Here We Go Again.

As I said earlier today, I resumed classes at CCNM. I love routine, so I was excited to get back into the swing of things. I was not excited, however, for my studies to resume. Don't get me wrong: I love learning about Naturopathic Medicine; I am just dreading the amount of hours of studying that lie ahead of me. I also was not excited to leave my loving family behind :( What I've learned is to remain strong and chug along. Negative thoughts and whining are never helpful. I am lucky to be enrolled in such an excellent program and I am so happy to have spent a wonderful holiday with my loved ones :)
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Classes for this semester: more Anatomy, Public Health, more Physiology, Point Location (aka Asian Medicine), more Immunology, Embryology, the Art and Practice of Naturopathic Medicine, Massage and Hydrotherapy, and Clinical Nutrition. I am most excited for Clinical Nutrition (nutrition is my favorite naturopathic modality!)and am dreading Hydrotherapy (I don't want to get wet!).
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Tuesdays in 2011 will be interesting. While Tuesdays in 2010 were my busiest, this time they are much lighter. They will be interesting because they feature more Asian Medicine (aka Traditional Chinese Medicine)... including acupuncture! For the first time at CCNM, first year students (i.e. my class) will have the opportunity to needle. Each class features a theory (aka "point location") component as well as a practical component (in which my classmates and I will practice identifying points and then needling them on each other). What are these "points"? In TCM, energy (i.e. Qi (pronounced chi)) is thought to flow through the body and sickness is the result of an energy stagnation. By needling specific points on the body, energy blockages can be released. Now, this previous description is very simplified; expect me to elaborate more on needling and Qi blockage as this semester unfolds!

Today was rather non-surprising because my two other courses of the day were continuations of last semester. I had more Anatomy (today we covered the foot bone and some thigh muscles) and Immunology (both are taught by the same profs as last semester).
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Now that it is a New Year, I'm sure many of you will be making resolutions. It is not surprising that January is one of the busiest times for Naturopathic Doctors. While I am happy that during this time of year many people are starting to reflect more on their health, I just hope people aren't too hard on themselves. Resolutions that are too drastic may be difficult to achieve, perhaps resulting in disappointment and/or giving-up. Baby steps! If any of my readers are looking to add more natural medicine into their life, I've thought that once a week I'd suggest an activity, herb, or food to try. These easy life additions can help my readers to try new things! They'll be based on things I am learning in class (and with Nutrition, Hydrotherapy and Massage classes on the agenda, I'm sure I'll have lots to share).
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P.S. Tomorrow I'll do a review of what I appreciated most about last semester.