Karma Burning: Temples of Body and Mind

Episode IV

By: Tracy L. Hackett AP, DAOM

The things that actually sustain you are usually simple. Happiness, which we in the US take for granted as the end all, is considered quite ephemeral and not worth chasing after in traditional Hindu philosophy. Contentment or santosha is a favored pursuit since it is sustained by individual decision to do so through discernment and acceptance. The pathway or bridge (tirtha) to this state is found through a devotional form of yoga (bhakti), part of that is inspired by making pilgrimages both near and far. I settled into a daily routine of climbing the scaffolding of the small Krishna temple to reveal the image of the Vishwaroopa deity that lived in my heart. Santosha was easily inspired with the two delicious and generous meals per day at the ashram. On chai breaks I would snoop around the kitchen to learn how to make those fresh scrumptious vegetarian dishes. One of those recipes for a marvelous curry can be found on my website blog. Visit: www.hackettholistichealth.com.

The rich food for my soul India so graciously provided also came in the form of frequent jaunts to some of the ancient glorious temples in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. I learned how to tie a sari from one of the female swamis. She accompanied me into the temple precincts, since foreigners are typically not allowed past the gated walls into the mandala of shrines (mandirs) carefully composing the temple grounds. The placement of deity shrines is based upon mystical geometry (Vastu) of the earth’s telluric currents intuited by scholar priests.

Leave your shoes and camera outside with hands full of flowers to give and an open heart to receive of the universal divine within. It sounds far-fetched until your feet cross the threshold. Although the styles of architecture and murals vary greatly, there’s a fresh lightly floral fragrance in the air punctuated with burning ghee, a feeling of stillness and a profound sense of stepping out of time that instills a sense of Purusha or the universal essence that pervades all things. It was in these sacred spaces that the divine became real and I developed a sense of no division between aspects of myself, the physical world, and the mystical. It inspired me in my humble project to bring a deity to life through synthetic enamel paint such that everyday became a pilgrimage.

The reservoir of santosha building in my spirit would be tested as the toll of heat, humidity, spicy foods, toxic paint fumes, long hours, and the day-to-day challenges of living with a lot of people presents. My symptoms re-emerged in a forceful way. I was tired and frightened, but a new chapter of my healing process opened up when I met a small, wiry, silver-haired doctor. He introduced me to the art of Tamil indigenous medicine: Siddha.

Recipe modified by: Tracy Hackett, AP, DAOM

I learned this recipe in the kitchen of the ashram where I painted a temple ceiling in Kerala, India. Mohan made delicious food everyday for dozens of people. It is my hope that I’ve done his masterful curry justice. The modifications I’ve made are in the types of vegetables, the addition of onion, and the amount of chili (!). It is difficult to find here many of the unique and flavorful vegetables easily picked up in the village markets. Most ashrams and observant Hindu households do not use garlic and onions. They are thought to congest the higher function of the mind. If you have the time, make the curry sauce portion the day before so that the spices have time to mingle and marry.

Ingredients:

Sauté together:

½ c. Sesame oil

1 tbs. Black mustard seeds (add these to the oil first and wait until they pop before adding the rest)

6-8 Curry leaves

1tsp. Salt

1 ½ tsp. Fresh ground black pepper

1 small sweet Onion finely chopped

2 oz. Fresh Ginger finely chopped

½ or 1 small Serrano chili finely chopped

Add to the slightly browned sauté:

2 chopped Tomatoes

2 tbs. Tomato paste

4-6 oz. Coconut cream

3 tbs. Turmeric

1 tsp. Tamarind paste

2 tsp. packed brown sugar

*2 c. vegetable broth or coconut milk (this amount is variable to your taste use more for a thinner sauce or soup)

2-3 tbs. Peas flour (this is a thickening ingredient and very important for classic texture and body)

Combine and add to simmer during the last 10 minutes of cooking:

1 tbs. ground Cumin

2 tbs. ground Coriander

½ tsp. ground Cardamom
1 ½ tsp. ground Cinnamon

½ tsp. ground Allspice

½ tsp. ground Nutmeg

1/8 tsp. Amchur powder

A pinch + to taste of Chili powder

Roast or sauté separately from curry sauce:

½ c. Zucchini diced small

½ c. Red pepper diced or julienne

½ c. Peas

1 c. Sweet potato or pumpkin (parboil in advance)

½ c. Carrot diced

1 c. Green beans

*Spinach (do not sauté, use as a bed under the curry instead of rice for paleo version, ladle piping hot curry on top large handful of spinach leaves, it will cook with heat of the sauce)

Stir prepared vegetables into curry and serve over basmati rice or bed of spinach, then garnish.

Toppings for garnish:

Cashews (gently dry fry)

Finely grated coconut (gently dry fry)

Fresh cilantro

People in Kerala are mainly vegetarian. If you prefer a heavier dish with more protein these are suggested types to use:

Paneer (Indian farmer’s cheese)

Seitan (tofu-based protein)

Chicken (stew in roasted breast and thigh into the curry for richest flavor)

Fish curry has a very different seasoning profile and fewer vegetables…more great dishes to come!

In my twenties, on a windy May day in New York City was the first time I experienced an unexplainable grand mal-like seizure. It was the beginning of a long, winding journey toward health and wellness, something I had taken very much for granted until that fateful day. Over the next five years, I had become so heavily medicated that my doctors were informing me that I would soon require monitoring for my liver and kidney function. The next shock came when I was told I would have to give up an unexpected pregnancy because the medications were teratogenic and I had not known early enough to stop them in time. It was so devastating to me that I was spurred into action to find a new way forward.

Yoga, a very strict diet, and nutritional supplements over the next few years got me going in the right direction but the seizures hadn’t completely stopped and stimulants like coffee and chocolate would set them off. In spite of that, I accepted a commission to paint a mural on a temple ceiling in India. I was ready for another radical shift, and boy did I get one.

I landed in Kerala’s Trivandrum airport in August of 1999. It was cooler than I expected, it was kind of like Florida in April. A dear friend had given me a suit salwar (a long fitted top with billowy pants to wear underneath and a shawl-scarf to drape over the shoulders) to change into on the plane, so I thought I was ready. Hah. I left the airport doors and was met by a throng of taxi drivers lobbying for my fare. Quietly pushing my way through, one driver approached with that calm, cool grace so many Indians are known for and asked me where I was going. “Neyyar Dam”, I said. “Oh, I know where the ashram is. I can take you.” Off we went.

The Commodore is a car out a history book. They are almost always ivory white with a design that hadn’t changed since the British brought them over in the 1940s. They are built like tanks and leave much to want in the way of suspension. He made this car his own by fitting it out with cheetah print upholstery and an array of dashboard-ready Hindu god figurines that were lovingly dressed with small fresh flowers and incense smoke burning from the ashtray. The winding and hilly dirt roads did not deter my driver from taking all of them on at top speed. Bouncing around, hitting my head on the roof several times, and rebounding off of almost every surface of the back seat was my introduction to getting around in the lush palm tree rainforest brought to life with a vibrant ancient culture wisking by my window.

The Sivananda Dhanwanthari Ashram was very quiet when I arrived. The call of unknown birds echoed through the vast gardens. I walked up the long path toward main building where the resident Ayurvedic doctor looked up from the plants he was tending to greet me. Jayaram had so much mischief all over his face from that first moment that I burst out laughing. “Oh, laughing already? For what?” “Nothing”, I said, ”I’m just jetlagged. Where is everyone?”. Once he figured out who I was exactly, it was clear I had missed the ashram van dispatched to pick me up. “They are waiting for you at the Centre in Trivandrum”, he looked at me rather crossly. “I’m very sorry. I really didn’t know about it. Is there any possibility of getting some water and a place to sleep?” Jayaram said, “Yes, that’s possible. You are looking very pale.” He gave my cheek a hard pinch and studied the result with a stern look. “Not just because your are so white already…what’s wrong with you?” “Nothing, really. I just need to sleep, please”. Unconvinced, grabbed my wrist, taking a quick pulse, abruptly released it giving me a penetrating look. Silently, he took me to a simple lovely room with a sweeping balcony that overlooked the jungle. I was home…at least for a little while.

By Tracy L. Hackett, AP, DAOM

QiGong is the core practice of TaiChi and other martial arts. It has been practiced since at least the Neolithic period in China, exemplified by illustrations carved into stone. Dao-Yin, the ancient word for QiGong is also characterized in the Mawangdui silk scrolls from 168 BCE. So what do these legendary practices have to offer to people living now?

A path toward inner peace and deeper awareness becomes more available to you with regular practice. There are many masters and teachers out there with books, DVDs, classes, and workshops. How do you know if it’s even for you? Trying a few simple exercises may give you a reasonable idea of what could be in store for you studying with a teacher who resonates with you.

Let’s start with a preliminary visualization and activity to build a foundation then add what is referred to as the Five Healing Sounds. The beginning of any practice of this nature must start with the cornerstone concept and experience of Qi. Think of Qi as both a particle and a wave. It is part of the substance of things but also that which gives form. There is no concept of ‘zero’ in Yin-Yang theory, no such thing as ‘nothing’ per say. You are a vital energetic being in a soup of energy that is constantly changing form and transitioning through states. All of this flux of matter, energy, and consciousness is of varying densities and vibrations of Qi. All organized aspects of Qi have a vibrational quality. Some of these vibrations are healing and harmonizing, some are not. The pivot is a neutral that rests within the quietest place in our minds and intentions (heart).

We can tap into those inner most intentions, in part, through a meditative practice called the Microcosmic Orbit. Sit in a comfortable position with your feet planted on the floor about hip distance apart. Rest your palms on your thighs with your arms comfortably extended toward your knees. Close your eyes and focus on the sensation of your breath and how its rhythm moves your body. Breathe deeply and slowly, then become aware of your spine and your head sitting atop of it. Place the tip of your tongue just behind your front teeth. Then visualize a pearl of bright, clear diamond-like light at the very base of your tailbone. As you breathe, visualize the pressure of your breath moving that pearl up your spine over the top of your head and down your midline back to the tailbone. Do this circuit three times watching the pearl become larger and brighter each cycle and at the end of the third cycle, visualize the pearl resting at an area about three finger widths below your navel and inside your abdomen between 1-3 inches (depending on your body weight) called the Lower Dan Tian. As you breathe visualize the light becoming brighter, then see it separate into two more pearls. Move one pearl up to your solar plexus (middle Dan Tian) and the third pearl up to the area between your eyebrows (upper Dan Tian). It may take some practice but you can hold the feeling of the three pearls with your breath and inner awareness or mind’s eye. A deep sense on calm typically sets in with this practice alone. Once you feel comfortable with this visualization and feeling the vibrational aspect of your being, you can add the sounds.

The Five Healing Sounds correlate with the Five Elements of Chinese Medicine, which in turn have several other sets of five aggregates (tastes, color, smell, etc.) that have relationships with specific organs and their energetic relationships with the mind-spirit.

So in practice, for example, say you worry too much, thinking through a problem to the point of fixation with multiple competing forecasted narratives of outcomes. This would be considered “Overthinking” and the organ’s energy most negatively affected by this ‘emotion’ is the ‘Spleen’. The organs in TCM theory are partially related to the actual physical organ in your body. The “Spleen” is an energetic pathway of function in your system related to your digestion or assimilation, the energetic aspect of your spirit that is connected to your intellect or “discernment”. The sound or vibration that helps balance the Qi flow in these energetic relationships is: “Hoo”.

It is a sound you make as the breath passes through your lips, different from a sharp, short spoken word, so that you can feel it resonate in your body. The same follows for the other organ relationships. Remember, there is no primacy to these relationships. Each aspect and quality in the system of relationships has its own weight and importance. Think of them sitting on interconnecting circles rather than a line of heirachy. The interconnecting circles concept is related to the meridians, energetic channels, that run along the body creating an integrated system of systems. It is a large concept to digest all at once. Start with the basic meditation and one emotion that you struggle with and let me know how you do.

Tracy L. Hackett, AP, DAOM is an Acupuncture Physician and Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACTCM at CiiS, San Francisco, CA) practicing in Jupiter, Florida. She has found health through holistic medicine herself and brings the same to others since 2005. She specializes in the treatment of pain and GI issues. She has also developed nearly 30 new acupuncture points for the treatment of digestive issues, pain (post-concussion, jaw, neck, low back, pelvic), and neuropathy.

There has been a lot of press recently on this ancient method of pain relief from China. Why would Olympic athletes trust this method to help them maintain top-notch performance while competing for the highest achievement honors in the world?

Because it works to alleviate muscle soreness, spasm, and tension. By creating a superficial ‘bruise’ with the suction, the body’s natural healing response is triggered to repair the ‘damaged’ area.

Cupping Therapy is the method of using glass, plastic, bamboo, or suction cups to create localized pressure by a vacuum. Chinese medicine practitioners have been using this healing modality for thousands of years. In ancient times they utilized this technique by using heat inside glass or bamboo cups. Acupuncturists and Chinese Medicine practitioners/doctors of today also use plastic “suction” cupping sets, which also uses a suction to create vacuum type of feel. The “vacuum” made inside the cups causes the blood to form in the area and help the healing in that area. (This “vacuum” technique is utilized by all cupping instruments mentioned above)

Cupping therapy has been found in ancient records dating back 3500 years and it is still used today by many Acupuncturists & Chinese Medicine practitioners/doctors. New advancement in technology and materials have been integrated with cupping therapies and its uses now range for many different treatments and applications.
In Acupuncture & Chinese medicine we utilize several methods of usage with “cupping”, depending upon the patients needs. Only Acupuncturist Physicians and Doctors of Chinese medicine have enough knowledge, clinical experience, & expertise to differentiate the appropriate diagnostic and treatment method for each individual patient.
Acupuncture & Chinese medicine practitioners/doctors use cupping for several different purposes. Here are a few:

1. The body contains Meridians. These meridians are energetic pathways in the body which the energy of life called Qi (“chi”) flows through. It flows through every body part, tissue. and organs. Like acupuncture, cupping follows the lines of the meridians. There are many meridian pathways within the body which these suction cups can be placed. Using these meridian (energetic) pathways, cupping can help to align and relax qi, as well as target more specific maladies. By targeting the meridian (energetic) pathways, cupping strives to ‘open’ these channels – the paths through which life energy flows freely throughout the body, through all tissues and organs, thus providing a smoother and more free-flowing qi (life force). Cupping is one of the best deep-tissue therapies available. It is thought to affect tissues up to four inches deep from the external skin. Toxins can be released, blockages can be cleared, and veins and arteries can be refreshed within these four inches of affected materials. Even hands, wrists, legs, and ankles can be ‘cupped,’ thus applying the healing to specific organs that correlate with these points.
This treatment is also valuable for the lungs, and can clear congestion from a common cold or help to control a person’s asthma. In fact, respiratory conditions are one of the most common maladies that cupping is used to relieve. Three thousand years ago, in the earliest Chinese documentation of cupping, it was recommended for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis.  Cupping is also used for facial rejuvenation.

2. Lympathic toxins released – the healing aspect of cupping therapy is through the release of toxins in your body. The suction from the cups can penetrate deep into your tissues causing the tissues to release harmful toxins. The cupping draws fresh blood and lymph into the tissue to accelerate the healing response. It triggers the lymphatic system, clears the blood vessels, and stretches and activates the skin.
3. Myo-fascial, trigger point, musculotendon, Musculoskeletal cupping, is used when there is injury, either chronic or traumatic, the fascia is also affected, not just the muscles, ligaments and tendons. If the network of fascial planes is disrupted due to scar tissue adhesions (sometimes referred to as knots), restrictions in function and mobility will result. Decreasing mechanical connective tissue changes following inflammation or trauma,
Decrease trigger Points (presence of hypersensitive, tender tissue within themuscle belly)
Decrease myofascial dysfunction, scar adhesions, scar tissue
Decrease myofascial syndromes; i.e. faulty patterning due to hypertonic muscles.

***** NOTE: As there are several cautions and contraindications with any treatments modalities and a necessity of a thorough and correct diagnosis of each individual patient is required.

No other practitioner who utilizes this treatment modality has the expertise needed to maintain long term success in health and well being. Only highly trained and knowledgeable practitioners such as an Acupuncturist & Chinese Medicine Practitioners/Doctors should be performing such treatments.

By: Dr. Tracy Hackett (DAOM, AP)

People born in the nineties and aughts are quickly realizing that they must actively become stewards of the thin outer skin of the earth’s surface that is our biome, our collective home.  By protecting the environment, we protect our long-term health and our future. The medical industry is a part of that picture. The medical industry is one of the top environmental polluters with the incineration of medical waste that releases 215 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a 2009 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  The organization, Practice Greenhealth, found through their 2010 survey that hospitals produce about 5.9 million tons of trash per year.  According to the organization Health Care Without Harm, the incineration process releases some of the highest amounts of dioxin, mercury, lead, and other dangerous pollutants of any polluter into our air and water year after year.  These statistics do not include pharmaceutical or food waste. The problem exists, but many people are hard at work figuring out solutions for these problems. One foundational solution could be to avoid utilizing the conventional medical industry as much as possible.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), massage, chiropractic, and other forms of holistic medical care carry with them a very small footprint on the environment. If more young people adopt holistic medicine modalities as a central focus of their healthcare, then they will likely use conventional medical interventions less, thereby reducing their contribution to the pollution of the environment. Stewardship is a notion that inheres in the individual an assumption of responsible management of resources, both related to personal health and that of the larger world. The ethical use of resources may seem a lofty and unreachable goal with the pressures of daily life pushing most of us to grasp for conveniences, but many of our current convenience items are undermining a healthy future.

Over the last decade or so, a significant mind set shift has been gaining momentum. As the demand for non-drug, nature-based medicines and modalities increase with people realizing the consequences of taking pharmaceuticals for long periods of time, holistic systems-based paradigms of medicine (like TCM) make increasingly more sense to a larger and younger population who are seeing chronic and serious illness showing up earlier in their lives.

So what could this green medicine stewardship look like for the future of health care?  First of all, new and dynamic insurance policies need to be developed on the premise of true prevention (not just a few more tests earlier on) and not the expensive sick-care model of invasive and drug-oriented medicine.  That requires a concerted, vocal demand from the public. The younger generations that are entering the workforce or will be in a few years must look at the impact of all of their choices like no other generation has been willing to do previously. It is becoming a necessity to consider and create collective choices with our personal ones.

Holistic medicine has the lowest environmental impact of all types of healthcare: no toxic chemicals, minimal to zero emissions from medical waste. Additionally, your own productivity is impacted for the better. People who actively utilize the holistic medicine that I offer in my practice typically experience fewer lost workdays, take less medication, and receive fewer invasive procedures.

The reason for this (at least from the anecdotal data I have) is that the premise of the medicine I work from is to cut illness and dysfunction off at the root and coach my patients to proactively manage lifestyle issues with the help of myself and other professionals in the holistic medicine field. This is accomplished from a systems-based approach to medicine. The genesis of TCM came about through observation of the systems in nature and how they were reflected in the balanced and imbalanced function of the human body.  As TCM integrates into the contemporary healthcare landscape of the US, conventional allopathic medicine disciplines are borrowing from it. The deeper ecology of how we care for our health is integrated with how we care for the environment we live in to sustain that health.

Our collective internal health will more closely be reflected in the health of the environment under our stewardship. The advent of the nascent understanding of epigenetics underscores the salience of this relationship for future generations. Moving from the philosophical broad view to a practical picture of what I’m pointing out will likely be actualized in the generation of people who are now children.  Medicine that mimics the patterns and power of nature appears to be the path of least resistance toward for a large population in the years to come.

Tracy L. Hackett, AP, DAOM is an Acupuncture Physician and Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACTCM at CiiS, San Francisco, CA) practicing in Jupiter, Florida.  She has found health through holistic medicine herself and brings the same to others since 2005. She specializes in the treatment of pain and GI issues. She has also developed nearly 30 new acupuncture points for the treatment of digestive issues, pain (post-concussion, jaw, neck, low back, pelvic), and neuropathy.

Some symptoms of estrogen dominance:

• Breast swelling and tenderness
• Anxiety and mood swings
• “Fuzzy thinking”
• Irritability
• Fatigue
• Loss of ambition
• Slow metabolism
• Water retention
• Loss of libido
• PMS
• Weight gain
• Insomnia
• Thickening of endometrial lining, clotted menses
• Increased risk of uterine fibroids
• Increased incidence of ovarian cysts

Many of these symptoms are related to stagnation of qi, blood and damp against a background of qi or yang deficiency from the perspective of Chinese medicine.

For 25 years it was assumed by general doctors that women produced minimum amount of estrogen after menopause until research have shown different. Chinese medical textbooks states that yin becomes increasingly vacuous until a woman stops having regular periods. Before menopause women’s levels of progesterone decline, while estrogen levels remain stable or even increase. This leads to a situation where estrogen levels is high in relation to progesterone, which is referred to as estrogen dominance. The term estrogen dominance was composed by Dr. John Lee, who advocated for natural progesterone supplementation.

Estrogen is produced mainly in the ovaries and progesterone is produced predominantly by the corpus luteum. When the egg quality begins to decline in perimenopause, the quality of the corpus luteum also declines, leading to lower progesterone levels and relative estrogen dominance. Many perimenopausal women are periodically anovulatory, which means that estrogen goes unopposed during those cycles.

Another factor which become more prevalent over the last two decades is the amount of xenoestrogens we are exposed to. Xenoestrogens are found in everything from sunscreen to plastic water bottles, our water supply which contains synthetic estrogen because of the widespread use of birth control pills. Cooking with non-stick coated cookware and microwaving food in plastic containers releases xenoestrogens into our food.

In my practice I suggest a combination of diet and lifestyle advice along with acupuncture, herbs and supplements to help women achieve an appropriate balance between progesterone and estrogen as they head towards menopause.

And here’s some advice I give my patients when they ask me how they can help themselves:

• Take care of your liver. It is your best defense against estrogen dominance because it’s job is to eliminate excess estrogen. Minimize your alcohol intake and, to stimulate your liver, drink water with lemon juice first thing every morning. There are a few simple supplements that you can take just a few times per week to help your liver function at its best.

• Research endocrine-disrupting chemicals in cosmetics, processed foods, cookware, and cleaning materials and cut your exposure to xenoestrogens as much as you can. Look at labels, many chemicals in cosmetics are derived from petroleum products.

• Get rid of your plastic containers and plastic water bottles. Plastic is a petrochemical product and in part of its degradation process, off-gasses into water and foods.  Use glass containers and ditch your microwave. Cooking your fast or processed food in the plastic containers they were frozen in is non-nutrition.

Any questions you have about how you can rebalance your hormone health, set up a consultation with Dr. Hackett. We can go over your current labs, order new tests, and formulate a strategy for you to get back to feeling your best.