Follow Chinese Medicine Rules, Ignore the Crazy Librarian
No one ever came into the library. Most people just peeked their head in and said, what is this crazy room? Let me give you the lay of the land. There were two computers (definitely donated) that were so old and ran on dial up (for those of you under 40 this means the internet was grandma slow and made this really weird noise when it was trying to connect and another noise 45 min later when you were connected). There were two large bookcases only ⅕ filled with books. It was really sad. I decided my first main job was to decorate so I raided a random storage room and put up everything I found. For some reason my school was hoarding posters and statues of Chinese people with Chinese meridians on them. I infiltrated the library with hundreds of these figurines, creating stories about all the characters, family trees, and had warring families on opposite sides of the library. I decided who was the good son and who had beef with who, and obviously who was crossing the family lines to date (Jets and Sharks). I obviously had too much time on my hands. The last pic was their robot daughter who went rogue and ended up being the #1 robot acupuncturist in the world.
The library only had 50 books — all the important books in the library everyone had at home. Being the Chief Librarian (I gave myself that title) at my acupuncture school, I wore a librarian pin every day, even in class.
It wasn't an easy job. My job’s tasks meant I had to go in every day to open the door, turn the lights on, and click the “on” button on the power cord to make sure the dinosaur computers booted up. Closing shop was more challenging. Click the button on the power strip to shut down the computers, put all the books back (no books were ever out), clean up all the messes everyone made (no one made a mess except me as no one ever came in) and turn the lights off and lock the door.
This was the best $15 an hour job I ever had. I would take hour-long breaks, obviously on the clock. I remember when I told people at school that I was the Chief Librarian, the most common response was very upsetting. “We have a library at the school?” This is when I decided I needed to take this job to the next level. We needed library rules.
My nickname was The Gaber so don’t get confused.
Just like the library, Chinese medicine has rules and guidelines that help us reach optimal health.
They are very clear, and its goal is to help one find balance both emotionally and physically. People always ask me how often they should come in for acupuncture. Chinese medicine is all about balancing out the system. In a normal week we always experience a night where we don’t sleep as well as others, days where we don’t eat as well (pizza, burgers or a funnel cake) and stress from crazy Aunt Bernie to challenging co-workers/bosses. Having acupuncture every week minimizes the effects of these factors on the body.
Rules for food Chinese medical style
Eat what is in season. Warm foods and drinks are always better than cold. Drink a good amount of water. Eat at regular times. Eat protein with each meal. Limit sugar and fried foods.
Rules for Sleep and Relaxation
Think Yin and Yang. The day is Yang and the night is Yin. During the day, be active and get things done. Exercise, run errands, work hard. Night time is a time to decompress. Think of two hours before sleep as the time to wind down. Follow the organ clock and think from 9-11 to decrease screen time. Read a book, meditate, talk to your family. Find a state of calm. Everyone should be asleep by 11 so the liver has time to completely detox at night.
Rules on exercise
Think moderation. Avoid overexertion as it exhausts the system and depletes the kidney energy, our essence. Spring and summer are the yang times of the year so you can do more exertion exercises such as running, biking,and swimming, while winter and fall are more yin and you should focus on more mindful movements such as qi gong, walking, stretching, and yoga. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY AND WHAT FEELS RIGHT.
Following the rules of Chinese medicine is a natural way to be kind to ourselves, be self aware, and work every day to make ourselves our healthiest, most balanced self. So get acupuncture and obviously no library jokes within 50 feet of the library.