Foundation Factors to Health & Vitality

[Guest guest]

How can one treat the symptom without identifying the cause?

 

I realise this is a TCM board but with the complexity of the meridian

system one can get " paralysis by analysis " when a solution may be

closer at hand than you think. I ask that you consider this analysis

with an open heart (mind) and take from it what you find useful rather

than judge it because I am not suggesting any points to needle.

 

Following on from Artemis' suggestion please consider the following.

 

There are 6 modifiable Foundation Factors to health and vitality.

Modifiable in that you, me, our clients have direct control over them.

They operate as a network not sequentially, so at any entry point

there are precursors and successors... the foundation factors are nodes.

 

They are:

1. Thoughts and Attitudes

2. Breath

3. Hydration

4. Diet

5. Exercise

6. Circadian Rhythms

 

1. Thoughts and attitudes are King.

Think about Attilio's post about the placebo affect on medicines and

you are part way to understanding the way your client is holding. The

large intestine is affected by the amount of energy in the lower Tan

Tien. There are initally two obvious emotional energetic centres: the

navel and base that are being affected. It actually gets a bit more

complex but let's keep it simple for now.

 

These areas are blocked by fear, grief and regret. Could your client

be refusing to let go of issues and holding them emotionally and

physically? If she does not get help in resolving these issues, quite

literally her sh*t is going to stay with her.

 

I am also in accordance to look at the lung meridian due to its

partnership with the LI and may affect your client's overall energy

levels.

 

2. Breath.

For the above reason, take a closer look at the way your client

breathes and consider increasing her lung function. Many people who

are stressed will breath " higher up " in the chest and engage the

sternocliedo mastoids (sp?). From other study I have undertaken,

these will directly effect your client's sympathetic (fight or flight)

response to her enviroment - in short, she is always ready to run for

her life... fear? grief? regret?

 

3. Hydration.

Ask your client how many litres of pure plain water a day she drinks

excluding juice, coffee, tea and herbals. I would suggest that she

should be drinking around 1.5 - 2 litres of purified or true spring

water sipped throughout the day. Ask her how many caffeinated

(dehydrating) drinks she is consuming.

 

4. Diet

While a healthy mind goes a long way to enabling your body to process

foods, ask her to list a typical day's diet. You may find that her

ADD, weight and problems with elimination are also connected to an

overly high consumption of refined carbohydrates.

 

Actually, her diet is more than likely going to be all wrong for her

metabolic type. Food plays a big factor in the foundation factor

network and will directly affect your client's perception of the

significance of certain events in her life. Quality is important and

without getting into the organic debate, organic is preferable. But,

vast improvements will be seen if she just focuses on real food made

from scratch, with only a quarter of her plate featuring carbohydrates.

 

(As an aside, her good fat intake will probably be low too.)

 

Green is a lovely colour, raw or cooked, I wonder how much it figures

in her diet on a daily basis?

 

A final note about diet - make sure she eats without looking at the TV

or reading and chews to liquefy. This is HARD to do. But just as an

exercise, everyone should try this, as well as time how long it

actually takes you to eat your evening meal... you will be surprised.

Eating quickly is like eating on the run which only stimulates the

fight or flight response.

 

Liquefying by chewing and increasing water intake will have a

drammatic effect on her stools and elimination.

 

5. Exercise

It is unlikely in her condition that she is capable of even

considering a short 20 minute walk in non-midday sunshine... but add

that to the list of things to do later on. It isn't as high a

priority at this stage.

 

6. Circadian Rhythms.

In true network style, her sleep patterns would be affected by all the

other foundation factors, hence her need for sleeping pills. Lighting

in her home and work environment have an impact too. Is she living in

the same time zone to which she was born? I would see this area as a

lower priority.

 

It is no co-incidence that this lady came to you.

You need to decide to what point you can help her and where " other "

clinicians should be called in. If you can get her to analyse her

thoughts and attitudes and perhaps seek assistance in clearing that

area, then your work as an acupuncturist maybe more effective.

 

Namaste.