"When I let go of what I am, I become what I may be" – Lao Tzu We are coming into Autumn, the season of the Metal element. One gift (and perhaps challenge) of the Metal element is letting go. Every time this season comes…
Spring is Action Time
My grandmother keeps a postcard on her refrigerator that always catches my eye. It's a picture of tulips, with a quote from Leo Tolstoy: "Spring is the time of plans and projects." She doesn't know it, and Tolstoy probably didn't know it either, but this…
Finding Balance During the Holidays
The five elements of Chinese medicine (Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal) cycle throughout the year. It's valuable to know about these cycles because it helps explain why we feel a certain way, and how we can best support our own health and happiness. Winter—'tis…
Creating Wholeness
Today, a patient came in with a block in her meridian system. This was a place in her body where her vital energy wasn't circulating properly. It is like a break in your computer's circuitry, or a big clog in your house's water pipes. Things just won't move the…
Transitions: Life in Motion
Five Element Acupuncture sees life as a process, always in motion. We move through cycles in our days, seasons, and life stages. This graphic shows the cyclical relationship between the five elements: it turns like a wheel, clockwise. Like plants, we experience layers of birth, flowering, fruiting, decaying and…
Don’t Get Stuck in the Mud
We have all heard that health is about balance. This means proper balance between the five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. I was talking about mud with a patient today. And it occurred to me that this is exactly what happens when Earth and Water…
What’s Your Element?
Here at Red Sage Acupuncture Center, I am focused on the Five Element acupuncture tradition. If you are just discovering acupuncture, you may not know there are different styles. But many people who come to me say that my treatments are quite different than what…