Live Healthier, Be Happier, Do More... Naturally with Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture

For more information about these events, please click over to my Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine website

April 21: Pasadena – Free Intro to Medical Qigong – 6pm to 7pm
April 28: Pasadena – Medical Qigong Class – 6pm to 7pm
May 1: Venice – Medical Qigong for Beginners – 9am to 10am
May 1: Venice – Advanced Medical Qigong – 10am to 11am
May 3: Highland Park – Community Medical Qigong – 6am to 7am
May 5: Pasadena – Medical Qigong Class – 6pm to 7pm
May 8: Cypress Park – Chinese Medicine Cafe Hour – 5:30pm

Spring is the time of new beginnings, rebirth and renewal. It is when nature comes back to life — dormant plants and animals wake from their wintery slumber, flowers bloom, animals are born, and the landscape comes alive.

Most of us urban dwellers are used to living seasonless lives where it is difficult to observe the changing seasons. With modern technology, we can eat the same foods and do most of the same things year round. But just because we can enjoy these conveniences doesn’t necessary mean they are good for us. They ignore our body’s need to make adjustments with the seasons to maintain good health and prevent illness.

In Chinese medicine, the seasons affect us in many different ways — physically, mentally and spiritually. For your health, Spring is a great time to eat a lot of green foods. Sprouts and baby greens are especially good, as are dark green leafy vegetables. Head to your farmer’s market to see what’s in season. Spring is also the best time for green tea. The best quality green tea leaves are the first leaves of the season. In China, people pay upwards of hundreds or thousands of dollars to enjoy a cup of spring’s first batch of Dragon Well green tea grown in Zhejiang Province. A portion of the best is reserved for ranking government officials and visiting heads of state.

Spring is associated with the wood element and the Liver and Gallbladder. Wood represents progress, growth and overcoming obstacles. It is the most yang, or active, of energies. This makes it a great time to start new projects, especially major ones. Right now you’ll have more energy, focus, and drive to accomplish difficult tasks compared to, for example, the winter.

At the same time, be aware of the challenges of Spring. Spring is the emotional energy of anger, stress and frustration. When blocked or constrained, it is easier to feel these emotions or see them expressed by others. Take care of these emotions constructively by keeping yourself centered, staying balanced, maintaining good communications and being patient.

What you can do:

1. Exercise. Exercise is important to help get or keep things moving. Hike, garden and play sports. If you want to take a more holistic approach, take a medical Qigong class. There are a number of simple and effective medical Qigong exercises that help soothe the liver, reduce stress, as well as strengthen your clarity and resolve. Regardless of what you decide, doing it outdoors would be best. The sun and fresh air helps when you feel stuck. Seeing all the beauty of nature will raise your spirits and inspire you to get moving on your life’s projects.
2. Diet. Eat your greens. No, not green M&M’s or gummy bears. Sprouts, baby greens and green leafy vegetables are what I highly recommend. Your best source will be your local farmer’s market where you don’t have to second guess what’s in season.
3. Treatment. Come in for an acupuncture tune-up, herbal prescription and/or nutritional plan. Chinese Medicine is designed to harmonize your body, mind and spirit with the changing seasonal energies. Like taking in your car for a regular oil change, your body will appreciate preventative treatments to maintain good health. You’ll stay healthy, maintain high energy levels and be more productive so you can continue doing what you love. If you’re stressed out or can’t sleep, just one treatment will go a long way to help start this season on the right foot.

Henry’s Spring Tea Recipe

• Green Tea such as Dragon Well tea (Chinese: Longjing Cha)
• Chrysanthemum Flower Bulbs (Chinese: Ju Hua)
• Mint Leaves (Chinese: Bo He)
• Steep in hot water – Boiled water that is then cooled to 175 F recommended.

Comments:
If you are near Highland Park, this tea will be available at Antigua Coffee and Tea

Dragon Well green tea is high in vitamin C and amino acids. It also has one of the highest concentrations of catechins and can reduce the risk of stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes. Chrysanthemum and Mint both help the liver and the sense organ of the liver, the eyes, in different ways. The best chrysanthemum are the unopened flower bulbs. All of this can be found at one of your better stocked Chinese Herbal shops. In Los Angeles, Wing Hop Fung in China Town and Monterey park comes recommended. If you have some extra cash and appreciate good quality green teas, check out the Ming Qian Dragonwell Panan Supreme 2010 from Red Blossom Tea in San Francisco. They do mail order but it is $400 a pound. They have some more affordable grades that I also recommend. An ounce ($28) or two will last you a while and, unlike some other types of teas, Dragon Well doesn’t do well sitting on the shelf for a long time. Newer is better so don’t stock up.

Henry Jun Wah Lee, L.Ac. is a Physician of Chinese Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Medical Qigong instructor and Eastern Nutritionist. He has a private practice in Pasadena and Los Angeles, California. For more information, please contact info@HenryJunWahLee.com or visit his website, http://www.HenryJunWahLee.com

California Wildflowers in bloom

Spring has arrived in Southern California! With the recent rainfall, this should be a spectacular year for wild flowers! There’s only a small window to see the wildflowers in full bloom so plan your trips for the next few weeks.

If you’re planning a trip out to the desert this weekend, head to Anza Borrego. Blooms should be peaking this weekend with whole hill sides covered in flowers. In the high desert like Joshua Tree, it’ll take a few more weeks.

Here’s a webpage that provides up-to-date reports of wildflowers: http://www.desertusa.com/wildflo/wildupdates.html

A seasonal Chinese cooking class with

Henry Jun Wah Lee, M.S. Oriental Medicine

Register online

Class Highlights:

1. Learn how to make healthy eating a normal and effortless part of your daily life.
2. Enjoy a delicious bowl of Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup prepared by Henry.
3. Participate in and see a live demonstration of the entire preparation and cooking process. The class will be held in a working kitchen.
4. Learn where/how to shop for ingredients – including how to get sulfur-free, pesticide-free and/or organic herbs.
5. Learn the philosophy behind Cantonese cooking.
6. Gain a deeper understanding of the properties of foods which will help you decide how to shop and modify dishes for your specific constitution or condition.
7. Receive useful handouts and a bag of herbs you can take home to make your own soup right away.

Class Information:

In this class you will learn how to cook one of the signature Cantonese soups for the winter time: the winter Herbal Chicken soup. This soup is used as tonic in the winter as it warms the body, boosts your Qi or vital energy, builds blood, and strengthens the immune system. More importantly, in the context of this cooking class, this soup tastes really darn good!

That’s right, eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean you have to compromise on taste. Over thousands of years, the Cantonese from Southern China have refined and mastered the art of integrating food with medicine to make tasty dishes that you and your family/patients will love to eat. So why reinvent the wheel trying to figure out what to cook when the Cantonese has been integrating natural medicine with their cooking for centuries.

You don’t have to be a good cook nor do you have to have any knowledge of Chinese Herbs or Chinese Medicine to take this class. This is a beginner cooking class for people who want to play an active role in their own health and well-being. This class is designed to be fast, fun, practical and informative.

Day and Time: Sunday, January 24th, 2010 from 10:30am to 2:30pm.
Location: Silver Lake in Los Angeles, California
Class Fee: $40.00 (before Jan. 18) or $45.00 (on or after Jan. 18).

Class size is limited to 12 people maximum so reserve your space early!

Register online

For more information please contact Henry at 310-980-8645 or email info@henryjunwahlee.com

This is the first in a series of cooking classes on making healthy and delicious meals with Chinese Herbs. Learn authentic Cantonese style cooking from a Cantonese Chef.

Class Information:
Eating healthy doesn’t necessarily mean you have to compromise on taste. Over thousands of years, the Cantonese from Southern China have refined and mastered the art of integrating food with medicine to make tasty dishes that you and your family/patients will love to eat.

Beginning with How to Cook Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup, chef/instructor Henry Jun Wah Lee will introduce you to Cantonese cooking and how it can help you make wellness, and longevity a normal part of your everyday life.

Benefits of the Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup:

The herbal soup you will be learning to make is a tonic that is perfect for the coming winter as it warms the body, boosts your Qi or vital energy, builds blood, and strengthens the immune system. You will also learn several modifications include one for post partum women to aid them in their recovery after child birth.

In the class How to Cook Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup you will:

1. Enjoy a bowl of Chinese Herbal Chicken Soup. Trying to buy this at a quality restaurant can cost you $15-$25 a bowl, if you can find it.
2. Participate in a live demonstration of the entire preparation and cooking process. The class will be taught in a working kitchen.
3. Learn where to shop for ingredients – including how to get sulfur-free, pesticide-free and/or organic herbs.
4. Learn the philosophy behind Cantonese cooking.
5. Gain a deeper understanding of the properties of foods which will help you decide how to shop and modify dishes for your specific constitution or condition.
6. Receive useful handouts and a bag of herbs you can take home and make your own soup with right away.

This is a beginner cooking class for people who want to play an active role in their own health and well-being. You don’t have to be a good cook nor do you have to have any knowledge of Chinese Herbs or Chinese Medicine. Henry will guide you through the whole process in this fast and fun half-day class.

Class Fee: $58.00 (before Dec. 1) or $68.00 (on or after Dec. 1). Fee also includes a bowl of soup, handouts and herbs you can take home.

Day and Time: Saturday, December 12th, 2009 from 9 am to 1 pm.

Location: Los Angeles, California. Exact location to be determined.

Class size is limited to 12 people maximum so reserve your space early!

For more information or to register, please contact Henry at 310-980-8645 or email info@henryjunwahlee.com

About Henry Jun Wah Lee
Henry Jun Wah Lee is a Medical Qigong instructor with a Masters degree in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. He has been cooking since he was a child, learning and honing his skills in his family’s Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia, PA where he grew up. His bicultural background provides him with unique insights on bridging the gap many westerners face when learning Chinese Medicine, or integrating Chinese wellness practices into their lives. For more information, please visit www.HenryJunWahLee.com

About Cantonese Cuisine:
Southern Chinese (Cantonese) cuisine is renowned both internationally as well as across China for its delicious flavors, diverse and exotic ingredients and health benefits. Cantonese cooking has been refined for more than 2,000 years – much longer than most civilizations have existed. Its depth, history, and wisdom are revealed not just in its flavors but also in its integration with other aspects of living – health, culture, art and philosophy.

For the Cantonese, food isn’t just something tasty you put in your mouth. Food is life. Food is medicine. It is how we can nourish our bodies as well as our minds and spirits. Thanks to the influence of the Taoists, developers of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Cantonese cooks look not just for flavor and freshness but also for taste, temperature and other medicinal properties of foods. Chinese herbs are a natural part of everyday cooking and goes into soups and dishes. They can be used for prevention, overall wellness, longevity and for specific illnesses.

Qi Gong with Merle Morgan to Support Tree People - July 26, 4-5:30pm.

My original Qi Gong teacher, Merle Morgan, is back to teaching! Perfect for new people or as a review for those who’ve taken her classes before. Merle is an incredible teacher and she’s the one who inspired me to get on the path of Chinese Medicine.

Come and join Merle Morgan L.Ac from 4.00pm-5.30pm, Sunday 26 July, and support TreePeople at the same time.  Learn the ‘Golden Eight’ as a series to develop your own energy (Qi) or use isolated exercises as prescription for your patients…..or if you learned them already, come along for a thorough review.

TreePeople:
12601 Mulholland Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Telephone (818) 753-4600

For more information and directions, please go to the TreePeople website: http://www.treepeople.org/

Understanding Love and Attraction from a Daoist (Taoist) Perspective

Love and sexual attraction transcend the boundaries of race, class and even gender/sexual preference.

Most people are familiar with the Daoist (Taoist) concept of Yin and Yang. It is used in Chinese philosophy to describe and understand how seemingly opposing forces are in fact deeply interconnected and interdependent in the natural world. While they oppose each other, they co-exist in a dynamic equilibrium. If one disappears, so does the other.

In the realm of love and sexual attraction, Yin and Yang’s opposing energies create sexual polarity. A healthy relationship is often rooted in this harmony and balance of opposites. When this polarity is neutralized, oftentimes so is the attraction. Maintaining this polarity is important for lasting and fulfilling relationships.

Understanding Your Essence
While Yin is associated with the feminine essence and Yang with the masculine essence (Yang), our sexual essence and our physical gender as men or women do not necessarily have to be the same. There exist men with strong feminine essence and women with strong masculine essence. This applies whether your sexual preference is gay or straight.

Whatever your sexual essence, it is important to be aware of what it is and how you are projecting it. You tend to attract your opposite so if you are in your masculine, you’ll attract someone who is feminine and vice versa. If you are not attracting the type you want to be romantically involved with or if you feel like your current relationship is losing its spark, examine what you are projecting.

Love with Sexual Attraction
Love and sexual attraction aren’t necessarily one and the same. There are plenty of couples out there who are still together long after the sexual attraction is gone. They can still love each other very much. But then it becomes a relationship between best friends rather than lovers. If you want to experience the spark, excitement and magnetic attraction of a relationship that is emotionally, spiritually and sexually satisfying, you have to create and maintain sexual polarity.

I’m writing this on the 40th anniversary of Stonewall. Reflecting upon this day, love is a beautiful thing that should be celebrated and embraced without the judgments, restrictions and expectations imposed by culture, religion and fear. Help work towards moving our society beyond existing boundaries such as race, class and gender/sexual preference.

Photo of Yosemite Falls

I just got back a couple days ago from a camping trip to Yosemite National Park, Mono Lake, June Lake and Devi’s Postpile National Monument. It was an amazing trip but I caught a cold on the way back. Not such a bad thing since I got to stay in bed and go through all the photos and video I captured. Below are some of the highlights captured on digital film. Enjoy!

Exploring Yosemite and Eastern Sierras from Henry Jun Wah Lee on Vimeo.

Best of Yosemite

My trip to Yosemite National Park, June 6-10, 2009. Lots of photos using autobracketing for HDR - High Dynamic Range. Taken with a Canon SX1

28 Photos

Yosemite Under the Full Moon

Night photography in Yosemite under the full moon. Taken with a Canon SX1 using the CHDK firmware to get beyond the 15 second shutter limit.

6 Photos

Infrared Photography

Fun with Infrared Photography. Taken on my trip in Yosemite National Park using a Canon SX1, a Hoya R72 58 mm Infrared Filter, tripod, and 15 second exposure time.

8 Photos

 

David Deida

The Sexual Body and the Yoga of Light:
A Weekend Workshop with David Deida, San Diego, November 6, 7, 8, 2009

Join David right on the beach at the luxurious Rancho Bernardo Inn Resort and Spa for this breakthrough weekend.

During the weekend, you will…

• Discover how to use the body as a vehicle for ecstatic dissolution;
• Understand why our deepest sexual gifts are often capped by our most intense resistance, and how to relax through blocks in our sexual artistry;
• Follow the course from scary neediness, through safe independence, into the oneness of perfect trust in devotional love;
• Find out how to turn hang-ups into playful gifts of loving humor in the midst of erotic embrace;
• Comprehend why honest and respectful communication can be very different from passionate and heart-awakening sex talk; and
• Learn breathing techniques to increase, decrease, and circulate sexual love-energy.

What many people don’t know is that every Weekend Workshop is unique and unpredictable. There is no “rote” program. Quite the opposite! In fact, the work in the room grows specifically from your interaction with David. To get a flavor of what happens inside the Workshop, here are a few voices from last year’s participants…

“David is hilarious — and a genius on stage. Awesome!”

“This was amazing — a chance to experience the vitality of David’s presence. I knew it would be great but the opportunity for direct learning from David Deida via people asking questions and David directly coaching them was extraordinary!”

“Being with David in person was amazing. His physicality brings tremendous depth to the lessons and practice and meaning of his words!”

“I loved the partner exercise where we stared into each others eyes and spoke about our desire for one another. I SAW the light, quite literally, in the man opposite me!”

“As a woman, I learned how to embody the divine feminine and move in and out of 3rd stage with grace and beauty. This intensive is the way to enlightenment for anyone…”

“How much more powerful David’s work is in person vs. on the page! It was simply PROFOUND!

Please come to the Workshop with your most pressing questions and challenges. Among the many avenues David will explore with you

• Why is feminine energy extremely attractive yet mistrusted by both men and women?
• Why do many men resist marriage even when they are totally in love?
• Why are the five biggest turn-ons for women different than those for men?
• Why is the word “surrender” so offensive to some people and so erotic to others?
• What are the spiritual prerequisites for experiencing the ultimate sexual embrace?
• What must you risk in order to experience deep sexual union and emotional communion?
• Why is it impossible to grow spiritually without embracing our darkest impulses?

“What a weekend! These were life-altering views to transform heart, sex, love and being em-body-ment. Beyond words!”

“I would tell anybody that this weekend would teach you how to live your life with purpose, be true to your mission on earth and to love completely.”

SCHEDULE:

The Workshop begins 7 PM sharp on Friday, November 6. We will finish Friday night’s session at 10 PM. Saturday and Sunday’s session will go from 10 AM till 10 PM with breaks. David will sometimes go beyond 10 PM but no one is required to stay past 10.

LOCATION:

Rancho Bernardo Inn Resort and Spa, with its rural setting, gardens, legendary spa will provide a unique, powerful and relaxing environment for the Weekend. We have arranged a large block of discount rooms for participants, but they are not unlimited. Please reserve your room early. As a service to you, we also create a message board if you would like to share a room with another participant.

NOTE: This Weekend Workshop is open to singles and couples of any sexual orientation. Participants should be prepared for explicit use of language and intensive experiential practice. Actual sex and nudity are not involved.

David Deida

Aligning with Love: The Yoga of Sex, Wealth, and Worship
A Weekend Workshop With David Deida, Miami, October 2, 3, 4, 2009

The Sexual Body and the Yoga of Light:
A Weekend Workshop with David Deida, San Diego, November 6, 7, 8, 2009

The Sexual Body and the Yoga of Light:
A 7-Day Training Intensive with David Deida in San Diego, November 6-13, 2009

This 7-Day Intensive is David Deida’s advanced training for men and women ready to illuminate the unseen depths and shadows of their being. Practitioners from all over the world gather with Deida for an unparalleled opportunity to explore every nook and cranny of their psyche and desire. Journeying solo, partnered, and in groups, virtually no stone is left unturned in seven days and nights of investigation, insight, and celebration.

In this 7-Day training we go far beyond the weekend and dive deeply into advanced practices that enhance our heart’s depth and presence, turning lovemaking into whole-body prayer and true spiritual communion as we learn how to create and sustain the authentic yoga of intimacy throughout the days and nights of our years.

What are you really here to do–professionally, intimately, artistically–and how committed are you to doing and living it? To get there, Deida teaches, we need to surrender to the boundless self that we truly are and learn to live in the unbearable pleasure and vulnerability of that exquisite state of openness. And most of us require a dedicated practice, a living yoga, in order to sustain this.

During this training, we engage in practices that focus on where we are most contracted, and “for a lot of people that means sexuality, life-purpose, and intimacy,” says Deida. We spend our time deepening and fine-tuning personal practices, both in and out of the classroom, using traditional means such as breathwork, meditation, yoga, and dance, as well as the custom-designed personal practices for which David Deida is so widely hailed. Working in groups, with partners, and individually, we learn to:

* identify our unique gifts and give them more fully;
* learn when to respect boundaries and when to press through them;
* ease beyond fear into ecstatic surrender;
* open out in connection when all we want to do is close down;
* employ ecstasy to heal past wounds and melt open beyond the self;
* offer our deepest presence and love;
* skillfully navigate the differences between men’s and women’s internal sexual circuitry;
* discover how to access the freedom of consciousness and humor amidst anger, lust, and jealousy;
* design a deeply personal spiritual life; and
* create a daily sexual yoga practice, solo and in partnership, that will continue to grow along with the depth of our heart’s desire to turn our entire life into an artful, whole-body offering of love.

Whereas “healing old wounds” is most fruitful amidst patience and firm boundaries, the yoga of transformation that Deida teaches involves carefully stretching to play at your vulnerable edge and just beyond, including your limits and gifts of body, mind, and emotion. Just as you are, sourced in loving awareness, no subject is taboo. All fixations and unique twists of character are welcomed with compassion and humor. Every struggle and life situation is workable in this teaching. Together with an international gathering of men and women dedicated to authentic spiritual practice, you will have the opportunity to go as deep as you choose:

* explore all of your real desires, dark and light, in a compassionate and skillful setting;
* learn how to create a spiritual portal through the sexual act;
* determine when to heal restfully and when to leap beyond being frozen in terror;
* learn the artful use of natural substances, sex, music, and nature to enliven the creative matrix of your life’s offering;
* investigate your taboos and learn how to offer love’s gift in moments of resistance and closure;
* understand the powerful sexual dynamics of money;
* discover the difference between emotional neediness and devotional yearning;
* illuminate the “cult” blueprint often hidden in teacher/student and lover/beloved intimacies;
* develop your capacity for sustaining radical relationship through heartbreak and comfort;
* uncover your deepest purpose and learn why you haven’t yet fully offered yourself;
* familiarize yourself with the basics of straight and gay sexual yoga (and everything in between); and
* cultivate the true yoga of light, bringing authentic presence and bright love to the places in your life and relationships that many are hesitant to illuminate

Participants should be prepared for explicit use of language and intensive experiential practice. Actual sex and nudity are not involved in this training. Precise rules of relating between all participants creates a safe space for magnifying love’s free flow throughout the training. This 7-Day Intensive and the Weekend Workshop are open to singles and couples of any sexual orientation, with a strong emphasis on personal instruction and one-to-one feedback and refinement. Enrollment in this training is by application only.