“It’s only the east if you’re from somewhere else. It’s a Eurocentric name… which is why it’s wrong.” Traditional East Asian Medicine still is a bit of that, but it’s better than the other two, in my opinion. I’m not sure if it’s going to stick, but I’ll try it.

Regular blog readers know my whole household is all about the cat, who is literally The Genki Neko. The humans frequently say, “Go Team Cat!” and high five if we’ve, for example, prepared a particularly nice dinner. Thus the title for today.

If you’re reading this for someone else and never had a hot flash? (Say, too young, or male?) If you aren’t prone to low blood pressure, you can simulate one by taking 30 to 50 mg of niacin. (Not niacinamide, and check with your doctor first if you are on any medications.) In the summer, this is an uncomfortable exercise in empathy. In the winter, it’s a pretty neat trick to make doing the dishes more comfortable when on camping trips. While Asian women experience hot flashes less than many demographics, Traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM) has a well developed explanation of the phenomenon.

TEAM has its roots in balance. The modern medical term would be homeostasis, keeping the internal environment of a living organism stable. For life processes, temperature, pH, concentrations of water, sugar, and electrolytes, among other things, need to be in a pretty narrow range.

The most fundamental TEAM balance is the yin/yang balance. Yin and yang are opposite, but complementary. Like light and dark, something is not precisely one or the other, but they are on a scale. An overcast day is darker than a sunny one but is lighter than the night of a new moon. A man can be empathetic, and a woman can be strong.

As modern medicine explains menopause as estrogen withdrawal, TEAM looks at it as declining yin in the body balance. When there is not enough yin, yang takes over, resulting in symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and irritability. Fortunately, there are ways to supplement yin that aren’t straight hormone replacement!

So how can you beat the heat from the inside and out?

Some very basic yin boosts include staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, and taking time to relax. Smoking or being around a lot of secondhand smoke is particularly bad for menopause–fire is about as yang as you can get! Although stillness is yin, exercise is beneficial. Regular activity from the muscles leads to the internal organs not having to work as hard.

While Black Cohosh is a very popular western herb, it is not in the TEAM materia medica for menopause. It is in the chapter for the common cold, though. Eating a slice of watermelon every day (nibble on the rind a bit; that part is beneficial, too) can help clear heat from the body. More fruits and vegetables are good in general. Meat, dairy, and alcohol promote heat. One drink may promote relaxation and benefit the heart. More than one makes the body work harder, so cut yourself off.

For more specialized treatment, see a licensed acupuncturist. Acupuncture is generally very relaxing and has recently gotten good press for diminishing hot flashes. In my clinical experience, herbs are more effective and efficient for these symptoms. In Texas, acupuncturists take a national exam for herbs as well as acupuncture. There are a few very commonly used formulas for hot flashes, but your particular case may call for something different.

I would recommend to everyone trying to survive summer, wear layers and wicking fabrics. Carry a water bottle–you’ll drink if it’s with you. I hope this helps you stay cool!

However, you don’t need an excuse to work on your transformation. Any day is a good day to eat nutritious food, connect with a loved one, move your body, floss, think, breathe and sleep well. What would you like more or less of this year? Can I help?

Optimally, people see me on a regular basis, increasing the time between visits as they are getting healthier, until they feel well enough that I don’t expect to see them anymore. Over the years, I have seen a lot of temporary relief. I have seen plenty of people not have significant improvement. Most of those, I take with a large rock of halite, because if someone’s had a condition a long time and sees me sporadically once or twice? I’m not expecting much, in the same way that if a pneumonia patient takes one or two antibiotics a few days apart, that patient is still going to have pneumonia!

I’ve also had some unexpectedly awesome results.

• “He could smell and taste his last holiday meal.” (cancer patient with anosmia)
• “I sat up all night looking at the Christmas tree. I could see it.” (severe macular degeneration)
• “I don’t know if it was the acupuncture, but I can tell you my husband and I were trying for four years, and I was never pregnant before!” (actually, I don’t even remember if I was treating this young lady particularly for infertility. Oh yeah, it was for amenorrhea. Which after a while was a symptom instead of a syndrome.)

Looking for your Christmas miracle? I’ve facilitated a few. I’m not going to guarantee it, but let’s see what we can do. “I can pick up my baby girl, and it doesn’t hurt.” Merry Christmas, dude who was in daily sciatic pain since January!

Ha! I knew it was related to that episode! Folks, my mom was working in her garden this spring, and for Mother’s Day, she discovered she is violently allergic to yellow jackets. Yeah, happy freaking Mother’s Day, right? Shortly after, her annual physical showed elevated blood pressure. It stayed high for months, despite eating well, exercising daily (which she does anyway), and taking herbs that I sent to her. Much to her pride and relief, her doctor said she didn’t have to take medication just yet.

Mom used to always start phone conversations with, “Are you eating, are you sleeping?” I noticed the lack, but I figured she was starting to trust me to take care of myself. I think there was maybe a bit of denial there, too. “No symptoms, nothing is going on except my systolic is high.”

Insomnia can affect the nervous, metabolic, immune, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems, which cover every process in the body. If you aren’t getting proper sleep, your body is not functioning as it should. How long has it been since you got a good night’s sleep? Let me help! Whether through acupuncture, supplements, and/or better habits, you can stress less and get the rest you need!

Working with patients is what I do best, and as any business owner knows, it can become what you do the least! I’m really looking forward to doing more of what I love.

My own ethnicity is Korean, and I learned acupuncture from Chinese style practitioners. I did study the Japanese language in college, though, and I was always delighted by their greeting.

Rather than “How’s it going?” the Japanese say “O genki desu ka?” Are you genki?

So what is genki? Genki is vitality, liveliness, the color in your cheeks, the spring in your step. If you look at the characters, it breaks down to “generating ki.” Ki, or Qi, as I learned it in acupuncture school, is vital energy. Living things have qi. Dead things used to have qi. Inanimate, inorganic things do not have qi.

Literally, asking if you are genki is asking if you are alive. When you feel alive, don’t you feel great? “O genki desu ka?” “Do you feel vital/fantastic/alive/well?” It is kind of a loaded concept, but isn’t it cool?

So that is genki. Neko is cat, and mine happened to be in the room when I was filling out my incorporation papers. My cat is soooo genki. He is pretty much the genkiest thing that ever lived. And I love that ^__^ can either mean a cat face or a smile.

It takes a lot of explanation, and yes, I am licensed to work on people, not pets! So that is my new operating name.

Here is an excellent explanation of why SOPA is a bad idea. I’m doing inventory today, but I’ll be taking appointments tomorrow to help you destress from distress!

If you’re wondering how to use the rest of your flex-med account, now’s a great time to try acupuncture! Whether you wonder if you could reduce your medication intake, need some relief, or just want to relax a bit from the end-of-year madness, why not see if I can help? Call for your appointment soon!

In other news, I’m updating for the first time in several months. I remembered my word press password! Unfortunately, I don’t remember my hosting password, so I can’t implement the cool plug-ins just yet. Construction still looks daunting, but the intersections are clear! I think the worst is over on that front; as a matter of fact, I see someone parked on the street in front of my building, and it’s not a backhoe! Yaaay!!!