Archive for April, 2007
In Praise of Walking
Perhaps the simplest and easiest way of staying fit is walking. Our bodies are designed for it, it is low impact and so doesn’t stress your joints too much, it is low risk, can be fairly cheap to do and it is usually possible to make it convenient.
From the perspective of Chinese Medicine (TCM) it […]A Revolutionary Book
I think the most important book on health for the last fifty years or more is “The Status Syndrome“ by Michael Marmot (Henry Holt & Co. 2004).
It is about health in the richer countries. It shows that after poverty is no longer the problem (with malnutrition, dysentery etc) the most important factor for health […]The ‘buts’ on Slimness
Slimness is good in our culture at the moment. The overweight are regarded as lazy, slothful and even morally doubtful. Whereas those who are slim are regarded as active, positive and good. (Examining these value judgements about work being good and recreation as bad would be the subject for another blog). […]
Staying with it and Deciding about it
The best description I know of a personality overall is given by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI - based on Carl Jung’s Psychological Types).
In this description of people we have pairs of preferences. Everyone has all preferences but prefers one of each pair. The pairs are:introversion and extraversion,
sensation and intuition,
thinking and […]A Simple Guide to Healthy Eating
The simplest introduction I know to healthy eating is by Bob Flaws and is called The Tao of Healthy Eating.
This is an excellent introduction to healthy eating from the perspective of chinese medicine. It is written well and is easy to read. There is little jargon and it is possible to start following […]The Meaning of (our) Life
Imagine you have been captured by the military. You have no idea whether you will ever see those you love again or even whether you will come out alive. Who do you think is most likely to survive this camp?
This actually happened to Victor Frankl during World War Two. He wrote a […]Flowing from yin to yang
Flowing from yin to yang
The way Traditional Chinese Medicine sees health is as the flow of yin and yang. These concepts apply in every part of our lives. Here we will just take a quick overview of what they mean for our health. From this perspective it is not only the ‘amount’ or […]
