How to Get Healthy in 2015 with Chinese Medicine
By Emma Suttie D.Ac, AP
I don't know about you but 2014 really kicked me in the ass. It was a year of epic loss, and a lot of sadness. So, I have been thinking a lot about how to use my Chinese medicine skills to get my life together, to get happy and healthy for a better, no, a superfantastic 2015. Here is my list, and I hope it will help you to thrive in all aspects of your life to have an awesome 2015.
Let Go
Health is not all about the body, it is so much about how we feel and how we deal with those feelings. It is important for health to be able to be flexible, go with the flow and not hang on to things, especially things that have hurt us. This is not to say that we don't feel things, it is to feel them and let them go. Deal with them, work through them and then release them. Don't carry them around with you, they are taking up space and hanging on causes that energy to build up which can eventually lead to disease.
Get Out of Your Head
We are a culture that spends a lot of time in our heads. Many of us have jobs where we sit at computers, doing work that requires intense thinking for many hours on end. This lifestyle goes against the way our bodies were designed and how we have evolved, which was to run, jump and be active. So take lots of breaks. Go outside. Get up and walk around so you can get back into your body, and try to keep the time that you are in your head balanced with some time you spend in your body, you can be creative about that one. ;)
Get Into Your Life
A lot of us are so focussed on surviving; paying the rent, car payments and bills, paying off loans and debts and are working many hours a week just to make ends meet. In my practice I see people who are overworked, overwhelmed and exhausted. When I ask them what they do to relax they often have to really think about it, as if it is a foreign idea. We all have to survive, but to remain healthy its important to get out and live your life. Do things that make you happy. That feed your soul. Take the time to figure out what those things are, and go out and do them.
Forgive
Life is full of ups and downs, and the only thing that we can really control is ourselves and how we deal with the things that life throws at us. I see so often that people who are struggling with their health are also carrying deep emotional wounds from long ago that they have not been able to process. Forgiveness is powerful, it can heal wounds that have been with us for decades. So learn to forgive, its good for your health. :)
Be Mindful
We live in a culture that values multitasking. At work, we are praised for doing as many things as possible, as quickly as possible and this often bleeds into our lives away from work. In Chinese medicine, the spleen is responsible for processing all of the stimulus that comes in through our sense organs, so it is best for the spleen (and the rest of us) to only do one thing at a time, and do it as mindfully as possible. Being mindful helps us be present and focussed with whatever we are doing, and to do it well. Doing one thing at a time with mindfulness will also decrease the stress and anxiety in your life which will boost the immune system and allow the body to stay strong and healthy.
Don't Take Things Personally
This is a big one. If you can really put this into practice in your life, you will be a happier human. So often the way people behave towards us has nothing to do with us and everything to do with them. Your friend may have reacted harshly to something you said which left you wondering if they were mad at you, but really it was because they found out their position at work was being phased out and they were probably going to lose their job. Someone on the bus may have snapped at you for bumping into them making you feel bad and self conscious, but what you don't know is that an hour before they were diagnosed with cancer. If there is anything that my almost ten years of treating patients has taught me, is that you have no idea about the difficult things that people are dealing with on an everyday basis. It doesn't have anything to do with you, so don't take it personally, you will be healthier and happier for it.
It reminds me of a quote...
Go Outside
The planet has an unlimited supply of healing energy, all we have to do is go outside and soak it up. So go outside. Take off your shoes. Walk in the grass. Sit on a bench. Breathe deeply. Smell the flowers. Go for a walk. Ride your bike. Take in that healing energy any way you can. You will feel revitalized and it will relieve stress, and lets face it, we could all use a little more of that.
Be Kind to Yourself
Being kind to yourself seems to be surprisingly difficult for people. This is often "homework" I give to patients who are suffering both physically and emotionally. It is important to take some time every day to do at least one kind thing for yourself. It is a gift that you give to yourself. Be worth it to yourself. The impact of this small thing is huge on both your body and your psyche. It doesn't have to be something big. I am not talking about going out and buying yourself a private jet (although if you have the means, awesome!) but its little things, like make yourself a cup of tea. Read that book that you haven't had time to get to. Have a bath. Cook yourself your favourite meal. We are all so busy, but this thing, this small thing is perhaps the most important thing of all. To be healthy, we have to be worth doing the work. We have to love ourselves enough to do what it takes. And that is give ourselves the love we deserve. <3
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