Questions for Winter

Winter is the season of stillness & inquiry. Time to go deep inside and reflect on the essence of life. 

Some questions to ponder at this time of year:

• What is the state of your reserves of energy? Do you have plenty or have you run yourself down? Take the time to build up your reserves if needed. Rest. Stay warm. Drink lots of water.
  
• What practices do you have in your life that create space for stillness and reflection?
  
• A mountain lake that freezes in the winter is storing its power - when it thaws it fuels that tremendous growth of spring. Are you aware of your personal power and how you use it?
• Do you manage your energy wisely?  Do you contain your energy well or do you spill it out in your life?  Are your boundaries appropriate, allowing you to hold your own energy and use it consciously?

Practices for Winter include:

• Sleeping as much as your body needs.
• Gathering with close friends and family - time to go deep with those who mean the most to you.
• Taking a conscious rest vacation or retreat.
• Eating cooked foods - warming stews and roasted vegetables.

For more information about living in harmony with the seasons and Five-Element Acupuncture see the Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle.

Winter

Winter is a time of quiet and depth. 

Trees are stripped of their leaves; the activity is internal.  

Animals hibernate.  Perennial plants lose their branches and leaves, appearing to be dead. 

There is stillness.  Things are down to their essence, stripped to their core.  This is the time of darkness.

Mountain lakes and rivers freeze - storing their power to fuel the growth of spring.  

This is a time for internal work: containment, meditation, collection, and storage of energy. Now is the time to restore our reserves of energy, to gather strength for the year ahead.  Snowy days force outward activity to stop.  We must be indoors.  Once we let go of our attachment to cancelled plans, these days provide a much needed Winter rest.  Time to sleep, relax, restore..

For information about Five-Element Acupuncture see the Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle.   

For information about Tai Chi see taichiseattle.com

More Practices for Autumn

In Autumn we
Let Go
Move Downward
Seek Inspiration

Some Seasonal Practices:

• Resolve old gripes with those around you so that you can move on. Let go of pain that causes you unnecessary suffering. If appropriate, write down the things you need to release, then burn the paper.
• Clear out spaces where clutter collects. Do a deep clean and organize medicine cabinets, filing cabinets, storage closets.
  
• Autumn is a great time to cleanse the body. Do a short fast or eliminate toxins from you diet.
  
• Pay special attention to your lungs and breathing - exercise outdoors with an emphasis on filling your lungs with pure air and energy.
• Seek out things that inspire you - read an inspiring book, listen to music that moves you, view art that touches you.

For more information see The Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle.

Autumn is here!

Autumn has definitely arrived in Seattle. Chestnuts and acorns are dropping, leaves are beginning to turn, the sun is lower in the sky, and the garden has stopped ripening summer fruits. Having provided a harvest, Nature now makes everything bare, letting go of its abundant creation in a beautiful, final display. The old leaves fall to the earth to enrich the soil for future growth and a new harvest. Sap is drawn inside. This is a time for turning inward, moving away from outer-directed energy.

We can learn from Nature about our own cycles of creation and letting go. It is natural and appropriate to step back from our lives from time to time - to assess what is of value to us and what no longer serves us. The energy of Autumn, more that any other season, supports our letting go of the waste, the old and stale in our lives, leaving us receptive to the pure and the new, granting us a vision of who we are at our essence.

Some great Autumn practices

Clean out the old:

• Go through your home and office - clean out any old junk, clothes you no longer wear, papers that have piled up, books you no longer want. Sell, give away or recycle as much as possible.
• Asses you schedule and clear out any activities that you are done with - pare down to essentials.
• If there is any unfinished business in your relationships, clean it up.

Receiving the pure energy of the season:

• Go for a walk and breathe deeply - experience the clear, crisp air and feel how much energy it gives you.
• Is there anything you want to add to your life to enhance your health, energy, or soul? Meditation, regular breathing exercise, a gratitude journal are some examples.
• Honor the friends, relatives, pets, colleagues who add to your life.
  

Late Summer

Chinese Philosophy recognizes five seasons - Spring, Summer, Late Summer, Autumn, and Winter. We are now in Late Summer in Seattle - its harvest time! Tomatoes, peaches, pears, & plums are literally falling off the trees and vines. There is a sweet smell in the air. The heat of Summer is gone, the air has turned cooler, the days are shorter. Its time to take in and savor all that Nature gives us, as well as appreciate our own hard work and all that we have accomplished.

When the energy of Late Summer is in balance inside of us we are able to truly receive, to feel nourished, satisfied with our lives and the abundance that we have. There is a sense of gratitude for our health, our family and friends.

Great Late Summer activities include:
Picking fruit
Baking crisps, pies, tarts
Making jam
Expressing gratitude
Walking slowly in Nature - really taking in the experience
Letting peach juice drip down your arm as you savor the sweetness

For a great blog entry on Late Summer see Mixedgreensblog.com
For more on the Five Elements see The Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle.

A Tool Bag for Health

We evolved completely connected to Nature - knowing that we are part of Nature. Today, as we commute to work, spend much of the day sitting and thinking, feeling concerned about the future and burdened by the past, we are not exactly living in the moment, connected to our bodies and Nature. We all need a Tool Bag - a set of activities, ideas, reminders to keep us healthy. Here's my prescription:

1) A form of movement that you love, do outdoors, and is easily accessible - walking, running, skateboarding, biking, skipping - getting outside, fresh air in your lungs, the sights and smells of nature all around. Ideally, use it as your mode of transport.

2) Cultivate a spiritual practice that also includes movement - tend to your own energy by learning to do Tai Chi, yoga, or Qigong. Once you know how to practice, you can do these virtually anywhere - 10-15 minutes a day or several times a week will contribute significantly to your long term health. Notice how healthy long term practitioners of these arts appear!

3) Eat fresh food as much as possible.

4) Socialize with a few or many people at least once a week.

5) Drink your water.

6) Recruit your own health care team. Fill it with providers you trust who you can turn to when you need help. It may include great body worker, a physician, an acupuncturist, a counselor - whatever you need to help you stay in great condition - ask trusted friends or health care providers for recommendations.



For more information see The Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle.

Summer - The Season of Fire

Summer - the time when the sun shines for hours, the flowers bloom, the small fruits ripen. There is a lot of light and energy available. Trees have their full crown of leaves and are gathering massive amounts of energy from the sun. Plants grow very quickly now - sometimes inches a day.

There is a lot of energy available to us as well. When we are in balance we feel happy, vibrant, and social this time of year. If we rested appropriately in the winter we now have abundant energy for work and play. A healthy person can do with less sleep now - often waking early to a sunny day. Our hair grows more quickly at this time of year and we naturally want to be active and outdoors. Time to take advantage of the light and play with friends, work on projects, and gorge on summer produce.

For more information see The Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle

Eating in Season

The Chinese theory of the Five Elements guides us to live in harmony with the seasons. This means eating food that grows near you when it is fresh and in season. Many of us have to learn how to do this since we have grown up eating food that comes from all over the world. Poppy Barach has a fantastic blog that is inspiring, beautiful, and educational. She writes about cooking foods grown in Seattle as well as gardening and living well in our Northwest region. Check it out - http://mixedgreensblog.com/

For more information about the Five Elements see The Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle.

An Acupuncture Treatment Story

Sarah came in for acupuncture because she was not feeling her best. At age 50, with her kids launched in the the world, a successful career and a nice circle of friends she had a lot going for her. However, she was feeling tired, unfocused, and flat. "I used to get enthusiastic about things and always had creative projects going. I'm really worried about my lack of focus - what if I can't perform in my work anymore?" she told me at her initial visit.

I began treating her with acupuncture weekly - helping to nourish her energy and spirit. At her third visit she appeared much brighter, more alert, engaged. "I can't believe it!!! I have so much energy! I'm refocused at work - even my colleagues have been noticing! I'm not sleeping all weekend - in fact I cleaned and reorganized my entire house! When I came here, I really didn't know if it could help me - I'm blown away by how much better I feel."

For more information see The Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle.

Spring

"As the days become warmer and brighter, nature rouses from her winter slumber and looks ahead to the new growth of spring. The Wood, which has been at rest, storing and concentrating its energy under a winter blanket, now bursts forth with new buds, new life piercing Earth's crust. The swelling Wood of spring initiates rebirth - a surge of rising energy, like the young lamb staggering up to nurse, like the dandelion whose growing edge can burst through concrete if it must. Wood is the energy of youth and growth: a new beginning, a vision of a whole new cycle. The Wood energy of spring is an expression of life at its strongest.

"If we have followed nature's way and taken a winter rest, we too emerge into spring 'raring to go' with clear vision and a sense of purpose. This is the season to plant seeds for a future harvest, to look ahead and make new plans, formulate new ideas, make decisions, and
determine our direction for the coming year - and to take action."

- Neil Gumenick

This text is from Neil Gumenick's site - an amazing resource for information on Classical Five-Element Acupuncture.

For more information see The Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle.

Fascinating Study

A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people had better results from a medication when they believed that it cost more. The finding emerged from a randomized, blinded study, in which 82 healthy paid volunteers were given what they were told was a new opioid and asked to rate its effect on painful electric shocks. In fact, the volunteers were all given the same placebo, but some were told its price was $2.50 a pill and others were told the cost was discounted to 10 cents a pill, the researchers reported.

Those who got the perceived expensive pill had significantly greater pain reduction than those who thought they were getting the cheaper version.

This study is fascinating to me - it illustrates clearly that what we believe creates our experience.

Sources:
Journal of the American Medical Association
Source reference:
Waber RL, et al. "Commercial features of placebo and therapeutic efficacy." JAMA 2008; 299(9): 1016-17.

A placebo Effect for Pricey Placebos in Placating Pain
By Michael Smith, North American Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: March 04, 2008
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

The Center for Classical Five-Element Acupuncture in Seattle