The Way of TCM

Traditional Chinese Medicine has greatly shifted the way that I perceive health and the human body. The basic idea is that the body is part of a togetherness of mind, body and spirit. This trifecta has the innate ability to heal itself. Any 'symptoms' of dis-ease are considered to be the bodies way of helping itself  maintain a sense of homeostasis at that certain point in the persons journey. Rather than seeing the bodies 'symptoms' in a negative way, my way of thinking has changed to a  positive curiosity about the 'clues' of the inner workings of the self, including the 'trifecta' of the bodymindspirit. 

Five Element Theory incorporates this same type of thinking using Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood, which shows us that we as humans are nature. Our body systems correspond in a complex yet simple way to the way of nature. It's an interesting concept to link your preferences of seasons, climates, etc to a sort of body profile of the self. All of this information leads to an awareness of the self, which can help immensely on the road to self discovery and evolution. 

I appreciate this idea of health, especially in a world so full of prescription fixes. The goal is to know your body, your self, loving it throughout, so that you can be on the preventative versus the desperation of 'fixing' an already chronic dis-ease or 'condition'. In the case that you do venture on to an 'alternative' path at the point of disease, oriental medicine chooses to work with the body, rather than against it. Loving it versus, fighting it. In fact, invasive techniques are last on the list according to the Taoist Hierarchy of Methods of Healing, meditation being the first! :)

1)Meditation 2)Exercise 3)Nutrition 4)Astrology 5)Feng Shui 6)Massage 7)Herbs 8)Acupuncture 9)Surgery 

Of course to each her own and everything in life is situational. My favorites on the list are meditation, exercise in the form of a casual stroll, taichi/qigong & yoga, nutrition, massage (of course!), herbs and acupuncture (most recently). 

I am repeatedly amazed at the effectiveness of even the most seemingly simple things. Just breathing properly can do wonders for us humans, we love O2!  Meditation offers me a sense of clarity, peace and connection with my soul. Qigong is just the same with an additional plus of moving energy throughout the body or even storing it for later ;). Time is an illusion with both of these practices, can feel a difference in myself even after 5 minutes and can sometimes be there for an hour and feel like I've just gotten started. Breaking the cycle of the day to day rush and taking the time for the self is key...still working on that one. Massage has helped me to make a connection to my physical body in ways that previously I was completely unaware of. Massage also has a way of putting me in a sedative state where I intuitively know my body is working towards greatness. Herbs and Acupuncture though relatively new to me have brought me some experiences that are progressive towards positive change. 

Am always thoroughly excited to do any sort of Oriental Medicine technique. There is definitely a sense of safety and trust in the way that the person is treated. I really feel like that sense of trust/love is what allows the guards to come down and the real healing work to begin. Am a believer that the healing comes from the heart and soul. When you believe and love what you're doing in any method of healing, that can really make a difference in your health. Am grateful for so many things in regards to my journey at Oriental Healing Arts Center, now Alaska Institute of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture and Massage Therapy, but the perception of health and self really is life changing <3 

PS- Have to share...have been gaining a connection to my true intuitive self and of course the guides of the universe. Am so excited for progress in this department, that I love to share experiences! Have been reading all about flower essences and just started a journey with one of them. Last night I slept so peacefully and had a dream about this yellow flower with gorgeous little blooms. It had a long stem, that had tiny booms in clusters at the end of the stem that were almost flat looking. 

Just google imaged the essence that I'm taking, Golden Ear Drops and there it was...those yellow blooms, the exact description and image I had seen in my dream! It brought me to tears to have that strong affirmation that yes! you are in the flow of life, you are in exactly the right place at exactly the right time and I am here to help you on your journey of soul evolution! Just gotta say thank you and I love you golden ear drops! 

Lots of Love- Monica*
 

Herbal Medicine Carrier Oils for Essential Oil Blends

Essential oils are most commonly used by the drop, added to another carrier oil such as Sweet Almond, Jojoba, or even Olive oil. Sometimes certain oils may be used “neat”, or undiluted, on the skin, but this is usually reserved for specific therapeutic purposes, and some essential oils can be irritating to the skin when undiluted.

Essential oils are extremely concentrated herbal medicines. For example, one drop of essential oil is equivalent to 30-50 bags of herbal tea. Energetically, the essential oils are tightly contained within each drop. Upon adding a drop of essential oil to carrier oil, the energy will burst open, released, freed to expand and unfold the ultimate experience of its essence for us!

As a general rule of thumb, if you use an essential oil straight out of the bottle, undiluted, you will commonly experience a very physical result. This is great for trauma, injuries, and acute symptoms.

When the essential oils are released into a carrier oil, the experience will travel into the physical, emotional, and spiritual realms, providing a much different result. This is perfect for providing life enhancing insights, changing moods, and working with chronic and deep levels of our mindbodyspirit.

Many carrier oils can be used – any that are appropriate for massage, plus most cooking oils. You do want to avoid carrier oils that contain petroleum jelly or mineral oil in any form as these substances create a barrier and don’t allow the essential oil to penetrate the skin.

However, we can use very specific carrier oils to enhance the therapeutic properties of the essential oil blend we are using. When we apply the carrier oil AND essential oil characteristics to the Five Element Method in Chinese medicine, we can work with Element Energy and Element Relationships in an exciting and highly effective way. Remember that Chinese medicine is mindbodyspirit based – there is no separation between these aspects.

For example, as a massage therapist/Oriental medicine bodyworker, lets say I have a client come in presenting the chief complaint of low back pain. The health history intake shows a pattern of fatigue, unusual hair loss, unfulfilled creativity issues, and occasional anxiety attacks. I might identify that the Water Element is out of balance and it’s affecting the Fire Element.

Here, I can choose an essential oil blend to tonify Water – maybe Ginger, Juniper, and Frankincense. Then I want the carrier oil to be nurturing – Earth, with a touch of passion – Fire. I might mix Sesame and Safflower together as the base carrier oil.

I have the choice of blending the oil for a full body massage (2% dilution) or maybe a little stronger for a spot low back treatment, rubbing it only into the lower back and applying acupressure to the Bladder-23 Kidney Shu points. I might also apply it with acupressure to Kidney – 1 Yong Quan at the feet, Pericardium – 6 Nei Guan at the wrist, and combining Governing Vessel 20 - Bai Hui at the crown of the head while energetically holding Kidney 27 – Shu Mansion points at the top of the chest.

We can go even deeper into this method by using herbal infused oils as a portion of the base carrier oil. An herbal infused oil is made by steeping packed plant material in a carrier oil, like Olive oil, leaving it in the sun to infuse for a few weeks, and straining the resulting oil out. To make a base carrier oil with this, use 20% herbal infused oil and 80% carrier oil.

Some examples of common herbal infused oils are: Rosemary, Plantain, Peppermint, and Calendula. Mountain Rose Herbs http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/ is a good source for quality organic pre-made herbal infused oils, or you can experiment with making your own. I prefer to infuse my oils with the spirits of local plants, but not everything grows well in Alaska so I order what I can’t grow.

Again, the characteristics of the herbal infused oils are associated with Five Element Method, and this becomes part of the relationship that the essential oil blend will work out of.

You can blend Ginger essential oil in Sweet Almond carrier oil because you always use Sweet Almond for massage, or you can blend Ginger essential oil in Sesame carrier with 20% Rosemary herbal infusion because you want to warm the lungs and stimulate the Wei Qi energy.  It’s a beautiful art!

Learn tons of great information - including using carrier oils according to 5-Element Theory - from my On-Line Essential Oils Course series.  You can study here at our school in Alaska from anywhere in the world!