Traditional Chinese Medicine sees Long Covid not as one disease, but as a combination of imbalances unique to you. Here's a deeper look at the patterns behind your symptoms—and how membership gives you personalized guidance for your unique combination.
Yang Qi Deficiency — Your metabolic furnace has gone out
You're not just tired—you're depleted. Rest doesn't help. Sleep doesn't fix it. Your whole system has slowed down, and no matter what you try, you can't seem to generate energy. This isn't laziness or depression—your body genuinely cannot produce the vitality it needs.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yang (陽) represents the warming, activating, transformative energy of your body—your metabolic fire. Qi (氣) is your vital life force, the animating energy that powers every function. When both are depleted, your body's "furnace" goes out.
The classical texts describe this as the mingmen (命門) or "gate of vitality" losing its fire. Your metabolism slows, circulation becomes sluggish, and your organs—particularly the Spleen, Lung, and Kidney systems—don't have the energy to function properly.
Covid particularly taxes the Lung Qi (肺氣) and Spleen Qi (脾氣), which are the primary generators of daily energy in TCM. When these systems are weakened by prolonged illness, the body burns through its deeper reserves, depleting the Kidney Yang—your constitutional foundation.
From a Western perspective, this pattern correlates with:
Recovery focuses on gently rebuilding your metabolic fire and replenishing Qi through a combination of ancient wisdom and modern understanding. This includes:
We don't push. We rebuild slowly, honoring your body's current capacity while gradually increasing it. This is the path of sustainable recovery.
Your intake assessment reveals exactly how depleted your Yang Qi is—and the specific herbs and foods that will rebuild it.
Get Your Personalized Protocol →Blood & Yin Deficiency — Your calming reserves are gone
Exhausted but can't sleep. Tired but wired. Your body is running on empty, but your nervous system won't stop racing. You desperately need rest, but rest won't come. It's as if your "off switch" is broken.
Blood (血) in TCM is more than the red fluid in your veins—it's the nourishing, moistening substance that anchors your spirit (Shen 神) and calms your mind. Yin (陰) represents the cooling, grounding, substantial aspect of your body—the counterbalance to Yang's heat and activity.
When Blood and Yin are depleted, there's nothing to anchor the spirit or cool the Yang. The result is what we call Xū Rè (虛熱)—"deficiency heat." Your Yang rises unchecked like flames with no water to balance them, causing restlessness, heat symptoms, and an inability to settle into rest.
The Heart system (Xīn 心) is particularly affected, as it houses the Shen and requires Blood and Yin to keep it calm. When these are depleted, the spirit becomes unmoored—leading to anxiety, palpitations, and disturbed sleep. The Kidney and Liver Yin are also commonly depleted, creating a cascade of imbalance.
From a Western perspective, this pattern correlates with:
Recovery focuses on deeply nourishing Blood and Yin—rebuilding your body's cooling, calming reserves. This includes:
We're essentially refilling your coolant tank so your system can finally regulate itself again. This takes time, but the relief when your nervous system finally calms is profound.
POTS and dysautonomia respond beautifully to the right Yin-nourishing protocols. Inside the membership, you'll learn exactly which ones are right for you.
Join as a Founding Member →Dampness & Phlegm — Your drainage system is clogged
Everything feels thick, heavy, congested. Your brain is wrapped in cotton wool. Your body feels waterlogged and sluggish, like you're moving through mud. There's a heaviness that pervades everything—your thinking, your movement, your entire being.
Dampness (濕) is like internal humidity—fluids that have become stagnant and turbid instead of flowing clearly. It's heavy, sticky, and difficult to resolve. When dampness thickens and congeals, it becomes Phlegm (痰)—a more substantial pathological substance that can lodge anywhere in the body.
The classical texts say: "The Spleen is the source of Phlegm production; the Lungs are the storage place of Phlegm." When the Spleen (Pí 脾) is weakened—as often happens with viral illness—it loses its ability to transform and transport fluids. They accumulate, becoming first Dampness, then Phlegm.
In the head, Phlegm causes the fog that clouds your thinking. In the chest, it creates congestion and heaviness. Throughout the body, it creates that waterlogged, swollen sensation. TCM recognises that "strange diseases are often caused by Phlegm"—it's implicated in many mysterious, hard-to-diagnose conditions.
From a Western perspective, this pattern correlates with:
Recovery focuses on draining dampness, transforming phlegm, and restoring proper fluid metabolism. This includes:
We're essentially unclogging your drainage system so toxins and waste can clear out properly. As the dampness resolves, the fog lifts—often dramatically.
Dampness patterns require specific dietary changes—and most generic advice gets it wrong. Your membership includes pattern-specific food guidance.
Get Your Food Protocol →Qi Stagnation — Your energy is stuck AND depleted
You never know when it's going to hit. One day you feel okay, the next you're flattened. Small things wipe you out for days. Your body won't cooperate, and the unpredictability is maddening. You live in fear of the next crash.
Qi Stagnation means your vital energy isn't flowing smoothly—it's getting stuck, building up in some places while being absent in others. In TCM, Qi must flow freely for health; when it stagnates, symptoms arise wherever the blockage occurs.
The Liver (Gān 肝) is the organ system responsible for the smooth flow of Qi throughout the body. It's also deeply connected to our emotional state. When the Liver Qi becomes constrained—from stress, frustration, suppressed emotions, or the psychological toll of chronic illness—energy becomes erratic and unpredictable.
What makes Long Covid Qi Stagnation particularly challenging is that it often coexists with underlying deficiency. You don't have enough Qi, AND what you have isn't flowing properly. The classical texts describe this as Yù (郁)—a state of constraint and depression of vital energy. It's one of the most frustrating patterns because the instability itself becomes destabilizing.
From a Western perspective, this pattern correlates with:
Recovery requires a delicate balance—we need to gently move the stagnation while simultaneously rebuilding your depleted reserves. Push too hard and you crash. Don't move energy at all and it stays stuck. This includes:
This is where personalized guidance is essential. We find that sweet spot where energy can flow without depleting you further—and gradually, the crashes become less severe and less frequent.
PEM and crashes are the hardest to navigate alone. Weekly check-ins help you find your limits and gradually expand them without setbacks.
Get Guided Support →伏邪
Understanding your patterns is essential—but it's only half the picture. In most Long Covid cases, something is still triggering your immune system: viral remnants, spike protein fragments, inflammatory debris that never fully cleared.
Chinese medicine has understood this for 3,000 years as 伏邪 (fú xié)—"lurking pathogens." Modern research calls it spike protein persistence. True recovery requires both clearing what's lingering AND rebuilding your patterns.
Learn about lingering pathogens and spike protein detox →
Inside the membership: You'll receive specific guidance on pathogen-clearing protocols—what to take, when to take it, and how to balance clearing with rebuilding based on your current strength.
Traditional Chinese Medicine recognises dozens of pattern variations that can manifest in Long Covid. You might also experience patterns involving Blood Stasis (瘀血), Liver Fire (肝火), Heart Qi Deficiency (心氣虛), Kidney Essence Depletion (腎精虧虛), or combinations we haven't even touched on here.
Most people with Long Covid have 2-3 patterns overlapping, and these patterns shift and change as you recover. What you need in month one is different from what you need in month six.
This is why personalized guidance matters. Diana will help you understand your specific pattern combination through detailed intake assessment, then guide you with a tailored approach combining:
Your recovery map is as unique as you are. Let's find it together.
First 50 members get a 1-on-1 consultation with Diana (normally $180)
Stop guessing. Stop trying random protocols. Get personalized guidance based on 3,000 years of wisdom and 20 years of clinical experience.
Become a Founding Member — $20/week