Village Acupuncture - Center for Optimum Health© 300 Judah St. Roseville, CA 95678 916-786-0695 | village@villageacupuncture.com
Center for Optimum Health
Root Soup
This tasty, yet elegant, soup comes from our favorite Placer County Real Food cookbook by Joanne Neft More >>
An increasing number of people are living with stressful situations in their lives. Jobs lost, caring for family members, homes repossessed, businesses failing,
Caregiving
Caring for a loved one can bring a sense of fulfillment or accomplishment. More >>
perceive something as stress, our adrenals go into action pumping out hormones that allow us to handle that stress. These hormones increase our heart rate, move blood away from our digestive system and brain, store more fat, burn all available sugars, increase our blood pressure, retain fluid, and generally get us ready to run or fight.
When short term stress turns into chronic stress, the hormones flooding the system continue to be dumped in large loads until they are depleted. DHEA, cortisol, adrenaline and androgens are just a few of the hormones present in our bodies that need to be in a healthy balance. An excess or deficiency isn't healthy. Supplements can help symptoms, but unless overall balance is achieved one symptom is often just replaced with another.
From an Asian Medicine point of view energy, or Ki (pronounced "key" in Japanese and "Chi" in Chinese), travels through our bodies in pre-determined pathways called meridians. This energy is responsible for keeping our bodies alive and functioning. Yin Ki is more cold, dark, and contracting. Yang Ki is warmer, lighter, and expanding. Stagnation or blockages of Ki lead to discomfort, disease and imbalance. Each meridian is associated with an organ system such as Heart, Lung, Liver, or Kidney. (Note that capitals are used to indicate when the Asian Medicine function of the organ is being discussed, not when discussing the actual organ.)
devastating accidents and debilitating illness are just a few of the stressors people are dealing with. Stress is a part of everyday life, but prolonged physical and emotional stress can affect our health in serious ways.
As far back as 1878, French physiologist, Claude Bernard introduced the concept that, in order for life to continue there must be internal stability. In 1932, the American physiologist, Walter B. Cannon, dubbed this homeostasis and used the word ‘stress’ to describe external forces acting to upset homeostasis. But it took Vienna born physiologist, Hans Selye, to link these concepts to medical stress. He described and eventually explained the “alarm, resistance and exhaustion states” as they related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. He was able to finally explain many non-specific symptoms that patients commonly experienced with no known “cause or reason”. Because of him, we now understand much more clearly how stress affects our health.
Uncontrolled stress increases our risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as insomnia, digestive issues, tension headaches, reproductive problems, migraines, and back pain. In some people, stress can cause damage to the immune system causing certain autoimmune conditions, allergies, asthma, arthritis, and eczema.
From a Western perspective, we know that stress first affects our adrenal glands – small glands that sit on top of our kidneys. When we
T’ai Chi Ch’uan
Wednesdays from 6:30-7:30
Wing Chun Kung Fu
Wednesdays from 7:30-8:30
Call Leonard or Peli at
740-3343 to register
Intro to Acupuncture
Join Noriko Nagato L.Ac for this informative talk. Every 6 to 8 weeks she teaches patients about Oriental Medicine and how it works. This class is just as appropriate for patients that have been coming for years as it is for new and prospective patients. There is a demonstration at the end of class. Call 786-0695 to register or drop us an e-mail to let us know you’d like to attend.
Classes
