Chinese Medicine for Fertility and beyond!

Yesterday I heard from a fertility client who has successfully become pregnant for the second time, using acupuncture and Chinese herbs. "Excellent!", I thought. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I learn that the effort put in by not only myself, but the client and their partner too, pays off.

This led me to think about ongoing treatment throughout a pregnancy. Any number of issues can arise, from simple to complex. Many women have trouble free pregnancies, but some of the things that can occur during pregnancy include gestational diabetes, morning sickness, varicose veins, oedema, stress and anxiety. All of these problems may be rendered more manageable with Chinese medicine, and with the assistance of other modalities including pregnancy-specific massage.

Many women don't wish to take herbs when they are pregnant, which is perfectly understandable. Acupuncture offers a drug free alternative to herbs and conventional medicine and has been shown in clinical trials to reduce the symptoms of morning sickness. For further reading go here.

Other than pregnancy related issues, mothers to be may continue to present with constitutional problems that were present before the pregnancy and require treatment to manage these existing conditions. Whilst it is unwise to self-medicate with herbal medicines at any time and especially during pregnancy, herbal treatment under supervision of a qualified, registered practitioner can be very helpful. Practitioners know about safe and unsafe substances to prescribe during pregnancy and tailor their prescriptions to individual people and situations to offer relief.

At about week 32 of a pregnancy it's reasonable to begin acupuncture treatment for birth preparation. During the last 6-8 weeks of term, acupuncturists ensure that the body is prepared for the mammoth task that lies ahead by helping to nourish energy and blood, support the tendons and relieve anxiety and frustration. Once Week 38 arrives we can begin labour induction treatment and help the body to holistically prepare for labour, and assist with cervical ripening.

I'll be starting in Spring with a new workshop - Natural Fertility Awareness. It will comprise of two sessions and explain the use of natural fertility indicators, supplements, dietary and lifestyle considerations and some interesting advice from practitioners from other modalities about their ideas of how to improve chances of conception using natural methods. Contact the clinic for more details, or call me directly on 0410 605 797.

The Well is being relined. No blame.

First, let me explain. "The Well" I refer to is Hexagram 48 of the Yi Jing (I Ching), an ancient Chinese fortune telling oracle, otherwise known as the "Book of Changes". The title statement comes as Line 4 of the changing lines. For more info on the Yi Jing, visit Wikipedia's Yi Jing page or do a Google search.

Definitively speaking, the Well refers to our basic source of nourishment, the place we get water. Water is the element in Five Element Theory that governs the Kidneys, or the seat of energy (Qi) for the whole body. The Kidneys contain the body's Essence, or Jing. This is the finite source of energy that we all inherit from our parents - kind of like DNA inheritance of familial traits, strengths and weaknesses. The essence is combined from both our parents and has the inherent traits of both combined together, hopefully in the best way possible to ensure long and healthy life. As previously mentioned, our Kidney energy is finite, and when it runs out we die. For this reason, the key to much ancient Chinese Daoist alchemy was focussed on that which preserved the Kidney essence. From here developed the phenomenon of QiGong - The Way of Qi.

Following this description, it stands to reason that Kidney energy is the first place we look when assessing a person's fertility.

Kidney Yin and Kidney Yang are the two balanced sides of the Kidney energy. Kidney Yin represents the water in the body - that is, fluids, blood and the ability to contain these. Kidney Yang represents the movement within that water. Imagine a stream with rapids, moving quickly along. Kidney Yang is similar to that which drives the movement and keeps it flowing. Both are incomplete without the other. Not enough Yin will result in a stream which is dry and stagnant, not enough Yang will result in a stream which is wet and stagnant. Stagnant water is really not much good to anyone but the bugs it accumulates. The two are both best described when connected with each other, infinitely.

There are several ways by which Kidney energy can be depleted, and several pathologies which can present when either Yin, Yang or both, become out of balance.

So now we are a bit more clear about the energy that the Well distributes.

The cistern or fountain of life. The basics that we need for survival.

Line 4 of Hexagram 48 refers to the Well being "Lined" - the Well is being re-laid with the stone that keeps the water in place, fresh and clean.

This refers to a time when we must recharge, consolidate and refresh ourselves, our spirits and our sources of energy. Sometimes it comes when we don't necessarily want it to - we may be powering ahead with a project or idea and all of a sudden feel the need to retreat, go inside ourselves and discover why we are doing this in the first place. This can come at a time when we have forgotten the purpose, the true meaning of the situation we are in, our reason for being there and our place in the Universe. Or we can just have been burning the candle at both ends for a while, neglecting our food and sleep patterns, or trying to do too much.

Five ways we can preserve our Kidney - or Water energy are:

1. Get enough sleep. Our bodies resonate most with the cycles of sunrise, sunset, days and nights. In winter, especially, because the days are shorter approaching the Winter Solstice, it's important to make sure we preserve Yin by going to bed early and waking up after the dawn.

2. Eat nourishing, tonifying foods. Foods that nourish Yin and Blood include jelly/gelatin, beef bone stews, beetroot, sweet potato & other root vegetables. Avoid pungent cold foods, like mint and miso, that open the pores. When the pores are open the Cold has a chance to get in.

3. Eat mild curries and drink Chai to keep circulation of Yang going throughout the Winter and stop the Cold getting in.

4. Avoid the cold and keep the body warm. To prevent colds and flu and remain healthy throughout the winter, rug up when it's cold and try to keep out of the wind.

5. Have a warming massage to keep the blood flowing and prevent Cold stagnation in the muscles.

If you do somehow manage to come down with a cold, go and see your Chinese Medicine practitioner immediately when you start feeling the symptoms! Chinese medicine treatment can relieve the symptoms of colds and flu, and in many cases shorten the duration of the illness.

A recipe from Confucius Institute Online

http://www.confuciusinstitute.net/tcm/en/article/2009-09/09/content_52255.htm

Autumn Wilds

Hey.. it's pretty crazy out there!

First, it gets cold.  Then, it gets windy.  After that, warm again, like it was in the end of Summer. Yesterday we had a huge lightning storm that went on all night. 

Good way to confuse homeostasis in a body whose job is to maintain an optimum temperature?

You bet.

Seasonally, this is the time of year when annual plants die, trees defoliate (how's about those huge piles of orange maple leaves along the roads on the CBD outskirts?), the days get shorter and the Sun starts to go into hiding for the Winter.

From the TCM perspective, Autumn is the time of year when the body has  the most vulnerability to *dryness*.  When Dryness presents itself the obvious happens - we get thirstier, our skin feels dry and can be itchy, lips feel dry and may crack.. All these things are common and happen to many of us from time to time.

Autumn is the season associated with the Metal element.  Metal's corresponding emotion is Grief, its colour is white (the colour of mourning in China),  its flavour is Pungent (like Garlic or Ginger) and its biological affinity is with the Lung, which is said to "open" to the nose.  This means that Autumn is the time when we are more likely to contract diseases associated with the Lungs and breathing apparatus (although Spring is another important time for Lung issues, but we'll discuss that in September =).

One of the Lung's main functions is to nourish the skin and control the opening and closing of pores.  The skin and the pores are our immune system's first barrier to assault from outside.  If the Lung energy (Qi) is weak, control of the pores is lost and we sweat a lot.  It can show itself in other ways as well.  If Dryness - which is more often contracted in Autumn - occurs, skin rashes which are dry and itchy become prominent, or a dry cough from insufficient fluids in the Lungs can result.  These are just a few of the ways in which Autumn health issues can manifest.

So, we've talked about the dangers of the season but instead of just putting up with health problems, let's talk about prevention.

Diet is usually the best way to prevent short-term illness.  The first dietary rule for preserving Lung Qi - if you have a long history of Lung problems, or in Autumn particularly - is to avoid excesses of pungent foods like Garlic, Ginger, Galangal, Chilli, Cinnamon, Mint, Coriander, Basil etc.  I imagine now you are starting to get the picture of what Pungent means.  What the Pungent flavour usually does is dissipate things or send them outward.  Many of the aforementioned herbs and spices, if eaten in the appropriate quantities, are capable of opening the pores and inducing a sweat.  Right now, in Autumn, a sweat with open pores is the last thing we need because it leaves us open and vulnerable to environmental factors, and scatters our Defensive energy or Wei Qi (Way Chee).

Secondly, we need to make sure we nourish ourselves to preserve the Yin of the Lung - the natural, freshly flowing body fluids, and the ability to *contain*.  Foods to eat which are useful for preserving Lung Yin consist of meats like chicken and pork, other protein sources like tofu and almonds, fruits such as pears, apricots and other stone fruits, vegetables like sweet potato, white turnips and water chestnuts.  It's always good to remember to *eat what's in season* as well, because if it's actually grown by the Earth in your region at the time, chances are it's going to be the right thing to eat.  Not saying we should all run out and nibble on some Belladonna in the summertime, but you get my drift.

Numerous Chinese herbs are useful for preventing Lung Qi Deficiency and boosting the immune system.  It's reasonable to use some of these in cooking as they make a healthy addition and interesting flavour enhancement for creative home cooks.  Some herbs suitable for cooking that help boost Lung Qi are Chinese Yam - Shan Yao (Shan yow) and Astragalus - Huang Qi (Hwung Chee).  The suggestion is that you don't use these when a cough or cold is in the acute phase, as there is a possibility that they may strengthen the Exterior Defensive layer of Qi and instead of letting the environmental factor out, may instead block it inside the body.

Lifestyle factors to consider are:

Keeping out of the wind; Remembering to breathe consciously (like, who remembers to do that?);  Avoiding saunas or Bikram yoga (just for now, it will be great in a couple of months).

I hope you've enjoyed the first Journey to the West TCM Blog, and would love to see you back for more next time I post.