One of my patients had an irritating pain in her leg that only appeared when she did certain activities. Gardening was difficult, if not impossible and it upset her. Conventional medicine hadn’t resolved the problem, so she took a chance on acupressure because she doesn’t like painkillers and wanted to see what else she could do to help herself.
Emotionally traumatic events are all too common in our society. When problems seem insurmountable and words fail, or when people have been conditioned to find solace in hatred, too often people turn to violence and traumatize entire communities. The emotional damage spreads like ripples in a pond and it seems everyone is affected to some degree.
Both Western and Chinese medicine recognize that emotions impact how the body functions. Ideally, the rapid release of systemic stress hormones fades when the immediate danger passes and the body goes back to normal, but sometimes the emotional hit is so great that the body and mind find a new normal that is less healthy and resilient.
Millions of people around the world use acupuncture and acupressure to win back their health, improve their athletic performance and live their best lives. Whether you’re an armchair quarterback, a weekend warrior, or a competitive athlete, acupuncture and acupressure can help you achieve your goals too.
Turtles have been around since the age of the dinosaurs and are a symbol of wisdom, endurance, wealth, and long life in traditional Asian culture. Turtles were historically considered to be one of the four sacred animals. Legend has it that a turtle carries the world on its back and the secrets of heaven and earth in its body. Because the marks on its shell were considered to reflect the influences of heaven and earth, the turtle became the inspiration for the I Ching, a foundational work of Chinese philosophy that has influenced nearly every aspect of the culture for over 4000 years. Acupuncture points also have symbolic characteristics, and there's one in particular that exemplifies the nature of the turtle and makes a significant contribution to health and longevity.
Are you one of the millions of people who will never try acupuncture because the thought of getting poked with even one needle makes you queasy and the idea of 20 or 30 needles all at once makes you want to run for the hills, if you don’t faint first? There are a lot of articles out there telling you to just “get over” your needle fear, and giving you 5 or 10 ways to do it. If your response is something like, “my crippling pain really isn’t that bad”, keep reading.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has helped people for thousands of years and offers a proven, comprehensive approach for stimulating the body's natural healing processes. The most well known of the great pillars of oriental medicine is acupuncture - the insertion of tiny needles at special points on the body which directly signal the body to re-balance the central nervous system and resolve health issues. Modern researchers have been studying acupuncture for decades and have found that it lives up to it's traditional reputation for effective healing. At Three Mountains Wellness, hundreds of patients have benefited from the blend of traditional wisdom and modern research and found help for their health challenges with acupuncture and the related practice of acupressure.
Forget needle-phobia. Tiny acupuncture needles are a big hit with kids, moms and doctors at Seattle Children's Hospital and here in East Lansing as well. Acupuncture started out as a pilot program at Seattle Children's Hospital, but its use has grown dramatically with patients requesting acupuncture five days a week.1 The reason? Acupuncture is a surprisingly gentle and effective choice for kids with health problems. So effective, that over one third of pediatric Pain Treatment Services at children's hospitals in the United States now offer acupuncture services.
You've probably heard people talking about acupuncture. TV news programs discuss the latest research and show people getting acupuncture, doctors at the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health recommend it for a variety of conditions and you may have family, friends or colleagues that have regained their health using acupuncture. At Three Mountains Wellness, acupuncture and oriental medicine are used every day to help people feel better. It's not magic, it's an evidence-based system of oriental medicine that's worked for over 5000 years. But what is it, how does it work, and why should you try it? Read on...