Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

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Some Practical Acupuncture Points

March 1, 2010 by Danny | No comments

Some forms of acupuncture can be practiced anyone, not just by specialist. Whether for healing or as part of your health regime, you can do acupressure at home. But there are three hundreds sixty-five acupuncture points. Remembering where they are and how to use them is not easy, even for a trained acupuncturist.
I recently bought a three book set called “The Secrets of the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Health Regime.” The author is Dr. Wu Guo Jong. He is a TCM doctor working in Beijing, China. In the book he mentioned using some acupuncture points as part of an everyday health regime. I think what he suggests is easy and useful for everybody, so I would like to share them with you.
1. LI 4 Acupuncture Point – He Gu – Large Intestine Meridian
Chinese Name: He Gu “http://www.tcmadvisory.com/2007/8-12/200781210309.html”
English Name: Union Valley
Location: On the dorsum(back) of the hand, approximately at the midpoint of the second metacarpal bone, in the belly of the first interosseus dorsalis muscle. (between your thumb and first finger)
Contraindication: Do Not Needle If Pregnancy is known or suspected

Actions & Effects:
Releases the exterior for wind-cold or wind-heat syndromes
Strengthens the wei qi, improves immunity
Regulates the sweat glands, for excessive sweating tonify LI 4 then disperse KD 7 and vice versa.
Any problem on the face – sense organs, mouth, teeth, jaw, toothache, allergies, rhinitis, hay fever, acne, eye problems, etc.
Toothache, use both LI 4 & ST 44 – LI for the lower jaw & ST for the upper jaw.
Headache, especially frontal and/or sinus (yangming) area.
Chronic Pain.
Influence the circulation of Qi and Blood – Use the four gates, LI 4 & LV 3 to strongly move the Qi and Blood in the body clearing stagnation and alleviating pain.
Promote labor or for retained placenta.
Use your thumbs to press your He Gu point. Then, using medium force and speed, rub in tiny circles for two to three minutes.

2. PC 6 Acupuncture Point – Nei Guan – Pericardium Meridian
Chinese Name: Nei Guan “http://www.tcmadvisory.com/2007/8-20/2007820144316.html”
English Name: Inner Pass
Location: On the anterior forearm (inner wrist), 2 cm superior to the transverse wrist crease, between the tendons of palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis muscles (in the middle of your inner arm).

Actions & Effects:
Similar to PC 3, but more for Chronic Heart symptoms from Qi stagnation.
Opens and relaxes the chest, chest tightness, asthma, angina, palpitations.
Insomnia a/or other spirit disorders of an excess or deficient nature, mania, nervousness, stress, poor memory.
Nausea, seasickness, motion sickness, vomiting, epigastric pain.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Use your thumb to press your Nei Guan point. Then, using medium force and speed, rub in tiny circles for two minutes. Do once on the morning and once on the evening.

3. UB 40 Acupuncture Point – Wei Zhong – Bladder Meridian
Chinese Name: Wei Zhong “http://www.tcmadvisory.com/2007/8-17/2007817165550.html”
English Name: Bend Middle
Location: At the midpoint of the popliteal fossa (behind the knee).

Actions & Effects:
As the Lumbar Command Point, useful for all lumbar related issues: acute low back pain, sprain, muscle spasms, etc.
Main point for heat conditions such as summer heat, heatstroke and heat exhaustion.
Main point for all skin related issues: itching, oozing, inflammation, etc.
Good local point for leg and/or knee pain.

Put your foot on the low chair. Use your middle finger to press your Wei Zhong point. Then, using medium force and speed, rub in tiny circles for two to three minutes.

4. ST 36 Acupuncture Point – Zu San Li – Stomach Meridian
Chinese Name: Zusanli “http://www.tcmadvisory.com/2007/8-16/200781615595.html
English Name: Leg Three Li
Location: On the leg, one finger breadth lateral to the tibia’s anterior crest, 3 cm inferior to ST 35 in the depression to the lateral side of the patella.

Actions & Effects:
Tonifies deficient Qi a/or Blood.
Tonifies Wei Qi.
All issues involving the Stomach a/or the Spleen.
Clears disorders along the course of the channel – breast problems, lower leg pain.
Earth as the mother of Metal – will support Lung function in cases of asthma, wheezing, dyspnea.
Psychological/Emotional disorders – PMS, depression, nervousness.
Use your thumbs to press your Zu San Li point. Then, using strong force and slow speed, rub in tiny circles for two minutes.

These four acupuncture points can be stimulated once or twice a day. Try to do both sides. After two weeks you should be able to feel an improvement in your health problem

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Learn Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Meditation & Chinese herb salve at same time

Dharmazen Retreat at Ocean Resort Vancouver Island BC, Date: April 16th – 18th, 2010

“http://oceanresort.ca”

Dharma-Zen Workshop at the Farm, Manitoba Date: May 29th & May 30th, 2010

Contact: (Facebook - Ginette Hacault, momma_yellow@yahoo.com, 204-526-2869)
Ginette is a shining light who works with people who are experiencing cancer or are wanting to build their immune systems for other reasons.  She runs retreats, does individual consulting and healing sessions, and facilitates a variety of events in southern Manitoba.  She can also consult by phone. 

Dharmazen Retreat at CrossRiver Wilderness Centre
Date: June 18th-20th, 2010 and August 27th-29th, 2010

“http://www.crossriver.ca/dharmazentaichiqigongbuddhismretreat.asp”

A short brief for Dharma Chi Kung(Qi Gong) with Tai Chi
This is an effective and enjoyable way to improve flexibility, balance, coordination, relaxation and calms the mind. Chi Kung(Qi Gong) means “Energy work”. The Dharma Chi Kung forms help muscles and tendons become stronger, more relaxed and more flexible. Chi Kung and Tai Chi are gentle ancient Chinese exercise for modern people, can be practiced by people of all ages.

With the right location and number of students, Danny may be able to hold a workshop(Retreat) wherever you are in the world.

January 26, 2010 by Danny | No comments

Make your own Chinese Herbal Salve

January 18, 2010 by Danny | 1 comment

Right now I would like to introduce you to a Chinese herbal salve called “Zi Tsao Gao” or “Purple Grass Salve.” You can make it at home all by yourself.

Efficacy: This is most effective for muscle and joint aches, sprains, headaches,insect bites, itchiness, and hand dermatitis. It is also useful in helping wounds with broken skin heal well.

Just rub the ointment onto your skin. Its pain relieving properties will work quickly to reduce aches, swelling, and other discomfort that irritates the body.

There are seven Chinese Herbs in this salve:

1.Zi Cao: English: Redroot Gromwell
Latin:Lithospermum erythrorhizon
25g
http://alternativehealing.org/zi_cao.htm

2.Dang Gui: English: Chinese Angelica
Latin: Angelica sinensis
You want Dang gui wei (tail) 20g
http://alternativehealing.org/dang_gui.htm

3.Da Huang: English: Drug Rhubarb, Medicinal Rhubarb
Latin: Rheum officinale
20g
http://alternativehealing.org/da_huang.htm

4.Bai Zhi: English: Baizhi Angelica
Latin: Angelica dahurica
15g
http://alternativehealing.org/bai_zhi.htm

5.Ru Xiang: English: Frankincense
Latin: Resina olibani
15g
http://alternativehealing.org/ru_xiang.htm

6.Mo Yao: English: Myrrh
Latin: Myrrha
15g
http://alternativehealing.org/mo_yao.htm

7.Di Gu Pi: English:Chinese Wolfberry Root-bark
Latin:Lycium barbarum L.or Lycium chinense
20g
http://alternativehealing.org/qi_zi.htm

Menthol crystals, approx 20-30 grams, are a very common additional ingredient.
Adding this will make the salve feel cool, help the medicine penetrate through your skin and give it a menthol aroma. You will have to ask a pharmacist if they have any behind the counter. With 1-2 days notice many pharmacists should be able to order a container in for you. Xenex Laboratories Inc. from Coquitlam BC is manufacturer.

The Base is made of
1.Beeswax, 18g, in small pieces or shredded for easy melting
2.Olive oil or Grapeseed oil, 200ml

You can copy the names for all the Chinese herbs then bring it to a Chinese medicine store. Try to go to a store that understands Mandarin Chinese, for there are many varieties of Zi Cao/Gromwell, the most common being a tea making variety. The kind you require are deep purple, long, dried leaves, occasionally still attached to their roots.

Equipment:
a med or large, heavy bottom pot
candy thermometer. You will not be able to use this for candy ever again.
large sieve with fine holes, if you don’t blend your herbs fine.
cheesecloth, 1 package (usually 274 X 91cm) and a metal colander if you do blend your herbs.
A glass 1L measuring cup for adding the beeswax to the hot oil-herb mix. Glass is easiest to remove beeswax from
small jars, approx 125cc or less, with a lid. Or metal salve containers. In sufficient quantity to hold approx 200mL, in total, of salve.
Recommended: a powerful blender I.e. Vitamix with the grain canister. Alternatively, a large mortar and pestle, or a heavy rolling pin, or a hammer and sturdy bag. You could try rolling over the herbs with your truck but I don’t know how clean they’ll be!
Recommended: simple surgical face mask or painter’s/carpenters mask: this can be very effective for avoiding irritation from menthol fumes, and even fumes from the main mix. Especially useful if you have some left over supplies from the H1N1 overreaction.

Production:
1.Try to cut the herbs into small pieces ( I used my powerful Vitamix blender). If you cannot that is ok. Break them by hand, or use a mortar and pestle, or pound them with a hammer, or roll them with a heavy rolling pin. Many Chinese leaves the herbs whole. More active ingredients can be leeched from the herbs when they are in smaller pieces.
2.Place all the herbs in a large pot and cover with oil. Let stand for 24-48 hours. You may also try to blend this mix with your regular blender once they’ve been softened in the oil. Put just small quantities in your blender at a time.
3.Slowly heat oil and herbs and maintain at 140-160° Celsius for 30 minutes. You will need a candy thermometer for this. Turn on your overhead fan and ask people with sensitive noses/asthma/breathing problems to stay far away.
4.While heating the oil, you may want to preheat the glass measuring cup. Don’t get any water inside it for the oil-wax mix may not solidify properly with water added in. A stove, toaster oven or even sitting it in a hot water bath will do it.
5.Strain the oil from the herbs while hot. You can get the purest oil, with the least amount of herbal residue, when you use cheesecloth.
Put your metal colander in a slightly larger pot. Line the colander with at least 8 layers of cheesecloth (fold the cloth).
pour the mix through the colander into the pot. You can then press the herbs with a spoon to extract as much oil as possible.
For non crushed herbs simply use your large strainer as it is. Place it over a slightly larger pot or the dry measuring cup and pour the mix into it.
6.Pour your purified oil into your hot measuring cup, if it’s not already in it. Add the beeswax and stir until the wax is completely melted. Your mix needs to be 80-100° Celsius.
I find the mix sometimes cools down too much I.e. the wax won’t melt completely. Then I need to use a double boiler to heat it up enough again. I put the measuring cup in a slightly larger pot of boiling water, making sure water doesn’t get into my oil-wax mix, and stir until all the beeswax is incorporated. You don’t have to check the heat at this stage unless you really want to. If it melts, it’s hot enough!
Beeswax is difficult to remove from things. Soap will not work, only very hot water can melt it enough. Try to use just one spoon and your glass measuring cup from this point on.
7.Add the menthol. Be careful not to inhale the fumes from the hot mix as it is an irritant to eyes and mucous membranes.
8.Pour the mix, here is where a measuring cup is very useful, into your waiting clean, dry, heat proof containers. Spatula out as much as you can. This way you won’t have to try to melt/scrape it off your cup later whole cleaning.
9.Let cool. It should be a lovely deep purple or burgundy color. The type of oil will affect the end color.
If you find that the cooled salve is too hard, make changes to your recipe. Add 50mL more oil or only 14-15g beeswax next time. I haven’t tried remelting the salve and adding more oil, though this is theoretically possible.

Precaution:
Prohibited for pregnant woman.
Keep away from fire in using it and avoid heat.
Keep it in a cool and dry place.

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Press Acupuncture points to help decrease high blood pressure

October 12, 2009 by Danny | 6 comments

High blood pressure is a major predictor of heart disease and stroke. We already know that moderate exercise, careful diet, sufficient sleep and having a calm mind can prevent these. But did you know that pressing the right acupuncture points will also improve your blood pressure?

There are several acupuncture points linked to regulation of blood pressure:

1.GV20 • Bai Hui • Governing Vessel 20 Hundred Meetings. Meeting Point on the Governing Vessel with the six yang channels.
Location: On the midsagittal line, at the intersection of a line connecting the right and left ear apices.
# Chinese Name Bai Hui http://www.tcmadvisory.com/2007/8-23/2007823111037.html
# English Name Hundred Convergences
Actions & Effects:
# Main point for headache, dizziness, eye pain and redness, irritability, hypertension from excess yang in the upper body, often occuring with patterns of excess Liver yang or Liver fire. Combine with lower body points such as LV 2, LV 3, KD 1, GB 34, GB 41.
# Main point for internal wind which has some overlapping indications with the above entry, for headaches, dizziness, visual dizziness, tinnitus, vertex pain, windstroke, seizures.
# Main point for prolapse, anal, uterine, vaginal; main point for hemorrhoids.
# Tong Ren/Tam Healing System: Used to effect the association area (related to emotions, memory, behavior), useful for low energy, yang energy imbalances, parkinson’s, alzheimer’s, motor control issues.
Hold 5 fingers of each hand into a point, tap at Baihui lightly, alternating hands (left, right, left, right) for three minutes. Once in the morning and again at night.

2.KI1 • Yong Quan • Kidney 1 Gushing Spring. Jing Well Point on the Kidney Channel. Wood Point on Water Meridian.
Location: On the sole of the foot, between the second and third metatarsal bones, one-third the the distance from the webs of the toes to the heel.
# Chinese Name Yongquan http://www.tcmadvisory.com/2007/8-20/2007820145118.html
# English Name Gushing Spring
Actions & Effects:
# Descends excess from above, useful for LV Yang Rising or LV Fire – headaches, tinnitus, hypertension, epilepsy.
# Cooling KD empty heat – chronic sore throat, dry mouth, low back pain.
# Tonify KD/HT Yin – insomnia, palpitations, anxiety, poor memory, mania, rage w/desire to kill, hot flashes, night sweats.
# Loss of consciousness, yang collapse.
# Tong Ren/Tam Healing System: Used to descend the energy in the body particularly after qi gong exercises, energy healing sessions, etc. Useful for headache, nausea, insomnia, etc.

First warm up your hands by rubbing them briskly together. Then use your right hand to rub your left foot. One rub is from heel to toe then back again to the heel. In total rub your foot thirty six times, then switch. After rubbing both your feet, use a thumb to press your foot’s Yongquan point. With medium force and speed, rub in a tiny circle thirty six times. Then stimulate your other foot’s Yngquan point in the same manner.

3.GB20 • Feng Chi • Gall Bladder 20 Wind Pool. Meeting Point on Gall Bladder Channel with the Triple Energizer Channel, Yang Linking and Yang Motility Vessels.
Location: At the posterior head, at the junction of the occipital and nuchal regions, in the depression between the origins of Sternocleidomastoid and Trapezius muscles. These points (left & right) are found at the base of your skull where it meets with your spine. They’re commonly used for treatment of the common cold, the flu, headaches, neck pain, regulating blood pressure and blood circulation.
# Chinese Name Feng Chi http://www.tcmadvisory.com/2007/8-24/2007824101115.html
# English Name Wind Pool
Actions & Effects:
# Dispel Exterior or Interior Wind – (exterior) – fever/chills, stiff neck; (internal) – paralysis, twitching, tremors, numbness, dizziness, vertigo.
# All issues of the head, brain (seizures, memory, mental/neurological disorders), face, throat and sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue).
# Headache, especially occipital.
# Eye issues.
# Issues of the neck, shoulders a/or upper back – pain, weakness, stiffness.
# Hypertension, especially with LV Yang Rising.
# Tong Ren/Tam Healing System: Used most often in conjunction with the huatuo points of C1 and C2 to open the spinal cord, generally used to relieve neck tension.

Lace your fingers together, thumbs pointing up. Swing your hands to the back of your head so your thumbs rest just below your skull in the little hollows beside the central muscles along your spine. With medium force and speed, rub in tiny circles thirty six times.

4. LR3 • Tai Chong • Liver 3 Great Surge. Shu Stream Point on the Liver Channel. Yuan Source Point on the Liver Channel. Earth Point on Wood Meridian.
Location: On the dorsum of the foot, between the first and second metatarsal bones, approximately 2 cun superior to the web margin.(the “knuckles”of your foot).
# Chinese Name Tai Chong http://www.tcmadvisory.com/2007/8-22/2007822174331.html
# English Name Great Surge
Actions & Effects:
# Generally, resolves stagnation and tonifies Yin – balancing for all LV pathologies.
# LV Qi Stagnation / LV Yang Rising – headaches, dizziness, canker sores.
# Eye issues – blurred vision, red, swollen, painful eyes.
# Menstrual issues from Deficient Blood, Yin, Qi a/or LV Qi Stagnation – dysmennorrhea, amenorrhea, PMS, breast tenderness.
# Genital issues – pain/swelling, hernia, impotence, semianl emission.
# Stagnation in the middle warmer – subcostal tension, chest/flank pain, swellings in the axillary region.
# Digestive issues from LV attacking ST/SP – nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea w/ undigested food.
# Calming point – anger, irritability, insomnia, anxiety.
# With LI 4, four gates treatment – powerfully effects the flow of Qi and Blood in the body.
# Tong Ren/Tam Healing System: Important point to descend energy in the body, generally used after qi gong exercises, energy healing sessions, etc. Helps to avoid qi gong sickness (or running fire) where energy is stuck in the upper part of the head/body and causes issues such as shortness of breath, psychological issues, headache, etc.

It is treated to bring emotions into balance, to regulate menstruation and to reduce blood pressure. On both feet, simultaneously, use your thumbs to press your Taichong points for two to three minutes.

I hope by teaching you how to press these acupuncture points that you can improve your health. Every body can have a healthy body and peace of mind.
Below are some pictures to help you find the acupuncture points.

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For centuries, Chinese doctors have understood that the body is made up of nerves that carry eletrical energy around your body, through your spine and to your brain.

Western doctors understood nerves might carry electricity a few hundred years ago with the publication of Luigi Galvani’s (1737–1798) theory of animal electricity (galvanism) in 1791.

Chinese doctors prescribe Chi Kung for bursitis.

Western doctors prescribe pain pills.

Western doctors prescribe surgery for knees.

Chinese doctors prescribe Tai Chi.

Chinese doctors prescribe Tai Chi and Chi Kung as a daily practice to make illness and injury less likely.

I’m reading Wong Kiew Kit’s tome on Chinese Medicine.

Chinese Medicine Book

Good read.  In the book, Master Wong says anger doesn’t come from solely from external stimuli.  In fact, anger comes mostly from internal stimuli.  That’s why someone who meditates every day isn’t easily angered by external stimuli.  Someone who is meditating daily is calming the self.

Practice hard,

David

March 20, 2009 by David | No comments

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