way (they just didn't

know). So the point is that TCM is very explicit in

this, and perhaps we forget:

Disease pathogenesis occurs via three dynamics:

1. Emotional Factors

2. Dietary Factors

3. Environmental Factors

 

Let us not forget our doctrine. :]

 

TCM, unlike WM, is always explicitly confronting its

practitioners and patients with one thing: Personal

Responsibility. That is why we have a strong ethical

foundation and WM does _not_. WM spends much of its

time passing the buck to disembodied environmental

factors.(haha)

But again this is really good news, because it means

that we really do have much much control over our

condition, if we just take responsibility. We don't

have to live in fear or paranoia, we can be what TCM

suggests: courageous and cautious.

 

There's one more point which I believe is very very

important:

I believe that the main reason people have so many

confounding, confusing allergies is because we, as a

society, do not exercise. Going for a walk, running on

a treadmill or anything else like that doesn't cut it.

 

 

The main TCM principle here is that if there is

sufficient blood and a strong circulation of it then

there will be no wind (many claimed allergies can fall

under the category fo wind) and all fall under weak

blood and poor circulation.

The exercise that most are familiar with will do this

to a small extent; but the second level is missing.

When we exercise for real and we are present (not

listening to music or otherwise distracted) and we are

enjoying the movement of our bodies we will begin to

feel our energy move. When we reach this point we are

at the beginning of a very important process which

most people never attain for any length of time - the

dredging of all the channels of the body.

Anyoen who has performed attentive, intense exercise

of this sort (proper yoga, tai chi, simple stretching,

doesn't necc. have to involve exertion - like qi gong)

will know what I am trying to convey: the feeling of

lightness, supplness and power, clearness of mind and

full motion of the body - meaning that energy and

blood is felt to Move Unobstructed Through the Body.

This feeling of unobstructed movement is what is

meant by " rebalancing the body " . All the organs are in

such balance that one can't tell that there are

divisions, and in fact there are none! - the body is a

seamless whole. Again this is basic TCM doctrine:

" If the energy and blood move, then how can the

hundred diseases arise? "

(or something like that)

Disease is caused by the sectioning of the whole into

parts; that's what excess and deficiency, obstruction

and stagnation are.

 

I believe all allergies are due to weak blood,

improper circulation but MAINLY due to deep pockets of

stagnated energy, blood and fluids distributed

throughout the body and its organs.

These pockets release stagnated energy or material on

provocation (caused perhaps by herbs or emotional

winds)- some of which may be toxic, or they may simply

obstruct energy flow therefore generating heat or

swellings (throat constriction is a good example of

this).

 

 

A main disease of this society is our lack of

movement. Not needing to move, we can get away with

the diets we get away with as well as the emotional

excesses. Regular movement of this nature extinguishes

wind (including the emotional winds) and forces one to

choose between the feeling of well-being and the

feeling of stagnation and sickness that a poor diet

causes. We should all move and wiggle more. We have

these extremely complex, robust, expressive and

expensive bodies and we hardly use them! That's

ridiculous!!

 

Everyone stretch!!!

=]

 

Bye,

Hugo

 

" Let the vibe flow through; the Funk can not only Move

it can ReMove, dig? The desired effect is what you get

when you improve your Interplantetary Funksmanship... "

- George C. and Parliament

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

> Maybe, but for sure it was in her mind this time. I'm

> not actually disagreeing with you, I just have never

> seen the term " allergy " well defined, and I do believe

> it's another of those trash diagnosis where everything

> without a clear explanation gets thrown in.

 

Complicating things is that Western allergy doctors don't even agree

on what an allergy is. Some are " purists " and say that in order for

it to be a true allergy, Ig-E (immonoglobulin E) has to be involved.

Others say that some other substance - like Substance P - may be

acting as a mediator instead of IgE.

 

> Like I

> know a man who was diagnosed by his doctor of having

> an allergy to cold water.

 

The doctor was being careless in using the term allergy. Yet, cold

can produce many of the symptoms of an allergic reaction - like

breathing problems.

 

Let's look at what happens from both a Western and a TCM standpoint

when people's breathing problems are triggered by cold, be it water

which is too cold or the surrounding air. First, the Western.

 

When muscles (or anything) get cold, they contract. This includes

the muscles of the back. If those muscles contract too violently or

stay contracted too long, they can pull the spine out of alignment in

some people. This misalignment is what triggers the breathing

problems. By the way, there is an adjustment that DOs and

chiropractors can give that will ease breathing. What they are doing

is setting the spine back in alignment.

 

BTW, these adjustments tend not to last on people who have a

senistivity to cold until the sensitivity to cold is addressed and

treated. The person gets the adjustment, is ok for a while, and then

gets exposed to cold, and the spine is out of alignment again.

 

Adjustments also tend not to last on people who are magnesium

deficient. Muscles need Mg in order to relax. If muscles stay

contracted - either from cold or from Mg deficiency - the back just

gets pulled out again.

 

Now, from a TCM standpoint. Cold damages Yang, and the Kidneys are

particularly vulnerable to Cold. One way Yang Deficiency can

manifest is through edema. Edema can occur anywhere, including the

Lungs. No allergic reacion is involved, fluid is collecting because

of Yang Deficiency.

 

Also, one type of Yang Deficiency is Kidneys Refusing to Receive Qi.

This is all the symptoms and signs of Kidney Yang Deficiency plus

breathing problems because the Kidneys are unable to grasp Qi.

(Sounds strange but it has to do with TCM physiology, not Western

anatomy and physiology.)

 

But what usually is happening when the person has allergic symptoms

but the allergy tests are negative is that the person has a weak

Spleen and is Spleen Qi Deficient. It works like this: (I'm

directing this to the people who are new to TCM.)

 

A lot of people have allergic-like reactions when they eat dairy or

wheat, but yet they are not allergic to these two foods. Dairy and

wheat are very Damp-engendering. What is happening is that the

Spleen is too weak to handle these two foods. One of the functions

of Spleen Qi is to " transform and transport fluids " . (Yes, Qi

Deficiency also can manifest as edema.) Every time the person eats

one of these two foods, the body can't handle the Dampness they

generate, and congestion results. In some people, this congestion

(Dampness) tends to accumulate in the Lungs, and the person has

problems breathing because of the congestion. The congestion is not

coming from an allergic reaction and inflammation but from a weak

Spleen and Deficient Qi being unable to handle the increased Dampness

generated by either of these two foods.

 

?I know that I'm allergic to

> this sexual-heroin/stick-child advertising which is so

> pupular now - everytime I see one of these billboards

> my eyes itch and feel hot and I have a pain in my ribs

> and I find that I'm yelling and stomping around.

> hahaha

 

That sounds more like a Liver imbalance to me. (grin) (For those new

to TCM, all the symptoms he mentioned can come from Liver imbalance.

In TCM, the Liver " opens into the eyes " . Very often, when a person

has trouble with the eyes and/or vision, the Root is in the Liver.

Pain is felt in the sides because the Liver meridian (path of Qi

flow) transverses the sides of the body. Suspect Liver imbalance and

rule in or rule out when the person has pain in the side (or feelings

of tightness in the sides). Anger is the emotion most associated

with the Liver. The Liver is most vulnerable to anger, and once

Liver imbalance has occured, the person will be more inclined to feel

anger than a person without Liver imbalance would.)

 

Victoria

[Guest guest]

> EXACTLY. EXACTLY!! Instead of saying allergy, I

> have found that with enough conscientous thought, we

> can arrive at a TCM imbalance which allows us to see

> the source of the " allergy " and therefore correct it.

> Simply saying " allergy " does two things: abrogates us

> from responsibility and stops the thought process.

 

BTW, many Westerners are confused when they first see a TCM healer

because the TCM healer won't settle for just a Western-diagnosis as

shorthand to symptoms. The TCM healer will pin you down as to the

symptoms. Don't say " allergies " and expect the TCM healer to get the

information s/he needs from that. Go into detail about symptoms.

Like for example, I have breathing problems. I have more problems

with breathing problems in the winter than the summer. (Points to

possibility of Kidneys Refusing to Receive Qi.) Or, Every time I eat

dairy I get allergic symptoms. (Points to the possibility of weak

Spleen and Deficient Qi.) Or, the main problem way my allergy

manifests is as red, dry, itchy eyes. (Points to possibility of

Liver imbalance.)

 

As newcomers to TCM probably are starting to figure out, Western-

defined medical condtions can have one or more of several TCM

imbalances as a Root. What TCM healers analyze and treat are TCM

imblances, not Western-defined medical conditions (unless the TCM

healer also happens to be a MD or DO.)

 

> There's one more point which I believe is very very

> important:

> I believe that the main reason people have so many

> confounding, confusing allergies is because we, as a

> society, do not exercise. Going for a walk, running on

> a treadmill or anything else like that doesn't cut it.

 

If the allergies or allergy-like symptoms have a Root of weak Spleen

and Deficient Qi or Kidney Yang Deficiency, those things will need to

be addressed first. Otherwise, the excercise, even walking can cause

the person to become even more Qi Deficient. The activity is

overdoing it for someone with a weak Spleen, and further weakens the

Spleen which results in the person being even more Qi Deficient. In

the case of Kidney Yang Deficiency, the person often may not have the

energy even for walking, not less aerobic excercise. (Kidney Yang

Deficiency can result in the most crippling and severe fatigue there

is.) (The Spleen is very vulnerable to over-doing phsycially. Also to

excessive thinking and studying.)

 

> The main TCM principle here is that if there is

> sufficient blood and a strong circulation of it then

> there will be no wind (many claimed allergies can fall

> under the category fo wind) and all fall under weak

> blood and poor circulation.

 

There is an increase in allergy and allergy-like symptoms when it is

windy. Windy weather falls under the category of Wind in TCM. This

also includes not only wind, but changes in barometric pressure and

changes in concentrations of ions. This is Exterior Wind, and it can

invade the body. BUT, Wind also can be generated in the Interior.

One of the things that can do it is Blood Deficiency. BTW, the Liver

is particularly vulnerable to Wind. (The Kidneys to Cold, the Spleen

to Dampness (though the Spleen also is vulnerable to Cold), the Lungs

to Dryness, and the Heart to Heat.)

 

 

Part of the reason why allergies and allergy-like symptoms tend to be

more prevalent in the spring than in the fall is that Wind is more

prevatlent in the spring than at other seasons.

 

Vicoria

[Guest guest]

--- " victoria_dragon <victoria_dragon "

<victoria_dragon wrote

 

> > I believe that the main reason people have so

> many

> > confounding, confusing allergies is because we, as

> a

> > society, do not exercise. Going for a walk,

> running on

> > a treadmill or anything else like that doesn't cut

> it.

 

(Victoria goes on to mention that exercise can

aggravate many conditions, which is correct)

 

I was unclear. There are many conditions for which

exercise is contraindicated, even the QiGong (which is

the main thing I was talking about). What I am saying

is that because of our cultural aversion to real

movement, there is a much greater incidence of even

these fatigue diseases.

Any 'regular' athlete can tell you that they have to

be careful of what they eat, especially before meets.

What this means is simply that because they have to

function at a high level, not just any 'food' will cut

it. Whereas, if we are in a position where we do not

have to funciton at a high level, then we can

certainly get away with weak lungs which won't support

a sprint, tense upper back which could never support a

pole-vault, and poorly functioning cells which won't

output very much pure energy - and if we can get away

with these things, it means that we don't need to give

our bodies high-calibre material. Therefore, greasy

meat, greasy potato chips, lots of refined sugar,

over-eating, under-eating etc etc. We don't need to

have our body be strong, therefore we can feed it a

'subsistence' diet - just enough to keep it alive.

 

Therefore, if, from a young age, we are encouraged to

make real movement a part of our lives, then from a

young age poor diets will not be acceptable to us.

This means increased health throughout our lives

because we will have a life-long habit of real

movement and therefore a life-long habit of proper

eating.

 

Since we don't get those two things from a young age

in htis culture, we have a very high incidenc of

diseases that are due to stagnation and obstruction,

or a type of disease which is fatigue due to

malnutrition, or a combination of both. It seems to me

that proper movement adjusted to the individual is

integral to that prson achieving health.

 

Again, the type of exercise I am talking baout is not

what many of us have become familar with - the gym, or

heavy 'workouts', aerobics, and certainly not going

for a first thing in the morning run. It is defined by

full, even, extensions of the body combined with

breathing and our attention. Tai Chi and Qigong are

good examples of this type of exercise (which can be

fast but does not have to be).

Thanks,

Hugo

 

 

 

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