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ener-chi · 6 days

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Journal entry time! TL;DR More fun acupuncture point tid-bits, starting to work in the library, and being more intentional with my time and energy

Alright! We've been learning the Bladder Channel in school, which is the longest meridian in TCM - 67 points! There is a lot to memorize. But here are some fun tidbits and facts!

-You can treat pretty much every organ in the body by treating the bladder channel on the back - each organ has its' own specific point on the bladder channel called a "Shu-Point"

-Fun fact about the Shu-Points! If you are having issues or pathology with a specific organ, oftentimes that is reflected in the Shu-Point. For example, that specific spot on the back could be feeling cold, heavy, achy, damp, etc.

-BL60 - a point on the ankle - is cautioned against use if the patient is pregnant, as using it could accidentally cause a miscarriage! Also related, it can also be used to promote labor if it is difficult, or to help with a retained placenta.

-Also related - BL67 - a point on the pinky-toe - can be used to help treat Breech Presentation Labor! If you don't know what that is, Breech Presentation is when the baby is turned the wrong way in the womb. If born Breech, it could cause damage or birth defects, or even death of the baby if the umbilical cord gets wrapped around the baby's neck.

Fun fact - the World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as a proven, effective way to treat Breech Presentation Birth. That blows my mind! That means that it has been studied and scientifically shown that acupuncture is effective at treating this. Isn't that wild? That like. Just regular needles. At places away from the uterus - like the wrists - could have such a profound and proven effect on the body - or even a body within another body. Crazy.

In other news, I started working at the school library this week. Honestly genuinely the easiest job that I've ever had. It's a really small library, and barely gets any traffic - so I will have most of the time that I spend working to myself to study or do whatever I want.

It will only be for a few hours a week, but that's enough time for me to study - or dig into some books. I was finding some really interesting books that I'm very curious and excited to dig into. Interestingly enough, there's like at least 6 or 7 Reiki books that I found that I'm interested in. There's also a lot of books related to energy medicine, which I'm interested in. There is also a book about Qigong Therapy with TCM and acupuncture. I am prolly going to look at that first - because I am interested in it, but mainly because the book is normally like $400 and I would prefer to not have to buy it myself lolol

I have been working on spending my time in more... intentional, ways. I feel like in the past I've spent just so much time on distractions or pleasure-seeking - mainly video games. I have decided to take a break from gaming and spend some time studying and meditating and some other stuff, and honestly I'm shocked at how much more mental clarity I have. I'm also more happy - I have more time to do things that I actually find fulfilling and not just pleasurable. And meditation has been going well, too. I have been doing mindfulness meditation, and I can already start to see the benefits and effects from it as I become more aware of my mind and thought processes.

I think that's it for now. I've been busy playing a bit of catch-up now that I'm feeling better and more recovered after the flu last week, but it's been... really, really good actually, and I'm very grateful.

Hope everyone has a wonderful night!

Blessings!

#mine #journal #4.18.24 #acupuncture #tcm #traditional chinese medicine #chinese medicine #spirituality

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demi-shoggoth · 8 months

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2023 Reading Log, pt 8

36. Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians but Were Afraid to Ask, Revised and Expanded Edition by Anton Truer. This book is written by an Ojibwe professor (as in, both that he’s Ojibwe and teaches Ojibwe language), and is aimed primarily at a novice, non-Native audience. Truer’s whole career is based on expanding education of Native languages, preserving endangered languages, and revitalizing tribal culture while simultaneously building bridges with mainstream American culture. It does a very good job of summarizing issues about land rights, sovereignty, history and civil rights about Native Americans. It’s written in an engaging style, and is doing good anti-racism work, I think. But it has issues, and the big one is the Culture chapter. The Culture chapter is written basically assuming that all Indian Country (his words) works the way that Ojibwe tribes and their neighbors do, with minor variations. Obviously, this is both an introductory book and one that needs to summarize an immensely diverse group of people, but I think the author does himself no favors by saying things like all Native American religions are monotheistic. So definitely take the cultural material with a grain of salt.

37. Hyena by Mikita Brottman. This book is part of the Animal series by Reaktion Books, little chapbook sized books about the natural and cultural history of some particular animal. This book focuses much more on the cultural than natural history, talking about how hyenas have been reviled by many cultures (including modern pop culture) and consistently confused with each other by early scientists. That bit, about the entangling of different hyenas, is the part that was the most novel and interesting to me, as I quite like the history of science. The book is well illustrated, with a variety of woodcuts and illustrations from vintage European books, as well as artifacts from people who live among hyenas, and photos of hyenas wild, in zoos and tamed by people. I did find it a weird oversight that, in a chapter that includes Magic the Gathering cards of hyenas and hyenas in World of Warcraft, that it didn’t talk about gnolls or anthropomorphic hyenas in fantasy fiction.

38. The Monster Overhaul by Skerples. This book is a monster book for fantasy RPGs, written for a generic OSR style game. It’s different in that it focuses on a relatively small number of monsters for its size, instead doubling down on plot hooks, descriptions and ways to otherwise bring creatures to life at the table. The gimmick? Random tables for everything, even the table of contents. The organization is somewhat intentionally bizarre, but the book is well indexed. It’s also highly readable for a book that is comprised mainly of tables. The Monster Overhaul is thoughtful about its uses for monsters, has clever takes on some D&D staples (like how manticores are all male and are the embodiment of male entitlement and bitterness, or how “brain eaters” are literally addicted to humanoid brains), and is very funny to boot. Highly recommended for anyone interested in fantasy RPGs, regardless of system.

39. Healing with Poisons by Yan Liu. This is an academic text discussing the development of Chinese medicine in the 3rd through 10th centuries. The focus is on du, roughly translated as “potency”, a force ascribed to medicinal ingredients that were generally toxic. The book talks about the philosophy of medicine in medieval China and how that philosophy changed between authors, how the government got more involved in standardizing medical texts, and how regional differences between practices and ingredients influenced that standardization. It also goes into a lot of detail about how various toxic minerals, particularly arsenates and mercury, were used to make “elixirs of life”, and how the fact that these often very clearly killed people was rationalized away for centuries before “internal alchemy” became more popular than “external alchemy”. There’s also a discussion of a royal scandal involving the court during the Sui dynasty being plagued by a cat demon!

40. Geopedia by Marcia Bjornerud. This is the best of the –pedia series I’ve read (sorry, Darren Naish!). It covers bits of geology, with a focus on explaining major earth formations and covering the history of science. As such, there’s a lot that I didn’t know that I learned from this book, especially about some of the also-ran hypotheses that were rejected when plate tectonics was understood to be the driving force behind most earth processes. It’s highly readable and does a very good job of drawing connections between bits of seemingly disparate information to explain how the Earth works. This book is a very good resource for people who know a bit about geology and want to learn more.

#reading log #geology #chinese history #traditional chinese medicine #monster book #hyena #native american

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cheesey-rice · 2 years

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My Traditional Chinese Medicine / Neuroscience Acupuncture Powerpoint

@obstinaterixatrix putting this on my main bc it isn't orv related, hope you don't mind ^^

This is a powerpoint I made for a neuro class so I'll break down the slides more clearly

So I know we're starting with xianxia as our understanding so we know all about yin-yang and qi when it's being used in a soft-magic system. But fantasy novels put a lot of these concepts out of their historical context because its easier to write a narrative involving major power players if you play into the fantasy side of historical fantasy. I think at a basic level we get that these concepts stem from Daoism, but the history of acupuncture actually predates the codification of the Dao De Jing in the Warring States period. There's evidence that neolithic peoples used spearheads and animal bones on acupuncture points, then copper needles in the zhou dynasty (zhouyi and yijing are written around this time codifying cosmological beliefs that relate to yinyang and wuxing) before the gold acupuncture needle was invented in the Han dynasty. This is where the mytho-history regarding the Huangdi Neijing comes up because supposedly the yellow emperor is the one who invented acupuncture and made sure it was written down for everyone in the Lingshu, but like I said the actual date of origin for that text is DISPUTED. By the Han Dynasty Daoism is a codified belief system integrated into medicinal tradition & the astrology/divination belief system that was highly respected (believed to be specifically connected to the divine right of the emperor dating back to rituals from Shang dynasty kings as evidenced by oracle bones that are the first record of written Chinese script. The Yijing codifies some of this cosmological divination philosophy and is one of the 4 classics of TCM) and the idea of meridians is inherently tied to this. The main medicinal philosophy of this time period is that homeostasis can be maintained through the balance of the wuxing and yinyang. The five elements and the yin and yang exist as forces in the universe, and the human body is considered a microcosm of the universe.

Breaking down this diagram a little more specifically, this is a map of the meridians on the human body. These are the pathways through which qi, your vital life essence, is supposed to flow. There's 12 of them, each related to one of what TCM would consider the human body's major organs. Interestingly, these major organs are divided into being considered more "yin" or "yang" oriented, with the yin oriented (zang organs) being largely related to the circulatory system and the yang oriented (fu organs) being related to the digestive/excretory systems. Then 5 of the zang and 5 of fu are also considered to relate more strongly to one of the 5 elements. When it comes to acupunctural practice, there is an entire system of codification where each point on the meridians is said to have a specific yin/yang wuxing interaction with the related organ, so acupuncturists attempt to balance out the distorted qi by stimulating opposing energies.

Obviously this terminology is all very related to and wrapped up in Daoism as a school of thought, which, we have to understand was viewed very differently in the time that acupuncture was being developed and codified than it is today. In the modern day Religious Daoism often involves prayer to specific immortal figures in temples, which I believe could stem from crossover of buddhist influence over history among other factors. There's also the fact that in the Song dynasty in particular there was an explosion in the search for immortality elixirs, drinks or drugs that could provide some miracle cure to make someone live forever through "daoist magic." This approach to TCM with this specific end goal is sort of different from the initial philosophical texts that encourage one to find "the way." That's what dao literally means, Daoism is the ideology trying to explain "the way" of the world. TCM from this period in time is trying to find out the way of the human body and is utilizing the same terminology used to describe the way of the universe.

This all goes to saying that the phenomena ancient chinese physicians were using their philosophical terminology for wasn't completely imagined just because its study was based around religious thought. In fact, the usage of acupuncture needles on meridian points documented by these early physicians has been associated with stimulation of the Autonomic Nervous System.

Then, I don't have a slide for this bc I expected my original audience to already know, but I'll lay out what that is for you as understandably as I can Stella.... stay with me here its gonna get a little nerdy...

So, like, I think we all get that our brain is the Central Nervous System, along with the spinal cord, the CNS is where we're doing all our thinking right?

Not quite! There's also the Peripheral Nervous System! All those little nerves out their controlling your body are part of your thinking too! Axons (the bridges from the neuron cell bodies in your CNS to the nerve endings in your body) project into neuronal circuitry that exists to signal your movements, feelings, pain, etc.

When we're talking about the Autonomic Nervous System, this is the part of our Peripheral Nervous System, the nerve circuitry in our body, that is going to govern Automatic functions. Stuff like the contraction of your iris, the size of blood vessels, heart rate, etc.

The way your brain governs these things on its own is by the division of the Axon Projections into 2 systems.

Your Sympathetic Nervous System is the side of your Autonomic Nervous System that generally instigates more active responses. Norepinephrine releases from this pathway to speed up your heart rate, dilate your pupils, make you sweat, put more sugar in your blood, etc.

Your Parasympathetic Nervous System is the side of the ANS that activates mostly when you're calm. Acetylcholine releases from these pathways to decrease oxygen intake, make it easier to cry or make saliva, tell your digestive system when its safe enough to think about taking a shit, etc.

The fun thing about these divisions is that because they operate with 2 different Neurotransmitters, there are substances that selectively inhibit one or the other. If you've ever heard of the Greek medicinal/philosophical concept of the "Pharmacon," (where the word pharmacology comes from) the idea of a substance that can be both a poison and a cure, this is where it comes from.

If a substance inhibits the Sympathetic Nervous System, the Parasympathetic Nervous System becomes overactive in it's calming effects, slowing your heartbeat to the point of heart failure, constricting your airways so that you can't breathe, making you absolutely shit yourself to death, etc.

On the other hand, if a substance inhibits the Parasympathetic Nervous System, the Sympathetic Nervous System becomes overactive. Your heart beats so fast your blood doesn't distribute to the rest of your body, your lungs are so open you're hyperventilating, so constipated you might explode, etc.

HOWEVER. IF YOU TAKE BOTH SUBSTANCES....

You're totally fine.

The equal activation of these two nervous systems keeps these organs from being stimulated to take actions too far in either direction. In this way, poisons can also be cures for one another. The fundamental premise is balancing these two systems out.

Now what does that sound like to you?

SOUNDED LIKE YIN AND YANG TO TCM!

Yin pathways and points are said to create a calming effect when stimulated, and are prescribed for overheating, pain in joints, and heart palpitations... these are all symptoms correlated to over-activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System!

So the modern understanding of acupuncture from a neuroscientific perspective is that acupuncture is a method of stimulating these somatic (somatic means in the body, PNS) pathways that can incrementally adjust the function of the Autonomic Nervous System, which explains its therapeutic effects for things like chronic pains, stagnated blood flow, temperature control, etc. There's even been studies made of Electro-Acupuncture that show ions moving up a gradient in the locations of meridians TCM specifies.

The claims that TCM makes in regards to effects on overall mental state are more complicated though. It's hard to separate those therapeutic effects from the basic effects of just like, mindfulness or like massage, just putting effort into yourself and taking care of your body has effects on your mental health. There HAVE been associations made with the function of the limbic system, which is sort of emotions central in your CNS, but that's still being studied.

OK. Long post.

Here's some further reading on this if you like:

The one about electrostimulation causing "movement of qi" feeling.

Study of acupuncture that had Limbic system implications.

Original article about parasympathetic/sympathetic yin/yang equivalence, also mentions limbic system.

Then I recommend checking out the copy you have of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Cannon to see if they have an attempt at the Lingshu translation for more acupuncture details, and Gary L. Wenk's book Your Brain on Food is very accessible if you're interested in knowing more about the Autonomic Nervous System and its inhibition.

LMK if you have any questions.

#long post #traditional chinese medicine #personal #for friend #acupuncture #neuroscience #science #if theres typos on this post theres typos sorry

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match-your-steps · 4 months

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earth spleen, if I understand correctly

#traditional chinese medicine

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allsadnshit · 21 days

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Here's my full review of Cycle Balance from Elix

#elix #elix healing #traditional chinese medicine #cycle balance #endometriosis

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battleangel · 7 months

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Heal Yourself

✨️Eat fresh fruits & vegetables (homemade smoothies, homemade salads & salad dressing, quinoa with avocado + hot sauce, tofu scramble with salsa) 80% of the time.

✨️Incorporate flaxseed, steel cut oats, apple cider vinegar, grated ginger, mint, herbal tea (no sugar or honey) into your regular diet.

✨️Drink 32 to 64 ounces of water a day.

✨️Drink minimal amounts of soda, coffee, juice and caffeine.

✨️Eat minimal amounts of processed and prepackaged snacks (chips, cookies, crackers, popcorn, pop tarts, candy).

✨️Eat delivery, takeout, fast food, fast casual and at sit down restaurants on a rare basis.

✨️Eliminate or minimize alcohol.

✨️Eat vegetarian 80% of the time.

✨️Move your body (walking, jogging, exercising, swimming, hiking, etc.) for 30 to 60 minutes 3 to 5 times a week.

✨️Be outside in nature soaking up natural sunlight and breathing in fresh air as much as possible.

✨️Creatively express yourself daily (poetry, vlogging, comedy, makeup, journalling, artwork, hula hooping, headstands, pole dancing, twerking, puzzles, etc.).

✨️Regulate your nervous & PSNS (parasympthetic nervous) systems.

✨️Learn to regulate your emotions.

✨️Explore and express your sensual, erotic & sexual self.

✨️Do things that surprise, scare and challenge you on a regular basis.

✨️Eliminate mindless consumerism, overconsumption, materialism, shallow & superficial mindset, ego & clout chasing.

✨️Be mindful & present in the moment.

✨️Kill your own ego and experience your ego death.

✨️Spiritually ascend by self-actualizing, awakening to your self and realizing that you are a limitless 10D energetic being temporarily manifested physically as a limited 3D human being.

✨️Align your mind, heart, body, soul and spirit connection.

✨️Eliminate any and all all toxic energy vampires from your life, orbit, aura and environment (immediate family, older relatives, family patriarch & matriarch, best friends, friends, spouses, significant others, co-workers, supervisors, spiritual "leaders", church elders, mentors, sponsors, etc.)

✨️Align & activate all seven chakras and open your pineal gland (third eye -- kundalini awakening).

✨️See our 3D reality for the upside down funhouse mirror surreality it actually is.

✨️Realize that death is nothing to fear and that the "afterlife" is simply you exiting this temporary 3D virtual reality simulation and ending your temporary manifestation as a physical human being and you returning back to the dreamscape, actual reality, from which you originated from as a 10D limitless energetic eternal being prior to your cosmically temporary physical manifestation as a human being known as "real life" which in fact was nothing but a virtual reality simulation.

✨️Your "dreams" are actually you, as a temporarily manifested physical human being, shifting your consciousness via REM sleep to shift temporarily back from our 3D virtual current reality back to the 10D dreamscape which we all originated from. There are no limits in the dreamscape as it is our limitless minds and literally our imaginations. Anything we can imagine in our minds instantaneously manifests and exists in the dreamscape -- climbing walls, walking on water, falling endlessly through the sky without dying, surreal lush lucid hyper real colors, vistas, landscapes, psychedlic bursts of light, energy, fire, sun, moon, stars, constellations, explosions, supernovas and more. We visit the dreamscape temporarily each night when we dream -- whether we remember it the next day or not -- then we "wake up" and we shift back to our temporary 3D human virtual reality.

🦋Death is nothing more than permanently putting your temporary physically manifested human self to sleep in the current virtual 3D reality and permanently waking yourself up in the 10D real reality dreamscape, shedding your temporary human skin, and eternally metamorphosizing as a limitless energetic butterfly.

🌱Avoid synthetic, man made, lab made and artificial chemicals, substances, stimulants, toxins, additives and preservatives as much as possible in OTC medications, prescriptions, opioids, laxatives, antidepressants, benzodiazepines, mood stabilizers, NSAIDs, antibiotics, food, makeup, hair products, relaxers, toothpaste, laundry detergent, lotions, deodorants, dishwasher liquid, household cleaning products, sanitary pads, tampons, etc.

🌱Instead treat maladies and diseases holistically with psychedelics (ayahuasca, etc.), herbal medicines and plants, Ayurvedic medicine, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and traditional herbal remedies and rituals utilized by indigenous peoples the world over for thousands of years.

✨️Practice breathwork, guided meditation, yoga, mindfulness, trances, hoodoo, healing springs & rivers, shamanic practices, spells, magick, divinations, tarot, crystals, gems & reiki.

✨️Embody the concept of duality (yin & yang) -- two polar opposities existing together at once balancing and perfectly complementing one another vs the Western mindset of opposites cancelling one another out, negating each other, clashing, fighting, being disharmonious, false dichotomies, us vs them, either in or out, with us or against us. Embrace and embody the existing dualities within yourself and realize that the West endlessly conditions and sets you up to have a limited, simplistic, all or nothing, black and white mindset.

✨️Decolonize & reindigenize your mind. Embrace and embody ease and reject rigidity. Embrace flow, reject demands for conformity and structure. Embrace expansiveness, reject contrived limitations. Embrace flexibility, reject single mindedness. Embrace going with the flow, your feelings your heart and your intuition and reject forcing things, making things happen, pushing things.

✨️Reject the Western capitalist mindset of force, violence, might makes right, my way or the highway, I got mine, get a job, they want to be homeless, they dont want to work, meritocracy bullshit, profits over people, more more more, bigger faster stronger, nothing is ever enough, be tough be a man, dont cry, hold your emotions in, "professionalism" and performing whiteness, worshipping capitalist excess, the "American dream" of obesity, opioid addiction, homelessness, childhood poverty, rapes, child trafficking, dark side of family life, abuse, unrestrained power, my dick is bigger than yours, you have to have that baby whether you want it or not, money buys happiness, my job is my identity, my career is all I am, my job title defines me, drudgery, mental slavery, prison of the mind, reality TV, endless social media scrolling, flexing for the gram, commodifying yourself for capitalist consumption, being a machine, working ever harder, no days off, sleep is for pussies, ill sleep when im dead, dog eat dog, baptism by fire, put the firehose in their mouth and turn it up all the way, the American way, American life, zionism, white supremacy, patriarchy, paternalism, eroticized sexual violence, fetishization, mainstreaming of hebephila, sexualizing childhood innocence, making everything cheap and dirty, everythings for sale in capitalism, nothing js sacred, everything is plastic.

✨️Open, endlessly expand and discover your unlimited mind, reject societal conditioning, kill your ego, ascend and awaken to the spiritual energetic being you are, open your third eye, see this virtual reality as the video game simulation it is, bills rent mortgage jobs work 9 to 5s emails Slack Teams meetings agendas promotions performance reviews succession planning unpaid overtime salaried benefits 401k "job security" executive golden handcuffs misery drudgery HR new hire orientation employee slave working to live working to die corporate induced death corporate zombie slave to the machine chained to your desk work from home work from anywhere but your mind shut off closed off shut down work through lunch never get up i dont have time to go to the bathroom no time to think no worries ill get that done for you right away i need this done like yesterday please advise reply all cc bcc blind copy do you copy she dropped dead at her desk yesterday and they filled her role today working in the corporate america plantation modern day slavery everybodys working for the weekend we didnt start the fire subliminal suicides corporate deicides CEO as god as the father as your priest as the principal as the ultimate male authority figure and symbol brazzers gonzo girls gone wild thats gross i like it onlyfans im your only fan how much for anal degradation desecration dessication problematize the sacred kill your parents god is a woman god is dead radiohead hail to the thief i used to rule the world i hear terrorists and the bells are ringing for some reason i cant explain i know st peter will call my name northrop grumman and raytheon stock is way up just a couple of dead babies in israel and raped grandmas in palestine stocks are up war is good war is slavery strength is peace oceania big brother aldous huxley brave new world brave new girl i live for the applause pornify my pussy shake yo dreads sexyy red usher will be performing at the superbowl halftime show man as machine im talking to the man in the mirror stranger in moscow kgb was stalking me how does it feel when youre alone and its cold inside marcus garvey murdered prophets my angel warned me that i would be the black sheep in my family more than my brother memorial day 2021 and i told my father on my parents deck my angel warned me that i would stand alone life is a mystery everyone must stand alone i hear you call my name and it feels like home its a beautiful life but im not concerned its a beautiful dream but a dream is earned people tell me to shut my mouth that i must conform i will not renounce the things that i have said i was meant to fight the english i am not afraid to die dont you know to doubt him is a sin i wont give in you can cut my hair and say that im a witch and burn me at the stake its all a big mistake...

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trinitycove · 5 months

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Today marks two weeks of using my OSEA Gua Sha tool. I have been changing my habits to become healthier during this time and they are all things I have done before, so I know what results I usually get without Gua Sha.

Here are the results I've seen with Gua Sha, but not without:

Glowing skin (it looks bright even when I get little sleep, which usually dulls my skin)

Removed dark circles and puffiness under the eyes (I didn't notice this myself, but when my bf brought it up I was pleasantly surprised)

Clear sinuses (I was often congested)

Reduced puffiness/water retention/inflammatin in the face and neck (the back of my neck is an area I focus on and I cannot believe the difference it makes)

Improved Premenstrual Syndrome (no symptoms at all)

A raise in my energy levels

More restful sleep

Improved chest acne (my chest is clear at the moment)

Improved mood (immediately following a Gua Sha session I feel very relaxed and my mood is positive)

Smooth lymph nodes (they were quite bumpy before, probably due to congestion)

I want to drink every drop of water around me (my blood sugars are fine, but for some reason I really want to hydrate)

Note: I do a PMS routine every 3 days and a daily face, neck, chest routine.

#me #gua sha #skincare #self care #tcm #traditional chinese medicine #OSEA #pms #inflammation #water retention #lympathic drainage #congestion #fluid retention

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chinesegreenteagoldentriangle · 10 months

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Traditional Chinese medicine talks about tea, have you been drinking it correctly?

When I was young, I only knew of two types of tea: "big bowl tea" and "Biluochun" tea. Later, I learned about tea because of studying traditional Chinese medicine and discovering that tea is also a type of medicine. For example, the Chuanxiong tea blend is recorded in the "Essentials of Materia Medica": "Tea leaves have a bitter and sweet taste. They enter the Hand and Foot Shaoyin, Taiyin, and Jueyin meridians. They are effective in clearing the heart and lungs, purging the intestines and stomach. When combined with chamomile, it can treat headaches; when combined with ginger, it can relieve water retention and stimulate the bladder and kidney meridians when consumed after drinking alcohol." However, tea is ultimately cold in nature, and since my body constitution is weak and cold in the spleen and stomach, I remember drinking Pu-erh tea once and having to go to the bathroom halfway through, so I rarely drink tea. But one chance encounter changed my perspective.

Recently, I went to visit a small shop near the Wudaoying Hutong next to the Beijing Yonghegong Temple. The shop owner is a good friend of mine who invited me to try Biluochun tea. This is a type of green tea, and at the time it was dinner time, so how could I dare to drink green tea on an empty stomach? So I politely declined. But my friend said, "Just take a sip, I guarantee it won't be too cold." She said that this tea comes from an 80-year-old tea tree growing on a sunny mountain in Dongting Lake. This is the first crop of early spring tea picked by hand and processed with firewood, so it is not like other green teas. Unable to resist her persuasion, I sat down and tasted the Biluochun tea. After drinking a few cups, I was surprised to find that my stomach and intestines felt slightly warm and comfortable, with no signs of diarrhea. I let out a few belches and felt quite comfortable, and even had a slight feeling of fullness. I stayed until 8pm, drinking the tea on an empty stomach, without any discomfort, and even feeling slightly full without hunger. The warm tea entered my stomach and I broke out into a light sweat, feeling very comfortable. Later, my friend gave me some Biluochun tea, and every time I drank it, I felt the same way, so it seems to be no coincidence.

This chance encounter changed my understanding of tea, especially green tea, and reminded me of an elderly person who once said that his father, who was over ninety years old, had been drinking tea his whole life and lived a long and healthy life, as did many other elderly people. At first, I thought it was due to their physical constitution, but now I see it's not entirely the case. Recently, I've been thinking carefully and have had some realizations.

Although the nature of tea is generally cool, ultimately its temperature can be influenced by two factors: first, the growth environment, whether it is in a relatively yin, cold, and humid area or a warm and sunny one. Just like the difference between grapes grown in the north of China and those grown in Xinjiang, or the difference between two types of Chinese medicinal herbs called niuxi: Sichuan niuxi promotes blood circulation, while Henan niuxi nourishes the liver and kidneys. Similarly, ginseng grown in the northeast is warm in nature, while American ginseng is cooler. These differences in nature are due to their different growing environments, including temperature, sunlight, soil, and planting methods.

Second, the processing methods are also important. Most teas need to be withered and then undergo a process called "kill-green," which involves roasting with fire. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that medicinal herbs and raw herbs that have been processed by fire have different cold, hot, warm, or cool properties. For example, raw licorice has a cold and cool nature that can clear away heat and detoxify, while roasted licorice can tonify the spleen and supplement qi. Raw rehmannia has a cool nature that can cool and activate blood, while steamed rehmannia has a slightly warm nature that can nourish the kidneys. Most herbs that have been processed by fire tend to have some warm properties, depending on the specific method of fire processing, which can even vary between using firewood or an oven.

There are many steps involved in tea processing, and many of them involve using fire, either by roasting or steaming. The tea processing method determines the warmth or coolness of the tea. I used to think that fermented teas, such as black tea and Pu-erh tea, were not cool, but that was because I didn't understand the fermentation process of tea. Tea fermentation is usually done by spreading the tea leaves flat and letting them sit at room temperature of around 25 degrees Celsius, so it's different from using fire. Therefore, to sum up, the warmth or coolness of tea depends on the environment and processing method.

In light of this, people with a cold constitution are not necessarily unable to drink green tea, while some fermented teas, such as Pu-erh tea, may not be suitable. Therefore, finding the right tea for oneself and knowing the principle of moderation is the key to health.

Author: Zhang Dong, Chief Physician of the Cardiovascular Department at Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.

#tea #green tea #chinese tea #white tea #qiandao silver needle tea #spring tea #organic tea #tea polyphenols #black tea #caffeine #Tea leaves #Tea processing #Health preservation #Traditional Chinese medicine #Biluochun #The principle of moderation #Environmental factors #Processing method

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