125B Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA 94941
www.Acupuncture-Marin.com Chris@Acupuncture-Marin.com
by
Chris Veiga, L.Ac.
(Click here to listen to the audio of this section)
According to the Huang Di Nei Jing (Inner Canon), the
ancient medical text from China which was written more than two thousand
years ago, maintaining order rather than correcting disorder is the
ultimate principle of wisdom. To cure disease after it has appeared is
like digging a well when one already feels thirst, or forging weapons
after the war has already begun.
Chinese healing modalities focus on the principle of movement. When
energy is stuck in the body, it is due to blockages of Qi (pronounced "chee")
in the meridians, resulting in patterns of disharmony. The three main
factors that lead to imbalance are emotions, climate, and life-style. In
the Traditional Chinese Medicine paradigm, the emphasis is on prevention
of illness rather than intervention. There is an old saying that a man
is not sick because he has an illness, but has an illness because he is
sick. This implies that a disease-state exists prior to illness,
allowing the illness to take hold of the body.
To ensure a healthy life-style, one must make a conscious choice to live
harmoniously with the natural laws which govern human nature. Some
suggestions include:
Arise before or at sunrise
Move the bowels and bladder—fluid intake helps this via the gastro-colic reflex
Exercise (some will consider this more appropriate after meditation but still before breakfast)
Shower and personal hygiene like cleaning tongue, clipping nails, brushing teeth
Meditation
Light breakfast
Main activity of day giving emphasis to the most physical aspects when possible
Main meal at noon
Short walk
Continuation of day’s activity with emphasis on mental rather than physical aspects
Lighter and smaller evening meal
Short walk
Activity which is soothing and calming such as reading and family discussions, and other bonding activities; TV generally is too dynamic and stimulating for evening viewing
Retire before 10PM
In addition, the following is a daily checklist to further a healthy
life-style:
Examine your tongue daily for any signs of toxic
accumulations. If you see a thick, white coating in the middle portion
of the tongue, then your digestive system is working sluggishly and
foods which are more bland and non-acidic would be beneficial. If the
coating is yellow then it means heat in the body, therefore avoid
heat-producing foods such as peppers, onion, alcohol, caffeine, and
barbequed foods. If it is dark brown or black then fungal infestation
may be present. A moist, pink tongue is ideal.
If you see teeth marks along the margins of the tongue, this indicates a
compromised function of the spleen and stomach. When the spleen is not
able to absorb and assimilate the food nutrients, the body becomes
depleted in energy, thus resulting in low-energy and slow-metabolism.
Your stool should be examined for hardness, looseness,
floating, frequency, transit time, and color. Hardness is associated
with dry colon—maybe too little fluids or too much dry foods. Often,
this will result in constipation and over-straining. Looseness, on the
other hand, may indicate an imbalance in the digestion or in your
intestinal motility—often related to irregular lifestyle. The stool
should be well-formed in the shape of a banana. It should come daily
regularly at least once or twice. It should float. Ideal transit time
ranges from 18 to 24 hours.
Examine your urine. Dark, yellow, and scanty urine
indicates heat in the body. Long and clear urine indicates cold in the
body. Frequent, incomplete, dribbling, and urination in the middle of
the night indicates a deficiency in the kidney organ.
Examine your emotions. Human emotions should be
proportional to the event which elicits the emotion. For example, if
someone cuts you off on the highway and this prompts a raging fit on
your part, then there’s an imbalance between the cause and effect. The
inappropriateness of the behavior is damaging to one’s health. Excessive
thinking and worrying, over-attachment, and excessive anger are all
detrimental to one’s well-being. All of these may be a precipitating
factor to insomnia which is an indication of the spirit’s inability to
rest.
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Although information presented by Acupuncture of Marin - Integrative Medical Center of Mill Valley (www.Acupuncture-Marin.com) and its partners and employees is based on traditional Chinese Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Oriental Medicine and principles practiced for thousands of years, it should not be taken or construed as standard medical diagnosis or treatment. For any medical condition, always consult with a qualified primary care physician. Neither Chris Veiga, L.Ac., nor any other of our practitioners, partners, volunteers, employees or authors shall be held responsible in any way for problems encountered by the use of the products, substance, procedures and therapies mentioned in information presented on Acupuncture-Marin.com or by our partners. Nothing whatsoever here is intended to diagnose, mitigate, prescribe, treat, cure or prevent any disease or illness or symptoms as defined by the FDA and the State of California except where allowed in the scope of practice of a Licensed Acupuncturist. We declare that nothing whatsoever here is intended to augment a particular therapy or drug action that is intended to diagnose, mitigate, treat, cure, or prevent a disease or class of diseases, illnesses, or symptoms, nor do we treat, prevent, or mitigate adverse events associated with a therapy for a disease, if the adverse events constitute diseases except where allowed in the scope of practice of a Licensed Acupuncturist. We declare with respect to all of our respective products sold or offered to the public that “The evidence in support of this claim is inconclusive and this statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product or service is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease...” except where allowed in the scope of practice of a Licensed Acupuncturist. You should read carefully all product packaging and their associated website descriptions. We hereby declare and claim the right to constitutionally protected free speech (including but not limited to commercial and religious free speech). Viewing this page signals your agreement to the terms listed in this disclaimer . The links on this page will let you leave this Acupuncture-Marin.com site. The linked sites and others are NOT under our control, and we are not responsible for the availability or information content of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site, or any changes or updates to such site. We are providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by the us of the site. We declare, all rights reserved without prejudice.
Just
as the lotus is a symbol of perfection and purity, so do we embody these
qualities. Just as the lotus
rises from the mud, so does our higher nature rise from the world of
conflict, confusion and chaos. The
beauty of the lotus and the beauty within us cannot be stained or
touched with imperfection. Just
as the lotus flower’s graceful petals unfold layer upon layer, so does
grace within us unfold revealing layer upon layer of beauty.
For more information on Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in Marin County and the Easy Bay and other healing therapeutic services and introductory classes offered in Acupuncture and T.C.M. (Traditional Chinese Medicine), please contact:
Acupuncture of Marin - Integrative Medical Center of Mill Valley
Chris Veiga, L.Ac.
www.Acupuncture-Marin.com Chris@Acupuncture-Marin.com
Marin
County Acupuncture Chinese Herbal Medicine Clinic:
125B Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA 94941
(415) 383-9900 FAX: (415) 383-9901
Click here for a map and audio directions to our Marin County North Bay Acupuncture Center