By: Chris Reilly, L.AC
Community acupuncture is off to a great start at the Center. We still have room for new patients, but the initial response has been even greater than expected. Clients are coming in to experience group acupuncture, in some cases bringing along a daughter, brother, mother or friend to explore it with, and leaving very relaxed and happy.
This is a new program for the Center, and we weren’t entirely sure how all the logistics would play out, but everything has gone exceptionally smoothly. The room has come together very nicely thanks in large part to Nadine and Rebecca’s aesthetic sensibilities, and already has the charged feel of a healing space.
It is a deeply satisfying joy to move through a room of clients immersed in an experience that began thousands of years ago. The connection to the past and to each other is all but palpable in the room. I would like to thank all who have come to join us thus far to make this possible, and look forward to all the new faces we’ll be seeing in the future.
Learn more about Community Acupuncture on our website
Archive for the ‘General’ Category
Community Acupuncture Update
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010Spring Cleaning
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010By Jim Whiting, Certified Kripalu Yoga Instructor
We often think of Spring as being associated with house cleaning, but it is also important to cleanse the body. Removing environmental, processed food, and everyday accumulated toxins is important for maintaining overall health. Detoxing can help speed recovery and keep our systems in good working order. Fasting is an excellent method for detoxing.
While most of us eat 3 square meals a day, limiting our intake can start to take toxins out of our systems and increase energy. A weekly fast can be helpful for cleansing on a regular basis. It may seem impossible to do, but going slowly can ease you into a routine. Here are some ways you can work a weekly fast into your routine:
WEEK 1: Pick one day of the week and skip one meal.
WEEK 2: On the same day, skip two meals. You can replace the meals with fruit or juice. Drink lots of water to flush impurities out of your system.
WEEK 3: Skip all meals for the day only, replacing meals with juice or fruit.
WEEK 4: Leave out the fruit and simply have juice or water for that day.
It is essential to try not to jump in to the whole fast at once, rushing in has been the cause of many failed diets and cleansing routines.
If you get cravings, drink liquids; water, cranberry juice, or a naturally sweetened fruit juice. Coffee should be avoided as it can cause cravings, as well as deplete the body of nutrients. Green tea is a good coffee substitute.
Let your body adjust to going without a meal before moving to the next level. It may take several weeks, and several stops and starts to get into a positive fasting routine, but the benefits can be well worth the work.
The day after fasting you will wake up energized, you will be able to deal with the temptation of snacking and resist foods your body naturally knows are not healthy. The brain/thoughts will be clearer and the senses heightened.
A cleansing fast helps to maintain or lose weight, and keeps the body running like a fine tuned engine, burning fuel efficiently.
There are many ways and types of fasting/cleansing methods you can use for different results. The practitioners here at the center can help you to choose a cleansing method that works for you. If you are on any medications or special dietary restrictions always consult your physician before starting a fast.
Exercise 7 Hours Per Week?
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010By Korey DiRoma, ND
Recently there was a study published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) that concluded that women need to exercise 1 hour per day 7 days per week to MAINTAIN weight, let alone lose weight. I have since heard on multiple T.V. and radio broadcasts about the study, and the reaction from women has not been positive, for obvious reasons. Women lead very busy lives and finding the time for 1 hour of exercise every day sounds more like burden than anything else. So I’m writing this blog to shed some light on this study, and to clarify what the study actually concluded.
The study was published by the Department of Medicine in Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School. The group was comprised of 34,079 women with an average age of 54 years old over a 15 year period. The diet was described as a “usual” diet. Three groups were followed, those exercising less than 2.5 hours per week, those exercising 2.5 to 7 hours per week, and those exercising over 7 hours per week. The exercise was defined as moderate-intensity activity.
The study concluded that all women in the group gained an average of 5.7 pounds over a 15 year period. There were only slight differences in weight gain among the groups taken in 3 year intervals, about ¼ pound. And activity level correlated with successfully maintaining weight only for those with a Body Mass Index, or BMI, of less than 25, but not for those with a BMI of greater than 25 or 30.
So what does all of this mean? There does not seem to be large enough differences in weight gain between the different exercise groups. And the only group who actually maintained weight, defined as <5 pounds over 15 years, were those who already had a normal BMI of less than 25.
As far as exercise is concerned, some activity is better than no activity. So don’t feel that you need to exercise 1 hour per day every day to maintain your weight. Plus in this study moderate-intensity activity was defined as brisk walking, dancing, or gardening. Higher intensity exercises typically require less time, because they burn more calories. And we all know that the more weight loss equals calories in minus calories out. What I have found is that many of us are not exercising with enough intensity, and eating too many high calorie foods. So my recommendation is to find an activity you like to do (it doesn’t always mean going to the gym) like hiking, swimming, kayaking, golfing, biking, running, etc. and do it often. The more you enjoy your activity, the more likely you will actually do it
Spring Fever
Monday, March 8th, 2010By: Rebecca Rice, L.Ac
The other day I was marveling at the fact that I hadn’t come down with a cold or flu all year! To the surprise of my pride, the next morning I woke with chills, mild fatigue, and rhinitis. Now I do see my missteps of the previous day-getting overjoyed with the sunshine and warm weather I went outside with damp hair and a lighter jacket, thus making myself more vulnerable to cold and flu viruses. I also had a big cup of hot chocolate and later that night was walking in the cold March wind to my car returning from a concert, wearing the same light jacket.
In Chinese medicine the nape is called the ‘wind gate.’ This is the area in the back of the neck where external pathogens can enter the body. This is why many Acupuncturists wear scarves in the winter – to protect the wind gate. I certainly provided the perfect invitation to the cold I contracted by exposing my wind gate through cold damp hair, wind, and lowered the strength of my immune system with sugar.
The treatment I chose was a hot shower, hot ginger tea, and an acupuncture treatment to open the wind gate, expel the pathogen and consolidate the wei qi. (The wei qi is the protective qi which lies at the surface of the skin and regulates what enters the body and what does not-chills are a sign that the wei qi is weak and has been infiltrated). Because I acted quickly with incorporating all of these therapeutic responses, I was able to significantly reduce the severity and the amount of time I had the cold. Thank You Chinese Medicine!
Working Towards the Gold
Monday, March 1st, 2010By: Chris Reilly, L.Ac
The Winter Olympics of 2010 are over. We the audience had the privelege and pleasure to observe as for hundreds of competitors, years of hard work and a lifetime of dreaming came down to a single event, movement or even a single hundredth of a second. It was a chance to view life compressed and miniaturized right before our eyes into an intense and emotionally explosive period of days.
We can all look back through our lives and see how a single event can leave an indelible mark on the path that our lives take for better or worse. In a complete life, it’s harder to hash out who gets first place, and what decides whose “run” is the finest and most beautiful. What defines a successful life? Thomas Edison supposedly said, in reference to having tried 700 designs that did not work as light bulbs, “I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work.”
Over the past year, I have seen friends and patients alike having to work creatively to get through some pretty tough times. Despite numerous hurdles and hardships, these individuals have found many ways that do work, and have stayed committed to their families, themselves, and their healthcare. In a time when resources are limited, and most integrative and complementary therapies are out of pocket, I just wanted to take the time to salute and thank the patients at the Center for Integrative Health and Healing who have made their own Olympic efforts to maintain their health and improve their well-being. We constantly try to achieve the “gold standard” in health care at the center, and if there are any ways that we can work to improve and meet your own standards for excellence, please feel free to let us know. You are our most valuable coaches and judges. Thank you for your support of our work.
Your Sleep Positions Could be Causing Your Pain
Monday, February 22nd, 2010By Sue Coughtry, LMT
Would you believe that a good night’s sleep can make you hurt the next day? Or make your chronic pain worse? It can. I see many people who wake up in more pain than when they went to sleep. There are a number of ways that your sleeping positions and habits can make you sore the next morning, or even make existing problems worse.
Here’s what can happen and what you can do to prevent it.
First, if you fall asleep tense, you’re going to wake up tense and often sore. Your body can’t let go of all that tension when you sleep. I recommend trying some progressive relaxation as you fall asleep. Start with your scalp (yes you do have muscles there) and relax the muscles there. Progress all the way down your body, spending a few minutes with each area. This really can make a huge difference in the way you feel when you wake up, and can also help you fall sleep faster as a bonus.
There are drawbacks to every sleeping position, so being aware of them can help you make adjustments. No one position is better – it’s all individual.
Sleeping on your stomach is very hard on your neck and shoulder muscles because your head has to be turned on its side. I recommend doing that as seldom as possible.
Sleeping on your side has some issues too. First, try not to curl your spine into the “fetal position”. Bending your legs up is fine but aim to keep the spine relatively straight and relaxed-that includes your neck. Next, look at how you hold your hands when you sleep when you’re sleeping on your side. If your hands are all curled up under your chin night after night you’re going to end up with pain from them eventually, or it will make existing pain worse. See how your knees and ankles line up – you may find that one knee pressing on the other can cause stress or pain in the knee joint. Same for your ankles. Your hips are wider than your knees so using a pillow under the top knee or between the knees can help prevent or ease knee, hip, and even back pain.
The major issue with lying flat on your back is that it can exacerbate low back pain. If that’s the case try sleeping with a pillow or soft bolster under your knees.
And, lastly, but importantly, is the subject of your pillows. The wrong pillow can cause neck pain and headaches. Big fat firm pillows are the main culprit. Soft thinner pillows are much better – especially the ones that can be scrunched up as needed. When you’re on your back, a soft pillow that can be scrunched to support the curve in your neck and yet be almost flat under your head, which is ideal. This keeps your neck and head aligned with the rest of your body. On your side you need more thickness to protect your bottom shoulder from collapsing too much. Again, stuff more of the pillow under your neck for that neck support. If you move around a lot as you sleep, the soft scrunchy pillows can easily be adjusted to any position. If you need the height of a big pillow for digestive or breathing issues, consider a foam incline that you can just put on the bed under the sheet and using just the one pillow as described above.
If you’re waking up with pain every morning it could be how you’re sleeping. See if any of these suggestions help. I’ve eased my own neck, shoulder, wrist and knee pain using these strategies. You can too. Let me know how it goes, perhaps I can make an individualized suggestion for you.
Stretching Has Heart Health Benefits
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010By Sue Coughtry, LMT
Here is a big incentive to keep stretching, or add it to your health regimen. I just learned from an article on MSNBC that a study has found that women who are more flexible have about 7% less arterial stiffness and lower blood pressure than women who are less flexible. When you improve your flexibility by stretching it helps expand the arteries and keeps them more pliable, which improves heart function. This suggests that the more flexible you are, the better your heart health is. Amazing! We tend to link cardiovascular exercise with increased heart health and stretching just helps the muscles. Now we know stretching helps the heart as well. I’ve known for a long time how important regular stretching is for preventing and eliminating pain, but I had no idea that it could do this – though it does make sense. If your body is stiff on the outside it’s most likely stiff on the inside, and that has to constrict organ function. This study shows its true with heart function. This is another incentive for me to work more diligently on improving my own flexibility! How about you?
Ahimsa for the Holidays
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009By Beth Netter, M.D.
The Sanskrit word ahimsa means non-injuring, non-harming, non-violence. It is kindness. In Holistic Mind-Body Medicine, ahimsa is the number one tenet. All thoughts, words, and actions must be based on ahimsa in order to be in the highest and greatest good for all.
Ahimsa helps us navigate the world of our mind and our relationships (and isn’t our primary relationship with our mind?) with loving-kindness. Ahimsa helps us act skillfully when our habits or our desires try to lead us into actions which would potentially create pain, fatigue, inflammation, or some sort of emotional, mental, or physical di-ease.
During this holiday season we have many relationships appear in our awareness asking for our attention, time, and action. These relationships could elicit questions/choices such as:
“How much time do I spend shopping at any one round?”
“How much money do I spend on gifts?”
“Which events do I attend and how late will I stay at them?”
“What foods do I eat?”
“Do I choose to drink alcohol and how much at any one time?”
“What do I choose to do with my ‘free’ time during the holidays so I will feel rested, less stressed, healthier come January 2nd, 2010?”
“Am I going to worry about or hold onto anger vis-à-vis friends/family members/other people i.e., in traffic or in a line at the store?”
By going within to your Inner Intuitive Wisdom and asking yourself: “Is this thought/ word/ action in the highest and greatest good at this moment? Is this thought/word/action in alignment with ahimsa?” you will be able to make clearer, more creative, and health-promoting choices.
Holistic Mind-Body Medicine helps people know how to do this with greater ease and skill. It offers in depth understandings of how to use the mind and the body to create the life, health and happiness each person longs for. For example in it you would be offered the following practice: Check in with and thentrust your Inner Wisdom. Acknowledge any thought/word/action which feels out of alignment at that moment and offer it up to the universe from where it came. And then Go Within to see what else may be possible that would be in alignment with ahimsa and give it a go.
Experiment with this loving and simple practice of ahimsa and see if it helps to make this holiday season one of greater peace, happiness, and health for you and those around you. And always remember: Ahimsa Begins at Home. Care for yourself and others will receive the benefits of this ahimsa as well.
Forgiveness
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009By Jennifer Enos, NP
Its not only disease of the physical body that debilitates us but diseases of the heart and soul that can rob us of our true vitality for life. Yes, the physical health of the body is important but what is the use if our hearts are closed to the beauty of each given moment. Our society seems to be stuck in a cycle of perpetual blame, shame and guilt.
I noticed there is not alot of dialogue on our blog posts on this subject….I would like to hear from others…where are you with forgiveness.. Is there someone in your life that you need to forgive? Is this someone yourself? If so, what will it take or what quality will you have to bring forth in yourself and be diligent about for this change to occur? I would love to hear from you.
Prevention as a Model for Healthcare Reform
Sunday, June 14th, 2009by: Ron Stram, MD
If you are reading this, you may have already embraced the concept of prevention as a model for healthcare reform since you find yourself on an Integrative Medicine website- prevention being the wholemark theory behind Integrative Medicine. You are not alone. More than 40 billion dollars are spent out of pocket in this country by those seeking to prevent an illness or abort its progression through complementary care. At least half of all people between the ages of 35 and 55 have used at least one complementary service this year alone. This is just a small portion of the 2.5 trillion dollars that the nation spends each year on healthcare-nearly one fifth of the American economy. It is cleary a time for change and fast. Hospitals, the American Medical Association, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical industries and our congressional leaders must all step up to the challenge and consider prevention as the necessary antidote for our healthcare ills. Why would prevention serve to be of such benefit? Simply put prevention is one step ahead of an illness both acute and chronic and can save enormous sums of money. Haven’t the insurance companies learned that they will pay much more for knee surgery and months of rehabilitation than they would for a series of effective acupuncture treatments? Haven’t they heard of the scientific benefits of such treatments? My experience as an Emergeny Physician and Regional Administrator allows me to observe firsthand what can happen to a a person who has not lived a life with preventional care. It is mind boggling to find an emergency room visitor of young to middle age come in with an acute cardiac condition which will now force the healthcare system to spend thousands and thousands of dollars both acutely and long term to help control a disease that may have been prevented all together by such simple choices as eating habits, exercise and smoking cessation. We all need to become stewards of change. Write to your congressional leaders and ask them to be on the side of prevention as we develop our nation’s healthcare reform.
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