Are You Taking Care Of Yourself – How Acupuncture Fits Into Wellness

Are You Taking Care Of Yourself – How Acupuncture Fits Into Wellness

self careSelf-care is a growing in popularity across the globe. Health and self-care are becoming a priority in many lives. In China[1], lifestyle value is now no. 1. In France, 71% of the population says taking care of yourself is the key to happiness.

In the early 1900’s before canned goods, fast foods, and GMO’s getting enough fresh air, clean water, and medicine were important; but this isn’t a history lesson even so it’s fun to watch PBS shows like Downton Abbey to get a glance at the past. Today we must consciously focus on our health.

What Does Taking Care Of Yourself Mean To You?

Are you taking care of yourself? I only ask the question because I believe it can mean different things to different people. What does it mean to you? One client says that it means not eating fast food or drinking pop. Another client researched eating vegan and slowly moved in that direction. Today she has reached her goal in weight loss. Taking better care of oneself is individual to you. Taking care of yourself mentally also is important.

Our health is personal. We think about it more when we feel sick or have pain. Looking in the mirror unhappy at your image wishing you weigh twenty pounds less are both emotional and physical. Being an acupuncturist and certified health coach part of my job is talking about self care ideas with you if you want.

Einstein believed our health affected everything and that our mind or emotions controlled our health. Health coaches believe this too. You might be struggling to sleep knowing how to stop the endless runaway thoughts might help. If it’s hot flashes, back pain, or one of the other millions of things that interfere with weight, sleep, or happiness you’ll benefit from these home ideas. Taking Care Of Yourself

Acupuncture Fits Into Wellness

  1. Whether it’s problems sleeping or weight, food really is medicine or poison. The question is which is it in your life? Knowing what kind of eating habits work for you and which foods enhance your wellness is the first place to begin feeling better.

One way to do this is to keep a food journal for 3 to 5 days. Eat normally. Watch which days after each meal you feel your best or worse. This includes pain. Here is how it works. Some foods increase inflammation and fluid retention. These symptoms in turn create pain. Others foods create gas, bloating, even sleepless nights. I am not talking only about caffeine. Many people have difficult nights if they eat too late.

  1. Are you exercising? Maybe it’s too late at night or too much or heavy. Perhaps you’re doing everything right; how do you know. Feeling overwhelmed yet?

Don’t be – walking daily or most days can help the pain, reduce weight, and help you sleep. It’s hard to get walking wrong. Start easy. Working out heavy within 2-3 hours of bedtime can keep you awake; even cause pain that wakes you in the middle of the night. It’s about muscle contraction if you don’t cool down and stretch correctly restless leg is a real possibility.

By the way, too little exercise does mean problems. The solution take a walk daily or as often as you can.

  1. Acupuncture helps, it does. For centuries people considered acupuncture a solo therapy along with herbal medicine along with diet and fitness. They improved quickly without physical therapy. We overdo it sometimes with modern medicine.

Not all acupuncture though is equal. Using emotional style acupuncture helps with insomnia, stress, and anxiety. We couple that with muscle meridian acupuncture for pain, tight muscles, and other physical problems. Being skilled in multiple styles means better care for you period.

As an acupuncturist, one of the most exciting and challenging therapies is using acupuncture for weight loss or fertility. It is also very rewarding. When you help someone fit into a smaller size outfit and feel more confidence, and happier it’s a great day. When a patient calls you sharing that they’re pregnant, it’s a day to celebrate.

When Acupuncture Doesn’t Fit Into Self Care

acupunctureI don’t believe acupuncture fits every health problem. Some people can’t get to an acupuncturist so we make do with what we have locally.

I had a patient in North Carolina who the nearest acupuncturist was 3 hours away. We used the first two steps. Most important for Jerry was his mindset and determination to succeed. His problems centered on a recent divorce. Weighing nearly 25 pounds more than healthy, having pain, not able to sleep he added in virtual health coaching instead of acupuncture.

Taking care of yourself takes is personal. Start with small steps. Seek help when you can and know every change toward a healthier you is a step in the right direction.

 

[1]Nielsen study, 2014

Images purchased: DreamsTime

Living Totally In The Present

Living Totally In The Present

Creating a Healthy Mindset

MindsetTo live totally in the present is a moment-by-moment thing. Because there is no such thing as time living in the past is similar to being in a dream or fog. There simply is the moment or now. Each cell in our bodies’ continually renews this is health. Every thought moves forward if we allow it.

Our thoughts move into a new dimension. The question we have to ask ourselves is, ‘does thought exist in the past?

My answer, “only when it’s a cancer of sorts.’ When a cell in our bodies’ stagnates and doesn’t renew this becomes cancer. Why is living in our past story much different?

It took me a full year to change a mindset I held, looking back personally I do feel that my brain was feeding a situation in my life. Once I formed a new mindset I was able to move forward having success in that area of my life within days. Today I can change unhappy moments within hours because of the new brain I possess – a healthy thinking brain.

Health coaching clients often tell me they experience the same thing using the tools from my health coaching. So what is Cancer of the mind?

Cancer Of the Mind – The Importance of Living Totally In the Present

Experiencing pain in our lives is inevitable. Often though we choose to suffer along with this experience. We continue the story in our lives and in our mind. It literally imprints on our human cells. This is the scientific fact [1] our brains can remember events that are emotionally easier than a daily activity that is rote.

Do you remember what you wore the second Tuesday of last month or last Tuesday for that matter? Unless something eventful happened, you might not. If you met a new love interest, I bet you do. When I pose this question to acupuncture clients they always remember when they met their significant other.

According to Robert Sanders, at UC Berkeley News Center [http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2011/06/14/new-neurons-help-to-remember-fear/] Berkeley neuroscientists recent research studies show that fear burns memories into our brain.

These memories often are unpleasant and tend to become life-stories of hard times. We wear a badge of honor into the ‘me too’ club of pain and suffering. health coaching

We all have these times you don’t have to join this metaphoric club. Health coaching focuses on helping you escape this group and move into a happier life.

Living totally in the present reduces physical pain too and end suffering. This allows us to focus on what we want in our life. This cancer of the mind affects our body too by sending pain signals setting up patterns that are hard to break without tools like acupuncture.

Living Totally In The Present – Leaving The Past Where It Belongs

They also believe other highly emotional experiences lead to incredibly strong memories too. This can be the birth of your child or the day your spouse proposes.

This is one reason we love rituals around important events in our lives. It helps us to remember vividly a feeling of happiness that counter-balances the times we felt fear.

Nature knows most women fear the birth process so it sends chemicals soaring through our bodies as our newborn enters the world changing our mindset.

Science knows that neurons form based on our thoughts. If we continue to think in a negative pattern, our brainpower will give us resolutions that always have a negative effect on our thinking.

Robert Sapolsky’s lab at Stanford University is conducting studies on Gage’s theory that new neurons are especially sensitive to input two weeks after they form.

Their data shows that new neurons forming in the brain can develop ‘active’ connections, leading to happy thoughts, peace of mind, and the ability to bounce back from emotions of fear or stress.

While they are doing this chemically [through the use of drugs], other natural methods abound! Brain Gym is proof of mental retraining.

Laying New Pathways For Living Totally In The Present

allows living totally in the present Neuropathways connect inside our brain in patterns. These neurons store information or stimuli. If tall, dark men remind you of your loving father, you’ll feel a sense of peace. On the other hand, if your father was abusive, you’ll have a sense of fear even though you may not be conscious of this effect.

Muscle tense and irritability may increase all because of an unconscious response.

This held true with a distant family member for me. They always found ways to make me feel unwanted and small. Changing my own feelings about this person helped me recover.

When we are faced with a negative emotion, to reprogram the brain – literally, we must lay down new pathways so we can live totally in the present. Acupuncture can help stimulate the process while you use gratitude and forgiveness at home.

It sounds silly, but I and many clients have proven this theory many times. In my case, I started seeing the degrading behavior as a way to grow and be better. It taught me kindness, love, and finding joy in the faces of my small children at the time.

I also had to move past the anger and forgive this person. The surprise came when I forgave myself. I’ve found that we all feel we allowed these things to happen to us or we deserved the treatment in some way. I call these esteem-breakers. Also, we aren’t ourselves during these times and lash out at innocent people who don’t deserve our anger.

Using Affirmations And Meditation Reallyallows living totally in the present

If you’ve followed my articles long, you know I believe in using daily meditation and affirmations. In my own life, the initial change began right away but took months to feel it. Reprogramming your thinking is taught at Harvard, Stanford, and many other prestigious universities known for their research in medicine.

Health coaching methods help us use these tools to move you out of living in the past and totally in the present. It starts the first time you do it though you might not notice a change in yourself yet. Remember from a scientific point of view, you’re laying down new pathways.

It doesn’t matter if you do this once daily or multiple times. It’s consistency that matters. Set the same time daily aside. I do this first thing in the morning. You can start with one, two, five minutes. Today I enjoy being in a state of bliss and peace for 30 minutes each morning. You do not need to do this. It is part of my career it may not be your calling so don’t worry about how long you spend, just do it daily

Set a mantra for yourself. Are you working on being happy and feeling joy? Then use that as your affirmation. ‘I am happy and full of joy.”  With health coaching we may work with other affirmations around weight loss, or insomnia, even careers.

I felt so silly saying this in my own mind at first. Silently I added ‘thank goodness no one can hear me.’ Don’t worry only you and whatever you believe in can hear you. Often we don’t feel we deserve to feel joy and be happy. This is where forgiving ourselves comes into the mantra.

Let Yourself Off The Hook

For any of this to work, you have to do it. Once I began forgiving myself and others, things moved fast. Clients share it’s like lightning going off in their lives. They aren’t angry, they laugh more, and love more fully.Mindset

When we start living in the now, we begin to see a future creating a mental equivalent of what we desire to create in our lives. Seeing a better future is only possible when we have a mindset that supports us.

Shawn Achor is an expert in positive psychology with a dozen distinguished teaching awards at Harvard University, where he delivered lectures in Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar’s class “Positive Psychology,” the most popular class at Harvard, confirms that growing new neuro-pathways in our brains is possible by using repetition.

The principle is simple. Right now, you repeat your story daily to someone or in your mind. Just change your story by using this tool. Do the meditation; repeat your mantra with breathing once daily then say it to yourself as often as you can. If you do this, every time your negative story pops in your mind you’ll replace it with new neuron connections in your body, especially your brain.

While it doesn’t change the past, it allows living totally in the present to be your way of life. Enjoying the things that now are free to come your way will appear when you’re open to receiving.

 

 

All photos Dreamstime Copyright.

Science articles into cell reprogramming is not new you can read more about it here, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150836/.

 

[1] http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/uploads/HeartMath%20article.pdf

 

What Is It You Want To Die From?

What Is It You Want To Die From?

Aging Concept‘What is it you want to die from?” Some clients stop and think before answering this question when asked, others reply right away. Do you know your answer?

I know my answer – ‘old age’ what’s yours?

Do You Want To Die From Negativity?

 

The other day I was speaking with my mother-in-law about some of our friends who haven’t yet retired. My husband and I still work and love our careers. She blurted out, “ they probably can’t afford to retire!”

 

I gently replied. “We don’t talk like that it’s so negative and just not a good way to think.” They haven’t retired because they love their work. Those that have retired have gone full time into service or charity. One couple a past teacher and nurse, volunteer full time now, while a couple10 years older still works because they love their careers.” I’m talking about people in their 70’s. happiness

Are you wondering how these 2 things are related? How death and retirement relate. Our thinking determines our health. Healthy people have a wellness view of their life or a positive outlook. Usually, they’re quick to answer what they want to die from.

I Want To Die From Happiness

 

This is the second thing, they know they want to die happy. In their sleep, on a beach, with their lover, but they don’t wish to die of cancer, have a heart attack or worse be murdered.

 

So what’s your answer? When I asked the question what is it you want to die from did you stop to think of a laundry list of things you don’t want to die from?

What You Don’t Want To Die From

 

Many people begin a commentary on not wanting to die from Cancer, or Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and so on…others stop and think they ponder. I don’t wish to die from anything.

 

Can we change the landscape of dying? We know we leave this earth, but we also understand what we don’t want to die from – disease or in pain. soulquote

This is a good place to start. Realize what you don’t want to die from and plan to live. Some say death is permanent. Who’s to know when it comes to the soul? This isn’t a religious article though we do know the physical body dies.

We know most people are afraid of death yet we plan so poorly for an event we know will happen – period.

Changing The Landscape Of Dying

I want to die from old age. It’s not planned where just how, from old age. I have some ability to predict my way to go by investing living healthy. Changing the landscape of dying is important. Nursing homes and pharmacies are full of people dying of disease. Many are in pain and unhappy.

I will be happy because I live a life full of love with great friendships, an excellent spouse, and fantastic children. I would pass on happy even without a family because I have a strong group of friends and a great support system.

I will die of old age because I invest in health – my health. My method of health coaching or functional medicine centers around 12 core beliefs. We just talked about the first. Joy or happiness. It’s our viewpoint of life. I use it here to talk about what I want to die from. That sounds like a joyful way to pass on don’t you think?

Living a life full of happiness is up to you. Do you think of things from the perspective of negativity? I wrote an article on when to listen to negative comments this is not the same thing.

When we worry or focus on negativity, we produce more of it in our lives. Call it what you want – the law of attraction, you get what you think about most. Maybe you feel more comfortable viewing this subject scientifically. If we look at this from a scientific viewpoint, the endorphins and pheromones you’re sending out through the pores of your body, bring you what you want or what you don’t desire!

Let’s look at three things you can do to be more in control of what you die from.

you want to die from

Invest In Health – Die Of Old Age

1. The first thing we’ve talked about here is the most important thing you can do to invest in a healthy you.

Focus on a new way to look at life. If it’s snowing and you have to drive home in rush hour, don’t think about how much you have to do when you get there, focus on something positive.

Maybe it’s a great time to listen to that book on tape you rented about Highly Effective Relationships or sing along to the new CD of your favorite singer.

Invest in your health. Stop talking about losing weight, or trying diet after diet spend time learning about your bio-individuality and embrace the beautiful person that is you. Sometimes working with a health coach for 6 months is the best way to discover the healthy way to live your life.

This isn’t just weight loss, it’s back pain, arthritis, even getting the upper hand on something like diabetes or IBS. Heck you don’t have to have a health problem to know what it is you want to die from.

2. Smile 5 times more often than you do now each day. Feel and live in a place of joy as often as you can even if no one else around you is happy.

If you aren’t often smiling now, try smiling 5 times today. If you’re a person, who walks around with a smile on their face all day long. You have this covered. Research shows that people who smile live

By now, as a reader of this post you know what you want to die from, so turn those lips upward you’re on your way. Changing the landscape of dying is an individual decision. I feel it’s also a social goal since it makes great economic sense. For more mindful living visit my other website Debra Arko Novotny

 

 

All images are copywritten and used with permission from Bigstock, Pixabay, or available through Google Free for commercial purposes.

Celebrate The Small Stuff

Celebrate The Small Stuff

Law of Attraction

During my morning reading today, it hit me. I was focusing so hard on the big outcome that I was missing the small things that come into my life telling me I am on track. It occurred to me clients do the same thing! We forget to celebrate the small stuff and lose sight of the blessings [this is my word for wonderful things that happen] in our life.

A farmer related this story to me: how he would wait daily for the mail carrier to arrive hoping he would have more checks than bills coming in. He sold organics to small communities that added his goods to their local community garden for more variety or at farmers’ markets.

As a health coach, I am ecstatic to work with a local organic farmer. Our goal at the time was a more positive mindset or spiritual deepening. I am not talking about religion, that’s not part of coaching. It is about Law of Attraction.

Celebrate The Small Stuff And Big Things Happen

farmer's market

“Jim,” noticed his thoughts ran a bit negative around money, and he knew these checks would come in, but he was anxious. Fear dominated his mind.

Poor as a kid he heard his dad screaming, as he put it, about cash. This is a common thing for many people I talk to, it seems that anyone whose family lived through a recession or depression heard one or both parents upset about lack of money.

It’s hard for kids and imprints them with a sense of fear and loss around income. When they grow up, they have a weak relationship with prosperity. The law of attractions affect all areas of our life even our health. A big roadblock as mindset of lack interferes with wellness because it causes stress leading to health problems.

During our coaching session, we talked about how he might celebrate the small stuff that came into his life. Have you ever noticed when someone doesn’t agree with you he or she holds their breath? I could hear Jim do this. Not a sound on the other end for a solid 30 or so seconds. Then he blurted out, “what do you mean celebrate the small stuff”?

“What if you found a nickel on the sidewalk do you bend down and pick it up and say, thanks!” I asked. Another silence as he held his breath. Then he replied, “half the time I don’t stop.” Then he chuckled, “I get it, the small stuff.”

 Celebrate the Small Stuff In The Mailbox

celebrate the small stuffThat day he went to the mailbox, nothing but bills and no checks from his customers. As he walked back to the house flipping through the bills, he noticed a stamp not postmarked, worth 47 cents. . Grinning he chose to celebrate the small stuff even if it was only the price of the stamp that he held in his hand.

We think it’s silly to do this, but he said aloud, “Thank you.” That is what I mean by celebrate the small stuff.

A few days later his mailbox was full of checks, many more than he expected. He got three new vendors too within a few weeks. He changed how he thought choosing to celebrate the small stuff, so the door is open to receive even bigger things in our life.

Using the Law Of Attraction

Jim had always thought he would sell to a large vendor or food store. A great dream for sure but he told me later, he really never wanted that in his heart. He liked farming and working with real people. This is how the law of attraction works. We get exacting what we think about most of the time.

celebrate the small stuff

He has his products at most farmer’s markets, and in over 25 community gardens. This past year he added fresh poultry meat and eggs. Recently he started a website shipping boxes to homes throughout the state of frozen organic chicken meats.

Sometimes I get my biggest lessons from my clients. Other times it the other way around. We all need simple reminders like to celebrate the small stuff. This weekend I gave thanks for a friend who threw a great super bowl party. These simple things make us smile. Smiling is healthy. If we do it more often, we lengthen our lives. When we laugh, we add years.

Today I celebrate the small stuff along with you. The law of attraction works in everyone’s’ life including mine. I had two new coaching clients in one day! They found me through referrals. That’s so cool.

all photos are copyrighted – thanks to Bigstock, Fotolia, Dreamstime

Let Acupuncture Help With Stress Induced Acid Reflux

Let Acupuncture Help With Stress Induced Acid Reflux

acid reflexI remember suspecting I had indigestion or more actuate silent reflux. For months, I visited several medical doctors all telling me that my runny nose, sore throat, and cough were either allergies or a chronic cold. Today I want to share another video testimonial with you from a patient who used acupuncture to reduce her stress and indigestion.

Silent Reflux

When I had silent reflux[1] it was without pain. This clinical name is Laryngopharyngeal Reflux [LPR] and the classical symptoms include the following.

  • Excessive throat clearing
  • Persistent cough
  • Hoarseness
  • A “lump” in the throat that doesn’t go away with repeated swallowing
  • A sensation of postnasal drip or excess throat mucous
  • Trouble swallowing
  • Trouble breathing
  • Sore throat

GERDMany patients suffer acid reflux or GERD. They often try something over the counter like Prilosec or visit their physician for that little purple pill, Nexium.

These drugs have harmful side-effects, and are not for long-term use. They simply cover up the problem. Most people who prefer not to take medication acupuncture can be effective against these conditions of stomach upset.

Let’s see what this patient has to say about treating her stress and digestion problems with acupuncture.

Acupuncture Testimonial

I hope you enjoyed this video testimonial. Are you wondering if you have GERD or acid reflux? Below are the common symptoms of each.

The most common symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is regular heartburn, a painful, burning feeling in the middle of your chest, behind your breastbone, and in the middle of your abdomen. Not all adults with GERD[2] have heartburn.

You may know someone with GERD, who doesn’t realize they have it. Bad breath is common. Perhaps you suffer occasional nausea, pain in your chest or the upper part of your abdomen. Maybe you have problems swallowing or painful swallowing, respiratory problems and the wearing away of your teeth from the high acidity in the month.

AcupunctureSo now let’s look at acid reflux[3]. It’s so common that many people don’t realize that left untreated it can lead to Barrett’s esophagus, a precursor to cancer. Taking medications only covers up the problem and is not the answer. Try acupuncture; work with me as a health coach. We work together you and me, to find the root problems causing your problems.

Fixing Acid Reflux

Acid reflux is different from GERD because it is the backward flow of stomach acid into the esophagus. It’s a tube that connects the throat and stomach. It’s common to taste regurgitated food or sour liquid at the back of your mouth or feel a burning sensation in your chest (heartburn). GERD is the more progressive state of acid reflux.

Want to know about these digestive problems and if acupuncture will help you? Contact our office to find out how we may help you with your acid reflux.

 

 

 

[1] http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/digestive-diseases/ger-and-gerd-in-adults/Pages/symptoms-causes.aspx

[2] http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20529772,00.html

[3] http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20529772,00.html

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