The Rhythmic Pulse of Life

One of my favorite aspects of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the emphasis on attuning the body and emotions to the energetics of each new season. Within TCM, the Five Rhythms or Elements reflect a rhythmic pulse of all life that influence human events and cycles. This energy flows through the entire body and leaves its imprint on every energy system. The law of Yin and Yang weaves through each rhythm, becoming the natural order of the universe, becoming the foundation of all things, Mother of change and the root of life and death:

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Yang is the energy, the vital force, the potential. 

Yin is the substance, the foundation, the mother who gives rise to all potential.

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Metaphors for describing these five distinct patterns were originally drawn from elements of nature (water, wood, fire, earth and metal) and from the seasons (winter, spring, summer, late summer and autumn).  Each meridian vibrates according to one of these Five Rhythms or Elements—i.e. Bladder + Kidney = Water. 

Although we have all five rhythms within us, a primary and secondary rhythm most heavily influences individual health and experience of this lifetime. For example, when in balance, the Water Rhythm easily flows through life, he is the philosopher and is a wellspring for new ideas. When out of balance, the Wood Rhythm becomes commanding and experiences emotional and/or physical symptoms such as anger, rage, jealousy, gallstones, knee pain, tendonitis. 

Like the background music during a movie, a person’s primary rhythm, in combination with the changing rhythms of life’s seasons, directs the tone and mood of the entire energy system and sets the atmosphere of the life being lived. The Five Rhythms Model provide a lens for understanding and working with chronic health issues, behavioral patterns and emotional challenges.

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The five-rhythm cycle is best understood in the macrocosmic view of the elements

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Earth represents Late Summer and stabilizing, grounding, nourishing energy: The ripe apple

Metal represents Late Fall and contracting energy: Trees falling their leaves to conserve

Water represents Winter and descending energy: Rain falling or water seeking low ground

Wood represents Springtime and uprising energy: Plants bursting through the soil

Fire represents Summer and ascending energy: Flames reaching to the heavens

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Would you like to flow through the seasons with more grace?

Do you want to build resilience in mind, body and spirit A N D have fun doing it!?

The 5 Rhythm Model provides a lens for understanding and working with chronic health issues, behavioral patterns and emotional challenges. This autumn, I will begin teaching workshops at both Yoga Sanctuary and Gilda’s Club TC, to explore and tap into the healing energy of each season. Through the past five years of study and personal practice, I have experienced again and again - when we explore and directly apply the resonance, characteristics and primary concerns of the rhythm during its own season, the impact permeates deeply into the body, mind and spirit to re-pattern actions, emotions and health imbalances.

The rhythms have so much to teach us!

Join me during these potent times of the year, to become more whole and live in greater resonance with the natural order of the nature, heaven and earth.

“In the universe, the pure Yang Qi ascends to converge and form heaven; while the turbid Yin Qi descends and condenses to form earth. This movement helps create the rhythm of the seasons, enabling earthly beings to manifest. Birth in spring, growth in summer, consolidation in autumn and storage in winter.  By possessing this knowledge, you can coordinate your activities around these cycles and benefit from them, as all human life is interconnected with its environment, heaven and earth.
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— The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine

Vision Setting

Modern life is filled with opportunities to dream.

From childhood to adolescence, graduation onto adulthood, through careers, marriage, growing families, even into middle-age and empty nesting - what would our dream life look like at age 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80? In this dream, who would we surround ourselves with and what experiences would best support our journey?

Yet, within Western culture, dreaming is often discouraged, or even frowned upon. Instead, we are conditioned to attain. We navigate each stage or threshold as if it is a stepping stone, directing us toward the next achievement.

In contrast, cultures from around the globe and across time have held an antithetical view of dreams and thresholds. Ceremonies were held to honor rites of passage and support the transformation required to easily navigate from one life stage to the next — with vision, empowerment, a sense of community, and a deep connection to a higher power. Along with ceremony, many cultures participated (and continue to participate in) the vision quest — an age-old ritual for connecting with Spirit to find our deepest purpose. Such traditional practices transcend the stepping stone mentality, as they foster the creation of a detailed map to guide us toward where we want to grow, how we want to feel, who we want to become, and why we have these desires.

For those of us who have whizzed past multiple thresholds, with little more than a wayward glance, do not have access to ancestral practices, or simply have not realized life could be different when lived in alignment with a personal vision, it is never to late to re-calibrate the compass and set sail in a slightly different or completely new direction!

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“You are never too old to dream a new dream.”

C.S. Lewis

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A personal vision is our dream, our purpose for being. It is the reason we jump out of bed in the morning, ready to step into a new day. Our vision defines who we want to be, what we want to be known for and what set of experiences and accomplishments we aim to gain. A vision is the yin and yang of living life on purpose.

The yin and yang elements are both interdependent and complimentary of one another; one will jump-start the other. When we find the motivation to change (yang — goal oriented), we’re inspired to create a vision (yin — process-oriented). Or, when we dream a vision into being (yin — receptive), we have a reason to learn how to change (yang — determined).

Our vision becomes our “why”, the North Star guiding all major decisions and actions. After all, we would not steer north if we departed Seattle, intent on reaching Hawaii!

Which leads to the question…

• How do you want to feel?

• Who do you want to be surrounded by?

• What do you believe you are capable of?

• What could you contribute to the world, that aligns with how you want to feel?

• When you die, how do you want to be remembered?

Asking any of these questions is the first step to defining your vision. These are the questions I return to when I’m facing a major decision or struggling with a daily goal or habit change (yes, this happens to me, too…). Why? Because a compelling vision provides clarity for the future, while directing us to place our attention in the present. It will assist in shedding all that holds us back, and most importantly, it will illuminate our way in periods of darkness and inspires us to focus on what truly matters.

“Sheer life cannot be said to have a purpose because look at all the different purposes it has all over the place. But each incarnation, you might say, has a potentiality, and the mission of life is to live that potentiality.

How do you do it? My answer is, ‘Follow your bliss.’”

— Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

Qi-Gong

Qi Gong is an ancient Chinese wellness practice integrating physical movement, breathing techniques and focused intention.

As I sit down to write this blog post, focused on a healing practice originating from Ancient China, the irony does not escape me. And yet, doesn’t the emergence of COVID-19 make self-care even more important? Thus I’ve decided to leave the politics to politicians, and focus on what I am passionate about — helping people find greater balance, feel less stressed and build vitality, from the inside out.

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“Practicing Qi Gong is so simple and so powerful. You cannot do it wrong. You can only do it good, better or best.”

— Chunyi Lin

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The term Qi Gong translates into “energy cultivation.” 

• Qi, pronounced chee, is usually translated to mean the life force or vital energy that flows through all things in the universe (more about Qi). 

• Gong, pronounced gung, means accomplishment or skill that is cultivated through steady practice with the intent of maintaining health and increasing vitality.

In terms of physiology, Qi is the electro-magnetic energy within the body that provides the power for movement and function on all levels ranging from cellular function to gross mechanical actions. Every living cell has an electrical charge on its membrane and within Qi Gong, our energy or Qi is activated through special movements and focused breathing.  

Qi Gong practices can be classified as martial, medical or spiritual. All styles have three things in common: Posture, whether moving or stationary, breath and mental focus. Practice sequences vary, ranging from Qi circulation to cleansing and healing the body to Qi storage or emitting Qi to help heal others. At its core, Qi Gong falls is a multidimensional practice of slow gentle, rhythmic movements paired with specific breathing exercises and directed intention.

Within Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qi Gong is used first and foremost for prevention/health maintenance. Built upon the age-old legend that before modern medicine, Chinese physicians were only paid when the patient remained healthy – the Chinese fully embraced the idea that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Can you imagine if our current “health care” system operated under such a powerful philosophy? 

From a treatment perspective, Qi Gong is recognized to reduce stress, build stamina, increase vitality and enhance the immune system. It has been clinically demonstration through medical research to improve heart failure, blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, post-surgical pain, cancer survivorship and many other diagnoses. 

Like Yoga, Qi Gong promotes internal awareness and provides opportunity to directly interact with our energetic system, neither of which are included in traditional exercise programs. Specifically, most exercise programs focus on building physical strength and do not directly involve/activate the energetic system, i.e. meridians, extraordinary vessels, five-elements, or emphasize the importance of integrating breathing techniques and directed intention. When the physical, energetic and emotional dimensions are actively assimilated, the health benefits increase exponentially. 

As with any system of health care (including Western medicine), Qi Gong is not a panacea. That said, it is a highly effective practice and health care professionals are beginning to recommend Qi Gong as an important form of alternative/complementary medicine. Multiple medical centers and organizations across the US are helping to promote Qi Gong, including Society for Integrative Oncology and Memorial Sloan-Kettering.

Qi Gong has been a tremendous gift on my personal wellness journey and now, more than ever, I am putting this ancient practice to use. A practice that is truly accessible and adaptable to all, Qi Gong enriches lives regardless of age, ability or belief system.

Qi /CHee/

Inside each of us is a magic greater than anything conceived by human imagination — our life force energy. 

I was recently questioned about the validity of Qi and the energetic body – it wasn’t the first time and certainly will not be the last. Notwithstanding, I spent a fair amount of time contemplating how, in 2020, there remains such mystery around the topics of energy and energy-based modalities that support greater wellbeing, including Qigong, acupressure, Reiki, Healing Touch and acupuncture (to name just a few of the many energy modalities that span across cultures and the globe).

Googling the terms “Qigong” or “acupuncture” results in hundreds of unique articles, opinion pieces and scientific publications. The National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health was launched in 1998 and has sanctioned scores of investigators to study complementary and integrative medicine. With pages outlining definitions, descriptions and publications on a variety of energy-based modalities, including energy healing, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Qigong, NCCIH supports 68 FTEs and has an annual budget of $146.473 million (2019).

From a contemporary perspective, Oprah published an article on energy medicine back in 2006, and remember when the prominent heart surgeon, Dr. Oz, boldly stated – “the next big frontier in medicine is energy medicine?” Fast forward 15 years and top healthcare organizations have clinics designated to offering integrative services + energy-based modalities, including Cleveland Clinic, Yale, Johns Hopkins, Duke and many, many more.

But what exactly is this elusive entity? 

Life force energy is known by many names — in India it is called prana, in Hebrew ruach and in Chinese Medicine, Qi. Given my training is rooted in Chinese medicine, I use Qi and energy interchangeably.

Qi is the animating power or energy of all living things. As children, many of us investigated the animating force of creatures in nature – whether a freshly sprouted seedling in the garden, an insect navigating across the yard or a baby bird beneath its nesting tree. The season of Spring is ripe with opportunity to explore natural Qi, as its presence is so palpable when nature is waking from hibernation!

Qi is the invisible, immaterial substance that propagates life and animates our bodies. The notion that life is ruled by invisible forces, is not unique to energy or Qi. Gravity is an invisible force. We are bound by the laws of gravity and its magnetic energy. Photosynthesis is the invisible force used by plants to harness energy from sunlight and transform it into life force energy. The wind is also an invisible force – one that cannot be seen, but can certainly be sensed! When the wind blows, we do not witness it directly but instead experience it as it touches our skin and enlivens the trees and leaves. Qi is the same. We do not see it directly, but experience it as it animates everything in our bodies from heartbeat to physical movement to thoughts and emotions.

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“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls, others build windmills.”

— Ancient Chinese Proverb

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Qi is the difference between the living and the deceased. When someone dies, their Qi is released. Their body weighs the same, has the same organs and muscles, but is no longer filled with life, energy, animation. Qi is our aliveness. It is the energy behind our hearts, the light in our minds, the sparkle in our eyes, the movement in our bodies.

40% of Americans say they wake up 1-3 times/week feeling poorly rested. An additional 38% say they're poorly rested >4 days/week.

https://today.yougov.com

As “lack of energy” expands from fictional idea to a recognized health disorder, greater attention to our animating force or energy system is warranted. Fifty years ago, chronic fatigue syndrome was virtually unheard-of. Today, a growing number of individuals are being identified as having chronic fatigue syndrome, an illness that includes profound fatigue lasting >6 months, cognitive impairment and total exhaustion after even minor exertion. The Institute of Medicine now estimates between 836,000 and 2.5 million Americans suffer from this syndrome, which is in addition to the subset of the population who reported significant fatigue at least four days/week, a massive 38% of American adults. 

Within traditional Chinese medicine, the greater the energy or Qi circulating in the body, the healthier we feel. Abundant energy is experienced when organs are functioning optimally, flexibility is felt in the muscles and joints and emotions are balanced, being both experienced and released. When there is a loss of internal energy, we experience increasing levels of fatigue, tension, slowed metabolism and our ability to easily navigate emotions decreases – all signs of depletion, signaling the need to replenish internal energy.

Quantum physics describes energy as the nature of the universe, but even physicists cannot fully define energy. We can allude to it, we can experience it, we are beginning to be able to measure it, but for some, energy sits just beyond our greatest mental conceptualization. Instinctively we know the more energy or Qi we have, the better we feel. Nature pulses with energy. Abundant Qi is not something we need to create or even understand – it is always there, with a desire to flow, to express itself through creativity and abundance. In the end, do we truly need to know exactlywhat Qi is? Just as we are not required to be a rocket scientist to appreciate the full impact of gravity, nor do we need to a cardiologist, with full understanding of cardiac function, to experience the benefits of exercise. 

Qigong helps us tap into the abundant energy that is all around and to cultivate Qi from within. When energy is internally cultivated and allowed to freely flow, our internal reserve becomes self-sustaining. Unlike a cup of coffee or other chemical stimulants, cultivated energy comes directly from the source and enhances internal balance, strength and vitality. By cultivating internal energy, we can more easily enjoy the world without chasing after the next external “pick me up.”

There are many effective strategies to help mitigate the effects of stress: meditation, yoga, reading, spending time in nature and journaling. Another approach, which is not as well-known in the Midwest, is balancing your body’s energy system. 

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