For the last three years I have participated in San Fu, an ancient Chinese tradition to boost my immune system in preparation for the coming autumn and winter months. Personally I have found since starting this tradition, I have not had to deal with cold or flu illnesses. Given the current state of the world, I plan to repeat San Fu again this summer - I thought I would offer it to you all as well.

Dating back to the Qing Dynasty, San Fu is the practice of applying a paste of medicinal herbs on specific points of the body, on special days of the year, to fortify the body's Wei Qi or defensive Qi. The rationale combines Taoist concepts of astrology, medicine and acupuncture to achieve this goal.

The San Fu dates are the days predicted by Chinese astrology as the days of the year that will have the greatest amount of Summer Yang Qi for the year. On these days, we are able to harness and direct Summer Yang Qi in treatments aimed at fortifying our Wei Qi. Ailments that dominate in autumn and winter time tend to involve some form of Yang Qi deficiency, so gathering and storing Summer Yang Qi makes sense.

The herbal paste used in San Fu is often made of a base of mugwort, an important herb in the Chinese Herbal materia medica. This is the same herb used to make moxa for use in moxibustion. Aside from the heat generated when ignited, mugwort is warm and nourishing in nature, perfect for building up Yang Qi.

Finally, the parts of the body we apply the San Fu herbal paste is guided by acupuncture  points, helping us to direct the Yang Qi to specific organs, parts of the body or areas. In San Fu, the Yang Qi is directed to specific organs to store and use over the coming year. I often use Kidney points as the ruler of winter time and Lung points as the ruler of Wei Qi.

San Fu is a simple procedure - a coin sized ball of herbal paste is applied to points on the back and a bandage is applied over it to keep it in place. Patients must remove the paste once the skin in the area become irritated, itchy or feels sunburned. Patients are then to take basic care of the skin where the moxa was applied by keeping it clean and moisturized.

I am offering San Fu as an add-on to a Kiiko-style constitutional wellness treatment.

Patients who want a San Fu treatment must sign up for 3 of the 4 possible San Fu dates - Thursday July 16, Sunday July 26, Wednesday August 5, or Saturday August 15. A deposit for the first session is required in order to secure herbs for your San Fu treatment. Sessions will be 75 minutes long, including acupuncture and San Fu. To sign up, please click here.

You can see some photos of my past San Fu treatments.

With great caution but much joy, I am happy to announce the reopening of Manhattan Sports Acupuncture this week.  

It has been just over three months and what a time it has been! A viral pandemic, 115,472 Americans have died (as of today's figures), and a national race crisis - it's a lot by anyone's measure! All of us, our lives touched in one way or another by the events of this year, can easily find ourselves feeling lost,  powerless, overwhelmed or scared. And that is on top of our normal everyday stuff! I know, I feel it too.  We have lost so much, I would like to at least bring acupuncture back to you in the safest way possible.

At this time Manhattan Sports Acupuncture will operate at 25% capacity. Appointments will be spread out to avoid any overlap between patients. During this time, online scheduling is suspended and all appointments will have to be made via email or text message.

Patients will be screened three times - at time of scheduling, the day before the appointment, and at the start of the appointment - to reassess risk and adjust accordingly. Patients are required to wear a mask at all times while at Manhattan Sports Acupuncture.

In addition to normal cleaning and disinfection, CDC-approved methods for killing the virus that causes COVID-19 have been added. Practitioners will wear N95 or KN95 mask and face shield at all times.

I trust you will be honest with me and care for my safety as I will be honest with you and care for your safety. Together, we can make acupuncture safe and make sure you are getting the treatments you need. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me. I so look forward to seeing you again!

Dear Manhattan Sports Acupuncture Community,
 
After careful consideration, research and examination of the status of COVID-19 pandemic, I feel it is in the best interest of you and for public health to close operations until March 24.
 
I do not do this lightly as meeting your needs and providing you with care is of the upmost importance to me. I built my business and life around this goal. And it is because of this goal that I feel compelled to make this decision.
 
Based on what I have read, I believe this is a critical time to stay home. The number of new cases are likely to jump over the coming days and weeks. Given my background in public health, I feel the only responsible thing to do is close. This article in particular was the tipping point for me...

https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca
 
I hope you can understand it is with your health, the health of your family and friends, and the health of our city, state and country that I do this. If you have an appointment between now and March 24th, you should have received a cancellation notice for your appointment. My calendar is currently open beginning March 24th - you can feel free to reschedule at your convince here https://www.manhattansportsacupuncture.com/book-appointment.html or you can email and I’m happy to reschedule you myself.

IN THE MEANTIME...

I highly recommend you consider the following as we move through the coming weeks...

1. Quarantine and Social Distancing: The only 100% effective way for you to prevent catching and passing on COVID-19 is to stay home. The greatest risk we are facing is over running our emergency rooms and hospitals with severe lung conditions. The NYC does not have the capacity to save everyone should this happen. That is what is happening in Italy today. The best goal to aim for now is delaying getting sick for as long as possible.

Do those projects you have been putting off. Read that book that has been sitting on your coffee table. Cook those dishes you have been eyeing for weeks. After two weeks you will know for sure if you are infected or not, and then you can at least operate your life knowing that much.

2. Hand washing and cleaning your home: Yes I know everyone has been talking about this. I have only a few additional words.

Effective. If you do it right, it works. If you don't, it doesn't. If you are going to do it, why not do it right? 20 seconds and rub every part of your hands!

Skin. It must be intact to protect you. Don't let it get too dry, crack or get irritated. That will put you at greater risk. You just need to wash the germs off, and down the drain. You don't have to kill them especially while they are on your hands.

Surfaces: Disinfect surfaces you touch. Door knobs, handles, light switches, power switches. Lysol fabrics you touch. Couches, chairs, pillows, rugs. Change your sheets. Basically, do your spring cleaning!

3. Don't get too stressed out about it! Stress can wear an immune system down and make you more susceptible. Review the issues you are concerned about, make a plan that addresses those concerns, and then stick to your plan. Know that sticking to your plan is reassurance   that you are doing what you are supposed to.

I AM STILL HERE FOR YOU...

During this period, I will be available for online consultations and herbal prescriptions. Based on my research of COVID-19, I believe it is critical to stay on top any illness at this time - even people outside groups at high risk for complications and death. Don't just let it run it's course. Reports have come out with cases of reinfection, on-going lung damage among recovered patients, and detailed descriptions of the course of disease.

Chinese herbal medicine can mitigate and lessen the severity of any illness including COVID-19. Many of the healthcare workers in China were using both Western and traditional Chinese medicine to maintain their heath while working. It is critical to treat any illness at this time immediately and aggressively. I feel so strongly about this, during this COVID-19 emergency I will order prescriptions at cost and reduce my consultation fee to $100. However, if you are experiencing any severe symptoms, especially breathing issues - please call your doctor immediately.

I can also provide prescriptions of preventative, immune-boosting formulas as well. Please contact me to schedule a consultation via email at [email protected] or via text message at 347-948-3533
 
If you have an questions or issues you want to discuss, please feel free to contact me. My closure is no reason to panic. It is my way of protecting you and trying to mitigate the number of new critical cases of COVID-19.
 
I thank you for your understanding. I will keep you posted as things develop.

Be well.