Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. teaches a gentle sequence of Qi Gong exercises blended with tangible insights from Chinese Medicine to support the health of your immune system.
Read MoreQi Gong to Connect Your Heart & Kidneys for Optimal Health
with Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac.
According to Chinese Medicine, the essential Qi that's houses your life purpose is stored at birth in your Kidneys. The expression of your purpose comes through your Heart.
Strong communication between your Heart and Kidneys is therefore the basis for having a clear sense of purpose and the drive to live out that purpose, as well as the ability to give and receive both love and joy.
Physiologically, the Heart brings oxygenated blood to cells, while the Kidneys help eliminate waste products from the blood to prevent autointoxication.
In Chinese Medicine, your Kidneys also store your Jing, or Essence, which needs to be activated within your body through the Triple Heater system for your life purpose to naturally unfold.
In this Qi Gong class, Salvador shares practices that help open your Heart to balance its relationship with your Kidney system, as well as powerful health tips and a special breathing technique to boost your immune system.
Through Heart-Kidney communication, you can also cultivate self-love so you can share more love and healing with others.
Here are some highlights of the practice:
Start: the important relationship between your Heart and Kidneys
7:02: get right into the physical practice
38:00: learn important health and immune boosting tips to protect you from viruses and more.
40:05: learn Senobi breathing, a unique breathing technique to boost your immune system.
Enjoy this Qi Gong practice!
Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. is Founder & Co-Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, CA, a wellness clinic he runs with his wife, Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac., that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine & Japanese Meridian Therapy, a rare non-insertion form of Acupuncture using Gold and Silver needles. Learn more at www.acenterfornaturalhealing.com.
The Purpose of Your Pain—3 Important lessons
by Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac.
We all feel pain in some way or another. Whether it’s an injury or a catastrophic life change, suffering seems inherent to being human.
And yet so much of our suffering is by choice.
We stress about things we can’t control or worry about a future we can’t see or predict.
On a physical level, we get injured when we’re not being gentle with ourselves or if we need to slow down.
The challenges in the body often reflect what’s happening in the mind. We harbor years-long resentment that eventually manifests in the body as a life threatening illness or disease. We carry the wounds of our past on our shoulders, creating neck pain and tension and even inhibiting physical mobility. We fear our future and find that our lower back is gripping, tight and even loses stability.
So why do we allow ourselves to suffer so much pain?
As our consciousness expands, the hope is that while the struggles of life may continue, we can mitigate or even eliminate our experience of suffering. And while I realize it’s not so easy to just let go of suffering, Chinese Medicine offers some invaluable tools that can help you understand and find purpose through your pain.
Pain has a purpose and the potential to awaken a consciousness that eventually moves you to a greater sense of peace.
Here are three important lessons we can all learn when we experience pain.
Lesson #1: Pain Awakens You to the Present Moment
A couple Saturdays ago, I asked my husband to take our dog out so I could have some downtime alone at home. I looked forward to having the morning on my own before I had to teach a private yoga class.
Rather than savor the time and take things slowly, I found myself rushing through my yoga practice so I could get through a long list of to do’s before the rest of my family returned home.
As I practiced outside, I focused on all the things that needed to be done in our garden. And since time was limited, I shifted to a faster, more active practice. As I began to work with more intensive exercises (while simultaneously thinking about what I needed to do next), I heard a pop in my lower back…then pain that began to radiate into my left hip.
While I began to move more slowly and finally be more present, I didn’t stop. My body still warm, I continued with some work around the the house before leaving to teach a private yoga class. By the end of the session, I felt the pain worsen.
”As long as I listen and be with this, it’ll go away,” I thought. Not so fast, unfortunately.
By the time I got home, the pain moved quickly from mild to sharp and by the end of the afternoon I literally couldn’t walk.
The shock left me more present than I had been all day, and perhaps longer.
In starting the day off hurried trying to get everything done, I spent that weekend in bed unable to get anything done and hardly able to move - or sleep - from the pain.
I realized just how out of the present moment I was in an effort to achieve rather than simply be.
Luckily, my husband is a master of his craft and with daily Acupuncture, he helped get me walking within a couple days and teaching comfortable by the following week. But it was a humbling experience to say the least.
As a yoga teacher and acupuncturist you’d think I’d know better, but as a human I’d allowed my mind to override and disempower my body.
Sometimes it takes an injury or severe pain to wake us up more fully to the present moment.
But if you hear the call to be more present, it’s likely that the pain will abate sooner than later.
Lesson #2: Pain Drives You Deeper into Your Body
When I teach Yin Yoga, I often teach the concept of playing your edge. This means going into a stretch deeply enough that it challenges you without compromising your ability to breathe deeply while you hold the posture.
So too in life, it’s important to play your edge in order to grow.
In other words, you want to do things that challenge you but don’t cause you suffering.
Work on projects, take up hobbies, but avoid pushing anything you do to the point of pain.
We’re such a driven society that we often feel that when we want to do something, we need to push ourselves to the point of complete exhaustion. Oftentimes your body will stop you as you’re starting to reach that point by creating physical pain.
This results because of an imbalance of Yin and Yang—in this case a predominance of Yang.
The Yin aspect of your body comprises your fluids and blood, while the Yang is associated with your Qi, or energy.
Yang is active and assertive, Yin is more quiet and passive. And while both aspects coexist and are interdependent, an excess of either can lead to pathology.
Excessive exertion causes a predominance of Yang, which can damage the Yin fluids and cause injury over time.
That’s why self-care must be done for the purpose of prevention and not just as a response to injury, pain or discomfort.
When you take care of yourself, you’re able to hear your body when it’s fatigued or uncomfortable—and shift to slow yourself down before it’s too late.
Your body has an innate wisdom. Cultivating your mind-body-breath connection through practices like Yoga and Qi Gong helps keep you attuned to this wisdom and know when it’s necessary to make a shift.
Lesson #3: Pain Instigates an Exploration & Understanding of Your Mind
The human mind can be stubborn and unfocused, especially if it’s exhausted or lacks direction.
However, it’s important to remember that you are not your mind. By learning to temper and control your mind, you can use it to heal your body more quickly.
The challenge with the mind is that it’s difficult to change, which is why it’s important to train the body first.
Your body is the most powerful vehicle you have to drive change in your mind, and life.
This is why practices like meditation that focus on the mind - without first cultivating your body - can cause you to become more disembodied and lead to mental instability.
On the other hand, embodiment practices like Yoga and Qi Gong anchor you into your physical body, and harness the breath to bring you into a state of presence.
Connecting your body and breath can transform your experience, and alleviate much of the suffering that’s perpetuated by your mind.
Wisdom resides in your body — your gut feeling is a feeling, after all.
The mind is what distracts you from that inner wisdom, leading you out of the present moment to focus instead on a narrative about the past, what you ‘should’ be doing or what could come of the future.
When your mind is quiet, you can see things more clearly for what they are rather than lead with fear or resistance.
When your mind is quiet, you are fully present in the moment, without judgment.
When your mind is quiet, you can fully embrace your experience for what it is and allow the lessons that arise out of that experience find their way to you.
To quiet your mind completely, you must be fully embodied.
It often takes walking along a path of pain and suffering to get to the quietude.
Nevertheless, that pain has value and if you listen for the lessons, then you can more quickly move through the pain and find greater ease in your life.
* Ready for relief? Acupuncture can help. Not only does it support your embodiment, but it’s also one of the most effective forms of pain management.
Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. is Co-Owner and Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, California, a health and wellness clinic that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine and Traditional Japanese Acupuncture. Dr. Moafi offers clinical services and transformational workshops that blend the ancient practices of Classical Chinese Medicine and Yoga. More at www.setarehmoafi.com.
You Are Divine and Miracles Happen
By Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac.
You are divine because you have a potential we attribute to the Divine—the ability of miraculous transformation.
You have an innate miraculous potential within your body-mind to spontaneously or slowly transmute your current state of health.
An example of the miraculous potential within each of us can be seen in the phenomenon of disease transmutation in patients with Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). A person who exhibits multiple personalities can present completely different disease states with each of his or her personalities.
The variations in illness presentation among the various personalities can even be observed through blood analysis, indicating that the changes occur on a cellular and biochemical level.
For example, a person who is diabetic when he exhibits the personality of Bob may not have diabetes or any of its symptoms when he’s living through the personality of John.
How is this possible?
It’s truly a mystery in terms of science, but in terms of the power of the body and mind, it’s more in line with a miracle or more specifically a ‘miraculous transformation.’
How Classical Chinese Medicine Understands the Process of Miracles
According to Chinese Medicine, this phenomenon of disease transmutation (i.e. changing from one form to another) in a patient with MPD occurs through the transformation of his Jing, or Essence, that’s facilitated through a shift in his Shen, or consciousness, when he exhibits a different personality.
Since the Jing corresponds to the Kidneys and the Shen to the Heart, this radical transmutation of disease states is achieved through the power of the Heart-Kidney communication, and this affirms why maintaining a strong Heart-Kidney connection is key to transforming your life.
Your Jing as it’s stored within the Kidneys relates to your body’s deepest constitutional energy, which relates to the level of cellular activity. Therefore, in scientific terms, Jing equates to your DNA and its genetic expression.
The Shen on the other hand is stored in the Heart. Shen is loosely translated as “Spirit” but it is better understood as one’s “conscious state of mind.”
So when there is a shift in your Shen, there will be a shift in your consciousness and through the power of the Heart bringing its Yang (warmth) down into the Kidneys, the Jing can transform into a different state. Not necessarily a healthier state, but a different state. So when a person who has multiple personalities shifts into a different personality, his health or disease status can shift as well.
Miracles occur when your Shen, or state of consciousness, shifts enough to allow for the restoration of health.
This miraculous process is described as the Heart “vaporizing phlegm” to cleanse and clear pathology from the body. This vaporization can happen suddenly or slowly over time as you shift your consciousness into a healthier state and essentially “let go” of the pathological state you were experiencing.
So what seems like a miracle is a natural transformation of Jing that allows a disease state at the cellular level to transmute into a healthy state.
With this said, you are the conductor of your life, and the more clear you are about how you conduct your life and in particular your life-force—your Jing—the healthier you will become.
The Metaphors of the Heart-Kidney Relationship
The Kidney is the domain within the body that relates to the Self, so as the Heart Qi moves down into the cold darkness of the Kidney Water, it brings warmth into you so you can feel a deeper sense of self-love.
As the Heart Qi travels down into the Kidneys, also helps shine a light onto your deepest subconscious fears that are held within the Kidneys.
This process of moving the Heart’s energy down into the Kidneys allows you to become conscious of what holds you back in life and to embrace these fears with unconditional love.
In addition, as the Kidney Qi moves up to embrace and activate the Heart, it supports you to open your Heart and express love in your life more freely and to manifest your Heart’s desires and passions.
Perhaps most importantly, the process of activating the Triple Energizer to move your Kidney Essence, or Jing, helps you become conscious of your destiny and supports you to follow the path you were destined to live (read more about this dynamic here).
Triple Energizer Qi Gong Supports Transformation in Your Life
Historically, in the search for the elixir of life, the practice of alchemy developed through the use of toxic herbs that when ingested properly were claimed to induce magical transformations within the body and mind.
Out of this tradition arose the practice of meditation and Qi Gong as a cultivation practice to achieve the same levels of physical and spiritual transformation without the potential of dying from ingesting poisonous substances.
Qi provides the power of transformation and transmutation within the body and mind and this is why Qi Gong is an alchemical exercise in Daoist practices.
Enlightened masters lead austere lives to support their internal transformations through mediation and Qi Gong practices. As you develop your Qi Gong practice it’s necessary to also improve your self-care through diet and lifestyle adjustments that support transforming your health and life.
Since the Heart-Kidney energetic connection is so important in the process of life-transformation, a primary way to maintain a healthy Heart-Kidney communication is through supporting the Triple Energizer system of your body.
The Triple Energizer is a Fire organ that relates to the Heart and facilitates the movement of your Kidney’s Water energy or Jing-Essence.
Triple Energizer Qi Gong is an exercise system designed to strengthen your Heart’s Qi and bring the warmth of the Heart’s Yang into your Kidneys to provide for the transmutation of Qi and Blood into Jing to support slowing the aging process.
In addition, exercise practices like Triple Energizer Qi Gong can help cleanse your Jing-Essence to purify your body, resolve illnesses and prevent disease from developing.
You Are the Master of Your Life
As you begin this self-exploration through practicing Qi Gong, see yourself as a scientist observing and discovering the phenomenon of natural healing through the cultivation of Qi within the laboratory of your own divine body.
Practicing Qi Gong is an evolutionary process with benefits that unfold over months of time and practice slowly restoring your body and expanding your mind. It is through this process of cultivation you can create the miracles in your life to achieve your heart’s desires.
Learn more about Triple Energizer Qi Gong and join Salvador for an upcoming live class at Dharma Studio at A Center for Natural Healing.
Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. is Founder & Co-Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, CA, a wellness clinic he runs with his wife, Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac., that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine & Japanese Meridian Therapy, a rare non-insertion form of Acupuncture using Gold and Silver needles. Learn more at www.acenterfornaturalhealing.com.
Self-Healing & Self-Discovery through Triple Energizer Qi Gong
By Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac.
The term Qi Gong basically means “Qi Cultivation” or “Qi Effort”. The practice of Qi Gong is therefore about applying concentrated effort to support your Qi.
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 of your body has an electrical charge on its membrane. This is known as the Resting Membrane Potential measured by the voltage between the fluid inside the cell and fluid outside the cell.
The Resting Membrane Potential is a neutral state and information does not actively get transmitted in this state. But as soon as the voltage changes, then the cell can transmit information to trigger different actions throughout the body.
This change in energy potential allows for fluid to pass in and out of cells, so fluid dynamics are to a great extent based on the shifting of cellular membrane voltage.
In terms of Chinese Medicine and Qi Gong, this process is supported by activating Qi through special movements and deep focused breathing. In terms of fluid metabolism and organ function, the Triple Energizer system supports the Lungs, Spleen and Kidneys to work synergistically to support fluid metabolism for the purposes of nourishing and cleansing the body.
Although the Triple Energizer (aka Triple Heater) is considered an organ in Chinese Medicine and has a meridian circulation devoted to it like the other primary organs, it’s considered to be a rather mysterious organ because it has “function but no form.”
Two years ago, however, the form of the Triple Energizer system was likely discovered through state-of-the-art electroscopic analysis of living tissue which allowed for the observance of an entirely new system of fluid movement within the body.
This newly discovered fluid highway flows between tissues of living organism (an interstitial system) and therefore had not been able to be observed prior to the development of special electroscope technology.
Some scientists called this discovery a ‘new organ' while others balked at the reference to this system as an organ because it had no defined shape. In my estimation, this new fluid network is the exciting discovery of the Triple Energizer system that has been long established in Chinese Medicine.
Jing is the Qi of Your Constitution
We are each born with a finite amount of life-force according to this tradition and it is called your Essence or Jing that is stored in your Kidneys.
This Jing is like the oil in an old fashion lamp and as you live your life you use up your body’s oil reserves. It is therefore accurate to say if you live a fast, hard life, you will burn yourself and your life out more quickly.
In Chinese Medicine they take this idea literally believing the Kidney system also holds within it a pilot light, called your Ming Men or Life-Gate Fire. It’s considered a “gate” because this flame protects your life. So as you burn out the fire of your Ming-Men, your fundamental life-force declines as well.
Your Kidneys therefore store both the fuel, called your Jing or Essence, and the pilot light, called your Ming-Men Fire, and since Jing relates to your constitution it has a direct resonance with your DNA. With that said, it is clear why Chinese Medicine emphasizes that optimal health and vitality depends on the health of your Kidneys and why the practice of Triple Energizer Qi Gong is concentrated on this achievement.
The Eight Extraordinary Meridians Cleanse Your Constitutional Jing
From a Chinese Medicine perspective, the practice of Triple Energizer Qi Gong is designed to facilitate a healthy flow of Qi in order to regulate and cleanse the Water energy within your body.
Water energy is regulated through the dynamic action of the Triple Heater system and the function of the Lung, Spleen and Kidney organs.
Water energy not only corresponds with the fluid dynamics of the Triple Heater but also to your constitutional Jing-Essence and there is a unique set of energy channels called the Eight Extraordinary Meridians that have direct resonance on this deepest level of your life force.
These Extraordinary Meridians correspond with your constitutional Jing because they develop in utero during gestation.
The organs that correspond to these Extraordinary Meridians are also referred to as extraordinary. In modern Chinese Medicine we call them the Curious Organs which include the brain, the genito-reproductive systems as well as the bones and blood vessels.
These Eight Extraordinary Meridians are considered both ‘ancestral vessels’ and vessels of ‘latency’. Three of the eight meridians are the original ancestral vessels of your creation and contain your hereditary information. These are called prenatal vessels.
The other five meridians are created after birth and therefore called postnatal vessels and act like reservoirs that contain latent toxic factors that would otherwise damage your vital organs. These latent factors can be chemical in nature from exposure to toxic substances or simply a lifetime of overeating or consuming excessive toxins such as alcohol, drugs and medications.
Latent toxic factors can also be emotional in nature and even acquired through physical trauma.
For example, a car accident can induce a lot of external Yang energy into the body that can overwhelm the system. This excess energy can get trapped and become a latent factor that restricts mobility and causes chronic pain.
Most importantly, working with these Eight Extraordinary Meridians can help you cleanse your body of these latent toxic factors that can damage your constitutional Essence and lead to serious states of disease.
And as you optimize the function of your Eight Extraordinary Meridians which can be achieved through acupuncture and Triple Energizer Qi Gong you can greatly enhance the quality of your health and lead an extra-ordinary life.
The Benefits of Triple Energizer Qi Gong
Triple Energizer Qi Gong helps regulate the Eight Extraordinary Meridians to unburden your body of toxic latent factors that can lead to serious diseases and accelerate your aging process.
Triple Energizer Qi Gong also supports all of your vital systems by regulating the three Energizer centers of the body— the organs of digestion and reproduction in the Lower Energizer, the Heart and Lungs in the Middle Energizer, and the Brain within the Upper Energizer.
In this way, Triple Energizer Qi Gong supports the function of the three Energizer centers of the body, thereby improving the health of your organ and glandular systems to balance and regulate your overall metabolism.
With this said, a diaphragmatic breathing exercise system has been scientifically studied in Japan on obese, post-menopausal, depressed women. This Japanese exercise uses a similar form of combined movement and breathing used in Triple Energizer Qi Gong so in my opinion it helps to improve the function of the Triple Heater system as well.
This Japanese form of diaphragmatic breathing has been found to help with weight loss, fatigue, asthma and depression. Physiological observations included improvement in adrenal gland function and sympathetic tone, as well as increased release of growth hormone and estradiol to support cellular regeneration and mood enhancement.
Qi Gong and diaphragmatic breathing in general have been found to reduce cortisol levels and oxidative stress which accelerate cellular damage and aging, reduce symptoms of GERD (heartburn), lower blood sugar, elevated blood pressure and rapid heart beat which are all physiological effects of stress. And let’s not forget about the release of beta-endorphins which help improve one’s outlook on life.
Another Qi Gong study will excite those on the ketosis diet kick to burn fat and lose weight. This study worked with a group of overweight male and female college students and after one month of Qi Gong practice it was found that their morning urine ketone levels increased indicating improvement in their lipid metabolism.
Other studies have shown reduction in cholesterol and triglycerides levels and the increase in HDL after 3 months of Qi Gong practice. Another report regarding a study of 100 Qi Gong participants showed improvement in platelet aggregation tests which indicate a reduction in blood viscosity and improvement in blood circulation. Furthermore, Qi Gong has been shown to initiate an immediate increase in hemoglobin as well which supports enhanced oxygenation throughout the body.
With all of these positive indicators, it is therefore safe to say that practicing Qi Gong daily provides positive physiological benefits to improve health in both body and mind.
Triple Energizer Qi Gong & Your Life Purpose
Your Jing is stored in your Kidneys and therefore it relates to the Water energy of the body.
As the body’s irrigation system, the Triple Energizer is responsible for moving and disseminating your Water’s Essence which stores your life curriculum.
Smooth circulation of the Triple Heater system allows you to be healthy and live out your life’s purpose.
According to Classical Chinese Medicine, your Jing is programmed during gestation with information about the ‘curriculum’ you are to live out and experience in this lifetime.
In other words, your ‘curriculum’ according to Taoist philosophy is ‘the path’ you are to follow in this lifetime in order to free yourself from the cycles of reincarnation.
If you bring your curriculum to completion in this lifetime, you’ll be free to create whatever you want with the rest of your life here on earth and thereafter.
However, if you avoid fulfilling the curriculum you’ve come into this life to experience, then according to this ideology, you’ll return to similar circumstances to try again.
This is why it’s important that you don’t allow your Jing to stagnate and keep the Water moving smoothy in your body. This will not only prevent your body’s fluid system from becoming a stagnant cesspool that leads to disease, but also allows you to fulfill your destiny.
Salvador demonstrates a sample of Triple Energizer Qi Gong.
According to Daoist philosophy, if your Jing is stagnated in this moment, then you likely aren’t living out your Dharma, or purpose, you came into this life to fulfill.
Activating your Triple Heater system through Triple Energizer Qi Gong will support you in this profound life changing experience. And as you awaken to your higher purpose, Triple Energizer Qi Gong can help you heal your body and mind to support graceful aging.
Click here to register for an upcoming Triple Energizer Qi Gong class at Dharma Studio at A Center for Natural Healing.
You can also learn about this unique practice in the Yin Yoga Integration Teacher Training with Dr. Setareh Moafi starting in September 2019.
Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. is the Founder & Co-Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, California, a health and wellness clinic run by he and his wife, Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine. Salvador is a leading U.S. practitioner of Japanese Meridian Therapy, a rare form of non-insertion Acupuncture using Gold & Silver needles. More information at www.acenterfornaturalhealing.com.
The Doyo Period - 9 Tips to Support Your Health During Each Seasonal Transition
by Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. and Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac.
The transitional period between each seasonal change is a very important time to support the health of your body and mind. In Five Element theory, this period is called Doyo and relates to the Earth energy, which encompasses the Spleen and Stomach organ systems.
According to Chapter 29 of the Classical Chinese Medicine text Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen: “The spleen, that is the soil. It governs the center. Throughout the four seasons it tends the four depots. In each [season] it is entrusted with government for eighteen days.”
This classical text is essentially telling us that this 18 day period at the end of each season corresponds to the Spleen’s energy and since it is an Earth element organ, it needs to be given extra care and support during this transitional time. Furthermore, the Earth organs, which include the Stomach and Pancreas as well, are more vulnerable to imbalance and disease at this time. With that said, paying extra attention to our diet and eating habits is key to maintaining one’s overall health during this transitional period between seasons.
People who already have problems in their Earth element need to take extra care as cases such as diabetes, ulcers and gastrointestinal issues in general can all worsen during this time if their lifestyle is not supported.
During the Doyo period in particular it's important to eat meals at regular times and without distractions. Staying away from too much sweet food and other damp inducing foods like dairy and fried foods is also important to keep the Spleen and Stomach energies in a healthy balance.
The Spleen as the largest lymphatic organ in the body indicates this is a good time for acupuncture and massage to support lymphatic circulation. If you only get these treatments a few times a year, it's best to do them during the Doyo periods.
The Spleen is an especially important system as it supports immunity during the seasonal transition.
In addition, the Spleen is an organ that assists in the transformation of food into energy and thoughts into purpose, so a healthy Spleen will support you to stay focused on your goals and be able to transform your dreams into reality.
Weakness in the Spleen can result in problems with digestion and elimination and cause the body to accumulate dampness. Dampness is a fungal terrain, often resulting from a diet heavy in carbohydrates, fried foods, dairy and sugar (even in the form of fruits). A fungal terrain can also develop from using various drugs such as antibiotics, sulfa drugs, chemotherapy, birth control pills, corticosteroids, antacids and acid blocking medications.
Dampness is reflected in our lives through the feeling of being stuck or lacking clarity. Dampness is also associated with psychological imbalances such as Obsessive Compulsiveness Disorder and hoarding.
The Earth element organs thrive on a simple diet based on unprocessed foods, a calm mind, and a regular daily rhythm with meals, exercise and rest.
Here are 9 tips to support you to have greater clarity and a healthier lifestyle during the Doyo Period of every seasonal change:
Take time to cook and be present during your meals. Put away your cell phone, turn off the TV and just be - with your meal and people with whom you enjoy spending time.
Eat meals at regular times and without distractions. Avoid eating under stress and eating on the run or while distracted.
Integrate more root vegetables into your diet to nourish your Earth. Root veggies such as sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots and rutabaga also help anchor your body's energy and calm your mind.
Start to integrate more cooked leafy green vegetables to support the Liver and the Wood element, which are associated with the Spring season
Reduce or avoid coffee, alcohol and refined sugars. All of these substances aggravate the Liver, so this is especially important during the transition to the Liver (Wood) season of Spring.
Take enzymes daily. Enzymes taken with meals will help break down food and prevent stagnation and heat accumulation in the Stomach. Along with a balanced probiotic supplement, enzymes are essential for your gut health, which is the core of your immune function and brain health. Not sure what to take? Call us at 408-244-8565 or stop in and pick up a bottle of our favorite probiotics and enzymes.
Exercise to strengthen your Earth. Calming exercises such as Yoga and Qi Gong are especially important to integrate into your routine. Join us for weekly Qi Gong classes Mondays at 11:45am.
Take more time to meditate or just sit quietly to calm your mind. The imbalanced emotion of Earth is worry, so the more you can quiet your mind the less stress this system will take on.
Get Acupuncture treatment. This is the ideal time to support your core Earth energy and immunity with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. (If you're in our area, you can schedule yourself online here).
Never feel overwhelmed by what to eat again.
Join the waitlist for our one-of-a-kind-nutrition course.
Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. is the Founder & Co-Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, California, a health and wellness clinic run by he and his wife, Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine. Salvador is a leading U.S. practitioner of Japanese Meridian Therapy, a rare form of non-insertion Acupuncture using Gold & Silver needles. More information at www.acenterfornaturalhealing.com.
Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. is Co-Owner and Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, California, a health and wellness clinic that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine and Traditional Japanese Acupuncture. Dr. Moafi offers clinical services and transformational workshops that blend the ancient practices of Classical Chinese Medicine and Yoga. More information at www.setarehmoafi.com and www.acenterfornaturalhealing.com.
6 Insights to Cultivate a Healthy Winter Season
by Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. and Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac.
Near the top of Mount Titlis in the Swiss Alps.
We recently returned from a beautiful trip to Switzerland where we felt like we were able to slow down and enjoy the feeling of Winter and the holiday season. Watching snow fall and walking through the Christmas markets transported us into a true Winter Wonderland.
Being in the cold also reminded us why wintertime is the most appropriate time to become more Yin. This naturally Yin, cold time of the year encourages rest and contemplation, both of which help us consolidate our energy and bring closure to our past.
Winter is the season related to the Kidney system. The Kidneys hold the essential energy of the body, known as Jing, which is related to our DNA and the inner self. We're born with a finite amount of this Jing, so living a healthy, long life requires the conservation of Jing through adequate rest and self-cultivation.
Winter is the ideal time to cultivate yourself through rest and relaxation in order to consolidate and conserve your energy.
The Kidneys store your Life Gate Fire, called Ming Men; the strongest source of Yang Qi that brings power to your body and motivation to your mind. This energy creates the Zhi, or Willpower, that drives ambition and your will to live.
Finding balance is about the balance between being Yin, at rest, and being Yang, active.
Being too Yin causes stagnation in the body and being too Yang overheats and burns out the body.
On a physical level, the Kidney system includes the kidneys, the adrenal glands, the reproductive organs, the brain, the ears and hearing, and the bones or skeletal structure.
Since the sex organs are an aspect of the Kidneys, excessive sexual activity has the most direct and exhaustive impact on the Kidney's Qi and releasing sexual fluids also exhausts the Jing, which is your most valuable commodity in life. Through the loss of Yin fluids, the body cannot stay insulated and maintain its heat so the body gets cold and over time the tissues dry up and wrinkle. Thus the decline of Kidney Yin and Yang relates to accelerated aging.
Cultivation practices are essential to consolidate the Kidney's Yin and Yang energies to slow down the aging process.
Self-cultivation practices involve daily exercises that increase flexibility and move Qi such as Qi Gong, Yoga and Tai Chi. In addition, emptying the mind through daily Meditation practice is the most powerful and important practice to allow the body's deepest energies to circulate.
The Winter Solstice marks a change of seasons through the longest night of the year.
While New Year's resolutions are powerful, Winter is not the time to bring new ideas and plans to fruition.
The seasonal energy of Winter is about going within ourselves and consolidating our energy so we have the power to sprout our intentions during the following, Yang season of Spring.
6 Insights to Help You Have a Healthy Winter Season
1) Go to bed early and sleep, sleep, sleep. Resting and deep, uninterrupted sleep help consolidate your Yin energy to support regeneration at this time of year. For those who have difficulty sleeping well, Chinese herbal medicine and Essential Oils are often very effective to cool and relax your Liver and nourish your Heart blood to support a calm mind for restful sleep.
2) Nurture your Earth digestive energy (Spleen and Stomach Qi) with cooked foods, including lots of soup and stews. This is important during every seasonal transition. Avoid cold, raw food and drinks which reduce your digestive energy and lower your body's core temperature.
Here's a healing Rice Congee recipe: Bring 7 cups water or chicken stock to a boil and then slowly simmer 1 cup long-grain white rice. Cook for about an hour stirring every 15-20 minutes. Add water if necessary to keep it soupy. Add bone broth, ginger slices, green scallion onions and any type of meat or eggs as desired. Eating a cup of congee at end of each meal is very potent medicine to strengthen a weak digestive system.
Salvador practicing Qi Gong on a crisp morning in Oberohringen, Switzerland
3) Keep your body's core temperature warm to protect the Life Gate Fire of the Kidneys. If you’re feeling cold, increase your body's metabolism by eating more warming meats such as lamb, beef, pork, buffalo and wild game like venison, elk and moose. It's also important to keep your feet, head and belly warm to preserve your Kidney Qi.
4) Exercise to boost your metabolism and circulation but don't exhaust yourself or sweat too much. Sweating excessively dries up your Yin fluids. Practice more Qi Gong, Yoga and Tai Chi to move and strengthen your Qi. Click here to join us for our special New Year's Eve Yoga-Qi Gong class. You can also learn more and register for the one-of-a-kind Yin Yoga Immersion with Dr. Moafi in the new year by clicking here.
5) Meditate daily and focus on what's good in your life. What we focus on expands, so stay positive by keeping a daily journal of gratitude to help highlight all the good things in your life each day. In addition, 10-15 minutes of daily meditation helps to begin the process of emptying the mind. This simple 10 minute meditation will help get you started.
6) Bring completion to things in your life. This is a great time to let go of a bad relationship or job that keeps you feeling stuck and unfulfilled so you can harvest and create space for those new plans to sprout forth in the coming Spring. Winter is the time for bringing closure when there are loose ends tying up your energy.
Thank you for helping make our year so special. Wishing you and your loved ones a nourishing Winter and holiday season!
With love,
Setareh & Salvador
Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. is the Founder & Co-Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, California, a health and wellness clinic run by he and his wife, Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine. Salvador is a leading U.S. practitioner of Japanese Meridian Therapy, a rare form of non-insertion Acupuncture using Gold & Silver needles. More information at www.acenterfornaturalhealing.com.
Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. is Co-Owner and Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, California, a health and wellness clinic that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine and Traditional Japanese Acupuncture. Dr. Moafi offers clinical services and transformational workshops that blend the ancient practices of Classical Chinese Medicine and Yoga. More information at www.setarehmoafi.com and www.acenterfornaturalhealing.com.
Practices for Late Summer & Healthy Seasonal Transitions
by Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac.
Dr. Setareh Moafi offers simple step-by-step guidance to do Dragon Pose. This Yin Yoga posture is important to open and release the Stomach Meridian and improve digestion. Benefits of the posture and its relationship to the Earth element and Stomach channel in Chinese Medicine are explained.
The Earth element rules the late Summer as well as all seasonal transitions — all important times to strengthen your Earth and its corresponding Spleen and Stomach organs.
The Earth element relates to the digestive system and includes the Spleen, Pancreas and Stomach functions. Restoring health to your digestive system is fundamental to restoring health to all aspects of your life.
The digestive system creates Qi to support a strong immune function and fluids to support the hormones and healthy endocrine function.
Digestion is about transformation; transformation of food into energy and substance to build the body. Having a strong Earth energy also supports transformation in our lives as well so we can create the life we want to live. And perhaps most importantly, creating a strong Earth energy in our lives helps support having healthy relationships especially within our family.
Weakness in the Earth organs can lead to sweet cravings which then cause the body to accumulate dampness. Dampness is a fungal terrain, often resulting from a diet heavy in carbohydrates, fried foods, dairy and sugar (even in the form of fruits).
A fungal terrain can also develop from using various drugs such as antibiotics, sulfa drugs, chemotherapy, birth control pills, corticosteroids, antacids and acid blocking medications.
Dampness is reflected in feeling stuck or lacking clarity. Dampness is also associated with psychological imbalances such as Obsessive Compulsiveness Disorder and hoarding.
Imbalance in your Earth can also lead to excess accumulation of heat in your Stomach causing acid reflux, indigestion, excessive appetite and even anxiety as the Stomach dumps the overflow of heat into the Heart.
The Earth element thrives on a simple diet based on unprocessed foods, a calm mind, and a regular daily rhythm with meals, exercise and rest.
The following tips will help strengthen the Earth energy to help bring clarity in your life as well as to clear the heat and dampness that can lead to burnout and a sluggish body and mind.
6 Tips for a Healthy Earth:
1) Eat meals at regular times and without distractions. The digestive system thrives on eating with a relaxed state of mind. Try also to not skip meals and eat snacks if low blood sugar is an issue.
2) Cut back on sugar, including fruit. Even 'healthy' Summer fruit have a high sugar content that can create dampness and lead to immune suppression and Fall colds and flus.
3) Eat more root vegetables. Root veggies such as sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots and rutabaga help anchor your body's energy and calm your mind.
4) Take enzymes and probiotics daily. Enzymes taken with meals will help break down food and prevent stagnation and heat accumulation in the Stomach. Along with a balanced probiotic supplement, enzymes are essential for your gut health, which is the core of your immune function and brain health. Not sure what to take? Call us at 408-244-8565 or stop in and pick up a bottle of our favorite probiotics and enzymes.
5) Exercise to strengthen your Earth. Calming exercises such as Yoga and Qi Gong are especially important to integrate into your routine. Here’s an archive of Yoga classes to practice from the comfort of your home. You can also do the short late Summer Yin Yoga practice with Dr. Setareh Moafi in the video at the top of this article :)
6) Go to bed a little earlier - before 11pm is optimal. It's also helpful to go to bed and wake up around the same time every day.
The transition toward the cooler Autumn season through this late Summer period allows us to harness our energy and create a calmer, more regular rhythm for optimal health during the upcoming Yin seasons of Fall and Winter.
Setareh Moafi, Ph.D., L.Ac. is Co-Owner and Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, California, a health and wellness clinic that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine and Traditional Japanese Acupuncture. Setareh offers clinical services and transformational workshops that blend the ancient practices of Classical Chinese Medicine and Yoga. More information at www.setarehmoafi.com and www.acenterfornaturalhealing.com.
Understanding Yin & Yang in Your Body
by Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac.
At the core of Chinese Philosophy and Chinese Medicine is the fundamental principle of Yin and Yang.
The concept of Yin and Yang is often attributed to the philosophical traditions of Daosim. This holds true for the theory of Five Elements as well. These major theoretical concepts were, however, all established by the School of Naturalism that predated Daoism. This school was also called the School of Yin and Yang. The first mention of Yin and Yang are found in the I Ching, a book of cosmology established by this school, dating back to 700 B.C.
The ideas of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements were established as theoretical principles in order to understand the cosmos and man’s relation to the cosmological forces found in nature. Yin and Yang are symbolized by the black and white divisions within a circle, indicating the circle of life and the movement of energy from one basic form into another.
As described in Chapter 1 of the Dao de Ching: "From nothing, came the one, the Ether that was the first Essence of life. From the one, formed the two and from the two creates the myriad of all things."
This is how Yin and Yang are considered the fundamental principles of life and creation.
Yin represents the substantial resources of life while Yang is the motivating force that works with these resources. Yang is about action, Yin is about substance. From the Chinese philosophical creation idea, first comes the force, the Qi, the Yang aspect creating a constrictive energetic field. As this constrictive field gathers, the condensation of gas creates the dust that densifies into matter. In this way, Yang initiates the formation of Yin. In other words, function creates form.
Prior to planetary matter were clouds of gas. Yang is the gaseous state, the Heaven. Yin is the state of particles creating matter, our Earth.
As the Earth forms, matter collects together into a sphere with its gaseous state contained within its center. The magmatic core found within the Earth equates to the core energetic center that is called the “Dan Tian” or “Elixir Field” in the body of humans. The Dan Tian, located below the navel, is the most powerful energetic force within the body that maintains optimal function and preserves the integrity of form.
When using the terms Yin and Yang to describe personality types, these definitions do seem contrary. For example, a Yin personality type is more constricted or constrained and in its extreme state an introvert whereas a Yang personality type is very expressive and in its extreme negative state rather manic or belligerent.
The more Yang, the more expressive and the more Yin, the more reserved.
There are four basic principles of Yin and Yang.
Yin and Yang are oppositional forces.
Yin and Yang are interdependent and cannot exist without the support of each other.
Yin and Yang are mutually creative as one energetic movement can transform into the other.
Yin and Yang are mutually consumptive forces as each will consume the other as it becomes over predominant.
These are the fundamental aspects of YIn and Yang that form the basis for understanding the forces influencing and shaping our selves and our lives. These principles of Yin and Yang are the basic building blocks that guide us to create balance in body and mind.
Yin relates to contraction and introversion, darkness, coldness, feminity and alkalinity.
Yang relates to expansion and expression, brightness, warmth, masculinity and acidity.
If a person is too Yang, overactive and overstimulated with work, exercise, sex and drugs such as caffeine, cocaine, or energy drinks, this can lead to excessive heat in the body. Excessive heat or acidity in the body will burn the body out.
Over time, too much Yang will lead excess Yin as overactivity will create fatigue and lethargy. Hypo-metabolism will potentially result with lowered thyroid and adrenal function.
In this way, balancing activity (Yang) with rest (Yin) is essential to creating a balanced, healthy life.
Salvador Cefalu, M.S., L.Ac. is Founder & Co-Director of A Center for Natural Healing in Santa Clara, CA, a wellness clinic that specializes in Classical Chinese Medicine & Japanese Meridian Therapy, a rare non-insertion form of Acupuncture. More information at www.acenterfornaturalhealing.com.