We can all relate to when we don’t quite feel ourselves. This is a commonly expressed to us at our clinic. Once we have established that there is nothing requiring medical attention, formulating an understanding on what is causing this from an energetic perspective can be of great value.
In todays society when we feel unwell and when a condition persists we visit our doctor. The doctor proceeds to ask question and carrot tests to formulate a diagnosis for treatment. This approach focuses very much on understanding disease pathological process once an ailment or illness has occurred.
In traditional acupuncture, treatment stemmed from the philosophical understanding that ill health arose from an energetic imbalance within the body. These imbalances were viewed and understood from energetic models such as five elements, meridians system, stems and branches etc.
Traditionally in ancient China, each village would have their own acupuncturists assisting and directing this key principle. They were responsible for upholding the principle of keeping the villagers healthy and well, by providing relevant acupuncture and lifestyle advice. Patients were carefully monitored for minor bodily imbalances through examination of the body, including palpation of the radial pulse (focusing on the 28 different qualities) and tongue (focusing on colour, texture, shape etc). This was done to identify any prevailing abnormalities that may cause trouble in the future.
Today many of our patients initially come for acupuncture for specific symptom or condition and as a consequence of treatment often feel a greater sense of wellbeing and a feeling of good health and often choose to continue having acupuncture as a preventive measure. When this is the case we often advice our patients to come for four seasonal treatments throughout the year.
The different seasons places a certain amount of strain on the body, and depending on the body’s state and how we live, it can lead to unfavourable consequences. Have you ever noticed how your moods change or noticed a difference in your sleep patterns between seasons, or wondered why you get more pain in the different seasons? This is because your body and behaviour has not adjusted correctly according to the seasons. The more adaptable our body is to change, and the better educated we are about our behaviour in our surroundings, the healthier we can become. It is therefore important to stay in tune with our changing environment. This may include eating and exercising correctly in each of the four seasons. For example, eating cold foods in the winter places extra strain on our body by making our digestive system work harder; having hot stews and broths instead places less strain on the body.
An important energy involved in adjusting to the changing environment is the body’s ‘Earth energy’. People with strong earth energy are those who seem to be very grounded and unaffected by stress. Unfortunately many people work in demanding environments placing them under a tremendous amount or stress and pressure. If sustained this can eventually have undesired affects on our body. Such environment weakens our earth energy and our ability to adapt to change is greatly reduced. It is therefore recommended that patients come a little more regularly between 6-8 weeks.