Acupuncture Helps People With Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

The days are getting shorter and we are losing the light earlier each evening. Many people are so effected by the loss of the sun that their daily lives suffer. This is called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD.

According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of SAD may include:

• Feeling depressed most of the day, nearly every day
• Losing interest in activities 
• Low energy
• Problems with sleeping, such as oversleeping or insomnia
• Changes in appetite or weight
• Feeling sluggish or agitated
• Difficulty concentrating
• Feeling hopeless, worthless or guilty

Acupuncture offers relief of these symptoms, by helping to balance out the qi (pronounced "chee") of the body.

"Many people think of acupuncture in terms of pain relief, and it is amazing for that," says Birch Center acupuncturist David Sokulski. "But another thing acupuncture excels in treating is mood disorders, like anxiety, depression, and SAD."

According to Scientific American, in the article Can Acupuncture Treat Depression (July1, 2014), research has proven that six weeks of acupuncture treatments were just as effective as six weeks on Prosac in reducing symptoms of depression. In fact, according to the article, acupuncture worked faster in reducing symptoms than the drug did. A higher percentage of acupuncture patients said they received "great improvement."

"Depression is nothing to mess with," says Mr. Sokulski, "and these Pittsburgh winters can be hard. We have seen a lot of great results in treating people with depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder. People enjoy winter - and their lives - again."

Further reading:

• Penn State article on Seasonal Affective Disorder
• Mayo Clinic info on SAD
• Scientific American: Can Acupuncture Treat Depression

David Sokulski, L.Ac.

Free Ear Acupuncture Treatments in Response to Tragedy at Tree of Life

Our hearts are heavy after the horrible shooting in Squirrel Hill over the weekend. We lost eleven friends and neighbors. May their memories be a blessing.

My daughter was in Hebrew School at Dor Hadash - one of the three congregations which met at Tree of Life. They are a loving, welcoming, joyous, and wonderful congregation, as were the others who met at Tree of Life. We were there not long ago to celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of my daughter's friend.

The outpouring of love and togetherness from Pittsburgh is what this city is all about. From the memorial Saturday night organized by students of the local public high school, to the service on Sunday where leaders of all faiths came together, to the beautiful flowers, fundraisers, and offers from all around the city.

In the spirit of healing, the Birch Center is offering free ear acupuncture treatments Tuesday October 30, Wednesday October 31, and Thursday November 1, by appointment: (412) 381-0116.  Everyone is welcome.

Ear treatments relieve shock, stress, and anxiety, balance the nervous and hormonal systems, and help deal with grief, fear, and anger. Please spread the word and give us a call. We are located on Pittsburgh's south side.

Also, if you are on facebook, follow our facebook page, where I will post updates of all the offers I can find, from free community acupuncture to reiki, to nature walks. I will share anything I hear that may be of help.

Please call us if you'd like to come in for a free ear acupuncture treatment. They are amazing and as our friend Amanda shared this morning on facebook, "Ear treatments have been incredibly helpful for me during bouts of stress and anxiety."


Shalom. Peace. Shanti.

Love to all,

Melissa and David Sokulski, L.Acs.

Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Your Health in Autumn

The ancient Chinese text, The Inner Classic, says:

The forces of Autumn create dryness in Heaven and metal on Earth, they create the lung organ and the skin upon the body...and the nose, and the white color, and the pungent flavor...the emotion grief, and the ability to make a weeping sound.

The energy of fall is downward and inward. We can see this as we watch leaves fall from the trees and seeds dropping from plants. Grasses and leaves lose their bright green color. Sap from trees go back to the roots to be stored for the winter. The plants dry out.

As the season cools, we put more heat and energy into our foods, cooking soups and stews, roasting root vegetables. We smell delicious odors of cooking food (the nose relates to the Lungs, which relates to the Metal element and the autumn.)

Dryness prevails in the fall season, and this can have an effect on our health. We may notice thirst, dryness in skin, lips, throat, and itchy skin conditions. We can also develop cough and allergies more easily this time of year. Because the lungs open on the nose, we also may experience conditions in our sinuses and air passageways this time of year.

Meditation and breath practices (which are called pranayama in the yogic tradition) are beneficial this time of year. Taking time to slow down and focus on our breathing can be helpful. Eating foods like beans and grains, which absorb a lot of water in cooking, is also helpful.

Acupuncture is excellent to help balance dryness and boost the energy of the lungs (and large intestine, its related organ). Lung and large intestine points are paired with other points to balance energy in the body helping to clear cough, allergies, skin conditions, increase energy, and help sleep this time of year.

Autumn is also the season of grief and sadness, which also relates to the lungs. When we realize that this is the time of year of contraction and inward focus, we get clues on how to deal with the grief that arises. We are encouraged to look within, focus internally, and share our feelings with others when helpful. Acupuncture works to balance the mind and spirit as well as body.

Autumn is a wonderful time of year to start or return to acupuncture treatments.

David and Melissa Sokulski, L.Acs.
Birch Center for Acupuncture
South Side, Pittsburgh, PA, 15203



References: Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford.

Fall Feng Shui Challenge: Clear Clutter

Let's celebrate fall with Feng Shui! Feng Shui is a Chinese practice of creating harmonious surroundings to bring good energy flow to your home, and health, love, and prosperity to your life. This is an over-simplified definition; there is quite a lot to Feng Shui. People study for years under masters and still only scratch the surface. However one thing is certain: even if your door faces the right direction, your walls are the correct color, you have mirrors and fountains just where they are meant to be, if you have clutter clogging up your home, energy cannot move through and none of it matters (well, it matters less anyway.)

This year, autumn officially starts September 22, but I wanted a nice round number (10) so I'm going to start a day early -  September 21.

So for the next 10 days: September 21 through 30, I'm going to challenge myself to CLEAR THE CLUTTER FROM MY HOME, one space at a time. I hope you will join me! I'll post an update a day, and if you feel moved, please comment and let me know what you have been doing too.

Can't get motivated? Feeling stuck? Acupuncture is a great way to balance your energy and get it flowing!

Hope to see you soon, and happy decluttering!

~ Melissa and David Sokulski, L.Acs.

End Of Summer Health Tips

It's the end of the summer! In Chinese Medicine, this important season is known as "late summer" and it corresponds to the Earth element. In our bodies, the earth element manifests as digestion, and our stomach, spleen and pancreas.

Yellow-orange is the color of the Earth element, as as we look around at the ripening pumpkins and winter squash, corn and grains we get some idea why. Eating yellow/orange food like squash, sweet potatoes and millet is a great way to support the digestion. When digestion is weak all other organ systems are effected, so now is a wonderful time to focus on digestive health.

 If experiencing problems in this area, such as

• weight gain or loss
• bloating or gas
• difficulty digestion
• no appetite or too much appetite
• constipation or loose stools
• stomach ache
• heart burn
• slow digestion

This is a great time of year to get back on track. Acupuncture can help immensely.

Anything you can do to support your digestion will help during this time of year, including:

• Do not overeat at one sitting.
• Limit snacks. Give yourself time to digest your food before eating again.
• Whole foods such as whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits are easy on our body and are perfect foods to support digestive health.
• Avoid foods to which you react negatively. For some of us that may be wheat, dairy, sugar, oil.

Acupuncture can do wonders for all kinds of digestive problems; this is one of the things we've had great success with. Points on the stomach and spleen meridians (on the legs, feet and abdomen) help regulate, relax and nourish the digestion. Moxa can be applied to warm and strengthen the meridians if necessary, and the relaxing effect of a balancing acupuncture treatment is without compare.

Now is an excellent time for an acupuncture tune up or to begin treatments. 


In health,
David and Melissa Sokulski
licensed acupuncturists

Happy New Year: Year of the Dog!

The Chinese New Year starts today, February 16, 2018.

Gung Hay Fat Choy: Happy New Year!

It's the year of the Dog!

2018, 2006, 1994, 1982, 1970, 1958, 1946, 1934, 1922

Dog people are honest, loyal, and friendly. Dogs are also sensitive and can take on the issues of people around them, especially people they love most. Make sure this year is full of good self care.

Dog's energy is social and bountiful, making it a great year of opportunities, especially in business. Everyone will notice this energy and be able to take advantage of it, not just people born in dog years.

Celebrities who are born in these years include Benjamin Franklin, Prince William, Madonna, Queen Latifah, and Ellen Degeneres. You can find a more complete list here.

Welcome Year of the Dog!

Lentil Sweet Potato Chili To Warm These Cold Winter Days

It's snowing again! And soooo cold out. I want to share with you one of my favorite recipes ever, though in the winter it somehow soars even higher than usual. Lentil Sweet Potato Chili. I make this recipe at least once a week. 

The original recipe is from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's 21 Day Kickstart, which I can't recommend enough. Fantastic whole food plant based meal plans and recipes which come to you for 21 days, starting the first of the month.

Yum, look at that sweet potato! Full of beta carotene and vitamin C, plus lots of other minerals and vitamins. In Chinese medicine, its sweet taste and rich orange color let you know it's beneficial to the Spleen/Pancreas and Stomach - Earth element - and excellent for digestion and to boost energy (qi).

Here is how I make this delicious vegan chili:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 3-5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
• 2-3 handfuls of baby spinach (it shrinks!) or lots of chopped kale or other chopped greens to add at end
• 1/2 -1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp paprika
• red pepper flakes, optional
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6-8 cups water (or you can use broth or veggie broth cubes or whatever, I just use water)
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes or 14 oz tomato sauce or small jar tomato paste, whatever you have around

Directions:

* Because I don't use oil in cooking and because I like to make things as easy as possible, I just put everything into a pot without sauteing things first, so...

1. Into 6 cups of water (or broth) as it comes to boiling, add:

• both kinds of rinsed lentils
• onion
• celery
• garlic
• sweet potatoes
• spices

2. Let that come to a boil, then cover and simmer until the lentils are cooked through, about 25 minutes, adding water and stirring as necessary so it doesn't burn.

3. Then add the tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes, let it come back up to boil again.

4. Finally add the greens at the very end, and cook until wilted. 

5. Taste to adjust seasonings and enjoy!

I love to eat this chili with hot sauce.

If you don't have (or don't like) sweet potatoes, it is delicious with regular potatoes as well. 

Enjoy!

~ Melissa

Cinnamon, Ginger, Onions, and Garlic Strongly Protect Us From Colds and Flu

Cinnamon sticks
maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com

As the winter progresses, the cold weather can affect our Lungs in the form of coughs, sinus issues, colds and flu. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the metal element corresponds to the Lungs. The taste that strengthens the Lungs is pungent: the spicy flavor of foods and spices like cinnamon, ginger, garlic, and onions.

In traditional Chinese medical theory, when one gets sick with colds or flu it is thought that an external pathogen has invaded the system. Western medicine similarly holds that colds and flu are caused by bacteria or viruses. Each of the five tastes (sweet, salty, bitter, sour and pungent) has a specific action. The pungent taste has the action of pushing outward and dispersing unwanted "invaders" through the skin, as evidenced by sweating.

When coming down with a cold or flu the herb to take is actually a food: scallions. Known as the Chinese herb cong bai, scallions release the pathogen by inducing sweating. Simmer scallion or other onion along with garlic and ginger and drink the broth to keep a cold or flu from going deeper.

scallions

If a cold or flu has gone deeper and has affected the muscles, the herb of choice is cinnamon, known in Chinese as gui zhi. Cinnamon is warming and can help when the person is feeling weak especially if sweating does not help them feel better. In this case, cinnamon will warm, strengthen and increase immunity.

cinnamon

Fresh ginger (sheng jiang) is also warm and releases the pathogen. Ginger is especially good if the person feels cold and is coughing. Similar to cinnamon, ginger strengthens the immunity for weaker people who are sweating without relief of symptoms.

ginger

A nice tea when feeling chilled and recovering from a cold or flu, is made by simmering a couple of cinnamon sticks and sliced fresh ginger in water for at least 20 minutes, strain and drink as needed.

If there are heat symptoms such as a sore throat or fever, switching to a cooler herb which still releases the pathogen is appropriate. One such herb is mint, or bo he. Flowers such as chrysanthemum (ye ju hua), honeysuckle (jin yin hua), and dandelion (pu gong ying) mix well with mint to cool the body and release the pathogen.

One important note: herbs such as ginseng, astragalus and bee pollen also strengthen the immune system, but these herbs have a sweet taste and will actually strengthen pathogens. They are wonderful to take as prevention, but if you end up coming down with a cold or flu, stop taking them and switch to one of the above remedies. Once the illness has passed completely, it is safe to take the sweet strengthening herbs again.

And of course acupuncture is always helpful to boost your immune system to prevent and/or recover from cold or flu.

Food is the best medicine! Eat well, drink lots of water, and incorporate these wonderful spicy tasting foods, herbs, and spices into your life!

Be well!

Melissa and David Sokulski, licensed acupuncturists

a version of this article first appeared in Natural News.

Winter And Traditional Chinese Medicine

Winter has no doubt arrived in Pittsburgh! With the temperatures below freezing for a week and counting, I think it's time to discuss winter, traditional Chinese medicine, and ways to keep warm!

Winter is the time of year which corresponds the water element. In our bodies, that relates to our Kidneys and Bladder. In five element theory, the color correspondence is black or blue, and the emotion is fear.

Symptoms which may be associated with the Water element include

• bladder and/or kidney infections
• low back pain
• knee pain
• cavities in teeth
• weak or broken bones
• infertility
• premature gray hair or hair loss
• ringing in the ears
• increase of phobias or fears

To strengthen the Water energy and keep the body in balance, it's important to keep yourself warm. Wear scarves around your neck and extra layers or scarves around your mid-section (in Japan, this is called a haramaki, or belly warmer: a tube of material which can be fashionable, which goes around your midsection to keep your abdomen and kidneys warm.)

If you are on a high raw or 100% raw food diet, you can add spices such as ginger to your juices and cinnamon to your foods. You can gently warm soups, and make sure to eat plenty of well blended food, as these meals are easier to digest. Fresh cranberries also make a nice addition to juices or purees this time of year, and help protect the bladder and kidneys from infection as well (especially if you are prone to this type of infection.)

Here is one of my favorite winter juice recipes:

Juice the following:

• 5 carrots
• 3 apples
• 1 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 inch knob fresh ginger

I usually add water to the juice, especially because this one is so sweet.

Warm miso soup is also a wonderful meal: heat the water and let it cool back down to ninety or one hundred degrees (warm to the touch.) Add scallions, sliced mushrooms, wakame (a sea vegetable), grated ginger and carrots, and miso, which is best first made into a paste with warm water and then added to the soup. Enjoy this soup warm.

In macrobiotic cooking, aduki beans and black beans are beneficial for the kidneys. Millet and winter squash are also good choices for balancing energy this time of year.

Herbs which benefit the kidneys are nettles, he shou wu (also known as Foti root), and the formula Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, or Rehmannia Six.

Now is a wonderful time of year to get acupuncture, especially if you notice any of the above symptoms. Points such as K3 and K6 on the ankle are helpful to boost the Kidney energy, as well as bladder points along the spine on the back. Moxibustion is wonderful this time of year to help add heat to the body via the acu-points, abdomen and meridians.


Stay cozy and warm!