This is written by an acupunk commrade in Detroit, the inimitable Nora Madden of Detroit Community Acupuncture.
Last week, when my partner and I were driving home from work, we saw a small shape waddling across the road up ahead. “Is it a chicken, crossing the road?” I asked, with incredulous delight; but as we got closer and saw the shape take flight, we realized that it was in fact a pheasant! - the first one we’d seen this season. When we got to our house, we also noticed for the first time that crocuses were pushing up out of the soil in the front yard.
What does all this have to do with acupuncture? Chinese Medicine (like all traditional medicines, to my knowledge) is based in observation of the natural environment, the seasons and their “elements.” The element associated with Spring is Wood–that is to say, the energy of plant life. The emotion associated with the Wood element is anger and all of its permutations; but another way of thinking about the energy of Wood and Spring is as assertiveness. It is the energy required for the seed to sprout, and for the sprout to pierce the soil and reach towards the sun. It is the assertiveness required for the salmon to return upstream, the pluckiness that it takes for that pheasant (or chicken) to cross the road, or to push off and take flight.
Sometimes this healthy feeling of assertiveness is thwarted and turns into frustration, or “stuckness.” (The feeling of your knickers being in a knot is a definite sign of the Wood element being out of whack.) This “stuckness” can manifest emotionally (as anger, irritability, inability to make decisions, etc.) or physical (e.g. an upset stomach, tense shoulders or jaws, or even a stronger sensation of pain). Conversely, pain tends to be emotionally and physically frustrating, so even the most sunny and even-tempered among us can get cranky after awhile of being in pain. Blockage leads to more blockage, as when leaves and other flotsam pile up around the rocks in a stream.
Spring can also engender a feeling of frustration or impatience, the way that warm and sunny days get our hopes up, only to be interrupted by more cold and grayness. But I love Spring because it is *exactly* addressing these kinds of blockage and restoring a healthy, directed “flow” that acupuncture is particularly good for. Deep breathing and movement also help, especially a nice walk outside, getting a lungful of the sprout-and-mud-scented air.
Reading an Anthology of Chinese Poems of the Song Dynasty I Pause to Admire the Length and Clarity of their Titles
Here's an article by community acupuncturist, Alex Rossan, of Grassroots Acupuncture Project in Santa Cruz, Ca. about the uses of acupuncture during pregnancy.
Are you pregnant?
As you may or may not know, acupuncture can be a super effective treatment for many of the “aches and pains” associated with pregnancy, as well as very safely and successfully treat other pregnancy related conditions that pop up as your body plays host to the growing baby inside and experiences profound changes. Sometimes these physical and emotional changes are uncomfortable, and the tools that used to be in your toolbox of self-care (certain types of exercise, over the counter medicines, and even some prescription drugs) are now unavailable as options. This is where acupuncture and even carefully prescribed herbs can help women to experience a joyful and pleasant pregnancy. Chinese Medicine can serve as a viable, safe, and effective pre-natal healthcare adjunct to the care you are already receiving from your OB or Midwife.
So, there is the frequently asked question of “when do I come in and for what?” Here is a brief laundry list of all the things acupuncture can help pregnant women with: Nausea and vomiting, heartburn, constipation (or other digestive complaints) varicose veins, edema, urinary tract infections, musculoskeletal issues (sciatica, carpal tunnel), fatigue, anemia, insomnia, anxiety, depression, sinusitis, colds and flu, pregnancy induced hypertension, and breech presentation.
Some of these, depending of course on the severity of the symptom, can be easily remedied by acupuncture and sometimes herbal medicine. In case of pregnancy induced hypertension and breech presentation, acupuncture is most effective when treatment is started shortly after the diagnosis has been made. For example, breech babies are usually diagnosed between weeks 32 and 34, and are more likely to turn before week 34. In cases of pregnancy induced hypertension, acupuncture can be most successful when treatment is started early – the optimal time to treat is when blood pressure reading begins to be of concern.
Acupuncture can also be used as a routine pre-birth treatment starting at week 37 or 38. Chinese medicine historically holds that the time before a woman is to give birth is an optimal time to balance her hormones and strengthen her organ systems. Studies have shown that specific pre-birth treatments can actually increase the likelihood of a delivering by the due date, shorten time spent in labor, ensure a smoother labor (less stop and go) and reduce medical interventions such as epidurals and caesareans. The points chosen will actually help the cervix soften and dilate, ready the uterus for the labor, and relax and soften surrounding ligaments in the pelvis. Even if a woman does go past her due date, these pre-birth treatments will make her respond more readily to induction – either through acupuncture or medicine.
What about acupuncture for labor inductions? There are several medical reasons why labor needs to be induced, including post-term babies, premature membrane rupturing, and babies getting too large in the case of diabetic mothers. Acupuncture for labor induction can be very effective, and treatments are recommended daily to maintain momentum. During the treatment, many women report contractions and increased movement of their baby. How many treatments you will need is dependent on how quickly you respond to treatment, but usually a labor will commence after 1 to 3 treatments.
