In Traditional Oriental Medicine the Lungs govern Qi and respiration. They’re responsible for inhaling Qi from the atmosphere, combining it with the Qi received from food and spreading the resultant useable Qi throughout the entire body. The Lungs are called the tender organ because they are the most external organs and they connect the body to the outside world. The Lungs are easily attacked by external pathogenic factors, in this case smoky, ashy, hot air. When the air we’re taking in is poor quality, we tire easily. Of course, when we’re breathing fine air and eating garbage we get tired easily, but that’s another discussion.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer said it (Okay, according to an\u00a0anonymous reader Buffy\u00a0actually said ‘Fire bad, Tree pretty’.\u00a0 Thanks for\u00a0keeping me honest mystery\u00a0reader)\u00a0and in a week like we\u2019ve just experienced, that lizard-brain level is where we\u2019re all operating.\u00a0 With no wind, smoke from the \u201cStation Fire\u201d just sat over the Angeles National Forest.\u00a0 And then, following the physics of \u201cwhat goes up must come down\u201d it rained ash.\u00a0 Day after day after day.\u00a0 In my office in Tarzana, ash was covering the parking lot and the smoke was overpowering the A\/C\u2019s ability to keep the smell out.\u00a0 It was hot and dry and dusty and all-in-all a miserable week.<\/p>\n

\u00a0So \u2013 why post THAT on this blog.\u00a0 It\u2019s not news to anyone in the area and the weather has changed, the fire is moving east and the ash is retreating.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m addressing this because of the huge affect this fire had, and is continuing to have, on my patients.\u00a0 Several patients have come in for musculoskeletal appointments and have ended up getting treatments for respiratory complaints (and the musculoskeletal treatments too \u2013 that\u2019s one of the powers of Traditional Oriental Medicine, I can do both at once!).\u00a0 They\u2019ve been physically and mentally tired, almost feeling they were coming down with something but with no specific symptoms.\u00a0 This is due to their Qi not circulating well throughout their bodies.<\/p>\n

In Traditional Oriental Medicine (T.O.M.)\u00a0the Lungs\u00a0govern Qi and respiration.\u00a0 They\u2019re responsible for inhaling Qi from the atmosphere, combining it with the Qi received from food and spreading the resultant useable Qi throughout the entire body.\u00a0 The Lungs are called the tender organ because they are the most external organs and they connect the body to the outside world.\u00a0 The Lungs are easily attacked by external pathogenic factors, in this case smoky, ashy, hot air.\u00a0 When the air we\u2019re taking in is poor quality, we tire easily.\u00a0 Of course, when we\u2019re breathing good air and eating garbage we get tired easily, but that\u2019s another discussion.<\/p>\n

Anyone with allergies\/asthma or COPD should have a plan in place for fire season as should people with cardiac disease.\u00a0 The easiest to follow recommendation is to stay inside with windows and doors closed, and run the A\/C to filter out the gunk.\u00a0 But even people with no cardio-pulmonary disease need to take care not to exhaust themselves.\u00a0 The impact of the smoke is insidious and it would be easy to ignore the body\u2019s signals to SLOW DOWN but it is very important to take it easy.<\/p>\n

T.O.M. states that anytime the seasons change we need to take care to slow down and reflect on what our bodies are going through.\u00a0 Add in a natural disaster and everyone can really benefit from some meditativetime.\u00a0 I suggest doing something positive for yourself, especially something you\u2019ve been putting off.\u00a0 Go get a massage, visit a healthcare practitioner, read that book you\u2019ve been putting off, go out to a special meal with friends or loved ones.\u00a0 Whatever it is, take this time to slow down.\u00a0 It will allow your body to adjust to the season change as well as recovering from the fire.<\/p>\n

T.O.M. also has a long list of foods that are beneficial for the Lung system.\u00a0 Some simple foods you may want to consider adding into your diet right now include apples, especially the sour ones like pippins; yogurt; tofu, tempeh and soybeans; rose hip tea; black tea; honey and barley malt.\u00a0 For a more complete recommendation, make an appointment to see me or your local practitioner of Traditional Oriental Medicine.<\/p>\n