7 months ago
Advice From My Chinese Medicine Man
I went in for my second round of acupuncture to help with my life-long battle of migraine headaches. This time I knew what I was in for. I sat down in the waiting room and looked around. Frog statues in various poses sat on tables and shelves, Feng Shui video playing on the small TV to help you find peace and harmony in your home, water trickling down an old fountain and happy people waiting for their session. It's all so different from a traditional doctor's office.
And I'm one of those happy patients waiting my turn for the dozen needles that will prick my head, neck and back. It's like going to the spa. Dr. Ding comes, greets me, takes me down the hall whispering the whole way. "Your headaches gone soon," he says. "Soon you look around and wonder where headaches are." My session begins, the needles go in and this time the one in the middle of my head doesn't bother me. The Zen music, the water flowing, the tranquility... I went to China again.
When the session is over, Dr. Ding wants to chat. "I haven't told you about the four commandments?," he says with a bounce in his step and eye brows to the top of his forehead. "When I come to America, people tell me they have 10 commandments," he begins. "But then I see no one lives by them. So I give four commandments. Simple, easy, works!" I enthusiastically nod my head. I can't wait to hear what they are!
I'm expecting him to begin: "Thou shalt not..." Instead he says, "Commandment one: You breath six times every two hours. You got that?" He then gives actual medical reasoning for it, but I just keep nodding my head.
Commandment two: "When you shower in morning, you make hot water go on your neck right below head." He explains how this will stimulate your body for the day and again uses medical terminology.
Commandment three: "At night, you soak your feet in hot water. Every night. Don't forget this. Very important!" By soaking your feet, you will "ground" your body to sleep well. If I understood correctly, it sucks everything down to your feet. Something like that.
Commandment four: "Positive thoughts mean good energy. Negative thoughts mean bad energy. When you go to sleep, no negative thoughts. You think ONLY of nature. Ocean, forest, river. Ocean, forest, river. You got that?" Four commandments: "Simple, easy, works!"
Dr. Ding then tells me of a study he recently read, but has to quiz me first. "How old do American doctors live?," he asks me? I don't know, so he tells me. "59 average age. Now what do you think the age is for Chinese doctors?" I'm really curious now. "98!," he says. You go now and remember four commandments: Simply, easy, works!"
And I'm one of those happy patients waiting my turn for the dozen needles that will prick my head, neck and back. It's like going to the spa. Dr. Ding comes, greets me, takes me down the hall whispering the whole way. "Your headaches gone soon," he says. "Soon you look around and wonder where headaches are." My session begins, the needles go in and this time the one in the middle of my head doesn't bother me. The Zen music, the water flowing, the tranquility... I went to China again.
When the session is over, Dr. Ding wants to chat. "I haven't told you about the four commandments?," he says with a bounce in his step and eye brows to the top of his forehead. "When I come to America, people tell me they have 10 commandments," he begins. "But then I see no one lives by them. So I give four commandments. Simple, easy, works!" I enthusiastically nod my head. I can't wait to hear what they are!
I'm expecting him to begin: "Thou shalt not..." Instead he says, "Commandment one: You breath six times every two hours. You got that?" He then gives actual medical reasoning for it, but I just keep nodding my head.
Commandment two: "When you shower in morning, you make hot water go on your neck right below head." He explains how this will stimulate your body for the day and again uses medical terminology.
Commandment three: "At night, you soak your feet in hot water. Every night. Don't forget this. Very important!" By soaking your feet, you will "ground" your body to sleep well. If I understood correctly, it sucks everything down to your feet. Something like that.
Commandment four: "Positive thoughts mean good energy. Negative thoughts mean bad energy. When you go to sleep, no negative thoughts. You think ONLY of nature. Ocean, forest, river. Ocean, forest, river. You got that?" Four commandments: "Simple, easy, works!"
Dr. Ding then tells me of a study he recently read, but has to quiz me first. "How old do American doctors live?," he asks me? I don't know, so he tells me. "59 average age. Now what do you think the age is for Chinese doctors?" I'm really curious now. "98!," he says. You go now and remember four commandments: Simply, easy, works!"
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