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Pacific College Academic Dean Bob Damone shares his experience with us from the desert this past weekend, where he studied nature’s herbal medicines with fellow colleagues and PCOM students!
In the early 1980’s, a few years before it ever occurred to me to pursue a career in Chinese herbal medicine, I became interested in “Western” herbal medicine. I read everything I could get my hands on, including “The Way of Herbs” by Michael Tierra. I immediately devoured it, and immersed myself in its fascinating descriptions of plant-based medicines. My kitchen cupboards quickly began to overflow with tinctures, powders, and poultices of various herbs. The rich earthy fragrances, tastes, and colors of various flowers, barks, leaves, and seeds became a part of my daily life. Valerian, White Willow Bark, Chamomile, Saw Palmetto, etc., became allies in my search for health and wellness. I was hooked.
This past weekend, I had the excellent fortune of sharing with several Pacific College students a medicinal plant study excursion to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park led by Sylvan Botanical Institute. Sylvan—a company co-founded by PCOM alum, accomplished herbalist, and author Thomas Garran—is devoted to teaching knowledge of herbal medicine in part by empowering practitioners to locate, identify, and harvest local medicinal plants. Among the several knowledgeable and approachable herb teachers on the trip, were Christopher Hobbs and Michael Tierra. I had not met Christopher before, but found him to be a veritable walking encyclopedia of ethnobotany, pharmacognosy, and botanical identification. As I mentioned above, Michael Tierra—whose book I had cut my teeth on in my herbal infancy—was also in attendance. If I have any heroes, he is certainly among them. What a thrill to meet and hang out with the man who had initially inspired my interest in herbal medicine!
My interest in Western herbal medicine eventually expanded to Chinese herbal medicine. Yet, I never lost my fascination with Western herbs. A number of Western herbalists in fact have followed a similar path. Many regard the solid empirical and theoretical foundation of Chinese herbal medicine, with its unbroken historical and textual record, as the most viable model for an integrative and globalized modern form of herbal medicine. This has sparked a very interesting dialogue, which was palpable during the duration of this desert trip: How can the theoretical foundation of Chinese medicine be applied to the study of Western herbs? Is there a benefit to using Western herbs according to the principles of Chinese medicine?
The resounding response to the latter question from the Western herbalists present in the desert this weekend was undoubtedly yes. And I tend to agree. I had the clear sense this past weekend that the zeitgeist now indicates a heightened readiness to engage in this important and necessary dialogue. I look forward to more trips with Sylvan and I hope to inspire the Pacific College community to engage in communion with the beautiful and rich natural world around us, which teems with medicinal plants.
Check out the video slideshow here!
National Nutrition Month is wrapping up, but your healthy choices don’t have to! Wanting to ditch those carbs? Try substituting zucchini ribbons, instead of regular pasta noodles for your next pasta dish. In Chinese medicine, zucchini helps reduce heat in the body. It’s also a great source of fiber and protein. Check out this recipe from Yummy Supper:
Ingredients
- 4 large (or 6-8 small) zucchini
- 1 large or 2 small lemons, juice and zest
- 1/4 cup feta
- olive oil
- sea salt
- 1 bunch fresh mint
Directions
- Scrub lemons. Grate the zest and set aside. Slice lemon in half and remove seeds. Set aside for juicing later.
- Wash, dry and trim mint leaves and set aside.
- Wash zucchini. Cut off the stem and base ends. Using a mandolin, or simple vegetable peeler, cut thin strips - ribbons - of zucchini. Slice 3 or 4 strips on a side, and then rotate the zucchini and continue slicing. Then rotate again. Keep working your way around the zucchini until you get to the seedy middle. Discard the core.
- Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, though not smoking, add 1/3 to 1/2 of the zucchini ribbons. Toss to coat with olive oil. Add a pinch or two of sea salt. Cover the pan for a minute or so allowing the zucchini to steam a bit. Uncover and continue to saute until tender and just cooked through - al dente. If sliced thin, the zucchini really only needs a few minutes to cook. Give a generous squeeze of lemon juice to the cooked zucchini so that the citrus can blend with the warm oil. Set aside the cooked veg as you continue to saute zucchini in batches until done. Don’t worry about the zucchini cooling down, this dish should be served warm or even room-temp.
- Heap zucchini ribbons onto individual plates. Sprinkle with finely crumbled feta, lemon zest, and mint leaves. Add a little more sea salt if desired, though this usually isn’t necessary with the salty feta and flavorful lemon juice.
Let us know what you think and check out more healthy substitutes here!
Some of you may have seen Seymore Bones in your classes or hanging around the Pacific College San Diego campus. We are honored that Seymore Bones has chosen PCOM as his residence for the afterlife. After studying under the Yellow Emperor himself, Seymore certainly had his pick of top educational facilities to spend his eternal sabbatical.
Seymore is an ancient Chinese master who has dedicated his life (and afterlife) to preserving Chinese medicine. He is an incredible asset to us, and we are ecstatic about his choice of residence with us in sunny Sany Diego.
As he tells it, when he first saw our herb room and acupuncture charts, and the excitement of our students and faculty practicing there, something really popped into place.
“These people have the same mission I do! I’ve found where I am supposed to stay,” says Bones.
Seymore has pledged to help PCOM students learn about Oriental medicine and discover the long lasting benefits to these ancient techniques. We encourage you to give him a shout-out whenever you might spot him around campus!
Check back and stay tuned to see more of Seymore’s adventures right here!
OM in the news this week. Check it out!
Happy Chinese New Year! Welcome in the Year of the Snake and discover what 2013 has in store. Check it out!
OM in the news this week! Check it out!
In Chinese medicine (CM), human health has long been considered to be closely tied to nature. The natural world is thought of as a holistic entity in itself, and man’s health is determined both by his inner balance as well as in relation to the surrounding environment. Since ancient times, Chinese medicine practitioners have studied and developed complicated parallels between nature and health. In fact, the Yin Yang and Five Element Theories in Chinese medicine are two examples of entire medical philosophies that are based on the holistic elements of nature as related to wellbeing.
As organic creatures, it stands to reason that humans are affected, directly and indirectly, by the natural environment. Humans can be affected by a variety of natural changes including those related to the weather, climate, or duration of daylight. For example, in CM, a change of season causes the rate, rhythm, volume, and tension of a person’s pulse to vary. In Chinese medicine, there are specific corresponding changes that a person can make with each new season in order to improve health.
One of the first known documentations of Chinese medicine’s thoughts on nature and health is the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine (Huang Di Nei Jing). This ancient text is comparable in importance to Chinese medicine as the Hippocratic Corpus is to Greek and western medicine. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine dates back to 240 B.C., and is actually a dialogue between the legendary Huang Di Neijing, known as the Yellow Emperor, and six of his ministers. One such minister involved in the dialogue was Qi Bo, the emperor’s acupuncturist.
It was Huang Di and Qi Bo who first pointed out in this text, “In the old days the sages treated disease by preventing illness before it began, just as a good government or emperor was able to take the necessary steps to avert war….If someone digs a well only when thirsty, or forges weapons only after becoming engaged in battle, one cannot help but ask: Aren’t these actions too late?” By making the appropriate dietary and lifestyle changes advised according to the seasons, it’s possible to prevent illness.
Winter is one of the two most extreme seasons. With the cold weather, hibernation of animals, decrease in plant life, and few daylight hours, winter was the toughest season to maintain health in the ancient world. As Huang Di explains, “During the winter months all things in nature wither, hide, return home, and enter a resting period…. Therefore, one should refrain from overusing the yang energy. Retire early and get up with the sunrise, which is later in winter.” Some of this advice for winter focuses on humans’ natural circadian rhythms, a biological process noted in almost all living organisms that displays a change over a 24 hour period.
The circadian rhythm relates to the sleep cycle. With the change in daylight in winter, and fewer daylight hours, it’s important to alter the time of waking and bedtime in accordance with the sun. This will help a person to feel his most energetic during the day. Huang Di elaborates, “Desires and mental activity should be kept quiet and subdued, as if keeping a happy secret. Stay warm, avoid the cold, and keep the skin covered.” However, while the Yellow Emperor advises of staying warm during winter, this doesn’t mean exerting the body with physical activity in order to get warm.
It is advised to avoid sweating during the coldest months, as this is thought to cause injury to the kidney qi, or energy, an internal energy people should strive to preserve in winter. According to Huang Di, sweating will “cause weakness, shrinking of muscles, and coldness, and the body may lose its ability to open up and move in the spring.” It is important to conserve energy in winter so that it can be put into action in spring.
As Chinese herbalist Dragana Vilinac writes in his article, Healing with the Seasons, “winter is marked by the qualities of the element of Water.” Water is an element capable of stillness or momentum. In winter, it is advisable to mimic the quieter qualities of water. Vilinac writes, it is a time to “…simply be still and quiet, to contain our energy within ourselves is to stand in the energy of the Water element. Meditation, yoga, qi gong, contemplation are all great tools that help us to be present to the deep inner strength.” Consequently, each of these meditation and gentle exercise activities can also improve symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a disorder that arises during winter for many people and can cause seasonal depression.
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OM in the news this week! Check it out!
OM in the news this week! Check it out!
