Our Inner Ecology

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The tissue states, and the herbs that act upon them are all engaged in a complex dance with one another. They play off each other, respond, and sometimes mimic each other.

In the words of my teacher jim mcdonald: "Nature includes binaries but are not limited to them," –this is absolutely the case when we look more closely at the six tissue states, dividing them according to the dynamic polarities inherent within them:

Thermal Dynamics – Temperature – Hot/Cold

Fluid Dynamics – Moisture – Damp/Dry

Structural Dynamics – Tone – Tense/Lax

At first glance, we start to sense echoes of ecology but an ecology of the body rather than an ecology of the land–spoiler alert... the more you get into energetics and herbalism, the more you realize that there is actually no difference at all between what we call body and what we call land. This especially when we evoke the abiotic components of an ecosystem in our understanding. In this way, we can think of the tissue states as patterns that describe our inner terrain and the ways it is out of balance and how we might bring it back into balance.

When water pools in compacted low areas with nowhere for the water to drain, we can understand this newly formed pond as a kind of 'damp stagnant' state. Perhaps this pool is nearby an agricultural field where runoff has washed excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous into the pond, leading to an overgrowth of algae. When the algae dies, they sink to the bottom of the pond, and are decomposed by bacteria, which strips oxygen from the surrounding water creating a kind of 'dead zone' in the pond.

Similarly, damp stagnant tissue states (in the body) are associated with a buildup of superfluous fluids and waste products due to a lack of circulation. An example of this is chronic diabetes where damp, swollen tissues lack warmth from adequate circulation.

Another example:

Have you ever been out hiking, or (in a memorable case of mine) on a long backpacking trip, and you had to hike headfirst into persistent, unrelenting wind? Do you remember how your body responded? You tense up!

Wind is often associated with tension across many herbal traditions including Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The landscape has its own responses to wind. Soil (especially when exposed and without ground cover) dries up in the presence of persistent wind, eventually cracking open at parts. This is echoed in our own bodies when states of tension/wind manifest in symptoms of dryness such as cracking skin inability to hold nutrients due to a lack of moisture.

If we start to look at the body through the lens of ecology (and conversely if we start to look at the landscape through the lens of physiology), we are likely to develop a far more holistic perspective of each and make better assessments on how best to support a person through whatever unbalanced tissue state they may be experiencing.

Honing in on each realm is a good place to begin. How about we start with temperature?