I have a background in General Practice and specialise in Classical Chinese medicine. I am currently in private practice in London.
Having obtained my medical degree (MBBS) from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, now a part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London. I spent my preregistration year in general abdominal and urology surgery, respiratory, and endocrinology medicine (which embraces conditions such as diabetes and hormonal disturbances). I am registered with the General Medical Council (GMC).
This was followed by three years of vocational training in general practice. During this time I worked in the hospital specialities of - accident and emergency, obstetrics and gynaecology, and in psychiatry at East Surrey hospital. I completed my training in general practice in Surrey and London.
To complement the Western medical training, I undertook postgraduate training in Oriental medicine. I completed a two year course in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncture before being granted full membership to the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC).
To further refine my clinical skills, I undertook training in Classical Chinese medicine and spent four years working under the close supervision of Master Nguyen Tinh Thong, a highly regarded physician and teacher of acupuncture & Chinese herbal medicine. I have also studied Japanese acupuncture with the modern day master, Kiiko Matsumoto and Master Jeffrey Yuen.
I am deeply inspired and influenced by the teachings of Master Jeffrey Yuen.
I have completed an internship in Vietnam in the art of bone setting, a traditional discipline which employs skillful physical manipulations and herbal applications to successfully heal bone-related conditions such as simple and complex fractures, athritic joints and so forth.
Futher postgraduate training includes a diploma in medical Qigong (a gentle system which builds up, restores, and directs, Qi, or vital energy); Chinese pre-prepared herbs (a branch of Chinese herbal medicine which utilises pills as opposed to raw herbs for better patient compliance).
I am a life long student and practitioner of meditation and Buddhist psychology (Dharma), which I regard as spiritual medicine. The continuing wisdom of the Buddha's teachings on the mind, actions and their effects, and so forth, are very relevant in today's world as most of our daily and long standing health problems arise from lacking a deep and stable experience of inner peace and a good heart.
I teach meditation and Buddhism at various branches of Nagarjuna Buddhist Centre, a member of the International Kadampa Buddhist Union. I also regularly engage in meditation retreats throughout the year.
As part of my ongoing commitment to educate patients in how to take care of their own mental and physical health, I have developed a practical self-care programme called 'Care for Your Qi'.
Click here for information about my treatments.
If you wish to make an appointment, please contact my receptionist on info@medalt.co.uk or call Medical Alternatives on 020 7486 8990
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Caring for the sick & dying person - a Buddhist perspective
Introduction
One day I came to visit David, I was about fourteen years old at the time. He was a highly respected childrens' psychologist and long time practitioner of zazen, a Japanese form of meditation. He was dying from lung cancer and was in his last few days and was at his home. I came to ask him a question. I began making him a coffee and was reaching in the fridge for milk. It was my opportunity to get the only answer that I knew would shape the rest of my life, so I plucked up the courage...
"May I ask how you are feeling David. I mean about dying..."
There was a pause, David took a long drawn breath, interspersed with a rather painful, heart renching dry and rasping cough. I remember holding my composure, nothing but this moment mattered to me. I felt it was going to be the beginning of my ultimate lesson.
Slowly, in a measured and soft and soothing voice that was so characteristic of David, he replied,
"I feel that I am going on an adventure...one that I shall not return from but exciting nonetheless..."
I dropped the milk to the ground amidst the staccato of David's coughing and we laughed. I knew that he would not appear to me again in this life. David died the following day very peacefully. It felt like a dew drop falling from a leaf and not the thunderous explosion that I had expected. Strangely in the abscence of his physical presence the world became a very reassuring place and not the lonely and horrible world that I had perceived...
This experience has remained with me to this day, I hope that all the people that I have the privilege to help might also experience this sort of peaceful, simple and joyful death.
For me a medical doctor needs to be able to administer the appropriate medicine, at the correct time, and in the correct manner to help alleviate the ailments of those who are seeking their expertise.
Broadly speaking there are two levels of medicine – the body and the mind/spirit. Though related they are also two very distinct entities. The mind is a formless continuum and the body is a form that does not continue. The body is not us – it belongs to others (our parents and grandparents and so forth). The real us is our mind. So illnesses in the body are not illnesses in the mind. At present, to an untrained mind, problem in one usually triggers problems in the other.
These two levels need to be tended to skilfully and appropriately with the aim of restoring physical health where possible and at all times to help the sick person to develop and maintain a peaceful and truly happy state of mind. This is possible and realistic since physical sickness does not actually have to affect the mind.
For instance a cancer is a problem of the body, it can be said an external problem. We then develop a mental problem (which is internal) as a reaction to the perceived external problem in the body. At the moment, we and others are too closely associated with our body as actually being us. Due to this we develop intense mental pain in the form of negative states of mind which makes the physical pain due to the cancer even worse.
This situation is compounded by all the 'hype' that surrounds a diagnosis of cancer and our awareness of a state of total and utter helplessness. In reality our life has always been precarious and full of uncertainty. We have always been able to move around it. Now we now feel backed up against a wall without any choice. This greatly adds to our mental pain which is sometimes out of proportion to the physical pain caused by the cancer. However there is always a choice, we just need to filter out the hype from the goodness.
One day I came to visit David, I was about fourteen years old at the time. He was a highly respected childrens' psychologist and long time practitioner of zazen, a Japanese form of meditation. He was dying from lung cancer and was in his last few days and was at his home. I came to ask him a question. I began making him a coffee and was reaching in the fridge for milk. It was my opportunity to get the only answer that I knew would shape the rest of my life, so I plucked up the courage...
"May I ask how you are feeling David. I mean about dying..."
There was a pause, David took a long drawn breath, interspersed with a rather painful, heart renching dry and rasping cough. I remember holding my composure, nothing but this moment mattered to me. I felt it was going to be the beginning of my ultimate lesson.
Slowly, in a measured and soft and soothing voice that was so characteristic of David, he replied,
"I feel that I am going on an adventure...one that I shall not return from but exciting nonetheless..."
I dropped the milk to the ground amidst the staccato of David's coughing and we laughed. I knew that he would not appear to me again in this life. David died the following day very peacefully. It felt like a dew drop falling from a leaf and not the thunderous explosion that I had expected. Strangely in the abscence of his physical presence the world became a very reassuring place and not the lonely and horrible world that I had perceived...
This experience has remained with me to this day, I hope that all the people that I have the privilege to help might also experience this sort of peaceful, simple and joyful death.
For me a medical doctor needs to be able to administer the appropriate medicine, at the correct time, and in the correct manner to help alleviate the ailments of those who are seeking their expertise.
Broadly speaking there are two levels of medicine – the body and the mind/spirit. Though related they are also two very distinct entities. The mind is a formless continuum and the body is a form that does not continue. The body is not us – it belongs to others (our parents and grandparents and so forth). The real us is our mind. So illnesses in the body are not illnesses in the mind. At present, to an untrained mind, problem in one usually triggers problems in the other.
These two levels need to be tended to skilfully and appropriately with the aim of restoring physical health where possible and at all times to help the sick person to develop and maintain a peaceful and truly happy state of mind. This is possible and realistic since physical sickness does not actually have to affect the mind.
For instance a cancer is a problem of the body, it can be said an external problem. We then develop a mental problem (which is internal) as a reaction to the perceived external problem in the body. At the moment, we and others are too closely associated with our body as actually being us. Due to this we develop intense mental pain in the form of negative states of mind which makes the physical pain due to the cancer even worse.
This situation is compounded by all the 'hype' that surrounds a diagnosis of cancer and our awareness of a state of total and utter helplessness. In reality our life has always been precarious and full of uncertainty. We have always been able to move around it. Now we now feel backed up against a wall without any choice. This greatly adds to our mental pain which is sometimes out of proportion to the physical pain caused by the cancer. However there is always a choice, we just need to filter out the hype from the goodness.
Firstly we must distinguish what proportion of pain is due to the cancer and what proportion is due to our mental pain.
Arriving at this understanding and treating in this manner is the key to helping those who are suffering from any form of physical illness whilst helping them to maintain deep inner peace. We shall understand that this is not a contradiction and is realistic and achievable.
It is understood that healing takes place best in a person with some degree of inner peace. This reduces circulation of stress hormones in the bloodstream (please see my blog on 'Effects of Stress on Health'). Healing is possible as we are not in a constantly ‘hyped up’ state.
By gaining control over our mind and therefore creating inner peace we tell the body switch off the stress hormones. We switch to a much more relaxed state making it more conducive to healing.
What now follows is my heartfelt advice on how to take care of the person who is sick and dying. I take my advice from Buddha’s teachings coupled with my own experiences of taking care of the sick and dying. However you do not need to be Buddhist to benefit from this advice. I hope that it may benefit the person who is sick and all those who care for them. May it bring forth hope and peace of mind to those who read it.
Principles of caring for the person who is sick & dying
In caring for the person who is sick we need to be very clear of three things:
- We will try our utmost to help their body to make a full recovery
- We also need to be realistic and aware that there is a possibility that they may die. We need to learn to patiently, calmly and gently reach this acceptance.
- We need help the sick to prepare for their journey ahead and help them to make their future life very favourable (what is reincarnation?)
Understanding these things clearly we shall gradually dispel all our fears and worries about what will happen and we will get ahead to truly be very helpful to our loved ones. It can actually turn out to be a most peaceful, even joyful, and deeply healing experience for everybody.
During their time on this earth it is important to take care of our loved ones as well as possible.
However it is even more important and crucial to help the dying person to die peacefully and understand how we can best guide them on their journey to their future life. It is crucial since we need to help them to go to a favourable place, a place beyond any form of suffering, called a Pureland in Buddhism.
This is one of the most compassionate and helpful things we can do for our loved ones since it will help them the most. So we can help at all stages – however we need to be prepared.
“In King of Concentration Sutra it says :
The moon and the stars may fall to earth,
The earth with all its mountains and dwelling places may disappear,
And space itself may disappear,
But it is impossible for Buddha to tell a lie.
There is nothing that Buddhas could gain from deceiving anyone because they have accomplished everything they need to accomplish for themselves and their only wish is to be of benefit to others. Therefore, all that they teach is completely reliable and can be accepted on faith whenever the weakness of our own reasoning and experience lets us down.”
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Joyful Path of Good Fortune
In the Buddhist scriptures, it is told a story of a woman, called Kisakutami, who suffered greatly from the death of her new born child. So distraught was she that she went to seek Buddha’s help since she knew of his powers to help others. Buddha promised that he could do this on the condition that she could obtain a single grain of mustard seed from a household that had not experienced any death. Kisakutami searched high and low, day and night, asking every family in the village whether they had experienced a death in their family and trying to obtain a grain of mustard from them if they hadn’t. She was exhausted by this search yet could not find a single family that had never experienced a loss in their family. With this she was better able to acknowledge the impermanence of produced phenomena and it strengthened her compassion deeply and eased her mind over the loss of her child since she realised that all who are born in samsara must also get sick and to die without choice, upon which she entered the path to end the cycle of uncontrolled death and rebirth.
Can any of us believe that we or our loved ones can ever prevent sickness and death from coming to us whilst all around the world other people and their families are experiencing the same moment on moment?
It is Buddha’s teachings, and the experience of many Buddhist practitioners, that our body is not the real us. Of course it is the basis for others to relate to us but in reality it belongs to others (our parents, their parents etc.). Our body was formed upon the union of sperm and egg at the time of our conception. This was then the basis for our mind/consciousness, to enter into this union of sperm and egg.
When we say I know, dream or feel something it is the mind that functions to know and understand and remember things, not the body. When we sleep our mind becomes more and more subtle, our sense awareness and memory of this world completely disappears and we enter the dream world. We sometimes reach the very subtlest level of mind when our memory and mindfulness completely fail temporarily. When we wake our mind becomes grosser and the five sense awareness start to function again. We pass through these states continually throughout this life and throughout all of our lives.
All our experiences are based upon the karma that is stored in our mind or mental continuum (what is the mind?). The countless actions of body, speech, and mind are stored as karma (what is karma?) – Sanskrit for action. These actions are generally good, bad or neutral.
“Our present experience of particular suffering and problems has a special connection with particular actions we performed in our previous lives. This is very subtle. We cannot see this hidden connection with our eyes, but we can understand it through using our wisdom, and in particular through relying upon Buddha’s teachings. In general everyone knows that if they perform bad actions they will experience bad results and if they perform good actions they will experience good results.”
The New Meditation Handbook, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
All the external or manifest causes are only secondary causes, or conditions for our experiences. The real cause of all our experiences arises from hidden potentialities stored within the mind.
Buddhists believe that suffering is not given out as a punishment; rather it is a ripened effect of negative karma. Likewise happiness is a ripened effect of previously making others happy.
There is nothing more purifying than a mind of compassion (what is compassion?); nothing more meritorious than a mind of love and nothing more profound than the blessings of all the holy beings. We can activate this through the mind of faith and a mind of refuge.
For those who are sick and for their carers we should all try to do our best maintain a peaceful mind. Through this we shall all experience less suffering. This is truly something that we can all contribute towards.
Love & AttachmentThis requires us to understand the difference between love and attachment.
Love is a pure mind that is part of a mind of compassion. This is a mind that, out of true love (similar for the love that a mother has for her child), wishes all living beings to be free of any type of suffering. This is a realistic and sustainable state of mind.
Attachment is a mind that causes us and others pain and suffering. It is a mind that relates to and grasps tightly to objects and persons as if they were permanent or truly existent. In reality nothing is permanent, everything is subject to change moment by moment – some quicker than others. Even mountains are changing moment by moment. So our body and our mind are always changing. In this way the mind of attachment is an unrealistic and painful state of mind.
At present our minds are pervaded by a mixture of love and attachment. Attachment limits our love. We need to try to reduce our mind of attachment and allow only our minds of love and compassion to pervade our experiences.
This requires us to draw upon great inner strength and a profound love for each other (both the person who is sick and the carers). Out of this love for each other we need to overcome our attachment to each other thereby helping us to reduce our attachment to one another. In this way there will be greater space for only love to come forth.
We need to let them know that it is okay to for them to let go if the time should come to do so. This means we must be okay to let them go. This does not mean we wish for a quick demise or anything of the sort. We still continue to fight all we can to help the person’s body to recover fully. There is no contradiction here.
However our primary concern is their spiritual/mental peace whilst we try to help them and the doctors in their efforts to repair their body.
Caring for the person who is dying & caring for the person who has died
There are many practical and profound ways which we can help others as they are dying.
We can continue to pray for their peace of mind. The body may be failing and to stop functioning but the mind definitely continues to function. From the outside point of view a person cannot see our mind, but we know that it functions. For instance no ordinary being can experience our dreams but they cannot say that we did not experience it ourselves. In a similar way to the person who is not dying it appears that the mind of a dead person ceases to function but it not the experience of the dead person's mind. Remember that the mind is a formless continuum and, unlike the physical body, does not require the usual things like food and air for it to function. The mind continues to function moment on moment becoming more and more subtle and sensitive.
Buddhist experience is that death is not the cessation of the breath but the separation between the mind/consciousness from the body. This can occur some time after breathing has stopped. It is important to understand this as the mind is at this time very delicate and highly sensitive.
Practically we need to be as peaceful as possible to allow the mind of the dying to complete its dissolution – just like falling asleep. At this time our tears and emotional outbursts will be of little use to the dying person and can even be detrimental to them. If we truly want to help them pass on peacefully we need to come to terms with this possibility right now! Tie up any loose ends so that at the time of their death we will be prepared and on hand to truly be of service to them.
We need to continue to stay as calm as possible and say prayers and/or recite mantras for the person to help their mind to reach a very peaceful state. It is also very important not to touch the feet or any part of the body other than the crown of the head. We need the consciousness to leave through the crown as this will ensure a highly favorable rebirth. It is at this time that we can be of greatest help to our loved ones and when our love and compassion make the biggest difference.
Caring for the person who has diedIn Buddhist traditions we can perform a simple and profound practice called a powa to help them maintain a peaceful mind and increase their chances of reaching a Pureland after they pass on.
When the person has physically died (ceased to breathe) we can perform a powa ceremony within forty-nine days of their passing.
This will decisively send their consciousness to the Pureland of a Buddha if they should pass on.
In a Pureland no-one suffers from any of the problem of samsaric rebirth.
Our current life is a samsaric life that is one marked by uncontrolled birth, ageing, sickness, and death, failing to satisfy our desires, having to part with what we like and having to encounter things we do not wish without control or end. This cycle of samsara occurs in lifetime after lifetime continually.
There are six realms of samsara in which any of us can be reborn – these are marked by varying degrees of uncontrolled suffering. A Buddha's Pureland is free of all traces of these sufferings and uncertainty and so it is the best place to go to after we pass on. This depends on purifying negative karma and accumulating a vast collection of merit and relying sincerely on Buddha's blessings to make it happen. These methods are all contained in the powa ceremony.
I hope that this information brings greater comfort to everyone. It is not my intention to offend or upset anybody with this information but only to be of service. It is drawn from very qualified sources from Buddhist practices as well as from my clinical and personal experience. However any mistakes remain solely mine and in no way reflects upon my teachers or their teachings. Any benefit that has been gained is entirely due to their kindness.
“When death actually comes we shall feel like a child returning to the home of its parents, and pass away joyfully, without fear. We shall become like Longdol Lama…When the time of his death came he was overjoyed. People asked why he was so happy and he replied ‘If I die this morning I shall be reborn again this evening in a Pure Land. My future life will be far superior to this one.’ ”
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully
Bibliography & Resources
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Transform Your Life
Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living & Dying
Monday, 3 March 2008
Effects of Stress on Health
"All diseases are rooted in the shen-spirit" - Chapter 8, Ling Shu
Introduction
When you engage in an health care system, such as Oriental medicine, you begin a very rewarding journey of personal growth and transformation.
This begins with your becoming more aware of how things are, not how you think they should be.
Become aware of the principle of change or impermanence.
Change is encompassed by the Yin/Yang or Polarity principle. This explains how things are always moving and changing in a state of dynamic balance. In particular understand how you can apply this principle for optimizing your mental and physical health.
Understand that the active phases of your life (Yang aspect) need to be balanced with the passive states of your life (Yin aspect). The agent that mediates this change is Qi (Chi) - a subtle form of energy that is distinct and yet inseparable from your own mind.
Change is being a part of reality whereas stagnation is being apart from reality.
Change is in the nature of movement, growth and well being.
Stagnation is in the nature of illness, decay, and demise.
The state of physical and mental illness is a polarized state of physical and mental health. Listen to these symptoms patiently and honestly. It is your way of telling yourself that some part of your way of life is harmful to you and that it is time to change.
This change begins firstly in the mind - an awareness that change is needed.
Much of the changes that we have undertaken to date have been temporary. We need to make deeper and longer lasting changes. For this change to be long lasting and significant you need start by becoming more aware of the relationship between your mind and your experiences. Particularly how your current intention affects your experiences.
Begin the sequence of deep, gradual, and lasting change by honestly and realistically asking yourself these two questions
“Am I happy?” vs “Am I free from problems?”
If you check you are trying to increase this happiness/problem ratio – by trying to increase happiness and to reduce problems. You are doing this with each and every single activity, moment on moment, in your life. How are you doing?
If you are not able to answer these questions then you need to question why?
This will lead you to the next question – what is the nature and cause of happiness?
If you start the process of finding the answer to these very fundamental questions you will embark upon a journey that will lead to deep and lasting changes which will eventually fulfill all of your wishes and make your life truly meaningful.
There are three levels of our experiences which correspond with the three levels of our mind - gross, subtle and very subtle.
For me there are three corresponding levels of illness - physical (gross), energetic (subtle), and mental/spiritual (very subtle). There is a continuum between these three levels. It is well known in all disciplines of world medicine that problems at the mental level will manifest as problems on the physical level and vice versa.
In my clinical experience drawn from working in the fields of hospital, general practice, and Classical Chinese medicines, I believe that there are broadly two fundamental causes of illnesses for modern day people - those caused by mental and those related to food. These are the two most frequent activities that we engage in at any given moment. Consequently they act like medicine or poison for our system.
There are many models for understanding this. As long as the model we use to understand these things involves complimentary and opposite polarities then it will embrace all other principles.
I shall use the acid/alkaline model as a basis for understanding our physical and mental health since it seems to be the model of the moment.
Acid & Alkaline states
We need to understand which states of mind as well as which types food make the body excessively acidic (Yang & Hot) and which states of mind, activity and foods make the body alkaline (more Yin & Cool).
This state of excess acidity (excess Yang) is marked by inflammation (negative mental & physical symptoms) & fermentation (stagnation – of emotions & food matter).
Stress
The true nature of stress is an unpleasant state of mind. The real cause of stress occurs when our mind appears an object which it feels to be external from it, feels it be the true source of harm and we develop an unpleasant unpleasant state of mind towards it.
This negative state of mind initiates a stress response, mediated by the brain, sympathetic nervous system, and the stress hormones : cortisol, norephinephrine & epinephrine (commonly known noradrenaline & adrenaline respectively).
The study of stress & its effects on the body and health has been going on for over one hundred years. Notably Yerkes & Dodson and Dr Hans Selye.
Yerkes-Dodson Law
The interplay between feeling relaxed and feeling stressed and how it affected an individual’s performance was codified in 1908 by Robert Yerkes and John Dodson.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law proposes that when our physiological arousal is low (an indicator of boredom), our performance on any task will be poor. But as we become aroused – motivated, engaged or enthusiastic – performance improves until it reaches the brain’s sweet spot.
Beyond that point, further arousal translates into a debilitating stress – or distress, our performance declines regardless of our heightened state of arousal. If this state of distress is prolonged then problem arise as tension and energy builds up, and the body does not have time or the opportunity to return to a normal state.
Over time, stress wears down the immune system, and eventually causes us to become sick.
Consider what happens to the body when it is relaxed. For one thing, your blood pressure and heartbeat is lower. You breathe more slowly. Your muscles relax and become less tense. Your anxiety decreases, and you are able to think clearly and productively. In this state, your body uses less oxygen and expels less carbon dioxide. Your hormones return to a balanced state of equilibrium.
As a result, your internal organs work more effectively. Your circulation improves with more blood reaching the extremities of our body. Your muscles become soft and loose, and you become more aware of your body and feelings. Both your mind and body rests in the process of deep relaxation.
Dr. Hans Selye
Over fifty years ago Dr Selye suggested that physical disease is the body’s inability to deal with mental stress. Selye named the entire group of responses to stress in the body the ‘general adaptation syndrome’ (GAD).
The changes that make up GAD takes place in three stages :
i. The alarm reaction – The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the adrenal medulla greatly increase their activity. The adrenal cortex increases its secretion of glucorticoids (stress hormones), the number of lymphocytes and eosinophils (part of our immune system) decreases markedly. This has the effect produce other widespread changes including hyperglycemia, decreased immunity, allergic responses, increased systolic blood pressure (SBP), decreased digestion and increased & prolonged sympathetic (stress) response.
ii. The resistance or adaptation reaction – The adrenal medulla & cortex both return to their normal rates of hormone secretion. The changes that had taken place in the alarm reaction as a result of increased corticoid secretion disappear during the stage of resistance
iii. The stage of exhaustion – develops only when stress is extremely severe or when it continues over long periods of time. If stress continues to this point, cortisol secretion increases above the normal rate and may even surpass the high level produced in the alarm reaction. Despite this increased amount of corticoids, adaptation does not increase but decrease during the stage of exhaustion. The body can no longer cope with the prolonged perception of stress – the relationship between the external object and the mind’s response to it.
Any type of perceived stress – physical or mental, will cause an immediate and marked increase in ACTH (hypothalamic hormone) secretion followed minutes later by a greatly increased secretion of cortisol and adrenaline. Some of the situations that ordinarily give rise to perceived stress are:
- Trauma of any type that causes distress. In Oriental medicine this can lead to 'injury' of the energetic 'Kidneys' (which includes the adrenal glands)
- Infections (viral, bacterial, fungal etc.)
- Injection of adrenaline or other drugs that mimic this
- Surgical operations
- Long lasting illness
- Lack of oxygen, excess of carbon dioxide (eg. hyperventilation, shallow breathing, Damp-Heat/fermentation in the gut)
--------------------------------
References
How to Solve Our Human Problems, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Healing with Whole Foods, Paul Pitchford
Clinical Strategies vol. 1, Kiiko Matsumoto
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey
Introduction
When you engage in an health care system, such as Oriental medicine, you begin a very rewarding journey of personal growth and transformation.
This begins with your becoming more aware of how things are, not how you think they should be.
Become aware of the principle of change or impermanence.
Change is encompassed by the Yin/Yang or Polarity principle. This explains how things are always moving and changing in a state of dynamic balance. In particular understand how you can apply this principle for optimizing your mental and physical health.
Understand that the active phases of your life (Yang aspect) need to be balanced with the passive states of your life (Yin aspect). The agent that mediates this change is Qi (Chi) - a subtle form of energy that is distinct and yet inseparable from your own mind.
Change is being a part of reality whereas stagnation is being apart from reality.
Change is in the nature of movement, growth and well being.
Stagnation is in the nature of illness, decay, and demise.
The state of physical and mental illness is a polarized state of physical and mental health. Listen to these symptoms patiently and honestly. It is your way of telling yourself that some part of your way of life is harmful to you and that it is time to change.
This change begins firstly in the mind - an awareness that change is needed.
Much of the changes that we have undertaken to date have been temporary. We need to make deeper and longer lasting changes. For this change to be long lasting and significant you need start by becoming more aware of the relationship between your mind and your experiences. Particularly how your current intention affects your experiences.
Begin the sequence of deep, gradual, and lasting change by honestly and realistically asking yourself these two questions
“Am I happy?” vs “Am I free from problems?”
If you check you are trying to increase this happiness/problem ratio – by trying to increase happiness and to reduce problems. You are doing this with each and every single activity, moment on moment, in your life. How are you doing?
If you are not able to answer these questions then you need to question why?
This will lead you to the next question – what is the nature and cause of happiness?
If you start the process of finding the answer to these very fundamental questions you will embark upon a journey that will lead to deep and lasting changes which will eventually fulfill all of your wishes and make your life truly meaningful.
There are three levels of our experiences which correspond with the three levels of our mind - gross, subtle and very subtle.
For me there are three corresponding levels of illness - physical (gross), energetic (subtle), and mental/spiritual (very subtle). There is a continuum between these three levels. It is well known in all disciplines of world medicine that problems at the mental level will manifest as problems on the physical level and vice versa.
In my clinical experience drawn from working in the fields of hospital, general practice, and Classical Chinese medicines, I believe that there are broadly two fundamental causes of illnesses for modern day people - those caused by mental and those related to food. These are the two most frequent activities that we engage in at any given moment. Consequently they act like medicine or poison for our system.
There are many models for understanding this. As long as the model we use to understand these things involves complimentary and opposite polarities then it will embrace all other principles.
I shall use the acid/alkaline model as a basis for understanding our physical and mental health since it seems to be the model of the moment.
Acid & Alkaline states
We need to understand which states of mind as well as which types food make the body excessively acidic (Yang & Hot) and which states of mind, activity and foods make the body alkaline (more Yin & Cool).
This state of excess acidity (excess Yang) is marked by inflammation (negative mental & physical symptoms) & fermentation (stagnation – of emotions & food matter).
Stress
The true nature of stress is an unpleasant state of mind. The real cause of stress occurs when our mind appears an object which it feels to be external from it, feels it be the true source of harm and we develop an unpleasant unpleasant state of mind towards it.
This negative state of mind initiates a stress response, mediated by the brain, sympathetic nervous system, and the stress hormones : cortisol, norephinephrine & epinephrine (commonly known noradrenaline & adrenaline respectively).
The study of stress & its effects on the body and health has been going on for over one hundred years. Notably Yerkes & Dodson and Dr Hans Selye.
Yerkes-Dodson Law
The interplay between feeling relaxed and feeling stressed and how it affected an individual’s performance was codified in 1908 by Robert Yerkes and John Dodson.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law proposes that when our physiological arousal is low (an indicator of boredom), our performance on any task will be poor. But as we become aroused – motivated, engaged or enthusiastic – performance improves until it reaches the brain’s sweet spot.
Beyond that point, further arousal translates into a debilitating stress – or distress, our performance declines regardless of our heightened state of arousal. If this state of distress is prolonged then problem arise as tension and energy builds up, and the body does not have time or the opportunity to return to a normal state.
Over time, stress wears down the immune system, and eventually causes us to become sick.
Consider what happens to the body when it is relaxed. For one thing, your blood pressure and heartbeat is lower. You breathe more slowly. Your muscles relax and become less tense. Your anxiety decreases, and you are able to think clearly and productively. In this state, your body uses less oxygen and expels less carbon dioxide. Your hormones return to a balanced state of equilibrium.
As a result, your internal organs work more effectively. Your circulation improves with more blood reaching the extremities of our body. Your muscles become soft and loose, and you become more aware of your body and feelings. Both your mind and body rests in the process of deep relaxation.
Dr. Hans Selye
Over fifty years ago Dr Selye suggested that physical disease is the body’s inability to deal with mental stress. Selye named the entire group of responses to stress in the body the ‘general adaptation syndrome’ (GAD).
The changes that make up GAD takes place in three stages :
i. The alarm reaction – The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the adrenal medulla greatly increase their activity. The adrenal cortex increases its secretion of glucorticoids (stress hormones), the number of lymphocytes and eosinophils (part of our immune system) decreases markedly. This has the effect produce other widespread changes including hyperglycemia, decreased immunity, allergic responses, increased systolic blood pressure (SBP), decreased digestion and increased & prolonged sympathetic (stress) response.
ii. The resistance or adaptation reaction – The adrenal medulla & cortex both return to their normal rates of hormone secretion. The changes that had taken place in the alarm reaction as a result of increased corticoid secretion disappear during the stage of resistance
iii. The stage of exhaustion – develops only when stress is extremely severe or when it continues over long periods of time. If stress continues to this point, cortisol secretion increases above the normal rate and may even surpass the high level produced in the alarm reaction. Despite this increased amount of corticoids, adaptation does not increase but decrease during the stage of exhaustion. The body can no longer cope with the prolonged perception of stress – the relationship between the external object and the mind’s response to it.
Any type of perceived stress – physical or mental, will cause an immediate and marked increase in ACTH (hypothalamic hormone) secretion followed minutes later by a greatly increased secretion of cortisol and adrenaline. Some of the situations that ordinarily give rise to perceived stress are:
- Trauma of any type that causes distress. In Oriental medicine this can lead to 'injury' of the energetic 'Kidneys' (which includes the adrenal glands)
- Infections (viral, bacterial, fungal etc.)
- Injection of adrenaline or other drugs that mimic this
- Surgical operations
- Long lasting illness
- Lack of oxygen, excess of carbon dioxide (eg. hyperventilation, shallow breathing, Damp-Heat/fermentation in the gut)
--------------------------------
References
How to Solve Our Human Problems, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Healing with Whole Foods, Paul Pitchford
Clinical Strategies vol. 1, Kiiko Matsumoto
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey
Eating For Health & Vitality
Not only will this approach to eating help us to recover from illness, it will contribute greatly towards prevention of illness and allow us to live out our lives to the full.
A balanced, good quality diet will tend more towards a greater vegetarian, lower animal and, lower dairy end of the food spectrum. It will consist in greater part whole foods - this means unprocessed, unrefined. These principles will need to be gently implimented into your daily way of living and eating.
a. Make external (physical) adjustments
i. Reduce
i. Reduce
the consumption of acidic foods (see appendix)
ii. Understand ways of combining foods to make them digestible and hence less likely to cause fermentation in the gut and therefore in the body.
b. Most importantly to make internal (mental) adjustments - consider ways to overcome ‘acidic’ emotions – mental stress, worries and so forth.
Doing these two things alone can be most beneficial without the need to spend time and money on expensive products to fix what is naturally available. We need to encompass wisdom in our mind not add to our confusion and problems.
The answer to enjoying a healthy and relatively disease free life or to prevent further disease development is
ii. Understand ways of combining foods to make them digestible and hence less likely to cause fermentation in the gut and therefore in the body.
b. Most importantly to make internal (mental) adjustments - consider ways to overcome ‘acidic’ emotions – mental stress, worries and so forth.
Doing these two things alone can be most beneficial without the need to spend time and money on expensive products to fix what is naturally available. We need to encompass wisdom in our mind not add to our confusion and problems.
The answer to enjoying a healthy and relatively disease free life or to prevent further disease development is
usually to be found in making these two adjustments alone. In my opinion other factors are secondary to these.
There now follows ways and principles of eating that will make your food more digestible and less acidic.
Where possible and practical emphasis is placed upon
- whole foods (that which is organic and unprocessed)
- that is fresh and seasonal
- recently cooked and eaten
- unfussy preparation of food
- delight in eating
There now follows ways and principles of eating that will make your food more digestible and less acidic.
Where possible and practical emphasis is placed upon
- whole foods (that which is organic and unprocessed)
- that is fresh and seasonal
- recently cooked and eaten
- unfussy preparation of food
- delight in eating
as a vital part of life and not as an appendage to it
Combinations of food will sometimes include both acid and alkaline food groups. However this cannot be avoided in many instances, especially at the beginning when you are trying to make a transition to more wholesome and less acidic ways of eating.
Combinations of food will sometimes include both acid and alkaline food groups. However this cannot be avoided in many instances, especially at the beginning when you are trying to make a transition to more wholesome and less acidic ways of eating.
Do not get too bogged down or discouraged since the way of combining foods as well as how they are consum
ed greatly affects the acidity of the food. In other words it’s not just the food that is either acidic or alkaline but the way it is cooked, combined with other foods, and eaten. Having the intention to change is what is needed; the rest follows gradually and patiently.
Local greengrocers or supermarkets that have a good selection of whole foods and whole food supermarkets (such as Fresh & Wild & Wholefoods) or health stores are good sources.
General Principles
There are three things we need to understand when cooking and eating food:
Keeping a healthy and balanced digestive system. This is essential for maintaining optimal vitality and good health throughout life.
Make the body more alkaline – mainly a lacto-vegetarian based diet. This means to prevent fermentation (Damp-Heat) from forming. This makes the body too ‘acidic’ and slows up metabolic activity in the body, adding further stress and acidity, sapping vitality.
Combining and consuming food and drink for good digestion.
Maintaining a good digestive system
Always 'unlock' food by using the appropriate cooking method. Frying and baking is generally acidic whilst steaming, slow cooking is considered more yin.
FOOD QUANTITY (approximate proportions for a healthy digestive system)
50-80% Gains (corn, barley, millet, oats, rice, spelt, wheat)
30-40% Cooked vegetables (carrots, potatoes, fennel, beans,
cabbage, legumes)
5% Meat (beef, lamb, game, poultry, fish)
5% Raw foods, salads, fruit; more during the Summer months
Recommended
Use high quality, clean, unprocessed foods, organically grown if possible
Enjoy your meals, don’t rush
Eat little and often 3-5 times a day
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like an emperor and dinner like a pauper
Stop eating when it tastes best
Drink small amounts of liquid only during meals – too much can weaken the digestive fire
Take into account your individual constitution when planning meals
Choose foods that are appropriate for the season (locally available and grown foods is a useful guide)
Take only small amounts of liquid during meals to prevent drowning the ‘digestive fire’ (juices) and weakening its function.
If vegetarian – ensure enough energetically warming foods ; increase the use of acrid spices in cold weather
Avoid
Too much raw or cold foods and fruits and tropical fruits (esp. not in cold/cool seasons)
Ice-cold beverages
Too much dairy
Over stimulation whilst eating (TV, hot debates, reading)
Too much oily, fatty foods
Too much sugar, sweet flavours
Too much alcohol (have equivalent of a glass of wine at dinner)
Too much meat (have only 2-3 times per week)
Late evening meals (after 8.30pm)
Overly rich foods
Excessive and prolonged fasting
Strengthening the digestive system and enzymes
This is of key importance in Oriental medicine especially in the area of food therapy and the secret for optimum vitality.
General Principles
There are three things we need to understand when cooking and eating food:
Keeping a healthy and balanced digestive system. This is essential for maintaining optimal vitality and good health throughout life.
Make the body more alkaline – mainly a lacto-vegetarian based diet. This means to prevent fermentation (Damp-Heat) from forming. This makes the body too ‘acidic’ and slows up metabolic activity in the body, adding further stress and acidity, sapping vitality.
Combining and consuming food and drink for good digestion.
Maintaining a good digestive system
Always 'unlock' food by using the appropriate cooking method. Frying and baking is generally acidic whilst steaming, slow cooking is considered more yin.
FOOD QUANTITY (approximate proportions for a healthy digestive system)
50-80% Gains (corn, barley, millet, oats, rice, spelt, wheat)
30-40% Cooked vegetables (carrots, potatoes, fennel, beans,
cabbage, legumes)
5% Meat (beef, lamb, game, poultry, fish)
5% Raw foods, salads, fruit; more during the Summer months
Recommended
Use high quality, clean, unprocessed foods, organically grown if possible
Enjoy your meals, don’t rush
Eat little and often 3-5 times a day
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like an emperor and dinner like a pauper
Stop eating when it tastes best
Drink small amounts of liquid only during meals – too much can weaken the digestive fire
Take into account your individual constitution when planning meals
Choose foods that are appropriate for the season (locally available and grown foods is a useful guide)
Take only small amounts of liquid during meals to prevent drowning the ‘digestive fire’ (juices) and weakening its function.
If vegetarian – ensure enough energetically warming foods ; increase the use of acrid spices in cold weather
Avoid
Too much raw or cold foods and fruits and tropical fruits (esp. not in cold/cool seasons)
Ice-cold beverages
Too much dairy
Over stimulation whilst eating (TV, hot debates, reading)
Too much oily, fatty foods
Too much sugar, sweet flavours
Too much alcohol (have equivalent of a glass of wine at dinner)
Too much meat (have only 2-3 times per week)
Late evening meals (after 8.30pm)
Overly rich foods
Excessive and prolonged fasting
Strengthening the digestive system and enzymes
This is of key importance in Oriental medicine especially in the area of food therapy and the secret for optimum vitality.
The qi obtained from the absorption of nutrients is called gu qi (qi from grains). A large part (about 70%) of post-natal qi (which is renewable) is derived from gu qi (ie. Carbohydrates).
If this network is weakened (Stomach qi vacuity or Sp/Pancreas qi or yang vacuity), the body invariably develops acute and later chronic qi or yang vacuity. This is generally experienced as tiredness, heaviness and bloatedness initially.
Later this progresses to poor immune function (frequent colds/flu’s), and starts to impinge on the functions of the internal organs. This causes a premature degeneration of the body’s health.
Foods that strengthen digestive system and enzymes
If this network is weakened (Stomach qi vacuity or Sp/Pancreas qi or yang vacuity), the body invariably develops acute and later chronic qi or yang vacuity. This is generally experienced as tiredness, heaviness and bloatedness initially.
Later this progresses to poor immune function (frequent colds/flu’s), and starts to impinge on the functions of the internal organs. This causes a premature degeneration of the body’s health.
Foods that strengthen digestive system and enzymes
Combine these foods that make them digestible, therefore avoiding fermentation.
Grains : millet, quinoa, brown rice, amaranth, oats
Vegetables : carrots, cabbages (all types), fennel, potatoes, peas, squash,
pumpkin, soy beans
Meat : beef, veal, lamb, goat, venison
Poultry : duck, goose
Fish : bass, carp, herring, mackerel, sardine
Raw foods : sweet apples, dates, figs, grapes, papaya
Beverages : fennel tea (especially for infants and children), grape juice, liquers
Combining foods to optimise digestion and energy
What your tongue likes, your digestive system cannot process. So try to limit ‘tasty’ overly spiced and processed foods to a few times per week.
Water should be no more than 2-21/2 litres per day (more will cause tissue swelling and dilute your body salts causing major problems with your organs’ functioning)
Generally do not mix protein (fish, meat, soya) with carbohydrates (pasta, potatoes, rice). So protein and vegetables combine well and carbohydrates and vegetable combine well.
Do not mix fruit (except melons) in the same meal as other food groups. Leave at least 2 hours clear between consuming fruits and other foods. This prevents fermentation.
It is not generally advised to consume fruits at night as they ferment over night and therefore make the blood acidic, increasing inflammation.
Consume easily digestible foods first
The digestive energy is the strongest during the morning and begins to weaken progressively throughout the day. It is at its weakest after 8.30pm. Overall the digestive system weakens with age.
During the early parts of the day the body can tolerate more food but less so in the evening. This should then guide us in the selection of the quantity of foods that we can consume – more during the day and much less in the evening. The old adage of ‘Eat breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince and dinner like a pauper’ should give you an idea.
Eat slowly, chewing food well increases the surface area that makes digestion further along the digestive tract easier and hence less work needs to be done by Stomach acidity and digestive enzymes.
Chewing thoroughly allows time for saliva to mix with the food. Saliva is alkaline in quality.
Try not to eat whilst watching TV, reading, talking to others, agitated mind. So take time to eat – your body will make the most of the food that it is given if you do.
Also the digestive system does not tolerate cold and raw foods very well.
Try to keep the foods unfussy – not too many elaborate flavours, rich sauces etc. Ideally eat freshly prepared, whole food that is in season.
If you are new to food combining, I suggest you start with three times per day meal schedule and diet plan A for enhancing your digestion.
The best plan for optimum digestion is plan B and you can try to work your way slowly to this way of eating.
Meal Scheduling
Type of person Physically hard work, those with low blood sugar (crave sweets), and those beginning a transition to a grain and veg based diet
Optimum times
1st meal 7 - 9am
2nd meal 11am – 1pm
3rd meal 4 – 7pm
1st meal (breakfast)
A. Simple & moderate prepared with ample water and cooked, or
B. cleansing meal of Vegetables or fruit for those who need purification
2nd meal (lunch)
Largest in size & greatest variety, containing some lightly cooked or raw food
3rd meal (dinner)
Smallest in size and cooked.May contain the most protein.Root vegetables emphasized
Notes :
- Morning beverage to be consumed soon after rising, quench thirst with water, herbal tea, vegetable broths, green drinks (wheat/barley grass or spirulina drinks), veg or fruit juice. Slightly warm or room temperature at least
- Interval between rising & first meal : at least 1-2 + hours before 1st meal; eat only when hungry – applies to all meals
- Very weak or sick people should eat according to condition and hunger
In Summary
It is best to start slowly. Firstly understand the food combination and ways of eating. Look for ways to make you daily food accord as closely as possible given your particular lifestyle and work schedule.
Mainly understand to emphasise more carbs during the day (breakfast and lunch) and more protein at dinner time. Give yourself at least a month or two to get the idea and also feel the improvement that it has on your well being.
Also make the meals at breakfast and lunch more than at dinner since the digestive system is weakest and more prone to injury and depletion after 8pm - keep dinner easily digestible and light (soup, veg, salad)
Once you get the hang of how to practically combine foods then you can progress onto getting the liver cleanse programme integrated into your daily routine.
References
Pitchford, P. Healing with Whole Foods: North Atlantic Books
Sill, F. The Polarity Process, Energy as a Healing Art: North Atlantic Books
Flaws, B. The Book of Jook, Chinese Medicinal Porridges: Blue Poppy Press
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