It’s becoming more and more common for parents to look for natural and effective treatment options to deal with childhood health concerns. Acupuncture is a great option for those looking to keep the whole family healthy in both mind and body. It really doesn’t matter how old you are, young or old, families can benefit greatly from regular acupuncture treatments. continue reading
As new parents in a global pandemic Jillian and I have found that it is not possible to avoid disagreements—in fact even as non-parents outside of any pandemic it is not possible to avoid disagreements. Such naivete might be equated to the hope that we can somehow avoid disappointment in life. Disagreement, disappointment, getting dissed, basically all of the undesirables of existence, seem inevitable, and as Zen philosophy teaches, it is only how we react to it that is in our control.
Just as each organ in Chinese Medicine is associated with a season, a time of day, a body part, a five element, and emotion, there is also an associated MOVEMENT. While this may sound like an outlandish reach from a biomedical perspective, in fact it translates quite easily with very little thought.
The “spleen qi” translates as the microbiome, and the movement of the spleen (or lack thereof) is to be seated. Sitting while we eat and for the initial stage after is known to optimize digestion. Conversely, excessive sitting is known to “deplete the spleen,” or in biomedical terms, an overly sedentary lifestyle weakens the microbiome and leads to weight gain and inflammation.
The “kidney qi” might translate as adrenal and hormonal strength, and the movement of the kidneys is to stand. Strong kidney qi and/or hormonal health equals strong bones, and we know that a lack of standing in life can lead to osteoporosis, osteopenia, and all kinds of bone depletion. Conversely, excessive standing is known to “deplete the kidneys,” or in biomedical terms exhaust the adrenals and low back, both of which are also exhausted by working nights, which is why we should all have great sympathy for waiters and waitresses and tip well!
The “liver” is most associated with healthy circulation and our stress responses, and its movement is walking. “Walk it off” is more than a cliché, but in fact bears great scientific logic, as it becomes easier to manage anger, irritability, or any form of hyper-excitability while the body is in motion. Ever been in a nerve-racking situation like a job interview or first date and felt like you just needed to move? That is the qi of your liver channel.
If you have to have a difficult conversation with someone it is easier to do so skillfully while out for a walk. If you have to remain inside on the phone simply pace around your apartment during the talk. It will help to circulate the liver qi so that your delivery and reactions can be calmer. The good news is, if you happen to have a baby they have to go out for walks every damn day anyway, so it’s a nice two bird with one stone.
To find out more about how Chinese Medicine might smooth out your liver qi and improve healthy communication, CLICK HERE for your FREE CONSULTATION!
Happy new year to all! There is a wonderful dichotomy around the intelligence of new year’s resolutions from a Chinese Medical perspective. While on one hand we know time and our calendar to be manmade, on the other hand there is a correspondence with the seasons that is scientific and therefore significant to our choices—not to mention this year, where the new year falls within one day of today’s new moon.
Winter is the time of the kidneys (or in western terms, adrenal and hormonal health), when they are vulnerable to depletion and should therefore be most nourished and protected. The best way to “nourish the kidney qi” (or preserve good hormonal health) is through temperate activity:
· Going to bed before 10pm and closing your eyes for at least 15 minutes during the day
· Limiting over-work/exertion as much as possible
· Eating small, but consistent portions of high calorie foods such as lamb, butter, beef, and pork. (Although the greasiness of pork can give rise to fluid retention during the humid summer months when we already absorb plenty of energy from the environment itself, it becomes less harmful in the dry and bitter cold winter when even a long walk to the train can sometimes feel exhausting—of course nitrite and hormone free is highly preferable)
The psycho-spiritual aspect of the kidneys, in Chinese, is our “zhi” (pronounced “zher”), in reference to our will or discipline, which informs us that winter might possibly be a challenging time to keep up with declarations, form new, positive habits, or let go of bad ones.
Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t mean to forego whatever resolutions you may have towards self-improvement. Just to be kind to yourself, be forgiving if and when you slip up, and try, try again throughout the calendar year. Remember, there are 12 new moons and many new years from many cultural traditions to use to start anew.
As for myself, I am choosing to rededicate myself to two self-preservation exercises that fell by the wayside since my daughter was born five months ago: Daily meditation and intermittent fasting (I do and recommend mostly 14 and 10 hour windows—not 16 and 8), as one of the more serious thoughts a new parent is faced with in between “Goo-goo-gaga” tummy-blowing sessions is the reminder that our children serve of our mortality.
My hope, for all of us, is not only to live to the triple digits, but to live well, and unfortunately in the present world climate the deck is a bit stacked against this intention, which makes our “zhi” and kidney health an all too logical value to prioritize.
To better understand how you or any loved ones can use acupuncture and Chinese medicine to support hormonal health, please don’t hesitate to CONTACT ME for a FREE CONSULTATION.
If you are just beginning to look into acupuncture, you will be exposed to language you probably aren’t familiar with. One of the first phrases you might come across is the term “meridian.” Meridians are defined as the invisible channels through which qi (or energy) circulates throughout the body. The acupuncture points are the locations where the qi of the channels rises close to the surface of the body. continue reading
In Chinese Medicine the winter season corresponds with the water element, the kidney organs, and the emotion of fear. To translate biomedically, the “kidneys” really are referring to our adrenal glands and hormonal reserves, which suddenly then becomes easy to understand why the ancient Chinese were brilliantly able to intuit its relationship with fear.
For many the global pandemic has been depressing—fortunately, for them their season is passing, as it is autumn that corresponds with grief, sadness, and the lungs. But for those of us for whom fear has been the dominant emotion, the next few months bode challenging, especially with the rising local cases and omicron variant’s apparent ubiquity. Unfortunately, responding with mindless fear gradually taxes our adrenal glands, which in turn taxes our immune system and makes us more vulnerable. Chinese Medicine would phrase it as the lung qi needing to draw upon the kidney qi to give it “wei qi,” or immunological energy.
As someone who did approximately 5000 stand-up comedy shows over the course of 15 years, I can tell you that the best way to manage fear is first by not trying to resist or avoid it. While general carelessness is stupid, there is such a thing as intelligent levels of courage that I believe come into play when we are able to sit with our fears, acknowledge them, and allow them to pass through us gently, with observation, possibly a prayer, and our breath.
The “kidney breath” is a good practice during or at the end of your regular workouts. It is one where we direct our nasal breath into the lower back, allowing it to subtly expand while keeping the abdomen flat, then exhale through the nose as well. This is also a nice choice during meditation or qi gong practice, or while just resting on your bed.
I continue to support masking and distancing whenever possible; also keeping in mind that it is as important to keep the head and neck covered in winter as it is to have them uncovered in summer. Heat departs from the top of the body, so we should try to maintain as much of that warm cellular energy within to unburden our immune systems. Hoods and scarves are the warm tea and vitamin D of fashion! I also recommend warm socks to avoid vasoconstriction in the nerves supplying the lumbar plexus, which travel to the none other than the adrenals—also avoid belly t-shirts, as they leave the microbiome vulnerable to air, which creates vasoconstriction in the gut and impedes digestion. Sadly, most sexy trends are not healthy.
If you haven’t gotten it by now, winter is the time for warmth! We do more herbal medicine and moxibustion in the winter. We recommend more warming foods, such as ginger, onions, garlic, bone broths a few times a week, and lamb meat at least once a week. Although green vegetables are always in order, root vegetables are in season and subsequently most logical now. Bedtimes should be approximately one hour earlier than they are in summer, sexual activity should be half as often, and exercise about half as intense. Not to worry—it isn’t all bad: When it comes to indulgences, winter is a better time for whiskey and red wine than white or beer, as the former are more invigorating. If you must have a beer over the holidays try to do so alongside warm and/or even spicy foods to counteract its cold, coagulating nature.
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