Anxiety and its symptoms

We have all had anxiety at some point in our lives. Sometimes it is brief, and other times it lingers way too long. When this happens physical manifestations occur, often in the form of tummy troubles.. Doctors call it IBS, another amazing term for 'we have no idea but it involves your gut & poop'.. OH!! That! Obviously there is a pill for gut-poopitis, yes?

nope.

Because it is rarely due to a physical issue involving your stomach, intestines, gall bladder, liver.. it usually stems from those pesky things called thoughts & emotions..

So, in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the Spleen system is a pretty important guy.. The Spleen helps build blood, turns the food we consume into qi (its called gu qi, yes as in Gucci..) its work partner and best pal is the stomach, and like all organ systems, it is in charge of an emotion.

guess which one.. go on, guess.. A N X I E T Y !!

worry, rumination, over-thinking, nail-biting 'what if what if oh no oh no..' Yep, that's the Spleen system..

So, ok. We over think, we have anxiety, we are stressed.. and then suddenly our stomach is in a knot, we have a mixed bag when it comes to number two, and our appetite seems to also go all over the place.

Eventually the taxation on our Spleen-Stomach system gets to the point that we are not processing food properly. Eating now comes with its own anxiety. And that's just not okay.

So here is how TCM looks at this.. Your Spleen system is simply out of whack. It needs to be adjusted, it needs a boost. It needs help. It needs to be reminded what its job is, so that the stomach can do its job properly, so that food can be digested properly.

Acupuncture lowers anxiety. It just does. It brings your body back to neutral, back to the harmonizing place it wants to be. When your body, your qi, is flowing properly, the systems work well. Your Spleen can take the qi from the food, your stomach can process the food, and you can breathe easier because your anxiety levels are lower. Your anxiety levels are lower because your spleen is balanced so it doesn't have to over-think thoughts, which becomes anxiety..

This isn't A treatment tho. You wont walk out of the clinic with everything right as rain for ever and ever. Maybe for the day, maybe even for 3. But your body's imbalances are probably pretty big if it has brought you to the acupuncturist. So it may take a bit, but with each session, the anxiety will lessen, the digestion will get smoother, the bloating will minimize, and you will know you aren't doomed to hating the idea of eating for the rest of your life.

Be well, breathe deeply, smile.. the sun is out, and there is always a ray of hope..

cm

a couple price changes!!

hi!

we have yet to change a couple of things on the website as far as pricing!

HERBAL CONSULT --- $55
-FOLLOW UP -- $35

NUTRITIONAL CONSULT $45


FEEL GOOD BALANCE TX $25

COLD/FLU TX $45

sorry for the inconvenience of it not yet being up on the site!!

Be well & Healthy!

Treating Pain

Pain is one of the most common symptoms people come into the clinic for.
Back pain, headaches, menstrual cramps, any type of pain is addressed with acupuncture and herbs because all pain, no matter where or 'how' it happened can be treated.

All pain is considered stagnation.

The qi and blood arent flowing properly, perhaps because of an injury, which stopped the flow, thus creating a blockage, or there isnt enough qi and blood to flow properly, instead of a river, there is a stream that doesnt move through the c hannels with enough gusto, and the slowing of the movement creates a blockage, a stagnation.

So we figure out which of these issues your pain can be attributed to and either help remove the blockage from the river, or help build the stream into a river so that it can move freer and faster on its own! Make sense?

Relief is often felt with the first treatment, but it make take a few sessions to really remove that blockage fully, and building a river often takes even more time.

The point is though, its treatable. We dont have to be in pain or constantly taking pain medications. They are band-aids. An amazing part of this medicine is that it solves the root of the problem (there is a huge tree in the river) while addressing the symptoms (the pain)..

cm

This Sunday! At Turbodog Forest Yoga Center!

Kristen & I have been invited to Turbodo Spirit Center www.turbodog spiritcenter.com
which specializes in Forest Yoga, to be a part of their Educational Event Series!

We will be giving a talk on the Basics of Traditional Chinese Medicine! We will cover basic information like


• The general theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine
• An overview on how we diagnose imbalances in the body
• The need to have a different and unique approach/treatment for each client
• The use of herbs and acupuncture in treatment

We're excited, and hope to share with new people, introducing the benefits of tcm & acupuncture to a new community!

12:30-2pm 327 N. Bell

All are welcome to attend this TSC educational event.
FREE for 3+ Members and their families | Non-Members $20
Questions? Contact Anne at annepaulson311@gmail.com or Doreen at doelala@sbcglobal.net

--

Community Acupuncture!

This Sunday, the 10th of January, Kristen and I will be at Bend Yoga doing Community Acupuncture!

Bend Yoga & Movement Studio
906 N. Damen, Chicago
5:30-6:30

$15

This is a great way to be introduced to acupuncture, or just to hit the reset button after a long week!

You can sign up at Bend Yoga by calling or emailing!
http://www.bendyogachicago.com/index.html

A Commitment to Try

So I know a couple that started their relationship off not so well, by all standards disastrously.. yet they decided they were committing themselves to trying.. That seemed odd, what does that mean?? But then I started thinking about it in relation to health.

We start something, a diet, an exercise program, a giving up of something not good for us.. and we falter. We cheat, we relapse, we take the day, week, month off of the new program..
And this is where our real failure occurs. We call it all a wash. We have to start at ground zero, square one, because we messed up.

And that is baloney.

You don't start at square one! You start exactly where you are. You already have all of the information you gained the first, or fifth, go around, so now you simply move forward with a new commitment to yourself..

Sometimes we screw up. But it doesn't necessarily mean 'throw in the towel.' It could simply mean you weren't ready then.

Perhaps you are now.

So over the holidays you broke your diet, you indulged a little, okay, a lot.. and you are now beating yourself up like crazy.

knock it off. So you stumbled, it happens. Make a new commitment to yourself. The commitment to try again. You may stumble again. That happens.

But you haven't yet given up.. And that is progressing forward.

cm

a few thoughts on food, nutrition, and eating

When thinking of diet and nutrition our society is consumed by that big looming C word..

Calorie..

When reading the Nutritional Fact box on the back of a product, everyone seems to look at caloric and fat intake.. well scroll down, or to the side of that box and check out the ingredients list.. THAT is where the truly important information is.. That is the FOOD you are putting in.. Calories virtually wouldn't matter if you are eating whole healthy foods, combining them well, and eating in proper doses! Really, how many carrots, beets, kale, butternut squashes do you have to eat to be concerned over the caloric intake? more than you could ever eat in one sitting, that is for sure.

Some eating healthy guidelines..

• If you dont know the words in the ingredients list, you maybe shouldnt be eating it.. those arent generally foods that grow from the earth.

• If your great- grandparents couldnt eat, maybe you shouldnt either.. it's a good rule of thumb.

• when ingredients lists say 'enriched' and 'modified', run the other way... you dont want food that somehow they took a part out, processed, and then put some of it back in.. you want the food as it was grown.. whole.

• High fructose corn syrup is poison.. There is a mechanism in our bodies, when we take in food, as soon as it hits the small intestine a chemical reaction occurs and the brain is sent a signal saying 'okay! done! We're full! Stop eating!!' High fructose corn syrup turns that signal off.
And high fructose corn syrup is in everything.. Be warned..

Processed foods are not benefitting us. Created to be low calorie low fat they are also exceptionally low in nutritional value. They have been severely altered to be better marketing tools, but they dont tend to give our bodies the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients it needs.

Okay thats it for now.. I am sure I will come up with more later.. eat well, be well.. -cm