 Ever feel overwhelmed with health issues? Not sure what to do next? In these moments, you may not realize all the ways that you are taking care of yourself. I just heard about a practice that might be helpful. Get an empty jar and some pennies. Each time you do something that is part of the healing process, put a penny in the jar. Take a deep breath and put a penny in the jar. Make a cup of tea, put a penny in the jar. Make a phone call to one of your health care providers, put a penny in the jar. Call a friend, put a penny in the jar. Eat a vegetable, put a penny in the jar. Etc… This process will shift your mindset from one of scarcity to one of abundance. It will help you dig deep into the resources that you currently have. It may give you new ideas about what your next steps will be. It will help you find small changes that over time will have a positive impact on your life and health. Each time I have to personally deal with health challenges, I learn a little more about the healing process. I’ll be sharing some of the lessons that I’ve learned in an online workshop at River Valley Coop on Wednesday, April 17th at 6:30. Remember, even when it’s difficult and painful and takes time, you have the power to heal. With Blessings, Bonnie
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 Have you ever had the experience of going on vacation and finding that whatever aches and pains you had been experiencing go away?
You’re freed of responsibility, given time to enjoy yourself and suddenly you feel healthier. This is your spirit, alive and well. East Asian Medicine refers to the spirit as an essential part of our being. In this system of medicine, all the organs have a physical, emotional and spiritual element. The heart is the ruler of the different spiritual elements. It houses the Shen, translated as mind or spirit. It is our consciousness and vitality. When the Shen is in balance, there is ease and joy in our lives. This sense of ease then spreads to all of the other organs. The spirit isn’t some woo woo thing. It’s one of the most powerful aspects of our being. And the spirit isn’t just something that we are given at birth. It can be strengthened at any point in our lives. In the next few emails, I’ll talk about practices that make our spirits stronger. I had to lean into these practices while I was waiting for a kidney donor. I would notice the sunshine coming in through the window, moments when I was able to feel at peace, times when friends and family reached out to offer support. I had to keep telling myself that things would work out okay. The easiest way to access your spirit is to close your eyes. In your mind take yourself to a place where you feel fully alive and at peace. You may need to scan your life to find this place. Think of moments when you were truly happy. When you have found this place, notice all the details in your surroundings. What is the weather like? What do you see? What do you feel? Is there anyone with you? Then check in with your body. Notice how you feel when you imagine yourself in one of your favorite places. Remember that you can return to this place in your imagination whenever you want to. In your favorite place, it becomes easier to feel the rhythm of your heart. When you feel this rhythm, you create an opening, a safe place, for healing to happen. Your spirit comes alive. You may feel a sense of hope and possibility. Interested in deepening your relationship to your spirit and learning practices to heal when you are in need surgery or medications? I’m offering an online workshop with River Valley Coop, “An Acupuncturist’s Approach to Integrative Care” on April 17th at 6:30pm. You can register here. In your most difficult moments, may you find light and strength. With you on the journey, Bonnie  Have you heard the term “glimmers?” In books I’ve been reading about trauma, it is the opposite of triggers – those instances when we feel anxious and afraid. Our brains are wired to look for and remember those moments as a way to keep us safe. We learn pretty early in life not to touch a hot stove and to look both ways when crossing the street. We also remember the highlights of our lives – things like weddings and graduations, travel to faraway places and professional successes. But what about the smaller moments when the world seems to align and we feel safe and well-regulated? Deb Dana, a licensed social worker, called these moments glimmers. Though she specializes in complex trauma, the idea of glimmers can be used in the treatment of chronic pain. What if we brought increased attention to the times when we’re feeling physically good? Moments during the day when pain subsides. And what if we wrote down how we were feeling in those moments? To help you do this, I’ve created a file called “Tracking Glimmers.” You can download it by scrolling down on my forms page located here. Try using it for a week. Does anything shift for you? Feel free to send me an email and let me know what your experience is like. May you have more glimmers as you go through your day! Life sometimes throws us curveballs. If you’ve lived long enough, you’ve encountered illness, pain or emotional discomfort -- often all three at once.
This recently happened to me when it became apparent that my best chance for a long and healthy life was a kidney transplant. On my own, I honestly couldn’t imagine it. It seemed like my doctors were suggesting the equivalent of space travel to Mars. It took me many months to get to the place of acceptance. I didn't know how to get there when all I wanted was for the problem to go away. Here's what I learned from this experience. The road to acceptance has these components: reaching out to other people, getting accurate medical information and trusting in something greater than ourselves. I think each component is important. Trust without medical knowledge limits us, as does knowledge without a support system, and support without trust. Here are my tried-and-true thoughts about each component. Reaching out to other people: Whatever you are going through, someone else is going through as well. Perhaps not in the exact same way, but close enough. To find a kidney donor, I had to go public. This was a challenge, but the benefit was the gift of years of prolonged life and health. You may not want to share the details of your health so publicly, but do reach out to the people you love and trust. You don’t know where you’ll find the resources that you need. People absolutely want to be helpful if they can be. I’m not a huge social media person, however, FB has a moderated group of 20 thousand people who have had or will have a kidney transplant. They answered my questions, shared their experiences, celebrated kidney transplant anniversaries. They made me feel less alone. There are non-profits whose mission it is to help people struggling with an illness. Reach out to an organization for information and support if you have chronic pain, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc. I eventually found a donor through, Renewal, an organization that helps facilitate kidney donation. Getting accurate medical information: Check reputable websites like the following to learn about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/back-pain https://draxe.com/ Get more than one opinion, particularly if you have a serious condition. If everyone tells you the same thing, you’ll feel more confident about your treatment. Get clear on your options. Often treatment is about trade-offs. Medications and surgery have potential side-effects. Find out the risks and benefits of various treatments. See if acupuncture, life style changes and other forms of complementary care might be able to treat the problem or reduce side-effects of treatment. Trust in something greater than yourself. Whatever your personal religious or spiritual beliefs are, we are part of a living, breathing ecosystem. There is a life force that sustains us. The ancient Chinese called this force qi. We are alive because our bodies are designed to take in air and food and water. We live in an interconnected web of life. Sickness is a part of this web, but so is healing and health. Before we learn to speak and walk and conceptualize things, we are living creatures who breathe without effort, eat and poop. We catch a virus and generally we recover. Outdoors the sun rises and sets, the seasons change, plants grow and produce food. And all of this happens by design. I find it helpful to lean into this design during times of pain and uncertainty. To feel the support of a life force greater than ourselves. To give ourselves over to that force without attachment to outcome. There is a kind of surrender that allows us to accept whatever may happen. In this state, all is well. (Note: Getting to acceptance takes time for most of us. Stay the course.) If you belong to a religious organization, talk to the clergy there. If you don’t belong but feel like you need spiritual support, most clergy will talk to you. If you are hospitalized, there are chaplains on staff. If you love nature, go sit or take a walk in the woods. I spent many hours at Mount Tom and Arcadia “talking” to the trees, “telling” them I would be back after my surgery. Do whatever makes you feel whole, go to wherever you feel safe. If you are sitting, feel how the chair holds and supports you. If you are standing, feel the ground beneath your feet. The road to acceptance is bumpy and non-linear. Some days are easier than others. If you are feeling lost or overwhelmed because of a health condition, please do reach out to me. I’m happy to have a conversation to offer support and ideas for what steps you might want to take. To each of you, I send out this wish, “May you find peace, may you find healing, may you find ease, may you find alignment.” All my best, Bonnie Sometimes our lives need a little reset. I realized the importance of this when I took a day trip to Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. I left my house a bit frazzled. I was in a hurry and had just enough gas in the car to make it most of the way to Lenox.
Fortunately, after a pit stop in Lee, I arrived. Once I got there, my whole frame of mind shifted. I parked the car, put my phone in a locker and had a full day to do whatever I wanted to with no responsibilities. I took a dance yoga class, went on a mindfulness kayak ride and had a delicious lunch and dinner. The weather was beautiful and for that day life was easy and effortless. I truly felt cared for. When we’re busy and stressed out, it may seem counterintuitive to slow down. With so much to do, we tend to hurry and check off one more thing on our to-do list. But slowing down really helps us focus on what is most important. It helps us gain clarity. It resets our nervous system. We can then face our lives with more wisdom and grace. It’s summer and the world feels a little slower. I encourage you to take time off –several days or a week if you can. But even a day or an hour in a different setting can offer the benefits of rest and relaxation. That’s one of the reasons that acupuncture and craniosacral therapy can be so helpful. They give the body and mind time to relax, reset and rejuvenate. If you’re feeling like you could use some TLC, take a moment to schedule a free consultation or an acupuncture or craniosacral therapy appointment. It could be the first step to a life of more ease. With you on the journey… Bonnie I recently watched the movie "Air," the story behind Air Jordans and was drawn to the line "A shoe is always just a shoe until someone steps in it."
Our bodies are like that. For the most part, we share the same organs, muscles, tendons and body parts. These tend to work in similar ways. Our hearts beat, our lungs fill with air, our stomach and intestines digest food. We all have this in common. But the container that we live in is just that, a container. A group of living organs. I've been exploring for most of my life what it means to step into this container. What does it mean to become embodied? As I’ve explored this, I’ve found that listening to what my body is saying is an incredibly powerful thing. Stretching my spine every morning has gotten rid feelings of neuropathy in my legs. Strengthening the muscles in my legs has meant no more knee pain. Lifting weights at home has kept my bones strong. Eating foods that have a high nutritional content and taste good, has meant a healthier GI tract. Working with patients, I find that the same thing is true. As they gain an awareness of how to stand and move properly, their pain is reduced and their lives are filled with more ease. When they eat healthier, things like brain fog and acid reflux go away. This isn’t about rocket science, rather it’s small, steady changes that over time allow us to be more embodied, more conscious of our experience in our physical being. I continue to help people have this experience of living healthier by offering Japanese Acupuncture, Craniosacral Therapy and Wellness Counseling. If you are interested in improving your health, here are 2 ways to get started.
Here’s to your good health and happiness!  Last week when I was treating a patient, she asked this question, “So how does acupuncture work?” It’s a question that I had asked as a student at the New England School of Acupuncture.
The truth is that we don’t actually know how acupuncture works from a Western medical perspective. East Asian medicine has a model that is vastly different from science, which focuses on separating the different parts of the body and has an emphasis on cause and effect. Acupuncture looks at the body as a whole and focuses more on the relationship of a part to it’s whole. Western Medicine is more absolute, Eastern Asian medicine more relative. Because these models are so different, it’s difficult to explain one in terms of the other. That said, we do have some clues about how acupuncture works from a Western medical perspective.
All of this is exciting news because it offers confirmation of what I find when treating patients. Pain decreases, the body goes into relaxed states, colds & flus last for shorter amounts of time. Interested, intrigued by how this works and how it might help you? I’m offering free 30 minute consultations. Sign-up here. With you in health, Bonnie Sources: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S200529011300174X https://oshercenter.org/2020/08/26/harvard-study-finds-acupuncture-can-tame-cytokine-storms-in-mice/  Acupuncture works by moving qi in the body. But what is qi and why is it important?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we learn that qi is energy. In its most basic form, it contains yin and yang – two ends of a spectrum. Yin corresponds to darkness, cold, winter, female, stillness. Yang corresponds to light, heat, summer, male. This energy further separates into the five elements – water, wood, fire, earth and metal. In the body, yin refers to the front and yang to the back. The five elements are reflected in the five major organs – the kidneys, liver, heart, spleen/pancreas, and lungs. When we refer to these organs, we’re not talking about the actual physical organ, rather organ functionality. There’s something that is not actual living tissue, rather the instructions for how the cells and organs should behave. I think of qi as the body’s intelligent energy. It’s what makes lung cells know how to breathe, stomach cells know how to digest food, liver cells know how to detoxify, kidney cells know how to filter waste and heart cells know how to pump blood. We come into the world with only these basic instructions to keep us alive. Breathe and eat to supply the body with energy. Get rid of the waste productions that result from this process. And then, of course, take a nap. Remarkably, without any training, our bodies are pretty good at this. Then life happens. There’s all this other stuff we need to do. We learn to speak and read and accumulate knowledge. We have to go out into the world of work. Our bodies develop the capacity to reproduce. We form connections with other people. The world gets much more complex. In the midst of the complexities, we can forget the basics – breathe, eat, move and rest. What used to be so simple may know seem out of reach. Here’s the thing. Getting these basics back is not out of reach. Acupuncture and East Asian medicine are truly designed for this. When I’m working with people, I’m reminding them of the things that their body already knows. The beauty of the work is in helping people reclaim the power that lives within them. Need encouragement, advice on how to do this? There’s an easy way to get in touch with me. Sign up for a free, 30 minute consultation. If you’re new to acupuncture, have seen me before or are a current patient, I’m happy to spend a little time helping you live with more health, greater ease and increased well-being.  I love the holidays and this time of year. In the 5 element, 5 organ system of Chinese Medicine, we are entering the time of the kidneys and water. It is a time that connects us to our deepest energy. Think of the image of a well that brings up water from deep in the ground, to sustain and support us.
It’s so interesting that the new year starts here because energetically it is a time of beginnings. A time to plant the seeds that will grow into life events and experiences – things that we will harvest in 2021. I’m not a big fan of new year’s resolutions, as most of these get broken, leaving us feeling discouraged. But I am a fan of imagining, asking for what we want, digging deep into our souls for guidance and seeing what we find. I encourage you to take time to reflect on the things that are most important to you. My part in this process is to help you achieve your health goals. In the spirit of thanks and generosity, I’m offering discounted packages that you can purchase for yourself or as a gift to a family ember. These will be available through this link until the end of December. May this season be filled with wonder and connection even as we wear masks and socially distance. Life continues to move forward. Let’s make the best of it. With you in spirit, Bonnie ps. If you’re looking for a Thanksgiving recipe instead of or in addition to the traditional turkey, here’s a yummy stuffed squash dish.  Pain is one of those pesky things we think we have to live with. You, like many of my patients, may have experienced sciatica. It’s something that generally isn’t serious in a life-threatening way, but creates so much distress and discomfort. If you have sciatica, you probably will be in pain doing your normal daily activities, like walking, sitting or sleeping.
Your doctor may want to help you, but has minimal tools – anti-inflammatory drugs and cortisone shots – both of which come with side effects. Also, they don’t fix the problem. Here’s where being open to trying a new modality like acupuncture can be helpful. Treatments reduce inflammation, relax muscles and treat areas of the spine that may be pressing on the sciatic nerve. That’s what Phil Chmura found out when he came to see me. Phil suffered from severe sciatica. The pain interfered with his daily life to the extent that he couldn't stand for more than 3 minutes before the pain started and continued to increase. He had already tried treatments like chiropractic and anti-inflammatory drugs to no avail and he wanted to avoid cortisone shots. He finally decided it was time to turn his life around and came to see me after getting encouragement from his daughter and friend of mine, Amber Ladley. After just nine weekly treatments, we were able to virtually eliminate his pain! Phil was able to get back to biking – one of his favorite activities. When I reached out to him, about a year and a half after treatment, he responded with these words: "I have fortunately been relatively pain free since the completion and have just recently signed up for my second bike trip across the USA. I cannot thank Bonnie enough for getting my life back to normal and would highly recommend her services." I thank Phil for sharing his story. With pain, you have options. By being open to complementary forms of treatment, like acupuncture, you can find ways of reducing and eliminating pain. You might be a little nervous to try something new. I understand that. People have concerns about the needles, the safety of treatment, trying something outside of Western Medicine. That’s why I offer free ½ hour, online consultations. I’ll listen to what is causing you pain and discomfort, review your health history and honestly let you know how I can be helpful. Please know that you don't have to suffer in silence if you're in pain. |
AuthorIn practice for over 20 years, Bonnie Diamond offers individualized, heart-centered care using a pain-free, Japanese style of acupuncture. Her work is influenced by her nine year struggle with and complete recovery from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 
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