Easy Acupuncture for CT

Posts Tagged ‘Common Sense’

Okay, note to anyone reporting on acupuncture: can we stop with the really, really corny puns in the headlines? Please??? Maybe I should be addressing the editors here. I am not really sure, but my “point” (get it?) is still cogent.

It may seem like you are being clever, but really… you’re not. Not even close! A simple Google search will reveal that you are not being clever at all. EVERY ONE DOES IT.

It’s annoying actually. And while you may think that the offending parties would be the local Podunk weekly newspapers, even that bastion of respectability, The Times of London is guilty! That is the most troubling because I have really come to depend on the British for clever puns. Clearly the sun has set on the British Empire.

I know this sounds a bit like a rant and to a degree it is, but let me give you a few headline examples from the past few weeks and see what you think!

“Acupuncture school pinpoints growth”

Phoenix Business Journal – by Angela Gonzales

Oh, I get it! Acupuncturists use “pins” and stick them in “points” on the body! KNEE SLAPPER! This is truly Pulitzer Prize material, keep up the good work!

“Barnoldswick physio pins his faith in healing acupuncture”

The Burnley Citizen (UK) – by Matt Monaghan

Pins his faith in healing acupuncture? What, is acupuncture in need of healing? Shouldn’t it be: pins his faith “on” healing acupuncture? Better yet, shouldn’t we be “pointing” out the great studies that show acupuncture is effective? Faith is great but I will pin it on evidence!

“Pinpointing problems with acupuncture”

Abiline Reporter-News by Sara Irvin

Again with the pinpointing! see the above, ’nuff said.

Here is a good one from AsiaOneNews website: “Even pets are stuck on acupuncture”

Oh, that is because acupuncturists stick needles in patients so they are “stuck on acupuncture” Very sharp wit… (oops, I did it again…)

“Acupuncturist gets under his patients’ skin” Times Herald Record – Middletown NY.

I guess the subject of this article is: A.) a really annoying acupuncturist who irritates his patients or B.)  a reference to the fact that acupuncture needles go through (hence “under”) the skin! Wow! Punny!

“Don’t be left on pins and needles” Herald Times Reporter – Manitowoc,WI

Sorry, that one is just lame…

And finally the aforementioned Times of London (UK) article: “The NHS now backs acupuncture: point proven?”

Yet another clever use of the point theme.

Really now, is this necessary? I think people will take this medicine more seriously when we dispense with the silly headlines. What acupuncturists do is help alleviate suffering and improve the health of countless people. Its important stuff and deserves better!

My “point” here? Please stop.

Okay, this ain’t rocket science its common sense, but as Mark Twain once wrote, “Common sense is very uncommon”.

Go on a “low information diet”. Turn off the TV and Radio News. Its all crap anyways and designed to induce fear. The old saying in the TV news biz is “If it bleeds it leads”. Suffering and bad news seems inevitable in the world, but do we have to immerse ourselves in it? Focus on what you can change in the world. If something is important, and you NEED to know about it, believe me you will hear about it. In the mean time turn off the news and violent TV shows!

Learn to breath! Most of us breath with our upper chest. Sort of a chronic hyperventilation style breathing. The problem is, we are designed to breath with our abdominal muscles. The chest muscles are secondary muscles of respiration. Using them to breath sends a signal to the adrenal glands that the body is under stress causing adrenaline to be released constantly. Anxiety attack anyone??

Instead, use your belly to breath. Push out your belly and that allows your diaphragm muscle to drop pulling the lungs open. It feels unnatural at first but with practice becomes second nature. If you doubt me, watch any child under the age of 6 years old breath. Their bellies go in and out. Not much stress in their lives!!

Take time to meditate, there are plenty of resources that can teach you how both on the web or in print. There are great CD’s that will guide you through meditation. My personal favorite is one by Rod Stryker, “Relax into Greatness“.  I keep it on my iPod and when I need a recharge I sit quietly and follow along. No chanting or burning incense is involved. You don’t have to sit in lotus position. Just listen and relax. I highly recommend it.

Exercise: this is a big stumbling block for most people, but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to join a gym or spend lots of money on fancy running shoes and gear. Simple things like taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator or parking farther from the store and walking a bit farther add up to increased fitness. A study at UC Berkeley in 1996 showed that a 10 minute walk can enhance mood for up to 2 hours!

Nutrition: Another big stumbling block for many people. Eating is not as simple as it used to be! It is in fact as easy or as hard as we choose it to be. I like to follow the “9 Simple Rules For Eating“.

If eating right is too complicated then supplement with whole food nutrition. Avoid vitamin supplements, the evidence is showing clearly that isolated vitamins have little if any effect on health. Whole food nutritional’s provide concentrated foods and are naturally high in antioxidants and can reduce the effects of oxidative stress on the body.

Acupuncture! It is, quite simply, a great stress reducer. Acupuncture stimulates the movement of the vital energy Qi  in the body. When Qi flows unimpeded in the body you are more resilient to daily stresses. You have more energy and are focused. Stress can lead to blockages in this energetic movement which ultimately can create dis-function and dis-ease in the body.

Regular acupuncture treatment can help reduce, overall chronic stress, increase your sense of well being and resiliency. Typically when combined with some of the above suggestions a regular monthly visit can reduce the toxic effects of stress!