imPerfect balance: the body

Winter is Preservation II: Jujube & Goji Berry tea

2010-12-26T21:33:00.004-05:00

Winter is well in the middle of blooming as Winter Solstice 冬至 (12/22) is already history.

Today, the day after Christmas, New York has greeted its first full-blown snowstorm and unlike most of the time (or rather all the time) where I absolutely detest the cold winters, today I realized how much i was enjoying winter for the first time in my life. There is a little bit of it having to do with the fact that New York winters are indeed a bit more tolerable than Beijing winters, but there are also physical reasons related to this according to TCM.

Usually, when asked what weather you'd rather suffer, people divide into two groups (let's not mention the cop-out group who answers spring/autumn^^): those who'd rather suffer extreme cold OR those who'd rather suffer extreme heat.

Well for myself, I used to detest cold, but as I said earlier, I am beginning to enjoy the cold weather more as it feels more tolerable. Maybe I have become healthier/stronger that this is the case. Here is why I am speculating that this is so.

So those who usually choose to suffer heat are those with more weaker 虚证, colder 虚寒 constitutions, that in the winter, cold + cold just makes it immeasurably unbearable for these types of people. And older the age, it will be a likely case too.

However, those who rather suffer extreme cold, are those with a more not necessarily always stronger but have hotter 实证, more damp-heat 湿热 type of bodies. These people usually are always complaining especially when it's super humid because damp-heat + damp-heat is unequivocally suffocating.

It's not the whole story, but a general way to observe things.

With this said, what to do.

Winter is preservation, as I have mentioned earlier, and a good way to preserve your body so it can do better in the following season is to eat nourishing foods, that will replenish/tonify qi and blood 补益气血, and of course, winter is the perfect time to do so.

Here's a concoction i came up with that is easy to do at home with minimal and cheap ingredients.

Jujube & Goji Berry Tea (大枣枸杞茶 대추구기자차)

Ingredients:

Dried Jujube 大枣
(Otherwise known as Chinese Dates)

Goji Berries 枸杞子
(Or called Chinese Wolf Berries)

Chinese Liquorice 炙甘草
(Or Glycyrrhiza)

Honey 蜂蜜

Instructions:

1. Pour in a regular pot (preferrable large) at least 1500-2000 cc of water, depending on how much you want.

2. Add 2 handful of Jujubes, 2 handful of Goji Berries, half a handful of Chinese Liquorice together in the water and let it boil and simmer at a medium heat for at least 1 hr 30 min 2 hrs depending on how thick you want the brew to be.

3. By the time it's done, it should look like this:

3. Pour yourself a nice, warm cup and just add a spoonful of honey (up to you). Preserve rest for later.

This was a bit thick, so if you want something lighter, add less of everything.

Absolutely soulful, no caffeine, just a cup of goodness and sweetness that does exactly the following functions for your body:

Jujube: Tonifies qi and blood and calms the spirit, harmonizes the spleen. 补中益气，养血安神
Goji Berry: Nourishes and tonifies the liver and kidneys, benefits the essence and brightens the eyes, enriches the yin. 滋补肝肾，益精明目，补阴
Glycyrrhiza: Tonifies the spleen and qi, moderates and harmonizes 补脾益气，调和诸药
Honey: Nourishes the lungs and stomach. 补中，润肺

Simple and sweet. With this, you can be a Do It Yourself (DIY) apothecary at home with no worries of having a medical license. :)

Where to buy:
All three materials can be bought at a Chinese/Korean Herb Pharmacy in any Chinatown or Ktown. Jujube & Goji Berries can be found in the regular Chinese/Korean supermarkets as well. Korean names are 대추, 구기자, 감초.

Shake Things Up

2010-12-21T23:04:00.001-05:00

Are you used to a certain routine?

Or are you one of those people who hates it.

Either way, usually people are used to or like things to be a certain way of their own liking, which then becomes in and of itself a repeated habitual action, thus a routine.

The world of health tells us that this is good. And I'm sure from my blogs and talks you do catch the sense that I do promote well-being that inevitably comes with sleeping at certain hours, eating when hungry (that leads to be certain hours because the body just does that automatically), and then exercising and so forth.

However, I can say that my differentiating point from the usual ho-hum is that I talk about allowing your body to like to do these things first, and not the other way around. Forcing the body to eat at certain hours and things, to exercise, to sleep at certain hours really doesn't get you anywhere. I think we've all done that before, and really, if you tell yourself you are not going to eat donuts when that is all you're craving for, does that really happen? I think we end up thinking about that pink elephant more and will end up turning to it even more explosively due to the pent up stress from trying NOT TO DO it.

Thus is human nature.

My backyard gym--CP's reservoir--where I usually run.

Well, today, I just have one suggestion. The body cycle takes its natural course at the right time at the right situation when certain things are fulfilled. Sometimes you just need to go the other way to be sure that this way is the right way for you. And other times, doing the right thing all the time just gets boring and restless.

I'm not suggesting to go do something immoral or go ahead and eat a ton of junk food. By all means no. Let's take my suggestion more sensibly.

My front yard gym--aka East River Park--where I also run when I don't feel like going to CP.

Just shake things up a bit. The other day as i was running in Central Park, i took an unusual course from my regular Reservoir routine, and it felt more motivating as i was running while discovering the
unknown track. Another day I danced my butt off instead of staying at home bundled up under the sheets on my first day of my period and it didn't even feel like i was on my period (TMI?). I tried going to a different denominational church and it made me see the world in a bigger way. I've been sleeping at later hours and realized my skin isn't as good so now I'm trying to go back to an earlier hour.

They are small stupid things but especially for those who tend to sway towards loving routines, and even if it is working so well for you, try it.

Shake things up. Your world will feel much wider and bigger, and you will feel like doing what feels great for your body and mind, and even appreciate doing it more with assurance..or unexpectedly discover better ways (to you personally) to go about doing things.

Winter Is Preservation I: Apartment Shoes

2010-11-15T15:36:00.001-05:00

It is officially winter.

As it was 立冬 입동 or the "Beginning of Winter (19th Solar Term)" on 11/7 Monday according to the Lunar Calendar's 24 Solar Terms.

I can't vouch for China but strangely and rightfully enough, New York had a sudden temperature drop with some frozen rain and snow that day. I was pretty cold in my early-winter jacket and an alarm sign in my head went off to go buy a thick down jacket and some boots (gave away way too many clothes).

Well luckily, today's temperature went back up a little and somehow i ended up on the streets of SoHo only to discover at Uniqlo...

Uniqlo's super soft Fleece Short Socks it says on the label. $7.90 a pair ;)

Apartment shoes!!!!!

is what i am calling it (there is an obvious joke that involves "Friends" but if you don't get it, it's okay).

I always struggled with what to wear inside the apt during winter because as much as i love walking around barefoot, it gets cold when my feet touches the hardwood or tile floors. And i hate that cold feeling on my feet with a passion. So of course i tried different methods. But wearing slippers doesn't exactly cover the whole feet that my toes get cold later, thick socks are too thick that it felt dap-dap-hae 답답해 闷, and then regular socks were too tight to wear at home that i end up taking them off.

So seeing these, i was ecstatic haha...to say the least.

So why all this fuss.

Winter is a time of "preservation 收藏" according to TCM principles. You can think of bears hibernating. We won't sleep all winter long, but you can expect something similar. Like in the "Nei Jing 内经" it says,

"冬三月，此谓闭藏。水冰地坼，无扰乎阳。早卧晚起，必待阳光，使志若伏若匿，若有私意，若已有得，去寒就温，无泄皮肤，使气亟夺，此冬气之应，养藏之道也..."

Usually everything in this oldest medical text in the world is compared to nature. "闭" is closed, closed up, locked up, and "藏" means to store, to preserve. That is what winter means for us in terms of our body and nature.

Thus, it is beneficial for us to sleep earlier (早卧) and wake up later (晚起), meaning guarantee enough sleep.

Be especially conscientious of maintaining warmth to prevent the cold from entering our bodies, or else the Yang Qi 阳气 will so easily escape or be consumed, used up.

This of course doesn't mean stay home all day in order to stay warm. You still have to go out and go on about your lives, and make sure you get some sun (必待阳光). But when you do so, just make sure skin isn't exposed where it isn't suppose to be as the Winter Qi is fierce (无泄皮肤，使气亟夺，此冬气之应). In other words, don't let there be such a drastic temperature difference constantly. If you notice, we get colds because of this drastic temperature difference (same thing happens in the summer in the opposite way right?), not because we failed to wear a jacket out.

Thus the feet being the lowest end of the body, it actually isn't such an easy feat for qi and blood to reach all the way down there and come back up. It definitely requires some maintenance work such as exercise and the other being protection from the cold qi 寒气. I think it is definitely the feet that are the most delicate and will easily receive cold (受寒). If our feet is warm, usually the rest of the body is okay. But if it is exposed and cold, no matter how warm we are up there, it is pretty difficult to get that cold feeling to depart us.

In my next entry, i will talk about this feet issue more in depth, but for now, let's keep in mind this whole concept of preservation and getting a pair of "apartment shoes" that suits our taste to keep our physical and mental/spiritual beings nice and toasty.

Misunderstood

2010-11-08T00:08:00.002-05:00

I'm usually the only person who studied Chinese medicine in a group of friends that i gather with. So naturally, somebody will more than likely direct some health-related question to me out of curiosity or just to even strike up a conversation. Of course, I always do my best to answer them to my utmost knowledge reflecting upon my own experience as well.

However, one thing i notice, especially with people that i spend more time with, is that i am always being observed. They say, you can't just talk the talk but gotta walk the walk, right? Since i am providing ppl with this wonderful "truth"-the health message, ppl definitely will expect more from me, naturally. That I am perfectly keeping all the so-called "secret to a balanced health" that i tell them about.

Drinking coffee? In public? Is she being a bad role
model for all of us seekers of health?
First off, what makes you think it's coffee?
Never judge anything with one factoid.
And FYI, it is.

Is that alcohol? Coffee fine. But I thought alcohol is just downright bad for you.
Once again, don't judge by just what you see.
And FYI, it isn't alcohol. Sprite.

PS: I hope that you get what i'm trying to say here with these two comparisons.

Well, I guess I am writing this to explain just that. Because i have a lot of instances where i am casually talking about my day and someone will say, "Wait~ you slept at 1am? Isn't that something you're not suppose to do?" "You're drinking cold water. I thought cold water was bad for you..."

Then you get the occasional ppl who are scared to do something "bad" in front of me (and for the record, i only answered their questions because i was asked). Well i guess not scared but at least they'll sort of 눈치봐 meaning will end up sort of sneaking around if i'm there or tell others that they did ;) haha...

Some skimpy (yet creative) costume on halloween.
I'm glad she remembered to wear those skin-colored
tights to match her police tape at least. HAHA.

It is sort of funny if i think about it. I am not some condemner(i know it's not a word) of health, like i will condemn you if you don't do A-B-C. I know i occasionally freak out when i see girls wearing like sandals with no nylons in the middle of the cold winter, but that is only because i am seriously concerned. That i definitely had to practice a bit more to keep to myself since i may do it sometimes too (yeah, sometimes, sandals just look better with the outfit) haha..

Ultimately, I guess this is what i'm trying to say. There is no such thing as perfect health or a perfect health-keeper. Thus the title, "imPerfect balance." I think I was seeking for it before in my premature days. But throughout my journey, that is like the biggest discovery i made--that is the fact that no one can attain perfect health, and no one can perfectly always do what's supposedly right.

When i'm asked, of course i will give you the answer that is correct to my own knowledge. And yes, i am usually, but NOT always, keeping them, is the honest truth. Why? Because things come up and your life shouldn't be revolving around your health. And that is life.

I just eat when i feel like it, just that happens to be every 4-5 hours (and sometimes in between those times). I sleep when i feel sleepy and that happens to be around 10-11pm (and it feels great when i wake up painlessly). Even some days when i'm like, eh..don't feel like exercising and i decide that i won't, somehow at some point, i am getting dressed to go run outside. I know, it amazes me too.

But the past 2-3 months, for example, i've been sleeping a lot around 12 am. Sometimes even pass 12! And then i couldn't exercise for almost two months because of a foot injury. Moving to a different time zone and readjusting to a new country threw me off and my new life in the US was just sort of stressing me out that i was losing weight and thus my overall health sort of took a plunge down. I guess at this point, someone can accuse me of not keeping what i preach, but really, is that important? No. The situation is what it is. You are living your life, not your health rules.

This is the conclusion of the whole matter:

Always, enjoy your meal that you've chosen for yourself.
You wanted it for a reason.

As long as you're headed towards the right direction and putting in the effort that is proportional to the results that is of your satisfaction, then it is commendable and no need to feel like you're not doing the right thing for your health and body.

Life in itself is a work-in-progress. Always.

The moment you reach your goal, you can always fall back or there will always be something to improve. But, when you look at yourself and you realize you have fallen back too much, or your health is not where you want it to be (which was proportional to your lack of effort), then you may actually feel the desire to put more effort to get back to the right direction. And that is, only if you feel that you are not. Nobody is here to judge whether you are in the right place or going to the right direction. I will be there to answer your questions if you need to ask them, and will provide help if you want it, but if you perfectly enjoy that cup of coffee and you feel great doing so, then seriously, enjoy it. Because i sure do enjoy my occasional cup of coffee when i crave for the taste, but for me personally, i usually don't always have it since i can function fine without the caffeine.

So i guess for anybody who will read my blog from this point on, i just want to make sure that you understand that this is the truth that i've sought out for and learned and now am sharing. That is it. And as for myself, currently i am still working towards feeling better since my last couple of months of falling behind my normal routine brought me to the negative side of the equilibrium. But i'm almost back on track (definitely been sleeping earlier and my appetite is back!) and am feeling great because of it. And that is the only thing that matters.

"Weight-loss tip: Turn Lights Off" & No. 6

2010-10-25T21:27:00.009-04:00

Sorry for the extremely commercial title but that is exactly what the title read from an article by the Metro (free morning newspaper) i read few days ago on the subway.

[I also want to note that this post explains #6 Sleep no later than 11 pm- 12am. 11-3am is recovery time. from the 10 Things i learned from my journey in health written by moi from my farewell party.]

Exasperated by its confidence (and being very aware of its source--free newspaper) and naturally always being drawn to these health/body-related reads, here is what it said:

->New research claims to link body weight with nature's daily cycles.

Weight gain is linked to our body's natural rhythms as well as the amount of calories we consume, according to new American research.

The study, carried out by scientists at Ohio State University, found that eating while exposed to light changed the human metabolism - and caused weight gain.

Someone eating at night with a light on would gain more weight than someone eating the same amount of calories in the dark, said Laura Fonlen of Ohio State.

Her group studied mice to come to the conclusion. "Although there were no differences in activity levels or daily consumption of food, the mice that lied with light at night were getting fatter than the others," she said.

I hope that people reading this DIDN'T immediately decide to start munching away in the darkness at night. But the sad thing is, there probably are those who will (which is why these one-faceted experiments are so misleading in the first place!). It's like, i eat at night anyway, might as well turn the lights off to prevent 'less' weight gain!

Why do you think children grow while they are sleeping?

The funny thing is, I do see some truth in this. And before you think i am like with stupid, let me explain.

According to Chinese medicine, the ideal time to sleep is, you guessed, at night. And not just at any hour, but it is very specific. 11 pm to 3 am is the PRIME TIME to sleep. Why? Because every two hours (which is called one shi chen 时辰 in the old times) has its pairing with each of the meridians/organ. And that 11pm-1am (子时) is when the Gallbladder Meridian opens up, and 1am-3am (丑时) is when the Liver Meridian opens up.

Another word to describe this "opening up" would be "to be on duty." So what happens when the Gallbladder is on duty from 11pm-1am?

11 pm is exactly when the night is the darkest and deepest, and is just when Yang Qi 阳气 (energy of Yang) starts to sprout up and multiply. You can also say Yin Qi 阴气 is at its peak but slowly falling at this time. So in order for this Yang Qi to really multiply, we need to enter into sleep mode so that we can store up that Yang energy to use the next morning when we wake.

And this specific duty is for the Gallbladder to do because according to the Nei Jing 内经, the first medical classic to enter this world, the Gallbladder determines the rest of the eleven organs in our body ("凡十一藏取决于胆"). Only when the Gallbladder's energy starts to sprout up and multiply is when the blood and qi of our whole body can be activated. Thus sleeping at that time is cultivating your Yang, in other words, your energy store for the next day.

Right after the gallbladder at 1 am-3 am comes the Liver's turn to be on duty. Even anatomically, we can see how the Gallbladder and the Liver are deeply related. So with the sprouting energy it receives from the Gallbladder, the Liver continues that ongoing multiplication of Yang Qi, cultivating the blood in store. Liver in Chinese medicine stores blood (肝藏血). And even in Western medicine, we all know the importance in the Liver and how it detoxifies the blood. Many things are actually intricately similar with east and west more than you think.

However, just say we stay up and eat at this hour, which is more or less something that we all somehow end up doing at some point in time. The reason why we even get hungry at this hour is because the Yang Qi is starting to rise up, although I know many of us may think, duh, it's because it's been that many hours since you've last ate! Yes, that definitely has something to do with it too.

Check this Circadian Rhythm diagram from Wikipedia. Not everything is in sync with Eastern view but lots of truth in it. Bowel movements being suppressed around 10:30 pm only shows the significance of the 11pm-3am theory as well as the other specific points on this graph.

But even from my own experience, granted i ate a good meal at 5 pm, while i am usually super hungry within 4-5 hours if it was during the day, at 10pm, i am not necessarily hungry. I just feel great and empty and want to go sleep in that mode because it feels the best. Why? Because first of all, your body senses the darkness (Yin Qi peaking and no more Yang Qi) that has already set in through what we call the Circadian Rhythm so naturally everything is sort of folding in (that's why we are tired) and is going into "astringent 收敛 mode." Also, an empty stomach means that all the blood in the body won't have to be working overtime in the digestion office when it has the right to rest like we do.

Your body's qi and blood (and cells) restores and recovers itself during those prime four hours and if you miss it, that's it. Sleeping at 3 am for 8 hours and sleeping at 11 pm for 8 hours is significantly different in terms of quality. And this is the reason why (*notice the way your face looks in the morning comparatively and you'll know what i mean).

So final conclusion: Would you lose more weight if you turn the lights off while you munch away at 11 pm? No. This article successfully pointed out one facet of truth but not the whole.

First of all, you'll look pretty funny doing that and will easily dirty yourself if you do.

Second of all, it is an accidental evidence and proof of why we should be actually resting our bodies at that hour and not let it go overtime, allowing for *some to prevent weight gain. Because after all, weight gain is increase in fat stores, and those extra fat stores are only but the body not knowing what to do with the excess that didn't get to make it out on its regular input and output rhythm and thus lost in the body like trash.

Your body is in rhythm with nature and this view is also maintained by the Western point-of-view called the Diurnal Effect (or Circadian Rhythm). More to come.

*I say some because not everybody's the same. Some by not sleeping will actually lose weight because that is how their body functions when it's abnormal. The principle behind these opposite actions of the body is the same, just with different output of results. More to come soon on this topic.

From Asia to North America

2010-10-22T16:46:00.005-04:00

I know it's been a very, very, very long time since my last (and first) post. My deepest apologies to all my avid (three at most) readers. I can list a long list of excuses but I will spare you from all that and go right to my new post.

Welcome NYC!

So those of you who know me personally all know that I have recently made a huge move from China back to the good ole' US of A, and no other than New York City. Going from one big city to another is itself a huge ordeal i guess, but the mere change of Asia to North America was definitely a huge shocker....to my body.

I was excited to be back. Six years is a long time to have spent in a foreign country, so I thought it was about time...to be with my old friends and share my life with them again, to go back to the things that i was used to, to eat the food that i always missed out on, to breathe cleaner air (it's all relative), to have a less stressful lifestyle (you know what i mean ppl in China), to have no discomfort in feeling like a foreigner.

But little did i know what i was "used to."

The first few days in the city was quite an experience. One thing you have to keep in mind is that I have been on a pretty "balanced" track in terms of health the past years. I've taken Chinese medicine consistently at least for two years and inconsistently for another year, been exercising consistently the past six years, with an emphasis on the past three years. During the course of medicine intake, my appetite, taste buds, cravings all balanced out and would usually crave for pretty wholesome foods at a pretty consistent hours of time to the point where it was just second nature to be hungry and eat, feel tired and sleep, and feel antsy and exercise all very consistent to a certain time and hour.

I know many of you may think that i purposely eat at a certain hour, or purposely eat certain foods etc. But really that is not the case. As my yuan qi/元气 /source of energy started to rise up through the herbal prescription that i took accompanied by regular exercise/rest/work, bad things came out and the channels in my body opened up making my body crave for wholesome things rather than junk food. If i didn't exercise, my body didn't feel as good. If i didn't sleep well my body didn't function as well. So as a natural reaction to these things, I would eventually go back if i fell off track.

Cluttered, crowded, and noisy.

All of this led to a healthier and more vibrant me. Nothing forced, nothing premeditated.

So coming back to "my area", I thought I'd fit right into it like a glove, as I fondly remembered it being that way two years ago when i visited for about a month.

But no.

The first day in the city felt like havoc. And it brought back all the memories of why i had left in the first place. It all came flooding back. It's just that last time it was a gradual process of falling deeply into it without me noticing. This time, it was this fresh, unadulterated sensation that just flooded into me.

The city was noisy, cluttered with too many messages that was dizzying, dirty, and the rhythm of the city just felt really, really fast (Beijing i must say is pretty slow for a big city, which is what i liked about it when i first got there anyway).

Not only that, when i looked at the New Yorkers, for some reason they all looked a bit spiritless. Everybody was walking busily somewhere with undaunted yet foggy eyes 眼神. Nobody looked that happy. It looked like their souls were meandering, not knowing where to go.

It definitely felt weird as I never felt this way before. Before it was all about how i felt, and i didn't have the eye or sensitivity to be able to observe my surroundings like that.

Chick-Fil-a anyone? It was good but for the life of me cannot possibly finish it.

Then the other thing was the food. I had the hardest time adjusting to it. Everything was SO sweet, SO salty, and SO stimulating, that nothing really tasted the same or for a matter of fact, good. And that was seriously the biggest shocker for me because i was returning to the city where it had the best chefs and restaurants. I craved for all the "original" tastes of New York City when i was in Beijing, always complaining that this Vietnamese Coffee wasn't real Vietnamese Coffee, or this Pad Thai didn't resemble the same taste. Well, turns out, NYC uses strong, stimulating tastes to attract their customers that people's palette's just got a bit desensitized that anything strong tasting equated good food.

Of all the things, Bubble Tea at Saints Alp tasted EXACTLY the same as its counterpart in Beijing. The first drink that i was able to down without a problem haha..

I literally had to throw away most of the drinks i used to enjoy in the past. Biggest disappointment was Snapple. It was so sweet that it was unbearable to me. I went for the Diet Snapple, although better, was still too sweet and strong. I must've wasted a lot of money going through this kind of trial-and-error the past months. Not really happy about that either.^^

Basically, I came down to two conclusions (no offense to anyone as this is my personal opinion).

My very own successful Fish Cake Soup 오뎅탕 boiling and simmering. Doesn't it look good? There's definitely something about cooking your own food. But i still miss my ayi. haha..

One, i definitely had gotten healthier and simpler in terms of my taste buds and body. I definitely loved eating sweet cakes and breads back then, loved spicy foods, and also always craved for ice cream and junk foods. Now, not so much. I end up wanting to eat at home more (oh how i miss my ayi!), although i'm still working on for that to happen more smoothly, because food just tastes better at home (yes, even if i burn the occasional dishes). In retrospect, my body went through a revolutionary change that was proved by coming back to the same environment pre-change.

The yummy burger and fries with artichoke and spinach dip with tortilla chips at Delicatessen in SoHo. Imagine you ate this almost everyday...

Second, food in Asia definitely seems to be a bit more simpler and less stimulating for some reason. I guess the skinnier Asians in general is sort of a living proof of that as well, but it is not as simple as that to judge it by body types. As much as we all know that China has its mishaps with MSG and bad oils, from what i perceive in comparison, the mainland food is not as nearly as oily as American Chinese, and the taste is more to the original taste of the actual ingredients. We all know that in general most companies have to dilute down the taste of sodas and processed foods once it comes to Asia. I think this is a very good example of the general taste buds of the public.

Andrew's Taste-Bud Bursting Local Wildflower Honey selling at the Farmer's Market in Union Square. They had different honeys cultivated by Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn bees respectively.

However, not to say that New York City food is junk. Because it isn't. It's the citylife that can only but make the food to be more stimulating. And besides, the City puts quite an effort to make healthy dishes and restaurants for the more health-conscious crowd here. And therefore, the point that i want to ultimately make is what I would call "adaptation."

Fresh produce at the new hipster market slash eatery slash cafe "Eataly".

I've already adapted to the tastes here. I still don't drink Snapple, and I still don't like certain restaurants that i feel like doesn't taste good. But for the most part, food is tasting better(which means my stress level has sort of rearranged itself to the city life) and you can't go wrong with Korean food at least (it really does taste the same everywhere!). What I'm trying to say is that there are reasons why certain regions have certain foods (think Sichuan and its spicy foods), and although this is slightly a different matter, my point is that we need to not stress and acclimate/adapt in our own ways.

Sure, the pollution is pretty bad in Beijing. I know some people who look at the daily pollution index on their iPhones and determine whether they should exercise outdoors that day. But sometimes, we have to let the body make that decision so that our bodies become more attuned to what's being done to it, so that we can react accordingly. As you can see, I mostly ran outdoors in that polluted city from like six years ago when it was truly grey days almost every day. But my health improved like no other. That is because your body sort of acclimates and works with what it has. And yes, there were days that i went out and couldn't run anymore because the pollution was so bad. Then i stopped and went back in.

Therefore, obsessing over what may harm your body is not the solution. Going beyond that and actually letting your body play with the environment you are in and work with what you have, and react it to accordingly, is ultimately what you want to do. Thus, balance.

Cold Feet

2009-04-10T01:18:00.017-04:00

Spring is here.

It feels pretty warm, although there are some strong spring wind action that can only make us wear long sleeves or a light coat. It feels hot as summer sometimes though, so why is it that i can't bust out the tanks and shorts with my j.crew flip flops? Well, I did take out my flip flops yesterday. But went back to sneakers. And it was very important that we all do. Here is why.

According to the astrological calendar, spring has been here since February 4 since spring officially is from the second month's li chun (立春) till the fourth month's gu yu (谷雨). To understand this, let's take a quick look at the 24 Jie Qi Calendar, which in English is apparently called the 24 Solar Terms. We'll just call it "24 Jie Qi":

二十四节气表 (24 Jie Qi Calendar)

春季 (spring)	立春 (Start of Spring) 2月3—5日	雨水 (Spring Rain) 2月18--20日	惊蛰 (Hibernation Awakening) 3月5--7日
春季 (spring)	春分 (Spring Equinox) 3月20--22日	清明 (Pure Brightness) 4月4--6日	谷雨 (Grain Rain) 4月19--21日
夏季 (summer)	立夏 (Start of Summer) 5月5--7日	小满 (Lesser Fullness of Grain) 5月20--22日	芒种 (Grain in Beard) 6月5--7日
夏季 (summer)	夏至 (Summer Solstice) 6月21--22日	小暑 (Slight Heat) 7月6--8日	大暑 (Greater Heat) 7月22日--24日
秋季 (autumn)	立秋 (Start of Autumn) 8月7--9日	处暑 (End of Heat) 8月22--24日	白露 (White Dew) 9月7--9日
秋季 (autumn)	秋分 (Autumnal Equinox) 9月22--24日	寒露 (Cold Dew) 10月8--9日	霜降 (Frost's Descent) 10月23--24日
冬季 (winter)	立冬 (Start of Winter) 11月7--8日	小雪 (Slight Snow) 11月22--23日	大雪 (Greater Snow) 12月6--8日
冬季 (winter)	冬至 (Winter Solstice) 12月21--23日	小寒 (Slight Cold) 1月5--7日	大寒 (Greater Cold) 1月20--21日

In dictionaries, it says that spring is the months of march, april, and may, why?

Here's a concept of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) that can be applied to this. Everything divides into yin 阴 and yang 阳 in the world of TCM. However, within yin, there it again divides into yin and yang, and the same goes with yang. It's like how men are yang, and women are yin. But scientifically, men also have estrogen, right? The same goes with women. They have testosterone in the midst of their estrogen. That is why when we see a girl who's tomboy-ish, or a boy who's kinda girly, we say oh, he/she probably has a bit more testosterone/estrogen biologically. Thus every man is yang but has yin in him, and vice versa.

So in the same way, we have cold 寒 and hot 热. Winter is considered to be solidly cold, and summer is solidly hot. However, when it comes to spring and autumn, what do we say? Spring is considered warm, and autumn slightly chilly. Why not the other way around? Because spring is coming from winter, where it's cold, and entering summer, where it's hot. Thus, we would naturally say it is getting "warmer" when we notice the temperature change. Whereas in, autumn we are slowly departing the summer heat and entering the cold. So we say it's getting chillier.

So what are the solid points where we can divide the four seasons? Take a look at this graph:

Honestly, this graph should be flipped over, so that the Spring Equinox is on the bottom and the Autumnal Equinox is on top, but this was the only one i can find so it'll have to do.

So the four points that signify the most north, south, east, and west are the four points where it is the most seasonly of seasons.

春分(Spring Equinox)

夏至(Summer Solstice)

秋分(Autumnal Equinox)

冬至(Winter Solstice)

So what about everything in between?

Basically, you can view those four points to be the thickest and as spring is going closer down to summer, the spring thins out but at the same time, summer is getting thicker and when it reaches Summer Solstice, the last 1mm of spring is gone and summer is in full swing. And this continues on.

Which is why, it is sometimes hard to distinguish seasons clearly. I mean, according to this, spring is suppose to have start around 2/3-5, but does it feel like spring during that time? Hardly. It is so cold and we are most likely to think that it is still hard on winter. In other words, winter is still there, but it is going from thick to mild, thus thinning down and at the same time, spring is still thin, but it is ready to get thicker.

The weather these days are so warm one day but colder other days. I guess this is more with the global warming situation than regular nature. But either way, the biggest thing i noticed is that no matter how warm or cold outside is, inside the apt feels quite cold. Especially the ground.

So as I was wearing my flip flops yesterday, although i felt perfectly fine, i couldn't help but to notice these days that especially in the apt, my feet are so cold. For awhile, i thought, has my health gone bad again? Because i had cold feet and hands for the longest time (many years) and it is not until a year and a half ago that i finally fixed this problem (along with other symptoms) after finding the right master and herbal prescription, but most importantly, the persistence and patience to continue and endure with the healing process.

Then yesterday my acupuncture teacher commented on my shoes, saying, you know, no matter how warm it feels outside, because it is still spring, the weather may seem warmer but the ground is still frozen, if not slowly thawing out. So amidst the warm air circulating due to the newly sprouting 生发 energy, coldness is still coming up from the earth. "Evil qi(邪气) enters through the feet," you know. Go home and wear socks and shoes!

This answered my question. Maybe if i had enough yuan qi (元气: source of energy of your body) i would still be able to have warm feet despite my sandals? Well, no. That's like saying i'll have warm feet in the middle of winter even without protecting it with socks and shoes. We can't defy nature.

Many people, especially lot of westerners, do not realize how important it is to protect one's feet from the cold. I see caucasians running around in flip flops too early, too soon all the time. Look around yourself in Beijing. The local Chinese for the most part aren't foolish like us. They, actually having TCM deeply embedded in their culture while growing up, know about this. They are still wearing sneakers and socks.

So after being "reprimanded," i wore my flip flops for one more day, to be honest. I just couldn't resist. But never a good reason. Especially because after keeping it out like that and then wearing shorts inside the apt, today i immediately had diarrhea. That is a side effect that occurs quite often when i don't keep my lower limbs warm. However, after receiving this "warning" i immediately wore long pants and socks inside the apt, and i felt my feet warming up and no more diarrhea. Interesting, eh?

So yes, I immediately regretted and wore my boring sneakers out again. I hate wearing socks! And there's a good reason why this is so, which is another medical concept i'll explain later again.

Anyway, so until it is officially summer, which is around May 5-7 (立夏 Start of Summer), try to keep those feet bound with shoes and socks that don't show skin. You won't feel it now, but you'll thank me like 10-20 years later. Especially girls who keep their lower limbs cold all the time with short skirts and no socks in the winter and spring may experience infertility, joint pains, bad PMS, cramps, and indigestion, just to name a few, due to the coldness that crept up from their feet. It is a serious business.

So that is the first lesson of this blog.

Prevent cold feet and legs, and although your life may be slightly less stylish for girls in this early spring, it will be well worth it later when you are old and pain-free.

Introduction

2009-03-30T11:00:00.001-04:00

What is this blog about?

This blog is going to be my personal reflections on the conclusions i come and came about in my long journey of medicine. I say medicine loosely to encompass anything to do with the process of the well-being of the body, mind, and soul. As a Chinese Medicine doctor in-training, i had my own personal journey on what constitutes "health" and i thought it'd be nice to share this with anyone that i may come in contact with who also has similar views and objectives as i had and still have.

I will do my best to simplify concepts that may be too TCM jargon-ish on the more informative things that i will be writing. But all-in-all, if you are at all interested in your own health, this should be a fun, informative blog to read(well, at least i hope so) that is different from the western perspective (stuff like, "Broccoli may cause cancer after all" on WebMD). :) Any feedback or comments are welcome of course.

I will have yet again another blog that will cover my personal record of what i went through since i felt unwell. The day-to-day emotions, feelings that i had of what changed, how things started to change or got worse, and what i learned from it. Basically, it is my personal journal of my own battle with health, which i found out to be surprisingly at a very mental level more than physical. This will however not be open to the general public to see as it is quite personal to me. I have designated this blog for those who comes in contact with me as a patient in search for an answer. Once you embark on the same path as i have, upon your decision, i will give access to this blog, in hopes that when my teacher and i are treating you, you will be able to relate more to what's going on and not feel too scared about the process.

In other words, i am opening this blog for encouragement. After all, we all need a bit of an encouragement from those who also went through the same thing. And with a touch of faith in God, all things will work in His perfect time. I truly believe this.

“To everything there is a time, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..He hath made everything beautiful in His time."

-Ecclesiastes 3:1&11 (KJV)

Okay, so that's is for the introduction. Can't wait to see how this goes! See you all soon!