Are You Ready to Thrive?

Go Ahead and Swear! A study published in NeuroReport shows that uttering your favorite curse word helps ease pain. In this study, the participants held their hand in an ice water bath while repeating a curse word. They then held their hand in the water a second time while repeating an everyday neutral word. They reported their pain levels for each "bathing," and it was found that the participants reported a lesser pain experience while being allowed to repeat a curse word.

In Chinese medical theory this makes a certain amount of sense. Pain is caused by our Qi not flowing smoothly. Stress is caused by our Liver Qi not moving properly (Liver being related to the emotion of anger or frustration). Swearing can help release our Liver Qi, freeing it. Perhaps swearing also has an effect on not just our Liver Qi, but all of the Qi in our body. Free Qi movement equals reduced pain!

So, if you bang your thumb with a hammer, or are a pregnant woman going through labor, feel free to mutter (or scream!) that favorite curse word. You'll feel better for it!



*I'd like to apologize for the lack of posts lately, the kiddo has ceased taking naps recently, making me reconfigure our schedule and trying to figure out when to get some writing done. I hope to get back on the writing wagon now that things have settled down a bit! Thanks for being patient with us!

We all suffer from it at some point in our lives. Some of us more than others. It may be due to that long, hard week at work, or the 3 years you've been in college while working full-time with one more year still ahead of you and you'd really like to be done NOW so you can just sleep fatigue. No matter the cause of your fatigue, you may consider trying acupuncture to give you a little more pep in your day.

Acupuncture can help relieve the components of fatigue : Stress, unproductive sleep and lack of energy.

Acupuncture is a god-send when it comes to reducing stress. There are many acupoints that exist just to serve this purpose! (read Self-acupressure to try some of these at home, or work, or school... where ever you find yourself with a little extra time and need to relax!)

When it comes to improving sleep without the typical side effects associated with medications, Chinese medicine can't be beat! Chinese medicine reminds your body how to sleep efficiently, without the need to force it to sleep using a foreign substance. Acupuncture can help you fall asleep easier, stay asleep and make your sleep productive so that you wake feeling rested and ready to take on your day. All this is achieved without the drowsiness, "drugged feeling" or dependency that can be associated with medications.

As for the last component of fatigue, Chinese medicine is particularly helpful for regaining your energy. We've all worked ourselves too hard and noticed that we just don't feel like the energy is THERE anymore. Chinese Medicine helps your body to refill its stores of energy so that you can do all the things that you want to do in your day - and more!

If you suffer from fatigue, consider Chinese medicine. You might be surprised at how much better you feel, and how quickly that energy can be unlocked!

We've all seen the news articles out there telling us how our chronically stressful lives are making us heavier as a nation. We're too busy to exercise. We're too busy to eat right. Stress increases cortisol, a hormone associated with our fight or flight responses. When we're stressed out we crave salty, fatty and sugary foods. All of these things are a part of the picture.

According to Chinese medicine, weight gain leads back to the Spleen. The Spleen is in charge of metabolizing our food and water intake. When our Spleen is weakened, it is easily overwhelmed by all the food and water coming in and isn't able to use it properly. To bring the stress into the picture - there is a special relationship between the Liver and the Spleen. Think of the Liver as the big brother, and the Spleen as the little brother. If the Liver gets riled up because of stress, he'll take it out on the Spleen - damaging the Spleen. When the Spleen is damaged, he's unable to properly metabolize our food and water, and so it gets stored in the form of fat deposits.

Remember that episode of "I Love Lucy" where she's working in the chocolate factory and she gets a little more behind with each passing moment? She's not sure what to do with all the candies, but knows she has to do SOMETHING with them, so she and Ethel start stuffing them in their mouths. This is similar to what happens when our Spleen gets overwhelmed and damaged by the Liver. It starts stuffing things anywhere it can.

Chinese medicine can be a great boost to your weight loss plan. I'm sorry, it can't do the work for you. You still need to make the necessary diet and exercise changes, but it can help speed the process along. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas can be used to set things straight between the Liver and Spleen to reduce stress levels and help heal the Spleen so that it can do its job properly.

If you're ready to get serious about losing some weight, or you've plateaued in your weight loss progress, consider talking to your acupuncturist. They can help your body remember how to be thin and healthy!

He Ku - (pronounced Huh Coo) This point is often used for headaches, but it is also really great for relieving stress. It's located on the back side of your hand on that fleshy area between your thumb and forefinger. Pinch this area using your other thumb and forefinger (one on the back of your hand, the other on the palmar side of your hand) and again massage using gentle circles. Caution: Do NOT massage this point if you're pregnant.

Bai Hui - (pronounced by way) This point is used to help center and ground us. It's located on the crown of your head. You'll find a little divot which is the point! Massage this point, again using gentle circles.

So get massaging, people, and bring on the relaxation

I've done a lot of hiking. When I was in acupuncture school, a friend of mine and I used to go hiking in the Columbia River Gorge whenever we had a long enough break between classes. Sure, all of our classmates thought we were slacking off. We let them think that. What they didn't know was that we had found the ultimate way to de-stress and allow our energy to flow smoothly so that we could study more efficiently.

What we found was that there was an interesting exchange taking place between us and the trees. Much like the exchange of carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) that occurs between animals and plants, we discovered the existence of an energy exchange.

In Chinese medicine, the Liver is the main organ that is involved when we feel "stressed out." Stress causes our energy to clump together so that it doesn't move properly. One of the Liver's jobs is to assist in the smooth flow of Qi. In order to compensate for our energy not moving correctly, our Liver beefs itself up to try to handle the bigger load. What we end up with is too much Liver energy, creating an imbalance. The Liver is associated with the element of wood, and so a stressed-out person may be described as "having too much wood energy."

What we found is that when we went hiking, our stress simply disappeared. The trees, because they ARE wood, were taking all of our extra wood energy and using it to become bigger and stronger trees. They need that wood energy, we need to get rid of any extra wood energy. Pretty neat, huh?

So the next time you're feeling stressed out, go for a walk in a wooded area. And if no one's around, or if you're like me and don't care what other people think, give a tree a hug. You'll both feel better for it!