Page 9 - HOH

A24 HEALTH
Thursday 4 July 2019

Endless Vacation

essential in agricultural areas. In North America, place conflicts – causing lowered office perfor-
school summer vacation is three months long mance. Some companies are resorting to mak-
because immigrants could not exclude their ing their employees to take vacation days or
children from the farming demands during the “time out” in order to improve their profit mar-
short growing season. Similarly, the spring re- gin. In our clinic we see many of our patients
cess coincides with the labor intensive period take a mini vacation or “time out” when they
when live stock gave birth and crops needed come in for an acupuncture session.
to be sowed and the fall break coincides with Acupuncture, an ancient Chinese therapy that
the traditional harvest period. is becoming more widespread in the West uses
A forth reason for a rest is health related. Without various procedures, such as heat and pressure
question, the greatest health benefit is where a but mainly fine needles, to stimulate points on
vacation helps in your stress reduction program. the body to relieve pain by rebalancing the
My father, who lived ninety six robust years, told flow of energy. The world health organization
me several times, a heart attack is natures way has listed many conditions treated safely and
of telling you to slow down. Someone with ail- effectively by acupuncture including, allergies,
ing health has few prospects. Sickness carries a hypertension, injuries, chronic pain, depression
message that only the wisest heed. and fatigue.
By Dr. Carlos Viana A fifth motivation for a vacation is a respite Many of these are interrelated with stress. While
from our profession or occupation. This break many of our patients come in for their twenty
Aruba, with our beautiful beaches and per- could be the most important. We labor franti- minute session to relieve pain; our policy of turn-
fect climate is an endless vacation paradise. cally to make ourselves more comfortable and ing cell phones off or on silent allows our clients
However, the summer is traditionally known as end up with the byproduct of modern society, to more fully relax. After their sessions many re-
“vacation time.” With the children home from stress. Continuing stress causes a whole host alize that the treatment has gone beyond pain
school, people make extensive plans to catch of health problems. A recent survey reported reduction and they feel a balance and harmo-
up on all the things they never seem to have forty percent of North Americans are suffering ny in their body, mind and spirit.
enough time to do. They arrange elaborate from chronic stress. Stress is what pushes some My father once told me that he had never
family reunions and fly off to more exotic loca- people decide to finally take a vacation. Early heard anyone state in their closing years that
tions. signs of stress are Mother Nature’s way of telling they wished that they had worked harder. In
us something is wrong and needs our attention. our pursuit to make ourselves more comfort-
Traditionally, we vacation for several reasons. A break from work could be vital to our well be- able, our daily affairs have a way of obscuring
Though not all countries have evolved into the ing. Unfortunately this critical period is also he more important issues. Issues we ignore until we
practice of vacationing, most do provide some least respected. Weekly, we observe tourists are forced to retire or Mother Nature gives us
time off for newly married couples. The “hon- trying to accomplish the most possible during her message in sickness.
eymoon,” originally month long, was a reprieve their vacation. Enjoying all that the Island has Get the point, a diversion from daily responsibili-
from daily pressures where almost total strang- to offer, they are partying, gambling, and franti- ties can rejuvenate our lives. Either this week-
ers could adjust to living with another person. cally pursuing their hobbies. Their motto is “work end at home, or this summer spent in an exotic
Today the “honeymoon” can be an extension hard, play hard.” place like Aruba, take time to reflect on health.
of the courting period where new couples can Although the exercise we do on vacation can Schedule a spa treatment between water
agree on goals of their joint lives together. be a good stress reducer, moderate exercise sports and rounds of golf. Have some tropical
A second reason for a vacation is the “second needs to be done on a regular basis to contrib- fruit on the breakfast buffet instead of coffee
honeymoon.” Special observances of wedding ute to overall health. Not working out the rest and toast, put away the laptop and enjoy the
anniversaries are usually reserved for milestone of the year and then overdoing it on vacation view.
dates like the tenth, twenty-fifth and the “gold- causes more stress. Many people need to re- Come in for an acupuncture “time out.” If
en” fiftieth anniversaries. During these honey- turn home to their “normal” lives to recuperate you’re ready for a complete make-over, wheth-
moon replays, some couples have a ceremony from their vacation. These people may have er you’re visiting or live in the land of endless va-
where wedding vows are repeated. This vaca- had a temporary break from their work and cationers, at our natural healing center, we do
tion then serves as a reaffirmation of the original problems, but they certainly have not benefit- full health evaluations, based on science, but
hopes and aspirations for their marriage. ed physiologically from their vacation. with a stress free, barefoot, Island flavor. Call us
A third reason is a school break. School breaks It has been estimated that managers spend for a mini or maxi vacation that can have ef-
were originally provided because children were at least 25 percent of their time resolving work- fects that last long after the break. q