Live in Harmony with the Seasons

Live in Harmony with the Seasons

Five Phases (Seasons) in Chinese Medicine
Chinese Medicine is a medicine of the seasons, based in part on an understanding that all change in the universe and in your body happens in five distinct phases that correspond to the seasons - namely:

• Wood (Spring)
• Fire (Summer)
• Earth (Late Summer)
• Metal (Autumn)
• Water (Winter)

Chinese medicine works by balancing the bodies Qi (energy), Yin and Yang in relation to the five phases to achieve optimal health. To help you be well and stay well by living in harmony with the seasons, here are some of my favorite wellness tips for Spring as well as a special offer from our newest Suite 103 Practitioner. Be Well and Enjoy!

Spring: Invite the Wood Element
Spring is dominated by the wood element in Chinese medicine which governs the Liver and the Gallbladder organs. The Liver and Gallbladder are related to growth, change, benevolence, creativity and deciding a course of action. In this spirit, Spring is a time for clearing out the old to make way for the new. A great way to do this is to focus on your diet, ensuring that your digestion is smooth and healthy. How do you do this?

First, try to include more greens in your diet. Green is the color of Spring and of the wood element, and green veggies are a great source of fiber, antioxidants and important vitamins and minerals. If you are having a hard time including greens in your diet - especially good organic veggies - consider a service like spud! Spud! is a local organic produce delivery service that will bring local fruits, veggies and more right to your door. I use it at home and not only does it help me ensure that I'm getting plenty of fresh and local foods, but it saves me valuable time shopping and reduces my carbon footprint. If you're interested in checking it out, use the code CR5-1005173 for a $25 discount.

Next, try drinking some milk thistle tea or taking milk thistle caps daily through the Spring months. Milk Thistle is an antioxidant that targets the liver, protecting it from incoming toxins as well as encouraging it to cleanse itself of damaging substances like alcohol, medications and environmental toxins

Lastly, if you haven't been in for a tune up for a while, now is a great time to check in. Since Chinese Medicine is a seasonal medicine, coming in with the change of seasons is always recommended as a minimum health maintenance program.

Office Updates

Welcome Jamaica Stevens, LMT - $40 new patient offer
Yes, we have a new massage therapist joining us on Saturdays who specializes in Swedish, Deep Tissue, Pregnancy Massage and Reiki and she is truly amazing. She's offering a special $40 first appointment offer to all current patients - a very generous offer for her outstanding service. Simply go online to our online scheduler and book a one hour massage with Jamaica to take advantage of this offer. Please note "$40 new patient special" in the notes section of your appointment. Slots are going fast, so I recommend booking soon if you are interested.

Rebecca Honored by Cambridge Who's Who
Nifty, huh? Rebecca has just been honored by Cambridge Who's Who Among Americal Entrepreneurs as an Outstanding Professional in the field of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Spread the word! Press release can be seen by looking back one blog post.

Free De-Stress Kit + the Magic of Mint

De-Stress Kit for Changing Times by Doc Childre of the Heartmath Institute
In light of the current economic situation and high unemployment of late, it is no surprise that stress is on the rise. Recently, Doc. Childre of the Hearthmath Institute - an internationally recognized institute dedicated to facilitating heart based living - published this free ebook detailing simple methods for decreasing stress towards maintaining and increasing heart health. It is a short 15 page pamphlet with practical tips and advice for getting stress under control to help you live your life from a place of balance rather than fear and I highly recommend you download and read it or pass it on to a friend. Here is a sample exercise I found particularly useful:

“Sit quietly and from your heart remember that enough stress is already going on, without having to wear a backpack of fear on top of that. Breathe quietly through the area around your heart and imagine that you are breathing in the attitude of courage and strength to do what you have to do, without being preoccupied with fear. Doing this with a genuine attitude helps take the significance out of fear. Practice this for a few minutes a day and anytime you feel a strong wave of fear. It can begin to make a difference.”

You can download the complete ebook HERE or visit the Learning Center on my website for more information. The Heartmath Institute also has a variety of tools available for decreasing stress, anxiety, blood pressure and increasing heart health. You can find their books and biofeedback tools in my Amazon Store.

Bo He. Good for more than just Mojito’s
Bo He [pronounced Bu-o-uh Huh] is very common in the Pacific Northwest, many of us have probably pulled it as a weed or used it in Mojito’s. Can you guess what it is? Peppermint! As a lightweight, acrid and aromatic herb, it helps move and disperse “pathogenic factors” which contribute to colds, flus and allergy symptoms. Bo He can also move Liver Qi for reducing stress and pain. Here is a summary of Bo He’s actions and indications:
Bo He; Herba Menthae:
Channels Entered: Lung, Liver
Temperature/Flavor: Cool, Acrid
Functions/Indications:
**Disperse Wind-Heat treating early stage colds and flus with fever, slight aversion to cold and headache
**Clear the head and eyes and benefit the throat for headache, red eyes, swollen throat
**Vent rashes for early stage measles or itchy skin conditions
**Course Stagnant Liver Qi for treating abdominal distention and pain as well as feelings of stress or emotional constraint.

Energetically it enters the Lung and Liver channels and is cool in nature, and since it is lightweight, it rises to the orifices clearing stagnation from the head and eyes in particular. This means peppermint as part of an herbal decoction, or as plain old peppermint tea is especially useful in relieving head and eye symptoms associated with colds, flus and allergies. Also, since Bo He enters the Liver channel as well as the Lung, it can also be used to alleviate “Liver Qi Stagnation” which can manifest as abdominal pain and distention or as stress - a feeling that you are stuck, trapped or overwhelmed by life. By freeing your Liver Qi or energy you can relieve some of this tension to balance the emotions. If you are using fresh mint from your yard simply pick the plant and boil it in water for 10-15 minutes to make a tea. You can also focus your “treatment” by using different parts of the plant - the leaves enter the Lung channel more readily for cold and flu symptoms while the stems enter the Liver channel more readily for abdominal discomfort and stress.

Follow me on Twitter!
I'll be using Twitter to post interesting links and information and to list last minute appointment availability when I have cancellations. Click above to go to my Twitter page. Tweet!!

Sign up for QiMail
QiMail is a an additional monthly newsletter delivered mid-month to your inbox that is filled with Chinese Medicine Information only. If you just can't get enough and you want even more health tips to help you stay well, click HERE and enjoy! QiMail newsletters are also posted on my Blog at Blogger.com if you've missed an issue and want to check it out.

Amazon Store
I'm constantly expanding the items in my new Amazon Store to include my favorite books about health, wellness, nutrition and Chinese Medicine as well as teas, healthy snacks and now some of my favorite cold and flu remedies. A great resource for hand-picked wellness resources.

Learning Center Growing, Virtual Dispensary Coming!
I've written my first article about Food Allergies and Elimination Diets and posted it to my new Learning Center and will continue growing the articles and links online so please check it out when you get a chance. Soon I will also have a Virtual Dispensary up and running where you can order and refill your favorite herbs and supplements directly online if you can't make it in to the office. Stay tuned!!

"Your Genes Are Not Your Fate"

A Tip of the Hat to Dr. Dean Ornish


This short 3 minute video is a brief talk by Dr. Dean Ornish, a man who proved scientifically that heart disease is REVERSIBLE through diet, exercise and lifestyle change. He is also the author of "The Spectrum: A Scientifically Proven Program to Feel Better, Live Longer, Lose Weight and Gain Health" and "Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease" among other things. I hope you enjoy this short video about his perspective, key to which is stress reduction and avoiding/reducing chronic stress in particular. Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine are a great way to combat stress. By balancing the bodies energetic system, especially the Liver and Heart meridians which govern the mind and emotions, Acupuncture, reflexology and Chinese Herbs can decrease anxiety, increase calm and increase your capacity to "stay cool" during a crisis.

Website Redesigned with more Educational Information + Amazon Store of Patient Resources!
That's right! I felt it was time for my website to have a new pair of shoes and so voila! I gave it one. In addition to a new look I've added a Learning Center which will be populated with articles about health, Chinese diet and lifestyle advice, information about Chinese medicine treatment for specific disorders and more. For now it has some good links to some of my favorite resources for learning more about getting well and staying that way as well as a link to my new Amazon Store! I've been feeling recently like I recommend so many books and resources to patients that I'm constantly sending out emails with links to more information and I wanted to consolidate that information to one location that would be easy for patients and people wanting to learn more about Chinese medicine and health to go. I'll be increasing and updating the inventory there frequently, so check back often, AND I will be adding a music section with the tunes I play in my office as well - I get requests for those CD's a lot! Check in out using THIS link.

Green Tea - A cup a day to keep the doctor away
Green tea has been used as medicine in China for thousands of years and recently, the west has been catching on. Traditionally used in combination with Chinese Herbs for headache, mental fog, colds and flu's, it provides the body with powerful antioxidants that have been proven effective in increasing the strength of the immune system, inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots (thus decreasing stroke and heart attack risk) and decreasing LDL (bad cholesterol) levels just to name of few of its most exciting health benefits. If you want to add one simple thing to your routine to increase your health and longevity, adding green tea into your diet is a great way to go but people often wonder how much is too much? And what if you want decaf? Is it still effective? To answer the first question - officially, you can't have too much as long as the caffeine isn't effecting you in a negative way but personally, I recommend no more than 3 cups of caffeinated green tea per day. While green tea has much less caffeine than coffee, it is still caffeinated and caffeine can contribute to stress, anxiety, tension as well as miscarriage so I always advise decreasing caffeine in the diet as much as possible. Luckily, decaffeinated green tea IS as effective as caffeinated green tea but then the question becomes - where do we get good decaf? Bag teas typically contain the lowest grade tea leftovers and lack the delicate tantalizing flavors of whole leaf green tea, but I for one have not been able to find whole leaf decaf. Luckily there is a simple - and ancient - solution. Throw away the first steep and drink everything after. Most of the caffeine in green tea is lost during the first steep so if you throw this away you are left with delicious decaf which you can consume to your hearts delight with all the great health benefits and flavor you desire, and you're only limited by how many steeps you can get out of a single pot. Traditionally in Chinese tea ceremonies the tea from first steep is used to warm the cups but is discarded and not consumed. My favorite tea shop in town is the Tao of Tea which has stores in SE Belmont area, in the Pearl district and inside the Chinese Garden downtown. They are very friendly about helping you learn more if you have questions.

Hope to see you soon!
Well, I hope this message finds you well and that you enjoy the Ornish video with a nice cup of green tea in hand. Please do check out the revisions to my website if you get a chance and stay tuned for more educational content - its coming soon! Yours - Rebecca