*Traditional Chinese medicine divides everything according to the five elements of fire, earth, metal, water and wood. Each of these elements has its own characteristics. This is a review of the WOOD element. Be sure to check out the Five Elements chart that was in a previous post!
In TCM WOOD is associated with the "drive of life" so to speak. The emotions linked to it are those of asseriveness, agression and even anger. On the flip side of that same coin, signs of diminished wood are discouragement, depression and frustration. It is though to be linked to the liver and gall bladder which are the body's biochemical recycle and disposal center. Every single chemical taken in to the body or created in the body must pass through the liver, some multiple times, in order to be converted into some sort of form that the body can deal with or get rid of easily. Sometimes this leaves people with various issues.
People with "congested" or over-worked livers can come of as irritable. Some experience insomnia with grogginess in the morning. Sometimes various chemical medications or environmental toxins can create either of those feelings as well. These are liver issues and therefor are wood issues. Hypoglycemia, migraine headaches, PMS symptoms, allergies, abdominal pain and skin conditions can all occur when the liver is thus burdened. The Chinese Liver Balance TCM formula (Tiao He) reduces this excess wood energy, supporting the liver and gallbladder in reducing the toxic load in the body. (A word of caution: because this formula contains cascara sagrada, buckthorn, turkey rhubarb and ginseng it should not be used by children or pregnant and nursing mothers.)
Weakness in the gall bladder and liver energies would result in outward displays of discouragement, frustation, an inability to move forward in a constructive nature. Sometimes physical signs include fatigue, menstrual problems in women (ie. scanty menses), intestinal inflammation, abdominal pain and chronic liver problem
Chinese Blood Stmiulator TCM formula (Bu Xue) is a strengthening formula. Chinese Blood Stimulator TCM is especially good for anemia in women or women with scanty menses or prolonged menstrual cycles. It is also helpful for people with vague health problems that doctors say are "all in their head," making the person feel like a hypochondriac.
Also for weakened wood element is Chinese Mood Elevator TCM (Jie Yu). This formula helps anxiety, depression, sagging energy and digestive problems. It is said to be "fire enhancing." This can be thought of as "putting the fire back into your life" or "lighting a fire under your butt." Either way it is thought to aid in the mental coniditions that get a person down and depressed.
**Did you miss the last few installments on this topic? Click here to read about the five element chart. Click here to check out the list of my articles
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