January 2012

Welcome to Yang-Sheng! 《養生》欢迎您!

Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) is an E-magazine and a network for all healthcare professionals of preventive medicine, practitioners of  mind-body exercise (such as Qigong, Tai Chi, Yoga, Reiki, mindfulness and meditation), health seekers, and spiritual cultivators. It promotes philosophy and methods of self-healing, positive mind and health preservation, and shares knowledge and experiences with those who are interested in the subjects and their applications in everyday life.

Yang-Sheng merges traditional life-nurturing knowledge with modern scientific research and clinic evidence, and combines ancient wisdom with our own experience to support our daily practice and well-being,  and to reach true meaning of health in body, mind and spirit… Your contribution, participation, sharing and suggestions are truly appreciated.

Yang-Sheng magazine will be published bimonthly in 2012.

Download the January issue of Yang-Sheng as a PDF

Highlights of January 2012 Issue (Vol 2, No. 1)

[From the Editor] by Rebecca Kali, Editor-in-Chief – Welcome to the January issue of Yang Sheng! Our theme is “Transformation and Renewal.” Every second of our lives, with every breath we take, with every meal we eat, every refreshing drink of water, every physical movement or going deeper, with every session of mind-body energy practices we engage in; we are in a constant process of transformation. Cell by cell – mindfully or not, we are renewing, rebuilding, reinventing ourselves continuously, constantly. How exciting, now to know that we can add Yang-Sheng practices to that! To know that the information is available and we can use these “tools” to mindfully, intentionally orchestrate and guide our own transformation – to wellness, to wholeness, to heal, to evolve in all the ways and on all the levels, physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual that we may long for. To make it more exciting the Chinese year of the Black Water Dragon begins soon. It ushers in the energetic patterns that naturally initiate and support both transformation and change in a gentle and reasonable manner, as the Water element of this year calms Dragon energy.

[Featured Report] The World Experts of Yang Sheng Meet in “Heaven on Earth,” Hangzhou City by Kevin W Chen — The first World Assembly of Yang Sheng was held in Hangzhou, China in December 2011 with the mission of “advancing the essence of Chinese medicine, promoting the course of Chinese Yang Sheng, and bringing health and balance to mankind.”  In general, the assembly was very successful. It is interesting that our YS magazine might actually add new light and hope to the Yang-Sheng community in China as more and more people around the world are interested in Yang Sheng theories, methods and techniques from Chinese medicine.

[From the Master] A Training Tip for the New Year: On Meditationby master Yang Yang – Meditation can generate so many health benefits, however for many people learning “how” to meditate can seem confusing or difficult. Dr. Yang offers excellent tips and insights on how to develop an enjoyable and meaningful meditation practice.

[Soul Salon] The Line Between Ordinary and Extraordinary by Rena Reese – It is in our nature to be extraordinary. Just like a tiny acorn, we are packed with the potential for astounding greatness at the start of our lives. With nurturing, every seed and every human being develops perfectly according to its built in programming. The spiritual equivalents of a seed’s need for “water, soil and light” are your life-experiences, natural-born talents and intuition. Now more than ever it seems people are tapping into this inborn wisdom to intentionally create their own lives. So what make a person extraordinary?

[Learn About Dao] Daoism and the Origins of Qigong (part 2) by Livia Kohn, Ph.D. – Healing, longevity, and immortality can be seen as three different dimensions of practice within the greater universe of the Dao. The main distinction between health and longevity and advanced spiritual or immortality practice, within the overall system of Qigong is the degree to which the body is aligned with the flow of yin and yang or the Dao on the periphery versus being transformed, transfigured, and energetically reorganized to a higher level – the ineffable Dao of creation at the center of all.

[Stress Less] A New Hope for 2012 and Beyond!by Niraj Naik, — This time last year, Niraj Naik was suffering from a horrible illness and his doctor told him that there was no cure and he would be on medication for the rest of his life. Instead, he went on his own personal mission to find a natural solution. Fast forward one year… he has been symptom free for over 10 months! Here are some amazing facts that helped him to make that shift.

[From the Master] Daoist Internal Alchemy(part 2) by Michael Winn – How does the language of alchemical patterns allow one to communicate with Nature’s intelligence? Alchemical formulas are a kind of symbolic programming in a “Daoist software language”. The alchemical symbols are not fixed words or pictures within the adept’s mind, but always moving. They define a kind of living geometry that creates its own time, space and intelligence. The alchemical meditator shapes his internal Qi field, and it is instantaneously uploaded into the greater Qi field of Nature, which in turn responds.

[Research Update] collected by Kevin Chen – Tai chi exercise for treatment of pain and disability in people with persistent low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. • Yoga for persistent fatigue in breast cancer survivors: A randomized controlled trial. • External Qi of Yan Xin Qigong induces cell death and gene expression alterations promoting apoptosis and inhibiting proliferation, migration and glucose metabolism in small-cell lung cancer cells. • Effects of yoga interventions on pain and pain-associated disability: a meta-analysis. • Positive Effect of Abdominal Breathing Exercise on Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: A Randomized, Controlled Study. • Reducing Stress in School-age Girls through Mindful Yoga. • Effectiveness of yoga therapy as a complementary treatment for major psychiatric disorders: a meta-analysis. • Effect of a single-session meditation training to reduce stress and improve quality of life among health care professionals: a “dose-ranging” feasibility study.• Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity.

[From Dr. Ma] The Natural “Yin-Yang” Transformation inside the Body by Dr. Li-Jun Ma – Body weight is a big deal to us. Some people spend a lot of money on diet pills. However, it is not just body weight or “fat” that matters. “What is inside the fat” matters the most. In response to obesity, macrophages, the key cell component in the immune system, migrated and accumulated in the fat. They play a key role in adipose tissue inflammation and systemic insulin resistance. Obesity is not only a metabolic disease, it is also recognized as a state of low-grade inflammation.

[Experience Exchange] Listening to Your Inner Rhythms by Dan Kleiman – Heartbeat, the rhythm of your breath, the cadence of Tai Chi as you move through the form; three interlaced rhythms, each one distinct, yet layered one on top of the other in integrated harmony. It is surprising to see how harmonizing movement, breath, and intention creates internal space. Essentially, the stillness you find inside the graceful movements of Tai Chi comes from an inward listening — referred to in Tai Chi as “ting jin” or “listening energy”.

[Seasonal Harmony] Let Flavor Be Your Guideby Ellasara Kling – We often gravitate to particular flavors on a regular basis. By utilizing information from the principles of TCM and Five Element Theory, this draw to certain tastes can give us a lot of knowledge about how our bodies are trying to create greater balance and harmony and how well our organ systems are functioning. Balance and Harmony are always the ultimate goal of everything in the Universe; even when that may not seem to be so on the surface.

[Experience Exchange] ‘Distancing Desires’ – The Daoist way to Longevity by Neil Kingham – “Relish oblivion and obscurity, think less, have little desire and practice economy of speech in order to nourish the Qi.” – wrote Li Dong Yuan (1180-1251 CE). Li is expressing Daoist thought – the importance of being calm and ‘going with the flow’ in order to maintain health and vitality. According to Li, we need to recognize the importance of calmness and withdrawal, the yin qualities of life. “If one keeps to this and follows the Dao, then one can obtain the true purpose and delight of life.”

[From the Doctor] Joyeux Noel! Out of Ashes come Flowers … by Nadia Linda Hole, MD – What a year! With all that’s happening, seen & unseen, geophysical, social-political, financial, psycho-spiritual – How’s this inescapable, undeniable, Shift for you? We’re seeing more folks, whose worlds are crumbling in ways no logic could foresee, or prevent Old 3D rules no longer apply. What’s true one moment, may evaporate the next. What now? Amidst ever-changing whirlwinds of our times, blowing lives to the winds – How do we help those who come to us, & ourselves, Shift? Thank heaven; the Five Elements are a tried and true map! Patients, once their pain is relieved, often become curious regarding life changing messages their Five Element diagnosis, may have for them.

[The Tai Chi Examiner] A New Hope for Parkinson’s Disease Patients: Tai Chi by Violet Li – The story of Jerry Wild brings hope for people with this tragic degenerative disease. Jerry learned that Washington University in St. Louis, MO was doing research on PD. He volunteered to teach PD patients Tai Chi for scientific research. This resulted in a study called Tai Chi improves balance and mobility in people with Parkinson disease. All Tai Chi participants reported satisfaction with the program and improvements in well-being. The study reported that “Tai Chi appears to be an appropriate, safe and effective form of exercise for some individuals with mild-moderately severe PD.”

[TCM Food Therapy] Traditional Chinese Medicine, Food Therapy: Cardiomyopathy & Congestive Heart Failureby Helen Hu, OMD – In TCM, cardiomyopathy can be classified into different categories such as, heart Qi deficiency, and heart blood deficiency. Since the spleen and kidneys, normally support and balance the heart, some cases of cardiomyopathy are related to the spleen and kidneys. Dr. Hu explains Heart and Kidney Yang deficiency; Heart and Spleen deficiency; Heart Yin deficiency; Heart Qi deficiency and offers recipes following TCM principles for each condition.

[Scientific Qi Exploration] Scientific Qi Exploration 17-A (part 2) Meridians and Organs – Yin Organs by Martin Eisen, Ph.D. – The Chinese concepts of Meridians and Organs will be introduced in a series of articles and possible western scientific explanation of some of these concepts will be introduced. Part 2 includes the Kidneys (Shen), the Gate of Vitality (Ming Men) and a summary of its main functions and the Liver (Gan).

[A Comedy Moment] “Studies show that mirthful laughter, the kind that stems from real joy, relieves stress, lightens mood and confers health benefits.”

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Yang-Sheng wishes everyone a Prosperous New Year!

《养生》杂志祝大家节日愉快！新年好！

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