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Acupuncture
Heart Afire: The Fire Element
The organs in Chinese medicine are more than just a physical representation. The organs include not only their physiological function, but also their mental, emotional, spiritual and elemental qualities that align with nature and the seasons. Let’s explore the heart.
The heart season is summer, and heart is considered the most yang: hot, bountiful and abundant. Yang is what is bright, moving, outward, hot and loud. Yin is what is more inward, still, dark and cooler. The color of the heart is associated with red, the climate is heat, the flavor is bitter and it’s paired organ is the small intestine (many urinary issues are due to “heart fire” heat descending). The sense aligned with heart is the tongue, and the vessels associated with heart are the tissues. The heart sound is laughing, and the emotion is joy. The heart houses what is known as the shen, which is the mind and spirit. continue reading
Valentine’s Day, TCM and Heart Health
Every February men all over the world flock to the local flower shops and jewelry stores in search of the perfect bouquet or piece of jewelry to express their undying love to their significant other. Why? Nobody knows for certain, but there are at least a couple of theories.
One theory is a Catholic priest, Valentine, was imprisoned for helping Christians escape Roman prisons. While he imprisoned himself, Valentine fell in love with a young girl who visited him. Allegedly, before his death, Valentine wrote a letter and signed it, “From your Valentine.” Thus, the first Valentine’s Day card was created, or so it is reported. continue reading
New Year Traditions
By Xiaomei Cai, L.Ac., Ph.D.
In China, the New Year celebration is the biggest holiday of the year. Everyone makes a great effort to reunite with family members and spend some time together.
In the days leading up to the New Year, the focus is on cleaning the house, decorating, and making feng shui adjustments that suit with the new energy arriving. The Monkey’s flower is
the Chrysanthemum, so there will be profusions of these festive flowers in evidence everywhere.
The New Year’s Eve dinner is the feast of all feasts! Dish after dish arrives at the table. The sense of having more than enough is important – it represents the hope that there will be food aplenty for everyone throughout the year. Likewise, many of the individual dishes are symbolic. For example, the essential fish and dumplings mean “prosperous” (these are a play on words), while noodles and long beans are representative of “long life.”
Shou Sui means “after the New Year’s dinner,” and refers to the tradition of staying up at least until midnight to watch the fireworks – but many family members stay up all night, talking and catching up with relatives and friends they have may not have seen all year.
There are different ways of wishing people “Happy New Year,” depending on what region of China you are in. We are from Southern China, where our traditional greeting is “Gong Xi Fa Cai!”, which means “congratulations and prosperity.” Other greetings are:
- Wan Shi Ru Yi: everything follows your will
- Ji Xiang Ru Yi: harmony and everything follows your will
- Sui Sui Ping An: harmony and safety year around
The themes of the New Year, as you can see, center around harmony, prosperity, safety and good health.
2017 Year of the Fire Rooster
by 
Qineng Tan, L.Ac., Ph.D
The Chinese calendar welcomes the New Year on January 27, 2017: the Year of the Fire Rooster.
It will probably come as no surprise that one of the Rooster’s outstanding characteristics is punctuality. The rooster crows to get us all up and moving and ready to face the day. Smart, confident, not afraid to speak up, the Rooster has lots of energy and self-discipline. The Rooster is raring to go, with lots of ideas, and doesn’t want to have to wait for others to catch up. This is the year of the Fire Rooster, which specifically points to trustworthiness and a knack for handling money. So, all of us should take note – this is the year to start a beneficial morning routine and keep our finances well-organized.
The Rooster takes pride in his fine feathers and has been known to strut around, showing off and being overtly flirtatious. He might tend to lecture a bit too much and be a little bit too certain that he is always right, but make no mistake – he is paying attention and noticing everything about others, too. Roosters are a great communicators who enjoys giving gifts and creating a welcoming environment. They don’t hide or keep secrets; they put themselves out there, just as they are.
Roosters can be impatient and tend toward perfectionism, so they are bound to feel high levels of stress at times. For everyone this year, the challenge is to find time and ways to channel the energy – cardiovascular exercise like running and swimming are beneficial – and relax – by spending time outdoors and travelling. Make a point of eating regularly and healthfully, no matter how busy you are, and keep up with preventative health measures like getting acupuncture treatment.
We wish you and your loved ones the very best in health and happiness in the coming year. From all of us at Art of Wellness, Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Here are some ideas for creating a morning routine inspired by the Rooster:
- Rise with the sun.
- Drink a cup of warm water with sliced lemon, then wait 30 minutes before eating.
- Take time to meditate and set your intentions for the day. Get some fresh air and do some breathing exercises before you start checking your emails and the news.
- Eat a breakfast of whole grains.
Fighting Flu Season with Acupuncture
While the flu is actually not a season, we have become programmed to think of it as the months of November through March. On average, the flu hospitalizes thousands every year, especially the young and elderly. There are also a number of deaths related to the flu, mostly due to people already having compromised immune systems.
The flu, also known as influenza, is a highly contagious respiratory infection that is caused by a number of viruses. To date, there are approximately 26 to 30 different known strains of the flu virus. This is one of the reasons the flu vaccine has only mild efficacy. The flu vaccine itself, typically only covers five to seven strains of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever, coughing, a sore throat, fatigue, muscle aches, pains, runny nose and watery eyes. continue reading