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Acupuncture

Spring Acupuncture Tips to Keep You Healthy, Happy and Flexible

spring-has-sprung-5_lSpring is a happy time.  Bunnies hop about.  Flowers emerge in long forgotten corners of your garden.  The birds return and sing so loudly they wake you in the morning.

This is not a time to be angry.

But according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, being angry is exactly what you can expect if you don’t balance your wood element.

In TCM, spring is represented by the element wood.  Wood represents birth and newness, the time for fresh ideas and new starts.  Unsurprisingly, its color is green like the fresh growth of spring.

Wood governs your spine, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons.  A wood imbalance can lead to spinal problems, poor flexibility or arthritis.  Wood also governs your eyes.

But most important for your mood, wood governs your liver.  Read More…

How to End the Terrible Side Effects of Breast Cancer Treatments

meridian-womanHaving breast cancer is hard.  Your body wages a war against cancer cells and your emotions may slide into fear, grief, anxiety and depression.

And unfortunately, the side effects from breast cancer treatments can make it even worse.

Until now, many people thought they had to suffer through all the discomfort.  But new research shows that acupuncture is very effective at relieving the side effects of breast cancer treatments.
Continue reading…

How to End Seasonal Affective Disorder and Start Loving Winter

winter-forestMany people feel down as winter approaches.  It’s dark.  It’s cold. The holidays can be stressful.

But for some people every winter is unbearable.  They’re tired and depressed.  They don’t want to get out of bed.  They snap at their families and binge on junk food.

These people have seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Our moods and energy levels fluctuate with the seasons.  Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) understands these cycles but modern life does not.  These days, you are expected to be active, productive and creative at all times of the year.  There is no accommodation for a slow, quiet winter.  According to TCM, this conflict causes stress, which can result in SAD.

Read the rest…

Chinese lunar New Year: A do-over for your New Year’s resolutions

It’s about almost month into the New Year. Do you already wish you had a do-over for your New Year’s Resolutions?

If so, you’re in luck.  You do.

February 10th is the Chinese lunar New Year.  The celebration of the New Year, the Spring Festival, is China’s longest and most important holiday.  Because it is based on a different calendar, it falls on a different date between January 21 and February 20 every year.  You can think of Spring Festival as Christmas and New Year all rolled into one.  Just like our holiday season, it’s a time of celebration, visiting family and friends, giving gifts and preparing for the next year.

Chinese Lunar New Year:   Spring Festival

In China, there are many New Year’s traditions during the 15-day Spring Festival.  Many people clean their homes to sweep away the past year and usher in the next.  Oftentimes family members travel home for a visit.  Children receive red envelopes, called hóngbāo in Mandarin, filled with money from their relatives. People hang red lanterns outside their homes to bring happiness and good luck.  On Chinese New Year’s Eve families gather for a huge meal and enjoy “lucky” foods together.  And, of course, there are fireworks.

The Chinese zodiac has 12 years in its cycle, each one represented by an animal; 2013 is the Year of the Snake.  Astrologers say that people born in the Year of the Snake are wise but enigmatic.  They are very intuitive and size up situations well, but say little.  Snakes are refined; they like to dress well and are usually financially secure. They are intense and passionate in relationships, but can become jealous and suspicious.  Snakes prefer a calm, stress-free environment.

Recommit to Your New Year’s Resolutions

The Chinese do not traditionally make New Year’s Resolutions like we do in the West, however this is a good time to reflect on the goals you set a month ago. Are you keeping your New Year’s resolutions?

If you’re having trouble, maybe it’s time to take a lesson from the Snakes.  Take a quiet moment and reflect on what is stopping you.  Do you need to get serious?  Do you need additional support?  Are your goals genuine—do you want to do them or do you think you should do them?  Why haven’t you kept your New Year’s Resolutions?

If your resolutions include improving your health in 2013, I can help you with that.  Give me a call and we can arrange an appointment for anything from a tune-up to weight control to mood balancing.

If you need to make a deeper commitment to your resolutions, take a moment and think about what you need to do to keep them.  Write down 3 easy action steps.

…and do them.  Now.

Use the Chinese lunar New Year as a do-over.  Commit to your New Year’s resolutions.

Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái.  Happy New Year.

Photo credit: Gayle Nicholson / Foter / CC BY-SA

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