How to Stay Healthy This Winter with TCM
TCM Focus: Maintain a healthy lifestyle and discover a delicious 5 Element warming recipe! In wintertime the traditional Chinese Yin-Yang cycle reaches its Yin peak. It is the season of rest and passivity, during which nature reduces its activities. In TCM, winter is related to the water element and associated with the kidney and bladder. Our essential energy, Qi, needs special care and nourishment during cold, damp winter weather. Different areas of...
East Meets West: Healthy Winter Spices
These herbs and spices do more than smell good. They are often used in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) remedies for their healing properties. The Chinese have long categorized herbs and foods by their temperature effects (cool, fresh, neutral, warm and hot) on the body. Most of these spices are warming, which is naturally fitting for the season and is another reason we feel emotionally “warm” when we smell them. Here are...
Beyond Valentine’s Day: How to Nurture Romantic Relationships
How to be a Real Romantic: Beyond Candy & Flowers We celebrate romance on Valentine’s Day, but love and relationships are an ongoing “discipline”, something we need to work at and celebrate every day. All couples need to practice that discipline, especially as they face different challenges and life changes. Some common relationship issues that Shanghai residents come to us for include infidelity, communication problems and issues regarding the individual’s personal path....
Planning and Manifesting Your Best 2017
Many times “new year’s resolutions” fail because we state an intention but then we don’t focus on it. This may come from the fact that we don’t spend time reflecting on what we really want and how we will put energy towards those goals. Rather than making failed resolutions again this year, here is a plan for manifesting your best 2017: 1. Think about what your values and priorities are. Be...
Was 2016 a Really Bad Year?
How to Close Out 2016 on a Positive Note • Be aware of things you’ve learned about yourself. This is an important way to reframe your experiences and use them to continue making positive changes. • Be grateful for the people who appeared in your life and for those who have left. This last part is especially important in Shanghai where people come and go frequently. It’s easy to dwell on the...
How to Ruin the Holidays
1. Compare and complain. For example, if you go home to a small town you can focus on how nothing is as exciting or interesting as Shanghai (and tell everyone about it). If you stay in Shanghai for the holidays, you can complain about how much better the holidays are at home. 2. Take everything personally. The holidays bring out a lot of emotions and we can easily fall into a...
Functional Medicine: What Patients Can Expect
Functional medicine offers solutions for patients with chronic illness. It enables patients with chronic health issues to identify the root causes of multiple symptoms and address them directly to achieve optimal wellness. What is the process like for the patient? Getting Started A functional medicine practitioner seeks to understand the patient and create a partnership, so the initial visit centers on talking with the patient to thoroughly understand the situation. Testing Functional medicine is...
New services: lama fera and singing bowls
Pursuing its mission to heal patients as a whole, Body & Soul is happy to introduce a new addition to the list of services offered: Lama Fera and Healing Sounds by Gabriel Salazar, Reiki Master and Holistic Healer. These alternative therapies aim at soothing the mind, balancing emotions and harmonizing energy. It is a great complement to the other therapies offered at Body & Soul as they support the global...
Anxiety in Adolescents
Anxiety disorders are one of the most frequently diagnosed mental health disorders in teens. One study in Germany indicated that about 10% of children and adolescents suffer from anxiety disorders (Robert Koch-Intuit; BELLA-Studied). The primary anxiety disorders are: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Phobias, and Separation Anxiety. If your child suffers from anxiety, it is wise to seek professional help. Overwhelming fears that affect everyday life and are out of proportion to...
Traditional Chinese Medicine way to treat headaches
With sudden changes in weather, many people complain from headaches and migraines. From the Traditional Chinese Medicine point of view, any pain-related symptoms, including headaches, are generally attributed to a stagnation of the flow of Qi and Blood. The stagnation can be caused by: - too much toxic substance: the ‘cold evil’ and ‘dampness’ accumulating in the body - a deficiency of Qi or Blood (or both) During the consultation, a TCM Doctor...