It may seem tempting, upon discovering something that works for us, to become quite overzealous in trying to convey its importance to others. Examples: a) You go on a raw foods diet, thus, everyone would benefit from eating only raw foods, year-round. b) You are cured of cancer by going macrobiotic, thus all cancer can be cured this way. c) You discover an inner peace when sitting in meditation, thus everyone ought to be doing it. You get the idea – possibilities abound.
If the study of Chinese medicine has taught me anything, and I’ve only made very cursory inroads into this 3-5,000 year old tradition, it’s that the one-approach-fits-all theory does not work in all cases. Examples: a) Just because you’re a woman going into menopause does not mean you should be treated for yin deficiency (I almost bled to the point of anemia due to this critical error, made by not one but several well-intentioned “herbalists”). b) Just because you discover the enzymes and benefits of eating raw foods does not mean they are good for you. If your digestion is poor due to a variety of reasons including aging, raw foods can actually do more harm than good, especially when eaten during cool to cold times of year, as these foods are considered “cold inducing.” c) Eating what you like when you like it, even in moderation, even when low in fat, is not necessarily healthy. (Are you glucose or lactose or gluten intolerant? Tip of the iceburg.) Many to most Asians use food as medicine. How many Westerners can say the same thing?
As for spiritual exercises, even sitting in meditation can be little better than an exercise in self flagellation and frustration if a person would be better served to get out in nature and walk while contemplating the beauty that surrounds them. Moving the body in this way can also ground us and improve our cardiovascular health in the mix. That is, if we are ambulatory to begin with.
We are all different, and what benefits some most certainly does not benefit all. If I’ve learned nothing else professionally, it’s to use a tentative approach to advising others as to what might be of benefit. We all like choices and to feel as though we are making up our own minds. If meditation helps calm the mind – and we could all use a bit more of that these days – making it a rigid practice only serves to shift stress into an area least deserving of it. If we need to stop smoking or drop weight, the last thing we want to hear is how easy it would be if only we took this pill or patch or simply changed our diet and got more exercise. Often these kinds of life challenges are symptomatic of a greater transformation at hand, and require a broader body/mind/spirit view than we are at first ready to grant them. Patience is not for the faint of heart, as I have learned the hard way in this life! And we are not a very patient people or society.
We are in fact a very different culture than those existing in the East. As with anything, let’s adapt to practice, to diet, to our ever-changing life path the way we have adapted somehow to live amidst rubbish, overcrowding and pollution. Adaptation is what we humans do best, so why not use it purposefully and to our ultimate benefit?
Now back to my salad before I miss my 1:00 meditation. Kidding.
Chris and Chuddy doing yoga
