Qi (Chi) Energy

Qi

Qi is the most dynamic and immediate energy of the body. This unique energy results from the interaction of yin and yang. It has been called "energy", "vital energy", "primal energy" and "life force". A healthy body is a wellspring of constant circulating Qi which moves around the body, in and out of the body, up and down within the body. Vibrant Qi has warming properties that bring about a sense of complete harmony and wellness.

Qi in the body�s functioning is like an electric current. Qi animates our being. Our meridians and organs are like the hardware: wires, transformers, power plants through which the electrical current (qi) moves and gets amped, stored, and routed. Every living being has qi, yet each of us is unique in our particular quality of qi. Qigong practices assist qi circulation and flow, storage, and regeneration. Our qi circulation and flow is dependent on how much and what kind of qi we received at birth from our ancestors, diet and nutrition, and overall lifestyle. Practices can transform qi into shen or jing and healing energy. In the old character for qi, there is an image of steam rising from a pot of rice on a fire. If the fire is continuous and appropriate to the proportion of rice to water, energy will show up as steam. If the fire gets too hot, the water dries up and not only the rice burns but eventually the container as well.

When the qi flow is disrupted, we accumulate the residue of incomplete vital process. This is the foundation of many illnesses. In the beginning of this disruption, there is stagnation. If the residue accumulates over time, we eventually lose the capacity to suspend them, and they are expressed as overt disease.

When Jing, Shen and Qi are interacting harmoniously, individuals live life at peak capacity. Everything seems to "click ". Our body, mind and soul are fully engaged.

THE 3 TREASURES~Qi, Shen, Jing

There are three treasures in the human body. These are known as Jing, Qi and Shen. Of these three, only Qi has received some recognition in the West so far. Qi is but one of the Three Treasures---the other two are equally wondrous.

Today we will talk about Shen, the third treasure. Shen energy is similar to the English meaning of the words 'Mind' and 'Spirit.' It is developed by the combination of Jing and Qi energy. When these two treasures are in balance, the mind is strong, the spirit is great, the emotions are under control, and the body is strong and healthy. But it is very difficult to expect a sound mind to be cultivated without sound Jing and Qi. An old proverb says that 'a sound mind lives in a sound body.' When cultivated, Shen will bring peace of mind.

Shen is the guiding Spirit which directs Qi. This is ultimately the most important of the Three Treasures because it reflects our higher nature as human beings. Chinese masters say that Shen is the all-embracing love that resides in our Heart. Shen is the spiritual radiance of a human being and is the ultimate and most refined level of energetics in the universe. Shen is not considered to be an emotion, or even a state of mind. It presides over the emotions and manifests as all-encompassing compassion, and non-discriminating, non-judgemental awareness. Shen is expressed as love, compassion, kindness, generosity, acceptance, forgiveness and
tolerance.

Even though nature manifests dualistically and cyclically, often obscuring our vision and creating illusion, Shen is our higher knowledge that everything is one. It manifests as our wisdom and our ability to see all sides of all issues, our ability to rise above the world of right and wrong, good and bad, yours and mine, high and low, etc.

Tomorrow we will cover Qi (Chi) the second treasure and it is the energy flow, the vitality and the action of Yin and Yang.

Heart Blessings~
Desiree

May~ Blood Pressure Awareness Month~

What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood against the walls of the arteries.

Blood pressure results from two forces. One is created by the heart as it pumps blood into the arteries and through the circulatory system. The other is the force of the arteries as they resist the blood flow.

What do blood pressure numbers indicate?

• The higher (systolic) number represents the pressure while the heart contracts to pump blood to the body.
• The lower (diastolic) number represents the pressure when the heart relaxes between beats.

The systolic pressure is always stated first. For example: 118/76 (118 over 76); systolic = 118, diastolic = 76.

Blood pressure below 120 over 80 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) is considered optimal for adults. A systolic pressure of 120 to 139 mmHg or a diastolic pressure of 80 to 89 mmHg is considered "prehypertension" and needs to be watched carefully. A blood pressure reading of 140 over 90 or higher is considered elevated (high).

source of information: American Heart Association www.americanheart.org

Peace in My Heart

~Peace In My Heart~

With peace in my heart
Love will have no boundaries
Like wings set on fire~

~Desiree

Senryu 5/7/5 emotion/nature !!

Heart Quote by Cochise

"You must speak straight so that your words may go as sunlight into our hearts."

Cochise ("Like Ironweed")

~Universal Heart Song~

All hearts beat as one
At the core of our being
Universal Love

~Desiree

Senryu 5/7/5 emotion

Heart Links and Resources

picture: embroidered heart and lungs!

I am listing some links to different resources in regard to your heart. These are all sites that I frequent and I have found very helpful on my healthy heart journey!

http://www.americanheart.org/ American Heart Association
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute
http://www.acc.org/ American College of Cardiology
http://www.cardio360.com Cardio 360 EXCELLENT SITE!!!
These sites are great reference sites and they also have links to other sites. It is a good starting place and of course there is always GOOGLE!!!!

A Beautiful Heart Felt Quote for Today

“The greatest treasures are those invisible to the eye but found by the heart.”

~author unknown

~Music and The Heart~

I have always noticed that when I listen to music, I feel calm and relaxed and just plain good! I have always said that music is the soundtrack of our lives. I know that there are songs that I hear that take me back to childhood memories and thoughts of my past life. Whenever I hear the song 'Maggie Mae"by Rod Stewart, I instantly think of the property we have on the river and the weekends of my childhood spent out there.

In the video Dr. Miller ( cardiologist) talks about how music opens up the vessels (the inner lining of the vessels relax) and that we actually produce a chemical that actually is protective to our heart! So when I hear Bob Marley singing 'ONE LOVE' ...I know my heart is loving it!
WAY COOL!!!!

Thanks Antoinette for sharing this article with me!

And the beat goes on!
Blessings~
Desiree

Cardiac Catheterization- what is it?

In doing my Sacred Signs blog this morning on Serendipity I came across the fact that cardiac catheterization was discovered because a Cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic injected radiocontrast into the coronary artery instead of the left ventricle. Ironically, this is a procedure that could be an option for me in regard to the blockage on the left side of my heart.

In regard to my Angina:
Coronary artery luminal narrowing reduces the flow reserve for oxygenated blood to the heart, typically producing intermittent angina. Very advanced luminal occlusion usually produces a heart attack. However, it has been increasingly recognized, since the late 1980s, that coronary catheterization does not allow the recognition of the presence or absence of coronary atherosclerosis itself, only significant luminal changes which have occurred as a result of end stage complications of the atherosclerotic process. See IVUS and atheroma for a better understanding of this issue.

What is Coronary Catheterization?

A coronary catheterization is a minimally invasive procedure to access the coronary circulation and blood filled chambers of the heart using a catheter. It is performed for both diagnostic and interventional (treatment) purposes.

Coronary catheterization is one of the several cardiology diagnostic tests and procedures. Specifically, coronary catheterization is a visually interpreted test performed to recognize occlusion, stenosis, restenosis, thrombosis or aneurysmal enlargement of the coronary artery lumens; heart chamber size; heart muscle contraction performance; and some aspects of heart valve function. Important internal heart and lung blood pressures, not measurable from outside the body, can be accurately measured during the test. The relevant problems that the test deals with most commonly occur as a result of advanced atherosclerosis -- atheroma activity within the wall of the coronary arteries. Less frequently, valvular, heart muscle, or arrhythmia issues are the primary focus of the test.

STRONG HEART STUDY (SHS)- study of Native American and CVD (cardiovascular disease)

Cardiovascular disease has become the leading cause of death in American Indians and Alaska Natives and a major source of disability and hospitalization.
In the 1980's it was concluded the the study of heart disease in Native American culture was inconclusive. The Secretary of Health and Human Service’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health concluded that information on cardiovascular disease (CVD) in American Indians was inadequate and strongly recommended epidemiologic studies of this problem. The Strong Heart Study (SHS) was designed to respond to this recommendation. In 1988 the National Heart, Lung , and Blood Institute (NHLBI) supported the largest epidemiology study of cardiovascular disease in Native American men and women.

FYI::(Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine.)

This study included 13 American Indian Tribes and communities in three geographical areas. This included the southwestern areas of Oklahoma, Phoenix, Arizona, and central North and South Dakota. This study was done in five phases and was extensive in many areas including cardiovascular mortality rates, morbidity and mortality (M&M), genetics, and clinical examinations of over 4,500 participants.

Advantages of the SHS include the following: 1) It provides health data on an underserved ethnic group. 2) It is the largest, longest longitudinal study in the US of CVD and its risk factors in individuals with diabetes. 3) Data from cardiac, carotid, and popliteal ultrasound measures will substantially improve understanding of mechanisms of vascular disease in diabetes and the genetics of CVD. 4) This population includes a group in which the epidemic of obesity and diabetes has impacted people at very young ages, permitting analysis of genetic and environmental effects on these conditions with limited confounding by age effects. SHS may lead to valuable therapeutic and prevention strategies for this and other populations in the US and the world, where the epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and CVD are increasing rapidly.

My daughter just applied at the Indian Health Services in her community. We talked about the fact that a Healthy Heart program needs to be included in this communities health and healing structure of preventative medicine. The fact of the matter is the more we are educated on promoting a healthy heart through lifestyle changes, the more we can reduce the risk of heart disease, which is the number one killer across our country.
Indian Health Service – Cardiology Program
American Indians/Alaska Natives and Cardiovascular Diseases
Strong Heart Study
American Heart Association (AHA)

I am an advocate in reducung the risk of heart disease, especially in women and ethnic groups that run high risks towards CVD. I am constantly researching and educating myself as a heart patient and a Cardiovascular Survivor! The more I can do to help others, the more I am living my purpose!

Healthy Heart Blessings to all~
Desiree

Heart Song Essential Oil- aromatherapy

I use essential oils in my healing sessions and healing on myself. I just found Heart Song made by Aura Cacia. I came across it at the healing center two blocks from home. It is blended with lavender, rosewood, geranium and rose absolute. It soothes the body, calms the mind and sensualizes the spirit. I use it during my heart healing meditation. It calms me and brings ,my focus to my heart center.

Heart Blessings~
Desiree

Do you Count Sheep to go to Sleep? Melatonin

Quick Facts About Melatonin: source Go Ask Alice http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/0944.html
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain that has a quick acting, sleep-inducing effect. It is a light-sensitive hormone, meaning that the absence of light stimulates its secretion. Melatonin may play a role in controlling the circadian rhythm, the body's internal clock and sleep cycle. Before puberty, the pineal gland produces comparatively large amounts of melatonin. As we age, melatonin production continually decreases, perhaps explaining why older people either have difficulty sleeping, or sleep less.

The melatonin most often found in health food stores and pharmacies is actually a synthetic version of the hormone; you can also purchase a form that combines synthetic and natural (from sheep pineal glands) melatonin. Both types of melatonin in a bottle mimic the real thing in chemical composition and behavior. However, more people favor the entirely synthetic form because it does not carry the risk of contamination that the partially organic form does.

So I wonder if the whole counting sheep comes from the fact that the natural form of Melatonin comes form the sheep's pineal gland???? Hmmmmm something to think about!

Have a peaceful, heartfelt day!
Desiree~

Hummingbird Heart Medicine~

~Hummingbird~ haiku

Hummingbird come here!
Please open up my heart so dear
Hummingbird stay near!

The hummingbird represent joy in Native American animal medicine. The feathers of the hummingbird are used for powerful love charms. It is said that the feather of hummingbird will open up the heart! I ask the universe to bring me a hummingbird feather!

RHYMING HAIKU:  While good haiku and good poetry can
be written without rhyme, and rhyme is not vital to the success
of a haiku, nevertheless, form can and should be used where
appropriate to enhance the content.

IAM Applied Meditation` Heart Meditation

Here is an excerpt from www.appliedmeditation.org I love this website and I refer to it often. I found it right after my MI. Visit their website and check out all the beautiful information

Spiritual Benefits of
Heart Rhythm Meditation

Find fulfillment and meaning
Your heart's wish is for your completion and full expression of all your talents, gifts and abilities. The path of the heart is not renunciation; it is fulfillment.

Connect to the whole of life
We are all connected through our hearts, and breath is the bridge between us. With access to your heart, you will never be lonely, as separation is a notion of the mind, not the reality of your heart.

Be guided by your heart
Your best guide is beating in your chest. It gives you your sense of what is "right": harmonious, kind, and productive of happiness. Your mind is an able servant of your heart, but mind is directionless when it is left in charge.

Remember your purpose
There is a purpose to your life, the reason for your creation. You can discover it by remembering the mission your heart has held all your life. Your heart was designed for that specific contribution that is yours to make. In its very cells are stored the purpose of its life. This is accessible through Heart Rhythm Practice.

www.appliedmeditation.org

Obama and Health Care- today headline

Today the President meets with hospitals, drug makers, doctors, and insurance companies to discuss health care. source: Associated press

Obama has meeting today to discuss health care

WASHINGTON – Hospitals, insurance companies, drug makers and doctors are planning to tell President Barack Obama today that they'll voluntarily slow their rate increases in coming years in a move that government economists say would create breathing room to help provide health insurance to an estimated 50 million Americans who now go without it.

When President Bill Clinton took on health care reform, industry leaders fought back, killing the White House proposal before it could gain any traction. Now those industry leaders are trying to help Obama find a solution to the problem of uninsured Americans, offering $2 trillion in spending reductions over 10 years.

Although the offer from the industry groups doesn't resolve thorny details of a new health care system, it does offer the prospect of freeing a large chunk of money to help pay for coverage. And it puts the private-sector groups in a good position to influence the bill Congress is writing.

Six major groups plan to deliver a letter to Obama and pledge to cut the growth rate for health care by 1.5 percentage points each year, senior administration officials said Sunday. They spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to sketch the offer before full details are revealed at a White House event scheduled for Monday.

The industry groups are trying to get on the administration bandwagon for expanded coverage now in the hope they can steer Congress away from legislation that would restrict their profitability in future years.

Insurers, for example, want to avoid the creation of a government health plan that would directly compete with them to enroll middle-class workers and their families. Drug makers worry that in the future, new medications might have to pass a cost-benefit test before they can win approval. And hospitals and doctors are concerned the government could dictate what they get paid to care for any patient, not only the elderly and the poor.

Obama has courted industry and provider groups, inviting their representatives to the White House. There's a sense among some of the groups that now may be the best time to act before public opinion, fueled by anger over costs, turns against them.

It's unclear whether the proposed savings will prove decisive in pushing a health care overhaul through Congress. There's no detail on how the savings pledge would be enforced. And, critically, the promised savings in private health care costs would accrue to society as a whole, not just the federal government. That's a crucial distinction because specific federal savings are needed to help pay for the cost of expanding coverage.

Costs have emerged as the most serious obstacle to Obama's plan. The estimated federal costs range from $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion over 10 years, and so far Obama has only spelled out how to get about half of that.

Dark Chocolate Prevents Heart Disease

Tiny Bit of Dark Chocolate Daily Reduces Inflammation That Leads to Heart Disease

By Caroline Wilbert
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Elizabeth Klodas, MD, FACC

Sept. 25, 2008 -- A piece of dark chocolate a day -- a very small piece -- keeps the doctor away.

An Italian study shows that dark chocolate can significantly reduce the inflammation that leads to cardiovascular disease. The ideal amount is 6.7 grams per day (0.23 ounces). A typical Hershey chocolate bar weighs about 43 grams. That means eating one dark chocolate bar over the course of 6 1/2 days to get 6.7 grams per day.

Milk chocolate doesn't appear to offer the same benefits.

The study was conducted by Research Laboratories of the Catholic University in Campobasso and the National Cancer Institute of Milan and has been published in the Journal of Nutrition. The data come from an epidemiological study called the Moli-sani Project, which selected men and women at least 35 years old randomly from city hall registries in southern Italy.

For the chocolate study, researchers identified 4,849 people in good health without risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. These participants were asked about their dark chocolate consumption.

Chronic inflammation can lead to heart disease, so keeping inflammation under control is a major part of preventive treatment. Research has shown that patients who have a low amount of C-reactive protein in their blood have lower levels of inflammation. People who eat dark chocolate regularly, in small servings, have significantly lower levels of C reactive protein, according to the study. This holds true even after accounting for any other potential confounding factors (such as differences in other dietary practices).

My New Meds~ Amlodipine

The new medication that was prescribed to me last weekend at the hospital is called 'Amlodipine.
This medication is being taken to treat my angina. It is a long acting calcium channel blocker.

What is a Calcium channel Blocker? Calcium channel blockers are a class of drugs and natural substances which disrupt the conduction of calcium channels.^[1] It has effects on many excitable cells of the body, and in this case we are referring to the cardiac muscle. Most calcium channel blockers decrease the force of contraction of the myocardium (muscle of the heart).

How does Amlodipine work? Amlodipine affects the movement of calcium into the cells of the heart and blood vessels. As a result, amlodipine relaxes blood vessels and increases the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart while reducing its workload.

The most common side effects:

• Swelling or water retention (edema) -- in up to 10.8 percent of people
• Feelings of a rapidly or forcefully beating heart (heart palpitations) -- up to 4.5 percent
• Fatigue -- up to 4.5 percent
• Dizziness -- up to 3.4 percent
• Nausea -- up to 2.9 percent
• Flushing (redness of the skin, especially the face) -- up to 2.6 percent
• Abdominal pain (stomach pain) -- up to 1.6 percent
• Drowsiness -- up to 1.4 percent.

My Heart Story~ my video

I created this video because I am planning to go to DC in the early fall and be an advocate for heart disease and affordable health care. I hope you enjoy my message to humanity!

Heart Blessings~
Desiree

The Gnosis of YOUR Heart~ excellent video!!!

Heart Treasure

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” ~ Thornton Wilder

My Heart is in God's Hands~

Well after one year and only one small ER incident (the onset of the angina attacks in July of '08) I had a minor setback this past weekend. I was starting to come down with a cold or virus....and I had a full blown big humdinger Angina attack that ended me up in the ER. I did not dial 911 since I lost my health insurance and I had made a choice if I have another MI...there will be no dialing 911 and I stuck to my guns on that one. However, my family would not just sit around and watch me die....so they loaded me up and drove me to county hospital. Outside of the prisoners handcuffed to their gurneys .....the medical attention was unbelievable. I was seen immediately! While I was there they did the norm, full blood panels, EKG, chest X-rays and I was put on oxygen. I was seen by three ER docs and a cardiologist. My nurse was awesome and had a great sense of humor. I was given a stress test and here is where the fun stopped....I did not pass it. I get admitted and because I have flu like symptoms on top of the heart issue I am put in isolation in IMCU!

Okay I never saw a face the rest of the weekend. They were fully gowned, gloved, masked, and goggled. They dreaded coming to my room because they had to go through this every time ...even if they were coming in to bring me a blanket or water or whatever...what a pain in the ass I was huh? Even I had to wear a mask for a short time. I felt so bad for the nurses that I watched carefully how they hooked and unhooked all my plugs to my monitor...and when I had to go to the bathroom...I did it myself. Yes I set the machine off...but after about the fifth chewing out by the nurses about getting up with out help...they left me alone. Deep down I think they were happy that I was a take charge kind of patient! I know that when I left I was truly missed! ; ))

My BP was very low through out the entire stay. It got up to 111/56 and one time after I had a real good cry I saw it moved up to over 135 but the bottom number was still way below 80. So with this going on my BP meds (beta blocker) got reduced to 50 mg from 100 mg!!! But my aspirin regimen was bumped back up to 325 mg from 81 and my statins went from 40mg to 80mg. I was also put on another med to take with the beta blocker in the morning. I will be doing a blog on that one, because I research every medication I am on ...so I know what to do naturally to balance any depletion's.

I am home now. I have an appointment with a new GP through county. While I loved my Dr. Wu and that was another loss I walked through when I lost my health insurance back in November.....I have at this point given my heart fully over to God.
As the song goes...Ques Sara SaRa... What ever will be ...will be. The future's not ours to see. Ques SARa ...SARa~

With deepest heartfelt blessings~
Desiree

Omega 3 and Depression????

I recieved this info in an e-mail and found it very interesting!

Omega-3 EPA linked to less depression
By Stephen Daniells

13/05/2008- Increased blood levels of the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) may reduce the severity of symptoms of depression, particularly in people taking antidepressants, suggests new research from France .

A study of 1390 subjects from Bordeaux in France reports that EPA levels in people with depressive symptoms were on average 0.16 per cent lower than in normal people, according to data published in this month's issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"This result adds to the growing body of evidence implicating long-chain PUFAs in mental disorders," wrote the researchers from the Equipe Epidemiologie de la Nutrition et des Comportements Alimentaires (INSERM U593) and the University of Bordeaux 2.

Numerous observational studies and uncontrolled trials have reported the benefits of fish oils and omega-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA ) and EPA on the behavior and learning, especially in kids, as well for improving the symptoms of depression.

"The novel finding of our survey was the significant association observed between plasma EPA and severity of the depressive symptomatology (DS) in aged subjects already taking antidepressant medication," added the researchers, led by Pascale Barberger-Gateau.