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The body likes to be warm and full of energy to function at its best. However, just like a machine or anything found in nature, if heat builds up excessively in it, then damage is caused.
 
The easiest way to see the destructive actions of too much heat in the body is to examine what it does in nature. The way heat behaves outside the body is also the way it behaves inside of it.
 
When we look at heat in nature we see it enlivens things and energizes them. It gives them power and makes them move faster. In spring and summer it brings animals out of hibernation and it grows flowers and plants. It warms and gives life, light and energy.
 
But if heat becomes too excessive it can start to burn and dry. Plants will wither. The ground will become barren, hard and even start to crack.

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In this update you will find a list of common symptoms and ailments that are usually evolved from an overall pattern of excessive heat inside the organs and cells of the body.

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There is archaeological evidence to show that the Chinese have been studying foods and herbs for well over three thousand years. During that time, they refined and perfected a great system.
 
It is entirely different to the Western way of counting calories and dividing our foods into groups of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It is instead very practical and useful in altering states and conditions, and even in treating and resolving illnesses in your body.
 
Once you understand the Chinese method, you can start to see why there are many flaws in current Western nutritional theories.
 
The Western approach is nearly always to break foods down into smaller and smaller isolated chemicals, which are then categorized into similar groups. When you do this many elements start to appear to have the same qualities. However on the bigger level, the problem with this is quite clear.

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(The information in this article was taken from my book - "Superior Health : The Secrets Of The Chinese And Eastern Way").

We all know that what enters the mind from our interactions with other people and the world can cause us to have certain emotional responses. When we see injustice on the news we may become angry, or when we see others suffering we may become sad and so forth.

But did you know that the internal workings of our organs can also be responsible for generating emotional states ?

Well simply, they can. Every organ can cause our minds to be more susceptible to different feelings and patterns of behaviour.

In this article, we will examine three such states – fear, anger and sadness. We will see how unhealthy organs as opposed to external life events outside of the human body may be creating or encouraging them.

We will start with fear. In the West it is often assumed that when one is fearful it is a character flaw; that someone is choosing to be weak, feeble and cowardly. Whereas when someone is brave, they are portrayed as a hero and are to be admired. Some of this behaviour is indeed their character, but in many cases it is merely just a reflection of the health and functioning of their hormonal system, particularly the power of their adrenal glands.

If you have strong adrenals you will be full of hormones like adrenalin, cortisone and testosterone. These great natural steroids give your body a super charge, causing it to stay very steady during any crisis or shock. Even in general daily life you will find you are much more powered up and able. Your mind will be sharp, calm and clear. And has all it needs to easily and fearlessly think its way out of any awkward or threatening situation.

However if your adrenals have become weak and drained, they will be unable to deliver these boosting hormones when you need them. You will find the heart and mind can then become unsteady, which may under pressure and stress cause fast heartbeats, palpitations, shortness of breath, nervousness, anxiety, fear, jumpiness, panic attacks, inability to cope, light headedness and even fainting.

Now let’s turn to anger; physically it can be caused by too much heat in your system, particularly in the blood and in the liver.

One of the many functions of the liver is to store blood and release it into the rest of the body as it is required to do more physical or mental activity.

For example if you are working out in a gym your muscles will require additional blood during the exercise. A body builder working the bicep muscles in his arms would actually see them enlarge in size as they are filled with extra blood during the work out. They get this extra supply of blood from the liver.

When the brain comes under stress it too requires extra blood to use as fuel to help it work through whatever situation it faces.

The problem arises when the liver is over worked and therefore likely to be overheating. It will then start to release hot blood into your body and up into the brain.

Now some simple characteristics of heat are expansion and increased activity.  On a molecular level, we see molecules move more, thus requiring more space as they are heated. You can see this reaction if you think about how water expands and starts to move violently as it is heated to boiling point.

When your liver has over heated your blood, this hot blood rushes up into your head and causes pressure inside your skull. If you become angry, you will often notice feelings of heat. As this intensifies the feelings can become like a pressure cooker wanting to explode, this is often vented from the body through the emotion of rage.

All our common expressions clearly associate anger with heat – hot headed, fiery tempered, burning with rage, letting off steam, ready to burst, his blood was boiling and so on. Visually you can even witness the heat in an angry person as their face starts to turn red and in extremes veins may even bulge and throb in their foreheads. 

So if you have an unbalanced and hot liver, you can expect emotionally to have more unwanted feelings of frustration, aggression, irritability, snappiness, anxiety, anger and even rage in your life.

Finally we come to sadness. There are three principle systems involved in depression and sadness in the mind. They are the heart, lungs and digestive organs. If any of these become weak it will lead to a mind depleted in nutrients and energy, which produces a lack of positive mood and joy.

The impacts of these organs on the brain are quite obvious as soon as you start to think about them in a logical way.

Air acts like a stimulant. It provides energy and power. If the lungs are unable to intake and push adequate oxygen into the blood stream, both the mind and the physical body will start to tire and become sluggish, and your mood will begin to drop.

If the heart is weak and is unable to steadily pump sufficient blood and oxygen into the brain, the mind and mood will again plummet as they do not receive the required amount of fuel to keep them strong.

And if the digestive system is unable to successfully break down and absorb nutrients from food; then our blood will become empty of rich nutrients and the lack of these will leave the brain undernourished and without energy and power to keep your spirits up.

 

This blog is a brief introduction to make you more aware of how weaknesses in your internal organs can be making your mind and mood behave in often unwelcome ways. It reinforces that to have happiness in your life, it is not just important to work on creating good social communications and a positive environment, but it is also very necessary to have health in your organs and physical body.

If you keep following my blog, I will eventually teach you all about how you can manipulate your physical state through diet and lifestyle to reduce heat in your liver or to build up your hormonal system and so forth. I will show you how to strengthen your organs, to prevent them from impacting on your mind and mood, and instead to empower them to maximize the potential for real joy and happiness in your life.


If you have issues that require immediate attention and you live in Leixlip, Lucan, Celbridge, Maynooth or Dublin then feel free to contact my clinic - The Leixlip Chinese Medicine Clinic. And I will try my best to resolve any problems you have.

The simple answer is - No.
 
Acupuncture needles when inserted by a skilled practitioner should not hurt. They are tiny needles. They are a similar thickness to that of a single strand of hair.

You would get about  twenty Acupuncture needles to fit into the opening of one single hypodermic syringe needle, commonly used in Western Medicine to withdraw blood or inject chemicals into the body. 

However, make sure you go to a fully qualified and skilled Acupuncturist for your treatment. There are now unfortunately others in non Chinese Medical therapies who are offering needling treatments to their clients.

It takes years of training to become proficient in using needles safely and painlessly. Most of these other therapists are not properly skilled or fully trained in needling techniques nor in Chinese Medical Theories, so you are taking a chance by attending them for any Acupuncture style treatment.

Sometimes at my clinic in Leixlip, I get nervous patients who due to past bad experiences with western injections are afraid of the needles. Once they have had a treatment and they see it is not just a pain free experience but also a relaxing one, then their fear of needles completely vanishes !

Cupping is becoming more and more popular, It is now often used by celebrities all around the world. 

Just some of the recent celebrities to be snapped by paparazzi with cupping marks on their backs include Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston, Victoria Beckham, Denise Richards, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Lena Dunham, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anna Lynne McCord and Chris Martin.

Cupping stimulates the lungs to absorb oxygen more effectively by strengthening them and clearing them of any build up of unwanted fluids and phlegm.

With more oxygen in the blood stream, all organs get an uplifting energetic boost, including the mind and its' emotions.

In particular, cupping is useful for boosting the energy that feeds the immune system. Which helps to create more power to make white cells and natural killer cells when they are needed to fight off infections.

It is also great as part of the treatment for lung based conditions such as asthma. I have often used it as part of my treatments here in the Leixlip Chinese Medicine Clinics. It is very effective.

My clients also find it to be a very relaxing treatment. The back is gently massaged with oil and then the cups are placed over Acupuncture points to create the healing and strengthening effects.

After a treatment, the client may have round cupping marks visible on their skin. But don't worry, these marks will disappear very quickly and are not in the least bit painful.

A Cupping Therapy treatment in the Leixlip Chinese Medicine Clinic is only 35 euro for a 40 minute treatment. Relaxing and reviving Infra-Red Heat therapy is provided with the treatment at no extra cost.

See this page for more details ....

If you are interested in Cupping but live too far away from Leixlip, then make sure you find a fully qualified Chinese Medical Practitioner for your treatment.

Cupping if not performed correctly may be painful and can cause harm to the body.

Also anytime you get a treatment from any good professional Chinese Medical Practitioner they will give you plenty of free insightful advice and tips on how to boost your health or fix any weakness you may have in your body. So it's always well worth the time to seek out a good Chinese Medical practitioner.