Happy New Year from Gates Acupuncture!
I am happy to be back to blogging after a little hiatus. In good news, my practice in White Salmon is growing! And I took a position at Trinity Natural Medicine in Hood River, Oregon, where I am now seeing patients two days a week.
As part of my introduction to the Trinity Natural Medicine community, I will be giving a workshop on February 11th from 10 am – noon on Pain Relieving Salves. We will learn about the use of Chinese herbs for pain relief and you will have the opportunity to get your hands dirty making a salve to take home with you. All are welcome and you can RSVP for the workshop here.
Okay, announcements aside – I wanted to devote this blog post to a topic that has been coming up in my practice this past month.
Anxiety!
Many of us have recently interrupted our “regularly scheduled programming” by traveling; having time off from work (!); spending more time with our immediate & extended family; eating different things (Christmas cookies, anyone?); sleeping in different beds; picking up and dropping off family from the airport at all hours of the night; etc!
Many of us – my patients and myself included – have witnessed a rise in anxiety during all of this.
How does Chinese Medicine understand anxiety?
Well, as is frequently true in Chinese philosophy, there are different “flavors” (or types / kinds / manifestations) of a single concept like anxiety.
As practitioners, we understand and diagnose different kinds of anxiety that are rooted in the different organs: the Spleen & Stomach, the Lung, the Kidney, the Liver & the Heart.
So while in one patient, anxiety could manifest in chest tightness, heart palpitations, and dizziness; in another, it could manifest as wild emotions & fullness in the throat…
A good Chinese Medicine doctor can determine through differential diagnosis what “flavor” of anxiety you are experiencing and thus, can treat you accordingly.
And although it is my job to ask my patients questions like…
where in your body do you feel your anxiety?
what does it feel like?
what are its triggers?
does…resting /going for a run / talking it out with a friend / crying / spending time alone / having a drink / having a good laugh / meditating…make it better or worse?
…the truth is:
All anxiety "belongs to" the Heart!
In much of classical Chinese, the character itself is a depiction of its meaning. And the character for anxiety, 憂 you, is no exception.
It depicts a human head (首 shǒu) covering the Heart (心 xīn) with the character for a dragging foot at the bottom (夂zhǐ).
Thus, anxiety is the state of mind in which you cannot move forward because your head is obscuring your Heart.
Descriptive, huh?
In our homogenous American culture, this time of year is devoted to making resolutions, committing to fresh starts, and turning over a new leaf.
Sometimes, this is a really productive kick in the butt! And sometimes, this cultural orientation to the New Year encourages us to look outward for a solution – whether that’s the magic pill, the newest gadget, losing twenty pounds, or finally finding the "perfect" relationship...
We intend to will ourselves into some new state of being.
Yet, I am reminded by my patients everyday that we actually embody our states of being. And that our experience on this planet – emotional, mental, spiritual and otherwise – is housed in our very physical bodies.
So much of my work with patients in the treatment room is a catalyst that brings them back to their felt sense; re-introduces them to safety in their bodies; and encourages new awareness.
Sometimes the catalyst is the questions I ask during the intake; sometimes it is the story that you hear yourself telling me; sometimes it is the acupuncture; sometimes it is something else between patient and practitioner that is very real but difficult to articulate in words…
As simply stated in the first chapter of that foundational Chinese Medicine text:
...恬惔虛无，
tián tán xū wú,
[if one is] calm, serene, empty and without,
真氣從之，
zhēn qì cóng zhī
[then] the true qi follows;
精神內守，
jīng shén nèi shǒu
[if] our spirit is guarded internally,
病安從來...
bìng ān cóng lái
[from where] could disease come?
So, I encourage you (whether you recognize & celebrate the Gregorian New Year or not), to remember the meaning of 憂 yōu.
And to consider that while our heads are often really good at running the show, our mental-emotional health is a direct product of the way we feel in our very physical bodies.
So check in with your body, and do the things that help you access that calm, serene, and empty state. According to the great sages, it is the signal of true health ;)
Happy New Year!
Until next time,
Arista