by Madison Kolla R.Ac., Christina Chan R.Ac.
At Heart & Hands Health Collective, day in and out, we relieve the aches and pains of the 60-120 clients who come see us each week. The intention of acupuncture is to facilitate the body’s own inherent ability to heal. But, in addition to acupuncture, we constantly educate clients about simple ways to care for themselves. We do this by providing a variety of options to empower people to take responsibility for their own health and well-being. While the acupuncturists here have extensive training in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), an ancient system that is deeply connected to the rhythms of nature, TCM also has a strong tradition of home remedy-based techniques that has been passed on for countless generations.
Our “Take Home TCM” workshop series is an integral part of this. These workshops run monthly from fall to spring, and provide an opportunity for people of any skill level to learn more about how TCM can improve your health and wellness, focusing on a return to traditional healing and instilling mond-body awareness. We emphasize making these workshops accessible to folks from all walks of life, and always charge a sliding scale, making the material appropriate for different skill levels and life experience as well as having FUN!
This fun series of workshops provides practical, do-it-yourself, home remedy-based knowledge on topics such as: Acupressure Neck & Shoulder Release, Moxibustion 101, and Intro to TCM Diet Therapy.
Upcoming workshops this spring include:
Intro to Chinese Medicine Diet Therapy:
Sunday, March 16th, 2014 @ 12-2 pm
Coffee is hot and bitter in nature, while green tea is cold and bitter in nature. Learn about the inherent nature of the food you eat and how to eat for your unique constitution. A basic introduction food energetics as well as how food preparation influences those energetics, in addition to how nutrients and our digestive function are the root to our health and wellness.
Moxa 101:
Sunday, April 13, 2014 @ 12-1:30 pm
*Participants are required to wear loose fitting clothing.
Chinese style moxabustion or “moxa” consists of mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris) rolled into a cigar-like stick. This stick is ignited and the heat from the stick is indirectly applied over regions of the body or specific acupuncture points. Moxa has properties to warm the acupuncture meridians, stimulate qi & blood circulation, boosts vitality and opens pores or collaterals. It has been traditionally used on specific acupuncture points during the changes of season to boost immunity.
Moxa is especially ideal in climates such as ours on Vancouver Island, which is generally characterized as windy, cold and damp for most of the year. It can help warm up and dry out our bodies, wonderful for deficiency (fatigue, weakness, cold body temperature, pale complexion, weak digestion) as well as chronic aches and pains. It is also ideal for women’s health issues such as menstrual pain and irregular menstrual flow.
Head, Neck & Shoulder Release – Acupressure Basics:
Sunday, May 11th, 2014 @ 12-1:30 pm *Participants will work in pairs.
Pain in the neck? Stress has left you with your shoulders up around your ears? Are you a teeth grinder?
Learn a simple and relaxing sequence of acupressure points that will release tension, decrease pain and relieve stress. Done with a partner, this sequence is safe, easy to learn, provide relief for a variety of stress-related tensions and help build mind-body awareness.
For more details, or to register, contact us at: http://heartandhandscommunity.ca/take-home-tcm-workshop-series/
To your health!
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