Wellness for the Long Winter

Are you dragging through this long, never-ending winter? I don’t know about you, but I’m OVER the snow, I’m feeling slow and tired, and I’m dreaming of a sunny beach. Many of my patients are reporting the same, and at least half are still getting colds and infections. The goal of this post is to share some wisdom from acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine to help you get through the doldrums and feel like your best self for Spring.

Be like a bear and hibernate
General guidelines of TCM are to go to bed early and rise after the sun has risen. Getting a solid 7+ hours is the single, most impactful action you can take to improve your immunity, energy level, mood, and overall health. Anything less zaps your health: according to a study by the Sleep Research Society, those who sleep only 5-6 hours per night are 4.5 more times susceptible to catching a cold.

Eat for the Season
When it comes to what you’re eating, 'warm and cooked' should be your mantra. According to TCM, it is important to avoid too many raw foods during winter because they tend to cool the body and can deplete our digestive "fire" which is the ability to assimilate food efficiently. Hold off on salad, smoothies and the like until it’s warmer outside. Eat warming foods, while cooking them longer and at lower temperatures with less water. Emphasize soups and stews, root vegetables, plenty of dark leafy greens, kidney and black beans, walnuts, black sesame seeds, whole grains, and seaweeds. Also incorporate warming herbs like cinnamon, ginger, garlic, rosemary, and black pepper. These specific foods help to fortify the kidneys, uplift the emotions, nourish the body, keep you warm, and help you to conserve energy.

Additionally, in the long winter months, people tend to exercise less, remain more sedentary and crave calorie-dense comfort foods. Eating for the season will keep you more satiated and avoid cravings. Pay attention to the amount and type of food you eat during this time, in order to avoid unhealthy weight gain.

Dress to Boost Body Temps.
Research confirms that a higher body temperature can tremendously boost the mood, increase immunity, strengthen the endocrine system and boost the body’s basal metabolic rate (read: support a healthy weight. First, dress warmly and cover the back of your neck and head. Colds tend to enter us through the nape of the neck, which is why many colds start as a stiff neck and shoulders. Second, keep your core (torso) warm. A warm core is able to readily release blood to the extremities. Do this by wearing a Japanese Haramaki (hara- center; maki - wrap) to keep it warm. You can find them on Amazon.

Build Self-Care into Your Schedule 
Whether it’s acupuncture, your favorite exercise class, massage or meditation — or all of the above — self-care is a healthy habit that has tremendous benefits. We live in an always-on society where technology rules, so having quiet time without the phone helps to strip away our heightened nervous system, boosts immunity, releases endorphins and helps to prevent disease. Make it a point to block out at least an hour a week to take care of yourself. Create a “care team” of practitioners whom you know and trust, so that you can call them on speed-dial when you need “me time”.

Embrace Mindful Daily Living.
The actual definition of meditate is “to engage in contemplation or reflection”. Notice it doesn’t say sit perfectly still and breathe for an hour with a totally clear mind— most people’s idea of meditation. Winter time is an excellent time for retrospection and exploration of deeper issues. To do this, we need to simply slow down. In fact, we are usually so busy that we are not even aware of how neurotic our thoughts and actions are. When we slow down through mindful activities like moving with intention, listening to music, savoring food, writing down our thoughts or simply taking some time off, we may notice a true downshift in our racing mind and body, via a calmed nervous system.

Acupuncture: More Than Just Physical Medicine

Most of my patients initially seek out acupuncture treatment to alleviate pain or a physical condition like allergies or digestive issues. And many are pleasantly surprised to float out of the session, feeling mentally relaxed with a calm mind and heart. If this sounds familiar, you’e not alone!

While we in the biz call this initial high “Acu-drunk”, we also know that acupuncture creates longer-lasting, serious mental health benefits that may be experienced for days, weeks and months after a treatment or series of treatments. A few of acupuncture’s positive “side effects” include better sleep, less anxiety, stress and depression, and increased self-awareness. Think of it as a happy pill with zero side effects.

Connecting the physical body to subtle (or not so subtle!) emotions makes sense. We all know when we are nervous because we physically feel it. Enter: racing heart, sweaty palms, or even a swirling stomach. It can also work the other way. Our physical health can affect the emotions as well. That’s why regular physical activity can lift your mood and create a burst of life.

In recent years, science has only begun to recognize the powerful connections through which emotional, spiritual, and behavioral factors can directly affect health outcomes. Current research in the field of mind-body medicine is finding that emotions and thought patterns can contribute to imbalances within the body.

This is a concept that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has embraced for thousands of years— and is where acupuncture can be effectively used to reestablish balance and promote health on all levels. This time-tested medical system addresses the whole person and views any symptom, injury or condition as a sign that the body is out of balance. Treatment through acupuncture (and other key modalities like moxibustion, tut na massage, herbal and dietary therapy, and medical qi gong), enables the body to effectively and safely get back to balance, resulting in decreased symptoms, and a lower chance of future conditions and disease from arising. 

The question is, why?

It’s All About Qi

The TCM concept of emotions effecting health dates back to 300 BC (these guys were way ahead of the curve, right?). The Huang Di Nei Jing, aka, The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine, a text that serves as the foundation of Taoism and TCM, describes the ways that emotions cause our qi to move through our bodies. You can think of qi as as the 'vital energy' or 'life force' that flows through everything and everyone. It’s literal meaning is ‘breath. Qi’s existence and properties serve as the basis of acupuncture and TCM.

Each of the five main organs is correlated with a specific emotion, which in turn, creates a specific movement of qi. 

Liver – Anger — Rising up 

Kidney – Fear — Descending 

Spleen – Worry — Knotting 

Lung – Sadness — Disappearing

Heart – Joy — Loosening
 

Not Just A Theory….. It’s Real Life! 

I’m sure you’ve experienced these patterns at some point: 

You freak out with an angry outburst, and notice that your face is flushed with an upward surge of heat, and you get a pounding headache or feel dizzy. You’ve been excessively worried and stuck in circular and obsessive thinking patterns, and notice that your stomach and digestive system is in knots. Or, you’ve been grieving from loss and experience weakness and shortness of breath. I see these patterns in myself — and my patients day in, and day out — with astounding accuracy. While the Huang Di Nei Jing was written 2,000+ years ago, humans are humans, and patterns are patterns. You feel me?

Keep in mind that if emotional imbalances occur for an extended period of time, they can damage the body and create long-standing physical issues and disease. The good news is that we can use acupuncture and TCM to correct these imbalances before they set in for the long term, thus creating a clean slate for both a healthy body and mind.  

Digging Deeper

As you all know, acupuncture is my jam and helping you navigate life without pain, illness or imbalance is what I’m all about. Awareness of our physical, emotional and spiritual selves is a path to becoming our best selves— and I’m always seeking ways to go deeper with supportive modalities. This is why I’m traveling to New Mexico this week for an advanced certification program in Breathwork Meditation. Created by master David Elliott, Breathwork meditation is an active meditation and a powerful form of self healing that can be used on it’s own, or in conjunction with Chinese Medicine. I’m looking forward to sharing this beautiful practice with you in private and group sessions, starting the week of June 5th.