Lately, I’ve been reading The Tao of Health, Sex and Longevity by Daniel Reid. And what’s struck me most is how much of it echoes what I’ve already learned—through my training in Traditional Chinese Medicine, my own intuition, and my experiences working with clients. It feels like scattered pieces of understanding are finally coming together into something more cohesive.

I’m using this to refine my personal healing framework, one that integrates spiritual practices, coaching tools, energy work, and now—Taoist wisdom.

Early Detection is the Real Prevention

One thing this book makes clear:

Healing starts way before symptoms show up. I’ve always believed that energy work and intuitive scans are really tools for early detection—sensing what’s off before it becomes illness.

Western medicine is only starting to catch up to this idea. But ancient systems have always known: prevention matters more than treatment. In my work, I’ve met more and more people calling themselves “medical intuitives,” which I think is really just another way of saying—someone who can feel imbalances across the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual body.

We’re not inventing anything new. We’re remembering something ancient and translating it into a language that people today can understand.

Internal vs. External Influences on Health

When I first built my framework, I focused mostly on the internal: body, mind, emotions, and spirit. That’s what I needed to clean up and stabilize after years of burnout and pushing.

But this chapter deepened my understanding of external influences—things like seasons, weather, location, and lifestyle. Taoist medicine describes these as “vicious winds” and notes that each season brings a different set of challenges. Heat in summer. Dryness in fall. Cold in winter. If our internal systems are strong, we can handle them. If we’re depleted, the environment can tip us into illness.

Now I’m thinking of adding seasonal guidance into my future wellness app. It could use GPS to track your location, your emotional state, and offer support—like a personalized health rhythm that shifts with where you are and what season you’re in.

Emotions and Organ Health

Another reminder from the book: every emotion is tied to an organ. And excess in any one emotion can cause physical dysfunction.

Here’s a simplified mapping:

• Worry affects the spleen
• Fear impacts the kidneys
• Sadness and grief weaken the lungs
• Anger shows up in the liver
• Overexcitement or emotional shock hits the heart

In my own healing journey, I’ve lived this. After being laid off (again), I felt ungrounded, overwhelmed, and afraid. I pushed through, like I always do—but eventually I got physically sick. Nausea, loss of appetite, exhaustion. I was later diagnosed with a parasite, but I also know part of that was energetic. My spleen and kidneys were depleted. My lungs were heavy with grief. My heart was out of rhythm.

How I Healed Using This Framework

Instead of ignoring it, I used my own method to bring myself back into balance.

Kidneys (fear and willpower)

• I focused on warm foods: bone broth, seaweed, black sesame
• Took salt foot soaks, rubbed warmth into my lower back
• Paired it with breathwork and grounding practices

Spleen (worry, digestion)

• I increased sweet root veggies, ginger, and pumpkin
• Avoided cold and raw foods
• Did abdominal massage and energy healing on my stomach
• Repeated to myself: I can digest my emotions

Heart (shock, anxiety)

• Added bitter foods like dark chocolate and rose tea
• Did heart meditations and gentle visualizations
• Focused on calming my nervous system before bed

Lungs (grief and letting go)

• Ate pears and white radish
• Practiced the “Sss” healing sound
• Did deep, nourishing breathwork

Rethinking My Framework

This chapter has me asking if I should revise my healing framework. Right now, it’s based on mind, body, spirit, and emotions.

But maybe action plans should instead be grouped as:

• Emotions
• Nutrition
• Movement
• Breath
• Environment

For the app, I imagine tracking moods and emotional patterns over time. If someone logs sadness every day for a week, it could flag a possible lung deficiency and suggest a change in diet, breath practice, or even a sound meditation. That’s how we combine ancient systems with modern tools—by meeting people where they are, with simple support.

Sound as Medicine

One thing I loved was how Taoist medicine talks about sound. Every organ has a sound that helps it release energy. It’s something we don’t talk about enough.

Everyone’s obsessed with breathwork lately, but sound is just as powerful. It doesn’t need to be a fancy guided meditation. Sometimes, all you need is your own voice. One intentional sound repeated softly. One minute of stillness with that sound can help shift your system.

Why This Matters

Reading this chapter, I felt so validated. Like everything I’ve experienced—from burnout in Silicon Valley, to energy healing in Peru, to building this new framework—is part of something bigger.

Healing isn’t just about herbs or rituals or modalities. It’s about flow. The body and mind know how to repair themselves if we create the conditions for flow to return.

Taoism reminds me:

Let life move through you. Observe, adapt, return to balance.

And that’s the work I want to bring to others. Simple. Seasonal. Rooted in wisdom. Designed for the world we actually live in.