July 29, 2016
Feels like water is just spilling everywhere out there. SP 7 – Leaking Valley Purposes: Helps support the retaining of fluids Bring balance to emotional neediness Most people reading this would say “why do I want to retain fluids?” But the retention of fluids here comes in the form of urinary leakage, seminal and vaginal leakage, and also leaky gut syndrome. The Spleen in chinese medicine gives integrity to structure, like the banks of a river keeping the water in. If the integrity lessens, symptoms can arise like chronic fatigue syndrome. There’s a great quote from Lonny Jarrett’s The Clinical Practice of Chinese Medicine: “The craving of sympathy is the psychospiritual equivalent of craving sugar.” The spleen loves sugar but too much can hurt it in the long run. The same runs with sympathy. A little bit can go a long way, but too much and the person can become […]
June 24, 2016
5 Element Acupuncture – Fire Constitutions Summer lovin’, had me a blaaaast! Those famous words from a famous musical number are the easiest way for me to describe the fire constitution and the fire element in general. Ask a kid how they feel about the school year ending and the summer starting…that’s the energy of the fire. Summary of Fire CF attributes: Can be emotionally volatile with joy and sadness Need to be loved. Can confuse “lust” with “love” and get labeled as “easy” in a sexual manner. Can crave being center of attention or needing to be invisible. Prone to addiction to vices Can make it “sparkle” and typically very photogenic Laughter is the best deflection Responsibility is biggest liability Can be great performers Most people over the age of 18 understand the fire element to a […]
May 10, 2016
What does the Yin/Yang Symbol Mean? Millions upon millions of Americans know this symbol. It has become incredibly common to the point that no words are needed to explain what it is. But how many people truly understand it? Learning about Yin and Yang is day 1 in Acupuncture school. Yin/Yang is the entire basis of Chinese Medicine. When I began my practice, I spoke about it as if people knew exactly what I was talking about yet I still get funny looks when I describe it. Starting at the beginning: What do the Chinese Words Mean? There’s no better place to start than looking at the Chinese words. Each word in Chinese is built around smaller words. That will be discussed in future posts. In school, we learned that the small symbols in the word for Yang mean “the sunny side of the mountain” and for Yin it […]