CYTOKINE STORMS

Purely an orage d’horreur within the body when the immune system becomes far too powerful for its own good.

Cytokines are valuable little worker bee proteins that naturally cause inflammation like histamine reaction, swelling, heightened body temperature. Our immune system, or our wei qi, sends these guys out when the time comes to fight off infections from external pathogenic factors.

The immune boosting supplements you take on a daily business feed the immune system’s defense against pathogens. Cytokines can often grow out of control when they are naturally released during a viral invasion especially when still being fed good immunity tonics like echinacea and astragalus, becoming an exaggerated and powerful systemic reaction.

A cytokine storm can over time exhaust the body and cause multiple organ system dysfunction. This is why a pathogenic agent like influenza can wreak havoc on the respiratory system. Infection causes immune cells to activate in the lungs leading to difficulties in respiration (shortness of breath, tight/heavy feeling in chest), inflammation (that cough you just can’t kick after a bout of being sick) and then a build up of fluid in the lungs (chronic bronchitis) the longterm effect resulting in pneumonia and all around system failure.

SYMPTOMS OF AN ACUTE CYTOKINE STORM ARE MUCH LIKE THOSE OF A COMMON COLD/FLU: FEVER, FATIGUE, MUSCLE ACHES, JOINT PAIN, NO APPETITE- NAUSEA, VOMIT AND/OR DIARRHEA, FAST BREATHING, RAPID HEARTBEAT, RASH …

Maintaining a strong immune system means providing your body with a strong defense, immunity supplements should be taken regularly but then stopped once an infection has set in, at this point the best thing to do is let the body kick into gear and clear it on its own or with the help of pathogen fighting formulas. These formulas clear the surface, as in venting the pores and inducing sweat, and should be used in place of the immune tonics in the first stages of becoming ill and until the sickness has run its course. Tonic immune support can be resumed as soon as sick symptoms have vacated the premises.

SHINRIN-YOKU: A THERAPEUTIC ARBOREAL PAST-TIME

How about trying a little eco-therapy to keep your sanity during the coming months when SAD (seasonal affective disorder) can be at its most winterly ferocious? Preventative measures must be put into place so as to not sink down into the dumps of darkness. The act of forest-bathing is a very simple yet enlightening concept that can indeed be practiced throughout the course of the four seasons. Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese term that translates simply to “taking in the forest atmosphere”. Instructions on achieving this do not require the intensity of disappearing to a zen monastery to master the art form, just a nice stroll through your local neck of the woods for a day, a week, an afternoon, or a few hours should do the trick…. As long as you are present amidst a living forest you can reap the health benefits of shinrin-yoku without cutting too greatly into your daily routine. 

Reminder: keep it simple. “Go to a forest. Walk slowly. Breathe. Open all your senses.” (righteous words from the sages over at shinrin-yoku.org)

Research has established scientific fact regarding the rejuvenation and serene sense of calm a body can absorb from a living forest. Trees release organic compounds that our natural killer cells (think immune system) just eat right up. In a somatic sense other little healthful tidbits include: lowered blood pressure, solid sleep giving rise to better focus and mental clarity, and all around more ease in coping with both the monotony and over-excitement of day-to-day stresses during these times we live in by empowering us with the ability to down regulate the nervous system, lowering that high-strung cortisol and uplifting the mood. 

Sensory immersion in a forest can be a naturally healing pastime, it allows for a satisfying grounding within yourself and your reality. What better prescription for good health is there than a walk in the woods? Practice presence and absorb your surroundings in order to experience that moment of still-point where you become attuned to your own true conscious awareness; the ultimate mind-body-earth connection. 

Cheiron [kahy-ron]

After being denounced by his mother, Phylira (a.k.a the lady Linden), Cheiron went to inhabit Mt. Pelion (Pilio) in Thessaly. He was quickly taken up by the Sun god Apollo and raised under his guidance with sister Moon, Artemis.

She joined her brother in bestowing upon their young centaurion pupil gifts of cunning in the ways of the hunt, archery, prophecy, music and healing arts. Cheiron was wounded in a devilish skirmish in his home at Mt Pilio and was from then on known as the Wounded Healer. He helped many a folk with their ailments both great and small, but was never able to heal himself from his deadly scrape from a misfired arrow — the tip being poisoned and intended for another centaur during the skirmish.

It was Diana who handed down the knowledge of herbal medicine… powerfully potent flora like mugwort and wormwood (both hailing from the Artemisia genus) as well as the ironically wound-healing herb Centaury (centaurea). And so Cheiron goes on to father the science of botanical pharmacy.