“The answer to what might or might not be considered Hakomi is whether the process embraces the foundational Hakomi principles of unity, organicity, mind-body holism, mindfulness, and non-violence.”

Dr. Hammer’s teachings and axioms have been and remain the cornerstone of my understanding of Chinese medicine. And in my years of studying with other teachers, I’ve never encountered another teaching that doesn’t align with these core tenets.

Other-people-are-annoying tropes are all over the place: when your roommate (...spouse, kid, or whoever) leaves dirty underwear on the bathroom floor? Annoying. Your friends’ or partners’ little idiosyncrasies that were endearing at first? Annoying. The sounds of your lunch mate’s chewing, the kids crying, a restaurant roaring with so many voices that you can hardly hear yourself think? Annoying, an-NOY-ing, ANNOYING!

In the practice of Chinese Medicine, we are always protecting the Heart. We use other channels and pathways to divert pathology away from the Heart. One of our foundational classical texts, the Su Wen, states: “As the Heart is the monarch in the organs, it dominates the functions of the various viscera, so when the function of the Heart is strong and healthy, under its unified leadership, all the functions of the various viscera will be normal, the body will be healthy and the [person] will live a long life, and in [their] life long days, no serious disease will occur.” When we experience joy, the Heart sings, and all other organs/ channels benefit. 

I say these words often during this time of year; there is so much that comes up for me during winter time. Everything in nature goes dormant around us, the days are short…and here in the Pacific Northwest it is colder than many of us would like. I find myself missing the people I wish were still here to celebrate the end of another year with me — people who have passed away, or people who I am no longer in regular contact with.

And this is part of the reason why we use mindfulness and slowing down in our Hakomi-informed counseling work: it gives us just that little extra bit of space to turn down left-hemisphere inhibition, sense our bodies, feel our emotions, and hear from those small, quiet voices inside that guide us toward deeper truths about ourselves and how we want to be in the world.

We’re all in this, and we so want you to know it is okay to feel impacted by all that is happening around you, by what you are seeing on TV or hearing on the radio, by the videos you are seeing on your social media feeds. It is merely human to be impacted by all of this…

In East Asian Medicine (EAM) each season brings with it an elemental aspect; the aspect of autumn is Metal. Metal shines brightly, reflects truth, and it also severs — it releases. Its energy chops things up and makes them easier to metabolize, both physically and emotionally. Metal helps us let go. One of the organs associated with Metal is the Lung. This relationship can be seen through the breath: inhalation, pause, and letting go with exhalation.