Using the Five Elements to Optimize Your Health

Posted: May 9, 2013

My patients are receiving postcards from me this week. Not only is this a chance to connect and maintain my relationships, it is a reminder that seasonal transitions, like the one we are in now (spring to summer) offer an opportunity to take advantage of the power of Five Element acupuncture to not only treat symptoms, but to truly optimize our health in body, mind, and in spirit.
The origins of acupuncture are ancient and many scholars have speculated on the exact source for this special body of knowledge. It was handed down orally, probably for millenia, prior to being transcribed. It is understood that acupuncture began as a medicine for optimizing the spiritual well-being of royalty. Acupuncture acknowledges that an individual’s personal power and fulfillment of their potential is related to the harmonious access to, and alignment with the energies of nature. This is acknowledged in all native medical traditions around the globe. Maintaining and optimizing the health of the ruling class – who were considered in ancient China to be heavenly mandated to serve in that role – was an essential task of this medicine.
While we use acupuncture effectively for symptom relief today, this form of medicine is no less effective in optimizing and harnessing the flow of energy within us in order to fulfill what may seem like less essential needs  than relieving pain, allergies, and poor digestion. How essential is it to you to optimize your access to the best that you can be? Receiving Five Element acupuncture at each seasonal transition is one way you can access your optimum, whatever that is for you at this time in your life.