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.

Honor & Surrender.

Sometimes the honor to touch someone, to needle them, to help them is overwhelmingly beautiful.

I am human. Which translates to, no matter how much I always deeply love treating people, sometimes it takes some internal persuasion to get excited about it ahead of time. Other times, I can't wait to get to work, I can't wait to connect with people who are in pain, to alleviate them, to find relief to dis-ease. At the very high points, I feel a bursting quality of energy expanding from me to the people I work with and to the world, creating deep relaxation, ease and knowing.

Sometimes I feel unsure as a practitioner and as a regular patient of acupuncture. I always trust the medicine at its core, but I can be unsure about my diagnosis, about my treatment when I play the role of a practitioner. As a patient, there are times I feel unsure if I need it, if it's helping me, what is happening. There is an the unsure is an unknowingness that can be gnawing, wanting to transform into knowing. That same unknowingness can be transformative in unexpected ways. If willing, as a patient or a practitioner, to surrender to the unknowingness of what might happen, what transformation could take place, or not, big things begin to happen. In a treatment, this is sometimes very physical, very tangible. It can be bringing sleep to a sleepless person, relief of pain, release of stagnation, strengthening from deficit. As a patient, it is often to present your symptoms, but also to give yourself away, truly trusting your practitioner. This trust is hard even in the most intimate of our relationships so how can we do it with a person who is merely a fraction of our lives? How? I'm not really sure, but trying to surrender, to the treatment, to your practitioner opens the door for a depth of healing that is always breathtaking.

It is my honor to have this role, as a practitioner, to ask people to surrender, to trust. I am honored each moment that this happens. These are the best days, the best moments.

Laughter.

Lately I find a smile creep across my face or sometimes laughter in a response to a situation that may not deem it quite the norm. Although my laughter can represent humor, happiness and silliness it has seemed to evolve into a mechanism for expressing acceptance.

I find that there are so many things in life that we yearn for control over. We search high and low for answers to unsolved questions from our pasts, from our bodies. Mysterious pain, illness and health complications send us in many directions. The search, the grasping for an end, a finality, can end us. Ironically, life can unfurl more challenges at us harder and faster when we grasp. There is a peace that comes with acceptance, and a difference between acceptance and dormancy. We can try hard in life, keep moving forward, but with less attachment, with more acceptance there comes ease. With more ease can come more laughter, and with more laughter can come more healing.

Metal Men

Today was about the Lungs in Chinese Medicine and what they are attached to. In Chinese Medicine the Metal element relates to the Lungs and Large Intestine. Although seemingly very different the Lung and Large Intestine are connected through various functions and provide balance to each other.

All my patients today were men. They were dealing with common colds, grief, insomnia, headaches and muscle tension.

Cold Weather Treatments

As the air in the bay area finally starts to cool down, I am yet to see coldness in pulses or yang deficiency. However, the pulses are getting deeper and people who are dealing with blood deficiency have many physical manifestations. Wind invasions are entering their bodies, or muscles ache more, fatigue, headaches after a long work week and even hair loss are starting.

To nourish your blood in Chinese Medicine there is much work to do before being diagnosed as anemic.

Bone broth - partially the warmth of soup and bone broth can be deeply beneficial, but bone broth absorbs many of the nutrients that are carried in the bones and marrow of animals. This is one of the most nourishing foods and can be eaten medicinally as two dosages per day. It can me added to stir fries, soups and roasts.

Dark Green Veggies - dark green veggies carry iron and nutrients that help nourish the blood in Chinese Medicine.

Nettle Tea - nettles are a western herb that are a simple and great blood builder

Goji Berries - Very strengthening for the organs of the Liver and Kidney in Chinese Medicine. They can be great for blurry vision, anemia, dizziness or tinnitus. They can also help early graying of hair, sore back, painful knees. Long term dry cough. They are great to add to oatmeal, or add into tea that you brew for a long time.