Acupuncture for Optimal Health - Natural Therapy that works


Optimal health, We all want to have it, but very few of us are anywhere close to achieving it. This is because, unfortunately, health is not a high priority for most of us. Even more so, most of us don’t even know how to define optimal health. Our medical model teaches us that health is the absence of disease. But health is much more than this. There are millions of people who don’t have a diagnosable disease, but are still in poor or mediocre health.

Interestingly, there are also many people who do have a disease but are in good to excellent health. How could this be? Because we define health in a much different way than our medical model does. we define health as the absence of addiction, not disease. Health is about living spontaneously. In Chinese medicine, the character ziran symbolizes both health and spontaneity.

Now, this may seem strange to you. But think about it. People who are free of harmful habits and addictions generally exude peace and contentment. The habits means both inner and outer habits. For instance, coffee, sex, gambling, food, cocaine, etc. are external habits. Inner habits include belief systems and perceptions that are habitual, rote, and stuck. We get lost in what we think we know about ourselves and our lives. To achieve optimal health, we must be free of addictions of all kinds. The daily habits are what get us in trouble.

We can see here that optimal health has a strong spiritual component, as it is largely based on seeing through limiting thoughts and beliefs and living with a fresh perspective every day. The byproduct of a spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced life is tremendous energy and vitality and a heightened experience of general wellness. If this is one end of the spectrum and death is at the other, I would argue that most of us are somewhere in the middle. We may not have a ‘disease’, but we don’t feel that great either. We may have chronic pain, stress, emotional ups and downs, fatigue, etc.

Sometimes we wonder if there really is something wrong with us. Symptoms such as these show us that the wind is blowing in the wrong direction, especially if there is a family history of degenerative illness or cardiovascular disease. If we look at the following statistics, it is obvious that, as a society, we have a ways to go before most of us are optimally healthy. ,more than 4 million people in Canada have diabetes
  • 62%, or over 3 in 5 of Canadian adults are overweight or obese.31% of Canadian children and youth aged 5 to 17, an estimated 1.6 million, are overweight or obese
  • We each have a 1 in 3 lifetime risk of getting some form of cancer
  • An estimated 1.6 million Canadians are living with heart disease or the effects of a stroke1.3 million Canadians are living with heart disease.More than 400,000 Canadians are living with long-term stroke disability
  • In 2012, more than 66,000 Canadians died from heart disease or stroke . That’s one person every 7 minutesalmost 14,000 Canadians died as the result of a heart attack, more than 13,000 Canadians died as the result of a stroke
  • Six million Canadian adults, or one in five, have high blood pressure and 1 in 6 Canadians (762,000 individuals) with high blood pressure are unaware of their condition
  • 5.4% of the Canadian population aged 15 years and over reported symptoms that met the criteria for a mood disorder: depression,anxiety etc.
  • In 2011, 747,000 Canadians were living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias - that's 14.9 per cent of Canadians 65 and older.By 2031, if nothing changes in Canada, this figure will increase to 1.4 million.
The following five foundations of optimal health have spiritual, emotional, and physical connotations, each of which is an integral part of healing. Each of these must be met with this quality of spontaneity that optimal health depends upon.


1. Mindfulness, Passion, and Purpose: For most of us, embarking on the path to optimal health will entail making some lifestyle changes that are conducive to this pursuit. To do this authentically, we have to start with a healthy psychological orientation toward making changes. This means that we initiate our healing without using will power. Instead, we use mindfulness, passion, and purpose to guide us through change. We identify with the deepest part of ourselves that is already complete and we set an unwavering intention to allow this to surface as we embark on healthy living. We are not making changes out of guilt or ‘should’. This will always backfire because will power comes in limited supply. Contrarily, we have a burning desire to discover who we are and to fulfill our potential. Our health is crucial to and inseparable from this process. This is the most important foundation because it is crucial for the success of any of these other foundations.

2. Nutrition: Ok, now that we have identified what we are seeking out to do, we need to eat a certain way to be healthy. Food is an extremely important influence in our mood, attitude, energy level, and how comfortable we feel in our skin. The key is to strip away what you have been taught about food through your upbringing, the media, or what you see around you. Food is either poison or medicine and we have to start working w/ it medicinally if we wish to use it as a gateway to optimal health. Eating an organic whole foods diet is a wonderful first step to take in this regard.

3. Exercise: We have all heard that it is essential to exercise regularly, but so many of us haven’t made a commitment to it. This is because exercise feels like a burden, it is uncomfortable and we have to use will power to do it. Sometimes we use exercise to beat ourselves up, or we exercise out of guilt. And for some of us, it just isn’t on our radar screen at all. Exercise can only be done long-term if it is enjoyable.

4. Sleep: Most of us need 7-9 hours of sleep per night to get the rest we need for our busy lives. When we are living with mindfulness, passion, and purpose, we can get away with much less sleep, perhaps even 4-5 hours per night. If you suffer from insomnia or restless sleep, then healing this one of the first priorities for your health. We need time to rest and restore, or else our waking hours will be compromised.

5. Chinese medicine: So, how does alternative medicine fit into achieving optimal health? Well, it plays a big role even if we aren’t suffering with explicit health problems. In China, acupuncture is considered to be a primary part of the average person’s lifestyle. It keeps the internal workings of the body balanced and often improves one’s mental well being as well. The truth is that, unless you are already optimally healthy, acupuncture and herbs can take you very far in that direction. Other forms of medicine such as Ayurveda can also be included in this category, as can the skillful application of drugs and surgery in Western medicine.

In order to initiate the lifestyle choices that reflect a high degree of wellness, it is important that you take action NOW. We are incredibly clever when it comes to putting off things of this nature. We convince ourselves that it’s simply not a good time to even think about this. Each of us has a passion for self-care and optimal living that is buried within us. How are you going to find it in this moment? Perhaps the first step is making a personal commitment to live in accordance with health and balance rather than stress, drama, and denial. Yes, it’s easier said than done, but it certainly can be done. 

Looking for an experienced acupuncturist for Optimal Health, book appointment online at Oriental Acupuncture Clinic or call 416-800-3978 for free consultation. 


Please contact us anytime! 
We look forward to hearing from you.

春季养肝四大秘诀及三大要穴

春天到了,气温不稳定,早晚温差大,很容易让人出现春困,为了不让春天的写意变成感冒的困扰,我们需要特别注意春季的养生.

春季养生应注意五个方面早起去春困穿衣下厚上要薄春捂保暖防感冒预防疾病莫大意饮食清淡少油荤,特别是要注意春捂,因为春季多雨,气候多变,易出现感冒,同时我们还需要注意护肝因为春季对应肝脏易发生肝病,养成良好的生活习惯,从饮食锻炼,心态调节多个方面入手,才能让我们的身心处于和谐的状态,来迎接春天的美好。

《黄帝内经》上说: “春三月,此谓发陈,天地俱生,万物以荣,夜卧早起,广步于庭,被发缓形,以使志生,生而勿杀,予而勿夺,赏而勿罚,此春气之应,养生之道也。逆之则伤肝,夏为寒变,奉长者少。 ”春天是养肝的重要时节。


春季养肝四要点充足睡眠是调肝心情愉快是养肝;饮食清淡是保肝;坚持运动是护肝

春天养肝三要穴:

春季多风,风气通于肝,外风引动内风,促使肝气旺盛,从而伤肝。
春季养生以健脾养肝为主,常用养肝穴位有大敦、太冲、肝俞等穴位。


大敦穴用拇指指腹点揉大敦穴2-3分钟,以局部出现酸胀感为宜。大敦穴可以按摩,也可以艾灸,能达到清肝明目之功效,常按可以起到养肝的功效。

太冲穴用拇指或食指指腹点揉太冲穴2-3分钟,以局部出现酸胀感为宜。按摩刺激太冲穴,能够调动肝经的元气,维持肝脏功能正常。
                                    

肝俞穴用双手拇指强压背部肝俞穴,指压时,先挺胸,一面缓缓吐气一面压,如此重复。

                                    

春季饮食当以平补为主,重在养肝补脾,选择少酸多甘食物(如大枣、山药、花生)以养肝健脾。 饮食宜清淡,少吃油腻,多食新鲜蔬菜水果。 少饮酒,多食粥品。