Feeling The Change

Chinese medicine is based on a lot of Daoist concepts, including the idea that everything everywhere is always shifting and changing all together all at once. According to this philosophy, since change is an inevitable part of life, it is important to acknowledge it, embrace it, and go with the flow. As humans, we experience this in two significant ways: physical changes and changes in consciousness. Sometimes these changes happen bit by bit in increments so small as to be almost imperceptible. An example of this is how we go gray. Day-to-day the shift isn't very dramatic, but over time it is obvious and significant. These changes can also happen in phases. For example, even though our brains are 90% developed by age six, this process isn't complete until the prefrontal cortex matures in our late 20s. This is the part of our brain responsible for empathy, intuition, insight, and emotional intelligence.

In Chinese medicine, it is thought that the bigger, more dramatic shifts occur at regular intervals throughout our lives, like chapters, about every seven years. Western medicine recognizes a couple of these major events, namely puberty and menopause, though Chinese medicine recognizes many more. Interestingly, this theory aligns with the idea in biology that all of our cells turn over about every seven years. In other words, at seven you are a copy of an original, at 14 you are a copy of a copy, at 21 you are a copy of a copy of a copy, and so on. Each consecutive copy is physically less true to the original, resulting in the process that we call aging. However, with each replication, there also comes an evolution in consciousness. Over time our perceptions continue to shift and we become wiser and more true to ourselves. This is one of the greatest gifts of a long life - the wisdom gained over time through consciousness expansion.

I am now firmly in my fifties, a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy. I am on the tail end of one of the biggest changes that I have ever experienced. This change is so big, in fact, that it is colloquially referred to in our culture simply as "The Change." What has been most amazing about this process is not so much the physical changes as the change in consciousness and the multiple ways in which this has manifested. The biggest one is that I find myself letting go of the concept of motherhood. I never had any children so this process has been interesting; it is kind of strange to realize that the bloodline ends with me. My thoughts about my mom, who died 15 years ago, have also changed. She is becoming more of an abstract concept, and I find myself feeling more self-reliant over time and less like I want the type of comfort and advice that only a mother can give. The smaller indicators of The Change have been just as interesting. I am letting my hair grow out for the first time in many years. I removed the skeleton key from my keychain, the one I've had since college when I shared an apartment with that friend I haven't talked to in a very long time. I am suddenly craving new music: I downloaded a bunch of stuff for my personal library and have switched the music at my office from new age to ambient. I spontaneously started doing yoga again after taking a couple of years off because at this point it's starting to feel more non-negotiable. I buried my sweet kitty's ashes in the garden under her favorite window. I've decided it's time to learn a new instrument and have chosen the electric bass. I finally took the leap and started volunteering at the hospice. I am generally feeling more sentimental.

It is said that as we age, time goes faster. I think part of this process is that over the course of our lives we stop living as much in the day-to-day and begin to see things more in terms of the bigger patterns. Our daily rhythms become more regular and fixed, we get better at sensing the seasonal shifts, we recognize the onset of a new chapter, and we see further and further into the future. The details and distractions slip away, we simplify, and we see the essence of life more clearly. I know that in my life there are many moons left, but only so many years, and just a handful of chapters. Though life is certainly starting to feel more finite, I am looking forward to the next big change.

Hospice Volunteering

I am really looking forward to starting my volunteer work at CarePartners' Solace Hospice this fall. This has been many years coming. I was first introduced to the concept of hospice as a teenager when my grandfather had cancer. I was struck by the straightforward way in which the staff addressed dying head-on as a natural part of life. Death is such a taboo subject in our culture; it was refreshing to see it reframed as a universal human experience, our final rite of passage. The focus on palliative care over treatment made sense, too. I believe it is a great kindness to help minimize the suffering of others in their final days.

In my practice, I have found my work with terminal patients to be incredibly rewarding. Though I primarily act in a supportive role, helping really sick people manage their symptoms has taught me more about what constitutes true healing than any textbook ever could. In a strange and paradoxical way, it has also taught me about what it really means to live. It wasn't until a few years ago when I was studying for my doctorate, however, that I decided to formally work in hospice. What inspired me was the realization that it is the most integrative branch of medicine. I have always felt that the more people on your health care team the better and that all therapies amplify and complement each other. This philosophy is openly embraced in hospice, with most facilities offering treatments like acupuncture, massage, prayer, and aromatherapy right alongside standard care.

In early 2021 I was able to formalize my growing interest in this field with a certification course through the National Association of Hospice and Palliative Care Acupuncturists. Because of the pandemic, the volunteer program at Solace was suspended, however, so I had to wait until quite recently for it to start up again. As of this spring, the program was back on and I was able to complete my training, orientation, and health check, finalizing my requirements for volunteering. In order to do this, I need to reduce the number of days I work per week, so starting in October I will be working Monday through Thursday instead of Monday through Friday. I will still be working full days Monday through Thursday as usual, 9:30 am to 6:00 pm. I am really looking forward to volunteering and thank you all for your support as I make this shift.

Chinese Medicine is Functional Medicine

Every so often a new buzzword comes into popularity in the medical community, with the latest being "functional medicine." Doctors can now receive special training in this and it is being touted as a new way to practice healthcare that can address the current alarming rise in chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes. In functional medicine, the main idea is to determine how and why illness occurs, both addressing symptoms and restoring health with treatments that target the root cause of disease. It does this by taking into account each patient's unique genetics, lifestyle factors, and disease presentation to create individualized treatment plans.

Though functional medicine is a new approach in western medicine, it is in line with the way that Chinese medicine has always been practiced. Like genetics, we consider what we call your constitution, with the understanding that we are all born with different strengths and weaknesses that protect us from certain types of disease but predispose us to others. We also consider the way that lifestyle factors influence health, especially things like diet and exercise. In addition, we try to determine the root cause of the disease, seeking not only to relieve symptoms but to also correct the underlying imbalance that gave rise to them so they are less like to reoccur. By identifying what we call patterns, the individual's unique set of symptoms, we can determine their biggest common denominators and craft an individualized treatment plan. Like functional medicine, we also seek to restore health, especially when it comes to treating chronic disease. We do this primarily with tonics, a special category of acupuncture points and herbs that optimize health by replenishing depletions and strengthening and normalizing the functioning of the internal organs. In other words, Chinese medicine is functional medicine. When it comes to buzzwords, Chinese medicine is also considered to be complementary, alternative, holistic, mind-body, traditional, integrative, and preventive medicine.

Functional Medicine vs. Conventional Medicine

Chinese Medicine is Complementary Medicine

Complementary medicine is any medicine that is used alongside western medicine that enhances its effects. This includes Chinese medicine as well as other types of therapies like massage and chiropractic. In my experience, most therapies enhance the effects of each other and have different strengths that make them better for different types of conditions. For example, western medicine excels in the field of emergency medicine while Chinese medicine is better at treating chronic conditions.

Chinese Medicine is Alternative Medicine

Alternative medicine is any type of medicine that is used instead of western medicine. As with complementary medicine, this includes things like Chinese medicine, massage, and chiropractic. Some people choose alternative medicine because they respond better to it, no matter what they have going on. Others may choose it because it is a less invasive option or because experience has taught them that for certain things the alternative treatment gives them better results. For example, instead of surgery for lower back pain, someone might choose acupuncture and cupping instead.

Chinese Medicine is Holistic Medicine

Like all holistic modalities, Chinese medicine treats the physical body and the non-material thinking-feeling self as one intertwined whole. There is an understanding that physical conditions can cause emotional symptoms and vice-versa, that if we feel better physically we will feel better emotionally and vice-versa. It also looks less at isolated symptoms and more at the general health of the whole person, especially the interrelationship between all of their symptoms. In addition, it aims to heal the person as a whole, addressing outward symptoms while simultaneously correcting the deeper, underlying causes of disease so they are less likely to reoccur. Another central idea is to promote wellness, optimizing the general health of the individual overall to prevent illness.

Chinese Medicine is Mind-Body Medicine

Mind-body medicine is the field of medicine concerned with the ways that the mind and emotions influence the body and physical health. As stated above, Chinese medicine is holistic so it understands that the mind and body affect the health of each other in both negative and positive ways. Treating the mind and body as one intertwined whole is a foundational idea in Chinese medicine.

Chinese Medicine is Traditional Medicine

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines traditional medicine as the “sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health, as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness.” Though western medicine is often referred to as traditional medicine, the first medical school in the US didn't open until 1765 at the College of Philadelphia, and modern medicine as we know it didn't come into existence until the 19th century with the advent of advances like anesthesia and the germ theory of disease. Chinese medicine, on the other hand, encompasses everything in the WHO definition, including a written record that goes back thousands of years, making it one of the oldest and most time-tested medical traditions in the world.

Chinese Medicine is Energy Medicine

Energy medicine is a field of medicine based on the idea that there is a human energy field that interacts with other energy fields. This is the main principle behind the channel theory of acupuncture. The basic idea is that the same forces that act on and flow through the natural world act on and flow through us as well. The primary unifying force in the universe is chi, the lifeforce energy. In us, chi flows along regular pathways called channels or meridians, and it can be tapped at the acupuncture points. Chi is the energy that knits us together so that all of our systems can coordinate as a cohesive whole. It is also what connects us to everything and everyone around us, weaving us into the fabric of the universe at large.

Chinese Medicine is Integrative Medicine

Like complementary medicine, integrative medicine combines western medicine with other types of therapies. The main difference is that integrative medicine is done in a more intentional, coordinated way. For example, in China, it is common in hospitals for acupuncture and herbal medicine to be offered right alongside western medical treatments like pharmaceutical drugs and surgery. In the US this type of coordination is seen in hospitals in certain states, especially in California, and in the military, where the Defense and Veterans Center for Integrative Pain Management and the Veterans Health Administration National Pain Management Program Office have trained over 2,800 medical providers in the use of “battlefield acupuncture” as an alternative to opiates in the treatment of acute pain on the frontlines.

Chinese Medicine is Preventive Medicine

In western medicine, the aim of preventive medicine is the absence of disease. This is achieved primarily in three ways. The first is by changing lifestyle factors, like quitting smoking to prevent lung cancer. The second is through treatments that directly prevent the occurrence of disease, like vaccinations. The third is screenings, like annual check-ups and colonoscopies, that can catch disease in its early stages, before outward symptoms manifest. In Chinese medicine, the aim of preventive medicine is to boost the individual's health so that they are more resilient to disease. This is also done by changing lifestyle factors, like diet, and screenings, like pulse and tongue diagnosis. Where Chinese medicine differs, however, is in its ability to address the individual's constitutional weaknesses with treatments like tonics, elevating their levels of health and wellness overall so that they are less likely to get sick.

Delayed Menstrual Cycles: Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Treatments

In addition to pregnancy, there are many reasons why a menstrual cycle may be delayed. These include conditions like chronic illness, excessive physical work, chronic bleeding disorders, too many children too close together, and excessive breastfeeding. The common denominator among all these conditions is that they are depleting in nature, using up the chi, blood, and nutrients that otherwise would have contributed to the building of the endometrial lining in the uterus. Other causes of delayed menstrual cycles include travel, emotional upsets, irregular diet, and long-standing emotional stress, all of which disrupt our natural rhythms and interfere with the smooth flow of chi and blood in the body.

The main treatment principle for delayed periods due to depletion is tonification via the use of acupuncture points and herbs that are nourishing, supportive, and replenishing. For example, if someone has a pale complexion, a pale tongue, and a history of light periods, we will choose points and herbs that tonify blood. These include points on the channels for the digestive organs, the system responsible for extracting the nutrients needed to make blood from food, and herbs like dong quai, which is naturally high in iron, a nutrient that is necessary for the oxygenation of blood. However, if someone has abdominal distention and breast tenderness, is feeling frustrated or stuck in their lives, and has a history of menstrual clots, then the main treatment principle would be to unblock the flow of chi and blood. Points used in these cases include Spleen 4, Pericardium 6, Liver 3, Liver 14, Snajiao 6, Kidney 14, Spleen 6, and Ren 4 and 6, all of which either move chi or invigorate blood in the lower abdomen. Formulas that are often prescribed for this pattern include xiao yao, a classical formula for PMS that moves chi and nourishes blood, chai hu shu gan, which moves chi and eliminates blood stagnation, or qi zhi xiang fu, which moves chi and strongly invigorates blood.

CAUTION: If there is a chance that your menstrual cycle is delayed due to pregnancy the following acupuncture points are contraindicated as they can induce labor: Large Intestine 4, Gall Bladder 21, Urinary Bladder 60 and 67, and Spleen 6. All of the points in the lower abdomen and lumbar area are also contraindicated because they can invigorate blood in the local area.
CAUTION: If there is a chance that your menstrual cycle is delayed due to pregnancy, herbs that invigorate blood are contraindicated. This includes dan shen (salvia root) jiang huang (turmeric rhizome), yi mu cao (Chinese motherwort), and yue ji hua (Chinese tea rose), hu zhang (knotweed rhizome), tao ren (peach kernel), hong hua (safflower), and fan hong hua (saffron). This also includes formulas like tao he cheng qi (Peach Pit to Order the Chi), sheng hua (Generating and Transforming), gui zhi fu ling (Cinnamon Twig and Poria), dang gui shao yao (Dong Gui and Peony), shi xiao (Sudden Smile), or huo luo xiao ling (Fantastically Effective to Invigorate the Collaterals).

New Year's Resolutions - 7 Essential Keys to Health

Are you looking for some New Year’s resolutions or just interested in boosting your overall level of wellness? If you focus on these 7 keys you can feel better both physically and emotionally, improve your outcome with almost any health condition, prevent the development of illnesses in the future, elevate your quality of life, and extend your lifespan.

1. Nourishment

The focus here should be on foods that are fresh, seasonal, organic, whole, and unprocessed. Fresh foods generally have more nutrients and more chi than foods that are frozen, canned, dehydrated, or highly processed. Our amazing local tailgate markets are the best source for these types of foods. In general, most people need to eat less sugar, refined flour, and saturated fats, and more whole grains, vegetables, especially leafy greens, and polyunsaturated fats, like those we get from nuts and seeds.

2. Hydration

Water helps us flush out metabolic toxins. It is essential for replenishing yin, keeping us cool and helping our mucosal membranes and joints stay moist and lubricated. Water helps us digest food and absorb nutrients and can even boost our energy and improve cognition. The general recommendation is to drink half your weight in ounces per day. If it is hot or if you are very active you will need more water, as well as electrolytes. The best quality water is fresh from natural, unpolluted sources, like spring water.

3. Exercise

Exercise has a host of benefits, from improving your energy levels and cardiac health to reducing high blood pressure and stress. Moderate, full-body exercises are best because they boost your chi and keep it flowing: swimming, walking, tai chi, dancing, bicycling. Though it is optimal to get some exercise most days, even just one 20-minute walk can have immediate, notable benefits. An important component of exercise is exposure to sunlight and fresh air so make sure to get outside.

4. Sleep

Sleep gives your body time to repair damaged tissues and replenish energy reserves. It is when we integrate our waking experiences and when our body flushes out our brains with fresh cerebrospinal fluid. Because of this, sleep improves mental alertness, memory, and problem-solving. In Chinese medicine, we recommend 8 hours of sleep per night. In the winter, the most yin time of year, when it is darker and colder and we naturally hibernate more, we recommend up to 9 hours per night.

5. Rest

In addition to sleep, we also need time for rest. Rest helps us be present and gives us time to reflect, reevaluate, and plan for the future. Rest is also essential for emotional health because it gives us time to decompress, reducing the toll that things like chronic stress and anxiety can have on our health. Rest even has direct physiological benefits, like reducing inflammation and improving immunity. Everyone should rest at least a little every day. Balancing activity and rest is an important way that we can balance yin and yang in our lives.

6. Emotional Balance

Taking care of our emotional health means many things. Making time for fun, doing things that we love, and expressing our creativity are all part of it. It also means feeling connected: to the people who are important to us, to our community at large, to nature. For most of us, feeling like we are living a life of meaning and purpose, like we are making a positive difference in the world, is also essential. In Chinese medicine physical health is absolutely essential to emotional health; they are completely intertwined and one depends on the other.

7. Toxin Reduction

In the modern world, we are exposed to toxins of many types. Eating according to the guidelines above reduces the number of toxins that we take in, staying hydrated gives our body what it needs to flush toxins out, and exercising in fresh air helps clear our lungs. Other ways to reduce toxins include limiting our intake of alcohol and drugs and reducing our consumption of stimulants like tobacco and coffee. In Chinese medicine intoxicants and stimulants increase the amount of heat in the body, leading to inflammation of the organs and tissues. In addition to reducing our intake, occasional fasts or cleanses can help the body clear out accumulated toxins.

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"I've been seeing Nancy for almost 2 years. I am very grateful for her compassionate and empathetic approach to the healing process. I generally go for TMJ, stress, muscle tension, and preventative medicine. I start feeling more calm and relaxed even before Nancy finishes putting in the needles. I really appreciate how Nancy listens to me and remembers what I say. I ALWAYS enjoy learning new things at every appointment. Thank you so much for being so wonderful Nancy." ~Virginia Currie

Dr. Nancy Hyton

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Monday to Thursday 9:30 to 6:00 and Friday 9:30 to 12:00

26 Fairfax Avenue, West Asheville, NC 28806

Text or Call (828) 606-6791

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