Acupuncture

During my journey through infertility I became friends with my acupuncturist.

Debra is so interesting! She is Asian and a former pediatrician who got out of the traditional Western medicine field because of the high price of malpractice insurance and also because she felt she was not able to give her patients the time that they needed. She knows TCM...traditional Chinese Medicine of which acupuncture is a vein.

The whole concept of acupuncture was amazing to me and after going for several sessions I was a believer in it due to the changes that I saw happening in my own body. Even though we did not concieve because of acupuncture I found I really enjoyed the sessions and they were indeed influencing my health for the better.

One thing that cracks me up ever session and I believe will continue to is that one of the first things she does is look at my tongue...I know, right...my TONGUE?? Ick... Well it turns out she can tell a heck of alot from it. She actually has a picture book in her office that she uses for reference and it has about 10,000 tongues in it. The first time she saw my tongue, she said, "Oh you are someone who likes to laugh alot and you enjoy being with young people...and you are anemic." I was like..."WHAT THE..."She said, the color, texture, shape, ridges etc tell her what type of person I am and what is going on in my body.

One book Debra recommended I read is called Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine.

While I did not read it cover to cover I did appreciate what it had to say about personality types and how our personalities and tendencies can affect our health for good and for bad. According to TMC there are five basic personality types and characteristics that go with them. They are Water, Earth, Metal, Fire, and Wood.

Debra identified what I was within the first half hour. I am an Earth.

Things that an Earth desires or values are: Relationships, Family, Stability, Sharing, Harmony. Loyalty, Commitment, Diplomacy, Involvement and Interdependence.

Things that an Earth fears or dislikes: Separateness, Disloyalty, Conflict, Change, Aloneness, Impermanence, Greediness, Insecurity, Emptiness and Displacement.

The Archetype is: A Peacemaker.

Uh yeah...dead on.

The others are as follows:

Wood: Likes: Struggle, Action, Arousal, Practicality, Uniqueness, Challenge, Achievement, Agility, Independence and Contest.

Hates: Slowness, Clumsiness, Ambiguity, Interference, Authority, Compromise, Frustration, Constancy, Submitting and Confinement.

Fire: Likes: Excitement, Intimacy, Sensuality, Spontaneity, Expression, Yielding, Merging, Passion, Self-exposure and Performing

Hates: Inactivity, Separation, Confusing, Roughness, Boundaries, Deliberation, Dullness, Ordinariness, Conservation, Suspicion

Metal: Likes: Order, Purity, Reason, Aesthetics, Definition, Simplicity, Quality, Correctness, Standards, Precision.

Hates: Intimacy, Complexity, Chaos, Nonsense, Spontaneity, Carelessness, Impropriety, Intemperance, Vagueness, Shapelessness.

Water: Likes: Solitude, Mystery, Continuity, Originality, Toughness, Self-Sufficiency, Privacy, Anonymity, Caution and Conservation

Hates: Sharing, Rashness, Vulnerability, Ignorance, Dishonesty, Superficiality, Faith, Exposure, Waste, Softness.

Not surprisingly, I have friends (and a lover...E shiv) who are all different types. What are you???