What is my constitution?
What is my constitution?
This is not simple to answer, but I promise to keep my answer to 500 words!
When the body and emotional state are balanced, we generally feel healthy. Unfortunately, life is not always that simple. In Japanese acupuncture, we believe everybody has areas of strength and areas of weakness. This underlying pattern is what we call your constitution. As a preventative treatment, the goal is to treat your body to prevent you from becoming ill and improve your health.
One constitution is not “better” than another. Many factors, including genetics, early development, lifestyle, stress, diet, sleep, work, injuries, and emotional experiences over time, can influence our constitution.
Japanese Acupuncture Treatment
When you come in for your initial treatment, I explain that one of my goals is to understand your constitution. That is why I ask questions that may not seem directly related to your main complaint. In Japanese acupuncture, symptoms are rarely viewed in isolation.
I gather information about many aspects of your health, including sleep, digestion, appetite, thirst, temperature, pain, tension, stress levels, energy, and menstrual health when relevant. I pay attention to more subtle things such as your voice, emotions, facial complexion, posture, movement, and breathing. I also consider your overall presence and even how the body reacts to weather or fatigue, as these can all help form a picture of your overall health.
I am gathering all of this information to form a picture of your constitution from a Japanese acupuncture perspective. This will give me a clear picture of your constitution, and if I get this right, your health will improve.
Once I have this personalised formulation, I can assess and confirm your constitution. In Japanese acupuncture, diagnosis is also confirmed through physical examination, and other aspects such as pulse diagnosis, muscle tension, and abdominal (hara) diagnosis. Then I use specific points on the body to further enhance your treatment and healing.
Japanese Acupuncture as Preventive Treatment
As a preventative treatment, the goal is to strengthen the body to help prevent illness and improve overall health.
A tenet of Japanese acupuncture is that illness often develops where there is weakness or susceptibility within the body. One person may constantly develop neck tension when stressed, while another experiences digestive issues, fatigue, headaches, anxiety, or poor sleep. These patterns are often part of a person’s constitutional tendency.
If you haven’t spoken to me about it, please ask me. I am always happy to explain this further to you specifically, and I can suggest improvements you can make to help strengthen your health according to your constitution.
I look forward to connecting with you over the remainder of the year and answering your questions.
If you would like to learn more about Japanese acupuncture, feel free to ask me during your next session or visit Ilan’s Acupuncture.
Looks like I have succeeded. I even have enough words to say I have kept this under 500 words!