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February, 2008 E-Newsletter

Welcome!

February 7, 2008 is the Chinese New Year! This year is the Year of the Rat; the first year of the 12 year cycle. We have more information about the Year of the Rat below. If you are on our regular mailing list, we hope you enjoyed our mailing in celebration of the Chinese New Year! If you didn't get the mailing but want to be added to our mailing list, email us your name and mailing address. If you thought you were on our list but didn't get the mailing, send us your address again, please! I may have entered it wrong, or have an old address for you. Our email is BirchCenter@gmail.com.

Article: Acupuncture: Treating the Root and Branches.

Here is an article from our new blog: http://birchcenter.blogspot.com. Since the blog is so new and many of you may not have seen it, I am reprinting the article here. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you stop by and visit the blog! (More information about the blog is below.)

I'll start off this first Treatment Tuesday with the way we approach every treatment. In Chinese Medicine we call it treating the root and branches. The root is the main cause of the imbalance. The branches are the symptoms that are manifesting.

For example, perhaps someone comes in because they have chronic headaches (it could be anything.) Upon further questioning we find that they also have ringing in their ears, occasional vertigo, and insomnia. Their energy is not very good by the afternoon, and they are asleep by 8 pm most nights. The headache, insomnia, tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and vertigo are all symptoms (branches) that are caused by an underlying imbalance of the body. (They also all happen to be manifesting in the head, which will become relevant when we do the branch treatment, but that's another subject!)

We do more questioning, look at the tongue and take the pulses: of which there are six on each wrist -- one yin and one yang in three different positions. This is how we assess the overall energy flow in the meridians (energy pathways) of the body and come up with a root cause.

The root (underlying imbalance) may be -- among other things -- Kidney deficiency, Liver Blood deficiency, Wind, etc. These are all terms we use in traditional Chinese medicine, and do not generally correspond to Western medical diagnoses. We take other facts into consideration when treating the root as well, such as the person's constitution: in general are they frail or strong? Cold or hot?

The most important part of the treatment is making that root diagnosis and treating it by placing needles along the meridians, most often on the arms/hands and legs/feet. The root treatment alone, which helps balance the body as a whole, often clears all the symptoms. This is why so many people report that symptoms they never even mentioned to us improve as well: by balancing the root of the disharmony the symptoms disappear.

However, when a person comes in we often treat the branches as well. In the above situation, we may needle the head and some points where the head meets the neck to allow energy that may be blocked in the head to flow. We may also needle or use moxibustion (heat in the form of burning a certain herb, Mugwort or Artemesia vulgaris) on the feet to draw the energy down. These branch treatments allow the patient to experience almost immediate relief.

No matter what symptoms, conditions or disease the person comes to us with -- even when there are no symptoms at all and the person just comes for a "tune-up," we address the treatment the same way. Find and treat the root imbalance, and smooth or clear the energy of the branches (symptoms.)

I hope this helps people understand what we do in the treatment, why we ask so many (seemingly unrelated) questions, and some of our thought process. If you have questions about certain conditions or other questions relating to acupuncture that you'd like to see addressed on Treatment Tuesday, write a comment in the blog or send me an email at BirchCenter@gmail.com

For a list of conditions which the World Health Organization and National Institutes of Health have found acupuncture to be effective, and for more information on our services visit our website www.BirchCenter.com.

New Blog!

We have a new blog! It will keep you up to date with the goings-on at the Birch Center, educate people about acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and offer inspiring tips for overall health and wellness. You can find it at http://birchcenter.blogspot.com. And taking a cue from our good friends at www.purejeevan.com, we have decided to give each day a theme:

Meditation Monday: quotes, thoughts, and tips about incorporating meditation into daily life.
Treatment Tuesday: Information about acupuncture and Chinese medicine including how acupuncture works and what we treat at the Birch Center.
Wellness Wednesday: tips on health and wellness. Can range from nutrition to stress relief techniques to aromatherapy! Things you can do at home right now.
Thankful Thursday: A day to pause and reflect on the gifts of life.
Free-form Friday: Can be anything! No theme today.
Saturday: no entry, the computer is off all day.
Simplify Sunday: Ways in which we are simplifying our lives.

We hope you'll check us out!

Article: 2008 is The Year of the Rat

adapted from information courtesy of Acupuncture Media Works

The Rat is the first sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which means the 12-year Chinese lunar cycle is beginning.

As legend holds, the Jade Emperor invited the Celestial Animals to the temple for a party. The animals had to ferry across a river before entering the temple grounds. The Rat hitched a ride on the back of the Ox, and once they arrived to the other side, the Rat jumped down and was first to enter the temple.

Rat was followed by Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. From that day on, they were delegated to guard the 12-year cycle that governs the ebb and flow of life. This is how Rat obtained its status as the first in the order of the Chinese Zodiac.

Those who are born in the Year of the Rat should feel honored. They are clever, ambitious, creative, hard-working, fastidious, lively, charming, quick-witted, sociable and at times can be stingy when it comes to sharing their wealth or possessions. In some cultures, the Rat is a respected, intuitive creature, representing courage and an enterprising character. They are known for coming up with solutions to take care of themselves and others.

Rats are also known to be a little "cool" in nature, standoffish, calculating, selfish, and protective when they're not in top form. It is often suggested that Rats are motivated by money and status.

Rats are compatible with the Dragon, Monkey and the Ox, but should avoid the Horse.

The Year of the Rat suggests that there will be 12 months of plentiful opportunities and prospects, and will be relatively free of turbulence, which is great if you are planning long-term investments or starting new projects. It's also a fine time to socialize with friends and family.

Chinese New Year falls on February 7, 2008. In Chinese and many Chinese-American households, the festivities last for two weeks or more.

Here are some ideas if you wish to celebrate the heritage that helped bring us Chinese medicine:

As soon as you can, sweep the dust and dirt of the old year from your floors to make way for the New Year. Out with the old and in with the new. Sweeping is symbolic for sweeping away any bad luck that may have accumulated over the past year.
It's important NOT to clean during the first few days of the new year - if you do any sweeping during this time, you can risk sweeping away good luck.
Decorate your house in the traditional Chinese colors and symbols of wealth and good fortune: brilliant shades of red and gold. Decorate doors and windows with red streamers, paint or pictures. Red is considered a lucky color. You can also hang paper cutouts on doors and windows. Paper cutting is an ancient Chinese art form dating back to the Han dynasty.
Fill as many rooms as you can with flowers and blooming plants. These symbolize rebirth and new growth, and ensure prosperity in the coming year.
Enjoy dinner at a Chinese restaurant.
Ring in the New Year with noisemakers or drums; it helps to drive away evil spirits and bad Qi (energy.)

May you have peace, prosperity and best health in the coming year!

Final Notes

Finally, we are so excited to be adding a reading room and lending library to The Birch Center! The front classroom soon will be a comfortable area for people to stop by and read about acupuncture and alternative medicine. We are still setting it up, but it should be ready soon! It will have regular hours and hopefully by our next newsletter we'll be able to share them and invite you to stop by. For now, when you come in for your appointment don't forget to peek your head into the classroom to see what is going on. We would also happily accept donations of books on health, alternative medicine, nutrition, healthy pregnancy, etc. Also, if you have any comfy chairs or small love-seats that are looking for a new home, we will happily accept those as well.

Thank you, and we hope to see you soon!

About The Birch Center

The Birch Center offers you the very best in complementary health care: acupuncture, massage, foot reflexology, herbal medicine, nutritional and lifestyle consultations. Visit our website at www.BirchCenter.com.

Our office is conveniently located on Pittsburgh's South Side, and we also offer phone consultations and distance energy healing for those outside the Pittsburgh area.

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Also, don't forget to check our blog for the very latest information. We update it six days a week, and each day is a themed entry! Tuesdays are all about acupuncture, Monday is meditation, Wednesday is wellness. You can also subscribe and receive daily updates. We hope you enjoy it!