Mid Winter Health Tips - Keep your Kidneys strong!

Each season has it's natural inclinations. In Chinese Medicine each of the seasons relates to a different organ and each organ has a different set of strengths and weaknesses.

The Kidneys are a combination of your genetic health and the health you give yourself. Some people are prone to a variety of health problems due to various genetic issues. Some people are born with very strong constitutions and live very hard, depleting themselves of health.

That heavy feeling when you wake up in the morning of being without life before you have coffee, can often be called a Kidney Yang Deficiency. Dryness, constant thirst, and heat symptoms can stem from what we call a Kidney Yin Deficiency. It can be tricky to live in balance of these two supplements, however making choices that fit your constitution can help your health throughout the year.

Say Yes to:

• black foods: black sesame seeds, seaweed, black beans etc.
• warming spices: ginger, black pepper, cinnamon
• sea salt, the Kidneys like salt.
• rest & sleep
• keeping warm - especially your lower back
• gentle exercise and movement
• facing your fears: the Kidneys are related to fear, if you can look at things that held you back because you are fearful and work past them, now is a good time. Use the hibernation energy to give yourself space to work these things out.
• support your will to do things. The Kidneys are also closely connected to your will and motivation. Many people use the New Year to make resolutions, in Chinese Medicine we suggest making ideas now and execute them in the Chinese New Year or even in the Spring!
• acupuncture treatments! Always good to give yourself a boost, especially if you are having symptoms listed below.

Say No to:

• standing all day: if you have to, wear thick shoes and have a change so that your body has different parts that get worn out.
• working out really hard: it's winter! If your body needs movement, then move, but don't drain your resources.
• partying too hard: it will go to your Kidneys. Try to take care of them.

If you are having low energy, fatigue, low back pain, knee pain, menstrual issues, over heating / hot flashes, severe cold limbs or cold in your "bones",  immunity issues, insomnia, lack of will then I recommend getting acupuncture to help boost your Kidneys through the season.

Why affordable acupuncture?

Affordable acupuncture because I believe that people should be able to afford an hour a week to take care of themselves, balance their mind / body / spirit with some needles and a little rest. 

Acupuncture is one of the most powerful tools I have found to maintain my health and well-being. One a weekly to every-other week basis I get a treatment. It helps maintain my energy, immunity, digestion, emotional balance and I'm pretty sure it's preventing a whole lot of pain and illness.

Traditionally the relationship to your acupuncturist was to pay them and see them on a regular basis to help keep you healthy. While you kept up your end of the deal (eating well, sleeping well, not overworking) the symbiotic friendship would keep you running through the various ups and downs of life. When illness occasionally occurred, the acupuncturist would keep treating you, and not getting paid. The incentive here is clear, keep your patient healthy.

This is how I practice, I enjoy seeing "healthy" people take care of their ailments and send them on their ways to work in their bustling lives. When they collapse on my table on a weekly basis without improvement, we know that something is not working. My job is to help balance their system with needles and maybe some herbs. Their job is to try to sleep, eat, exercise well so that they can keep whatever sense of balance they left the treatment with.

Long answer for a short questions, but it's so important! We live in such a rush we forget to take care of our homes, the body we are living in. My message is that, affordable acupuncture is so valuable it's invaluable. It is a preventative measure to care for yourself in a deep, true way. There are other methods of course, but I suggest giving it a try. Take the time to care for your mind / body / spirit.

Autumn, Season of the Lungs

The Autumn is a special time in Chinese medicine. It relates most closely to the Lungs and Metal element.

Let me translate that a bit, the Lungs work with other organs and primarily are related to:

• the nose
• the skin
• the respiratory/immune system

As the weather changes and the hours of light shorten, it's important to notice the changing season with daily habits and routines. Chinese medicine can be complex but also quite basic when you start to break it down. As the light changes it's quite important to shut down the phones, computers and TVs and get to bed a little earlier. Additionally best to rise earlier in the mornings.

The Lungs move the energy through the body, they loathe cold, they govern the voice, and are a delicate organ.

Exercise: Make sure you are activating your Lungs by vigorous exercise. Gym training is great, but walks, runs and bike rides in the cool fall air is revitalizing for the Lungs.

Diet & Nutrition: In general white foods are potent for Lung health. 

• white sesame seeds
• add some sour to your diet: sourdough bread, sauerkraut, olives, pickles, rose hip tea, vinegar, cheese, yogurt, citrus
• start braising and using the crockpot for some slow cooked meals

If you experience Dryness (skin, lips, nose, throat, thirst or thin body):

• soy
• spinach
• barley
• millet
• apples/pears/persimmon
• seaweed
• almond/pinenut/peanut
• adding small amounts of salt

Emotional Health:
The Lungs are affected by: worry / grief / sadness. It is a time when residual sorrows can rise up, seemingly out of nowhere. It's best to find the time and space to process and work through them so that the emotions can be released and no longer tax the Lungs. If there are emotional cobwebs in your closet, it's a great time to use exercise, walks on the beach and time alone to process and truly let go.

Additionally to the emotional closet, cleaning out your actual closet is the perfect project for the energy of Autumn. The Lungs pair with the Large Intestine (colon) and relate to the Metal element in Chinese medicine. Metal loves organization while simultaneously L.E.T.T.I.N.G. G.O........... Metal is orderly and gets stuff done. If you have projects that have lingered and need to be finished, it's the perfect season! The ideal projects for the Metal element are purging extra belongings, time for some deep reorganizing.

Protecting your immune and digestive health will help your body to physically filter out all waste, and letting go of emotional burdens will help keep Lungs and their function in balance. 

Immune boosting tips:
Chinese herbs: If you are prone to colds and flus, or have caught something and it's lingering, also if you are a teacher, work with kids, take public transportation or are exposed to a wide array of germs or people who are sick, Stay Well tea is a classic Chinese formula made for you.

Western herbs: Elderberry syrup. Great as preventative medicine or while you are fighting something off.

Acupuncture: Treatments are a great way to give your body the deep rest it needs to recover. Also great at boosting the immune system, getting rid of colds, flus and stomach bugs.

Fashion: 
(Yes, fashion!)
Scarves and socks and shoes. Try to keep your skin covered this fall. In Chinese medicine pathogens often get in through the nape of the neck, or exposed skin. Wearing a scarf is important to keeping yourself protected. Also putting away sandals, and starting to wear socks and shoes to keep your feet warm. 

It can be a healthy season if you pay attention to what your body needs and try to help it through all this transitional season. 

Late Summer Spleen

September... *sigh*.

For me September always represents the beginning of the fall, yet in Traditional Chinese Medicine it is the fifth season, Late Summer. It always feels like change, the weather begins to change, although the bay area has some last summer days in September. But school starts, routine starts, sitting starts.

The Spleen is one of the most used and taxed organs in modern life. It closely relates to the Stomach and the pair are most directly involved in digestion. Since most of us don't spend too much time, grocery shopping, cooking or eating the Spleen often gets hit with absorbing the way we live.

You know that feeling when your body feels whiny or needy? Like "I'm tiiirreed" "I need a masaaagggeee" "I want chicken noodle souppppp".... That's your Spleen. It's letting you know that life is catching up to it and it needs some TLC. The time you spend taking care of that little one, the less you will hear the whines.

Say yes to:

• touch, massage, hugs, cuddling
• cooking with and eating with aromatic spices: black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon etc.
• cooking and eating warm foods
• chicken noodle food
• sitting, chewing and enjoying your meals
• getting acupuncture

Say no or limit:

• eating cold foods/drinks - ice in drinks, smoothies
• eating raw foods - sashimi, uncooked veggies, uncooked fruit
• sitting all day
• sugar

If you are having digestive problems, menstrual problems, low energy in the afternoon, feeling very worried, up at night over-thinking, or just find your mind spinning - getting acupuncture through the season will help keep things a bit more balanced. Looking forward to the onset of Autumn, keeping a healthy Spleen will help boost immunity in the next season. The Spleen greatly assists the Lung's function of keeping the body healthy. With great diet, rest, exercise and turning your mind off the Spleen will be ready to help the Lungs.

Running on Empty.

Commonly the modern lifestyle looks like this, wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, eat something with carbs (cereal, bagel, toast), fly out the door, rush to work and land just in time to sit in front of a computer for 8-9 hours. For 40-50 hours a week people sit at a desk, working mostly independently of other humans, some phone calls, conference room meetings and the rare outdoor collaboration do exist. Then they move on, they work until 5 or 6 they get a drink with co-workers or go to the gym, or cook dinner for a family and then they have to address whatever outlying tasks may be at home or personal administration and then they crash into sleep, waking to do it all again the next day. Weekends sometimes consist of a little work, but are usually half full of social activities that include drinking or smoking or staying up late. With the regular weekday routine, it's now hard to sleep in to recover. Before you know it Friday night's freedom has melted into Sunday night's ominous nod that Monday will be there when you wake up. This life feels familiar right? If you don't have it, your spouse does, or 90% of your friends do, or your parents or...? This is what we call modern life.

If you are lucky you practice a job that you love, have supportive friends, family or partner. You have hobbies that feed your soul and you sleep enough to keep this cycle healthy for you. However, many of my patients come in, worn out. Looking like their wires are fraying, rough edges manifesting into irritability, insomnia, exhaustion, lack of appetite, poor digestion. All these symptoms naming themselves as "stress".  Caffeine keeps people going, which essentially keeps some sort of gas in the tank, but runs out the oil. Without enough food or sleep the body wears down and can rebel in various symptoms such as the ones previously listed. I call this "running on empty", it feels fine until your gas actually runs out, or your oil truly needs a change.

Since my practice is high volume, some days clearly shout a message. Three patients in a row with the same sort of pain, what sort of treatment protocol do I have for them? But it comes out and I notice the pattern and then that cycle seems to be over. On a larger scale there also is a trickle pattern. Patients scattered through the schedule, over days or weeks that seem to have the same thing. The most common is this lifestyle exhaustion which manifest physically. Usually a patient can recognize they have job stress, but do not want to change it, instead looking to me to melt their shoulder pain, aid their digestion help them in some way. Oftentimes I can, a simple treatment with needles, a little rest and their body scoots back towards equilibrium. However, with this modern life continuing, without some herbs and lifestyle adjustment it's a race against the clock.

However with some TLC, (especially rest and good food) it's easy to help the body back to equilibrium.

Get acupuncture. Rest enough. Eat filling food. Cut back or cut out caffeine. Learn to say no. Go to bed.

One Year of Practice

In one year of practice I have treated around 500 different patients, I have discovered how to have fun with Chinese Herbs, I have dreamt up a business plan for a wonderful future and I have created work in acupuncture 5 days a week.

All of these things add up to a successful journey.  A beautiful first year, with the mission of learning and providing affordable acupuncture for many people. However, I have yet to learn how to thrive on this lifestyle.

Each place I work has taught me something different. Berkeley Community Acupuncture, my comfort zone because of history has taught me what it looks like to be a functioning business that is surviving, not thriving. My dear colleagues there have been an inspiring group to explore what it means to be a person, acupuncturist and how to dive deep into the internal ocean of knowledge and wisdom we all have. However this has been mostly on an administrative and personal level, and less on a practitioner level.

San Francisco Community Acupuncture has taught me how to treat many people, with a full schedule, with herbs and acupuncture to get better. How to meet people and connect, how to retain patients, how to still feel energized after a full day of conversation, needling and herbal prescription. They have taught me what a smoothly running business looks like, what it takes and what support means to an acupuncturist.

SWAP has taught me how to explore myself as a person and a practitioner. It has given me the freedom to attract my own patients, people who really relate to me. And how to ride the roller coaster up and down and up and down.

Still learning, growing, moving on. It's been quite a year.

Taking up Space

In my practice I notice that many people have a hard time taking up space. They have a hard time even taking their own space. I don't mean retreating away from people to take your solo time to recover. I mean taking up your physical and emotional space, owning it.

For some reason there seems to be a common disconnect from feeling things and allowing yourself to feel those feelings. Often times it seems to be from some internal concept that it is hard to take up space. That if we take up space we take away from someone else.

However there is a truth to taking ownership of yourself and your space. There is a deep truth that honors who we are and what we feel. That truth can unlock so much power, drive and infinite wealth of possibilities I think that we fear what is within.

This is all abstract, sub conscious. But if we can point our conscious effort towards taking up our space then we can move towards that. Help our abstract, subconscious self take up that space and own our physical space. Stand up straight, breathe, speak loudly, enunciate. And our emotional space, feel our feelings and express them.