PMS. All those cramps, bloating, irritability, headaches, and even depression. While the menstrual period is intended to be a time of renewal, it can involve shifting one's perspective in order to see the blessings within this supposed curse.

Our menstrual cycles reflect our body's intelligence. By harmonizing hormones, we can create the perfect state in which to either conceive or else release that which has been building up over the past month.

So how do we heal our cycles? How do we regulate the hormones, calm our minds and quell the muscle spasms and cramps? How do we strengthen our energy so that we can use this time to our advantage?

Rather than relying on NSAIDS like Alleve or Ibuprofen, acupuncture patients benefit by regulating their energy and opening up blocked channels. Unlike NSAIDS which drain the kidneys and adrenal glands over time, Chinese wisdom (including acupuncture and herbs) offers more natural and holistic ways for women to manage PMS longterm that are safer and have fewer side effects than prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

Tuning in to our monthly rhythms allows us to reconnect with nature. Taking cue from the moon, which appears full about every 28 days, we can take a few moments for life review. Regularly, women need to reflect and adjust their energy by tapping into their most clairvoyant and sensitive moments, during this time of renewal. If we don't honor this cyclical opportunity, we risk missing out on what's most important in life, while instead being tossed around on the waves of our emotions.

If we experience constant anger, resentment, frustration, depression or hypersensitivity, it is a sign that our liver energy is out of balance. Because the liver channel traverses the uterus and influences our ability to plan and put forth our life decisions, these previously mentioned negative patterns can all be helped by addressing the liver. When our liver is functioning optimally, we are able to detoxify food, regulate hormones and simplify our lives.

In eastern thought the liver stores blood, and facilitates the smooth flow of "Qi" throughout the body and mind. Spring season, the sour flavor such as lemon, and the color green are all associated with the liver's energy. Therefore, if we do our spring cleaning, eat plenty of green foods, and soothe ourselves with natural water with lemon vs. coffee drinks, we will harmonize our liver energy and make peace with our menstrual cycles.

The most popular herbal formula to treat PMS and relieve congested, toxic energy is "Xiao Yao San," also known as "Free and Easy Rambling Formula." Xiao Yao San eases constrained liver Qi, opens the channels, and lets the body (and mind) flow.

Herbal formula: $30.00
No more debilitating cramps: Priceless.

Colleen McDonough, L. Ac.

Read Colleen's bio...

1. Does this policy offer acupuncture benefits?
2. Are there any diagnosis exclusions?  Some policies state that acupuncture is a covered benefit, but when you read the fine print you may find that acupuncture is only covered "in lieu of anesthesia" or some other extreme limitation that makes the coverage of no use.
3. Does the policy cover out of network providers? Stillpoint is not contracted with any insurance carriers, and so you must have out of network benefits in order to receive benefits for care from our clinic.
4. What is the deductible?
5. What is the limitation for the number of visits or dollar maximum coverage for acupuncture?  Is that maximum combined with chiropractic and/or physical therapy?  Also, it is important to know whether count toward the maximum benefit kicks in immediately or after the deductible is met.  Because, if you have a maximum of 10 visits covered per calendar year and a $1500 deductible, but the count toward the maximum starts right away, you won't get any benefit because all ten visits will just apply toward your deductible and your coverage will be maxed out.
6. What are the allowed amounts of coverage for acupuncture?  The answer you want to hear on this one is "Reasonable and Customary,"  meaning that the policy allows for charges up to the going rate for those services in your area. Often times, allowable amounts are only $30 or so, which, while somewhat helpful, is not ideal.
7. What is the copay or co-insurance?  Co-pay is a fixed-dollar amount that you pay each time for certain services.  Most commonly, you will be responsible for a co-payment for each visit. For example, you may pay a $15 co-payment for a primary care physician visit and a $25 co-payment for a specialist visit.  Co-insurance is a percent of the cost of your care. You are responsible for paying the co-insurance amount. For example, if a doctor's visit is $100 and you have a 20% co-insurance, you will pay the doctor $20 and your health plan will pay the doctor $80.

I think that covers it!  If you have any further questions about choosing a health insurance plan, please feel free to call our office and we will do our best to help.

-Sri Nisargadatta

The Meditation Edition

The confluence of Kim's  trip to India and my increasingly frequent conversations about meditation with clients has inspired me to devote a blog entry to the topic of meditation.  Meditation has been a vitally important part of my life for many years. In this issue, I will share a few insights I have stumbled upon in my own path as well as resources I have found to be of great value in understanding meditation:

Meditation is all about being, not at all about doing.  

The question I am most often asked by clients when discussing meditation is, "What do I do?", "What do YOU do?", or "How do I do it?"  While this is a useful question in most arenas of life, doing and meditation as I have come to understand it are not related.  Certainly there are various practices to help still the mind, from reciting mantras, to watching the breath, and countless other forms of manipulating the focus of one's attention.  While these practices have practical value in inducing a peaceful state of mind, they are more of a form of self hypnosis that, by themselves do not foster insight that arises during meditation. The aim of meditation as I understand it is to realize the true nature of reality.  This happens through looking with receptivity, without an agenda or constraints.  I am not suggesting that one abandon all rituals and structured practices.  These sadhana have great value and I find great value in my own regular practices like Hatha yoga.  However, meditation free from the compulsion of doing is something subtly different.

So if we don't "do" when we meditate, how do we "be"?  We watch.  We observe.  We witness.  We listen.  These are various ways of saying: We allow everything to be as it is.  What good is that? For one thing, everything is as it is already! So, the only sane thing to do is to look reality squarely and not resist something that has already arisen into being. When we cease resisting, clear perception arises.  We are able to see things as they truly are without the distorting filter of our belief structures.  With acceptance comes an open receptivity.  With the absence of manipulation, everything can return to its natural order. 

The inability to stop the mind from racing does not preclude one from having a meditation practice.  Likewise, difficulties and discomfort in meditation are not only natural, they are essential.

Clients often say "Oh, I can't meditate, my mind won't stop racing."   It's similar to people saying, "I can't do yoga because I am too tight."  My standard response to this is, "That is like saying 'I can't drink water because I am too thirsty.'"

Alternatively, some people say, "Oh, I just fall asleep."  What happens if we don't place a judgment on the mind racing or falling asleep and set aside time to meditate anyway?  Everything changes.  Eventually, the racing mind quiets, and the dull mind becomes attentive.  Be gentle with yourself.  Give no importance to the racing nagging mind, and it will cease to have power over you.  Likewise, allow yourself the rest that you need and dose off in the beginning, and you will be once again refreshed and alert.  When we give ourselves the license to have the experience that is emerging at any given moment, a natural flow emerges, things right themselves without effort, and all actions arise spontaneously out of stillness.

Practitioners often grow discouraged with their meditation practice when difficulties invariably arise.  A common protest is "This practice is supposed to bring me peace, but leaves me feeling miserable!" Looking within reveals dark places and hurt places.  Anger, grief, confusion, fear arise...  So why go to the trouble to look at these places within ourselves? Because these blind spots distort our perception of reality.  They influence the way we talk to our family, the way we treat each other, and the way we regard ourselves. When we can see with compassion and without judgment the pain that dwells within us, a miraculous dissolution takes place, leaving peace in its wake... Leaving us open-hearted and free of the fear borne of holding on to past pain.  I won't pretend to know why the universe works this way, but it has been my experience that the looking itself brings about a healing.

The more we let go of the expectation that we will immediately enter Satori upon sitting for meditation, the more easefully the process of realization unfolds in its own timing.

Meditation is more a process of subtraction than addition. To perceive the truth, we simply let go of the false.

We live in an object oriented society in which focus is turned almost entirely to the external.  A natural feature of this orientation is consumerism and materialism.  However, because all forms are unstable, no acquisition can provide lasting fulfillment. A blind obsession with the next newest best thing develops in an attempt to fill a chasm of desire.

So, how to dismantle this dysfunctional pattern of over-consumption endemic to our culture?  Start with ourselves.  Watch, notice, observe.   See the mind grasp at that which it desires and resist that which it fears.  Then look even deeper to notice that the value judgments the mind places on the various experiences and objects of perception cause the reactions of aversion and craving.  These value judgments arise from the beliefs to which we cling.  What does reality look like without these beliefs?  It looks like it is!  Reality.  What does it look like with the beliefs?  Delusional at best. A hellish nightmare at its worst.  Meditation facilitates a falling away of that which is not real, leaving only the truth.  No special knowledge need be acquired.  Quite the opposite is the case.  To much knowledge gets in the way of true insight.

So there are my philosophical ramblings for the month.  If what you have read has sparked an interest in exploring meditation more deeply, here are some resources that articulate these ideas with infinitely greater elegance...

I Am That

The quote at the top of this email one of my all time favorites.  It comes from a book called I Am That, a transcription of dialogs between the Indian sage Sri Nisargadatta and his pupils.  The book has been a touchstone for me in my spiritual life for the past several years, and I often refer to it for guidance and clarity.  The sage's sole concern was with human suffering and the ending of suffering. It was his mission to guide the individual to an understanding of her/his true nature and the timelessness of being. He taught that mind must recognize and penetrate its own state of being in order to recognize timeless being without identification with the observer or the observed.  The great news is that this invaluable source of wisdom is available online free of charge as a pdf. If you would like a hard copy, I Am That is also available on Amazon. 

Adyashanti

If you have listened to a guided meditation while receiving acupuncture at Stillpoint, Adyashanti is the dude you were listening to.  I have attended numerous meditation retreats led by Adya, and he has been a great guide for me in my life.  If you are interested in getting his guided meditations on CD along with a book about meditation, you can find them here: True Meditation.  Adya also offers webcasts on Wednesday evenings at 6pm.  To learn more and get updates about upcoming podcasts, go here: Adyashanti.org.

Also, if you are just getting started meditating, feel free to talk with me about any questions you may have.  Although I make no claims to being a Bodhisattva, I love to talk about the nature of reality and perception and I more than happy to share suggestions on beginning a meditation practice.  I wish you well on your journey.

With gratitude,
Joe Curcio and the Stillpoint team