Find love with acupuncture

“If grass can grow through cement, love can find you at every time in your life.” M. C. Escher

The love that finds us is not always in the guise of a tall, dark stranger or a lifelong crush. Sometimes it’s about finding the love we have for ourselves. And, right now, that kind of love is just what we all need.

Here we are in the depths of winter surrounded by enough depressing news to put even the most light-hearted into heavy despair. It certainly feels like the world could do with a little more love, doesn’t it?

Especially here in London: life is just so full on and we’re continuously on the go.

That’s why our ‘fight or flight’ response is always working overtime. As a result our bodies release the stress hormone glucocorticoid and this alters the balance of our biochemistry. Over time this can wear down our immune system, it can leave us tired and lethargic, and sometimes it can leave us unable to cope.

We need to stop for a second and start loving ourselves.

How can acupuncture help us?

Here’s the science bit: acupuncture stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system.

The what?

Do you remember the ‘fight or flight’ that results from stressful situations? Well, the sympathetic nervous system is engaged during this. What the parasympathetic nervous system does is the exact opposite: it calms us down.

Acupuncture relaxes all the systems in the body and rebalances our biochemical make-up. This means it not only helps us to feel calm again, but it also allows the body to rebalance and heal itself.

Specific acupuncture points can work on specific organs and their associated energy channels: so we can accurately target different health problems.

For example, tonifying points are associated with the lungs and can boost our immune system. Other points can energise our stomach and spleen, allowing them to pass on a great energy boost as well as pep up a sluggish digestive system. We can also do clever things to help stop coughs and colds getting worse or to clear phlegmy colds that have dragged on and on.

This is the ironic thing. Winter leaves so many of us run down and stressed, but it should be a time of rest and reflection. The seasonal changes are part of nature and their effects are supposed to be felt by us. Our body clocks adjust to the shorter, colder days by prompting us to sleep more, conserve energy and eat plenty of warming foods. However, in urban environments, far away from nature, it’s easy to lose sensitivity to our natural biorhythms.

In short, we just don’t stop. We push so hard we drive ourselves to exhaustion.

Acupuncture is a simple and effective way to help us relax and to reboot our system. It places us back in step with the greater forces of nature. It helps us feel more balanced and happier within ourselves. It gives us the love that we need.

And when we love ourselves it helps us be a little easier on everyone that is around us.

“When our hearts expand, the same things don’t make us suffer anymore. We have a lot of understanding and compassion and can embrace others.” Thich Nhat Hanh.