SPRING 2014, Volume 2
Spring is here!
March and April in Colorado always brings a wild ride as winter releases its grip. One day we pull up the blinds to find gray clouds and snow flakes drifting down from the sky. The next day the sun shines bright. We throw off our winter clothes and turn our faces toward the sun. The ever-optimistic crocus blooms purple and yellow reassuring us that spring is actually here to stay.
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This is the season of the liver and gall bladder and it is a great time to pay attention to Earth’s gifts.
There are already lots of tiny dandelions growing. These greens are incredible for flushing out the liver and gall bladder. However, if you have ever used any toxic chemicals in your yard, it is best to buy organic dandelion greens. There are many other bitter greens such as red chard and kale as well as beets and beet greens that also help clear any toxic build-up we may have accumulated over the winter.
This is a wonderful time of year to do some type of cleanse. Rice and/or pea protein drinks are popular and available from lots of supplement companies. These powders are used with herbs and supplements to “rest” the GI tract and gently cleanse the liver, lymph, kidney and intestines. I have these in my office and am happy to guide you in this approach. For some people (especially those with auto-immune diseases and or a history of cancer)
I recommend a clearing diet, which could include a couple of days of juices. I am happy to help guide you in this, but I prefer to customize cleanses for individual clients rather than use a standard protocol.
Please be cautious of fruit juices. Fruit contains lots of sugar and when you remove the fiber you can definitely get blood sugar reactions, which are pro-inflammatory.
For more information about the liver please read last year’s Spring Newsletter.
The shifting climate and the increase in sunshine releases lots of energy and it is an energy that serves us best if it is channeled into something creative. Gardening is a natural extension of spring, but dance, writing, learning a new language or simply committing to excellence in the work that you already do are great outlets for this rush of energy that flows as the sun shines brighter.
I am excited to share my latest passion that I am optimistic will benefit many of my clients. I am studying advanced auriculotherapy with a Dr. LiChun Huang. Dr. Huang has been at the forefront of developing modern Chinese ear diagnosis and treatment. She has treated well over 250,000 people with great success and currently travels all over the world sharing her knowledge.
Ear points have always been used in Traditional Oriental Medicine, but modern research including double blind studies done by Dr. Nogier in France and by various physicians in China has found that the ear influences the entire body through its access to the brain.
To diagnose a patient I examine and palpate the ear, and use a painless probe that measures electric resistance of points. Dr. Huang jokingly calls the probe “Chinese MRI” because of her skill at diagnosing past and current illnesses.
For treatment I massage the ear, do minimal needling and in many cases tape small beads to the appropriate points. These beads remain in place for a few days, which allows the treatments to treatment to continue once the patient has left the office. I am pleased that I have been able to benefit some people very quickly using this method.
For those of you that haven’t been in for awhile I invite you to experience this treatment and get a spring balancing session. I have already done extensive studying of Dr. Huang’s method. In order to further increase my skill I will be taking a four day diagnosis class with Dr. Huang the last weekend in April.
Research continues to be done at top level institutions into the value of Vitamin D and Curcumin (a polyphenol extract from turmeric root) for use in cancer therapy. I currently use a very specific curcumin that is proving to bring measurable results because it is delivered into the bloodstream in a free, unbound form. I recommend that people get their Vitamin D levels check when they get blood work to be sure they have healthy levels of D.
Often in our country we are torn by differing eating philosophies. Should I be vegan, or paleo, or, or, or… but I have no doubt that the most important nourishment we give to ourselves are the thoughts that we choose to think.
“Our ability to think is a gift from God. What we think about is our gift to ourselves.”
― Prem Rawat
Enjoy the beauty and preciousness of this life.
The information in this newsletter is not intended to replace the relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge from research and experience of B. Mahler, LAc.
Barbara A. Mahler, LAc has practiced
Traditional Oriental Medicine
and Nutrition since 1987.
For more information please contact Barbara.