Desert Wisdom: Sayings From The Desert Fathers - Translation & Art by Yushi Nomura

KoKoDo Shiatsu (“finger pressure”) massage deals with sickness, often regarded as a type of violence occurring inside the body, while KoKoDo Jujutsu (“gentle, yielding technique”) is a self-defense art to protect against violence and aggression, which is viewed as a type of sickness on the outside.

Many of the concepts and training methods used in KoKoDo are similar for both Shiatsu and Jujutsu, including:

Non-aggression

In KoKoDo Jujutsu, the aim is to neutralize an assailant’s strength and aggression while at the same time avoid causing any unnecessary harm or injury. This is not accomplished through brute force against force, but rather by the efficient use of proper technique and non-resistance in order to cancel and neutralize the attack.

Restoring health is similar, in that a person’s body often tends to react negatively and fight against aggressive forces and stresses encountered in life, whether it be physical, emotional, or environmental. Shiatsu, along with other forms of Eastern medicine such as acupuncture and moxibustion, work to gently nurture and guide a person back into a healthier state of balance.

Relaxation

KoKoDo Jujutsu requires the complete abandonment of physical strength, relying instead on relaxation and the proper use and focus of the mind and body. On the other hand, these techniques actually create tension, fear, and stress in the assailant through the application of joint manipulations, throws, and pressure points, essentially “short circuiting” their body and neutralizing the attack.

In a similar but opposite way, KoKoDo Shiatsu identifies areas of tension and stress stored up within a person. By treating and releasing these areas of blockages of the meridian system, blood and energy circulation is improved and the natural healing process is enhanced, helping a person return to a state of calmness and wellbeing.

Awareness

Cultivating an awareness of one’s surroundings is an important aspect of training in KoKoDo Jujutsu; by recognizing potential threats or dangers before they escalate, appropriate action can be taken and conflict can often be avoided.

KoKoDo Shiatsu can also create an increased state of awareness for a person and allow them to become more in touch with their own body and surrounding environment. By recognizing early signs of imbalance, more positive changes in health can be made.

For more information about the art of KoKoDo, please visit Sadohana Dojo

Although this is one possible approach to preventive medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine tends to take a different view. In TCM, high cholesterol generally falls under the broad disease category known as “Phlegm” and is considered to be a type of toxin buildup in the body. This is usually a result of a poorly functioning digestive system along with improper diet.

Some of the most common foods that increase Phlegm include highly processed items such as white flour and refined sugar, along with animal products in general, and eggs and dairy in particular.

It is interesting to note that in people with allergies, these common trigger foods will often create “visible phlegm” that collects in the respiratory system and manifests as nasal congestion or even coughing up of phlegm and mucous. However, in the case of high cholesterol, TCM views this as a form of “invisible phlegm” which becomes trapped in the body and collects inside the blood vessels.

By minimizing these types of Phlegm-producing foods in our diet, significant changes can often be seen in cholesterol levels. In addition, by taking steps to strengthen the digestive system, further improvements to our health can be made.

A keen awareness of our environment, both internal and external, is also an important concept in Traditional Oriental Medicine. Because symptoms are viewed as being the result of imbalances in the body, becoming more aware of ourselves and what creates these imbalances in our lives can be useful for improving our health.

Various factors can affect our health, such as:

• type of work we do
• location & climate we live in
• seasonal weather changes throughout the year
• thoughts & emotions, especially those that tend to be repressed
• daily eating habits
• exercise type and frequency
• trauma & accidents

One suggestion for people suffering from chronic health problems is to keep a health journal. By tracking changes on a day to day basis, patterns can often be discovered, such as certain trigger factors that tend to make symptoms better or worse.

Positive changes can then be made based on these observations. For example, if a person’s back pain tends to become more noticeable towards the end of the work week, then perhaps certain postures or movements at their workplace can be improved such as repositioning their computer screen or adjusting what type of chair they use. For others, perhaps they notice their hay fever allergies improve when they have been eating less dairy products and so know to minimize or avoid this in their diet to help prevent flareups.

Sickness can often be a wake up call to become more aware of ourselves and our health, and even if we are in relatively good health, maintaining awareness in our lives can help us to stay that way.

As a New Year begins, many of us tend to make resolutions for ourselves, whether it’s losing weight, getting in better shape, or improving our overall health.

Unfortunately, most resolutions – however good-intentioned they may begin – don’t seem to last for very long. Our modern society, with a focus on quick fixes, immediate results, and instant gratification, makes it easy to fall back into old habits and patterns.

In the East, a different approach to self-improvement is taken. In fact, much could actually be learned from the Japanese manufacturing field where they used a concept known as kaizen to become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries.

Rather than looking for huge breakthroughs and dramatic progress, kaizen is an approach to improving overall quality by making small, continuous improvements in day-to-day tasks. Over a period of time, these small, seemingly insignificant changes add up and the entire production line and final end product achieves a much higher level of quality.

A similar method can also be applied to our own health resolutions and help us reach our goals:

1. Small changes – although dramatic changes may seem more exciting, it’s the daily mundane details that usually have the greatest impact on us. Going for a 15 minute walk at lunch hour or doing some deep breathing for 5 minutes before sleep may not seem like much, but it’s small changes like these that can add up throughout the day.

2. Continuous improvement – once we’ve added a few good habits and made them a regular part of our daily lives, we can always look for a few more to add, being aware that trying to start too many at once can be overwhelming.

3. Long-term commitment – because smaller changes don’t tend to be as noticeable, we need to give ourselves time to see the results. Health problems rarely happen overnight – they usually develop over a period of time, and the same is true of good health.

]]> http://www.ayacupuncture.com/blog/220/healthy-habits/feed/ 2 http://www.ayacupuncture.com/blog/78/stress-an-eastern-perspective/ http://www.ayacupuncture.com/blog/78/stress-an-eastern-perspective/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:07:58 +0000 Avery Yackel http://www.ayacupuncture.com/blog/?p=78 Although stress seems to be just an accepted part of everyday living in our modern society, it certainly is nothing new. In fact, one of the oldest Chinese medical textbooks, written over 2,000 years ago, was advising people on how to lower their stress levels so that they could live healthier and better lives.

In Eastern medicine, stress can be roughly categorized into 2 types – physical and emotional – although there is quite a bit of overlap between them because Traditional Oriental Medicine views the body, mind, and spirit as being inter-related to each other.

Physical stress can be caused by many factors, including overwork, not enough rest, environmental toxins, and simply pushing the body too much.

In terms of acupuncture theory, it is the Kidney system which is mostly affected by prolonged physical stress. In Eastern medicine, when talking about the Kidney meridian system, it relates not only to the urinary and reproductive organs, but also encompasses aspects of the entire endocrine system, including the adrenal glands.

Adrenal burnout is a relatively new medical term, but the symptoms are very similar to those classically described in Chinese medicine as “Kidney Deficiency“:

• chronic fatigue
• poor memory & concentration
• blood sugar imbalances
• lower back pain
• blood circulatory problems
• weight gain / loss
• hormonal imbalances

On the other hand, the second main type of stress – emotional stress – affects mostly the Liver meridian system, which in Eastern medicine includes not only the liver organ, but other related functions including blood circulation throughout the body, as well as the connective tissue and tendons.

Symptoms of this emotional stress on the Liver system can include things such as:

• anxiety & depression
• anger & irritability
• poor blood circulation
• menstrual problems
• headaches
• neck & shoulder pain
• digestive issues

Unfortunately, stress will always be a part of our lives, although efforts should be made to reduce it whenever possible. However, helping to regulate and strengthen the Liver and Kidney systems can be useful in allowing us to better cope with our stress and stay healthier.

Tips for dealing with Stress

1. Eat some seaweed – regularly adding moderate amounts of various seaweeds to your diet can be useful in strengthening the Kidney system. Some varieties commonly available include kelp, dulse, nori, and wakame, which can easily be added to soups and other recipes.
2. Breathe deep – besides being useful in calming down the mind when stressed, slow and deep abdominal breathing has other health benefits in regulating the Liver & Kidney systems. Focused breathing into the lower abdomen can help reduce neck and shoulder tension as well as improve overall blood circulation. One simple method that can easily be done at night when lying down in bed is to place both hands, one on top of the other, just slightly below the navel. Concentrate the mind on where the hands are places. On the inhale, imagine the sensation of a balloon gently inflating beneath the hands, and on the exhale, it should be a feeling of gently deflating. Let the inhalation last for approximately 4 – 6 seconds, and the exhalation for 6 – 8 seconds. Even just 5 or 10 minutes of daily breathing practice can have noticeable and beneficial results.

Words quite familiar to most dieters. However, in Traditional Oriental Medicine, the approach to weight loss is quite different.

According to Eastern Medicine, the digestive system, referred to as the Spleen-Pancreas system, includes many other organs such as the stomach and intestines and has the 2 primary functions of “Transformation” and “Transportation“.

The Transformation function refers to the process of breaking down food, digesting it, and absorbing the nutrients – taking food and transforming it into usable energy for the body, a view quite similar to the Western understanding of the digestive system.

On the other hand, the Transportation function of the Spleen-Pancreas system is more unique to Traditional Chinese Medicine and refers to how fluids are kept in balance throughout the body. Under normal healthy conditions, fluids are extracted from food during the Transformation process and are then transported to the various parts of the body to be used as needed, with the rest being removed as waste.

However, when this Transformation function is weakened and no longer properly processing these fluids, some of the excess can get trapped in the body, creating a condition referred to as “Dampness” which can manifest in various ways, including being stored as excess body weight.

Treatment to help lose weight, whether through acupuncture, herbal medicine, or dietary and lifestyle changes, is based on a two-fold approach of strengthening the digestive system as well as helping to directly get rid of the excess Dampness being stored in the body.

Certain foods can assist the body in draining this Dampness and should be emphasized in the diet, while other foods actually contribute to the problem and should be minimized or avoided altogether.

Incorporating small positive changes into your lifestyle and diet can assist you in achieving lasting improvements in your health as well as maintaining a healthier weight for yourself.

Tips for assisting Weight Loss

1. Don’t skip meals – having irregular eating patterns or skipping meals entirely, especially breakfast, can weaken the digestive system and should be avoided. Eating smaller, more regular meals can actually assist with losing weight. A good rule of thumb that many people find useful is to eat before you’re extremely hungry, but stop before you are completely full. It was traditionally advised to only eat until you are 4/5 full.
2. Slow down and chew well – thoroughly chewing your food allows the digestive system to work more efficiently – you’ll end up eating less food but absorbing more nutrition.

Foods to Add (Strengthen the Spleen-Pancreas)

• whole grains, especially oats, rye, & amaranth
• legumes, especially adzuki, lentils, & mung
• vegetables, especially celery, lettuce, radish, kohlrabi, & turnip
• kelp & kombu seaweed

Foods to Avoid (Remove Dampness)

• refined sugar & flour
• artificial sweeteners
• animal products in general, but eggs & dairy in particular
• refined oils, including margarine & shortening

In a particular section of this acupuncture textbook, the Emperor was asking his court physician why people of their day weren’t living as long, compared to those of ancient China.

His doctor replied:

“These days, people have changed their way of life. They drink wine as though it were water, indulge excessively in destructive activities, and deplete their energy… Seeking emotional excitement and momentary pleasures, people disregard the natural rhythm and order of the universe. They fail to regulate their lifestyle and diet, and sleep improperly. So it is not surprising that they look old at fifty and die soon after.”

This description, written over 2,000 years ago, sounds much like our own current situation and the doctor’s advice seems just as relevant for today’s society:

“Previously, people led a calm and honest existence, detached from undue desire and ambition… They were active, but never depleted themselves. Because they lived simply, these individuals knew contentment, as reflected in their diet of basic but nourishing foods and attire that was appropriate to the season… Since they were happy with their position in life, they did not feel jealousy or greed. They had compassion for others and were helpful and honest… They treated others justly, regardless of their level of intelligence or social position… They avoided over-stressing their bodies and minds, and refrained from overindulgence of all kinds. They maintained well-being of body and mind; thus, it is not surprising that they lived over one hundred years.”

Living simply and in moderation – as we face the challenges of life, this advice seems even more important than ever. As more of us search for solutions to improving and maintaining our good health, the time-tested wisdom of Traditional Oriental Medicine is able to continue to lead us into healthier and more balanced lives.