Hi all. Well, this is my first blog post on my website for my recently opened acupuncture clinic, Full Circle Acupuncture. Frankly, I'm not a writer, and I've never posted a blog before. So, I have very little experience in this venue. However, I do have a passion for what I do, and an inclination to share my growth and struggles. So, here goes.
At this point, you may be wondering, "What is this acupuncturist going to blog about? Herbal Formulas? Acupuncture points? Diseases she can treat?" My answer to that question is, Preventative Medicine. Not what I can do, but what you can do to help yourself. Most people who come to me are looking to feel better and ready to try something new to accomplish that. Yet, many are also looking for a quick fix. They think, "I'll go to the acupuncturist, and she'll make me better." While there are some who are willing to make lifestyle changes to feel better, many do not want to put in the necessary work to create health and well-being in their lives. Or perhaps they are willing to put in the work, but don't know where to start. That's where this blog comes in. I'm hoping to encourage those who are reluctant to change and guide those who are willing to change, but don't know how.
Today Americans primarily suffer from diseases of affluence. For those of you who haven't heard this phrase before, a disease of affluence is one that is caused by a cushy lifestyle. Americans eat to much, sit to much, work to much, and stress to much. And our body-minds are suffering because of it. Thanks to the advances in what we acupuncturists call Western Medicine, Americans are no longer dying of communicative diseases or infection. What is killing us are illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Furthermore, our bodies suffer with pain caused by obesity and a lack of exercise. The stress created by an imbalanced lifestyle is making our blood pressure soar and our emotions sink into the depths of depression. And yes, there is a pill for everything. Western medical professionals have seen to that. But while the drugs prescribed for infections and communicative diseases really seem to work, the drugs prescribed for the diseases of affluence are a mere band aid. The underlying condition is still there because the real problem hasn't been dealt with.
Drugs are great for treating infectious diseases, but not the good at treating diseases of affluence.
With the rapid advancement of the industrial revolution the citizens of the First World were thrown headlong into a very different lifestyle. And from an evolutionary point of view our bodies have not had enough time to catch up to this immense change. Our bodies have been designed to tolerate long days of arduous physical work outside and to be sustained by local seasonal foods eaten right out of the garden. Yet we now live in a world with far more mental work than physical. We can eat foods from thousands of miles away grown in climates very different from our own. And we rarely go outside for more than the few minutes it takes to get from our car to our office. Not to mention all the toxins and chemicals our bodies are now exposed to from our technology and in our food. It's really no wonder that we are getting sick from this enormous lifestyle change.
Moreover, the younger generations know nothing different. We no longer remember working in the fields with our parents. We have grown up eating frozen and processed foods, even though these foods didn't even exist a hundred years ago. We have had screens and video games to keep us inside and sitting our whole lives. Natural food, nature and physical activity have become foreign. Our body-minds need and crave these things, but we no longer know how to access them in our daily lives. We need to reeducate ourselves concerning these basic needs as well as learn how to incorporate them into our modern lives.
Unfortunately, we cannot just go back to pre-technological times. People will not give up their creature comforts and go back to living in mud huts. It's really too much to ask. Plus, our technology and global economy now bring us more variety in food and culture than ever before. The internet makes it possible to learn anything we can imagine. In many ways, it is an amazing time to be alive. The resources to grow and change and become healthy again are there, right in front of us. We just have to grab them and decide we care. We need to make the choice to be strong and healthy and balanced.
I came to this realization twenty or so years ago, and I have been working to grow and change myself ever since. I don't always find it easy. There is a lot of information to sort through, and many opinions on the best way to live a healthy life. Honestly, there may be more ways than one, but I think most experts share the belief that we need to move more, eat less (and move away from eating processed foods), and learn new techniques to handle our stress. Many of us may not have learned these things from our parents who were raised to embrace the new technological strides by leaving behind the old simpler lifestyle. It was (and is) a sign of wealth and prosperity to be able to stay indoors in our temperature controlled homes eating whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. Our culture values mental work over physical work, so many were not raised to think it important to move their bodies. I include myself in these numbers.
Stress and overwork are major contributors to illness.
My parents were scholars and educators, and developing my mind was always a priority over strengthening my body. I'm not sure I even knew what whole grains were until I was an adult. The convenience of frozen dinners allowed my parents to work long hours and not worry about feeding their family. My grandparents were raised on farms in the country, but just like immigrants to a new country they left behind their old ways in order to embrace the new. They wanted more for their children, so they only taught them what they deemed important at the time. Thus, my parents knew very little about natural living, and valued it even less. As a child I grew up loved and comfortable, but I felt something was missing.
Eating a balanced diet focused on whole foods is key to being healthy.
As an adult I realized how unbalanced my life was. In order to find that balance I began my studies in Asian culture and Oriental Medicine. A medicine based on the idea of balance in the natural world. A medicine that has been able to grow up alongside Western Medicine. In Oriental Medicine the body is healed from within. The idea is to use the bodies' own mechanisms to heal itself. And when the body cannot heal itself, food and herbs are called upon to help. Lifestyle is key. Furthermore, there is no separation between the body and the mind. What affects the mind is thought to affect the body and visa versa. Therefore, maintaining a stable emotional state is also very important. As an acupuncturist I learned how to stimulate a person's energy to find internal balance. Yet I realized this alone in not enough. Lifestyle reeducation is vital to health and well-being.
Having a relationship with nature has been shown to treat depression and lead to a balanced emotional state.
As time goes on I continue to learn about natural foods, exercise, meditation techniques for stress relief and how to embrace the natural world for emotional and spiritual stability. So much has been lost to me. It is not always easy. Even with four years of graduate education and ten years of continuing education, I still feel there is a lot more to learn and know. Furthermore, I often find I have to fight the status quo of modern American culture in order to be healthy. Yet I am determined to succeed because I know how important it is. And I invite you to join me.
Stretching and exercising reduces cholesterol, hypertension and stress.
My goal with this blog going forward is to provide you with resources and knowledge about how to live a healthier lifestyle. Sometimes this may be in to form of recipes or articles about specific foods. Other times it may be about stretches or exercises to help you stay fit. I also hope to touch a bit on your mental and emotional state by helping you learn to breath and meditate. I invite you to join me on my quest for more balance and health. I invite you to live in a way that prevents the diseases of affluence so that every day can be disease and pain free.
Breathing and meditation techniques are scientifically proven to improve health and help with pain.