Herbs

Herbs and Qigong for Cheer, Mood, and Sleep!

Herbs, beautiful in some cases, sticky, prickly, and even ugly by some standards, look pretty while adding flavor to meals. When added to soups, condiments, salsa, chili, rice, grains such as wheat, barley, or quinoa, herbs provide vitamins, minerals, and amino acids necessary for the human body, in addition to flavors that taste good.

Yet for centuries, herbs have also been used to heal the human body, physical conditions from high blood pressure and anemia to controlling cholesterol functions which affect brain functions.

Our organs, including our skin, work together. When one is not working as well as it should, or it is overworking, other organs begin to work harder. Cues often used to indicate health issues are moods.

For example, in cases of unexplained anger, herbalists look for problems with the liver and how it metabolizes food. Issues with melancholy often referred to as situational depression now, could be problems with the gallbladder. Both wreak havoc on the heart, brain, and blood, which can increase the blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, white blood cell count, and change our moods.

It is important to remember that our bodies are different every 72 hours. Waiting is good sometimes; waiting is not good for other things. Pills can work quickly for certain conditions, yet often they damage other areas.

One example would be antibiotics. We use antibiotics to kill bacteria that cause infections. Yet, antibiotics kill all bacteria. This leads to problems with processing foods leading to problems with the intestines absorbing vitamins and minerals correctly, and elimination issues from constipation to diarrhea. The latter can also cause bloating and edema within certain areas of the body.

Eating dairy products may help, but only after you have finished all the antibiotics. Eating dairy while taking antibiotics renders them less effective. While delaying healing overall, antibiotics interrupt the effectiveness of prescription drugs from heart medications to birth control.

Antibiotics can render some types of birth control pills ineffective. Many women have become pregnant while using antibiotics even when they are on birth control pills. Herbs will not work as fast on the body as pills, yet, herbs help organs and the interlocking systems to work together. Rather than destroying cells pervasively and causing certain organs to work harder or stop working altogether, herbs work to destroy certain cells and encourage organs to function to help each other, like the team they were meant to be.



Cultivated or wild, herbs help us process foods as well as environmental issues from stress to air pollution. Sometimes referred to as Energy, both humans and plants have internal and external energy. As internal energy increases in one area such as the lungs, external energy can increase in other areas spurring growth of certain plants.

Choctaw/Apache Claude Medford, JR. said:


“The elders believe that when we see increases in some of the wild medicine plants, this is the creator’s way of showing us that we will have an increasing need for these plants” (as quoted by Kavasch & Baar, 1999, p. 178).

Neutraceuticals, simply called healing foods that have nutritional value, are available to anyone and everyone from regular grocery stores to window gardens to specialty stores.

Herbs that improve or alter moods include sage, yarrow, morning glory, catnip, yellow Lady’s slipper, pink Moccasin flower, and St. John’s wort. Teas and tinctures are made out of these to help the body deal with anxiety and promote sleep.

As the body deals with anxiety, a person feels more calm and the mood changes. In controlled clinical trials, taking herbalists’ preparations of St. John’s wort have, over time, been more effective than placebos as well as pharmaceutical antidepressant pills (Kavasch & Baar, 1999, p. 126).

Exercise is a necessary part of any diet. It helps move blood, oxygen, hormones, as well as helps the absorption of food for energy, minerals, and amino acids.


A guided meditation session by Dr. Chow

Qigong, sometimes referred to as moving meditation, helps improve anxiety, depression, and psychological well-being. The Qigong Eight Brocade or Precious Eight series also helps increase flexibility and muscle tone as well.

A meta-analysis of five clinical studies demonstrates preliminary evidence that performing a Qigong series over time with healthy subjects as well as subjects with chronic illnesses and subjects with depression, the Qigong exercises were effective in reducing depression and anxiety, and improving overall psychological well-being as measured by the Symptom Checklist 90 and the Diabetes Specific Quality of Life Scale.

One part of the beginning practice of these Qigong exercises is to smile from the heart, mind, body, and mouth. Simple smiling increases the endorphins in the blood stream within 30 seconds. The effects of just 30 seconds of smiling can last for more than two hours. While endorphins are raised, cortisol, a stress hormone, decreases. As cortisol decreases, stress decreases. As stress decreases, mood improves thus breaking a cycle of decline. As the body improves during the day, sleep improves at night.

Food combined with exercise and smiling maintains more than just weight. It helps monitor and maintain mood and organ health while decreasing stress, anxiety, and limits some forms of depression.

Bodies experiencing frequent exercise and proper eating are more able to handle stress internally and externally within the environment. They are less likely to catch colds, flu, and other illnesses such as pneumonia, partly because all the organs are working together, and exercise is helping move blood, hormones, oxygen, and toxins through the body and out of body.

Certainly individuals with clinical or ongoing mood issues need allopathic or traditional western medicines and treatments. Yet folks with situational stressful issues that are not described as clinical can use these herbal teas and tinctures as well as Qigong to help improve mood, decreasing anxiety and depression. Everyone deals with issues that depress them. Eating the wrong types of foods as well as not being active enough can decrease good moods. Eating the right types of foods and exercising regularly increase our good mood and overall health. Qigong, smiling, and neutraceuticals help!



Buhner, S. H. (2004). The Secret Teachings of Plants. The Intelligence of the Heart In the Direct Perception of Nature. Rochester, VT: Bear & Company.

Cichoke, A. J. (2001). Secrets of Native American Herbal Remedies. A Comprehensive Guide to the Native American Tradition of Using Herbs and the Mind/Body/Spirit Connection for Improving Health and Well-Being. New York: Avery, a member of Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Kavasch, E. B. & Baar, K. (1999). American Indian Healing Arts. Herbs, Rituals, and Remedies for Every Season of Life. New York: Bantam Books.

Wang, F., Man, J. K.M, Lee, E. O. Wu, T., Benson, H., Frichhione, G. L., Wang, W. & Yeung, A. (2013). The Effects of Qigong on Anxiety, Depression, and Psychological Well-Being: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evidence-Based Complimentary and Alternative medicine. Retrieved April 11, 2013 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/152738

By Katrina Everhart

Qigong breathing

Qigong breathing is based on Taoist breathing methods that focus on returning the way we breathe to what is in harmony with nature. These methods focus on creating a circular breath that starts from the belly and is relaxed. These methods can be practiced sitting or while doing any of the Energy Arts qigong exercise sets.

Always breathe from your belly and not solely from your chest. This is the way you breathed when you were a baby. Belly breathing is the first step in learning Taoist Longevity Breathing practices and ideally should be incorporated into all Taoist qigong or tai chi practices. Belly breathing drops and lifts the big muscle of the diaphragm, the natural body mechanism that pushes air in and out of your lungs.

Belly breathing helps center your awareness in your body, rather than in your head, so that you feel more physically and energetically grounded. It helps you to relax your neck, shoulders and arms. It improves the circulation of blood and the flow of chi in your internal organs. Belly breathing provides a wonderful massage for your internal organs. Just as massaging your muscles adds to their tone and overall functioning, so will belly breathing benefit your internal organs. In terms of your health, massaging your internal organs is more important than toning your visible muscles. Belly breathing increases the blood circulation in the blood vessels that nourish your internal organs.

Ideally, inhale and exhale only through your nostrils. If medical reasons make this impractical, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Inhale and exhale through your mouth only as a last resort.
When you inhale, feel your breath come into your nose, down your throat and into your lungs and belly. Let your belly muscles expand to move your belly forward.
When you exhale, let your belly return to its original position and relax. Do your best to completely relax your chest and not use any strength to puff it out when you breathe. You should have very little or no sense of air going into your chest.
First, practice by focusing on expanding and relaxing your lower belly. Your lower belly extends from slightly above the top of your pubic hair to your navel. Breathe in such a way that the lower belly does not move from below the top of your pubic hair. Avoid straining or any feeling of pressure in your genitals.
When you can expand and relax your lower belly comfortably, turn your attention to moving the middle belly when you breathe, which for most people is more difficult. The middle belly extends from your navel to just before your diaphragm. Placing your hands on the lower, middle and upper parts of your belly as you breathe will give you clear feedback as to whether and how much your belly is moving.
Finally, concentrate on expanding and relaxing your upper belly your diaphragm and solar plexus just underneath your lowest ribs. Try to have your diaphragm move downward as you inhale and upward as you exhale. This will help push air into the back and top of your lungs, parts that seldom get exercised. Eventually, you will be able to move all three parts of your belly in unison.


As you breathe, make both your inhales and exhales smooth and full, without strain. When your exhale is full, your next inhale will naturally and smoothly arise by itself. Conversely, if your last exhale is shallow and not full, your next inhale will not come smoothly. You may have a tendency to hold your breath, gulp your inhale or even hyperventilate. Deep and smooth breathing enables you to take in and use more oxygen, better release carbon dioxide and calm your nerves. Over time, you take longer breaths, increasing the length of your inhale and exhale, without strain.

To get the sense of how to breathe smoothly and deeply, practice breathing from a straw for a few minutes a day, in a smooth and steady fashion. It will help you tune in to your breathing habits, and, over time, help you overcome poor ones. Often lifetime habits of poor breathing can be overcome by practicing breathing with a straw for a few weeks.


Exhaling fully will get rid of the carbon dioxide in your cells and lungs and decrease its buildup in your cells, which produces sluggishness and yawning, diminishes mental clarity and increases stress. Exhaling fully will also make it easier for you to breathe in sufficient oxygen and make it easier for your cells to procure it.
You can do this in one of three ways.

The first is by exhaling a little more than you inhale. For example if you inhale for four seconds, you might take five seconds to exhale. This is the method to use when practicing breathing without doing any movements. You will use this method in Dragon and Tiger Movements 1, 3 and 4. The second method is to do an extremely rapid exhale one or two seconds very forcibly.

If you find yourself getting sluggish or yawning, you can do three to ten forceful exhales and wake yourself up. Rapid exhales are used in Movement 5 of Dragon and Tiger. The third way is to vary the speed of the exhale. For instance you might exhale 50 or 60 percent of your breath in the first two seconds and take four more seconds to exhale the rest of your breath. Dragon and Tiger Movements 2, 6 and 7 use this method.
Focus on not holding your breath between the end of an inhale/exhale and the beginning of the next inhale/exhale. Let one flow into the other in as relaxed a manner as you can. Holding your breath can cause emotional tension and jangle your nervous system. Breathe smoothly and evenly, without stop-and-start breaks or jerkiness. Involuntarily holding the breath both triggers and escalates stress.


As you breathe, keep the tip of your tongue touching the roof of your mouth. If you make the sound “le,” as pronounced in the word let, your tongue will touch the correct spot just slightly behind your top front teeth. Eventually, the muscles on the base of your tongue will stretch slightly and allow you to maintain this position comfortably, without effort. When your tongue touches the roof of your mouth, it continuously stimulates and balances all your body’s acupuncture meridians.

The twelve main acupuncture meridians of your body are all connected to points along the governing and conception vessels, which are two of acupuncture’s eight extraordinary meridians. The points along these two special meridians interface with and influence all the acupuncture points and meridians within your body. These two vessels form the chi pathway that is called the microcosmic orbit. That place just behind your upper front teeth on your hard palate is the acupuncture point where the governing and conception vessels meet. At this point, upward-flowing energy from yang meridians in the back of your body changes to downward-flowing energy in the yin meridians in the front of your body.
There is no gain in putting tension in your body by straining to take longer inhales and exhales. Because breath is such a primary human function, it is quite possible to negatively pattern yourself and lock tension into your nervous system by forcing your breath. If breath induced tension lodges in your nervous system, the tension and stress will far outweigh the benefits of breathing quietly, softly and deeply in a relaxed manner. By staying within 70 percent of your capacity, you will wean yourself from pushing yourself and gain the habit of relaxation.


You can practice Longevity Breathing any time you remember to do so. The goal is to train the body to breathe this way twenty-four hours a day.

Heaven Energy of the Sun and Moon Qigong

Heaven Energy of the Sun and Moon

Sunset at the North pole with the Moon on top

1.  Introduction

The Outer Forces of Heaven are manifested through the Three Treasures: the combined energy field of the sun, moon, and stars.  The sun and moon are the primary Heavenly manifestations of Yin and Yang Qi.  The sun is Yang and is considered the Spirit Soul (Hun) of Heaven, while the moon is Yin and is considered the Corporeal Soul of Earth.  The sun and moon cyclically change their relative degrees of Yin to Yang at different times of the day, month and year.  These changes affect the Earthly Yin and Yang energies as well as the Qi in the body.  The most easily observed changes in the stars’ energy, which affect life on Earth, are from the North Star, the Big Dipper, and the 28 constellations.  Stars’ energy will be discussed in Part 5.

Some of the Five Elements’ correspondences between Heaven’s Treasures and the environment of Earth appear in Table1.

Table 1.  Some Heavenly Five Element Relations

Ele ment	Yin Organ	Yang Organ	Time	Season	Direc tion	Planet
Wood	Liver	Gall Bladder	Early Dawn	Spring	East	Jupiter
Fire	Heart	Small Intestine	Noon	Summer	South	Mars
Earth	Spleen	Stomach	Mid- aftnoon	Late summer	Center	Saturn
Metal	Lungs	Colon	Late Dusk	Fall	West	Venus
Water	Kidneys	Bladder	Night	Winter	North	Mercury

The body’s biorhythms are influenced by the cyclic energy changes of the sun, moon, and stars.  For example, certain hormones, temperature, blood pressure, blood amino acids, etc. exhibit a cyclical variation during the day; women’s emotional and menstrual cycles, usually 28 days, follow the changing phases of the moon.  The Physical Cycle is 23 days long.  The first 11 ½ days produce an increasing feeling of good strength and endurance, while the second 11 ½ days produces a decreasing feeling of strength and endurance.  The Intellectual Cycle of 33 days has similar properties with the positive half being the first 16 ½ days.  The body’s clocks can be altered by food, drink, drugs, and abnormal sleep.

Biorhythms also influence the time and severity of illnesses and the effects of drugs.   Therefore, herbal, qigong and acupuncture therapy can be prescribed at specific times to enhance their effect.  Familiarity with the cycles of Heaven’s Qi enables the Qigong doctor to utilize it to regulate and balance the patient’s Qi.

2.  The Sun’s Cycles

The Earth’s revolution about the sun causes seasonal energy changes in the organs and meridians of the body.  In each of the 5 seasons a pair of organs reaches an energetic peak, as shown in Table1.  The Earth’s revolution on its axis causes similar daily energetic maxima in the time period also shown in Table 1.

The daily cycle of Heat, Blood, and Qi flow along the body’s twelve Meridians, Organs, and Skin Zones according to two hour time periods appears in Table 2.  For example, from 3 – 5a.m. maximum energy flows along the Lung meridian, making the Lungs more responsive to treatment.

The fluctuations of Qi in Heaven and Man during the hours and months can be described by the Twelve Pi Hexagrams shown in Table 2.  A hexagram consists of a horizontal stack of 6 Yao, a solid or broken line.  A solid line represents Yang and also exhalation.  A broken line represents Yin and inhalation.

The Yin Yao Cycles

The hexagrams from Gou to Kun indicate the gradual increasing of Yin Qi and decreasing of Yang Qi.  This time period is called the “time of dead breath”.  This is the best time for nurturing and restoring the Kidneys’ Yin Essence for people with deficient Yin Qi.

The Yang Yao Cycle

The hexagrams from Fu to Qian represent the gradual increase of Yang Qi and the decrease in Yin Qi.  This time period is called the “time of living breath”.  This is the best time for emitting external Qi and training for treating insufficiency of Yang Qi.

A Qigong doctor can use the Yin and Yang Yao Cycles to prescribe for a patient by adjusting his breathing according to the applicable hexagram.  For instance, when practicing during the period of the Fu hexagram, there is more Yin than Yang, so to nourish Yang requires longer inhalations (Yin) and shorter exhalations (Yang).   The Gou hexagram shows that there is more Yang than Yin at this stage.  To balance Yin and Yang, the practitioner should use shorter inhalations and longer exhalations during this time period.

Practicing Qigong during the four following time periods aids increasing internal energy in harmony with the energy changes in nature.

1.  The Fu Time Period (Midnight) is related to the beginning of the Yang cycle and is ideal for gathering Yuan (Prenatal) Qi

2.  The Dazhuang Period (Sunrise) is when natural Yang Qi increases due to the rising sun and so does the Yang Qi of the body.  Practice during this period promotes the vigorous growth of Yang.

3.  The Gou Period (High Noon) is when the Heart meridian exhibits its energetic peak.   Since the Yang energy Yaos decrease, practicing during this period helps the growth of Yin energy and suppresses the hyperactivity of Yin energy.

4.  The Guan Period (Sunset) is when the environmental energy changes from clear to dark.  Practicing during this period encourages increasing primordial Yin Qi and the conservation and nourishment of Yang energy.

The four seasonal peak transitions of energy, in the northern hemisphere, corresponding to the four time periods, appear in Table 3.

Table 3.  The Four Seasonal Peak Energy Changes

Name	Date	Sun’s Position	Description	Time Period
Palace  of Eternal Frost	Winter Solstice December 33 – 25	Furthest south from equator	Maximum Yin or darkness, shortest days; longest time of cold	Midnight
Golden Gate	Spring Equinox March 21	Crosses heavenly equator	Light & darkness, Yin & Yang balanced.  Yang Qi is growing.	Sunrise
Palace of Universal Yang	Summer Solstice June 21 – 23	Furthest north from equator	Maximum Yang or brightness; longest days & times of light & warmth	Noon
Gate of the Moon	Autumn Equinox September 22	Crosses equator	Light & darkness, Yin & Yang balanced.  Yin Qi is increasing.	Sunset

Further seasonal transitions periods appear in (1).

Ancient Qigong masters practiced Gathering the Sun’s Essence Meditation to gather pure Yang Qi and to strengthen Zheng (Gathering) Qi.   This helped to eliminate pathogenic factors and prevent premature aging.  Details can be found in (1).

3.  The Moon’s Cycles

According to ancient Qigong masters, the sun has a Yang nature radiating hot, thermal energy, while the moon is Yin and emits a much cooler energy by reflecting the energy of the sun.  The amount of energy reflected depends on the phase of the moon in its lunar cycle as it revolves around the earth.  The lunar month begins with the new moon, when the moon is between the sun and earth.  Sunlight strikes the half of the moon which is not visible from the earth and so no light is reflected towards the earth.  When the moon travels about 1/8th of its orbit around the earth, the sun begins to illuminate part of the moon which reflects some light to the earth and the moon is called a waxing crescent   After traveling ¼ of the way around its orbit the moon appears as a half illuminated circle.   Some phases are shown in Table 4.

The body’s Qi and Blood varies with the amount of reflected light and also with the gravitational pull of the sun and moon, just as the tides.  Thus, the ancient Qigong masters specified times for tonifying and purging.  For example don’t tonify when the moon is full since Blood and Qi are turning excessive due to the amount of reflected light and also because the sun’s and moon’s gravitational pulls are acting together in concert.  Table 4 helps in designing the proper Qigong treatment during certain phases of the moon. 

Table 4.  Qigong Treatment According to Phases of Moon

Phase of Moon	Reason	Tide	Qi & Blood	Regulation
New	Moon between sun; earth.  Start of orbit	Spring.  Max. Sun; moon pull together	Deficient	No Purging
Waxing Crescent	Moon between sun; earth & 1/8th around orbit	Spring.  Max. Sun; moon pull together	Turning excessive	No Tonifying
First Quarter	Moon is 90 deg. to sun & 1/4 around orbit	Neap. Min. Sun; moon work against each other	Deficient	No Purging
Full	Moon opposite sun & 1/2 around orbit	Spring.  Max. Sun & moon pull together	Excessive	No Tonifying
Last Quarter	Moon is 90 deg. to sun & 3/4 around orbit	Neap.  Min.  Sun & moon work against each other	Turning Deficient	No Purging
Waning Crescent	Moon between sun & earth & 7/8th  around orbit	Spring.  Max. Sun & moon pull together	Deficient	No Purging

During a full moon, the body’s Blood and Qi fill the Baihui point at the top of the head.  At the new moon, the body’s Blood and Qi gather at the Huiyin in the perineum.  Following the moon’s  cycle, the body’s Qi completes a full revolution, flowing up the Governing Vessel to the Baihui, and down the Conception Vessel to the Huiyin.

Since the top and bottom o the Taiji Pole are activated at the full and new moon, these times are considered the most productive times for Taiji Pole Qi practice.

Ancient Qigong masters also practiced Gathering the Moon’s Cream Meditation.  The vital essence of the moon is called “Cream” or “cool light”.  It is used to nourish the Kidneys, Jing, Marrow, and Brain, while contributing to longevity.  This meditation is practiced only three days before, during, and after the full moon, a total of nine days.  These days are the brightest days of the month.  It is not practiced other days because there is insufficient vital moon essence to gather.  This meditation is described in (1).

4.  Proper Directions for Practicing Qigong

The proper directions for practicing Qigong have been emphasized since ancient times (see Table 1).  For instance, the practitioner faces the sun and moon when practicing sun and moon meditations.  Patients with a Yang deficiency should face east or south.  Those with Yin deficiencies should face north or west.  Those with a Kidney, Liver, Heart, or Lung deficiency should face north, east, south, west, respectively.  Patients with a spleen deficiency should focus their attention on the center (Earth).  Note that although these directions are effective, a Qigong master chooses the place and direction using their intuition.  They slowly turn until they feel their body filling with Qi in a specific direction.  They cannot stand or sit comfortably unless they are facing that direction.