Peaceful Waves Healing Center

In his best selling business book Good to Great, Jim Collins says, “Good is the enemy of great.” The point is that if something or someone is judged as good, there is little incentive to improve. On the other hand, an obviously horrible situation is more likely to incite action.

When it comes to health the tendency is to settle for “pretty good”. As long as you are not in constant pain and can get through the day with minimal drug usage you are right in line with the masses. Since you are no worse off than most of the people around you, you see no need to take action. We tend to get into the habit of comparing our health with those around us or with our acceptable definition of what it means to be healthy.

There are 2 major problems with this way of thinking.

First, most of the people around you, on average, have a horrible state of health. With heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, etc. running rampant it’s a good bet that the people you surround yourself with are a fair representation of these ailments. Even if you are slightly better off than some people you know, is that really all that you are willing to settle for?

Unless you make it a habit of hanging out with elite athletes and the extremely health-conscious, then your circle of friends is probably not the best barometer to judge yourself against.

Secondly, we have a tendency to broaden our definition of health to fit our current state. Can’t walk the stairs anymore without getting winded? It’s not that you are in poor health, you’re just getting older. “Sure I’m getting headaches every day, but that’s normal considering the stress I’m under.” Unfortunately rationalizing your problems doesn’t correct them.

It’s time to stop settling for good enough! You deserve no less than to live life at your absolute maximum potential at all times.

Dorland’s Medical Dictionary defines health as “a state of optimum physical, mental, and social well-being, and not just the absence of disease or infirmary.” In other words, feeling good is not good enough. Being healthy is living at peak performance and experiencing life at its fullest.

Thomas Edison said, “if we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” Most of us have no idea how big the gap is between our current state of health and our actual potential.

We can no longer afford to settle for “good”. It’s time to start astounding ourselves!

Wind generators, solar power, geothermal heat, natural cleaning products, organic clothing. There are seemingly endless means by which to shrink your carbon footprint and lessen your impact on the environment.

But while our precious planet manages to garner heavy doses of TLC, there continues to exist a large dumping ground for dangerous toxins, chemicals, and man-made impurities.

That collective cesspool is the human body, and it is under assault like never before. We are under the influence of more and more artificial products, and their cumulative effect over the past few decades is beginning to show its ugly face.

Despite significant advances in the healthcare delivery system, obesity rates are skyrocketing, autoimmune diseases are on the rise, and there are more medicinal and surgical procedures being administered than ever before. Antibiotics continue to be abused, and prescription medications of all sorts are showing up in water supplies across the nation.

While emergency medical care is absolutely essential, continually dispensing medicine for conditions better treated naturally or more conservatively is misguided, and in many cases downright dangerous.

One of the greatest things about acupuncture is that it facilitates healing while preserving the sanctity of the human body and mind. It’s the ultimate green healthcare!

If a body is already ailing, what sense does it make to subject it to an onslaught of dangerous chemicals? It is far more productive to nurture the body by bringing it back into balance naturally and allowing it to rid itself of disease.

But aside from the health advantages of limiting your consumption of drugs, it is simply more efficient to tap into the renewable resources within the body than it is to try to power it from the outside. The body is healed and powered by the meridian system, proper diet and exercise, not by medicine.

As we continue to uncover the long-term effects of medicine and other chemical products, the responsibility falls on us as consumers to be sure that we are making the best decisions for us and for our planet, and it is imperative that our choices regarding healthcare be included in the mix.

Will we continue to make choices that poison our body and the world around us, or will we trust in cleaner, healthier alternatives that support the body’s natural balance?

The choice is yours…

Did you ever wonder what makes a newborn baby cry when it is hungry?  A tiny infant a few days out of the womb can communicate their needs to their mother without the ability to utter a single syllable of their native language.  They didn’t learn this skill by reading a book, watching a video, or by any other form of educated intelligence.  Rather, this instinct was inborn, instilled within by their creator, and is a product of what acupuncturists call body wisdom.  Body Wisdom is what created you from 2 tiny cells, and it continues to run your body to this day.

Body Wisdom causes you to shiver when you are cold and to perspire when you are hot. Body Wisdom makes you experience hunger when your body needs food, and thirst when it needs water.  If you have a harmful virus in your body, Body Wisdom creates a fever to burn it up.  Body Wisdom forms scabs to heal open wounds.  Simply put, Body Wisdom controls and coordinates every system, organ, tissue, and cell in the human body, and without it, life would cease to exist.

The best part is, Body Wisdom is always on the job whether you realize it or not.  Think about it.  Do you have to concentrate on making your heart beat every day? Do you have to coax your finger to heal if it is cut?  What would we ever get done if we had to walk our digestive systems through the process of breaking down our food every time we eat?

Meridian imbalances and blockages act like roadblocks along the highway of the meridian system.  When you understand that imbalances interfere with your body’s wisdom, which is it’s expression of life, you can begin to see how conditions like digestive disorders, sleep disturbances, lowered immunity, and allergies can be linked back to meridian imbalances.  Correct the imbalance, and you restore energy to the body.  That’s the impact of a treatment!

What drug out there corrects meridian imbalances?  What prescription is written to boost your Body Wisdom?  In an attempt to outsmart our creator we are continually urged to poison our body’s with chemicals that work in opposition to our natural life process.

Where do you place your trust?  In the power that created and gave life to the world around you, or in laboratory-born chemicals that take the lives of thousands every year?

Sometimes there is immense power in simplicity.  Rather than tamper with a perfectly designed system, one of the best ways to ensure a healthy life is to correct the imbalance, get out of the way and let your Body Wisdom do its work.

The banana.  It’s the perfect snack food.  It’s a great source of potassium and even comes in its own wrapper.  Picked ripe off the tree, it can’t be beat.

The only problem is unless you have a banana tree in your backyard, we never get bananas ripe off the tree.  In fact, the tasty sweet yellow banana that you enjoy is actually in the process of rotting.  Think about it.  If bananas were harvested from the tree when they are a beautiful yellow and in their peak of ripeness, as they should be, they would be a black, greasy mess by the time they make it to our local grocery.  So to accommodate the long journey from the tropics, they are picked when they are green and allowed to “ripen” off the tree.

However, if you consider that living, growing fruit is supplied its life-sustaining nutrients from the soil and that the tree is the transport system for these nutrients, logic tells us that when fruit is cut from the tree it begins to die.  The bananas that we buy in various shades of green and yellow are just in different stages of decay.

Similar to a rotting piece of fruit, any organ or body part that is disconnected from its life source begins to break down.  In the human body, the acupuncture meridian system is the tree that supports all the growing fruit.  Just like a rotting banana, an organ or tissue that is “cut from the tree” by having a limited and blocked flow of the body’s innate healing energies immediately begins to decay.

Fortunately our meridian system is rarely severed like a bunch of bananas, but instead are pinched or blocked in various places throughout the body.

Imbalances and blockages to the body’s innate healing energies, rob your body of essential balance of healing energy supply by squeezing off the normal flow of energy, eventually resulting in tissue damage and dysfunction.  The good news is that even chronic imbalances can be corrected given enough time and consistency of treatment.  After the change is made, new life can begin to flow into the damaged tissue.

So whether we’re talking about the human body or tropical fruit, remember that for any living entity to reach its maximum potential, it must constantly be supplied by its source of life.

The greatest benefit of acupuncture care, far beyond pain relief or functional improvement, is that a properly delivered treatment links the body back up with the perfect quality and quantity of energy allowing your to derive maximum benefit from the life force within the body.

As the temperatures drop, it can be tempting to crank up the heat to stay toasty. Heating accounts for the majority of the energy used in most homes and the cost can really add up. By making smart choices, you can help reduce pollution and keep your heating bills low. Here are a few tips:

Seal leaks: Locate places in your home where heat can escape. To find the source of a draft, light a stick of incense on a windy day, keeping track of where the smoke drifts. Common culprits include windows, electrical outlets, doors, and flues. Once you find a leak, repair it with exterior silicone caulk or insulation strips.

Let the sun shine in: Open your curtains during the day to let in the sun’s heat and close them at night to keep in the warmth.

Turn it down: When you are not at home turn your thermostat down, 65 degrees is a good start. When you are home, try lowering your thermostat a few degrees from where you normally keep it or put on a sweater rather than turning up the heat.

Circulate the heat: Use slow rotating fans to move heat from radiators or heaters around your rooms.

Close off rooms: Don’t heat unused areas of the home if it’s not necessary. Consider closing doors to spare bedrooms, closets, or the basement.

Watch those windows: Install clear plastic covers or inexpensive storm windows on your existing windows to reduce heat loss.

Maintenance matters: Replace your furnace filters regularly, and make sure all heating equipment is running efficiently before cold weather sets in. Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators often. Make sure heating units are not blocked by furniture, rugs, or drapes.

Drop a few degrees: Turning down your home thermostat two degrees can save 24 kilowatt hours a month. Lowering your hot water heater by 10 degrees, while maintaining a minimum of least 120 degrees, can save 25 kilowatt hours a month while still enjoying all the hot water you need.

Wash with less water: Opt for a front loading washing machine as they use 50 percent less energy and one-third less water. Front load washers also remove far more water in the rinse cycle, helping save money by requiring less time in the dryer.

GET BALANCED FOR THE SEASON AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE JEFFERY AT 562-592-4000

ACUPUNCTURE OR MEDITATION INSTRUCTION OR BOTH!

You have probably heard acupuncture referred to at some point as “alternative medicine.”

The term itself consists of two very off-base implications.

First, it implies that acupuncture is a runner-up or a contingency plan to turn to when medicine inevitably falls short, or should one choose not to utilize medicine in the first place.

Second, it implies that acupuncture is a type of medicine, albeit an alternative type.

To set the record straight, acupuncture stands alone in the detection and correction of the body’s innate healing energies to bring about balance within the body and to maximize its full expression of life.  Acupuncturists are the only healthcare professionals specifically trained to detect and correct the imbalances in the meridian systems.

Acupuncture is not a specialty of medicine, nor is it an alternative to anything other than pain and suffering.

The focus of medicine is and always has been primarily on the treatment of symptoms and disease.  Think about it.  Most of us were raised to essentially ignore our bodies until they begin screaming out at us in the form of pain, numbness, indigestion, insomnia, weakness, fatigue, or any other number of unbearable symptoms.  It’s the classic knee-jerk reaction.

When we can no longer stand it anymore, we simply take a drug – an artificial chemical substance – and swallow it, inject it, rub it on, or drop it in, and hope that the symptom magically goes away.  With that magic comes plenty of side effects and the same underlying state of ill health that you started with.

Acupuncture, on the other hand, is not concerned with the treatment of symptoms or disease, but with determining the underlying cause of a particular problem, and restoring the normal balance with the body’s meridian system, which is often the underlying cause of outward expressions of sickness.

Life is expressed in the body through the meridian system, and healing is orchestrated from removing energetic blockages within the body. When meridian system pathways become kinked or out of balance, they dampen down the quality and quantity of energy flowing throughout the body. Less flow equals less life.

The logical course of action when confronted with a health challenge should be to support and enhance the body’s internal balance and let true health and healing run its natural course.

When you have acupuncture working for you, who needs an alternative?

Live in balance Call Jeffery at 562-592-4000 for an appt: today.

Imagine you are working at your desk and suddenly one of the fluorescent lights overhead starts buzzing.  You take notice of it since it is a new stimulus, but don’t think much of it.  The longer it persists, however, the more annoying it becomes.  But, eventually you are able to ignore it and continue with your work, until finally you don’t even realize that the buzzing noise still continues.

Later that night you walk into a movie theater and are met by the overwhelming smell of fresh popped corn.  After some time in the theater, the smell of the corn becomes virtually unnoticeable.

So what changed in the examples above?  Did the light stop buzzing?  Did the aroma coming from the popcorn machine diminish?  Or did your body simply adapt to the situation?

The answer, of course, is that you adapted to the external stimuli.  The body is designed to do so in order to avoid sensory overload.

Adaptation is a good thing when you are dealing with a trivial nuisance that should not garner an inordinate amount of your focus, but what about when you are dealing with more important stimuli pertaining to your health?  More specifically, is it a good thing or a bad thing when you adapt to a stimulus if that trigger happens to be a bodily symptom?

That depends in part on the nature of the symptom, but in general it is not a good thing to simply ignore your body’s signals until they eventually fade into the background.

Headaches that are initially unbearable, or at least a persistent annoyance, can eventually go virtually unnoticed as you learn to adapt to the pain. It is not uncommon to hear people say that daily headaches are just a part of life.  You can see that the line between adapting to the headache and adapting to a horrible quality of life quickly begins to blur.

Understand that when you are simply addressing a symptom, whether through your own ability to adapt, or by masking the pain with a medication, you are doing nothing to improve your situation.

Symptoms are your body’s warning system and are there to alert you to an underlying problem.  Trying to adapt to (ignore) a continuous symptom is like mentally blocking out the fire alarm while your house burns down around you.

Remember that the symptom is not the problem, but a result of the problem.  The only effective way to bolster your health and your quality of life is to correct the underlying cause.  Getting regular acupuncture treatments can help you achieve the quality of life you want!

CALL ME FOR AN APPT: 562-592-4000

The holidays are a big part of the fall and winter months. This is often a time to reconnect with family and loved ones, to attend social events, and celebrate your beliefs.

­Unfortunately, it can also be a time of extra commitments, nonstop activity, and pressure to get it all done. This can result in a lot of stress both mental and physical.

Everyone feels stressed occasionally, but when it continues for a long time or gets overwhelming it can take a real toll on your health. The immune system is particularly sensitive to the effects of stress, which means that ongoing stress can leave you vulnerable to colds, flu, and other illnesses.

The good news is that you can take charge of the stress in your life. One way to do that is to set realistic expectations for the holidays. Spend some time thinking about what’s important to you. Rather than concentrating on making everything “perfect,” try to focus on enjoying yourself whether that means spending time with family, volunteering to help others, or taking a vacation.
Another good strategy is to set boundaries. Don’t take on more than you can handle, say “no” if you have to, and ask for help if you need it.

Other ways to beat stress include:

Eating right: Remember to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and try to keep your intake of sugary holiday treats to a minimum.

Rest: Get plenty of sleep, even if you have a lot to do, to keep your body and mind healthy and energized.

Meditation: Take a few minutes during the day to sit quietly and simply focus on your breathing.

Exercise: Try to work exercise into your schedule. It’s a natural energy and mood booster. Yoga is an excellent choice this time of year.

Talking to someone: Share your thoughts and feelings with a friend or a counselor. Expressing yourself may make you feel better and you might even find solutions to stressful situations.

Vitamins and herbs: Be sure to take a daily multivitamin, and consider taking extra vitamin C to help strengthen your immune system. Herbs such as ginseng can help you adapt to stress and valerian can soothe and calm your mind.

Additional methods include treatments such as acupuncture and massage, which can help relax both mind and body. With a little preparation and adding some new coping strategies, you can make this year’s holiday season happy, healthy and stress-free!

Call Jeffery For An Appointment: 562-592-4000

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Did you know that the face can be the window to your health?

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), your face’s appearance can offer valuable information about issues that could be affecting your overall health. The shape of your face, the color of your complexion, and marks such as lines or lesions can all help us determine a diagnosis and treatment plan.

To get an idea of what we sometimes look for, take a look at yourself in a mirror under natural light. There are five colors that appear in the face: red, black, yellow, green, and white.

Everyone’s skin tone is different, and usually one color is dominant, though several other colors can be visible. What colors do you see? Do you have visible veins, and if so, what color and where are they? Is your skin moist or dry?

A healthy, lustrous complexion and normal color indicate a good balance and flow of Qi (“life energy”) within your body. If the complexion is off-color, looks lifeless or “withered,” or is too moist or too dry, it may indicate an imbalance of Qi.

Each color is associated with specific conditions, syndromes, and organ and meridian networks. White, for example, is associated with the Lungs, so a pale appearance could indicate a Lung Qi deficiency and breathing problems.

Another important factor in facial diagnosis is that different regions of the face, such as the nose, the eyebrows, and the mouth, correspond with specific organ and meridian networks. For example, the nose correlates with the Spleen, the brows with the Liver, and the lower lip to the Large Intestine.

Since the face and your overall health are so closely related, you may discover positive changes in your complexion as your body regains balance and harmony through acupuncture and TCM.

Nature has a way of providing us with what we need, when we need it. That’s especially true when it comes to the foods that become available with each season. Autumn brings with it a bounty of fruits, vegetables, and herbs that nourish the body and support health and well-being. Being aware of seasonal foods and attuning your diet to your body’s needs is a great way to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

The harvest season is a time to prepare your body for the cold winter ahead. Your diet should shift toward richer, denser foods that will provide you with extra energy and warmth. Consider increasing your intake of protein, fats, and whole grains but be sure to keep up your exercise program, to control weight gain.

Nourishing your immune system is also very important at this time. Take advantage of dark green and golden-orange vegetables that are rich in beta-carotene to strengthen the body’s Wei Qi (immune system). These include carrots, pumpkin, squash, broccoli, kale, mustard greens, and many more.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it’s important to maintain the body’s balance during this season by adding sour foods such as sauerkraut, leeks, yogurt, and sour apples to your diet. Pungent foods such as garlic, turnips, and horseradish should also be added to your autumn diet, since they cleanse and protect the lungs.

It’s also important to moderate your caffeine use this season. As autumn settles in, you may notice yourself feeling a little more tired than usual and increasing your coffee intake to boost your energy. Before you lift that next cup, consider making a healthy change and switching from coffee to tea.

Tea has been found to have a variety of health benefits, including protecting against heart disease and some types of cancer, reducing inflammation and blood pressure, and even increasing bone density. Green and white teas contain especially high amounts of antioxidants, which protect against cellular damage.

These are just simple suggestions. Consult with your acupuncturist or healthcare provider reporting dietary changes you are considering.