What do you think would happen if you kept your car in park and the engine revving at 65 miles per hour?
You guessed it—after a short time your car would break down. If you were lucky, a simple tune-up would fix the problem. If not, the engine might need to be replaced entirely.
Stress is a revving engine that, if left unchecked, can wear out the body and mind. Stress in our professional, personal, financial and social lives can lead to a variety of symptoms and signs of ill health.
Stress increases our body’s production of cortisol and adrenaline. These body chemicals help activate the “fight or flight” response, a normal reaction that is designed to prepare the body to flee danger or fight an attacker.
Unfortunately, many modern stressors are chronic and end up activating the “fight or flight” response for weeks, months, or years at a time. This long-term activation of the body’s stress-response system can wear down the body and mind, setting the stage for illness and disease.
The good news is that acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be extremely helpful in reducing symptoms and signs associated with stress in a number of ways:
1) A customized Chinese herbal prescription can help restore internal health and balance, thus “slowing the engine down.”
2) Safe, gentle and effective acupuncture treatments can help “turn off” the fight or flight response and can enable you to feel calmer and sleep more soundly.
3) Suggestions for a healthy lifestyle, including proper nutrition, meditation, rest and exercise, will enable you to maintain health over the long-term.
One of the unique attributes of Chinese medicine is its holistic approach to health and well-being. Instead of masking, or only addressing a few symptoms and signs related to stress, an acupuncturist cares for the whole person, body and mind.
Stop revving your engine! If you or someone you know is experiencing stress, feel free to give me a call. For thousands of years acupuncture has helped millions of people cool their engines before they burned out!
If you suffer from headaches, you are not alone. Over 50 Million of us experience some form of a severe headache at some point in our lives. Whether you experience minor head pain or severe migraines, headaches can take valuable time out of your day and your life, and leave you searching for relief.
Spring is here! Yes! Except for the fact that many people don’t feel so hot this time of year.
The flu is—knock on wood—mostly behind us. Allergies have not quite exploded yet. So, why do so many of us feel off in the early days of spring?
You can kindly thank your Liver!
In acupuncture theory, humans are viewed as microcosms of the natural world that surrounds them. Seasons—particularly the transitional periods, when we move from one season to the next—factor significantly into how we feel.
Each season is linked with an organ system in the body, and spring’s system is Liver. This means that the Liver, as it adjusts to taking over the seasonal reigns, is especially vulnerable.
When the Liver is vulnerable, the functions throughout the body for which the Liver is responsible have a tendency to get out of whack.
Eventually, spring can become a time when the Liver and its associated functions thrive. However, during this transitional period, when the Liver is still finding its footing, certain symptoms commonly show up. Acupuncture improves these symptoms by restoring balance to the Liver system.
You Need Acupuncture If…
Here are seven signs that your Liver may need some acupuncture love:
You feel extra tense
In acupuncture, Liver is the system that’s responsible for smooth flow throughout the body. When the Liver is not functioning optimally, things like emotional stress, rigid posture, shallow breathing, and jaw clenching may become exacerbated.
You have headaches and other aches and pains
When things aren’t flowing smoothly, we start to experience what acupuncturists think of as stagnation-type symptoms. These include pain, and specifically pain that feels like pressure, tightness or restriction. Tension headaches and menstrual cramps are commonly worse this time of year.
Your muscles are really stiff
The Liver and its associated system, Gallbladder, nourish the body’s connective tissue, tendons and ligaments. You may notice increased stiffness, tension or tightness in your muscles and joints in the coming weeks.
You feel irritable and frustrated
Are you feeling more annoyed than charmed by the springtime sound of chirping birds? The emotional symptoms associated with Liver imbalances mimic the physical stagnation that happens. You may notice yourself feeling extra irritable or frustrated, perhaps more easily annoyed. There’s an emotional stuckness that can take hold in spring.
Your fuse is shorter than usual
All organ systems in acupuncture have an associated emotion. Liver’s emotion is anger. A healthy dose of anger helps complete a balanced emotional profile. However, when the Liver isn’t appropriately keeping things in check, there is a tendency for anger to rise up. Along with feeling irritable, you may have a harder time than usual controlling your anger.
Your digestion is messed up
Healthy digestion is heavily dependent on consistent and smooth movement throughout the whole body. When the Liver fails to maintain flow, digestive disturbances can easily occur. There’s also the whole brain-gut connection. When emotional stress is higher than usual, digestive function naturally declines.
Your eyes are bothering you
Just as all organ systems have an associated emotion, they also have an associated sense. Sight goes with the Liver system, so any issues related to eye health are usually attributed, at least in part, to a Liver imbalance. This can include poor vision as well as eye pain and fatigue, and dry eyes. This simple exercise can help.
The Springtime Acupressure Point
If you only remember one acupuncture point all spring, it should be Liver 3.
Located on the foot, between the first and second toes(see picture at right), Liver 3 is the source point on the Liver channel.
Source points behave sort of like central stations on subway lines. They are hubs where internal and external energies gather and transform. They are single, high-concentration points that grant access to the larger system.
Any time of year, Liver 3 is a go-to point for stagnation throughout the body. Because of the spring–Liver connection, the point is doubly useful for addressing springtime stagnation-type symptoms.
Applying acupressure to Liver 3 will help get things moving like no other point. Poke around the point area until you discover a tender spot. Liver 3, if pressed firmly enough, is sensitive on most people.
Once you have the point, apply firm pressure. This should feel a little achy. The more the better on this point, so feel free to do this acupressure exercise anytime your bare feet are available. Liver 3 can be pressed on one or both sides.
If you like gadgets, this acupressure devicecan be used for Liver 3. It was designed for Large Intestine 4, a point on the hand, but it also fits nicely and works just as well on Liver 3 (see picture at left).
If in the coming weeks you experience some tell-tale signs of a Liver imbalance, don’t get down on yourself—they’re completely normal during the seasonal transition. A little acupuncture will help realign your system so that you can enjoy the wonders of spring.
Here is a good summary of women’s health issues that was compiled by acufinder.com.
Everyone wants to be healthy in order to enjoy a sense of well-being and have the best quality of life possible. Oriental medicine has always addressed the special needs of women throughout their lives. Women are more susceptible than men to certain health conditions, which can make it more challenging to achieve optimal health. Fortunately, many health issues women face respond extremely well to acupuncture treatments.
Several conditions that impact women more frequently than men include:
Depression:
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) states that women are twice as likely to experience depression as men and one in eight will contend with major depression during their lifetime. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is the most commonly reported mental health problem among women.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS):
Four times as many women as men develop chronic fatigue syndrome. CFS sufferers may feel tired for more than six months, experience reduced memory, insomnia or a wide range of other symptoms, including but not limited to, headaches, flu-like symptoms and chronic pain. Oriental medicine can help relieve many of your symptoms because it is exceptional for relieving aches and pains, helping to avoid getting sick as often, recovering more quickly, and improving vitality and stamina.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS):
Women are 2-6 times more likely to develop IBS. Acupuncture points can help relieve IBS symptoms, according to researchers from the University of York in the U.K., who found that integrating acupuncture into a treatment plan led to less severe symptoms.
Autoimmune Diseases:
According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA), about 75 percent of autoimmune diseases occur in women. As a group, these diseases make up the fourth-largest cause of health related disability among American women.
Some specific autoimmune diseases that affect women disproportionately more than men include:
Multiple Sclerosis (MS): Nearly half a million Americans have multiple sclerosis, and of that group two-thirds are women. According to the American Academy of Neurology, women with MS are nearly 1.5 times more likely to carry the gene associated with the disease, and are more likely to transfer the gene to female offspring.
Lupus: Ninety percent of all lupus patients are female. Lupus has no known cause, though it is believed it may be hereditary, and may also be triggered by stress, environmental toxins, sunlight, exposure to fluorescent light, and some medications.
Celiac Disease: An autoimmune disorder that affects the digestive system due to an adverse reaction to gluten, 60 to 70 percent of celiac disease patients are women.
Read More about acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for women’s health!
There is no place safe from allergies in America, and some cities are more problematic than others. The Allergy Capitals is an annual research project of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) to identify “the 100 most challenging places to live with allergies” during the spring and fall seasons.
Here is the list of the top 100. If you live in the DFW area we are now at #10. The good news is there is an option to the traditional treatments. The acupuncture/acupressure techniques that I use have been getting great results. If you are tired of sneezing, having itchy eyes, or being congested you should give me a call to found out more.
What do you think would happen if you kept your car in park and the engine revving at 65 miles per hour?
7 Signs That You Need Acupuncture This Spring
