Acupuncture
Can Acupuncture Help with Depression?
As mental health issues have come to the forefront in recent years, many have sought more natural treatment options that don’t involve pharmaceuticals and their potentially harmful effects. Acupuncture has become a popular option for treating mental health issues, including depression. But does it work? Before we answer that question, let’s give a proper definition to both acupuncture and depression. continue reading
TCM Food Therapy Spotlight: Yin Deficiency
Yin Deficiency is a condition in which the Yin fluids in the body become depleted and the body begins to show signs of overheating. You can think of it as a car that has run out of oil and its engine begins to give off plumes of smoke. These fluids include blood, sweat, saliva, lymph, hormones, intracellular fluid, and fluid between joints (bursa). When our level of Yin gets low, we can start to “burn up”, and the body begins taking resources from our Jing (Essence) that cannot be replenished. Our Essence is the constitution that we are born with, which is inherited from our parents. I’d like to think of Essence as the battery pack that powers us our whole life.
Yin Deficiency is often brought on by stress, overwork, poor diet, cigarettes, some pharmaceuticals, and recreational drugs.
continue reading
TCM Food Therapy Spotlight: Watermelon (Xi Gua)
Xi gua, or watermelon as we call it, is a beloved refreshment for summertime, but did you know that it is used as food therapy in Traditional Chinese Medicine? TCM views food from a standpoint of energetics, or how the food affects the body and its processes. Watermelon is cold in energetic temperature, sweet in flavor and it enters the Stomach, Heart, and Urinary Bladder channels (there are 12 main channels that run throughout the entire body). According to Five Element Theory, the flavor of sweet is harmonizing, tonifying, moistening, contains Fire, and directs Qi to the Spleen. It is especially good at clearing heat, resolving water accumulation, and is used to treat overexposure to the sun, kidney infection, liver disease, kidney disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Community Style Acupuncture
What is community style acupuncture?
It’s almost the same as a normal acupuncture session, except the patients are seated in comfortable chairs or recliners inside a shared room and treated at a reduced rate. The acupuncturist gathers information such as your chief complaint and general health, examines your pulse and tongue to properly diagnose your underlying pattern of disharmony, and would select points to needle. These are mostly distal points on the arms and legs, as well as auricular (ear) points. It’s best for the patient to wear loose fitting clothing that allows for access to the elbows and knees.
Acupressure Ring
Acupressure is a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) modality that moves blocked energy, or “Qi”, by manually applying pressure on acupressure points. These are the same points used by acupuncturists when they needle, and can treat many different types of conditions such as headaches, motion sickness, nausea, muscle pain, stress/anxiety, insomnia, etc. continue reading
