Year of the Metal Ox Article

Happy Lunar New Year!

The following is an excerpt from a write up created by my Daoist teacher's wife, Kate Townsend. Every year she shares her thoughts on how the energetics of the following year will affect the themes and trends that we'll see throughout the year. It's a fun exercise I like to use to help me set my intentions for the year. Similarly, my Daoist teacher has written a 1 page newsletter with instructions on how to harmonize with the transition from Spring to Summer. In Chinese medicine it is believed that if an individual can completely harmonize their body and mind with the world around them no disease could affect them. Daoism is a great tool each of us can use to help find that harmony. I'll include the full write up for both the Lunar New Year and the seasonal transition at the bottom of this email! If any of you are interested in joining my Daoist teacher's monthly Zoom discussions on Daoism and internal cultivation please let me know! You can respond directly to this email. Louis Komjathy has a Ph.D in Religious Studies and specializes in translating ancient Daoist texts. He has several books published under his name. Getting to listen to his talks are always a highlight of my month. "Legend has it that long ago the immortals saw humans suffering from famine. They called upon the Ox, a once brilliant star in the heavens, to return to the earth to help feed the people. The immortals instructed the Ox to let people know that he would help them eat every three days. The Ox mistakenly told people they would soon eat three times a day. To rectify the misunderstanding, the Ox stayed true to his word and dutifully set off to provide humans with enough food for three meals a day. The rest is history. Through collaboration with the Ox, lands have been terraced and cultivated, seeds planted and tended to, food grown and harvested, all in an effort to nourish the world. The Ox is a "beast of burden" who shoulders personal suffering and toil to bring peace and prosperity to the land, its people, and future generations. His humble, heroic, and yes, at times stubborn character doesn't go unnoticed, especially during a time of ever widening food insecurity. Undaunting and strong, the Ox knows how to move forward regardless of the obstacles before him. He ploughs through heavy clods of thick mud without complaint. His disciplined efforts and hard work provide a path for others to follow. His tempo is slow and in sync with the earth. On that front, this year's tempo bids us to embrace patience and fortitude to see things through. It is a year to set one's course and take steps toward long-term goals, completing projects and ideas that broke ground last year. When collaborating, it is a good year to partner with those who are stable and trustworthy, and who share similar values and goals." See the document links below to read the rest!

Moving Forward Together while Staying Safe

The year of the Rat was an incredibly challenging year for all of us, but just like the Ox we all have to pick up the plough and keep moving forward together.  One way that San Diego Sports Acupuncture is "moving forward" is by getting vaccinated! I (Sean) received my second dose last week and Uzi will be receiving his second dose before the end of the month. Protecting ourselves from infection will help us to protect you and also to move forward, past this pandemic. Of course, we will continue to wear masks, sterilize tables, filter the air through UV-C lights and provide a safe environment for our patients. 

New Testimonials for Uzi

Even despite the influence of the pandemic last year, San Diego Sports Acupuncture was able to reach out and help many people. In particular, Uzi has been receiving glowing praises from many of his patients recently: "Dr Uzi Chen was amazing! I have had chronic neck pain from structural damage for as long as I could remember and nothing (physical therapy, steroidal injections, etc.) was able to provide relief until I tried acupuncture. Uzi explains every part of the process and makes sure you are comfortable. He is very knowledgeable and an incredibly sweet man. Highly recommend to anyone suffering from chronic pain!" -- Lorraine Li "I highly recommend Uzi, he is a highly skilled accupanturist and super knowledgeable. He has treated me several times and was able to restore me back into full activity, while all along educating me on his assumptions and the path of treatment. Thank you Uzi!!" -- Kineret Einav "Dr Chen is one of the best profesional I worked with ! He solved my back and shoulder issues and I highly recommend him !" -- Daniel Partin

Links to my Daoist Teacher's Articles

Now that the second wave of the pandemic has slowed down significantly and vaccinations are slowly working their way into the public we're beginning to see a steady uptick in traffic. We sincerely hope you will be joining us soon so that we can get back to ploughing the earth together in the year of the Ox! Year of the Metal Ox PDF Vermillion Brush transitioning from Spring to Summer PDF