Two Popular Chinese Herbs Explained | Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs

Welcome, welcome. Today, we're going to talk about tonic herbs. Herbalism is one of the five branches of Chinese medicine. Usually, I'm here talking about qigong, and qigong is one of those five branches as well, but herbs are very important. They're external forms of qi. In Chinese medicine, when we're talking about herbs, we're looking at the energy of herbs. Remember, this is a paradigm that looks at energy primarily, and then as the energy shifts and changes in your body, the physiology then responds. Tonic herbs are wonderful. They're great ways to boost health, increase energy, adapt to stressful circumstances, and are also really good for longevity. And I want to talk to you today about two very important herbs. One is ginseng, and the other is astralagus. All right, so let's go over to the whiteboard and check out some of these great tonic herbs and go little bit deeper. Tonic herbs are a great supplement to a qigong practice. Often, you would do qigong and take some herbs that would support your practice, like these adaptogenic types of herbs. Ginseng is an adaptogen, and there's a few different kinds of ginseng. There's the traditional ginseng in Chinese medicine. There's also Korean ginseng, which runs a little warmer or hot. There's American ginseng, which is cooling and more for the yin. And there's Siberian ginseng. So there's many different kinds. And when we look at ginseng, we have some particular qualities. The name in Chinese medicine, ren shen, ren shen, right here. R-E-N-S-H-E-N. It's for deficiency. You know, if our qi is deficient, we don't have enough energy, we want to boost energy. Because, you know, life is stressful. And when life is stressful, if we don't have enough energy, we get overwhelmed and it becomes more stressful. The little things become overwhelming. So as you boost energy, you're able to deal with life's demands more efficiently and better. It's what they call adaptogen because we can adapt to stressful circumstances. This plant and this root, it's a root, grows in very tough, challenging circumstances. Very cold outside and it thrives. And so the theory is that because of this, the ginseng has a very strong energy to help you to adapt to your life circumstance. Where are you planted in your life? Are you dealing with a lot of stuff? Well, adaptogenic herbs can be extremely helpful. So it's going to boost energy. When we look at herbs, we look at the quality of energy. So we're going to say the quality of this herb is warm. It has a bitter and sweet flavor. It goes to particular organs, especially the lungs and spleen, but also benefits the heart. They call ginseng the king of tonic herbs and it's well sought after. In fact, some ginsengs, these wild ginsengs are really big and robust, can go for thousands and thousands of dollars. It can be very expensive. And when I was treating some professional athletes, I knew that they would go and get these very, very expensive ginsengs and they reported that it gave them a really nice boost of energy. You don't have to do that. There's really reasonable places to find good ginseng and it's a great way just to tonify your qi. A lot of herbalists say, you know, it's not for necessarily younger people that have a lot of energy. It's a little bit more when you're feeling a little bit lower energy. If you're in your 40s or above, it's good to do on a regular basis for some time just to boost your energy. Different ways of thinking about the herb. Always good to check in with your Chinese medicine doctor, your acupuncturist, and ask them what they think about you taking an herb like ginseng. So, what is this herb going to do? It's going to boost your energy. They say it improves digestion. Now, ginseng is in a lot of formulas. This is where they will combine different herbs for a specific outcome and ginseng would be in a lot of formulas for increased energy, improving digestion. It helps us to cope with life stresses. That's why they call it adaptogenic and it's great for longevity. Fantastic herb. It is well sought after. Many different variations. At some point, maybe we'll talk about these different variations, but for now, it gives you an idea of what tonic herbs can do. Let's take a look at another herb. This is astralagus. A great herb. I love this herb for its immune function and having a boost in your immune system is a good thing, especially nowadays when there's so many different things going on, a virus, bacteria, your kids are in school. You just want to support your energy. Now, that being said, if you get sick, these aren't the herbs to take. They say, don't take tonics while you're sick. You do it preventatively. You do it preemptively. Take it on the front end rather than during because we don't want to tonify that invading chi. The description often is, if you're in your house and a robber comes in, don't feed them dinner and open all the cabinets and show them where all the precious things are. We first use herbs to push the invader out, push the invading chi out, and then fortify and tonify afterwards. The name astralagus in Chinese medicine, like ginseng, it's warm, not as warm or as hot as ginseng. It's a little bit milder, goes to the lungs and the spleen. It's also known to benefit the heart. People with heart issues can get a lot of benefit from astralagus. It tonifies the chi and the blood. Those are the reason it helps with the heart because it's good blood tonification. It's the king of immunity. It's just a really great formula for your immune system. I'm sorry. It's a great herb for your immune system. It is in formulas that will boost the immune system. A lot of times in Chinese medicine, a single herb will be combined with other herbs to support it. That's the beautiful thing about Chinese medicine. It's thousands of years old. What these doctors of Chinese medicine, these herbalists used to do, was see how the herbs would combine together to create an even better effect. Like we said, it boosts the immune system, benefits the heart. It really helps with digestion, but a little bit more with blood sugar. A little bit more like blood sugar issues. It's great for longevity. Huangqi and Renxin are often used together. They can be used together in a formula. That would be a strengthening effect. They might use it with licorice or ginger or something like that that would also help support and nourish the body's energy. Herbal medicine is one of the oldest forms of medicine. The thinking is that nature has solutions to our healthcare needs. Ginseng and astralagus can be those preventative herbs that we just take on a regular basis to boost our energy, to boost our immune system, to stay strong, and to work on our health on the front end. Not wait until we get sick or have a problem and then start taking herbs and trying to fix it from there. Chinese medicine really talks about prevention. Prevent problems from arising, and that way your body stays strong. The saying in Chinese medicine, don't dig your well when you're dying of thirst. Do that beforehand. Take care of your energy. Do your qigong practice. Take some tonic herbs. Stay strong. Boost your immune system. Keep those stress levels low, and we will live our best lives. Hey, I hope you enjoyed that. Thanks so much for joining.