Category: Staying Healthy

By: Lynn Jaffe

My first conscious brush with Stagnant Qi occurred during my first semester in school to study Acupuncture. I was returning back to school for a master’s in Oriental medicine after having been away from the academic world for years (okay, maybe decades). I can remember thinking at the time, “How hard could this be?” Much to my surprise, it was hard. I had classes during the day and studied every night and weekends. I was working part time and my husband traveled for his business. My kids were still in grade school and junior high, and they weren’t happy with my return to school.

About two months into the semester, I began to get this funny feeling in my throat. It felt like a lump stuck somewhere below my Adam’s apple and above my sternum that made it hard for me to swallow and very uncomfortable to eat. After lots of antacids and a trip to my doctor, I ended up in the Chinese medicine teaching clinic at my school. Within the framework of Chinese medicine, my symptoms were easily diagnosed. I had something called Plum Pit Qi, which sounded exactly like what I was feeling—a plum pit was caught I my throat. I learned that Plum Pit Qi is a kind of stagnation of Qi, or energy, and occurs as the result of a situation that is figuratively too difficult to swallow.

While the acupuncture and herbal treatments at the clinic were very effective, I also had to acknowledge that I had taken on too much. I had to either quit school or find a way to balance all the commitments I had taken on. After retooling my life somewhat, quitting my job, and studying when my kids were occupied or in bed, I managed to get through that first semester and ultimately, three years later, complete my master’s degree.

Perhaps what was most startling to me from this whole episode was how powerful the physical symptoms were from stress that was purely emotional. In Chinese medicine this phenomenon is related to the smooth flow of Qi throughout the body. Qi can be described as life energy or the energy necessary for transformation to occur. The smooth flow of Qi in the body is most closely related to the Liver, the organ system associated with the element of wood. This may mean the hard wood found in trees, but the color associated with the Liver is green or blue/green, suggesting younger plants and their slow, steady growth upward toward the sun. If some obstacle inhibits that growth, then the plant will grow crooked and become deformed.

While the Liver is responsible for the smooth flow of Qi, it also has a strong relationship to the smooth flow of emotions. When our emotional state is even, Qi will flow evenly throughout our body. However, during emotional upheaval or unrelenting stress, our Qi tends to stagnate. This stagnation is much like turning on the water to your garden hose and then being it until the flow is cut off. This blockage of Qi can cause numerous physical symptoms, from my Plum Pit Qi, to insomnia, headaches, gynecological problems, and pain.

Ultimately, even emotions equal smooth Qi. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. We have all, at one time or another, become caught up in the way we think things should be and have trouble accepting what really is. For many of us this feeling is constant, and when the feeling becomes overwhelming, our Qi becomes bound up and begins to stagnate. This feeling can take the form of too many things to do and not enough time, a job we don’t like, people who annoy us, or anything that makes us unhappy, uncomfortable, frustrated, or angry.

On a daily basis, we see people attempting to move Qi, some more successfully than others. On any given weekend morning during the summer, we see thousands of people outside running, biking, rollerblading, and walking. They usually feel better after having exercised, because physical activity moves Qi. However, practitioners of Chinese medicine would caution that excessive exercise can be depleting.

Drinking a cup of coffee speeds things us and also moves Qi, too. However, coffee is a diuretic, and excess can also be depleting. Like coffee, chemical use/abuse is an attempt to move stagnant Qi and feel better, but the depleting effects of such uses are obvious.

Perhaps the most successful ways of dealing with stagnant Qi, and ultimately the emotions, are some of the Eastern practices, such as taiqi, qigong, or yoga. These combine gentle exercise with breathing techniques that allow us to even out emotions, nourish our bodies, and smooth Qi. Through proper breathing and quieting the mind, meditation is also an excellent way to calm the emotions and allow the Qi to move freely.

When these practices aren’t enough, or when stagnant Qi begins to manifest as illness, acupuncture can help bring relief. Many people believe that acupuncture is best used for relieving pain. However, it’s also very effective in treating stress-related disorders such as irritable bowel, headaches, PMS, depression, and insomnia.

Like the “Plum Pit” caught in my throat, many physical symptoms that make us uncomfortable are actually a barometer to our emotional health. Often, when we have ignored the obvious signs that we are doing too much or need to make an emotional change, this discomfort finally gets us to stop and take our lifestyle into account.

This article appeared in Essential Wellness, January, 2005

By: Lynn Jaffe

I am a runner, and have been for over 25 years. Before I picked up the running habit, I was pretty sedentary, and while I wasn’t exactly a couch spud, regular exercise was not something I ever thought about. However, shortly after I began to run I noticed some changes in my health that were pretty dramatic. I started to crave healthier foods, and even dropped a few pounds. I felt better conditioned, had more energy and I even slept a little better. However, the most important change I noticed was not physical or even very describable. It was a change in the relationship between my mind and my body. I began to notice things. For example, I noticed how different foods impacted my energy, how my actions affected my health, and I became aware of the physical effects of stress.

I think this happened because when I began running it was extremely difficult. I was overweight and out of shape, so I gauged my runs based on how miserable I felt. I would monitor how difficult it was to breathe, whether my shins ached, or if my head was pounding from being overheated. Monitoring how I felt eventually became a habit on the road and off. As I continued to run, I noticed a lot of body signals even when I wasn’t running that I had never noticed before. Things like how awful I felt after a night with too little sleep, or how low my energy would become when I ate poorly started to appear on my radar. These may seem obvious to most people, but back then, I was out of touch and out of control. If I had a stomachache, I would never have made the connection between my discomfort and the fries and chili dog I had picked up at the mall.

I continued running and paying attention, and I became healthier. It took a while, but when I made the connection between how I felt and my diet, sleep, and exercise habits, I made some better choices.

I have seen this same transformation occur in some of my patients. However, it doesn’t happen because I make them start running; I don’t. I ask them questions about their health that they have never thought about before. More often than not, a patient will come back to me and say something like, “I have been thinking about what you asked at my last visit, and now I notice that…”, and I know that that patient has started to change how they view their body and their health.

This is a good thing, because it also signals a new level in taking responsibility for your health. It goes beyond eating well, exercising, and hoping for the best. It means that you now have the owner’s manual for your particular model, which is one of a kind. It also means that, for the most part, you no longer need to be bewildered as to why you feel poorly or why you feel really well. Your body will tell you, if you listen and make the connections.

For most of us, despite eating well, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly, we still get sick, or at the very least, don’t always feel our best. This is because, while we are taking really good care of ourselves, sometimes we lost touch.

We either foget to listen, or choose to disregard the messages we are receiving, even when our bodies are speaking to us very clearly. For example, how often have you been workingin the garden or around the house and suddenly get a pain in your back, neck, shoulder, or wherever? And how often do you ignore the pain until you get the job done? I’ve done it myself, where I’ve heard the pain message loud and clear, but ignored it until I’d finished the job. The end result is an injury that might have been avoided if I had stopped working at the first whisper of pain, instead of working until the pain itself made it impossible for me to continue.

A second example of how we often fail to listen to our bodies relates to stress. It’s unfortunate that most of us live fairly stressful lives, and have for many years. Starting in school, where we were pressured to achieve good grades,, and into our work and family lives with an infinite number of pressures and conflicts, many of us simply feel overwhelmed. And yet, because this stress had been going on for so long, we tend to ignore it because it is “white noise”; it’s always there. A second reason we tend to ignore stress, is that it’s stressful trying to figure out how to or find the time to deal with it. The end result, like the example above, is that our body breaks down in one way or another, until we are forced to take some time out and deal with our health.

So, do you need to start running to be able to better listen to your body? No, but physical activity of some sort can help. All you really need to do is take some time each day to run through a mental checklist of how you’re feeling. Are you getting sick frequently? Are you tired? Now sleeping well? Do you feel better than you ever have before? Try to relate these things to what you are doing and what’s happening in your life. Remember, if you listen, your body will tell you exactly what it needs.

From Essential Wellness, July 2005