A Question of Balance & Oriental Medicine

By: Kitty Bradshaw
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:18:15
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At BIOM, we encourage ourselves and our visitors to become aware of, and act from, that special ‘place’ inside oneself that is the wellspring of health and wellbeing. With that in mind, we invite you to explore with us an Oriental medicine approach to balanced eating that provides the energy for living the life you want to live.

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step."
— Lao Tzu

It's A Balancing Act
"How balanced are you?" If someone asked you that question how might you respond? Since the experience of 'balance' doesn't play an obvious role in daily life, you may find yourself asking some questions of your own to get to the meaning of what's being asked. "How balanced am I?" Do they mean: Am I physically balanced? Am I psychologically balanced? Am I emotionally balanced?

"You are what you eat": So if your diet is nutritionally and energetically balanced, so are you.

All good questions to ask periodically in your ongoing assessment of your health and sense of wellbeing. And, from an Oriental medicine point of view, you would want to add to this checklist: "Am I 'nutritionally' balanced?"; "Am I 'energetically’ balanced?" Because when you're 'nutritionally' balanced your food will be providing you with the energy you need to be “energetically” balanced — and an energetically balanced person is healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

The Five Tastes

A nutritionally and energetically balanced diet includes food that combines these five tastes:

Salty
Sour
Bitter
Sweet
Spicy

Feeling Balanced

Many people 'think' they're balanced. But there's a difference between 'thinking' and 'knowing,' like there is a difference between thinking that you just ate something satisfying compared to knowing you did. And how do I know if I'm still hungry or not? I feel it. So how do you know if you’re nutritionally and energetically balanced? You feel it.

While it's easy to intellectually point out the difference between thinking and feeling, it's a little more difficult to know with your body what balance feels like, chiefly because our culture emphasizes the development of our mental faculties, while minimizing the cultivation of the feeling and intuitive aspects of ourselves. This unhealthy and illogical imbalance can comically reveal itself in a normal conversation when a caring person genuinely presses to know: "Are you really feeling okay?" and the other replies, "I think so."

Even this core level imbalance in self-awareness can be remedied through the power of Oriental medicine by combining diet and nutrition, Chinese medical herbs, Chi Kung, and acupuncture or acupressure.

Remember: Health is a ‘balancing act.’

Kitty Bradshaw is a licensed acupuncturist, with an advanced clinical degree in Oriental Medicine. Studying and working with Oriental Medicine since 1986, Kitty combines Traditional Oriental Medicine with Taoist healing methods to offer healing possibilities beyond the level of standard health care. Her deep understanding of Chinese medical herbs, combined with her intuitive abilities to diagnose and treat difficult problems, has helped many people regain and maintain their health.

For a FREE phone consultation to find out how Oriental Medicine can work for you, go to http://www.biom.net to contact Kitty, or subscribe to BIOM's FREE newsletter.

Article source: Expert Articles