In Chinese medicine the Kidney has pride of place, as the repository of your constitutional energy - it is that part of us that we are required to take care of and not waste.

The kidneys are located just above the waist, below the ribcage at the back of the body.  This place makes them vulnerable to cold.  Cold slows everything down.  Stiffness in the lower back is sometimes due to kidney deficiency.  If your job entails a lot of standing, try to stretch and move your hips and back try not to get stiff  Standing too much can deplete this energy..

Lets face it, when we are well we have no symptoms.  

Perhaps if we're lucky we  may have many signs of good health:   sleeping well, eating well, generally feeling optimistic and happy and content.

Symptoms,  be what they may -  are  signs that we are not fully at home, at ease in our bodies, and  can arise for a multitude of reasons.  First among them, for an acupuncturist will be an imbalance.  Doing too much or too little.  Working too hard.  Being too sad or angry all the time. 

I am an associate at this multi-disciplinary practice near the wonderful Borough Market.  I work from 175 Borough High Street (The London Holistic Centre) on Monday Evenings - from 4pm.

People do come to me saying, I just don't feel right.  Don't feel balanced.  Well acupuncture is a great choice of therapy.

It's all about balance.

Today looking into the garden, it is definitely still Autumn. The colours of the leaves sing out yellow and orange and are carpeting the earth beneath the cherry tree. Still lots of leaves on the tree though. But each little breath of wind and a few more drift across my view.

The Organs associated with the Metal Element due to their association with the Season of Autumn are the Lungs and the Colon.

As the season marks the change from the Activity (Yang) of summer, to the Hibernation / stillness (Yin) of winter perhaps we can see that it is about letting go.  But to let go, we must take in.  So this pair : Lungs - take in the good, the pure (air) and the colon and the skin too, sometimes called the 3rd lung, get rid of he rubbish so that our whole being functions with clarity.

So, are we yet in Winter?  Almost I would say, but not quite.  Leaves still on my cherry tree though mostly on the ground, not quite.

Primroses blooming, what a funny year.  Time still to do the last gardening jobs - preparation for winter.

Makes me think, what do I need to do to prepare for winter.  Want to sleep more - that's a sign, more rest, more putting something back.  Keep warm, Keep warm.

or, layers of opportunity.  When things go wrong with our system, automatically the imbalance filters through the layers.

Simplistically: you are worried, obsessed about things that are wrong, worried and afraid about the future - more than likely you will have some physical symptoms.  Headaches, tummy upsets, constipation, could be any of an endless list. 

Space in mind and body is what heals, one to the other: practice relaxation or meditation exercises  which both bring health giving space and oxygen to the system, so that things can move.

Well, a story - The woman who asked that question came with a bad shoulder, very painful which had last recurred some years ago, at which time, after a little treatment she recovered quickly.  Since then she has developed High Blood Pressure, has had a Stroke which she recovered well from and had developed another challenging problem.  

At first treatment didn't seem to be helping the shoulder, however, her sleep had improved.  The next session she told me  the other difficulty had had a sudden improvement then returned to a much less troublesome level. 

One day in the 1980's I had been rehearsing with a Dance Group, working in an office and completely ignoring the fact that I was exhausted.  A friend recommended acupuncture to me and I was amazed.  My taste for chocolate (which had been helping me through my days) completely disappeared.  Now I don't say this will happen to my clients though some would wish it would.  I suddenly was able to be more organised and a problem I had always had disappeared.  Well, this was something!