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ELEVEN NOURISHING HERBS
Stomach Chi improves your ability to process nourishment on both physical and
emotional levels.
Basic Way: Take two capsules three times a day.
Another Way: Throw out the notion that a printed set of directions
will provide the exact answer. Consider size, constitution, timing, and other
factors affecting each unique person. Frequent use (as often as every twenty
minutes) may be required in certain circumstances. With more experience and
some anticipation, you won't need to consume a large quantity of herbs. The
suggested maximum amount per day is 24 capsules.
Continue with the Basic Way for a couple of days to ensure restoration of the
digestive system. When the process is complete, you will feel more balanced.
Nourish Thyself
People spend a lot of time considering what they put into their bodies. There
are numerous places to put the blame for poor digestion and inadequate nutrient
assimilation. Maintaining a high quality diet is often a juggling act as we
try to balance our stressful, hurried lifestyles, too many fried foods, too
many acid-producing foods, the demands of travel, and occasional overindulgence.
Some try to add hydrochloric acids, pancreatic enzymes, and beneficial bacteria
to their diets. The problem, however, may not come directly from food allergies,
stress, poor food combining, or chemical additives. It may come from the lack
of sufficient constitutional strength.
Constitution has different meanings depending on your point of view. Western
medical thought sees constitution as being limited by genetic makeup. As such,
it is invariable and carved in stone at birth. In Chinese thought, constitution
is the sum of the prenatal jing (or essence) and the postnatal jing. Postnatal
jing can be nourished and is thought to be directly related to the health of
the Spleen and the Stomach (as these terms are used in Chinese medicine).
Teachings on this concept date back to 100 BC and The Yellow Emperor's Inner
Classic. This collection is considered by most students and scholars of Oriental
philosophy as the first place where the idea that the Spleen (pi) and the Stomach
(wei) are at the very root of many if not all diseases. Li Dong Yuan became
a chief proponent of this philosophy.
Perhaps Dong Yuan's greatest achievement, and certainly a
major reason for the current interest in his work, is his apparent insight into
complex disease patterns which he called ?curious? disease manifestations. Many
recognize that it is just these types of diseases which are giving Western medicine
the most problems today. Hidden pathogenic stealth viruses may be the cause
of many auto-immune diseases. The apparent confusion of normal immune function
is believed to cause severely disabling and degenerative problems such as multiple
sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and perhaps even some forms of cancer.
Dong Yuan sees these types of manifestations as being rooted
in a complex type of Yin Fire which is itself rooted in an emptiness in the
functions of the Spleen and Stomach. When this fire upsurges, it causes a confusion
of influences, a chaotic chi, which is at the root of a myriad of complex symptoms.
Western medicine seems to be blind to this level of the disease. To Dong Yuan,
a major part of working with insidious diseases is to consolidate the two organ
systems - Stomach and Spleen. It might be clear by now that Dong Yuan viewed
these organs, as including, but not limited to the Western medical digestive
function.
Stomach Chi would then potentially have greater benefit than
simply dealing with a tummy ache although it may be helpful in this area as
well. To consolidate the Middle in the way Dong Yuan suggests would control
potential Yin Fire upsurging and nourish the True Yang. Stomach Chi works to
improve one's ability to take in and process nourishment on the physical, emotional,
and mental levels.
The digestive function is particularly vulnerable to invasion by the stresses
of modern life. As we are pressed by the demands of our jobs, relationships,
and responsibilities, we tend to contract away from life. We close doors and
put up walls for protection. In so doing we also close the doors to our nourishment
and hinder our ability to assimilate our experiences. Stomach Chi helps to strengthen
us enough to have a clear relationship with our existence. Once this root is
established then we are able to allow free movement of our digestive process.
It can act as a complimentary agent to a deeper sense of health and well being.
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