5
SECRETS TO
Balanced,
Healthy Living
Harnessing the Power
of the 5 Elements
Carolyn Joy White, PhD • Dr. Lisa Lewis, ND, LAc
CONTENTS
Welcome to the Five Elements ... 3
Author Biographies ... 4
Chapter 1: Power of the Five Elements ... 6
Chapter 2: Chinese Medicine, Health, and Five Element Diagnosis ... 18
Chapter 3: The Five Elements and Nutritional Balance ... 33
Chapter 4: The Flow of Your Life and the Five Elements ... 46
3
Dear Reader,
You are about to embark on a journey of life as experienced through
The Five Elements. The authors here will show you how to feel good
as you approach your day, your health and your spiritual desires so
you radiate with the flow of energy.
They will demonstrate how you can balance The Five Elements for
physical wellness and harmony, lifestyle and nutrition. The Five
Ele-ments model can take you deeper in a number areas of life and,
over-all, help you learn to live a life in harmony and balance, or, as ancient
ones said it, “life in the flow.”
Get prepared to get direction on what you can do to live a more
bal-anced life—with The Five Elements and these authors. Absorb their
words and take advantage of their wisdom—the balance you feel will
make you glad you did!
My best,
Donna Kozik
2-time award winning author
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
Author Biographies
Carolyn Joy White, PhD
Carolyn Joy White, PhD, metaphysical educator and energy therapist, is a Certi-fied Aura Video Station Consultant as well as a Doctor of Clinical Hypnotherapy (DCH), a Certified Spiritual Counselor (CSC), and an International Hypnosis Fed-eration Certified Instructor (CHI). She is a Reiki Master, a certified reflexologist, and author of Think It->Say It->Be It: Use Your Words to Change Your Life. To learn more, visit www.ChakraCoach.com.
Dr. Lisa Lewis, ND, LAc
Dr. Lisa Lewis is a leading Naturopathic Physician, acupuncturist, healthy living ex-pert, and author. She is the owner of the Lewis Healing Institute and co-owner of NatureDrs—Nutritional Supplement and Wellness Company. Dr. Lewis is a Bastyr University graduate providing insightful knowledge combined with simple, prac-tical strategies to help people relieve stress, and live healthy, vibrant lives using Natural Medicine. Look for her new book, Stop Stressing Me Out: 7 Strategies to Overcome Overwhelm and Conquer Disease Naturally, at www.DrLisaLewis.com.
Kimberley Smith Lukhard, MS, RD, LDN
Kim is a registered dietitian, counselor, and teacher. She is a faculty member in the department of nutrition at East Carolina University. She is the author of the forthcoming book Eat, Skate, Win: 7 Steps for Your Youth Hockey Star to Eat Like a Champion. Visit http://KimLukhard.com for your nutritional needs.
Penelope Elfin
Penelope Elfin is an empowerment expert and facilitator of people’s soul jour-neys and author of the now published book Dig Deep and Fly High: Reclaim Your
Zest and Vitality, Loving You from Inside Out. Penelope Elfin’s early poor health sparked her journey into inner self-discovery. She works with individuals and groups, and is passionate about supporting others on their own inner personal journey. For her contact details, check out her website, www.YourSpiritualMama. com, and receive your free e-book now: Step Up, Step Out: Your World is Waiting.
6
5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
—CHAPTER 1—
POWER OF
THE FIVE ELEMENTS
Carolyn Joy White, PhD
7
Chapter 1: Power of the Five Elements introduces you to the universal
ener-gies of Nature. These enerener-gies are constantly ebbing and flowing, ever changing
yet remaining true to their “nature.”
You are about to embark on a voyage of discovery and learning—discovering the
essence of the Five Elements and learning how your awareness of these energies
promotes balanced, healthy living.
Chapter Author Biography
Carolyn White, PhD, metaphysical educator and energy therapist, is the author of Think It_>Say It -> Be It: Use Your Words to Change Your Life.
Carolyn’s passion for learning about our Human Energy System (HES) and the mind/body/spirit connec-tion spans over four decades, during which time she sought out mentors who were both wise and pure of heart.
As a result of this pursuit, Carolyn is a Doctor of Clinical Hypnotherapy (DCH), a Certified Spiritual Coun-selor (CSC), and an International Hypnosis Federation Certified Instructor (CHI). She is also a Reiki Master, Reflexologist, and a Certified Aura Video Station Consultant. She has certification in neuro-linguistic pro-gramming (NLP), Time Line Therapy, and color therapy. In 2007, Carolyn completed a doctoral program that awarded her a PhD in esoteric studies from American Pacific University.
According to Carolyn, all energy therapies need to be practical and practiced. Her teaching focuses on employing the three H’s—head, hands, and heart—as the basic tools of energy medicine. Her personal journey after a serious motor vehicle accident in 2008 reaffirmed the healing power of energy medicine. She is a contributing co-editor for energy medicine at AllThingsHealing.com, where she shares her light, love, and laughter—the “best” energy medicine! Visit Carolyn at her website at www.ChakraCoach.com.
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
It’s Elemental: 5 Keys to Health and Happiness
Want to learn more about your energy?
For your FREE Five Element questionnaire, email:
[email protected]
ü
Take this multiple choice survey to learn more about yourself and your Energy
System.
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Discover Your Lead Element and how it can help you be happy and healthy.
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Learn simple, effective ways to access the Energy of Your Lead Element.
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E-mail [email protected] with the subject line:
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9
Chapter 1: Power of the Five Elements
What do you want out of life? If you are like most people that I work with, you want to feel good. You want to feel good when you get up in the morning, feel good about getting a restful night’s sleep, and feel good about what you say and do on a daily basis. When you feel good, you approach every day radiating and glowing with energy.
Feeling good arises from the state of wellness. What is wellness? Wellness is a healthy balance of your mind, body, and spirit. Wellness is about being a whole person, balanced in all aspects of your life. What compass, what guidelines, can assist you in finding a balanced life?
Ancient wisdom—from the Hindus, Egyptians (Hermetic), Greeks, Chinese, and aboriginal cultures—re-alized that the cycle and rhythms of nature provided metaphors for living in harmony and balance. This ancient wisdom viewed that dis-ease resulted from an imbalance of physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and/or environmental factors.
The “metaphors” for harmonious living were classified into five basic Elements of life. There is a univer-sal, cross correspondence between the Elements and their qualities in each tradition. Each Element has an animating principle behind it, a color, a sound, and specific characteristics.
The concept of the Elements is probably as ancient as humankind is. The American aboriginals, Chinese, Hindus, and the founding civilizations of Western culture all shared this idea. Perhaps the tradition of the Elements arose from what may be one of humanity’s most characteristic behavior patterns: the desire to classify things and seeks answers. Remarkably, each culture, from East to West, developed similar con-cepts regarding the elements.
Essentially, the model of the Elements successfully served as a blueprint for wellness—that connectivity among body, mind, and spirit. This idea promoted a holistic view of your human experience. Over the centuries, the lineage of the Five Elements was either lost or perverted. When aboriginal cultures were conquered, many of their ancient traditions were lost. The ancient Western wisdom schools from Egyp-tian (Hermetic) lineage were distilled by political and religious subjugations. The Hindus and the Chinese maintained and developed a system of wellness based on the Five Elements, with the Chinese further refining their techniques to integrate this knowledge into a comprehensive “wellness” system, which evolved into Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Medicine: “The science or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.” “Prevention of disease” = what is used to maintain wellness.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) provides a model for your wellness in the five principles of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal— “Wu Xing.” Westerners often translate “Wu Xing” as the Five Elements, although the word “xing” connotes “changing states of being,” “permutations,” or “metamorphoses of being.” Think of these Five Elements as the “Five Changes.”
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
“The only thing constant in life is Change.” –François de la Rochefoucauld
TCM arose from centuries of observing nature. Practitioners watched the natural cycles of the universe, ever changing with consistency. TCM determined that the constants of nature’s cycles are Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. Each one was perceived as a different quality of interdependent energy in a state of constant interaction and flux with one another.
This constant interaction is comparable to the swing of a pendulum. Each side of the “swing” has a yin and yang “side.” Every organism in the universe has a “yin” and “yang” aspect. Yin is the feminine side, and signifies contraction and the “dark side of the hill.” It is the feminine energy of intuition, receptivity, quiet, nurturing, and integration. Earth and Water are yin energies. Yang energy is the masculine and expanding force of the universe. It is the active, expansive, and “light side of the hill,” the principle of manifesting.
To maintain the flow and balance of energies, you must seek to keep the “pendulum” moving. You need to maintain a balance of your mind, body, and spirit between your expansive energy (yang) and your quiet inner processes (yin). If you spend your days contemplating at home only thinking and planning (yin), you remain insular and never act on your dreams. If you act and react in the outer world (yang) and do not listen to your inner wisdom (yin), you become susceptible to the ideas and whims of others. If you expand your business too fast without examining its inner workings, it will probably contract or fail. Living a balanced life between contraction and expansion assists you in creating harmony and wellness. Understanding the nature of the “five changes” helps you to maintain the “swing” of the pendulum and become aware of the flow of these energies in your life. If you recognize and understand the interaction of these energy patterns, you can maintain a life of balance and of wellness.
In TCM the Five Elements follow the universal energy patterns of yin and yang. Water is considered to be energy gathering and sinking; Wood is energy expanding; Fire is energy rising; Earth is energy stabilizing; Metal is energy solidifying.
The Western philosophical traditions, as previously mentioned, share the concept of the Five Elements. These Five Elements are Water, Air, Fire, Earth, and Ether. The first four Elements represent the essence of the material world while Ether is the source of “All That Is.” Many similarities exist between the TCM Elements and their Western counterparts. These correspondences and differences will emerge as you learn about each Element.
As you read about each Element, reflect on the essence of each. Is there something about the Element that resonates with your inner being? Do you feel a connection with the principles? Do you see the wis-dom of each Element? Can you relate each Element to your life?
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Water
Water flows from above and sinks into the earth; hence, it is energy gathering and descending, or receding. As yin energy, it is soft, flowing, and yielding; yet Water can overcome Fire, Wood, Earth, and rock (Metal). Water is cleansing. Life on Earth evolved from Water. Without Water, life does not exist. Out of control Water, in the form of a flood, devastates and transforms the landscape. Water destroys as well as creates. What lessons can you learn from Water? Water symbolizes the flow of life. In Western philosophy, the principle of Water represents your emotions. Think of emotion as “E”-motion—i.e., energy (E) in motion. What is “energy”? By definition, it is “the capacity for work or vigorous activity; vigor; power; a source of usable power, such as petroleum or coal (or the Universe!).”
Energy is intangible. You know that it “exists” as you observe the “work” it does as measured by the resulting phenomena.
You see the word “energy” frequently talked about in the context of self-help, self-awareness, and spiri-tual teachings. TCM references “Chi” or “Qi” as the life force energy that sustains the essence of every liv-ing creature. Qi is said to be everywhere in the Universe; Qi is omnipresent. What, then, is this “energy” and how can you harness it?
Have you ever attended a team-sporting event in a stadium—perhaps a football, baseball, or soccer game? Maybe you have gone to a hockey or basketball game in a large auditorium. The venue is almost at capacity, with the majority of the seats occupied by loyal hometown fans. You notice that the local fans are waving flags, banners, and towels. They are cheering and clapping, and you hear lots of noise. Your nose tells you that these fans are consuming the limited stadium menu of popcorn, hot dogs, pretzels, beer, etc. You are experiencing “something”—a palpable “energy” almost like electricity in the air. All of these Elements combine to create an energy form called “home field advantage.”
Sport statistics bear witness to the home field (or home ice/home court) advantage. Teams generally have a higher winning percentage when they play at home with the support of their fans. If a team doesn’t have a loyal and supportive fan base (i.e., the team can’t attract people to fill the seats), their home winning percentage decreases. There are not enough bodies to create that powerful home field advantage energy form.
Winter is Water’s season, when it appears that all nature is dormant. When Water sinks into the earth, it seems to disappear, gathering in underground aquifers. Like Water, your emotions remain unseen, with a lot going on below the surface, until they emerge. To maintain health and balance, Water needs to stay in motion. Water must flow and be channeled such that it sustains life.
Are you afraid to express your emotions? What happens when Water freezes? It ceases to move. When Water does not flow, it loses its creative and growth energy. Fear of expression stops the movement. What happens when Water stagnates? Like a swamp, all types of overgrowth accumulate.
Do you hold in your emotions? What happens when Water backs up behind a dam and it breaks? An in-stant, uncontrollable amount of Water gushes forth, randomly wreaking havoc on all in its path.
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
Water is the great purifier. It has the ability to collect and filter impurities; hence, TCM associates the kid-neys and bladder with Water. These organs, if functioning in harmony with the rest of the body, remove toxins and waste. As Water follows its nature of gathering, consider what emotions you are gathering. Are you clearing toxic emotions, such as fear, every day?
Spiritual mentors suggest that there are only two basic emotions: fear and love. What is fear? Fear is really a future projection, often with an irrational emotional charge. You are projecting that something unpleasant might happen to you and you do not know what or when. It can be “False Evidence Appear-ing Real.” In other words, when you experience fear, you are livAppear-ing in the future and ignorAppear-ing the present. Hate, anger, worry, arrogance, and sadness—other toxic emotions—are the offspring of fear. Hate and anger arise when you perceive potential harm coming from another person. Worry comes from the fear of a worst-case scenario. Arrogance often hides fear. Sadness is the fear that you cannot cope with a loss.
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate Thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you....” –Matthew 5:43–44
Love is the way to sustain your Water Energy-in-Motion. Love channels a clear path for Water and keeps it moving and flowing. Love is the great antidote to toxic emotions. When you first arise, look at yourself in the mirror and say, “I love you!” Live with the attitude of love. True love knows no judgment. True love creates wisdom.
Wood
Wood is the Element of the liver and gall bladder. In TCM, the liver is the “master controller,” as it regu-lates the flow of Qi through the body. The liver holds the ethereal soul, that eternal aspect of our spirit, which leaves the body with the spirit at the time of physical passing. This soul, or “Han” in Chinese, re-turns to the Primordial Void, or the source of all.
As the liver is the Yin organ, the gall bladder signifies the Yang energy, as its energy is more regulating and planning, both logical, left-brain activities.
There is no direct equivalency to “Wood” in the system of Western Elements. The Hermetic tradition suggests that Western philosophy probably combined what TCM considered as the essence of Wood with Fire, as both represent expansive energies. In the classic Tarot deck, the symbolism of the “wand”— wooden staffs with tree leaves—that is associated with the Fire Element evidences this link between Fire and Wood. Spirit is also a key interpretation of the “wands” cards of the Tarot. The “wands” of the Tarot deck evolved into the suit of “clubs,” an object traditionally created from wood.
Wood is the energy of early spring, that time when the trees are budding and new life is emerging from the ground. This is the time of birth, a time of expansion. Energy and enthusiasm symbolize Wood. Think of a tree, sending out its roots and shooting its branches toward the heavens. Do you reach out, like the tree, with the positive emotions of generosity and kindness? Like the growing tree, these emotions are examples of energy expanding and reaching out to touch others.
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A natural, precise form is inherent in the growth pattern of the tree. There is a natural rhythm, a “sched-ule,” which the tree must follow if it is to be true to its nature. The tree grows according to its nature yet it needs to be flexible, to yield and bend in high winds.
While growing, a tree needs space to expand. If you want to cultivate relationships or material aspects such as a career, you have to provide the space and the time in your life for these to flourish. Do you trim back what you don’t need? Like a tree, pruning promotes optimum growth. Get rid of the dead Wood! The growth and expansion of the Wood Element can also feed anger, the antithesis of kindness. Anger arises as a natural response to a situation that is not desirable for you or those close to you. It could also be how you react to injustice toward others. If you do not channel your anger into a constructive path of action, this volatile energy can adversely affect your health. Excessive anger, jealousy, rage, frustration, or stress causes the stagnation of Qi, which creates an acidic blood condition. (Remember: The liver is the body’s regulator of Qi.)
When you experience anger, do you become so inflexible that you snap like the branch of an ailing tree? If something isn’t working in your life, does your rage keep growing until it is out of control? In order to stop the growth of anger, cultivate the positive energy of Wood—kindness. Anger can be turned around and healed by forgiving all parties, including you. When you forgive yourself for participating in the conflict that perpetrated the anger, you release the toxic energy that harms your body, mind, and spirit. When you forgive your adversaries, you send a powerful message that can transform an enemy into an admirer.
“Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is re-discovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves.” –Sidney and Suzanne Simon
Forgiveness is the ultimate act of kindness.
Fire
The height of summer expresses the Fire energy. It is the time of radiant sunshine and growth. Both Western philosophy and TCM share a similar view of Fire in that it symbolizes the rising and expansion of energy. In Western tropical astrology, the height of the summer constitutes the sign of Leo, the Lion. The Lion represents qualities of strength and pride. If pride is not balanced with an appreciation of one’s connection to the universe and All That Is, then pride evolves into arrogance.
Leo also represents the qualities of the Sun. The Sun, as the center of the solar system, radiates life-giving light and energy. If the sun did not shine, there would be no life on Earth. Yet, if you approached the Sun in a ship, the ship would perish and you with it.
Fire provides warmth and energy to cook food, providing sustenance. A fire contained in a campfire makes available a place to get warm and enjoy the taste of cooked food. A fire that is out of control can burn and destroy all in its path.
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
In TCM, Fire is the Element of the heart and small intestine. TCM refers to the heart as the “chief,” as it regulates the flow of all your internal organs via the blood flow. Spiritually, the heart is the seat of your soul, the direct link to the Creator. The small intestine separates the pure from the waste of what you consume. Psychologically, it discerns what is worthwhile from what is extraneous in your life.
Fire represents your physical expressiveness, aggressiveness, and yang (masculine) energy. Fire stimu-lates an existing condition and prepares it for transformation. It is the Sun—the light of life. Fire is latent in all things created yet it can be the source of destruction and disintegration. Fire is the essence behind the human will. If it is weak, there will be a lack of will and a poor sense of direction.
In the material world, the expansive qualities of Fire provide spiritedness, joy, passion, and a sense of purpose. Suppressed Fire can manifest as covert hostility, a lack of motivation, and an inability to take action. Excessive Fire may promote ulcers, fevers, and some types of infections. Some of the positive expressions of Fire are activity, enthusiasm, eagerness, courage, daring, resolution, productivity, and visual inspiration. On the negative side are gluttony, arrogance, jealousy, irritability, intemperance, and a predisposition to destruction.
Do you use your Fire energy to expand joy and purpose in this life? Do you think that you are more im-portant than others are, using your Fire energy to destroy others, in order to make yourself look good? A precursor to heart disease is an angry, hostile heart. Remember: Your “stuff” forms the basis of dis-ease. A heart surgeon that studied with Taoist Energy practitioner Mantak Chia reported that patients who succumbed to heart disease had hearts that looked like they were cooked. In TCM, the pericardium, which surrounds the heart, absorbs heat and releases this heat through the meridians. This evidence of a cooked heart muscle led Mantak Chia to conclude that, in cases of a heart attack, the heart and peri-cardium were “overheated” by angry, destructive thoughts and emotions. This excessive heat, or Fire, leads to heart disease.
How do you “cool down” the excessive heat of Fire? Practice joy and love. Focus on your passion and find your purpose in your life. Be discerning of how you “spend” your energy. Like the positive energy of the Sun, radiate warmth and compassion. Use your energy to grow in a positive way. Be kind and love, love, love! Love others, love your life, and love what you do!
Earth
Earth is stabilizing and grounding energy. This is the Element of the stomach, spleen, and pancreas, all involved with digestion. The Earth Element represents the time of the harvest, the reaping of what has been sown in the early fall.
Earth is the fundamental Element and the mother of all creation. In Western philosophy, the basic two Elements of Fire and Water form Earth, neutralized by the Air principle. When the interaction of the first three Elements is limited in space, the results are gravity, density, weight, and time. Essentially, weight is the appearance of the attractive power of the Earth, which is gravity. The polarity of Earth’s fluids—the balance of yin and yang—is electromagnetic energy. Earth exemplifies the most grossly material Element.
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As Earth is the solidification of previous Elements, it rules the physical plane and, as such, is responsible for support and strength. Earth, whose color is yellow-brown, has the effect of holding together the body. As an expression of consciousness, it signifies the union of the other Elements in your ego and the at-tendant instincts of self-preservation and propagation of your Earthly spirit.
The Earth Element imparts reliability and dependability, while suppressing the qualities of Earth mani-fests insecurity. Excessive earth promotes rigidity and a dogmatic outlook. This Element helps you to slow down, to be patient, and to be “grounded.”
Some of Earth’s positive qualities are endurance, respectability, resolution, infallibility, resistance, thor-oughness, concentration, objectivity, responsibility, and self-assuredness. On the negative side, Earth can manifest in worry, insipidity, unscrupulousness, misanthropy, tardiness, laziness, unreliability, and laconism. The energetic nature of Earth—stability and grounding—is often missing in contemporary life. The West-ern lifestyle lends itself to stress and chaos. You compromise your Earth energy by excessive worrying, anxiety, shame, guilt, and self-pity. Worry and anxiety—the fear of what may happen—erode your peace of mind. When you worry, you are living in the future. When you live in the future, you are not grounded in the “here and now.”
Anxiety frets about what is to be. What if I fail? Anxiety projects the fear of failure into your future. This wisdom of TCM associates the Earth Element with the organs of digestion. What you feed your body is just as important as what you feed your mind and spirit. Sometimes, it’s not what you eat—it’s what eats you! Happy, joyous, and positive thoughts about the future are far better “mind food” for creating a happy, healthy outcome.
It’s okay to have future dreams and projections of what you would like in your life. The best way to realize these dreams is to be grounded in the “here and now” and project only positive, joyful intentions.
Metal
Metal is another one of the “Five Changes” that has no direct equivalence in Western philosophy. The symbolism of the classic Tarot suggests that Metal is an aspect of Earth as “metal” coins represent the Earth Element.
In Hermetic tradition, the alchemist sought to create “gold,” the most precious metal of all, out of lead stone (Earth.) This was the ultimate attainment of wisdom and enlightenment.
In TCM, Metal is energy solidifying. It is the time after the harvest—the late fall of the year. After the harvest, you reflect on what has been. It is the time to rest and reevaluate. How did the harvest turn out? Was it bountiful and joyous? Did you have any regrets about what seeds you earlier planted? Do you la-ment on what was? Do you have the courage to learn and release the past?
When something ends—a project, a relationship, a business, or even the loss of a partner or loved one— a feeling of sadness may occur. It is natural to experience grief. The suppression or retention of sadness and grief negatively affects the lungs and large intestines, organs associated with Metal.
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
The lungs circulate air, bringing Qi into the body. Inspiration and expiration are the natural functions of the lungs. If you don’t follow this cycle, your body ceases to function. The large intestine excretes the body’s waste. What no longer serves you is processed and eliminated via the large intestine. What hap-pens if you don’t have at least one bowel movement per day?
Grief is a natural response to a loss. Excessive grief and sadness, unless released, lead to despondency and depression. Whereas TCM views depression as a primary imbalance of the Metal Element, Western psychiatric medicine diagnoses depression as a disease. Prescription anti-depressant drugs only serve to mask the core issues behind depression. If you listen to your body’s wisdom; it will tell you when the emotions of grief and sadness no longer serve you. You need to process and eliminate these feelings in order to be physically and mentally healthy.
Metal is all about courage—the courage to go beyond mourning a loss and accepting that life is all about cycles. It takes courage to overcome the inertia resulting from the depths of sorrow. Every challenge is an opportunity to grow, to go beyond what has been.
Breathing exercises are a great way to connect with the life flow of Qi. Here is a “Playercise” from my book, Think It -> Say It -> Be It: Use Your Words to Change your Life.
Four Square Breath
Breathing is one of the few automatic bodily functions that you can control with your conscious mind. To a point, you can decide how long to inhale, to hold your breath, and when to exhale. Paying attention to your breathing helps you connect to the present time.
The Four Square Breath Playercise aligns, balances, and centers your energy. This breath additionally relaxes you. It’s easier to learn new things when you are relaxed. You can use this breath at anytime, any-where, especially before your
other Playercises.
The Four Square Breath is based on an ancient principle of balance between the four Elements: Water, Air, Fire, and Earth. Basically, you inhale through your nose to a count of four, hold your breath for a count of four, exhale for a count of four through your mouth, making a soft “HA” sound, and hold your breath for a count of four. The sequence of the breath looks like this:
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The “Inhalation” breath represents the energy of Water as it is flowing in to your body.
The “Hold” of your breath after inhalation represents the Element of Air. As you hold this breath, the Air energy brings the energy to your head.
The “Exhale” breath represents the Element of Fire. As you exhale through your mouth with a soft HA sound, think of a martial artist exhaling the force of their energy as they slam their hand through a board and break it. This is “power”!
The “Hold” of your breath after exhalation represents the Element of Earth. Earth energy is very grounding. The first time you do the Four Square Breath Playercise, repeat the “square” pattern for four cycles. Each time you do this Playercise increase the numbers of “square” repetitions.
A word about breathing for centering: The greatest benefit from breathing patterns occurs when you take a deep abdominal, or belly, breath. Singers and wind instrument musicians refer to this as a diaphragmatic breath, as the diaphragm expands down and outward on the inhalation and pushes up on the exhalation. Since the lungs completely fill with air, the belly expands outward. When the breath is exhaled, the belly pushes inward and up. Little babies naturally breathe in this manner as well as most people when they are lying down.
To check for if you are doing this belly breath, look at yourself in a mirror, paying attention to your shoulders. Take a deep breath. If your shoulders move up, you are filling your lungs only in the upper chest area. Take your hand and place it on your abdomen. If your hand moves outward with your inhalation and in with your exhalation, you are doing the belly breath!
When you breathe this deep belly breath, you are bringing more oxygen into your body. Oxygen allows your cells to radiate a steady, gentle heat. This in turn enables the body to process food and rid itself of waste products faster. Your brain is more efficient and your heart and blood stream are healthier.
The breath supports the words that you speak as they flow from your thoughts to the outside world. Maintaining a regular practice of the Four Square Breath (and other centering breathing patterns) keeps you balanced and the additional oxygen is beneficial to your health.
Resources
Find Your Friggin’ Joy by Belinda Farrell (Balboa Press, 2012)
Emotional Wisdom: Daioy Tools for Transforming Anger, Depression, and Fear by Mantak Chia and Dena Saxer (New World Library, 2009)
Think It -> Say It -> Be It: Use Your Words to Change Your Life by Carolyn White, PhD (Balboa Press, 2013) Your Hidden Symmetry: How Your Birth Date Reveals the Plan for Your Life by Jean Haner (Hay House, 2013)
—CHAPTER 2—
CHINESE MEDICINE,
HEALTH, AND THE FIVE
ELEMENT DIAGNOSIS
Dr. Lisa Lewis, ND, LAc
19
Chapter 2: Chinese Medicine, Health, and Five Element Diagnosis will
provide you with a peek into one branch of Chinese medicine, the Five Element
Model, and how it’s used in disease diagnosis and treatment. Five Elements focus
on the harmony between your body and the outside environment and are an
im-portant part of the diagnostic process.
The purpose of this chapter is to help you learn more about Five Element
Diag-nosis for achieving health and balance, based mostly on the relationship between
the Elements and smell, color, taste, and sound. You will also learn how this
in-formation can be applied to clinical practice and help you understand the disease
process. Finally, you will be given brief treatment explanations using
acupunc-ture and herbal medicine with the understanding that nutrition and other
natu-ral therapies can also be used to correct imbalances in order to achieve health
and vitality.
Chapter Author Biography
Dr. Lisa Lewis, ND, LAc. is a leading Board-certified, licensed naturopathic physician, acupuncturist, and natural medicine and healthy living expert. She is a Bastyr University graduate providing insightful knowl-edge combined with simple, practical strategies to help people relieve stress, and live healthy, vibrant lives using natural medicine.
Dr. Lewis is the owner of the Lewis Healing Institute and co-owner of NatureDrs—Nutritional Supplement and Wellness Company. She has authored and co-authored several books/e-books, including 3 Days to Detox: A Step-by-Step Guide for Busy People to Naturally Lose Weight and Feel Great. Join the NatureDrs Detox Challenge at www.DrLisaLewis.com.
Her new book is Stop Stressing Me Out: 7 Strategies to Overcome Overwhelm and Conquer Disease Natu-rally (www.StopStressingMeOut.com). Looking for more hands-on transformational work? Her six-week
Stop Stressing, Start Healing Boot Camp will walk you through your own personal healing journal and
health breakthrough using the principles in her book (www.StopStressingStartHealing.com).
Learn more about Dr. Lewis, natural medicine, and how she is “Making Healing Simple and Natural.” Visit her blog at www.DrLisaLewis.com/blog and follow her on Facebook and Twitter @DrLisa_Lewis.
20
5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
Five Elements for Renewal:
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21
Chapter 2: Chinese Medicine, Health, and Five Element Diagnosis
“Vitality and energy are considered the foundations of life; in order to keep them flourishing they must be protected and the life-giving force must rule.”
–Huang Di, Nei Jing
Chinese medicine is a complex and sophisticated approach to healing. It has been developed over a pe-riod of at least 5,000 years and is based on ancient Chinese medical texts, clinical observation, as well as modern empirical research. Principles of Chinese medicine are based on the fundamental concept that the physical, spiritual, and emotional body are connected in their function, and that a network of energy called Qi (pronounced “chee”) flows through all aspects of the body. Chinese medicine is, thus, holistic in its nature and focuses on the individual, instead of the disease.
Energy called Qi flows through the body in channels called “meridians.” Most of these channels are named for a physical organ (lung, liver, stomach, etc.) to which they are correlated, though some are named for more abstract concepts or systems in the body. The energy or Qi in each of these channels is associated with specific tissues, areas, and functions of the body, as well as with certain emotions, colors, tastes, smells, etc.
Because of its holistic nature, Chinese medicine focuses on your entire bodily pattern and the presence or absence of harmony between systems and energies in your body. When a person is ill, the symptoms experienced are only one part of a complete bodily imbalance.
Chinese medicine also focuses on the harmony between your body and the outside environment. So, concepts such as deficiency and excess, seeking to balance heat and cold, dry and damp, yin and yang within the body are considered in the quest for balance and harmony.
Five Element Model
One branch of Chinese medicine is the Five Element Model. Just as concepts of yin and yang or deficiency and excess are of creating harmony between your body and the outside environment, Five Element Theory is an important part of the diagnostic process. The purpose of this chapter is dedicated to helping you learn more about Five Element Diagnosis for achieving health and balance.
Nature and the Five Elements
For many ancient cultures, Nature and its importance were well understood and respected. People lived according to the Elements. Man was acutely aware and dependent on the cycle of seasons. They survived according to the laws of the Universe, and revered the flow and changes of the world around them. They watched, heeded, learned, and engulfed themselves in the Elements.
Unlike today, as technology moves man farther away from Nature, ancient cultures embraced Nature. They understood that just as “Nature all around them” followed its natural process of change, also
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
ture inside them” followed the same patterns. Intuitively human beings go through seasonal cycles inside themselves, and the Elements are re-created within them.
All Elements are present and necessary for basic life. For example, spring is a time for “new beginnings” as life emerges and bursts into world. And these “new beginnings” are not just happening outside of your body; they’re happening inside the body.
It’s not only the external winter that fosters regeneration, rest and reflection in the outside world, it also happens in your body, mind, and spirit. You are a reflection of the seasons. You are the Elements. Nature is “without” and “within” you, every moment, all the time. And this is a direct replica of this natu-ral unending cycle of life, from season to season. Everything you do—thinking, feeling, acting, etc.—is done in union with Nature.
Chinese medicine developed from that relationship of human beings to Nature in body, mind, and spirit. Five Element diagnoses and the system of examination, diagnosis, and treatment are based on these natural processes. The concepts of health follow the law of balance with Energy and Nature.
Energy is considered the force called Life. The Chinese call it Chi (Qi) energy and compare it to the streams, brooks, rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans of the Earth. The Life Force flows in you through interconnected pathways called Meridians, similar to electricity. It flows in a current, and even though we can’t see it, we can see and feel the effects of it.
Chi can also be likened to blood flow. You know it’s inside you; although you usually don’t see it, the ef-fect of life pulsing through you is evident. All life has Chi, and it moves through every aspect of life. With-out Chi energy, Life Force, there is no life.
Five Elements Concepts
There are many concepts to grasp within Five Element Theory, some of which are discussed in other chapters, and much is beyond the scope of this e-book. This section will focus on the physiology and diagnostic aspects of Five Elements.
You will learn how Five Element Theory can help you understand disease processes. You will also learn how to recognize when you’re out of balance. Hopefully this information will prompt you to take the next steps toward using natural medicine for treatment and/or disease prevention in your life.
The basis for Chinese medicine is that the existence of humanity and all of Nature is dependent upon Chi. It’s by Chi alone that you live and breathe.
Since Chi is the basis of life, if it goes awry, it becomes the basis of disease. Health and illness are defined by this life energy. So when
23
you hear your traditional acupuncturist mention “balancing,” it’s a way of expressing that your chi is no longer in harmony with your body and needs to be corrected.
The Five Elements are detailed descriptions of the Chi energy as it goes through cyclic transformations. It isn’t just philosophical or agricultural, but it’s also a distinct part of Chinese medical thought. Since health is the harmonious balance of cyclic interaction of these Elements, health is maintained only when the Energy flowing through each of the Elements is clear and balanced.
The Five Elements give a framework that’s closely connected with daily life and the cause of illness is partly diagnosed through a Five Element examination. It’s a convenient way to organize clinical reality. The Five Elements are often used to describe clinical processes and relationships, and to help formulate proper treatments. It’s an explanatory theory and is not meant as a binding doctrine.
The Elements Explained
You represent a smaller reflection of this large universe, a microcosm, and so the description of the en-ergy that activates the cosmos, the macrocosm, is the same description for you. This enen-ergy is described as the Five Elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—and they have been discussed in the previ-ous chapter of this eBook. So, now let’s look at how the Elements are used to diagnose conditions. Each organ is assigned to one of these Elements:
Five Elements
Element Yin Organs Yang Organs
Wood Liver Gall Bladder
Fire Heart Small Intestine
Earth Spleen Stomach
Metal Lungs Large Intestine
Water Kidneys Bladder
Colors, sounds, smells, emotions, tastes, time of day, seasons, climates, numbers, planets, moons phases, etc., all provide a part of the picture of how the Elements work inside you. See The Five Element Chart below, which describes the Element qualities.
The pathways of energy within your body correspond to an Element. As you continue to read, you will learn all the pertinent Elemental qualities in Nature and medicine in more detail. Simply remember that the Elements are never completely separate from one another. The Five Element Model is holistic medi-cine where all Elements must work together for complete balance and harmony.
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
Five Element Chart
Nature WOOD FIRE EARTH METAL WATER
Seasons Spring Summer Late summer Autumn Winter
Climate /
Environment Wind Heat Dampness Dryness Cold
Direction East South Center West North
Movement Expansion, outward Upward Neutral/stable Contraction, inward Downward
Stages of
Development Birth Growth Transformation Harvest Storage
Medicine WOOD FIRE EARTH METAL WATER
Yin Organs Liver pericardiumHeart and Spleen Lungs Kidneys
Yang Organs Gallbladder Small intestine& triple heater Stomach IntestineLarge BladderUrinary
Colors Green Red Yellow White Blue/black
Sounds Shouting Laughing Singing Crying Groaning
Odor Rancid Scorched Fragrant Rotten Putrid
Emotions Anger Joy pensivenessWorry/ SadnessGrief/ Fear
Tastes Sour Bitter Sweet Pungent Salty
Tissues Tendons Vessels Muscles Skin Bone
Sense Organs Eyes Tongue Mouth Nose Ears
By reviewing the chart, it should be clear that the system of Chinese medicine, and specifically traditional acupuncture, is based on a system that brings life together for everyone, not just those who are healthy or ill. To understand them it’s necessary to at least be familiar with the concept of body, mind, and spirit, which was mentioned earlier in this chapter.
This holistic concept of body, mind, and spirit is the belief in the unity and integrity of the whole person. Although there are several different aspects of the self to consider, these aspects can never be isolated from one another, or isolated in the way they affect your life experiences.
For example, digestion cannot be separated from your emotions, or your emotions separate from the kidney, or the kidney separate from diabetes. Five Elements make these connections and it’s important to stretch your mind beyond what seems to be disconnected, to begin to see the connections and flow of the whole person that you are.
25
Five Elements Diagnosis
The Five Elements Model is extensively used in diagnosis. It’s based mostly on the relationship between Elements and smell, color, taste, and sound, as the most important aspects. This section will discuss the Five Element diagnostic aspects of:
•ü Colors •ü Sounds •ü Smells •ü Emotions •ü Tastes •ü Tissues •ü Sense orifices •ü Climates
The Five Element Chart below lists all Five Elements and their diagnostics. Each aspect will be discussed in general terms, and specific examples will be provided to help you understand how they can be used in diagnosing diseases, conditions, and imbalances.
Colors
Color observation is the most important of all the Five Element diagnosis aspects. The color of the face is the color that used most often in diagnosis. The observation and prevalence of one of the Five Element colors indicates is an imbalance in that particular Element. See the Five Elements Chart above, which lists all the Five Elements aspects.
Five Element Colors
Wood Green
Fire Red
Earth Yellow
Metal White
Water Black or Blue
Sometimes the complexion can show multiple interactions between two or more Elements. The face color doesn’t always agree with the clinical findings, but it’s useful nonetheless. Also, the face has its own system of diagnosis, which is past the scope of this e-book. Just know that the face color elements cannot be used in isolation for diagnosis.
Sounds
The sound and tone of your voice can also be used in diagnosis. If someone tends to shout a lot in anger, it indicates an imbalance in the Wood element or liver. If someone laughs a lot without reason, it indi-cates an imbalance in Fire/heart. A singing tone of voice indiindi-cates an imbalance in the Earth Element or spleen. Crying is related to Metal and it often is associated with grief, which is a lung imbalance. A groan-ing or husky tone of voice indicates an imbalance in Water/kidney.
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
Five Element Sounds
Wood Shouting Fire Laughing Earth Singing Metal Weeping Water Groaning
Smells:
Smells are useful in diagnosis when using the Five Element Model. A rancid smell indicates an imbalance in Wood/liver. A burned smell indicates an imbalance in Fire/heart. A fragrant, sweetish smell is often associated with Earth/spleen. A rotten smell is often indicative of a Metal/lung imbalance. A putrid smell is indicates a Water/kidney or bladder imbalance.
Similar to color, smell can be interpreted in other ways than those indicated by the Five Element Model. Also, smells don’t always correspond to this rather ridged system.
Five Element Smells
Wood Rancid Fire Scorched Earth Fragrant Metal Rotten Water Putrid
Emotions
The relationship between emotions and the Five Elements is really important for diagnosis. A person who is prone to outburst of anger indicates an imbalance in the Wood Element. This emotion can also be more subdued and less apparent when the anger is repressed. It’s always best for the practitioner to ask clear questions and get complete answers when determining a person’s true emotional state.
Joy is the emotion related to the Fire Element and the heart. Obviously a state of joy is not a harmful emotion. What is meant by “joy” here, however, is a state of excessive or constant excitement. An ex-ample of the negative effect of excess joy is heart pain that can be triggered not only by bad news, but also by sudden good news.
27
Pensiveness or over-concentration is the emotion related to Earth. Admittedly this is not an “emotion” in the way most people understand it, but it’s nonetheless the mental activity related to the spleen. Worry is also another emotion that can cause Earth/spleen imbalance.
Grief and sorrow are the emotions related to Metal and the lungs. Lung Qi is very much affected by grief and or sadness. People tend to catch colds during times of grief. Fear is related to Water and, again this emotion directly influences the kidneys and bladder. Anxiety is also related to Water/kidneys.
Five Element Emotions
Wood Anger Fire Joy Earth Worry/pensiveness Metal Sorrow/sadness Water Fear/anxiety
Tastes
The tastes related to the Five Elements are a relatively minor aspect of Chinese diagnosis. They are as follows:
Five Element Tastes
Wood Sour
Fire Bitter
Earth Sweet
Metal Pungent
Water Salty
A sour taste often accompanies Wood/liver disharmonies and a bitter taste is part of the Fire/heart pat-tern. A sweet taste often indicates Earth/spleen challenges and a pungent taste sometimes accompanies Metal/Lung disharmony. A salty taste occasionally is associated with Water/kidney imbalance.
Each of the flavors has an effect on your energy, so the combination of the five flavors insures balance. An excess of any one of the flavors can have an injurious effect, and yet, each Element can be strengthened if the right flavor is prescribed for it. Flavors are an important way to balance diet and choose foods that you should eat daily.
For example, when people who crave sweets are asked, “What is your favorite taste?”, they would say, without hesitation, “Oh, I have a sweet tooth!” Now, there are some obvious commonsense
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
ships here. The Chinese medicine spleen represents the pancreas in Western medicine. The function of the pancreas is associated with diseases like diabetes, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and obesity, all of which have to do with sugar imbalance in the body.
Tissues
Diseased or unhealthy tissues can be used in diagnosis as a way to show disharmony of the relevant Ele-ments. For example, if the tendons are stiff and tight, this indicates a liver and gallbladder or Wood dis-harmony. A problem with blood vessels points to a heart or Fire imbalance. A weakness or atrophy of the muscles indicates spleen or Earth issues. The skin is related to Metal and the lungs, and a lung weakness is often manifested with spontaneous sweating (the pores being open).
Five Element Tissues
Wood Sinews/tendons/ligaments Fire Blood vessels
Earth Muscles
Metal Skin
Water Bones
The bones are related to the kidneys or the Water Element. Degenerative diseases of the bone, which are usually related to aging, can be associated with kidney energy or essence declining. Kidney essence decline is part of the normal aging process.
Sense Orifices
Problems with the five senses can also reflect disharmonies in the relevant Elements. For example, blurred vision often reflects liver weakness; a problem with the tongue (such as ulcers) can be related to the heart and Fire.
Problems with the mouth and lips (such as dryness) are often due to spleen disharmony or stomach imbalance, which is the Earth Element. A problem with dry nostrils or frequent sneezing reflects lung disharmony and chronic tinnitus can be due to kidney imbalance.
Again, this model of relationships is only partly applicable. For example, there are many eye disorders not related to Wood. Some tongue pathologies can be due to stomach or kidneys. The lips also manifest the state of blood and mouth problems can also be due to kidney imbalance. And by way, there are many ear problems that are not due to Kidney imbalance.
29
Five Element Sense Orifices
Wood Eyes
Fire Tongue
Earth Mouth and lips
Metal Nose
Water Ears
Climates
Your sensitivity to a particular climate often reflects a disharmony in the relevant Element/organ. So, a sensitivity to wind often reflects disharmony in Wood/liver. If you have a heart disharmony, you may of-ten feel much worse in the heat, which is the Fire Element. Dampness affects the spleen, which is Earth. Dryness injures the lungs/Metal, and cold weakens the kidneys.
Five Element Climates
Wood Wind
Fire Heat
Earth Dampness
Metal Dryness
Water Cold
However, this model has limitations, too. For example, heat can aggravate any heat condition of any or-gan, not just the Heart. Dampness can aggravate a damp condition of the spleen, as well as the kidneys, gallbladder, and bladder. Dryness injures the body fluids of the lungs primarily, and the stomach and kidneys secondarily. Cold affect virtually any organ (in particular the stomach, spleen, intestines, lungs, uterus, and bladder) and not just the kidneys.
Additionally, your climate preference in the traditional Five Element Diagnosis is based on the associa-tion of climate with energy or Chi. So, preference and aversion to climate are both significant. It’s just as important to know what climates you dislike as well as those you fully enjoy.
As mentioned several times before, in Chinese medicine diagnosis it is not always possible to make a direct correlation between two imbalances or Elements on a one-to-one basis. What counts is the impor-tance of each imbalance as it relates to the whole pattern. The Five Elements help to create a picture of you that greatly improves the ability to make a complete and thorough diagnosis.
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
Putting it All Together
So, as you see the Five Elements system has important application in human physiology/medicine. Ac-cording to this model, each Element shows many connections between the universe and your body that are somehow expressions of each particular Element. Now, how can this information be applied to clini-cal practice and help you understand the disease process?
Let’s take the Element Wood as an example, whose organ is the liver. I begin with Wood because Chinese medicine and Five Element analysis view spring as the beginning of the seasonal cycle.
An Analysis of Wood
Season: The season related to Wood is spring. In practice, it’s very common for a liver imbalance to be
aggravated in the springtime. This is probably because the liver energy flows upward and is very active in springtime.
Direction: An East wind easily affects the liver. In practice, some patients suffering from chronic pains,
like arthritis, headaches, or neck ache, sometimes will remark that their pain is worse whenever an East wind blows.
Color: The face color related to liver imbalances will often be greenish. This is not skin color, but a
sub-dued hue coming from the face. Color can also be considered in terms of preferences. Whether you surround yourself with green and wear green clothing to the exclusion of others, or if you detest green, either of these circumstances can point to wood imbalance.
Taste: A small amount of sour taste in the diet is beneficial to the liver and an excess is detrimental. It’s
frequently found that if you love vinegary foods, you may have a Wood imbalance or you may be trying to correct it.
Note: This is an example of your “natural sense” of what you need, even though you might never have been able to verbalize why you have a craving for a particular taste. This is the mind, body, spirit connec-tion; you know it as “intuition.”
Climate: Wind very clearly affects those who suffer from liver imbalance, often causing headaches and
stiffness in the neck.
Sense Organ: The liver moistens and nourishes the eyes. So, floaters and eye problems point to liver
imbalance.
Tissue: The liver also moistens and nourishes your tendons and ligaments. So, if you have tendon or
ligament weakness or frequent injury, this usually indicates a Wood imbalance.
Emotion: Anger is the emotion that is connected to Wood and the liver. Someone whose liver energy
31
Sound: Related to the example above, a person who suffers from a liver disharmony will be prone to
shouting (in anger).
The aspects of all the other Elements apply in the same way. However, it’s important to realize that the Five Elements Model is only one of the models in use and is not a “standalone” system. It’s one aspect of a greater system of diagnostic factors.
What Treatment to Expect
If you understand the Five Elements, it’s easier for you to know what organs may be out of balance and take the necessary steps to put them back into balance. Although treatment wasn’t discussed in detail above, I’ll discuss it briefly to provide you with a few possibilities. But I recommend that you search for a natural medicine or Chinese medicine practitioner for your treatment advice. It can really make a differ-ence in your health and your life.
Chinese medicine includes diet and lifestyle counseling, herbal therapies, physical medicine (similar to massage and physical therapy), acupuncture, and therapeutic exercise. Acupuncture is one the most familiar branches of the Chinese medicine system. In addition to acupuncture needles, various other methods used to stimulate acupuncture points include electricity, heat, massage, and suction created by special cups.
When using the Five Element Model for diagnosis I begin by asking many questions about your general constitution, body function, as well as details about your current organ symptoms. I also look at the tone and health of your skin, hair, teeth, and nails. I also use pulse and tongue diagnosis. I feel the pulse in three positions on each wrist as a way to feel the energy of each meridian represented in the pulse. I also look closely at the tongue, as its color and quality reflect many things about the balance of energy in your body.
After collecting information by questions and observation, a treatment will be chosen that is specific for you, as the patient, at that time. I use acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, and dietary and lifestyle counseling most often with my patients.
If you receive herbal therapy, I will put together a specific combination of herbs for your current condi-tion and constitucondi-tion. The herbs will either be in whole herb form, like a bulk tea that you boil and pre-pare, or the herbs will be “granules” or liquid form that simply needs to be added to water.
If you receive an acupuncture treatment, I will choose acupuncture points to reflect the imbalances that I find during the assessment and diagnosis. I will clean/swab each acupuncture point to be treated and then insert the needles. Acupuncture uses very thin stainless steel needles to stimulate specific points along your meridians. This stimulation can be directed to unblock energy that is “stuck” or to bring en-ergy into areas that are lacking enen-ergy, ultimately assisting your body in moving back into balance. Using the Five Elements Model and Chinese medicine practices bring a great deal of help and healing to my patients. Since I also practice naturopathic medicine, the diet, detox and cleansing, the mental/ emotional aspects of dis-ease are a primary focus of every treatment plan. The ability to practice both
32
5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
naturopathic and Chinese medicine opens up a wider realm of diagnostic and treatment options than would be offered by either medicine alone. That’s why I’m honored to specialize in both.
For more detailed information about acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition, and naturopathic medicine, log on to www.StopStressingMeOut.com or www.DrLisaLewis.com.
Resources
The Foundation of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text for Acupuncturists and Herbalists, 2nd Edition
by Giovanni Maciocia
Handbook of Oriental Medicine, 3rd Edition by HB Kim, LAc.
Traditional Acupuncture: The Law of the Five Elements by Dianne Connelly, PhD The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine by Ted Kaptchuk
33
—CHAPTER 3—
THE FIVE ELEMENTS AND
NUTRITIONAL BALANCE
Kimberley Smith Lukhard, MS, RD, LDN
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5 SECRETS TO BALANCED, HEALTHY LIVING: HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE 5 ELEMENTS
This chapter will focus on each of the Five Elements, the organs that are governed
by the Element, and how you can use nutrition to strengthen your body. You will
find four recipes and one meal suggestion in this chapter.
Chapter Author Biography
Kim Lukhard’s love affair with food began when she was in fourth grade. Her desire for extra spending money fueled her first business: making and selling popcorn balls door to door in her neighborhood in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her use of food changed in junior high when she was diagnosed with hypogly-cemia, after a six-hour blood test. From that day forward she began to make the connection between what she ate and how she felt, not only physically, but emotionally. She earned her BA in psychology from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and her MS in nutrition science from East Carolina University (ECU) in Greenville, North Carolina. She completed her dietetic internship at the Brody School of Medi-cine. Kim has taught nutrition classes at ECU for 15 years. She loves awakening students to the power of food. Her classes teach students how they can use food to change their lives. Kim is the creator of Hockey Mom RD, a youth sports nutrition company. She is the author of the forthcoming book Eat, Skate, Win: 7 Steps for Your Youth Hockey Star to Eat Like a Champion. Her two sons were her inspiration for the book. Visit her site at KimLukhard.com.
Unleash the Champion in Your Youth Hockey Star
Learn the secrets to help your child be a champion on the ice and in the classroom. During your phone “chalk talk” sessions you will learn how to apply two action steps to unleash the champion in your youth hockey player.
Do you want your child to:
•ü Avoid their midmorning energy crash in school? •ü Have more energy in the afternoon?
•ü Have lasting energy on the ice? •ü Build more muscle as they grow?
•ü Learn how food can be just as important as sharp skates and their hockey stick?
If you answered YES to any or all of these, e-mail Kim at [email protected] to schedule a FREE 30-minute phone chalk talk today.
35
“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.” –Hippocrates
Have you ever heard the statement “Eat a well-balanced diet for good health?” Practitioners of Tradi-tional Chinese Medicine (TCM) have been using the Theory of Five Elements for thousands of years to heal and help balance the body. These healers believe that when all of the Five Elements—Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal—are in balance, people benefit by having good health, because their Qi, or life force, is flowing and they experience health and harmony in their body.
There are two cycles in TCM: the Creation Cycle and the Control Cycle. Both cycles involve all five elements. The Creation Cycle shows how the elements support each other and the organs governed by each element. For example, Water feeds Wood so that plants can grow. In the Control Cycle Water keeps Fire in check. Let’s look at this further. The Water Element governs the kidneys and the bladder, and the Fire element governs the heart and small intestine. If the kidneys are not healthy and are causing a person to retain too much fluid, this can impact the health of the heart. What both of these cycles illustrate is that health is not stagnant, and that the health of one organ in your body can impact the health of another.
This chapter focuses on the Creation Cycle. You will learn how the Five Elements relate to modern nutrition and which foods to choose to help you achieve balance in your diet every day.
Water
Water is the nourishing Element; it’s the winter Element, and it governs the kidneys and the bladder. In the Generating Cycle Water nourishes Wood to enable plants to grow. Life springs forth when Water is involved. Just think for a moment. You began your life in water, in the protective environment of your mother’s womb. Water has many jobs in your body and performs all of these jobs without your knowl-edge.
Water helps to:
•ü Carry nutrients throughout your body.
•ü Dissolve the vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and glucose in the food you eat, so those nutrients can be carried throughout your body.
•ü Rid your body of waste by cleansing your tissues and blood.
•ü Make chemical reactions in your body. The water molecule is always being made or broken apart. •ü Lubricate your joints.
•ü Act as a shock absorber inside your eyes, spinal cord, and joints. •ü Regulate your body’s temperature.
