This winter, many of us have extra concerns about our immune health as we are facing the double-threat of the pandemic and the usual flu season. From a Western medicine perspective, we know that we need to sleep well, exercise moderately, reduce stress, and eat a wide variety of fruits and veggies in order to optimize our immune health. But how do we know if we’ve succeeded?
Chinese medicine uses subtle indicators from the body to get a sense for whether the immune system is functioning properly. Chinese medicine understands that the body is always seeking to be in balance, and that the body will use the energy available to it to restore balance when possible.
What this means is that you might feel like you’re in pretty decent health – but your acupuncturist might find through feeling your pulse and examining your tongue that there are more subtle imbalances in your body that are hindering your ability to be fully healthy. Perhaps you didn’t realize that your body has been weakened from working too hard and juggling care for elderly parents. Perhaps you didn’t realize that you are actually carrying a high load of anxiety and stress in a way that is wreaking havoc with your health. We are so good at getting accustomed to what we deal with that we don’t always notice or feel the signs when our health is not optimal.
This could also mean that if you have a noticeable health condition (chronic headaches, high stress levels, difficult digestion, difficulty breathing, problems regulating blood sugar, etc.), your body is going to put its precious resources towards helping to address that condition – and may not be able to put all the necessary energy towards maintaining a highly functioning immune system.
If you know you have a health condition, this is a great time to get it addressed with acupuncture and herbs, so that your body becomes balanced enough to have a strong immune system. If you’re not sure and would like to find out how your body is doing on a deeper level, make an appointment with your acupuncturist to get a thorough evaluation and treatment for any imbalances.
Here’s to your health!
