Episode 36: Personal and Collective Healing in Chinese Medicine and Deep Ecology (with Leilani Wong Navar and guest interviewer Lydia Violet Harutoonian)

Our bodies are just like the rest of the living world: coursing with healing, life-affirming intelligence and capacity; and suffering the effects of being out of balance. The body is one setting for what Joanna Macy called “the three stories of our time”: Business as Usual, the Great Unraveling, and the Great Turning. We’ve explored…

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A Point for Easy, Complete Bowel Movements: Landscape of Your Body #17

A self-acupressure point for when bowel movements aren’t as easy, as complete, or happening as often as they should (aka… constipation) 👉🏼 Self-massage here, on both legs, for 1-2 minutes every day, can be a powerful complement to whatever food choices, supplements, acupuncture, or other gut-healing practices you’re using. This point is called Shang Ju…

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A Point for Eye Relief: Landscape of Your Body #16

For people dealing with eye symptoms from allergies, here’s a place to find relief, at the next stop on the Landscape of Your Body: Bladder 2 (aka “Zan Zhu,” aka “Bamboo Gathering”). Self-massage with acupressure here is super helpful for people dealing with eye symptoms like itchy, watery eyes due to allergies, other eye health…

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A Point for Soothing the Heart: Landscape of Your Body #15

https://leilaninavar.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Heart-7-25.mp4 On the landscape of your body, where the river of your Heart Channel passes through your wrist, you can find Shen Men (aka Spirit Gate, aka Heart 7). This is a soothing point to hold, or press and release, for people dealing with anxiety, trouble falling asleep, or heart palpitations. Make loving contact, take…

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Healing Sunday / Healing Season

I had a dreamy Sunday morning a few days ago: I wrote down my dreams, practiced qigong and back rehab exercises, played guitar and sang myself some songs, breathed in gratitude with the green leaves around me – all before I emerged from my room. Then I had a yummy breakfast, followed by a little…

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Self-Acupressure for Dry Eyes (my new routine)

Ok, now that I’ve admitted I have a problem… Here are the 6 points I’m massaging on myself daily for “severe, severe, severe dry eyes” (my eye doctor’s words). I’ve seen acupuncture, acupressure, and herbs help so many patients with their eye health and vision – so I have high hopes for what will happen…

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Chewing One Bite of Food, Thoughts, or News at a Time

Physical, mental, emotional – all are working with the same qi. The Earth network of organs and channels processes information AND food. Overthinking or worrying can be like chewing, and chewing, and chewing on the same bite, without swallowing it. (✋🏼 I’m familiar with this one…) I share a couple of suggestions in this video…

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A Point for Opening the Chest and Calming the Stomach: Landscape of Your Body #14

https://leilaninavar.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Kidney-27.mp4 Every time I press this point, I find myself drawing in a deep, slow breath. It’s tender, but it feels so good. Kidney 27 (a.k.a. Shu Fu, or “Shu Palace”) is known to “unbind the chest,” for people who are dealing with lung tightness, coughing, or phlegm. That unbinding action also sometimes helps bring…

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