As we New Yorkers thaw out from a long and hard winter it is time to think about how to move forward with our lives. In other words, how to get started with our spring training!
What does it take to be radiantly healthy?
This newsletter is about making the choices to achieve our goals.

Contents:
1. Mike Piazza does yoga
2. Traditional Chinese Medicine and Radiant Health
3. Acupuncture Studies in the News: MRI, Migraine
4. Turning Point notes of interest

1. Mike Piazza does yoga (and why you should care).

I don't usually read the sports section of the New York Times, but this headline caught my eye:
WITH HELP, PIAZZA BLENDS BASEBALL WITH YOGA
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/03/sports/baseball/03METS.htmlThe article went on to describe the new health regime of the NY Mets' catcher and star hitter. Apparently Piazza shocked everyone by showing up for spring training with his yoga teacher in tow acting as his personal trainer. His trainer, in addition to leading Piazza in his yoga sessions, also manages every aspect of Piazza’s diet (bringing to the ball park bags of apples, sunflower seeds, a flax seed oil based energy drink, etc.,) and body care (including massage). A power hitter, Piazza had previously concentrated on bulking up his muscle mass with heavy weight training and a diet consisting of a lot of red meat. Last season Piazza sustained a groin injury that prevented him from playing for months. During that time he decided that “preserving his body was more important than building it” and that he needed to take action towards that end. Now Piazza reports he is flexible but “perhaps not as buffed”. In a telling line from the article, Piazza’s yoga trainer said this about the player’s receptivity to training his body in a new way: “A motivating factor is often fear. Mike has been injured and he doesn't want that to ever happen again." Now at age 35, Piazza has made the choice to train and maintain his body in a healthy way.

All this got me thinking about what is involved in being the best we can be. How can we enjoy radiant health?

2. Traditional Chinese Medicine and Radiant Health

How healthy can we be?

Genetics surely plays a part. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acknowledges that there is a hereditary component that influences our vitality and longevity that is referred to as the ancestral Jing.  

The environment is also a strong modifier. For New Yorkers in particular, having to contend with the toxicities of environmental pollutants, sensory overload from persistent noise and light makes this a particularly challenging city in which to be healthy. To all of the above we can now also add the din of the terror mongering on the media.

Ultimately the level of health we enjoy as New Yorkers comes down to the choices we make. Like Mike Piazza, we can decide what modalities and paths to follow. What decisions we make on a daily basis affect the quality of our lives: what we eat, how much rest we get, what physical exercise we get, who we spend time with, what kind of work we do, etc.

These concepts form the basis of the philosophy behind TCM, which is all about finding a balance. A Chinese diet emphasizes a moderate intake of foods from a variety of sources. Similarly, a good exercise regime would be one that supported both the yin strengths of the body, e.g., flexibility, sustained power, fluid movement, and the yang strengths, such as vigorous movement and sudden bursts of power. The Eastern practices of Tai Chi and yoga are designed to train the body for both yin and yang strength. What about other athletic pursuits? The mental intention we bring to other exercise regimes can affect the outcome of those practices. It is possible to do weight training to develop muscular strength but not to the extent where one becomes muscle bound. Similarly, rather than pounding and punishing the body, one can jog, run, swim and bike in a way that is harmonious and kind.  The key is to feel better at the end of the workout, not ready to collapse. This is a radically different view than is perpetuated by the steroid driven sports world that dominates our culture.

Yoga Journal has a series of articles of interest to fitness enthusiasts that reports on studies of the cardiovascular and strength benefits of yoga and tai chi including one called:
IS YOGA ENOUGH TO KEEP YOU FIT? (Not to keep you in suspense, it is!)
This article can be found online at:
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/739_1.cfm

3. Acupuncture Studies in the News: MRI, Migraine

There were two noteworthy studies that were widely reported in the news these past months that I would like to bring to your attention.

ACUPUNCTURE'S SECRET: BLOOD FLOW TO THE BRAIN
MRI gives clues to how acupuncture may work:
The first is about how acupuncture treatment may work to treat pain and addictions. In a study at the Harvard Medical School, radiological imaging of the brain with MRI was used to study changes in the brain that occur with acupuncture. Twenty health subjects were needled at pain relief points.  Within seconds, the blood flow decreased to the key areas of the brain (the forebrain, cerebellum and the brainstem) associated with pain, mood and craving. It is speculated that this diminution essentially quiets the activity of those areas and also affects the flow of endorphins and other neurotransmitters that affect perception. The findings were reported at the recent meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society

More about this story is reported here by USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-03-03-acupuncture-blood-usat_x.htm

ACUPUNCTURE EFFECTIVE TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC HEADACHE AND MIGRAINES:
A study in the British Medical Journal reports that acupuncture is an effective and low cost adjunctive treatment for chronic migraine headache. More than 400 patients participated in a study that compared standard treatment to the same treatment combined with acupuncture. The acupuncture group did substantially better with fewer and less severe headaches, less reliance on medication, fewer doctor visits and fewer sick days missed at work.

The complete research paper is available online at the BMJ site:
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7442/744

4. Turning Point notes of interest

I am happy to report that one of our staff acupuncturists, Thea McCallion, is expecting her first child in August. She plans to work into the summer, but promises not to have the baby in the office!

People with appointments on Tuesday and Friday evenings will have noticed a new face. We welcome Deborah Turek, MS, LAc, a licensed acupuncturist who joined our staff in March. She graduated from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego and is on the faculty of the SUNY Downstate Medical School. Formerly in the financial world, Deborah's interest in Feng Shui and martial arts prompted her to learn more about Chinese philosophy and finally to go back to school to pursue a career in Chinese MedicineThe most current Turning Point schedule can be found here:
http://www.nycacupuncture.com/patientinfo.html