2 Part Question

[Sec]

As I dont post here to much I 'm not sure if these questions are on topic but if you can help please do.

The common cold, really there is nothing that you can be do about it, you just sit there until it goes.

My question is has anyone found ways that help you recover faster?

Also my 2nd question is I suffer from slightly dry skin on my back and hands could this be a sign tht something is lacking within my diet?

Any ideas or advice would be great.

Thank you in advance

- Neutral is equal to failure. By being neutral you have no challenge for there are no decisions to make, there is no road to follow. Every day is just wasted. Remember that yesterday can never return to you. -

[woliveri]

The common cold, really there is nothing that you can be do about it, you just sit there until it goes.

I'd have to firmly dissagree with that statement. I have a friend who has been practicing qi gong for 15 years or so and since he started he has not gotten sick at all. Once your qi is built and replete, also balanced you shouldn't get sick. The problem with this is that it takes dedication to realize these results. Most of us in our fast paced lives don't have the time to devote to such practices. So you reep what you sow in a sense.

[Repulsive Monkey]

Woliveri is true, you can do something very real about the common cold. It is mainly due to wind/cold invasions that overcome ones Wei Qi. If you do Qi Gong or internal practice to strengthen the Wei Qi of the body then one need'nt ever get a cold at all.

[Sec]

Thanx for the replies, but maybe I didnt explain things to well.

"The common cold, really there is nothing that you can be do about it, you just sit there until it goes. "

For people like me this is true .. I'm not saying there are not ways to stopping this but I dont know of any (the reason why I'm posting this) ... I know nothing about qi gong .. my question was more aimed at what someone like myself can do not what a 15 yr qi gong master can do :)

If you know of any good places to learn about qi gong (websites etc) please share.

Thank you

[woliveri]

I would say to first look into Chinese Medical Theory to understand how the body works from a TCM perspective.
You can start with a book called "The web that has no weaver".
Then move on to more in depth books which can be found at:
http://www.redwingbooks.com
You can also find some qi gong books there too.
Just a side note on your investigative path. Try not to think in terms of western terminology when studing this subject. That is, don't try to compare or make a relation to western terminology. This will only confuse you. There is another book, the title is "Between Heaven and Earth" by Harriet Beinfield, Efrem Korngold, which demonstrates the differences in thought between the two systems.

Now, having said that perhaps I can offer my perception of the aspect of the body I'm most familiar with which is an aspect of digestive process. Try to think of the digestive system as a campfire. When the campfire is weak how would you approach getting it going again? You would want to use dry twigs and then build to larger and larger twigs, branches, and eventually logs to get the fire up again. The digestive process is the same thing. See your diet as the fuel (twigs). When your sick you don't want to eat Ice Cream or Steak but more easier digested foods such as rice gruel made with Chicken stock. Slowly building back up the 'fire' until you can eat bigger 'twigs, branches, and logs'. Now, say the fire is going good again. Well, this fire can only take so much 'dampness' or it will be injured again. You can't start using only green, wet logs to burn the fire. That is, too much cold, damp foods will again injure your 'spleen' (TCM Term, not western). So there is an art and a different perspective coming from the view of a TCM Doctor.

Hopefully this will give you some food for thought. This is a simplified overview of only one organ system (Spleen). There is much, much more but it's not too difficult to understand if you put yourself in the right frame of mind. Perhaps Repulsive Monkey can add as I am not a doctor of TCM but enjoy studing the theory as a hobby.

HTH,

[Repulsive Monkey]

Again I commend you on suggesting Ted Kaptchucks wonderful introduction "The Web that has no Weaver". This book amongst others, will give a very good lay-persons foundation to a lot of TCM theory.

[Nexus]

'The web that has no weaver' happens to be a required read and a class to accompany it called 'meridian meditation' in order to even begin taking the medical qi gong certification classes we offer here in Anchorage.

- Nexus

[woliveri]

Interesting article here:
http://www.bluepoppy.com/seminars/online/tao_healthy_eating/required_reading/supplemental_articles/sugars_sweets.html

Having seen that I have a question for Nexus.

Using Medical Qi Gong, How do you 'remove the evils' as stated in the above article? For example, How would you use Medical Qi Gong to remove thick, hardened phlegm in the body? Is this possible?