Imagine, if you will, a king and a sage sitting together under a peach tree on a hill, in the nectar tinted antediluvian light three thousand years before the birth of Christ. There is a ceremonious air to their amiable conversation as the king inquires respectfully from the sage so that he may deepen his understanding of his own nature. The sage answers with understated clarity, each response bestowing further reflective depths in the mind of the king.
The inquirer is Haung Di, the legendary ‘Yellow Emporer’ who is said to have lived to the age of one hundred and eleven years under the guidance of his advisors. The sage is the mystic Qi Bo, the father of traditional Chinese medicine. The record of their conversation can be found in the classic text, the ‘Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine’ which lays the foundation of philosophy on which Chinese traditional healing is built.
One part of the conversation (which fills an entire book, since they apparently had the time to sit sipping green tea and chatting for days on end back then) goes like this: The Yellow Emperor said: “Since (spring) is the season in which the universal energy begins anew and rejuvenates, one should attempt to correspond to it directly by being open and unsupressed, both physically and emotionally. On the physical level is good to exercise more frequently and wear loose-fitting clothing. This is the time to do stretching exercises to loosen up the tendons and muscles. Spring is the season of the Liver, and indulgence in anger, frustration, depression, sadness, or excess emotion can injure the Liver.”
That conversational leap from spring to the liver might require a bit of background for those of us who haven’t spent the last ten years tearing their hair out trying to understand the meaning of this text. We often hear that the ancient Chinese lived “in harmony with nature” and most of us assume that this might have something to do with not squashing snails or eating plenty of dried fruit.
In fact, the Chinese were far more concerned with observing the natural world in great depth, paying attention to the way water flowed, the different characteristics of the seasons and the changes in the human body, in order to gain insight into the energetic patterns that were believed to generate everything in creation.
As they observed similarities between certain natural phenomena, they grouped them into a comprehensive system of correspondences not unlike the western “doctrine of signatures” in which the shapes of certain herbs or fruits were believed to reveal the healing benefits that they would bestow on the human body.
While this “energetic correspondence” type of thinking sounds fanciful in the extreme to most of us, there is increasing evidence that the ancients weren’t so far off the mark. Research has shown, for instance that walnuts (which look like tiny brains) contain a compound that breaks down the protein based plaques found in Alzheimer’s disease. A Tufts University study also shows that walnuts enhance signaling within the brain, encouraging new messaging links between the synapses. A slice of carrot resembles the iris. Carrots are rich in betacarotene which reduces the risk of developing cataracts and also protects against macular degeneration. More examples can be found here http://www.mizozo.com/tech/04/2010/05/similarities-between-fruits-vegetables-and-human-b....html
The Chinese “doctrine of signatures” had a much broader scope (they did, after all have a three thousand year head start) and included time of day, season, mood swings, and a host of other phenomena. In their system, it is understood that each season is especially beneficial to the health of certain internal organs; hence “spring is the season of the liver”. From a practical point of view, spring is an excellent time to take a couple of acupuncture treatments for the liver, since the energy of the season supports the organ, making treatments during this time especially effective.
Naturally, if your liver is fine, your time would probably be better spent doing cocktails, but Imbalanced liver energy can have some quite unpleasant knock on effects. These include low level depression, impatience, temper outbreaks and sensations of stuffiness, especially in the region just under the ribs where the liver meridian runs. In women liver imbalance can lead to premenstrual breast pain, menstrual cramping and irregular menstruation.
If this sounds like you and you would like to book a liver treatment for yourself, call Marisa on 021 511 6744. Treatments are R250 each and can be done at Brooklyn or at your home for an extra R50 travel fee.
REIKI DHAMA HEALING CENTER
Brooklyn Cape Town
Telephone: 021 511 6744
Business hours: 8am to 8pm Monday to Sunday
Email: marisa@reiki-dhama.co.za
www.reiki-dhama.co.za