General health
Natural remedies for health
How to be really healthy
What does it mean to be healthy? Western medicine defines health simply as a lack of illness. But isn’t it more than that? Chinese medicine certainly thinks so It believes that in true health, every aspect of your mind, body and emotions are in balance .
If you’re really healthy, you’ll be full of energy and enthusiasm, you’ll sleep well, you’ll have a good appetite, if you’re a woman, your menstrual cycle will be regular and cause you no problems, you won’t worry or be anxious and more than anything you’ll be happy.
Sometimes, these intricate healthy balances can get out of whack and produce symptoms and illnesses. Chinese medicine looks at both your physical and emotional symptoms to diagnose where the imbalance lies and treats it with acupuncture, herbs or another technique, depending on what the problem is.
Even if you have no diagnosable health problems, regular acupuncture, maybe at the change of season or in stressful periods can really help to keep you healthy
Chinese medicine for health
Chinese medicine is a complete system of medicine in its own right. It treats conditions based on its own view of the body and system of diagnosis. It doesn’t know anything about western diagnosed diseases but treats the processes that cause them – even if it gives them labels such as ‘qi stagnation’ or ‘blood deficiency’!
So viewed through its own lens, acupuncture ,moxibustion, herbs and diet can be used to treat a myriad conditions, from headaches to IBS
Chinese medicine works to -
| Support fertility | Smooth menstruation | Balance hormones |
| Boost circulation | Cool inflammation | Reduce pain |
| Relieve stress | Calm your 'shen' | Induce sleep |
| Stimulate immunity | Soothe digestion | Control allergies |
Preventative healthcare
….to treat disease after it has appeared is like digging a well when one already feels thirsty….
Huang i Nei Jing
Yang Sheng (Nourishing Life) is a Chinese philosophy of self care and healthy ageing. It’s about making sure your mind body and spirit are in alignment, that you eat well, take enough exercise and try to be aware of the natural world and the changing seasons.
Not rocket science you may say, but how many of us actually put any of it into practice?
Along with self care practices, treatments such as acupuncture, moxibustion, or tonic herbs, can help to support your immune system and fend off illnesses before they arise.
I occasionally run Yang Sheng workshops and Forest Bathing outings. Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more – or sign up for email updates
Seasonal acupuncture
The changing seasons are key moments for acupuncture: moments when we can bring our internal environment into alignment with changes in the climate.
There is plenty of reseach showing how much the seasons affect our bodies and our health. We are generally more healthy in the summer, and some conditions, such as heart disease and arthritis are worse in the winter.. It seems that the activity of many genes changes with the seasons, which affect not only our immunity, but the composition of the blood and body fat..
In Chinese medicine, each season is associated with the working of a different organ system. Acupuncture tries to influence the flow of energy to and from the ‘seasonal’ organ, preparing it for the months ahead. and preventing ‘stagnation’ from interrupting the continuing seasonal cycle.
Chinese herbs can also be used to prepare the body and adjust the energies for the months ahead, Herbs may be either personalised prescriptions based on your own ‘imbalances’ or one or other of the renowned tonics, or adaptogens, to generally ‘fortify’ your system.
The Equinoxes and Solstices, the great turning points of the year, are wonderful times for treatment. You can have just a single treatment or book a seasonal ‘package’ of four treatments.a
Other seasonal moments would be before ‘your’ hay fever season, to reduce the severity of your reaction, or, if you are susceptible to colds and flu,to boost your immunity before the bugs arrive.
Eating for health
To be really healthy, you need to make sure you’re giving your body everything it needs to maintain and repair itself.. That really means eating a varied and nutrient rich diet. It’s amazing that in an era when food is so plentiful, so many of us are actually mal-nourished. Of course when you’re in the middle of a supermarket, it isn’t necessarily easy to work out what you should be buying. And then of course, there’s all that sweet stuff……!
My Natural nutrition consultations can help you build an eating plan that suits your lifestyle and forms a framework for building your health.
Get in touch if you’d like to make an appointment or find out if my treatments could help you
