How the 6 best doctors can support you in times of stress

Self care means making time to do the things that help you live well and support both your physical and mental health. Self-care can help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy. Unfortunately self care is one of the first things that falls off your list of priorities in times of stress and yet that is when you need to prioritise it the most. You can’t give from an empty tank.

The wonderful thing about Chinese medicine is how it treats the whole person, not just the symptoms. One of the foundations of Chinese medicine is the Five Elements, which are Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire. These elements are linked to different organs, emotions, and body systems and are used to explain how the organs of the body interact with each other and how they are influenced by the world around us.

When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, Chinese medicine emphasizes balance and harmony. This is where the Six Best Doctors come in, which are Diet, Air, Water, Exercise, Rest and Sunshine. These six elements are just as important as the Five Elements in Chinese medicine, and they all work together to create a healthy and balanced life.

Earth element – Nutrition and Digestion … read on

Keep Calm and Stay Well

It’s hard to open any email or Facebook post these days and not see something about COVID-19. Everyone is in a state of panic and finding it hard to think rationally. Yes, this is a condition that must be taken seriously, however, it is also important to remember that fear and panic are stress responses and stress will reduce your immunity.

I recently shared a post on Facebook by Bruce Lipton, PhD (a stem cell biologist and author of The Biology of Belief). Amongst other things he stated that “the fear of the coronavirus is more deadly than the virus itself!” In sharing this post I was accused of spreading incorrect and irresponsible information and of not realising just how dangerous this virus is.

This is a dangerous virus, especially for the elderly and for those with lowered immunity. It is also a new virus for which we have not yet built an immunity and it is highly contagious. We do need to be vigilant with the precautions being suggested by the Australian Government Department of Health and by the WHO.  We need to look after ourselves, and we also need to look after our family and friends, and the community at large by doing the following: … read more

How to transform your life with Transformational Acupuncture

The new year has arrived and stress levels are on the rise. School is back in session, the bills are coming in, work expectations begin to build, and we need to recover from too much festivity over the holiday season.

The power of acupuncture is in harmonising and strengthening your body to both help you relax and stay well, as well as helping you release stress and heal from illness. It regulates your nervous system and can help you switch out of flight and fight (sympathetic nervous system) and into rest and recuperate (parasympathetic nervous system).

Illness can be considered to be a reflection not only of your diet and lifestyle but also of your emotional state which is caused by your thoughts and feelings. These thoughts and feelings, from a Chinese medical perspective, correspond to different organ systems and therefore can affect the health of those organs if left unchecked. So for example people who tend to worry a lot invariably have digestive problems, anger affects your liver, fear your kidneys and sadness your lungs. This, of course, is just a brief and simplified example of how things can work.

Another way of looking at energy in the body is through the chakra system. Chakra is a Sanskrit word that literally translates to wheel or disk and refers to vortices of energy throughout your body where matter and consciousness meet. Each of the seven main chakras corresponds with our major organs as well as our psychological, emotional, and spiritual states of being.

By integrating the chakra concept with the Chinese medicine understanding of the body a very powerful form of acupuncture called Transformational Acupuncture was developed. This style of treatment works not only on balancing and aligning each of your chakras but also on awakening and expanding your spiritual centre, your heart. These treatments are excellent for addressing anxiety, depression and other emotional imbalances. It can also deepen your meditation and help you better tune into yourself.

Read more … 

10 Great reasons to try acupuncture

If you need an excuse to have a treatment, other than it makes you feel fantastic, here are 10 Top to Toe terrific reasons to call your local practitioner and make an appointment today!

1. Breathe – Spring is here. Do you get hay fever, sinusitis or nasal congestion? Does your partner complain about your snoring? In controlled studies it has been shown that acupuncture is more effective than antihistamine drugs in the treatment of allergic rhinitis.

2. Immunity – Do you get sick a lot? Sore throats, blocked ears, chesty coughs? Winter may be over but I’m still seeing plenty of colds in clinic. Clinical studies suggest that using acupuncture as both a preventive approach and a support for colds and flu can help reduce the incidence of upper respiratory tract infection and shorten the length of the illnesses.

3. Stress relief – Did you know that acupuncture can help reduce stress and lower your blood pressure? Try it and see!

4. Sleep – Do you have trouble sleeping? Studies show that acupuncture is effective in increasing sleep quality and therefore improving daytime functioning. Wouldn’t you like to have more energy to enjoy your day?

5. Depression and Anxiety – The effect of acupuncture on depression has been documented repeatedly in controlled studies. Chinese medicine works holistically, recognising the mind-body connection and treating the whole person to help lift your mood and keep you calm.

6. Keep reading … 

 

For further information on Chinese Medicine  contact  Tania Grasseschi (Acupuncture, Chinese Herbs and Wholefood counselling). Tania is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine  (AHPRA  registered) in  Kingsford  and  is a Contract Academic  at the  Endeavour College of Natural Health  Sydney campus.

 

Lower your blood pressure in 2 easy steps

Do you know if your blood pressure is too high, or too low or is it just right? It is often hard to tell as there as there are no specific symptoms to watch out for.

Blood pressure is a measure of the amount of force exerted on your artery walls by your heart pumping blood around your body. It is naturally higher during exercise but if it is high when you are at rest then your heart is being overworked and you are putting a lot of stress on your blood vessels which will make you more vulnerable to having a heart attack or stroke in the long term.

Your blood pressure is considered too high if your systolic pressure (the pressure when your heart pumps blood to your body) is greater than 140mm Hg and when your diastolic pressure (the pressure in your arteries when your heart is filling up) is greater than 90 mm Hg.

High blood pressure is more common in men as compared to women before the age of 50 years old and 1 in 7 Australians have high blood pressure (or hypertension). It is a combination of genetic and environmental factors that can contribute to this but it is essentially a warning sign that something in your lifestyle needs to change.

Read more …

Mental Health Matters

Please see my new blog site for more exciting posts

Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health issues worldwide.

Just as anxiety tends to disrupt routines, getting into a routine can lower anxiety. Routines allow us to be more efficient, to spend less time thinking or worrying about what needs to be done and more time just doing it. This then opens up time to relax and better enjoy our lives.

Did you know that your body is so finely tuned into a circadian rhythm that there are particular times of the day when it is better to eat, sleep and be productive? Chinese medicine sets out a guide to healthy living by living in tune with your body’s rhythms and cycles.  There are recognised two-hour periods throughout the day when qi (energy) is at its peak in each organ system and can help us think more clearly, digest better and sleep more deeply.  Creating a routine that follows this system can make life feel more predictable and provide a sense of order and control, this reduces stress and anxiety and can help you become more productive as you go with the flow of your body clock.  To find out more about how your body clock works come along to my Flow Well, Stress Less seminar that I hold regularly throughout the year. 

Chinese medicine works holistically, recognising the mind-body connection and treating the whole person – body, mind, emotions and spirit. The intention in treatment is to correct any physical imbalances that might allow your anxiety to continue.  As research continues, acupuncture is gradually being proven to be a legitimate treatment for anxiety and depression as well as many other illnesses. Research has shown that acupuncture can help ease anxiety by acting on areas of the brain known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress, as well as promoting relaxation and deactivating the ‘analytical’ brain, which is responsible for anxiety and worry.

In a comprehensive literature review appearing in CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics, it was proven that acupuncture is comparable to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which psychologists commonly use to treat anxiety.  Results of another experimental study on acupuncture in patients with minor depressive episodes and generalized anxiety indicated that acupuncture leads to a significant clinical improvement as well as to a remarkable reduction in anxiety symptoms.

Acupuncture generally gives immediate results of relaxation. Feelings of anxiety tend to reduce within 24 hours of treatment and with regular treatments your sense of relaxation will last longer and longer.  Often there are other health issues that contribute to your anxiety and Acupuncture can also address these issues to help reduce your anxiety.

Acupuncture provides many benefits that are important to those living with anxiety:

• Re-balancing the body’s parasympathetic (rest and digest) and sympathetic (fight and flight) nervous system
• Reducing stress hormones in the body such as cortisol and epinephrine
• Reducing tension and promoting deep relaxation of the body
• Calming the mind and body and so improving emotional wellbeing

Chinese medicine recognises that different people require different treatments, even when suffering from the same condition. As it is a holistic medicine treatments often include acupuncture, herbs, diet and  life-style counselling. Due to the often complex interplay of both mental and physical symptoms it is also recommended that you complement your acupuncture treatments with a psychological therapy of some description.

The experience of having acupuncture is pleasant, relaxing and energizing and each treatment is tailored directly to your personal needs. Once the initial weekly treatment course is completed an ongoing wellness program of perhaps monthly treatments have been found to be of great benefit. So find your local practitioner and take another step along your road to well being today as mental health really does matter.

Your Health in the Year of the Horse

Please see my new blog site for more exciting posts

Jan 31, 2014 is the start of the Chinese Year of the Wood Horse. The horse is fundamentally a fire creature, so this year the elements of Wood and Fire will be highlighted. Wood and Fire relate primarily to the Liver and Heart in Chinese Medicine.

So how can you best look after your health this year?

The Wood archetype is the Pioneer who seeks challenge and pushes to the limit; they love action, movement, and adventure. Is it any wonder then that the Liver is in charge of the smooth flow of energy (qi) throughout your body?

Emotions are essentially energy in motion so when the energy is not flowing as it should, the Liver qi is stuck, then emotional flow is disrupted. This can lead to feelings of irritability, frustration or anger which can then send your blood pressure up. Similarly these emotions can disrupt the appropriate flow of qi and cause havoc with other organs, since everything is connected, leading to ‘stress related problems’ such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Premenstrual Syndrome. Regular gentle exercise is one of the best ways to keep the qi flowing smoothly.

The liver is associated with the storage of blood as well as the flow of qi which means it is an important organ to consider in regards to the timing, comfort, quality and quantity of a woman’s menstrual cycle and thus her fertility.  The ‘health’ of your liver blood is also reflected in symptoms such as dry eyes and skin. As the Horse is a fire sign be particularly wary of dryness and dehydration this year, keep your blood nourished by eating well and stay hydrated.

The Liver is said to control the tendons and during exercise blood is released to nourish your tendons and muscles. Tightness, inflexibility, spasms or the propensity to muscle and tendon injuries can be reflecting the health of your Liver. The Wood meridians, or energy lines, flow through your neck and shoulders and down the sides of your body so tightness in these areas or headaches, both tension and migraine, are a typical indicator that the qi is not flowing appropriately. As you have probably experienced stress restricts not only the flow of qi but also of your breath.  Take a deep breath, drop your shoulders and let it go.

The liver is said to open into the eyes and so it is connected to proper eye function. Chronic eye problems, weak or blurry vision can usually be traced to liver issues. The Liver is often described as the strategist in Chinese Medicine so how can you see where you are going in life and plan your route to get there if your Liver is struggling?

Some great ways to support your wood energy this year is to keep your coffee and alcohol intake to a minimum as these substances will put extra stress on your liver. Make sure you are eating plenty of leafy green vegetables, organic if possible, and add some goji berries into your porridge or other dishes. Drink Dandelion tea, lemon water and plenty of filtered water throughout the day. Try to be in bed by 10.30pm most nights as when you sleep can be even more important as how much you sleep.  Acupuncture and Herbs are also great ways to help you restore the proper function of your mind, body and spirit.

The Fire archetype is the Wizard who imbues the mundane with the extraordinary, and brings the transforming power of light, love, and awareness into the world. They relish excitement, are keenly intuitive and passionately empathetic, they love sensation, drama, and sentiment.  Do you know any big hearted people like this?

In Chinese medicine the Heart is considered the residence of the mind and spirit and so is most often involved in psychological imbalances. Properly nourished and balanced, the heart maintains our innate wisdom, contentment, and emotional balance as well as mental function and memory. When the heart is not performing appropriately poor memory, insomnia, restlessness, depression or anxiety, or a tendency to be “spaced out” or “in the clouds” can result. So this is a good year to increase joy and happiness and use humor and laughter as medicine to nourish your heart.

The heart controls the blood and blood vessels. When your heart is healthy, it pumps blood through the vessels to all parts of your body, nourishing your organs and maintaining vitality.  When your Heart is disturbed this can lead to circulation and blood problems, palpitations, strokes or heart attacks.

The heart controls speech. If someone you know is withdrawn and has a quiet demeanor then perhaps their heart is in need of nourishing.

To look after your heart health this year definitely follow some of the wood advice above since in Chinese medicine the Liver energy is the mother of the Heart energy so being kind to your liver will certainly help your heart. As such eat a healthy whole food diet, organic if possible, with plenty of fish for the good oils that you need. Cook with only a small amount of good quality celtic sea salt, try not to add it at the table, and stay well hydrated. If you are going to eat chocolate make sure it is dark, not milk, and eat it with restraint if you can.  Limit your alcohol and caffeine intake and remember that today is the best day to quit smoking. Make fitness fun with some regular gentle morning exercise to keep your heart pumping well and be sure to have a good night’s sleep. Of course the most important thing you can do for your heart is to nourish your friendships and remember to love yourself. Coming for some regular acupuncture treatments is also a great way to nourish yourself.

Enjoy a wonderful year and big hugs all around.

New Year, New You

Please see my new blog site for more exciting posts

New Year’s Eve is often a time for reflecting on our past, deciding where we want to head in the coming year and then making resolutions in order to achieve these goals.  Without a direction we often wander aimlessly through the year and then wonder why we haven’t accomplished anything as the year draws to a close.

The top resolutions that people often adopt, and then quickly abandon, include Lose weight; Get Fit; Cut back on alcohol; Quit smoking; Get more sleep; Enjoy life more; Spend time with family and friends; Learn something new; Volunteer; Travel and Get organized. Apparently less than half of those who make resolutions are still on target by mid year so here are some tips to help you stay on track this year including how acupuncture and my workshops (Detox to great health; Think well, feel well; Eat well, be well; and Flow well, stress less) can help you achieve many of these goals and more.

You make resolutions for a reason; if you didn’t think you would benefit from them then you wouldn’t be resolving to attempt them. All of these resolutions are interrelated, as is all of life. If you start with one you may just find that you’ll be accomplishing them all. Book into my workshops today and you can not only show your commitment to your resolutions but you can also tick off your resolution to Learn something new.

Having spent most of December and January indulging in festivities detoxing is a great way to begin cleaning out the old and making room for the new. My first workshop of the year, Detox to great health (Feb 22, 2014), is all about cleansing your mind, body and spirit. It is about healthy eating, healthy thinking and healthy action and it is a great first step to addressing a number of your top resolutions.

Let us have a closer look at your resolution to Lose weight.  First of all the word “Diet” is based on the Latin word ‘Diaeta’ meaning “a manner of living; a way of life” so if you really want to lose weight then it might be a good idea to review all aspects of your lifestyle in addition to what you are eating because there really is no such thing as a quick fix that won’t quickly undo. Working sustainably and setting reasonable goals is the best way to attain and maintain your optimal weight. Acupuncture can help you lose weight by improving your digestion and your metabolism and my Eat Well, Be Well workshop (April 26, 2014) will help untangle a lot of the confusion around healthy eating as well as revealing other lifestyle changes, like getting more sleep, that will help you get to your optimal weight more easily. A lack of sleep has been linked to a greater risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.  Sleep really is more beneficial to your health than you might realize. If you have trouble with sleep then acupuncture can be of great benefit as it has a long tradition of treating insomnia successfully.

Losing weight will require that you cut back on alcohol, it is packed with calories and when mixed with other drinks, such as soft drinks, the calories can really add up. There may be some health benefits to drinking small amounts of alcohol but the definition of small can vary widely.  Drinking in excess affects the brain’s neurotransmitters and can increase the risk of depression, memory loss, or even seizures. Chronic heavy drinking boosts your risk of liver and heart disease, hypertension, stroke, and mental deterioration, and even cancers of the mouth, throat, liver, and breast. So taper off on the drinking once the festive season draws to a close and then follow with a course of acupuncture to help your liver recuperate.

Losing weight will also require that you add exercise into your lifestyle which will help you get fit.  Regular exercise has been associated with so many health benefits, in addition to helping achieve and maintain weight loss it increases longevity, enhances mood, lowers blood pressure, and even improves arthritis. In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better.

While you are losing weight, getting fit and cutting back on alcohol you might just find that your resolution to quit smoking starts to kick into action.  Many people are social smokers so if you are drinking less you will you able to smoke less. As you start to get fit you will notice the impact that smoking is having on your lungs which will further motivate you to quit. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good. You can use acupuncture to help reduce cravings and alleviate withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, anxiety and difficulty concentrating. There are enormous health benefits to quitting and you will save money so start enjoying the rest of your smoke-free life today!

So far we have covered 5 resolutions, all working together, that you can now integrated into your lifestyle – Lose weight, Get fit, Cut back on alcohol, Quit smoking and Get more sleep.

While you are Getting more sleep to lose weight (having learned in Flow well, stress less (May 24, 2014) to go to bed around 10.30pm and wake 8 hours later at 6.30am for optimal rest and recuperation) you will find that your energy levels are improving so it will be easier to Enjoy life more and that will give you less reason to Smoke and Drink which will then help you Get fit and Lose weight. See how it is all fitting together?

Chronic stress can increase your risk of, or even worsen, insomnia, depression, obesity, heart disease, and more.  Given our hectic, stressful lifestyles of long working hours, little sleep, no exercise, poor diet, and not spending enough time with family and friends is it any wonder that “enjoying life more” has become a popular resolution. It’s an important step to a happier and healthier you! Regular acupuncture treatments are a great way to bring balance back to your body, mind and soul.  Think Well, Feel Well (March 29, 2014) is a great way to discover how your thoughts, feelings and beliefs impact your health and well being at a physical level and how to heal your body by making friends with your emotions. After all, attitude really does matter.

Enjoying life will probably see you spending more time with family and friends, going for walks, playing tennis, swimming at the beach and getting fit. Research suggests people with strong social ties live longer than those who don’t.  In fact, a lack of social bonds can damage your health as much as alcohol abuse and smoking, and even more than obesity and lack of exercise, a 2010 study in the journal PLoS Medicine suggests.  With all that extra energy you may even consider Volunteering to help out those less fortunate. We tend to think our own bliss relies on bettering ourselves, but our happiness also increases when we help others.

Sometimes it is hard to break a habit while you are in the routine of the rat race so Travelling, even if just heading to the mountains or along the coast for the weekend (chose a destination in nature rather than a big city), will help you tap into life as an adventure, and that is a great time to make changes in your life without having to do anything too bold or dramatic.

Getting organized is about reducing the clutter in your life, both internally and externally, so you can find peace.  Book into all 4 workshops (get 10% off) and buy yourself a course of 10 acupuncture treatments (buy 9 and get 1 free) and you will be organized for a year of following through on your resolutions, relaxing, re energizing, relieving pain and living a fabulous year.

Happy New Year everyone!

Men’s Health and Chinese Medicine

Please see my new blog site for more exciting posts

Men’s attitudes towards health and health services are different to those of women which is why occasions like Movember have been created.  Looking at the clients I have treated in clinic this year only a little over a quarter of them were men. So I would like to call upon the women of the world to really inspire the men in your life (partners, fathers, brothers, cousins, friends) to take action for their own personal health and well being and see how much better they will feel and how much more they will be able to accomplish.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the leading underlying cause of death for Australian males is ischaemic heart disease (including angina, heart attacks and blocked arteries of the heart), followed by trachea and lung cancer then Stroke. Prostate cancer was the fifth leading cause of death and affected more men than breast cancer affected women.

Many factors can raise or lower a person’s risk of ill health.  Lifestyle behaviours such as tobacco smoking, risky alcohol consumption, along with obesity, are three of the more prominent chronic health risks in modern Australian society. Such risk factors not only impact upon people’s health, but affect their ability to participate in other aspects of life such as family and community activities. Men aged 15 years or over were more likely than women to have each of these risk factors.

A healthy lifestyle includes reducing or quitting smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, increasing physical activity and eating healthy food.

Exercise, as we all know, has many health benefits.  Men aged 18 years or over were more likely than women to have a level of exercise that met the National Physical Activity guidelines (exercise at a moderate level (including brisk walking) for most days of the week for at least 30 minutes or more on each day). Well done men!

Only a small proportion of people (men and women) aged 15 years or over met the recommended guidelines for vegetable and fruit consumption (approximately 2 ½ cups of cooked vegetables or 5 cups of salad vegetables and approximately 300 gm of fresh fruit or 100 gm of dried fruit per day). The rate among men was lower than for women. Tut tut to all of you.

Given all of these statistics what can Chinese medicine do for you and the men in your life?

When you look into the causes of Heart disease, stroke and cancer you will see time and again factors such as smoking, alcohol, diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol and high blood pressure mentioned. If you dig deeper, however, to try to understand the true underlying causes then you might want to ask what is driving people to smoke and drink to excess? What is driving up people’s blood pressure and cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels? More often than not the answer is stress. Stress often drives people to smoke or drink to excess or to comfort eat. Stress makes us irritable, affects our sleep, our digestion and our immunity. All of this then creates an acidic environment within the body which can lead to inflammation which constricts the blood vessels, thickens the blood, and triggers cells to multiply in order to repair the damage.

Research published in Experimental Biology and Medicine (Royal Society of Medicine Press) concludes that acupuncture prevents the harmful production of chemicals created by stress. So receiving regular Acupuncture treatments and taking herbs when appropriate can help to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer by relieving stress.

Initially I recommend weekly treatments to bring the body, mind and spirit back into balance and address specific conditions.  Once the initial concerns have been addressed many of my clients have found that monthly treatments are a wonderful investment in their general health and wellbeing as they experience more restful sleep, stronger digestion, boosted immunity, reduced stress and anxiety and enhanced emotional wellbeing.

Acupuncture really is beneficial both from a preventative medicine perspective and for the treatment of many conditions. So book in for a treatment today and relax, relieve pain and re-energise.

Flow Well, Stress Less

Please see my new blog site for more exciting posts

Stress is defined as an internal resistance to an external force. As such, stress is actually about the relationship between you, your inner issues, and the world around you, external events.

When you resist the flow of the moment, rather than going with it, your body responds with an increase in adrenalin and a sense of pressure and physical tension which are all just normal fear based responses that are there to activate and prepare you for change and unpredictability.

Trouble does not arise from your stress response or in fact from the issue that triggered it, trouble arises when you lose your flow and your resourcefulness.  In martial arts you learn that it is better to make use of the energy of your opponent rather than resist it.

So thriving in times of stress is not so much about how to manage stress, as it is about how to look after yourself on a daily basis so that you are less likely to become stressed in the first place.

Generally when you are stressed you can get so caught up in the external event that you can forget to breathe or slow down and really tune into what is going on within. If you can connect with your emotional distress, your intellectual confusion, your physical exhaustion or your spiritual malaise then you have a better opportunity to get to the root of the issue rather than running from your discomfort and feeling like a victim of circumstance. Things you perceive as mistakes, hindrances and stressors could just be opportunities to do things differently.

If you can stop and breathe to ground and focus yourself then you can create a space to question your behaviours and take responsibility for your actions.  While you can’t control the flow of the world you can support yourself by nurturing the flow and balance within your own body, mind and spirit.

Physically, mentally and emotionally you are governed by your body’s internal biological clock. There is a cyclic ebb and flow of energy within your body and in Chinese medicine there are specific two-hour periods throughout the day when qi (energy) is at its peak within each organ system (see table below). Reconnecting with your natural body clock and daily rhythms is the key to self care and will allow you to flow through your day in the least stressful way.

We often hear that the six best doctors are water, exercise, sunshine, fresh air, good diet, and rest. It turns out that when you apply these can be just as important as what you are doing.  So have a look at the table below to better understand why you might benefit from spending some time in nature by exercising first thing in the morning and then spending 15 min in the sun at noon.  Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper to best nourish yourself and hydrate regularly throughout the day.  At the end of the day be in bed by 10.30 for the most restful sleep you can get.

Listening to and reconnecting with the natural flow of your body will help you to become physically grounded and flexible, mentally alert and adaptable, emotionally awake and agile, and spiritually aware and open to guidance so that you can roll with the punches and keep what stresses you to a minimum.

For more information you can attend my Flow Well, Stress Less workshop.

Time	Organ/Meridian	Time to …
5am-7am	Large Intestine	Wake up, have a glass of water, do some meditation and exercise.  Deep belly breathing, making use of your diaphragm, is great for massaging your intestines and letting go of the previous day’s consumptions.
7am-9am	Stomach	Have a nourishing breakfast as absorption and assimilation is at its peak. Eat breakfast like a King as and this will fuel you for the day.
9am-11am	Spleen	Work your mind. Spleen rules the thoughts in Chinese Medicine so this is the best time for working smarter not harder.
11am-1pm	Heart	Network and connect with others and do what you really love to do.
1pm-3pm	Small intestine	Lunch like a prince and take a few moments to breathe and relax before you face the afternoon.
3pm-5pm	Bladder	Do menial, routine, repetitive tasks that don’t require too much thought. The Bladder meridian runs down the back of your body.  If you have been supporting yourself through the first half of the day then this energy will ‘have your back’. 3.30itis only hits when you haven’t been supporting yourself.
5pm-7pm	Kidney	Finish work and debrief. Kidney time is aligned with your adrenals. If you keep working away at this time you will have difficulty sleeping. The kidney energy also rules the reproductive system so this is a great time for sex.
7pm-9pm	Pericardium or Heart Protector	Go home, have dinner and be creative – play music, paint, write, do what inspires you.
9pm-11pm	San Jiao or3 heaters of the body	Switch off all electronic devices and make your way to bed if you want a restful and restorative night’s sleep.
11pm-1am	Gall Bladder	Allow your unconscious mind to go into problem solving mode. Staying awake through this time deprives you of this opportunity and often sleeping on an issue allows you to come up with far better solutions than you can with your conscious mind alone.
1am–3am	Liver	Allow your liver to cleans and detox your blood. If you have partied hard or had a heavy dinner your body may be struggling to detox at this time which could interrupt your sleep. This is an important recuperative time for your body.
3am-5am	Lungs	Breathe deeply to nourish your lungs and your immunity. Strong lungs are important as it is your breath that affects your movement between fight and flight (sympathetic nervous system) and rest and digest (parasympathetic nervous system)