By: Rebecca Rice, L.AC
Change, whether it is physical through location or state of health, emotional, mental, job related, etc., can challenge our sense of stability and connectedness. As a simple notion, change is considered growth by some and can be interpreted in a negative perspective as well. All in all change is a catalyst for the ebb and flow of life, an instrument in the natural cycle of creation and destruction.
In Chinese theory we look to the yin aspect to ground us, create stability and placidity. And in the presence of change (yang aspect) this is an exaggerated necessity. One of the goals of Chinese medicine is to create a balance of yin (grounded-ness/non-changing) and yang (motion/change). The goal is not to remove one aspect for the benefit of the other.
A simple thing to do when having periods of change, whether it is dramatic or ordinary, is to do some grounding exercises for 5-10 minutes/day. To do this, sit in a chair with your feet on the floor, back straight, hands resting on your thighs. Close your eyes, sit without fidgeting or distractions, breathe into the lungs so that you can expand your diaphragm to push your belly out slightly, exhale all the air out, and continue breathing this way. Then imagine roots coming out of the bottoms of your feet and connecting you to the earth….this is home…
Archive for the ‘Stress Management’ Category
The Value of Home
Tuesday, July 6th, 2010Sleeping Positions and Pain- Part 2
Sunday, June 27th, 2010By Sue Coughtry, LMT
I have heard from a number of people since I wrote my first blog about this on how hard it is to change from being a stomach sleeper to being comfortable in any other position, even though sleeping on their stomach causes pain. I understand because I was a stomach-sleeper till I was in my teens. Then my neck cramped up big time and I couldn’t do that any more. It was a tough transition but I had no choice and eventually succeeded.
I heard a great idea from a client the other day and wanted to pas it on. This client has been able to remain comfortable sleeping on her stomach her entire life, but she now uses a pillow under her stomach for even greater comfort. I tried that last night and it actually helps. You can have the pillow in whatever position is most comfortable for you – just under your stomach or under your chest and stomach. What it does is let your spine rest in a more natural curve. Your face is always facing to the side and I do feel you need part of another pillow under just the back of your head so that your face is tilting down towards the mattress as opposed to lying flat to the side. That relieves some of the stress off your neck. Like I said – I tried this and it wasn’t bad. I didn’t sleep that way but it was pretty comfortable – lots more so that just lying flat.
For you stomach sleepers in pain out there, give this a try. Sleeping on your stomach is still the most challenging position for comfort but this may help some of you.
Qi Gong for Spring
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010By: Chris Reilly, L.AC
Qi gong is roughly translated as “skill and understanding of qi through practice and work.” Qi itself is difficult to define, but can be thought of as the movement of life: from the movement of breath, to kissing a child goodnight. It is both esoteric and obvious. In the narrow understanding of the term, qi gong refers specifically to movements, breath and intent that move and cultivate our vitality. In traditional qi gong, human beings are to follow the greater movements of nature, to keep in tune with the natural order of things and gain insight into the best way to live. We are now moving into a time of expansion and upward growth, the Spring. Our physical and emotional movement should reach up and out to meet the world around us to explore and make new connections.
Getting into the Spirit of Spring
Try the following simple exercise, and see if it helps get you get into the spirit of Spring. Dressed appropriately for the weather, stand with feet shoulder width apart and knees bent in front of a tree that is beginning to blossom new leaves. Hold your palms open and relaxed towards a few inches from the tree with your elbows bent at about 130 degrees (180 degrees would be a straight line). Breathe by expanding and flattening your abdomen, and feel the breath moving between your feet and the earth, becoming aware of the openness between you and the deep earth. Once you are grounded in this way, extend your awareness to the tree. Become aware of the presence of life in and around the tree, and allow yourself to explore it from root to branch. Let your mind’s eye travel through it. Meditating with a tree is a very cleansing practice, and can go to great lengths to cleanse the smudges and tangles in our own vitality, but is also a way to learn from our environment how to be rooted, and how a natural life moves. When you close the meditation, withdraw yourself slowly and respectfully, returning your focus to your own breath and abdomen until it is firmly fixed there.
You may become a little more serious about conservation and recycling after this sort of experience. As your awareness develops, take a walk through the ancient mountains of New York, and get ready for a whole new experience of nature! Next, pat yourself on the back: you are now an official tree hugger!
Many of my clients have already been taught qi gong exercises to help in their own effort to be well. If it’s an area you would like to explore, I’m happy to share what I know and work to develop exercises that would be of benefit to you.
The Essence of the Healing Power of Reiki
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010By Sue Coughtry, LMT, Reiki Master /Teacher
I found a wonderful article about Reiki in the May 2010 issue of Body and Soul magazine (Touch of Grace by Lynn Darling, page 72-75). It very poignantly describes the anger that a woman experiences as she undergoes radiation treatment for her breast cancer. Her descriptions are so very personal and vivid. She is not a woman who puts much faith in alternative therapies but decides to see if Reiki can help her release some of her anger. She describes what she experiences during her first Reiki session, and how it really did allow her to let the anger go, finding more peace and freedom and comfort than she had felt in a long time. In her words “whatever Reiki is, and whether or not, by any quantifiable measure, it works, it works for me.” I found the article to be very moving. It shows how taking a chance and trying something new in times of great challenges can give you such gifts and tools to help you on your way. A sidebar in this article also explains that New York’s Beth Israel Medical Center has “recently launched a program that includes Reiki as one of 5 interventions used to create an optimal healing environment on the cancer floor”. Reiki is becoming more accepted and used by major medical centers all the time. I have been working with Reiki for 14 years and can attest to its ability to bring peace and comfort, to relieve pain and stress, and to encourage healing, as well as to maintain your health. It is a wonderful tool to explore, and you can learn to use it for yourself very easily. Reiki started me, many years ago, on my path to healing myself to, now, helping others to find their own healing through working at the Center. It is a powerful and profound tool of healing and transformation, and yet is so simple. If you so desire, see where it can take you.
Why Yoga Makes You Feel Better
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010By Jim Whiting, Kripalu Yoga Instructor
Everyone knows stretching and exercise are healthy ways to feel better and to get into shape. After a yoga class you feel better than when you came. This is because of something called the parasympathetic nervous system. When we do yoga, we activate the parasympathetic nervous system through stretching and breathing. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for slowing down our bodies through muscle relaxation, calming the mind, and results in better digestion, better immunity, lower blood pressure and lower heart rate.
While vigorous yoga is great for stretching the muscles, it doesn’t do much for engaging the parasympathetic nervous system. Holding postures longer, slow focused breaths, breathing into stretches and making breathing as important apart of your yoga practice as the movement, will ensure you activate the parasympathetic nervous system.
All of the Kripalu yoga classes offered here at the Center for Integrative Health and Healing focus on breathing and breathing techniques to engage the parasympathetic nervous system and bring us into a deeper place of healing.
So, the next time you leave a yoga class feeling so much better, thank your parasympathetic nervous system.
Namaste.
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.
Meditation Promotes Health and Well-being for Physicians and for You
Sunday, October 11th, 2009By Beth Netter, M.D.
Holistic Physician specializing in Mind-Body Medicine
A new study out of the University of Rochester shows that meditation and the opportunity to share emotions in a non judgmental way helps decrease physician stress while enhancing an experience of connectedness between physician and patient. The study, recently published in JAMA (9/23/09) was authored by a group led by Michael Krasner, M.D. They found that, with the meditation practices, physicians experienced a greater sense of well-being and satisfaction with their work.
Meditation, focused breathing, and the teachings which help one train the mind to be present with what is and those practices which help us deal skillfully with relationships and choices from a deep Inner Wisdom, are invaluable. Without any negative side effects, and in no way obstructing a person’s current medical regimen, these practices help one slowly “heal” those limitations which prevent us from attaining the health, happiness, and lives we desire.
Physicians as well as other healthcare practitioners often experience intense levels of stress which then lead to mental and emotional dis-ease, physical disease, difficulties in relationships, marital discord, feelings of resentment and inadequacy, and significant burnout and dissatisfaction with life. The stresses include time pressures, internal and external pressures to “be perfect” or to “never make a mistake”, and financial pressures due to overwhelming student loan payments. With training in practices such as meditation, physicians will not only feel better and be able to connect with their patients in a more heart-centered and connected way, but they will be able to then pass on these non-invasive yet powerfully health-supporting skills to their patients.
I have experienced such results not only personally but with the patients I work with using these holistic mind-body medicine practices here at The Center for Integrative Health and Healing. After even one appointment patients have reported decreased blood pressure, an ability to fall asleep and sleep well for the first time in years, more energy and less fatigue, and a greater ability to handle previously stress-inducing situations and relationships. With this mind-body medicine a person’s immune system naturally strengthens and their ability to make self-nourishing choices, from a kind and empowered inner knowing, grows. This boosts self-confidence, creativity, and energy. It truly ignites whole health.
And now the world of medicine is substantiating what has been known for thousands of years: Meditation Heals. To find out more about what is offered at The Center check out our Mind-Body Medicine webpage.
And join Jim Whiting, our Kripalu yoga instructor, and myself for our free meditation Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm here at The Center for Integrative Health and Healing.
Where Are You in Creating Your Life?
Monday, August 17th, 2009By: Jennifer Enos, NP
The Internet….a blessing and a curse! What I have noticed recently is people having symptoms research the internet and then find a diagnosis that could “possibly” be what is going on with them. This is a tricky way of operating. We are approaching a very important time in history. This point will become more apparent as time goes on. Most of the consciousness of human beings is aligned with the mass hysteria of illusion. It is challenging for us to not only recognize where we are in this paradigm consiously but to actually create objectivity and detachment to shift this in our own lives.
Our mind is “a terrible thing to waste” is a profound statement. So, are we using our mind to look for problems and create more negative situations or are we using our minds to create health, peace and abundance. This is not to minimize physical symptoms that may be occuring….it is important to have things evaluated and diagnosed to put the mind at rest, but first what would be to our benefit is to align ourselves spiritually; then the rest will reveal itself. We need to learn to trust that our body has an innate wisdom to heal, an extraordinary capacity beyond our imagination; all we need to do is keep breaking down the inner walls that prevent us from experiencing that now.
It is stated in different philosophies, that we need to seek teachings, a community of like minded individuals and to surround ourselves with people or an individual who is further along this path to “pull us forward into a postive future.” Where are you in the process? Are there qualities that you can bring forth within yourself that will bring forth a different experience for yourself? Is there something that you are holding back or that you could bring forward? Keep asking…….it is of utmost importance to learn the art of discernment between where we are in creating our life or where we are we at the effect. If not now, when?
Facing Challenging Times: Being in the World
Saturday, June 6th, 2009By: Jennifer Adams, NP
With the financial situation at a crisis, health problems on the rise and the experience of time speeding up, most of us are living in a frenzied environment. We often find ourselves at the end of the day exhausted and overwhelmed only to get up the next day to the same thing. In many circles there is a saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again and expecting different results.” I am going to assert that this insanity we keep creating is less about what we DO and more about what we THINK, which brings forth who or how we are BEING in the world.
We often so quickly want to fix a situation by DOING something- but the true test comes if we can sit with ourselves long enough to watch it pass and possibly reshape or remold us on the inside. If we are able to master this, then the outside world will accommodate according to where we are internally.
Be A Witness in the Moment
The challenge for most of us is to be able to sit with our pain, sit with our happiness, sit with all of it and learn to simply be a witness to all the beauty and the burden that life has to offer us rather than being the target of every incoming missile that heads our way. It does not mean that we will not have challenges that we need to overcome, but the challenges will be more a reflection of cultivating faith in the joy and gratitude for what we do have in our lives on a moment to moment basis. Then the situations that appear “negative” will only be a test for where we are in our process of learning and growing and developing as spiritual beings on this earth.
There are many ways to cultivate this. One of course is meditation. Another would be prayer. And yet another is just being mindful. Many tools can be used. Support groups, church, journaling, index cards with positive reminders on them. The reminders should help us remember how magnificent we really are. I believe we can never truly get enough of these kind of reminders, offsetting a “de-programming” of the negative belief that so many of us have bought into that lead us to thinking, “ if only I had a different body, different career, different husband, different family then I would be OK”. What about the idea that we are OK now, in this moment and there is nothing to do other than grow this truth deeper and deeper within ourselves, helping us to find our inner strength and wisdom.
There is a paradigm shift taking place in our world today. I would encourage all of us to be a part of the solution and play a bigger game than what we have ever played. Love ourselves more, embrace ourselves more, give more and more.
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