Mid-way through Winter we’re beginning to see the day light hours lengthen. But as we head toward spring, many feel sluggish and even fatigued.  Nature’s re-set button is the gift of slumber.  Getting more sleep allows your body and mind to rejuvenate and prepare for an active Spring.    

Recharge this Winter with Acupuncture 
According to Oriental medicine, the cold months of winter are the perfect time to recharge your battery and generate vital energy – Qi – in order to live, look, and feel your best.

The ancient Chinese believed that human beings should live in harmony with the natural cycles of their environment. The cold and darkness of winter urges us to slow down. This is the time of year to reflect on health, replenish energy and conserve strength.

Winter is ruled by the Water element, which is associated with the Kidneys, Bladder and Adrenal Glands. The Kidneys are considered the source of all energy or “Qi” within the body. They store all of the reserve Qi in the body so that it can be used in times of stress and change, or to heal, prevent illness, and age gracefully.

During the winter months, it is important to nurture and nourish our Kidney Qi; it is the time where this energy can be most easily depleted. Our bodies are instinctively expressing the fundamental principles of winter – rest, reflection, conservation and storage.

The Nei Ching, an ancient Chinese classic, advises people to go to sleep early and rise late, after the sun’s rays have warmed the atmosphere a bit. This preserves your own Yang Qi for the task of warming in the face of cold.

Eating warm hearty soups, whole grains, and roasted nuts help to warm the body’s core and to keep us nourished. Sleep early, rest well, stay warm, and expend a minimum quantity of energy.

Seasonal acupuncture treatments in winter serve to nurture and nourish kidney Qi which can greatly enhance the body’s ability to thrive in times of stress, aid in healing, prevent illness and increase vitality.

Below are a few nutritional tips to help you renew and restore.

Water – The Kidneys are associated with the Water element. Drink ample water, at room temperature, throughout the day.

Kidney Shaped Foods – Black beans and kidney beans are excellent examples of kidney shaped foods that nourish and benefit Kidney Qi.

Blue and Black Foods - The colors blue and black correspond to the Water element of the Kidneys and are thought to strengthen the Water element. Include blueberries, blackberries, mulberry and black beans in your diet.

Seeds - Flax, pumpkin, sunflower and black sesame seeds relate to fertility and growth which is governed by Kidney Qi.

Nuts – Walnuts and chestnuts have been found to be especially effective for increasing Kidney Qi.

Vegetables – Dark, leafy green vegetables are the best choice for Kidney Qi. Other Kidney Qi boosting veggies include asparagus, cucumbers and celery.

When I meet a new patient, I wonder, “Who is this person? How is she feeling? What does she need to become whole on all levels — physical, emotional and spiritual?” To find out, I ask deeper questions about her well-being in order to find the symptom’s cause and treat it.

Any symptom a patient reports can be the result of an imbalance in one of the five elements — Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. Once this happens, the imbalance can spread throughout the body, because all five elements are connected like members of a family. When one member is sick, unable or unwilling to do his tasks, the rest of the family suffers. In time, they all become symptomatic, too.

Because symptoms and imbalances are interrelated in this way, I need to know more than just that my patient has migraines, arthritis or insomnia. Those symptoms can be the result of imbalances in any organ or function, so I have to find the elemental cause.

In classical five-element acupuncture, this is done through the senses — perceiving the odor (yes, odor!), color, sound, and emotion that identifies which element is out of balance. Then I work empathetically — feeling what the patient feels in order to understand the level of disease.

If a roof gutter fills with leaves, water may stagnate rather than drain, encouraging clogging and the growth of unwanted seedlings. In the same way, when the body’s gutters and drains stop flowing, manipulation of an acupuncture point opens and clears out stagnation, encourages flow and returns the body to a balanced state so that it can heal itself.

Symptoms are the body’s distress signals, clues to what’s going on inside. When symptoms are suppressed by prescription drugs, the body is being told to “shut up!” But centuries of Chinese medicine have demonstrated the wisdom of listening…

Most people are already familiar with the concept of acupuncture: releasing the blockage of essential Qi, or life force, to promote healing. But I am often asked about Five-Element acupuncture, which is the classical Chinese form that I practice.

According to classical Five-Element acupuncture, the five elements – Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water – exist in everything and everyone. When an imbalance occurs, illness can result. So, Five-Element diagnoses and treats the element that is out of balance, enabling healing to occur in the body.

Each element has an odor, color, sound and emotion attached to it that can be perceived when that element is out of balance. In addition, each patient’s unique body, mind and spirit are taken into account when determining diagnosis and treatment, so that each individual receives customized treatment.

Each person has a unique balance of the five elements – no two people are the same, regardless of the similarity of their symptoms.  The goal of the 5 Element practitioner is to pin-point and treat the underlying causative factor of  “Dis-ease”.  Treating the causative factor enables the person to heal completely. 

This is the essential difference between acupuncture and Western (or allopathic) medicine, where patients presenting the same symptoms usually are treated in the exact same way and given the exact same dose of the exact same prescription drug. An acupuncture patient receives an hour of my time – more during the intake session – to diagnose and treat an imbalance and, in most cases, arises from my table already feeling better.

This is one reason why more people are turning to alternative medical treatments – for individualized care, a personal relationship with the practitioner, natural treatment free from adverse side effects and the promotion of improved sleep and overall calmative effect.