Cultivating Awareness for the New Year
One day, while practicing tai chi, I realized I wasn’t focusing on my form. I was thinking about my day, my kids, and everything that needed to be done. I was being distracted by the people moving and talking around me. I really wasn’t breathing, come to think of it. I took a deep breath, softened my arms and shoulders, did what I call a “face check” to relax my temples and forehead, and began to flow again in the soft movement of tai chi.
As we usher in the New Year, I find cultivating awareness in our daily lives so important, particularly when it comes to health matters. In this fast-paced world, the pursuit of well-being often takes a back seat to the demands of daily life.
As a practitioner of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, my focus is to help nurture more awareness of health. This may come in the form of a breathing exercise, a particular body movement, a simple meditation, and of course, acupuncture to relieve blockages to allow you to feel more open and receptive.
These last few days in my practice, my patients have expressed their feelings of stress with this holiday upon us. Tight neck and shoulders, headaches, and feeling run down are just a few complaints I have heard.
I have such gratitude for Awareness. The way I was able to see it during tai chi, the same way our patients see it in themselves during our sessions, is a priceless gift.
These sensations, sometimes big, sometimes small, are our body’s language. A tightness here, a pain there, a gurgling stomach, or shallow breathing, is our body talking to us. Feeling and sensation is the only way our body knows to communicate with our brain. And we can honor that by addressing issues before they become problems.
You’ve heard the saying, “See something, say something”. Work on the seeing first. Make yourself more aware of issues by incorporating a body scan. If you’ve been to our office, Dr. Mao’s Meditations for Stress Release is great at scanning your body from head to toe looking for tight areas.
But you can do this in your own home. It just takes a few moments to ask yourself some questions and listen to your body to give you its feedback. It may be subtle, but the more you do it, the more natural it becomes.
Here are some examples:
Where is my tension? How do my hips or neck feel? Is my balance off?
How do I feel after a meal? Is my stomach gurgling, or do I have gas?
What is my energy like right now? Am I tired, do I need a snack or even a small break?
Can I move with ease? Are my joints cracking? Are they getting through the full range of motion?
Am I breathing freely and easily? Am I being joyful?
How can I move better? Am I worried that I may fall? Am I standing tall?
We encourage you to take small steps to help yourself. The goal is progress, not perfection. Ask anyone of our practitioners for guidance. Acupuncture, when coupled with mindfulness, becomes a potent tool for addressing stress, anxiety, and other emotional imbalances. Chinese medicine has a grand array of treatments and techniques to help you be the best you can be today and in the future. Heighten your awareness and embrace this life with not just the absence of being sick, but with health that encompasses physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
We are here to help and wish you the best for 2024 and beyond!