A Pebble in the Cosmic Pond

This month's conversation is inspired by Sabine' experience of managing a heat wave in Vietnam with more or less successful adaptive skills, to put it diplomatically. In order to prevent overheating, or overcooling for that matter, and to benefit from adaptations like air conditioning, protective clothing, iced fruit juices, or hot soups, the key is, as always, calibration on the basis of discernment. But what does that look like in the context of running errands in a heat wave in June in Hoi An, Vietnam? What is the pivoting point between healthy, normal sweating and uncontrolled outpouring of precious jin fluids that rob the body of a necessary resource? How do we know whether, when, and how external heat or cold are beneficial or damaging to a specific body at a specific time and place? When and how can we harness the healing power of the sun's Yang Qi, yet avoid its life-threatening intense heat and radiation? When we are exposed to excessive external heat, do we consume hot or cold drinks to restore the body's equilibrium? How can we gently support an older and somewhat depleted European body used to the cold climate of the Pacific Northwest as it struggles to adapt to the high heat and humidity of a Vietnamese summer? How does the individual human body's microcosm interact with the macrocosm of both Heaven (the sun in particular this month) and Earth (the geography and climate in our immediate external environment)?Always my favorite question, what can we learn from the locals?And my least favorite but essential inquiry, where do we just have to realistically accept the limits of adaptation and hide in an air conditioned room? Last but not least, one question that we actually do answer in this podcast: What's Leo's single most effective trick to quickly yet gently replenish fluids depleted by excessive sweating?As our listeners will be able to tell, we definitely have more questions than answers this month. If you are intrigued by this conversation and want to help us try and disentangle some of the many loose ends, we would love to have you join our "Golden Koi School." There we offer a historical case of heat damage treated with ice cream, watermelon, and shigao (gypsum),;discuss replenishing soups in more detail; dive deeply into fluid physiology by differentiating between jīn 津 (thin, superficial, quick-moving Yin fluids) and yè 液 (thick, deeper, slow-moving Yang fluids); translate the original source for Ding Zhi Wan (Will-Settling Pill), and so much more.

In today's episode, which actually was recorded with both of us on the same continent, and even in the same area, near Danang, Vietnam, we consider ancient agricultural traditions. In the spirit of our new season, this is again more of a travelogue than a nerdy Chinese medicine podcast. Let us know how you like this direction for our podcast.After a quick stop in the Swiss Alps, we explore specifically the sustainable organic farming practices that have been celebrated for centuries in the vegetable island of Tra Que near the ancient Vietnamese port city of Hoi An. From crop rotation to fertilizing with seaweed and buffalo "poo" (as my local guide called it), raising fish in the watering ponds, and extensive shading with palm fronds or loofah trellises, the fecundity of the place really impressed us. For Sabine in particular, the skill and expertise in tending the ubiquitous flower and vegetable gardens just made me so happy and truly showed the value of an unbroken farming tradition. It also gives us hope for the future of humanity that there are places all over the world where humans have lived and, more importantly, CONTINUE to live in a way that does not destroy our natural environment but treasures and shapes it sustainably. We have so much to learn from such places and cultures!So what's the story of the Three Friends Springroll that Sabine learned to make in her cooking class? Well, you'll have to listen to the podcast to find out (:And if you want to learn how to make rice pancakes and hear more about our travel adventures, Vietnamese cinnamon, and the benefits, dangers, and treatments for overconsumption of raw fruits, why don't you check out our new Frolicking Fish Community? There we offer a monthly selection of educational, inspiring, and joyful videos, translations, and discussions for the Chinese medicine community and beyond...