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Acupuncture, Grief, and Renewal

“My barn having burned to the ground, I can now see the moon.” –Misuta Masahide, 17th Century Japanese Poet and Samurai. His meaning? Loss can be freeing. Anyone who has cared for a dying loved one knows the mixed feelings that follow death and an end to suffering.

Not too many years later, Benjamin Franklin said, “The only things certain in life are death and taxes.” In fact, the only truly certain thing in life is death.

Plainly put, everything that is alive will die. And every death, or perceived loss, causes grief. This is regardless of whether it’s the death of a loved one, a relationship, or a dream. And we can’t avoid it, though many of us try.

This is what the sages were talking about, and where acupuncture can be of great use.

Acupuncture puts people in balance with Nature. If Nature knows how to let go, so do we. It is an inborn ability and can only be forgotten through imbalance. Life-changing incidents, illness, untreated trauma, or poor lifestyle choices can cause difficulties in letting go. This can damage the metal element of the qi system.

A metal imbalance can show up in other ways. Asthma, constipation, skin issues, and behavioral issues like hoarding are just a few. When a person cannot grieve, it puts a halt to everything else. That pause won’t end until the grief is addressed.

We can restore balance, move forward, process our grief, and live our life more fully. Acupuncture accomplishes this by nourishing our energy and removing blockages to the flow of the Qi.

Once we embrace our past as a part of us instead of something in our way, we are more free to shape our destiny. This is because we can only make room for something new by letting go and realizing that loss can be freeing. Just as Autumn leads eventually to Spring, grieving fully leads to new beginnings.

To learn more about the benefits of acupuncture and holistic care, click here for additional topics. Ready to give it a try for yourself? Book your next visit now! Services available both virtually and in person.

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How Not to Diet

Acupuncturists are experts in diet and nutrition. Working with an acupuncturist can help you to understand your nutritional and lifestyle needs more clearly.

How many times has each of us told ourselves we need to go on a diet? Most people I know probably have been on at least 10 diets by the time they are 30 years old. In the world of Chinese medicine, there is no such thing as a diet. There are only lifestyle choices to adjust. Each person has his or her own unique body type, genetic make-up, and family history that dictates their relationship to food and movement. There is no guidebook included at birth, so each person must find his or her way in life. Acupuncturists are experts in diet and nutrition. Chinese medicine can help us understand our own rulebook, using the wisdom of doctors who lived a thousand years ago or more.

Certainly, there are rules of thumb, such as limiting intake of sugar, wheat, and dairy products. But most people don’t realize that our cravings tell us a lot about where we need support. For instance, someone with candy cravings has different needs than someone with potato chip cravings or someone with hamburger cravings.

Ever have a broccoli craving? Truth be told, we can have a hunger for just about anything, once we get used to it. After the body has learned to get sustenance from a food, it starts asking for more. This can happen with anything from circus peanuts to kale. Most people who have switched their foods mainly to vegetables and lean protein are surprised to discover new cravings for foods they once avoided.

After creating a lifestyle that suits your individual needs, you may find that you start to crave a nice walk, a bowl of soup, or an early night. It’s all about finding where you need support and creating a structure in your life that gives it to you on a daily basis. Diet? No thank you!

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How To Balance Feelings of Fatigue

Steam rolling in to represent fatigue and finding balance

Many people suffer from fatigue. It is frustrating to go through the day, feeling like we’re carrying a load of bricks. A lot of people use coffee, energy drinks, supplements, or drugs to get through their life. Is this really living? What can we do to find a balance with all the responsibilities, worries, drama, plans, goals, dreams, and obligations that we have?

There is more to do in life than there is time. There are more books than anyone can read, more foods than we can eat, and more meetings than we can attend. When we stand in the midst of all the possibilities and obligations, we become torn. Just thinking about it can be exhausting. This is where so many of us fail to realize that it’s not how much we can do, but how well we do what we do.

Chinese Medicine puts this in terms of qi (chi). Like having a bank account, each of us has a certain amount of qi that we can spend. If we spend it all on work, there is nothing left for fun, and this is a cause of illness. And if we spend it all on fun, there’s nothing left for something meaningful. Naturally, the key is balance. When someone has been living out of balance, fatigue is the call to return to balance. It is not something to be pushed aside and ignored.

Life is full of choices and when we refuse to choose, it leads to illness. Furthermore, once someone is not well, it is even more difficult to keep up with the endlessly turning wheel. This is when our power of choice is once again put before us do we really want to check everything off our list (impossible) or die trying? That’s not much of a choice; I recommend thinking of it differently: live life from the end. When we imagine how we will see our choices today when we’re facing our last moments on the planet, it suddenly becomes obvious.

Ready to find your balance? Book your session today and combat fatigue with holistic health. Learn more about the benefits of acupuncture and holistic health.

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