Heart is considered the emperor of all organs in Eastern Medicine. It makes sense because when the heart stops, that is the end of one’s life. For that reason, there is no “Heart deficiency” pattern that we treat in our medicine. There is only the “Heart excess” pattern that is applicable to what we practice.
Category Archives: Stress, Anxiety
All the organ systems are equally important in keeping the body in balance, but, for an acupuncturist, Kidney (in an Eastern Medical sense) takes precedence in the assessment of a patient. This is because Kidney is considered as the source of our vitality, controls Yin/Yang balance, plays an important role in reproduction, etc. The list […]
A Chinese classic, Su Wen素問, indicates that pensiveness is the normal emotional state that Spleen supports. In a healthy individual, Spleen should provide good memory and mental calmness to handle affairs in a thoughtful manner. From this perspective, Spleen 脾 (in Eastern Medicine) is not just an organ; rather, Spleen represents the digestive functional unit […]
In this article, I would like to discuss 魂 (Kon in Japanese, Hun in Chinese). This Chinese character is commonly used to describe “soul” and gives us the impression of passion and achievement when we see it. This character is often used in such context in our culture. In Eastern Medicine, the character indicates “ethereal […]
When the lungs are healthy, they support the functions of 魄 (Haku in Japanese and Po in Chinese). It is difficult to translate Haku because there is no contemporary equivalence. If you can divide the concept of “spirit” into the ethereal and the corporeal, this is the corporeal aspect of the spirit.
PC 6 This point has recently become one of the most commonly used points. I usually use this point to relax the stomach and diaphragm tension due to stress and anxiety. Since almost everybody is anxious and stressed recently, this point has become very popular. When an anxious, stressed-out individual has poor sleep, palpitations, shortness […]
When you need to relax, the very first thing you do is take a deep breath. You do this unconsciously because deep breaths are the natural way to breathe. If you observe a newborn, you can see that the baby naturally breathes from the abdomen, not from the chest. The deep, natural breaths your body wants can only be achieved through abdominal breathing.
The world we live in gives us so much stress. The morning traffic is stressful. Once you get to work, the work itself is stressful. Even after work, our minds are usually filled with daily concerns and personal worries that lead to stress.
In the state of fight or flight, our bodies respond to stressors by producing adrenalin. It is good short term, but when the condition prolongs, it disturbs the healthy hormonal balance. The first physical sign of adrenal exhaustion is lower back pain. (Incidentally, the Adrenal Glands are located near common acupuncture points used for lower back pain.) Also, I have treated neck and shoulder pain, spinal pain, allergic rhinitis, chest pain that mimics a heart attack, and insomnia as adrenal exhaustion. They all fall into the category of exhaustion.