Graves Disease

There are several lifestyle and emotional factors that are related to Grave’s disease, but I’ll be looking specifically at the anger connection here. In Chinese medicine anger is neither negative nor positive, it’s part of the Five Element cycle and a creative force – if it is understood, expressed and used properly. But if anger isn’t […]

Difficulty swallowing

Difficulty swallowing (if it is not a condition related to a neurological disorder or physical event) is connected with liver chi stagnation which means your chi is not flowing smoothly. In TCM the rhythmic contraction and relaxation of the throat, oesophagus and the opening of the stomach, that is required for the action of swallowing, […]

Epigastric Pain

Epigastric pain can be sudden and with an obvious cause such as overeating (think xmas lunch) which causes liver chi stagnation, or it can be chronic. In the latter, epigastric pain is usually affiliated with a yin deficiency which is a condition that builds slowly over time as a result of lifestyle factors. I’ve treated […]

Hiccups

From the lifestyle medicine angle, some kind of resistance to the flow of life, which can translate as muscle spasms in the diaphragm, underlies ongoing hiccups. Your diaphragm is the physical location of your liver, and the hub of chi-flow. Hiccups might appear to be a small thing and not worth worrying about but, as […]

Insomnia

I suffered from insomnia for years and it nearly drove me crazy. I tried all sorts of things from sleeping potions, to various forms of therapy, to desperate bottles of wine and nothing worked. This is because insomnia is lifestyle induced so the only cure is lifestyle changes. In TCM insomnia is caused by an […]

Nosebleeds

Nosebleeds are not generally considered to be serious from the perspective of Western medicine, but in lifestyle medicine I think of the little symptoms as warning lights on the dash, and frequent nosebleeds are an indicator that your lifestyle is impacting on your blood and/or your liver chi. You are on the way to, or […]

Eye Floaters

In TCM your eyes, and eye health, are connected to your liver. If your organ chi declines, vision becomes blurry and floaters form. But, as chi levels increase, your vision and floaters clear. So eye floaters can be viewed as a sign of a deficiency pattern. It’s like a warning light for low chi levels […]

Belching

If you find yourself belching all the time, it’s not bad manners it’s a sign that your liver needs some TLC. Liver directs chi flow around your body to make sure all your organs and processes work properly. Belching is a sign that that flow is being interrupted somewhere. The odd burp or two is […]

Constipation

In the old days of TCM, stool analysis was a major diagnostic tool. The emperor’s stool physician would examine the stool and then give recommendations to the herbalist and the cook. We don’t examine stool any more but we still always ask clients about their stool because shape, consistency and frequency are indicators of the […]

Cramps

Muscle cramps now affect people across a wide range of ages and levels of fitness, rather than being primarily a symptom of the elderly, as in the past. Cramps are always a chronic condition. It is a yin and blood deficiency pattern. Cramps are more of an issue at nighttime because of this. You can […]