Tag Archives: Acupuncture
Acupuncture And Chronic Illness
People come to acupuncture for the first time for a wide variety of reasons with an equally vast array of expectations. Sometimes individuals struggling with chronic illness arrive in an acupuncture office with the explicit goal of addressing their chronic illness. More often, these individuals come with hopes to manage pain or another adjacent symptom […]
WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT WOMEN’S HEALTH AND ACUPUNCTURE WHEN I WAS YOUNGER
As a teenager and well into my early twenties, I frequently suffered from dysmenorrhea– or painful periods. Everyone told me it was normal. Many of my matriarchs confided in me that they had debilitating cramps when their cycles started and well through their school years– painful enough to send them home from work and school. […]
Key Foods To Eat This Autumn For A Strong Immune System
In East Asian medicine, food is itself medicine. Food theory runs on two important principles. One, specific culinary ingredients will nourish the organs directly associated with the current season. Two, by nourishing the organs of the season, you are also strengthening and preparing your body for good health in the following season. This takes seasonal eating […]
Painful Periods? Chinese Medicine Can Help
For years I thought that having a painful period (dysmenorrhea) was what every woman went through. Women grow up with a general cultural consensus that periods equal pain; you just have to take painkillers, feel miserable, and wait it out. Needless to say I was elated when acupuncture and Chinese herbs gave me a new […]
Post Partum Nutrition: How to Eat Well For You and Your New Baby
In the United States, I find we spend a great deal of time educating women about pre-and perinatal nutrition to foster a healthy baby, but as soon as they give birth, women enter a wasteland of information on how to properly rebuild themselves after the process of growing a small human. If you’re a woman considering […]
Cupping Therapy for Colds, Flus, and Lung Health
The Olympics showed the world that cupping therapy is a great tool to help relieve muscle soreness, pain, and to improve recovery after athletic training; but cupping therapy can do so much more. Cupping therapy’s other main uses are to stimulate the immune system, protect respiratory health, and to facilitate detoxification. We’ll talk about cupping […]
The Joy of Cupping And The 2016 Olympics
I am overjoyed to see the mainstream media buzzing with discussions about cupping therapy and the telltale marks sported by many of the 2016 Olympic athletes. These marks are called ‘sha’ in East Asian medicine. They are not actually bruises as many would like to call them, but I’ll explain that in a moment. This […]
How to Cultivate Yin and Hydration in the Heat of Summer
We’re now a couple weeks past the summer solstice, and many of us are enjoying the extra daylight hours and the hustle and bustle of summer play. The solstice marks an important time for our health. It marks the longest day of the year -a time that is considered peak ‘yang.’ Yang represents activity, heat, […]
What I eat in a day: advice from an acupuncturist and triathlete
By Sara O’Byrne A few months ago I sat down at a bar and ordered some food while watching a basketball game. The couple next to me and I struck up a conversation and they were surprised to learn I’m an acupuncturist – because I was eating bar food. I don’t make bar food a […]
Home care for healthy connective tissue
Athletes, weekend warriors and those of us who engage in less physical activity all can suffer from aches and pains related to our muscles, tendons and ligaments. Many of our daily activities encourage our muscles to tighten, like sitting at a computer, carrying heavy objects, or standing in place for long periods of time. Treatment […]
Stick Out Your Tongue 