Do You, or Someone You Know, Suffer From These Symptoms?
“A healthy Mind depends on the strength of the Essence. . . . If the Kidney Essence is weak, the brain may lack nourishment and the person may lack concentration and memory, and suffer from dizziness and a feeling of emptiness of the head.” —G. Maciocia
- profound weakness/ exhaustion
- sagging or wrinkling of skin
- diminished sexual arousal and/ or pleasure
- infertility or early menopause
- repeated miscarriage
- decline of mental focus and/ or memory
- decline of vision or hearing
- progressive loss of weight or emaciation
- compromised immunity
- accelerated decline of general health
The symptoms above point towards a diagnosis of Essence Deficiency. The concept of Essence in Chinese medicine is a complex one. In brief it is composed of:
- Pre-Natal Essence: relates to our genetic heritage: our basic constitution, vitality, strength, and vulnerabilities—our genetic code and predisposition.
- Post-Natal Essence: relates to the quality of our lifestyle: quality and quantity of foods, air, liquids, exercise, stress, rest, and elimination of toxins.
- Kidney Essence: determines growth, reproduction, development, sexual maturation, conception, pregnancy, menopause, and aging.
Essence is THE BASIS of our constitutional strength and our resistance to external stressors. When one’s Essence is depleted or weak, one’s foundational energy production and distribution is greatly impaired. In clinic this often shows with people who do all of the right things, take all of the right supplements and eat the best quality of foods, while still not getting much better; their body is still too weak, exhausted to absorb all of these supplements.
Preserving and fortifying our Essence is very much related to our life style. As can be noticed from the three different categories of Essence, the Post-Natal Essence is the one we are most in control of. While we don’t choose our genetic code and predispositions: eyes and skin color, sexual orientation, propensity for certain health issues rather than others, we do have the power to choose, especially as adults, the life and lifestyle we want for ourselves and most benefits us.