BOO !

Trick or Treat: The Housewives of Beverly Hills

This week’s focus of Real Housewife bloggers is the feud between Brandi and Kyle but, I’m looking at the show differently and have a question for all of you - which “housewife” should stop by my Chicago acupuncture office for treatment? The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills has several women on the show who could benefit from Chinese Medicine. Plus, I’m sure acupuncture is trendy out there in Hollywood. Last year I wrote a post about how acupuncture could help Camille Grammer. Camille, if you have become a fan of acupuncture, let me know; I’d love to hear about it.

So, who are this season’s best candidates for help? The two most obvious women are Kim Richards (who I loved in the movie Escape to Witch Mountain) and Taylor Armstrong. What difficulties would Chinese Medicine help? Kim, on a recent episode, complained of severe anxiety and panic attacks. Taylor has clearly gone through a lot with her abusive marriage and the suicide of her husband so I imagine that she’s suffering from anxiety and depression. Chinese Medicine works well for anxiety. Often, acupuncture can calm down an anxious person in one treatment. If the anxiety is chronic, more than one treatment is needed to get lasting results.

How Acupuncture Can Help Anxiety & Panic Attacks

In Chinese Medicine, problems like anxiety and panic result when your qi (pronounced ‘che’ and is often translated as energy) is stagnant, unable to flow freely. Through acupuncture treatments, these energy blockages can be addressed. Acupuncture points, where the needles are inserted, serve as conductors/signs on the energy highway. Acupuncture smoothes out the flow of qi and thereby alleviates stress and anxiety.

From a Western Point of View

Now that more research is available, acupuncture’s effectiveness in treating anxiety can also be understood in Western terms

1. Acupuncture can have an impact on serotonin, a chemical in the brain that affects a person's emotional state.

2. Acupuncture raises the level of endorphins, pain killing/feel-good chemicals in your brain.  In a study conducted at the University of New South Wales, healthy patients underwent MRI brain scans while they received acupuncture and it was observed that portions of the brain related to “mood regulation” were affected.

3. Acupuncture can improve circulation, decrease heart rate, lower blood pressure and relax muscles, providing a calmer state.

Which Housewife?

I still want to hear your opinion but here is mine. The truth is, I would much prefer Kim to stop by; I still have the VHS of her last film (her costar was James Spader) Tuff Turf!

Kim call me ;).
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Yin and Yang Is The Core Of Chinese Medicine

Balance within ourselves and our environment is key to living a happy and healthy life. This belief is deeply rooted in Chinese Medicine theory and the philosophy of Taoism.

It all began 8000 years ago with the idea of yin and yang which pre-dates recorded history. At that time a legendary sage named Fu Hsi, lived along the Yellow River of China. It was Fu Hsi who formulated the concept of yin and yang. Through his observations of nature, he came up with two symbols, a broken line and an unbroken line. These symbols represented the two major forces in the universe and was named yin-yang. It is a familiar symbol that expresses constantly changing interactions. The symbol refers to two complementary concepts which include the relationships of: dark and light; dynamic and inert; creative and destructive; obvious and subtle.


Yin and Yang reminds us that seemingly opposing forces are bound together and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn. 
The basic premise of yin and yang is the notion that the only constant factor in the universe is change. Nothing remains the same; no disease, no condition, no emotion, no treatment or diagnosis. Everything is constantly changing.

Yin represents that which endures, nourishes and supports growth. It also refers to something contracting and moving inward, such as calm rather than activity. Not surprisingly yin also represents the female while yang represents the male.
Yang is considered to be all creative and generating; developing and expanding.



Here are a few examples:

Yin:
Earth

Autumn

Dark

Female
Left

Low
 Moisture



Yang:

Heaven

Spring
Light

Male

Right

High 
Dryness



Yin and Yang exists in everything.


Yin and yang are not static concepts. They are constantly influencing each other. There is always some element of yin within yang and vice versa. Look closely at the picture of the Yin and Yang symbol and you will see the dot of Yin within Yang and the dot of Yang with Yin.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, yin and yang refer to energies and functioning modes of organs and body functions. Your healthy state is created by the right balance of yin and yang. Therefore, it is advisable to make choices that contribute to balance in our lives. 

Happy Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine Day!

What Lies Within You?

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Want To Be More Positive? Eat Healthier? And Save Money? Check Out These Blogs

When I write I write for this blog I try to be helpful. So today I thought I would provide some links that I hope people who read this blog will enjoy and find useful.

The Positivity Blog ~ The name is pretty self explanatory. Henrik Edberg writes practical posts about simplifying your life, improving your relationships, happiness and productivity.

Nutritious Eats ~ Melanie Flinn is a Registered Dietitian and mom, she has easy to follow healthy and kid friendly recipes.

Whole Life Nutrition ~ I know many people here have children on special diets. This blog is devoted to gluten free recipes using whole foods. With some good ideas for kids like there Honey-Cucumber-Mint Popsicles. My mother recently made their creamy zucchini soup recipe and it was quite good.

Free Things To Do In Chicago ~ I know many of you are not in Chicago, but for those of you who are, this is a fun site that posts something free to do everyday in  Chicago. Sometimes it's a free entry to a museum, free cupcakes,  even free EKGs.

Life Ain't For Sissies ~ Linda Edelstein P.h.D., Author and Clinical Psychologist offers "Ideas from psychology that make life better." She has great posts about relationships, midlife, writing and her Monday therapy cartoons always provide a smile. Ok I must confess, she is my mom ;), but everything I said is true.

Let me know what you think.

The Army’s Surgeon General, is a Powerful Advocate of Alternative Medicine

I've always thought of the Army as one of the most traditional institutions in the U.S. I don't associate it with new ideas or techniques but I may have to change my mind. There are people now trying to help our soldiers with "unconventional" techniques, such as acupuncture. Our soldiers have have returned from war with pain caused by wounds and illnesses. The Army has spent billions on drugs that have resulted in complications, dependency, abuse and even accidental deaths and suicides. Now (finally), some health practitioners are using acupuncture and even the Army's surgeon general is on board!

"The Army’s surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, has become a powerful advocate for the alternative therapy movement. His Army Medical Command has launched an ambitious program to learn what alternative approaches work and make them a standard of care. 

“What we’re doing here is to open the aperture . . . to a much wider range of modalities that can be applied to the management of both acute and chronic pain, and they’re largely focused on the results of pretty careful studies,” Schoomaker said. 

"In fact, the use of acupuncture for pain management is almost mainline."

“We’re now using it in the battlefield, even in the special operations community and other places with much success.”"

To read the more, click here

Acupuncture Pre & Post Surgery Instead of Painkillers

Here is an interesting example of a patients medical need producing innovative results!  In Florida, at Jupiter Medical Center, acupuncture physician Dr. Ken Grey, A.P., D.O.M. performed acupuncture on the patient who wanted the alternative treatment because she was allergic to most pain medications. Grey performed acupuncture prior to surgery, at the beginning of the procedure, and post-operatively while the patient was recovering, both immediately following surgery and throughout her hospitalization. To read the story click here.
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The Day Atonement

From the blog Life ain't for sissies. 
By Dr. Linda Edelstein

Because it is the holiday of Yom Kippur (meaning the day of atonement), it seems appropriate to think seriously about its meaning.  Whether you are Jewish or not, the steps are relevant because, at one time or another, we all find ourselves needing to atone for our behavior. Atonement means more than making amends, repairing or apologizing. Atonement is a process – that’s why it works. 

Here are the three steps for atonement:

1.   Recognize the wrong
The first step is the personal recognition that some behavior was offensive, hurtful or wrong towards another individual or group.

2.   Apologize
The second step is to apologize; that is, to approach the person who has been wronged and acknowledge responsibility for the damage.

3.   Behave differently in the future
The third step is the most difficult – behaving differently.  It is far easier to say, “Sorry, I was rude,” than to stop being rude and begin to behave in a different way.

You Got Sick - Now What? 7 Secrets From Oriental Medicine to Eliminate the Cold and Flu

This is the fun title of a new and easy to read book by Tom Ingegno, MSOM, LAc. Tom sent me a copy and I found it to be filled with good tips for just about anyone interested in health. I also appreciated that Tom wrote it in language that is easily understood - not always true with books about Oriental Medicine. In "You Got Sick-Now What?" licensed acupuncturist Tom Ingegno explains some basic tools from Traditional Chinese Medicine that will help with cold and flu symptoms. All 7 "secrets" encourage healing the natural way, for example heat therapy, soups, breathing exercises, massages, and cupping. Many of the remedies are easy to use, but a few are a little more advanced. If done properly all of his suggestions are safe and effective.

Understanding Acupuncture From A Western Point Of View

We all try to understand new concepts by trying to fit these novel ideas into our existing mental framework. Sometimes, this does not work. For some people acupuncture is one of the treatments that doesn't easily fit into ideas we already own. During my first year of graduate school, I remember struggling with trying to understand acupuncture from a Western point of view; then I surrendered and learned about TCM from an Eastern view and it all began to make sense to me. In the several years since I entered grad school, as studies figure out more and more about the scientific ways that acupuncture works, understanding from a Western point of view becomes more possible. I recently read an article that tries to explain acupuncture and does a good job. Here's a small excerpt.

"Scientists have worked to elucidate the mechanisms by which yoga, meditation, and various dietary interventions may work on the cells of the body, but there is something fundamentally more ancient-feeling about the language of acupuncture. Go to the NIH's website on complementary and alternative medicine (NCCAM), and even here you'll find a discussion that involves qi, yin, yang, and meridians.

Is it possible to discuss acupuncture in a way that makes sense to even the most Westernized brains? The short answer is yes -- but with the caveat there there is no single unifying explanation for how it works."

If you would like to read more, click here.
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