Connecting the common thread between body, mind and spirit

Chinese Medicine is a thoughtful medicine, one that does not separate our internal environment from our external terrain, or our emotional state from our physical symptoms. Being well is embracing the ever-changing nature of things, acknowledging the ebbs and flow, and constantly altering how we show up to take care of ourselves mentally and physically.

Five element theory is one example of how practitioners of Chinese Medicine can support the emotions while addressing the acute symptoms. If a patient just experienced a deep loss, grief sets in. This can directly effect the lungs and the large intestine, which can directly effect the channel pathways. Symptoms may present as an upper respiratory infection or constipation (think resistance to letting go). Looking for areas of excess and deficiency can help bring the patient back into balance, and from there everything flows smoothly. This is not to say that we don't allow one to honor where they are, it simply gives them additional support to come out of a hard time with more ease.

Our individual health is not something that can be viewed as separate from the health of the planet. We are nature, we are part of this dynamic, living, breathing organism that moves around the sun, and we deserve to feel balanced and connected to it all.