1: Weight Loss
Along with diet and lifestyle changes, acupuncture and Chinese herbs can help boost metabolism and help you towards your weight loss goals. Acupuncture can help decrease food cravings while Chinese herbs can help your body digest and metabolize your food more efficiently. Acupuncture can also increase energy levels, which can help give you that extra motivation to start moving and exercising more.
 
2: Improve your diet
Today, there is an over load of information of the “shoulds” and “should nots” of what to include in a “healthy diet”. Finding a diet that allows your body to flourish and thrive can be challenging and overwhelming. However, it is my belief that every body is different and there is not one diet that is perfect for every one. This is why at Nourishing Roots Acupuncture & Wellness we give dietary recommendations that are personalized for each individual’s needs. But not to worry, we keep it simple. Setting reasonable goals and taking small steps will help you make lasting lifestyle habits, rather than trying to make drastic changes that are short lived and end with disappointment.  
 
3: Addiction
Are you battling an addiction that you are ready to put an end to but you need some extra help? Addiction can have a strong grip that can be difficult to break free from, mentally and physically. Chinese medicine takes a whole body approach to treatment, treating the mind, body and spirit. Acupuncture can help to decrease cravings associated with addiction, while also treating the emotional ties to the addiction. Acupuncture is effective at calming the nervous system and can alleviate feelings of frustration, irritability and restlessness. At Nourishing Roots Acupuncture & Wellness we provide a safe space free of judgment where you can work towards putting an end to your addiction.
 
4: Reduce & manage stress
We all know that chronic stress is detrimental to our health. When we are stressed, our sympathetic nervous system kicks into overdrive and we enter the “fight or flight” response. When we are in this “fight or flight” response state our heart rate increases, muscles get tense, digestion slows, and respiration becomes shallow and rapid. When we are chronically stressed, it not only affects our emotions but our whole body; and it can have a detrimental effect on our immune system, hormonal functions and our body's ability to heal. Acupuncture can help to reduce stress by triggering the parasympathetic response, allowing the body to “rest and digest”. During this process our heart rate slows, blood pressure decreases, muscles relax, digestion increases, and we can finally take a deep breath and relax.  Acupuncture helps guide the body away from a state of survival to a state of recovery.
 
5:  Be Present
During your acupuncture treatment, you have the time to rest quietly and be present in your body. This can be a seldom occurrence in today’s fast pace society that we are so plugged into. When we have the time to slow down, we can begin to notice subtle changes within the body, allowing us to understand what our bodies need in order to heal. I also believe that when we become more present within ourselves, we can be more present with those around us.
 
 
As the Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu once said, “if you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading”.  So, are you heading in the direction that you want? If your answer is no, feel free to contact us and we can talk about how Chinese medicine can get you where you want to be.
 
Nourishing Roots Acupuncture & Wellness wishes you a happy and healthy New Year and we look forward to helping you achieve your health related goals!

You may be thinking: “Wait, what?” Images of your childhood / Gene Simmons  / Miley Cyrus may be coming to mind. Or, if you’ve ever had acupuncture done before you may be thinking of us, your acupuncturist. But you may be wondering, “Why do you want to look at my tongue?” Well, believe it or not your tongue can tell us a lot about your health! This may be why some of my patients nervously pause for a moment before revealing their tongue, knowing that it speaks a truth about their health that they fully do not understand. Well, this is why we want you to embrace your inner child and stick your tongue out for us: 
The tongue is the only visible muscle in the body and it connects the internal organs to the external environment. So, the tongue is able to show us the state of the internal body, which is why we use it as a diagnostic tool. The moisture, coating, color, size and shape of the tongue can give us clues to how well the body’s energy, blood, fluids, and organs are functioning. Not all tongues look the same. In fact, to a trained eye, they can look drastically different once you know what subtle signs to look for. For example: a red tongue would indicate more heat in the body, where as a pale tongue indicates a more deficient condition. If there is a thick greasy tongue coating, there is likely a lot of phlegm in the body. A purple tongue indicates blood stasis, which is characteristic of pain. The list goes on, but here is a simple little diagram that may give you a better idea of what we’re looking for! So, go inspect your tongue, and see what your body is telling you! 

Acupuncture is growing in popularity because well, it works! It is so effective at treating pain that many physical therapists are now using acupuncture needles to release trigger points (aka painful knotted muscles) and they’re calling it “dry needling”. You’ve probably heard of it. I met a physical therapist recently who told me, “oh yeah, I practice dry needling. But you know, it’s not acupuncture”. Well actually, it is acupuncture – with insufficient training. The viewpoint of many physical therapists is that acupuncturists use the ancient theory of Chinese medicine and utilize points along meridians to treat internal imbalances (true); while “dry needling” only uses acupuncture needles to treat the musculoskeletal system. So the argument is that since “dry needling” practitioners do not use the traditional meridians, then it is not acupuncture. Wrong. Acupuncturists often release trigger points and treat the local area of pain to improve the function of the musculoskeletal & nervous system. The truth is, physical therapists are practicing a form of acupuncture with a minimal amount of training and giving it a different name. Acupuncturists go to school for four years and have extensive training on needle technique and the proper needling depths and angles on different areas of the body. On the other hand, many physical therapists are learning how to practice acupuncture over a weekend seminar. This has resulted in an unsafe practice and has led to various injuries to patients including nerve damage, injury to organs, and pneumothorax (collapsed lung). The moral of the story: if you have pain and you’re interested in trigger point therapy, visit a licensed acupuncturist and avoid “dry needling” from physical therapists! This is a great article that explains more about “dry needling”. I highly suggest reading it to further educate yourself, especially if your PT has ever suggested “dry needling” to you.
 
http://acupuncturewisconsin.org/dry-needling-10-facts-you-should-know-2/
 
If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us, we would be happy to talk with you!