About three years ago my husband and I moved to a small townhome in the woods. The best part of where I live is that there is a small creek that I cross every day coming and going from home. The creek snakes through the woods, reflects the sun in the morning, and changes its personality almost daily. Some days it is calm and meandering. After a rain storm it’s angry and rushing, full of water. And in winter, it freezes and becomes a trail through the forest for both animals and those of us willing to don snowshoes. Occasionally a tree will fall into the water, backing up the creek for a while, until it’s finally washed downstream by the current.
This lovely, small creek is a metaphor for flow, and as a practitioner of Chinese medicine, I think about flow a lot. That’s because Chinese medicine is about energy, and not just the woo woo energy of crystals and mood rings, but the real energy that you learned about in eighth grade biology. Remember how the mighty mitochondria in each cell in your body makes energy? It’s the stuff of the Krebs cycle and all of life. Chinese medicine works with that that same energy, but believes that it moves in pathways in your body—much like my creek.
For you to be in good health, two things need to be in place. First, you need to have enough energy for your body to do all the things it needs to do. Things like digest your food and fight off the flu and move your muscles. Second, that energy needs to move freely. Like a fallen tree in the creek, problems such as muscle spasms, bruises, infections, and…um, even constipation are blockages in the flow of your body’s stream.
My patients often ask me whether they should put heat or cold on their injury. For me to answer, I think about my creek. In the freezing temperatures, the creek is solid ice and nothing is moving. If your back is out and you’re dealing with a muscle spasm, do you need ice that will make it tighter? I think not. So my answer is to deal with a tight muscle—or lack of flow of any kind—with heat. However, if you have rolled your ankle and it’s blowing up like a balloon, your creek is overflowing. In this case, a little constriction in the form of cold is the answer. Adding heat here would only make things worse.
How can you tell if the flow in your body is just right? Here are a few things to think about:
-If your creek is low, you won’t have enough energy to get everything done. You may poop out at the end of the day, suffer from funky digestion, get sick a lot, or feel run down. If this is the case, filling up your energy creek means eating well, getting enough sleep, working a little less, and maybe a little acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
-If your creek is overflowing or not flowing smoothly, you will find things backing up. You may actually retain water, struggle with PMS or menstrual cramps, suffer from pain of almost any kind, get sinus infections, or feel stressed out, depressed, irritable, or hot. If this sounds like you, a handful of acupuncture sessions may be enough to get things moving smoothly.
Just like Goldilocks and the three bears, you will know if your energetic creek is flowing just right if you’re sleeping well, eating and digesting well, have no pain, and are stable emotionally. If you need help balancing flow, either physically or emotionally, Chinese medicine may have the answer.
Thanks for this beautifully written article.I grew up with a creek in my backyard, and it is so nice to look at and hear (unless it is overflowing). I always wonder about whether to use heat or ice, and the creek metaphor really helps.
Thanks, Jen! Many people are confused as to when to use heat or ice. I’m glad the creek metaphor helps!