'Autumn - the Season of Metal' You already know it! The bread & butter of health is lifestyle. Lifestyle is the total collection of how we fill our day. How we fill it in terms of movements, emotions, behaviours, internal demands, as well as the demands & stresses that our external environment creates. We as human beings are a counterpart in an extremely large system and so the influence of our external environment plays a huge role. The Daoist adepts did not feel they had the authority to determine the objective distinction of things. Therefore the human being is as much the cosmos as the electrons are that makes up our body. 'cycles within cycles' We are a counterpart of these celestial cycles, this means the days, months, years, processions, big years, great years and other planetary relations. This ever-permeating spiritual ether that we call "qi" regulates, communicates and expresses itself through the natural cycles. It gives rise to day & ni...

Qi is an abstract term. It only achieves a concrete or objective definition once it has been affixed to a second term providing context. For this reason, qi often plays the same role as ‘god’ does in spirituality. It can be used to unproductively describe spiritual phenomenon. On the other hand, its abstract nature has the ability to pragmatically group phenomenon that relate in ways outside of our current material-scope. On its own, the word qi signifies a rough aggregate similar to our english words “energy”, “vibe”, “spirit”, “feeling”, and “immaterial”. A word used to describe an immaterial feeling or sensation. To define it with latin & greek terms, maybe something along the lines of the affixes “ -ous”, “-ness”, “-y” or “-ity” would be our best translation. For this reason I tend to steer clear of the term as much as possible. If I am able to specify the qi factually, precisely, or in a way that is more familiar to northwestern hemisphere conventions, then I never hesitate t...

Since TCMs recent introduction to the West in the late 60s and early 70s its grown quite the popularity amongst the general public. But considering its ever-growing popularity it's still relatively not the most understood system. Being a Doctor of TCM in Canada I still see a large number of my new patients naïve to the fact that TCM is a complete and advanced medical system (not just acupuncture!) that developed in response to treating all manifestations of disease. Although it is an ancient medical practice it has evolved itself over several millennia to effectively treat some of the most extreme cases of illness. Classical Chinese medicine was not just used for relaxation and mild feel-good spa-like treatment effects. Acupuncture in particular is well-known for its ability to treat musculoskeletal conditions and stop pain, but the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine as a whole in treating more severe internal medical conditions is still not the most common of knowledge....