Did You Know?

Inflammation and inflammation-related diseases are one of the most commonly reported and diagnosed medical conditions with over 44% of Americans (125 million people) [1] diagnosed with a chronic inflammatory disease and many millions more experiencing mild inflammatory responses (such as painful joints, swelling, sore muscles, and headaches) on a regular basis. Over the counter anti-inflammatory medications are one of the most commonly used drugs worldwide. Over 30 million take some sort of prescription or over the counter anti-inflammatory medication every day. [2] But did you know that many of these man-made medicines can have inflammatory side effects in the long run? While pharmaceuticals can help reduce pain and inflammation quickly, taking these synthetic options for long periods of time can have disastrous side effects that take a toll on vital organs and overall health and well-being. Long-term use of anti-inflammatory medications can increase the risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, and stomach ulcers. [3]

Natural Approaches to Healing Inflammation

If you or someone you know has been struggling with acute or chronic inflammation for months or even years, now is the time to try a more natural approach. Science is showing that natural plants and herbs can be just as effective (or more effective) at treating pain and inflammation than over the counter options. [4]. The best part about using all-natural supplements for inflammation is that they don’t have any damaging long-term side effects. And, these botanicals can help to heal the underlying cause of inflammation—rather than simply manage symptoms.

Here’s a quick overview of some of the top anti-inflammatory herbs and supplements. Whether you have mild aches and pains from time to time or whether you’re struggling with a chronic inflammatory condition or autoimmune disease, when it comes to reducing both acute and inflammation in the body these plants are superstars!

The Best Herbs for Inflammation

1. Boswellia serrata (aka frankincense) is a plant native to India with a remarkable set of anti-inflammatory properties. It acts by turning off cytokines that begin the inflammatory process and stopping the formation of leukotrienes, which are the immune cells responsible for inflammation. [5]

2. Bromelain is an enzyme that comes from the stem of pineapples. It has been shown to reduce inflammation, swelling, pain, and soreness. [6]

3. Black Pepper is much more than a kitchen staple. It’s active ingredient, piperine, is a natural anti-inflammatory, and studies show that it could reduce inflammation associated with asthma, arthritis, chronic gastritis, and Alzheimer’s, and more. [4]

4. Cayenne Pepper contains the inflammation-fighting compound capsaicin, which is a potent inhibitor of substance P, the pain-producing neuropeptide that’s produced as a result of inflammation. [7]

5. Cinnamon is not just a delicious spice. Research indicates that cinnamon drastically reduces inflammation by blocking the release of inflammatory fatty acids from cell membranes and inhibiting the formation of other inflammatory substances. [7]

6. Devil’s Claw is a claw-shaped fruit native to South Africa where it has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for inflammation and as a modern treatment for arthritis pain. Numerous studies have shown it’s just as effective as common over the counter and prescription medications. [5]

7. Ginger is another cooking staple that contains potent anti-inflammatory compounds. Several studies have shown that it decreases overall inflammation and pain related to migraines, menstruation, arthritis and more, and it is just as effective as Aspirin and Ibuprofen in doing so. [8]

8. Turmeric is another plant native to India with impressive anti-inflammatory benefits. This common spice contains curcumin, an anti-inflammatory polyphenol that occurs naturally in the plant. In a double-blind study, it was shown to be more effective than pharmaceutical options at reducing pain and inflammation after surgery. [9]

9. White Willow Bark contains a compound called salicin, which has a similar anti-inflammatory effect in the body as Aspirin but without the gastrointestinal side effects. [5]

Fully Human Supplements for Inflammation

Fully Human Supplements combines all of these anti-inflammatory ingredients into one capsule. Founder, Tim Chrisman, started Fully Human Supplements after trying multiple medications and procedures that only temporarily relieved his persistent, overwhelming joint pain and arthritis. Desperate for relief, he began to extensively research natural alternatives for chronic inflammation, which led to remarkable results and the formation of Fully Human Supplements. The brand offers two natural anti-inflammatory options in two different strengths: Liberty and Freedom.

Liberty is a proactive maintenance supplement that works with your body to prevent long-term inflammation. This dosage is especially useful for athletes and people with highly active occupations or lifestyles because it helps to shorten recovery time. It also helps reduce daily inflammatory triggers from diet and stress. Freedom is a more potent and targeted dose that works at repairing chronic inflammation. This option is best for those who are actively seeking relief from chronic inflammation and inflammatory disease. As their names suggest, both Liberty and Freedom are designed to fully liberate you from inflammation.

Both Liberty and Freedom consist of the 9 anti-inflammatory super herbs and extracts listed above, all of which are scientifically shown to heal or maintain healthy inflammation levels. There are over 400 scientific studies supporting the anti-inflammatory properties of these 9 ingredients. While there are a lot of natural and safe inflammation remedies out there (from cold plunges to PEMF therapy), few are as inexpensive and effective as high-quality supplementation. Unlike over-the-counter pharmaceutical medications, both Liberty and Freedom are extremely safe and effective for long-term use.

As a former gymnast, who has struggled with pain in my wrists and lower back ever since, I decided to try out Liberty from Fully Human Supplements for myself. Here’s what I noticed after using the products for 4 weeks.

Week 1

+ Reduced redness, swelling and puffiness in hands and face (sometimes within as little as 30 minutes after taking Liberty)
+ Fewer stress headaches throughout the work week

Week 2

+ Reduced brain fog; fewer headaches
+ Increased mental clarity and focus
+ Decreased joint pain in wrists

Week 3

+ Decreased symptoms of PMS
+ Less painful menstrual cycle

Week 4

+ Less reactivity to inflammatory foods including gluten and dairy
+ Decreased backaches and pain

To liberate yourself from pain and inflammation, head over to FullyHumanSupplements.com

This article is a sponsored post written in collaboration with Fully Human Supplements, whose products and ethos comply with Conscious Lifestyle Magazine’s stringent quality and integrity guidelines.

About The Author

Meghan McDonald is the Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Conscious Lifestyle Magazine. She holds a master’s degree in social psychology from San Diego State University where she conducted award-winning research into the nature of human social behavior. She is an advocate for many environmental and social justice causes and a champion of social impact-focused brands and products that adhere to high sustainability and ethical standards. As a regular travel and lifestyle contributor to Conscious Lifestyle Magazine, Meghan funnels her extensive knowledge of natural products, organic living, and consumer behavior into researching and reviewing brands and products that promote health, wellbeing, sustainability, equality, and positive social change. She has traveled to over 25 countries and loves exploring diverse destinations worldwide while documenting the local artisans and businesses offering conscious, healthy alternatives.

photo: aaron ledesma

The Power of Epigenetics

I’ve always been fascinated by the ways our bodies want to be healthy, and I’ve spent most of my life learning how to help them get there. As an undergraduate, I studied cell and molecular biology. I then became a naturopathic physician—a science-based practitioner who relies on natural methods to restore balance and optimize health. As I worked with patients, I realized that I also needed to become a specialist in environmental medicine, discovering both how the chemicals in our environment undermine our health and what we can do to detoxify our bodies. What made all my diverse studies come together was the field of epigenetics: the many, many factors that can influence how our genes are expressed. I had always understood how powerful genes can be. But wow, was I thrilled to discover that we don’t have to bow down and submit to our DNA. Instead, we can work with our genes to create optimal health and, in a way, not exacerbate genetic mutations inside our bodies—if only we know how. One of the most important pieces of the genetic puzzle is a type of variation known as a SNP (pronounced “snip”), which is short for single-nucleotide polymorphism. So far, roughly ten million SNPs have been identified in the human genome, with each of us having over a million. Most of those SNPs don’t seem to affect us very much. Yes, they represent a slight variation or abnormality in various genes, but so far as we know, those variations don’t seem to make much difference in the way our bodies function. Some SNPs, however, can make a huge difference in our health—and in our personality, as well. For example, SNPs in the MTHFR gene can create a whole host of health problems—everything from irritability and obsessiveness to birth defects and cancer can be a result of an MTHFR gene mutation. (Note that I said can. They don’t have to—that’s what this is all about!) SNPs in the COMT gene can lead to workaholism, sleep issues, PMS, problems with menopause, and again, cancer, along with boundless energy, enthusiasm, and good spirits. (Yes, many SNPs have an upside as well as a downside!) Health issues that had puzzled my clients for years suddenly made sense when they discovered through our work together that their SNPs had at least partly created those issues. Problems that had seemed overwhelming—even dooming—became manageable as clients learned that they could use diet and lifestyle to reshape their genes’ behavior. I experienced that kind of aha moment myself when I discovered that I have at least three significant SNPs. I finally understood something about why I’m so focused and determined—some might say obsessive! Remember the MTHFR symptoms I mentioned earlier? I also saw why I can suddenly become irritable at a moment’s notice, and why I react so intensely to certain chemicals and fumes. It was a relief to have this new understanding: things made sense to me in a way they never had before, plus I had some new solutions I could rely on. As you read this, you’ll have the chance to make the same kind of exciting discoveries about yourself. Most important, learning about my SNPs helped me understand some of the misconceptions about methylation disorders better and empowered me to take charge of my health. Finally, I could support my body and brain with the diet and lifestyle that they needed. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was working at the top of my potential. I wanted my patients to have the same experience—heck, I wanted everybody to hit that high. So I began to develop a program for cleaning up our “dirty genes”: what we should eat, which supplements could help, and how to create a “clean genes” lifestyle. I wanted us to be like that epigenetically supported mouse, glowing and healthy, no matter which genes life has dealt us. I knew that if I could just delve deeply enough, I’d find the answers. And now, ten years later, I’m proud to say that I have. Oh, there’s still a ton more I have to learn—the whole field of epigenetics is just getting started, and we’re making new discoveries every day. I spend a big portion of every week doing my own research, and another big chunk of time reading the studies that my colleagues turn out. It’s more than one person could ever keep up with—and that’s the good news. In another ten years, I’m fully confident, we’re going to have the power to take charge of our health in ways we can’t even imagine.

Are Your Dirty Genes Making You Sick?

You’ve probably heard that your genes affect how healthy you can be. Almost certainly, your doctor has told you that because of the conditions that run in your family, you may be vulnerable to heart disease, depression, anxiety, and/or other disorders. Most of the time, this news makes people feel discouraged. “I’m scared,” they tell me. “My genes are a mess. I’ve just gotta make the best of it.” No way! After years of research in the new science of gene abnormalities and methylation disorders, and having successfully treated thousands of clients, including my family and myself, I’m offering you an exciting new approach: a proven method to clean up your genetic limitations and create a healthier, more vibrant you. So let me say it loud and clear: Your genes are not your destiny! But perhaps you’ve been taught that they are. Perhaps, like most people, you’ve been told that you inherited a “master plan”—characteristics that are written in stone from the moment of your conception until the day you die. In this view, your genes are a stern committee of judges handing down a life sentence. “Hmm,” your genes seem to say. “Let’s give this woman depression, which she gets from her mother. And let’s throw in some heart disease, which runs on her father’s side. How about adding in a shy, anxious personality, which she gets from her grandmother? We’re almost done, but let’s throw in one more ingredient—a mild case of ADHD, nothing clinical. But, like two of her uncles, she’s always going to have a hard time focusing. There—all done! Good luck, lady! Enjoy the destiny that we’ve written for you, because there is absolutely nothing you can do to change it!” Pretty bleak, right? Luckily, it’s wrong. Far from being written in stone, your genetic destiny is more like a document written in the Cloud—you get to edit and revise it every moment of your life. Every time you drink a soda, barrel through on four hours of sleep, use a shampoo loaded with industrial chemicals, or hit a stress bomb at your job, you’re putting the negative part of the document in giant type. And every time you eat some organic leafy greens, get a good night’s sleep, use a chemical-free shampoo, laugh with friends, or do some yoga, you’re enlarging the positive part of the document while reducing the negative part—genetic mutations, specifically—to a font so small, it might as well not be there at all. Your genes don’t lay down the law; they negotiate with you. They don’t even speak with a single voice. They’re a committee, and sometimes they disagree with each other. Some of the folks on that committee are harsh. They’re constantly shouting, “Heart disease!” or “Depression!” or “Crippling lack of confidence!” And if you don’t know the right way to work with them, those loud, harsh voices might rule the day. But—and here’s how this is going to change your life—if you do know how to work with your “gene committee,” you can produce a much better outcome. You can get those loud negative voices to tone it down or even shut up completely. At the same time, you can turn up the volume on the voices that are saying, “Balanced mood!” “Healthy heart!” and “Self-confidence!” So get ready to clean your dirty genes, folks, because that’s exactly what you’re going to do. In the pages to come and in my book Dirty Genes, you’ll find out how to change your genes and make the most of your genetic inheritance, now and for the rest of your life.

Are Your Genes Dirty? Some Common Symptoms

+ Aching joints and/or muscles + Acid reflux/heartburn + Acne + Allergic reactions + Anger and aggression + Anxiety + Attention issues + Blood sugar spikes and crashes + Brain fog + Cold hands and feet + Constipation + Cravings, especially for carbs and sugar + Depression + Diarrhea + Edginess + Fatigue + Fibromyalgia + Food intolerance + Gallstones + Gas and bloating + Headache/migraine + Heart racing + Indigestion + Insomnia + Irritability + Itchy skin + Menopause/perimenopause symptoms + Mood swings + Nosebleeds + Obesity/weight gain + Obsessiveness + Overreactive startle reflex + PMS / difficult periods + Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) + Rosacea + Runny nose / congestion + Sweating + Unexplained symptoms—just “not feeling right” + Workaholism

What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You—But I Will

If you’ve had trouble with any of the symptoms I’ve just listed, your doctor might have told you that you’re not really sick. Or maybe you’ve been offered drugs to medicate the symptoms—antibiotics, painkillers, antacids, antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications—without much attention to the underlying issues that produce those symptoms of methylation disorders. Or perhaps you’ve been one of the lucky ones. Perhaps you’ve found a naturopathic physician, functional/integrative MD, osteopath, nurse practitioner, nutritionist, chiropractor, or other health professional who has helped you restore health and wellness through diet, lifestyle, and other natural means. Even so, your treatment is incomplete if you haven’t learned about dirty genes, the root cause of many of the conditions you’re struggling with. That’s because epigenetics—modifying genetic expression to improve your life and health—is a cutting-edge aspect of medicine that most practitioners don’t understand. I’m one of the few people who have figured out how to translate genetic research into concrete actions that will improve your health, which is why so many leading health-care specialists come to me for training and advice. That’s why I spend so much of my time lecturing and consulting with physicians and providers—conventional, natural, and otherwise—as well as reading other people’s studies, doing my own research, and helping others regain their health. As a result, the suggestions here are based on the very latest scientific material. Most health-care providers simply aren’t aware of this information, though I’d be willing to bet that in a few years, programs like the one in my book, including answers on how to change your genes, will be widespread, even standard. Meanwhile, once you understand what makes your genes dirty and how to clean them up, you’ll feel better than you ever thought you could.

Your Dynamic Genes

Remember, every moment of every day, your genes are working on that document about your health. They can write it in a way you like or a way you don’t like—but they’re always writing. And whether you know it or not, so are you. For example, your genes keep telling your body, “Rebuild your skin!” As you know if you exfoliate, your skin is constantly dying and being replaced. So every moment of every day, your genes are adding to the document, telling your body to get on with the repair. What kind of document do you think they write if you eat a high-sugar diet, skimp on sleep, or stress yourself out for days on end? Hmm, maybe something like: “Please give this woman dull, lackluster skin with plenty of acne and maybe a touch of rosacea.” On the other hand, provide your genes with healthy fats, plenty of sleep, and time to chill, and you’re going to see a different document: “This one gets healthy, glowing skin that makes her look ten years younger!” Your genes won’t stop writing until the day you die. But what they write is up to you. Likewise, your genes are constantly producing documents about your gut lining, which is repaired and rebuilt every seven days. If you eat right and live right, you’re going to get away from genetic mutations and have a great document: “Keep that guy’s gut strong and healthy!” If you mess up your genes with poor diet and lifestyle, your document probably says something like: “Since this man is giving me so much extra work to do, I can’t focus on repairing his gut lining. He’s also not providing me the tools I need. So give this man a weak gut lining—the kind that lets food leak through.” Watch out for all the weight gain, immune issues, and other problems that are likely to follow! Now here’s my personal favorite: the memo about your mind. Those instructions involve neurotransmitters—biochemicals such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine that govern your thoughts, moods, and emotions. Your brain runs on thousands of biochemical reactions, and there are countless ways the process can go wrong. Your goal is to give your genes whatever they need to produce an uplifting memo: “Keep this person sharp, focused, calm, and full of energy during the day, and relaxed, calm, and ready to sleep at night.” The memo you don’t want mentions forgetfulness, depression, anxiety, irritability, insomnia, addictions, and brain fog. So yes, your genes write your life memo. But what they write is largely up to you. Sound good? Then let’s get started.

How Gene Mutations Mess with Your Health

Most likely, neither you nor your doctor is used to thinking about your genes as an active, dynamic factor affecting your present-day health. Instead, your genes seem like an unchangeable, unavoidable set of hard-wired instructions passed on from your parents at the moment of conception. I want you to shift that mindset. Instead of seeing your genetic inheritance as a fixed set of instructions from the past—instructions written on a stone tablet handed down from the ancestors—I want you to see your genes as active participants in your daily health. Right now, while you’re reading this, thousands of genes throughout your body are giving instructions—to your brain, digestive tract, skin, heart, liver, and many other aspects of your anatomy. Those genetic instructions shape every facet of your experience and your health, and your genes are handing them out every single second. With every breath you take, every object you touch, every thought you have, you give your genes instructions—and they respond, leading to epigenetic changes. Let’s say you eat a big lunch—too big, more than your body can handle. Oops! Your genes are overloaded. They stagger under the burden of all that food. They tell your metabolism to slow way down. They have trouble methylating—a key process that facilitates at least two hundred functions in your body, from skin repair, digestion, and detoxification to mood balance and clear thought. Because of the challenge posed by that overly large meal, hundreds of instructions are being given differently—and badly. You might promise yourself to eat light that night to make up for it, and maybe you even will. But that won’t prevent the damage you inflicted at lunchtime, when you didn’t give your genes the conditions they needed to do their job. Or let’s say you stayed up late last night, playing a video game or answering email or binge-watching your favorite show. Now the alarm is going off and you can barely drag yourself out of bed. “I’ll make up for it this weekend,” you promise yourself—and maybe you will. Meanwhile, though, your genes are living in the present, and they aren’t happy about the lack of sleep. They give instructions that alter your digestion, your mood, your metabolism, and your brain, so that right now—not when you were first born, but now—your health shifts and slips and declines a little bit. Of course, if most of the time you’re eating well and sleeping deeply and limiting your toxic exposure and managing your stress, an occasional big meal or late night doesn’t make all that much difference. Sure, your genes alter their responses for a little while, but your body is strong and resilient, and it can handle the extra challenge. If one gene staggers, a second one steps up. If that second gene stumbles, a third one takes over. Your body has lots of built-in backups, which is terrific. However, if you consistently give your genes poor working conditions, they’re going to consistently hand out poor instructions and may result in methylation disorders in the process. Why? Because each backup gene is going to push on the next backup gene, one after the other after the other, and before you know it, too many of your genes are struggling. Your health will suffer, and in way too many cases your doctor won’t be able to do much more than prescribe a few drugs to medicate your symptoms. I want something better for you—a lot better. I want you to give your genes exactly what they need to hand out the instructions for perfect health. I want your first-line genes working optimally as often as possible, putting the least possible strain on your backups. I want all your genes cooperating smoothly to give you glowing skin and a healthy weight and tons of energy and a clear, sharp mind. I want you feeling calm and enthusiastic and ready to go, and I want you sleeping so deeply at night that you wake up each morning feeling terrific. If you want that for yourself, listen up: The way to get optimal health is by supporting your genes.

Two Types of Dirty Genes

You have two types of dirty genes—both of which can give you a host of symptoms and disorders.

Some Genes Are “Born Dirty”

The scientific name for a born-dirty gene is genetic polymorphism, which is a fancy way of saying “genetic variation” or “genetic mutations” in some cases. As we saw in the introduction, these genes are also called single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs—pronounced “snips.” These dirty genes—and each of us has several—can do a full-scale number on your body and your brain. They help determine whether you’re heavy or slim, sluggish or energized, depressed or optimistic, anxious or calm. We have about twenty thousand genes in our body. There are more than 10 million known genetic polymorphisms (SNPs), and one person can have as many as 1.2 million of them. However, only about 40,000 are known to potentially alter your genetic function. We’re going to zero in on the key SNPs in the seven genes most likely to have the biggest impact on your health. I chose these Super Seven because each of them influences hundreds of other genes. If any of these seven genes are dirty, you can be sure they’re making your other genes dirty, too. When my clients first discover that they were born with SNPs, many of them are upset. As Taylor said, “I feel like a mutant.” But in fact, we’re all mutants—that is, every one of us is loaded with SNPs. It’s just part of the magnificent variety of the human race—what enables each of us to be unique. The good news is that once you know which SNPs you have, your health issues start to make a lot more sense—and your emotional issues do, too. If you suffer from migraines, can’t seem to fall asleep at night, or struggle with a hair-trigger temper, SNPs may be at the root of your problem and hasten the development of methylation disorders. SNPs also contribute to anxiety, depression, irritability, workaholism, obsessiveness, difficulty paying attention, trouble winding down, and a whole bunch of other things that you might never have realized had a genetic and biochemical basis. SNPs also contribute to various strengths, such as boundless energy, good spirits, enthusiasm, dedication, determination, and laser-sharp focus. The really good news is that you get to work with your SNPs, turning up the volume on your strengths and turning down the volume on your weak points. Through the Clean Genes Protocol, you can alter your lifestyle, diet, and environment to maximize the positives and mute the negatives, so that what you once thought was “normal” for you may be nothing of the kind. How awesome is that?

Some Genes Just “Act Dirty”

Sometimes a gene without a SNP creates problems for you anyway. That might be because your genes aren’t getting the nutrients, lifestyle, or environment that they need to function at their best—too few vitamins, too little sleep, too many chemicals, too much stress. A better diet and lifestyle might inspire your genes to behave differently. The scientific name for this is genetic expression: the way your genes express themselves in response to your environment, diet, lifestyle, and mindset. Depending on which of your genes are expressed, and how, you can be healthy, energized, and glowing. Alternatively, you might be loaded down with a whole slew of symptoms: obesity, anxiety, depression, acne, headaches, fatigue, achy joints, poor digestion. If your genes act dirty enough, you might even face such serious conditions as autoimmune disorders, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other forms of genetic mutations. Once again, your Clean Genes Protocol comes to the rescue. If you give your genes the diet and lifestyle that they need, they’ll act clean instead of dirty, and you can optimize your health, your mental outlook, and your life.

Meet Your Dirty Genes

Here are the seven genes—I call them the Super Seven—that we target with the Clean Genes Protocol. I chose them because they’re extremely common, have been well researched, and have the most far-reaching effects on your body. If these guys are dirty—whether born dirty or just acting dirty—the rest of your genes will be gunked up, too. Some genetic mutations are hard to scrub. Not these seven. They are easily cleaned up through diet and lifestyle changes. Being born with dirty genes has an upside as well as a downside. Born-dirty genes might put you at risk for some nasty health challenges— but they also help to shape your personality, activating strengths as well as weaknesses. Your goal is to work with diet, chemical exposure, and lifestyle to maximize the benefits while minimizing the drawbacks.

1. MTHFR, the methylation master gene

This gene initiates your ability to methylate, a key process that affects your stress response, inflammation, brain chemistry, energy production, immune response, detoxification, antioxidant production, cell repair, and genetic expression, which, if not taken care properly, could lead to methylation disorders.

When MTHFR is born dirty:

+ Strengths: intensity, alertness, productivity, focus, improved DNA repair, decreased risk of colon cancer

+ Weaknesses: depression, anxiety, autoimmunity, migraines, increased risk of stomach cancer, autism, pregnancy complications, Down syndrome, birth defects, and cardiovascular conditions such as heart attack, stroke, and thrombosis

2. COMT, the gene whose SNPs help determine whether you’re focused and buoyant, or laid-back and calm

COMT and its SNPs have powerful effects on mood, focus, and how your body handles estrogen, a key factor in the menstrual cycle, in fibroids, in some estrogen-sensitive cancers and other genetic mutations.

When COMT is born dirty:

+ Strengths: focus, tons of energy and alertness, good spirits, glowing skin

+ Weaknesses: irritability, insomnia, anxiety, fibroids, increased risk of estrogen-sensitive cancers, test anxiety, neurological disorders, migraines, PMS, impatience, vulnerability to addictions

3. DAO, the gene whose SNPs can make you super sensitive to certain foods and chemicals

When this gene is dirty, aside from the development of methylation disorders, it affects your response to the histamine that lurks in various foods and beverages and that’s also produced by some gut bacteria, affecting your likelihood of food sensitivities and allergic reactions.

When DAO is born dirty:

+ Strengths: immediate awareness of allergens and trigger foods (so you can get them out of your diet before they cause serious long-term problems)

+ Weaknesses: food sensitivities, pregnancy complications, leaky gut syndrome, allergic reactions, the risk of more serious conditions such as autoimmunity

4. MAOA, the gene that affects mood swings and carb cravings

This gene helps govern your levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin: key brain chemicals that affect mood, alertness, energy, vulnerability to addictions, self-confidence, and sleep.

When MAOA is born dirty:

+ Strengths: energy, self-confidence, focus, “highs” of productivity and joy

+ Weaknesses: mood swings, carb cravings, irritability, headaches, insomnia, addictions

5. GST/GPX, the gene(s) that can create detox dilemmas

A dirty GST or GPX affects your body’s ability to rid itself of chemicals.

When GST/GPX is born dirty:

+ Strengths: immediate awareness of potentially harmful chemicals (before they have the chance to make you really sick), improved response to chemotherapy

+ Weaknesses: supersensitivity to potentially harmful chemicals (with responses ranging from mild symptoms to serious autoimmune disorders and cancers), increased DNA damage (which increases the risk of cancer)

6. NOS3, the gene that can create heart issues

NOS3 affects your production of nitric oxide, which is a major factor in heart health, affecting such processes as blood flow and blood vessel formation.

When NOS3 is born dirty:

+ Strengths: decreased blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) during cancer, which reduces the growth of cancer

+ Weaknesses: headaches, high blood pressure, vulnerability to heart disease and heart attack, dementia

7. PEMT, the gene that supports your cell membranes and liver

This gene affects your body’s ability to produce phosphatidylcholine, an essential compound that you need to maintain cell membranes, bile flow, muscle health, and brain development.

When PEMT is born dirty:

+ Strengths: more support for methylation, better response to chemotherapy

+ Weaknesses: gallbladder disorders, small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), pregnancy complications, cell membrane weakness, muscle pain

What Makes Your Genes Act Dirty?

Even if you don’t have a SNP in any of your seven key genes, you might still be gunking up those genes with the wrong diet and lifestyle, which are two of the main factors that fuel genetic mutations. As a result, they can’t do the jobs you desperately need them to do—metabolize nutrients, balance your brain chemistry, repair damaged cells, and a hundred and one other tasks. What happens? You gain weight, feel sluggish, get depressed, become anxious, lose your ability to focus, develop acne, get headaches… the dirty list goes on and on. If you’re taking antacids, for example, you’re messing with many major genes, including MTHFR, MAOA, and DAO. If you’re taking metformin, a common medication for diabetes, you’re disrupting the function of your MAOA and DAO. Birth-control pills, hormone replacement therapy, and even bioidentical hormones can strain your MTHFR and COMT. Even if you’re not taking medications, your genetic expression can be disrupted by poor diet, lack of exercise, too much exercise, not enough sleep, environmental toxins, and plain old everyday stress—and those are just the most common problems. Long story short, there’s a whole laundry list of factors that might be dirtying up your genes—and your doctor probably has no idea. To make matters worse, every additional factor that makes your genes dirty changes the whole picture and may even cause you severe forms of methylation disorders. So if you’re only eating too much sugar, that’s one problem. But if you’re also eating too many carbs, now you have two problems—and a much wider and more complex effect. If, in addition, you’re not getting good sleep, you’ve just created more damage. That plus stress—even more! Pretty soon, you’ve generated a cumulative effect that makes the whole problem even worse. Instead of 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4, you get 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 50. Why? Because all your genes interact with one another. When one gene gets dirty, it doesn’t work properly, so several more genes step up to help—and now suddenly they get dirty, too. Your body isn’t a set of discrete compartments that each work separately. It’s one amazing interactive system in which problems spread and multiply with amazing speed. The good news is that health can also spread and multiply in amazing ways. When you clean up your dirty DNA mutations, you start feeling terrific in ways you never even imagined. Your mood improves—and that chronic muscle pain you’ve been working through stops aching. Your brain fog clears—and you’ve got tons more energy. Your allergy symptoms disappear—and you begin to lose some weight. This is why I’m so eager for you to clean up your genes so you can avoid genetic mutations. If your dirty genes were born clean but became dirty, cleaning them up gives you a tremendous boost. And if some of your genes were born dirty, giving them the support they need can make a world of difference.

What Dirties Up Your Genes?

Diet

+ Too many carbs

+ Too much sugar

+ Too much protein

+ Not enough protein

+ Not enough healthy fat

+ A shortage of nutrients that your genes need to work properly, such as B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D, copper, and zinc

Exercise

+ Sedentary lifestyle

+ Overtraining

+ Electrolyte deficiency

+ Dehydration

Sleep

+ Not enough deep, restorative sleep

+ Going to bed late, getting up late

+ Irregular sleep patterns

Environmental Toxins

+ “Dirty” food

+ “Dirty” water

+ “Dirty” air—including indoor air

+ “Dirty” products: sprays, cleaners, cosmetics, paints, pesticides, herbicides

Stress

+ Physical stress: long-term illness, chronic infections, food intolerance/allergies, insufficient sleep

+ Psychological stress: issues at work, at home, with your loved ones, with life

The Clean Genes Protocol: How to Change Your DNA

Following is your Clean Genes Protocol—a lifelong program to keep your genes clean and avoid bad genetic change as you optimize your health. Although you may periodically add in Spot Cleaning from the second step of the program, which is outlined in my book, this is the approach to diet and lifestyle that will best support your genes for the rest of your life. Here the Clean Genes Protocol is outlined in broad brush strokes, as an introduction. Fear not, though: my book Dirty Genes addresses all the components—diet, exercise, and so on—in greater detail.

Diet

+ Eat appropriate amounts of protein and healthy fat.

+ Make sure to get all the nutrients that your genes need to work properly, such as B vitamins, vitamin C, copper, and zinc.

+ Cut out cow’s milk dairy, gluten, excess carbs, and white sugar.

+ Avoid foods high in pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, and/or artificial ingredients.

+ Avoid fermented foods, leftovers, or food that’s likely to contain excess bacteria if you find they trigger symptoms.

+ Avoid foods that are high in histamines: wine, some types of cheese, and smoked and/or preserved meat and fish, if you’re particularly susceptible.

+ Eat in moderation: stop eating when you’re 80 percent full.

+ Avoid snacks and late-night meals.

Exercise

+ Get the right amount of exercise for your body—not too much and not too little.

+ Exercise when you’re rested and only until you’re pleasantly tired. Don’t exhaust yourself, and don’t force it.

+ Exercise when it doesn’t negatively impact your sleep. Don’t skimp on sleep to exercise; don’t exercise later in the evening if it keeps you from falling asleep.

Sleep

+ Make trying for deep, restful sleep a priority.

+ Consistently match your sleep schedule to nature’s circadian rhythms: asleep by 10:30 p.m., awake seven to eight hours later.

+ Avoid electronic screens in the hour before bed.

+ Block out or turn off artificial lights. Natural moonlight is great.

Environmental Toxins

+ Eat organic food or at least avoid the “dirtiest” conventional foods.

+ Filter the water you use for drinking, cooking, and bathing.

+ Avoid the use of household and garden chemicals.

+ Avoid all plastic containers for your food and water, especially BPA plastic and especially in the microwave. Ideally, store and cook foods only in glass or stainless steel.

+ Follow guidelines to keep indoor air clean, bearing in mind that indoor air is often more toxic than the air outdoors.

Stress

+ Attend to sources of physical stress: long-term illness, chronic infections, food intolerances/allergies, insufficient sleep.

+ Reduce and relieve psychological stress: issues at work, at home, with your loved ones, with life.

Profiles and Personalities

Any one gene is just a single factor in your genetic profile—let alone in your entire personality. But to give you some idea of how your genetic profile might help shape your temperament, here are some quick personality sketches that I’ve observed in conjunction with the seven key genes when they’re dirty: MTHFR Among the many MTHFR symptoms are the changes in one’s mood. Some days you’re blue and depressed, while other days you’re anxious. On good days, your focus is great and you get stuff done. On bad days, you have performance anxiety, a hair-trigger temper, and/or headaches—or maybe you just feel grumpy. After eating a salad you tend to feel great, but you’ve never paid attention to that because, after all, it’s just a salad. COMT (Slow) Man, you’re on fire! ADHD?—not in this house. You’re cranking away on several projects and already eager for the next one or five. As you lie down to sleep, you’re still cranking away. After tossing and turning, you finally doze off, dreaming of tomorrow’s tasks. Tomorrow arrives. Coffee is needed. Once again, you’re off and running. You put pressure on yourself, and if you’re not accomplishing what you need to, anxiety sets in, so you focus harder to get everything done. And you do get it done. Your colleague makes fun of you for working overtime on a particular project, and you snap at her. As usual, you’re quick to be irritated. In addition, sometimes you have an extreme sensitivity to pain and can be plagued with headaches. COMT (Fast) Look at that blinking light! Did you see that dog over there? Man, I wish I could read a book, but I just can’t focus. You’re always jumping from one task to another, and it’s hard to get much done. Friends have suggested that you might have ADHD. You also love shopping and buying new things! The problem is, you feel great buying them, but the next day the “shopping high” wears off, and you find that you need to buy something else or you start feeling blue. It’s getting expensive and time-consuming. Oh—and hugs! They’re awesome! The more hugs you get, the better you feel. DAO You are so tired of not knowing what you can and can’t eat. One meal you’re good, and the next you feel awful: throbbing head, irritable mood, sweaty body, racing heart, itchy skin, bleeding nose. Perhaps you’ve even spent a ton of money on food allergy testing—and found nothing! So frustrating. You keep limiting your foods one by one in hopes of identifying the culprit, but it’s a never-ending battle. GST/GSX Ever since you figured out that chemicals and smells make you feel sick, you’ve been on a mission to get rid of such stuff from your home. That neighbor of yours is using scented dryer sheets—again! Those give you a headache within seconds. Your friends wonder why you’re such a clean freak. But you know that you’re tuned in and sensitive to these things because you have to be. MAOA (Fast) Carbs. CARBS! Pleeease, get me some of those! Your grocery cart looks like you work for the grain and chocolate industry! You feel so great eating carb-laden foods. You know you shouldn’t, but when you don’t, you feel blue. The problem is, eating carbs picks you up only for a moment or two; then you crash. So what do you do then? You eat more carbs. You try diet after diet, but they just make you feel depressed. You’re sick of gaining weight, but you feel stuck in that pattern. You don’t want to be on antidepressants, but you feel like you can’t keep going this way. MAOA (Slow) You’re easily startled and quick to become anxious or irritated. You can become aggressive and later feel bad for overreacting. You just can’t seem to help it. You always have to watch out for headaches, especially when you eat cheese or chocolate and drink wine. Falling asleep at night is always tough, but once you do, at least you sleep soundly through the night. NOS3 You’re freaking out. Your dad, uncle, grandma, and grandpa all had significant heart problems when they were around fifty years old, and now you’re getting there. Your doctors check your heart and say it looks okay—but are they checking everything they need to, or are they missing something? Your hands and feet are constantly cold, but your doctors say that’s nothing to worry about. You need answers, because this family history is weighing on you. PEMT Ever since you switched to a vegan or vegetarian diet, you’ve felt just a bit off. Your mind isn’t as sharp, you’re forgetting things, and you’ve got aches and pains all over your body. As an omnivore, you felt good overall, though you did have some aches and pains. Your liver felt heavy then, and it still does—just under your right-side ribcage. Fatty foods just don’t sit right with you either. Now your doctor has said that you have gallstones and need to have your gallbladder taken out. No! There must be a way to save it.

What’s Your Genetic Profile?

If you want to know your own genetic profile, there are a few ways to go about it. The most expensive route is to get yourself tested by a company like 23andMe or Genos Research. At that point, you’ll know exactly where all your SNPs are—but you won’t necessarily know what those results mean. Another route is to invest four weeks in my book’s Clean Genes Protocol. Most people I know, including health professionals, get genetic testing results back and focus only on the genes. The problem is, that genetic report is a piece of paper showing your genetic susceptibility—not your genetic destiny! In other words, your genetic profile is not you. Most of the folks who send away for genetic testing are unaware that a gene born clean can easily become dirty. When they read that their MTHFR is normal, they celebrate instead of realizing that—due to diet and lifestyle—it might in fact be super dirty. Even if your MTHFR was born dirty or you are showing no symptoms of an MTHFR gene mutation, you don’t want to make the common mistake of thinking that you can target it with a magical methylfolate supplement or nutrition vitamin B12 supplement and all will be well. Many of the people who send away for their genetic profile end up following simplistic instructions for MTHFR treatment, thereby creating significant side effects and making themselves worse off than they were before. Here’s the bottom line: the only way to truly help your dirty genes is by remaining on the Clean Genes Protocol, a lifelong approach to diet and lifestyle, including a specific MTHFR diet. That’s how I do it. That’s how my family does it. That’s how the doctors I’ve trained around the world encourage their patients to do it. The result? Healthier, happier lives. I’ll tell you what I tell all of them: there are no shortcuts. The tortoise always wins the race. Because your genes can give you problems whether they’re born dirty or simply acting dirty, I want you to know how to keep all seven of these important genes clean and healthy, giving them all the support they need. Out of the roughly twenty thousand genes in your body, these seven are critical to optimal health, every day of your life. When I say you’re going to scrub your dirty genes clean, I’m not saying that you’re going to change your basic personality or remove all medical risk. I’m saying that you’ll learn to work with your genes, giving them all the support they need. That way, you can celebrate your unique temperament—and safeguard your health from genetic mutations. Every vehicle drives differently. By understanding your genetics, you gain the opportunity and ability to make choices that will give you a smooth and enjoyable ride throughout your life. Excerpted with permission from Dirty Genes: A Breakthrough Program to Treat the Root Cause of Illness and Optimize Your Health by Dr. Ben Lynch. Available online at Amazon.com.

About The Authors Dr. Benjamin Lynch, N.D., received his Cell and Molecular Biology B.S. from the University of Washington and his doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University. His passion for identifying the cause of disease directed him toward nutrigenomics and methylation dysfunction. Currently, he researches, writes, and presents worldwide on the topic of MTHFR gene mutations, methylation defects, and genetic control. Dr. Lynch is the President of seekinghealth.com, a supplement company oriented toward disease prevention and health promotion. Learn more at drbenlynch.com.

How to Protect Yourself from EMR and Harmful Energies in Your Home

In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of research showing that if you want to achieve the highest levels of health and wellbeing you are capable of, then it’s extremely important to take steps to protect your body from the increasing amount of harmful electromagnetic radiation and environmental stressors that our modern technologies and lifestyles are broadcasting into the spaces and places where we live, work, and sleep. Whether you are aware of it or not, every second of every day your body is being bathed in a sea of health-deteriorating electromagnetic radiation (EMR) that’s being emitted from cell phones, wi-fi, computers, the wiring in walls, cell towers, and much more. All of which disrupt the functioning of your cells, nervous system, and brain, contributing to significant levels of stress and inflammation in your body and its immune system. And while it’s tempting to think this only happens when you are out in the world, or in urban areas, researchers have consistently found that it is typically at home where people are exposed to the highest levels of this health-deteriorating electromagnetic radiation. The one place where we spend the majority of our time and that should be the most relaxing and rejuvenating is often the most stressful to our body due to the impact of EMR-emitting technologies like wi-fi, cell phones, appliances, and old wiring in homes.

How to Protect Yourself From EMR in Your Home and Restore Optimal Health

Thankfully, there are just as many researchers and engineers working on solutions to the problem as there are those who are studying it. And what’s even better news is that over the last few decades, a number of powerful, cutting-edge technologies have been developed to eliminate the effects of EMR, protect the nervous system from stress, and help restore the body’s optimal functioning. A handful of the best of these devices go far beyond just protecting and restoring health, but have incredibly beneficial effects on your consciousness, mood, sleep, meditation, and peace of mind as well. However, not all of these devices are created equal, and as part of our mission here at Conscious Lifestyle Magazine to help people reach peak levels of health and consciousness, we’ve been testing out countless technologies over the years to help discover the most effective ones. Recently, we came across something that we feel is a breakthrough in this space: Somavedic.

Somavedic

Having tried many devices over the years claiming to help reduce the effects of electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) and radiation (EMR) and improve health, we’ve got a good handle on what works and what’s hype. When we got our hands on the Somavedic last month, we were deeply impressed. First of all, unlike many devices, the Somavedic has solid research behind it, showing that it substantially helps to protect against the negative effects of EMF/EMR, increase calmness, and has positive effects on stress and biomarkers of blood health, which is an important part of verifying that the effects of a device are not just placebo but actually have a meaningful impact. Second, from the moment we plugged the Somavedic in, we could instantly feel its soothing effects on our bodies and minds. Within seconds of turning it on, it felt like our nervous systems were being wrapped in a soft and soothing blanket that was melting away stress and tension. That night we slept deeper than we had in many months, with more vivid dreams, waking up refreshed and rejuvenated, despite it being well over 50 feet away on the other side of the house. This is because the Somavedic creates a large harmonic field that extends 100 feet in any direction, offering coverage for even quite large houses. In the days that followed, we noticed our meditations were deeper, that we felt calmer and happier, and that our bodies were stronger and more resilient to things that would normally stress us out. All of these benefits are consistent with the effects that the vast majority of Somavedic users report: + Improved sleep and feelings of calmness + Reduction in headaches and stress + Better mood, increased energy, and greater peace of mind + Reduction of inflammation, lowering the levels of free radicals + Decreases in symptoms of electrosensitivity

How it Works

From the get go, we were interested in exactly how Somavedic works; and if you’re like us, you probably have a long list of questions about this as well. In order to learn all about how this new device was radically upgrading our lives, we interviewed one of the key people on their team who has been working closely with the founder and brilliant engineer behind the product. In short, the Somavedic technology works by creating a more coherent, natural environment that activates self-healing process in the body and mind. Inside the beautiful glass encasing on the outside of the Somavedic is a disc composed of specific minerals, crystals, and elements that is charged and enhanced by the shape of the glass such that the healing and protective properties of these minerals, crystals, and elements is amplified greatly to create a protective, health-rejuvenating field in the space inside your home around the device. This biologically supportive environment protects you on a cellular level from the unwanted effects of electromagnetic frequencies (EMF), viruses, mold, free radicals, and geopathic stress. These effects are so pronounced; in fact, the Somavedic is used in doctors’ offices and therapy spaces throughout the world, with doctors reporting increased energy, focus, and productivity, as well as a positive effect on patients. And after having it in our space for the last few months, we can see why: this is one of the few devices that really works and that you really can feel having a profoundly beneficial effect on your health and consciousness.

The Different Types of Somavedic Devices

Depending on your budget, the size of your space, and the intensity of effects you are looking for, there are different types of Somavedic devices to choose from to suit your needs. Each Somavedic model is made from different types of hand-blown glass and crystals that are combined and configured in various ways to serve a specific purpose and produce a variety of desired benefits. Below is a brief overview of three of our favorite options, and you can find more information about the individual Somavedic products on their site here.

Somavedic Medic Green Ultra

One of our favorite options is the Medic Green Ultra model because it combines a number of benefits including water structuring capabilities for improved hydration and is designed to be the most universal. This green beauty can handle the harmonization of spaces and water anywhere. It eliminates the influences of 3G, 4G, 5G, EMF, geopathic stress, viruses, bacteria, parasites, molds, and free radicals. The corpus is made out of hand-blown yellow glass, which shows off a calming and subtle green glow when plugged in.

Somavedic Traveler

Depending on how much you travel, this option might be the best for you. The Traveler Somavedic is a godsend for anyone who has a long commute by car or spends a lot of time in hotels or coworking spaces with a lot of people. This is the most compact version, which can be plugged in to your care and can easily fit in a purse or briefcase. Although it does not have water structuring capabilities, it eliminates influences from EMF, geopathic stress, viruses, bacteria, parasites, and free radicals.

Somavedic Medic Amber

This Somavedic model is a biohacker’s dream come true. It can easily eliminate the influences from many environmental stressors, including very strong electrosmog, EMR, and EMF. The performance of the Medic Amber is four times greater than the Medic Green Ultra, making it a great option for larger spaces and places with a lot of energy, such as apartment buildings, workplaces, office spaces, shops, hotels conference halls, and electric cars.

Other Somavedic Models

While we’ve mentioned a few of our favorite versions of Somavedic, there are a total of eight models to choose from, including a completely customizable option, the Medic Gold, that is made according to your specific needs and areas of focus. As such, we encourage you to spend some time exploring which option is best for you. To try Somavedic for yourself, use code CLMCALM10 for 10% off of all Somavedic products.Somavedic.com This article is a sponsored post written in collaboration with Somavedic, whose products and ethos comply with Conscious Lifestyle Magazine’s stringent quality and integrity guidelines.

About The Author Meghan McDonald is the Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Conscious Lifestyle Magazine. She holds a master’s degree in social psychology from San Diego State University where she conducted award-winning research into the nature of human social behavior. She is an advocate for many environmental and social justice causes and a champion of social impact-focused brands and products that adhere to high sustainability and ethical standards. As a regular travel and lifestyle contributor to Conscious Lifestyle Magazine, Meghan funnels her extensive knowledge of natural products, organic living, and consumer behavior into researching and reviewing brands and products that promote health, wellbeing, sustainability, equality, and positive social change. She has traveled to over 25 countries and loves exploring diverse destinations worldwide while documenting the local artisans and businesses offering conscious, healthy alternatives.

photo: roberto nickson

Ayurvedic medicine has a rich history, which was originally passed on through the oral tradition, then later recorded in Sanskrit in the four sacred texts called the Vedas. This ancient practice of Ayurveda is all about connecting to ourselves and staying in harmony and balance with the natural world. Ayurvedic rituals aren’t just about preventing diseases rather than simply curing them; they’re also about how to live in a state of vigor and energy. In India, more than 90 percent of the population uses some form of Ayurvedic medicine. While it’s becoming much more popular here in the West, it’s still considered an alternative medical treatment. The theory behind this medicine is that all areas of life impact one’s health. Here in the Western world, we believe in using targeted tactics—generally, prescription medications—to cure specific ailments. Ayurveda views the body as a whole. Like traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda is about the mind, body, and spirit connection. The aim of Ayurvedic daily rituals is to return the body to its original healthy state; true luminous beauty must be supported by health. At the heart of Ayurveda are ojas, our life force, the very essence of our health and well-being. They are our honey, the sap in the tree that is our body. Ojas give us the ability to thrive. When our ojas are strong, our bodies are firm and flexible, our skin is clear and glowing, and our hair is shiny and healthy. Ojas also allow us to overflow with love and compassion. However, the modern world takes its toll on ojas. Constant stress, processed food, technology, overextension, and too much information deplete ojas and dry them out. When we restore them—with meditation, healthy food, and being in tune with the universe—we become radiant. Ridding your body of waste and toxins helps ojas to flourish, as detoxing allows the system to be nourished. The aim of daily Ayurvedic practices is to improve your health. When your body is clear of toxins, it is able to receive the healthy benefits of nutritious food, face masks, and body oils. Rather than promote a harsh, all-at-once approach to detoxing, Ayurveda employs several small daily or weekly practices to help ensure that your body is always detoxing and efficiently processing waste.

Ayurvedic Self-Care Practices

Slowly incorporate these practices into your day. You can begin with something as small as integrating fresh produce into your diet, massaging your feet before bed, or dry brushing your skin in the morning. These Ayurvedic additions to your daily routine will help you to continuously keep your body in a rhythm and in balance. Once you know your body, you can adjust certain practices.

1. Tongue Scraping

Scraping your tongue every morning can give you clues as to how efficiently your digestive system is functioning. If your tongue is very coated, it usually means there is a lot of ama, or toxicity, in your system. With this Ayurvedic morning routine, you can gauge how well your system is flushing out toxins. To scrape the tongue:

+ Use a stainless-steel tongue scraper (which you can find online or in most health food stores) or a spoon. Gently scrape from the back or base of the tongue forward until you have scraped the whole surface, which is typically accomplished with anywhere between seven and fourteen strokes. This clears away any bacteria. Scraping stimulates the gastric and digestive enzymes to wake up and start working.

+ Rinse out your mouth, and proceed with oil pulling as your next Ayurvedic morning ritual.

2. Oil Pulling

During the night, as you sleep, your body builds up toxins while it is in the resting, cleansing state. Oil pulling allows these toxins to be released. As an Ayurvedic ritual, oil pulling should be done first thing in the morning, before you have anything to drink or eat. Coconut, sunflower, and sesame oil all work well, but coconut oil has the added benefit of whitening your teeth. To practice oil pulling:

+ Take a spoonful of oil and swish it in your mouth for fifteen to twenty minutes (this is the recommended period of time, but sometimes I do it for just a few minutes to feel the freshening and teeth-whitening effects of the coconut oil).

+ It is important to keep the oil in your mouth and not to swallow it. It also is wise to spit it out in either the toilet or the trash can, as it can clog the sink.

+ After you finish oil pulling, brush your teeth or rinse out your mouth very well.

3. Dry Brushing

The skin is our largest organ and is responsible for 25% of the body’s ability to detox, yet we tend to focus our beauty and self-care routines on the face and hands when the whole body deserves reverence and respect. In addition to being an Ayurvedic ritual practice, skin brushing for the whole body has been used for ages in Scandinavia, Russia, Japan, and Greece and by the Cherokee tribe (using dried corncobs), to name just a few examples. Skin brushing helps rid the body of dead skin and also stimulates the lymphatic and circulatory systems, which assist the kidneys and liver in releasing excess hormones that have built up in the organs. Over time, dry brushing can prevent cellulite and help regenerate collagen, and in the short term, it invigorates and energizes you. As you are shedding dead skin, you are also asking to release what no longer serves you. Dry brushing is an Ayurvedic ritual that should be done before bathing or showering; your skin should be dry. To practice dry brushing:

+ Using a body brush with natural bristles (I like ones that have copper in them to help balance electromagnetic fields), start at the feet and move up toward the torso.

+ Using long strokes in the direction of your heart, brush each part of the body six times.

+ Brush so it feels slightly painful but good—like when you get a really deep stretch.

+ To increase the detoxifying effects, follow with a cold shower.

4. Self-Massage

In the West, we consider a massage to be a special treat, but for many in India, massages are a regular part of life and Ayurvedic self-care. Babies and toddlers are massaged daily, and when they are a little bit older, they are taught to massage their family members. Women get daily massages for forty days after giving birth. Once you become accustomed to the health and beauty benefits of massages, you won’t be able to do without them. Fortunately for our wallets, Ayurveda considers self-massage, or abhyanga, to be just as beneficial as a massage given by another. Set aside some time once a week, or daily if you can, to practice abhyanga, and you will soon see the benefits of this common Ayurvedic ritual, including toned, glowing skin; improved circulation; the relief of stiffness in the joints; and the flushing out of toxins in the body. It’s also a wonderful way to get to know your own body better. Use sesame, sunflower, or almond oil for massage; it feels extra luxurious if you warm it beforehand in a pan of hot water. To practice self-massage:

+ Apply warm oil generously to your body, beginning with your limbs. Use long strokes on your arms and legs and circular motions on your joints. Massage clockwise to release tension, and include areas like your neck and under your arms to target lymph nodes.

+ Massage your abdomen and chest in broad clockwise, circular motions. Follow the path of the intestine on your stomach, moving up on the right side, then down on the left.

+ Apply oil to your crown chakra, working outward in circular motions.

+ Dip your fingertips in the oil and massage your ears.

+ Massage your feet (but make sure to wipe off the oil before you walk).

+ Throughout the massage, send loving intentions to your organs and show gratitude to your body for everything it does for you.

+ Allow yourself enough time so that the oil soaks into your skin before you dress.

If you don’t have time for a full massage, you can always take a small scoop of shea butter and give yourself a foot massage before bed. This serves as a form of acupressure, and the shea butter helps moisturize dry skin. At the same time, you’re honoring your feet—which are your foundation—and how much they do for you throughout the day.

5. Bathing

In ancient times, bathing was regarded as a gift of health from the gods themselves. Making baths one of your regular Ayurvedic rituals can be a therapeutic activity. Almost every evening, after I have taken care of my work, my daughter, and my animals, I will indulge in a bath. Taking a bath is the perfect way to have nourishing alone time and create a bit of sanctuary for yourself. Baths are cleansing and can enhance physical and mental energy, remove negativity, and relax your body and mind. They’re also a wonderful way to soak up the deeply therapeutic medicine of essential oils and other good-for-the-skin ingredients.  

Relaxing Mineral Bath

One of my favorite relaxing baths for all doshas is a magnesium bath. Most of us are lacking magnesium due to depleted foods that are the result of overtaxed soil beds. Magnesium is essential for healthy skin and hair, aids in sleep, and can promote a profound sense of calm and well-being. To make the bath:

+ 1 cup magnesium flakes

+ 10 drops of a relaxing essential oil (I like chamomile or lavender)

+ Fill the tub with water that is the ideal temperature for you. Add the magnesium and essential oil before you step in. Soak for 20 minutes or more.

Excerpted with permission from Whole Beauty by Shiva Rose (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2018.

About The Authors Shiva Rose is the author of Whole Beauty: Daily Rituals and Natural Recipes for Lifelong Beauty and Wellness. Through growing her own organic herbs and flowers; mixing creams, lotions, and tonics; and following Ayurvedic practices and creating mindful rituals, Shiva not only healed her life from a life-threatening autoimmune condition but has also become a leader and entrepreneur in the world of all-natural beauty and lifestyle. Shiva created the holistic lifestyle website the Local Rose and developed her own non-toxic, all-natural skin-care line that nourishes the body, skin to soul, leaving the skin with a luminous glow. Learn more at shivarose.com

photo: sun potion

MYou may have heard the term adaptogens thrown around recently, but if you’re like most people, you might still be unsure of what they are and why on earth you should care. If you are curious or wondering what are adaptogens? Well, adaptogens are a group of plants such as roots, leaves, berries, and mushrooms that have the incredible ability to help our bodies better deal with stress, whether from internal or external factors. They seem to be having a real moment right now—and no wonder! Not only are there some great companies out there making adaptogens more accessible, available, and intriguing (thanks to both clever marketing, packaging, and a lot of educating their customer)—we’re also starting to wake up to the fact that we have the ability and power to boost our own well-being, strengthen our immune system, and take good care of ourselves. There is a lot we can do through food, ritual, movement, and habits that can help our bodies handle the demanding world we live in, and adaptogens can be one powerful piece of that. This article will not only give you a helpful list of adaptogens, we will also tackle all the adaptogen benefits you’ll surely enjoy should you opt to give these healing herbs a try.

What Are Adaptogens?

So, let’s get into it. What are these plants, and where did they come from all of the sudden? Firstly, there’s nothing new about them. They have been around, and utilized medicinally, for centuries. Some have roots in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, Native American medicine, or amongst other indigenous populations. Adaptogenic herbs have been tried and tested through time, and today we have access to these plants anywhere in the world. The actual term adaptogen is, however, more recent. It was coined by Russian scientists who, during World War II, were looking for substances to help their soldiers through incredibly stressful and trying times. They looked to indigenous populations and discovered some plants (like Rhodiola rosea) had this unique ability to help the body adapt to stress and increase stamina and focus. They named these plants adaptogens; and the definition included that in order to be considered an adaptogen, a plant had to be safe and increase the body’s resistance to stress. Adaptogens work by modulating the release of stress hormones from the adrenal glands. One of the benefits of adaptogens is their ability to help your body bounce back when you’re feeling run down and exhausted. When you’re feeling anxious, restless, and unsettled, adaptogens can help your body’s nervous system calm down so that you can chill out. Adaptogens are roots, leaves, berries, beans, or mushrooms and can be found in supplement form as a powder, as tinctures, in capsules, or as dried herbal teas. Most of them work best when taken consistently over a period of time, yet you may still be able to feel some instant calming or uplifting benefits just from one dose. When purchasing adaptogens, look for organic and wildcrafted herbs to make sure they haven’t been sprayed with pesticides. You also want to buy from a company that is transparent about their sourcing, sustainability, and quality control to ensure you’re getting the best quality adaptogen product, both for your body and the earth.

Stressful Environments

Most of the time, people use adaptogens for stress relief. Interestingly, most adaptogens grow in harsh, difficult climates and environments, so they themselves have had to learn to adapt to stressors in order to survive. Some of these plants grow high in the Himalayan mountains or in the Andes. Some are found far north in the cold Siberian forests. The great thing is that by ingesting them we can reap some of those very same benefits! Today adaptogens are getting a lot of buzz in the health and wellness world, and the timing is quite interesting. As our lives are getting increasingly more driven by technological advances and with the expectation of us always being available, both in our work or private life, maybe it’s no wonder that there’s a need for some stress-helpers that connect us to Mother Earth, as well as encourage some small meaningful rituals of self-care on the daily. The simple act of making a cup of tea, baking a healthy treat, or simply sprinkling some adaptogens in your morning coffee feels both manageable yet meaningful. Another aspect that may contribute to adaptogens having a moment right now is the focus on more preventative care. We now know that the majority of health challenges and illness are caused, in part or entirely, by lifestyle factors—that is, the food we eat, the toxins we’re exposed to, exercise or lack thereof, and stress! Using herbal adaptogens can be one of many preventative ways to decrease stress levels and improve our overall health and well-being. While they’re not the be all end all answer (sadly it’s not magic) they can be part of tools in our box to help us better navigate and handle modern life.

Adaptogenic Trends

Adaptogens will not only help you adapt to stress, they also adapt to your body and what it needs, they also adapt to your body and what it needs, helping it find its way back to homeostasis (aka it’s happy place!) Adaptogens are dual directional and support our bodies’ natural defense systems against stress. And that stress can come in many forms; internally from inflammation, infections, anxiety or emotional stress, or from external factors, whether that’s your smart phone’s notifications, a screaming boss, deadlines, pollution or noisy, busy city life! They also work on the immune system and can help it calm down when it’s over active (which is the case in autoimmune conditions and with allergies) and boost it when it’s underactive and we feel like we’re catching every cold and flu that goes around. Instead of taking remedies once you’re already sick, avoiding getting sick altogether is certainly a better approach. Another trend that is co-existing with the increased interest in adaptogens for stress is the focus on biohacking, brain health, and performance boosting, both physically and mentally. Adaptogens and their benefits fit well in this framework too, as many of these adaptogenic plants and herbs have the ability to increase mental and physical stamina, boost athletic performance and recovery, and support better focus and memory. With an increasing interest and focus on wellness in our culture today, comes an interest in a wider range of remedies, modalities, and practices. While Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, acupuncturists, herbalists, and Ayurvedic practitioners have utilized these adaptogenic herbs for thousands of years, they are now becoming more accessible and mainstream. More people are turning to these kinds of practitioners for guidance and treatments—many times because they haven’t been able to get the help they needed from their traditional doctor. Often, which was the case for me, people are introduced to these herbs for the first time in the setting of a practitioner’s office.

8 Need-to-Know Adaptogens

While adaptogens have some overlapping benefits, such as their stress-busting abilities and immune support, they each also have their own unique spirit and personality. This just means it might take a few tries to find your perfect match(es). An adaptogen that does wonders for your best friend might not be the best fit for you. Check out the adaptogens list below for a better idea of what you may need.

1. Ashitaba: The Rejuvenator

Native to Japan, this green plant is a real beauty food with anti-aging benefits. Ashitaba is an incredibly resilient and regenerating plant—after you pick its leaves, it will grow back a new leaf in just 24 hours! And we can also benefit from its rejuvenating super powers when ingesting it. Ashitaba can help with wound healing, improve digestion, and help with memory, focus, and concentration. It’s a great plant source of vitamins B6 and B12, making it a very good choice for anyone on a plant-based diet; but, in general, these are key nutrients for energy and well-being for all of us. It contains a compound that helps stimulate nerve-growth hormone production, something that is key for longevity. This adaptogen can be ingested easily in a powder form and has a beautiful green color. It’s a great addition to a matcha latte or a green smoothie and may even give your skin an extra glow! Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Sun Potion Wild Harvested Ashitaba Powder Sun Potion offers an ultra-high quality, sustainably wild harvested 4:1 extract of Ashitaba leaf and stem from pristine regions in Taiwan. With a mild, tealike taste and fine powder grind, Sun Potion’s Ashitaba is similar to matcha with exponentially greater health-boosting effects. This green adaptogen is packaged in a cobalt blue glass jar for maximum freshness and potency.

2. Ashwagandha: The Stress Buster

This stress-busting root has been utilized in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. Its botanical name, somnifera, means restful sleep, and it’s also believed to give horse-like vigor to those who use it regularly. Ashwagandha is a go-to adaptogen for anyone looking to get a handle on stress, increase their energy while also improving sleep and calming their nervous system. Ashwagandha is the only adaptogen that’s been found to have a stimulating effect on the thyroid, something worth noting when more and more people, women in particular, are dealing with an underactive thyroid. It’s also been given to lactating mothers to increase milk production and likely also to help deal with the big change of having a new baby. Ashwagandha is one of the best adaptogens for anxiety and stress. Its calming effect can help people dealing with anxiety feel some relief, and people who take it regularly often note a significant decrease in stress. As one of the best adaptogens for stress, ashwagandha has the ability to decrease the secretion of cortisol and is overall soothing to the adrenal glands, making it a good fit for someone overcoming adrenal fatigue or burnout. This herbal adaptogen has a bitter taste, so it’s best taken in a capsule or tincture, or mixed with something with a stronger flavor, such as chocolate! Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Sun Potion Organic Ashwagandha Root Powder  Sun Potion offers a delicious and ultra-high-quality organic, vegan, GMO-free Ashwagandha root powder sourced from small organic farms in Northern India. It is cold-water extracted, allowing for maximum potency and preservation of the heat-sensitive medicinal compounds in the plant.

3. Astragalus: The Immune Booster

Astragalus is a yellow root that has traditionally been used in Chinese Medicine for thousands of years and still is many practitioner’s absolute favorite go-to adaptogen. With both anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties, it’s a go-to adaptogen during the cold and flu season or for anyone looking to boost their immune-regulating T-cells, including someone recovering from illness. It’s also beneficial for both the nervous and the digestive system. Astragalus has been found to have the ability to stimulate the enzyme telomerase, which helps repair damaged DNA in the body. This is what makes astragalus a great anti-aging and vitality supporting herb! While traditionally astragalus root was found in China, most astragalus on the market today has been cultivated. While astragalus is great for preventing illness, once you have a fever, stop taking it as it’s known to make a fever last longer. Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Sun Potion Organic Di Tao Astragalus Powder Sun Potion offers a high-potency, 10:1 cold water extract of Astragalus root, sourced at high elevations in the ‘Di Tao’ native growing regions of China. Sun Potion’s extract of this well-known adaptogenic herb is ethically and sustainably wildcrafted, which means it is grown in the wild, in its native habitat, for maximum strength, potency, qi-boosting effects, and freshness.

4. Eleuthero: The Stamina Builder

Also referred to as Siberian Ginseng, eleuthero is a powerful herb that’s been used in Chinese Medicine to help people recover from low energy, to invigorate, and to support sexual function. This root was the first plant to have been classified as an adaptogen! Today, this adaptogen is often used to increase the stamina and performance of athletes and can improve mental alertness too. It’s generally recommended to take this adaptogen periodically, not all the time, and is usually not recommended for those with high blood pressure. Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Gaia Herbs Wildcrafted Eleuthero Root Capsules  Gaia Herbs offers a wildcrafted, full spectrum CO2 liquid phyto-extract of Eleuthero root grown on pristine land in North Carolina. With 3,350mg of dry herb equivalent per capsule, Gaia’s Eleuthero extract, packs an energy and health-boosting punch you can feel from the first dose.

5. Maca: The Hormone Helper

This starchy tuber from the Andes Mountains in South America is an incredibly stubborn root that can thrive in the most challenging environments. Traditionally, in Peru, maca was eaten as a food, but today it’s usually found in a powder form that can easily be added to smoothies and elixirs. Maca is an aphrodisiac and has been shown in several studies to have a positive effect on libido. It’s a well-known hormone supporter and can potentially help boost fertility and sperm count. It has a sweet taste reminiscent of butterscotch and can add a nice flavor to healthy treats and smoothies, pairing particularly well with cacao or vanilla. Maca, one of the most popular adaptogenic herbs, belongs to the cruciferous vegetable family and contains high levels of glucosinolates, so treat this superfood as you would any other brassicaceae/cruciferae veggie. If you’re buying it as a powder supplement, look for gelatinized maca powder, which is not raw (it’s not actually gelatinous). Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Maca Magic Organic Maca Powder Maca Magic is organically grown at the genetic origin of the plant in Peru’s Magic Valley, located on the Jumin plateau at 14,000 feet elevation, high in the Andes mountains. This pristine region grows superior adaptogenic herbs and has been home to many lineages of Inca and earlier Peruvian cultures carefully tending the land for many thousands of years.

6. Reishi: The Chill Pill

Reishi is another great adaptogen for stress. Reishi is often referred to as the Queen Healer mushroom, and in Chinese its name translates to “spirit plant”. It’s the most studied plant on earth and was discovered in China as far back as 396 BC where emperors used reishi tonic in their quest for immortality. Reishi does indeed contains longevity-supporting and immune-regulating compounds and is packed with antioxidants that help protect our bodies from damaging oxidative stress. This adaptogen can be a beneficial sleep aid because it helps calm the nervous system. Reishi contains ganoderic acid, which helps inhibit histamine release, making it a good fit for anyone dealing with allergy symptoms. Studies have found amazing blood sugar-lowering benefits of taking reishi regularly. It helps downregulate the enzyme responsible for breaking down starches into sugars. Loaded with antioxidants and boasting with anti-inflammatory properties, reishi is a longevity-supporting super mushroom! Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Sun Potion Organic Reishi Powder  Sun Potion uses a blend of four different species of Reishi (red, white, black and purple) to create a full-spectrum mycoproduct cultivated under strict organic protocols in the USA. This adaptogen is specially processed using enzymes that increase the body’s ability to absorb the powder and incorporates whole extracts from the mushroom at all stages of its life cycle.

7. Schisandra: The Balancing Berry

Schisandra is often used to combat fatigue and bring about hormonal balance. Schisandra is a climbing plant with pink leaves and red berries, and it’s these berries that get harvested and dried for “medicinal” use. Traditionally, Russian hunters used it as a fatigue-fighting tea, and Chinese Medicine uses it to balance yin and yang. This adaptogenic herb is generally calming and can have a balancing effect on the endocrine and immune system, which both take a hit from chronic stress. It’s also high in vitamin C, an antioxidant that is crucial for immune health. Some studies found that schisandra may increase stomach acids, which can be helpful in some people, but a problem for others. Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Oregon’s Wild Harvest Organic Schisandra Capsules  Orgeon’s Wild Harvest offers organic, non-gmo, sustainably sourced schisandra berry powder in convenient capsule form. These freshly milled berries, which are among the best adaptogens there is, have all the potency and purity of the raw schisandra powder without the intensely bitter and astringent taste. Great for on the go use or open the capsules in water to make a potent tea.

8. Shatavari: The Fatigue Fighter

In the Ayurvedic apothecary, shatavari is probably the most important herb for women’s health and is an aphrodisiac and fertility booster. This type of adaptogen actually contains precursors to the hormone progesterone and can help women with minor hormone imbalances. Shatavari is related to asparagus and is (like asparagus) a diuretic. It also has anti-inflammatory and immune-supporting benefits. It’s worth including that shatavari is usually not recommended if you have a history of estrogen-receptor-positive cancer. Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Himalaya Herbal Healthcare Organic Shatavari Caplets Himalaya Herbal Healthcare offers a CO2 extracted, organic and sustainably harvested extract of Shatavari in convenient caplet form. They combine the root, stem, powder and a standardized extract of this adaptogenic herb, which ensures you receive all possible medicinal health benefits of the plant in a potent, concentrated form. Please note: Always check with your health care practitioner before adding any new supplement or herb to your routine, especially if you’re on medication, have a diagnosed condition, are pregnant or nursing. This article is inspired by the book Super Powders: Adaptogenic Herbs and Mushrooms for Energy, Beauty, Mood, and Well-Being by Katrine van Wyk. Published by Countryman Press.

About The Author Katrine van Wyk is a certified holistic health coach, wellness consultant, yoga teacher, and the author of three books on natural nutrition: Super Powders, Best Green Drinks Ever, and Best Green Eats Ever. She has been featured in Vogue, Refinery 29, Well + Good, Be Well, Forbes, and more. Katrine received her nutrition training from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and has trained and practiced alongside Dr. Frank Lipman at the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center. As a part of Dr. Lipman’s team of health coaches, Katrine has helped to guide his high-profile patients through dietary changes that also fit their busy lives. Learn more at katrinevanwyk.com

Recommended Product Disclaimer

The products recommended in this article may have different formulations than the products used in the studies and research cited in this article. As such, they may have different effects than have been reported by these studies. No claim is made or implied whatsoever as to the effects of any recommended products or their effects on health. The statements made in this article have not been evaluated by the FDA. Any products recommended are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.

photo: andrew preble

Forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, doesn’t require a bathing suit, although you might want to wear one because it’s great to include some water, such as a waterfall or a dip in a lake, as part of your forest bath. And forest bathing is not an epic trek through Patagonia or a calorie-burning ten-mile run. It’s also not led by a park ranger, and no maps are involved. There will be no compasses or hiking poles. So, what exactly is forest bathing? Forest bathing is the practice of intentionally connecting to Nature as a way to heal. Part mindfulness, part child’s play, it’s a portal into true understanding of yourself and the world around you. Considered as a form of nature therapy, forest bathing is an embodied love note to Mother Earth and an evidence-based intervention to combat the life-threatening diseases that are associated with modern life. If you’ve ever taken a walk in the woods à la Henry David Thoreau, you may be aware of the benefits of being outdoors. You breathe easier. The thoughts racing through your head slow down and magically begin to reprioritize themselves—the stuff that doesn’t matter begins to fade away. If you’re with friends, the conversations may go deeper. You may talk about dreams, intentions, desires, and manifestations. This is your soul talking. It’s always talking, but usually we are so stuck in our minds that we don’t take the time to really listen. Being in the forest deliberately activates you. John Muir, who was unknowingly involved in forest bathing research for most of his life, said, “The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” Forest bathing encourages you to hug trees, feel moss, pick up leaves, taste raspberries, and listen to your deep truths. It’s about awakening all your senses, tapping into your wildness, and luxuriating among the trees. A forest bath cleanses your soul and allows you to find yourself soaking in nature.

The History of Forest Bathing

Forest bathing is based on the Japanese term shinrin-yoku (森 林 浴), which was coined by Tomohide Akiyama of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in 1982, in part as a way beyond logging to garner value from the forest. In Japanese, the term comprises three kanji characters—the first character is composed of three trees and means “forest,” the second character is two trees and refers to the interconnectedness of the forest, and the third character connotes the luxury of being fully engulfed in the abundance that surrounds you. The essence of shinrin-yoku, however, goes back a lot further than when the term was coined. As evidenced in haiku poems about nature and with the concept of wabi-sabi—the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete—much of traditional Japanese culture is based on a deep understanding of and connection to Nature. Ikebana, the Japanese art of arranging flowers, for example, dates back to the sixth century; it focuses on a personal and direct relationship with nature. According to one of Japan’s most influential modern ikeba practitioners, artist Toshiro Kawase, ikebana helps one realize that “the whole universe is contained within a single flower.” Before forest therapy became popular, the ancient people of Japan honored sacred spirits that they recognized in nature, manifesting in mountains, rocks, rivers, and trees. Shugendō Buddhist priests, or Yamabushi, are mystics and warriors whose origins go back to at least the eighth century. These hermitic seekers live in the mountains, pursuing spiritual powers gained through asceticism. Their traditional role was to help guide people to one’s true nature and to teach discipline and warrior ways. Yamabushi believe that the highest truth exists in nature. Shugendō is a path to help people strip away excess, to understand themselves better through immersion in the power and strength of the natural world. Everything in nature is considered sacred and believed to have health benefits—be it a stone or a river—and practitioners use rituals to honor each of the elements: earth, air, water, and fire. What religious ascetics have intrinsically known for two thousand years, modern researchers have confirmed with science and data. Japanese forestry administrator Tomohide Akiyama was aware of the pioneering studies of the immune-boosting effects of phytoncides, essential oils exuded by certain trees and plants, when he first proposed shinrin-yoku in 1982. Since then, much research has focused on the stress-busting and mood-enhancing benefits of exposure to phytoncides in nature.

Forest Bathing and Modern Life

Humans have evolved in nature; we’ve spent 99.9% of our time in the natural world, and our physiological functions are adapted to it. We’re evolved to find relaxation and restoration in nature. Nevertheless, today most Americans spend most of their time indoors, including a lot of time in enclosed vehicles. With the constant stimuli and stresses of modern life, our prefrontal cortexes (the fight-or-flight response center that controls the release of adrenaline) work on overdrive, which means we rarely ever enter rest-and-digest mode. As a result, we have chronically high levels of cortisol in our bloodstreams and are plagued with high blood pressure and other ailments. We’re living in a pivotal moment in human history when the spiritual and the scientific worlds are merging. We’re beginning to understand what happens on both a physical and subatomic level as we engage with nature. It’s been scientifically shown that spending time immersed in forest therapy reduces stress, lowers heart rate, lowers cortisol levels, decreases inflammation, boosts the immune system, improves mood, increases the ability to focus, jump-starts creativity, increases energy levels, and makes us more generous and compassionate. In a study spanning visitors to twenty-four forests, Japanese researchers showed that when people strolled through a forested area, their levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, plummeted almost 16% more than when they walked in an urban environment. The effects were quickly apparent: within minutes of beginning a walk in the woods, the subjects’ blood pressures showed improvement. Results like these led Dr. Qing Li to declare “forest medicine” a new medical science that “could let you know how to be more active, more relaxed, and healthier with reduced stress and reduced risk of lifestyle-related disease and cancer by visiting forests.” In forest therapy programs in Japan, groups are led through immersive nature walks, where they are invited to slow down and rediscover the world around them. They may be invited to try out forest bathing activities like smelling fragrant leaves or listening to stories of where beloved foods, such as chestnuts, come from. There are breaks for healing bento lunches, meditation, and soaking in the negative ions from nearby waterfalls. These programs may also include nature yoga, woodworking, and soba noodle-making. Such courses are offered across the country, often in small towns accessible by high-speed rail. The Japanese version of forest bathing blurs the line between eco-tourism and nature-focused healing. With this influx of evidence on the health benefits of nature therapy, the practice of forest bathing has begun to spread to other parts of the world, including Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Forest bathing is the antidote to modern life. This practice may have started in Japan, but it’s evolving into a new way of living, which is actually the original way of living—in right relationship with the earth. For thousands of years, human cultures have had their own versions of shinrin-yoku—of sensorial practices for soaking in the healing powers of the forest. Each culture may have unique practices and rituals, but all are based on the same big secret: Nature is everything. Nature keeps us healthy and can provide the medicine we need. Spending time with nature provides us with inspiration and well-being. True innovation and the most advanced technologies originate from the planet. You can read this or hear it a thousand ways, but it’s not until you experience this secret that you begin to embody this deep knowing. As you do, maybe you’ll begin to see nature connection as I do—a basic human right and prerequisite for true healing.

Welcome to the New Environmental Movement

Shinrin-yoku represents a realignment with the natural world. Indigenous cultures the world over are innately aware that the health of communities depends on the health of the environment. People who live on the land where they and their ancestors grew up are inherently connected to that land. They know how to speak Nature’s language and know that we all are connected to the earth. As Native American faith-keeper and indigenous rights advocate Chief Oren Lyons says, “The environment isn’t over here. The environment isn’t over there. You are the environment.” All of us have much to learn from people whose rituals and traditions have preserved a strong connection to the planet. Since the Industrial Revolution, we have considered ourselves conquerors and manipulators of the natural world: Man versus Nature. This feeling of separation from Nature made it okay to destroy the planet for our benefit. But what we haven’t realized is that we are destroying ourselves, too. As a society, Americans have reached the apex of separation from Nature and are suffering as a result. Chronic illness, including cancer, depression, anxiety, exhaustion, and attention deficit disorders, are widespread and on the rise, even with all the preventive health care available. These issues affect adults and children alike. With the current status quo, chronic diseases are expected to affect almost half of all Americans by 2025. The pain and suffering we feel on an individual level is reflected back to us in the state of the planet. Since 1970, the world has witnessed a nearly 60% decline in wildlife across land, sea, and freshwater and is heading toward a decline of two-thirds by 2020. As the world population continues to grow, demands for food, water, energy, and infrastructure are putting more pressure on the earth. Massive deforestation, rapidly melting glaciers, coral reef destruction, soil erosion and degradation, extreme weather, and worsening air quality are just a few of the many signs that we’ve been ravaging Nature at an ever-increasing rate. It seems clear that we simply cannot go on doing what we’ve been doing. But where do we begin? These problems are massive, systemic, and overwhelming. Sometimes things have to come to a breaking point before they can begin to get better. I believe that all of the calamity and upheaval we are experiencing is heralding a new epoch. At this moment, Earth herself is becoming conscious, enabling humans to awaken to higher values. We have an unprecedented opportunity to create the world we want to live in—one filled with compassion for the whole web of life, and one that we will be proud to gift to our children worldwide. This shift away from disconnection to the beginning of reconnecting to Nature marks the end of what author Charles Eisenstein refers to as “our journey of Separation” in the essay “The Three Seeds.” He writes that the purpose of this journey that started thirty thousand years ago with a tribe called humanity was “to experience the extremes of Separation, to develop the gifts that come in response to it, and to integrate all of that in a new Age of Reunion.” We are being called to embark on the journey of reconnection to our personal inner nature and outer nature. Forest therapy is a rewilding from the inside out and the outside in, as we learn to integrate our hearts and minds and live in harmony with the earth. Environmental activist and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy recalls the Tibetan legend of the Shambala warrior. “There comes a time when all life on Earth is in danger,” she says. “It is now, when the future of all beings hangs by the frailest of threads, that the kingdom of Shambala emerges.” This kingdom is not some place you can go, but rather a knowing in the hearts and minds of Shambala warriors. The warriors are sent to dismantle the dangerous powers-that-be with the weapons of compassion and insight. We all have the potential to be Shambala warriors. If you’ve been dwelling in despair, it may be helpful to know that several cultures predicted our current difficulties centuries ago: people from Tibet, Latin America, Siberia, and North America prophesied about the future of humankind. The Andean Quechua Inca, New Mexican Hopi, and Mayan cultures share a prophecy of the eagle from the North and the condor from the South, in which the condor, representing intuitive, nature-connected ways, is close to extinction, while the eagle, symbolizing the dominant forces of industrialized society, reigns supreme. The prophecy foretells of violence and materialism that proceeds a moment of awakening, when the eagle and condor realize that they are capable of more love and awareness and decide to join forces and learn to fly in the sky together again. The urge we feel to rewild and speak our truth is Mother Earth’s own desire. She’s done waiting patiently while we selfishly ravage her. She’s speaking to us and through us. We’re living in an amazing moment of transformation. As we do shinrin-yoku, we begin to understand how to communicate with trees and plants. We gain the ability to interpret a slight breeze or a bird’s call. We fall deeply in love with the earth. The more we tap into Mother Nature’s rhythms, the more we understand that she wants to help us evolve and live with a higher purpose—all we have to do is learn how to listen. Earth will show us how we can best serve her. As we heal the planet, we heal ourselves.

Try It Out

To try forest bathing, simply step outside. You may want to go to a nearby park or perhaps you have some trees in your backyard. There’s no need to go deep into a forest to receive the benefits of spending time in nature, which can even be a form of preventative health care. Forest bathing is all about getting in touch with your true nature. There are no specific guidelines to follow; no rights or wrongs or shoulds or must-dos. It’s about what feels right to you. Everything I recommend is an invitation for you to try if you feel inclined. If you’re not inclined, you may choose to simply sit under a tree and do nothing. You’ll get all the health benefits that way too! I’ve found that the quickest way to get into a forest bathing state-of-mind is to give an offering to the Earth. It’s best practice to give to Nature before we ask for anything—whether that is for healing or clarity or anything else. An offering can be anything from some flowers to a splash of water to a song or dance. It’s less about what it is and more about the purity of your intention. This is a way of greeting the land and asking for permission to be there. You can also ask for protection as you go about your shinrin-yoku journey. Once you’ve greeted the land with your offering, begin to awaken your senses. It’s not always possible, but if you’re comfortable, try taking off your shoes as you do this. In addition to the many benefits of earthing, of having your feet connected to the Earth, you may find that thoughts drain from your head when you have a direct connection to the Earth. Take a moment to acknowledge all of the beings that have stood on that same land over many thousands of years. Now take a look around you and notice all the shapes, colors, and patterns of the natural world. Our eyes have a fractal structure; when we see fractals in nature, a resonance occurs, and it allows us to relax. To experience even more forest bathing benefits, close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. You may be surprised by how much more you can hear with your eyes closed. Shift your attention to what you can feel—perhaps the breeze on your skin or the soil beneath your feet. Take a few deep breaths and notice what you smell in the air. Perhaps you smell the phytoncides, the essential oils that trees emit, that boost our natural killer (NK) cell activity. Stick your nose in the dirt and take a big inhale of Earth! And finally—stick out your tongue and notice what you can taste in the air. It’s really fun to taste the raindrops when it’s raining! With all your senses awakened, you may feel more alert and connected. If there are still thoughts running through your mind, imagine emptying a thought with each step that you take. As you walk slowly, allow your heart to direct you. Follow your curiosities instead of the beaten path. At some point you might find a spot to sit. Go ahead and take a seat and just stay there as long as you’d like. Notice how the environment changes over the course of a few minutes. After your first-ever forest therapy session, come back to that same place over a few days, weeks, seasons, or years and you’ll really experience the subtle shifts. You may even find that you begin to learn the language of birds, trees, insects, and clouds and that you start to receive messages from them. This is the simple art of forest bathing. You can absolutely forest bathe alone, and you will receive many benefits from this practice. I also find that it’s important to do this work together. At this moment in time, the reconnection that’s being called for is trifold: to ourselves, our communities, and the planet. Forest bathing in a facilitated group is really powerful because we all bring back unique discoveries from our time in nature, and as we share, we learn a lot from each other and weave a new story. As shinrin-yoku has increased in popularity recently, it’s possible to find forest therapy guides in many locations around the world. Resorts are beginning to offer these practices, and many guides are on AirBnB Experiences. The Forest Bathing Club is launching a training program in 2020 for people who are looking to start their own branch of the club in their local community. Sign up at to hear about the training at forestbathing.club Reprinted from The Healing Magic of Forest Bathing: Finding Calm, Creativity, and Connection in the Natural World. Copyright © 2019 by Julia Plevin. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.

About The Author Julia Plevin is a writer, designer, and the founder of The Forest Bathing Club, which started as a meetup in 2016 and now has 600+ members. Plevin has worked as a design strategist at IDEO, SYPartners, and fuseproject, and has written for Huffington Post, The Atlantic, and Venture Beat. She and her work have been featured by Outside Magazine, CNN, Business Insider, Quartz, The New Yorker, and the Sierra Club. Learn more at juliaplevin.com

Neurogenesis: Growing New Brain Cells

A virtual revolution in neuroscience has been launched by the recent discovery of the process of neurogenesis, the ability of the brain to actually grow new neurons (brain cells). Stem cell therapy, a hot button of political debate and the focus of leading-edge research, holds the promise of offering a powerful tool in neurodegenerative conditions. We now understand that the human brain is constantly undergoing its own “stem cell therapy” through the process of neurogenesis. Every moment of our lives, several critically important areas of our brains are being replenished with stem cells that are destined to become fully functional brain cells. And when it comes to the question of how to increase new brain cells, there’s a lot we can do to enhance this process.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)

A major component in this gift of neurogenesis—and it is a gift to be revered—is a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which plays a key role in creating new neurons. And it also protects existing neurons, helping to ensure their survivability while encouraging synapse formation—that is, the connection of one neuron to another—which is vital for thinking, learning, and higher levels of brain function. Studies have in fact demonstrated that BDNF levels are lower in Alzheimer’s patients, which is no surprise, given our current understanding of how BDNF works. But we gain an even greater appreciation for the health benefits of increased BDNF when we consider its association with other neurological conditions, including epilepsy, anorexia nervosa, depression, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

How to Increase BDNF Production

We now have a very firm understanding of the factors that influence our DNA to produce BDNF and how to increase BDNF in the brain. Fortunately, these factors are by and large under our direct control. The gene that turns on BDNF is activated by a variety of factors, including voluntary physical exercise—animals forced to exercise do not demonstrate this change—calorie reduction, intellectual stimulation, curcumin, and the omega-3 fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid. This is a powerful message because all of these factors that increase BDNF are within our grasp; they represent choices we can make to turn on the gene for neurogenesis. So let’s explore them individually.

1. Physical Exercise

One of the most efficient ways to increase BDNF is through physical exercise. Laboratory rats that exercise have been shown to produce far more BDNF than sedentary animals. But, interestingly, animals forced to exercise produce considerably less BDNF than those who voluntarily choose to spend time on the running wheel. Researchers have shown that there is a direct relationship between elevation of BDNF levels in the voluntarily exercising animals and their ability to learn. With the understanding of the relationship of BDNF to exercise, researchers have examined the effect of physical exercise in humans, both apparently healthy individuals as well as persons at risk or already diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The findings have been fairly remarkable. In a recent paper, Nicola Lautenschlager of the University of Western Australia found that elderly individuals who engaged in regular physical exercise for a 24-week period demonstrated an astounding improvement of 1,800 percent in memory, language ability, attention, and other important cognitive functions, compared with an age-matched group not involved in the exercise program. The exercise group spent about 142 minutes exercising each week—about 20 minutes a day. In a similar study, Harvard researchers found a strong association between exercise and cognitive function in elderly women and concluded, “In this large, prospective study of older women, higher levels of long-term regular physical activity were strongly associated with higher levels of cognitive function and less cognitive decline. Specifically, the apparent cognitive benefits of greater physical activity were similar in extent to being about three years younger in age and were associated with a 20% lower risk of cognitive impairment.” These and other studies clearly indicate that exercise enhances brain performance and is directly associated with increased production of BDNF. Simply by voluntarily engaging in regular physical exercise, even to a relatively moderate degree, is a great way to take control of your brain health and mental destiny.

2. Calorie Reduction

Another factor that turns on the gene for increased BDNF is calorie reduction. Extensive studies have clearly demonstrated that when animals are fed a diet with reduced calories, typically by around 30 percent, their brain production of BDNF soars, along with a dramatic enhancement in memory and other cognitive functions. In a 2009 study on how to increase brain cells naturally, German researchers imposed a 30 percent calorie reduction on the diets of elderly individuals and compared their memory function with a group of a similar age who ate whatever they wanted. At the conclusion of the three-month study, those who ate without restriction experienced a small but clearly defined decline in memory function, while memory function in the group who consumed the calorie-reduced diet actually increased profoundly. In recognition of the obvious limitations of current pharmaceutical approaches to brain health, the authors concluded, “The present findings may help to develop new prevention and treatment strategies for maintaining cognitive health into old age.” While the prospect of reducing calorie intake by 30 percent may seem daunting, consider that Americans now consume an average of 523 more calories daily than in 1970. Current United Nations estimates show that the average American adult consumes 3,770 calories each day. In contrast, most health care professionals consider normal calorie consumption (i.e., the amount of calories needed to maintain body weight) to be around 2,000 calories daily for women and 2,550 for men, obviously with higher or lower requirements depending on level of exercise. A 30 percent reduction of calories from an average of 3,770 per day provides 2,640 calories, still more than a normal minimum requirement. Much of the calorie increase in Americans comes from our overwhelming increase in sugar consumption. Lowering sugar intake alone might go a long way toward achieving a meaningful reduction in calorie consumption; weight loss would likely be a side benefit. Indeed, obesity, in and of itself, is associated with reduced levels of BDNF, as is elevated blood sugar, a common consequence of obesity. Furthermore, increasing BDNF provides the added benefit of actually reducing the appetite. We hope that this data and the desire to help your brain turn on BDNF production will motivate you to follow a reduced-calorie diet. But, if you want to do more in achieving a healthy brain, you can implement a program of intermittent fasting.

3. Intellectual Stimulation

BDNF is described as a brain-derived neuronal trophic factor, which means that it is a chemical that induces positive growth, health, and functionality in the target tissue—in this case, brain neurons. So it would only make sense to expect BDNF to increase when the brain is challenged. Just as muscles will gain strength and thus functionality when exercised, the brain also rises to the challenges of intellectually stimulating circumstances by becoming faster and more efficient as well as having a greater capacity for information storage. These positive features are all facilitated by the increase in BDNF levels caused by stimulating activities. Inversely, it is likely that BDNF levels are low in individuals who spend several hours each day watching television, playing rote computer games, or otherwise engaged in mindless and passive activities. Being involved in stimulating mental activities—such as problem solving, exploring novel environments, and, perhaps most important, meditating regularly—increases BDNF levels and creates a brain that is not only more resistant to deterioration but one that enables you to push the limits of day-to-day functionality. In this context, it is important to view meditation not as a passive activity but as an active, brain-stimulating exercise that could also help in the production of new brain cells. Even among Alzheimer’s patients, the rate of disease progression is dramatically slowed in those who engage in spiritual practices, which, again, is likely a consequence of increased BDNF levels. Meditation helps us visit the complex environment of the inner mind as well as the universal energy field. And, not surprisingly, this might well be the most powerful stimulant for BDNF levels. Meditation-induced production of BDNF should be looked upon as the fertile ground into which seeds of spirituality-induced enlightenment are planted and flourish.

4. Curcumin

Curcumin, the main active ingredient in the spice turmeric, is currently the subject of intense scientific inquiry, especially as it relates to the brain and how to increase BDNF. But curcumin isn’t new to the medical research. In fact, practitioners of traditional Chinese and Indian (Ayurvedic) medicine have used it for thousands of years. Curcumin is known to possess a variety of biochemical properties that include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antibacterial activities. And it is curcumin’s ability to increase BDNF that has attracted the interest of neuroscientists around the world. Interestingly, in evaluating villages in India, where turmeric is used in abundance in curried recipes, epidemiological studies have found that Alzheimer’s disease is only about 25 percent as common as in the United States. There is little doubt that the positive effects of enhanced BDNF levels on brain neurons is at least part of the reason why those consuming curcumin are so resistant to this brain disorder.

5. Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)

Perhaps no other brain nutrient is receiving as much attention lately as DHA, especially after it was found to be a great way to increase BDNF. Scientists have been aggressively studying this critical brain fat for the past several decades for at least three reasons. First, more than two-thirds of the dry weight of the human brain is fat, and one-quarter of that fat is DHA. From a structural point of view, DHA is an important building block for the membranes that surround healthy brain cells. These membranes include the areas where one brain cell connects to another, the synapses. This means that DHA is involved in the transmission of information from one neuron to the next and thus is fundamental for efficient brain function. Second, DHA is one of nature’s important regulators of inflammation. Inflammation is responsible for a large number of brain maladies, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and multiple sclerosis. DHA naturally reduces the activity of the COX-2 enzyme, which turns on the production of damaging chemical mediators of inflammation. This inhibits the enzyme and helps put out the fire in our brains. The third and perhaps most compelling reason for studying DHA is its role in modulating gene expression to increase BDNF. Thus, DHA helps orchestrate the production, synaptic connection, and viability of brain cells while enhancing functionality. In a recently completed double-blind interventional trial called the Memory Improvement with DHA Study (MIDAS), some members of a group of 485 healthy individuals with an average age 70 and mild memory problems were given a supplement that contained DHA made from marine algae and some were given a placebo. After six months, not only did blood DHA levels double in the group who received the DHA but the effects on brain function, compared with those who received the placebo, were outstanding. The lead project researcher, Karin Yurko-Mauro, commented, “In our study, healthy people with memory complaints who took algal DHA capsules for six months had almost double the reduction in errors on a test that measures learning and memory performance versus those who took a placebo. …The benefit is roughly equivalent to having the learning and memory skills of someone three years younger.” Humans are able to synthesize DHA from a common dietary omega-3 fat, alpha-linolenic acid. But so little DHA is produced by this chemical pathway that many researchers in human nutrition now consider DHA to be an essential fatty acid, meaning that health maintenance requires a dietary source of this key nutrient. Data also show that most Americans typically consume an average of only 60 to 80 milligrams of DHA daily, less than 25 percent of what researchers consider to be an adequate intake of 200 to 300 milligrams each day.

BDNF and Brain Protection

Now that you already have an idea on how to increase BDNF naturally, it is also worth noting that BDNF is important not only in neurogenesis and neuroplasticity but also in protecting delicate neurons from being damaged by a variety of insults, including trauma, transient reduction in blood supply, and, perhaps most important, environmental toxins. Indeed, in laboratory studies, rats and even primates with higher levels of BDNF are far more resistant to brain-damaging toxins than animals with low or normal levels. Thus, turning on BDNF production through natural means and lifestyle decisions provides our brains with powerful protection against the ubiquitous onslaught of mitochondrial toxins, such as commonly used pesticides, to which we are exposed on a daily basis. Excerpted with permission from Power Up Your Brain: The Neuroscience of Enlightenment by David Perlmutter and Alberto Villoldo. It is available online at hayhouse.com.

About The Authors Dr. David Perlmutter, M.D., FACN, is a Board-Certified Neurologist and four-time New York Times bestselling author. He serves on the Board of Directors and is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition. His books have been published in 28 languages and include Grain Brain, The Surprising Truth About Wheat, Carbs and Sugar, with over 1 million copies in print, Brain Maker, The Grain Brain Cookbook, and The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated television programs. Learn more at drperlmutter.com. Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D., has trained as a psychologist and medical anthropologist and has studied the healing practices of the Amazon and Andean shamans. Dr. Villoldo directs The Four Winds Society, where he trains individuals in the practice of shamanic energy medicine. He directs the Center for Energy Medicine in Chile, where he investigates and practices the neuroscience of enlightenment. Dr. Villoldo has written numerous best-selling books, including One Spirit Medicine; Shaman, Healer, Sage; The Four Insights; Courageous Dreaming; and Power Up Your Brain. Learn more at thefourwinds.com theurbanmonk.com.

photo: craig whitehead

Basic Taoist Beliefs and Theory

The Way gave birth to the One.
The One gave birth to the Two.
The Two gave birth to the Three.
And the Three gave birth to the ten thousand things.

— Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching (translated by Thomas Cleary)

Taoism is the philosophy of syncing up with nature and doing that which comes naturally. It is very similar to the traditions of naturism and shamanism but with a fundamental distinction: Taoism bases its primary understanding of reality on the principle of balance between the forces of yin and yang.

These complementary opposites exist in an ever-changing and ever-flowing dynamic state that constantly self-corrects and harmonizes. The ancient philosophers of China used the term Tao for the Supreme Ultimate or the universe as we know it. It is the All. In the beginning, there was Wu Wei, or the Great Emptiness, and from this came yin and yang.

Yin and Yang

This is one of the most popular Taoist beliefs. Everything in the universe has a yin and yang component to it, and all things have a balance point. For example, there would be no meaning to “up” if the concept of “down” didn’t exist. There is no “hot” without “cold” and so on. This primordial distinction not only relates to everything around us; it is also what fundamentally drives the motion within us. We, being an active functional aspect of nature, exemplify the same polar balancing; with sustained attention to this subject matter, we can find the Tao, or the balance point, in all things.

Essentially, there was the original state of the universe wherein all things were One. There was unity consciousness and eternal togetherness of all things—and then, BOOM! Polarization. All things all at once are now imbued with this elementary concept and this perception of separation. This is the mark of polarity. Now, it is critical to remember that these poles are the seemingly opposite characteristics of the same objects or things. This polarity gives us a dualistic view of the same phenomena. Yin and yang are constituent parts or mirror reflections of the same one, which is simply split into two, the same way a beam of light splits when hitting a prism. In the beginning and in the end, it is all Tao. Polarity is just the game we are playing.

The lists below show some basic examples of yin and yang to better illustrate this Taoism philosophy. These obvious examples will help further illustrate a point in our understanding of human nature—namely, the distinctions we make in our approach to self-growth and enlightenment.

Yin and Yang Examples

Yin: Earth,Cold, Down, Matter, Female, Passive, Soft, Body, Materialism, Science
Yang: Sun, Hot, Up, Energy, Male, Active, Hard, Spirit, Spiritualism, Religion

In our culture, we are either on one end or another. Either you work for Wall Street and drive the expensive car, or you wear patchouli and tour with the band. Either you are a Democrat or a Republican, for abortion or against it, patriotic or unpatriotic, with us or against us, and on and on. The mark of our society is that it is stained with the rigidity of dualistic thinking, and we suffer from its intolerance daily in our public discourse.

Gray Is Where All the Good Stuff Happens!

According to Taoist beliefs, gray is the fusion of black and white and of yin and yang. It is the understanding that there is balance, communication, and interaction with all things at all times. We in the United States live in a culture that was started by a group of religious fundamentalists (the Puritans), who essentially lived in a world of black and white. They were too much to handle for their contemporaries in Europe, and so they came to the New World to (conquer and) live their way of life. Sex was evil, and women were witches. Everything was black or white, and there was judgment all around. It was neither fun nor tolerant.

We are now living in the shadow of that polarized thinking, and the national discourse echoes that imbalance. The insanity of the Red Team-Blue Team mentality has allowed us to stray from our humanity and has really watered down the quality of human intellectual interaction, the meeting of ideas, and peaceful disagreement. Fundamentalism (in all religions and creeds) is a child of this imbalance; it is a reflection of our collective ignorance—our ignorance of the truth. To attain balance in the world outside of us, it is important to realize that we must first establish that state within ourselves. The external is simply a reflection of our internal state. Therefore, any balance we would like in our lives must come from a genuinely balanced state that originates from inside of us. We are the holographic projectors, and the “reality” we see beyond our flesh and blood is simply the reflection of our internal state. As the ancient alchemical axiom attributed to Hermes Trismegistus states, “As above, so below.”

Generally, Yin and yang, and other Taoism beliefs and practices, represent the totality of creation from opposite sides of each other. Together they are whole, and together there is balance. One cannot exist without the other, and we cannot examine anything without a balanced frame of reference, which requires looking at both sides and finding the middle. The polarity created by yin and yang can be compared to (if we so dare) the breath of life in biblical texts. At first, there is only Tao in this differentiation. Then, movement begins, and the energy of life starts to stir and revolve around itself, swirling the myriad things in the universe into being. It is as if a centrifugal and centripetal force erupted simultaneously, both creating and destroying, rising and falling, growing and decaying. In balance, the universe sustains itself and grows slowly in sentience and capacity. We can compare it to an oak tree. It grows a bit every year and then sheds weak branches in the autumn, which then become mulched as compost for the tree’s own growth the following season. The tree eventually grows so big that the main branches cannot support their own weight, and they collapse, only to become the soil for the seeds of its progeny to grow up strong and repeat the cycle.

The early Taoists learned everything from observing nature, deep introspection, inner energy cultivation, and development of gnosis. They discovered the principle of yin and yang to be the impetus and driving force of all life, and this concept is inextricably linked to the additional Taoism beliefs and practices we will discuss.

Figure 1. Seasonal Interplay

Yin and yang can also be thought of as two inverted waves that are flowing along a central axis. In figure 1, we can see the interplay of the seasons and how they relate to the rising and falling tides of yin and yang. The equinox points are when the forces come together on the axis, and the solstices are at the extremes of one or the other.

If we then take this interplay and add an element of torsion or twisting into a three-dimensional model, we end up with something that looks the double helix of a DNA molecule, as shown in figure 2.

Figure 2. The Double Helix of DNA Resembles the Interplay of Yin and Yang

This double helix DNA serves as the information storehouse for all life on this planet, and the interplay of these strands dictates which proteins are synthesized and how we express physiologically in nature. So to, This remarkable dance between the polar forces directs the language of internal energetic communication and becomes the basis of much of our transformational work.

The Three Treasures

Once the universe is split into the polarized binary system of yin and yang, there arises a distinction between the different levels of material manifestation. If spirit and matter, which at the level of the Tao are one and the same, are separated with the birth of yin and yang, then we start to see a scale of densification versus illumination. Keep in mind that yin and yang are relative to each other, always. There is no absolute yin to speak of; things are only yin when compared with something else. We can say “hot” when it’s 100 degrees out, and we could say that this is very yang, but that assumes that an average day is, say, 72 degrees. A 100-degree day would certainly be more yang in this instance. But what if we compared that to a 350-degree oven or the surface of the sun? The 100-degree day would be more yin compared to these. There is a density “gradient” from spirit to matter in which matter is more dense than spirit.

Now, taking this gradient as an example, we can hold it as a frame of reference for the Taoist understanding of the Three Treasures: jing, qi, and shen. The Three Treasures also can be organized on a density gradient, with jing being the most yin, or most dense, and shen being the most yang, or least dense.

Per the teachings of Taoism, the polarization of spirit and essence creates the currency of life (the qi energy). It is the medium or language of communication of All That Is. This is why it is so powerful to work with qi. When we understand the dynamics of qi flow in our body, we can begin the alchemical process of bringing the poles of spirit and essence back to a balanced equilibrium. In the duality-free stillness, we have direct access to the zero-point energy field and are capable of rewriting the code of how we manifest in three dimensions via our DNA.

A useful example is to compare these Three Treasures to a candle, wherein the wax is the essence (jing), the flame is the energy (qi), and the aura around the flame is the spirit (shen). The goal is to preserve the essence (wax) and sustain a healthy flow of energy (flame) so that the spirit (aura) can soar. This is a very simplistic example, and much more will be said about this. But before we go there, let’s look at each of the Three Treasures individually.

JING: ESSENCE

Jing is the essential vitality that is stored in our body. Remember, the Taoist understanding of reality is intimately tied to the internal understanding of our body and the movement of the life force through us. To understand these dynamics is to gain enlightenment universally. Jing is the most yin of the three treasures, and it represents the core of our material existence. It is a most precious substance that is to be cherished and guarded.

Very similar to the way that polarity created the spectrum of energy to matter, the essence is differentiated as well. The Taoist belief is that we have our “pre-heaven” essence, our “post-heaven” essence, and our “day-to-day” essence.

Pre-Heaven Essence

The pre-heaven essence comes from the blending of the sexual energies of our biological parents. This energy nourishes the embryo and the fetus during pregnancy and essentially comes downstream from our ancestral DNA. It determines our individual, constitutional makeup, strength, and vitality and is what makes us each unique. It’s the hand we’ve been dealt by our parents. A tremendous amount of history, information, and karma comes through our bloodlines via the DNA that gets registered at this level of our essence. Some people are blessed, and many others come in with a number of challenges in regard to this. Now, this is the aspect of the essence that’s the hardest to increase, and much of the information in my book Inner Alchemy will unlock the secrets of how we can do just that through the practice of qi gong. This is an integral piece of the puzzle that must be addressed in our energetic cultivation.

Post-Heaven Essence

In Taoism, the post-heaven essence is attributed to our lifestyles and is quite changeable. It is what we derive from foods and fluids after birth. It’s what we do with ourselves once we’ve come into the world. It has a lot to do with early-stage development and the quality of our nourishment from our birth onward. There is a great deal to say about this topic in regard to healthy bacterial colonies in the gut, breastfeeding, quality of foods, and the loving environment a child is brought into.

We can’t really help what happened before conception or during our infantile development (though, of course, we can do so for our children), but we certainly can help what we do with it from there. This aspect of the essence really can be cultivated and positively affected by lifestyle and practice. In fact, a critical aspect of our practice is to continually refine our essence and increase the amount of condensed jing to work with.

Day-to-Day Essence

If we were to use money as a metaphor, the pre-heaven essence would be a locked-away family trust account that we know is there yet is relatively inaccessible in our day-to-day dealings. Our post-heaven essence would be our money market savings account; we can tap into it—but at a price. And then our day-to-day essence would be our checking account, being deposited to and drawn upon daily for our various needs.

Being derived from the other two types of essence, the day-to-day variety can tap into both the pre-and post-heaven reserves and replenish itself. It serves as the body’s primary backup system. It acts as the reinforcement for all the body’s energies, like a backup battery, supporting our systems when there is an outage. You can also think of it as the overdraft protection on your checking account. It is critical to keep this system healthy for day-to-day functioning in order to maintain health. If we want to enhance our health and state of being, then that is where the Taoist beliefs and practices offered in my book Inner Alchemy serve their purpose. We shouldn’t be just making ends meet every day; instead, we must be in a state of relative overflow and abundance. This will then give us the energy we need to cultivate strong light bodies and open up our perception.

So, although this form of essence is the easiest to access and can be more readily restored, it is still considered jing in the scale of density. It is the baseline backup system for the qi, or energy flow, of the body. Going back to our money metaphor, in relation to the other aspects of essence, our day-to-day is more liquid; however, in relation to our qi or energy flow, it is like a fixed savings account. Again, notice how yin and yang are always relative and how they create a spectrum for comparison. Essence is denser than energy and is therefore less “liquid” in cash flow terms. Our essence is our equity. Yes, we can borrow against it—but at a cost. The point is to store it up and create an endowment that propels us into eternity.

QI: ENERGY

Moving up in refinement from the denser essence, we have our second Treasure, which is our energy. This primary Taoist belief and concept can be likened to all the metabolic and physiological processes in the body that are constantly running. This qi energy is the currency of life. It is always moving and in flux. It is traveling through an energetic matrix or network of channels throughout the body, called the meridians. The Taoist masters knew about these pathways of energy flow for thousands of years; in fact, these pathways are the basis for the practice of acupuncture.

Taking the example of the candle, the energy is the flame; it is what sets things in motion. An unlit candle can be considered potential energy, but it takes that spark of life to get things moving and really make a candle fulfill its purpose, which, in this case, would be to light up a room. Our energy works in very much the same way. It is the life force that comes into a fertilized embryo (once spirit is imbued with matter) that really gets the show on the road; that same energy carries us through our adult lives, helping to fulfill our purpose.

Based on Taoism history, the ancient Taoist masters spent countless hours meditating, cultivating, and studying these phenomena. From them, we have come to understand that there are several types or qualities of this energy to speak of.

Original Qi

This form of energy is essentially the energetic equivalent of essence. It is essence transformed into energy. Being a dynamic and rarified form of pre-heaven essence, it is essentially the foundation of all the yin and yang energies of the body. The original qi serves many purposes in the body; it is almost like a fire starter. When other forms of energy are incorporated into the system, it is this original qi that “activates” them and sets things in motion. In turn, this energy is constantly nourished and replenished by the other post-heaven sources of energy, which we are about to discuss. This original qi is housed in the “gate of vitality,” between the two kidneys, and becomes a very important and active agent in our practice of qi gong.

Food Qi

As the name suggests, food qi is the energy we derive from the food we eat. This is the essential first step to having healthy energy flow in the body, and it stresses the importance of having a clean and healthy diet. This is where the stomach receives and the spleen (and the pancreas) transforms our food into a usable form of energy, which it then raises up to the lungs to mix with air.

Gathering Qi

This form of energy, which is housed in the chest, is derived from the food qi mixing with air. Once the raw ingredients from ingested food are assimilated, they need to mix with air to form gathering qi. This idea really stands as a testament to the genius of the ancient Chinese Taoists. In modern biochemistry, we know that in part of the Krebs cycle, there is an incredible symbiotic relationship with a part of our cells called mitochondria that creates what we call the electron transport chain. Essentially, the mitochondria are part of an energy accelerator in our cells that allows us to use oxygen in a very dynamic process to help extract incredible amounts of energy out of simple sugars. Prior to Taoism philosophy, all life on this planet worked anaerobically (without the use of oxygen); the evolution of this cycle enabled eukaryotic cells (of which we mainly consist) to develop efficient energy-extraction systems. This was the beginning of the evolutionary pathway to more elaborate and complicated multicellular structures, of which we are the end result (as many would argue). Although the ancient Taoists did not speak in this language, they could literally see how these energetic currents moved through the human body; they developed a complicated and very accurate model to describe it.

This gathering qi serves to nourish the heart and lungs; it also flows downward to aid the kidneys. It is just as important as the energy we derive from food, and it becomes the emphasis of much of our qi gong, or energy work. The cultivation of energy and healthy oxygenation of the system are intricately tied to one another.

True Qi

True qi is the form of energy that is the end product of the aforementioned processes. When the gathering qi is formed, it is activated by the original qi (which we called the fire starter); from this interaction, true qi results. True qi is the undifferentiated form of energy in the body that then branches off to perform the various functions required by the system. Per Taoist beliefs, this energy takes on two forms in the body: the nutritive qi and the defensive qi.

+ Nutritive qi: This is the type of energy that circulates internally and nourishes all the internal organs. It is closely related with the blood and, in fact, flows with the blood to bring energy to all the systems of the body. There is nothing in the body that does not interface with this form of energy, as it is the main “currency” of internal nourishment. Think of the true qi as the total revenues a country gets from taxes (food, air, water, and essence). In this example, nutritive qi would be the domestic spending on cities, bridges, infrastructure, hospitals, and so forth. It is designed to nourish the interior.

+ Defensive qi: If the nutritive qi is the domestic spending, then this form of energy is the armed forces and border patrol. It protects the exterior from pathogenic invasion and regulates body temperature by controlling the opening and closing of pores on the skin. It is truly the gatekeeper to the body and needs to remain charged and healthy in order to keep us protected. In fact, at any given time, we are surrounded by billions of hostile microorganisms that would quickly invade and devastate our system if it were not for this form of energy. Defensive qi regulates immunity through the skin and mucous membranes and is itself regulated by the lungs, while also being supported by the essence and original qi. It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t too bad.

This basic system, illustrated in figure 3, very adequately explains the flow of how the body’s energies develop and are maintained. It also paints a picture of the complexity of the process. It is almost impossible to routinely eat terrible foods and successfully practice energy cultivation, because the food qi sits at the foundation of this entire process. It is also important to note that this system of interrelated energies is very much like an ecosystem that needs to be maintained. A weak defensive qi will either come from a weak true qi level or, if it has simply weakened through continual assault, will eventually drain the true qi, which backs it up at the expense of the nutritive qi.

Figure 3. The Creation of Qi in the Body

Let’s take this example on the macro scale. We have a whole host of problems in a country that can no longer pay for domestic programs (nutritive qi) because of a long expensive war (defensive qi) that is draining resources (true qi). Combine that with a faltering economy (low gathering qi) with a smaller tax base, and we suddenly get hit by both sides and have crises on our hands. Sound familiar? As above, so below.

SHEN: SPIRIT

The last of the Three Treasures of Taoism is the one most people in the West are enamored by—the realm of spirit. It is the “paradise” to which we run in the West. So, it is really important to broach this subject correctly because we’re walking into very polarized territory.

We live in a culture (Western Judeo-Christian-Islamic) of thinking that lives in a paradigm outside of the Garden. Recall that we were ejected somehow (or so says our Creation myth), and we have to behave and do as told in order to earn the rights to be allowed back into heaven—“heaven” being an off-planet realm where God and all of his angels hang out and watch us from “above.” We have bought into a storyline that pegs us as pathetic, materialistic sinners who are essentially wretches in need of salvation. We have to petition for divinity to intervene and “save” us from our evil human nature, which is obviously despicable.

Let’s carefully tiptoe through this mess because that is not how Taoists see it. Actually, there are billions of other people on this planet who see it differently, and having traveled the world a fair amount, I can say that they seem happier than us.

The Taoist concept of spirit does not exist within some far-off realm in the clouds where we’ll go for some kind of afterlife reward if we behave here on Earth. On the contrary, it is right here and right now. Remember, Tao differentiated into yin and yang—therefore, matter is nothing without spirit. They are complementary, opposite views of the same life. When we cultivate shen (which is also translated as “mind”) in our Taoist practice, we only do so by holding the critical anchor of jing and the smooth flow of qi intact. Stated another way, we cultivate the essence in the body and make it robust with life and vitality; then we use this efficiency and “excess” of energy to refine spirit further and further. This does not mean venturing into magical realms and talking to spirits as an end result; it means developing a deeper and deeper understanding of reality right here and now. The more we potentiate our essence and condense, the more we can see the universe for what it really is. Like a mighty oak tree that sends its taproots deeper and deeper into the ground, we can use these incredible bioelectric “generators” of energy that we call our bodies to literally “turn on the light” and wake up.

When the Buddha was asked what enlightenment felt like, he simply stated that he “woke up.” Now, if you’re reading this, chances are you’ve already had a number of moments where you too “woke up.” Sometimes that “awakening” is even sustained for a longer period, but the sleepy state of ignorance keeps creeping back in, like a spiritual gravity sinking us back to the lull of a sleepy zombie. In this practice, we carefully cultivate the essence and refine the spirit to stay awake and live in that state perpetually. Our practice of taking the “lead” of our personal experience and transmuting it into the “gold” of spiritual awakening is the key to this essential teaching of Taoism. This metaphor applies to the Great Work in two ways:

+ It implies that we are to take our dense and powerful stores of essence and refine them into pure undifferentiated shen. This does not mean using it like a tank of gas and burning it away; instead, it connotes fusing it with spirit by bringing yin and yang together. We must wake up our eternal nature in every atom of our body and impregnate our material base with its spiritual counterpart so we may unlock incredible reserves of energy to wake up and shine.

+ The lead-to-gold metaphor is also applied to taking the “lead” of the unresolved energies in our shadow and releasing it. It involves bringing the skeletons out of our closets and making things right in our lives. Once we release these hidden things, we’ll have opened up room for the Source energy to flow freely through us again. This is the other side of the practice where we must, with our newfound energy released from our qi gong, apply the light of conscious awareness to the blind spots in our shadow.

The refinement of essence into spirit unleashes a tremendous amount of energy, which will eventually be fed into our shadow if we remain mindless. This will then rapidly highlight and magnify all the problems we are having in our lives because they will now have so much more to feed upon. Therefore, in Taoist belief systems, it is critical to practice both sides of this equation. The energy work gives us more power to apply to waking up, but only if we stay focused on doing so!

In the next section, we are going to study the concept of the five elements in Taoist thinking. These are the “flavors” through which reality emanates once movement begins with yin and yang. However, it is important to relay another fine point about the concept of shen before we do so. The five elements differentiate the shen into five aspects (remember that all material manifestations will naturally mirror a spiritual quality). The five aspects of spirit are:

+ Fire (shen): The central notion of what we would consider spirit here in the West, fire is the house of the attention where the mind-spirit focuses its gaze. It is also the seat of compassion and love, which are the energies that intimately connect us with all life. It is housed in the heart.

+ Earth (yi): This is the concept of the intellect—the mind and its powerful facility for concentration. It is also our ability to “digest” concepts and ideas. It is housed in the spleen.

+ Water (zhi): This is the will or intention—the driving force of our manifestation of inner wishes and our ability to transform these desires into tangible reality. It is housed in the kidneys.

+ Wood (hun): This is the house of the “ethereal soul,” which is the aspect of our consciousness that helps reconcile the interface between the heart’s desires and the physical reality that surrounds us. This is largely the aspect of us that is involved in astral travel, and it does a good deal of problem solving while we are asleep. It is housed in the liver.

+ Metal (Po): This is the house of the “corporeal soul,” which is the aspect of our soul that connects us more to the body and its lessons. Metal represents the energy of decline and the season of fall. Fall is when things return to the earth and get mulched; thus, this aspect of the soul deals with grief and letting go. It is housed in the lungs.

So, the shen or spirit, like all other things in Tao philosophy, has flavors to it. In this case, it is differentiated along the spectrum of the five elements.

The Five Elements

Taoist beliefs suggest that once the Tao splits into yin and yang, it manifests in five distinct flavors of emanation that we call the five elements. The early Taoists were keen observers of their natural environment and understood that there was no separation between humans and the natural world into which they were born. The Taoists made observations about the cycles and patterns of nature, and this led to a profound understanding of medicine, agriculture, astronomy, astrology, martial arts, and philosophy. In fact, nature lies at the very core of the Taoist understanding of the universe.

Figure 4. The Five Elements

Through personal connection with nature and detailed observation of the seasons and the movement of the stars through the sky, the ancient Taoists understood all reality to be represented by five elements. These elements are related to material, emotional, and spiritual matters in that they represent the entirety of our experience on our planet. But it is always important to remember that they are all aspects of the One—that pure realm of consciousness that exists in an unpolarized state. Through differential emanation, the five elements create the flavor and richness of life and how it moves and expresses itself. Remember, before the separation into yin and yang, there was the formless and unified whole—the Tao. The split into yin and yang created movement. With yin and yang, there are two complementary and opposing forces that dynamically flux into one another. They create the dance of life. All things move and exist through this dance, as it is the very agent of the life force itself. Now, we have further differentiated into the five elements, which give life its flavor and richness. The table below shows a basic impression of these elements, the broad range of their correspondence with the world, and how they map our experience of nature and ourselves.

We will use many of these Taoist beliefs when we discuss how to troubleshoot problems with this framework and, more important, how to correct energetic imbalances using this system.

The five elements provide us with a greater degree of distinction on where any given thing, subject, or thought will be within its balance point of yin and yang. They show where the flow of energy is and how it is expressing at any given time, as shown in figures 4 and 5.

FIRE

Color: Red
Season: Summer
Internal Organs: Heart, small intestine
Direction: South
Emotion: Joy
Stage of Development: Growth
Virtues: Righteousness
Planets: Mars
Sense Organ: Tongue
Tissues: Vessels
Sound: Laughing

EARTH

Color: Yellow
Season: None
Internal Organs: Stomach, spleen
Direction: Center
Emotion: Pensiveness
Stage of Development: Transformation
Virtues: Faith
Planets: Saturn
Sense Organ: Mouth
Tissues: Muscles
Sound: Singing

METAL

Color: White
Season: Fall
Internal Organs: Lungs, large intestine
Direction: West
Emotion: Sadness
Stage of Development: Harvest
Virtues: Prosperity
Planets: Venus
Sense Organ: Nose
Tissues: Skins
Sound: Crying

WATER

Color: Blue, black
Season: Winter
Internal Organs: Kidneys, bladder
Direction: North
Emotion: Fear
Stage of Development: Storage
Virtues: Courage
Planets: Mercury
Sense Organ: Ears
Tissues: Bones
Sound: Groaning

WOOD

Color: Green
Season: Spring
Internal Organs: Liver, gallbladder
Direction: East
Emotion: Anger
Stage of Development: Birth
Virtues: Benevolence
Planets: Jupiter
Sense Organ: Eyes
Tissues: Sinew, tendons
Sound: Shouting

In the qi gong system, it is recommended that we stand facing the south for our practice. This explains why we diagrammatically place the fire element on top and water below. Assuming we are standing in the Earth position, facing south would put fire in front of us, with metal to our right, water behind, and wood to our left.

Figure 5. The Five Elements with Yin and Yang Movement

This particular representation shows the essential alignment of the elements but does not show the movement of these energies. When we introduce the principles of yin and yang to the equation, there is movement (through polarity), and we begin to see the cycles of nature manifest. We then have the four seasons.

The earth element represents the center around which all of the other elements revolve, and the seasonal elemental correspondences are closely tied to the increase and decline of energy in the annual cycle. The yang energy rises out of the winter, comes to a balance point in the spring, and is at its full expression in the summer before it begins to decline back through the fall and eventually to the cold, quiet stillness of winter. Similarly, the yin energy picks up at the summer solstice and gains momentum through the fall. It is at its height in the winter and then slowly fades through the spring as the yang energy comes up. This entire system is simply a circular spectral representation of the movement of yin and yang in nature. It is all the same phenomena. It has to be—there’s only one reality.

Now, this Taoism system is remarkably similar to many American Indian spiritual and medicinal traditions; in fact, with proper understanding, they can be used interchangeably. Nature is nature—period. Different cultures have evolved to understand and interpret its movement in a slightly different way, but we all understand what winter is, no matter where we are from. Of course, there is less fluctuation of these seasons at the equator (where the forces of yin and yang are more balanced), and there is more abrupt change at the poles.

Figure 6. The Five Elements Overlaid on the Human Body

Figures 4 and 5 give us a relatively simple framework for understanding the five elements and their interactions with each other. They give us a reference point for our energetic practice, and they ground the entire system into something we can all relate to—nature. Now, there is another way to illustrate these correspondences that is quite useful in the realm of medicine and psychology. As shown in figure 6, we can overlay this elemental system on the human body, which the Taoists consider to be a microcosm of the entire universe, to show how these energies interact when it comes to humans.

The elements relate to each other in different ways. The generating cycle, illustrated in figure 7, comes from the Taoism philosophy that the energy of nature flows through a particular sequence in which each element is generated by another. Wood catches fire or decomposes and turns to earth, which over time settles to metal (minerals), which then returns to water (aquifer or rivers) and finally nourishes wood (plants and biomass) all over again. In this system, we call wood the “child” of water, and simultaneously, wood is the “mother” of fire.

Figure 7. The Generating or Nourishing Cycle

This system allows us to understand the proper sequence of our current situation and how that relates to the overall cycle of things. For example, say we are having digestive problems (earth) due to a weak system. We can obviously help bring energy to the earth element, which is the primary afflicted element, but we can also put energy “upstream” into the fire element, which will then naturally flow into the earth element. Along these same lines, maybe the metal element is what is really weak, and it’s draining energy out of the earth element “downstream.” In this case, we address the issue with the metal element, and the earth energy should fill back up naturally.

Teachings of Taoism highlight that in a cycle of life, a disharmony along any point in the circle has repercussions throughout the entire system. This applies to our mind, our body, our family, and our planet. The point is that everything applies to everything in the cycle of the elements, which is why we must constantly strive to maintain balance and harmony in everything we do.

The generating cycle (also called the nourishing cycle) helps us to see the correct flow of energy through the five elements and to understand how that energy pertains to us and our circumstances. This brings us back to the concept of basic awareness in all things. To properly perceive what’s going on around us, we need to look at the bigger picture and see the larger cycles of energetic movement that all things are related to. Only with this sort of bird’s-eye view can we understand the nature of our circumstances and help bring harmony to energetic cycles that are oftentimes larger than us.

Using the same basic framework and Taoist beliefs about the elements, there is one more relationship among the five elements that is important to understand, and that is the controlling cycle. This cycle, shown in figure 8, shows the “checking” or controlling functions of the elements and how they relate to each other.

In this sequence, wood controls earth, which in turn controls water, and so forth. This means that we can use a checking element to control another element that has excessive energy and is out of balance. For example, someone who is very stressed out has an overactive wood element (liver or gallbladder), which can be controlled by the metal element (lungs and large intestine). So, introducing energy into the metal organs can help control the overactive wood. This also works pathologically. Because the overactive wood element is out of control, it can easily exert a negative controlling influence on the earth element (stomach and spleen). We see this all too often in the modern world, where people who are chronically stressed out end up having digestive problems. In chronic conditions, in fact, the metal element gets drained because it’s constantly trying to exert control over the overactive wood element. Because of this, we also see a decline in the metal element, which oftentimes manifests as colds and flus (lungs) or constipation or diarrhea (large intestines).

Figure 8. The Controlling Cycle

According to the teachings of Taoism, this controlling cycle is also very helpful in understanding the interplay of emotions and our mental health. For example, if a person is overcome by the emotion of fear (water element), then that element is over-controlling the fire element (joy) and draining that system as well. We can bring in some earth energy (faith is the positive virtue) to pacify the fear and breathe energy into the corresponding organs to see a radical change in that person. That is the basis of Taoist magic. The only way to learn this and to get it right is to assume that this mystery “person” is you. All healing must originate from within. As the grand master of my tradition often tells us: “First help yourself, then help the people.” Much of our internal nei gong (or inner alchemy) involves learning how to harmonize these elemental energies within ourselves and to really use our body and mind as the workshop to figure it out and get it right. Once we learn this, helping another person will be the natural extension of this skill. True, there is no separation, but most people will take that “abstract” notion and run with it. They will try to save the world without addressing their own energy first. In my experience, this is where most seekers in our modern culture fail. The central tenet of Taoist alchemy is to turn the light of awareness inward and to explore the universe within. From this infinity within, we are then able to unlock all the secrets of the outer world and understand our true nature. From within, we find heaven.

The Taoist way is one of peace, harmony, and honesty. It entails being aware of the cycles and currents of nature and living by those precepts. It demands that we bring the balance within ourselves to everything we encounter and to act spontaneously out of the living, breathing moment. This serves as the basic framework for our understanding of Taoism and the Tao philosophy.

Excerpted with permission from Inner Alchemy: The Urban Monk’s Guide to Happiness, Health, and Vitality by Pedram Shojai. Sounds True, January 2019. Reprinted with permission.

About The Author

Pedram Shojai, OMD, is the New York Times bestselling author behind The Urban Monk academy, mastermind program, podcast, and book. He is former Taoist monk, a Qi Gong master who has studied Kung Fu and Tai Chi for decades, and an accomplished physician of Chinese medicine. Pedram lectures and conducts seminars and retreats around the world on health and wellness within the context of modern life’s challenges. He lives in Southern California with his family. Learn more at theurbanmonk.com.

photo: andrew ridley

1. Cordyceps

[cȯr-di-səps] / Ophiocordyceps sinensis Use Cordyceps to:

+ Perform better (both athletically and in the bedroom)

+ Increase energy

+ Alleviate asthma or bronchitis

Cordyceps is a medicinal mushroom valued primarily for its extraordinary ability to increase energy and reduce fatigue. It’s been a centerpiece of traditional Chinese medicine for more than 1,300 years, with the first known record of its use dating back to the Tang Dynasty in AD 620. If historical lore is to be trusted, yak herders in the Himalayas of ancient Tibet and Nepal first noticed the effects of cordyceps when their animals became significantly more frolicky and frisky after grazing in areas where it grew. What those yaks were grazing on is another interesting tidbit: cordyceps’s stoma and fruiting body grow out of the mummified carcasses of insect larvae, usually caterpillars—hence its English nickname, the “caterpillar mushroom.” In the wild, cordyceps spores inhabit and kill their insect host, stealing all its nutrients to survive. While some strains of cordyceps now grow in other locations (the mountainous regions of Peru, for example), the original celebrated strain of cordyceps grows only on the Himalayan Plateau, at roughly 12,000 feet above sea level, so harvesting them from the wild is both extremely challenging and prohibitively expensive. This in part explains why cordyceps was so valuable in ancient China as one of the best medicinal mushrooms—it was as rare as it was effective. Today, a Himalayan harvester hopes to find about ten small specimens per day. These treasures may then appear on the shelves of a local apothecary and sell for $500 to $1,300 an ounce—wild cordyceps can cost as much as $20,000 a pound!—meaning that a good harvest year can make a huge difference in the life of the field worker. In fact, some experts estimate that the harvesting of wild cordyceps represents up to 90% of the cash income in the areas of Tibet where cordyceps grows, and about 40% of all rural area cash income in Tibet. It’s a huge business, albeit not a very sustainable one. But don’t worry—there’s cordyceps that have been cultivated in a vegan-friendly way through liquid fermentation (the mycelium is strained and dual extracted to create a mushroom extract that is as potent as the wild variety). Considered as one of the most popular healing mushrooms, cordyceps is most notable for its energizing effects, due to its beta-glucans. Those present in cordyceps, like all other beta-glucans, deliver oxygen to the body on a cellular level, which not only decreases the occurrence of disease but also increases energy and stamina. Cordyceps also significantly boosts adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels in the body. ATP is the body’s main energy supply source and is required for all cellular processes. Cells need energy to activate our muscles and keep us moving. Think of ATP acting on our bodies the way batteries do in a flashlight. When our ATP levels dip, our energy levels take a dive as well. When ATP is recharged, by cordyceps, for example, we shine bright again, moving with ease and alacrity. Because it is so effective at increasing energy and decreasing fatigue, cordyceps is a popular and effective mushroom supplement for the elderly who are seeking to counteract the lethargy that often accompanies aging and for athletes who are looking to perform at peak levels. Here’s a notable example. Cordyceps first came under the spotlight of mainstream culture in 1993 when China’s Olympic women’s track-and-field team broke three world records in a single week. The athletes were tested for banned substances and none were detected. Ma Junren, the team’s legendary coach, eventually disclosed that the secret to the team’s success was a “secret elixir made from the Cordyceps sinensis mushroom.” Those results are probably a bit more extreme than what you and I will experience, but the fact is that everyone can benefit from using cordyceps as a general rejuvenator, particularly when your body is recovering from illness. Because of cordyceps’s unique ability to boost oxygen flow and increase ATP, it can also have a tremendous impact on respiratory issues, such as asthma or bronchitis. I had a friend who had suffered from asthma since he was a young boy, but as an adult, he started using cordyceps, taking 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams in capsule form daily. After about a month of consistent use, he no longer needed his inhaler or prescription asthma medications. Cordyceps’s anti-inflammatory properties mean that it can help with blood flow, overall heart health, and lowering cholesterol. Its beta-glucans and another chemical compound called cordysepic acid have been known to shrink tumors and directly stimulate lymphocyte production, to kill foreign bodies in the immune system. Among the many other benefits of this medicinal mushroom, there’s the interesting fact that cordyceps has been known to help with libido. This perk is attributed to both the cordysepic acid as well as deoxyadenosine, another chemical acid. Both help with erectile dysfunction by boosting testosterone levels and increasing blood flow by getting things moving in all the right places. Just as it affected those frisky animals in the Himalayas, cordyceps can help out humans in the bedroom. No wonder it’s earned the rather unimaginative, yet fitting, nickname “cordysex.” If you happen to be in the Himalayas during a harvest period, you’ll recognize cordyceps by the dark brown “tail” (fruiting body) growing out of the carcasses of dead caterpillars. And if you are there for such an event, be careful, since there is a lot of competition for this highly valued fungi; fights over foraging rights can get ugly.

The Insane Power of Fungi

Cordyceps is part of the Ascomycetes fungus family, which also includes truffles and morels; Penicillium, the mold that naturally produces penicillin; and ergot fungus, the source of the most potent hallucinogen in the world, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). The fact that members of the same family can be used in such different manners—as prized culinary mushrooms, or as one of the most prevalent and prescribed antibiotics in the history of Western medicine, or as a powerful mood-altering illegal substance—perfectly illustrates the incredible dichotomy of the fungi kingdom. Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Four Sigmatic Organic Cordyceps Mushroom Elixir Along with many other high-quality mushroom supplements, Four Sigmatic offers the legendary energy- and stamina-boosting cordyceps mushroom in convenient packets for a quick pick me up on the go or at the beginning of your day. Their cordyceps elixir is made by extracting the fruiting bodies of the mushroom. Organic, non-GMO, and free from fillers and carriers, their product is suitable for vegans and is not harvested from caterpillars.

2. Shiitake

[shē-təh-kē] / Lentinula edodes Use Shiitake to:

+ Have clear, glowing skin

+ Support your liver

+ Lower cholesterol

Shiitake, which is one of the most widely cultivated mushrooms in the world, second only to the button mushroom, makes it the most easily accessible medicinal mushroom in the list. A veritable culinary delicacy featured in Asian cooking for centuries, shiitake has become increasingly popular in American cooking over the past decade. Delicious when used fresh, dried shiitake is also a favorite among chefs and home cooks who are seeking a more concentrated flavor. For strictly medicinal purposes, shiitake can be taken as a supplement in capsule form or as an extract. Each preparation will deliver a host of benefits and how you decide to consume it will vary depending on your particular needs. Medicinal use of shiitake dates back at least as far as AD 100 in China, when it was used to treat and prevent upper respiratory diseases, boost circulation, increase energy, decrease fatigue, and as a general chi-enhancing elixir. It comes as little surprise that it was also used to combat and prevent signs of aging. Today, we know shiitake to be a truly rare superfood, and one of the best medicinal mushrooms there is, as it contains seven of the nine essential amino acids (amino acids are the building blocks of proteins that must be consumed from outside sources, as the human body does not produce them). Shiitake also contains a host of essential enzymes (like amylase and cellulase, both of which aid in digestion), is a good source of vital minerals (including magnesium and potassium, which have antioxidant properties), and essential vitamins (such as B and D). Like other healing mushrooms, Shiitake’s benefits include its immunomodulating abilities and its impact on the cardiovascular system. Regarding the immune system, one of the polysaccharides in shiitakes is lentinan, which stimulates and activates the different varieties of white blood cells that fight off infections. Lentinan has been especially powerful in combatting the effects of HIV and liver disease, making it an effective treatment for any sort of bodily detoxification. Perhaps surprisingly, this can even include improved skin appearance. People don’t often connect chronic acne or persistent breakouts with what’s going on with our internal organs, but our skin is really a mirror for whatever is happening in our liver. A fully functioning liver often equates to a flawless face. Shiitake mushroom extract can also have tremendous effects on the cardiovascular system, as it can prevent substances from binding to the linings of blood vessels. For example, eritadenine, one of shiitake’s bioactive compounds, has repeatedly shown to help lower cholesterol by inhibiting its absorption in the bloodstream. It does this in part by suppressing the accumulation of lipids in the liver tissue and helping to eliminate cholesterol through the blood vessels, rather than allowing fatty acids to build up. Along with numerous anti-inflammatory and antiviral capacities, shiitake’s ability to improve blood circulation could mean much for those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. To that end, the benefits of medicinal mushrooms are continuing to be more seriously studied. You can identify shiitake by its medium-size, umbrella-shaped brown cap. The edges of the cap roll inward and the underside and stem of the mushroom are white. In the wild, shiitake grows on hardwood trees primarily in the mountainous regions of China, Japan, Indonesia, and Taiwan. Commercially, shiitake is commonly grown in sawdust and grain (logs are more expensive, heavier, and can be harder to obtain). Log-grown shiitake is more potent than sawdust-grown, so this is another reason to do your research when sourcing mushrooms. If your vendor does not cite where their shiitake grew, it was most likely grown in sawdust or grain.

Shiitake in Action

A powerful story showcasing shiitake’s healing properties involves a young teenage celebrity I know who was quietly suffering from a particularly pervasive and tenacious case of acne. Though he was using aggressive treatments, his skin was increasingly becoming a source of stress on his professional life as a public figure. The young man started taking 1,500 milligrams of shiitake extract, stopped taking his prescription, and in about a month his skin had cleared considerably, improving until the acne was completely gone.

Fun Fact

Many chefs prefer to use sun-dried shiitake, as the drying enhances the mushroom’s flavor. As an added bonus, the sun’s ultraviolet rays convert ergosterol (a derivative of a triterpene sterol found in shiitake and other fungi) into vitamin D2. With up to a hundredfold increase in vitamin D, sun-dried shiitakes can be a significant dietary source of your requirement of the vitamin. Because of the media hype a few years ago surrounding widespread vitamin D deficiencies in the United States, many companies capitalized on the money-making potential, and the vitamin D supplement market was quickly saturated. Be wary of these supplements, as many of them are questionable. Shiitake, on the other hand, directly delivers pure vitamin D. Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Host Defense Organic Shiitake Mushroom Extract Host Defense Shiitake Extract uses certified organic mushroom mycelium that is triple extracted for maximum potency and a full spectrum of constituents: polysaccharides (beta glucans, arabinoxylan, glucose, xylose, galactose and mannose), glycoproteins, ergosterols, triterpenoids and other myco-nutrients, which are essential for supporting immunity.

3. Maitake

[mā-tək-ē] / Grifola frondosa Use Maitake to:

+ Manage weight naturally

+ Stabilize blood sugar

+ Improve digestion

Another name that’s a must-have in our medicinal mushrooms list is maitake. In Japanese, maitake means “dancing mushroom,” a name that historical lore suggests was derived from the Samurai. Foraging for these precious mushrooms often involved long and strenuous escapades deep in the mountains and forests of Japan, and it is believed that the Samurai danced for joy upon discovering these edible treasures. Other names by which you might recognize this superfood include “sheep’s head” and “ram’s head.” Like many of other top medicinal mushrooms, maitake has powerful immunomodulating properties, particularly due to its beta-glucan polysaccharides. What separates maitake from other medicinal mushrooms is its SX-fraction, a water-soluble compound so named because of its ability to counteract the effects of Syndrome X. Also known as metabolic syndrome, Syndrome X is not one disease, per se, but rather refers to a group of risk factors, including high blood sugar, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and excess fat, that feed on one another to negatively impact your health and wellness. The SX-fraction compound, which is one of the many exemplary medicinal mushroom benefits, has the potential to reduce blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and body weight, so it can potentially work wonders on those suffering from diabetes or obesity. SX-fraction also works as an adaptogen, meaning it will not only benefit those who are hyperglycemic but can also stabilize blood sugar levels in those who are hypoglycemic. As with many health issues, solving the root of the problem often creates a positive domino effect on overall health and wellness. In the case of diabetes, if blood sugar is regulated and insulin resistance eliminated, it’s possible that kidney and renal functions, which often deteriorate as a result of diabetes, could be stabilized and any existing damage potentially reversed. Crazy stuff, isn’t it? You can identify maitake by its cluster-like form that resembles the feathers of a fluffed chicken—hence the popular name for the mushroom in the United States, “hen-of-the-woods.” Known as one of the best healing mushrooms today, maitake primarily grows at the base of oak or elm trees in the northeastern parts of Japan and North America. Maitake can be eaten fresh or dried and is a popular culinary mushroom used by chefs the world over. It’s also often taken in powder form after an extraction process.

Maitake in Action

A woman I worked with years ago suffered from intestinal candidiasis (a yeast-like bad fungus that had accumulated in her GI tract due to a bacterial imbalance in her body). Because candida is a strain of yeast, she was sure she could not eat mushrooms for fear of literally feeding the problem. However, it’s a myth that those suffering from candida cannot eat mushrooms—in fact, many medicinal mushrooms like maitake and reishi have antifungal properties that work to eliminate bad fungi such as candida. Once she realized that mushrooms could actually help her, she started taking 3,000 milligrams of maitake extract daily, and within a few months, her candida had disappeared completely and her digestive system was back to normal.

Fun Fact

If you’re searching for flavor, look no further than maitake. Aside from being one of the most highly recommended medical mushrooms, it also contains l-glutamate, the amino acid responsible for that much-touted and oft-elusive “umami” taste. Known as the “fifth flavor,” you can experience umami by eating bacon, Parmesan cheese, and foods containing the artificial flavor-enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG). None of these options are nearly as healthy as maitake, though, so look to mushrooms for your next culinary high. Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Host Defense Organic Maitake Mushroom Capsules Host Defense Maitake uses activated, optimally dried, certified organic mushroom mycelium and fruit bodies, with a full spectrum of constituents: >55% (550mg/serving) polysaccharides, .5% (5mg/serving) fatty acids, and an array of extracellular constituents, including enzymes, antioxidants, and other myco-nutrients, essential for supporting natural immunity.

4. Turkey Tail

Coriolus versicolor or Trametes versicolor Use Turkey Tail to:

+ Treat the common cold and flu

+ Aid digestion

+ Help heal infections

Considered as one of the best medicinal mushrooms there is, turkey tail earned its name due to the mushroom’s fan shape, which resembles the tail end of fall’s favorite bird. Its Latin name means “of several colors,” which is also fitting as this mushroom can be identified by the concentric circles of varying colors that appear on its fruiting body. A pervasive grower, turkey tail is the easiest to forage of all the medicinal mushrooms simply because of its ubiquity—you can find it almost anywhere, growing on dead or fallen hardwood trees, stumps, or branches. This quality may have been what led to its use in traditional Chinese medicine—it has been said that ancient Taoists were astonished by how easily this colorful mushroom grew on pine, which was a notoriously antifungal tree. They concluded that a mushroom of such tenacity and strength must contain incredible medicinal properties. And so it does. Like many other medicinal mushrooms, turkey tail mushroom extract is full of polysaccharides and triterpenes that give it its immunomodulating properties, providing overall immune support and regulation to put you on the path to your healthiest self. What sets turkey tail apart from the rest of the medicinal mushrooms are two of its unique beta-glucans: polysaccharide krestin (PSK) and polysaccharide peptide (PSP). PSK has received national media attention for its anticancer properties, which sparked a significant link between medicinal mushrooms and cancer. In Western medicine, the goal of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation is to kill the cancer cells, but a serious consequence of these aggressive treatments is that the immune system is often left compromised—you cannot kill all the bad cells without also taking out many of the good. What is amazing about the PSK and PSP in turkey tail is that they have the ability to regenerate white blood cells (which are necessary to ward off infection) and stimulate the activity and creation of T-cells, macrophages, and natural killer (NK) cells, enabling the immune system to once again ward off and destroy pathogens. As of this printing, PSK has been more thoroughly studied than PSP, particularly in Japan, where, as early as the 1980s, the government allowed PSK to be used to treat several types of cancer. Today, it is the best-selling anticancer drug on the Japanese market and is used in combination with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Though PSP is a newer discovery, research suggests that it’s significantly more powerful than PSK, which is an exciting notion for developing future cancer treatments. Turkey tail has also proven successful in stimulating the regeneration of bone marrow damaged by cancer treatments and has also been effective in treating human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis C. You can identify turkey tail by its fanlike shape; it often grows in tiered clusters on dead or fallen hardwood trees. The multicolored concentric bands are usually in shades of brown, black, and deep red, but can be blue and green as well. Unlike other medicinal mushrooms, turkey tail has a thick, leathery feel; is stemless; and has small pores on its underside instead of gills like on many other mushrooms.

Turkey Tail in Action

What drove turkey tail’s seriously healing potential home for me was a TED Talk given by world-renowned mycologist Paul Stamets, in which he brought turkey tail to the attention of the masses by sharing a personal tale involving his mother, medicinal mushrooms, and cancer. At age eighty-four, she had been diagnosed with the second most aggressive case of stage 4 breast cancer a doctor at the Swedish Cancer Institute in Seattle, Washington had seen in more than twenty years of practice. The doctor suggested she try turkey tail in conjunction with her treatment, as it was being clinically tried at the time (ironically, Stamets was supplying the turkey tail to the medical study). His mother started taking eight capsules of turkey tail each day and during this 2011 TED Talk, just two years after his mother was diagnosed and given mere months to live, Mrs. Stamets came to the stage, weeping with her son as they announced that she was completely cancer-free.

Fun Fact

Foraging 101 is all about turkey tail, because if there is one mushroom you can find on your lunch break, it’s this one. Once you find it, you’ll start seeing it everywhere—seriously. Note that turkey tail is not edible in its natural form, so don’t immediately try to gobble up your woodsy finds. The most common ways to consume it are in powdered and liquid extract forms. Conscious Lifestyle Recommends: Host Defense Organic Turkey Tail Mushroom Capsules Host Defense’s turkey tail uses activated freeze-dried, certified organic mycelium, with a full spectrum of constituents. It is sustainably harvested and carefully cultured on the Fungi Perfecti farm using the Stamets P Value system for quality assurance. This ensures the provenance and genetics of their turkey tail mushroom supplements for maximum potency and health benefits.

A Note on Side Effects and Dosages

We recommend that the use of medicinal mushrooms be strictly monitored for those on antibiotics, anticoagulants, certain diabetes drugs, and intravenous glucose. Since medicinal mushrooms are potent whole foods and support the body in blood circulation and blood sugar control problems, using them alongside particular drugs intended for the same purposes may cause unexpected results, or an unwanted “doubling up” on treatment. For these conditions, healing mushrooms may still be very beneficial; however, it is important to discuss all usage of medicinal mushrooms with your doctor and to start slowly and incrementally increase your dosage. Also, while these mushrooms are generally regarded as safe by health care professionals, if you are pregnant or regularly taking prescription medication(s), it is essential that you consult your doctor before consuming them, specifically mushroom supplements. Though overdosing should not be an issue with either commercially available products or mushrooms used in a culinary capacity, it is still important to note that none of the information presented here is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment of any kind. As with any supplement or natural medicine, it is best to start slowly and work your way up to higher dosages to let your body adjust. This article is excerpted from Healing Mushrooms: A Practical and Culinary Guide to Using Mushrooms for Whole Body Health by Tero Isokauppila.

About The Author Tero Isokauppila is the president and founder of Four Sigmatic—a natural superfoods company that produces an impressive range of responsibly sourced mushroom powder supplements. He holds a degree in both chemistry and plant-based nutrition from Cornell University and was awarded a Finnish innovation award for discovering that the Japanese matsutake mushroom also grows in Finland. He grew up in Finland on his family’s centuries-old farm, regularly foraging for mushrooms. He currently lives in California, where he is the owner and founder of The Shroom Room in Venice. Learn more at foursigmatic.com

Recommended Product Disclaimer

The products recommended in this article may have different formulations than the products used in the studies and research cited in this article. As such, they may have different effects than have been reported by these studies. No claim is made or implied whatsoever as to the effects of any recommended products or their effects on health. The statements made in this article have not been evaluated by the FDA. Any products recommended are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.

photo: hanna postova

Most people know that CBD does wondrous things for your health—but did you know that it also does equally wondrous things for sexual pleasure? CBD (also known as cannabidiol) has gained widespread popularity in recent years due to incredible research that has shown it to be particularly effective for reducing anxiety, pain and inflammation and inducing deep relaxation quite quickly. While most people use CBD internally, the more clever and sensual among us discovered that if you apply it topically on sensitive areas below the belt, those same medicinal effects start to work in a whole new way—increasing blood flow, relaxation and sensation in your most sensitive areas, which translates to a massive increase in pleasure. With this in mind, the pleasure connoisseurs over at Foria Wellness created an all-natural, herbalist-formulated arousal oil and lubricant that’s infused with CBD and blended with aphrodisiac herbs. It’s called AWAKEN, and let me tell you, it’s f*cking incredible.

The Orgasmic Effects of CBD and Sensual Herbs

I was first introduced to AWAKEN from Foria Wellness at Pura Luna Women’s Apothecary, a local women’s healthcare boutique in Santa Barbara. I came into the store that day because I was fresh out of the CBD that I typically order online. While I was browsing the CBD products, I picked up AWAKEN, and the woman behind the counter commented, “Oh, that’s a bestseller,” with a distinct and somewhat sensual intonation in her voice. I knew in that moment that I had to try it for myself to see what all the hype was about. I also wanted to learn more about AWAKEN and its effects, so I did some research and spoke with herbalist Ashley (Ashe) Kelly-Brown, the owner of Pura Luna Women’s Apothecary. The first thing I found was that a lot of women were raving about how well it increases their arousal and enhances pleasure and orgasm. When I asked Ashe about this, she explained, “The majority of the plants that are inside of the product (which are ginger, cardamom, kava root, peppermint oil, vanilla, and cacao) all increase blood circulation and blood flow, so they are really great for tight muscles and really great for relaxing, enhancing, and creating more stimulation and blood flow in those areas.” As for the CBD, she says that it “makes things a little more sensory and helps reduce inflammation and any pain that may be associated with penetration.” In fact, many women, Ashe’s clients included, use AWAKEN for these reasons and find that it makes sex and pleasure a lot more comfortable and enjoyable. While there hasn’t been much research regarding the use of CBD during sex, research has shown that there’s a direct link between the endocannabinoid system and hormones, fertility, and reproduction. Similarly, Ashe notes that cacao, which is used in AWAKEN’S all-natural and plant-based formulation, “releases endorphins and dopamine in the brain, therefore creating a more relaxed experience.” Furthermore, medical texts dating back thousands of years record the use of cannabis and hemp for a wide variety of uses relating to gynecology and women’s health and well-being.

The Awaken Experience

In light of all of this information, I was excited to find out what my own experience with AWAKEN would be like. Here’s what I can share… Within a few minutes, the first thing I noticed was a pleasant, warming sensation, which had the effect of making me more aware of my state of arousal. Because the instructions said that the oil could take up to 15 minutes to reach its full effect, I wasn’t exactly expecting what came next… As I was casually scrolling through Spotify for a tender playlist to enjoy, I experienced a powerful orgasm without any other touch beyond the application of the lubricant itself. Although I have the capacity to orgasm fairly easily when intimate with my partner or on my own, this was a surprising first. You see, I wasn’t doing much of anything other than noticing the sensations that were arising and taking note of them for the purposes of this review. I can honestly say that reaching orgasm has never been easier and can confidently corroborate the anecdotal evidence from other women who have said the same. Here are some other things I’ve noticed from using AWAKEN from Foria Wellness on a regular basis… In addition to longer orgasms that are easier to reach, my experiences with AWAKEN are characterized by increased arousal and increased natural lubrication, which many other women also experience. My favorite, however, is the heightened experience of sensation where even the slightest touch is extremely amplified as a result of this herbal magic and science. Overall, I’ve found using AWAKEN to bring about a really deep and connected experience of intimacy and self-pleasure where I’m highly in tune with myself and my body in a way that I haven’t known before. I feel much more mindful and aware of the sensations in my body and the presence of my partner, resulting in a deeper, more lasting, and heightened experience of pleasure. To try AWAKEN from Foria Wellness for yourself, use code PLEASURE15 for 15% off of all Foria products. foriawellness.com Please note: As with all oil-based lubricants, AWAKEN is not safe for use with latex. This article is a sponsored post written in collaboration with Foria Wellness, whose products and ethos comply with Conscious Lifestyle Magazine’s stringent quality and integrity guidelines.

About The Author Amanda Smith is a journalist and writer who focuses on natural approaches to women’s health issues and well-being. She’s a strong advocate for organic and nature-based therapies for improving the quality of life for women worldwide.