ASK ME ANYTHING | CHI FLOW WITH JO

If you’ve been struggling with allergies, high histamine, elevated eosinophils, or chronic asthma, you may be wondering if there is anything gentle and natural you can do to support your lungs.In this episode, Jo responds to a listener asking how to strengthen the lungs and calm reactivity. Drawing on the Chinese Medicine understanding of the Metal element, immunity, and breath, she explores how asthma and allergies are often signs of a system that feels guarded and on high alert.You will learn:• Why allergies and asthma are linked to the Lung and Large Intestine partnership• How grief, stress, and midlife changes can subtly tighten the breath• How to use Lung 1 acupressure to soften the chest and help breath descend• Why warm water on waking supports both immunity and digestion• How simple miso with wakame nourishes Lung and gut together• How the Wise Owl Turns Head movement from the 8 Brocades releases upper back tension and builds resilience• When to work alongside your GP for chronic asthma and persistent symptomsThis episode is especially supportive for women over 45 navigating hormonal shifts, dryness, or increased allergic sensitivity. These practices are designed to complement medical care, helping the body feel safe, steady, and supported.Your lungs are not weak. They are sensitive. And sensitivity, when supported gently and consistently, becomes strength.

If you’ve been struggling with allergies, high histamine, elevated eosinophils, or chronic asthma, you may be wondering if there is anything gentle and natural you can do to support your lungs.In this episode, Jo responds to a listener asking how to strengthen the lungs and calm reactivity. Drawing on the Chinese Medicine understanding of the Metal element, immunity, and breath, she explores how asthma and allergies are often signs of a system that feels guarded and on high alert.You will learn:• Why allergies and asthma are linked to the Lung and Large Intestine partnership• How grief, stress, and midlife changes can subtly tighten the breath• How to use Lung 1 acupressure to soften the chest and help breath descend• Why warm water on waking supports both immunity and digestion• How simple miso with wakame nourishes Lung and gut together• How the Wise Owl Turns Head movement from the 8 Brocades releases upper back tension and builds resilience• When to work alongside your GP for chronic asthma and persistent symptomsThis episode is especially supportive for women over 45 navigating hormonal shifts, dryness, or increased allergic sensitivity. These practices are designed to complement medical care, helping the body feel safe, steady, and supported.Your lungs are not weak. They are sensitive. And sensitivity, when supported gently and consistently, becomes strength.

If you’ve had shingles and the rash has healed but the pain hasn’t, you are not imagining it. Lingering shingles pain is common and deeply exhausting, often felt as burning, electric, or wrap around discomfort across the ribs, waist, or back.In this episode, Jo explores why shingles pain can persist long after the virus has settled, and how this ongoing discomfort is often linked to a nervous system that remains on high alert. Drawing on Chinese Medicine, Qi Gong, acupressure, and food medicine, Jo shares gentle, practical ways to support the body’s natural healing process without force or overwhelm.You will learn• Why shingles pain often follows a wrap around or band like pattern• How midlife and menopause can affect nerve recovery• How to use gentle acupressure on Gall Bladder 34 to calm lingering nerve pain• Simple food medicine to cool and soothe burning sensations from the inside• Gentle Qi Gong movement to help the nervous system stand down• What to expect as healing happens gradually, not overnightThis episode is for anyone living with post shingles pain, nerve sensitivity, or lingering discomfort, especially in midlife. These practices are designed to work alongside medical care, offering calm, consistency, and reassurance.Your body has not failed. With patience and gentle daily support, it can continue to heal.

If you’ve had shingles and the rash has healed but the pain hasn’t, you are not imagining it. Lingering shingles pain is common and deeply exhausting, often felt as burning, electric, or wrap around discomfort across the ribs, waist, or back.In this episode, Jo explores why shingles pain can persist long after the virus has settled, and how this ongoing discomfort is often linked to a nervous system that remains on high alert. Drawing on Chinese Medicine, Qi Gong, acupressure, and food medicine, Jo shares gentle, practical ways to support the body’s natural healing process without force or overwhelm.You will learn• Why shingles pain often follows a wrap around or band like pattern• How midlife and menopause can affect nerve recovery• How to use gentle acupressure on Gall Bladder 34 to calm lingering nerve pain• Simple food medicine to cool and soothe burning sensations from the inside• Gentle Qi Gong movement to help the nervous system stand down• What to expect as healing happens gradually, not overnightThis episode is for anyone living with post shingles pain, nerve sensitivity, or lingering discomfort, especially in midlife. These practices are designed to work alongside medical care, offering calm, consistency, and reassurance.Your body has not failed. With patience and gentle daily support, it can continue to heal.

If you are struggling with arthritis in your feet or knees, a torn meniscus, tight calves or weight that will not shift, this episode will bring you hope and practical support. In Chinese Medicine your symptoms are not separate. They are deeply connected through the Five Elements where the Kidney and Liver energetic systems work together to keep your joints strong, your tendons supple and your weight balanced.In this warm and empowering episode you will learn • why knee pain relates to Kidney energy • why ligaments, tendons and weight issues belong to the Liver system • how blocked Qi creates inflammation and joint pain • how to free stuck Liver Qi to ease arthritis and stiffness • a simple seated Qi Gong practice including Eagle Spreads Feathers • how to detox gently with liver loving foods, teas and habits • why eating before 7pm helps weight loss over 45 • how Qi Gong, acupressure and food medicine reduce pain • how to rebuild strength and mobility at any agePain is the body calling for flow. When you move your Qi you move your blood and when you move your blood your pain melts. Join me for a beautiful deep dive into healing through the Five Elements and discover how gentle movement brings powerful change.To join daily live Qi Gong classes visit https://joannefaulkner.ie/chi-flow-with-jo/To learn about our Intermittent Fasting and Hormone Health programme visithttps://joannefaulkner.ie/product/chi-flow-with-jo-intermittent-fasting-2-month-offer/You are extraordinary and your healing is possible.

If you are struggling with arthritis in your feet or knees, a torn meniscus, tight calves or weight that will not shift, this episode will bring you hope and practical support. In Chinese Medicine your symptoms are not separate. They are deeply connected through the Five Elements where the Kidney and Liver energetic systems work together to keep your joints strong, your tendons supple and your weight balanced.In this warm and empowering episode you will learn • why knee pain relates to Kidney energy • why ligaments, tendons and weight issues belong to the Liver system • how blocked Qi creates inflammation and joint pain • how to free stuck Liver Qi to ease arthritis and stiffness • a simple seated Qi Gong practice including Eagle Spreads Feathers • how to detox gently with liver loving foods, teas and habits • why eating before 7pm helps weight loss over 45 • how Qi Gong, acupressure and food medicine reduce pain • how to rebuild strength and mobility at any agePain is the body calling for flow. When you move your Qi you move your blood and when you move your blood your pain melts. Join me for a beautiful deep dive into healing through the Five Elements and discover how gentle movement brings powerful change.To join daily live Qi Gong classes visit https://joannefaulkner.ie/chi-flow-with-jo/To learn about our Intermittent Fasting and Hormone Health programme visithttps://joannefaulkner.ie/product/chi-flow-with-jo-intermittent-fasting-2-month-offer/You are extraordinary and your healing is possible.

Rediscover balance and release weight naturally with Chinese Medicine—gentle fasting, acupressure Liver 13, healing food and Qi Gong for women 45 plus.JOIN US FOR A FREE ONLINE QIGONG CLASS: https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/

Rediscover balance and release weight naturally with Chinese Medicine—gentle fasting, acupressure Liver 13, healing food and Qi Gong for women 45 plus.JOIN US FOR A FREE ONLINE QIGONG CLASS: https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/

If your shoulder feels stiff, painful, or just won’t move the way it used to, this episode is for you. In today’s Ask Me Anything with Chi Flow with Jo, Joanne Faulkner shares how to gently ease frozen shoulder and restore pain-free movement using Qi Gong, acupressure, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) food therapy.You’ll learn:🌿 Why daily Qi Gong is like compound interest for your joints — calming your nervous system, nourishing fascia and tendons, and teaching your body to move without bracing.💆‍♀️ Two acupressure points to open the “shoulder gates” (LI14 and LI15) to release tension, improve circulation, and melt stiffness.🥣 TCM food medicine for healthy, flexible shoulders — including warming ingredients to move stagnation and a delicious Shoulder-Soother Broth recipe to nourish Liver and Kidney energy.💨 A gentle Tendon Nei Gong mini-set you can do seated or standing to breathe life back into your shoulders, clear stagnation, and invite warmth, flow, and freedom of movement.Jo reminds us that healing frozen shoulder is not about forcing change but inviting it through kindness and consistency. Each small daily practice helps your body trust movement again.💫 Join the Chi Flow with Jo FREE ONLINE Qi Gong class, post-class Q&A with Jo, and the supportive energy of a group that truly cares.👉https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/

If your shoulder feels stiff, painful, or just won’t move the way it used to, this episode is for you. In today’s Ask Me Anything with Chi Flow with Jo, Joanne Faulkner shares how to gently ease frozen shoulder and restore pain-free movement using Qi Gong, acupressure, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) food therapy.You’ll learn:🌿 Why daily Qi Gong is like compound interest for your joints — calming your nervous system, nourishing fascia and tendons, and teaching your body to move without bracing.💆‍♀️ Two acupressure points to open the “shoulder gates” (LI14 and LI15) to release tension, improve circulation, and melt stiffness.🥣 TCM food medicine for healthy, flexible shoulders — including warming ingredients to move stagnation and a delicious Shoulder-Soother Broth recipe to nourish Liver and Kidney energy.💨 A gentle Tendon Nei Gong mini-set you can do seated or standing to breathe life back into your shoulders, clear stagnation, and invite warmth, flow, and freedom of movement.Jo reminds us that healing frozen shoulder is not about forcing change but inviting it through kindness and consistency. Each small daily practice helps your body trust movement again.💫 Join the Chi Flow with Jo FREE ONLINE Qi Gong class, post-class Q&A with Jo, and the supportive energy of a group that truly cares.👉https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/

Have you ever noticed a lingering salty taste in your mouth and wondered what it means? In this episode, we explore this often-overlooked symptom through the lens of Chinese medicine. For women over 40, a salty taste can signal deeper imbalances—ranging from kidney health and yin depletion to the body’s way of flagging stress or hormonal shifts. Join us as we unpack the traditional wisdom behind this curious sensation, why it shows up more often at midlife, and how gentle lifestyle, diet, and self-care practices can help restore harmony. If you’ve been curious about how ancient insights can illuminate modern health, this episode is for you.JOIN US FOR A FREE QI GONG CLASS ONLINE: https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/

🌿 New Ask Me Anything Podcast Episode: How to Reduce Uterine Fibroids Naturally – A Chinese Medicine Perspective Uterine fibroids affect many women, often bringing discomfort, heavy periods, and abdominal pain.Through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), these growths are seen as a result of stagnation in Qi (energy), blood, or dampness.In this episode, I share natural ways to ease fibroid symptoms using Qi Gong, food medicine, acupressure, and womb connection—approaches that support the whole woman, not just the condition.TRY A FREE QI GONG CLASS WITH US ONLINE: https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/

How TCM Understands Cholesterol and Cardiovascular ImbalanceIn TCM, we don’t use terms like “cholesterol.” Instead, we look at patterns of disharmony. High cholesterol is often linked to:- Dampness and Phlegm accumulation- Spleen deficiency (which impairs digestion and fluid transformation)- Liver Qi stagnation- Blood stasisWhen the Spleen is weakened by rich food, overthinking, or stress, it fails to properly transform fluids, leading to the production of damp-phlegm. Phlegm is thickened mucus that can build up in the body. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it can solidify into “accumulations”, denser masses of cells or fluids, including cysts and tumors, whether benign or malignant. This phlegm obstructs the flow of Qi and Blood, creating conditions that TCM equates with atherosclerosis, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia. And remember, in Chinese Medicine, the Heart is the Emperor. All organs are in service to it. So when phlegm or stagnation blocks the flow of Qi and Blood, the Heart suffers most.JOIN US FOR A FREE ONLINE QI GONG CLASS: https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day

How TCM Understands Cholesterol and Cardiovascular ImbalanceIn TCM, we don’t use terms like “cholesterol.” Instead, we look at patterns of disharmony. High cholesterol is often linked to:Dampness and Phlegm accumulationSpleen deficiency (which impairs digestion and fluid transformation)Liver Qi stagnationBlood stasisWhen the Spleen is weakened by rich food, overthinking, or stress, it fails to properly transform fluids, leading to the production of damp-phlegm. Phlegm is thickened mucus that can build up in the body. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it can solidify into “accumulations”, denser masses of cells or fluids, including cysts and tumors, whether benign or malignant.This phlegm obstructs the flow of Qi and Blood, creating conditions that TCM equates with atherosclerosis, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia.And remember, in Chinese Medicine, the Heart is the Emperor. All organs are in service to it. So when phlegm or stagnation blocks the flow of Qi and Blood, the Heart suffers most.JOIN US FOR A FREE ONLINE QI GONG CLASS: https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day

From sneezing fits to food sensitivities and itchy skin, allergies can feel like an invisible assault on your body. But in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), these reactions aren’t random—they’re signs of imbalance, especially within a vital but lesser-known energy system: the Triple Burner (San Jiao).This July in Chi Flow with Jo, we’re focusing on core strength, immunity, and emotional resilience—the same foundational systems affected by the Triple Burner. Let’s dive into how understanding and harmonizing this energy pathway can help you feel clear, strong, and allergy-free.JOIN US FOR A FREE QI GONG CLASS: https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/

Understanding Tremors in Chinese MedicineIn Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), tremors are seen as manifestations of internal imbalances, particularly involving the liver and kidney energy systems. These systems are not just organs but represent a holistic network of functions. Disruptions in the smooth flow of Qi (chi), your vital energy and blood can create what is known as internal wind. This isn't flatulence, but rather a chaotic climactic condition that can lead to spasms and tremors throughout the body.Today, we're addressing a heartfelt question from a listener undergoing evaluation for Parkinson's Disease, seeking guidance on reducing spontaneous body tremors.Remember, the insights I share are complementary and should harmonize with your personal health journey and any advice from your healthcare providers.SIGN UP FOR A FREE CLASS, EBOOKS & MORE:

How Acupressure and Qi Gong Can Boost Immunity, Banish Coughs and Colds, and Stop Spontaneous SweatingWhen you think about winter sniffles, sweaty discomfort, and that dragging lack of energy, it might feel like you're stuck in an endless cycle. But in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), these symptoms often signal something deeper, an imbalance in your body's energy, or “Qi”. Let’s explore how acupressure, Qi Gong, and nourishing food medicine can help restore balance and improve your immune system.JOIN US FOR A FREE QI GONG CLASS: https://joannefaulkner.ie/feel-well-every-day/

How can Acupressure and Qi Gong Can Help Women Over 40 Manage Incontinence?This was a question submitted in the latest Ask Me Anything Podcast.Incontinence is a common but often frustrating challenge, particularly for women over 40. Hormonal changes, life stressors, and even past medical treatments like those for breast cancer can impact bladder health and kidney energy. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers an empowering solution through the practices of acupressure and Qi Gong, which address not only physical symptoms but also emotional well-being.Join me to explore how these techniques can strengthen kidney energy and improve incontinence while incorporating specific tips, exercises, and foods for holistic healing.WANT A FREE QI GONG CLASS? https://joannefaulkner.ie/chi-flow-with-jo/

In my most recent episode of Ask Me Anything, Janine asked me about a recurring ear infection. She had had antibiotics but it just kept coming back. Unfortunately with ear infections you can’t really tell if they are bacterial or viral. Often we just throw antibiotics at it and hope it clears and if not we try other measures. So, here I am today to give you some other measures. In Chinese Medicine, with these infections that won’t clear, they usually cause a lot of heat and pain. This tells me that there is stagnation and things are not moving. When we have pain it’s either because things can’t move through joints, vessels, or muscles. Or we don’t have the physical energy to move the blood or energy through the area and that’s what causes the pain. With this ear infection I would think it is due to stagnation within the area. Janine also mentioned that she had a baker's cyst, which is a nodule at the back of the knee, that wasn’t draining. This tells me that you’re having a problem with your lymphatic drainage. We have lots of lymph nodes around the neck and ear area but also at the back of the knee area. So, I’m going to share some food, points, and movement to help clear this stagnation and this infection!If you do have recurring infections please do consult your health practitioner. SIGN UP FOR A FREE ONLINE QI GONG CLASS HERE: https://joannefaulkner.ie/chi-flow-with-jo/

How Acupressure and Qi Gong Can Help Relieve Back Pain and Heal the Trauma of Grief As women over 40, we often find ourselves navigating unique physical and emotional challenges. Back pain, whether from posture, injuries, or even emotional trauma, can significantly impact our lives. If you’ve been carrying the heavy weight of grief; an emotion intimately tied to the lungs in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), this blog will guide you on how acupressure and Qi Gong can help release that burden while easing your back pain.