In this issue you will find:

• Important PCOM Dates
• TCM During Summer
• Yoga eases menopause symptoms
• Antioxidant Properties of Black Tea
• Chinese Wisdom: Quote of the Day

Important PCOM Dates

• August 12 – (Sunday) San Diego Commencement Ceremony
• September 18 – (Tuesday) New York Open House
• September 18 – (Tuesday) Chicago Open House
• September 29 – (Saturday) San Diego Open House

TCM During Summer

The Five Element Theory serves as a major diagnostic and treatment tool in Traditional Chinese Medicine.  It is based on the observation of the natural cycles and interrelationships in the environment and within ourselves.  For example, there are five environmental elements – Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood – each corresponding with certain body organs, such as the heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys, liver, intestines, stomach, urinary bladder and gull bladder.  The five different elements are associated with different times of the year: Fire with summer, Earth with late-summer, Metal with autumn, Water with winter and Wood with spring. 

The five elements interact with each other (they depend on each other).  For example, the liver, belonging to the Wood element, directly affects the spleen, which belongs to the Earth element.  Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners try to maintain a balance among the body’s organs.
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Massage for Pain Relief

Each day, more and more Americans are turning to massage therapy to ease pain. Ranging from carpal tunnel syndrome, to chronic arthritis, massage therapy techniques are helping patients of all walks of life get back on their feet again.  Just about every culture has used a form of massage to ease pain.  Although its healing powers were muted by modern medicine, a growing number of people are returning to its age-old healing properties.  The Journal of Rheumatoidology reports that over 70 percent of doctors refer their patients to massage therapy.
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Yoga eases menopause symptoms

By: Michelle Fletcher, B.A., http://michellefletcher.net

The benefits of yoga extend beyond the flexibility and relaxation gleaned from our Saturday morning class. Men and women of all ages have benefited from regular yoga sessions, but now studies are highlighting yoga’s many benefits for menopausal women.

Yoga stretches can benefit both the body and the mind, bringing energy and balance, says Susan M. Lark, M.D. in her book, The Estrogen Decision Self Help Book. This is particularly helpful to women who are currently in menopause or in menopause transition because their hormonal levels and body chemistry may be fluctuating rapidly. This can leave women feeling out of balance and truly victims of their changing bodies. Yoga exercises level out this physiological instability by relaxing and gently stretching every muscle in the body, promoting better blood circulation and oxygenation to all cells and tissues. This helps optimize the function of the endocrine glands and the organs of the female reproductive tract. Yoga exercises also improve the health and well-being of the digestive tract, nervous system, and all other organ systems.

A Pennsylvania State University study confirms Lark’s findings. “The surprising aspect of the study is that we found a significant association between changes in cardiorespiratory fitness and changes in menopausal symptoms,” said lead author Steriani Elavsky, Ph.D., of Penn State University. One hundred sixty-four sedentary menopausal women were randomly assigned to a walking program, a yoga program or a control group that did no additional exercise for four months. The women who walked or took yoga classes reported a better quality of life and reduced negative effects of menopause compared to the no-exercise group. The women who walked or took yoga classes reported improvements in mood and menopause-related quality of life compared to the no-exercise group.
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Antioxidant Properties of Black Tea

Tea is a natural beverage without any artificial coloring, flavoring or preservatives.  It is also free of cholesterol and calories.  Tea is one of the most common beverages consumed around the globe.  One out of every two people in the world today is a tea drinker.  It has been estimated that around 3.2 million tons of tea were produced in the year 2004. 

Tea is made by processing the leaves or buds of the tea bush.  The degree of fermentation that the tea leaves undergo determines what type of tea will be produced: white tea, green tea, or black tea.
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Chinese Wisdom: Quote of the Day

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.”
   
    - Confucius