The holiday season is approaching and right now at the Marlborough Wellness Center, it is Client Appreciation Month! We like to say thank you to our many clients who value maintaining and achieving good health with a large basket full of wonderful items as well as gift certificates for treatments at the Center from each one of our practitioners! You can give them as gifts or keep them for them yourself! Either way, book your appointments now for the month of November to be entered into the raffle for the basket that will be awarded on December 1st to one lucky person! But more importantly, whatever may motivate you, our call to action is to make an appointment for yourself or your family member/friend in the name of good health so that you can survive the holidays without being sick and run down. A healthy lifestyle is the best gift you can give this season!
Acupuncture Information and Research
Acupuncture and herbs: Stress Free Holidays
The holidays are a big part of the fall and winter months. This is often a time to reconnect with family and loved ones, to attend social events, and celebrate your beliefs.
¬Unfortunately, it can also be a time of extra commitments, nonstop activity, and pressure to get it all done. This can result in a lot of stress, both mental and physical.
Everyone feels stressed occasionally but when it continues for a long time or gets overwhelming, it can take a real toll on your health. The immune system is particularly sensitive to the effects of stress, which means that ongoing stress can leave you vulnerable to colds, flu, and other illnesses.
The good news is that you can take charge of the stress in your life. One way to do that is to set realistic expectations for the holidays. Spend some time thinking about what’s important to you. Rather than concentrating on making everything “perfect,” try to focus on enjoying yourself whether that means spending time with family, volunteering to help others, or taking a vacation.
Another good strategy is to set boundaries. Don’t take on more than you can handle, say “no” if you have to, and ask for help if you need it.
Other ways to beat stress include:
Eating right: Remember to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and try to keep your intake of sugary holiday treats to a minimum.
Rest: Get plenty of sleep to keep your body and mind healthy and energized.
Meditation: Take a few minutes during the day to sit quietly and simply focus on your breathing.
Exercise: Try to work exercise into your schedule. It’s a natural energy and mood booster. Yoga is an excellent choice this time of year.
Talking to someone: Share your thoughts and feelings with a friend or a counselor. Expressing yourself may make you feel better and you might even find solutions to stressful situations.
Vitamins and herbs: Be sure to take a daily multivitamin and consider taking extra vitamin C to help strengthen your immune system. Herbs such as ginseng can help you adapt to stress and valerian root can soothe and calm your mind.
Additional methods include treatments such as acupuncture and massage which can help relax both mind and body. With a little preparation and some new coping strategies, you can make this year’s holiday season happy, healthy and stress-free!
Acupuncture: What Does Your Face Say About You?
They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Did you know that the face can be the window to your health?
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), your face’s appearance can offer valuable information about issues that could be affecting your overall health. The shape of your face, the color of your complexion, and marks such as lines or lesions can all help us determine a diagnosis and treatment plan.
To get an idea of what we sometimes look for, take a look at yourself in a mirror under natural light. There are five colors that appear in the face: red, black, yellow, green, and white.
Everyone’s skin tone is different, and usually one color is dominant, though several other colors can be visible. What colors do you see? Do you have visible veins, and if so, what color and where are they? Is your skin moist or dry?
A healthy, lustrous complexion and normal color indicate a good balance and flow of Qi (“life energy”) within your body. If the complexion is off-color, looks lifeless or “withered,” or is too moist or too dry, it may indicate an imbalance of Qi.
Each color is associated with specific conditions, syndromes, and organ and meridian networks. White, for example, is associated with the Lungs, so a pale appearance could indicate a Lung Qi deficiency and possible breathing problems.
Another important factor in facial diagnosis is that different regions of the face, such as the nose, the eyebrows, and the mouth, correspond with specific organ and meridian networks. For example, the nose correlates with the Spleen, the brows with the Liver, and the lower lip to the Large Intestine.
Since the face and your overall health are so closely related, you may discover positive changes in your complexion as your body regains balance and harmony through acupuncture and TCM. Contact your acupuncturist-herbalist at the Marlborough Wellness Center to learn more!
Acupuncture: Alternative To What?
The other day, my colleague and good friend said, “people do not like to do what they do not understand.” It struck me as such a truth that I knew it was an opportunity for me to enlighten!
The biggest challenge I have as an acupuncturist in today’s society is educating people on what acupuncture is and how it can help them and their loved ones regain their health.
You have probably heard acupuncture referred to at some point as “alternative or medicine.” The term itself can be misinterpreted. It implies that acupuncture is a runner-up or a contingency plan to turn to when medicine falls short, or should one choose not to utilize medicine in the first place.
The focus of Western medicine has been primarily on the treatment of symptoms and disease. Generally speaking, when I talk to my clients, I find that most of us were raised to essentially ignore our bodies until they began to talk to us in the form of pain, numbness, indigestion, insomnia, weakness, fatigue, or any other number of symptoms. When we can no longer stand it anymore, we turned to look for answers.
The logical course of action when confronted with a health challenge should be to support and enhance the body’s internal balance and let true health and healing run its natural course. Acupuncture stands alone in the detection and correction of the body’s innate healing energies to bring about balance within the body and to maximize its full expression of life.
Acupuncture is not concerned with the treatment of symptoms or disease but with determining the underlying cause or root of a particular problem. It works to restore the natural balance with the body’s meridian system because it is within this system that we see the underlying causes of the outward expressions of sickness.
Life is expressed in the body through the meridian system and good health is orchestrated by removing blockages within the body. Less flow equals less life. And acupuncturists are the only healthcare professionals specifically trained to detect and correct the imbalances in the meridian systems.
So I believe, if we can get one person to listen, has a great experience with acupuncture and begins talking, it will be abundantly clear how effective acupuncture can be! When you have acupuncture working for you, who needs an alternative?
Acupuncture: Are You All Revved Up?
What do you think would happen if you kept your car in park and the engine revving as if it was traveling at 65 miles per hour?
Clearly, after a short time your car would break down. If you were lucky, a simple tune-up would fix the problem. If not, the engine might need to be replaced entirely.
Stress is a revving engine that, if left unchecked, can wear out the body and mind. Stress in our professional, personal, financial and social lives can lead to a variety of signs and symptoms of poor health.
Stress increases our body’s production of cortisol and adrenaline. These body chemicals help activate the “fight or flight” response, a normal reaction that is designed to prepare the body to flee danger or fight an attacker.
Unfortunately, many modern stressors are chronic and end up activating the “fight or flight” response for weeks, months, or years at a time. This long-term activation of the body’s stress-response system can wear down the body and mind, setting the stage for illness and disease. Especially suppressing the immune system and increasing your risks of catching colds, flus, and worsening your current allergic reactions.
The good news is that acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be extremely helpful in reducing the signs and symptoms associated with stress. Using special techniques, a skilled acupuncturist can reduce stress in a few ways:
1) A customized Chinese herbal prescription can help restore internal health and balance, thus “slowing the engine down.”
2) Safe, gentle and effective acupuncture treatments can help “turn off” the fight or flight response and can enable you to feel calmer and sleep more soundly.
3) Suggestions for a healthy lifestyle, including proper nutrition, meditation, rest and exercise will enable you to maintain a long term healthy lifestyle.
One of the unique attributes of Chinese medicine is its holistic approach to health and well-being. Instead of masking or addressing a few signs and symptoms related to stress, an acupuncturist cares for the whole person: body and mind.
Stop revving your engine! If you or someone you know is experiencing stress, please call the Marlborough Wellness Center. For five thousand years, acupuncture has helped millions of people cool their engines before they burned out!
Healthy Eating For The Season of Autumn
Nature has a way of providing us with what we need, when we need it. That’s especially true when it comes to the foods that become available with each season. Autumn brings with it a bounty of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that nourish the body and support health and well-being. Being aware of seasonal foods and attuning your diet to your body’s needs is a great way to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
The harvest season is a time to prepare your body for the cold winter ahead. Your diet should shift toward richer, denser foods that will provide you with extra energy and warmth. Consider increasing your intake of protein, fats, and whole grains but be sure to keep up your exercise program, to control weight gain.
Nourishing your immune system is also very important at this time. Take advantage of dark green and golden-orange vegetables that are rich in beta-carotene to strengthen the body’s Wei Qi (immune system). These include carrots, pumpkin, squash, broccoli, kale, mustard greens, and many more.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it’s important to maintain the body’s balance during this season by adding sour foods such as sauerkraut, leeks, yogurt, and sour apples to your diet. Pungent foods such as garlic, turnips, and horseradish should also be added to your autumn diet, since they cleanse and protect the lungs.
It’s also important to moderate your caffeine use this season. As autumn settles in, you may notice yourself feeling a little more tired than usual and increasing your coffee intake to boost your energy. Before you lift that next cup, consider making a healthy change and switching from coffee to tea.
Tea has been found to have a variety of health benefits, including protecting against heart disease and some types of cancer, reducing inflammation and blood pressure, and even increasing bone density. Green and white teas contain especially high amounts of antioxidants, which protect against cellular damage.
Some foods that are best eaten in the harvest season include (but are not limited to): Wheat germ, bay leaves, sage, cabbage, anise, savory, capers, basil, thyme, broccoli, cayenne, peanut oil, daikon, cinnamon, honey, leeks, cardamom, peppermint, lemon, mustard leaf, garlic, onion, marjoram, parsnip/turnips, pepper, mustard, radishes, rosemary, lemon balm tea, chamomile tea, and mint tea.
These are just a few simple suggestions. Please consult with the acupuncturist-herbalists at the Marlborough Wellness Center if you have any other questions or are considering making any healthy dietary changes to make sure they are right for you. Happy harvest!
Acupuncture and Fitness Go Hand In Hand
Fitness is one of the largest growing industries today. While working with one of my closest friends in the industry, Kathy Ekdahl of Personal Best Personal Training, I learned that when choosing which program best fits your life and your desired outcome, it is important to look at these four aspects of a fitness routine:
Muscular and Cardiovascular Endurance:
These activities are designed to increase your heart rate and breathing for extended periods. Gradually build up endurance exercises over a period of time, initially starting out with as little as 5 minutes. Examples of endurance exercises include briskly walking, cycling, long-distance running, aerobics, and may even include mopping or scrubbing a floor, and mowing or raking the lawn.
Strength Training:
Increasing your strength can improve and maintain your mobility, control your weight and sculpt a more muscular body. Lifting weights is one of the easiest and fastest ways to build muscle. Martial arts are another form of strength training exercises. Please make sure you consult a personal trainer for the correct regimen for your body.
Flexibility:
Increasing your flexibility will help “loosen” you up and allow you to move more freely. One great way to prevent injury and aid performance is to do stretching exercises before and after endurance and strength training. Yoga and gentle stretching fall within this category.
Balance:
More and more, people are seeking balance exercises to reduce stress and harmonize body, mind and spirit. Tai Chi, Qi Gong and certain forms of yoga are exercises designed to maintain balance in the body while cultivating Qi energy that can keep you strong and healthy.
Talk to a qualified professional before you start an exercise routine to best determine what exercises will be most effective in reaching your desired outcome of a healthy, balanced body.
And of course consider acupuncture for performance enhancement, identifying and addressing the underlying conditions that may predispose an individual to injuries, and for treating sport-related injuries effectively. Remember, acupuncture can be introduced at any phase of a treatment regimen for an injury. It is safe, effective and natural! The Marlborough Wellness Center has experienced acupuncturists ready to address any issues you may encounter and get you back to the activities you love!
Are you like a boomerang?
In my practice, I have encountered many clients and their viewpoints of good health. It truly is a subjective thing to each of us and as an acupuncturist, I work diligently to respect the client’s wishes while also serving as a health practitioner working to improve their health. What is the most challenging to work with is the client who comes in only when they are in pain, not for health maintenance.
What these people fail to realize is that healthy living is not an event, but rather a lifestyle. Until my clients make a lasting commitment to finally follow through with and maintain a program of healthy eating and exercise, they will always return back to my clinic…kind of like a boomerang.
People who utilize acupuncture merely for symptom relief are much like boomerangs. At the first sign that their symptoms are gone, they back off their care…only to find themselves with the same painful problem a short time later. They then come back to their acupuncturist, feel better, leave and start the same vicious cycle all over again.
Not only is this ineffective from a corrective standpoint, but the full benefits of acupuncture can never truly be realized. In addition, the longer a condition is left to fester just under the surface, the more potential it has to develop into something more serious. It is typical to find that each time the problem resurfaces, it is a little more severe than the previous incident. Until finally, a more comprehensive schedule of care is no longer an option but a necessity.
Whether in acupuncture, pain management, or any other of life’s endeavors, lasting results come from committing to a set of long-term goals and then having the discipline to follow through.
Make the commitment to maintenance acupuncture care and a preventative wellness program and avoid the painful out and back patterns of a boomerang.
Acupuncture: Tune In!
Remember the days of rabbit ear antennas on your television sets? If you were lucky enough to find the exact seating position in your living room to optimize your body’s own magnetic field and the tilt of the earth’s axis, these beauties could tune in your favorite show with the crystal clarity of a thick San Francisco fog. If you wanted to tune to another channel, this required a coordinated, 2 handed effort of spinning and rotating the antennas, the likes of which would rival even the most skilled of Olympic fencers.
No matter what show you wanted to watch, you could pick it up on your set, but only if the antenna was functioning properly and only if it was aligned in the right position. The signal was always in the air, but whether or not your show came in clearly depended upon the antenna’s ability to transfer the signal to your TV set.
For those of you struggling with your health, keep in mind that you always have the potential for improvement. Research shows that acupuncture can help with many health problems besides just painful conditions. The problem is usually not with the meridian system itself but rather with the transmission of energy through the body. Just like the old VHF signals being broadcast over the air, the energy is always present – the signal is always there. Remaining healthy is a matter of transferring that signal as efficiently as possible to all parts of your body, and in this case your meridian system functions as the antenna. The farther out of balance your system becomes, the weaker the signal gets. Imbalances choke off vital energy traveling throughout the body, but instead of a fuzzy picture, you get sciatic pain, headaches, asthma, fatigue, numbness, digestive disorders, allergies, chronic sickness, etc. Bringing the meridians back into its proper balance allows for the signal to broadcast at full strength.
Acupuncture works by supporting and balancing the “signals” being broadcast by your body and laying the ground for optimum expression of health. Clearing the meridian system of imbalances allows the free flow of energy to every cell, organ, nerve, and tissue, resulting in crystal clear, HD reception and picture-perfect health. Qualified, experienced practitioners can be found at the Marlborough Wellness Center and are equipped to balance your “signals”!
Acupuncture: Your Alarm's Snooze Button
The chirping of the alarm barely rouses you enough to pry one arm out from under the blanket. Your hand automatically navigates its way to the bedside nightstand and inches its way to the alarm clock, a move ingrained by years of repetition. Or for my husband, country music (which he despises) and an alarm placed across the room helps him out of bed at 4:30am.
Despite your best intentions of arising on time, you may find yourself hitting the snooze button twice more, rationalizing to yourself that you don’t need that much time to get ready for work anyway.
Finally, the Critical Alert goes off in your head. GET UP NOW OR GET IN TROUBLE!
You shower at hyper-speed, grab breakfast on the run, and you’re out the door.
Unfortunately, the same story is played out every day by those of us who ignore our own internal “alarms” or symptoms. Symptoms are your body’s warning system built in to alert you of a potential crisis.
What are your options when symptoms arise?
First, you could choose to do nothing, which is what most people do for a while. Many hope that by ignoring the problem, it will somehow go away. Even if the pain eventually subsides, the underlying cause rarely resolves on its own.
When ignoring the problem proves ineffective, your next course of action might be to find a medication to relieve you of the symptom. Medicating a symptom is like hitting the snooze on the alarm. It just delays the inevitable, that you eventually will need to wake up and address your problem in a sensible, effective manner.
That brings us to your third option: Acupuncture. The focus of acupuncture care is to remove meridian system blockages and imbalances within the body, allowing the free flow of the bodies energy and to express 100% life. Symptoms don’t exist in the absence of an underlying imbalance. Eliminate the cause and the symptom goes away once and for all.
So what alarm clock are you going to listen to today?
Acupuncture: Everyday Miracles
It is not uncommon to hear patients talk to others about their “acupuncture miracles.”
To someone suffering with severe migraines for years on end and who has tried every drug and medical remedy under the sun, it might seem like a miracle to get relief after just a few simple acupuncture treatments.
To the woman pronounced infertile, it certainly seems miraculous when she is able to finally conceive.
To the man with chronic lower back pain and sciatica, the relief from pain is expected but the miracle comes in the form of better digestion and improved bowel and bladder function.
We tend to consider these events miracles because as a whole, we have grown so accustomed to living life with chronic, sometimes debilitating ailments. And after a while, they just become part of us and are accepted as normal. But as a Chiropractor friend of mine always said, “Your everyday pain is not normal!”
Even with the best of intentions, medicinal treatments may offer symptomatic relief but do nothing to correct the underlying problems and help bring the body back into its natural balance. So when our clients finally find acupuncture and discover what it means to be truly healthy and allow the body to fully express itself mentally, physically, and emotionally from the inside out, it is only natural to consider it miraculous.
But what does it say about our general state of health that when the body is functioning as it was designed to and simply expressing life as it was meant to be, we tag it a “miracle”? The acupuncturist works no miracles and heals nothing but rather removes blockages and restores balance in the body. This allows the body’s wisdom to go to work and express health and life the only way it knows how. You body wants to be in a homeostatic state but it is through our everyday lives and activities that we throw it off course. A balanced life that more and more people are discovering is easily within their grasp.
This is one of the many reasons the NCCAOM (National Certification Committee for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine) has begun a new theme: “Because It Works!” So reach out and make an appointment today with your local acupuncturist!
Acupuncture: Maintenance Protocols
Buying an automobile is probably one of the biggest financial investments you’ll make. You understand that even though your car runs great, performs magnificently, and looks wonderful on the outside, it is imperative that you keep up with regularly scheduled maintenance to keep it running smoothly.
Restoring your health through acupuncture requires an investment of both your time and money, and is truly one of the best investments you can make for yourself. If you have completed, or are in the process of following through with a schedule of comprehensive acupuncture treatments, then congratulations on your commitment to excellent health! However, to remain at the pinnacle you worked so hard to achieve it is essential to incorporate acupuncture wellness care into your lifestyle.
Once you have completed an initial or comprehensive care plan, it is important to follow up with routine visits to maintain your newfound level of health. After all, if it was worth the investment to regain your health, then you owe it to yourself to maintain it.
The key is to remain proactive and to stay one step ahead of potential problems before they have a chance to develop. It is far less costly to take your car to the mechanic for routine maintenance work than it is to wait for a breakdown.
Keep in mind, however, that even with routine automotive maintenance there is still the potential to develop trouble between service appointments. When the warning lights on your dash alert you to a problem, it is best to get it checked right away rather than wait until your next scheduled service.
The same goes for your body. When pain, injuries, or illness occur between wellness visits, resist the temptation to hold out until your next scheduled visit. If your body is talking to you, listen to it. The sooner a problem is addressed, the easier and more cost effective it is to get you over it.
Your body is meant to last you a lifetime. It is not leased and there is no trading it in. Isn’t it time you started caring for your body as well as you treat your car? At the Marlborough Wellness Center, we believe in creating functional and healthy maintenance programs for our clients so call and find out more!
The Season of Summer
Summer is hot and everything is prospering! The skin and muscles are relaxed and the body is characterized by the Heart’s craving for coolness. Heat can also arise from prolonged overconsumption of heating foods or substances, over-activity or prolonged strain on all/part of our systems, prolonged exposure to hot environments, and from feelings that may have not have been resolved or expressed. In some areas of the country, humidity starts to wreck havoc on our bodies which reminds us that we are connected to our outside environment.
The diet should therefore be concentrated on releasing the heat and generating the body fluids. Recommended foods include (but are not limited to):
Mung beans and sprouts
Millet
Asparagus
Peppermint
Banana
Tofu
Elderflower
Bamboo Shoots
Lettuce
Clams (but watch the fried)
Salt
Lemon
Wheat
Potato
Egg whites
Watermelon
Grapefruit
Acupuncture: Aahh, she has her's mother's….
It’s almost a newborn’s rite of passage. A baby can’t escape having its looks scrutinized to determine what he/she got from whom: Grandma’s nose, Dad’s eyes, Mom’s mouth, Grandpa’s ears, and on and on.
What we rarely consider is that according to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the baby also inherits their constitution from it’s parents: strengths and imbalance as well. When I have consulted with patients, it is not uncommon to hear things like, “I get migraine headaches just like my mom used to.” Or, “I remember my dad having the same exact lower back pain I’ve been dealing with.” Or, “My kids have horrible allergy problems just like I do.”
How is it possible that conditions like those mentioned above are passed on from generation to generation? After all, we’re talking about symptoms here, not looks and physical traits.
When you begin to understand where symptoms come from, one explanation becomes abundantly clear.
Let’s take a moment to remember that symptoms themselves are not a problem. They are a product of the underlying cause and they also serve as your body’s warning system. So for a certain symptom pattern to be passed on generationally, there must be a common underlying cause that triggers the outward symptom, and most often that cause is rooted in the meridian system.
When we look at the distribution of the meridian system, it becomes apparent that each of the meridians supply energy to specific organs and parts of the body.
By tracing the symptom back to its origin in the meridian system, examination often reveals that the parent and child may have the same pattern(s) of imbalance and will tend to develop a similar pattern of signs and issues.
Therefore, TCM believes that symptoms aren’t inherited, but rather the pattern that produces those symptoms. To continually treat the symptom is counterproductive in the long run. The most effective strategy is to correct the underlying cause (the meridian imbalance) and let the symptoms take care of themselves.
Receiving acupuncture at the Marlborough Wellness Center from the experienced practitioners there can help you and your family members find the way out of the inherited health issues!
Acupuncture: Off-Road or Off The Mark?
We know you’ve seen them braving the pitted surface of the highway, or perhaps traversing a busy grocery store or home improvement parking lot. Luckily for the driver, there’s just enough power and ground clearance to navigate a speed bump before wedging himself into a miniscule parking space. We’re referring to The Hummer: real-life Tonka toy, the bastion of raw power and manliness…relegated to a life on the pavement. It’s a travesty being played out all over America.
The question is are you treating acupuncture like a well-dressed Hummer? Are you using it for total body health and well-being as it was meant to be or simply to reduce your back pain? Are you using it to unleash the awesome power of the meridian system, to support and rebuild your health or just to get rid of that headache? Using it to enhance your athletic performance, boost your immunity, and increase your energy, calm your mind, reduce your stress or to merely get over a stiff neck? It’s time to get off the pavement and into the tough stuff!
Many people are still under the impression that acupuncture is all about fixing up aches and pains. Are you one of them?
The very first acupuncture treatment was delivered over 2,500 years ago! Acupuncture is a time-tested, proven method to help regain health in ways that go beyond just treating pains and aches.
Obviously, if you come to us in pain we will do everything we can to get your body back into balance as quickly as possible in order to alleviate your symptoms. But the true overriding purpose of acupuncture is to restore the normal and balanced flow of energies within the meridian system so that the body is free to express its maximum potential of health at all times. Using acupuncture for anything less is like never taking your Hummer off-road.
If you are seeing us on an occasional basis or only when you hurt yourself, you are missing out on the true essence of acupuncture. If this sounds like you, call the Marlborough Wellness Center to get on a schedule of preventative, proactive acupuncture care and let us help you live life to the fullest.
But you rationalize that you bought your Hummer because it has plenty of headroom and ample cargo space to transport your groceries and lumber. Nice try. So does the neighbor lady’s minivan.
Now about that treatment…
Acupuncture: Fit-vs-Healthy
We have all read the unfortunate headlines:
* 37 Year Old MLB Baseball Pitcher Dies of Heart Attack
* NHL Hockey Player Found Dead in Condo at Age 35, No Foul Play Suspected
* Olympic Skater’s Life Cut Short at 28, Dies of Natural Causes
These were elite athletes at the top of their sport. Were they fit? There’s no question about it.
Were they healthy? Not so much.
Let’s be clear. These athletes were certainly healthier than the majority of us. The very fact that they were competitive athletes at the top of their game required the physical work and commitment to get them there. The nature of their body composition, physical conditioning, and cardiovascular endurance left them less predisposed to many of the chronic ailments that tend to plague those of us with a more sedentary lifestyle. When I tell people I do triathlons, I get responses like, “I couldn’t do that!” or “You must be really fit!”
On the other hand, a truly healthy body just doesn’t suddenly quit working visit the website. So clearly there is a big distinction between being physically fit and toned on the surface, and possessing genuine health and wellness underneath.
A physically fit body is typically a body that feels good and exudes health and vibrancy. But this often belies the fact that sickness and disease, such as cancer and cardiovascular disorders, can be festering undetected under the surface. This can be explained in Traditional Chinese medicine as meridian imbalances, which most of the time develop and progress painlessly while robbing the body of its vital energy.
So clearly, gauging your level of health and wellness based simply on the way that you look or feel on the outside can be a very dangerous practice.
In addition, a common misconception is that you can somehow exercise away an imbalance. This simply is not the case and even Western medicine will say the same. While exercise is essential, and certainly encouraged for its plentitude of benefits, the only correction for an imbalance is an acupuncture treatment. Once the change is made, exercises, especially those specific to your condition, will serve to complement it.
So while health and fitness is certainly encouraged, exercise alone will not carry you to the pinnacle of health. The foundation of healthy living is a powerful free-flowing meridian system free to help the body without interference. That foundation is built by acupuncture and be found with the qualified and experienced practitioners at the Marlborough Wellness Center.
Acupuncture: It's Essential!
To live a healthy life at the most basic level, we all know that there are certain habits that must be maintained on a consistent basis.
Want healthy teeth? Brush a few times daily, floss at least once a day, and visit your dentist for regular check-ups.
Healthy bodily hygiene requires that you shower or bathe daily.
Living at a healthy bodyweight results from consistently eating the right types of foods, and regularly engaging in some form of exercise.
Most importantly, living your life at your absolute healthiest, with 100% energy flow and maximum expression of life requires clearing the body of meridian imbalances and then maintaining those changes through consistent wellness treatments.
These are truths that cannot be denied. When you quit performing any of these proactive habits, its corresponding aspect of health begins to decline.
So let’s say you did give up these habits. What would happen to your state of health as it relates to that activity?
Quit brushing and flossing and you risk losing your teeth. As undesirable as this would be, you can still live without a mouthful of teeth. Sure it’s more difficult, but you would survive.
Give up bathing and, while your circle of friends would quickly diminish, you would be in no imminent threat of losing your life.
Stop exercising or eating well and soon your neglect will be written all over your expanding body.
Start powering down or inhibiting the meridian system, however, and your quality of life plummets right along with it. Shut the meridian system down completely, and you will be very unhealthy.
This is not to imply that if you give up your acupuncture treatments that disease is imminent, but it does speak volumes toward the importance of keeping the power of the meridian system flowing freely at all times.
Life revolves around the meridian system and when there become imbalances, or blockages, the energy that runs the body is diminished.
As important as it is to correct meridian imbalances and restore normal function to the meridian system, it is just as critical to maintain those changes. A lifetime of preventative, wellness acupuncture care is one of the healthiest habits that you can engage in.
Acupuncture: Your Body and The Egg Carton
If you’re like most people, before buying eggs at the grocery store you open the carton to check for broken shells. You’re probably not too surprised when you come across a cracked egg or two and you simply continue your search, rendering the previous carton useless. As you proceed, you notice that some cartons contain 1 broken egg, others contain 2, and still others have 3 or more. Finally you find what you came for, a carton with a perfect dozen eggs inside.
Why must you go through the process of opening each carton? Because you can’t tell anything about the contents by simply looking at the outside packaging. Every carton looks identical from the outside, yet they can be very different on the inside. To randomly choose any carton without knowing what’s inside would be a foolish and unnecessary risk.
The body is like our egg carton. It is often so good at compensating for imbalances, that what might look healthy and in balance from the outside can actually be masking underlying problems or symptoms. If left undetected, these imbalances can lead to chronic sickness, degeneration, and disease.
When it comes to our health, we’ve been taught that what you see and feel is what you get. If things look okay on the outside and you don’t have any symptoms, you must be healthy, right? We’ve come to learn that this is not the case. Many diseases and disorders such as cancer and heart disease have no symptoms or warning signs until the sickness is well into the advanced stage xenical diet pills. Imbalances are no different.
Meridian imbalances are known as “silent problems”. They often go undetected because many times they are painless and reveal few outward signs or symptoms, yet all the while they are affecting your life-sustaining meridian system.
If there are enough cracked eggs in a carton, and they are left inside long enough, eventually they will begin to soak through and reveal themselves. Similarly, uncorrected imbalances will eventually show themselves as symptoms.
The only way to know for certain whether or not you have meridian imbalances is to either wait for your carton to soak through, or to open the carton and look inside with an acupuncture examination.
If you wouldn’t take a chance on a $3.00 carton of eggs, you certainly shouldn’t risk your most precious and priceless commodity: YOUR HEALTH! Acupuncture: Let’s Get To The Point!
Acupuncture: Dare To Be Different…It Could Be Good For You!
It’s interesting how some things come to be accepted as normal just because the larger flock is engaging in them. If you are fortunate enough to have an open mind and think for yourself, all of a sudden you are the one who is considered odd, or alternative, or irresponsible.
When did it become normal for millions of American kids to be on the pharmaceutical, Ritalin? What happened to the human body that all of a sudden we supposedly need flu shots and immunizations to stay healthy? How is it that modern medicine is a leading cause of death in this country yet we continue to consume it in absurd amounts?
When you talk about acupuncture for total body health and wellness, you may be interpreted as odd. If your ‘medicine cabinet’ isn’t overflowing with cough syrups and pain management medications, you may be seen as different. If you choose not to immunize your kids, you’re seen as doing them a disservice.
So the question I pose to you is: who are the ones that are really off base here? Common or mainstream does not necessarily mean normal or right or the best thing for you, and it’s up to you to make informed decisions about your health instead of leaving your fate in someone else’s hands.
If you’re thinking for yourself and you happen to be in alignment with the masses, then so be it. But don’t be influenced by the flock to accept that mentality just because “everybody else is doing it”.
When you swim against the current of conventional thinking, some people may look at you funny. Rather than taking offense to those sideways glances, take them as a sign that you may be on the right track.
It’s been said that as soon as you start thinking like the crowd, you’ll be swept up in it. You know you are strong enough to stand up for what you believe, for what makes sense for you, and for what you know in your heart to be right. You owe it to yourself and know you will be supported by the practitioners at the Marlborough Wellness Center.
Acupuncture: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste!
Whether you realize it or not, one of the most powerful forces in your life is your self-image. A positive, healthy self-image can carry you to heights you’ve never imagined, while a negative self-image will pin you down like a lead weight.
To a large degree your self-image is influenced by the pictures and messages you continually feed into your mind. Positive, uplifting messages help to foster a healthy self image, while stories of doom and despair are sure to bring you down.
Your mind, just like your body, is conditioned by the pattern of your daily habits. If you get into the routine of exercising every day and putting wholesome nutritious food into your body, it is inevitable that your level of health will improve. By the same token, feasting on donuts and soda everyday while taking up permanent residence on the couch is like punching your ticket on the express train out of here.
By treating our minds like our bodies, that is feeding them what makes them healthier and exercising them the right way, we can make a complete shift in our mental make-up.
Detoxing your mind takes practice and discipline, but the payoff is invaluable. The eventual goal should be to always ooze positivity, but start by challenging yourself with a few days to a week of elevating your attitude and build from there. Journal your progress and take note of the changes that you see in yourself and in those around you.
Start by replacing the “junk food” that you force feed into your head with outrageously nutritious material. Focus on feeding nothing but positive, motivating things into your mind. This goes for what you watch, read, listen to, and most importantly, what you think.
Replace the dread and corruption reported on the evening news with a motivational reading, spiritual study, or uplifting music. Break away from gossip and get into the habit of passing out compliments.
If negative thoughts about yourself or someone else enter your mind (and they will) work on eliminating them or putting a positive spin on them. For example, instead of complaining that your water bill is too high, come up with creative ways to lower it or simply be thankful that you have running water at the turn of a knob.
You draw into your life those things that you consistently focus your time and energy on. Become a magnet for happiness and prosperity by continually thinking happy, prosperous thoughts.
Acupuncture: Commit…Then Follow Through to Great Health
Let’s get right to the point. There is no magic bullet, the easy way out is the wrong way, and quick fixes never stand the test of time. We all know this to be true yet astoundingly, we have been led to believe the exact opposite when it comes to our health and well-being. Medicine has become our magic elixir, our get-out-of-jail-free card. Why exercise your bones and joints when you can pop a pill instead? Sure you risk abdominal cramping and bone death, but at least you don’t have to get off the couch. Hair loss, obesity, short temper, shyness, itchy skin, dry eyes… You can bet that whatever ails you, no matter how trivial, there is a pill marketed for it.
The reason acupuncture continues to thrive for the past 2,500 years, even at times in the face of fierce opposition, is because it is built on solid, lasting, time-tested principles and theories.
The health of your body is in direct proportion to the health of how your bodies innate healing energies travel throughout your meridian system. Energy flows throughout your body by way of an intricate network of pathways called the meridian system.
Taking migraine medicine for a headache requires that your body not only fight the cause of the migraine, but now also the dangerous chemicals you are dumping into it buy xenical online. We have essentially been trained to put out a fire by dousing it with gasoline. We have been led to believe that the work that the body has been accomplishing over thousands of years with amazing efficiency is suddenly no longer possible in the absence of drugs.
As much as we tend to overcomplicate it, staying healthy is really pretty simple. Getting well requires that we optimize the function and flow of energy within our meridian system and then maintain its integrity to allow the body to do what it was created to do. The reason that so many of us struggle with our health is because as simple as the concept is, actually following through requires a high level of commitment and necessitates specific action steps on a daily basis. Everyone knows the formula for losing weight is to cut out the bad calories, watch your portions, and exercise daily, but few people can commit to following through. It’s easier to look for the pill that requires no work output or the exercise video that promises miracles after 2 weeks, or to simply give into temptation.
Your body is a masterpiece and it requires consistent attention and respect. If you’re ready to make the commitment to getting well – not just feeling better through artificial means, but truly getting well – then welcome aboard! We’ll do everything we can to help you get there.