My name is Matthew Berry and I am the founder of West Wales Tai Chi.

Qi Gong is an ancient Chinese health care system that integrates physical posture, breathing techniques and focused intention. Combined with Tai Chi, the gentle, rhythmic movements can be thought of as a form of moving meditation that calms the nervous system, reduces stress, builds stamina, increases vitality and enhances the immune system. Physical movements are performed slowly, softly and gracefully with smooth and even transitions between them.

ABOUT MAT

My name is Matthew Berry and I am the founder of West Wales Tai Chi. I have been studying Chinese Internal Martial Arts and Health Practises since 1997 and have been teaching weekly classes since 2002. Having studied Karate, Aikido, Jujitsu, Boxing, Kung Fu, Hsing Yi, Bagua Zhang, Kyusho Jitsu and more… I found that I was still searching for something…and that’s when I found Chi Gong and Tai Chi

Autumn

For Body, Mind & Spirit

A Chinese Medicine Point of View

In Chinese Medicine Autumn is related to the Metal Element.

The Metal Element corresponds to the minerals and trace elements in the earth, and climatically to dryness.

In our body’s Metal is related internally to the Lungs & Large Intestine and externally to the nose, skin & body hair.

The Lungs are considered to be the delicate organ and are prone to get stressed easily as they have a big responsibility in keeping us healthy.

Some of the Lungs functions include:

Primarily to process fluids & regulate the water passages in the body

Controls respiration

Governs the energy (Qi) in the whole body

Governs the voice

Controls the pores and sweating

Governs the Protective energy (Wei Qi)

Control all physiological processes in the body

Houses the Po

Assists in the movement of blood through the body

Regulate Breath, Heartbeat & Peristalsis

Emotionally the Lungs pertain to Grief, Sadness & Depression, the Large Intestine to Loss & Letting Go. It is said in Classical Chinese Medicine that Grief and Sadness are stored in the Lungs and deplete Lung Qi. When one becomes sad or suffers grief, the Lungs can become weak & may lead to breathlessness, tiredness and tension in the chest and shoulders. One’s voice can also become weak as the lungs are said to govern the voice. Conversely, deficient Lung energy (Qi) may cause one to be prone to feeling of grief, sadness & depression.

The Lungs house the Po – The Po represents our Yin Soul, the soul that returns to the earth upon death. Each of the 5 Elements has an aspect of our soul related to it and its corresponding organ. The Po is seen as an aspect of our primitive soul and therefore thought to be related to the primitive aspects of our brain such as the limbic system, and also our autonomic nervous system. The Po are responsible for our physical sensations, such as touch, in addition to our emotional sensations, such as ‘feeling’ sad. Essentially it is through the Po that we experience life. Due to the fact that the Po are first to experience the world around us, they also create our physical and emotional attachments to it. This can lead to cravings and addictions, both physically and mentally. If the Po are disturbed or out of balance, then we can develop addictive personalities or develop unhealthy attachments. It is the Po that also allow us to let go and move on, both from these attachments and emotions.

Some examples of these attachments created by the Po maybe: Pleasures & Indulgences; Anger; Resentment; Worries; Fears; Sadness; Loss; Likes & Dislikes etc.

All somatic experience is related to this aspect of our soul/spirit, the Po gives us our experience of feeling, “I Feel this or I feel that” It creates the illusion of the sense of importance of an emotion or feeling and also gives us our awareness, a tangible sense of self. Past trauma, PTSD and feeling numb emotionally are all linked to imbalance in the Po and the health of our Lungs respectively. To treat the Po we need to balance and strengthen the Lungs. In Qigong we do this by utilizing specific breathing exercises and movements to nourish the Lungs and bring them back to a state of harmony.

What is Wei Qi?

Wei Qi is known as our Guardian Qi or protective energy. It resides just under the surface of our skin like an energetic layer or barrier to protect us from external pathogens, climatic influences, radiation and even the emotions of other people around us!

In the daytime our Wei Qi lies close to and can also expand beyond the layer of our skin to protect us but at night it moves deep into the body, so you don’t have the same protection. So be careful if you are out at night to make sure you cover the body appropriately so as not to get invaded by exogenous pathogenic or climatic influences.

Don’t sleep with your window open at night unless you know your lungs are very healthy, so as to stop the possible invasion of climatic factors like Wind, Cold, Damp, Heat, Dryness etc. as these play havoc with our system if our body is not able to process them affectively.

Along with protection our Wei Qi also nourishes the skin and body hair and warms the whole body.

The Lungs control the circulation of Wei Qi, but they are prone to overwork and depletion because of all the work and responsibility they have in protecting us from external pathogens, emotions etc. Dryness is the climatic factor associated with the Lungs, known as the delicate organ, that does not tolerate cold or heat, the Lungs definitely don’t like to be dry, they need to be moist to function properly. So, in Autumn when we can get cold dry winds, we need to protect the lungs form drying out.

Each organ has a fluid that it controls, in the case of the Lungs it is Mucous, which is produced by the lungs to maintain lubrication and the ability to clean the tissue linings. An imbalance of the Lungs can lead to dryness and a lack of mucous in the membranes of the nose or throat, conversely an imbalance can also produce an excess of mucous.

Some symptoms of Lung dysfunction:

Frequent yawning

Dryness of the throat and mouth regions

An aversion to cold

Tightness of the chest / shoulders

Wheezing / throat restriction

An inability to acknowledge and process grief

Constipation

Cough

Pale face

Oedema around the neck region

Spontaneous sweating

Lack of sweating

Sinusitis, rhinitis etc.

Loss of smell

Shortness of breath

Prone to colds and flu

Anxiety

Food for thought during Autumn:

Foods that benefit the metal element / Lungs – Large Intestine: –

Warming Pungent: Garlic; Onions; Chili’s; Horse radish; Fennel; Anise’ dill; Mustard greens; Cinnamon; Nutmeg; Basil; Rosemary; Scallions; Cloves; Ginger; Black pepper; Cayenne.

Cooling Pungent: Radishes; cabbage; Marjoram; White pepper; Tarot Root; Turnip; Citrus Peel.

Potatoes; Yams; carrots; Cauliflower; Parsnips; Lots of root vegetables in Autumn!

So in Summary, look after your lungs they are more important than you might have realized.

For more information on how to look after your lungs and their Mind, body & Spirit connections through Qigong exercises why not book a class?

 Qigong and Tai Chi Classes start back at Wintern House on Monday 5^th October 7pm – 8:30pm everybody welcome, to book your place please email me at:         westwalestaichi@gmail.com.

For more info please visit my website: www.westwalestaichi.co.uk

Best wishes for Autumn

Matt Berry