Highland Acupuncture Inverness

Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy and healthy Chinese New Year!! May it bring you contentment and joy!
2024 is the Year of the Wood Dragon! In Chinese culture the mystic dragon holds an auspicious place as an extraordinary and talented creature. It symbolises power, strength, and good fortune. Dragon is full of enthusiasm, tenacity and confidence.
As wood is the element of growth, the Year of the Wood Dragon may be a year of much change, growth, and development. The Dragon begins life the size of a tiny silkworm but grows to fill Heaven. As growth takes a lot of energy we are advised to be cautious how we use our energy during the course of the year, making sure not to use it up all too quickly.
Years of the Dragon include 2024, 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964, 1952, 1940, 1928...

Recently I had a delightful walk to one of my favourite lochans and found myself a spot on a rock by the shore where I could dangle my feet into the peaty water… I enjoyed wriggling my toes about…which led me to think just how much we tend to neglect our feet. It’s amazing to think that each foot has 26 bones, 30 joints and more than a 100 muscles. But sadly, most feet are locked away in shoes all day where all the possible movements the many little joints are capable of are reduced to but a few, and the blood circulation is often impaired by tight footwear.
From a Chinese Medicine point of view, six of the 12 main acupuncture channels begin or end at the feet, our feet are literally dotted all over with acupuncture points – 41 points altogether, and that’s not even counting some so-called ‘extra’ points!! This number in itself is a sign of the importance of the feet. And all these points do not just treat the feet themselves. They are used for a wide range of problems – from headaches to heartburn to depression and many more.
It doesn’t take much time to give our feet some TLC – here are some things you can do to make your feet (and yourself!!) a little bit happier:
• Walk around in bare feet as much as you can – if you’re fortunate enough to have a garden, take a gentle barefoot stroll in the grass.
• Stand on tiptoes (for example while you brush your teeth), or walk around on tiptoes. Alternate between walking on tiptoes and on your heels. This will also support balance.
• Sit on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you (in case you do yoga, this is the posture called Dandasana). Rotate your ankles (first in one, then in the other directions), point and flex your toes, squeeze your toes together (as if forming a ‘fist’ with your feet). Afterwards, wriggle your toes and relax your feet, stand up slowly and shake out your legs and feet.
• Before going to bed have a relaxing foot massage, perhaps using lavender oil (a carrier oil such as almond oil infused with some drops of lavender). Massage the soles of your feet (you can also use your knuckles for this); massage each individual toe and the spaces in between the toes; knead your feet as if they were dough. You don’t need any special training to do this, go by your intuition and what feels good. Massaging your feet enhances their blood circulation and while your feet will feel more alive afterwards. You will feel wonderfully relaxed and ready for bed and a good sleep.
• Enjoy!!😊🦶

Last week I took a class on nutrition based on Chinese Medicine with one of my wonderful teachers ,Toby Daly, and this is one of the slides he showed.
It makes so much sense, and sadly reflects what I often hear from clients – that they haven’t been getting any helpful advice on diet and nutrition from their GPs or consultants. Some clients tell me they specifically asked for nutritional/dietary advice and were told ‘Just eat what you would normally eat – it won’t make a difference’ – even when there are issues with digestion such as heartburn or bloating or IBS…
Chinese Medicine on the other hand sees food as medicine. As a first step it tries to resolve health issues through diet, and only if the problem is more deep-seated herbs will be used. Indeed, health practitioners who have to resort to the use of herbs and other medications are seen as inferior to those who can improve health through dietary recommendations…
Chinese Medicine also recognises that a ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t work with diet and recommendations are always based on a person’s constitution and their complaints.

Acupuncture without Needles?
Sometimes I get calls from people who would like to get acupuncture to help them with pain relief or some other condition… BUT…they are really scared of needles. Fortunately, there is SO much we as Chinese Medicine Practitioners can offer – even WITHOUT needles.
First of all, there are two excellent techniques that are very helpful for pain conditions (such as lower back pain, hip pain, shoulder pain etc.) but are also of benefit for other complaints (for example headaches).
The better known of the two is CUPPING – at swimming events one can sometimes see swimmers with the typical reddish to purple cup marks (looking a bit like bruises). Cupping involves applying suction cups, mainly on the back and around the shoulders, but also on the legs etc. The other technique is called ‘GUA SHA’. This is a form of ‘scraping’ massage performed with a blunt tool. Like cupping, it helps to bring relief to tense and tight muscles.
I also use a lot of channel massage – ‘channels’ are the ‘energy lines’ used in acupuncture. In ‘normal’ acupuncture, needles are inserted on certain ‘spots’ (acupuncture points) along these channels, but it’s also possible to massage the channels.
In fact, I often start off treatments by massaging one or two channels as this is also wonderfully relaxing and can support the transition from a busy day to having a restorative treatment. The body is much better able to absorb the benefits of the treatment when in a calm and relaxed state.

I recently came across this photo of Suilven I took a number of years ago and it struck me how it perfectly shows the original meaning of yin and yang – yin literally refers to the shady side of a hill and yang the sunny side!
I have always liked the simple elegance of the ancient yin/yang symbol, the swirling dynamic pattern of the black and white. It feels as if one can see it move and transform. It’s easy to read something very spiritual or even mythical into it but it’s also a very convenient way of describing all kinds of phenomena. It was used to explain how things function in relation to each other and the universe, and how things are subject to constant change – day gives way to night, which, in turn, gives way to the next dawn…
Yang is seen as warm, active, moving while yin is cold, still, quiet. So as the sun, which is yang rises, night disappears. In the symbol this can be seen as the white half (yang) getting bigger while the black half (yin) is waning.
The two little dots signify that nothing can ever be completely yin or completely yang. We only perceive darkness as dark because we know there is light, hot is only hot relative to cold.
In our fast-paced society yang tends to be seen as more positive compared to yin which is considered to be about being passive and introvert. In the original understanding no judgement like that was attributed to either yin or yang – they were seen as ‘forces’ that complement each other and transform into each other.
For example, someone very ‘yang’ who never stops running around and is constantly doing things will eventually end up with burnout – in other words: as this person’s yang is being used up it will transform into yin, forcing them to rest. The trick is to be mindful of the signs that show that yang (too much action) or yin for that matter (too much sitting around) are getting too strong and adding some of the opposite qualities to the mix (more rest or more exercise).
Health can therefore be seen as a poised balance between yin and yang. While sickness is the result of too much yin (and too little yang) or too much yang (and too little yin). Staying healthy is therefore based on the organism’s ability to adapt to changing conditions and maintaining a balanced state.

I was really delighted that Michael Moseley talked about balance in one of his recent podcasts. Balance is something that often comes up when talking with clients about what they can do in their daily lives to improve their wellbeing. But working on our physical balance is so much more than that, it’s also so beneficial for improving our mental and emotional balance.
I remember one of my teachers telling us that he would prepare for difficult conversations or phone calls by doing some balancing exercises for a few minutes in order to focus his mind. I’m still grateful to this teacher that he shared this simple technique which has helped me, too, on a good number of occasions.
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In this episode, Michael is reborn as a one-legged yogi to reveal why the one leg stance is one the best thing you can do for a longer and more active life. He speaks to Professor Dawn Skelton at Glasgow Caledonian University, to find out what happens to your balance as you get older, why our balance is getting worse with each generation, and how regularly making yourself wobble could help improve your body and your brain.

‎Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley: Stand On One Leg on Apple Podcasts ‎Show Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley, Ep Stand On One Leg - 12 May 2021

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