✨How to Maximize Your Health Benefits Using Acupuncture✨

An Ancient Medical System

Chinese Medicine has been practiced for thousands of years and treats a wide range of conditions and imbalances. 

From the common cold to chronic or acute pain, internal disorders such as gastrointestinal complaints, chronic headaches, sinus issues, asthma and allergies, or any of the numerous physical presentations that result from early developmental trauma or autonomic dysregulation, the Chinese Medicine paradigm offers an ancient system and a therapeutic model that can get you relief and results.

How to Best Utilize Acupuncture + Get Results

I try to connect with every new patient before we begin our work together to talk about expectations and how to best utilize Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine to leverage results. 

If you are brand new to Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, OR if you are returning to it after many years, OR if you have a particular goal for your own wellness that has been part of your life for years, it is best to schedule consistent appointments (usually once weekly) for a length of time in order to both:

1) Provide you with enough support to create some level of change
and
2) Get sufficient feedback from you and your body about how Acupuncture is helpful to you over time

I recommend that you plan, at the very least, for 4 weeks in a row of once weekly treatments in order for us to determine:

"How is this helpful?",
"What do you notice after your treatment?"
"Did you get any relief and for how long was relief maintained?"
"Did you experience any negative side effects?"

I like to let people know up front: there is so much room for creativity in terms of how I approach your treatments with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.

If something is not working, I have a lot of tools and a lot of options for what we do next. You are always part of the conversation. If you experienced an unpleasant side effect or no relief as a result of treatment it is not your fault. That is actually diagnostic and tells us where to go next and what to try next time. It can also provide us both with a level of understanding of what you are currently processing in life or in your lived history and we can support that. I am always inclined to recommend additional professional supports where they feel appropriate, as well.

If everyone gave themselves 8-12 weeks of once weekly Acupuncture to support a particular goal (if you need to miss a week here or there, everything will be fine!), everyone's experience of their symptoms, their own lives, their own energy and their own stress response would be palpable. 

Time + Consistency

If you are trying to improve your health, change habits or establish a routine that most nurtures you to do your work in the world, you may have noticed that consistency over time is the most effective approach to sustainable change and ACTUAL change over time. Most things do not change overnight.

I always tell patients "I'm available for a miracle!" and I am! It is rare but I have seen certain people feel markedly better after one Acupuncture treatment. 

Conceiving of how best to apply Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (and any of the Holistic Modalities), is a lot like how you would apply exercise or nutrition: you don't do fitness once or eat your vegetables one meal per week in order to maintain health or meet a goal - it's an action you take near daily in order to produce results over time. 

While you don't need to get daily Acupuncture treatments (bless!), the same framework applies: consistency over time yields better results that last. It can take a long time for a symptom to develop or a tissue change to occur in response to a repetitive pattern or chronic stress or inflammation. It actually is less therapeutic to engage in an intense activity or "cathartic" therapy in order to unwind or rearrange whatever is going on in your body or to heal whatever trauma(s) you may have experienced.* 

Offering your body and your nervous system gentle support over time will create lasting change that you can carry forth into your community, your career, your relationships and your own experience of your physical body. 

*This is my professional opinion based in the academic and therapeutic trainings I have pursued in my professional career and my clinical experience over the past 17 years. This statement excludes things like necessary surgeries, certain types of complex medical conditions and of course emergent presentations. 

Nurturing Clarity

Once we have a well-rounded idea about how Acupuncture is useful to you and your presentation and once you feel well-supported enough to maintain the relief you are seeking, a once per month treatment regimen is a wonderful maintenance routine.

You've heard me say this many times before: coming in around the Solstices and Equinoxes is a great time to seek support. Conditions that were once well-managed will often flare or return around the changes of the season.

And also, sometimes there are "seasons of life" or moments in time when we require more supports and more consistent support to either "break even" energetically or to help ourselves function optimally in our day to day routines. 

Clarity is such a gift. When we amass enough experience with any body-based modality, we can make a much more informed choice about how to employ it for our greatest good and our own well-being. It becomes a tool we can utilize at any time with any frequency in order to support ourselves in the present moment but that also carries us forth into the future. 

---

Also: Late-Summer Energetics!

Come the 3rd week of August, we will enter a different Elemental Season in the Chinese Medicine paradigm, that of the Earth Element which corresponds to the organs of the Spleen and Stomach.

Here is the link to a Blog Post I wrote in 2019 regarding the Spleen and Stomach and the Season of Late Summer in the event that you might be curious or want some perspective and tips to support yourself. 

It is a wonderful time to receive support before the school year starts and as we begin to move towards the Fall Equinox!

Sending you all well-wishes <3

Warmly,
Katie Fritz

The Damp-Heat of Our Midwestern Summer 🌞❣️🌦️🌈

Summerheat and Summer Dampness...

How's your Midwestern Summer going? If you're living in Wisconsin, it is hard to miss the experience of intense heat and humidity. In this newsletter, we are going to explore the impacts of heat and humidity on our bodies through the lens of the Chinese Medicine paradigm.

Climatic Qi in Chinese Medicine

I often speak a lot about the 5 Elements of Chinese Medicine with my patients and in these newsletters: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood. The 5 Elements have associations with the Seasons more broadly and help Chinese Medicine clinicians make sense of your symptoms as they might present on, around or throughout the punctuations of the cyclical Seasons. 

In Chinese Medicine we also utilize and acknowledge the clinical relevance and impact of the changes in weather and how that can produce or contribute to any number of symptoms. Perhaps you've noticed a headache or joint pains come on as a storm front approaches? Or your symptoms worsen or improve in dry or cold conditions? Or perhaps you feel amazing or you simply cannot stand the heat? 

Enter the 6 Qi in the Chinese Medicine framework: Wind, Heat, Fire, Dampness, Dryness and Cold. 

In Chinese Medicine, the qualities of Qi (aka Energy if this happens to be your first email!) can combine and you can have something your Acupuncturist might classify as a Wind-Heat or Wind-Cold Invasion. You may experience Damp-Heat or Damp-Cold. We refer to these as patterns of imbalance in Chinese Medicine and they help us pick our Acupuncture Points and our Chinese Herbal Formulas.

For the purposes of our exploration, we will dwell on Dampness and Heat (and Damp-Heat) as they pertain to our most recent weather patterns.

Dampness...

Chinese Medicine often relies on metaphors and imagery rooted in the natural world to illustrate concepts as they pertain to health and illness or wellness and imbalance. 

So when you think of Dampness what images, qualities or feelings come to your mind?

To some degree you can intuit how you might feel (or how you are feeling given the rainfall we have had!) if you were trying to combat Dampness as a pattern of imbalance in your own body.

Among many things, Dampness encumbers. It is heavy and fatiguing. Dampness can be very physical and cause swelling of the tissues, weight gain, nasal congestion, frequent urination, diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, lethargy, brain fog or depression as some examples. Dampness can be Cold or Hot, depending upon the circumstances or our constitutional tendencies. 

Heat...

When you think of your physical experience of Heat, many of the signs and symptoms are also intuitive. You sweat, your skin flushes, if overexposed to the sun your skin may become red and even peel. 

Sign and symptoms of trapped Heat or a Heat pattern of imbalance may also include skin irritations or rashes, systemic inflammation and all manner of inflammatory responses from superficial tissues like a stye on your eyelid, acne, gut irritation with bowel irregularities, urinary tract infections, sinus infections, or fever. Heat can contribute to chronic headaches, painful menses, or frequent spotting. 

So when we combine the pathologies of Damp and Heat, we call that Damp-Heat (I know you never would have guessed?! :)). Damp-Heat presentations can look like any combination of the above imbalances: redness AND swelling, fever AND diarrhea, feeling NO appetite and then feeling ravenous, having a headache AND feeling fatigue. 

Supporting Vitality in Summer

Utilizing Acupuncture Points and Chinese Herbal Medicine, your Acupuncturist does things such as Clear Heat and Drain Dampness to ameliorate your symptoms, improve your access to your vital life force and to restore your whole body to a sense of relative ease and balance. 

Here are some of my favorite acupuncture points to Soothe Fire, Drain Dampness and Clear Heat. You can apply acupressure all on your own for an increased sense of well-being: 

Heart-8
Spleen-9
Stomach-44/Large Intestine-11
Pericardium-6 (for nausea and low appetite)

I hope everyone is staying cool, staying safe and enjoying how lush and green it is outside (a wonderful side effect of all this moisture and humidity). If you need anything or have questions please don't hesitate to reach out or book a consultation! 

Ushering in Summer ❤️🌻☀️✨

Hello, Summer!

The Summer Solstice arrived Friday June 20th and we have most definitely been initiated into the heat of the season here in Madison, WI!

The Fire Element in Chinese Medicine

In Chinese Medicine, the Summer Season is associated with the Heart and Small Intestine systems, also referred to in combination as the Fire Element. 

The Heart and the Small Intestine have many familiar correspondences from the Chinese Medicine perspective. Physiologically, the Heart governs the health of the cardiovascular system while the Small Intestine manages elements of the digestive process and has a responsibility to your immune system.

Emotionally, the Heart and Small Intestine systems help us metabolize, manage and relate to our experience of not only anxiety, but also to our expression and experience of joy. As such, an imbalance of the Fire element can also limit our ability to experience joy and can be a contributing factor to depression or depressive episodes. An imbalanced Fire Element can also contribute to our experience of anxiety or panic.

{I find it's always important to note: the transient experience of ANY emotion whether deemed "positive" or "negative" is not pathological. I tell patients with great frequency: emotions are physiological, NOT pathological.

Healthy emotional expression, supported in your own relatively resourced state or in the context of professional or personal relationships ultimately moves Qi like anything else. Honest emotional expression is deep self-care. 

It is the stagnation of an emotional state over lengths of time that can create greater issues both internally and within one's behaviors and relationships. Your acupuncturist most certainly cares about your emotional state of being!}

Spiritually, the Heart and Small Intestine systems evoke and engender our capacity for conscious awareness. Just like your Heart must keep pumping in order for you to be alive/awake, the spiritual capacity of the Heart (and Small Intestine) is integral to your ability to awaken a la conscious awareness. You know, consciousness - just the thing that we need now more than ever <3 

When Fire Blazes...

There's also a classical saying in Chinese Medicine "all pain, sores, swelling and itch belong to the Heart."

If you or someone you know suffers from anxiety-induced hives or gets caught up in some poison ivy or poison oak, there are acupuncture point combinations and herbal remedies that can help to alleviate those symptoms efficiently while also supporting the health of your immune system! 

Boils, bug bites, cystic acne and breakouts can be treated and soothed utilizing Chinese Medicine. Part of our focus will be always be on balancing the Fire element. 

The Winds of Spring Build Healthy Fire

Part of the what makes Chinese Medicine so uniquely validating and particularly useful is that, like many ancient traditions, this medical system honors cycles. Here we are again: moving from Spring to Summer. 

Have you noticed in your own life, emotionally or physically, that your symptoms arise with some regularity or in the context of a particular Season or at a certain time in the year?

Have you noticed that Seasonal transitions can be a bit of a bugger? While your headaches/PMS/sleep cycles/immune system/mood were once well-managed, symptoms have reappeared lately?

Each Season has a unique energy or Qi and sometimes imbalances can express themselves in a particular season. 

How Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine can help

The Seasonal energy of Summer is "the height of Yang energy". Yang energy is warmth. It is the force that animates this bag of bones. :) It is cellular metabolic energy. Yang energy is active and mobile and it circulates warmth in order to prevent any (Cold) accumulation. 

Specific to Heart and Small Intestine imbalances in Chinese Medicine, I often see people experience any number of the following: headaches, poor sleep or insomnia, anxiety or panic attacks, depression.

People may experience swelling of the ankles or face, heart palpitations or irregular heart rhythm, excessive sweating/night sweats or lethargy.

Many digestive complaints can stem from what we would refer to as "Cold" in the digestive system and lead to the experience of nausea or loss of appetite, chronic loose stools, diarrhea, bowel irregularities, frequent urination or decreased thirst.

If your immune system feels challenged or you find yourself suffering from a Summer cold, Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine are always here to aid in your speedy recovery!

Summer Retreat

Given the energetic quality of the Summer, our lives tend to be busier and our days a little bit more full of activity. Coming in for regular Acupuncture treatments can help maintain your energy in this Season to support your experience of wellness in real time while also supporting greater balance leading into the next Season. I look forward to seeing you soon for any grounding or symptomatic relief you might need! Until then, I hope you take great care and get to enjoy the simple pleasures of these warm Summer evenings <3

💘 A little something to support us in February

And we have arrived at February...

I hope this email finds you safe, healthy and well 💕

Always, but especially given the current quality of time, I hope you feel supported by your communities, your callings and your networks of care.

It’s always time for Love 

However you care for yourself daily or in moments of high stress will have a cumulative impact on your vitality and sense of well-being. Not only that, it will help you respond appropriately when certain actions are called for 🙏🏼

There are numerous ways to care for yourself: a deep breath, a brief moment of stillness, a glass of water, a home-cooked meal, a good cry, a good scream, a good chat with a friend or a trusted professional. 

The return of the Heart-Shaped Cups💕

This month, in the spirit of levity, frivolity, self-care and good clean fun, I wanted to offer the return of the Heart-Shaped Cups 💕

For folks who are already a fan of Cupping, you know the health benefits of the modality: it works to release muscle tension patterns and provide pain relief. 

The procedure of Cupping involves suction which creates space in the fascia, allowing the tissues to find freedom from stagnant tension patterns. It also intentionally breaks the superficial blood vessels - leaving marks - so that blood flow increases to local tissues. When you improve blood flow to local tissues, there is more oxygen and more nutrients available for any necessary repairs.

I have used Cupping throughout the years to help people get relief from musculoskeletal pain, migraine headaches, sinus congestion, asthma, and tension headaches. Cupping can also offer relief from emotional tension and stress. 

This month, because we can, the Heart-Shaped Cups are coming off the shelves 💓 So if you’ve got your Cupping appointments on the books, just let me know if you would like to incorporate them into your treatment! 🥰

Luminous Rose 🌹 at Ahimsa Wellness Collective ✨

I am delighted to announce that I am carrying a select line of Luminous Rose skincare products at the clinic for sale!

I stocked a few of my personal favorites:
the Deep Hydration Facial Tonic,
the Vitamin C Brightening Serum,
the Renew + Restore Face Cream, 
the Gentle Face Cream,
the Glowing Skin Facial Toner,
the Acne Relief Gel,
the Nourishing Facial Cleanser,
AND the Green Tea Hydra Milk Mask.

Maria and I also collaborated on a Facial Cupping Oil which I have been using very much to the delight of my patients! It has the most subtle Red Mandarin scent and works really beautifully for Facial Cupping and Gua Sha.

Products are available in limited quantities and everything is available for sampling in the clinic. I have yet to see anyone leave in a full Green Tea Hydra Milk Mask but I would very much encourage it. :)

The Spring Equinox is On Its Way ✨🌱✨

Spring is almost here

The Equinox will arrive March 20th, 2025. You might already be feeling that internally in various ways. A seasonal and energetic shift is afoot.

Across many traditions, Spring is a season associated with renewal and rebirth. What was resting and fallow is now being energized and invigorated for new growth and new life. 

The Wood Element in Chinese Medicine

In Chinese Medicine, the Spring season is associated with the Liver and the Gallbladder systems - The Wood Element. 

The Liver and the Gallbladder have many correspondences from the Chinese medicine perspective. Physiologically, they govern the health of the muscles and the tendons. The Liver-Gallbladder systems also have a role in a regular menstrual cycle, in reproductive health and balanced hormonal regulation. Together they help with mood regulation and the Liver Blood (a concept specific to Chinese medicine) supplies your neurological tissue. In this system, the Liver has a responsibility to the healthy and appropriate function of your nervous system, as well as its capacity for regulation and its responsiveness to stimuli.

Emotionally, the Liver and Gallbladder systems help us metabolize, manage and relate to our experience of anger, frustration and resentment. I think we are hard-pressed to find someone who does not experience those emotions (in this political climate, etc) with some frequency and that is not in any way pathological. It's the stagnation that being in that (or any) emotional state over lengths of time that we want to be mindful of <3. 

Spiritually, the Liver and Gallbladder systems evoke our capacity for creativity. This could be our capacity for creative inspiration, creative expression, making art, problem solving, idea generation, innovation, the ability to envision a new path forward.

A stark energetic contrast

Moving from Winter to Spring is no small task. The energy conservation and consolidation that is called for in Winter is so variable and personal. I find in clinic people rarely report feeling rested or being able to take the time they want for rest in the Winter. And each year, Spring comes bursting forth, demanding that we begin anew whether or not we feel ready for all that it brings. I am always impressed by how people notice this phenomenon for themselves each year, time and time again. People really feel the impending arrival of Spring. 

How acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can help

The axis for the energetic movement (really since the Winter Solstice) is "up and out". Like a seed planted below the earth, finally it is sprouting shoots. We want the seedling to also have a well-developed root system and we can nurture a balanced system with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs. 

Specific to Liver and Gallbladder imbalances in Chinese Medicine, I often see people experience any number of the following: headaches, migraines, hormonal imbalances, menstrual cycles irregularities, tremors, Bell's Palsy or other neurological presentations, unexplained anxiety, difficulties with mood regulation, or depression. 

Often times around the changes of the season, conditions that were once well-managed become less managed or a little unruly for a moment in time - but this can be especially true in Spring due to the stark contrast in energies between Winter and Spring.

If you are naturally feeling called to this kind of support and holistic medical care, I look forward to seeing you soon! In any event, I hope you take wonderful care of yourselves and others and many Spring blessings to you and yours <3

Warm Solstice Wishes To You ✨🎄✨

It's that time of year again

We are nearing the shortest day of the year. During the wee hours of Saturday December 21st the Winter Solstice will arrive. The light has been waning for months now and soon, bit by bit, the amount of sunlight in our days will begin to grow again.

I don't think I'll be the first to tell you that this is an energetically potent or significant time but I'm happy to share a few thoughts from the Chinese Medicine perspective...

The official start to the Winter season

In Chinese Medicine theory, the Winter season is governed by the energetics of the Kidney (and Urinary Bladder) system: the Water Element. 

There are a great number of characteristics, energetic qualities, color associations, physiological significations, emotional features, tissues, etc etc that correlate to the Water element. It's a rich landscape that provides interesting and insightful therapeutic applications during this corner of the year.

One of my teachers describes the Water Element as a cold block of ice, a glacier even. The Water Element can be thought of as a rich reservoir of fluids and resources that, when functioning and tended to optimally, slowly melts and makes available its nutrients and nourishment consistently over time. 

As you might intuit, the energetic quality of the Kidneys is that of stillness, conservation and consolidation. 

The color association is black, like midnight, perhaps symbolic of this moment of time when Winter is initiated and daylight is less but the night sky lingers longer.

Your dear Kidneys

As per Western Physiology and also to your Chinese Medicine practitioner, the Kidneys have a physiological role in regulating urination - "the waterways" and fluid balance within the physical system. 

In the Chinese Medical System, the health and energetics of the Kidneys is also responsible for the health and quality of your bones and teeth.

"The Kidneys govern the low back" as a general rule, which should not come as too much of a surprise since that is where the organs reside. 

In this medicine, the Kidneys also contain our genetic code. They contain the essence of what we inherited from our parents and what we we will pass on to our offspring (if that is a path you chose in this life) as well as play a role in one's ability to conceive and maintain a healthy pregnancy. 

Emotionally, the Kidneys are responsible for our experience of fear and fright whether that be acute or chronic.

An energetic level further, it is said that the Spirit of the Kidneys or the spiritual function of the Kidneys is the Will. I've always interpreted this in my own understanding to mean that the Spirit of the Kidneys functions with some level of resolve, resilience and/or determination in response to challenges, obstacles or adverse experiences in life. 

Tending to yourself in this particular season (and all seasons)

Ancient traditions and especially ancient medical traditions are steeped in wisdom for consideration, reflection and therapeutic application during particular times of year  - but also during all times of the year!

In fact, all of the seasonal shifts are significant and felt in their own ways. I often recommend that for long-time patients of the clinic who are feeling well and interested in maintaining their health that they plan to schedule an appointment around the changes of the seasons. 

Often times presentations that are or have felt well-managed will suddenly become a bit unruly around a solstice or an equinox. It's a great time to check in with your practices and supports to help align yourself as best you can with the energy of the current season. 

If you have urinary dysfunction you can consider Chinese medicine an additional support or viable medical tool for treatment. I have treated acute urinary tract infections with Chinese herbal medicine. Acupuncture can support and help manage or reduce nighttime urination, incontinence, as well as low back pain and dental pain. There are many folks who utilize acupuncture to support fertility where there are evidence-based methods to improve the statistical likelihood of successful IVF or IUI procedures. 

Specific to this season and this moment in time, it is a particularly potent time to cultivate and nurture Kidney energy and to practice the embodiment of its qualities and characteristics.

Yes, we tend to speed up this time of the year as a culture and energy output is often greater, but we have all observed that we often do our best to slow down come early January. There will plenty of Winter left to develop a relationship with your Kidney Qi :)

Absolutely the holidays are often stressful and depleting! And perhaps after this little email, you have some additional perspective on a modality or resource that might feel supportive as you tend to your commitments and your obligations. 

On a broader scale, we are living in uncertain and stressful times nationally and globally. Whatever it is you do to take care of yourself, to connect to your sense of self and your sense of humanity, anything you do to help yourself rest and recover will assist you in connecting to a relative sense of safety and will help you help yourself as well as other people <3

Ahimsa in the new year...

The clinic will be open normal hours the week of the Solstice, limited hours the week of Christmas and then Monday December 30th and Tuesday December 31st. The clinic will re-open Tuesday January 7th, 2025. You will see all available appointments on the online scheduler. 

I love working New Year's Eve so come on in! Have a moment, set a tone, treat a cold, support yourself body, mind and spirit. 

One last quick note: this year I endeavored to study Facial Rejuvenation Acupuncture - something folks have asked me to study since I started practicing - and it has been really informative, really engaging and a unique application of Chinese Medicine with a surprising amount of depth. I hope to share more about that soon. 

In the meantime, Winter Solstice blessings to you and yours. I hope you are taking wonderful care this season and always.

Treating the common cold with acupuncture and herbs😷🤍

In a post-pandemic landscape...

These days, we wear masks in public when we don't feel well. And rest assured you can still get the care you need from my acupuncture clinic!

Prior to the pandemic, one of my favorite presentations to treat with acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine was the common cold. It still is!

If you have a flu or a virus and you're waiting it out to see when you might feel better, you can always come in if you feel well enough to do so.

If you're reading this, you likely already know about my personal crusade against phlegm :) It remains to this day. Boogers persist and so do I.

Mask up and come on in!

The procedure of acupuncture does an excellent job at opening up your sinuses, relieving headaches and sinus pressure, reducing or eliminating cough as well as clearing up bronchial congestion all while supporting the lymphatic and immune systems. 

We have herbs in our herbal pharmacy that treat sinus infections, fever/chills, lingering and persistent coughs, sinus drainage, sore throats and much more.

Do you have thin, clear phlegm??

There's a formula for that.

Thick phlegm and a headache??

There's one for that, too! 

A sore throat and bitter taste in your mouth?? Tender swollen glands?

I can think of at least 3 formulas that would help and can all be modified based on your specific presentation. 

An oldie but a goodie:

Here's a link to an old blog post on tips for bolstering and supporting your immune system:

https://www.ahimsawellnesscollective.org/ahimsa-blog/2018/11/1/cold-season-is-upon-us-tips-for-staying-healthy
 

Also, in the event that you do not feel well enough to make it in to the clinic for a treatment or an herbal consultation, herbal consults can always be done via phone or virtually! Your customized herbal formula can be picked up or delivered depending upon the day and my availability <3.

A little end of the year housekeeping

As the year draws to a close and the holidays are upon us, you will see my updated and adjusted clinic hours and appointment availability on the booking website.My rates will also be adjusted starting January 1st, 2025 and you will see those posted on the booking site, as well. 

I am always consistently impressed by how folks show up for themselves and their health during this corner of the year. A little support goes a long way in helping us be present to ourselves and others during this often eventful and often challenging season.

It is always a joy to see each and everyone of you. Thank you always for sharing yourselves so honestly and openly with me. It is impressive and vulnerable and meaningful and such a thing of beauty. 

From sinus congestion to backaches, to heartaches and heart openings and everything in between: thank you for your time, your energy and your commitment to yourself.

We (the Big We) have always needed one another but that seems clearer now more than ever <3