Easy, quick, and totally free.
Getting acupuncture done fills most people with a warm and fuzzy sensation, and leaving the office might feel like being on cloud nine. The sun seems brighter, and the grass is somehow greener. Someone just cut you off in line? Instead of feeling pissed, you simply shrug and go on with your day.
Since the start of the pandemic, many people’s daily routines have fluctuated. That means waking up later in the mornings and eating and drinking later into the evenings. This lack of consistency can have significant impacts on both physical and mental health.
Your body deserves a little massage too.
Some things that blow up on TikTok blow up for a reason—others not so much.
Kevin Menard practicing acupuncture at his clinic in the Hamptons.
With the cannabidiol (CBD) market valued at $6.4 billion last year, CBD brands are constantly thinking up new ways to differentiate themselves. One way to do so is to combine CBD with other herbs. As a result, it’s now not uncommon to see a sleep formula that combines CBD with sleep-inducing ingredients, like melatonin, for example. And yet, despite the hyper-competitive CBD market, there remains one area of alternative medicine that remains largely untouched by CBD brands: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
Kevin Menard, LAc, Chinese Medicine Practitioner and founder of Dragon Hemp.
Being sourced from a plant (hemp) and highly therapeutic, you might wonder why CBD isn’t already used in TCM. Puzzled by the absence of hemp in his TCM texts, Chinese Medicine Practitioner Kevin Menard, LAc., did some digging and discovered cannabis was in fact recorded as a Chinese herb 1800 years ago. In a recent phone interview, Menard says it even made the shortlist of 50 fundamental Chinese herbs because it was so therapeutic for pain. It was only taken out of the Chinese Medicine books because of the British Opium Wars and subsequent eras of conservatism.
Kevin Menard performing cupping on a client at his clinic in the Hamptons.
Turns out this overlooked combination is actually a match made in heaven. With CBD regulating the nervous system and lowering inflammation, and Chinese…
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As Traditional Chinese Medicine expert, acupuncturist, and founder of Lanshin Sandra Lanshin Chiu, L.Ac., explained in a recent Instagram post, “Sleeping with a steady stream of wind directly blowing at your head is a TCM horror show.”
Why so? As Chiu notes in the post, that stream of air can cause a host of problems, including headaches, stiff neck, facial palsy, cold and flu, dry skin, and, yes, sinus congestion.
Hannah Frye
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We as humans are not separate from the rest of the species on Earth. Flora, fauna, prairies, streams… the cycles and patterns of our planet deeply affect our ways of being. When we have a good relationship with the Earth, we develop a better relationship with ourselves.
To demonstrate this, research has found that taking just 20 minutes to connect with nature1 can help lower stress hormone levels. More data is continuing to prove that spending time in nature supports our overall mental and physical health.
At the same time, we have come to observe the most biodiverse environments contain the cleanest air, water, soil and food. This is because diverse natural compounds can work together to heal their own ecosystems. Humans play a role in this too: human intervention can dramatically speed up transformation. I believe that processes that can take hundreds if not thousands of years can be replicated and sped up with human assistance so that our planet can flourish.
The planet relies on us, the same way that we rely on it.
By repairing our own systems, neighborhoods, and villages, we can observing the miraculous transformation of nature within us and around us. Try these rituals to replenish your body—and the planet—at the same time.
Eloisa Lewis
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Say bye-bye to bloat.
Hannah Frye
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Your face roller isn’t just reserved for the face (though the name might have you thinking otherwise). In fact, traditional Chinese medicine uses tools like face rollers to move around heat, or chi, in the body, Kung explains.
One way to move around this heat is by rolling upward or downward on the back of the neck. Moving from the bottom of the back of your neck to the top (right where your hairline starts) will help to increase mental clarity and improve complexion, Kung says, thanks to the increase in blood flow and chi.
However, if you feel a headache coming on or you’re experiencing a spike in mental stress, she recommends rolling down along the back of the neck to move blood flow and chi down your body, relieving tension in the head.
Hannah Frye
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This tool does much more than sculpt your cheekbones.
Hannah Frye
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Travelers have a host of pathogens to dodge this winter, including the “tripledemic” of infections caused by Covid-19, flu and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).
But there are steps people can take to reduce their chances of getting sick, say health specialists at Spain’s SHA Wellness Clinic.
The key is to develop “a resilient immune system that can defend itself from attack by viruses and bacteria,” said Dr. Vicente Mera, SHA’s head of genomic medicine.
“The most important thing is nutrition,” Mera said.
But drastic dieting isn’t necessary, he added. Rather, travelers can simply eat whole, plant-based foods, which can help decrease inflammation, he said.
Fiber in plant-based foods also helps the gut microbiome “fight pathogens that enter or are activated through the digestive tract,” he said.
Dr. Vicente Mera, Melanie Waxman and Philippa Harvey of SHA Wellness Clinic in Alicante, Spain.
Source: SHA Wellness Clinic
Eating a nutrient-dense diet is the top recommendation from Melanie Waxman, an integrative nutrition specialist and eating coach at SHA Wellness Clinic.
That means eating “lots of vegetables, whole grains, fresh herbs, beans, sea vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and fermented foods,” she said.
What to pack on a plane
Waxman said travelers should snack on alkaline foods to combat acidity that is commonly caused by air travel. She recommended these easy-to-pack foods:
A fermented plum, called umeboshi in Japanese, can be added to a cup of tea on a flight. It is a “very sour plum that has been fermented for at least three years,” said SHA Wellness Clinic’s Melanie Waxman.
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Breakfast
Waxman recommends drinking one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed with a glass of water before breakfast. The vinegar is “a powerful immune booster … full of probiotics,” she said.
For breakfast, a “wonderful” choice is oatmeal topped with berries, chia seeds and flax seeds, she said.
“Oats actually help the body produce melatonin more naturally,” she said. “Oats contain amino acids, potassium, B vitamins, magnesium and complex carbs … berries pack a punch of vitamin C, and the seeds provide extra omega-3 and protein.”
Jet lag
To combat jet lag, Waxman recommends taking more vitamin C.
She recommends eating sauerkraut, both before and after flying. “Fermenting cabbage causes the vitamin C and antioxidant levels to skyrocket,” she said.
Fresh vegetable juice is also great for immunity and jet lag recovery, she said.
Sleep and immunity are closely linked, Mera said.
“Restful sleep strengthens nature immunity,” he said, adding that poor quality, or quantity, of sleep increases the chances of falling sick.
People who average less than six hours of sleep a night, or 40 hours per week, have “a serious risk of illness,” he said.
Moderate exercise strengthens the immune system, Mera said.
But “30 minutes a day is more than enough,” he said. “Prolonged intense exercise can suppress the immune system.”
To avoid suppressing the immune system, travelers shouldn’t exercise to the point of exhaustion, said Dr. Vicente Mera, head of genomic medicine at SHA Wellness Clinic.
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Examples of beneficial exercise include running, walking, swimming and cycling, he said.
Studies indicate that certain supplements — such as vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, garlic, echinacea and green tea — may strengthen the body’s immune response, Mera said.
But, he said, they’re not necessary for everyone.
“It only compensates for nutrient deficiencies, which usually occur when nutrition is inadequate, or the immune system is very depressed,” he said.
To strengthen the immune system, Waxman also suggests Epsom salt baths (“magnesium is easily absorbed through the skin”), using essential oils (“especially lavender, eucalyptus or tree tree oil”), drinking plenty of water and cutting back on alcohol, caffeine and sugar.
Mera added that relieving stress and anxiety is critical to immune health. He recommends meditation, yoga, tai chi and mindfulness to better manage emotions.
Philippa Harvey, head of SHA’s traditional Chinese medicine department, said travelers should start taking steps to strengthen their immune systems about a week before traveling.
“In TCM when someone is healthy and happy we say they have good qi, pronounced ‘chee’” she said.
She recommends eating foods that are in season, especially garlic and ginger in the autumn and winter.
She also recommends exercise and acupressure to stay healthy.
“Before we travel, a nice brisk walk in fresh air is the simplest solution,” she said.
The short film series shows Traditional Chinese Medicine and Kung Fu have the same origin
Press Release
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Jun 16, 2022
SAN FRANCISCO, June 16, 2022 (Newswire.com)
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During the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, athletes challenged their limits repeatedly. When the athletes stood on the podium, another star team from the Winter Olympic Village also took the spotlight: the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) support team. Inside the Winter Olympic Village, the Department of TCM was full of appointments every day, providing treatment services such as acupuncture, Tui-na (massage therapy), and orthopedic treatments, as is discussed in this short film series by People’s Daily Online.
In China, medicine and martial arts share the same origin. Throughout history, learners of Kung Fu relied upon themselves to treat their injuries. Wuqinxi, Liuzijue, Baduanjin, Taijiquan, and other traditional exercises have a history of thousands of years. Past dynasties have left behind many ancient records that integrated medical practices and martial arts, which prove these practices’ health value.
Olympic athletes receiving treatment from the Department of TCM have also been amazed by Chinese Kung Fu and the simple motions of pulling, kneading, and rotating. They felt immediate relief from their sports-related sprains and muscle strains, according to the film series show.
With the experienced practitioner’s hands, and unaided by any equipment, a patient who previously couldn’t even bend his knee could gradually kick up slightly after a few minutes of pressing, shaking, rubbing, and rotating the affected area as well as being fully restored to their previous state of fitness.
The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics became a window to transmit the culture of TCM to the world, and the athletes in attendance were fortunate enough to have seen and experienced the benefits of TCM personally.
Based on TCM theory and the unique knowledge of Chinese martial arts and physical therapy, these treatments can apply syndrome differentiation (called “Bian Zheng” in Chinese) to diagnose patients. For example, Chinese Kung Fu practices include various breathing methods to balance one’s Yin and Yang and nourish the body. These treatments are also beneficial for the general public and not only for athletes.
In the United States, TCM practitioners have likewise inherited the Chinese traditions in medicine and martial arts. With their superb TCM skills and proven curative effects, they are well-known among patients suffering from chronic diseases associated with bone injuries.
By balancing tendons and bones, harmonizing Qi and blood flows, and eliminating disease, patients feel relief from their pain and are filled with new hope, according to the short film series.
For thousands of years, generations of TCM practitioners have worked hard to explore, continuously innovate, and enrich their treatment methods through the Chinese traditions of medicine and martial arts.
Amy Zhou
Phone: 919.564.8043
Email: usawest@people.cn
Source: People’s Daily Online West USA Inc
