Guo Lin Qigong fights cancer

Many types of qigong are great for health and wellness, and it seems that Guo Lin may be especially desirable when cancer is the cause of illness. Below is an article all about it!

I will have to do some research, but it looks like this walking form is based on one of the Bear Movements from the Five Animals Frolic Qigong, an especially powerful wellness practice, one of the Health Qigong forms sanctioned by the Chinese government, and one of the oldest forms recorded - a fragment describing the Five Animals has been dated to 200 C. E.

Some studies show practising qigong helps to fight against cancer

By Channel NewsAsia's China Correspondent Glenda Chong

Posted: 12 October 2009 1519 hrs

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/health/view/1010774/1/.html

SHANGHAI: The stress of modern living had prompted many around the world to learn qigong. Recent joint studies from China and the United States also show that qigong can help cancer patients live longer.

One community club in Shanghai is practising a form of qigong that has helped members recover from life-threatening illnesses over the past 20 years.

Cancer survivor Qiu Jia Ming, 65, who suffered from pancreatic cancer years ago, said: "I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer when I was 50 years old and the doctor told me I only had three months to live. But I've survived 14 years now."

Another cancer survivor, Yin Xiao Ling, suffered from nasal malignant granulomatosis 22 years ago.

"I'm 57 and have been practising qigong for 22 years. I was diagnosed with nasal malignant granulomatosis, a very rare cancer, and doctors said I only had six months to a year to live at the most.

"So when I was discharged from hospital, I didn't go home. I went to join the Guolin Qigong Club. Doctors said it was a miracle that I survived beyond a year," said Yin.

Even the head of the cancer rehabilitation club is convinced of the benefits of qigong against cancer. Yuan Zheng Ping was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma 28 years ago and after studying Guolin qigong in Beijing, he started the Shanghai Cancer Rehabilitation Club in 1989 to teach others like him.

"It's not only a physical exercise, it is also a psychological practice of breathing using rhythmic exercises, thereby taking in a lot of oxygen. This is beneficial because it increases immunity and help fight the cancer.

"We did a survey in 1993 with 1,500 cancer patients and discovered that after five years of practising Goulin qigong, there was about 85 per cent recovery rate. In 2003, we did another comprehensive study and found that out of 7,000 cancer sufferers, more than 60 per cent of them survived for more than five years," said Yuan.

With such high success rate, there is now more attention paid to this form of exercise. Initial results from studies conducted by the University of Illinois and Shanghai University of Sports show that practising Cailin qigong can help cancer patients live longer and give them a better quality of life.

Wang Changwei is the researcher behind a new study programme sponsored by the US-based National Cancer Institute. Her first phase of research centred on those who regularly practise qigong and it showed that this group of practitioners have a lower rate of cancer reoccurrence than others.

She said: "From our current study, regardless of quality of life, exercise ability or health conditions, those who practised Guolin qigong are far better off than those who don't exercise qigong.

"We did an 11-month observation and found that oxygen intake of those who practise Guolin qigong was higher and when they are at rest, the oxygen level is the same. This means that they inhale more oxygen during their practice. Their breathing method of inhaling twice and exhaling once helped to improve their oxygen intake."

Even doctors who specialise in Western medicine believe there are benefits to practising qigong. But they said there may be other causes that are helping cancer patients recover from their illnesses.

Gao Yong, a doctor at Shanghai East Hospital, said: "Qigong can help patients forget the pain of the disease. Also, the exercise is a team activity. Practitioners encourage and support each other. There is more confidence when they see others recover. I think this is the real benefit of qigong.

"The study has only just started about two or three years ago. A large scale study is needed and should take about three to five years, or even longer, for a more detailed observation of the benefits."

China sees about 2.2 million cancer cases yearly, with one in five dying from the disease.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You may watch videos here:

Guo Lin Qigong cancer cure walk with Grand Master Jack Lim

His website:

http://www.relaxationmusic.com.au/CancerYouCanBeatItVideo.htm

Google Video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7571355297237989936#

'Green' exercise quickly 'boosts mental health'

This is a reprint from BBC News. The original may be found at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8654350.stm

Of course this makes a lot of sense! Getting outside into fresh air and sunshine (without the sunscreen, if you please!) is wonderfully uplifiting mentally, not to mention all the great things it does for you physically.

Mentally, the quiet alone reduces stress and worry reducing levels of stress hormones, and the sounds of the birds and animals is enjoyful which raises levels of good hormones. Just breathing fresh air is uplifting! Water sounds are always soothing - they often take us back to that primal water sound we were so comforted by in the womb. 

Physically, natural Vitamin D from sunshine supports many health functions in the body, and fresh air can do worlds of good in making sure your body is properly oxygenated.

Can you imagine just how great it would be to do qigong (aka Chinese moving yoga) in a beautiful, restful outdoor setting?! It sure would do a lot more than "boost mental health"!

Enjoy the article!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just five minutes of exercise in a "green space" such as a park can boost mental health, researchers claim.

There is growing evidence that combining activities such as walking or cycling with nature boosts well-being.

In the latest analysis, UK researchers looked at evidence from 1,250 people in 10 studies and found fast improvements in mood and self-esteem.

The study in the Environmental Science and Technology journal suggested the strongest impact was on young people.

The research looked at many different outdoor activities including walking, gardening, cycling, fishing, boating, horse-riding and farming in locations such as a park, garden or nature trail.

The biggest effect was seen within just five minutes.

With longer periods of time exercising in a green environment, the positive effects were clearly apparent but were of a smaller magnitude, the study found.

Looking at men and women of different ages, the researchers found the health changes - physical and mental - were particularly strong in the young and the mentally-ill.

Green and blue

A bigger effect was seen with exercise in an area that also contained water - such as a lake or river.

Study leader Jules Pretty, a researcher at the University of Essex, said those who were generally inactive, or stressed, or with mental illness would probably benefit the most from "green exercise".

"Employers, for example, could encourage staff in stressful workplaces to take a short walk at lunchtime in the nearest park to improve mental health."

He also said exercise programmes outdoors could benefit youth offenders.

"A challenge for policy makers is that policy recommendations on physical activity are easily stated but rarely adopted widely."

Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said the research is yet further evidence that even a short period of green exercise can provide a low cost and drug-free therapy to help improve mental wellbeing.

"It's important that people experiencing depression can be given the option of a range of treatments, and we would like to see all doctors considering exercise as a treatment where appropriate."

Mind runs a grant scheme for local environmental projects to help people with mental illness get involved in outdoor activities.

Qigong Reduces Stress In Hospital Staff

I thought this was pretty good research: not only is qigong good for the patients, it's really great for the hospital staff, too!

Hospital Administrators, if you aren't offering qigong classes for your staff, read the research below and then start Googling for a qigong instructor in your area!

Qigong stress reduction in hospital staff.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18823261   

J Altern Complement Med. 2008 Oct;14(8):939-45.

Griffith JM, Hasley JP, Liu H, Severn DG, Conner LH, Adler LE.

Department of Psychiatry, VISN 19 MIRECC, and University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Denver, CO, USA. jaymgriffithmd@aol.com

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a qigong training program in reducing stress in hospital staff.

METHODS: Subjects were randomly assigned to a 6-week intervention of either qigong practice (n = 16) or a waiting list (n = 21). The primary measure of stress was the Perceived Stress Scale. Secondary measures included the Short Form 36 (SF-36) quality-of-life measure and a 100-mm analog pain scale.

RESULTS: The qigong group demonstrated a statistically significant reduction of perceived stress compared to the control group (p = 0.02). On the Social Interaction subscale of the SF-36, the qigong group demonstrated greater improvement compared to controls (p = 0.04). Within-groups analyses demonstrated that the qigong group (p = 0.03), but not the control group, experienced a significant reduction of pain intensity. A regression analysis demonstrated an association between higher baseline stress levels and greater improvement within the qigong group (R(2) = 0.34; p = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that short-term exposure to qigong was effective in reducing stress in hospital staff. Further studies are needed to evaluate the possible effectiveness of qigong in reducing pain and in improving quality of life.

=========================================

Email me at bewellwithmichelle@gmail.com if you are interested in a class, or check out the qigong styles I offer; classes may be purchased online.

Type D Personality and How To Overcome theHealth Risks of Chronic Anxiety, Negativity, and Stress with Affirmations, Meditation, and Qigong

Type D Personality and How To Overcome theHealth Risks of Chronic Anxiety, Negativity, and Stress with Affirmations, Meditation, and Qigong

The article below is reprinted from Bottom Line's Daily Health News email newsletter of  March 9, 2010

What I love best about it is that it advocates the use of Meditation and Qigong (related to both tai-chi and yoga) to regain health and wellness. Affirmations would also work well in this situation, especially if you have a recording on iPod or CD that you listen to at night while asleep. These are very powerful techniques time-tested and study-proven to facilitate self-healing.

Are You a Type D Personality?

You’re probably aware of whether you tend toward a type A or type B personality, since those labels are part of our lexicon. What you may not know, however, is that there is a third type -- type D -- and it’s not a great category to find yourself in. The D stands for distress, and a growing body of research links this personality type with a variety of health risks and even early death -- so it may be especially important for these inhibited and gloomy folks to do everything they can to lighten up.

Remember Eeyore -- the sad, self-conscious donkey character in Winnie-the-Pooh? To my mind, he is a perfect illustration of the type D personality. He always expected the worst and therefore, that’s what he usually got. Traits associated with this personality type include social inhibition, a negative self-image, depressed mood, hostility, tension, chronic anger and a tendency to overreact to stressful events.


Type D & Death Risk

It’s already known that having this type D personality elevates risk for people who have had heart attacks, cardiac bypass surgery and/or stent implants. In new research from the University of Tilburg in the Netherlands, scientists set out to determine the impact of these characteristics on people with a common condition called peripheral artery disease (PAD), a circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs. People who have PAD have four to five times greater risk for heart attack and stroke.

Researchers asked 184 patients (average age 65) diagnosed with PAD to fill out a 14-item personality questionnaire to assess character traits, such as negativity and social inhibition. They rated statements such as "I would rather keep people at a distance" and "I often find myself worrying about something" as false or true on a scale of zero to four. During the next four years, 16 patients (9%) died -- six of cardiovascular disease, seven of cancer and one each from emphysema, pneumonia and acute pancreatitis. After factoring in other variables such as age, gender, diabetes and kidney disease, investigators learned that those with type D personalities were more than three times as likely to have died as those who were Type A or B.



How Distress Raises Risk

There are numerous pathways linking this particular personality type with poor health outcomes, I learned from study coauthor Johan Denollet, PhD, a professor of medical psychology at Tilburg University. Some are physical, other behavioral. For instance, Type D individuals tend to...

•    Experience chronic anxiety and negativity. Living in such a state has a variety of physical effects on your body, none beneficial. Chronic stress drives up levels of inflammatory proteins called cytokines, which leads to increased oxidative stress and contributes to disease. The adrenal glands respond to stress by pumping out cortisol, the hormone that helps us meet perceived threats. Having high and prolonged levels of cortisol in the bloodstream causes serious problems, including blood sugar imbalances, reduced immunity, slower wound healing and increased abdominal fat.

•    Have poor health habits. Research has shown that people with type D personalities often neglect their health by eating improperly, not having medical checkups and being sedentary.

•    Are unlikely to be proactive in seeking medical care. Perhaps because they are unable to express their emotions and are tense, insecure and uncomfortable in social situations, type D individuals are often slow to seek the medical help they need. In one study, type D patients with chronic heart failure experienced more cardiac symptoms and worried more about them than other people but, paradoxically, were less likely to discuss them with health-care professionals. Other research demonstrates that heart failure patients with "inadequate consultation behavior" face a six-fold increased risk for impaired health.


What Can Help

Generally speaking, you can’t change your personality -- but if you recognize these traits in yourself or a loved one, there are plenty of things you can do to address the issues and minimize the impact on your health. For example, Dr. Denollet notes that type D personalities are more likely to experience anxiety and depression -- and points out that these can be managed to a significant degree with counseling and/or medication. Other strategies include...

•    Adopting healthier lifestyle behaviors, such as better diet and regular exercise.

•    Participating in programs or counseling to conquer addictions, such as smoking or alcohol abuse, or to improve social skills and learn to relax.

•    Using techniques such as guided imagery, breathing exercises, meditation, tai chi and yoga to help manage stress and mood and learn to control anger and hostility.

While you can’t change who you are, if you have a type D personality, you can take these concrete steps to make yourself healthier and, I’ll bet, happier.

Source(s):

Johan Denollet, PhD, professor of medical psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.

* * * End Quote * * *


If you would like help applying Affirmations, Meditation, or Qigong (Chi Kung) practice to this debilitating health issue, contact me at bewellwithmichelle@gmail.com

Genetic Disease Isn't Caused By Defective Genes

This information is – finally! – seeping into our knowledge base and into our consciousness. More and more, it's being proven that your mind and emotions are in control of your physical wellness. Rather than genetic dysfunction, disease is really an indication of imbalance in your mind-body-spirit.

The article below is reprinted from Mercola.com, but there is also an excellent report written in 2008 by Dr Roger Jahnke, founder and director of the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi, demonstrating how the practice of qigong can control the genetic expression of disease. To read that report in Adobe Acrobat format, follow this link: Researching the Benefits of Mind-Body Practice by Investigating Genetic Expression



Here is Dr Mercola's article on this emerging understanding of the role of the mind-body consciousness and connection in determining how we manifest disease.

Radical New Understanding of Genetic Disease

Posted by: Dr. Mercola March 02 2010

The theory of the genetic origin of diseases is one of the most firmly upheld doctrines of today's medicine.

Medical science claims that cancer is brought on by "mistakes in DNA replication," causing cells to gradually change from normal to "abnormal" and eventually to "malignant" cells.

Studies in the science of Epigenetics show that genes are by no means 'set in stone' but that they can alter themselves in response to a person's environment.
In short, the DNA and thus the biology of an organism are constantly adjusting themselves to signals from outside the cells, including energetic information arising from thoughts and beliefs.

Diseases such as cancer are not caused by defective genes, as claimed by mainstream geneticists, but rather by non-genetic factors that alter the expression of genes without changing the DNA sequence.

Your brain controls all processes in your body. By comparing brain CT scans with medical records and personal histories, it becomes evident that emotional trauma or "conflict shock" leaves a visible mark in precisely the same area of the brain that controls the disease process.

In fact, diseases are not senseless "disorders" but in reality meaningful biological processes trying to save an organism rather than to destroy it. Your whole organism is engaged in facilitating a conflict resolution. The conflict-related organ responds with functional changes to assist the individual on the physical level during the unexpected distress.

A positive attitude, letting go of anger, feelings of trust and forgiveness can significantly reduce the intensity and duration of a conflict and therefore the "disease"-symptoms.

German New Medicine shifts or rather elevates "prevention" and "healing" to a level where the biology of human beings can be understood as intimately connected with spirituality and a chance for spiritual growth.

An understanding of GNM and the Five Biological Laws has in itself a healing effect as it liberates your mind from fear and inspires trust in the creative wisdom of Mother Nature.

Sources:

Learning GNM 2009



Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If you have not yet heard of epigenetics, I’d like to introduce you to it right now. Epigenetics is probably the most important biological discovery since DNA -- and it is turning the biological sciences upside down.

Where it was once taught (and still largely believed in many conventional medical circles) that you are a victim to your genes, helpless to the whims of the genetic roadmap you received from your parents, it’s now known that your genes in no way are the final arbiter of your health.

It is important to realize that you are in control of your genes … and are changing them often -- daily and perhaps even hourly -- based on the foods you eat, the air you breathe, and the thoughts you think. It’s your environment and lifestyle that dictates your tendency to express disease.

The problem is, once you understand that –your health is not dictated by your genes and that they don’t control themselves but are controlled by environmental influences that tell them to be expressed or not expressed -- it just blows everything out of the water.

It’s now known that your habits are more important than your genes! But please realize that, depending on your choices, the changes you influence can be good or bad. It works both ways.




Your Mind is at the Helm

Epigenetics literally means "above the genes." And what is above the genes?

Your mind!

Bruce Lipton’s “New Biology” is another school of scientific thought that adds to this “new” way of thinking about disease.

In his book, The Biology of Belief, Dr. Lipton explains the foundation of epigenetics, and how the true secret to life does not lie within your DNA, but rather within the mechanisms of the cell membrane. In this way -- which is contrary to conventional medical science -- it is actually the cell’s membrane -- operating in response to environmental signals picked up by the membrane’s receptors -- that control the “reading” of the genes inside.

The Biology of Belief














What does this mean?

Again, it means that you are not controlled by your genetic makeup. Instead, your genetic readout (which genes are turned “on” and which are turned “off”) is primarily determined by your thoughts, attitudes, and perceptions!


German New Medicine

Another eipgentic model is German New Medicine (GNM), which operates under the premise that every disease, including cancer, originates from an unexpected shock experience.

This experience does not necessarily have to appear traumatic to others, however; it’s simply shocking and unexpected to you. Someone else may not react or deal with it the same way when put in a similar situation.

According to GNM, the resolution phase -- the healing phase -- is as long as the trauma phase, which is why you are recommended to always deal with your emotional trauma as swiftly as possible. The faster you resolve your trauma, mentally and emotionally, the faster your body can proceed through the healing phase.

Now, why is this important?

You want your healing phase to be as short as possible, because GNM also claims that all “diseases” are in fact your body going through the resolution phase, meaning what appears to be a disease is in fact your body healing itself.

Serious trouble can arise if your trauma phase was quite extended, as your body will need the equal amount of time to heal – which will appear as a “disease” -- as it took for the initial damage to take place.

Why do Diseases Run in Families?

If you are not a slave to your inherited genes, then why is it that diseases often run in families? The answer to this appears to be hiding in plain sight.

As German New Medicine explains:

“Since families share the same cultural and social conditioning, the same indoctrinations, the same beliefs, and so forth, they often experience the same type of conflicts, causing the same "diseases."”

Dr. Hamer uses the example of Lou Gehrig's (ALS) and Huntington Disease (HD) as "genetic disorders" that are passed on through generations. GNM continues:

“According to Dr. Hamer's discoveries, the biological conflict linked to the muscles is "not being able to escape," "feeling tied down," or "feeling stuck," resulting in muscle paralysis during the conflict-active phase.


A daughter or son of a parent with such a muscle "disorder" is naturally much more susceptible to experience a "stuck"-conflict. We must also keep in mind that any biological conflict shock can be experienced with or for another person, particularly when the distress concerns a close loved one.”

But the distinction here is that diseases may run in families due to similar emotional experiences … but they need not. As GNM states:

“Even if members of a family or generations of families experience the same type of conflicts, the conflict shock itself is still a highly personal event which in that instant involves solely the brain, or rather the brain-relay, of the person suffering the conflict at that particular time.


This is why diseases cannot be passed on to future generations nor can they be genetically inherited from a family member or ancestor, either genetically or "epigenetically."”


You are Now Free to Go on With Your Life

The major problem with believing the myth that your genes control your life is that you become a victim of your heredity. Since you can’t change your genes, it essentially means that your life is predetermined, and therefore you have very little control over your health.

The new science reveals that your perceptions control your biology, and this places you in the role of Master, because if you can change your perceptions, you can shape and direct your own genetic readout.

It places YOU in the power position, for better or worse.

So if you have been living in fear of an inherited disease, this “new” research sets you free.

But, these ideas are not really new.

Bruce Lipton, much like Dr. Hamer, has been at it for more than 20 years. The only “new” aspect here is the fact that they are finally able to provide overwhelming, and in many cases indisputable scientific proof of HOW it actually works -- even down to the cellular level.

As it turns out, this is not a popular truth.

People are not embracing these facts with open arms, jumping for joy at being told, “You are completely in charge of your health!” For most, it’s a frightening proposition, despite its promise of ultimate freedom.

But please realize that this is not only an abstract realm … you can use this information in practical ways.


How to Heal Your Emotional Traumas

If your thoughts and emotions play such a significant role in modifying your biology and your health (and I believe they do), then treating your emotions becomes an essential part of optimal health.

Terms like “energy medicine” and “energy psychology” are terms that have sprung up in response to these shifts in perception of reality, and I’ve long been an advocate of energy psychology tools to address underlying emotional traumas that can trigger disease, or keep you locked in a disease pattern.

Meridian tapping technique (MTT) and emotional freedom technique (EFT), for example, which work on several levels of your collective mind-body-spirit simultaneously, can help you get a better handle on your emotions and buried pain, including the stress from unexpected tragedies.

Optimal health might really hinge on dealing with, and resolving your emotional traumas as quickly as possible; not letting old emotional wounds linger and fester.

So if you have old or new emotional wounds that you have not yet dealt with, please take the time to give MTT/EFT a try.

And in the meantime, as you make a conscious effort to eat healthy and exercise each day, make an effort to control your thoughts and beliefs, as well. Keep your thoughts positive and your feelings will follow suit … likely to great benefit within your body.

This is a reprint of a Yahoo! Health article by Dr Maoshing Ni. Dr. Ni is the son of the Daoist Master Ni Hua Ching who has written many excellent books on Daoism and the Yijing (I Ching). I am lucky enough to have as a friend two of Master Ni's former students, one of whom is my own Yijing mentor.

This article was originally published by Yahoo at http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/24009/what-your-face-reveals-about-your-health/

Enjoy!

What Your Face Reveals About Your Health

By Dr. Maoshing Ni - Posted on Fri, Feb 19, 2010, 10:52 am PST


What do you see when you look in the mirror? According to Chinese medicine, your face is a window to your health. Your forehead, nose, chin, right cheek, left cheek: Each of these five face zones gives you clues to what is going on inside your body--if you know what to look for! Read on to decode what your face reveals about you.


How Traditional Chinese Medicine Reads the Body to Detect Disease


Most people don't realize that their face provides information about what's going on beneath the surface. Your body speaks a unique language to communicate the imbalances within it. Chinese medicine has mastered the art and science of reading the body's language over its five thousand year practice. Each part of your face reflects a different element from the Chinese 5-Element network (fire, earth, water, metal, and wood), which in turn, corresponds to a particular organ grouping. Your reflection offers visual cues to what may be happening within your internal systems--such as your heart, stomach, hormones and even your mind and spirit.

In some situations visual cues will immediately alert you of an issue, and you can take measures immediately. But the real value of self-inspection is in detecting subtle imbalances and dealing with them preventively through diet, herbal supplementation, and lifestyle practices. By reading your body, you can take care of small problems before they become big health issues.


The Forehead

According to Chinese medicine, the forehead corresponds to the fire element. This is associated with the heart and small intestine organ network, as well as the mind and spirit.

 

Forehead: Fire Element - Heart/Small Intestine

When examining your forehead, look for redness or small blood vessels that appear as discoloration, which could indicate a heart problem. Skin discoloration could also be caused by a recent emotionally-charged experience, such as a breakup or loss. It is common for people whose emotions are regularly in turmoil to have a constant furrow between their eyebrows.

A heart attack can often be foretold by a subtle bluish-green hue on the forehead. If you have discoloration on your forehead accompanied by heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, and tingling or pain in your left arm, schedule an appointment with a cardiologist or visit an emergency room, if necessary.


Your Nose

Your nose corresponds to the earth element, indicating a connection to the stomach, spleen and pancreas network.

Nose: Earth Element - Spleen/Pancreas/Stomach

Symptoms of internal discord typically show up as a pimple on the tip or side of your nose. Think back to your meals from the previous day. Did you eat a lot of spicy, deep-fried, fatty, or rich foods? How about chocolate? If the answer is "yes," your choice of cuisine could be the problem. As a result, you may suffer from indigestion, constipation, or diarrhea.

Broken capillaries or redness across the bridge of the nose could reveal alcohol abuse, or it may simply mean excessive worry and stress, which taxes your earth element network. I had a patient who would de-stress from her taxing executive job with alcohol and sweets, and her nose always gave these indiscretions away. I recommended she calm her nerves in healthier ways, like meditation and other stress-releasing techniques.


Your Chin

The chin area is related to the water element, which is internally associated to your kidney and bladder organ network, including the hormonal system and glands.

 Chin: Water Element - Kidney/Bladder

Blemishes, discoloration and dark patches of skin around the chin and mouth could indicate problems within the kidneys or bladder. Recurrent acne breakouts around your chin may signify a hormonal imbalance. The problem is most often due to the body producing excess estrogen or testosterone and tends to be coupled with irregular menstruation in women and prostate symptoms in men.

Be sure to also look at your philtrum, the indentation just above your lips. This small area relates to the uterus and ovaries in women and the prostate and genitals in men. Horizontal lines, blemishes or discoloration across the philtrum may indicate infertility issues due to problems such as endometriosis or uterine fibroid cysts.

According to Chinese medicine, people who have a small chin are genetically predispositioned to weakness in their kidney and bladder network. However, this doesn't mean that small-chinned people will develop kidney disease. The information is simply an alert that a tendency may exist, and patients can choose to make lifestyle changes to prevent the development of a condition.


Your Right Cheek

Your right cheek corresponds to the metal element, meaning this area of your face is connected to the lung and large intestine network.

 Right Cheek: Metal Element - Lung/Large Intenstine

Problems in the lung and large intestine network present themselves as discoloration, blemishes and skin problems on your right cheek. A mild acne breakout, eczema patch or slight redness may mean a cold is coming on. Lung illness or upper respiratory ailments also trigger visual symptoms on the right cheek.

People who are prone to respiratory allergies or asthma have a tendency to have a reddish, scaly eczema, a slight rash or slight bluish-green hue along the right cheek--showing too much heat or inflammation in the respiratory system, or a lack of oxygen from bronchial constriction. One of my many pediatric patients who suffered from allergic asthma always displayed an eczema-like patch right before a flare up of her allergy attack, a very useful tip off. I instructed her mother to treat her right away with herbs for allergies to avert an asthma attack.


Your Left Cheek

The left cheek corresponds to your wood element, or the liver-gallbladder network.

Left Cheek: Wood Element - Liver/Gallbladder

Broken capillaries and redness, especially up next to the bridge of your nose, indicate heat, inflammation or congestion of toxins in the liver. Bulging veins, redness, and rash sometimes signal high blood pressure and pent-up anger. A yellowish hue under the left eye may indicate gallstones or high triglycerides or cholesterol, which are processed by the liver-gall bladder network.

Problems in this part of the face can also reveal emotional issues, such as anger and depression, since the liver and gallbladder network includes the nervous system.

Please keep in mind that there are many ways that your body alerts you to imbalances. As you learn this visual method, you'll want to be able to confirm your findings from one body part with observations from others, such as the eyes, tongue, and nails. Want to learn more? Get your own copy of Secrets of Self-Healing, where you can find in-depth information.

Keep all five elements healthy and get a whole body tune-up with a balanced combination of 44 traditional Chinese herbs that support healthy function of the bodily systems, the Five Elements of Health Formula.

I hope this article helps you find out what your face is telling you! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

-Dr. Mao

This blog is meant to educate, but it should not be used as a substitute for personal medical advice. The reader should consult his or her physician or clinician for specific information concerning specific medical conditions. While all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that all information presented is accurate, as research and development in the medical field is ongoing, it is possible that new findings may supersede some data presented.

==========================================

Transform your health and bring quality to your years with Dr. Mao's natural health products from the Tao of Wellness

Order Dr. Mao's new book Second Spring: Hundreds of Natural Secrets for Women to Revitalize and Regenerate at Any Age.

Learn hundreds of ways for living a long and happy life with Dr. Mao's book Secrets of Longevity.

Find out amazing ways you can naturally increase your energy and heal common ailments in Secrets of Self-Healing, Dr. Mao's landmark book on natural healing.

To learn more about Dr. Mao and other natural health tips, go to askdrmao.com.

How Eight Pieces Brocade builds bone density

This is my Creative Health Tip for this week posted to the Believing Is Seeing blog, and since it describes one of the moves in the Eight Pieces of Brocade, it fits well here, too!





I say this without any hint of sarcasm, honest, but I really love it when science catches up with three-thousand year old Chinese medicine. That can be a great motivator to people who want to try a holistic health modality but aren't sure if it works.

I have here a pamphlet sent out as an invitation to subscribe to "Prevention," a magazine dedicated to health and wellness.

One of the articles is titled "The 60-Second Bone Builder." The article does not mention Chinese medicine, but the advice given in how to build bone density is the very essence of one of the movement positions in Eight Pieces of Brocade Qigong, a practice proven to increase bone density!

The article Says, "…..high impact exercises put strain on your bones, stimulating new bone growth." A little further down it says, "You need to subject your bones to more impact than what they're used to," agrees an MD at Stanford University. So if you're inactive, start walking. And if you're already walking, add a simple 60-second jog."

The reason for jogging is that bones, because they are so dense, need the additional impact as resistance. Just as you build muscles with resistance training by lifting weights, you build bone density with resistance of high-impact exercises.

In the Eight Pieces of Brocade Qigong, there is a position that includes exactly this type of high-impact training. (See the end of the article for results of a study of qigong on bone density.)

The practice is this: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, letting your arms hang loosely and naturally at your sides. Rise up on your toes for a count of three and then drop so that your heels hit the ground with a thud. Do this for one minute. When done, stand still and breathe deeply for about a minute.

There you have it: a high-impact, bone-building practice that is so simple you can do it any time and any where.