Spring is finally here!

Do you know how I know? The symptoms that you all are coming in with!

Spring is the season associated with the Liver, in Chinese Medicine. The Liver, when it's out of balance, shows particular symptoms. Have you been experiencing any of these?

• Allergies, especially eye symptoms​
• Worsening or flaring of Eczema symptoms
• Irritability/Easily frustrated
• Increased sense of stress or overwhelm
• Worsening of pain symptoms - particularly those with an immune component
• Trouble sleeping, especially if you're waking between 1am-3am
• In folks who menstruate - increased PMS, clotting, cramping, and a general "That was a weird one!" sense of your cycle
• In perimenopausal folks - temporarily worsening of your hotflash/nightsweats situation

The Liver is associated with the element of Wood. Just like the trees budding, bulbs popping up out of the ground, and grass growing crazy fast, our energy is ready to emerge for the season! Winter time is a time to rest and repair and rebuild. Spring is a time to emerge, grow and expand. Many of us are experiencing worsened symptoms because the weather hasn't been cooperating with our energetic and mental desires to start moving, growing and changing!

In order to help ease your Livery symptoms, consider trying some of these tactics!

• MOVE! - Go for a walk or a run, do some yoga, Tai Chi or Qi Gong. Just be gentle with your first few outings. It's really easy to injure your tendons and ligaments (also associated with the Liver!) after being more stationary for the season.
• Eat sour things! - The sour flavor is associated with the Liver - citrus of all types, but also many fresh fruits and berries can help move your stuck Qi
• Green things! - Green is the color associated with the Liver - Eat leafy greens of all sorts, wear green, paint your nails green, green green green!
• This one is my personal favorite - Garden - Getting your hands dirty while hanging out in the dirt and plant life and getting a bit of exercise can really break up the stuckness that you might be feeling!
• Of course, acupuncture is a FANTASTIC tool for getting our energy moving as well!
• If your body is being PARTICULARLY stubborn, an appropriate Chinese herbal formula might be needed

As you can see from the photo of the office - my family and I spent some time weeding and mowing this weekend. We still have a TON of work ahead of us, but I look forward to my dirt time medicine for the springtime BLAHS!

Until Next Time! <3 Becca

Hi Guys,

I'm adding a new service to the line up at Thrive Acupuncture - Rejuvenation Acupuncture!

Sometimes you don't want to dive head first into your deepest darkest health problem.  Sometimes you just want to relax, have a moment of peace and quiet all to yourself and to destress!

Enter Rejuvenation Acupuncture.  

For just $40 you can get a treatment that will reduce stress, improve sleep and increase your energy levels. And what's more?  Instead of the typical hour-long treatment, Rejuvenation Acupuncture takes only 30 minutes, so it's much easier to fit into your busy schedule!

We're coming into the busy busy holiday months, so if you need a quick destress, or a sweet pick-me-up, Rejuvenation Acupuncture is just what you need!

Schedule yourself for a treat today.

You're down for the count with whatever it is that's going around.  You're miserable and wondering how it is you're supposed to get restful sleep when you're so stuffed up and feverish.

If this sounds familiar, try this old therapy that really works!

Make sure you have a pair of cotton socks and a pair of wool socks (they need to be at least 90% cotton/90% wool).

Dip the foot part of the cotton socks in cold water and wring them out thoroughly.

Next, get your feet warmed up.  (If they're already nice and toasty, you can skip this part)  Soak your feet in a tub of hot water until they are nice and warm and the skin is pink.

Remove your feet from the hot water, dry them off quickly and put on the cold, wet cotton socks. 

Immediately put dry wool socks on over the wet cotton ones.

Go straight to bed, keeping your feet covered, for the night.

After about 30 minutes, if all of the steps were followed (it won't work if you don't go to bed! Sorry, lounging on the couch where you get up and down to do stuff around the house doesn't count!), you'll notice that your congestion will be relieved (often better than with medications!)!  Sick children who do this will have a MUCH easier time falling to sleep.  Some people will notice that this calms sore throats, eases earaches and relieves sinus infections as well!

Your feet should be warm and dry within about 4 hours.  If the congestion returns at that point, feel free to repeat the process to get that relief back!

Caution: This is only meant to ease symptoms associated with colds and flus.  If it's possible your illness is something else, call your doctor!

This study showed that the acupuncture point called An Mian (which translates to Peaceful Sleep) improves our deep sleep.

This point is an absolute must if you're struggling with sleeping - trouble falling to sleep, staying asleep or waking feeling rested.

What's amazing is that they found that this point worked all by itself!  Now, just imagine if they used this point in conjunction with other points that promote sleep!  

If you struggle with sleep, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine could be just what you need!  Schedule your appointment today by calling me at (971) 285-4825 or scheduling online!

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!