Defining the Skin
Skin covers the entire body. It represents the final frontier, the border between the physical body and the environment. It is what defines the inside and outside of the body. A protective layer defining the vital space and in the same time a link between the inner being and the rest of the world. The skin is a mirror showing how a person really is or how he/she feels. If a person is very sensitive, the skin will be sensitive too. If gentle, the skin will be gentle too. On the contrary, if a person is hard on him/her self or with the others, the skin will too become hard and thick. If the skin becomes irritated, there must be a reason behind it, either the person is irritated with self or others.
The Skin indicates the quality of the relationship with the outside world, either other people or simply the environment. The sense of “touch” is realized through the skin, an important role on how we perceive the world around us.
Skin and how is connected with other organs
I believe the skin is an organ by itself, very similar to the lungs, because we breath through the skin too. Same as the lungs, as per TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) it is represented by the element Metal. The metal holds water same as the skin holds the body which is made 80% of water.
Internally, the spleen sustain provides the nourishment support to the skin (Earth produce Metal). In the same time, the lung is responsible for disseminating the blood and qi energy to the skin.
Both the spleen and the lung ensure the skin is constantly nourished, but of course other organs also contribute to the smoothness of the process. Along with the aging process, we tend to accumulate toxins in the body which are eliminated through different ways (urine, feces mainly) but also through the skin. When the body is malnourished (chemically but also energetically) the skin will start showing wrinkles, dryness, unusual colors, age spots and others.
In other words, the skin depends on the respiratory system as well as on the digestive system.
Sweating and detoxing
When living a careless life style, not paying attention to the food and drinks composition, when breathing a polluted air, the body accumulates more and more toxins, which end up in different parts of the body, mainly in the liver. The blood is collecting the toxins from all over the body, being cleaned by the liver (which works as a filtration system together with the gallbladder).
Regular sweating becomes an important process of maintaining your skin clean and clear.
Sauna is one of the best ways to induce a heavy body sweating. As not everyone may have access to a sauna facility, exercising at a consistent pace may create sweating. Dress up a little more and sweat. It is a gift for your skin, as well for your overall wellbeing.
Accepting the solar energy
Every living being on Earth needs Sun energy to survive and evolve. Have you ever watched a cat sunbathing? The cats are programmed to absorb the light and heat, in the exact same way they are programmed to eat, or hunt or clean themselves. Have you ever moved the location of an indoor plant pot? Have you noticed how long it takes for the leaves to reorient themselves towards the window through which the sun light enters? The nature follows the Sun! And yet, we have been warned by many so-called specialists to avoid exposing our skin to direct Sun light. Everyone has the power of choice, of following one or another ideology.
I am happy to suggest everyone to observe Nature. Get inspired by nature! Nature is flawless.
Let your skin be touched by the Sun rays. The best time energy is at the sunrise, because this is when the light overcomes darkness, the Yang energy takes over from Yin energy. Practice moderation, do not let your skin get over burnt.
I know that everyone thinks that wrinkles on the face areas are the most important, but in order to have a good skin on your face, you should work on the entire body skin coverage. The following paragraphs are about different remedies which may help improving and maintaining your general skin condition. However, in case of a skin disease, I recommend to look at it based on the specific shown symptoms, only then to make a wise decision about what remedies to search for.
Foods for better skin
Food therapy provides additional natural elements to help the body to repair and regenerate itself; in other words, it supplies what our body needs as we age and thus assist the body to function as if we were younger. Common foods recorded in ancient books for “beauty”, “anti-aging” and “rejuvenation” purpose are sesame, honey, mushrooms, milk products, pumpkin seeds, lotus root, water melon, cherry, radish, cucumber, carrot, sea weeds.
Water/Tea Fasting
Fasting for one to three days is very beneficial if you want to observe your skin behavior and what you need to do further. When a water fasting is performed, the body starts consuming the stored foods in different parts of your body. The blood gets cleaned; the skin gets cleaned too. The fasting must be practiced without dehydration.
Detox your body
Part of the Ki Train method is the practicing regularly detox programs focused on different organ systems – especially liver and kidneys. During the detox programs it is visible how the toxins are leaving the body through different parts of the skin, being noticed through unusual smells.
External remedies against wrinkles
External remedies aim at promoting blood circulation and lubricating the local body regions. They can be in forms of creams, lotions, and masks as well as powder. There are many available at the specialty stores or pharmacies, but it is always preferable to find natural ingredients and prepare your own substances. Common ingredients may include for example: aloe, almond, ginseng, honey, and others. A very efficient mask may be prepared from dry almonds powder combined with honey, mixed together in a cream paste. Applied on the face till morning when you wash it with cold water. Wrinkles will be reduced, and if treatment will be repeated wrinkles will disappear.
Massage
Massage is the best friend of the skin. Same as Tai Chi and Qigong are the best treatments for joints and muscles, massaging your skin will maintain it supple and elastic. Of course, not once, but as a regular practice, more often for better results. In particular for the face area – which is the main interest for whoever is interested in looking better, there are certain points that if being stimulated frequently enough, the skin elasticity will be maintained and wrinkles will stay away.
Each of the above points must be energized and massaged for at least 3 to 5 minutes. Each mentioned points will be explained during our course.
The massage must be gently performed using techniques that we are teaching during our courses. For more information about next course, please contact us here.
Qi Gong
Qi Gong is a complex art of mastering the flow of energy and balancing out the Yin and Yang energies within the body. As mentioned earlier, Skin is a metal element together with the Lungs, and it is supported by the Spleen – Earth element. The Qi Gong routine chosen to improve the skin condition will the respiratory and digestive system flow of energy.
While this article is purely informational, I invite you to try one of the Qigong classes wither offline or soon available as a special online course.
The Qi Gong routine contains:
- A warm up routine
- Focused breathing / Qi Gong meditations practices
- A self-massage with focusing on unblocking meridians of: Gallbladder, Kidney, Liver, Stomach, Triple Burner, Large Intestine, Small Intestine
- Ending with Immortal breathing and standing posture
Qi Gong training deals with our thoughts. When practicing Qigong, the mind is very important. You should not be thinking of other things, but should concentrate on what you are doing. If you are working on healing your skin, pay attention to all sensations you have while you are training. Learn from your sensations and experiences. After all, you can learn almost any subject in life but applying it makes the biggest difference. Qi Gong works based on your feelings and intuition.
Human body energy system
When the human body has enough energy, the cells renew easily. There is growth, but no aging.
Aging happens when there is a deficiency of energy flow in the body. But let’s take a look briefly at the equation of energy, or how Traditional Chinese Medicine calls it: Qi. (or the Ki from Ki Train).
We take our energy from food, transforming it through digestion into the food energy. Because the food comes from Earth, we can call it Earth Qi. We also take the energy from the oxygen, through breathing, being transformed in the lungs into the so called: Air Qi. The binding agent between these two types of energies is called Jing, which is a special energy which we are blessed with since conception.
The immune system is sustained by the protective energy created with every breath we take. This energy is being used wherever needed, so if we want to stay healthy, we need to make sure we have plenty of it available – meaning a balanced wellbeing life style.
Aging vs Immortality
Aging is synonym with transformation. Living cells evolve, they regenerate and eventually they end up dying. Science found few exceptions of living organisms that are able to manage to endlessly regenerate to escape the final destination: death. So far, we are aware of a species of jellyfish called TurritopsisDohrniias well as another once called Hydra. Both of them have the special ability to renew their cells without having do die. Until science found these exceptions, there was no doubt that the concept of immortality cannot be real.
History recorded famous figures pursuing immortality, but none of them known to have succeeded. Gilgamesh (King of Uruk – 26 BC), Qin Shi Huang(the First Emperor of China who reigned during 259 BC–210 BC), Alexander the Great (333-327 BC) are recorded as famous people failing the quest of achieving to become immortals.
I would like to end this article with an introspective though:
“Maybe if we individually focus on health, wellbeing and a happy balanced life may have as a by product effect a prolonged longevity and why not, even immortality.”