Survival Guide to Being Holidazed

The holiday season, which can affect a person whether or not they celebrate anything, can be a mix of joy, stress, blues, and sniffles.  How might acupuncture and herbs fit into these challenges?

*FOOD COMA - Acupuncture is fantastic at regulating the digestive system and assisting food in moving through the body. Formulas like Bao He Wan were specifically created to address food stagnation from overeating.  There are also single herbs that can be made into teas like ginger (to harmonize the stomach) and shan zha (for digesting greasy meats).    

*STRESS - When we are stressed out, this triggers our sympathetic response and we go into "fight or flight" mode.  Excellent for the zombie apocalypse, but less helpful at the mall with muggles on Christmas Eve.  Inappropriate stress makes us sick.  Acupuncture helps move us from this sympathetic response to parasympathetic, the mode where we can relax and heal.  

*WINTER BLUES - When it's cold/dark/rainy (hello, Seattle) and the holidays are just not your thing, it is pretty easy to get the blues.  Acupuncture and herbs can be used to improve mood and the physical symptoms that can accompany that.  One example would is losing your appetite when you feel sad or feeling a decrease in energy.  This is a great complement to other healing arts like psychotherapy.  

*COLDS - There are ancient texts that describe how to treat collections of symptoms that align with what we could now consider the common cold.  The Shang Han Lun (translated as "On Cold Damage") was written circa 150-219 CE and is still widely revered and relevant today.  Of course what is even better than treating a cold is working on how to prevent them.  


If you can't make it in for a treatment, there are still several things you can do to promote wellness:

*You Feel Like Shit: An Interactive Self-Care Guide (Bookmark this.)

*ME TIME - Even if all the social functions this season are merry making, we still need to balance that with "me time", especially if you lean towards introversion.  Put it on your Google calendar.  Wander around Seward Park, curl up with a trashy magazine and put on the Netflix fireplace, whatever recharges you

*MOVE - Winter is a more energetically inward and cozy time, but we still need gentle movement to keeps things flowing.  When things feel stuck physically or emotionally, this can lead to bigger problems like anger, heart burn, constipation, frustration, body pains, etc.  Consider qi gong, walking, yin-style yoga, or tai ji.  

Do you have survival tips for this season?  Are there other topics you would like me to cover?  Please share in the comments!