Chi'll Out

NINETEEN HERBS TO TAKE THE EDGE OFF** Chill_Out_Family

Outlets for self-expression will ease sleep disturbances and anxiety. Chi'll Out will quiet and calm without sedating.

Basic Way: Take two capsules three times a day.

Another Way: Throw out the notion that a printed set of directions will provide the exact answer. Consider size, constitution, timing, and other factors affecting each unique person. Frequent use (as often as every twenty minutes) may be required in certain circumstances. With more experience and some anticipation, you won't need to consume a large quantity of herbs. The suggested maximum amount per day is 24 capsules.

Continue with the Basic Way for a couple of days to ensure sleep and less anxiety.** When the process is complete, you will feel more creative.

**The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated these statements. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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A way to relax

It’s hard to know which came first, the stress or the inability to handle it. When stress affects your sleep, it becomes insidious and self-perpetuating. We hear from lots of people who are not sleeping well. The reasons are complex and varied. Anxiety often compounds the problem. Sleep disturbances usually start with an edge or moodiness often caused by a hectic culture. Our minds fill with endless dialog. It wouldn’t be so bad if we were filled up with things that were important to deal with eventually, but this stuff, indeed worry, is useless. That’s easy to say and harder to control.

We are a busy community with much to do. The problem is that we are virtually crazed by excessive activity and drained from effort. Self-medication includes a triple latte in the a.m. and a double martini after getting home. Western medicine uses a particular strategy for this problem — sedation. Bi-polar? Sedate ‘em. ADD? Sedate ‘em. Psychotic? Thorazine drip. The problem is that while a thorazine drip will keep a psychotic from moving, it does not change the underlying condition. There seems to be no understanding or attempt to learn why this edge exists. For those affected, it can be a wild ride.

Oriental medicine (OM) sees the purpose of life as being fairly far removed from seeking. Instead, one OM bias is that the purpose for our very existence is to “mix Heaven and Earth.” This could be interpreted as taking that which has no form (Heaven) and mixing it with that which is form (Earth). In other words, we are speaking of the basic creative process, a magical occurrence where we allow the divine to mingle with our more mundane selves. This, as you can imagine, is a large, highly technical consideration from within Chinese medical philosophy itself. Outlets for self-expression abound. Creativity does not necessarily mean becoming the next Frida Kahlo or Igor Stravinsky, nor does it mean ordering up some white robes and preaching to the masses from the closest mountaintop. It does mean exactly what it says, “mix Heaven and Earth.”

The process of basic creative activity if occluded, stifled, or interrupted produces a negative resonance with physical repercussions. Instead of flowing clearly, energy will reverse back upon itself like earsplitting feedback one hears when a technician is adjusting the sound system before a concert. It resonates in a most unpleasant way. According to OM, creative blocks produce some pretty specific symptoms. Anxiety is a major one often accompanied by heart palpitations and unreasonable fears. It may manifest as scattered thoughts and an unfocused demeanor. Insomnia of all types falls within the framework of this disorder as well. According to some schools of Oriental medicine, insomnia is always associated with a disturbed creative flow. OM, instead of sedating the resultant symptoms, chooses to adjust the disturbed mechanism directly. Sedation is counterproductive since it would also sedate the creative process, which is already too low. Many times a deficiency of Heart Blood is at the root of the problem. (Again, we use Heart and Blood with capitals to indicate the system and not the specific organ.) There are established protocols to allow movement of this divine essence and get the creative juices flowing. Maximizing and maintaining basic human creativity is the strategy of Chi’ll Out, and the results can be surprisingly effective and far reaching.

Chi’ll Out, OHCO’s latest formula, is based upon these very complex protocols. The formula is not a sedative. It is a storing, nourishing, and strengthening agent for creative flow. If this can be accomplished, it is believed that a deep level calm can occur. Taking a Chinese “sleep” formula is not at all like taking a sleeping pill. Indeed, just as with other OHCO formulas, to achieve a long lasting, deep level change take the herbs gradually over at least a few days. Chi’ll Out will not put you to sleep or make you drowsy. It will not have an immediate effect but acts more like plant food for the garden. If life has given you more to handle than you can process in the daytime, we think this formula will help you chill out at night, quiet and calm your Heart, and light the creative fire.

Sleep deprivation

Sleep deprivation is widespread in our society. Watch how easily so many folks can drop off to sleep almost instantly on an airplane while a well-rested person can hardly get in a cat nap under those challenging surroundings.

Sleeping_student

Some suffer from a deficiency of quality sleep that can’t be made up with additional hours in bed. Because a Chinese herbal formulas such as Chi’ll Out can be taken in a way that address a problem by addressing an imbalance, long-lasting, deep level changes are possible when the herbs are taken as a maintenance formula.

Winston Churchill became the poster boy for the misguided philosophy that “real men don’t need sleep.” When his biography came out, we learned that his big, black limo was actually his nap-mobile. He would often have his driver take a detour so he could catch up on his sleep.

Churchill

Just like with the other OHCO formulas there are two way to take Chi’ll Out. The “Another Way” method is for sudden onset sleep issues. For example, a stimulating movie late at night might make getting to sleep difficult. You can plan ahead by taking Chi’ll Out and it will make it easier to relax and let go when you get to bed.

The “Basic Way” method is for an ongoing problem. You can take this formula in the daytime to change your sleep at night. It should not make you drowsy or feel sedated. Although this formula carries a smaller maximum dose per day, it sometimes needs a slightly larger maintenance dose than the usual two caps three times a day. You might try two capsules four times a day.

This teaching tool will nourish you and awaken creativity. It’s how you live your life during the day that will let you sleep better at night. Outlets for self-expression will ease sleep disturbances and stress. Chi’ll Out will quiet and calm without sedating.

Ingredients

Below is a complete list of the nineteen herbs that make up Chi'll Out.

The following is a listing of the ingredients as it appears on the current label within the Supplement Facts box.

If you have further questions about an ingredient, click on the list in the side bar.

Atractylodes (root)
Chinese senega (honey-fried root)
Dong quai (root)
Longan fruit (seed coating)
Milk-vetch (root)
Oriental ginseng (root)
Poria (fruiting body)
Sour Jujube (seed)
Ginger (root)
Jujube (fruit)
Licorice (honey-fried root)
Saussurea (root)
Chinese thoroughwax (root)
Pinellia (root)
Scullcap (root)
Cinnamon (twig)
Oyster shell
Fossilized bone
Rhubarb (root and rhizoma)

"Other" ingredients

There is a cornstarch excipient that is used to bind the formula together. It is a very, very small amount. The gelatin capsules are bovine from the hide of grass-fed cows raised in Brazil. The powder versions of the other five formulas are vegetarian but some vegans will choose to skip Chi'll Out because it contains honey-fried licorice, oyster shell and fossilized bone (mineral).

The formulas are gluten free (NO wheat [including kamut and spelt], barley, rye, and triticale, as well as the use of gluten as a food additive in the form of a flavoring, stabilizing or thickening agent).

Licorice

Licorice is used primarily as a servant ingredient in Cold Snap, Stomach Chi, and OHCO-Motion. As described in Bensky and Gamble's Materia Medica, licorice "moderates and harmonizes the characteristics of other herbs: by virtue of its sweet, neutral and moderating characteristics. This herb moderates hot and cold herbs and makes violent herbs more gentle. Because it is said to enter all twelve Primary Channels, it can lead and conduct other herbs into the Channels."

The licorice root is long and cylindrical (one to two and one-half centimeters in diameter) and usually without branches. Its appearance is reddish or earth brown with pronounced wrinkles or furrows and transverse small pores on the surface. The pieces used in preparing the teas are transverse slices about two millimeters thick. The best quality roots are sweet and rich in starch. People find it a pleasing addition to the odor and taste of the powders. It is non toxic.

Beyond its role as a servant herb in Cold Snap, it is used for either Heat or Cold conditions in the Lungs and is effective for helping to control coughing and wheezing. It has a role in boosting righteous chi. In Stomach Chi, licorice will smooth digestive tract ulcers and aid in fighting food poisoning by fortifying the Stomach and Spleen channels. In OHCO-Motion it acts to relieve pain and reduce contraction.

The ingredients of these formulas have been carefully combined into well-designed harmonious mixes. The herbs are thought of as a family of relationships which together bring about the desired results. Individual herbs are very rarely used on their own. Licorice in extremely high dosages for long periods of time may have a detrimental effect on various hormone secretions in women. This effect is virtually impossible in OHCO's products based on its small amount relative to the other herbs in the formulas and its inherent relationship with the rest of the herbal family. However, if one was to chew on a licorice root for weeks on end, negative effects could occur.

Ginseng

One of the Chinese herbs most familiar to Americans is ginseng. It has a reputation which includes increasing sexual prowess and athletic performance. In some circles, it is considered a strong stimulant and something to be avoided in conditions of anxiety and heart hyperactivity. Because it is a "warm" or even "hot" herb, depending on its grade, the wrong conclusion about its use in Cold Snap and Stomach Chi may be reached. Looking at the list of ingredients, some may say, "No, I can't take this formula. It's way too 'hot' for me. It has ginseng in it, and I'm already a 'hot' person." This somewhat simplistic view of Oriental herbology lacks the insight of the concept of synergy.

The power of the ginseng in Cold Snap and Stomach Chi lies in the synthesis between it and the other ingredients which produce effects that the individual herbs do not produce by themselves. In a balanced formula, any unwanted negatives that the individual herb inherently produces will be reduced. In Cold Snap, for instance, ginseng is not excessively stimulating. It does not have the extreme stimulating action it would have if taken by itself. Balanced with other herbs, it is led to the areas of the body/mind system that need strengthening, and the areas that can be overheated are cooled and guarded against the build-up of toxins. Existing toxins are routed out of the system and are eliminated.

Some of the other herbs involved in the above-mentioned processes are lonicera, forsythia, arctium, platycodon, and schizenopeta. Some are actually downward-moving herbs and others by their action moderate or harmonize the formula thereby creating balance. Ginseng, in this context, will not cause anxiety (upsurging) but usually will produce a strengthening and calming sensation.

The non-toxic root used in Cold Snap and Stomach Chi is white, processed, Chinese ginseng. Undamaged roots with large branches, a long stem base, yellowish skin, and fine but pronounced wrinkles are the best. Processed means that it has been cooked, skimmed, recooked, and then vacuum dried. Its taste is sweet and slightly bitter.

Dong Quai

Dong quai (sometimes called Tang kuei or Chinese angelica sinensis) is one of the individual ingredients in both the Cold Snap and OHCO-Motion formulas. It is an herb that has been severely misunderstood in this country.

Its reputation is for influencing hormonal shifts in women and is generally available on health food store shelves. Used by itself, dong quai is generally too harsh, especially for women of certain constitutions. For example, large doses of the individual herb during the first trimester of pregnancy can cause the loss of the fetus. For this reason and others, dong quai is very seldom given by itself. However, if mixed properly with other "sister" ingredients, it very effectively prevents the fetal loss and is often prescribed for women who habitually abort.

The effect of dong quai in Cold Snap is largely to help transform the tightening and contracting process of a cold into a "softer" reaction. It also works to counteract any negatives some of the herbs might have if they were used by themselves. For example, bupleurum, another ingredient in Cold Snap, can be drying as a single ingredient. It is balanced by several herbs, among them dong quai. In OHCO-Motion, it supplements and harmonizes the Blood, nourishing it and moving it.

Dong quai is a non-toxic root. Its outer surface is middle brown with irregular wrinkles. The flesh is yellow or pale brown. The taste is somewhat acrid and its strong smell a sign of superior quality.

Dong quai is in Cold Snap and OHCO-Motion in appropriate amounts. The outcome to the various systems is strengthening and harmonizing. This effect cannot be attributed to the individual parts but rather to the whole of the synthesis that makes a complete formula. It is balance that makes Cold Snap and OHCO-Motion so extraordinary. The best way to judge them is to try them. Since dong quai does not act as a stimulant, the results are cumulative. You will be able to experience it as an ideal part of a combination of ingredients in balanced proportions for Westerners.