September 2010 Archives

茶 Cha - Tea

You can taste and feel, but not describe, the exquisite state of repose produced by tea, that precious drink which drives away the five causes of sorrow.

Emperor Chein Lung
710-1799, Manchu dynasty

Tea tempers the spirit, calms and harmonizes the mind, drives out dampness, cold, dryness and tonifies internal heat.

Legend has it that long ago the Emperor discovered the drink while sipping water that was covered with leaves from a beautiful garden when seasons began to change and the earth moved. The practice tea drinking is not only therapeutic but a great treasure to China, and a legacy to the rest of the world.

There are many rich stories on how certain teas came to be named, Iron Buddha, Dragon Well, Cloud Mist, and my favorite Kiangsi, or Monkey Picked Tea, where still today the monkeys are trained to go up on the mountain cliffs to pluck the leaves for the workers.

Although there are hundreds of medicinal and herbal teas in TCM, I am just going to focus on tea brewed from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant, or common tea. The variety of tea stems from how it it processed and fermented, herb infused, or smoked. 

Green Tea is steamed from fresh leaves and dried immediately to prevent any fermentation.

Brown Tea, such as Oolong, is partially rolled to release the oils, semi-fermenting when it is dried.

Black Tea is full rolled, dried and fully fermented.

Red Tea is like black , but smoked.

Drinking to health & strong Shen

When ingested tea and its tannic acids combine with the fatty oils in the food, and 'leaches' the oil out of the body. The larger the leaf, or whole leaf such as Orange Pekoe, the higher the tannic acid level. broken leaf teas tend to be more bitter in flavor. As Emperor Chein Lung says, tea really does drive away the five causes of sorrow as it  encompasses all of the Five Elements.

Drink tea in the morning before eating to stimulate digestion, warm the Spleen, and wake the Liver.

Drink tea before eating to clear the palate.

Drink tea after each food course to move the energy, food, and clear the palate.

Drink tea after eating to settle the digestion and calm the Spleen.

Drinking tea with the seasonal changes:

Spring

Brown tea with a medium draw time.

Summer & Time of the Sovereigns 

Brown tea and Green tea, with a shorter draw time, adding blossoms like Jasmine, or Chrysanthemum to thin the blood, keep cool, and prevent the Heart Qi from getting stuck.

Fall

Brown tea with a medium draw time.

Winter

Brown tea, black tea, and red tea, with a longer draw time to dispel dampness, cold and wind.

The Making of Tea

 The Qi of the water is very important. Swish or swirl the water enhancing the Qi of the water in the pan before heating. (This process actually adds oxygen to the water.)

Heat the water to just a boil, the remove quickly. It is consider an insult to let the water boil for any length of time and makes the tea flat.

Use a glazed ceramic, or porcelain tea pot. (If you use metal, you would be considered a barbarian.) Pour some heated water into the pot and drain.

Place leaves in and pour the water in.

Stepping or Drawing the tea. Time varies for the drawing of tea, flavor desired and the type of tea  for the season.

A good host always know the right tea and draw time for the season.

茶 艺 Tea Arts

There is no special ritual or ceremony of daily or social tea drinking, but there are rules of proper tea making and propriety. SSucking in air with your tea is a noisy affair and shows appreciation for the tea and host.

On visiting, it is consider rude to pick up your tea cup before your host has insisted on it for at least 2 to 3 times.

Upon receiving a refill, it is quite customary to tap your fingers on the table 3 to 4 times to express appreciation. This is called - K'ou-t'ou.

Tea before you eat,

Tea afterwards,

Tea before you leave,

Tea when you return,

Tea before you start,

Tea break in between,

Tea when no one is home,

Tea when company comes.

An old Chinese children's ditty

by Lei Russell, Author of Cooking with the Five Elements, available at www.5elementcooking.com

Prof. Huijuan Cui

Beijing University of Chinese Medicine
Chief Physician of the Sino-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China

Professor Cui will present a seminar on "Chinese Herbology Applied to Cancer Treatment" based on her 25 years of practical & research experience. Interpreter provided

About the Speaker: Prof. Huijuan Cui is a Chief Doctor of TCM Oncology Department in Sino-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine in 1985 and later got her Master's degree for her TCM oncology study. Her main research work has focused on comprehensive treatment for lung cancer and the way to improve life quality of cancer patients. As a well-known physician in this area in China, Dr. Cui has 25 years experience in treating numerous cancer patients especially for lung cancer, gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer and malignant lymphoma. There were more than 30 research papers published as well as 16 books.

10:00 AM- 6:00 PM, Sunday, October 3, 2010

NYCTCM
155 First St.
Mineola, NY 11501

Fee: $135 (NYCTCM Alumni or other acupuncture students: $108; NYCTCM: $68)

See the NYCTCM CEU page for more information and CEU classes

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The Tennis Times has an article about how tennis injuries can be successfully treated with acupuncture.  The writer quotes famous tennis players' who treated their injuries with acupuncture. "Sania Mirza, who when her right wrist fell apart and she was unable to compete after the Olympics last year (thinking her career might be over) visited an acupuncturist during the fall and amazingly recovered and now says she has her full range back. Another one would be Gael Monfils who used it at last year's US Open to recover after his often exhausting games..."

"The tennis elbow, one of the most common diseases in tennis is probably also one of the easiest to treat with acupuncture and cupping. It shows a success rate of about 90%. Another name for tennis elbow is epicondylitis. It is due to constant over rotation of the wrist and forearm, which of course is why it is called tennis elbow, since this is one of the basic movements in tennis.Acupuncture tennis elbow treatment works effectively in this condition because it works towards improving the blood flow in the area and also the entire body, in an attempt to provide permanent relief from pain and to decrease effectively inflammation."

Affordable Acupuncture Treatments in Manhattan at NYCTCM Teaching Clinic.

In part 3 of AnnaMarie's paper on Lateral Epicondylitis she discusses the Traditional Chinese Medicine Understanding of 'tennis elbow' and shows the acupuncture points that are used to treat it.She cites clinical studies on acupuncture treatment of lateral epicondylitis.

AnnaMarie is an graduate of the acupuncture program at  New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Mineola, NY.

"Lateral Epicondylitis is named 'Elbow Strain' in TCM. It is also called zhuo lao, elbow taxation, zhuo tong, elbow pain and shang jin, damaged sinews.

• Overstrain exhausts the Qi and blood, and tendon and muscle are malnourished that causes the lateral epicondylitis
• Overwork taxation causes detriment and damage to the sinews and vessels of the elbow. On the one hand, there is insufficient blood to nourish the sinews, while, on the other hand, there is blood stasis obstructing the free flow of vessels. This may then be complicated by external contraction of wind cold evils due to defensive qi vacuity.

—

Major Pattern Differentiation

• Characterized by marked soreness, numbness and heaviness. It is cause chiefly by pathogenic damp. Soreness and fixed pain in the joints, numbness or heavy sensation with possible swelling of the limbs.
• Recurrent or enduring pain which is worse on exertion, worse on exposure to cold, and better on obtaining heat

Treatment Principle

• Sooth the tendon and activate meridian circulation
• Boost Qi and nourish the blood, warm the channels and free the flow of impediment"

To read part 3 of Lateral Epicondylitis or Tennis Elbow click on the link below. 


TCM understanding of tennis elbow.swf

"NANJING, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese medical experts say Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), especially acupuncture, can help prevent suicide on the eve of World Suicide Prevention Day, which falls on Friday.

Du Wendong, president of the Institute of Psychology of the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, said no suicide cases had happened in his university since 1985 when the school began to use TCM in students' mental crisis intervention.

According to TCM psychological theories, mental disorders can be cured through "coordination of yin and yang and treatment of both mind and body."

Chen Qing, Du's student, suffered from chronic diarrhea and was ill-tempered. She often clashed with classmates. After talking with Chen, Du realized that Chen suffered from depression due to study stress. Chen often told him she wanted to commit suicide.

TCM showed that Chen's diarrhea was caused by psychological disorders and her short temper was generated by "liver-yang hyperactivity," a TCM term indicating headache, dizziness and red eyes.

After applying some prescription, acupuncture and massage therapy, Chen's depression faded.

Du said such "mental crisis intervention" had helped prevent more than 160 suicide cases since 1985, and the school's psychological center had offered consultation to about 80,000 people.

Those who suffered serious depression or anxiety disorders would receive further treatment in the Nanjing Neurological Hospital, he said.

Chen Mingkang, who had been treated in the hospital, said the side-effects of anti-depression drugs were "scary" and caused insomnia, but it was gradually relieved after applying acupuncture, and his depression had not recurred for years.

The hospital said more than 500 patients had benefited from such combined treatment of acupuncture and drugs.

Zhang Ning, the hospital's vice president who specializes in treating mental disorders, said TCM-based treatment was more efficient than taking anti-depression drugs, and would improve sleeping.

He also said the recurrence rate was low and the side-effects few, both important factors when assessing depression treatment.

Young people's psychological problems have caused concern in China as experts found a high correlation between suicide and mental illness -- out of 287,000 people who committed suicide each year, 63 percent suffered mental disorders, according to research conducted by the government-funded Beijing Suicide Research and Prevention Center.

Zhang Chun, head of the Nanjing Psychological Crisis Intervention Center, said most people did not seek help before they committed suicide and he suggested depression sufferers try the TCM-based treatment.

The treatment has also been promoted in the United States, France, Germany, Portugal, Singapore and some other countries by foreign students studying TCM in Nanjing, he said."

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-09/09/c_13487513.htm

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Chan Hur, L. Ac. of Answers with Acupuncture in Flushing, NY wrote about a successful treatment of eczema with Korean acupuncture techniques, includes before and after picture of a different patient.  

"One girl who was 14 years old came for atopic skin. When she was 2 years old, her parents noticed she often rubbed her back against the corner of a wall. Her parents brought her to an acupuncture clinic in a hurry. The clinic told her parents she had atopic skin and advised that she take herbs. After taking herbs, she was OK until 5 years old. She then suffered this skin problem very much between 5 and 10 years old. She went to many MDs who specialized in skin. The MDs gave skin cream. Her skin became harder and hair grew where these creams were applied. There were continuous new eruptions. Someone advised that she take aloe and she took aloe for a long time. Her skin problem disappeared around 10 years old. This family doesn't know what made her better, as they did so many different things for her.

When she came to my clinic at age 14, she had atopic skin on her fingers, arms and neck. I gave her an acupuncture treatment. I asked her if she was afraid of needles. She was nervous about that. After one needle was inserted, I asked her how it was. " I don't feel anything at all. Are you sure you put a needle on me?" I inserted 4 needles in total. Now I am happy to tell you that her skin problem disappeared with just one treatment. Her sore with waters started to disappear the next day and disappeared totally on the following day."