CULTIVATING SHEN: SPIRIT & BEAUTY

We've all been chasing beauty down the wrong path for decades, so you might be surprised to find that one very powerful counterweight has been right under our noses this entire time. Quite literally.

I'm no sage by any stretch, but I have learned a few things along my journey as a holistic practitioner — heck, as a woman — and I'm here to tell you, the secret to beauty is inextricably linked to our heart centre.

There is no pill, potion or overpriced cream that will get you anywhere near it. That secret lying beneath your nose — in your heart centre — is what Chinese Medicine calls Shen.

True beauty is not successfully found in any external endeavor, but rather, a side effect of a well-cultivated spirit.

In the West, we've put the cart before the horse: physical beauty at all costs. This is not a sustainable approach to beauty, nor happiness, nor to self worth. We don't attain self worth or happiness from external beauty. It can't be excavated from external endeavors — it arrives as a side effect of a well-cultivated spirit.

Eastern cultures are well versed in the ancient art of cultivating all three treasures — Jing, Qi and Shen. However you approach it, the framework has held up for a very long time.

I'm going to share my 3 Must Do Daily Rituals for cultivating Shen, and the beauty tonic I regularly make for clients and for myself.

So what is Shen, anyway?

Shen is described as our “spirit” or “higher consciousness.” The most valued of the three treasures (Jing, Qi, Shen), Shen reflects our higher nature as humans. It is exemplary of the love that lies in our hearts, whose qualities include compassion, kindness, generosity, acceptance, forgiveness and tolerance.

It manifests as wisdom, and its strength or weakness informs our capacity to carry broad perspectives and understandings of our lives and others — to rise above the polarities of good/bad, right/wrong.

Because Shen is said to reside in the heart — traditionally regarded in Chinese medicine as the organ of perception, intuition and expression — it is described as shaping how clearly we are guided in life.

Signs of depleted Shen

When Shen is depleted, the ego tends to arise, competing with the guidance of the heart. Traditional descriptions of a depleted Shen include:

• Reaching for worldly objects or outcomes for validation or temporary peace
• Sleep that feels broken or unrefreshing
• Detachment — from people, nature, the Self, and the ability to care for oneself with compassion
• A lack of mental clarity
• Sorrow, melancholy, a sense of hopelessness

'Tis the season to build Shen

This is the perfect time of year to adopt rituals for building Shen. As we enter the Yin season of winter, we are asked to get quiet, self reflect, let go of old fears and beliefs that no longer serve, and listen for what seeds want sowing for the next phase of growth. We can't grow and expand without going in and clearing out first.

Think meditation, self reflection, restoration.

My 3 pillar ritual

One. Drink.

Drink your herbs. There are specific tonic herbs traditionally associated with cultivating Shen and opening the heart centre. Shen tonic herbs have been used for centuries by sages seeking harmony and peace, and the ritual of the daily tonic is my way of offering these herbs up in a joyful form. There is something in the act itself — the making, the warmth, the pause — that matters as much as what goes in the cup.

Two. Sleep.

There is a huge hole in our sleep education that is rarely addressed: eight hours is not the only thing that matters. Equally important is when those hours take place, and how deep they are. In Chinese medicine, the organs are described as resting and recovering at different times of day and night, and falling asleep well before midnight is traditionally emphasised. Stress, worry, fear and heartbreak all disturb Shen, and thus our sleep.

Photo Courtesy of Sun Potion

Three. Give + receive.

An ancient method of developing Shen that's yet to go out of style is to give freely. It is said that the reward for true giving is Shen. We can get stuck in self protection when we are dealing with a constricted heart centre, and the antidote is the classic grinch move — give when you don't feel like it, give when you're afraid to be vulnerable. The Yin aspect to the Yang of giving is being able to receive. We can't successfully do one without the other.

Blood and beauty

To build blood is to build beauty. There are two principles in Chinese medicine that are traditionally connected to a glowing complexion. One is Shen. The second is the blood — specifically how well it moves, and how well it is built.

Blood is not usually looked at in the West as a component of beauty, but it is a core idea in the older traditions. In my practice, the moment clients start bringing blood-building foods into their daily rituals is usually the moment other things start to shift too.

Blood building foods

Root vegetables and fruits: pumpkin, sweet potato, squash, carrot, corn, parsnip, yams, peas, stewed fruit, onions, leeks, garlic, turnip, mushrooms including oyster and shiitake, spinach, chard, kale, Chinese greens, beets, parsley, lychee, coconut, grapes, cherries.

Cooked rice and congees (well cooked rice with herbs, protein, greens).

Clean, ethically sourced protein: chicken, beef, pork, quail, goose, rabbit, eggs, legumes in general, chick peas, black beans, kidney beans, fava beans, mackerel, tuna, anchovy, perch, oysters, seaweeds.

Fresh ginger, black sesame seeds, dates, figs, wheat grass, miso.

Foods traditionally avoided

Salads, raw fruits, sprouts, raw vegetables, excess tofu, dairy or nut butters and other high-oil foods, overly sweet foods, refined sugars, chocolate, and cold foods like ice cream, smoothies and iced drinks. Cold foods are traditionally described as slowing the flow of blood and Qi, which is why they're set aside in the colder months.

BLOODY BEAUTIFUL — THE TONIC

Photo by Kerry Ford

Ingredients 1/2 bottle kombucha, cranberry or berry flavour 1/2 cup pure pomegranate juice 1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds 1/2 lime, squeezed 1/2 lime sliced, for garnish 1/2 tsp. tulsi / holy basil powder 1 tsp. Sun Potion Pearl Powder 1/2 tsp. Sun Potion Ashitaba Powder 1 tsp. MSM powder 1 tsp. magnesium citrate powder Ice Pink salt, for the rim of the glass

Method Bloody Beautiful Slushie Add all ingredients except the kombucha to a high speed blender Blend on high for 30 seconds to allow the ingredients to alchemize Add the kombucha and pulse to mix (don't over blend the kombucha) Pour into a rimmed mason jar with garnish and drink up, beautiful Bloody Beautiful Margarita Add all ingredients except the kombucha into a shaker or mason jar Place the lid on tightly and shake till you can't shake no more Remove the lid, add the kombucha, then shake lightly to mix — you don't want to shake the effervescence out of it Wet the rim of the glass and dip into pink salt, black salt or lime salt Add ice and lime garnish, and drink up

Photo by Kerry Ford

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Shen in Chinese medicine?
Shen is traditionally described as spirit or higher consciousness — the most valued of the three treasures, alongside Jing and Qi. It is said to reside in the heart.

What are the three treasures?
Jing, Qi and Shen — traditionally described as essence, energy and spirit. They are the organising framework behind much of Chinese medicine's approach to daily practice.

Which tonic herbs are traditionally associated with Shen?
Pearl and Ashitaba are two that appear in this tonic. In the classical texts, Shen tonics are the herbs associated with the heart.

What are blood building foods?
In Chinese dietary tradition these are largely cooked, warming foods — root vegetables, congees, dark leafy greens, ethically sourced proteins, dates, figs, black sesame and ginger.

Words by Kerry Ford, holistic practitioner. This piece has been lightly condensed by the Sun Potion editorial team.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.