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Feel more joy this summer

feel more joy this summer

Summer is the perfect time to feel more joy

Summer is a time of abundance, and it is a great time to be mindful of how you can feel more joy. We work so hard all year, and now is the perfect the time to harvest the fruits of our labor while we are at the peak of fiery summer yang energy. Take advantage of opportunities to cultivate more joy in your life. Chinese medicine associates our organs with phases or elements, and in the summer, the fire elements is dominant. The organs associated with fire are the heart and small intestine. The fire element brings in a quick and lively energy associated with joy.

 

Alignment with the seasons and phases

People are often fascinated to hear about how their organs are associated with the different seasons and how this relates to symptoms they experience in their bodies.

 

In Chinese Medicine, there are five phases of transformation: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. While in Traditional Chinese Medicine these are called elements, Classical Chinese Medicine refers to them as phases because they develop and change into one another. The five phases or elements correspond to the seasons spring, summer, fall, and winter. In Chinese medicine further divides summer into summer and late summer. Late summer refers to the transformation between the warmer summer weather and cool fall weather. The seasons and phases (or elements) associate as follows:

 

  • Spring: Wood. This is when nature starts stirring from winter’s dormancy. Trees and plants blossom. New branches grow out of old wood, and new growth begins.

 

  • Summer: Fire. This is the time of warmth and activity. Nature is moving actively, and as a result is growing and flourishing.

 

  • Late summer: Earth. This is the time of harvest. It is also is the pause between the rising of the warming and active phases of wood and fire and the declining and cooler phases of fall and winter.

 

  • Fall: Metal. This is when nature lets go of what it no longer needs. Leaves fall from trees. Compost from the dead leaves enriches the soil so it can prepare for the next cycle of growth in the spring.

 

  • Winter: Water. This is a time of rest. Animals hibernate, the days are shorter, and nature gets still and goes within to build up reserves.

 

How the summer season influences the organs

As I shared earlier, the heart and small intestines are the organs associated with the fire element and summer. Just as the flowers are bursting with vitality and many crops are at their peak in the summer, this is the perfect time to celebrate the gifts we have in this life and enjoy the fruits of our labor. It is a time to find things that make your heart happy. Do things that you love, and have fun. Plan enjoyable activities like taking a vacation with loved ones. Hike in the woods. Play at the beach. These are great ways to cultivate abundance and embrace joy and bring yourself in line with the fire element and the energy of the season.

 

The sensory organ associated with the fire element is the tongue. This is a good time to speak your truth and share what is in your heart. Also, expressing ourselves and moving our body facilitates the heart’s ability to circulate blood throughout the body. Since the fire element and heart are also associated with love, try to express yourself in the most loving way possible. Sometimes, it’s most important to direct that loving energy toward yourself.

 

Feeling stuck? We can help you feel more joy this summer

Every individual is unique, and no two people will experience the same symptoms for exactly the same reason. When I see a new patient, I make the time to ask a lot of questions and review their health history. This allows me to determine what is going on with their energy. For example, it is important to determine whether their energy is getting stuck or is deficient. I develop a customized treatment to address their specific needs and restore the balance of energy. This might involve acupuncture needles, ear seeds, qigong exercises, and diet and lifestyle advice.

 

Want to talk about how acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help you? We’d love to hear from you. Please click this link to schedule a free 10-minute call with our senior scheduling receptionist who will be happy to answer any questions you have and advise you on the best services and practitioner to meet your unique needs.

 

Any other questions? Please reach out and email us through our website or call or text 910-622-4269.

 

About the Author

Ericca Burke is the owner of HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine where she provides acupuncture and Chinese medicine treatments in Wilmington, NC. Click this link to read more about Ericca. 

 

About HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine in Wilmington, NC

HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine is an acupuncture and Chinese medicine practice located in Wilmington, NC just minutes from beautiful Wrightsville Beach. Click this link for contact information and directionsClick this link for a listing and description of services offered.

 

Summer Solstice and Chinese medicine

summer solstice

About the summer solstice

Summer solstice happens this year on Friday, June 20th at 10:42 p.m. EDT. This is the moment when the sun is at its highest point in the sky this year, and it is the longest day of the year. The solstice also marks the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere.

The word solstice comes from the Latin word solstitium, which means “sun stands still”. Even with all of the excitement and activity of the summer season, the solstice reminds us balance this busy activity with rest, stillness and silence.

 

Interesting facts about the summer solstice

  • The summer solstice happens at the same exact time for everyone, no matter where they live.
  • In the southern hemisphere, this solstice marks the arrival of winter and the shortest day of the year.
  • The date of the summer solstice varies each year because it depends on the moment that th sun reaches the northern most point from the equator.
  • Your shadow will be the shortest shadow of the year on the day of the summer solstice.

 

How Chinese medicine can support you during the summer solstice

People often feel off or out of balance when the seasons shift, and they don’t know why. The summer solstice marks an important shift into the hotter summer weather. Sometimes, our bodies can struggle to adapt to climactic changes, which can result in depleted energy and make us more susceptible to illness and pain.

 

Chinese medicine helps by reconnecting people with the rhythm of nature. We design a personalized treatment plan to identify the best way to bring your energy back into balance and in tune with the season. Being in harmony with our environment has a positive effect on our health and wellbeing. You can read more in my blog The importance of seasonal acupuncture treatments.

 

Want to talk about how acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help you? We’d love to hear from you. Please click this link to schedule a free 10-minute call with our senior scheduling receptionist who will be happy to answer any questions you have and advise you on the best services and practitioner to meet your unique needs.

Any further questions? Please reach out and email us through our website or call or text 910-622-4269.

 

About the Author

Ericca Burke is the owner of HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine where she provides acupuncture and Chinese medicine treatments in Wilmington, NC. Click this link to read more about Ericca. 

 

About HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine in Wilmington, NC

HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine is an acupuncture and Chinese medicine practice located in Wilmington, NC just minutes from beautiful Wrightsville Beach. Click this link for contact information and directions. Click this link for a listing and description of services offered.

The benefits of myofascial release therapy

Myofascial release therapy

Background on myofascial release therapy

Myofascial release (MFR) therapy is a form of bodywork done by a licensed therapist. It is a technique that uses gentle holds to release the fascia, which is the connective tissue of the body. The fascia surrounds and supports all the muscles, bones, nerves, and organs throughout the body. It acts as a supportive structure that provides stability, and it is also thought of as the body’s “soft skeleton”.

 

The fascia can become restricted through injury, surgical scars, inflammation, and poor posture. Tight fascia can result in decreased mobility, restricted blood flow, and even pressure on nerves, which can cause pain, numbness and tingling. A myofascial release therapist works with the fascia to identify and release restrictions to restore mobility and health. In this way, MFR gets to the root of the issue by releasing the restricted fascia, which is causing pain and discomfort, delivering lasting results.

 

How myofascial release differs from traditional massage therapy

While myofascial release and traditional massage both use hands-on therapeutic techniques to ease pain and promote relaxation, myofascial release has some unique traits. MFR focuses on slower movements where the therapist senses and responds to changes in the fascia, This gentle sustained pressure and stretching of the fascia creates what is called the piezoelectric effect. The piezoelectric effect refers to the electrical energy that is created from applying gentle prolonged pressure to the fascia. While oils and lotions are used in traditional massage therapy, oil is not used in myofascial release therapy because oil creates a barrier to generating the piezoelectric effect.

 

As described in the article Myofascial Release vs. Traditional Massage: What’s the Difference? , the piezoelectric effect has three main benefits:

  1. Healing injuries. The electrical charges in the fascia instruct the surrounding cells to repair and regenerate damaged tissue.
  2. Tissue recovery. Myofascial release stimulates the tissues to produce collagen, which is a primary building block of the fascia. The collagen helps the fascia to become more relaxed and fluid which improves flexibility and mobility.
  3. Pain regulation. The electrical charges produced during myofascial release relieve pressure on nerve tissues and nourish nerve cells which decreases pain. This action also helps nerve tissues heal.

 

Conditions addressed

Myofascial release therapy can help with a wide variety of conditions involving the fascia. You will benefit from MFR if you have:

  • Chronic pain
  • A new or old injury
  • Posture difficulties
  • Post-surgical scars
  • Repetitive use syndromes
  • Difficulty navigating life changes
  • Conditions where nothing seems to help

 

Additionally, myofascial release therapy is very beneficial to a variety of women’s health conditions as described on the John Barnes myofascial release website , including:

  • Vulvodynia
  • Interstitial Cystitis
  • Mastectomy Pain
  • Menstrual Problems
  • Painful Intercourse
  • Urinary Frequency
  • Problematic Breast Implant/Reduction Scars
  • Coccydynia
  • Endometriosis
  • Infertility Problems
  • Urinary Incontinence
  • Lymphedema
  • Urinary Urgency
  • Episiotomy Scars
  • Pelvic Floor Pain
  • Pudendal Nerve Entrapment

Myofascial release is a wonderful therapy on its own, and it is also complementary to acupuncture treatments.

 

What to expect

During a treatment, you wear shorts and an exercise bra (for women) while you relax under a sheet on our massage table. Your therapist’s warm hands gently hold and ease the connective tissue and any restrictions to relieve pain and restore range of motion. The treatment is wonderfully relaxing. Be ready to feel more open, flexible, and even taller after a session!

 

Treatment series

Myofascial release is best done in a series of treatments. We recommend scheduling one initial session and then three weekly follow-up sessions to help break patterns and achieve a faster pace of healing. Sessions can also be spaced out if needed.

 

Ready to start your healing with myofascial release? Click here to book online.

 

Finally, not sure what type of treatment would be best for you?  For example, is myofascial release or acupuncture a better fit? Please click this link to schedule a free 10-minute call with our senior scheduling receptionist who will be happy to answer any questions you have and advise you on the best services and practitioner to meet your unique needs.

 

Any further questions? Please reach out and email us through our website or call or text 910-622-4269.

 

About the Author

Ericca Burke is the owner of HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine where she provides acupuncture and Chinese medicine treatments in Wilmington, NC. Click this link to read more about Ericca. 

 

About HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine in Wilmington, NC

HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine is an acupuncture and Chinese medicine practice located in Wilmington, NC just minutes from beautiful Wrightsville Beach. Click this link for contact information and directions. Click this link for a listing and description of services offered.

Spring forward with Chinese medicine

spring

Spring is a great time to balance your energy

Spring is a time of year when many people are feeling a little off as the seasons and energy shifts. They may experience allergy symptoms, headaches, irritability, or even problems with muscles, tendons and ligaments. Women might have menstrual or fertility issues, and people may find it more difficult to make decisions. Are you sighing more than usual? This may be your body’s way of releasing stagnant liver qi. “Qi” is the Chinese word that means life force or energy. Spring is a great time to support your liver and gallbladder in particular, and enhance your vitality.

 

In Chinese medicine, the organs are associated with phases or elements. The liver and gallbladder are the organs that belong to the wood element that is dominant in the spring.  Frequently, symptoms that people experience are right in line with the energetic shift of the changing seasons.

 

Alignment with the seasons and phases

People are often fascinated to hear about how their organs are associated with the different seasons and how this relates to symptoms they experience in their bodies.

 

In Chinese Medicine, there are five phases of transformation: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. While Traditional Chinese Medicine calls these the five elements, Classical Chinese Medicine refers to them as phases because they develop and change into one another. The five phases or elements correspond to the seasons spring, summer, fall, and winter. In Chinese medicine, summer further divides into summer and late summer. Late summer refers to the transformation between the warmer summer weather and cool fall weather. The seasons and phases (or elements) are associated as follows:

 

  • Spring: Wood. This is when nature starts stirring from winter’s dormancy. Trees and plants blossom. New branches grow out of old wood, and new growth begins.

 

  • Summer: Fire. This is the time of warmth and activity. Nature is moving actively, and as a result is growing and flourishing.

 

  • Late summer: Earth. This is the time of harvest. It is also is the pause between the rising of the warming and active phases of wood and fire and the declining and cooler phases of fall and winter.

 

  • Fall: Metal. This is when nature lets go of what is not needed, as seen in the falling leaves from the trees. Compost from the dead leaves enriches the soil so it can prepare for the next cycle of growth in the spring.

 

  • Winter: Water. This is a time of rest. Animals hibernate, the days are shorter, and nature gets still and goes within to build up reserves.

 

How spring affects the liver and gallbladder

As I shared earlier, the liver is the yin organ that is associated with the wood element and spring. In Chinese medicine, the gallbladder is the yang bowel that is paired with the liver, and it is also part of the wood phase or element. Like the new shoots of growth in plants, similarly, our energy rises up in the spring. When too much energy rises up too quickly, we can get headaches and feel irritable.

 

When this uprising energy gets stuck or is not balanced, we can experience issues with our muscles, tendons and ligaments. For example, this is often a time of year when people experience knee problems. When the liver energy is not flowing smoothly, it can also result in PMS symptoms or fertility issues.

 

The eyes are the sensory organ associated with the liver. This is a time of year where people frequently experience itchy, red, painful eyes or blurred vision.

 

Sometimes the energy of these organs can be deficient, and people may experience twitching in their muscles, or find that they have trouble making decisions or gathering the energy to move forward in life.

 

 

Help your body spring forward by supporting your liver and gallbladder

Every individual is unique, and no two people will experience the same symptoms for exactly the same reason. When I see a new patient, I make the time to ask a lot of questions and review their health history. This allows me to determine what is going on with their energy. For example, it is important to determine whether their energy is rising up too quickly, getting stuck, or is deficient. I develop a customized treatment to address their specific needs and restore the balance of energy. This might involve acupuncture needles, ear seeds, qigong exercises, and diet and lifestyle advice.

 

Want to talk about how acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help you? We’d love to hear from you. Please click this link to schedule a free 10-minute call with our senior scheduling receptionist who will be happy to answer any questions you have and advise you on the best services and practitioner to meet your unique needs.

 

Any further questions? Please reach out and email us through our website or call or text 910-622-4269.

 

About the Author

Ericca Burke is the owner of HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine where she provides acupuncture and Chinese medicine treatments in Wilmington, NC. Click this link to read more about Ericca. 

 

About HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine in Wilmington, NC

HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine is an acupuncture and Chinese medicine practice located in Wilmington, NC just minutes from beautiful Wrightsville Beach. Click this link for contact information and directions. Click this link for a listing and description of services offered.

Acupressure to help adjust to daylight savings time

daylight savings time

The challenges of daylight savings time

Daylight savings time can be a challenging time for people who live in the majority of the United States (Arizona and Hawaii do not observe daylight savings time). The effects of daylight savings time disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm, just like jet lag. This can affect key bodily functions like sleep, mood, and appetite. As a result of daylight savings time, many people are waking up in the darkness, and are having trouble getting going in the morning.

 

Research shows that shifting from standard time to daylight savings time is associated with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and hospital admissions, as discussed in the article Daylight saving time: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. In fact, Harvard Medical School’s Health Publishing Journal’s article The dark side of daylight saving time shares that daylight savings time has been found to exacerbate depression and anxiety as well as result in an increase in car accidents.

 

Ways to help ease into daylight savings time

In addition to keeping with your normal schedule, practicing good sleep hygiene, and getting bright light exposure in the morning, acupressure can be a great support. Acupressure is the application of gentle pressure to acupuncture points. You can do this treatment at home simply and easily using just your fingers. In this blog, I’ll provide instructions for how to perform acupressure and share information on some points you can try at home.

 

How to perform acupressure

  • Use your index and / or middle fingers to apply a downward pressure with small circular motions (about a quarter of an inch) to the acupuncture point.
  • Feel for painful areas or areas of tightness or emptiness.
  • Massage for at least ten seconds, and up to a few minutes.
  • You can also gently tap the point with one or more fingers.
  • Stimulate points at least two times per day, for example, once in the morning and once at night.

 

Try acupressure on these acupuncture points to help your body adjust to daylight savings time

Yintang

Yintang means “Hall of Impression”. It is located between the eyebrows and is in the area referred to as the “third eye” in many cultures. This is a wonderfully calming point and helps promote sleep.

  • Location: Place a finger at the glabella, which is the skin above the nose between the eyebrows.
  • Uses: anxiety, insomnia, and also nasal congestion, runny nose, and headaches in the forehead region.

 

Bladder 1

The Chinese name of this point is Jingming. It means “Bright Eyes”. This point is the first point on the Bladder channel. When light hits this point in the morning, this starts the waking cycle of the circadian rhythm and causes us to wake up.  In other words, this is important because circadian rhythms depend on light exposure. Stimulating this point can help encourage waking.

  • Location: Just above the inner canthus (corner) of the eye where the eye meets the nose.  Be very gentle with this point and don’t poke yourself in the eye! Place your finger on the eyelid just above the caruncle (the small, pink, fleshy nodule in the inner corner of the eye).
  • Uses: In addition to starting the wake cycle of the circadian rhythm, this point can also help with eye issues like redness, swelling, and pain of the eyes.

 

Pineal point on the ear

There is a great auriculotherapy point on the ear that affects the pineal gland in the brain. It is called the Pineal point. The pineal gland helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm. Additionally, you can read about auriculotherapy in my blog All about ear seeds and auriculortherapy.

  • Location: The lower part of the tragus on the ear. The tragus is the small cartilage projection found where the ear connects to the side of the head. It looks like a small flap and is right outside of the opening of the ear canal. You can gently hold the tragus between your index finger and thumb and squeeze the bottom portion to activate the pineal point.
  • Uses: In addition to regulating circadian rhythm, the pineal gland is responsible for regulating hormones, supporting cardiovascular health, and stabilizing mood.

 

Questions?

Want to talk about how acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help you? We’d love to hear from you. Please click this link to schedule a free 10-minute call with our senior scheduling receptionist. She will be happy to answer any questions you have and advise you on the best services and practitioner to meet your unique needs.

 

Any further questions? Please reach out and email us through our website or call or text 910-622-4269.

 

About the Author

Ericca Burke is the owner of HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine where she provides acupuncture and Chinese medicine treatments in Wilmington, NC. Click this link to read more about Ericca. 

 

About HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine in Wilmington, NC

HAVEN Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine is an acupuncture and Chinese medicine practice located in Wilmington, NC just minutes from beautiful Wrightsville Beach. Click this link for contact information and directions. Click this link for a listing and description of services offered.