My journey to Nepal begin about two weeks ago. I came here with the Acupuncture Relief Project to volunteer in a rural village for 2 months providing primary health care. I came on this trip to become a more effective healthcare practitioner, learn how people in the third world are living and offer my services to anyone in need that I may help in some way.

I arrived in Kathmadu on January 4th, after taking my first trip across the Atlantic Ocean. The travel time was just about 24 hours, including an 8 hour layover in Dubai, and an hour to get through customs. I was thankful to meet up with the rest of my team, including 4 other volunteer doctors, our team leader, and the director of the project. We stayed in a hotel in Thamel, which is a tourist region of Kathmandu. We stayed in Thamel for the first 3 nights of the trip, to help our bodies acclimate to the almost 11 hour time differnece and to prepare for the journey to the rural village of Bhimphedi. After about 2 days I felt pretty well adjusted to the change in time and environment.

Thamel was like no city I have ever seen before. We walked out of our hotel into a maze of open air stands and shops. Many of the vendors had their raw food and recently butchered meat out in the open, for mostly locals to buy. The streets were also lined with small tourist and textile shops, which we all did some shopping in and practiced our bargaining skills in, which is customary to do here. We had some pretty amazing local meals, my favorite of which was the dumpling like momo's. I received a 90 minute massage for 2500 rupees, which is only $25.00, and greatly helped with my jet lag. Everything in Nepal is much cheaper than the U.S. and the developed world, as the economy is very poor due to various political reasons that many third world countries are affected by.

Walking and getting around Kathmandu was quite terrifying at first. The roads are not well marked and drivers are very aggressive. Crosswalks do not really apply, so crossing the street was quite precarious at times. Police officers stand on concrete pedestals in the center of busy intersections and act as traffic signals. There were very few traffic lights in Kathmandu that I saw, which I'm guessing is because the power can go out at any time and would make them pretty ineffective. The pollution is severe in the valley of Kathmandu as well, so I wore a mask most of the time we were there. There is not much air circulation in the valley, and since they burn all of their trash and have a lot of vehicle traffic it is easy to see why the air quality is not so good. The smog unfortunately prevents the Himilayan mountains from being visible a majority of the time.

Our team leader, Terry, who was a volunteer last year, also took us around sightseeing before we left for Bhimphedi. Despite the chaos and obvious poverty, Nepal is also a vey beautiful country. We went to the most sacred Hindu temple in Nepal called Pashupathinath, which was very beautiful and full of rich Nepali history. We had a tour guide take us around the grounds and talk about what each of the temples represented and which Gods they were devoted to. The temple is located right along the sacred Bagmati River, where many Hindu people bring their recently deceased relatives for cremation as well. We saw a ceremony for someone who had just passed away, which was very surreal and unlike anything you would see in the U.S. The body was wrapped in cloth and covered in orange flowers on top of a very large pile of wood before being cremated. The eldest son would light the mouth of the deceased on fire, as this is where they believe the soul exits the body from, and the process would take about 5 hours. We were told that Nepal is in the process of building an electric crematorium close to the temple, as deforestation is an increasing concern. On our way out of the temple, another body was being brought in on foot right in front of us.

We then took a cab over to the Buddhist temple, Boudha. This is a very beautiful temple, tall and circular in shape with the ornamental eyes that is a common symbol in Tibetan Buddhism that is seen a lot in the west as well. We walked around the whole temple and spun the prayer wheels located around the perimeter of the temple. There were a lot of shops as well, and we had a delicious Nepali lunch over looking the temple. On our last day before heading to Bhimphedi, we went to the Monkey Temple (Swayambhunath) as well, which was located at the top of a very steep hill west of the city. There were beautiful views from this temple, although it was quite sad to see how much pollution hangs over the city. It is said there are holy monkeys living in part of the temple. I'm not sure if we saw those or not, but there were probably several hundreds of monkeys wandering around the grounds. None of them tried to steal our things, which can apparently happen in some places!

On our last night in Kathmandu we went to a Nepali cultural dinner. The food was excellent and we all sampled a little bit of raksi, which is a traditional distilled alcoholic beverage made in Nepal and Tibet, typically made in the home from millet or rice. It tasted like a very strong sake to me. During our meal there were dancers as well, who did a different dance representing each of the subgroups of Nepali people. One of the volunteers and my good friend, Becky, was asked to participate in the dancing, which was incredible!

The next morning we all loaded our gear on the top of a Sumo, which is like a Nepali SUV. We started the journey to Bhimphedi, which was also a little terrifying, but the drivers here obviously know what they are doing and we made it safely! The trip took right around 3 hours, and it was absolutely amazing. We were going up mountains and down into the valleys, and passed about 10 small villages on the way to Bhimphedi. The views were just stunning, and the countryside and fresher air were a nice change of pace after being in the much more chaotic Kathmandu. We arrived at Auntie's house in the afternoon and were greeted with a delicious meal of dal bhat and the friendly faces of the team of Nepali interpreters that would be helping us survive the next 7 weeks in the clinic. It was a fun and exciting first week, but was time for us to get familiarized with our new environment and reopen the clinic.

Over the past couple of weeks in Maryland we have started to feel the emergence of fall, which officially started on August 7th according to the traditional Chinese calendar. We have had alternating periods of hot and humid with windy and chilly weather and a booming thunderstorm. I have noticed in my practice more patients suffering from nasal congestion, sneezing, general achiness and fatigue, mild sore throat, and headaches over the past 2 weeks. The fall and spring, both transitional seasons, tend to bring about these and other cold like symptoms, which range in severity and duration depending on the overall health and lifestyle habits of the patient currently and in the previous seasons. I would like to share with you all some of the wisdom from Chapter 2 of the Suwen of the Huangdi Neijing about the fall and some lifestyle choices that will make you healthy and prevent more illness in the winter.

There is a lot of wisdom hidden within these passages, which may be unclear to those with little knowledge of Chinese medicine and philosophy. Here are some practical suggestions and meanings that I have learned and taken from this passage.

• Go to bed and rise early, with the rooster. It is essential to get enough rest to obtain optimal health and longevity. During this time of year, it is ideal to sleep when the sun goes down and rise as it rises, or as close to this cycle as you can logistically achieve. 
• Nourish and cleanse the lung and large intestine. The energetic nature of the fall season is associated with the metal element, which relates to the lung and large intestine organ systems in the body. These organ systems, particularly the lungs, are often affected during the fall with symptoms of wind cold invasion, such as nasal and chest congestion, sore throat, stiff neck and body aches, sore throat, etc. It is also not uncommon to experience constipation or diarrhea when the body is having a difficult time transitioning between summer and fall. Energy can get stuck in the channels and lead to stagnant heat, which is why some people have symptoms every fall. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are a great way to help with seasonal transitions whether you are having symptoms or not, and support these organ systems.
  
• Eat foods that are light, easy to digest, and slightly pungent and sweet.  Eating this way will be beneficial to the lung and large intestine and will help prevent symptoms due to the stagnation of summer heat energy. Gentle cleanses are a good idea during this time of year to help the body get rid of excess waste products via the lungs and large intestine. (Check back for a favorite recipe of mine for lung and large intestine nourishment.)
  
• Stay warm and always have a scarf handy. We are starting to notice an increase in the cool fall wind qi. Protecting the neck and body from chilly gusts wind is a good way to help prevent seasonal colds. This is especially true if you are already feeling run down and fatigued or tend to get sick a lot. 
• Spend time self reflecting and pulling your energy inward, do not extend the will outward. The energetic movement of the fall is descending, which is the opposite of the expansive quality found during the spring. It is beneficial to spend some time reflecting on the past year and on future goals and less time exerting yourself outward into the world, as the energy of the season supports inward motion. For those of you starting a business or big project, it would be more beneficial to reflect and prepare during the fall and winter, and execute those plans during the spring, which supports expansiveness and growth.  
  
• Practice forgiveness and letting go of grief and resentment, in order to moderate the punishing energy of the fall. The metal element is associated with the emotion of grief. This is a time for there to naturally be more feelings of grief and resentment in people who have stagnant energy in their lung and large intestine organ systems. Working with this energy of letting go in the fall will be of great benefit to your emotional and overall health. Holding on to these toxic feelings does nothing but disrupt the natural flow of energy in the body and will eventually make you physically sick if you are unable to release them. I have recently learned that in the Jewish religion, the two important holidays, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are held during the fall season. This is very appropriate, as these two holidays are all about self-reflection, atonement of previous sins, and forgiveness of yourself and anyone else that may have wronged you, which are naturally practices to have during the fall.
  
• Spend time out in nature enjoying the beauty and illumination of this season. Fall is one of my favorite seasons. The weather is cool, the leaves are decomposing and turning beautiful colors, and there is a stillness in the air that comes over me when I spend some time in the woods or near any body of water. Relaxing and reflecting in nature is a great way to bring some calmness and quietude to minds that are often constantly racing with thoughts, are over worked, and under rested.

I hope you all have a happy and healthy fall. Please feel free to share any questions or comments you may have and any tips you have to stay healthy during the fall season!

Greetings everyone,

To make my private practice at Blueberry Gardens more accessible to people in need, I am now able to accept Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance!! Within the next couple of months, I should also be able to accept Aetna, Cigna, and United Health Care plans as well. I will keep you updated about those additions as well.

If you have questions about your insurance coverage with BCBS, please feel free to contact me and I will find out your benefits and discuss this information with you.

I hope this will help more of you be able to try acupuncture and utilize your hard earned health insurance benefit! Please pass this information along to anyone in the Montgomery/Howard county areas that may be interested in trying acupuncture out!

Thanks everyone!

There are a lot of delicious eggplants at the farmer's market right now!! I made this eggplant parmesan for dinner tonight, and we all decided my recipe is a keeper! Visit your local farmer's market this week and pick up the staple for this nutritious meal.

Ingredients

• 3-4 small eggplants or 1-2 medium/large eggplants
• 3 organic eggs
• 1 cup almond flour
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut flakes
• sea salt
• black pepper
• crushed red pepper
• 3-4 cups of organic tomato sauce, preferably homemade with all the fresh tomatoes! (I mixed mine with about 1/2 cup of red wine as well)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• dried basil

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees (F).
2. Cut eggplant into thin rounds, approximately 1/8-1/4 inch thick and no more then 2 inches long.
3. In a small bowl, beat 3 eggs.
4. In another bowl, combine almond flour, shredded coconut, a few shakes of sea salt, a few grinds of black pepper, and a few shakes of crushed red pepper.
5. Dip a slice of eggplant into egg mixture and let the excess drip off. Then put eggplant into flour mixture and cover lightly on both sides. Transfer to a greased cookie sheet, and repeat with all eggplant slices.
6. Bake eggplant slices for 5 minutes on each side.
7. In a large baking dish, put a thin layer of tomato sauce at the bottom of the pan and cover with a layer of eggplant slices.
8. Put a layer of tomato sauce (about 1 1/2 cups), followed by about half of the mozzarella cheese, half of the parmesan cheese, and a generous helping of dried basil.
9. Put another layer of eggplant slices on top of cheese, and repeat step 8.
10. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until cheese is lightly browned and sauce is bubbling.
11. Enjoy! Please let me know how yours turned out!

There are many different types of cleanses that one can do to help the body get rid of excess waste. The main goals of cleansing are to help eliminate and prevent toxic accumulations from causing chronic disease and to help the body to function optimally so we can feel are best. Our bodies are meant to consume natural, unadulterated foods from the earth. Most people today are not eating completely natural foods and have some degree of nutrient deficiency and toxic accumulations because of the new "normal" processed foods diet. In modern society, it is inevitable that we are being exposed to some level of chemical toxins in our daily lives, which are in the form of processed, sprayed and manufactured foods and meats, fluoridated and chlorinated water, air pollution, prescription and illegal drugs, cigarette smoke, etc. This makes cleansing an even more important component of taking care of your body and preventing disease.

The energetic qualities of spring and fall make these seasons an ideal time to fast, but any season may be appropriate depending on your own unique body and circumstances. The spring time, with its upward and expansive energy, may be best for major cleansing with fruit and vegetable juices for five to ten days or longer. Autumn is also a good time to do light cleansing and get rid of excessive waste before the winter, which is a time of storage. The abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables that are available in the spring, summer and early fall make it easier to eat more light and healthy. The winter may be the hardest time to do a cleanse, especially where the weather is colder and most people need more food to keep warm and energized. You may also consider doing a strict juice cleanse for a few days every month, or one day a week to really help to keep the build up of toxins from accumulating. 

The timing and type of cleanse you may choose to do will also depend on your personal level of health and your schedule of commitments. For example, a strict juice and water cleanse may not provide enough calories for a person who has a demanding physical job, and this person may wish to juice cleanse only when they have a few days off or incorporate more foods in their cleanse if they plan to keep working. Someone in very poor health will want to do any type of cleanse under the supervision of a health care practitioner, and take things slow. Pregnant and nursing mothers also have specific nutrient requirements to upkeep momma's health and baby's growth and development, and will not want to do strict juice and water fasting.

Ideally, during your cleanse you will be able to take it easy; do light exercise, like walking, yoga, and tai ji, meditate, and not have to overly exert yourself. It is best to do some research and speak with a health care professional about what type and length of cleansing may be most appropriate for you and you current level of health. Acupuncture and herbal medicine are also great to do in conjunction with your cleanse to assist your body in its elimination of waste and accumulated toxins.

Please let us know of your experiences with cleansing and if you have any questions or comments about it! Happy Cleansing! 

Welcome everyone to my new website and blog! Spring is the perfect time of year for new beginnings, and I know this spring has been full of beginnings and growth for me so far!

Chapter 2 of the Suwen in the Huangdi Neijing, which is one of the oldest books about classical Chinese medicine, gives us some valuable insights for the most harmonious actions we can have in the spring time. According to the Neijing, when human beings act in accordance with the natural rhythms of heaven and earth and the cyclical changes of the seasons, there will be optimal health and disease prevention.
 

So what does this ancient Chinese wisdom mean for us in our modern lives? As this passage describes for us, the energy of the spring is full of new growth and prosperity, and the Neijing is telling us we should be living our lives within the flow of this natural, emerging energy. Here are some ideas for living along these principles for the spring:

• Go with the flow of the spring! This is a great time of year to start  any type of new project, like fruit and vegetable gardens, new businesses, cleaning out the garage, and new hobbies that promote your inner creativity and expression, to name a few. 
• Sleep in accordance with nature. Go to bed after the sky goes dark, and wake with the rise of the morning sun. The early morning has the most yang energy, and spring is the best time of year to take advantage of this. Getting adequate sleep is always ideal for good health.
  
• Get moving! We are often over fed and under exercised in the winter months, when it is more natural to hibernate and conserve our energy. Use the energy of the spring to get moving again, and 'let your hair down'. Wake up a little early each morning, and start your day with some light exercise, such as walking, yoga, taiji, or qigong, or whatever activity you prefer to get your qi moving. Stretching exercises are particularly beneficial this time of year, considering that the tendon system is associated with the liver/wood energy of the body, which correlates with spring in nature.   
• Be mellow. Try to not be hostile or overly angry during the spring. This killing or punishing energy, which is associated with the fall season, is in direct opposition with the energy of the spring, and can cause your qi to become out of balance. 
• Nourish your body and eat well. Always try to eat in accordance with the seasons, as best as you are able to. Spring time meals should be less heavy and full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean (humanely raised) meats. Greens and sprouts are especially beneficial this time of year. Visit your local farmers market and see what delicious spring treats they have available for you. Don't know where your local farmer's market is? Check out the Eat Well Guide to find out!!
  
• Get a seasonal 'tune up'. Acupuncture will help get your liver qi moving! Whether you are having any obvious symptoms or not, it is a great idea to get acupuncture seasonally to help keep your body in balance and to prevent minor imbalances from becoming more serious in the future if they go untreated. Traditionally, Chinese medicine was used in this way as a preventative medicine.
  
• Look for signs of spring stagnation. The following symptoms indicate that you are suffering from stagnation of your liver qi, and are not flowing with the energy of the spring: congestion in nasal passageways and lungs, laziness, fatigue in the mornings, overeating, stuck in the same old routines and bad habits, addiction and reliance on drugs, including caffeine, restless sleep, mental or physical constipation, and headaches. These are some of the signs that acupuncture and Chinese medicine may be of great benefit to you this time of year.
  
• Admire the beauty of life and the world around you.
  

What are you all doing to live in accordance with the spring? Stay tuned for my next blog post about spring cleansing for the body!