Category: Herbal Medicine

Why am I so tired?

One of the most common symptoms that patients complain of in our office is a constant feeling of fatigue. Sometimes this is directly related to a certain illness, condition, or medication – and other times it is just an unexplained tiredness that nothing seems to alleviate. Some people who feel a constant fatigue have trouble sleeping, and the tiredness is related to lack of adequate sleep. For others, however, a full night’s rest doesn’t give them the additional energy they crave.

What is the Shen?

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and to honor that, this post is about how Traditional Chinese Medicine understands our mental and emotional selves. Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine can be very useful therapies to treat common mental health conditions, especially in conjunction with psychotherapy and pharmaceutical medication (when appropriate.) Common mental health conditions we see in our clinic include anxiety, depression, post-partum depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorders.

Ways to boost energy naturally

It is certainly a crazy busy time of year for many – and the frantic pace definitely has some feeling more fatigued than usual. Not to mention seasonal allergies, busy work schedules, lack of sleep, and chronic illness that keep many feeling a lack of energy on most days.  From an acupuncture perspective, fatigue can be caused by numerous different types of imbalances in the body – you can learn more about that here. And while there can be medically significant types of fatigue (always tell your practitioner if you are feeling more fatigue than normal and don’t know why), often time fatigue can be managed with lifestyle changes. Here are a few suggestions to try to boost your energy and get you back on your feet.

Moxibustion and breech presentation babies

A breech presentation refers to the situation when the baby is lying in a position other than head-down inside the womb. This can mean the baby’s bottom is down (and would be first to enter the birth canal), or the baby can be lying transversely (on his/her side). A breeched presentation can make vaginal delivery much more difficult or dangerous, so obviously it is in the best interest of the mom and baby to have the baby turn head-down before labor.

Essential Oil Profile: Lavender

The lavender plants used in aromatherapy derive from Mediterranean countries with the ideal growing conditions for this bushy but airy plant that grows 2 to 3 ft. in height. Lavender prefers sunny, somewhat rocky terrain with a sandy loom in an area over 2,000 ft. in elevation. The leaves are lanceolate shaped with smooth edges and grow up to a few inches long. The leaves can vary in color from various shades of green to a silvery-gray color, and the purple flowers bloom from June through July.

Gan Mao Ling: The Magic Cold-Buster

I woke up yesterday with a scratchy and slightly sore throat. While my previous self would have panicked and thought “I can’t get sick! I have so much to do this week!” I didn’t. I just got up, drank some water, and took one of my favorite Chinese Herbal Medicine pill formulas, Gan Mao Ling. I am still taking these pills today, and will for a couple days, but I can already tell that whatever sickness was threatening to take hold has passed and my body’s own defenses have won again.