Healthy Spring Acupuncture Practices

Cleanse, detox, stretch, and stress management are key for a healthy and happy Spring!

If you suffer from chronic pain and not finding relief with standard therapies. Give our office a call today at (425) 686-4498 to set-up your initial consultation to learn how we can help.

Healthy Spring Acupuncture Practices

Spring into wellness with these refreshing and rejuvenating healthy practices. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, spring is represented by the wood element. Wood represents birth and newness, the time for fresh ideas and new starts. Unsurprisingly, its color is green like the fresh growth of spring. Wood governs your spine, joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons. A wood imbalance can lead to spinal problems, poor flexibility or arthritis. Wood also governs your eyes. But most important for your mood, wood governs your liver. Your liver is responsible for the smooth flow of Qi (energy) and smooth flowing Qi means health and vitality. Here are some essential practices to keep you thriving this season!

Try These Healthy Spring Practices

Cleanse. Cleaning your colon releases accumulated toxins, undigested food, parasites and fungi. With a clean colon your digestion is more efficient and your body is healthier.
Detox your liver. Reduce or eliminate alcohol or drugs that are toxic to your liver. Consider a detox that specifically targets your liver. Call me if you need suggestions.
Stretch. Start or recommit to a healthy stretching routine. Try yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, or other exercises that move, loosen and flex your joints.
Exercise your eyes. Massage your face, especially around your eyes. Roll your eyes and move them in figure 8s. Practice focusing on distant objects and then focusing on close objects in quick succession. Put time limits on your computer sessions. These exercises strengthen your eyes and can improve your eyesight.
Control your anger. Create a healthy anger management plan. Journal, meditate or get counseling. Put limits on stressful situations. Find activities that refocus your anger in healthy ways.

Healthy Spring Acupuncture Diet

Follow these tips for a healthy spring diet that supports your liver.

Use food as medicine: Sour is the flavor associated with spring. Add in foods like Sprouts, wheatgrass, spinach, kale and dandelions. Also, being mindful of how fast you are eating and to try and not over eat, is key to help digestion, especially in the spring. Also, try and season your food with pungent spices like basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, dill and bay leaf are excellent for spring cooking—and they taste good.
Drink milk thistle tea. Milk thistle has been shown to have antioxidant properties which can aid in detox.
Add in natural anti-histamines: Nettle leaf, common in the PNW, has natural anti-histamine properties that can help seasonal allergies. Try Nettle leaf tea, during allergy season.

How can acupuncture help?

With the beauty of Spring flowers comes spring allergies. In addition to the tips above, acupuncture has been shown to help reduce seasonal allergies and even prevent the histamine response. Allergens can trigger an inflammatory response that can lead to those unwanted allergy symptoms and even skin issues like histamine-itch, hives, and eczema. At Starting Point, we specialize in chronic and complex cases. We see patients who are not responding to the standard treatments and may be even have idiopathic “unknown” causes of their allergies, skin concerns like neuropathic itch, and even sinus headaches. Using an integrative approach to care, we are often ‘the last resort, with the best results.’

If you suffer from chronic pain and not finding relief with standard therapies. Give our office a call today at (425) 686-4498 to set-up your initial consultation to learn how we can help.

Dr. Ellie Heintze, ND, LAc, is a naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist in Bothell, Washington at her practice Starting Point Acupuncture. She specializes in chronic and complex cases and commonly treats neuropathy, fibromyalgia, migraines, autoimmune, and infertility cases. Dr. Ellie Heintze is also the author of the book, A Starting Point Guide to Going Gluten-Free and Keep Calm and Zen Out available on Amazon.