Connection: Bridging Eastern Medicine and Western Science

In 2001, a friend gave me a book on Ayurveda called The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies by Vasant Lad. The author is a Master of Ayurvedic Science and served as a medical director of the Ayurveda Hospital in Pune, India. He served as professor of Clinical Medicine at Pune University College of Ayurvedic Medicine.

The concept of Ayurveda (meaning Science of Life in Sanskrit) resonated with me in the first few pages of the book. It felt familiar in a strange way, although the words like doshas, ojas, agni and dhatus were foreign to me. I wanted to learn more.

So began my journey from a western science perspective to learning an eastern perspective.

The Path is Never a Straight Line

When I began formulating Biostar supplements in 2007, I included some Ayurvedic plants that I knew were harmonizing to the body system into the formulations. There was pushback from customers: Ayurveda sounded strange to a lot of horse owners, and plant names like Tulsi and Ashwagandha were unfamiliar to them.

I retreated for a while to a more westernized approach to formulating supplements, and focused on imbalance. Meanwhile, I kept studying and learning about Ayurveda and applying the Ayurvedic principles and plants to my own horses and dogs, and myself.

Luckily in the past decade, more and more scientific studies in the west were being conducted and published on Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine plants, fungi, spices, and foods. This research has demonstrated that many of the plants and fungi used in ancient medicine traditions have validity and efficacy.

Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, and Western medicine

 Ayurveda is all about balance: how food, plants, and lifestyle can counteract current imbalances or disharmony in the body. The focus is not just on one organ or body system that is out of balance; the focus is on all the systems that are connected to the imbalanced element of the body. This is the triad of mind-body-spirit. It is one of the big differences between Eastern philosophy on healing and wellbeing, and Western medicine.

Ayurveda has been used for thousands of years, based on the doctrines of:
• All things in the universe, both living and nonliving, are joined together
• There is a deep connection between self and the environment,
• Balanced connectivity ensures good health.

Ayurveda centers around the five elements: space/ether, air/wind, fire, water, and earth.

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Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic philosophies share many of the same fundamental truths. Like Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine has been used for thousands of years and is not focused on the disease or symptoms, but on harmonizing the body system and returning the body to balance.

Both of these Eastern medicine practices center around the five elements. In Chinese medicine these elements are: water, earth, metal, wood, and fire.

Chinese medicine focuses on balance between yin and yang, masculine and feminine, doing versus being. Qi (also referred to as Chi) is the circulating life force that binds together all things in the universe. Qi needs balance in order to maintain good health.

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Western medicine focuses on the symptoms of the imbalance (illness, disease), and treating those symptoms. Benefits of western medicine continue to be shown in the many life-saving pharmacological medicines and treatments that exist.

Following the Heart Path

Little by little over the years, I began formulating based on Ayurvedic Medicine and Chinese Medicine principles. I also relied on Western science for validation and published research, plus a dose of intuition.

My heart resonates with Eastern medicine. I am no master of it, but I am a devoted student: listening, paying attention, and learning.

Connections of the Body and Mind

I no longer look at a horse or dog’s imbalance in a linear way. I look for the connections of body/mind (stress, lifestyle, food, environment) and the relationship of the varied body systems at large.

If a horse has a gastric ulcer, for instance, I look at the corresponding systems: adrenal gland, immune system, and brain. To focus on just healing the ulcer ignores the other components in the body that are affected.

It is the connectivity that is critical.

The concept of connectivity in the body reflects the connectivity all around us in Nature. Trees take care of one another via their root systems, mycelium in the soil provides the symbiotic network for beneficial bacteria, and delivery of minerals to support the plant roots. The webs of connectivity are the threads that weave through the universe.

Illustrated mycorrhizal network of trees and fungi communication.

East and west: We Need Both

For the long term health of our horses and dogs – and ourselves, we need the evidence-based structure of Western medicine. We also need the connectivity and balanced foundation of Eastern medicine.

We need pharmacology to target the disease and the specific condition. We also need the plants, foods, and fungi to support the body systems and re-harmonize the body/mind.

We need the Western modalities of ultrasound, shockwave, lasers, and surgical intervention. We also need the Eastern modalities of acupuncture, acupressure, massage, meditation, and yoga. (Meditation is useful for us humans who are the caregivers to our animals. When we de-stress, our animals de-stress. We are all connected!)

Chi Solutions®

Biostar now lists specific products as part of our line of Chi Solutions®. This new part of Biostar is a bridge between East and West.

Featuring ingredients used in Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine, backed by western research and clinical science. We will also incorporate time-tested and honored healing traditions of fermentation into several new products. We will focus on products that address imbalances, while helping to re-harmonize the body/mind, focusing on connectivity.

Chi Solution® Products

Remedium Nadi EQ: Formulated to support a balanced inflammatory response. Remedium is the Latin word for relief, and Nadi is the Ayurvedic term for channel of energies throughout the body. [Read our article on Remedium Nadi!]

Aller-X EQ: a unique formula for horses that helps maintain healthy histamine levels and a balanced immune response. Aller-X may be helpful for horses experiencing seasonal allergies or skin and respiratory allergies.

Thera Calm EQ and Thera Calm K9: designed to support a healthy GI tract and help horses and dogs focus and relax. Provides Haritaki, Ashwaganda, and Bovine Milk Protein to help normalize cortisol levels brought on by normal stress.

Tri Dosha EQ: a unique blend for metabolic horses and easy keepers that combines the best of eastern Ayurvedic plants with western science. [Read our article on Tri Dosha EQ!]

Zen X, In-Zen, Zen Max: Some horses externalize their stress, and some internalize their stress. Zen paste formulas address the biological response to common stressors, addressing the entire brain/adrenal/gut axis to return the body to homeostasis.

Alixir EQ: comprehensive recovery formula providing whole-horse hydration and mitochondrial support. The syringe form offers fast delivery through the oral transmucosal pathway to the systemic circulatory system.

Tri-Gard EQ: pre-event paste in a syringe that supports a healthy gastric and digestive system to use when shipping and competing.

Thera-Gard EQ: For horses that require daily protection for gastric sensitivities, Thera-Gard EQ™ is a powerful supplement that supports a healthy gastric and intestinal tract.

Star Power EQ: supports healthy endurance and stamina in horses by assisting the production of ATP, burning fat for energy, reducing oxidative stress in muscles, helping support mental focus, homeostasis, the immune system, and mucosal GI tract protection.

Sym-Biota EQ and Sym-Biota K9: provides components of healthy soil that contain beneficial bacteria, fulvic and humic acids, and fungi.

Terra Biota K9: a full-spectrum supplement for dogs that combines the ecological community of symbiotic microorganisms that share the canine GI tract.

True Balance EQ: a multi-dimensional formula for horses based on the principles of Ayurvedya, to assist the body in maintaining homeostasis for the GI, glandular, circulatory, and immune systems.

Making the Connection

When I walk in the forest at the farm with my dogs, I think about my steps on the forest floor, the network of life beneath my feet. I look up at the trees, the rooted sentinels that can talk to the sky. I think about their rhizomes deep in the earth, relaying information to the other trees, sharing nutrients, and providing support. The forest is both cooperative and connected.

Ayurveda and Chinese Medicine may be old, some may consider them “out-dated”, and not technologically advanced, but to me these ancient healing philosophies remind and return us to the essence of planetary life: we are all in this together … the plants, animals, birds, reptiles, humans, water, trees, rocks, soil, microbes, air.

May each of us be a bridge of connectedness.