I have had a wonderful first year at Selby Acupuncture and feel blessed to be working with such a talented and professional group! My favorite thing about my time with the practice is the wonderful people I have met and had the honor to help.

Shiatsu is a unique type of bodywork, based on Traditional Chinese Medicine and useful in treating many conditions. As some of you know, I sit down and talk with you for a short time before we start. I want to know how your body is feeling and hear about your sleep, digestion, mood, and energy level. I often ask to look at your tongue and feel your pulse. What I learn from them allows me to plan the treatment to address the imbalances using a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnosis.

Every time I work with someone I get a better understanding of what is going on. During the treatment, I am listening, feeling, continuing my assessment. After feeling certain areas and points, I occasionally choose to change the course of the treatment based on what your body is telling me.

“Symptoms are not enemies to be destroyed but sacred messengers who encourage us to take better care of ourselves” – Food Matters TV

One thing I always ask myself when there are painful conditions is, “Where are things stuck and why?” A common spot is the shoulders. For some, the tension is palpable, with hard, knotty muscles. For others, the pain is there, but the muscles feel empty. In Chinese medicine, one is stagnation and the other is deficiency. Both can create discomfort but are treated differently. There are different degrees of stagnation and deficiency, and the techniques I choose are based on your symptoms and how your muscles, meridians, and points feel.

I often incorporate cranio-sacral therapy into my treatments. It is deeply restorative, and especially helpful with headaches, sinus problems, and sleep issues. Cranio-sacral fluid is a truly fascinating part of our amazing human bodies. I will write more about it soon in a future blog post.

Are you in need of some deep restoration? Would you like to learn what messages your body is trying to tell you? I would be honored to help through my work. If this seems like something that could benefit you or a loved one, contact us at 651-224-6678 and let’s get started!

(written by Lori)