by Angela Tian Zhu | Apr 27, 2011 | Women's Health
Every parent wants to give their children the best education. However, the
behavioural education (children’s unconscious imitation of the behaviour and action of their parents) they are
getting from the parents is the very first and most important education the children would get.
The behavioural and action education affects the children much more than what the parents tell them to do.
One day near Easter when I was shopping in a supermarket in Europe, I saw a Mum holding a little baby with another 4 or 5 year-old child beside them. When I was paying for my stuff, I saw this kid stealing a chocolate Easter egg. Her Mum saw this and shouted out loudly: “Bastard! Do not steal! Shame on you! ” The kid put down the egg. After a while, she continued stealing and her Mum shouted again at her. I was thinking: “Does this little kid know what shame is? Does she know what stealing is? How did she get to know the meaning of the word “steal”? Why didn’t her Mum tell her: “If you want it, I will buy it for you?” While I was thinking and watching, this Mum grabbed an Easter egg after she paid the money for her shopping.
I couldn’t stop thinking:
- The Mum teaches her child by her own behaviour and action.
- The Mum teaches to lie.
- The Mum teaches the child not to care about “shame” by shouting in a public place.
- The Mum teaches the child to pretend.
- Although the little baby that Mum was holding could not speak yet, what he saw might have a great impact on him.
I could not imagine what this baby would be like in the future or how he would be affected by what he saw and heard.
There is a saying: “As you sow, so will you reap.”
One day, I got a phone call from a friend’s son. He studies at Monash University in Melbourne. He said, “I cannot stand all this anymore, I feel like I want to die.” I asked “Why?” He answered, “I have just broken up with my girlfriend; also I failed one subject, so I have to do a supplementary exam. I am running out of money, and my Mum said she’s not going to send me more money because I spent too much. She called from overseas a few times a day forcing me to write down all the spending items and how did I spend the money. She would only send me money if I list all the items in detail. If I cannot, she would not send me money anymore. I feel so depressed and desperate.” Actually, this friend of mine, she spend lots of money on unnecessary things herself. She buys things no matter if it is useable or not. After sending her son to university overseas, with the expensive tuition fees, her son called back and asked for money every now and then because he spent the money too quick. Only when her son failed his subjects, she started thinking of ways to limit her son’s spending in order to punish him. Whose fault is bigger? What will be the result of the punishment – Depression? Self harm?
What to do:
- Behavioural and action education is better than oral teaching.
- Early education is better than late education.
- Judge yourself before criticizing other people.
- “Save” people is better than “save” money.
- Deal with things rationally and sensibly rather than being emotional.
Parents should:
- Behaviour and action are stronger than what they say.
- Give behavioural and action education to the children as well as teaching them to distinguish right from wrong.
- Setting a good example by the parents should be first. Like the sun gives us unlimited warmth, it enables the growth of all living things and gives us power! It doesn’t say anything, but it has infinite power.
- Educate a child as early as possible and the early education received by the child will affect all his or her life.
The above mentioned true stories are convincing examples.
Prevention and wisdom are the two principles of Traditional Qi.
Written by: Angela Zhu (TCM Practitioner, Qi Gong & Tai Chi Instructor)
Translated by: Alan Huang
© Copyright Angela Zhu 2011
by Angela Tian Zhu | Apr 20, 2011 | Women's Health
A few years ago, a patient came to me, she told me she was not able to get pregnant for a few years, everything was fine after the checkups under the western medicine system. She told me that it could get very painful when dysmenorrhoea occurs. Her legs, hands and stomach area always felt cold. She was worried about not getting pregnant. She got depressed about that, but still nothing happened. I took a closer look at her; she was wearing as singlet, short pants and slippers. Her face looked pale; the coating of her tongue was grimy and white. When I was examining her pulse, I felt the pulse was deep and slow. I touched her abdomen, it was very cold, and she said it felt warm and comfortable when my hands were on her abdomen. From Traditional Chinese Medicine’s view, her symptoms were diagnosed as uterine cold, deficiency in Yang energy. I applied treatments to warm up her uterus, clear the cold, replenish the energy for her, I also told her to make sure to keep her abdomen and feet warm, and eat warm food, avoid cold drinks and swimming during the menstrual period. A few months later she got pregnant.
I always think: as the combination of eggs and sperm gives rise to the next generation, the right temperature in the uterus needs to be ensured. It is just like chicken eggs and duck eggs. Little chickens and ducks will come out of the egg only some days after if they have been kept at the right temperature. The eggs would not become a chicken if the temperature is too cold, also the eggs would be cooked if temperature is too hot. Similarly, if temperature in the uterus is cold, the combination of eggs and sperm would not result in a foetus. Also, if the eggs or sperm itself is cold, it is hard for them to combine.
1. Why would the uterus be cold?
A. External cold factor.
There are many young girls who don’t care about the cold affecting their bodies. This affects puberty, menstrual period, and sometimes would cause difficulties for pregnancy.
For example:
-
Sitting on a cold floor too often (especially wet floor)
The coldness comes through the bottom to the abdomen. It is easier for the abdomen to get affected by the coldness during menstrual period or when one is tired.
-
Not paying enough attention to keep warm in the stomach and back area
Some young ladies often wear clothes that do not cover the navel and the waist at the back, they wear sandals and shorts no matter what the weather is like. Wind, cold and dampness could attack the body from the navel, go through the waist and back to the uterus. The cold could go through the feet to the legs and finally reach the abdomen. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the channels which are located on the inside of the feet and legs will eventually lead to the abdominal area. Thus, lack of awareness to keep warm in the stomach, back and feet would cause cold in the uterus, sometimes resulting in difficulties in pregnancy.
-
Swimming during the menstrual period
The body becomes sensitive, the endocrine system changes and the cervix opens during the menstrual period. The body is easily getting cold during this time. When people are swimming at this time, the cold would go into the uterus directly or indirectly. Thus, swimming is not a proper activity to participate in during the menstrual period.
-
Cold from the rain
Wearing wet clothes after the rain is another possible cause for the uterine cold.
B. Internal cold factor.
-
Too much cold drink
This is not only bad for the stomach energy, it also causes uterine cold. So does ice-cream and frozen food from the fridge. The accumulation of the cold in uterus will result in dysmenorrhoea, irregular menstrual period and it could lead to difficulties in pregnancy.
-
Deficiency in Yang energy causes cold.
Coldness damages the Yang energy. Cold is Yin, heat is Yang. The cold Yin energy is constrained by Yang energy. When the cold has accumulated too much the Yang energy is not able to constrain it, the cold will damage the Yang energy. Thus, deficient Yang energy would lead to internal cold in the body. When the internal cold accumulates in the uterus, sometimes pregnancy will be difficult to occur.
C. Internal cold and external cold
Although there are differences between internal cold and external cold, they interact and affect each other. Deficient Yang energy indicates an internal cold in the body. When this happens, the body could be affected by external cold easily. When the external cold attacks the body and further damages the Yang energy the result is internal cold. Both factors would cause difficulties in pregnancy due to cold uterus.
2. How to prevent uterine cold:
- Do not sit too much or too often on cold and wet floors or chairs.
- Keep warm in the feet, stomach and back area. Wear clothes that cover the navel and back. Wear socks or stockings and shoes in cold weather.
- Do not swim during the menstrual period.
- Change clothes after getting wet in the rain as soon as possible.
- Dry your hair after showering before you are going out.
- Try not to drink cold drinks, cold water or eat frozen food, especially during menstrual period. (Do not drink cold drinks on an empty stomach.)
- Take proper treatment if you have a deficient Yang energy type of body with internal cold. (Symptoms of this type of body: likes warm and dislikes cold, cold feet and hands, aching in the knees because of cold, deficient energy, depressed, pale face)
3. How to treat uterine cold?
A. Self – treatment:
- The ways mentioned above to prevent uterine cold;
- Eat warm food and food that are hot/warm. (Please read article “Food’s attribute – cold or hot/warm” for more details)
- Soak your feet in hot water every day for 10 – 20 minutes. Keep the feet warm after the feet are dry.
- Hot bag method: Put a hot bag on the abdomen and another one at the back area to warm up the area every day or every second day.
- Put a few pieces of ginger and brown sugar in tea, boil it for a few minutes and drink it every day.
- Moxibustion. Put ginger on the navel for ten minutes.
- Physical exercise. Tai Chi and Qi Gong are one of the good ways.
- Self – massage at the two acupuncture points called “Sanyinjiao”
Location: 3 cun ( around 3 inches) above the tip of the medial alveolus, on the posterior border of the medial side of the tibia.
B. Other treatments:
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Acupuncture
- Moxibustion
- Qi Gong exercise
- Tai Chi exercise
Prevention and wisdom are the two principles of Traditional Qi.
Written by: Angela Zhu (TCM Practitioner, Qi Gong & Tai Chi Instructor)
Translated by: Alan Huang
© Copyright Angela Zhu 2011
by Angela Tian Zhu | Mar 21, 2011 | Women's Health
All parents want their child to be healthy and happy. Mums always prepare for the health of the baby before pregnancy. They try to keep a healthy lifestyle to ensure a healthy baby comes into the world. Don’t forget it is also very important to ensure the happiness of the baby. The first step of preventing depression starts with Mum!
Modern Medicine holds the view that depression could be inherited, especially from the mother’s side. If the mother is depressed during the pregnancy period or has postnatal depression after the pregnancy, it is possible for the baby to inherit or be affected by the depression. The family’s influences in children’s mental health and attitudes from the time they were born until they are 5 years old is so important that it could affect them all their life.
Example 1: A few years ago, there was a young depressed person, he was born into a well educated family, and he had a very nice family environment during his childhood. However, his mum had a depression problem. He was an A grade student and lived happily and healthy at his primary school. But during the puberty when the body mobilised the energy for blood and hormones to grow, the depression gradually affected his body. It does not matter if the depression is inherited, it could easily attack us at a certain time when our body is changing, especially when there’s a change in the hormones. The smartness, talent, kindness, confidence and happy life of this good child had been gradually and completely washed away by depression. He became autistic, and he lost contact with the outside world, he considered himself being ugly, unhappy and full of resentments every day. So he complains about things already passed by, distorts the things which supposed to be positive. The good things turn out to be immoral through his own mind processing, and what’s more, he considered himself as the victim of everything, and worthless. So he stayed inside every day, gave himself up to daydreams, sleeping during the day and staying up at night. Gradually he lost appetite, he didn’t eat on time, his body became thinner and weaker, he couldn’t concentrate his mind and stoped going to school. A few years passed by like this.
Example 2: There was a party; a kid started crying when he came because he’s late. He started crying a second time because the juice was not what he wanted. After a while, he cried again because he thought other kids didn’t like him. He was either crying or stayed in a corner at the party, he cried when he saw other children playing. I went over and asked: “Why are you crying and unhappy? Why don’t you go and play with other children?” He answered: “Mum always cries and unhappy, she doesn’t go out to see her friends too.” I said: “Ah!”
Young people are the hope of society, and they are the hope and treasure of their parents. Their well-being is directly linked to this hope. The physical health and mental health interacts with each other and they are indivisible. Prevention of depression starts with parents, it starts before pregnancy, after birth and with the mental and attitude family education of the kids during the years from 0 – 5.
Prevention and wisdom are the two principles of Traditional Qi.
Written by Angela Zhu (Chinese Medicine Practitioner)
Translated by Alan Huang.
© Copyright Angela Zhu 2011
by Angela Tian Zhu | Jan 14, 2011 | Qi Gong
One of my patients told me she started to have menopausal hot flushes in the summer two years ago. It especially felt very hot in the soles of her feet. She took every chance to stand on the tiled floor barefoot, or soak her feet in cold water, drink ice water or eat ice-cream. She enjoyed the momentary delights. At the end of that summer, she got a cold and started to cough. Her hot flushes did not get any better because of what she did. On the contrary, it became worse, especially when she was tired. Moreover, she suffered from the worsened menopause hot flushes, the cold and the cough.
This lesson taught us that too much cold will damage the Qi (vital energy) of our stomach and lungs, and cause deficiency of Qi, which would produce phlegm. The internal cold (from having cold food and beverages) and the external cold gave her a bad cold and cough in the autumn, which lasted over three months, and the cough with phlegm lasted over one year!
In summer, people are supposed to dissipate the heat in the body by sweating, having too much ice water or cold food does not help the body get rid of heat, and it may even cause damage to the stomach Qi, produce phlegm and lead to cough. When you catch a cold or when you are run down, the cold, phlegm and the cough would affect Qi of lungs. So, using different methods to maintain and nourish Qi (vital energy) in different seasons during menopause period could relieve the symptoms and help you get through menopause smoothly and quickly.
Generally speaking, women have 35 years’ worth of menstruation. For all these years, we have been dealing with puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, labor term, lactation period. When we come to our 50’s, menopause will signal us the battle we had with blood is going to end.
Menopause is the term when our Qi (Vital Energy) stops generating estrogen and eggs, so that women no longer have to go through menstruation, pregnancy, labor or lactation. During the change, women have to take good care of Qi (Vital Energy), otherwise, Qi will accelerate the speed of decrepitude and even may cause some pathological changes. However, if Qi (Vital Energy) has been taken good care of, it will bring a “second spring” to your life, which will make you more beautiful and attractive. Because of the maturing experience during the years, we gain inner beauty. The inner beauty is based on our wisdom and experience, it is the best make-up for women.
Menopause refers to the “change of age period” in Chinese language. Why do women have to go through such a change and how do the changes occur? According to traditional Chinese medicine, vital Qi is the origin and root of life. The initial vital Qi we have is from our parents’ pre-natal energy, it is rooted in the kidney and stored in the Dan Tian (under the navel, inside of the stomach), it reaches all parts of the body through the main and collateral channels, and it accelerate the functions of all organs. Therefore, Qi is the foundation and origin of people’s life and activity. The prenatal Qi comes from the energy of the kidney, and postnatal energy comes from spleen and stomach, which is generated by our food intake, and they maintain the Qi of our life together. Like birth, aging, sickness and death, menopause is another order of nature. During the ageing process, Qi becomes weakened, so when women are not able to generate estrogen and eggs, menopause has come.
Now we know that our life needs to be maintained, nourished and accelerated by vital Qi, therefore, it is very important to protect, nourish and strengthen Qi during menopause.
How to take care of our menopause:
-
Strengthen Qi by following the seasons
The nature and universe, the weather and the natural phenomenon like wind, cold, heat of summer, dampness, dryness, fire (heat), they are all influencing our small universe–our body. We need to follow the change of four seasons to strengthen our Qi (vital energy). For instance, getting tanned under the sun gives you a trendy bronze skin color and Vitamin D, but it might give you dehydration, which would damage Qi in the body, even may cause skin cancer.
-
Listen to your body
Do take rest before you feel exhausted.
Do eat before you feel starving.
Do drink water before you feel thirsty.
Do go to bed before you feel sleepy.
These “extremes” can damage our Qi and may cause deficiency of vital energy, which will lead to some kinds of discomfort and conditions, especially during the menopause period.
-
Look after the “seven emotions” and protect Qi(Vital Energy)
According to traditional Chinese medicine, “seven emotions” refers to excitement, anger, anxiety, sadness, worry, fear and shock. They are the common emotions of each human being, however, having excessive of any of the emotions can damage energy and consume Qi, so that our organs might be damaged. According to traditional Chinese medicine, too much excitement is harmful to heart, too much anger and anxiety is harmful to liver, too much worry and thinking is harmful to spleen and stomach, too much sadness is harmful to lungs, too much fear and shock is harmful to kidney. On the other hand, if the “five organs” are not healthy, it would influence our “seven emotions”. During menopause, any negative emotion would aggravate the symptoms of menopause, which would prolong the time of menopause.
-
Benefit Qi by good diet
Having a balanced and healthy diet is essential for menopause period, eat less but more regularly to keep the level of blood sugar. Do not eat and drink too much at one time. Eat healthier and lighter food. Cut back smoking, drinking and spicy food. Be careful about loosing weight by keeping yourself on a diet, you might lose your vital energy as well.
-
Promote the circulation of Qi by exercise
Exercises can greatly help with the relief of menopause symptoms. Doing appropriate amount of exercise can promote the circulation of Qi and prevent stagnation, which would lead to development of certain conditions. Such exercises as, walking, practicing Qi Gong and Tai Chi, Yoga, dancing and etc would be beneficial. The proper exercise for women who are undergoing menopause should be the appropriate amount, relaxing and not intense.
Qi Gong Tip:
Raise the muscle of anus
Method:
Raise the muscle of anus by contracting the surrounding muscles, visualize the raising of the anus into the abdomen (Dan Tian), then relax the muscles. Raise and relax, raise and relax, this repetitive activity can be done at any time and at any pace as you please.
Effect:
- It could benefit the health of prostate and vagina by promoting blood circulation and store the Qi.
- It can prevent and help relieve constipation.
- It can prevent some pathological changes of the colon by accelerating the movement of the colon.
- Doing this exercise also helps to maintain the quality of sexual life.
- It could prevent and help with incontinence.
- A Chinese article stated that it can make you live longer.
Note: Please check out more traditional health tips on our Facebook (Health and Wellbeing at Traditional Qi).
Prevention and wisdom are the two principles of Traditional Qi.
Written by Angela Zhu, Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, Qi Gong & Tai Chi instructor.
Translated by Janet Zheng
© Copyright Angela Zhu 2011
by Angela Tian Zhu | Jan 6, 2011 | Mental Health, Traditional Chinese Medicine
Those with wisdom are not easily depressed, and they can walk out of depression more easily as well. Being depressed is like circling a black hole round and round, some would need a while to crawl out of it, some would go through a long journey, and some would never find their way back.
More than ten years ago, I treated two patients who were a couple. The husband told me a few times that his wife is the wisest person, but he didn’t tell me the reason why he said this. One day, out of curiosity, I asked his wife, “your husband told me you are the wisest person, can you tell me how to be a wise person? I want to learn from you”. Then she told me a story, “once, I found out my husband was having an affair with a much younger woman, then I immersed myself into anger, anxiety and worry, I became depressed. We have a son and a daughter, what should I do? Quarrel with him? Fight with him? Get a divorce? Then what? What could I possibly get from this? Will my home and marriage be kept? I can predict the horrible outcome of doing this. So, I thought if I quarreled, fought and had a divorce because of the pain I had during that period, I couldn’t get what I want—-protecting my family and being with the man I deeply loved. After careful consideration, I invited this young woman to have dinner with us in my house. At the dinner, she saw our two lovely kids and our beautiful house, and I didn’t mention a thing about her relationship with my husband, I just entertained her politely and calmly. Our kids were being polite to her as well (they knew nothing about this at all). After that, the woman quit voluntarily.”
After hearing the story, I admired her for her wisdom. The wise action not only saved her time and energy to complain, to hate and to depress, but also saved a good marriage and a perfect family. This dinner achieved many things in one stroke. Therefore, when we encounter difficult situations and when we walk towards the black hole of depression what should we do? Please use your wisdom, not only your emotions.
-
Figure out what you want.
To get what you want may require you not to do things that you prefer to do, such as quarrelling, fighting, drinking and doing drugs. And also it may require you to do things you are not willing to do, such as confronting, tolerating, considering and eventually figuring out what you really want.
-
Ask yourself what you are depressed about and why.
Some depressed people do not know what they are depressed about. What you need to do is to ask yourself and give yourself an honest answer. “Is it worth it?”, “What am I worrying or being terrified about?”, “What is the worst situation?”, “What should I do?” We all know that problems always have two sides. It is wise to look at the bright side with an optimistic perception.
-
Admit and accept reality.
Facing the reality that can’t be changed, we have to admit, accept, and face it. Otherwise you would bear double of the suffering and punishment to yourself. Only by admitting and accepting the reality can you let it go and walk towards freedom.
-
Try not to give in to blind emotions, since blind emotions always wear you out and lead you into a deeper black hole.
When you think you are at the edge of the black hole, try to grab a piece of paper and write down these negative emotions, then read them out loud. Train yourself to form this habit, and you will find you walk further and further away from depression. Because wisdom will bring you a calm and joyful attitude, it will guide you to what you really want, and strengthen your self-confidence as well. This is truly a stroke of genius.
Prevention and wisdom are the two principles of Traditional Qi.
Written by Angela Zhu, Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, Qi Gong & Tai Chi instructor.
Translated by Janet Zheng
© Copyright Angela Zhu 2011
by Angela Tian Zhu | Oct 11, 2010 | Women's Health
The time after giving birth is very special time for women. Pregnancy, giving birth and breast feeding make the women’s body deficient of energy, blood and Qi. After all the stress the women’s organs become dry. Early detection is very important. Signs for arising postnatal depression in a woman can be grumpiness, being emotionally unstable and moody. A lot of women are also very tired and yawn very often.
One of my patients tried IVF for many years. After five years she finally had a gorgeous baby girl but felt very depressed and the baby meant nothing to her. In today’s society women have babies at a later stage of their life which can be problematic. Many women work very hard and long hours when they get pregnant and are very busy and stressed. Their body becomes deficient and postnatal depression is more likely to happen. Postnatal Depression has become a very common problem. Chinese Medicine believes that women who have had Depression or suffer from it during their pregnancy are most likely going to have postnatal Depression. Stressful life and overuse of the body can also be the cause. The pregnancy experience can play a big role in this. Stressful pregnancy and birth can cause those problems too.
How to prevent Postnatal Depression
Having a good pregnancy is an obviously important factor. Experiencing those nine months being healthy makes it easier to have more energy. A difficult long labour with lots of blood loss can make a woman lose a lot of energy which can be followed by Postnatal Depression. It is very important to watch your diet. In today’s society women very often try to lose weight very quickly after birth which is not advisable. After birth the body needs more energy for breastfeeding and recovering. When on a diet the body becomes more deficient and Postnatal Depression can appear. If you have experienced Postnatal Depression after your first baby it is very important to figure out why and what caused it before having your second baby. This way you can eliminate all factors and try to avoid having Postnatal Depression again. Kidney deficiency, spleen stomach deficiency, or blood deficiency are very likely causes. Try to look after yourself before becoming pregnant, during and after birth and especially the breastfeeding time to prevent Postnatal Depression. Exercise is a great help but should not be done straight after birth. Gentle exercise like Tai Chi and Qi Gong are recommended. Chinese herbs can also be a great help. Contact your Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner or Herbalist.
Prevention and wisdom are the two principles of Traditional Qi.
Written by Angela Zhu, Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, Qi Gong & Tai Chi instructor.
© Copyright Angela Zhu 2010
Every parent wants to give their children the best education. However, the behavioural education (children’s unconscious imitation of the behaviour and action of their parents) they are getting from the parents is the very first and most important education the children would get. The behavioural and action education affects the children much more than what the parents tell them to do.
