9 Awesome, Unexpected Gifts for Your Favorite Acupuncturist
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Hi acupuncture friends!
It’s been awhile since we’ve talked! I’m finally back from vacation in Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. What an experience!
I’m a firm believer in taking time off so you can reconnect with your creativity. I had some plenty of time for brainstorming and came up with some exciting ideas for 2018 that I can’t wait to share with you.
Thank you for the crazy enthusiasm about my new Facebook Ads course that was released on Black Friday, by the way!
I was getting lots of questions from acupuncturists about why their Facebook Ads weren’t working: why Facebook would deny their ads for publication (!), why they weren’t getting a good ROI on their ads, how to navigate Ads Manager, etc.
I wanted to answer those questions and share my screen to help take the frustration out of Facebook Ads. So far the response to the course has been phenomenal!
Overall, 26 new students joined my online marketing courses in November and are happily chugging away through the step-by-step video tutorials and worksheets. I love seeing their progress!
I have some really exciting and educational interviews planned for you in 2018, including an introduction to a brand new acupuncture business success podcast called The Golden Cabinet.
In 2018 we’re going to get even deeper into the nitty-gritty of how to build a successful practice. I might even be offering group coaching for the first time, you guys… keep your eyes peeled for that!
For this week, as we lead up to the holidays, I thought we’d keep it light and fun.
Here are some of my favorite fun-and-funky acupuncture-themed gifts. These make a great surprise for your favorite acupuncturist… including yourself!
Share this post with your family to let them know what you want for Christmas… there’s still time for holiday shipping!
Enjoy!
9 Unexpected Gifts for Your Favorite Acupuncturist:
This comes in other colors, too. Let your favorite acupuncturist, acu classmate, or acu professor know how much you appreciate them!
3. Reflexology socks!
These are ridiculously fun! I love when patients tell me about the great results they’ve experienced with reflexology, and then we get to talk about the similarities between reflexology and Chinese medicine. Makes a great gift for patients, too!
4. Ridiculous acupressure slippers
I can’t get over how goofy these look… but at the same time I’m obsessed! All those magical pressure points massaging my feet? Yes, please!
5. Acupuncture Art Prints
Framed, on canvas, or all by themselves… these gorgeous professional photos of acupuncture treatments are perfect for your home or office.
6. Acupuncture World Domination T-Shirt
Fun, super-cute t-shirts that make a great conversation starter about your practice. These are so soft!
7. Fascinating reading for cozy winter evenings
This one has been on my list for awhile. Looking forward to finally reading it over my holiday break. Have you read it yet? I have a feeling it’s going to be a bit controversial… which means I’ll LOVE it!
8. Passion Planner
For acupuncturists with serious 2018 #goals, the Passion Planner is your new best friend. I had one of these last year and wow– it helped me get organized in a serious, step-by-step way that I couldn’t have done on my own.
Passion Planners are especially great for defining how you want your practice to look in 2018, and organizing/scheduling all of the steps to get there. Highly recommended!
Love it! I never, ever get tired of acupuncture puns, do you? They always make me grin.
Hope you loved this list of unique acupuncture gifts!
If you know of other fun gift items, please list them in the comments! As acupuncture becomes mainstream, more and more fun gift options are popping up – please share!
Until next week,
xo,
Michelle
Original article and pictures take www.michellegrasek.com site
Ancient traditions had understood very clearly the power that rituals have in creating and affirming a desired reality or outcome. One a psychological level, rituals can serve to install a habit or reinforce a belief or particular mindset. It can channel our attention and intention towards a desired goal and then let the subconscious mind work on it while we are busy doing other stuff.
Many highly successful people have been known to use mini-rituals on a daily basis and some would even tell you that it was one of the keys to create their success mindset. Even some athletes and top performers are well known to maintain certain daily rituals as a way to reinforce a certain pattern of thinking and envisioning goals in their mind.
I highly recommend these morning rituals as a way to kick start and empower you for the day ahead. Of course daily rituals can also be done at another time during the day, but morning time seems to work best as it helps you to subconsciously act on them as you go through your day, thus transforming a potentially ‘bad’ day into a awesome one. I also suggest that if you choose to use more than one ritual, you reinforce the habit of doing one before starting another.
OK here we go:
Jot Down your Most Important Tasks:
This is a very practical ritual. Start your day by identifying and writing down from one to three of the most important tasks you need to complete during that day. These tasks are ones that support important long-term goals that are aligned to your purpose, passion or general direction in life. For example, if writing a book or building an online community are important long term goals which are aligned to your personal growth, then an important task for the day might be finishing off a particular page or two of the book or coming up with fresh content ideas for the online community. What is important in this ritual is that you identify these tasks and complete them as early in the day as possible. Of course you will have other tasks apart from the ones you will write down but these are tasks that can be tackled later or batched up and carried out in one go.
Writing your most important tasks in the morning helps you focus your day and life according to what is essential. It helps you prioritize and manage your time better. As a result, you simplify your life by applying your focus and energy on what really counts for your overall life progress.
Script your Goals in Writing or Drawing:
This is similar to the previous idea but different in its application and purpose. Writing down your most important tasks of the day is a way to have a concrete structure of action to follow. Affirming your goals, on the other hand, is a very powerful way of crystallizing your vision and goals in life into your everyday mental space. Writing down or doodling your goals on a piece of paper helps you externalize those goals by giving them form. In return they are reflected back in your subconscious mind thus reinforcing them and integrating them more wholly.
An example of this would be writing down “I am achieving greater success in my career” or “I am becoming healthier and stronger through my exercise”. Notice the present tense being used as a way to tell yourself you are in the process already. Remember the life script we subconsciously follow? You are basically modifying the script to be applied now in the present. Drawing or doodling can be equally, or even more, effective (if you are more of a visual person) as it summarizes a graphical representation of your goals. For example, if your goal is to build a new house or live in another country, you can draw the house or draw things that symbolize the country you want to live in.
Booting up your Energy with Qi Gong Exercises:
According to Chinese philosophy, Qi (pronounced ‘Chee’) means the life force or energy inherent in all things and Qi Gong is the practice to cultivate and circulate that energy in your body. This may sound esoteric or complicated but actually Qi Gong is really a set of simple exercises aimed at increasing your health and vitality. There are numerous forms and practices available for free through the online media.
Hot Water with Lemon:
Simply add a slice of lemon in a glass of hot water and drink every morning. This is a very simple ritual I follow faithfully every morning. Essentially, apart from being a good source of vitamin C and a great way of flushing out toxins in the morning, it balances and maintains the PH levels in the body, reduces pain and inflammation in joints and knees and helps nourishing brain and nerve cells. Here are some more benefits of drinking hot water with lemon.
Feeling Gratitude:
Feeling gratitude and appreciation for those little signs and moments of joy happening in your life is probably one of the most overlooked or underestimated rituals. It is a perfect morning ritual to start your day on a very positive key. The real power of gratitude is that it makes you pick out and focus on what is working in your life – what is in tune with your being as a whole. It is selectively positive. It reinforces happiness and positivity by shedding light on those awesome things, small or big that grace your every day living. Quite often we just pick out the pain points, the problems, the bottlenecks, whatever it is that is not working in our life and causing friction, anxiety and unhappiness. This is like constantly rewriting the script of your life with a negative or tragic overtone. Your subconscious mind follows faithfully that script you write whether it is a negative or positive one.
So feeling gratitude is undoubtedly an immensely empowering ritual. Start your day by being thankful for those positive things that happened the previous day or throughout the week. It could be something really petty and small. It doesn’t matter. You might be grateful for an unexpected visit from an old friend, a beautiful encounter with a kind stranger, a new opportunity or whatever it is that shines your way. Do it every morning and see what happens during the day :)
The practical advantages are obvious. For example you gain more time in doing exercise such as walking, cycling or Qi Gong as suggested above. You gain more time to be with yourself to reflect, meditate or, more importantly, carry out the other morning rituals! So rising early can be seen as a foundation for all the other morning rituals. Many, like myself, find that they are more productive in the early hours of the day.
Also, various studies have shown that there are many other benefits from waking up an hour or two earlier in the morning. For example it has been shown that sleeping early and waking up early helps the body attune with the earth’s circadian rhythms thus promoting more restorative sleep. Other curious results from such studies show for instance that early risers tend to be more optimistic and can anticipate and solve problems more efficiently than the norm.
Listen to Uplifting Music:
In itself this ritual is a no-brainer. Uplifting music can have a direct impact on our mood especially in the morning. It charges us emotionally and tunes us into a more positive outlook of the day ahead. Most people wake up to music or listen to music as they commute to work. Very often however they tune in to a radio or randomly pick a playlist from their device. Being more selective and conscious of the music you listen to in the morning can have a great impact on your day and life in general. Try to listen to more uplifting music in the morning even if, or especially if, your mood does not dictate so.
It’s funny how we try to choose music according to our mood. For example if you are feeling down or disappointed by something, you are more prone to listen to music that reflects that mood – for instance blues, sad songs or downtempo music. This has the effect of reinforcing that mood. What you need to do is the exact opposite and retune your mood by listening to music that beats to a different tune with that mood.
Original article and pictures take www.corespirit.com site
7 Mind-Body Practices to Transform Your Relationship with Stress
If you were to eavesdrop on the conversations taking place around you, stress would likely be one of the most common words you would hear. People talk about feeling stressed about their work, the economy, global politics, deadlines, their relationships, and just about everything else. Many suffer from the emotional and physical consequences of chronic stress, which include accelerated aging and increased rates of heart disease, anxiety, cancer, depression, migraine headaches, and other serious disorders.
While stress is considered an epidemic problem, I’ve never believed that it exists in the environment or in external situations. At the Chopra Center, we define stress as our response to what is happening. It’s not the overdue payment, traffic jam, or fight with our spouse that causes stress
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It’s our thoughts and the story we tell ourselves about an event or circumstance that create the emotional upset, racing heart rate, shallow breathing, surging adrenalin, and other symptoms of the stress response.
The analogy of a surfer is useful here: If you’re a skillful surfer, every wave is an exhilarating adventure or at least an opportunity to learn something new. If you’ve never learned how to surf, on the other hand, every wave is a terrifying potential disaster.
Surfing the Waves of Change
Fortunately, learning how to deal effectively with stress doesn’t require any athletic ability—it’s a skill that anyone can learn. With a little practice, instead of continually being triggered into a stress response by outside situations and thoughts in your mind, you can learn to spend more time in your own natural state of well-being.
Here are a few of the most effective tools we teach at the Chopra Center for navigating life’s ongoing waves of change.
1.) Meditate
Meditation is a simple yet powerful tool that takes us to a state of profound relaxation that dissolves fatigue and the accumulated stress that accelerates the aging process. During meditation, our breathing slows, our blood pressure and heart rate decrease, and stress hormone levels fall. By its very nature, meditation calms the mind, and when the mind is in a state of restful awareness, the body relaxes too. Research shows that people who meditate regularly develop less hypertension, heart disease, insomnia, anxiety, and other stress-related illnesses.
We are all engaged in a continuous internal dialogue in which the meaning and emotional associations of one thought trigger the next, usually without our being consciously aware of the process. Buddhist psychology describes this process as samskaras, which can be seen as grooves in the mind that makes flow thoughts in the same direction. Your personal samskaras are created from the memories of your past and can force you to react in the same limited way over and over again. Most people build up their identity on the basis of samskara without even realizing they are doing this.
In meditation, we disrupt the unconscious progression of thoughts and emotions by focusing on a new object of attention. In the practice of Primordial Sound Meditation taught at the Chopra Center, the “object of attention” is a mantra that you repeat silently to yourself. A mantra is pure sound, with no meaning or emotional charge to trigger associations. It allows the mind to detach from its usual preoccupations and experience the spaciousness and calm within.
The more you practice meditation, the more you are able to experience expanded states of pure awareness. In the silence of awareness, the mind lets go of old patterns of thinking and feeling and learns to heal itself. If you’re interested in learning Primordial Sound Meditation, I encourage you to visit www.chopra.com to find a certified teacher in your area.
2.) Resolve the Stressful Situation If Possible
You may not have much control over many of the sources of stress in your life, but if there is action you can take to resolve a stressful situation, do it! Talk to friends about what you can do to change a situation or gain a new perspective on it. Consider getting help from a conflict resolution expert if necessary.
Conscious Communication
One skill that is extremely helpful in preventing and eliminating stress is conscious communication, also known as nonviolent communication. It’s a way to clearly communicate your needs in a way that improves the likelihood that they will be met. With practice, you can learn to express your needs, ask for what you want, and create more fulfilling, stress-free relationships. At the Chopra Center, conscious communication is part of the core curriculum for our staff members and is also taught at several of the workshops and programs we offer. To learn more, the book Nonviolent Communication by Marshall Rosenberg, is an excellent place to start.
3.) Practice Mindful Awareness of Your Body
While the mind is constantly flitting to thoughts of the future and memories of the past, the body lives in the only moment that truly exists: the present. One of the best ways to relieve stress is to tune into your body. Your first and most reliable guide to balance, harmony, and happiness is your body. When choosing a certain behavior, ask your body, “How do you feel about this?” If your body sends a signal of physical or emotional distress, watch out. If your body sends a signal of comfort and eagerness, proceed.
What can you do to start listening to your body? The most basic elements are as follows:
Feel what you feel. Don’t talk yourself into denial.
Accept what you feel. Don’t judge what’s actually there.
Be open to your body. It’s always speaking. Be willing to listen.
Trust your body. Every cell is on your side, which means you have hundreds of billions of allies.
Value spontaneity. Emotions change, cells change, the brain changes. Don’t be the policeman who stops the river of change by blocking it with frozen, fixed beliefs.
Enjoy what your body wants to do. Bodies like to rest, but they also like to be active. Bodies like different kinds of food that are eaten with enjoyment. Bodies like pleasure in general.
One of the most basic ways to be aware is by grounding yourself in the body. There is no mystery to it. Simply feel your body whenever you’ve been distracted. Let’s say you’re driving a car, and somebody cuts you off. Your normal reaction is to be agitated or angry; you jump out of the calm, relaxed focus that connects you to the mind-body field. Instead of being overshadowed by this disruption, just go within and feel the sensations of your body. Take a deep breath, since that is an easy way to come back to body awareness.
Keep your attention on these sensations until they disappear. What you’ve done is cut off the stimulus response with a gap. A gap is an interval of non-reaction. It stops the reaction from fueling itself. It reminds the body of its natural state of harmonious, coordinated self-regulation.
4.) Understand Your Unique Stress Response
Your mind-body constitution (known as your dosha in Ayurveda) plays a great role in how stress affects you. Ayurveda offers specific recommendations for each mind-body type, including the most effective ways to cope with stress.
Here are the stress patterns of the three doshas:
Vata: Those with predominantly Vata constitutions have the greatest tendency toward anxiety and worry. Normally creative and enthusiastic, in the face of stress, Vatas tend to blame themselves for their problems and become extremely nervous and scattered.
Pitta: Pitta types are usually warm and loving, but if they’re out of balance, typically react to stress by finding fault with other people and becoming angry.
Kapha: The most even-tempered dosha is Kapha. Those whose mind-body type is predominantly Kapha are usually easygoing and gentle, but when faced with overwhelming conflict or stress, they may withdraw and refuse to deal with the situation.
If you don’t know your dosha, you can take the Chopra Center’s online Dosha Quiz to identify your mind-body type and get more information about how to stay in balance and manage stress.
5.) Get Plenty of Sleep
Restful sleep is an essential key to staying healthy and vital. When you’re well-rested, you can approach stressful situations more calmly, yet sleep is so often neglected or underemphasized. There is even a tendency for people to boast about how little sleep they can get by on. In reality, a lack of restful sleep disrupts the body’s innate balance, weakens our immune system, and speeds up the aging process.
Human beings generally need between six and eight hours of restful sleep each night. Restful sleep means that you’re not using pharmaceuticals or alcohol to get to sleep but that you’re drifting off easily once you turn off the light and are sleeping soundly through the night.
You can get the highest quality sleep by keeping your sleep cycles in tune with the rhythms of the universe, known as circadian rhythms. Ayurveda teaches that the optimal sleep routine is to rise with the sun and go to sleep when it’s dark out, or at least by 10 p.m.
Ideally, eat only a light meal in the evening, before 7:30 if possible, and then go for a leisurely walk. The body’s digestive powers are strongest between the hours governed by the Pitta dosha (10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). By eating a light dinner, instead of focusing all its energy on digesting a heavy meal, your body can use the Pitta cycle to detoxify the body and get the deep rest it needs. You can go for a leisurely walk after dinner and then be in bed by 10 p.m.
It’s also very helpful to download your thoughts from the day in a journal before going to bed so that your mind doesn’t keep you awake.
6.) Practice Yoga
Yoga is another timeless healing practice for releasing stress and the damaging effects of the fight-or-flight response. Not only is yoga an excellent physical exercise that increases your flexibility and strength, but it also balances the mind and body, calming the nervous system, increasing the production of stress-relieving hormones, and releasing stored toxins.
You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment or to be in tiptop shape to start practicing yoga. All it takes is loose clothing, a mat (some classes will provide mats) and the desire to learn.
There are many different styles of yoga. Most use a series of postures designed to stretch and strengthen muscles and also use focused breathing to quiet the mind. One of the most popular styles in the U.S. is hatha yoga, a relatively slow-moving, gentle style. Other styles such as Ashtanga and power yoga are more vigorous. The Chopra Center teaches a unique style of yoga known as the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga, which focuses on body-centered restful awareness.
The intention of the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga is to integrate and balance all the layers of our life so that our body, mind, heart, intellect, and spirit flow in harmony. As we expand our awareness through the practice of yoga, we become more capable of perceiving the richness that life offers.
Find out about the different kinds of yoga that are offered at classes in your area. Choose the style that fits your goals and level of fitness. You can also get started by using a good instructional book or DVD at home, although it’s usually better for beginners to start with a class.
Whichever style of yoga you choose, take it slowly at first. Don’t try to force yourself into difficult poses at the beginning. After a while, you will develop more flexibility, strength and stamina. Your teacher shouldn’t push you to do poses that aren’t comfortable. If your teacher is going too fast, talk to him or her, or look for a class that is a better fit.
With a regular practice, you will begin to experience a sense of calm and wellbeing that extends beyond the yoga mat into your daily life.
7.) Do Activities You Enjoy
Part of being stressed out is feeling that you never have enough time, so adding more activities to your schedule might seem like the last thing you need. But if you make even a little bit of time for an activity you really enjoy, the payoff can be huge: You feel calmer and happier and can deal with work and other demands better. Whether it’s playing music, doing a craft, or working on your car, do something that absorbs and relaxes you.
The goal in all of these practices isn’t to try to control the flow of life so that you’ll never experience stress or frustration again; the secret is to be patient and offer yourself compassion as you learn to respond to challenges from a place of peace and calm.
Original article and pictures take www.corespirit.com site
7 Fertility-Boosting Tips from Traditional Chinese Medicine
Want to give your chances of getting pregnant an all-natural boost from the world of Traditional Chinese Medicine? Here’s the scoop on TCM…
The Scoop
At a fertility seminar in New York City’s ultra-hip Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn (Michelle Williams and Maggie Gyllenhaal are just a few of the famous moms who calls the place home), acupuncturist and natural fertility specialist Alexander Goldberg highlighted the role Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and mind/body techniques can play in boosting a woman’s odds for having a baby. Couldn’t make the talk? Here are Goldberg’s top seven tips for improved fertility:
Increase blood flow to your reproductive organs: TCM practitioners say that a stressful lifestyle pulls the body’s blood flow and attention away from reproductive, baby-making organs and funnels it instead to your arms and legs (part of the body’s “fight or flight” response). To change this course, use acupuncture to help reproductive organs receive optimal blood flow, or try focused relaxation (i.e., mentally going to your “happy place”), massage, or a de-stressing yoga session.
Get your hormones into balance: Conception becomes tricky when your reproductive hormones are off-kilter. And what’s often the culprit behind a hormonal imbalance? Again, it’s stress: women with high-stress lifestyles may produce more of the hormone prolactin, which may them impede ovulation. Besides using strategies to cut down on stress in your life, certain herbs from TCM may be beneficial—as can simply eating a healthy diet and exercising, two of the best ways to bring the body’s hormones back into balance.
Improve emotional health: According to TCM, two of the most common organ systems addressed in fertility are the liver and the lungs. The liver is related to anger, frustration, stress, and desire. So, it’s no wonder why one of the most common TCM diagnoses for infertility is Liver Qi stagnation. The lungs are related to sadness, grief, and holding on. How to get the fertility “chi” flowing? Make sure to find time to calm your mind through acupuncture, yoga, or meditation.
Avoid dampness: Dampness accumulates in our bodies and causes blockages in the form of cysts and fibroids that can make getting pregnant difficult, says practitioners of TCM. If you’re trying to become pregnant, eliminate damp food like milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream, greasy foods, and alcohol. Wet clothing, humid environments, and moist basements should also be avoided.
Chart your cycle: Charting your basal body temperature can help you determine when you’re ovulating, whether ovulation occurs on the optimal day and if your body is at a temperature conducive for fertility. Western medicine believes in this one, too! Look for special basal thermometers at your local pharmacy.
Make sure your body is receptive to conception: The perfect woman? If we go by what we see in magazines, she’s very thin, muscular, and extremely active. According to TCM, these values do not support the concept of fertility, which is warm, enveloping, holding, and supportive. If you are constantly expending all of your energy working out or following the latest fad diet, there may not be enough energy left to support new life. In other words: everything in moderation.
Don’t obsess: The more emphasis we put on our tries for a baby not succeeding in any given month, the more stress and frustration we create for ourselves. This in turn, may create more fertility hurdles. In TCM, it is thought that having a passive attitude toward your outcome and being more conscious of the process are what will help you maintain balance and, ultimately, give you the results you want.
Your Fertility
Will these tips work for you? A growing number of doctors in the US are fans of techniques like acupuncture for treating a host of health conditions, including infertility, while some remain skeptical. Thinking about taking herbs or other medicines from the world of TCM? Check with your doctor first to make sure they don’t interfere with any other medications you may be taking. But advice to follow a healthy diet? Thus is something you should be doing anyway!
Original article and pictures take www.babble.com site
Ease sore muscles, relieve pain, and recover faster with these Chinese treatments
Charlotte Hilton Andersen
The high of going all-out during a workout and the results you see make you feel amazing—the achy or tight muscles that can also result? Not so much. And while foam rolling, heating and icing, and pain relievers can all help, sometimes modern cures aren't enough.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has been used for thousands of years to treat pretty much any ailment—and some of the remedies may help boost your fitness, TCM experts say. Here's the scoop on six treatments for active women.
You can boost flexibility—key for improving range of motion so you can get the most out of your workouts—without stretching or yoga.
During gua sha, a practitioner lubricates the body with oils and then uses a round-edged instrument such as a Chinese soup spoon, a blunt bottle cap, or even an animal bone to firmly scrape the skin with repeated strokes. The treatment can be soothing or quite aggressive depending on the person performing it and intensity of the desired treatment; either way it results in small red or purple spots called “sha,” which are actually subcutaneous blemishing, bruising, or broken capillaries based on how much pressure is used, and may take several days to weeks to disappear.
While generally performed over certain energy spots or “meridians” over the entire body, gua sha can be used to treat specific areas as well. In addition to increasing flexibility, it can help relieve muscle tension and stiffness from a hard workout, says Lisa Alvarez, co-founder of Healing Foundations, an Oriental medicine practice. She adds that it also helps with other conditions caused by tight or sore muscles such as TMJ and tension headaches.
Your workout is only as good as your recovery, as muscles grow when you’re resting. You may be able to speed up all of this with acupressure, the needle-less cousin of acupuncture.
"Using fingers or a tool to apply firm pressure to energy points of the body balances circulation and stimulates the body’s natural healing abilities,” Alvarez says. Each spot is thought to correspond with specific ailments, injuries, or pain, so pressing somewhere on your foot may in fact help with tight hamstrings.
Acupressure is so simple you can treat yourself, Alvarez says, and get some immediate relief instead of waiting for an appointment. One of her favorite points for athletes is the large intestine 4 acupoint found on the hand between the thumb and forefinger. “Applying pressure to this area is great for relieving any type of pain in the low back, whether it’s from deadlifts or PMS,” she says.
Sometimes you push a little too hard or stretch a little too far, and while there's no break or sprain, something’s most definitely out of whack. If you can handle the intensity, Active Release Technique (ART) may help.
During a session, the therapist manipulates muscles and other soft tissues, and moves or leads the patient through specified movements. This all separates scar tissue from the underlying muscle, which helps reestablish proper, healthy mechanical functioning and improves flexibility, says Craig Thomas, a massage therapist and acupuncturist. In order to relax patients and open up the body to maximize the benefits, some practitioners also incorporate shiatsu, a Japanese form of acupressure, and Thai massage, wherein they user their body weight—often leaning against or even sitting on the client—to pull and push.
This is perfect for treating the overuse injuries lifelong athletes often incur, Thomas says, because it not only fixes the immediate source of the pain but also corrects the underlying structural problems that allowed the injury to happen in the first place.
A massage can be super relaxing and relieve sore muscles—if you're not self-conscious about lying naked underneath just a sheet. But the Japanese have a solution for the shy: Reiki is a form of touch therapy based on the belief that energy can be channeled through the practitioner’s hands to heal the spirit of the patient, which promotes deep relaxation, revitalizes, and resets the body’s energy field, Alvarez says.
While you lie fully clothed on a massage table, the reiki practitioner places their hands on or slightly above areas on the front and back of the body, most often where illness or pain is felt. In Western versions of reiki, practitioners usually focus on the seven chakras that run from the crown of the head to the end of the spine, while in traditional Japanese reiki, the focus is on the energy or balance meridians, which are found over the whole body.
Reiki is often used in conjunction with other treatments such as acupuncture to “provide a deeper healing and rejuvenating experience," Alvarez says. She adds that its many fitness benefits include overall relaxation, pain management, reduction of soreness, and even aiding more Western therapies such as physical rehab by helping the person relax and remain open.
The mind is a powerful tool, but as anyone who's gobbled a chocolate doughnut while on a diet can confirm, getting it to work for you and not against you can be half the battle when it comes to making healthier choices. One way to help rule your thoughts is emotional freedom techniques (EFT), a method based off of acupuncture, neuro-linguistic programming (a behavior modification technique), energy medicine, and Thought Field Therapy (a psychological technique that uses tapping on certain meridians).
“The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system,” says Gary Craig, the founder of one popular style of EFT. Whereas treatments such as acupuncture are primarily focused on physical ailments, EFT focuses on emotional issues and involves performing a prescribed series of tapping or pressing on acupressure or meridian points on the body while repeating a mantra. Sometimes other steps are involved such as counting backward, singing a song, or moving the eyes in specified ways, as instructed by the therapist.
As it’s designed to complement other types of Eastern methodologies, simple to learn and perform, and doesn’t require any special tools or equipment, EFT can work for almost everyone, Craig says, to enhance willpower and focus to help you stay on course with your healthy living goals.
When you’re struggling to eke out that last squat, pollution is likely one of the last things on your mind. However, according to Alvarez, air quality actually impacts your workout because internal and external toxins accumulate in the body over time and can significantly affect your muscle endurance.
To release this toxic buildup, she recommends cupping, a treatment where 1- to 3-inch glass or plastic cups are placed strategically over your body. The practitioner creates a vacuum in the cup by briefly holding a lit cotton ball underneath it or using a hot water bath, rubber ball, or other mechanism, and then lays the cup mouth-side down on the body. The slight vacuum is said to extract toxins by increasing blood flow to the muscle and tissue underneath, thereby helping the body cleanse itself, reduce inflammation, and stimulate healing. Alvarez says it’s like a “reverse” massage: “Instead of pushing the muscles into the body to get them to relax, suction is used to gently pull the muscle tissue upward to help it release.”
Cupping is often used for athletes to treat sore muscles, but it can also help with injuries and pain, including strained shoulders. Alvarez says many of her clients see results both in their comfort level and in the gym in just one session.
Original article and pictures take www.shape.com site
Ayurveda and Yoga, given as sister sciences thousands of years ago, help us find balance in our lives, bodies and minds. In modern times, when we are pulled from one urgent task to the next, find relief in “vegging out” and eat for convenience, these ancient teachings of balance have never been more relevant.
Far too often, I see clients who come to me to address chronic health concerns that are the result of many years of asking their bodies to do more with less. I hear stories of people who are sick with the flu but continue to go to work every day, or people who are recovering from surgery trying to go right back to their old jogging regime. Illness is a sign—a big red flag on the highway of life—of an imbalance in our bodies. When we overlook that important state of recovery, we throw our bodies into a deeper state of imbalance that can lead to more serious issues in the long term.
About 12 years ago, I felt several lumps on my side. I had also lost a significant amount of weight but hadn’t realized it. My father had just passed and it was a drawn out event.
I was diagnosed with leukemia, but opted out of the traditional chemotherapy and radiation and instead used my training in Ayurveda and Yoga to guide my healing.
I knew that the most important thing I needed to do was to give myself the space to heal and not pretend that I was exactly the same as I was before this imbalance had emerged. I changed my dinacharya, daily routine, to allow more time for rest, daily abhyanga, meditation and intuitive energy practice, along with eating daily meals of kitchari or kunyi. After six months, I felt well enough to begin surfing again. And though my recovery wasn’t complete, I knew I was going to be okay.
When our bodies are healing from an illness, whether it is surgery, the flu or cancer, they are working twice as hard to bring us back to a state of balance. In order to feel better—and by better, I mean better than you felt before you got sick—it’s critical to give your body the time and space it needs to rejuvenate. That comes from changing your dinacharya during and after illness to provide your body extra support to come back to your optimal state.
A regular dinacharya consists of times for bodily care, meditation, exercise, eating and sleeping. When you are sick, a supportive dinacharya can bring your body back to a state of balance. Here’s a simple dinacharya that can help you recover from illness and feel better than ever.
1. Make rest your first priority. When you are sick, your body is hard at work healing. This means you need to give yourself plenty of time in a relaxing environment away from stressful activities. Let your work responsibilities—neither you nor your job will benefit from pushing beyond your abilities—and aim to get between 8-9 hours of sleep. Typically sleeping during the day is not recommended in Ayurveda, but in a state of recovery from acute illness or surgery, naps can help your body recover faster.
2. Nourish your body with abhyanga. Applying warm oil to your skin every morning rejuvenates your tissues. Your skin is your biggest organ, so oleating your body replenishes the unctuous elements that have been lost, plus it’s a wonderful practice in self-care. Abhyanga is especially helpful when the oil is decocted with herbs that address imbalance.
3. Drink your fluids. Start your day with a cup of hot water to liquefy any stagnant kapha and ama, or toxins, and get your agni moving. Sip ginger tea (just a couple slices of fresh ginger in warm water will do) or tea made with cumin, coriander and fennel throughout the day to improve your digestion and help your body release ama.
4. Go within to heal. Spend more time in meditation and inward contemplation. Focus on living in the present moment, releasing fear and patterns that no longer serve you. Look for the emotional aspects of the imbalance and let them go without judgment. If you have a regular pranayama practice, hold off during your recovery. In a state of weakness, your energy channels are not at their optimal level. Pranayama can push your body to expend energy that it needs for healing.
5. Eat well to feel better. You may not be hungry, but eating at regular times throughout the day gives your body the fuel it needs to heal. Be very supportive to your digestion by eating plain kitchari with no vegetables (you can find a recipe here) or kunyi, a soupy rice mixture made with a ratio of 6:1 water to white basmati rice, a teaspoon of ghee, a pinch of turmeric, and salt. Stop eating at your first burp, since that is your body’s signal that it is full and overeating taxes your body with extra work. About 10 minutes before each meal, get your body ready to digest by chewing a ginger appetizer made from ¼ tsp. fresh, grated ginger with 2–3 drops of lime juice and a pinch of mineral salt.
Recovering from illness or surgery can take time, especially if it is chronic or the result of a longstanding imbalance. When you feel anxious or scared, take 12 deep breaths to rebalance. Don’t push yourself to go back to your normal routine until you have fully recovered. And remember – no matter where you begin, there is always a path to your natural state of health.
Original article and pictures take www.banyanbotanicals.com site
At one point or another, just about all of us have tried to lose weight. With almost 75% of the American population either overweight or obese, this challenge is becoming seemingly more insurmountable every day. The typical quick diet programs and colon cleansing programs rarely provide any long-term benefit. The weight lost during those programs is usually gained back within weeks.
One of the main reasons for not being able to lose weight effectively is because the body’s metabolism is not up to speed. According to Ayurveda, the body’s main digestive fire, or Agni, is responsible for the remaining 12 sub-types of digestive and metabolic processes at various levels. Metabolic disruption in any of these can impede weight loss and overall health.
5 Easy Ways To Restart Your Metabolism With Ayurveda
In conditions which cause an excessive accumulation of adipose or fatty tissue, the medo dhatu agni (fat tissue metabolism) is invariably compromised. To reactivate it, there are a number of Ayurvedic therapies which can be done both internally and externally. Here are some of the easiest ones to try at home:
1. Add one teaspoon of Trikatu, Pancha Kola, or Hingu Ashtaka powder to meals.
These powders are three of the best classical digestive appetizers. They promote the main digestive fire (Agni), which then helps to stimulate metabolism throughout the body. They also help to metabolize remnant toxins (Aama) in the digestive system and purify the alimentary canal. These powders can be added to a bowl of soup or rice and used for flavoring.
2. Massage your body with sesame oil and sit in the sun.
Over time, the accumulated adipose or fatty tissue begins to harden, making it all the more difficult to remove. Sesame oil helps to penetrate the micro-channels of the skin and increases circulation to the underlying tissue, thus promoting metabolism and the removal of toxins. Self-massage should be done for 15-30 minutes in a warm room, and then the body should be exposed to moderate sunlight until it sweats. Cover the head with a hat, and only stay in the sun until comfortably warm. Then rest for 10 minutes in the shade before taking a warm shower.
3. Take a hot salt-water bath once a week.
Generalized swelling throughout the body can impede the removal of toxins, particularly from the lymphatic system. Usually this is due to an accumulation of the Kapha dosha (liquid element) in the body. Bathing once a week in a hot, salt-water bath helps to draw out these toxins through the sweat glands. The body, but not the head, should stay submerged until you feel comfortably warm and you sweat. After the bath, wear enough clothes to continue sweating and increase the excretion of toxins.
4. Dry massage with Triphala powder.
Triphala powder is one of the greatest Ayurvedic remedies for a wide range of conditions. Its ability to break up toxins and scrape them away can be very useful to reduce fatty tissue all over the body. Take a warmed handful of powder and rub it firmly over the area against the direction of the hair follicles. Repeat this for up to 45 minutes and then brush the remaining powder off of the body.
5. Drink hot water.
One of the simplest, most inexpensive, and effective ways to increase metabolism is to drink plain hot water. You can also spice it up by boiling the water for a few minutes with ginger, clove, cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper. Keep a hot flask of this water readily available in the kitchen or office. Clear green tea is also good but can cause excessive hunger when taken frequently.
Sources for this article include:
Charaka Samhita, Sutra sthana & Chikitsa sthana, Chowkhamba Publishers (Sanskrit text and translation by Dr. RK Sharma and Dr. Bhagawan Dash)Ashtanga Hrdaya, Sutra sthana, Chowkhambha Krishnadas Academy (Sanskrit text and translation by Dr. K.R. Srikantha Murthy)
Ashtanga Hrdaya, Sutra sthana, Chowkhambha Krishnadas Academy (Sanskrit text and translation by Dr. K.R. Srikantha Murthy)
Of all the ideas and practices available to us for finding good health, peace of mind and happiness in this crazy world, the Chinese and Daoist internal arts of Tai Chi, Qi Gong and energy meditation are unrivaled in their value in improving overall wellness and catalyzing personal transformation.
Masters of Chi are the stuff of legend, capable of performing amazing feats of healing, concentration, and strength, and their secrets are no longer so closely guarded in the Shaolin temples of China. Many dedicated teachers of these arts have spread throughout the world and share their expertise freely with Westerners, making their teachings available in print and in video, offering an immense body of knowledge and instruction on these practical transformative arts.
Referred to as ‘internal arts’ because they emphasize the inward direction of intention for healing, energy cultivation and physical development, there are an infinite number of exercises, techniques and teachings available for study.
In my personal journey of transformation and self-healing I have found tremendous benefit in many of the exercises, meditations and ideas offered by the 4 modern masters of Chi mentioned below. Their teachings encompass a wide variety of physical movements, forms, meditations, breathing exercises and invocations, and include gentle restorative techniques as well as rigorous and physically strenuous practices. Within their collection of written and recorded materials, they have revealed their secrets for the benefit of anyone.
1. Dr. Yang, Jing-Wing
Dr. Yang is the author of many books and videos including the excellent work, The Root of Chinese Qi Gong: Secrets of Health, Longevity & Enlightenment. He is the founder of YMAA, an association dedicated to preserving traditional Chines Kung Fu and Qi Gong, which publishes books and training materials, and offers advanced Kung Fu training programs at their retreat center in Northern California, including his 10 year program for serious students.
Dr. Yang has produced an impressive collection of instructional videos, including Simple Qi Gong: Exercises for Back Pain which is hands down the most effective program for treating chronic back pain, especially lower back pain, that I have ever come across.
Other excellent training videos by Dr. Yang include his standing and seated series of gentle moving meditations, Qi Gong: The Eight Pieces of Brocade, which is perfect for sunrise and sunset meditations. His DVD series Tai Chi for Beginners with Master Yang is an excellent introduction to Tai Chi, and Five Animal Sports Qi Gong is an outstanding long form qi gong sequence that includes the traditional five element healing sounds from Chinese medicine.
His YouTube channel features segments from his many lectures and instructional presentations and for the more hardcore student out there, Dr. Yang’s traditional Kung Fu training videos are packed with tons exercises and drills to supplement any serious martial arts practice.
2. Grandmaster Hua-Ching Ni
Grandmaster Ni is a living Daoist master and the author of over fifty books in Chinese, and forty in English on philosophy, Chinese medicine, Tai Chi, and Taoist meditation. He is a sage philosopher, chosen as a child to study the wise hermits who lived away from mainstream society, now dedicated the transmission of knowledge from an unbroken succession of 74 generations of Masters dating back to 200 A.D.
Teacher of The Integral Way, Master Ni’s works include many enlightening spiritual books include Workbook for Spiritual Development of All People, and Tao, the Subtle Universal Law and the Integral Way. Master Ni has also published I Ching The Book of Changes: And the Unchanging Truth, one of the best translations available of this classic in divinity.
Similar to Yoga in some ways, Master Ni’s series of Taoist internal arts includes the book and practice, Attune Your Body With Dao-In, a series of invocations, gentle physical exercises, postures and different meditations. I practice this series 3-4 times a week early in the morning as the sun rises, to great benefit.
3. Shifu Yan Lei
Shifu Yan Liu is a real deal Shaolin Monk who has been training, performing and teaching his entire life. He shares his vast knowledge with the world on his website. In addition to producing serious training programs and videos for kick-boxers and fighters, Shifu Yan Lei regularly emphasizes the need for even the strongest warrior to train in the internal art of Qi Gong in order to develop balance, concentration and health.
His video series Shaolin Warrior includes the excellent introductory series, The Way of Qi Gong, and many of his teachings can be previewed on his YouTube channel.
4. Grandmaster Mantak Chia
Mantak Chia is the author of dozens of best-selling books on taoist energy practices, chi, sexual energy, cosmic energy and healing and also the founder of the Universal Healing Tao System, which offers an extraordinary body of knowledge and practices for the cultivation of personal energy, as well as training in many types of Qi Gong, massage, and detoxification techniques.
The simple meditation principles in Mantak Chia’s book Awaken Healing Energy Through The Tao: The Taoist Secret of Circulating Internal Power, were very effective for me in awakening my powers of concentration and my ability to become sensitive to the subtle energies which enliven the universe in and around us. The techniques found in Iron Shirt Chi Kung are an example of some of the advanced esoteric trainings he offers, and his book Chi Self-Massage: The Taiost Way of Rejuvenation is one his most important healing techniques.
Many of Mantak Chia’s lectures and instructions can also be found on YouTube.
Conclusion
In my continuing journey for health and happiness, the internal arts are a major part of my daily practices in cultivating peace, wellness and abundant positive energy.
Certainly there are many more accomplished teachers that could and should be mentioned here, but these are four that have found me somehow and I regularly incorporate many of their techniques into my personal daily practice. Studying in person with a master is preferred, however, with the instruction and tools made available by these 4 masters and others, anyone practically anywhere can begin to integrate these profound healing arts into their daily life.
Original article and pictures take www.corespirit.com site
3 Unique Pressure Points That Reduce Cancer Symptom
Some people perform better under pressure.
It turns out that a little bit of pressure may help relieve certain cancer symptoms and treatment side effects.
Acupressure — a form of massage that reportedly originated in China before the Common Era — can alleviate nausea, fatigue, pain and anxiety, research shows.
It involves applying pressure to points called acupoints throughout the body to stimulate healing. It is a form of self-massage. Even though acupressure is less widely known than acupuncture in the U.S., acupressure predates acupuncture.
Before needles were invented, ancient cultures used sharp stones for acupuncture. Before sharp stones were used, people used fingers to apply pressure to acupoints.
Most studies on acupressure and acupuncture in cancer care indicate the therapy is helpful at palliating certain symptoms.
Costs and Cancer Centers That Offer Acupressure
One of the perks of acupressure is that it can be self-administered at any time, in any location. Acupuncture requires a licensed practitioner and the use of needles, making it an invasive procedure, albeit a minimally invasive one.
Acupressure is less commonly offered in cancer centers than acupuncture, but practitioners are found throughout the country and books on acupressure teach people how to effectively self-apply the therapy.
A number of cancer centers now offer acupuncture as a complementary treatment. For example, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has offered acupuncture since 2000 and is leading the way in standardizing protocols for oncology acupuncture.
The cost of acupressure is often lower than acupuncture, especially if you take the self-taught approach. An acupressure session with a trained practitioner can cost $50 to $95, while acupuncture sessions may cost $75 to $125. Once you learn acupressure points that work for you, it is easy and free to apply the therapy yourself.
Do It Yourself
Self-administering acupressure is easy and safe for people with cancer. You’ll want to use your fingers to apply steady, prolonged pressure for at least three minutes per acupoint. Applying pressure in a circular motion may enhance effectiveness for some people.
The degree of pressure you’ll apply will vary by acupoint. You want more pressure than light touch offers, yet not too much pressure to cause bruising or pain. Acupoints that reside around developed muscle tissue will require more pressure. Some points may feel more sensitive than others; apply less pressure to sore or sensitive points. You can apply pressure for as long as you want to control symptoms such as nausea, pain or anxiety.
Ideally, you’ll want to sit or lay in a comfortable position when performing acupressure. Take several relaxing, deep breaths before you begin. Place your focus on breathing and try to relax.
Acupoint for Reducing Nausea and Vomiting
Position your hand so that your palm is facing you. Relax your fingers.
Place the first three fingers of your opposite hand across your wrist, aligning your ring finger with the wrist crease (Figure 1). Next, place your thumb below and slightly under your index finger (Figure 2). The thumb should be centered on the wrist and you will feel two prominent tendons underneath. That is acupoint P6.
Apply firm pressure to the acupoint for at least three minutes.
Repeat on the opposite wrist.
Acupoint for Reducing Pain
Position your hand with your palm facing down. Gently spread your fingers.
Use your opposite thumb and middle finger to find the slight indentation between the base of your thumb and index finger (see figure). That is pressure point LI4.
Apply firm pressure to the acupoint for five minutes.
Repeat on the opposite hand.
Acupoint for Reducing Anxiety
Place your thumb or middle finger between your eyebrows at the root of your nose (see figure). That is acupoint Extra 1.
Apply gentle pressure to the acupoint for 10 minutes. Less time is fine if you don’t have 10 minutes to spare.
For added relaxation, focus on your breathing and consider visualizing yourself in a peaceful place, such as in a garden, by a stream or on a cloud.
Complication Management
Side effects and complications from acupressure are extremely rare. If someone presses too hard on the acupoint, bruising can occur. That may happen more easily for people undergoing chemotherapy.
While studies have proven the benefit of acupressure and acupuncture for cancer patients, there are no standardized protocols for how to use the therapy for specific symptoms.
Different practitioners may use different acupoints to treat the same symptom, which could be further studied to see which points work best for various symptoms. Acupressure could play a more prominent role in the future of integrative cancer care as promising research continues to surface.
For those of you interested in reading more about the research on acupoints and acupressure, here is a list of specific conditions and the studies done on how to relieve those symptoms:
Fatigue
A 2007 clinical trial found acupressure and acupuncture generally effective at relieving cancer-related fatigue (CRF) after chemotherapy, but acupuncture offered greater improvement. The group receiving acupuncture reported a 36 percent improvement in CRF, the acupressure group reported a 19 percent improvement and the placebo group reported a 0.6 percent improvement.
A 2014 Taiwanese trial reported that acupressure improved fatigue, sleep quality and functional status of people receiving chemotherapy for lung cancer. Application of essential oils to the acupoints particularly improved sleep quality.
Nausea and Vomiting
A 2007 study found acupressure reduced the amount of vomiting and the intensity of nausea over time for people who received chemotherapy. However, acupressure didn’t significantly help vomiting or nausea immediately following chemotherapy. In fact, it delayed the effect.
A 2007 British trial found that acupressure lowered the occurrence of nausea, dry heaving and vomiting and lessened the severity of the nausea and dry heaving following chemotherapy. Acupressure was applied to just one point on the wrist using a wristband such as the Sea-Band brand wristband available throughout the U.S. Participants who received acupressure had to wear the wristband for five days after chemotherapy began. The point, known as P6 or PC6, is located on the inside of the wrist, three fingers down from the wrist crease in the center.
A 2007 Italian study found that acupressure could help chemotherapy patients who were not responding to anti-nausea medication. Pressure was applied to the P6 point and 68 percent of participants had a reduction in vomiting.
A 2015 Turkish study found the P6 point effective at decreasing chemotherapy-induced nausea, vomiting and anxiety among breast cancer patients.
A 2015 review of acupressure studies reported self-administration effective at improving nausea and vomiting for cancer patients, reducing symptoms of respiratory disease, relieving fatigue and reducing sleep disturbances.
Pain
A 1996 study evaluated the effects of acupressure on post-operative pain and found it effective. The group that received real acupressure reported significantly lower pain scores than the placebo group.
A 2014 meta-analysis of auricular acupressure, which is acupressure applied to the ear, found it effective at managing different types of pain, including post-operative pain and low back pain. Auricular acupressure also reduced the need for pain medicine before and after surgery.
It is worth noting that acupressure may be less effective for cancer-related pain than acupuncture. A 2003 study of acupuncture applied to the ear showed a 36 percent reduction in pain among cancer patients who still had pain after taking pain medicine.
A 2007 German study found acupuncture helped relieve peripheral neuropathic pain, a type of nerve pain that can result from chemotherapy, in 76 percent of participants.
Anxiety
A 2005 Indian study found acupressure effective at reducing pre-operative anxiety, but the effects don’t last long after pressure is removed from the acupoint. Pressure was applied in a circular motion for 10 minutes to the Extra 1 point, which is located between the eyebrows at the root of the nose. Participants reported a significant reduction in anxiety, but their anxiety returned to baseline after 30 minutes. The results suggest that anxious patients can use this acupoint to temporarily reduce anxiety in medical settings and elsewhere.
Original article and pictures take www.corespirit.com site
Real Qigong is not complex. There are very few rules, if any. There are no chants to remember and no special level of knowledge or achievement needed.
Real Qigong involves the following three things:
Relaxation – of the mind, body and spirit. Let go of thoughts, worries, and concepts. Relax.
Breathing – Slow, comfortable breathes, long slow exhales, deep inhalations without forcing anything.
Movement – Simple, flowing movements with little to no effort. Muscles are not engaged. Mind is barely engaged, if at all.
Of the three points listed above, the third is actually the least important of the three, yet it’s often considered the most important because it can be observed outwardly.
In order to be still on the outside, you must first truly be still on the inside.
This means you should primarily focus on relaxing and breathing, and not place much importance on the movements. However, many people get caught up in trying to memorize the movements and to get them right.
Don’t fall into that trap. Learn to relax. Learn to breathe. Learn to pay attention to your body.
Pay attention when it’s not easy to relax. Where do you feel tension? Why can’t you relax? Is it physical? Is it mental or spiritual? Whatever it is, it’s ok. Don’t put any pressure on yourself to be any certain way – you are what you are at that moment – embrace it and become aware of it.
Once you become aware of the fact that you can’t relax, you can easily figure out why. Once you figure out why, you can make the physical or mental corrections to relax. Maybe you just need a big deep exhalation. How about a vocal sigh? That usually does wonders for me.
Physical issues keeping you from relaxing? Stretch a little. Sit or lay down if that feels better.
Whatever it takes, learn your own body, then learn to relax.
Original article and pictures take www.corespirit.com site
For many of us, the new year is a traditional time to set goals and enjoy an increased openness to new experiences. This willingness presents an opportunity to explore the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Better health is on everyone’s list for the new year and cupping is wonderful technique that can improve your health and provide numerous benefits.
One way to think about cupping is that it is the inverse of massage. Rather than applying pressure to muscles, the suction uses pressure to pull skin, tissue and muscles upward. I often combine cupping with acupuncture into one treatment, but it could also be used alone.
Cupping was developed thousands of years ago and though the techniques have modernized, the original philosophy remains the same.
Cupping involves placing glass, bamboo or plastic jars on the skin and creating a vacuum by suctioning out the air. The underlying tissue is raised, or sucked, partway into the cup. The purpose of cupping is to enhance circulation, help relieve pain, remove “heat” and pull out the toxins that linger in your body’s tissues.
You usually will feel a tight sensation in the area of the cup. Often, this sensation is relaxing and soothing. Depending on your comfort and your practitioner’s assessment of the problem, cups may be moved around or left in place. They may remain on your body briefly or for longer amounts of time. Each treatment is unique to you on that particular day. One very common area to be cupped is the back, although cups work well on other areas, too — particularly on fleshy sections of the body.
Cupping causes the skin to temporarily turn red, blue or purple, especially if there is an injury or energetic blockage under the area that was cupped. The skin discoloration can last anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks, but is rarely painful. Once the marks have cleared, the procedure can be repeated until the condition or ailment is resolved.
There are a number of methods of cupping — the two most common here in the U.S. are “fixed cupping” and “moving cupping.”
Fixed Cupping:
The cups are placed on a selected area of your body and then left in place without being moved.
Moving Cupping:
As the name implies, in this method your practitioner applies massage oil or cream on your skin in selected places, puts the cups over the areas to be treated and then slides them around that region of the body — most commonly the back. The cups slide easily because the cream has lubricated your body.
You ought to consider exploring the benefits of cupping if you seek relief from stress, pain, allergies, fatigue, flu, colds, back pain, anxiety, muscle aches, red itchy skin conditions or fever.
Here are three reasons why cupping just might go mainstream this year:
1. Celebrity cupping enthusiasts are growing in numbers.
It was about 10 years ago when cupping first appeared in the tabloids. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow showed up on the red carpet with obvious round cupping marks on her back. She received a lot of press and later explained to Oprah, “It feels amazing and it’s very relaxing.”
Well, these days she is not alone among Hollywood stars who are devoted to this ancient healing technique. Last April, Jennifer Aniston arrived at the premiere of her movie, “Call Me Crazy” looking stunning in a strapless black dress which revealed cupping marks. She is known to be a long time fan of cupping and acupuncture.
Others stars who are outspoken proponents of cupping are Jessica Simpson, Lady Gaga and Victoria Beckham. They have spoken about using cupping for various physical complaints as well as for relaxation. Exes have picked up on the treatment too. Chris Martin (Paltrow’s “consciously uncoupled” partner) showed off his cupping circles while working out in London. Brad Pitt is also rumored to have tried cupping.
2. Athletes use cupping as a secret weapon.
Wang Qun, a Chinese swimmer proudly showed off her marks during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Always looking for methods to naturally improve health and performance, more athletes have turned to cupping. Tennis ace Andy Murray said he used cupping in conjunction with other treatments to relieve stiffness and to help address a back injury.
Mets baseball players have also adopted the treatment. In August The Wall Street Journal reported on the multitude of Mets players using cupping. The trend started for them after their teammate Daisuke Matsuzaka appeared in the locker room with cupping marks. The 33-year-old started cupping about two years ago and was quoted in WSJ saying, “As an athlete, I want to play as long as possible, in order to do that, I need to find ways to protect my body. I’m always looking for something that might be better.”
But cupping is not just for movie stars and athletes … cupping is highly beneficial for everyone.
3. Cupping provides relief for many health conditions.
Cupping has numerous benefits — it can help remove toxins from the body and stimulate the flow of fresh blood, lymph, and Qi to the affected area and throughout the body. It often works wonders for patients with the flu, colds, coughs, back and muscle pain, poor circulation, anxiety, red itchy skin conditions (though cups are not applied to inflamed areas), allergies, fevers, aches and myriad other pains.
Cupping is not exclusive to Traditional Chinese Medicine. Variations of this treatment were used by ancient Egyptians, North American Indians, early Greeks, and in other Asian and European countries. Cupping therapy was recommended by Hippocrates, the man whom many consider to be the “Father of Modern Medicine,” in his guide to clinical treatment.
It should be noted that cupping is not be used on patients who bleed easily and/or cannot stop bleeding, have skin ulcers, or edema. It is unwise to cup over large blood vessels as well. Pregnant women should be cupped with extreme caution and never on their abdomen or lower back.
To be cautious I generally practice a less intense treatment the first time, and then see how the patient reacts before implementing longer amounts of time and more suction.
Original article and pictures take www.corespirit.com site
A bedtime routine is almost essential in Ayurveda. Getting a good night’s sleep is so important, yet it is one of the first things we sacrifice in order to get more work done, or to watch that one last episode on Netflix. Sometimes, it’s just too hard to fall asleep or stay asleep.
Resting our bodies and brains ensures we have enough energy the next day; it gives our systems a break to wind down and prep for what’s ahead. Even though we’ve shut down, our brains work hard to rejuvenate, relax, and process everything that happened during the day. When we don’t get enough sleep or even good quality sleep, it taxes not only our nervous system, but our adrenal glands as well.
Having a good bedtime routine can help with better sleep. One of my favorite things to do as well is to give my clients a nice warm milk recipe with different herbs to incorporate into their wind-down process.
Try any of the following depending on what you want to work on. All you do is pour one glass of milk into a pot and warm it on the stove. Mix in the herbs and bring to a slow boil. If you would like to add a sweetener, try some maple syrup or turbinado sugar—just enough to give you a taste. You don’t want the aroma of the herbs to be masked by the sugar.
It’s best to drink the milk about 2–3 hours after dinner and 1–2 hours before bedtime. You don’t want your digestion working hard while you’re trying to sleep. You can add cardamom, cinnamon, and/or ginger to any of these to make them a little more digestible. Sometimes mixing ½ cow’s milk and ½ almond milk also makes for easier digestion.
To Calm & Cool
If you have a hard time falling asleep or staying asleep because of excess heat or an agitated/irritated mind, you might have excess pitta in your majja vaha srotas, or your nervous system. I know this one hits home for me. I often wake up in the middle of the night because I get too hot. Try this milk to help cool and calm both your mind and body.
Handful of organic rose petals (fresh or dry) *Maple syrup is a great sweetener for this one—add it in after heating! You can also add a sprig of saffron for more flavor, and to help that pitta!
To Ground & Settle
Many times our bodies are not ready to go to sleep. We’re constantly running around throughout the day, and it’s tough to calm the body and mind. They’re running on full speed, even at 10pm. This can increase the light and clear qualities of our systems, also making it hard to get a good night’s rest. This version is great for those who have some high vata. The herbs are super for grounding and giving a little heaviness to the body so it’s ready to fall asleep.
Ingredients:
To Rejuvenate & Replenish
Taking herbs at night or before bedtime has a direct affinity to working on the mind, as the night hours are those that target the nervous system and brain directly. Make this milk if you want to give your body a nice rest, with the added bonus of manasika herbs, or herbs that work directly on the mind.
Ingredients:
Original article and pictures take www.banyanbotanicals.com site
