Winter and Traditional Chinese Medicine

Winter is the time of year which corresponds to our Kidneys and Bladder. It is the Water element, the color 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 quite 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 (these would be cooked beans; the macrobiotic tradition cooks the food.) 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.

As always, we are happy to answer your questions. Please comment below, email us at BirchCenter@gmail.com or give us a call (412) 381-0116.

Thanks so much!

Love,
Melissa and David Sokulski
Licensed Acupuncturists
The Birch Center for Health
(412) 381-0116

Please sign up for our monthly newsletter! We have raw recipes, information about Acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and overall wellness information. Sign up today and receive your free gift: 10 Ways to Improve Your Health Right Now. We'd love to stay in touch. Thank you!

Acupuncture Effectively Treats Insomnia

Acupuncture treats the person, not the disease, therefore there is really no limit to what acupuncture can treat. Acupuncture helps balance the body's energy, strengthening weak areas and moving energy where it's stuck.

That being said, there is a large and growing list of conditions which acupuncture has been proven to help, as published by the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health.

In this series of articles, we'll be addressing these conditions and more, explaining how acupuncture and Chinese medicine, including massage, herbs and lifestyle adjustments, can bring balance and relief safely and effectively.

If you'd like us to address a specific condition, you are welcome to comment below or email BirchCenter@gmail.com.. You are also welcome to take advantage of our 20 minute free health consultation, with no obligation, with Birch Center Acupuncturist David Sokulski. Call today to schedule that appointment: (412) 381-0116.

Acupuncture and Insomnia

Insomnia is a common condition we see at The Birch Center. Sometimes people come in with insomnia as the main complaint, other times it is revealed that they have insomnia (or difficulty falling or staying asleep) during the in-depth questioning we do as part of the intake.

The burning of the herb mugwort on the heel of a person who has difficulty falling asleep.

Insomnia can have many causes; figuring out the cause is an important part of diagnosis and treatment. For instance, pain can cause insomnia because the person is not able to get into a comfortable position for sleeping and the pain wakes them up. In that case we treat the pain (pain management with acupuncture often has excellent results.)

Eating late at night is also a common cause of insomnia. When people stop eating after 7 pm, sleep often comes much more easily and is more peaceful.

Other causes we see are yin deficiency, and imbalance of yin and yang, spleen deficiency and stagnant liver qi.

At the Birch Center for Health, we take a detailed history which includes questioning, pulse and tongue diagnosis, which gives us a more complete picture of that person as a whole. So even if it is determined that two different clients have insomnia as a result of over-thinking/spleen deficiency, their treatments may still be different, depending on each person's constitution (strength and type of overall body and health), and other factors.

This is what makes acupuncture so individualized and effective: there is no one prescription for a condition. Each time you come in, you are re-evaluated, and each treatment is selected specifically for you. This is also why it is so common to see all sorts of symptoms clear up - not just the one someone has come in to treat. We are never just working on a symptom alone; in every treatment, the whole person is being addressed and treated.

We hope you enjoy this series! If there are other conditions you'd like to see addressed, please to comment or email us BirchCenter@gmail.com.
If you'd like to come in, please call (412) 381-0116 to schedule an appointment. If you just want to ask us questions about your condition, you can call or schedule a 20 minute free consultation, which is a more in depth personalized way to really address your issues.

Thanks so much!

Melissa and David Sokulski
Licensed Acupuncturists
The Birch Center for Health

Please sign up for our monthly newsletter! We have raw recipes, information about Acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and overall wellness information. Thank you!

Wild Edible Video! and Upcoming Walks and Workshops

Here's our first video of the year! I describe how to identify and harvest early spring mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) and show making a vinegar.

I also mention our new site: www.FoodUnderFoot.com, please check us out!

Below the video you'll find our schedule of spring walks and workshops...we hope to see you soon!



Spring Walks, Talks and Workshops

Saturday, April 18, 2009
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Wild Edible Walk
Frick Park Nature Reserve, Squirrel Hill
Part of Frick Park Earth Day Celebration: 11 am - 4 pm
free

Sunday, April 26, 2009
11 am - 12 noon
Wild Edible Walk
South Side River Trail, Pittsburgh, Pa (follow 18th street toward river, park under bridge, meet by yellow gate at start of upper trail)
$5, please call (412) 381-0116 to register

Sunday, May 17, 2009
11 am - 12 noon
Wild Edible Walk
South Side River Trail, Pittsburgh, PA (follow 18th street toward river, park under bridge, meet by yellow gate at start of upper trail)
$5, please call (412) 381-0116 to register

Thursday, May 28, 2009
7 pm - 8 pm
Talk: Wild Edibles in the 'Burgh
East End Food Coop, Meade Street, Pittsburgh
free, call (412) 242-3598 to register

Saturday, May 30, 2009
10 am - 1 pm
Workshop: Wild Edibles!
Birch Center for Health, 1931 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, Pa
$35, call (412) 381-0116 to register
In this workshop we'll discuss wild edibles, take a wild edible walk around the south side, and return to the Birch Center for wild edible recipe demos and sampling, including the vinegars made and discussed in the video!

Hope to see you soon!

Love,
Melissa and Dave

Treatment Tuesday: Acupuncturist David Sokulski

Many of you already know him, but I thought I'd take the time to introduce you to David Sokulski, acupuncturist at the Birch Center for Health.

David grew up in Plum Boro, PA (near Monroeville), and earned a degree in Chemistry from Duquesne University. He worked as a chemist for a few years before taking a year off to teach English in Osan City, South Korea.

When he returned from Korea, he attended the New England School of Acupuncture, outside of Boston, MA, where David earned his masters degree in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine.

David returned to Pittsburgh in 2000 and opened The Birch Center for Health with wife (and acupuncturist) Melissa Sokulski. We have been in our current South Side location since 2005.

David sees the majority of patients at The Birch Center, working mainly Monday through Thursday, from 9 am until 9 pm.

Acupuncture is a treatment of the whole person, and David understands this well. He is a very observant practitioner, listening well to his clients, and treating the whole person. He has treated people with a vast array of conditions, from acute and chronic pain to digestive problems to infertility. (Please see our list of conditions that acupuncture has been proven successful for, from the World Health Organization.) He has treated professional actors, musicians and athletes as well as young children with autistic spectrum disorders.

In addition to Traditional Chinese style needling, David often uses adjunct therapies such as cupping, gua sha and moxibution when situations call for it (no extra charge for these treatments.) He will often also teach a parent, partner or friend to do these therapies (such as gua sha or moxa), helping people learn to help themselves and each other.

David also has extensive experience with herbal medicine and nutritional supplements, and when patients request, David is skilled at being able to tweak people's diets in even small ways that show dramatic results in people's health and well-being.

If you do have any questions for David or would like to schedule an appointment, he can be reached by phone at (412) 381-0116 or by email: BirchCenter@gmail.com.

Thanks so much!

Love to all,

Melissa Sokulski

Please sign up for our monthly newsletter! We have raw recipes, information about Acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and overall wellness information. Thank you!

www.BirchCenter.com

Wellness Wednesday: Specials at the Birch Center

At the Birch Center for Health, we've put together some special treatments at discounted prices to help you get through the winter healthfully and comfortably!

In February and March, acupuncturist and massage therapist Melissa Sokulski is offering Spa Thursdays!

On Thursdays from 2 pm until 5:45 pm, you'll receive:

• hot tea
  
• aromatherapy foot bath
  
• your choice of either Balancing acupuncture treatment* or foot reflexology
  

all for just $55!

You can also opt to combine both the balancing acupuncture treatment and the reflexology (at the same treatment) for just $95 (regularly $115.)

You can come in once or as many times as you like, through March 31, but call to reserve your appointment: (412) 381-0116.

*Balancing Acupuncture Treatment - is a wonderful treatment put together by acupuncturist Melissa Sokulski. It utilizes Japanese 5-phase treatment, in which the pulse is taken and points chosen based on which five phase pattern is found. Points on the midline are added to balance the chakras. The treatment is deeply healing, relaxing, and grounding.

Moxibustion Treatments

Acupuncturist David Sokulski is offering the warming, healing moxibustion treatments though March 31.

Moxibustion is a treatment in itself, without needles, to allow a person to fully experience the balancing and healthful effects of Chinese medicine, even if wary of needles.

Moxibustion, or the warming of a healing herb Artemisia vulgaris, on or above specific points and areas of the body, can be used to treat:

• arthritis
  
• pain
  
• injuries
  
• digestive disturbances
  
• infertility
  
• breech baby
  
• menstrual pain
  
• fatigue
  
• insomnia
  
• colds and flu
  
• asthma and allergies
  
• many other symptoms!
  

These special treatments are being offered for just $40, please call to reserve your space today: (412) 381-0116.

Thanks and be well!
~ Melissa and David Sokulski

Please sign up for our monthly newsletter! We have raw recipes, information about Acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and overall wellness information. Thank you!

www.BirchCenter.com

Moxibustion - Warming for the Winter

Moxibustion is the application of heat to a specific area of the body to treat disharmony. The herb Artemesia vulgaris (Mugwort) is burned over specific points and areas to warm the body and balance the energy, just as acupuncture uses needles. It can be done in conjunction with acupuncture, or as a treatment in itself. In fact, the Chinese character for "acupuncture" is actually made up of two characters: one for needle, the other for moxibustion: zhēnjiǔ (針灸).

In China, there is evidence of heat being used in conjunction with needling techniques over 10,000 years ago. The Nei Jing, written 100-200 BC, describes the use and origin of moxibustion:

...moxibustion originated from the north, as the northern places are shut off from heaven and earth, and where high and mountainous areas are attacked by piercing cold wind and are surrounded by much ice....moxibustion is the method of treatment.

Moxa can be used to treat many conditions, including asthma, arthritis, vomiting, diarrhea, rheumatic pain and abdominal pain. We have also found it very useful for the treament of PMS and menstrual cramps, infertility, cold limbs, back pain, and pain anywhere in the body. It can also be used to turn a breech baby, stop bleeding, and treat insomnia. Anyone wanting to experience the balancing (and warming) effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine but are wary of needles would do very well with a moxibustion treatment. it is a wonderful choice of treatment during these cold days!

Moxibustion is often used with acupuncture, especially during these cold days. It is included with no extra cost to regular acupuncture treatments ($65).

Through March 31, 2009, we are also offering moxibustion treatments on their own, for just $40 a treatment. The treatments are about half hour, and include the same intake as acupuncture treatments, in which the pulse is taken and symptoms are assessed according to Chinese medicine.

Please give us a call if you would like more information, or to schedule an appointment: (412) 381-0116. We can also be reached by email: BirchCenter@gmail.com. Or visit our website: www.BirchCenter.com.

Stay Warm!!
~ Melissa and David Sokulski, licensed acupuncturists
Sign up for our monthly newsletter!