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The Tao of Health
Conscious Connections
Understanding Energy ~ Inside and Out
Every thing costs something to produce ... and that cost is not in dollars, other currency, gold or silver ... at least not directly; the direct cost of every thing is ENERGY ... without ENERGY ... you can’t even get out of bed.
Tai Chi ... ‘Grand Ultimate’ ... is an ancient symbol ... a code representing how the energy of Life flows ... inside and out ...
We’re all aware of the cost of energy these days; from the price we pay at the pump to fuel our cars, and what we pay to heat and cool our houses. Most of us are aware every morning as we lift ourselves up and out of bed, and again when we lie down at night to sleep, how much energy we have—or don’t have—to do everything we need and want to do each day. This is the energy that Oriental Medicine refers to as CHI or HEALTH.
A Fact of Life
Energy is a fact of Life; it can even be described as Life itself because without energy, nothing happens. When you have a lot of it, you can do a lot of things. When someone has very little energy, that’s not a good situation. In fact when a person has no energy at all, we call that person—dead.
Energy is what fuels the economy which we all depend on to make a living. Everyone goes to great lengths to get energy, so much so that wars are fought over it. Everyone understands the need for energy—especially as it dwindles.
Energy: Inside and Out
At BIOM we discuss energy a lot ... from two different perspectives: internally and externally. To preserve, conserve and manage our Chi~Energy ‘internally’ ... we eat in a Five Element Way, which includes Chinese medicinal herbs. We use acupuncture to balance the Chi~Energy as it moves through our bodies, and we enjoy Chi Kung to keep our Chi~Energy vibrant.
Like you, we’re also concerned about how expensive energy has become ‘externally’ in terms of what it costs. The cost of energy should be measured in terms of how much Chi you have to expend in order to get the money needed to fuel our households, businesses and jobs. (Note: Money is an energy derivative. It’s a proxy for energy. No one gives you money unless you do something in exchange for it, and what you’re exchanging for money is your Chi~Energy.)
Be Mindful
Remember the old high school physics principle that taught: “Energy can neither be created nor destroyed ... it can only be changed from one form to another.” Changing energy from one form to another is what happens on this plane of existence.
It’s what happens when we eat the photosynthesized solar energy that is a plant, so our bodies can convert the plant’s energy into the metabolic energy we use to fuel our lives. It’s what the electric company does with coal, and the oil company does with petroleum; they convert the solar energy in these fossil fuels so we can buy them with the money we get in exchange for our Chi to do EVERYTHING we do in our lives that requires energy.
It’s important to realize that we have a limited amount of energy available to us … inside and out … and BE MINDFUL of how we use it.
Related Links
• Spring and Liver Energy
• Controlling Your Liver Energy
• Fire Energy of Summer
Protect Yourself Against Cold
To avoid getting sick, keep your wrists, ankles, and especially the back of your neck from being exposed to the cold. When you’re outside, be sensitive to how you feel and make sure your extremities don’t get too cold—especially your fingers and toes.
When your Kidneys are working well, the proper amount of heat is generated in your body, and normal precautions like “bundling up” in the winter will prevent cold from entering and getting trapped in your body. When your Kidneys are out of balance, you’ll notice a persistent feeling of cold in your lower back and extremities. If this is the case, you need to strengthen them. Otherwise you’ll be more vulnerable to pathogens and illness.
Related Links
Healthy Digestion and Happy Holidays
Shining up
/ the evening moon / Autumn wind
~ Issa
As the bounty of the Harvest continues and the season of celebrations begins—Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza—it’s a good time to remember a few things about healthy digestion
How To Improve and Maintain Healthy Digestion
Here are some tips to keep in mind now—as the flow-of-food begins to pick up speed—and throughout the rest of the year.
Cultivate these three simple habits, by being mindful of what you put into your stomach, and you’ll be the beneficiary of a happy body and healthy appetite.
1. Don’t eat sweets, especially refined sweets, on an empty stomach. It’s not good for your digestion.
2. Don’t put cold or raw food into an empty stomach. For example, raw vegetable salad and ice cream are two things people typically eat on an empty stomach. Don’t do it. It’s not good for your digestion.
3. Do eat small amounts of protein throughout the day—especially if your pancreas is out of balance. Diet-wise, it doesn’t matter what kind of protein it is, although animal protein has beneficial aspects not necessarily available in plant proteins.
How To Tell When Your Pancreas is Out of Balance
It’s very simple: When your digestion is working well, you don’t feel it. That’s the beauty of the subtle feeling of health; nothing about your body is grabbing your attention, so you’re free to do whatever it is you want to do.
If you’re not currently experiencing digestive problems, cultivate the three simple habits to help ensure your Digestion stays in good shape.
On the other hand, when your Digestion is out of balance, an array of annoying distractions begin to appear. Discomforts like:
- Intestinal gas.
- Burping.
- Feeling sleepy after you eat.
- Feeling hungry again soon after eating.
- Not having much of an appetite.
Everybody doesn’t experience all these symptoms of poor digestion, but if your Pancreas is not in good shape—which tends to include most people in the U.S. and related dietary cultures, including vegans and vegetarians—then one or more of these symptoms will likely be familiar to you.
Oriental Medicine Can Help
Oriental Medicine has very effective ways to rebuild Digestive Energy—Five Element Eating; Chinese medicinal herbs, Acupuncture & Acupressure, and Chi Kung.
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