Quill Acupuncture

Immune Boost Qigong Immune Boost Qigong routines stimulate the function of the Lungs and activate the Yang Qi in order to circulate the Wei Qi (defensive Qi). Performing these s...

Medicine in a cup: the ginger-garlic soup that fights the cold, flu and sinus infections This article explains the Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to health, the benefits of ginger and garlic, and how to make an immune-boosting ginger garlic soup for the cold & flu season. Enjoy! Advertisement In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) we look at each food as not only having nutritiona...

Feeling run down by winter? This can help! There are some great recipes here, but you can get creative!

Congee: The Most Nourishing Food in the World | Unfamiliar China We Presents You with Over 150 Authentic Cantonese Congee Recipes and Their Nutritional Health Benefits, Categorized by Main Congee Ingredients: Chicken, Fish, Seafood, Shrimp, Pork, Beef, Duck, Vegetarian, and More.

Get a grip on your Insurance Benefits. 2020 is just around the corner, and there is no better time to make self care your number 1 priority. You pay for these benefits, make sure you use them!!

For a detailed breakdown of terminology and how insurance works check out our newest blog post at QuillAcupuncture.com —> Quill Inks.

And never hesitate to reach out with questions and guidance!

Empowered Healthcare!! 2020

Welcome to Quill Acupuncture! We believe in your unique ability to heal. We are here to support you in that process using various modalities. Acupuncture, cupping, Gua Sha, Herbs, supplement and energy healing (Katherine’s Unique Magic). We also do a lot of work with facial rejuvenation acupuncture and love to help return your youthful glow. If you’re curious send us an email or schedule an appointment. We’d love to meet you!

Need an Space to practice your craft!? We’d love to share ours with you! Reach out to us for details.

Put a Pin in it!!

What Are the Benefits of Acupuncture? The Experts Explain All If you’re not a fan of needles, you might be wary of getting acupuncture—but its long-term benefits might just convince you to give it a try.

Facial Gua Sha is all the rage! But, it is not new. It had been in practice for thousands of years! Check out our new blog post with all the why’s and how’s of Facial Gua Sha.

Check out the Blog post on our website —> www.QuillAcupuncture.com

LUNGS

The Prime Minister

The LUNGS’ function in Chinese Medicine is to command the Qi and regulate all functions of the body.

This is where I like to start the discussion about the word Qi. Because Qi is a funny word and it’s definition is a little muddy. It often the word that elicits smirks and head shaking form western doctors and other western medical professionals. And to be fair, some of the definitions I hear also get my head shaking. A lot of the confusion around this word comes from translation. It is often difficult to accurately translate some of these Chinese medical concepts from ancient texts, lots of which were written over 2,000 years ago in dialects that haven’t been used for thosands of years.


How I think about the LUNGS and their ability to command the Qi, which regulates all the functions of the body, is by attaching the concept of oxygen to the idea of Qi in this statement.


We know that we need oxygen to survive, and our LUNGS are the way we get that oxygen. From the LUNGS the oxygen is saturated into our blood and carried throughout the body to provide our organs and cells with oxygen they need to supports all our physiological functions. The blood also collects waste products of oxygen use, CO2 and carries it back to the LUNGS so we can exhale this waste product. Pretty magical stuff.


Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine agree on the concept that the LUNGS’ controls respiration. And Chinese Medicine’s statemtent the LUNGS disperse and descend makes sense: it descends to bring in oxygen - breath in the clear, and disperses to let go of metabolic wastes -exhale the turbid.


There are of course more functions of the LUNGS, but the main actions are clear any way to look at it. Thousands of years ago, they had this figured out. They just don’t use the same words we do now.


Other fun associations with the LUNGS is the color white, the metal element (think mountains), the season of Autumn, the emotion of greif and the sound of crying. When functioning well the LUNGS are associated with clear thinking, good communication and openness to new ideas.


Breath deepl

~SPLEEN~

The Granary Official

The SPLEEN’s main function in Chinese medicine is to assist the stomach with digestion by transporting and transforming food essences. .

What does that even mean? .

Well, it is thought that the SPLEEN in Chinese medicine also includes the Pancreas. From a Western perspective this makes more sense. We know the Pancreas as a digestive organ that both helps regulate blood sugar, and assist in digestion by secreting pancreatic juices which are full of digestive enzymes that work to breakdown the foods we eat. The Stomach is a big grinder— breaking the foods we eat down to smaller particles so the pancreatic juices and enzymes can break it down further into useable substances that body can use as building blocks to keep us running. It is easier to swallow the SPLEEN’s function of transporting and transforming food essences if you include the western Pancreas. .

It is said that because of the SPLEEN’s role in digestion and assimilation of nutrients, that is the source of Qi and Blood in the body. And that makes sense. We all know we need be able to eat and digest foods to survive and thrive. If we are not able to breakdown and use the foods we are eating, then we are not providing the body with the tools it needs to keep us functioning optimally. If we are not providing the body and all of the organs with the nutrients they need, they can’t play their part, and you may : . - feel exhausted and sluggish
- crave sweet things
- feel tired after eating and possibly bloated
- see changes in bowel movements, etc. .

It is easy to see why the SPLEEN is so important! Without it’s proper functioning, we slow down and out health suffers. When treating patient’s I always look to the patient’s digestion first, and often start there. After all, it is the earth organ, and from the earth all things grow and thrive.

You know what can help with Anxiety? Acupuncture!

LIVER — The General from which strategy emanates. The Organ with the plan!

The LIVER is a pretty amazing organ in both western and Chinese medicine. Did you know the Liver can regenerate!! Crushing hard on the LIVER, it’s just to cool!

We treat the LIVER every day in clinic! It takes a beating with our stress filled, go-go-go lifestyles.

In Chinese Medicine the LIVER is responsible for the smooth flow of energy and blood in the body. It works hard to keep the body in balance. When we add too much stress to the picture, the LIVER is easily affected and the flow is disrupted. This can lead to physical issues, like painful periods, digestive issues and so much more. It can also result in depression and angry outbursts.

The LIVER also stores the blood and regulates the volume of blood in the body. When you’re active it sends the blood out to meet the increased demand and when at rest it stores the blood.

The LIVER is a busy organ and it’s health is essential to your overall vitality and quality of life. Without the general commanding the troops, the troops would be lost

Anatomy Fun!

PALPATION

PERICARDIUM - The King’s Guard

On the physical level, the Pericardium is a double-layered sac of fibrous tissue that envelops the Heart. The space between the layers is filled with serous fluid that protects the Heart from external shock or trauma and lubricates to allow for normal Heart movement.

The pericardium is considered an organ in Chinese Medicine. It gets less play in western medicine where it is referred to as a “double-walled sac containing the heart and roots of the great vessels.”

In Chinese Medicine it is known as the protector of the heart. The heart is the king of the body and the pericardium is the King’s Guard. Prestigious, right?Pericardium influences relationships with other people and points on its channel are often used to treat emotional problems from relationship issues. Pericardium channel particularly influences the area in the center of the chest.

The Heart is the Emperor/ress. It oversees all the processes in the body. She is queen bee, the mother of dragons.
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The HEART Governs the Blood and the Vessels and it’s energy circulates blood through the vessels to the entire body to nourish the tissues. Healthily circulation needs good quality and quantity of blood, good force and to be free of obstructions.

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The HEART stores the Shen. Shen in this instance is the outward manifestations of life in and on the body.

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The HEART commands our mental and emotional activity. When emotions stir in the HEART, the body and all of it’s organs respond.

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The HEART manifests on the face; the heart commands the blood and vessels and the face has an abundance of both.

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The HEART opens to the tongue. It dominates speech and taste, our ability to convey ideas, be clear and speak with logic.

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The emotion of the HEART is Joy.

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Sweat is the fluid of the HEART.

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The Heart is a fire organ, belonging to the fire element, and it’s nature is heat. Heat warms the body and all the organs. Warm blood moves, can cold blood congeals.

Physiology in Chinese medicine is different from the physiology we know in the west.

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The Chinese Organ is not the same as a Western Organ, although sometimes they do share similarities. In Chinese Medicine we do not differentiate the mind from the body, and each of our organs has things like emotions, sounds, tastes and colors attributed to it. Pretty cool, right?!

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I would like to briefly introduce the HEART from a Chinese Medical Perspective in my next few posts.

50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat Documents show that in the '60s, the sugar industry funded Harvard researchers who, examining risk factors of heart disease, dismissed concerns about sugar and doubled down on the dangers of fat.

The 14 Mega Corporations That Own Your Supplement Brand In reality, about 14 mega-corporations own over 100 of the most popular supplement brands. One corporation will even own COMPETING brands. Many of these mega-corporations are private equity companies or pharmaceutical manufacturers. Boom. Mind blown.

Mapping Emotions in the Body: A Finnish Neuroscience Study Reveals Where We Feel Emotions in Our Bodies Thankfully, the medical establishment has largely given up demonizing or ignoring yogic and meditative mind-body practices, incorporating many of them into contemporary pain relief, mental health care, and preventative and rehabilitative treatments.

New Study Suggests Acupuncture Can Remap the Brain to Relieve Chronic Pain Acupuncture is an ancient medical practice, but new research shows it has the ability to remap our brains and reduce the symptoms of chronic pain.

“How’s your sleep?”

It is endlessly shocking to me how many of us struggle with sleep. Sleep is a fundamental part of our bodies ability to heal and regenerate. Without proper sleep you are constantly drawing on your bodies reserves and never really getting back to zero. Operating in the red zone!

It is always one of the first things I address, especially in patients that are experiencing pain as as a chief complaint.

Recent studies have shown that in people experiencing sleep deprivation pain hurts more: Our pain threshold falls about 15% after just one night of insufficient sleep.

Luckily, there are things you can do at home to improve your sleep hygiene! Below are some of the first recommendations I make, before moving on to more aggressive treatments.

- Make sure your room is DARK and COOL
- Limit the use of your bed to sleep and s*x
- Avoid Screens for at least an hour before bed
- Avoid Caffeine after 12pm.

Reset your internal clock - darkness signals your body to release melatonin, which kick starts the physiological process that promotes sleep. Exposure to earlier natural daytime light triggers the body to release melatonin earlier in the evening. Get up and seize the day, or at least let the early morning sun shine on your face.

Aim for 7-8 hours. A 2018 study tracked the sleep patterns of over 10,000 subjects while also testing their cognition and memory. They found that those that got regular sleep of 7-8 hours scored higher, regardless of age or gender and those that consistently slept for fewer or more hours were equally impaired. The long term ramifications were even scarier. Patients sleeping four hours or less for an extended time exhibited significant declines in cognitive tests, showing results that declined as much as if they had aged eight years.

Long story short, you can make up for small deficits in sleep, but if you have a long standing deficit it can really take a toll. It can help to focus on weekly sleep numbers, not nightly. Having a weekly sleep target allows for life to happen. If you need 7 hours a night, then you need 49 hours a week. If you have a bad tonight, that is okay, you can make it up by getting to sleep earlier the next night.

Truly blessed to do what we do.

Provoking thought of the day. Day one.

Hello 👋! We are The Quill Ladies, Katherine and Liz. We’d love to meet you! @ Quill Acupuncture

Provoking thought of the day.

Recovery! Yes, acupuncture can help! Sore muscle, tight spots and loss of range of motion? We got you!

Provoking thought of the day. Mantras.