Just For Fun Today... A Nice Story and Look at the Original Acupuncture Needle

A friend sent this to me today and it really was so nice, I had to share:
Fable of the porcupine It was the coldest  winter ever. Many animals died because of the  cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided  to group together. This way they covered and protected
themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they gave off heat to each other.  After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen.  So they had to make a choice:  Either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companion, but the most important part of it, was the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.
The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual
learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Learn to love the special people in your life.  None of us are perfect, so we should all take the quills with the kisses!

This is what a baby porcupine looks like....the ORIGINAL acupuncture needle!

Know When to Say "No"

Lately, many of my clients have been speaking of 'toxic' relationships in their lives - whether it be their relationship with their job, coworkers, spouses, friends, or neighbors.  These great people stress, suffer from  insomnia, lose weight, become ill because of their diminished immune systems, and waste valuable hours of their lives ruminating how to negociate thru these toxic relationships.   Acupuncture alleviates the physical manifestations of this toxicity and can eliminate the unhealthy side effects stemming from their stress.  It leaves them with an overall feeling of balance and calm.
Yesterday, a patient of mine who has been seeing me on a regular basis for quite a number of years, and who has seen quite a bit of life, shared a great piece of advice that her mother gave her many years ago.  She told me to pass it on to others, so here it is:

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  "It's much easier to stay out than to get out."
Stay out of anything toxic at the onset and you won't have to worry about getting out.
If you've gotten yourself into a toxic situation, get out and get out fast!!

Pretty simple, I thought....but then again, life can be as easy as we want it to be.  It's all a matter of knowing when to say 'no' and when to 'let go'.  Detoxify yourselves today - you'll feel better sooner than you realize!

Transformation & Reinvention in the Face of Adversity

Last night, I was training with a friend of mine who was also a full contact Muay Thai kickboxing champion.We went our usual 10 rounds, 3 minutes each (which can seem like an eternity sometimes).  Both of us aren't spring chickens and not without our histories of various injuries.  That being said, we modify how we use our elbows, knees, fists and legs so that whatever piece of us is permanently damaged is not reinjured.  We continue to have fun, get an incredible workout, while ferociously executing strikes with tremendous control.  My partner is quite fast and much taller - hence, her length and reach are something to avoid.  I am much shorter, but more solid; my strikes harder.  We work together as training partners; switching our stances from left to right.  We could really hurt oneanother but that's not the point of training.  Occassionally, she 'gets one in' on me if I don't block or keep my gloves up to my face.  I laugh when this happens - always have when hit hard.  It scares the pants off an opponent to know a hit doesn't scare or hurt you.  You adapt; you transform pain into laughter and you reinvent your injury into an asset by surprising your opponent with a different operandum.
This attitude transcends into everyday life.  Sometimes you get hit with events that upset your applecart - layoffs, rejections, dissolution of relationships - it's all the same.  Taking the experience, looking at it in the eye and using it to your advantage is transformation and reinvention.  Change is good; it shakes us up and motivates us to do something meaningful with our lives.  The job was most likely a dead end or boring, the rejection meant that the situation wasn't right to begin with and the dissolution of one relationship brings the opportunity to have a great relationship with someone else.
Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  A fighter who doesn't adapt in the ring gets knocked out.  A smart fighter assesses the situation and adapts and modifies every second in the round.  Be a champion...transform, reinvent yourself in the face of adversity and remember...when you get hit, laugh - and laugh loud and hard at Life.  In the end, YOU get LIFE - LIFE doesn't get YOU!
No blog until next Tuesday...I'm goin' fishin' for the holiday!  Enjoy your 4th of July!

On Commitment and Letting Go

As many of you know, my lovely little Golden Retriever, Sooki has been diagnosed with a mass in her abdominal cavity.  At this time, we are waiting for the results from a full body CT scan performed yesterday.  Only a clear diagnosis will tell me what path we will take....yes, WE.  Sooki is 14 years old and we have been in a most committed relationship for over 12 years since she adopted me.  Sooki took me under her care on one of the most darkest days of my life and has been with me through thick and thin, fun and not so fun times, been my guinea pig while in med school (ever look up a dog's nose with a magnifying glass?  Fascinating!), letting me test her reflexes and practicing acupuncture on her.  She's run 5 miles every morning with me for years while I trained for my fights.   In return, I've let Sooki chase squirrels, rabbits, eat everything and more or less do anything else her little heart pleases.  In the past few years, she graduated from Therapy Dog School just so she could assist me in my practice by making sick patients smile or just sharing her love. 
Now, after all these years of her taking care of me, it's time for me to take care of Sooki.  I will make sure she has normalcy and great quality of life and we will continue to do what we always do everyday until she tells me it's time to go onto her next adventure.  We have no regrets, we only have happy memories of all the crazy things we've done together.  And when her time comes to retire from her present job, I will certainly miss her physically, but she will always be next to me.
Sooki is one of God's lesser angels.  They come into our lives when we need them most; they take care of us and show us what love is.  They only leave us when they are certain their job is done.  Sooki has led me to the path of knowing true love for humans and has led me to the loving arms of one very special human in particular.  That has been her job.  She's certainly worked very hard all these years and I know she's already planning her next adventure.
So, if you're around our downtown office, feel free to stop by and say hello...all treats gladly accepted (Auntie Felicitas has already sent her goodies...thank you!) and thank her for the fun and laughter she's given to you.
Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Life can be short, life can be long.  It's all relative.  Do your lives with no regrets and remember, it's YOUR LIFE AND NO ONE ELSE'S.  Don't allow other people's rules or opinions steer you away from doing what you know is going to give you a full life.  No one else walks in your skin and no one has a right to tell you how to do your life, so don't fall into the trap of false guilt ; this is unhealthy and leads to stress-related physical disease.
If they love you, they will stay committed to you, love you and allow the winds of life dance between you.