Spring is the time of new beginnings, rebirth and renewal. It is when nature comes back to life — dormant plants and animals wake from their wintery slumber, flowers bloom, animals are born, and the landscape comes alive.

Most of us urban dwellers are used to living seasonless lives where it is difficult to observe the changing seasons. With modern technology, we can eat the same foods and do most of the same things year round. But just because we can enjoy these conveniences doesn’t necessary mean they are good for us. They ignore our body’s need to make adjustments with the seasons to maintain good health and prevent illness.

In Chinese medicine, the seasons affect us in many different ways — physically, mentally and spiritually. For your health, Spring is a great time to eat a lot of green foods. Sprouts and baby greens are especially good, as are dark green leafy vegetables. Head to your farmer’s market to see what’s in season. Spring is also the best time for green tea. The best quality green tea leaves are the first leaves of the season. In China, people pay upwards of hundreds or thousands of dollars to enjoy a cup of spring’s first batch of Dragon Well green tea grown in Zhejiang Province. A portion of the best is reserved for ranking government officials and visiting heads of state.

Spring is associated with the wood element and the Liver and Gallbladder. Wood represents progress, growth and overcoming obstacles. It is the most yang, or active, of energies. This makes it a great time to start new projects, especially major ones. Right now you’ll have more energy, focus, and drive to accomplish difficult tasks compared to, for example, the winter.

At the same time, be aware of the challenges of Spring. Spring is the emotional energy of anger, stress and frustration. When blocked or constrained, it is easier to feel these emotions or see them expressed by others. Take care of these emotions constructively by keeping yourself centered, staying balanced, maintaining good communications and being patient.

What you can do:

1. Exercise. Exercise is important to help get or keep things moving. Hike, garden and play sports. If you want to take a more holistic approach, take a medical Qigong class. There are a number of simple and effective medical Qigong exercises that help soothe the liver, reduce stress, as well as strengthen your clarity and resolve. Regardless of what you decide, doing it outdoors would be best. The sun and fresh air helps when you feel stuck. Seeing all the beauty of nature will raise your spirits and inspire you to get moving on your life’s projects.
2. Diet. Eat your greens. No, not green M&M’s or gummy bears. Sprouts, baby greens and green leafy vegetables are what I highly recommend. Your best source will be your local farmer’s market where you don’t have to second guess what’s in season.
3. Treatment. Come in for an acupuncture tune-up, herbal prescription and/or nutritional plan. Chinese Medicine is designed to harmonize your body, mind and spirit with the changing seasonal energies. Like taking in your car for a regular oil change, your body will appreciate preventative treatments to maintain good health. You’ll stay healthy, maintain high energy levels and be more productive so you can continue doing what you love. If you’re stressed out or can’t sleep, just one treatment will go a long way to help start this season on the right foot.

Henry’s Spring Tea Recipe

• Green Tea such as Dragon Well tea (Chinese: Longjing Cha)
• Chrysanthemum Flower Bulbs (Chinese: Ju Hua)
• Mint Leaves (Chinese: Bo He)
• Steep in hot water – Boiled water that is then cooled to 175 F recommended.

Comments:
If you are near Highland Park, this tea will be available at Antigua Coffee and Tea

Dragon Well green tea is high in vitamin C and amino acids. It also has one of the highest concentrations of catechins and can reduce the risk of stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes. Chrysanthemum and Mint both help the liver and the sense organ of the liver, the eyes, in different ways. The best chrysanthemum are the unopened flower bulbs. All of this can be found at one of your better stocked Chinese Herbal shops. In Los Angeles, Wing Hop Fung in China Town and Monterey park comes recommended. If you have some extra cash and appreciate good quality green teas, check out the Ming Qian Dragonwell Panan Supreme 2010 from Red Blossom Tea in San Francisco. They do mail order but it is $400 a pound. They have some more affordable grades that I also recommend. An ounce ($28) or two will last you a while and, unlike some other types of teas, Dragon Well doesn’t do well sitting on the shelf for a long time. Newer is better so don’t stock up.

Henry Jun Wah Lee, L.Ac. is a Physician of Chinese Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Medical Qigong instructor and Eastern Nutritionist. He has a private practice in Pasadena and Los Angeles, California. For more information, please contact info@HenryJunWahLee.com or visit his website, http://www.HenryJunWahLee.com

Henry Jun Wah Lee L.Ac. will be hosting a Chinese Medicine Café hour at Antigua Organic Coffee and Tea near Highland Park on Saturday May 8, 2010 from 5 to 6:30pm.

Come experience the benefits of Chinese medicine for health, wellness and community at a progressive coffee house east of the Los Angeles River.

Destress and relax with a 20-minute ear acupuncture or acupressure treatment from a highly skilled Physician of Chinese Medicine. Enjoy a cup of herbal tea that’s perfect for the spring season, eat snacks, and meet the community.

See what Chinese Medicine can do for you!

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Who says labcoats have to be boring? Now you can maintain your professional image while adding style that distinguishes you as a holistic health practitioner.

Evosia’s labcoats are specifically designed for the natural healing professional in mind and incorporates features typical labcoats do not have:

* Choice of organic and fair trade natural fabrics to meet your environmental and health standards.
* Different fabric weights to meet your seasonal needs.
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* Unique pocket partitioning system to keep your tools such as needles and ear seeds organized.
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Evosia donates 5% of net profits toward social and environmental causes.

Link: Evosia’s Online Store Page

Evotion is a technology company that specializes in providing services to nonprofits, governments, educational institutions, and small businesses. We recently launched a new set of consulting services specifically for acupuncturists and Chinese/Oriental Medicine practitioners.

We go beyond merely offering to build you a web site. Although we do build web sites, there are plenty of do-it-yourself tools out there we recommend for the budget conscious.

Where we add value is the consulting work we do in helping you align your technology needs with your practice. The actual programming is the easy part but which services should you choose? What should you have on your web site — content, feature and functionality wise? How should they be presented? Do you need a blog, mailing list, etc? How do you get your site in the search engines and improve your standings? Should you purchase online ads? What DIY tools are best? These are some of the questions we can help answer through our consulting services for you. We’re unique and we know our stuff.

Link:
Evotion’s Technology Services for Acupuncturists and TCM practitioners

 

This is a heads up for all you acupuncture students out there. Once you graduate from four years of studying Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, you aren’t done. Depending on where you plan to practice, you either need to pass the California Acupuncture License Exam or the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine’s (NCCAOM) Oriental Medicine Certification. Unless you are absolutely certain you won’t ever practice in California, it is strongly recommended that you take the California Boards. These exams aren’t cheap and you want to make sure you have money set aside to pay for them. Here’s the break down in costs:

California Acupuncture License Exam (CALE)

Application Fee: $75 — One time fee.
Examination Fee: $550 — Per exam. Try not to fail.
Certification: $325 (prorated based on max 2 years) — Once you pass, this is what you pay to get your license.

CALE Initial Total: $950

NCCAOM Oriental Medicine Certification

You will need to take 4 exam modules: Foundations of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture with Point Location, Biomedicine, and Chinese Herbology.

Oriental Medicine Application Fee: $550 — One time fee.
Foundations of Oriental Medicine Module Exam: $300 — Per exam.
Acupuncture with Point Location Module Exam: $300 — Per exam.
Biomedicine Module Exam: $200 — Per exam.
Chinese Herbology Module Exam: $300 — Per exam.

NCCAOM Initial Total: $1650

Grand Total for CALE and NCCAOM: $2600 

This total assumes that you only have to take everything once. If you have to take one or more of these exams multiple times, it’s going to get painful quick. The last thing you want to do is graduate but can’t practice because you can’t afford to pay for the exams. If you have to travel to Sacramento to take the California Boards, factor in travel and hotel expenses. Good news is that they will be having exams in the Southern California area in the near future.