Skip to content

How to End Seasonal Affective Disorder and Start Loving Winter

winter-forestMany people feel down as winter approaches.  It’s dark.  It’s cold. The holidays can be stressful.

But for some people every winter is unbearable.  They’re tired and depressed.  They don’t want to get out of bed.  They snap at their families and binge on junk food.

These people have seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Our moods and energy levels fluctuate with the seasons.  Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) understands these cycles but modern life does not.  These days, you are expected to be active, productive and creative at all times of the year.  There is no accommodation for a slow, quiet winter.  According to TCM, this conflict causes stress, which can result in SAD.

Read the rest…

Posted in Acupuncture, Wellness | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on How to End Seasonal Affective Disorder and Start Loving Winter

Chinese lunar New Year: A do-over for your New Year’s resolutions

It’s about almost month into the New Year. Do you already wish you had a do-over for your New Year’s Resolutions?

If so, you’re in luck.  You do.

February 10th is the Chinese lunar New Year.  The celebration of the New Year, the Spring Festival, is China’s longest and most important holiday.  Because it is based on a different calendar, it falls on a different date between January 21 and February 20 every year.  You can think of Spring Festival as Christmas and New Year all rolled into one.  Just like our holiday season, it’s a time of celebration, visiting family and friends, giving gifts and preparing for the next year.

Chinese Lunar New Year:   Spring Festival

In China, there are many New Year’s traditions during the 15-day Spring Festival.  Many people clean their homes to sweep away the past year and usher in the next.  Oftentimes family members travel home for a visit.  Children receive red envelopes, called hóngbāo in Mandarin, filled with money from their relatives. People hang red lanterns outside their homes to bring happiness and good luck.  On Chinese New Year’s Eve families gather for a huge meal and enjoy “lucky” foods together.  And, of course, there are fireworks.

The Chinese zodiac has 12 years in its cycle, each one represented by an animal; 2013 is the Year of the Snake.  Astrologers say that people born in the Year of the Snake are wise but enigmatic.  They are very intuitive and size up situations well, but say little.  Snakes are refined; they like to dress well and are usually financially secure. They are intense and passionate in relationships, but can become jealous and suspicious.  Snakes prefer a calm, stress-free environment.

Recommit to Your New Year’s Resolutions

The Chinese do not traditionally make New Year’s Resolutions like we do in the West, however this is a good time to reflect on the goals you set a month ago. Are you keeping your New Year’s resolutions?

If you’re having trouble, maybe it’s time to take a lesson from the Snakes.  Take a quiet moment and reflect on what is stopping you.  Do you need to get serious?  Do you need additional support?  Are your goals genuine—do you want to do them or do you think you should do them?  Why haven’t you kept your New Year’s Resolutions?

If your resolutions include improving your health in 2013, I can help you with that.  Give me a call and we can arrange an appointment for anything from a tune-up to weight control to mood balancing.

If you need to make a deeper commitment to your resolutions, take a moment and think about what you need to do to keep them.  Write down 3 easy action steps.

…and do them.  Now.

Use the Chinese lunar New Year as a do-over.  Commit to your New Year’s resolutions.

Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái.  Happy New Year.

Photo credit: Gayle Nicholson / Foter / CC BY-SA

Posted in Acupuncture, Wellness | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Chinese lunar New Year: A do-over for your New Year’s resolutions

The Pessimist’s Guide to Gratitude

Your mother was right–say thank you.

Scientists have now proven what your mother always knew–it’s good to be grateful.  Being grateful is more than just politeness; it’s actually good for your health and well-being.

In a study by Robert A. Emmons, of the University of California, and Davis and Michael E. McCullough, of the University of Miami, people who kept gratitude journals showed higher levels of health and well-being than people who journaled neutral events or counted hardships.  After 2 months, the people who journaled their gratitude felt more optimistic and happier than their control counterparts. They reported fewer physical problems and spent more time working out.  People with neuromuscular problems who did the same thing fell asleep more quickly, slept longer and woke up feeling more refreshed.  Even their spouses noticed the difference!

How can you cultivate gratefulness even if you’re a glass-half-empty person?

Read the rest here…

Posted in Gratitude | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Pessimist’s Guide to Gratitude

9 Healthy Holiday Eating Strategies

Pie.  Cookies.  Chocolate.  Eggnog.  Champagne.

The holiday season is filled with good foods.  You eat and drink with your friends and loved ones to celebrate how much you care about them.

But we all know that too much of a good thing is no longer good.  Too many rich foods can lead to extra pounds, digestion upsets, mood swings and a generally “yucky” feeling.

It’s all about balance.

Good, healthy holiday eating can make the difference between an enjoyable holiday season and a miserable one.  The trick is to enjoy treats without overdoing them.  Make a healthy holiday eating strategy and plan to enjoy the holiday celebrations without feeling bad the next day.

See some healthy holiday eating strategies below the fold…

Posted in Nutrition, Wellness | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on 9 Healthy Holiday Eating Strategies

The Key to Staying Healthy

If you live in a rainy area, the odds are pretty good that your automobile will develop some body damage over its lifetime.  Does this mean that you never wash your car because it’s going to rust out anyway?  Of course it doesn’t.  If you care about your car, it means that you’ll fight extra hard to protect your investment.

The reality is that most of the top killers today are lifestyle related, regardless of your family history.  Just because you inherit the genes doesn’t mean that you have to continue the lifestyle.

Cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disorders…all of these conditions are greatly impacted by diet, lifestyle habits, depressed nervous systems, our home environments, etc.

Until we change our focus from the curing of disease to the propagation of health, history is destined to repeat itself.

Remember that the body has the capacity to heal easily, as long as there is the proper balance and flow of energy. The key to staying healthy is not to inject “cures” from the outside, but rather to get the innermost layer (the meridian system) in order first, and then to insulate it with layer upon layer of healthy, productive lifestyle habits.

Posted in Wellness | Tagged , , | Comments Off on The Key to Staying Healthy

What is health?

What does it mean to be healthy?  Health is a state of optimum physical functioning, spiritual enlightenment, social well-being, and mental aptitude.  True health is so much more than settling for mediocrity.  It’s not about living life just barely above the doldrums, or hoping against hope that you won’t get sick or that you’ll finally feel better.

Understand that your body was designed to be healthy and in balance.  This is your natural state.  If you are struggling with your health, you have most likely, throughout the course of living, allowed your body to get out of balance. Taking medicine to treat a symptom will never create balance within the body.  Acupuncture works with the body to return it to its natural state of balance so that it can heal from the inside out.  Don’t divert the smoke, put out the fire!

Posted in Acupuncture | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on What is health?
941-448-0565