|
The Immune System.
What exactly is it, anyway? I grew up with a model in my
mind derived from some combination of biology classes,
sci-fi movies and the advice to get vaccinations and take my
vitamins. Now, however, I spend a lot of time dwelling on
what constitutes health and healing and things are getting
more intriguing every day.
Deepak Chopra, in his book Quantum Healing, explains that
the body operates by virtue of a rich intelligence that is
different from, but parallel to, the intelligence of the
mind. This is interesting to consider, since we live in our
body, accept and have become accustomed to the daily miracle
of the thing. Take breathing, for example. It happens
without our control. Day and night, awake and asleep. We can
consciously influence it, if we try. We can use it to
meditate or calm ourselves down. We notice it speeds up if
we exercise or in response to stressful situations, but we
have no real control over it. Something besides our
consciousness is regulating it. The same holds true for our
heart beat and our digestion (One of my favorite questions
is, why, when you eat a banana, don’t you look like a
banana, or even for that matter, like anyone else who ate a
banana? How did the banana molecules turn into molecules of
YOU?) Think about movement. Say, for example, you want to go
somewhere. You think about it and all your body parts start
heading in that direction. There is no way you are
controlling all the nerves and muscles and blood flow
required to move. There is apparently an independent,
physically based, extremely well coordinated intelligence at
work, and we do not even notice it.
This is actually leading back to the immune system.
According to Chopra, the immune system is not merely an army
of robotic cells responding to systemic invasions, but a
complex, mobile, interactive system with receptors on each
cell that are virtually identical to the receptors in the
brain and nervous system. The cells of the nervous system,
however, transport their impulses along specific nerve
tracks, while the cells of the immune system travel freely
through the blood. This means they can quickly reach every
cell in the body. Because they have brain-like receptors,
they respond to emotions as well as pathogens. As Chopra
says, the magnitude of this discovery can hardly be
overstated. The scientific community has discovered
something important about what we increasingly recognize as
the mind/body connection. The chemicals that exist in
abundance in the brain and that apparently mediate emotion
also exist on the cells of the immune system. “Starting in
the 1980’s (p. 66 Quantum Healing) receptors for
neuro-transmitters and neuro-peptides were discovered on
cells in the immune system called monocytes.” “Outfitted
with a vocabulary to mirror the nervous system’s in its
complexity, the immune system apparently sends and receives
messages that are just as diverse.”
So what does that mean? It means that when you are happy or
sad, potentially ALL of you is happy or sad, right down the
little cells. I find that a little intimidating, myself. And
yet, when we think of common expressions like, “She was sick
with worry,” “I was so angry I thought I would explode,” He
was too depressed to get out of bed,” or “It felt so good to
laugh and have a good time,” it makes sense.
How does this relate to acupuncture? It has been part of
traditional understanding from the beginning, some 2000 and
5000 years ago, that emotions affect health and illness is
reflected in the emotions. Science is now affirming a
physical mechanism for what the ancients somehow figured out
a long time ago.
People are always trying to figure out acupuncture works. It
doesn’t start with either the brain or the immune system,
yet it can influence both. The meridian system was well
documented centuries ago and has been used continuously ever
since. How is it that inserting a fine little filament into
the skin, introducing no medicine or substance, has such far
ranging, reliable, practically instantaneous, health
benefits? It works with the same speed and universal
influence as when we respond to thoughts, emotions, events,
injury, shock or surprise. Just like the brain or the immune
system. Whatever intelligence integrates our whole body/mind
system, acupuncture seems to tap into it. Science is still
unfurling the mystery of the body.
And true enough, while people usually seek out acupuncture
to solve a health problem, they soon realize that not only
can it relieve discomforts of many kinds (check out my
website
Karen-johnson-acupuncture.net for the range of things
acupuncture can treat), but people who receive regular
treatment typically feel calmer, more relaxed, and get sick
far less often.
Of course, to maintain healthy immune system, along with
your acupuncture treatments, self-care goes a long way.
Getting enough rest, at the proper hours is important. So is
eating a diet rich in whole foods, taking vitamins and
antioxidants, limiting sugar and processed foods, getting
some sun and exercise every day, having fun and embracing
joy, staying warm and out of cold drafts and washing your
hands often.
So here’s to your health!
Welcome Spring!!!
All the best to you,
Karen Johnson L.Ac.,RN
karen-johnson-acupuncture.net
kjohnson101@verizon.net
(410)381-3495
|
