Headaches

Nearly everybody at some stage of their life will experience some type of headache. Headaches have many causes all of which present themselves differently. The area of the head, the type of sensation and time of the day will all vary due to the cause of the headache.

Following is a list of the different types of headache and their cause.

Exterior Cause: wind-heat, wind-cold, wind-dampness (these are pathogenic influences).

Interior Cause: liver-yang, liver-fire, liver-wind, liver-Qi stagnation, cold in the liver channel, dampness, turbid phlegm, retention of food, stasis of blood, stomach-heat. (These are derived from stress and a weakened digestive system).

Deficient cause: Qi deficient, blood deficient, kidney deficient. (These conditions are due to over working with no rest or a chronic illness).

An exterior type headache will come on fast and is caused by wind. If it’s due to wind-cold the symptoms you will experience is a stiff neck that lasts only a short time after which the wind may penetrate deeper into the body. You may also have sneezing, clear nasal discharge and aversion to cold.

If it’s due to wind-heat you will experience a sore throat, chills and fever, thirst, and a runny nose with yellow discharge. (yellow represents heat).

If it’s due to wind-damp you will experience a muzziness/ heavy type feeling in the head as if your head is wrapped in a wet cloth. This type of headache usually shows it’s self when someone has dampness in the body and a storm is approaching. The dampness is aggravated by the change of weather. Old injuries may show up also with a pain that subsides after the storm has gone.

Headaches due to disharmony of the liver energy will present symptoms like sore, dry, throbbing eyes, pulsating-distending pain around the eye, temporal or side of the head. You may also experience dizziness, dry throat, bitter taste in the mouth and tinnitus. If it’s due to liver-wind it may affect the whole head accompanied with slight shaking of the head, tremors and or numbness.

If your headache is of a deficient type you will experience a dull ache that comes in bouts. Rest will usually relieve the headache. Deficient headaches come about due to not enough Qi and blood reaching the head. Women may experience this after their periods because of the loss of blood.

The previous headaches described are the most common. Migraine headaches fall into the interior type usually also related to liver disharmony. Most interior type headaches like the liver related ones are a result of emotions. Anger and frustration are the main culprits though worry and fear can sometimes also be the cause. Other causes of migraines can be contraceptive pill, red wine, cheese and strangely enough chocolate.

If your headache is of the exterior type it can be eased by staying out of the wind and pressing in the indentation at the back of your head, by the base of the skull at the top of the spine in the centre. Place pressure there for approximately 1-2 minutes, you should feel it release.

When the headache is from an interior cause, hold your hand out as if to shake hands and squeeze the thumb up along side the index finger to make a crease between the two. At the end of that crease (wrist side) you will see a mound, place your opposite thumb on that mound and press down. This should be tender, if it’s not search until you find the tender spot and then hold the pressure there for a couple of minutes. Follow this by drinking plain water.

WARNING: Do not use this point if you are pregnant as it may induce labour however, IF YOU ARE IN LABOUR press this point like crazy or have your hubby press it. It will calm you and help with delivery.

A deficient type headache will ease with rest and some wholesome food. Root vegies are always good also rice soup (Jook / Coongee). Acupressure point: Measure four finger width down below your knee cap and one finger to the outside of the leg from the shin bone you will find a tender point. Hold this point for a couple of minutes. (If you have a sore throat, runny nose and or sneezing do not use this point!).

So that is pretty much it for headaches from me for today, there are whole books written on them but that in itself may give you headache. If you are having headaches frequently please come and get it treated before other problems start to manifest.

Take care.

Kind regards,

Scott Cansdell.

http://www.backonyourfeet.com.au

Libido or Lack of it!

Today’s subject is on sex drive.

Most people have the desire but lack the drive. As life gets faster, we end up working ridiculous hours and our rest time is compromised which means we have even less time for play.

However this is not the only reason we have a low sex drive. If we look at the body from a Chinese Medicine point of view, our sex drive is connected to the energetics of our physical organs.

When we are conceived we gather energy from our parents. The quality and quantity of energy we receive is wholly dependent on our parent’s state of health. This energy we receive is called Jing. It is stored approximately a hands width below our navel. The important thing to note here is that, we are only given so much of this Jing and each day we live a drop of that Jing is used up. When our Jing dries up we die. Jing is the essence of life and every living being has it. The good news is that we can prevent our Jing from running out by strengthening our Kidney energy.

Our Kidneys are the organs responsible for our sex drive and when our Kidney energy is weak we become infertile, tired, and impotent. If you find that you are becoming obsessed with sex as well as having the following स्य्म्प्तोम्स constant erotic dreams, night sweats, hot cheeks and feet in the evening, premature ejaculation and regular wet dreams this is because your kidney Yin energy is weak. (Yin & Yang)

When our Kidney energy is weak we start over using our Jing and this is when the aging process commences. Some say to refrain from sex while others such as Tantra promote sex as a way to become one with the universe. In today’s society the thought of celibacy would be laughed upon which is a fair comment as we all need an outlet and sex is the most powerful energy we have; powerful enough to create a human being. If we look at sex on an even deeper level when we make love, what actually happens is; we are creating balance between two opposites `Yin & Yang.

Previous in one of my other news letters I spoke of Yin & Yang, man being Yang in nature and woman being Yin in nature and by bringing them both together we get balance. Yang energy is hot and yin energy is cold. If you were to have two Yangs together you will get absolute heat and two Yins together you will have absolute cold. It is said that two Yins’ can benefit from each other for a short time but not two Yangs’ but this is a debate which I will leave for others to resolve.

When we have balance in our life we have health so the fact that men and women balance each others energies is clear statement to me that sex is a healthy activity.

But if you were to have excessive sex would this weaken the body? The rule is, “according to the old scripts” that, if you feel exhausted, have blurry vision, get regular colds, sore knees, sore back or and sex drive is low it is most likely that your kidney energy is weak. If this is the case it can be treated with Acupuncture, herbs and or Qi gong exercises. If you have night sweats, premature ejaculation, hot feet at night this also can be treated.

If you choose not to treat these conditions and are still having regular sex, I guarantee you, it will weaken your Jing and you will age faster than someone with healthy strong Kidneys. If you look at sex workers, over a two year period you will see them age very rapidly.

“There is a secret though!”

If women had orgasms through oral sex choosing only to have intercourse say
2-16 times a year this would preserve her youth. A woman can orgasm many times through oral sex without depleting herself provided she is not tired.

For men to preserve their youth it is best to follow the following rule. If in good health: age 20 you can orgasm 2x per day, age 30 once a day, age 40 every 3 days, age 50 every 5 days and age 60 every 10 days. If he is in poor health halving these numbers is recommended. “The complete system of Chinese Self-Healing”; a book by Dr Stephen T. Chang teaches techniques for men and women; improving health, sex and preserving Jing.

There are many things that can deplete your Jing but remembering to do everything in moderation should be ok. Low libido is a term used when you feel that sex would be just too much of an effort. When you are at this stage it is likely that there is more than just your sex drive that is lacking. Don’t wait for injuries to occur or even worse lose someone you love before seeking help.

If you are experiencing this problem, just say to me on your next visit that your privates are a little tired and I will treat you accordingly. And no I do not have to go down there to fix them, your kidney points are on your back and abdomen.

And be assured you are not the only one with a low sex drive, the only reason I am writing this is because it is a common problem with many of my clients.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

I enjoy researching new ideas so please forward all your curiosities.

Until next time, take care and look after your Jing!

Scott Cansdell.

http://www.backonyourfeet.com.au

“I have HEP C, HERPES and ARTHRITIS can Chinese Medicine explain?

Question

“I’m a 57 year old woman with HSV2 Hep c and arthritis.
The herpes is virulent and attacks can be almost continuous despite doctors telling me that it can’t be so. I’m suffering fatigue and one of my fingers is severely inflamed at the moment. Also some blurring in the eyes, I’m wondering about an article on foods suitable for HSV2 . My body seems very acidic at the moment. I have just formed a relationship with a man I care for after many celibate years so the distress I have grown accustomed to is more pronounced with someone in me life and bed and heart. I saw your article on acidic body and wonder if you could write something for those of us battling some of these long term diseases. They seem to be trying to eat my body”

Thank you for the questions.

Whenever I inspect someone’s health and history, first of all I consider the fundamental principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). So to analyse what you have described above, it would appear you have and access of heat in the body (inflammation, inflamed) you also have blurring of the eyes which would most likely be related to the liver. (The liver controls the eyes in TCM).

You have also stated that your situation has been quite stressful and again this will be producing more heat in the body. Now arthritis can be caused by wind, dampness, cold or a combination of the above. Even though you experience pain and inflammation TCM will treat the condition with warming treatments. We do this because warmth will move stagnant blood and energy that has ceased moving freely due to the wind, cold or dampness. An analogy would be frost bite, this is an extreme case but the same rules apply, stagnation becomes so intense it burns.

Stagnation is also caused by, you guessed it the liver! The liver’s job is to smooth the flow of energy and blood around the body. If you have or are currently living a stressful life, eating badly, not sleeping well, bombarded by pollutants you have consciously or unconsciously been abusing your liver this can create stagnation and pain leading to arthritis.

Over working body parts and working in cold environments will also do this.

· So to relieve your pain we need to clean up your diet, eat and drink complimentary warming foods and beverages and take up some useful Qi Gong, Tai Chi or Yoga exercises They are all gentle but strong enough to make your body strong and free up all your stagnation.

Hepatitis C Virus is toxic heat in the blood which the liver again plays a significant roll in. You may also experience jaundice, itching, sweating, brittle nails, irritability and tiredness all of which are related in someway with the liver. The liver will attack the digestive system causing digestive problems, jaundice, bloating plus other discomforting problems. Finger nails become brittle because the nails are ruled by the liver.

Herpes is another form of toxic heat in the body as well as weakening of the digestive system / immune system. To treat this symptom we need to target the liver first followed by the spleen.

In summary, dampness and heat toxins are a spleen and liver problem. Problems with your bones will be due to dampness, wind or cold and to treat all of the above we need to calm the liver, cool the blood, warm the kidneys and dry the dampness.

Diet

Green vegetables and juices will help detoxify the blood and calm the liver. Drink hot water as this will strengthen the bones and kidneys. Add ginger when steaming vegetables as this will warm the digestive system to remove the dampness.

Drink fresh papaya juice and leave 10 of the papaya seeds in the juice when blending it. They are high in vitamin C and will help with Hep C. Also look to for anti-oxidants from the health food store. I would highly suggest Professor Masquelier’s Pycnogenol OPC’S. Make sure his picture is on the box.

· Get your self a copy of The Jook Book or recipes on congee. And look for a recipe that uses “chen pi” which is dried mandarin skin, this helps with dampness.

· Wheat grass juice you will also find beneficial, it’s very high in nutrients and great for de-toxing the liver naturally. You can get shots of wheat grass from boost juice bars and other fresh juice shops. Or if you’re keen get your self a Champion Juicer and make your own. It’s not difficult to grow and you can purchase small kits. Almonds are very good because they will alkaline and clean the blood.

Others – millet, Udos oil, avocado, sunflower sprouts, raw almonds, carrots, dates, coconuts, celery, cucumbers, lemons, limes, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, green leafy vegetables, soy beans, walnuts, wheat grass, tofu, lima beans, turnip tops, peppers, beet tops.

The fact you suffer toxic heat would indicate that you are most likely acidic so all alkaline foods and drinks would be very good for you.

Do not drink any liquid for 30 minutes before or after taking food.
Ensure that 75% of each meal is fruit and vegetables high in water content.
Chew well and allow time for digestion and rest for 15-30 minutes after food.

The following foods should be taken in limited amounts, but preferably not at all: fried and oily food, hot and spicy food, dairy products, sugar, eggs, coffee, tea and alcohol. All of these will heat up the liver, weaken your immune system and make you more acidic. Also limit your meat intake and consider white meat as it’s less heating. Beef can actually make you more toxic and so can duck. Stay away from all shell fish because it will flare up your skin (cold sores etc).

Shopping List

· The Jook Book

· Healing with Whole Foods

· The Tao Of Balanced Diet

· Champion Juicer

· Qi Gong

· Yoga exercises

· Tai Chi

I hope this information has helped!

PS. If you are not on the BOYF mailing list please click on the link below and sign for my monthly News letter.

Receive the BOYF News Letter

Take care,

Kind regards,

Scott Cansdell

http://www.backonyourfeet.com.au

Bloating, Abdominal Distension, baby on the way! Call it what you please, it’s a digestive problem that’s common to many.

The stomach and spleen are the two organs that are responsible for rotting and ripening the food, breaking it down and distributing the nutrients throughout the body. From an energetic point of view the stomach cooks the food and the spleen takes the food Qi (energy) and transports it around fuelling your body allowing you to work efficiently.

When the spleen and stomach become impaired you’ll become sluggish, bloated and even irritable, because the body can’t function properly. Tiredness sets in and further eating just accumulates creating dampness or indigestion sets in.

Bloating is very common and has various causes. If you have not heard this term before, it’s when after eating, you not only feel full and ready to explode but you look like it also. You will temporarily look as if you have put on a few pounds/ Kilograms around the waist.

To understand how bloating occurs; you will first need to know the organs involved.

- Stomach: Job is the rotting and ripening of food to break it down for the spleen.

- Spleen: Job is to separate the food essence, food Qi and spread it throughout the body to sustain life.

- Liver: Job is to make sure that there is a smooth flow of Qi around the body but if the liver is not happy for what ever reason the Qi will stagnate (not move smoothly) and the digestive function will be impaired.

- Mingmen: Job is to provide heat to the body. It is know as the gate of vitality and its place of residence is between your 2 kidneys. Mingmen will supply the spleen with warmth so it can transform and move the essence and it also assists the stomach in the rotting and ripening process.

The most common cause of bloating is a weak spleen and its inability to do its job. Each organ of the body supports the next like a parent caring for their child. In Chinese Medicine we call it Mother Child relationship but sometimes the parent is too tired so the child is neglected or the child behaves like a spoilt brat and it retaliates. Either way our organs are always in a constant flux of change.

When the mingmen energy is weak, (the mingmen being the parent at this point) the spleen will become cold and sluggish so the food instead of being transported throughout the body will instead sit around creating a mould like substance which in Traditional Chinese Medicine we call dampness. Dampness over time will produce a toxic heat and gas which will blow you out like a balloon and this is bloating.

Another cause will be an unhappy liver. You may have been told not to talk about stressful matters while eating at the dinner table otherwise you will get indigestion. Well, that is the start of the bloating process when the liver is involved. The liver is always getting the blame but so it should, it is so temperamental and it needs to get its stuff sorted out. J The liver is always becoming hot and bothered and this affects the smooth flow of Qi around the body. By the liver Qi stagnating food and energy become stuck and then the whole digestive system goes into spasm and eventually the bottle neck needs to blow out somewhere and what better place than your stomach.

Now, there is one other case of bloating that is rare but still worth considering! Worms, yes, slimy gross worms! Worms will have you bloat, probably because they are eating all your food!!!! But seriously, if you have signs of worms like bloating, itchy rectum, belching, changeable bowel movements, intestinal tract burning and cramping, mucus in the stools, malabsorption of nutrients, inability to digest fats, lactose or gluten intolerant please have your self tested for parasites.

So that is bloating. I hope you found it interesting. All my articles are posted on my blog found at http://www.backonyourfeet.com.au so please feel free to peruse. If you have a topic that you would like me to talk about please email me via my website.

Thank you

PS. The Break Through to Success Seminar is coming up real soon so if you have not yet signed in for your complimentary tickets please do so at
http://www.backonyourfeet.com.au/break_through_success.htm . No matter where you live there is seminar near you. I know you may live in USA or UK, don’t fret, there are also seminars held there and you can get your complimentary tickets from the link above.

Take care.

Scott Cansdell

3 Reasons why you may suffer from bad breath!

Nearly everyone during their life experiences “the” kiss of death! Yes, that kiss! It might be your first kiss or one from a relative, but there is no-doubt it will always be remembered as the kiss of death.

BAD BREATH! (Halitosis)

Ever asked yourself how on earth did someone’s breath become so strong or repulsive? Worse still, how did your own breath become so potent? Actually the answer’s quite simple!

Bad breath is a result of bad digestion, an excess of strongly aromatic foods, alcohol, stress or dampness that’s giving off heat and making the breath smell nasty – to the recipient – you or another. Often we can’t smell our own breath, which can lead us blindly into a never ending cycle of unknowing or acceptance.

There are many stories of embarrassing instances where people have actually stopped talking, meeting and greeting other or becoming reclusive due to experiencing or being informed that they have bad breath.

For some it is often a lot easier to stay ‘a breath’ away than to have someone suggest "man go brush your teeth”! Unfortunately unless you know the other person well, often nothing is said at all, they just seem to ignore you or turn their heads in another direction as you speak to them.

If you are lucky, someone may comment “What have you been eating? My dog has nicer breath than you!" Sound cruel; well they may inadvertently be doing you a favour.

Bad breath may not have to be the way.

When food accumulates in the stomach, not breaking down in the time required, it ferments creating heat or heat that rises and representing an example of bad breath.

Another example is when someone has experienced a stressful situation causing their liver to over heat aggravating the stomach, which causes the stomach energy to rise instead of descend, leading to bad breath. Another common consideration will be internal dampness. Just as a house becomes damp our body will also become damp, leading to the familiar smell of mould – not nice to experience.

Dampness will accumulate in the body and in time this Yin energy will become what is considered damp heat or too much yin (negative energy).

The smell of damp heat can be likened to wet carpet ‘slowly’ drying or worse still wet nappies that have not enjoyed the refreshing sun and natures curing winds. Gross, you bet, true? You bet.

Dampness can be explained as a sticky sludge in the body, difficult to circulate as it slowly moves from one part of the body to another. Dampness therefore represents a digestive problem.

So what to do?

The stomach, spleen and intestines make up the digestive system. The intestines are not usually the cause of the problem unless you’ve experienced digestive difficulties for some time. Problems usually involve the stomach, spleen and liver. The stomach doesn’t like heat; the spleen on the other hand enjoys warmth.

The stomach feel comforted by a little moisture; however the spleen will be aggravated by excessive moisture, so a medium in the relationship between the two is required, needles to say the liver has its own favourite climate.

If you personally experience bad breath, start by reducing all heating foods from your diet. This might include chillies, curries, deep fried or oven baked and junk foods. You can assist this process by adding more green ingredients, foods high in water content like cucumber, lettuce and green leafy vegies – or supplementing your diet with a green wheatgrass ‘alkaline food’ ingredient to balance the Ph within the body.

This suggestion will address stomach heat; however let’s not overlook the spleen weakness or possible dampness issues. Consider cooking all green vegies with a slice of ginger – as ginger is a natural source of heat. You can do this by placing a little ginger with vegies whilst steaming or stir frying.

If you prefer stir-frying be sure to do so on a low heat, remembering not for to long or it could lead to over heating the ingredients.

Stress heats up the liver and this inturn affects the stomach. You can counteract this process by calming the body with cooling or calming teas and going for GENTLE walks, (in non-stressful environments like a park). Follow this process with a high vegetable diet and you’ll find the liver and anxiety levels will soon calm down.

Stress causes heat in the body, leading ultimately cause a viscous cycle of anxiety, sleepless nights, irregular bowel movement and unstable female period cycles. Over time any concentrated heat will start to make its way up to the throat – and this can eventuate in bad breath or offering some poor person, the kiss of death.

In order to maintain a fresh breath, keep the body calm, stay away from heating or damp foods, drinking ample water throughout the day to flush the body of toxin build-up. Don’t rely on chewing gum; this only goes to aggravate the stomachs digestive system, fooling it into the misconception that food is arriving. Not good.

Bad breath has nothing to do with teeth and gums, unless you have a rotting teeth and gums or chose not to undertake regular oral hygiene, Instead it has everything to do with rotting stagnant foods that continue fermenting in your stomach.

If you find yourself unsure as to the cause, step back and carefully consider your life, (work and family pressures) but more critically your diet.

If you feel stressed all the time it’s likely that the liver is under attack. If you experience clammy hands/feet and have a thick coating on your tongue, then it’s probably the spleen. Should you suffer from mouth ulcers, experience sensitive teeth and a dry mouth then it’s probably stomach heat.

Should you relate to any of the above symptoms, then come and have a consultation, before that person of your dreams suggests they’d rather kiss a stranger or worse still their dogJ

Until next time,

Breathe fresh on others, be cool, take care of your diet and be happy!

Kind regards,

Scott Cansdell

http://www.backonyourfeet.com.au

"Chinese Medicine Offers A Solution To Insomnia!"

According to the virtualmedicalcentre.com dated 15/01/07, between 9 to 21% of Australia's population suffers from insomnia - That's a huge loss of Sleep!

Is it any wonder we are a coffee drinking society?
It goes someway to explain why we consume drinks like "V" along with the others has grown in consumption, leading us to a nation of walking zombies? This might go suggest reasons why we fall so out of touch with ourselves, our true feelings and emotions, as any stimulant acts as a drug over time.

Yes, coffee and other high caffeine drinks will have you beaming, perk you up, give you a break from the real biological senses, but at a cost. Often when a client visits my clinic for an insomniac treatment their ‘verbal’ answers nearly always contradict what their pulse tells me, that is what the body is actually experiencing. A weak pulse can indicate someone is run down, although when the client is questioned on their energy levels, the majority suggest that they have plenty of energy!
Is this real energy, ego, shyness or is it just adrenaline?

The main cause of insomnia stems from the liver. Yes that part of the body that regulates more than just the coffee or stimulate intake, let’s refer to the liver as the gate keeper!
Actually the liver is a good guy, or good gatekeeper, who continually reminds us about the balance going on with our food and beverage intake.

Like an alarm the liver is continually working to ensure we have a balanced intake, it alerts us that more things can go wrong and not just insomnia. We could take this a bit deeper and say that it is the mind that's the root cause but its almost asking what came first the egg or the chicken?
I vouch for the chicken but let's not go there.

The mind makes all the decisions that affect our body, what we consume, why we consume various consumptions and how they will make us feel. Often the liver just sits and awaits the new arrivals. Not always the best of guests find a greeting at the livers door, as what we think are good for us, or our mind, are not friendly guests to the liver, as they can represent stresses and poison, the very same ingredients that cause one to wake up through the night.

Most people believe they wake for a toilet break, I guarantee you this is not the truth. You could be rested, wet the bed and still not awake, so it’s not your bladder. When you wake up, open your eyes you will get up and relieve your bladder, however it was the mind that was first disturbed by opening your eyes, and so what disturbed the mind?

The body works on an organ clock. Each organ is running at its peak at a certain hour of the day. When it’s a particular organs time of the day that organ will be doing its best to make sure it supports the rest of the body, but when the organ is weak it under-functions leading the body to other problems. Between the hours of 11pm and 1am is the time of the Gall Bladder and between 1am and 3am it is the livers turn to function at full speed ahead. If I was to ask you “what time do you wake up throughout the night?" 8 out of 10 people will say between 2 and 3am, during the time of the liver hours!

Insomnia is not just waking up; there’s a lot more involved than that. Insomnia is not being able to go to sleep, but once asleep everything is fine. There is the symptom of waking throughout the night where one can easily go back to sleep, or there is waking up and not being able to go back to sleep and they all stem from different causes.

The amount of blood you have in your body will determine how well you sleep. It's said that "blood houses the mind and the heart houses the blood!" meaning if someone is blood deficient (low in blood) that the mind (spirit) will not be anchored and will float all over the place and sleep will not be restful. When someone is heart blood deficient they will experience anxiety and palpitations as a result causing insomnia.

If you are someone who wakes many times through the night it means your kidney ‘Yin or negative’ energy is weak and will likely be running hot, or ‘yang, overly positive for its condition’, disturbing the mind with heat. You may have heard of Yin and Yang the two opposites that make up the balance of all life. Yin is cool energy and Yang is warm energy. If the cool energy is weak any warm energy will seem hotter and this is what we call Yin deficient heat. So when someone is yin deficient they will normally wake many times throughout the night because of this heat, acting as a disturbance or imbalance.

If you are someone who has nightmares and suffers from sleeping problems, then this is most likely a result of indigestion causing the body to heat up.

If you wake up in the early hours of the morning with disturbing thoughts or a busy head this is what we call Liver fire disturbing the mind.

Lastly, if you wake in the early hours and cannot get back to sleep this is considered a gall bladder problem.

Understand this; there is a common cause to insomnia and that is heat. Heat affects the mind directly and indirectly and is often related to the livers ability to function. I say this because if someone is stressed it will affect the liver, if someone eats poorly it will effect the liver, as both stress and poor diet can be considered poisons.

If you are rundown, work late or stressed then the kidney ‘yin’ energy will impact on the liver in a negative way, leading the liver to anxiety. When someone has gall bladder problems it will normally affect the liver because these two organs are yin/yang partners. So somewhere somehow the liver will be affected creating a vicious cycle of heat disturbing the mind leading to insomnia.

Please understand this; Going back to coffee or caffeine ‘rich’ drinks will stimulate heat, which is transferred to the liver, if the ‘poor’ liver is already running over temperature, then rest assured this is going to create and compound the turmoil the liver is already undergoing, or a never ending cycle

Unsure whether or not you are running on adrenalin? Stop still, look at your hands for a while, are they shaking? That is one clue!

What to do?

Drink water – we always hear the same clue, but many of us don’t listen. This will help detox the body. Place something green by your computer; this will calm the liver through the eyes, in addition to soaking up any negative Electro Magnetic Radiation, especially if still working with CRT’s and not flat screen technology. Go to sleep earlier, this will strengthen kidney yin. Eat less spice; this will help keep the blood cool. Write all tomorrows activities down before you sleep, this way they will be out of your head, with the added benefit of knowing what needs to be addressed tomorrow.

Stop worrying about tomorrow’s projects because you can’t do anything about them tonight.
By continually mistreating the power plant of your body – the liver, if your liver gives up then there won’t be a tomorrow.

Enjoying a good night’s sleep will enable you to deal with tomorrow in a much more productive, positive and rewarding way. If any of the above suggestions doesn't work, then perhaps you’re not listening, so come see me and I'll stick a needle in you, if for no other reason but to give your liver a break!

Actually, acupuncture is very affective in treating insomnia.
It should be, Chinese Medicines Solution to Insomnia has experienced 3,500 years of practice.

IS ACUPUNCTURE REAL? Can it be regarded as a SERIOUS TREATMENT?

The other day I was Chatting with a guy who did not know me or what I did. He was telling me about a neck problem he had and how bad it was so I asked have you considered acupuncture and he said no the neck is quite bad and it needs serious attention, I will go see a Chiropractor. Now, confused by that statement and thinking about the comment for a while I came to the conclusion that most people really under estimate the power of Acupuncture.


What can be justified as real or for that matter normal? Real to some people may be a feeling, to others it may represent something they visually saw, heard or experienced, but does that really justify that something is real?

When I travelled to Sri Lanka I experienced things that if I shared with you, you’d probably say “impossible” but given for me the experience was real, I’d have to admit and say it was real.
Is a magic trick real or an illusion? At what point can something be regarded as real?

I ask this question because after 3500 years there is still doubt about whether or not Acupuncture is real. Why would generations of people keep Acupuncture therapy around for so long if it wasn’t, real or working for them? What about religion, they have all been around for thousands of years, are they real?

Could it be because someone experienced something, an event or happening that could not be explained as the experience was so moving, so (real) that they believe whatever it was, that made them feel that way, it would have proven to them to be real?

Is your Brain real? To this day, science does not really understand how the entire brain works, or for that matter electricity but they still say its real; it has to be, without it your body would not work and neither would your microwave.

There are many things in this world that can’t be explained or I should say that can be explained but not everybody can comprehend the explanation. In one of the old spiritual texts it is said; "when meditating, concentrate on the breath because it is all that is real, everything else is just an illusion!" The breath is real because without it you are dead!

At this point you’re probably wondering where this story is heading? In the Western World we are governed by what science informs us is real. Reality is measured by tangibility. If it can be seen or measured, then it must be real, if it can’t, well, then it must be an illusion. Why are ghosts often considered a figment of our imagination? Maybe because they can’t be called upon when a scientist wants to see them?

If it can’t be summoned, called upon, measured, seen or broken down to know true nature or constituent parts, and then surely it's not real. So where does Acupuncture come into this? When the body is dissected acupuncture points can not be found, a bit like someone having their leg cut off but still having an itch where the leg once was! Taoist say “the closer you look the bigger the whole becomes!” It is only now that quantum physicists actually agree with this theory, that if you break down the body structure eventually you arrive at a cellular level, then atoms, then energy that form the atoms and then the universe which provides the energy. Why the universe? Because all that is energy is part of the universe. So the full circle starts again. So what’s real?

My best definition of real is, if something makes you feel good, relieves some suffering and improves your life, even a little, then that experience is real, the results are real.

In due time, after science decides to stand still from chasing its own tail, breathe a little and starts to feel its own breath, then they and the no-sayers will notice that there is a vibration of something moving around their body – perhaps they’ll call it Chi or Energy?. In Chinese Medicine we call this Qi. If Science can for once say "yes there is something there because I can feel it / actually experience it" and then just accept that without trying to get to the bottom of it because getting to the bottom of the universe is perceptually possible, then the considered opinion of it won’t happen, doesn’t work, doesn’t exist and can’t be explained therefore it does not exist, may change to Yes, using the Meridians, or life paths of energy form through the body is factual and by redirecting or clearing pathways, acupuncture helps to cure and heal.

Today after no less than 3500 years many people do not believe in acupuncture and even after getting excellent results question whether the treatment was real or in just in their mind (A bit like the placebo effect).

I can tell you without quoting texts or history, that acupuncture is very real and very serious for all conditions, even serious ones! Some of the problems I have personally treated with instant results are:

Headache
Backache
Breeched baby
Morning sickness
Nausea
Frozen shoulder
Someone unable to stand up
Asthma attack
Impotence
Indigestion
Sea sick
Knee problem
Stiffness in the hips
Fainting

A client arrives with severe leg problems; the Western Medical approach was to conduct spinal surgery – yes serious surgical procedure. After six weeks of acupuncture, to this day he has never complained of any leg problems again, and this is from a patient that I had to pick up off the floor, as he could not use his legs, let a lone walk. Did he go into surgery, no! Would surgery have worked, who knows? Would he have walked out of surgery, highly unlikely, was he walking after the first treatment of acupuncture, well, he went back to work that day.

Believe me, Acupuncture is a very serious and mostly misunderstood treatment and it works extremely well for most physical complaints. Acupuncture is a very powerful method of treating the human body. So much so, it has been able to get women strong enough to conceive and carry the full term of pregnancy when no other intervention had worked. In relation to the client story above, it got a grown man crying in agony up off the floor, wipe his tears away and return to work that day.

Consider this? Every living thing in this Universe is made up of energy, literally every single atom, be it a solar system, planet, the Earth we walk on or the body we use to walk. Our bodies are living atoms all vibrating together to keep us together. Now and then this togetherness needs energetic correction, and that is what Acupuncture provides, it unblocks the pathways that lead to stagnant energy, allowing the body’s natural energy flows to flow.

May you have a peaceful mind and a warm happy ‘open’ heart.

Kind regards,

Scott Cansdell
http://www.backonyourfeet.com.au

Are you more Alkaline or Acidic?

What does this actually mean?

Simply put, if you are more acidic you are poisoning your body!

If the food you are eating is not pH balanced it is likely to turn into poison once in the digestive tract and then instead of your body absorbing nutrients it will absorb poisons. To live a healthy vibrant life we are to find a balance between acid and alkaline foods.

One of our body’s highest priorities is to keep the blood at an ideal pH balance of 7.365. Eating pH balanced foods allows your blood to be able to extract the maximum amount of nutrition available from those foods. If you are eating more acid producing foods your body will start breaking down and the signs of aging will show before their time.

Fat is an Acid Problem!
A man by the name of Dr. Young has a theory that the cause of obesity is actually an acid problem! What does that mean?
The body creates fat cells to carry acids away from your vital organs so the acids don't choke your organs to death. Fat could be saving your life! Dr Young goes on to say, “Fat is actually a response from the body to an alarming over acidic condition” and the solution is to Alkalize and Energize to rid the body of both acid and fat.

This theory was also the belief of the early Taoists. (Taoism is the foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine .TCM). Dr Stephen T Chang who comes from a 400 year lineage of Taoist practitioner’s put it this way, “If one ever goes to the back door of any restaurant, one will find food corruption in garbage cans. Not long ago, this food was served to customers. So the only thing separating the front and back of the restaurant is a wall and a few hours time”. “We would not purposely eat garbage because we know we will become sick from ingesting poisons. Yet, we do eat garbage every time we eat without a thought for pH balance”.

Fatigue, a major complaint in our society, comes from an acidic body.
The toxins produced in an acidic body reduce the absorption of proteins and minerals. This will then weaken the body’s ability to produce enzymes and hormones interfering with the reconstruction of cells and other necessary components of energy production. The result is fatigue, poor endurance, an inability to add muscle tone, and general weakness.
Some other signs of an acidic body; yellow smelly urine, gas, indigestion, heart burn, headaches, sore eyes, foul smelling stools, bad breath, sore gums and teeth, allergies, aches / pains and nightmares.

So what can we do?

Answer: eat four parts alkaline to one part acid and this should maintain your bloods pH level at 7.365. When this balance is maintained micro organisms such as pleomorphic virus, bacteria, yeast, and fungus will de-evolve back to their original healthy state.


What to eat?

Alkali forming foods – millet, Udos oil, avocado, sunflower sprouts, raw almonds, carrots, dates, coconuts, celery, cucumbers, lemons, limes, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, green leafy vegetables, soy beans, walnuts, soy beans, wheat grass, tofu, lima beans, turnip tops, peppers, beet tops.

Acid producing foods – butter, margarine, eggs, veal, fish, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, prawns, lobster, oysters, whole wheat, rye, cheese, milk, sour cream, yogurt, mushrooms, coffee, tea, alcohol, refined sugar.

I am not saying not to eat these things or you can only eat alkali forming foods though to live a healthy, disease free life you may consider balancing out your diet if you do have signs of an acidic body.

With most topics I write about there is always so much more you can learn. If you find this topic interesting keep an eye on my website for books covering this subject. Dr Stephen Chang has a great book called the forgotten food diet which should be available from my site http://www.backonyourfeet.com.au very shortly.

Until next time, take care and

May you have a peaceful mind and a warm happy heart.

Kind regards,

Scott Cansdell

Are you having difficulties Conceiving a Child? Learn Why!

The clock is ticking and your hubby is at his prime. You have both been going at it for months and months and you’re almost out of breath with no bambino to show for your efforts. Or perhaps you have conceived time and time again and sadly you keep having miscarriages. You are not alone! More and more women around the world are experiencing the same problems and science just stands in bewilderment scratching its head and decides to fix the problem like it was fixing a car, not your body.

Your body is like a garden not a motor vehical so it should be cared for in the same way you would look after a garden. I can see you looking over at your biological garden and all you see are weeds and dead plants, right? Well, this analogy is perfect then. You are going to have to develop a green thumb and start looking after your body as if your babys life depended on it, because it does!

How would something grow in an environment that was under-nourished, dry, toxic and left to look after itself? It would not grow under those conditions! So let me ask you, how fertile is your body? What is the condition of the environment where your baby will be living? Is it well nourished, warm and not too hot, is the blood clean or full of toxins due to stress? How is your digestion? Did you know that what you eat and the condition of your digestive system can mean the difference between having a healthy strong baby and a possible miscarriage?

You have to understand in your heart and mind that your body is going to grow another body, and that’s no easy feat. You are a creator of life and this means you have to be in a pure state to even come close to creating another human being. Your body has to have so many different hormones in balance not to mention other fluids, blood, oxygen, nutrients and at the same time fight off toxins caused by stress and outside negative influences to create a baby that will grow and develop beautifully not struggle to live or maintain life.

When you visit your GP or Gynaecologist, they look at your body through the eyes of science and what science has proven to be true and when you visit a Chinese Medicine Practitioner they look through the eyes of wisdom that has been gained by studying the fundamentals of a system that has been around for NO LESS THAN THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED YEARS (3,500) and that’s a very long time, actually 3,100 years longer than western medicine. Chinese medicine takes the body as it is in its unique form and treats it as an individual blade of grass that comes from a lawn that covers the entire earth. You are different to the person standing near you or other people you meet and so your body is designed to be treated differently than the body of someone else. There are so many reasons why you have not been able to conceive or hold the baby you had and you must be treated as an individual to get to the root cause of that reason.

The way Chinese Medicine looks at the body is like nature itself. It may all sound a bit airy fairy but if you think about it for a minute, what is different between what is outside in the park to what is in your body? Without sun, water and nutrients your body will die just as the trees in the park would die and if you did not sleep when the moon was out you would burn up from exhaustion just as the trees would. So what is different? Yes you have a mind and you can talk but other than that there is not much difference between what makes up the tree and what makes up your body. If you haven’t watched it yet hire the movie Inconvenient Truth and you will see that the earth actually breathes just as you do. Thousands of years ago these simple truths were discovered and Chinese medicine was based on these truths.

It is said that the body is made up of 5 elements just as in nature. These five elements are as follows; wood, fire, earth, metal, water and each of these elements are of the same nature and characteristics that are specific to our internal organs.

Wood
Liver & Gallbladder

Fire
Heart & Small Intestine

Earth
Spleen & Stomach

Metal
Lungs & Large Intestine

Water
Kidneys & Urinary Bladder


Each of these elements support each other in the cycle of life for example water grows the wood, wood is needed to make fire, the ashes of the fire creates the earth, earth creates metal, and metal broken down will create water. And it’s through this supporting cycle our internal organs work together and give us life.

To understand this better you will first have to understand the term Qi (CHI) pronounced “chee”. Qi is energy just like the stuff that makes your hair dryer work but it’s in your body. This is one subject that quatum physists agree on but certain scientists are still having troubles with. Our body is made of energy vibrating at a speed that gives us the elusion that we are solid but it’s only an elusion. If you were to stand in front of a powerful microscope you would be seen as just particles of energy. Now all your bones, organs and other bits and pieces are vibrating each at different speeds to create the solid matter they are. Your body is nothing but a mass of energy, yes it maybe hard to come to grips with, but its true. While this may be difficult to believe or even to comprehend, please stick with me, you have nothing to lose and a baby to gain.

Our body is made up of 5 elements that pertain to the internal organs that support the function of our body. These organs support each other by transferring energy (Qi) to each other. By the Qi circulating smoothly throughout the body we will have good health but if its not circulating properly we will experience problems from anything like headaches, bad digestion to period pain and infertility.

Let me explain how the Qi circulates. The 5 element cycle travels clockwise and the organ that supporting the next is known as the mother and the supported organ is named the child. The Liver is the mother of the Heart, the liver stores the blood and the blood houses the mind/spirit, so if the liver blood is weak the heart (the child) will suffer. The Heart is the mother of the Spleen and the energy of the heart (the heart’s Qi) pushes the blood helping the spleen’s function of transporting nutrients and body fluids. The Spleen is the mother of the Lungs and the spleen Qi provides food Qi to the lungs to create a special type of Qi called zhong Qi that supports the body’s respiratory function and helps in blood circulation among other things. The Lungs are the mother of the Kidneys. The lungs send Qi and fluid down to the kidneys. The Kidneys are the mother of the Liver and help to nourish the liver blood that surrounds the uterus and feeds your baby.

When the body is running smoothly all the organs support each other, but when we are not in harmony, the organs attack each other. A good example of this is when you are at the dinner table and you have an argument and you then lose your appetite or develop indigestion. What has just happened is that the liver becomes hot due to stress and the liver then attacks the stomach and spleen. It not only occurs with these organs it happens with all the organs and regularly within the body. As soon as you are unhappy or you eat something bad or breathe in a chemical or don’t have enough sleep your organs will start abusing each other and fighting each other as if each were a contestant in a championship boxing match.

This is why you cannot look at your body through the eyes of mechanic but instead look through the eyes of a gardener. We need to care for our body and make sure the blood is nourished, food nutrient is ample and our Qi is strong because if it’s not, you will be unable to grow anything, including something as precious as a baby. Chinese Medicine has a lot to offer and can treat most illnesses so please consider it if you are having troubles conceiving. You may think that is a big claim but do keep in mind, the body is an organic object that is in a constant flux of change and when it’s unwell it’s because its out of balance. If we look, smell, hear and touch to see what is out of balance we can treat the root cause make adjustments to bring it back into balance and once in balance health is assured and this includes the ablity to bare a child. To learn more about what goes on in the body and why you may be having troubles conceiving please drop in or drop me an email.

Until next time,

Take care.

Kind regards,

Scott Cansdell

scott@backonyourfeet.com.au
http://www.backonyourfeet.com.au


With many failed attempts at trying to conceive we were at a low point. Finding Scott was by pure chance, or perhaps fate, and we have never looked back. Through his care, positive attitude and expertise we were able to conceive naturally and maintain the pregnancy. The acupuncture sessions lifted my spirits and cleared my mind and body of extreme stress and anxiety. We also learnt the importance of inner health, balance and positive energy - prerequisites for a successful pregnancy. I highly recommend treatment from Scott to other men and women who are experiencing fertility issues or day to day stresses of trying to conceive.

S. Chu

Period Pain

As much as this is important for women to know guys should be aware of this also. Why? You may ask? Because you may have to look after your or someone else’s daughter one day. Another reason may be that you just want to love your wife or girlfriend and knowing some simple keys will mean the difference between peace and suffering for her.

What is period pain?
Period pain is what a female may experience when she has her menstrual cycle. The pain can come before or during her menstrual cycle and the intensity can vary from person to person. The pain may be slight cramps or it can be so debilitating she may have to check into a hospital.

Does every woman experience period pain?
No, and they shouldn’t! Most women I speak with have a belief that period pain is a phenomenon that all women go through but this is far from the truth. Period pain is a symptom of your body being out of balance and not a natural part of the menstrual cycle. Women should not experience any pain at all with their period whether it is breast tenderness, low abdomen cramps or any other pain.

What actually happens every month?
The menstrual cycle is a shedding of the uterus wall and it should happen without pain. Every month a woman’s uterus creates a lining of blood vessels to prepare a home for the anticipated fertilized egg. If a woman becomes pregnant the egg will feed off the wall of blood until a developed baby has grown. If pregnancy does not occur the uterus will shred the lining and this is what is called your menstrual cycle or period. This process should be pain free but for a lot of women its not.

Why pain occurs.
In Chinese medicine we talk about liver Qi stagnation, cold in the lower Jiao, cold in the channels, blood deficiency and stagnation of blood. These are all terms that will be the reason why a woman will experience period pain. Simply put, if the blood or energy is not flowing freely around the uterus a women will experience pain.

The Liver organ is the main culprit
The Livers job is to smoothly circulate energy (Qi) and blood around the body. It is also responsible for the suppleness of muscle and tendons, lubricated eyes and the ability to see as well as preparing a fertile ground within the uterus for a baby to grow. When the Liver energy is out of balance we will experience liver Qi stagnation and blood stagnation. And this takes us to why a woman will experience period pain. Liver Qi stagnation is caused usually by stress, the liver becomes heated and aggravated by emotional turmoil and then the Liver Qi will stagnate giving the body pain. Qi stagnation will inturn stagnate blood flow and then a stabbing type pain will be felt. To rectify this problem you could have acupuncture, massage if the symptoms are not to bad and Chinese herbs.

Cold in the lower Jiao or channels
If you could imagine a lake flowing nicely just before the cold snap of winter and then all of a sudden it freezes. “Well”, this is something like what happens with the blood that circulates around the uterus when it’s invaded by cold or cold gets into the acupuncture channels. When cold invades the body your blood will stagnate and this will give you very severe cramping.

The above symptoms are the main reasons why a woman will experience period pain. Other reasons may be dampness, meaning there is a type of mouldy by product developed in your body due to digestive system weakness and this prevents the blood from circulating. And another reason may be endometriosis.

Period pain can be prevented and can be treated without going on the pill or any other chemical intervention. If you have cold the pain will be stabbing, for this drink ginger tea with a little honey. If there is a cramping sensation this is liver Qi stagnation and in this case do something relaxing like walking in the park and look at the green grass and trees. Green soothes the liver. Also meditation and yoga Nidra will help ease tension. The gym is not recommended it is stressful on the body and will only make the pain worse. And if you have blood stagnation you can do both. The warmth of the ginger will help move the blood and relaxation will help free up any Qi stagnation.

Many women experience tiredness and dizziness after their period and this is because of lack of blood and the body’s inability to replenish the blood lost after a period. This subject will be spoken more about in another BOYF news letter.

Until next time,

Take care.

Kind regards,

Scott Cansdell

http://www.backonyourfeet.com.au/