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Glossary of Terms

This is a glossary of common terms in Traditional Chinese Medicine excerpted from the book, 7 Times a Woman. If you do not see a term you want defined, please see Appendix B in the book.

Acupuncture (针砭, zhēnbiān, or 针刺, zhēncì) – Refers to inserting tiny needles into specific points in the body called acupuncture points. Acupuncture points (also used for acupressure) are places where energy pools along energy pathways. The greater concentrations of Qi (energy) located at acupuncture points make them more powerful locations to move Qi through the entire channel.

Blood (血, xuè) – In Traditional Chinese Medicine contains the Qi and houses the Spirit. Blood is the physical manifestation of Qi and is inseparable from it. Qi gives life to the Blood, while Blood gives Qi physical form. Blood is moistening and lubricates the sinews and tendons and nourishes the skin and hair.

Jing (Essence) (精, jīng) – The product of what is inherited from the parents and what is taken in from the environment (through eating and breathing). It is stored in the Kidneys but also circulates throughout the body. It is influenced by diet, lifestyle, and herbs. It relates to the individual’s constitution which is possible, yet difficult to alter. Kidney Jing guides our maturation, development, and reproduction. It is the slow, fluid movement of the Kidney Jing that is described in the 7 year cycles women experience.

Meridians (经线, jīngxiàn) – The pathways or circuits of energy flow through the body, also called Channels.

Moxibustion (moxa) (艾炷灸, àizhùjiŭ) – A central therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine, often used with acupuncture during treatment. The leaves of Ai Ye (mugwort) are dried then formed into cones, sticks, or left loose, after which it is called “moxa.” Moxa can be burned directly or indirectly on acupuncture points to warm the meridians and stimulate the flow of Qi.

Qi (气, qì) – Literally translates as “life force energy” or “vital energy.” It is insubstantial. Qi can be felt (and seen by some), but it does not have form. It is what enlivens the body; like electricity that lights up a house. Qi has six functions within the body: transforming, transporting, holding, raising, protecting, and warming.

Shen (神, shén) – The spirit of the Heart and can also be translated as “consciousness.” In TCM, the Heart houses the Mind. It also refers to the overarching spirit of the person. The Heart Shen is the part of a person that is conscious of being and integrates the other spirits of the four other spirits: the Hun, Po, Yi, and Zhi. Imbalance in the Heart causes the Shen to scatter, leading to mental and emotional disturbances.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) (中医, zhōngyī) – Often used to describe the standardized traditional medicine of China created by post-revolutionary China. It is also used to describe the broader traditional medicine that evolved in China and Taiwan. Some propose using a broader term such as Traditional Asian Medicine to include Japanese, Korean, and other evolutions of the medicine. TCM relies on acupuncture, moxibustion, qigong, herbal medicine, cupping, gua sha, and massage. In Asian countries it also includes bonesetting and chiropractic adjustments.

Yang (阳, yáng) – Relates to the insubstantial, Qi, the sun, heat, movement, excess, rising, morning, back side of the body. Exists only in relation to Yin.

Yin (阴, yīn)– Relates to substantial, Blood and body fluids, the moon, cold, stillness, deficiency, sinking, evening, front side of the body. Exists only in relation to Yang.

By |2019-03-26T14:29:30+00:00December 30th, 2017|Acupuncture, Nurturing Life Project, Period Care, Second Spring, Sexual Cultivation, Traditional Chinese Medicine|Comments Off on Glossary of Terms
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Tongue Diagnosis

The tongue is a part of the interior of our bodies that we can see. The tongue is slower to change as compared to the pulse. By using both tongue and pulse diagnosis, acupuncturists are able to get a clear picture of a patient’s current state of health, and what what may have gotten him/her there.

Many patients have a combination of patterns occurring at the same time, making real world diagnosis more complicated than the straightforward explanations below. First we will look at the tongue body then the tongue coating.

tongue-normalNormal Tongue
A normal tongue is pink, not too big and not too small, with a very thin white coating.

Tongue Body

tongue-juttingJutting Tongue
This tongue to “v” shaped and juts out forcefully. The tension in the tongue is indicative of the tension held in the body. It is a sign of Liver excess (Liver Qi Stagnation or Fire). Possible symptoms include muscle tension, stress, irritability, depression, and PMS. If the tongue veers to one side this indicates Liver Wind and potentially stroke or convulsions.

tongue-puffyPuffy Tongue
Also known as a enlarged or fat tongue. This indicates Phlegm and is a sign of congestion of body fluids. Phlegm is implicated in many modern diseases including sinus or lung congestion, excess weight, irrational thinking, obsessive thoughts, fatigue, foggy thinking, chronic joint pain, high cholesterol, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and channel blockages.

tongue-smallSmall Tongue
A tongue that is smaller than normal indicates a deficiency of substance in the body, namely Blood Deficiency or Yin Deficiency. Common symptoms include anxiety, restlessness, tinnitis, insomnia, night sweats, and female hormone deficiency.

tongue-scallopedScalloped Tongue
Teeth marks on the sides of the tongue indicates Spleen Qi Deficiency. This can present as weak digestion, food allergies, fatigue, poor muscle tone, a tendency to bruise, low immunity, and organ prolapse.

Assessing Tongue Color

tongue-redRed indicates Heat (inflammation and/or toxicity). Symptoms can include thirst, constipation, irritability, acne, excess hunger, bad breath, strong body odor, and excessive bleeding.

tongue-palePallor indicates Cold or Deficiency (Qi, Blood, and/or Yang). Symptoms may include feeling cold, fatigue, emotional sensitivity, insomnia, lack of physical strength, and knee and low back weakness.

tongue-purplePurple or bluish indicates Blood Stagnation. Physical trauma, longstanding emotional stress, uterine fibroids, heart issues, or other conditions impeding healthy blood circulation. There may be difficulty sleeping, stubborn depression, pain, stiffness, and stuck emotional patterns.

tongue-redtipRed Tip The very tip of the tongue corresponds to the Heart. A red tip indicates Heart Heat, or emotional unrest. This can manifest as stress, anxiety, or insomnia. If the tip has a cleft it indicates longstanding or constitutional tendency towards emotional issues. Petechiae (little red dots) indicate Wind Heat; a cold with fever and yellow phlegm, typically bacterial in origin.

Tongue Coating

tongue-white-coatThick White Coat
A thick tongue coating indicates Dampness. This is a pathological accumulation of fluids associated with digestive impairment. Common signs include weight gain, abdominal bloating, cloudy urination, mucous in the stools, edema, excessive vaginal discharge, poor digestion, and loose stools.

Thin Yellow Coat
The coating is thin, but distinctly yellow. This indicates Heat, either internal (inflammation) or Wind Heat (cold with fever, typically bacterial in origin).

tongue-yellow-coatThick Yellow Coat
The tongue appears heavily coated and yellow. This indicates Damp Heat, the combination of Dampness and Heat (fluid accumulation mixed with inflammation). Commons symptoms include excess weight, feeling hot, anger, Liver/Gallbladder issues, and red weepy skin conditions.

tongue-mirroredScanty or Mirrored Coat
The tongue looks shiny, like liver. This indicates Yin Deficiency and the patient may present with insomnia, anxiety, fatigue, thirst, low back pain, tinnitis, hot flashes, and night sweats.

Common Combination Patterns

tongue-various bigger-words

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By |2019-03-26T14:29:30+00:00December 29th, 2017|Detox, Detoxification, Diagnosis, Nurturing Life Project, Period Care, Postpartum Care, Second Spring, Traditional Chinese Medicine|Comments Off on Tongue Diagnosis
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The 3 Best Tools to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor


 

Pelvic floor weakness is epidemic in our culture. We are constantly bombarded with ads for women’s diapers and ambiguous terms like “sensitive bladder.” It is not that the bladder has become thoughtful or neurotic, the issue often originates in weakened pelvic floor muscles. These muscles hold up our internal organs, keep our uterus, bladder, and rectum from descending, and control the passage of urine and feces, and the intensity of contraction during orgasm.

Symptoms of a weak pelvic floor include: urinating when you sneeze or lift weight, a protruding uterus, and weak orgasms. A pelvic floor strengthening program can help avoid and even reverse these issues. Every woman should work to keep her pelvic floor toned. It becomes critical after childbirth and as we approach menopause.

Kegels alone may not be enough stimulus to fully activate and develop your muscles. (Kegels are exercises where you simply tense and lift up, then release your vaginal muscles for a series of repetitions.) An external tool or weight greatly intensifies muscle activation similarly to using a weight to tone other muscles on your body. There are several tools to choose from:

Jade Eggs

These are the original pelvic floor exercisers used for thousands of years by Chinese Daoists and courtesans. These are egg-shaped stones, historically made out of jade. They both offer tactile feedback and weighted resistance. Pelvic strengthening is considered an essential part of women’s cultivation and self-care in Daoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Not only does it prevent many health conditions associated with older age, it stimulates the gynecological organs and production of sex hormones (which keep us young).

Buy jade eggs

Laselle Kegel Routine and Luna Mini Beads

Laselle Kegel beads are a modern version of beng wa balls (内用球, nèi yòng qiú, another Chinese pelvic floor exerciser). The Laselle Kegel beads are small hollow balls that contain smaller weighted balls inside. This causes the ball to emit a vibration when the vaginal muscles are contracted, giving feedback, as well as weighted resistance. Luna Mini beads are smaller than the Laselle Kegel Routine.

Buy Luna Mini Beads
Buy Laselle Kegel Routine

KegelSmart

The KegelSmart is an interactive device that reads the strength of the vaginal muscles and chooses the most appropriate of its 5 programs. The device emits a series of vibrations. Tightening the muscles during the vibration and relaxing during the intervals strongly stimulates the muscles to start firing more efficiently and intensely. It is the same concept as is used during acupuncture or physical therapy to revive an atrophied muscle whereby an alternating current is applied with concurrent muscle contraction.

Buy KegelSmart

By |2019-03-26T14:29:38+00:00March 4th, 2015|Postpartum Care, Second Spring, Sexual Cultivation|Comments Off on The 3 Best Tools to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor
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Diet, Exercise and Delaying Menopause

Cindy Joseph, 61, proof you can look hot at any age

Cindy Joseph, 61, proof you can look hot at any age

A 1999 Japanese study showed that high intake of green and yellow vegetables was associated with delayed onset of menopause. This same study showed that high levels of exercise (defined as 8-10 hours a week) was associated with earlier menopause. Total fat as well as saturated fat, which comes largely from animals, not statistically relevant to the timing of menopause. Smoking was confirmed as being linked to early menopause.

It is interesting to look at this from a TCM perspective. Early menopause may sound like a good idea (as long as you are not trying to conceive). It means you do not have to worry about PMS, losing Blood, or getting pregnant. However, it is also an indicator of loss of vitality and a depletion in hormone production, meaning premature aging.

Premature menopause, or Premature Ovarian Failure (POF), is defined as menopause that occurs prior to age 40. The average age of an American woman going through menopause is 51, with the normal range being 42-58. As menopause is triggered by a depletion of Yin (and Jing), premature menopause would indicate more substantial Yin (and Jing) deficiency. In order to keep ourselves young and delay menopause, we want to nourish our Yin and protect our Jing.

green-vegiesGoing back to the study, let’s look first at the intake of green and yellow vegetables being linked to later menopausal age. Eating more green and yellow vegetables*** ensures higher levels of many vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants. These vegetables would also have a cooling and moistening action on the body. Not only would a higher intake of green and yellow vegetables help to delay the onset of menopause, it would also alleviate menopausal symptoms (which are hot and dry in nature). That vegetables are good for us is hardly surprising news. The findings on exercise, however, run contradictory to what we are told.

We run on the assumption that because people are increasingly getting fat and lazy, the more we exercise the better off we will be. This is not the case. What we should strive for is balance. Too much exercise can cause its own set of problems including premature menopause. In Western terms, rigorous exercise decreases estrogen levels. Lean, muscular, sinewy physiques are associated with higher testosterone levels. In TCM terms, rigorous exercise is Yang in nature. It makes us more pumped, aggressive, and raises our temperature. If we overdo it, cardio, long distance running, and hot room yoga deplete Qi and Yin (and eventually Jing), while lifting weights deplete Qi and Yang (and eventually Jing).

woman-meditation-on-hill-XSmall2I believe that the amount of exercise necessary to cause hormonal imbalance varies from woman to woman. It depends on her genetics and lifestyle. However, it very important for all women to balance exercise with rest and Yin activities, such as meditation, qigong, Yin or restorative yoga, sitting in contemplation, gardening, being in nature, daydreaming, and gentle breathing exercises (not kundalini).

Another reason why I think exercise is associated with premature menopause and aging is that most women who exercise do not stop during menses. During menses the body naturally becomes more Qi and Blood deficient. Exercising during this time taxes the body additionally and makes it harder to recover. Over time this will weaken a woman’s body and deplete Blood which eventually leads to Yin deficiency.Thus, I believe if we listen to our bodies and avoid overtraining, practice Yin activities regularly, and do not exercise during menses, we can avoid the negative impact of exercise on our hormone levels.

Smoking was already known to decrease estrogen levels and to be linked with premature menopause. In TCM terms, in depletes Yin and introduces pathological Heat into the body.

*** Some yellow (orange) vegetables: pumpkin, butternut squash, yam, and carrot. Examples of green vegetables: broccoli, spinach, green beans, kale, asparagus, arugula, celery, and brussel sprouts.

Andrews, Lia. “The ‘Three Golden Opportunities’: Key Times Women Can Improve or Damage their Health.” (The Journal of Chinese Medicine, October 2013, Number 103).

Andrews, Lia. “7 Times a Woman; Ancient Wisdom on Health & Beauty for Every Stage of Your Life.” (Alcyone Press: San Diego, 2013).

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By |2019-03-26T14:29:41+00:00October 23rd, 2013|Second Spring|Comments Off on Diet, Exercise and Delaying Menopause
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Generating Yin and Moisturizing Dryness

quan-yinVaginal dryness is an unspoken occurrence that affects many women. It is one of the two most prevalent symptoms of menopause (the other being hot flashes). Vaginal dryness, and the attendant reduction in plumpness, occurs due to a drop in estrogen. It can also happen in much younger women who are experiencing hormonal imbalances.

In TCM vaginal dryness is a sign of Yin deficiency. Yin is the substance and lubrication of the body. It provides the luster, suppleness, flexibility, centerdness, and calm. Yin anchors our thinking and excitement and allows us to rest. Yin is the fuel for active Yang in the body.

Yin can become deficient due to overwork, mental and emotional stress, blood and fluid loss, poor nutrition, and lack of self care and rest. All women have a tendency to become Yin deficient with age. When Yin is deficient, Yang becomes relatively excessive which causes heat signs. Yin deficiency can manifest as dryness (skin, hair, eyes, mouth, stools, etc.), anxiety, insomnia, hot flashes, night sweats, headaches, emotional instability and sensitivity, excess libido, agitation, tinnitus, thinning skin, malar flush, and heat in hands and feet worse at night.

How do we protect our Yin and avoid or reverse vaginal dryness?

  1. Live a healthy lifestyle. This means getting at least 8 hours of sleep a night, eating regular nutritious meals, enjoying connection and laughter, reducing stress, and avoiding overworking. This is the foundation for everything.
  2. Practice proper menstrual and postpartum care. This keeps the hormones balanced and is essential for every woman’s long-term vitality.
  3. Drink sufficient fluids to avoid dehydration and limit alcohol and caffeine.
  4. Consume Yin tonics regularly like fish oil, black sesame seeds, avocado, bone broth, go ji berries, and American ginseng. The most effective and potent way to take Yin tonics is in the form of balanced Chinese herbal formulas that will include herbs to clear heat and astringe fluids.
  5. Take astringent herbs regularly such as Wu Wei Zi (schizandra) and Shan Zhu Yu (cornus). These are best taken in balanced formulas.
  6. Treat unresolved trauma, repression, or resentments in regards to sexuality, trust, and relationships. Vaginal dryness can be psychological or have a psychological component. The uterus and genitals are strongly connected to the heart. Most women need to feel an emotional and mental connection with their lover. If there are resentments, blockages due to past experiences, or you simply do not like the person anymore you cannot expect to feel excited. Your body may be trying to tell you something.
  7. Cultivate an empowered sexuality. Many women receive conflicting and negative messages that block sexual expression.
  8. Practice relaxation. This can mean daily meditation, spending time in nature, doing qigong or yoga.
  9. Get in touch with your creativity on a daily basis. Creativity and sexuality belong to the Water element and are strongly linked. Cultivating one will increase the other.

Maintaining juiciness is about more than just sexual functioning. Keeping your Yin strong means maintaining your womanliness: gentleness, grace, self-sufficiency, ease, peace, love…. all the things this world needs.

Andrews, Lia. “The ‘Three Golden Opportunities’: Key Times Women Can Improve or Damage their Health.” (The Journal of Chinese Medicine, October 2013, Number 103).

Andrews, Lia. “7 Times a Woman; Ancient Wisdom on Health & Beauty for Every Stage of Your Life.” (Alcyone Press: San Diego, 2013).

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By |2019-03-26T14:29:42+00:00October 19th, 2013|Beauty, Postpartum Care, Second Spring, Sexual Cultivation|Comments Off on Generating Yin and Moisturizing Dryness
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The ‘Three Golden Opportunities’: Key Times Women Can Improve or Damage their Health

Abstract

There are three times during a woman’s life when she has the opportunity to either improve, or else risk damaging her health. These are menstruation, postpartum and menopause. This theory has historically been used by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and has more recently been popularised by Dr. Zhuang Shuqi, a Taiwanese doctor of TCM specialising in women’s health. This article expounds on this theory and explores its relevance to modern Western society, presenting a comprehensive description of the main pathologies, practices, prohibitions, dietary approaches and lifestyle choices that practitioners should be aware of in order to help women recover and optimise their health during these life transitions.

For full article please see:

Andrews, Lia. “The ‘Three Golden Opportunities’: Key Times Women Can Improve or Damage their Health.” (The Journal of Chinese Medicine, October 2013, Number 103).

By |2017-12-29T23:34:33+00:00October 15th, 2013|Acupuncture, Nurturing Life Project, Period Care, Postpartum Care, Second Spring, Sexual Cultivation, Traditional Chinese Medicine|Comments Off on The ‘Three Golden Opportunities’: Key Times Women Can Improve or Damage their Health
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