In Chinese medicine, you have three burners that work together to supply you with the chi that you need to sustain you throughout your life. For optimal health, each burner needs the proper fuel. The upper burner is found in the thoracic cavity and includes the heart and lungs. The fuel for this burner is air. The middle burner is found in the abdominal cavity. This burner includes all the different digestive organs and it runs on food. The lower burner is found in the pelvic cavity and includes the kidney and bladder. As you may have guessed, this burner runs on water. It is important to understand that these three fuels not only power their respective burner, they are also the raw material source that the burners use to extract chi for your entire body. From cells to tissues, to individual organs, to the synchronized functions among the organs in each of the three cavities, the Triple Burner represents the highest level of complexity - the coordination of all of our internal organ systems as they work together to mutually support and nourish each other.
Upper Burner - AIR Let's start with the upper burner. Since this burner runs on air, one of the best ways to fuel it is by doing aerobic exercise. This is the type of exercise that gets us moving, opens our lungs, and gets our hearts pumping. Examples of aerobic exercise include dancing, swimming, jogging, gardening, biking, and brisk walks. Low-impact exercises like these are considered ideal in Chinese medicine, especially when done regularly because they keep our chi moving without putting us at too much risk for injury. Since all of your cells require oxygen to function, the confirmed medical benefits of aerobic exercise are many, including stronger lungs and heart, improved circulation, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, a higher total number of red blood cells in the body, reduction in stress and depression, better cognition, higher energy levels, enhanced weight loss, and a reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease, blood clots, and stroke. Another way to fuel your upper burner is to go out and get some fresh air. Too many of us spend the majority of our time indoors where the air is stale. Whether this means enjoying a cup of tea on your front porch, laying on the beach, napping on a blanket in a field, or going into the woods for a picnic, there is a lot more chi in fresh air. Since plants produce the oxygen that we breathe, being immersed in the forest, as we can do here, is one of the best ways to fuel your upper burner. Even when you're not getting exercise, the benefits of fresh air are many, including cleansing the lungs, improving mental focus, accelerating healing, boosting immunity, enhancing energy levels, lowering blood pressure and heart rate, and reducing the effects of stress.
Middle Burner - FOOD Since the middle burner runs on food, Chinese medicine puts a lot of emphasis on diet in health. To nourish your body, foods that are fresh, seasonal, organic, and whole are best. What are whole foods? They include unprocessed, single ingredients like fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, fish, meat, and eggs. These contain the highest levels of nutrients, especially chi, something that is only found in fresh foods. Foods that are dried, frozen, canned, or highly processed are not only nutritionally inferior, they have typically been dead for months or even years before we eat them, so they do not contain any of the vital life force that is chi. In addition to chi, a whole foods diet provides the highest levels of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and fatty acids, while being low in sugar and trans fats. Because every cell in your body requires nutrients, known medical benefits of this type of diet include stronger teeth and bones, a healthier intestinal microbiome, regular bowel movements, reductions in heart disease, diabetes, triglycerides, blood sugar, and inflammation, and benefits to our emotional health. Eating foods in season not only provides us with the freshest of foods by default, it also helps us adapt and adjust to changes in the weather, making us more resilient to illness and imbalance. For example, leafy greens and fruit, which mature in spring and summer, are lighter and juicer so they are best for keeping us cool and hydrated during that time of year, while squashes and root vegetables, which mature in fall and winter, are denser and heartier so they are better for keeping us warm and nourished when it is cold. We are extremely fortunate in Asheville to be surrounded by an abundance of skilled and dedicated farmers, and I encourage you to support our local farmer's markets for the freshest seasonal foods.
Lower Burner - WATER The lower burner is the third and final burner that we will look at today. In ancient Chinese medicine, the best fuel for this burner would have been wild, naturally flowing water like springs and streams. Water that comes from a pure source and has found its own meandering pathway would be considered the ideal source for optimal chi. In fact, Chinese medicine often uses the metaphor of water as a way to describe the nature of chi and the way it flows within our bodies. For example, just like a stream will stagnate if it runs too low, we are more likely to become less motivated when we are run down. Or, like a river after a landslide, the flow of the chi in the acupuncture channels can become blocked by injury, causing pain. There isn't a single tissue or organ that can perform optimally without water so the benefits of hydration are many and varied. Water helps us flush out metabolic toxins and regulate our body temperature. It is essential for keeping our mucosal membranes moist and our joints lubricated. It helps us digest food and absorb nutrients and can even boost energy and improve cognition. Adequate hydration also helps prevent heat stroke, constipation, kidney stones, urinary tract infections, and hypertension. Fortunately, in Asheville, our municipal water reservoirs are fed by mountain springs and streams. Perhaps even more so, we are lucky to have recreational access to multiple wild rivers and waterfalls. If you really want to refresh yourself and boost your chi, I highly recommend taking a plunge into one of these!
Spring begins this year on Saturday, March 20th. This is the equinox, when there is equal day and night, with the light continuing to increase a little bit every day until its peak in June at the summer solstice. In Chinese medicine spring is nature's official new year, with plants rising from the earth, awakening from the slumber of winter to bloom and be nourished by the sun. You may feel this rising energy too. Perhaps you want to do some spring cleaning, begin a new project, start a garden, or get out and move more after the semi-hibernation of winter. You might even be thinking about a new diet or health plan. This is the time to flourish and blossom, a fresh new start.
Spring means the color green everywhere you look. As they come up to say hello all sorts of sprouts and tender young leaves are available once again after winter's diet of canned goods, preserves, and heavy foods like meats, stews, and roots. Edible medicinal weeds are suddenly growing wild all over our gardens and yards: bittercress, dandelion, chickweed, yellow dock, violet, nettles, wood sorrel, and more. As wild plants, these greens are especially high in chi, the vital force that powers everything in the universe including you. As local and seasonal foods, eating them is an excellent way to help us adapt to the changes in our regional climate and promote the seasonal physiological shifts we undergo as winter turns to spring. Like all leafy greens, they are low in calories but high in nutrients like minerals and chlorophyll, which is almost identical to our hemoglobin so it helps refresh our blood. Greens are also alkalizing, loaded with antioxidants like A and D, and high in fiber, helping your body neutralize and eliminate excess waste and toxins. The bitterness of greens is especially effective at countering what we call heat in Chinese medicine: fever, infections, inflammation, and toxicity.
In Chinese medicine, the energy peaks in different organ systems at different times of the year and spring is the season of the wood element, the system that is governed by the liver. Just as this is nature's season of rejuvenation, the liver has an amazing capacity to do so as well, with the ability to regrow even when over half of it is injured, diseased, or removed. The liver carries out many metabolic functions, including the filtering of toxins from the blood and the processing of fats. It can safely neutralize all sorts of harmful substances and, just as the color of spring is green, the liver produces bile, a green emulsifying liquid that helps us metabolize fats. When we take in a lot of heavy foods, eat too much, don't eat enough fresh foods, and don't exercise enough, as we do in winter, the liver can get overloaded and sluggish. Between the onset of spring and its opportunity for a fresh start, the wide availability of leafy greens, and the energy peaking in the wood element system right now, this is the perfect time to do a liver cleanse. Isn't it amazing how nature gives us exactly what we need to be healthy exactly when we need it?
Following are my suggestions for a liver cleanse. If you want to keep it simple just focus on eating some leafy greens every day and reducing your intake of toxins and intoxicants. A recommended period of time for you to cleanse is five to ten days.
Since 2006 there has been a new style of medical clinic popping up all over the country that goes by the name “community acupuncture.” Practitioners at these clinics treat multiple patients at the same time in the same room, dividing their overhead costs among a higher volume of patients. This allows them to charge a lower rate per treatment, which makes their services accessible to more people. However, this system requires that they divide their time and attention among that many more patients and it significantly limits which acupuncture points can be used. While I agree that healthcare in our country is overpriced and that the more people receiving acupuncture the better, imitating the high volume model of mainstream medicine negatively affects the quality of care. Paradoxically, those who practice community acupuncture advertise their services as more traditional and more effective than private one-on-one sessions. Below are five points that are commonly found on the websites of community acupuncture clinics and a refutation of each.
In the long history of medicine in Asia, acupuncture has been practiced in many different ways. For example, there were the traveling healers (the famous "barefoot doctors") who made a living doing the rounds of nearby villages on foot. Then there were the practitioners who worked for the upper class and royal families, who offered private treatments on a strict one-on-one basis, considered to be the optimal ratio for the highest quality health care. Often, these highly skilled acupuncturists would be hired exclusively by a wealthy family to be their personal physician. Yes, there were also clinics where patients were seen together in large rooms.
Even today in China practitioners work in a variety of settings, including community clinics, just as they do here in America. However, there are two very important distinctions between Chinese and American community clinics. First, in China, it is not considered taboo to disrobe in front of strangers like it is here in America, especially in a medical setting. Because of this, Chinese patients may completely undress, even if there are others around. Since this is not done in America, it means that community acupuncture here is limited to the points that can be accessed only while fully clothed. Second, in China clinics use regular examination tables for treatments while here community acupuncture is usually done with patients reclining in armchairs. This means that in America community acupuncture is typically limited by the inability to access any of the points on the back of the body. So in community acupuncture, as it is practiced in America, over half of the total acupuncture points are inaccessible. This is especially problematic when dealing with chronic conditions, which respond best when the area is treated directly.
In Chinese medicine, there is no frequency of treatment that is considered to be ideal for all conditions. This is actually determined in many ways, especially by how long you have had your condition and by your overall state of health. For example, the longer you have had something, the less often you will need treatments. This is because chronic conditions tend to both develop and resolve more slowly, gradually shifting over time. Also, if your health is poor your ability to heal can be compromised, so your condition will resolve more slowly. On the other hand, conditions that come on fast, like acute injuries or viral infections, will respond and change faster, so more frequent treatments are ideal. Other factors that can influence the frequency and regularity of treatment include your age, the severity of your symptoms, and your compliance with taking herbs and making dietary and lifestyle changes. So, for some conditions frequent treatments may be ideal, while for others treatments every other week would be better. If the patient's goal is to utilize acupuncture for preventive medicine or to maintain wellness, they will need treatments even less often, say once per month to once per season.
While I agree that the high price of health care needs to be addressed so that more people can afford it, there is no absolute correspondence between cost and treatment efficacy. Efficacy has much more to do with the skill of the practitioner, especially their ability to make an accurate diagnosis. On the contrary, I would argue that the limitations of community acupuncture have a greater potential to negatively affect treatment efficacy. First is the limitation on time. Optimally, a proper initial appointment will include questions not only about the patient's chief complaint, but also about other systems and functions, as well as a physical exam, dietary and lifestyle counseling, and a discussion of the treatment plan. In addition, there should be time allotted to answer the patient's questions and, especially in the case of pain, to do some of the other traditional therapies that practitioners of Chinese medicine are also trained in, like acupressure and cupping. There is simply no way to complete all of this when you are seeing multiple patients per hour. Second is the significant limitation on which acupuncture points can be used, as mentioned above.
I don't think the best way to address the high cost of healthcare is for the practitioner to increase patient volume, especially if this means sacrificing the quality of care. More effective solutions include simply charging less per patient, reserving a certain number of appointments per week for low-income individuals, or volunteering a certain amount of your time for free as a practitioner.
Actually, throughout the centuries, this medicine has been practiced in many different cultures and in many different ways. In China, there has been everything from traveling doctors to court physicians, from integrative hospital practitioners to guarded family lineages. In India, there is an ancient form of acupuncture that is part of Ayurvedic medicine that is based upon the Suchi Veda, a 3,000-year-old text that predates the written record of Chinese medicine. In this tradition, the needles were dipped in herbal liquids before insertion. In Japan, traditional acupuncturists use needles that are much thinner than those used by the Chinese and there is one particular style in which only one point is needled per treatment. The Japanese also developed shoni-shin, a type of pediatric treatment in which various metal tools are used to stimulate the acupuncture channel system without piercing the skin. They even have a 400-year old tradition of blind acupuncturists, representing about a third of all acupuncturists in that country today. In Korea, there is a focus on needling the hands only. This is a kind of "microsystem" acupuncture in which the different areas on the hands are said to have a one-to-one correspondence with other specific areas of the body. Another microsystem form is auricular (ear) acupuncture, which is used extensively in America by members of the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association to help patients break drug addictions. There are also separate traditions in other countries like Vietnam and Tibet. In truth, there have been many different ways in which this medicine has been practiced, and community acupuncture represents something new.
I agree that receiving a treatment in a group can raise the qi dynamic and enhance healing, but it can also lower it. For example, I have heard from multiple people who have tried community acupuncture that being in a room where people are constantly coming and going, snoring, listening to music on headphones, and having emotional releases can be very distracting. While I do agree that under certain circumstances group endeavors can raise the energy, I think it is important to acknowledge that this is not the only circumstance under which this can happen. In my experience, the more deeply we can rest during a healing session, the better. A private, quiet room free of distractions, with soft music and low lighting can also be very effective at raising the qi dynamic. The qi dynamic also depends on the practitioner's approach, especially their intention, skill, and bedside manner. If the room you are in has a peaceful ambiance, if you are comfortable and warm, and if you feel like the practitioner is attentive and caring, healing will also undoubtedly be enhanced.
What a strange year it has been, paradoxically both speeding by and slogging on. A year full of stress, anxiety, political division, a pandemic, and a future unknown. Though it has been hard for me to find balance in these times I have found much solace in the ideas behind Chinese medicine. For example, in the theory of yin and yang, the universe is made of two opposing forces that are always moving toward balance. This can be seen in the yin yang symbol below in which there are two equal halves, black and white. This process of balance is dynamic, not static, so that when things swing too far in either direction, it is guaranteed that they will eventually swing back. So, if things feel imbalanced now please know that balance will be returned once again.
Yin and yang are also interdependent and cannot exist without each other. This is why both halves of the yin yang symbol contain a dot of color of the other. For example, there cannot be day without night, expansion without contraction, or activity without rest. Basically, yin and yang are really just two different aspects of the same singular unity that is constantly shifting from one form to another. In this time of great political division, it is important to remember that we are all interdependent, too, and cannot exist without each other. Hopefully one day we too shall be unified.
The concept of chi symbolizes this unity as well. In this theory everything has a common denominator, everything in the universe is a different manifestation of chi. Chi is an ancient Daoist concept that refers to the primary force that forms, connects, and governs the interplay of everything in existence. It is the basic power of the universe that enables things to go, move, change, shift, and transform. The theory of chi is very similar to the theory of energy as it is understood in physics; everything is chi and chi can neither be created nor destroyed, only transferred or converted to another form. This theory is an important reminder that we are all one, that we are all in this together we will get through this together. It is also a reminder that everything is in a constant state of change and that nothing lasts forever; the universe is always in a process of transformation. By their nature, major transformations can be bumpy so hang in there. I'm looking forward to the next phase, aren't you?