Jing is our "Essential Energy" in Chinese Medicine theory. It acts as our innate and fundamental energy given to us at conception. With time, it naturally declines. It is the core energy that your acupuncturist will support if you are seeking treatment for IVF, fertility or if you have a history of recurrent miscarriage. It is also targeted by your acupuncturist if you have chronic disease or premature signs of ageing.
This blog post offers holistic tips. If you want to understood more about talking about evidence and acupuncture, read this blog post.
Excessive activities can decline our Jing
If we over-exert ourselves, do not rest enough or do not take care of ourselves, our essential energy can take a knock. A lot of stress, anxiety, high levels of physical exertion can all have an effect to our levels of Jing.
What you can do right now to help your Jing
If you feel in the right mindset to enact some change, here are some Jing-supportive things you can do:
1. Rest. Our Jing can get depleted if we are always on the go. So, if you have a busy job, build in time to wind down after work. If you are studying, make time to relax each day. If you do some exercise, make time to rest afterwards. Building in time to make resting as important as busy-ness will help to protect your Jing.
2. Look at how are you resting. What do you do when you rest? Do you watch six episodes of something on Netflix back to back? Well then, that might not be type of rest I mean. Rest can be productive, it might mean walking in nature, really listening to the birds and the sounds of the trees. It might mean doing some qi gong routines in the park (see this post for some simple qi gong routines). It might mean doing gentle yoga or meditating. It could mean walking barefoot along the beach paying attention to the sensation of the sand on your feet.
3. Increase, in moderation, your contact with salt. Our Jing has a relationship to salt. If the weather is warm, go for a swim in the sea. If it's cold, fill a bowl with warm salty water and rest your feet for a while. If you enjoy baths, add some sea salt to your bath.
4. Incorporate Jing-nourishing foods into your diet. Bone-broth is the go-to Jing-nourishing food to incorporate. Homemade is good (here is a recipe), but also buying readymade is fine (Waitrose sell a bone broth). Pescatarians can opt for a fish broth (here is a recipe), and vegans can go for a red miso soup (here is a recipe).
5. Massage the soles of your feet. Massaging the acupuncture point Kidney 1 on the sole of your foot with your thumbs will bring awareness to this area and will help to bring a little energy to the core meridians that are affected by Jing. This point should not be massaged if there is a chance you might be pregnant. Watch this short demonstration:
6. Get regular acupuncture. Your acupuncturist will not only direct their treatments to help support your Jing, they will also assess your activities to provide you with targeted lifestyle advice to help nourish your particular levels of Jing and to help build up this important energy.
What to do next
Why don't you try some of the above tips and let me know how you get on? Talk to me for advice about what will work best for you. Feel free to reach out to ask any questions you have and discuss how treatment can help you.
#selfhelp #Jing #EssentialEnergy #qigong #salt #bonebroth #rest #fertility #IVF #miscarriage #recurrent miscarriage #ageing #chronicdisease