Acupuncture & Flow

As a Chinese Medicine practitioner I often find myself speaking of flow.  We try to find words to explain as best as possible what we know to be true in our experience, and for me the way to healing ultimately is to be in flow.  But what exactly does that mean?

Chinese Medicine originated over 3,000 years ago and it's understanding is tied to the ancient Taoist tradition which is translated as 'The Way'.  The way in Taoism cannot be explained in words as it is based on life's ebbs and flows which can only be experienced.  But here I am going to give it a go for the sake of translating what I have learned and experienced in watching my patients on their healing journey.  

The way, also known as 'Wu Wei' is the golden path where everything is effortless and perfect.  Yes, there is perfection here on earth and it's called 'nature' - that is, the way it was designed before obstacles or abnormal intervention.  Nature is designed with everything in mind.  It has perfect timing, perfect temperature, perfect growth - in it's ideal state.  But when obstacles arise - pollution, harm, interference, a lack of living by nature's rules - then disharmony occurs.  Although by design it's perfect, nature is so delicately interwoven that all parts need to work in unison for it to play out it's ultimate destiny.  

Such is our body - which is a part of the whole.  We see inside ourselves what we can also witness without.  We no longer are in sync with the light of nature since creating our own artificial light - and then we ask why there is such a huge epidemic of insomnia in modern times.  Our man made signals are causing us imbalance that we don't even perceive to be happening - partly because we've become so accustom to being in a dazed state due to overstimulation.  Our minds can only take so much information and then in order to deal with this properly we need to tune some of it out.  So we get used to tuning life out and then wonder why time speeds up these days.  I used to think it was just age until I began speaking with kids who also feel that time is going so fast.  If you asked me when I was their age when all these devices didn't exist, I would have said that a year felt like forever.

This is not to sound pessimistic, but in order to achieve balance we need to take an honest look at what is happening and why.  

So when people get out of balance, they develop symptoms, and that is usually when my phone rings.  The question that I get most often is 'Does acupuncture treat (insert symptom / condition)' and my answer is almost always the same.  So long as the condition is not so far along that it needs immediate medical intervention, my job is to figure out how I can create a condition in my patient's body which is optimal for healing.  My ultimate goal, is to encourage the body's own natural flow.

That job is not always easy, and at times it takes a lot of tries (because every 'body' responds differently to the many tools we have in Chinese Medicine).  Eventually, practitioners can figure out a way to hone in on the patient's pattern and work through their imbalance in order to restore harmony.  And when that happens, we get to witness what many consider to be miracles.  

But you have the power to restore harmony in your own body.  You can begin to live a life that is more harmonious with nature.  Taking walks during the day, abstaining from using devices or watching TV late at night, eating fruits and vegetables that are in season, and meditation are just a few examples of ways that you can create flow in your own life.  Since we can't change the ways of our modern life, we can still change our own behaviors to create homeostasis in our health.  Adopting this practice is vital in order to create lasting health and well being.  You are certainly worth the effort!  

Photo by Igor Ovsyannykov on Unsplash

Abyangha: The Ayurvedic Art of Self Anointing

One of the most basic yet powerful 'take home' practices in ayurveda is called 'Abyangha'.  Abyangha is the practice of self anointing or self massage.  Each dosha or body type (vata, pitta, or kapha) responds best to a specific carrier oil (i.e. sesame oil, coconut oil, almond oil) and essential oil blend.  Each essential oil works best to balance either one, two, or all three doshas.  Based on individual assessment, an oil is prescribed and created.

The word abyangha means 'glowing body' or 'towards movement' in Sanskrit.  It was done to keep the body young,  strong, and believed to prevent sickness and injury.  Massage has powerful healing effects on the body and has been shown to strengthen the immune systems and help growth in premature babies.  Abyangha helps move the lymph in the body, promotes circulation, eases tension, and increases a sense of well being.  It also promotes deep sleep, aids in detoxification of the body, helps digestion, and firms the skin.  It takes an extra 5-10 minutes a day to give yourself so many benefits - it's obvious that the pay off is much higher than the effort.  

The original abyangha practice was done before bathing, but I personally do it after bathing because I like to 'seal' and moisturize my skin with a beautiful smelling oil to start my day.  The original practice also calls for massaging the scalp with oil but in our modern age that may be a little ambitious and not very acceptable by many women!  So my suggestion is to massage every square centimeter of your scalp with shampoo.  Do the same for the ears with soap.  

Before getting into the shower, place the amount of oil you need for your body (about 2 tbsp full) into a small glass dish, then place the small glass dish into a bowl with shallow hot water which warms up the glass container (the hot water should not touch the oil).  This way the oil is warm and ready for you when you come out of the shower.  I also recommend dry skin brushing before starting the shower as well.  Similarly to the below instructions, skin brushing begins with the most distal part of the limbs and always moves in the direction of the heart - this should be done while the skin is dry.  

Once you are dry and ready after the shower, begin by rubbing the oil on the tops of your feet (skip the bottom of your feet to avoid slipping), and massage each part of the top of your feet while moving up to your ankles, shins, calves, knees, and top of your legs.  Don't miss any parts - front and back of everything.  You always want to massage towards your heart.  Then move up from the back and front of your torso - again, towards your heart. Go to the hands and move towards your heart.  Make sure to reach to your traps and shoulders as well, along with your neck.  Be aware to stimulate the lymph nodes (arm pits, groin, neck) with light pressure when you are in those areas.  

After a week of practicing this you are bound to feel a notable sense of peace come over you.  It really does cultivate a sense of love inside of you.  And when you feel love within, you naturally exude it to all those you encounter.  So yes, this can bring about change in the world!