Our Edina acupuncture clinic would like to extend a warm and prosperous Chinese New Year to all patients, friends and everyone around the world. The year of the Metal Ox will start on February 12th, and it will last until January 31st of 2022. The Ox is a valued animal because of its role in agriculture, and similarly in the zodiac, the Ox is seen as hardworking, positive, and honest. Every Chinese zodiac year is defined by one of the five elements. The upcoming 2021 year of the Metal Ox, and its message couldn’t be clearer: Success will come to those who work hard. Really hard. 2021 year of the Ox favors people who can work hard, stay practical, patient, and focused to slowly achieve success.
Chinese New Year is kind of Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one. We celebrate it in just one day and evening in the US, but in China Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (their spring arrives much earlier than ours) lasts for 15 days!
Red envelopes called “hong bao” filled with money are typically given to children or unmarried adults with no job. New Year’s eve is aligned with the new moon. Families come together for a reunion dinner, many traveling long distances to return home. This dinner consists of traditional symbolically lucky meals. Some include:
- Eight Treasures Rice, which contains rice, walnuts, different colored dry fruit, raisins, sweet red bean paste, jujube dates, and almonds
- “Tang Yuan” – black sesame rice ball soup; or a won ton soup
- Chicken, duck, fish and pork dishes
- “Song Gao,” literally translates to “loose cake,” which is made of rice which has been coarsely ground and then formed into a small, sweet round cake
- “Jiu Niang Tang” – sweet wine-rice soup which contains small rice balls
The groups of people celebrating the Spring Festival is far from only Chinese citizens. Large populations in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet have also traditionally taken part in this holiday. There are many small variations of this celebration, however, the underlying traditions remain the same. It’s easy to imagine that with modern technology, and the advent of social media, this colorful new year’s celebration will be around for many more thousands of years to come.
The Ox in Chinese astrology is no bull in a china shop. He/she is a born leader, being quite dependable and possessing an innate ability to achieve great things. They are tireless workers who are detail oriented and believe in doing things right the first time. The ox person is not extravagant, and usually spends his/her money wisely. Famous people born under the sign of the ox include Princess Diana, Robert Kennedy, Louis Armstrong, George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Morgan Freeman. Having an honest nature, the ox is known for diligence, dependability, strength, and determination. They can be stubborn too. Remember the saying “stubborn as an ox?”
Health Predictions for the Year of the Ox
The weakness of the Ox is the heart. Beware of cardiovascular diseases, cholesterol issues as well as mental/emotional issues. Remember to keep a work-life balance, proper diet, and exercise this year. If you suffer from high blood pressure, stress or anxiety contact us to set an acupuncture appointment for better health.
The Five Elements (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood) represent different parts of your body. Since this is a Metal year, in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the Metal Element represents your lungs, nose, and skin. Avoid respiratory illness, coughs, colds, flu and sinus infections by strengthening your immune system. Eat a lot of green vegetables and fruits. In addition, you need the energy and minerals found in nuts and green tea.
The Ox is an Earth sign. The Earth element governs your digestive system, stomach, pancreas, muscles and cells. So these are health problems that could occur 2021. If you suffer from heartburn or diabetes it is time to seek professional help. Health problems related to the Earth element include stomach problems, acid reflux or IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). Some of the ways that stress affects your digestive tract is it decreases the contractions of the small intestine and increases the contractions of the large intestine. (not good) At our Edina clinic we specialize in treating digestive problems.
Disorders of the Earth element can also mean problems with obesity. If you want to lose weight, check out our Acupuncture Weight Control here.
Health Solutions for the Chinese New Year
Did you give up on your Jan. 1st New Year’s resolutions? Well, Chinese New Year gives you a 2nd chance to renew your health goals for the year. Make this Chinese New Year a start for a new you. I have gift for you.
You can get my Total Health Transformation Bootcamp for only $97. Normally $197.
That is a $100 discount. But hurry! The price goes up after Feb. 14th.
Then it’s gone. Grab it now here.
Your health is a choice. Join me in the Total Health Transformation Bootcamp and let’s spend the next 6 weeks together creating the BEST version of yourself possible. Once you see how easy and fun this process can be, you’ll kick yourself that you didn’t start much sooner!
May you and your family be blessed with abundant health and happiness this Year of the Ox!
“There are no riches above a sound body.” – The Apocrypha
