Healing at Home: Managing Stress and Anxiety
Healing from Home: Points for Cold and Flu
While there isn’t a perfect substitute for a full acupuncture treatment, there is much that can be done at home to help support your health when you can’t make it in to your practitioner for some reason. The Healing at Home blog series offers some options for using diet and acupressure to help you support your health between acupuncture appointments.
When the inevitable cold comes calling despite your best preventative efforts, you can’t always get to your friendly neighborhood acupuncturist. There are still ways that you can help to speed it on its way using acupressure at home. In addition to those points in the Immune Boosting guide, use the points below that best fit your main symptoms. Rub each point with gentle pressure in small clockwise circle at least once per day.
Conception Vessel 17 (CV17):
Located on the sternum, this point helps to open the chest. It is helpful for chest tightness and congestion as well as cough.
Large Intestine 11 (LI11):
Located at the thumb side of the elbow crease, this point has two useful actions for colds. The first is to release heat, making it useful for fever. The second is to “release the exterior” which helps the body to expel pathogens.
Stomach 40 (ST40):
Located at the midpoint of the calf on the tibialis anterior muscle, ST40 is an excellent point for congested sinuses.
Spleen 9 (SP9):
Located on the medial side of the knee, this point is excellent for dealing with excess damp and phlegm. It is helpful for colds with mucous and phlegm.
Kidney 27 (KD27)
Located just under the collar bone, KD27 is helpful for chest tightness, cough and phlegm.
Large Intestine 4 (LI4)
Located in the area between the thumb and index finger, LI4 is a control point for the head. It is helpful for symptoms such as headache and sinus congestion.
Healing at Home: Acupressure to boost immunity
Immune boosting, cold fighting elderberry syrup recipe
What does that point do? Lung 7
Acupuncturists are often asked "Why are you using that point?" or "What does that point do?" So I thought it might be useful for the curious among you to start a series of blog posts talking about specific points, their uses and how you can use them yourself at home.
The first point in the series is a point on the Lung channel, Lung 7 (LU 7).
Feed that cold - Foods for a healthy fall
5 Tips for keeping healthy during holiday travel
With Thanksgiving nearly upon us and the busy holiday season in full swing, many of us will soon be getting on jam packed airplanes or hopping in cars to join family gatherings. All of this togetherness can bring with it the risk of being exposed to colds and flu which are starting their own holiday season. With a few simple tips you can improve your chances of staying healthy during your holiday travel. One of the first steps is to follow the adage "A good offense is a good defense." It is very important to keep your immune system functioning at its best so that it can help to keep you healthy. Some ways to do that are:
Sleep: Getting a good night's sleep is an important way to keep your immune system healthy. So, as much as possible, try to maintain a healthy 7-8 hours of sleep to keep your immune system in tip top shape.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C helps our bodies to keep a strong immune system, so don't forget your OJ!
Neti pot: Our noses are the entry point for many of the germs we are exposed to when we are in groups of people. One way to help flush out the bad bugs is to do a saline rinse using a neti pot. The saline manually rinses the sinus membranes to wash away germs and other particulates that we inhale. It also helps to hydrate the sinus membranes helping them to avoid drying out, especially for those who are flying or in arid climates. Saline can either be purchased or made easily at home using water and salt. Iodized salt has additional antibacterial properties over ordinary table salt or sea salt due to the added iodine. It can take a little getting used to, but once you have the hang of it, it can feel quite nice.
Stress? What stress?: Stress is something that seems to be synonymous with the holidays for most of us. It also can depress our immune system. So, when your relatives are really starting to get on your nerves, try to take a moment for yourself to regain some calm. Going for a walk, taking a few deep breaths, whatever you have time for will help you both enjoy the holiday more and stay healthy.
Press here: There are several acupuncture points which you can press on which help to stimulate the immune system. You can apply moderate pressureto the points below for a few minutes every day. If you find a sore spot in that area, give it some special attention as that is the body's way of showing you what spots need some extra care.
Kiiko Matsumoto's Immune point:
LI10-11crop
This point is located in the area and inch or two on either side of LI 10 (pictured here). It is great for boosting overall immunity. Massage this area, paying special attention to any sore point.
GV14:
GV14b
This point is located on the center line of the spine just below the 7th cervical vertebra. It boosts the Wei qi (what the ancient Chinese used to describe concept for what we now understand to be immunity).
For some additional information useful to those getting on airplanes, read more here.
Don't forget that seasonal tune-ups with your acupuncturist can also help to boost your immunity by keeping the whole system balanced and functioning optimally. A happy and healthy holiday season to all!