Angela Tian Zhu - Traditional Qi

HOW BUSH FIRE SMOKE CONNECTS WITH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

by Angela Tian Zhu | Jan 6, 2020 | Food

A client came to see me recently with an upset stomach and diarrhea which started with the bush fires and the smoky air. Even though he is not near the bush fires, nor does he have a lung and heart condition, he can suffer as a result of the particles in the air which circulate throughout the whole body. The smoke can make people feel nauseous and give them an upset stomach with diarrhoea.

People who have mental disorders could feel worse because of the lack of oxygen in our whole body.

People generally who have poor digestion, or a stomach condition, may feel depressed too. People who feel depressed have anxiety and sometimes this affects their digestion – it works both ways. They are very much connected because in TCM, Stomach energy governs our digestion, the absorption of nutrients and it also nourishes our muscles. When we inhale a lot of smoke, it can weaken our Stomach energy and it may lead to problems such as poor appetite, abdominal distension, loose stools and tired muscles. It can make you feel emotional, depressed, anxious, easily upset or fearful because the Stomach is considered our second brain.

What can we do?

Avoid smoky air whenever possible
Eat light food regularly
Avoid eating heavy, oily and too much food all at the same time
Avoid eating when you are angry and upset
Eat food and drink liquids at body temperature to preserve your energy
Have a warm breakfast
Try not to drink and eat at the same time to avoid a bloated stomach
Try to keep your stomach warm with appropriate clothes
Consume less alcohol, coffee and soft drinks
Take short showers, at medium temperature, to preserve your energy
Massage your ribs which helps digestion and also moves the bottom of your lungs – to release matter which has settled there. Place your palms on your ribs circling inwards, down and to the side, several times.
Ensure you have enough sleep
Drink plenty of water

Best wishes for the New Year!!

Angela Tian Zhe Zhu

Please visit our website for Qi Gong exercises if you want to practice at home.

Seniors wellbeing with Qi Gong

by Angela Tian Zhu | Nov 7, 2019 | Seniors & Dementia

The Qi or energy state of seniors may be one of deficiency due to age, illnesses and their lifestyle.

Wellbeing For Seniors

Qi Gong can help increase energy and make seniors stronger. With stronger energy, blood circulation improves nourishing the skin and muscles while helping the internal organs function well.

Circulation and Wellbeing

If you think about blood circulation, blood as fluid tends to flow down due to gravity. We need our circulation to go up to nourish the brain, eyes, hearing and our teeth.

When we get older, we tend to be energy deficient and our circulation doesn’t pump the fluid as efficiently. This can lead to reading problems with our eyes, problems with our teeth and can also affect the brain with memory issues.

Without good blood circulation to the brain, brain cells can then die very quickly reducing the size of the brain. This leads to a loss of brain function which may include dementia and even stroke.

Qi Gong Helps Reduce Inflammation

Throughout our life’s journey, we build up stagnation (Chinese Traditional Medicine), or inflammation (Western Medicine). Inflammation occurs when our body fights sickness —infections, toxins, injuries or stress. This may lead to heart disease, diabetes, cancer and more. Stagnation is a sickness. For example, if you have dementia your brain cells stagnate and they die or they shrink. Cancer is stagnation, so is arthritis —where your body is not working properly.

When your whole body stagnates your life is finished because movement and breathing become difficult and you don’t have warmth— you don’t have energy.
Qi Gong can help.

Increasing Your Energy

You’ll have increased energy helping to fend off the stagnation or inflammation. Your organs will be stronger, circulation better and tend to live longer. You will move better and be more flexible and active, leading to a better quality of life.

We should encourage seniors to use their Dan Tian (their energy centre) for walking and standing upright as much as they can. When they walk we recommend that they try to put their heel down, otherwise they shuffle, as when we age we take smaller steps and use less Dan Tian.

We encourage seniors to walk early morning using their Dan Tian to be proud of their body and to visualize putting down the heel down first and if you can, and more difficult, putting your five toes down evenly. That takes concentration. If you can encourage them, safely, to take larger steps they will use your Dan Tian. steps became smaller.

Stages of Women’s health

by Angela Tian Zhu | Nov 7, 2019 | Women's Health

Women have four special stages in life:
1.Puberty,
2.Menstruation,
3.Pregnancy and birth,
4.Menopause.

In Chinese medicine, we say the blood carries the energy that we need, and our energy moves the blood. So, with healthy energy and blood flow, it makes the four stages easier.

But most people don’t think about this.

Women’s mental health can be linked to blood and energy flow in these four stages.

Puberty

In puberty, when the blood starts to flow, it indicates a change in your body and your moods.

Menstruation

When you have a difficult period, then your energy doesn’t flow freely and can cause PMT.

After Birth

After birth, with blood and energy loss, women can suffer post-natal depression.

Menopause

At the last stage, menopause, means you stop having a period and you no longer have the energy to produce eggs, your body is getting older, and you don’t have enough blood nor energy to get pregnant. That’s a very simple way to explain menopause but it also depends on the previous three stages in your life.

Transitions

The best time to change your mental and physical health is when you are in one of the transitions. For example, you could adopt Qi Gong, change your diet, stop any habits such as heavy drinking, drugs or smoking.

Even with women’s illnesses, such as breast cancer, it has much to do with our energy. When your energy doesn’t flow well, it can lead to stagnation or inflammation that may affect your breasts, uterus or ovaries.

If you have strong energy you can counteract the stagnation and rid yourself of it.

With healthy energy circulation, you can stay well. But if you don’t look after yourself—a bad diet, no exercise or you are negative it may lead to illness.

Mental Health

The same goes for our mental health too. If I feel low or depressed for just one day, it’s not depression. If you are a little bit anxious for some reason, that’s very normal, it doesn’t lead to a mental disorder. It’s only when it is too extreme, or goes on for too long, that it leads to a mental disorder. The quantity changes the quality of your mental and physical health.

Qi Gong For Preventative Wellbeing

Practising Qi Gong assists in changing the quality as a preventative.
Whoever you are, or whatever you do, if you practice Qi Gong, it helps you make better decisions because physically and mentally you are balanced, have a clear mind and more energy.

By practising Qi Gong, it gets you to a balanced state where you make better decisions, not only in your life but about food choices and your habits along with becoming more aware of how those habits affect you.

Daily Tips

Here are some of the daily tips that we can suggest for women:
First of all, be aware of the Dan Tian and your energy when walking or exercising.

There are two other important things for women in modern society: one is to keep warm because your blood and energy circulates more easily and the other is to control your emotions. Healthy energy and blood flow, together, look after the four stages.

Practising Qi Gong helps you become more aware of your wellbeing and your energy levels. By increasing your energy levels other things are going to change as well. When your energy flow improves you are likely to move through the four stages of life with greater ease.

Preserving health in autumn

by Angela Tian Zhu | Mar 25, 2019 | Seasons

When we are complaining about the hot humid summer weather, autumn is not far away. Lately, I’ve been told by some patients that they are suffering from some phlegm in the throat and their children keep coughing up phlegm.

The laws of nature are: Sow and grow in spring, grow in summer, harvest in autumn, store in winter. And our human bodies should follow the laws of nature to prevent illness and preserve health. “To go with it will bring health, to go against it will bring illness”. Summer is the perfect season for everything to grow, it is a season full of Yang energy. The weather is hot and people usually go to bed late and get up early. With a lot of sweat and being switched back and forth between the air-conditioned environment and outside temperature, our bodies keep adjusting the Qi and blood to keep up with our energy consumption, therefore, people can get energy-deficient sometimes.

In autumn, the law of nature is like this: everything matures and calms down in this season, the Yin energy increases, temperature drops, wind becomes stronger (atmospheric pressure goes up), dry heat diminishes. Nature uses these natural phenomenon to drive away the wet and humid weather. So people have a clear and crisp climates’ feeling in autumn.

How to preserve our health in autumn?

Restrain the functioning of Qi in autumn.

Do not expose the Qi of our bodies. Early to bed and early to rise, keep a peaceful mind.
Avoid diarrhea and indigestion.

Diarrhea is a common illness in autumn, especially for children. Because of the wet and humid weather in summer, our gastrointestinal system can store some damp-heat, especially in those who are used to drinking icy water and having cold food. When the weather becomes cool in autumn, our bodies will automatically adjust to eliminate the dampness and heat inside, therefore symptoms like diarrhea and gassy stomach might come along in autumn.

What can we do about it?

We have to pay attention to our diet from late summer to early autumn. Try to have lighter food, cut back on oily food and icy drinks. Please remember that bowel movement is necessary every day, so that our bodies can eliminate the waste in our alimentary canal to get rid of heat and dampness. For children, it’s important to keep their abdomen warm at night.
Prevent cold and cough.

In hot summer, our bodies dissipate heat by keeping the pores open and sweating. When autumn comes, the temperature drops, usually it’s warm during the day and chilly at night, and the air becomes drier. If no special attention is paid to keeping warm at night, then it’s easy to get a cold and cough and fatigue.

So, in this season, we should make sure to keep warm if the weather suddenly change and have enough sleep at night, drink warmor room-temperature water, hot tea.
Avoid depression, Enhance mental health

Summer goes and autumn comes, temperature fluctuates and then drops. Nature enters a phase where Yin energy thrives and Yang energy decreases, some people may have depressed mood sometimes. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Yin energy (chilliness) increases, Yang energy (warmth) will decrease, during this time, depression can be triggered easily.

Therefore, to avoid depression and the recurrence of depression, we have to make sure our Qi and blood is strong. Pay attention to our clothing – keep warm. Eat warm food and have warm drinks.Have enough sleep and good lifestyle, restrain your Qi and be positive and optimistic. Preserving our health in autumn lays a good foundation for us in winter.
Prevent arthritis

It is common for arthritis to occur during the end of summer and at the start of autumn. Cold, heat, wind and damp can be easily stored at the joints. Especially for people who are suffering from arthritis or people who have joint pain, recurrence could take place easily so it is important to conduct certain exercises for the joints. Cold, heat, wind and damp can be discharged of the joints with certain physical exercises. Also do not stay or sleep in the draft. Keep your joints warm when the weather is getting colder. Take more rest when the joints are inflamed.

Tips:

Clear the heat and dampness in our intestines and stomach.
1. Eat more light food, vegetable and fruit. Try to have less fried food and meat.
2. Kiwi fruit is rich in Vitamin C, which has good effect on relieving the stomach and cleaning the bowel.
3. Chinese radish: It has the effect of relieving gassy stomach, clearing bowels and food retention in stomach. You can have raw Chinese radish, boil it in soup or stir-fry it.
Tips for cold and cough
1. Peppermint tea: It has the effects of detoxification and clearing heat in the lungs.
2. Stay away from draught.
3. Cut back on spicy food.
Avoid depression and anxiety.

Generally speaking, those people who are depressed or anxious because of the temperature drop, their constitution is characterized as weak in Yang energy. Yang energy has the effects of stimulating and promoting warmness. So, people who are weak in Yang energy should pay attention to keeping themselves warm, have warm drinks and food, try not to get over-excited and exhausted, keep doing appropriate exercise, so that they can get enough energy to avoid and resist depression.
Rotation practice for the joints

Practice rotation exercise for the ten major joints every day clockwise and anti clockwise. The ten joints are: Left and right shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, and ankles. At the same time, rotate your waist in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions as much as you can comfortably do, with Qi Gong, Tai Chi and Yoga.

Prevention and wisdom are the two principles of Traditional Qi.

Written by Angela Zhu (Chinese Medicine Practitioner)

Translated by Janet Zheng

Food’s attribute – Cold or Hot- Warm

by Angela Tian Zhu | Mar 29, 2018 | Food

Organic food including vegetables fruit bread dairy and meat

Food’s attribute – cold or hot-warm

The concept of cold or hot features of food has a double meaning: one meaning is the cold or hot in temperature, the other meaning is the cold or hot in the food’s attribute.

As the weather is becoming colder, we should not only eat more hot/warm food in terms of the food’s temperature, but also eat more hot/warm food in terms of food’s attribute.

This article will talk about food in terms of its attribute, not the food’s temperature. The wise Traditional Chinese Medicine divides food by its attribute, the application of the food’s attribute is good for adjusting the inner environment of the human body, thus helping with the prevention and recovery of the diseases. This is called “food treatment” It is natural and effective.

The attribute of food is generally being categorised into cold and hot/warm. Generally speaking, cold food helps the body to get rid of heat. It also helps to remove toxins in the inner environment. Hot-warm food helps to warm up the organs, clear coldness, and strengthen Qi in the body. Generally speaking, people who have an inner environment with a cold manifestation should eat more hot/warm food, and people who have an inner environment with a hot manifestation should eat more cold food.

As a rule, people who have an inner environment with a cold manifestation are likely to have the following symptoms: Feel cold, cold hands and feet, aching knees resulting from coldness, like hot weather and dislike cold weather, infrequent urination, and faeces with undigested food in it, deficient in energy, feel depressed, worry, anxiety in favour of drinking warm water, hot food, the face colour can be pale.

In contrast, people who have an inner environment with a hot manifestation are likely to have the following symptoms: like cold weather, diss like hot manifestation are likely to have the following symptoms: like cold weather, dislike hot weather, hot in five “little centres” (two palms, two feet and chest), thirsty or dry throat and mouth, feel upset, angry, anxiaty and nervous, insomnia, like to have cold food and drinks. The face colour can be red.

	Hot /warm (even) food	Cold food
meat	Lamb, beef, duck, kangaroo meat, deer meat, pork.	Rabbit meat, chicken..
seafood	Prawns, eel, butterfish, carp.	Clams, crab, oyster
vegetable	Ginger, garlic, onion, leek, carrot, pumpkin, taro, sweet potato, corn, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, potato, chilli, green beans, beans, eggplant.	Chinese Cabbage, bai cai, cucumber, melon, fresh mushroom, bamboo shoot (Australian), radish, kelp, seaweed, celery, tofu, bitter melon, tomato, bean sprouts.
fruit	Plum, papaya, grape, jujube, orange, peach, apple, rockmelon, lychee, walnuts, fig, mango, grapefruit, cherry, mandarin etc.	Pear, watermelon, kiwi, banana, pomegranate, apricot, loquat, persimmon, lemon, strawberry, pineapple.

Use natural ways to help your body. It will make you healthier Mentally and Physically with the right food every day.

Prevention and Wisdom.

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