I realize that it has been over a month since my last article. I have been distracted by Penny, our 16 week Lab/Poodle ball of furry fury! She is a bundle of energy, tons of fun, and a lot of work! She will be available to see patients in the near future when she stops viewing everyone as a chew toy.Her specialty is: lowering stress lowering blood pressure and making people talk in a high pitched voice Actually, it has been very interesting watching Penny’s development over the last couple months. We first saw her when she was 2 days old and literally fit in the palm of my hand. Everything was so new to her and it is amazing to see how her mind processes the world around her. What I have learned is that there are some similarities between humans and animals; we respond best to regular routine. Penny does really well when she wakes, eats, walks, plays, and rests at the same time everyday. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine we should also be following a very regular schedule as well. The ancient Taoists were very strict about their routine, as they believed that it preserved their “life energy” or jing. They would rise with the sun and retire at sunset, eat light meals, and meditate twice a day at the same time. Until next time, stay regular and… ~Think...
When I see patients for the first time we go through an ‘Initial Intake’ and ‘Evaluation’ which includes family history, and about 45 minutes of interrogation and grilling in order to determine the best treatment plan. During this time I am largely dependent on a persons memory and recollection of their own health history. Fortunately Traditional Chinese Medicine has tools (such as tongue diagnosis, observation, pulse diagnosis etc.) that are objective that do not rely on memory. Pretty much everyone forgets dates, medications, symptoms, and details of their own health. This is why I highly recommend you keep all of your lab reports, symptoms, treatments, and anything health related for you and every family member (including the 4 legged furry ones!) in a simple binder. Most doctors will give you copies of your lab results, x-rays, scans, and so forth and even if it just seems like a lot of gibberish it will be really useful down the road. Along with keeping your records write down in point form symptoms that you are experiencing and the date. June 1, 2004 – Fell of high horse, hurt right ankle Feb 3, 2010- Food poisoning in at Aunt Marsha’s Church potluck Dec 11, 2006- Flu after office Christmas party, missed 3 days of work August 14, 2009- Hives on arms and face during outdoor Lawn bowling tournament So, grab any old binder and begin your Health File today! ~Think Vitality!~...
Thanks to Mr. R.A.B. “Qi Gong for Vitality, Health, and Longevity” is now going to be practiced in Mexico! This is very exciting to me to know that there are people all over Canada, the United States, England, Ireland, Europe, and now Mexico practicing Qi Gong. I get emails and people telling me weekly about how the simple 18 minute practice helps lower stress, increase energy, and calm the mind. I attended a seminar last year where the instructor was asked, “What’s the best exercise to do?” The answer was, “The one that you ACTUALLY do!” I thought that was brilliant and a good reminder that we don’t need to over think our exercise and stress reducing activites, we just need to do them regularly! We are working on a downloadable version of the Qi Gong routine that can be put on to your mp3 players, ipods, iphones, and smartphones so that it can be available to practice anytime you desire. And, we are working on an audio version that can be used in the same way. But until then, keep practicing with what you have available! ~Think...
I was trying my best to not sound like a foreign hockey player this morning during my interview for Village 900, a local radio station. I don’t think I said “ummm,” and “uugggh,” too often but we shall see! We discussed how acupuncture can be used for breaking addictions to smoking, alcohol, drugs, overeating, sugar, and so on. The show will be airing this Friday, but I will receive a copy of it that I will post here. As I was familiarizing myself with the most recent research into addictions I was reminded of how important stress management is if we are trying to break an undesirable behavior. When we get stressed will will be more likely to reach for the cigarettes, beer, or doughnuts. While acupuncture is fantastic for reducing stress, we need to incorporate other tools that we can use anytime we need them. A great tool is Qi Gong. This past weekend we had the Qi Gong for Vitality workshop which went really well. The feedback I had received since then is how relaxed, and energized at the same time people felt afterward, even for a few days! So wake up 10 minutes earlier, take a deep breath and do some Qi Gong! ~Think...
This weekend was the first full day qi gong workshop here in Victoria and judging by the feedback, it went well! Thank you to everyone who attended and for giving me such valuable feedback. I read the suggestions everyone had with great interest because I would like to offer as much value as I can and work out all the kinks. What a few people mentioned was they wanted a little bit more feedback on their form and how they were doing. I think this is a valuable part of learning from a real person rather than books or videos. On November 6th, 2010 we are planning the next seminar where I will devote time specifically to helping intermediate people improve their techniques as well as teaching the absolute beginners. So mark your calendars and start spreading the word if you know anyone that might benefit from qi gong! On the note of ‘spreading the word,’ I received a serious ‘beat down’ for not having a facebook fan page. So, here it is! You can “like” the page and find health tips, information, inspiration, upcoming events and happenings. For those of you who are new to fan pages, rest assured I cannot see your personal information or wild weekend pictures! In the meantime, start boosting your immune system because in 2 weeks time a lot of people are going to be getting sick because of kids going back to school! ~Think Vitality!~ photo...
