Ailments & Conditions, Recipes, All Things Chinese Medicine and Lifestyle Blog Posts
For many people living with ongoing pain, acupuncture for pain relief offers a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern science. At Gardenvale Acupuncture, we combine Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) principles with evidence-based acupuncture for pain relief to help reduce discomfort, restore movement, and support long-term healing. How Acupuncture Influences the Nervous System When a fine
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Posture and Neck Tension Long hours at desks and constant screen time can see us in some strange postural positions. Slouching shoulders, a forward head position, and jaw clenching are common patterns. Over time, these positions can create a cycle of tension in the body. This not only causes discomfort in the neck but also
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When cold foods cool more than just your tongue In modern wellness culture, smoothies have become almost sacred. They are the colourful symbol of vitality, self-care and convenience. Blending raw greens, frozen fruit and nut milk feels like a positive act of nourishment. But in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), even the most virtuous green smoothie
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Could Chinese Herbs Act Like Prebiotics Or Probiotics? When we think about gut health, two buzzwords often come up: prebiotics and probiotics. Probiotics are the live microorganisms (like those found in yoghurt or fermented foods) that can provide health benefits when taken in the right amounts. Prebiotics, on the other hand, are substances — often
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Stress, Hormones & The Liver: Why Stress Can Make PMS Worse We all know that stress affects our mood, energy, and sleep. But, did you know it can also have a big impact on your menstrual cycle and period symptoms? Both Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) recognise that stress doesn’t just stay “in
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Facial Mapping: What Your Breakouts Reveal In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the face reflects our inner health. The skin is considered a messenger, revealing imbalances within the body’s organ systems. When breakouts appear in specific regions of the face, they are rarely random. Instead, they often point to patterns of disharmony that TCM practitioners have
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Spring and our Health How can spring can mess with our health? Spring is a funny time in Melbourne. One day it’s sunny and warm, the next it’s icy cold and you’re wondering if winter has snuck back in. If you’ve lived here long enough, you know the drill — four seasons in a day.
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Stress, Skin and the Spleen: Why Your Diet and Emotions Matter When it comes to skincare, we often focus on what we put on our skin. But in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), how your skin looks is closely linked to what’s going on inside the body. One organ that plays a big role in this
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Acupuncture for a Tired Nervous System Breaking Free from Overdrive We may consider stress as something mental or emotional—but in reality, it’s rooted deep in our physiology. It’s embedded in every corner of our body. These corners are our digestion, hormones, immune system, sleep, mood, energy levels, skin, muscles, and more. When we have a
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Facial Tension and Stress: Releasing It with Cosmetic Acupuncture We all hold stress in different ways but for many of us, it shows up in our face. Jaw clenching, furrowed brows, tight neck muscles and tired, strained eyes can become part of our everyday tension without us even realising. Over time, this can affect not
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Rest & Restore We’ve talked about the importance of movement in your daily routine and its effect on multiple systems in your body…. but what about in between movement and work?Recovery. Renewal. Restoration. Rebuilding…. Rest. Rest is essential to the functionality of our bodies and minds. Yet, resting is not just napping. There are many
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The Liver and your Tendons Why Looking After Your Liver Keeps Your Tendons Happy – A Chinese Medicine Perspective When it comes to tendon pain or injury, most people think about stretching, massage, or maybe supplements like magnesium or collagen. But in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), we also look at what’s happening internally—and one of
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Strengthening & Stretching Why we need to both strengthen and stretch To truly support your body through injury recovery or ongoing muscle tension… a balance of both stretching and strengthening is key! Stretching without strengthening -> can create instability in your structure Strengthening without stretching -> can lead to tight muscles While stretching may help
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Movement for Period Pain: How to Gently Support the Flow You don’t have to push through pain — but you don’t have to stay still either. When period pain hits, most people either try to power through with their usual workout, or collapse on the couch and stay there for days. But in Chinese Medicine,
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Fatigue, Pain and Movement Why a lack of movement might be at the root of your fatigue & pain Our modern life finds us spending long hours in office chairs, car seats, or on the couch… however we might not realise how deeply this sedentary lifestyle can affect our health! Movement is a foundational part
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Exercise and the Menstrual Cycle Exercise smarter, not harder. The menstrual cycle presents an eb and flow of hormones. These fluctuations in hormones really affects the way that we feel and our motivation. If we take a deeper look at the hormonal changes that occur during menstruation, we can find out how to best exercise
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If you are 50, we need talk tendons! You probably never gave your tendons a second thought in your 20s (if you’re lucky maybe even up to your early 40s). But if you are active in your 50s, if you are not thinking about your tendons, you’ll probably be wondering why you still have pain in your
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Nutrition in Chinese Medicine What is nutrition in Traditional Chinese medicine health? In TCM, food is more than just fuel. It directly dictates our body’s internal function, vitality, and our ability to prevent illness. When we look at food, we look at the properties of foods and how they interact with our bodies’ unique constitutions
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What is my skin saying? Your skin is trying to tell you something! Redness, dryness, pus, itchiness, flaking, oiliness….. it is all an expression of something that is occurring inside you. Most people turn to topical remedies to address their concerns, however in Traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, we view skin conditions as a reflection
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Bone Broth As the days grow shorter and the air becomes cooler, many of us naturally seek warmth and nourishment to support our health. One timeless tradition — cherished both in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and increasingly recognised by Western medicine — is starting the morning with a warm cup of bone broth. I personally
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Benefits of Daily BBT Tracking Taking your BBT daily is a simple yet powerful habit that can provide valuable insights into your health. BBT is your body’s lowest resting temperature, measured immediately upon waking, before any physical activity. Tracking it can significantly impact your overall wellness. So, what are the benefits of daily BBT tracking?
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Protein After 40: How Much Do You Really Need? So, you’re over 40, hitting the gym, keeping up with hobbies, walking the dog, chasing kids (or grandkids), and wondering if you’re getting enough protein to keep up with all. Well, it’s a good question. As we age, our bodies start to lose muscle mass and
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InsomniaWhen Sleep Won’t Come (and How Chinese Medicine Understands Why) You’ve created a calming bedtime ritual. You’re off screens by 9. You drink the chamomile tea. And still—you’re awake. It takes forever to fall asleep. Maybe you’re wide awake at 2am, your mind racing like it’s Monday morning. Sometimes, you do sleep, but it’s light,
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Sleep & Mental Health: A Holistic View from East and West In today’s fast-paced world, sleep has become somewhat of a luxury. We wear our late nights and early mornings like badges of productivity. But, when we start to peel back the layers—especially in clinic—it’s clear that sleep and mental health are intimately connected. As
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TCM Body Clock Do you find yourself waking up at the same time every night—sometimes wide awake, sometimes restless, sometimes anxious or overheated? In Chinese Medicine, this isn’t random. It could be your body trying to tell you something. So, what does the TCM Body Clock tell us about your body? According to the TCM
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Sleep Well – Let’s talk about sleep again (Part Two): How to Actually Get a Good Night’s Rest In my last blog, we discussed why sleep matters, what happens while we sleep, the stages of sleep and potential impact of poor sleep. If you missed that blog, you can Click Here and read it now!
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Sleep: the basics We are spending some time talking about the 4 Pillars of Health: sleep, nutrition, exercise and stress management. To begin with, we’re focusing on sleep. I thought it would be a good idea to get into the basics to begin with. We’ll discuss why sleep is important, the phases of sleep and
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Acupuncture for teenagers Would my teenager get acupuncture? Contrary to popular belief, a lot of teenagers receive and enjoy acupuncture! We all know that teenage years can be overwhelming. Dealing with hormonal changes, academic pressures, and social challenges often take a toll on both their physical and mental health. Acupuncture and herbal medicine treatments address
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The 4 Pillars of Health Let’s Chat About the 4 Pillars of Health Hi everyone! I want to talk about something foundational. It’s not anything fancy or revolutionary, but it’s truly what everything else stands on — the 4 Pillars of Health. These are: sleep, nutrition, movement, and stress management. I know that they might
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Puffy eyes Puffy eyes — the bane of many people’s mornings. Whether it’s due to lack of sleep, allergies, or lifestyle factors, dealing with swollen, tired eyes is not the way we want to start our day. Fortunately, there are ways to start the day feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the morning. Stay Hydrated:
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Jaw Pain Jaw pain, otherwise known TMJ (temporomandibular joint) syndrome, or TMD (temporomandibular disorder), has a few causes. Assuming it’s not a tooth or an infection issue, which your dentist will sort out, here are a few reasons why our jaws get sore. Common causes include: What can be done: Well, if we are talking about;
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Chronic Pain Chronic pain, something many of us have or currently deal with, is a challenge! Not only a physical one, but also mental and emotional. So when is it considered chronic? When it has persisted beyond normal tissue healing time. According to the international association it’s generally 3 months… but I would consider a
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Gua Sha In the world of skincare, many ancient practices are making a resurgence—and one of the most popular among them is gua sha. A technique that originates from Traditional Chinese Medicine, gua sha has been used for centuries to improve health and well-being, and it has become especially popular in the beauty world for
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Types of Headaches They’ll knock you out for a few hours, a day, or more. We take our pain relievers and rest, but they keep coming back. What are they and what can we do about them? Let’s wander through the different types of headaches, how they present, and why they might arise. Tension headaches
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Acne and Cosmetic Acupuncture. Can it help? Acne is a common skin condition that affects people of all ages. While it is often seen as a problem confined to the face, acne can also appear on other areas of the body. Whether you’re struggling with acne on your forehead, chin, back, or chest, its important
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Meditation Debunked! As you’ve likely seen me write and talk about meditation and breath work many times over in the past, I think it’s safe to say I am very passionate about it. Meditation is an easy and reliable tool that we have access to for free, any time, any where. So, I thought it’s
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Benefit of Bone Broth As the cooler months set in, bone broth is an excellent addition to your diet, offering a wealth of nutrients and vitamins. Rich in gelatine, bone broth supports collagen production. Collagen is a protein essential for joint health and maintaining skin elasticity, hydration, and overall health. I have been loving starting
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Nervous System, Gut, and Pain How does our nervous system really affect our gut and why does it have a link to chronic pain? Well, the nervous system has a central role in regulating our gut health and any chronic pain we experience. There is a direct communication pathway between the brain and the gut.
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Demystifying Acupuncture We thought we’d spend some time demystifying acupuncture. Let’s talk acupuncture & channel theory and try to demystify how acupuncture works and what it is. There is still a lot of mystery and confusion about how acupuncture and acupuncture channels work. So, Nick sat down to try and demystify acupuncture for you! Let
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Why Glowing skin starts with your Gut In Chinese medicine, beauty isn’t just skin deep—it’s rooted in your internal health. While many focus on skincare routines to achieve radiant skin, Chinese medicine suggests that your gut health is equally, if not more, important. From blemishes to dullness, your skin often reflects what’s happening inside your
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Migraines, it’s easy to not take them seriously because its not a visible symptom but they can have a bigger impact than meets the eye! Migraines can feel like a never-ending battle – forcing you to either avoid the activities you love or be stopped in your tracks from the severe pain and debilitating symptoms.
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We need to talk about ‘Stress’! In today’s fast-paced world, stress is a constant presence in our lives. While a little stress can help us stay alert and focused, chronic stress can lead to profound impacts on our physical and emotional well-being. Stress is a natural response from the body in response to challenges or threats.
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Arthritis Acupuncture is a whole-body, whole-system medicine that may support both the cause and symptoms of arthritis using an integrative approach. There are many different kinds of arthritis, with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis being the most common. What are the main differences between these three conditions? Do we approach these differently? The short
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Chronic Pain Chronic pain, something many of us have or currently deal with, is a challenge! Not only a physical one, but also mental and emotional. So when is it considered chronic? When it has persisted beyond normal tissue healing time. According to the international association it’s generally 3 months… but I would consider a
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Menopause – Part 3 – How can we help? So, we’ve discussed what Menopause is. We went through some common signs and symptoms, and some less common signs and symptoms. Now, for Part 3 where Nick and Zoe discuss how we can help with your peri-menopause or menopause symptoms. For part 1 click here and
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Menopause Part 2 – Signs & Symptoms In part 2 of this 3 part mini series, Nick and Zoe discuss symptoms of menopause. They talk about not only the common symptoms we hear a lot about but also about some less common symptoms that we tend to see in the clinic. Click here for part
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Menopause – Part 1 Nick and Zoe sit down to introduce the concept of Menopause. In part 1 of 3, they begin by discussing what Menopause actually is. Stay posted for parts 2 and 3 to follow!
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Body Tension – Where do you hold yours? Body tension – where do you hold yours? Common places I see tension are: It could be from… In any case, Chinese medicine aims to figure out where it stems from so we can not only relieve those tight muscles but also prevent them from returning! Often
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Insulin Resistance & Women’s Health Keeping in theme of Women’s Health & Hormonal Imbalances, let’s look a bit at Insulin Resistance. What it is, why it happens and what it can turn into… What is Insulin Resistance? Insulin resistance (IR) occurs when the body’s cells stop responding efficiently to insulin, the hormone that regulates blood
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Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome – Part 3 Nick and Zoe sit down to discuss Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (Part 3) as part of our deep dive into Women’s Health & Hormonal Imbalances. In this 3 part series they will discuss the what, why, how and what’s next of PCOS. Part 3 is the final part of this
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