49tion of these nodes, or acupuncture points, on the body. I can use a needle. I
can use my hand. I can use herbs, and I can use chemicals within foods. I can
use breathing techniques. I can use yin yoga poses.
T.E. Can you relate this to a yin yoga pose?
A.G. Let’s talk about reclining butterfly pose. Here you are, lying on this mat
and opening up your chest. You talk about the heart meridian, the pericardium
meridian, but what you’re really doing is opening up the lymphatic pathways.
You are stretching all of these blood vessels across the chest. Deep breathing
into the abdomen engages the vagus nerve, which opens up the parasympa-
thetic nervous system, which allows your body to produce hormones, which
allows you to heal.
T.E. How would you say Chinese medicine and yin yoga are re-
lated?
What we do within Chinese medicine and yoga, is really look at ways to expand
the body’s ability to move blood through the body. Oxygen cannot be sepa-
rated from blood, so we’re also talking about oxygen. Hormones cannot be
removed from blood, so we’re also talking about hormones. So, when you’re
talking about the blood vessels, what you’re really talking about is the inherent
structure of blood moving through the body to the heart, through the lungs,
and away from the heart to the extremities. It’s about how we can increase the
flow of blood, how can we increase the flow of hormones and neurotransmit-
ters through techniques like meditation, breath work, acupuncture, yoga, body
therapy, and exercise. That’s Chinese medicine.