What is Qi Gong?

"To study and at times practice what one has learned, is that not a pleasure?"  -CONFUCIUS

Qi (pronounced CH-EE) is the Chinese word for "life force or life energy".  It is the inherent power that flows through all living things, including inanimate objects like mountains and rocks.  For humans, having healthy Qi involves having an abundance of vitality but also having the Qi flow smoothly and unimpeded through ones body. 

Gong is translated as "work", but not with a solely negative connotation as modern society often uses the duality of "work vs play".  Gong here relates to the benefits gained through continuous practice; I like to say "the pleasure of focused attention".

So Qi Gong means working with life energy, learning how to control the flow of qi in body, mind, and spirit to improve health and wellbeing. 

My earliest exposure to the practice of Qi Gong was from my father.  I was living in Honduras, so I was in middle school.  I'm not sure what prompted him to teach me some of these ancient Chinese techniques, but I clearly remember the core lessons: horse stance, the importance of both feet feeling stable and connected to the ground, resting the tip of the tongue on the top palate to connect the body's energy line from tailbone to head, and correct posture for proper flow of Qi.  I remember liking the lessons even then.

It is no surprise, looking back now, that I have made Chinese medicine my practice and my life, of which Qi Gong and the understanding of Qi is a bit part of. That was over 20 years ago and I'm still practicing the basics, as well as having learned a lot of other fun Qi Gong exercises that I look forward to sharing in class. 

Upcoming 5 week series on
Embodying the 5 Chinese elements using Qi Gong, creative movement, and acupressure
Dates:  March 4, 11, 18, 25, April 1, 2015
Location: Health Touch NC Conference Center  3500 Westgate Drive Suite 405 Durham, NC 27707
Cost:  $55
Register with Li-Lan Hsiang Weiss L.Ac. (919) 308-8999, space limited

Chinese New Year 2015

According to Chinese Astrology, 2015 is the year of the Yin Wood Sheep which brings about a soft, gentle and feminine energy.  It brings togetherness which strengthens relations and inspires community-building.  All acts of kindness, cooperation, healing and creativity are encouraged!

2014, the year of the Yang Wood Horse saw a lot of dominant action, energy and transformations taking place but as the galloping horse begins to fade, the energy of the Yin Wood Sheep (or Goat) will take its place.

Beginning on February 19th, 2015 to February 7, 2016 the energy is going to shift from outward from the Year of the Horse to a more inward state.

This Yin energy is very creative, intuitive, patient, and gentle. Instead of everything moving fast and abruptly like yang energy, yin energy gives us time to focus, slow down, get centered and take stock over what we have created so far.

The Sheep symbolizes the energy of generosity, patience and peacefulness. The goal of the sheep is to create harmony and beauty within the home and family and is often considered to be the most feminine of all the Chinese zodiac animals.  Good year to nurture close relationships with good friends, family, community, and nature.

Just like the horse, the sheep is extremely intuitive, the only difference is the sheep is a lot more emotional, and has more awareness to heal, nurture and tend to issues that are causing suffering. The sheep calls us to practice modesty, charity and to delight in the smaller, more delicate aspects of life.  By cultivating inner awareness, one can make decisions more from love than from force.

The element of Wood brings the energy of being rooted and understanding oneself on a deeper level.  Wood symbolizes freedom and growth, and connected to the creativity of the Year of the Sheep it means a good year for creative endeavors that have been either hibernating or were a loose grouping of “seeds” wildly flying with the wind, waiting to land on fertile ground.  These ideas will bloom where planted and grow strong with sustenance. 

The male counterpart of the Sheep is the Ram, an animal know to survive in harsh continuous, is tenacious, pushes through obstacles, and scales heights.  The combination of both the energy of the Ram and Sheep means a year to patiently forge ahead, pushing against obstacles if necessary.  May also be a year to stand your ground and stay to what is true to your heart.

“…This is a year of forgiveness and reconciliation. There will be more harmony amongst people and people will be more likely to keep their promises. What looked like crises last year will have solutions.”

 
On a larger scale, projects of Human Kindness or Humanitarianism will increase, projects that will seek to cease suffering in others, increase self-awareness and self-care, and foster creativity in a brotherly/sisterly manner.

The Yin Wood Sheep reminds us that home is where the heart is, and that taking care of oneself, feeling safe and surrounding oneself with a loving group of friends and family is important work.  It is the year to go within, pay attention to the small things and to nurture others and ourselves.

Focusing on fostering self-care, I am facilitating and teaching several classes this coming spring, the ones scheduled are on the front page of my website:  Qi Gong, creative movement and acupressure with the 5 Chinese elements, and the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy Self Care Level 1.  More to come!   Armonia Holistic Health

Summer in Colombia

Here's a little taste of Central Colombia:
In July, my husband and I travelled to Miami to visit Alex's parents and then to Colombia to visit former bandmates Hector and Claudia in Medellin and another friend's family in Bogota.  We started our trip with a 3 hour flight delay in RDU, slept in the Miami airport on the floor for about 2 hours, boarded an easy flight to Bogota where our friends met us to take us to the bus station, then slept on and off on a 9 hour bus ride deep into the central tropical mountains of Colombia.  We were dropped off by the bus in the dark across from a roadside restaurant, tired, hungry, and me with a bit of motion sickness. The bus driver said, "This SHOULD be it, this is the only Rio Claro, but I don't know this place you are staying."  Luckily, yes, we were in the right place and saw the sign Refugio Rio Claro.  We put on our headlamps and headed down a 1 km dirt road to the main office, greeted by cicadas, frogs, trickling water from the river, and of course, lots of flying insects.  It felt good to be walking on firm ground!

 

Li-lan doing Qi gong in a stalactite cave in Rio Claro

Wild-looking tropical flower! Each step/groove you
see is a repository of water for bees and insects and
a gray flower grows out from it.  In front of our room

 

A Honda Fit hatchback jam packed with fruit for sale

Alex playing bongos on the plaza in Villa de Leyva

Our friends in Medellin.  Hector and Claudia (in black) used to play with our band Different Drum and we also had a Latin Band called Son Libre.

Hand molded stucco house by Octavio Mendoza in Villa de Leyva, everything inside was hand sculpted

 

Click here to watch a Video of Rio Claro, Alex plays the trumpet.  We are upriver about 2 miles from the main office. 

 

Causes of a Displaced Uterus

CAUSES OF THE DISPLACED UTERUS

“A displaced uterus disrupts hemodynamic and homeostasis”.  “The function of the uterus depends on proper flow”   Dr. Rosita Arvigo

 

"The uterus is a woman's second brain, if she is out of balance, so is the woman." Don Elijio Panti, Maya medicine man and Dr. Rosita's teacher

1)    Repeated pregnancies close together with difficult deliveries

2)    Inadequate professional care during pregnancy, delivery, postpartum

3)    Carrying heavy burdens just before or during menstruation and too soon after childbirth

4)    Walking barefoot on cold floors or wet grass, sitting on cold wet surface

5)    Wearing high heel shoes

6)    Running on cement surfaces

7)    Injury to the sacrum or tailbone from a fall, severe blow, or car accident

8)    Chronic constipation, straining during bowel movements

9)    Poor alignment of pelvic bones with the spinal column

10)                       Carrying children on the hip for prolonged periods of time

11)                       Modern life:  too much sitting, feeling of constant overwhelm

12)                       Emotional armoring from rape, sexual abuse, or incest

13)                       Aging and the pull of gravity on the ligaments

14)                       Career in high impact dancing, aerobics, or sports

15)                       Chronic cough

16)                       Surgical procedures

17)                       Motor vehicle accidents

 

Receiving a session from an Arvigo practitioner and learning the Arvigo self care massage helps the reproductive organs by relaxing tight ligaments and toning weak ones, facilitates the movement of arterial and venous blood, moves congested lymph fluid and nodes and opens up energy channels that are stagnant, so that nutrients, disease fighting agents, hormones, proper nerve signals, and Qi flow efficiently through the whole body.  Each individual then has more capacity for balance and healing.

 

 

Another spring wild food friend: Chickweed

Spring is officially here in North Carolina!  What once used to be a nuisance in my garden because I didn't allow time to pull up weeds in my garden early enough, has become a yummy wild edible food this year.  It's chickweed and it grows in my vegetable garden soil wherever I didn't mulch last fall.  The above photo is from my first pick of chickweed two weeks ago.  Do a Google image search to get a closer look and see if you find it in your vegetable/flower garden. 
      I learned from a fellow herbalist several years ago that chickweed helps in cleansing our lymphatic system: our body's garbage disposal of what the circulatory system is not able to clear, specifically fats.  Together with a diet adjustment modulating phlegm-producing foods such as sugar, cow dairy, fried foods, alcohol, fatty animal meats, and possibly wheat gluten, adding chickweed can be helpful for facilitating detox of phlegm/congestion conditions like seasonal allergies and excess weight from calorie-rich winter foods. Chickweed is also a mild diuretic, very much like asparagus, cilantro, parsley, dandelion leaf. 

Nature always provides what our body needs during the season, so chickweed is a beneficially food to consume this time of year, very much like dandelion leaves and flowers, which I wrote about a few years ago in this blog Dandelion Flower Tea.  Reading back on this has inspired me to go out and pick dandelion flowers to make sun-infused tea today! 

How have I been using chickweed the past few weeks?

1)  I added a small handful to my green smoothie that I blended up in my Magic Bullet, with water, mandarin oranges, hemp seed, chia seed, homemade water kefir, and dash of apple cider vinegar.  Experiment with your own green smoothie recipe!

Spring is the Wood element in Chinese medicine 5-element theory, consisting of the Liver and Gallbladder meridians, and one of the ways to balance our internal Wood element is to experiment, be creative, and try out new ideas!  Interested in knowing more about the Wood element?  Check out my previous blog post Spring as Growth

2)  I've picked the tender top leaves and mixed it with romaine lettuce very much like how you would add arugula or sprouts to salads.

3)  Chopped the tender top shoots together with cilantro/parsley and added to soups and broths at the end as a garnish.

4)  After reading about dried chickweed tea, maybe I'll try to dry some this year! 

Do you have any other uses you've tried?

Our visit to Haiti

   I was in Haiti most of the past three weeks visiting my parents, who have lived there for the past 4 years.  They are currently living in the southern coast of Haiti, a four hour car ride from Port-au-Prince and then 15 minutes on a very bumpy dirt road, so bumpy that one time my head shook so hard that one of my head hairs fell out!!  Haha!   

     The compound that my parents live in my father helped direct the project with funds from the Taiwanese government: there are six simple one story stucco houses for the local and Taiwanese staff, several office and conference buildings, and a large complex to sun dry, store, and mill rice that is grown locally.  It is the only rice processing facility in all of Haiti of its size, and the rice is then sold to an NGO that then distributes it to local hospitals, charities, and schools.  The compound is surrounded by fields of sorghum, millet, corn, rice, and rustic farms.  It feels like we are "in the middle of nowhere" but really the dirt road continues for miles in several directions and many people live and farm here. 

     Inside this 12 acre complex, my husband and I spend much time in what feels like a  retreat.  Many mornings we wake up between 5-6 am to watch the sunrise and meditate; then I practice qi gong while Alex plays his trumpet in choreography to my movements.  We read a lot, eat Chinese comfort food from fresh vegetables and seafood, take long naps, Alex plays basketball with the Taiwanese men in the afternoons (I played twice) and go to bed by 9 pm usually because there is no TV nor DVD and the internet connection is unreliable.  A few times I venture out to walk along the dirt road to a local store 1/2 mile away where Alex buys beer.  
     The first time we venture out is a culture shock, even though we know it will be:  many people stare, a few stretch their palms out to ask for money, a few children tease us, most people do not greet us, instead they give us what we perceive as a fierce look.  We do not speak French nor Kreyol.  Being stared at is familiar to us having been in Haiti 3 years ago, it is familiar to me also from having grown up in Central America from age 4-18 and being one of the few Asian people, but Haitians are different from Central Americans.  
     As we continue to walk down the road, an intuitive message comes to me that the adults and children we pass are deeply absorbing with all their five senses what they were noticing in us as we pass by.   I am suddenly aware of what body language, slight facial expression, or thought I may be emitting as I walk and realize that what I perceive from the passerby's may be a mirror to myself.  My heart opens to the idea of how strongly intuitive these people may be but Alex reminds me that we all perceive strongly with our senses, the difference is that in this situation we are walking by in silence, there is not that much hustle and bustle around us except for the occasional pickup truck and motorcycle and we are locked momentarily eye to eye, "feeling" each other for the first time.  I try to relax.
     One thing we learned on our last trip to Haiti is that many Haitians are not that interested in America, being American nor copying mainstream mannerisms of this country; this is quite different from other countries.  So with this in mind, and with my desire not to attract even more attention than we would anyway, I step back from my usual longing to "connect" and I just be.  So when we reach the store where Alex buys a beer and we sit outside the door on a bench, a group of children stare at us and giggle.  They point for me to take off my hat and when I do, they giggle even more.  The girls are laughing at my straight hair, so different from theirs.  I laugh with them and mime that my hair is not curly and kinky.  Alex takes out his recorder and plays a few tunes, one which is Haitian.  After the initial few minutes of novelty with his playing, the children turn their attention to the huge flat screen TV with a Chinese martial arts movie that is playing inside the store.  This actually makes me feel relaxed to not be the center of attention for a few minutes. 
     Alex finishes his beer, we thank the store owner, and we walk back on the dirt road.  On the way back Alex starts to say Bonjour to some of the passerby's and children who stare.  I wave at some of the children.  They say hello back and wave.  We are all a little more at ease.  We get back to the complex and we both feel wiped out from the apparently relaxed stroll down the road.  A lot of information is transmitted and absorbed and we both feel the energetic intensity of being alert.   I write on my gratitude list all the lessons that I learned from  just this brief past hour.
     It gets easier for us venturing out.  I learn that if I start laughing warm-heartedly at a child when they stare they are likely to laugh back, if I wave they wave, if I say hi they say hi and if I don't say anything and just stroll, it's ok too.  I learn from Alex who one time played music into a 3 year old's outstretched palm in response to being asked for money and the boy just laughed and so did his family, that I don't have to feel the need to give something material when someone we pass asks us for something.  I learn to be comfortable either to blow the child a kiss in the air, to laugh in genuine amusement at their audacity, to say no without any anger or guilt, and that most of the time they will be ok with that.   
     I walk with Alex a few more times, once we go to the convent school nearby where my parents buy eggs, fresh baked bread, and chicken.  Alex feels the need to walk and interact more than I do, so he gets familiar with some of the children down the road as he plays music out; he is also taken to a full moon drumming party in the woods across from our complex where he says the rhythms were intense but the people were relaxed.  
     On one of the last days there, we play for a family of children, their mom, and nearby relatives in their front yard.   The oldest girl in this family had been adopted to the USA, so she speaks perfect English and tell us that many people on the road wonder where we walk to, these two foreigners, and why Alex always carries a backpack with bottles clinking inside.   When he explains it's to return the beer bottles, the girl points us to a store owned by her cousin that is much much closer, but without her telling us we would never have known, there is now sign outside.  Similar situation, the children start out looking and smiling at us shyly as we play Latin American songs, the two Haitian songs we know, and a few Christmas carols.  Soon they want to hear more Haitian compa rhythms for them to sing to and before long they are singing at the top of their lungs a host of Kreyol chants and songs, for the pure fun of expressing all "yang" energy.  Just like a wave that builds momentum coming towards the coast, and then crashes and recedes, so does our little gathering.  We say bye to everyone amidst laughs, smiles, waves, and giggles.  
   In many situations, we are reminded that Haitians are a diverse group, even within this 5 mile dirt road of maybe 100 people:  they can be proudly silent, fierce, hard working,  some may be dramatic and opportunistic.  One big difference from Asian culture, they are not afraid to ask for what they want.  There is a general feeling that regardless of how "bad" we on the outside think and see things in Haiti, the Haitians don't really feel there is a problem the way we from the outside feel there are problems.   They are a proud, complex, and diverse group of people.   
        

The land is still beautiful and abundant, despite areas of deforestation.

Winter, Water, and Reflection

This blog post was first published in December 2013.  It has been updated with tidbits of how to connect with this element and it's associations, and enhanced with another reflective video at the end.  

Water is the first of the Chinese Five Elements as well as the last, it is the turning point that marks the end as well as the beginning.  How so?  Fall (Metal element in Chinese medicine) is the preparation of the dormant stage of winter we are currently in;  the leaves that changed colors last month have now fallen but are compost to nourish new growth in the spring.  During the whirlwind of 2016 and now into 2017, do you feel you are able to hibernate right now?   Are you one to crave hibernation or are afraid of it because it feels like spiraling down a dark hole and hard to come back out?  


Some of us are being pulled by the events happening in the US at the start of 2017 and may struggle to balance our desire to be active in our community and serving others and also taking time to replenish and retract inward.  It may be increasingly difficult to do just one and not the other.  The time has come to do both.  

Here are some suggestions for self care in tune with the Water element, so one can more quickly expand and retract without feeling overwhelmed:  Make note to reflect, meditate, or have a meaningful conversation with another person, make a conscious effort to slow down your pace of walking, breathe deep when you are in the bathroom and taking a shower, say thank you to the water you drink, create a ritual with water, don't rush if you don't have to, let yourself sleep more, feel how warm cooked soups, stews, and freshly blended/squeezed juices taste and feel to you.  This is the season for focusing on balancing our Water element, but the following information is also beneficial for health maintenance and longevity.

The associations of the Water Element in the body are connected to the Kidney and Bladder organs and meridians, which have the following physiological functions in Chinese medicine:
-  Kidneys are the source of the body's vital energy, the "pilot light", both the Yin and Yang
-  Kidneys store essence, which refers to the body's DNA and genes, as well as sexual drive and function
-  Kidneys rule the bones and teeth
-  Kidneys manifest in the head hair and open into the ears as hearing
-  Kidneys are also called the Kidney-Adrenal glands, which in modern Western perspective encompass the adrenals as well as the whole endocrine system.
-  Kidneys helps with the deep inhalation of the Lungs
-  Kidneys control the quality and quantity of urine
-  Relates to winter season, the temperature is cold, the food flavor is salty, connects to the low back and knees
-  Kidney energy becomes depleted with prolonged fear, fright, and trauma especially during childhood and teenage years, overwork, excess physical activity, chronic disease, all addictive behavior including excess sexual activity, multiple close births and excess blood loss for women, a lack of discipline and encouragement during childhood.

There are two ways that the Water element can be out of balance in Chinese medicine diagnosis:  a deficient Kidney Yin condition or a deficient Kidney Yang condition.  One may exhibit a dominance of either Kidney yin or yang deficiency, but can experience symptoms of both; in the general population, Kidney deficiencies may start to show up around age 35 or older as adrenals start being taxed and Kidney essence starts to decline. 

Deficient Kidney Yin condition is distinguished by:
-  Pain and ache in the lower back and knees
- scanty, dark urine
- red tongue
- feeling of fever in the afternoon
- flushing of the cheeks
- insomnia, especially waking up in the middle of the night with difficulty falling back asleep
- night sweats, hot flashes
- feelings of heat in the palms and soles of feet
- infertility, premature ejaculation, anxiety, palpitations, prematurely gray hair, feeling "tired and wired"


Deficient Kidney Yang condition is distinguished by:
- chronic fatigue and exhaustion
- cold limbs with difficulty getting warm
- frequent urination daytime or night time
- edema/water retention in the lower limbs
- achy knees
- diarrhea, especially urgent in the morning
- poor appetite
- difficulty losing weight over a long period of time
- infertility, low libido

Both the Kidney Yin and Yang deficiencies are like "burning the midnight oil" or "running the engine near empty" consciously or unconsciously.


What are ways to nourish Kidney energy from Chinese medicine perspective?

- Start with lifestyle habits that nourish and strengthen the GUT/Digestive System.  From the Chinese medicine Organ/Element association, we refer to this as the Spleen system. For more information on Spleen energy, visit this previous blog post Spleen: The Mother of all Elements. 

- Cultivate deep breathing habits through regular exercise, joyful movement and/or meditation

- Additional ways to balance Kidney energy specifically include consuming dark fruits and vegetables such as red grapes, prunes, raisins, blueberries, blackberries, blue corn, eggplant, seaweed, mushrooms, squash, black sesame seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, kidney beans, black beans, cinnamon, romaine, escarole, endive.  Roasted meats, slow-cooking foods, bone broths, miso soup are also great Kidney tonics.

Was this blog too much information to absorb?  No worries =)  Just watch these two videos of water, breathe in how they make you feel and replay that feeling in your mind's eye throughout the day or come back and watch them again.  You will naturally embody the energy of water.   This is a video of a creek from a hike on the first snow in Durham of 2017, view it from YouTube to get the full sound effect of the water and watch the snowflakes: