October 2019 Newsletter

Raffle Winner, Yin and Yang in Balance and in Relationship, Katie's News and the Immune Point

October 2019

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And the Winner is...

Thank you to all who participated in our 13th Anniversary Raffle last month! It was so much fun to see the pile of raffle tickets build over the month, and the excitement and anticipation you all shared, as you filled out your tickets!

Our lucky winner is: Pam Kozlowski*

The prize is a 12-treatment package, plus an initial visit, totaling 13 treatments and valued at $365 - thanks again for your participation, and congratulations to the winner!

*(winner gave permission to have name announced)

Are your Yin and Yang in Balance?

Anne Louise Smallen, Lic. Ac.

In what ways are the yin and yang relevant to treatments? During the initial visit especially, as we diagnose, we notice when there are significant signs of imbalance between the yin and the yang. Are you very yang in nature? This would show in symptoms such as tending to sweat easily and have red cheeks , a restless temperament, dry skin, dry eyes . Your demeanor may be excited and animated. We might ask about the flow and color of your urine... a bright yellow color would also indicate excess yang.

Or we might notice or hear from you that you are always cold, l acking energy , show signs of dampness (you are holding water and might have damp weight gain), urinate a lot and the urine has a pale color; and you complain about pain in your lower back, neck and shoulders. This would point more towards yang deficiency .

This is important information for an acupuncturist. Fire (yang in nature) stokes all metabolic processes and must be present but not in excess. It provides the warmth necessary for the spleen to process food, for the bladder and lower burner to excrete wastes, and helps menstrual regularity and fertility. Without enough Fire, the mind might suffer from depression, or lack of motivation. In other words, this lack of fire will manifest in your illnesses.

On the other hand, if you do not have enough Water (which is yin by nature ), you might present with dry and itchy skin, be underweight and as heat naturally rises and can be trapped in the upper body, you may have headaches, insomnia and red eyes, inappropriate bursts of anger and problems with mania.

Yin and Yang balance each other and keep a check on each other because they need each other. The yin meridians sustain the main organs but need the yang meridians to provide and move energy (Qi) and Blood throughout the body. The yang meridians depend on the yin meridians for their nourishment. When the yin and the yang are out of balance, they exacerbate illnesses.

So how is that information relevant to how we treat you? As practitioners, we listen to your complaints but we also observe the redness or paleness of your skin, your weight, the amount of water you hold in your legs and around your waist, among other signs, and check to see if there is an association with your complaints.

If you complain of chronic aches and pains caused by cold in your body and show signs of yin imbalance we will keep this information in mind when we design your treatment plan. We will choose points to warm you and decrease dampness in your body. We might also encourage you to do more physical exercise to encourage the vitality of your yang.

If you complain of headaches or insomnia and we notice signs of yang imbalance, we will choose points which decrease heat (such as the points in the palm of your hand), and might remind you to rest more to give your yin a chance to replenish.

The yin and the yang like to be in balance and will remind your body and mind if you neglect to keep them that way.

Yin and Yang, in Relationship

Rachel Condon, Lic Ac.

We've been exploring the ideas of Yin and Yang in the last newsletter and this one, how Yang turns into Yin in a seasonal way, with the fiery, expressive, outward energy of Yang at its height in the summer, and then the turning inward as we enter the more Yin time of year, at its own height in winter.

Up above, Anne Louise introduced the concepts of yin and yang in the treatment room , and how clinical signs of how yin and yang going in and out of balance can manifest.

It gets more complicated, of course; the organs can each show their own signs of yin and yang imbalance too, and then each organ affects the others, in correspondence with five element theory.

This is all very interesting, especially to the acupuncturist's mind! And perhaps to those of you curious about how all of this works and how it translates into medicine. But I also wanted to highlight how these concepts go beyond that, as the ideas of yin and yang , along with the five elements, are embedded in the very cultures of China and Japan, among others.

I have come to find these ideas really useful and having very practical applications in daily life, outside of the treatment room too.

Here are a few ways to play with this concept , focusing on relationship:

In your relationships, often there is a dynamic at play, where one person is more yin and the other more yang. It's far too simplistic to associate yin with female and yang with male. As gender roles and identities have grown in conscious awareness exponentially in recent years , and many of us now can accept and appreciate the wide spectrum of gender, it is interesting, for example, to pay attention to the parts of ourselves that come out in one relationship but not another - and these go beyond your most intimate, to friends, family, colleagues... the yin and yang, you could think of as an energetic force at play, is constantly at work and trying to find balance.

And the other relationship I'd like to highlight now is our relationship to ourselves . Taking the time to reflect, recognize your own inner yin and yang aspects, and begin to recognize when you're feeling "out of balance" - if anything, this could provide another language for your experience.

For example, as an introvert and Yin type of person , who engages with people all day and works in a more "yang" type of way, I have learned that I need a lot of downtime, to balance that out and replenish and restore the yin. When I do that, I feel so much better and able to then offer more. I take time for quiet, rest, do activities that soothe me and aren't overstimulating. When I don't, I'm grouchy and confined-feeling. I can now feel, on a pretty visceral level, when my own yang is out of balance with my yin.

How does this play out for you?

If this resonates, perhaps it can provide another lens and tool, to navigate what it means, living this human life, and on this precious planet, and how to best relate to one another.

News about Katie!

We are happy to share with you some exciting news about our beloved Katie Oleksak, Lic. Ac., who worked at NCA from July 2015 thru October 2018.

Katie gave birth to Lily Daniel, born August 27th, 2019 at Cooley Dickinson hospital.

Mom and babe are doing well!

Congratulations to the family from all of us at NCA!

Featured Point - Large Intestine 10, an Immune Point

Rachel Condon, Lic. Ac.

One of my favorite points that I use often, and especially at this time of year, is the point, Large Intestine 10 , Shou San Li, "Arm Three Miles," which we acupuncturists usually refer to as LI10.

This point is found on the forearm, distal ( further away from the body) to the elbow crease , towards the hand. Some points become tender on palpation when they are working hard, and this is one of them. I can actually feel that point ache on my own arm sometimes, when I'm feeling rundown and my immune system is working extra hard.

If you want a visual, click HERE for an online image of the point.

Try pressing on your forearm, at the mound just distal to the elbow, and see if you find a tender spot . Massaging it can help move the energy and build immunity; or come on in for an acupuncture session! If you are fighting off a cold or fall allergies, some acupuncture can give your immune system a boost and either ward off the symptoms, or at least help them move thru your body faster.

Please Note: if you get curious and look up more information online, this is not one of the commonly reported functions of this acupuncture point. Many sources will site its use as a channel or "local" point, helping to move stagnation and alleviate pain along the Large Intestine meridian, which goes from the index finger up the arm, along the shoulder and ends on the face next to the nose.

I learned about its applications with immunity when I apprenticed with Kiiko Matsumoto , while I was in graduate school. Kiiko is a well known master in the field, who developed her own unique acupuncture style based on the Chinese classics, along with Japanese needling and palpation techniques. It was an honor and privilege to assist at her clinic and get to observe her techniques and clinical approach; she has an incredible amount of energy and sharp sense of humor!

Northampton Community Acupuncture 413-586-8251 nohocommunityacupuncture.com