Keep safe and well this winter with acupuncture
January has arrived and following the battering the country has had by Storms Atiyah and Brendan over the last week or so, we’ve had a little taste of what might lie ahead for us in the next few weeks as the full force of winter arrives.
January and February can be miserable months in all sorts of ways.
Although we’re now past the winter equinox and the days are getting longer, there are still precious few hours of daylight, it’s cold, damp and windy, and there’s always the uninviting prospect of the weather turning more wintry – even here in London where it’s usually a bit warmer than in other parts of the UK.
Beautiful as it can be (and often is), winter can take its toll on us both emotionally and physically – and acupuncture for general health can be a really useful treatment to restore balance to your mind, body and soul.
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) affects many people – not just those who are formally diagnosed with the condition. Generally, we’re happier in the spring and summer when the days are longer and there’s more natural light.
Not only does sunlight make us more contented, it also promotes the body’s natural production of Vitamin D, which has all sorts of benefits for us physically – not least in offering protection against cancer and heart disease and boosting our natural immune system to fight the common lurgies that tend to plague us at this time of year.
But regardless of the biological effects of sunlight on us, the colder, shorter days are physically and psychologically hard.
We’re less inclined to go out in the winter because it’s physically more challenging to get around in the rain, wind and, especially, snow.
That means our natural fitness levels tend to fall away in the early part of the year – particularly for those of us who aren’t gym bunnies – and being less fit makes us more vulnerable to injury because we aren’t as agile, balanced or nimble as we are when our daily lives naturally include more exercise.
Alongside perhaps taking vitamin supplements and eating a healthy diet, acupuncture is a really effective way of improving your musculoskeletal and emotional fitness.
By removing the blockages in our natural energy levels – known as qi – and restoring balance to how that energy flows and heals us both physically and emotionally, acupuncture can make us much better able to face the challenges that winter brings.
By painlessly inserting superfine needles into specific areas of the body, acupuncture releases the trapped energy that can manifest as muscle and joint pain, headaches and feelings of stress, anxiety or depression.
And because it is an holistic therapy, acupuncture is highly effective in dealing with multiple physiological and emotional wellbeing issues at the same time, leaving you feeling more energised, more able and better prepared for each day.
Not only that, but the treatment itself is extremely relaxing. We use state of the art acupuncture technology to monitor your natural energy so we know exactly how best to treat you in a way that will have the greatest overall benefit to you.
If you’d like to talk to us about how we can help you to be at your best every day during the winter months, why not book in for an acupuncture session and see the difference it can make. And you can find out more about the treatments by getting in touch for an informal conversation.