I really liked this article. I hope you like it, too! :-) "Acupuncture is not a one-shot deal. It works cumulatively, meaning one treatment builds on the next.
"There are certainly instances of acupuncture producing immediate results. However, this is more an exception than the rule—and when it happens, the results tend to be short lived.
"If you want lasting results from acupuncture, especially for a chronic condition, you must commit to the process."Read the full article here: http://acutakehealth.com/how-to-know-when-acupuncture-is-working#more-19905
 In yet another study to demonstrate the potentially devastating impacts of excessive psychoemotional stress on the physical body, scientists have demonstrated that prolonged stress dramatically increases the levels of destructive proteins in the brains of rats -- the same proteins that are linked to the onset and progression of Alzheimer's.
Chinese Medicine has long maintained there are three main causes of disease: Poor diet, environmental toxins (including what we now understand as microbes), and emotional imbalance.
In fact, according to the sages of Chinese Medicine, the vast majority of illness has emotional roots.
What science is just beginning to investigate and understand is the fact that thoughts and feelings have biochemical effects. These internally-generated biochemical shifts, just like chemical changes from food, toxins, and microbes, can either help or harm our bodies.
In other words, what we think and feel can make us more healthy or make us sick.
In the clinic, I see the people every day who aren't getting results from taking pills and injections. Sometimes they aren't getting much better after surgeries they've undergone.
In almost every one of these cases, the root cause is psycho-emotional. In fact, I would say 99% of the time the mind and emotions are driving the pathology because, even when someone is not eating well and this is causing illness, there is a mental/emotional background for their choices.
Acupuncture, nutritional and herbal therapy, and mind-body coaching -- the natural modalities I use exclusively in my clinic -- offer a simple, yet amazingly effective path to redirect the mind and body away from a vicious cycle of ever-increasing stress and into a beneficial cycle of ever-increasing vitality and balance. Instead of attempting to forcefully override pathology, these methods gently re-train the mind-body system so that it stops making the harmful chemicals that lead to chronic illness.People who choose and FOLLOW this natural path of healing emerge as self-sustained, self-motivated vehicles of health, vitality, and balance. But YOU have to actually do it.What will you choose? Even if you can't work with me directly, I highly encourage you to seek out the guidance of a qualified, experienced holistic clinician. In my opinion, everyone should build a relationship with an Acupuncturist or other holistic clinician. We have primary care doctors to help us when we are sick. An even wiser choice is to receive ongoing support from someone who can help us become more and more healthy over time. Then, we avoid illness altogether, or at least minimize its onset.With gratitude for your readership,Chris Axelrad, M.S.O.M., L.Ac., FABORMDirector, The Axelrad ClinicSchedule your free initial consultation today to find out if our services are a good fit for you.
 This Saturday, some of my staff and I will be walking in support of RESOLVE at their Walk of Hope event. RESOLVE is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting those who are struggling with fertility challenges. I am kindly asking for your support for my team as we raise money for this worthy cause. From RESOLVE’s mission statement: “RESOLVE, The National Infertility Association, established in 1974, is a non-profit organization with the only established, nationwide network mandated to promote reproductive health and to ensure equal access to all family building options for men and women experiencing infertility or other reproductive disorders.” Funds raised from this walk will support RESOLVE in its ongoing efforts which include support groups, research, education, adoption advocacy, and other important efforts that provide critical support to so many who are dealing with potentially devastating consequences of infertility. We are asking you to consider making a donation in any amount you choose on behalf of the Axelrad Clinic team. Any support you can give would be SO appreciated.
To donate, please click this link. You will be taken to our team page where you can click the “Support Axelrad Clinic” button. We so appreciate your support!! :-)
If you want to walk with us, you are welcome to simply come on out. Please just send an email to frontdesk@axelradclinic.com to let us know you are coming. To sweeten the pot a little, I’ve decided that we will draw a winner from our list of donors to receive 4 acupuncture sessions at no charge. The certificate for the session will be transferable should you choose to gift it to a friend or loved one. As always, thank you for your support and kindness, and I hope to see you soon at one of my seminars or maybe even at the walk! :-) Sincerely, Chris Axelrad, M.S.O.M., L.Ac., FABORM Director, The Axelrad Clinic
 As human beings, we have a lot in common. We all need the same basic things: food, shelter, and community. We all strive for common goals of peace, safety, and security. We all work towards greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
As much as we have in common, there are even more things that make each of us unique. No two people are, have been, or ever will be completely alike.
Modern medicine is largely based on studying the effects of a single intervention on large groups of people with a certain disease. Give the green pill to 5,000 people with chronic headaches, and give a sugar pill to the other 5,000. How many people get better? If enough taking the green pill improve without a high incidence of life-threatening side-effects, we assume with relative confidence that the green pill will work for many others.
Until recently, this was enough for most scientists. There wasn’t a lot of inquiry into why many who took the green pill didn’t get better -- or maybe got worse. Those who took the sugar pill who got better were written off as having experienced the “placebo effect” -- a scientific term for the spontaneous expression of the body’s innate healing response, triggered by belief.
We all take for granted that different types of plants naturally thrive in different soil and climate, different mixtures of sunlight, nutrients, and water. We would never plant a fern in a desert -- or a cactus in a tropical rainforest -- and expect either to do well on their own.
Chinese Medicine -- which is, in my opinion, the most advanced system of holistic medicine on Earth -- embodies a profound wisdom around individual blueprints for healing in humans.
For millennia, its tradition was built around the view that we are all Universes, completely unique and precious, with constitutional differences that must be accounted for in our choices of foods, activities, careers, and medicines.
The Chinese herbal tradition reflects this penetrating wisdom in how herbal medicines are compounded. Each formula contains several herbs, in very precise combinations, to address multiple layers of pathology.
A master herbalist chooses the herbs to be unique to each patient. There is never a cookie-cutter approach.
Chinese Medicine practitioners also recognize and honor individual differences in terms of metabolism and dietary needs. Each individual’s unique “Qi” is evaluated and foods are chosen based on what will support -- and eliminated based on what will hinder -- that person’s healing system. One person may be OK with milk, another may not. One person may thrive eating pork, another may have to avoid it.
Conventional medicine is just starting to accept that individuals have different nutritional needs. The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of nutrients is giving way to a more individualized approach. But, still, the approach is mired in controversy and requires extensive -- and often expensive -- laboratory testing.
I have found in my practice that the model developed by the sages of Chinese Medicine over countless centuries is stunningly accurate. Simply by observing, collecting history, and feeling pulses of my patients, I have been able to help reduce -- and in a good number of cases completely eliminate -- long-standing chronic illness ranging from migraines, to anxiety and depression, to autoimmune thyroiditis, to infertility and beyond.
Almost all of these people had tried other methods -- such as drugs, surgery, chiropractic -- with limited success (otherwise they would not have sought me out).
And, I am not claiming to be some kind of miracle healer here. In fact, I feel privileged to participate in the process with every one of my patients. I am in awe as I watch their body’s healing system do its miraculous work.
What I have learned to do is see each person as a completely unique individual -- and every “disease” process as an expression of life trying to express itself. Instead of seeing people who come to me as broken machines in need of repair, I see them as Divine Healers desiring self-expression.
Instead of trying to make a fern to grow in a desert by brute force, I follow the advice of the Chinese sages and countless other holistic masters the world over: Create the conditions in which that unique individual naturally thrives.
As a gardener chooses the location, soil, fertilizer, and time to plant, I guide my patients on their most effective stress management techniques, lifestyle choices, nutritional supplements, and herbal therapies. I look for every possible avenue that will allow them to thrive.
The recommendations are unique, the supplements chosen and dosed individually. The herbals are selected and compounded with each patient’s precise condition in mind. The acupuncture points chosen to awaken and guide the individual's healing system.
And, then something amazing happens. The wilted fern suddenly fills with life. The struggling cactus becomes strong and healthy.
All because someone finally paid attention and gave proper respect to the needs and situation of each, and gave each one the tools needed for it to thrive.
I am and always will be eternally grateful for the medicine I practice. It isn’t high-tech or sexy. But its simple and profound power to transform lives is, in my opinion, unmatched. That’s because it works with and facilitates the awakening of the highest of all high-tech -- that amazing thing we call “Life”.
Chris Axelrad, M.S.O.M., L.Ac., FABORM
Director, The Axelrad Clinic
Book your free consultation today to see if this is the right path for you.
 Broccoli floret under microscope. The secret is out. Science has now “proven” what our ancient forebears knew all along: How we eat determines how we live. Food actually
affect our health, vitality, and longevity.
Many healthier aspects of the foods we eat are now common parlance on food labels. Gluten-free. Low in trans-fats. Organically grown. Low-carb. High in Essential Fatty Acids. A natural source of fiber. High in antioxidants.
Even with all the advances in understanding food’s effects on the human body, most people still don’t see food as medicine. Yes, healthy food is “good for you”, but food curing or preventing disease? Still a largely foreign concept.
In ancient times, before the development of powerful pharmaceutical drugs, people understood that foods have healing properties. They didn’t call these properties “antioxidants”, “healthy fats”, or “fiber”.
They used the healing properties of the foods in their local environment to both prevent and cure disease. They knew the healing properties of their food based on simple observation, a keen intuitive connection to nature, and a robust tradition passed down across generations.
In today’s world, we have, to a large degree, lost our connection with the simple, nature-infused thought process that allows us to instinctively know which foods heal. This is not to say that we aren’t making healthy choices. In fact, with the growing awareness of food’s impacts on health, we are arguably making better choices than ever.
Even with these choices, our society eats an amazingly high percentage of processed, factory-made foods. The makers of these foods have found inventive ways to package and market their products to a more health-conscious public (see the frequently-used labels I mentioned in paragraph 2 above).
But the fact remains: Nature produces all that we need to prevent and cure disease, to feel and be our best.
The ancient Chinese sages classified foods based on their “Qi”, or “Vital Energy”. They recognized that certain foods carry high degrees of Vital Energy, or Life Force, while other foods do not.
They also recognized different foods and herbs carried different kinds of Life Force energy. Some foods and herbs infuse life into the lungs, while others bring life-giving energies to the blood, the heart, the liver, the adrenal glands, bones and so on. In fact, nature has every base covered in terms of foods and herbs that heal.
I like the ancient viewpoint of foods as “Carriers of Life Force Energy” because it is stunningly accurate. Modern physics demonstrates that all of life is literally energy, and that potential energy is stored and transmitted by rocks, plants, soil, light, water, and other natural substances.
Food is also our most fundamental life relationship. It is physical substance we take into our bodies. It is energy we choose to merge into our being. It becomes part of us and resonates on every level -- physical, emotional, mental, spiritual.
By recognizing and learning to use these two fundamental principles -- food as “Life Force” and food as “relationship” -- we revolutionize how we interact with food. It is no longer just something to eat. It becomes an alchemical process of transformation, of merging with and harnessing the Life Force energies of the Universe.
Plants have the most Life Force. After all, they literally consume the purest form of Life Force we know on Earth -- the Sun. The fact that plants eat light means they convey all of the Universal Intelligence encoded in that light to our bodies when we consume them. This is why every single healthy diet ever studied is founded upon a large dose of plant-based foods.
Eating plants fuels your core Life Force -- your Shen/Spirit.
 In my clinic every day, I see people for a very wide range of health conditions. All of them are looking for deeper answers to medical problems that drugs, surgery, and other conventional methods have not fully resolved. What I have found is that, in every single case, stress is playing a role in maintaining the imbalance. You may think this is hyperbole. How could it be that all these people are not well because of stress? The answer is simple: It depends on how you define "stress". The ancient masters who created what we call "Traditional Chinese Medicine" understood something profound, and this understanding has led me to rethink my definition of stress. You see, all of life has a purpose. We all have special gifts. We all have a natural flow and a natural way of being in the world. My special gifts are writing, teaching, and being a guide for others. You have yours as well. Do you know what they are? If not, I suggest you put some focus on this as soon as possible. Ask yourself, "What is it that I am naturally good at, and how do I do more of that?" Nature has a flow, and when this flow is in effect, life becomes effortless joy. We wake up every day feeling a sense of adventure and purpose. When things aren't allowed to flow in their natural course... THIS is stress. "Then," you might ask, "how do we get to a place where things are not flowing naturally?" The answer to this question can be complex, to say the least. We must take so many things into account -- diet, emotions, lifestyle, mental habits, hormones, immune function, inflammatory response, and so on. An imbalance or block in any one or more of these or other systems can take us away from a state of natural flow, where life feels relaxed and easy. Instead, life feels like a grind, where we have to push through or “drag ourselves” along to get through the day. Year after year of pushing against life to get through it has real consequences that are not just emotional. The ongoing stress causes real damage to our bodies as cells and tissues have to work that much harder to support daily functions. Over time, this leads to more rapid degeneration and aging of our bodies -- something the ancients referred to as “leaking of Qi (Chi)” or “wasting of Vital Energy”. Why is it a waste? Because our energies are devoted to fighting against stress when they could be going towards expressing our deeper potential, our creative gifts. We become like a nation constantly at war that never gets to develop itself with culture, inventiveness, and higher pursuits. The good news is that it’s never too late to do something about it, and you don’t have to figure it all out. One of nature’s greatest gifts to us is that our bodies never forget how to heal. All we have to do is start supporting that healing system instead of making it work overtime to compensate for too much stress. In other words, we shift the direction of our energy. We begin moving in a direction that supports healing, instead of one that causes damage. This is called “ The Alchemy of Transforming Stress Into Healing Energy”. Instead of “fighting” the stress, we harness the energy we already have and redirect it into supercharging our healing system. It’s the same energy, redefined and re-purposed. And, the most amazing thing is that nature WANTS YOU TO DO THIS. Nature WANTS YOU TO BE ALL OF YOURSELF. It wants to express its highest potential through you. So, as soon as you begin this path, life very quickly begins to awaken in you and everything begins to open up into new possibilities. Not in a week, not next month or next year. RIGHT NOW. Are you ready to get started? In my next seminar The Alchemy of Transforming Stress Into Healing Energy, I’ll show you how. The beautiful thing about this is that you already know how to do it. I won’t be teaching you anything new, I’ll simply be reminding you of something you already know deep inside. So, join me this coming Sunday, March 24th, in both Houston and The Woodlands, for a free seminar that will set you on a new path. It is my supreme pleasure to share this with you. It is a gift to all of us. And, you can always book your free consultation to work with me one-on-one to begin this process directly. I am here to help. Sincerely, Chris Axelrad Director, The Axelrad Clinic Book your free initial consultation today and we’ll meet to see if this is the right path for you.
 Depression and Anxiety are common mood problems that affect tens of millions each year. While medications and talk therapy can be very helpful, many find these traditional methods do not yield long-term results. Mood is like a weather pattern that reflects a combination of air currents in the atmosphere, temperature, humidity and, finally, seasonal changes. It is what we see and feel on the surface, but a LOT is going on behind the scenes and in the environment both in and around us. The internal climate that produces mood is a result not only of thoughts and feelings, although these are obviously a big part. Our internal atmosphere -- reflected as metabolism, digestion, circulation, immune function, and hormonal rhythms -- is intimately connected to our emotions as well. For centuries, Chinese Medicine has recognized the connections between mind and body. The sages long ago developed a rich, highly effective language for describing how the organs of the physical body both lead and follow emotion and thought. They understood that, on a fundamental level, mind and body are truly ONE. The common belief today is that Depression and Anxiety are disorders of the brain. This is because conventional science sees the brain as the source of thought and emotion. But, cutting-edge science, fueled by recent developments in neuroendocrinology and psychology, is beginning to reveal that, indeed the sages were right. The entire body thinks, feels, and remembers. In other words, your body is an integrated, intelligent brain. For instance, we now know that the electromagnetic sphere of the heart is many times larger than the brain and that, in fact, the impulses emitted by the heart have a huge influence on brain function. Additionally, the heart makes hormones that control various brain functions. It was also discovered that 90% of the body’s serotonin lies in the enteric nervous system (ENS), which is a fancy name for the nerves of the intestinal tract. Yes, that’s right -- the magic neurotransmitter that has so much to do with mood is more highly concentrated in your belly than in your head. Could it be there's literal truth to the concept of "gut instinct"? It is these, and many other discoveries I have learned about, that have helped me to realized that any approach to treating depression MUST be holistic to truly succeed. There is simply no way around this. To heal Depression and Anxiety, we must not only learn to redirect and reshape our mental and emotional patterns, it is essential to strengthen and balance our entire bodies. By opening what is blocked, strengthening what has weakened, and clearing what has accumulated, we unlock our innate healing intelligence and create the proper ground for long-term emotional healing. At this month’s free seminar, Natural Secrets for Depression, Anxiety, and Other Mood Issues, -- Sunday, February 17th, in Houston and The Woodlands -- I share powerful, simple, and practical information you can begin to use right away to transform your mood. This information is based on the holistic wisdom of Chinese Medicine combined with integrative biomedical breakthroughs. I look forward to seeing you there! To register now, click here.
 This coming Sunday in The Woodlands, and next Sunday in Houston, I share with you something that is already embedded deep within you. It is part of your blueprint. You already know it, and I hope to impart to you tools to help you reawaken to and realign with it. As I present The Alchemy of Personal Transformation, you are likely to feel inspired as the concepts “resonate” with something inside you. This resonance is the recognition of truths you already know -- truths that are part of the natural healing intelligence that lives and breathes in you this very moment. This natural healing intelligence is constantly seeking to express itself in you. Its purpose is to lead you to your destiny -- to help you become the full expression of your POTENTIAL, to flourish into the complete expression of the Divine seed deep within you. That seed, which we call "Jing" in Taoist Alchemy, contains the entire blueprint, the etheric hologram of the complete, unique manifestation of your highest self. We carry this seed into this life, and we will take it with us when we depart. It is our master code, our gemstone, our constant glowing compass in an ever-shifting elemental world. The process of alchemy is the process of tapping into that ultimate creative spark where the potential becomes actual. Where the infinite, immense force of creation expresses itself through us to create a new world, a new reality, a new way of being. It begins with “Wu”, or unmanifest infinite potential -- a state of being where nothing exists yet all possibilities dwell. Through deep reflection, we remember this place and from it we begin to emerge into new possibilities. The old becomes new, the stagnant begins to flow. Our hearts open and our minds illuminate. We begin to know exactly what to do because we are suddenly aligned with our True nature, our infinite seed potential that is the blueprint for our destiny. Join me for The Alchemy of Personal Transformation Sunday, Jan 27th in The Woodlands, and Sunday, Feb 3rd in Houston, and I will show you how to reconnect with this innate blueprint for real, lasting, positive change, re-introducing you to the elemental process of transformation and how to tap into its simple, natural power. Based on a mix of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qigong, Taoist Internal Alchemy, and modern psychology, I walk you through a natural progression of inner change which, when put into practice, dramatically reduces difficulties you may encounter in the process. This is because the process is in alignment with how nature works. When you follow the natural flow, everything becomes easy and, well... "natural". I look forward to seeing you at this month's free seminar, The Alchemy of Personal Transformation. Sincerely, Chris Axelrad Director, The Axelrad Clinic www.axelradclinic.com Book your free initial consultation today and we’ll meet to see if this is the right path for you.
 The mythical Phoenix - symbol of transformation and evolution. It's mid-January and The New Year is beginning to take shape. I have made a few resolutions this year -- promises to myself to do things differently that will hopefully yield different results. There's a good chance you made at least one resolution yourself.
It's time to check and see how these resolutions are going. Are you gaining momentum or already starting to fade? Is the inspiration you started with starting to wane, or is the fire continuing to burn steadily? Did you make plans and realize they are no longer working?
Nature Contains the Blueprint - It Knows How to Change
The blueprint for the process of change is embedded deep within the core of your being. This is because change is an essential, fundamental part of nature. Change is natural, even necessary.
And, you already know how to do it. It is not a matter of learning, but remembering.
The Alchemy of Personal Transformation -- a free seminar I am hosting Sunday, Jan 27th in The Woodlands, and Sunday, Feb 3rd in Houston -- is designed to help you reconnect with this innate blueprint for real, lasting, positive change. In it, I re-introduce you to the elemental process of change and how to tap into its simple, natural power.
Based on a mix of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qigong, Taoist Internal Alchemy, and modern psychology, I walk you through a natural progression of change which, when put into practice, dramatically reduces difficulties you may encounter in the process.
This is because the process is in alignment with how nature works. When you follow the natural flow, everything becomes easy and, well... "natural".
I look forward to seeing you at this month's free seminar, The Alchemy of Personal Transformation.
Sincerely,
Chris Axelrad
Director, The Axelrad Clinic
www.axelradclinic.com
Book your free initial consultation today and we’ll meet to see if this is the right path for you.
The New Year is upon us. The Yin nature of Winter's cool, still, quiet energy draws us inward to reflect on the past year and look forward to the coming one. We are like seeds deep in the ground, waiting to burst forth when Spring arrives.
Many of us will have resolutions, or promises we make to ourselves, with the intention of bringing lasting, positive change to our lives. In fact, I'd bet that you have made many, many resolutions over New Years past, just as I have.
And, I'd bet your results with them are as mixed as mine have been.
A few years back I discovered something important -- something that unlocked a dramatic process of change for me that is still happening to this day. It is one of the great secrets of what I call "The Alchemy of Personal Transformation", and it is this:
You cannot let go of that which you have not lovingly embraced.
Change is a type of birth -- it is a new beginning, an emergence. But, to change requires us to also undergo a type of death -- a letting go, a dropping of what is no longer working for us.
And, this is where most of us have trouble. I know I do.
You see, we usually want to change things we don't like. We want this year to be more prosperous because we feel like maybe we didn't prosper enough last year. We want to lose weight this year because we gained too much last year or are simply tired of being heavy.
But, our judgment of the past traps us in it. By looking at our past with a disdainful eye, we keep ourselves in a negative, self-limiting pattern that only sabotages our efforts.
This is because as long as we have not embraced it, we cannot truly let it go.
This year, when you are reflecting on the changes you want to make, do so with an attitude of unconditional lovingkindness towards that part of yourself that you want to change, that you want to let go.
No matter what you are trying to change -- whether it be state of wealth or health, love or commitment -- do not be harsh or critical of what appear to be mistakes or shortcomings in the past. Fully embrace and accept your past self with an open, loving heart. Do not be harsh or critical. After all, you are a human being doing your best to learn, grow, and thrive in the world.
This is powerful, fundamental ground for real change because, instead of pushing your shadow self away, you are embracing it, loving it, and integrating it into your movement forward through time.
You are initiating your process of change with your entire self moving in the same direction. You are no longer fighting yourself.
True, lasting change is a metamorphosis -- the butterfly never again becomes a caterpillar. It lets go completely of its old identity to emerge into a completely new one with no regrets or judgment about its previous incarnation.
Start by loving and embracing yourself today, just as you are. And, make a commitment going forward to unconditionally love and support yourself on a daily basis.
Change is largely motivated by the innate desire for continual growth and evolution. And, it requires courage. I know you can do it.
I wish you many, many blessings in the coming year!
Sincerely,
Chris Axelrad
Director, The Axelrad Clinic
www.axelradclinic.com
Book your free initial consultation today and we’ll meet to see if this is the right path for you.
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