Tips for Healing When You Feel Stressed

Tips for Healing When You Feel Stressed

Regular selfcare is a practiced resource for when life gets overwhelming and stressful.

Stress can impact the body in many ways if it goes unaddressed. First and foremost, it is important to recognize stress, confront it, and then take steps to manage stress to stop it in its tracks. It’s time to discover techniques for healing and feeling better when experiencing periods of high stress.

Be Mindful

When it comes to stress reduction and healing your mindset matters. Negative thoughts are the fuel for stress. Being caught in a pattern of negative thinking can cloud your mind and prevent you from finding solutions and a path forward. Mindfulness can ground you and help you to find the clarity you need. If you tend to be a pessimistic thinker, getting into mindfulness can seem daunting at first. However, there are some simple things you can start doing to help you get started with being more mindful. One way is to set aside time to relax with a mindful session. Take ten minutes out of each day to be grateful for the opportunities in front of you without allowing negative thoughts to creep in and bring you down. Another way would be to write down what you are thankful for in a journal. Doing so can help you stay positive. Additionally, you can even learn about different types of therapy that can help you to be more mindful and reduce stress. Having effective strategies to rely on can help keep stress in check.

Unwind With Massage Therapy 

Why not pair mindful therapy with massage therapy? Bodywork can be very relaxing and help you to feel better. Put stress behind you and unwind with a massage. Trying something like cupping can be worthwhile and not only helps you to relax but has benefits for the body as well such as improving circulation. Massage can help you be more in tune with your body overall, and help your muscles relax. For instance, a massage is an excellent form of self-care. It allows you to dedicate time solely to your wellness and helps you to slow down and rest. It is important to have relaxing activities built into your schedule which can help you to value your health and mental wellness. 

Make a Change

Often stress is caused by lifestyle factors. For instance, a lack of work-life balance, toxic relationships, and even negative self-talk just to name a few. Certain lifestyle factors can keep stress high and never-ending. Don’t be afraid to make a lifestyle change that can help lower your stress levels. For instance, address relationships that may not be healthy, set boundaries within your personal and professional life, try something new, and take steps to replace unhealthy habits with positive ones. Making a change may be difficult at first, but start by taking little steps and it will be easier to make the transition into your new routine. For example, some changes could be 

• Getting to bed earlier

• Embracing positive self-talk

• Striving to be more organized

• Trying mindful eating 

Get Relief With Movement

Strive to move your body each day to form a healthy habit that will help you feel better. 

• Take a walking in the morning even if it’s around the block a couple of times

• Incorporate tai chi movements (balance, movement and breathing)

• Use music that makes you happy and dance like no one is watching!

According to a study, “regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults.” Therefore, do your best to work and move your muscles to stay physically and emotionally healthy. You may wonder where to begin or how to get started with exercise, but there are some great activities you can try that don’t involve a dedicated trip to the gym. For instance, you can go for a power walk to get your heart pumping, or even try doing calisthenics workouts in your backyard or a nearby park. Whatever you choose to do, make exercising fun, and pick something that resonates with you. 

Start your journey to healing today. Don’t flounder and suffer from built-up stress and pressure. Get started with managing your stress by trying one of these tips. Once you master one, you can build upon your skills to help your mind and body feel better.

Fibromyalgia and Sleep

According to  the CDC, approximately 4 million or 2-6% of adults are affected by fibromyalgia. FIbromyalgia disproportionately affects women, making up 90% of the cases. 

How is  fibromyalgia diagnosed? 

Until recently fibromyalgia was almost impossible to “diagnose”, because it is represented by pain all over the body and can mimic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and lyme. It is a pain condition that can also accompany other illnesses which makes the diagnosing complicated. The pain experience can range from severe to diffuse.

How it is diagnosed is usually by excluding other illnesses that have more definitive test confirmations. Research now shows that there are markers in the blood that they believe can help identify fibromyalgia and other rheumatic conditions. What we also know is that there are specific tender points also known as trigger points that are present in pairs on both sides of the body.  These tender points were considered key to having a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

What we do know about fibromyalgia is that it is an inflammation of the connective tissue as well as the muscle tissue. For some people suffering from fibromyalgia they may experience more connective tissue pain versus muscle pain.

Studies show that psychological stress plays a role in pain and is linked with fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis. In addition hormonal fluctuations are associated with pain severity with fibromyalgia and can explain why women are more affected with pain conditions.

Treating fibromyalgia holistically without opioids:

Cultivating a balanced lifestyle, managing stress and stress hormones can help prevent and mitigate pain flare ups. 

Acupuncture is one of the best ways to treat patients with fibromyalgia and studies show that they do feel better when getting treated. Patients with fibromyalgia often experience additional symptoms such  poor sleep, fatigue and mental fogginess. Their symptoms or flair ups are often after stressful events or taking on too much. Acupuncture can:

• Help to reset the nervous system and release endorphins, “feel good” chemicals. 

• It improves blood circulation and lymph flow so that inflammations can be

• Improves quality of sleep 

• Relieves pain

• Relieves stress

• Improves immune function

Acupressure: Instead of needling you can press points that will help to relieve pain. Studies show that this is effective for fibromyalgia pain and can be part of self treatment.

Yoga or Tai Chi: gentle movement and breathing helps to strengthen the mind body connection. 

Meditation: Helps strengthen the mind body connections and relieve stress

Massage therapy: gentle massage can help with muscle tension and relieve stress, it also stimulates the rest and digest states.

Essential oils: Lavender is one of the most effective essential oils for relaxation and for relieving pain. It is also effective for relieving anxiety.

Avoiding sugar and junk food: sugar is acidic and causes inflammation, junk food is processed with lots of chemicals and that is harder for the body to process and can cause drop in high and low energy and fuzzy thinking. Make sure you can eat regularly and clean and adopt an anti-inflammatory diet, so that the body is supported and you don’t go for the sugar. 

Avoiding gluten: at least 80% of the population has sensitivity to gluten. This can cause systemic inflammation in the body.

Research shows Turmeric and Ashwagandha relieve inflammation in arthritis, joint pain and rheumatoid arthritis.

#HealthCare #Sleep #Fibromyalgia #Opioid #PainManagement #SleepDisorder #ChronicPain #Health #ChronicCondition #Wellness #SleepExperts #HealthAndWellness #HealthAndMedical #Sleeptech #ChronicCareManagement #Sleepscience #DivisionOfPainMedicine #SleepDisorders #FibromyalgiaPain #SpecialtySleepProducts #PainManagementStrategies #SleepTechnology #SleepSpecialist #SleepTreatment #SleepProfessional #CertifiedSleepScienceCoach #BoardCertifiedSleepSpecialist #TopSleepSpecialist #MedicationSafety #InterventionalPainMedicine... #PainMedicine #Sleeptips #SleepPhysicians #SleepResearchSociety #Medications #PainManagementPhysician #Sleepexpert #Sleeppsychologist #ChronicPainManagement #ChronicConditions #SleepResearcher #SleepPhysiology #InterventionalPainMedicine... #Sleeptherapy #ChronicCare #InternationalSleepSpecialist #AcutePainManagement #DrugFreePainManagement #depression

Cupping: How it Works and Its Health Benefits

Cupping is one of the oldest healing methods used in traditional Chinese medicine. Records show cupping used in China and Egypt as early as 1,500 BC. Cupping is also considered part of folk medicine in many cultures used to treat simple illnesses. By tracing the trade routes along the “Silk road” where the exchange of silk, teas, spices and medicines were part of the expanded shared knowledge into the West.

Fascination of Eastern Asian healing arts like Gua Sha, Cupping, Martial arts, foods and meditation are culturally appropriated by Tik Tok influencers to gain a following. The unfortunate consequence is the public is exposed to misinformation because the majority of Tik Tokers have no training in Chinese Medicine.

Cupping is part of Traditional Chinese medicine and is a therapy used along with acupuncture and moxibustion and bodywork treatments.   It can be used as a standalone treatment. 

This healing method uses glass cups to create suction on the skin surface, to “pull illness out” and is referred to as báguàn or “pulling up jars”. Similar to another healing method called “gua sha” literally means to “scrape away disease”.  Glass or Bamboo cups are also used for this method with fire to remove the air from inside the cup and is referred to as “dry cupping

Cupping promotes the movement of Qi and Blood and to remove stagnation so that health is restored and is based on the foundational principle of Chinese medicine “where there is pain you will find a blockage of Qi and Blood, where there is free flow of Qi and Blood there is no pain”.

The suction created by the cupping draws blood towards the surface skin layer improving blood flow. The pressure differentiation inside the cup pulls on the fascia (connective tissue surrounding the muscles) loosening muscles and adhesions that restrict movement and normal function. 

This is an excellent tool for recovery from injury such as back and neck strain and shoulder girdle and rotator cuff. (As seen used during the Olympics with Michael Phelps). Cupping has now been adopted by PTs and other physical medicine practitioners because of its efficacy.

Gliding cupping is when a lubricant is applied to the area to be treated the cups can glide across the skin surface creating more circulation and lymph flow. The use of a herbal liniment will ease the pinching sensation from the suction and facilitate the movement on the skin surface. The result is like a deep tissue massage.

Depending on the condition being treated, the cups are left in place from 5 to 10 minutes.

If it is too strong a suction the cupping can be painful and damage tissue and blood vessels below the surface and with too little suction the cups will fall off.  There are also cups now that have a suction gun where it is easier to regulate the suction.

The treatment will leave circular marks that resemble bruises on the skin for several days or up to a week that are superficial; cupping should not hurt the recipient. If the marks are there for a long time it is an indication that there is poor circulation. The aim is not to create dark marks or cause harm.

Another cupping technique is called “wet cupping”, that involves using a lancet to puncture the skin before placing the cups.  A small amount of blood will come into the cup.  This is a form of “blood-letting”. To be clear, the concept of bloodletting in Chinese Medicine is to extract toxins and heat by allowing a small amount of blood to be released. The use of bloodletting techniques should only be performed by licensed professionals that are extensively trained in Chinese medicine and are aware of the risks of handling body fluids. (blood)   

Cupping has many health benefits such as relieving pain, improving immune function, reducing inflammation, digestion and many more.

The scientific theory of why cupping may work is that cupping causes local inflammation that triggers the immune system to produce cytokines, small proteins that enhance communication between cells and help to modulate the immune response.

it can help relieve the stiffness of muscles and calm the nervous system.

Research indicates cupping therapy effects are linked with mechanism of action theories such as pain gate theory and activation of the immune system.  

 #HealthCare #PhysicalTherapy #Physician #TraditionalChineseMedicine #Health #AmericanPhysicalTherapyAss... #CuppingTherapy #DoctorOfPhysicalTherapy #HealthAndFitness #Wellness #PhysiciansGroup #HealthAndMedicine #HealthAndTechnology #HealthAndWellness #HolisticHealth #HolisticMedicine #PhysiciansCare #HealthAndMedical #ChineseMedicine #Physicaltherapist #Physiotherapy #Recovery #HolisticHealthCoach #FamilyPhysician #WholisticHealth #Naturalhealth #SeniorPhysician #HolisticHealing #LicensedPhysicalTherapist #WomanPhysicians #Naturalhealthcaresolutions

The Spiritual Meaning of the Tiger in Chinese Astrology

The Tiger is one of the two most powerful animals in Chinese mythology and Astrology/ Zodiac.

Tiger and her cub. A tiger mom is a fierce protector of her children.

#tigermom

Mythology and folklore recognizes the majestic tiger as the King of the beasts in the Earth Kingdom. While the Tiger is the ruler on Earth the Dragon is ruler of the sky and heavens. The Dragon is the other most powerful creature in Chinese mythology and astrology.

Considered a ruler, symbolizing power, big hearted, tenacity, strength. It is a great protector scaring away evil spirits and devouring evil “men”.

Stripes on the head of a Tiger look like the Chinese character for King 王 Wáng. 

The Tiger is also a form of Kung fu/Martial arts that uses techniques such as fists and tiger claws grappling and pouncing movements as part of its style. It is channeling the spirit energy of the Tiger. 

The Tiger is also used to describe certain herbal formulas such as White Tiger Decoction called Bai Hu Tang or Five-Tiger Decoction Wu Hu Tang, but do not contain any Tiger parts. It describes the strength of the formula to clear evil Qi of illness that is acute high fever, sweating and irritability.

Tiger bone was an ingredient used in certain herbal formulas for rheumatoid arthritis and other deep and chronic joint diseases. Because Tigers are a protected animal, scientists have developed a bionic tiger bone powder to ethically study its healing properties. Bionic tiger bone powder shows it to be anti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-osteoporotic. 

Astrology is one of eight branches of 8 Chinese Medicine: Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Massage, Martial Arts/Exercise, Food, Meditation, Feng Shui & Astrology.  Find out your Chinese Zodiac here.

Each zodiac sign has Yin & Yang aspects, organ and meridian associations as well as connection to 5 elements.

The Tiger is one of the 12 animal signs of the Chinese zodiac. 

Chinese Zodiac: is composed of 12 animal Zodiacs that follow a lunar calendar year in  a 12 year cycle, that are paired with one of the 5 elements (Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire). The 12 year cycle follows Jupiter’s orbit around the sun which takes about 11.8 years. 

As each lunar year arrives there  will be an elemental cycle that rotates, 5 cycles of 12 = 60 years and then the cycle begins again for each sign.

This year 2022 is the element of Water and the Zodiac sign is Tiger, therefore it is a Water Tiger Year.  

Water is the element of Yin. Water is a powerful force in nature that can be destructive as floods and tidal waves and nurtures all of life. It has great transformative properties and can take the form of solid, liquid and gas allowing it to adapt and move. 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water and the human body is over 60% water, water is part of our physical and biological nature. 

Water represents Yin, the dark, cool and feminine, stillness.  In Chinese medicine the water element is related to the Bladder and Kidney (Organ & Meridian system).  

Predictions for the New Year “Be Like Water”, go with the flow, don’t fight against the currents, because it will drain your kidney essence and  life force “Qi”.

The “Qi” of the Kidney essence is called Jing. Over work and stress drains Kidney essence , this is akin to the adrenals that sit on top of the kidneys. 

Tiger Zodiac character: is considered more Yang  than Yin. Courageous, bold and action oriented. Ready to leap into action and take control of a situation. They are goal oriented and single minded with getting what they want.  Once they pounce and spring into action, it can be a battle till the end flying fur,  teeth and claws all in! 

Tiger’s are very protective of their children, hence the term “Tiger Mom” she will advocate and demand excellence  all around, this is not always a great quality.

Too much of Tiger energy can be draining and lead to adrenal exhaustion.  

This year It will be important to balance the impetuous nature and Yang energy of the Tiger with the Yin of Water. This is especially important  when making big decisions about life and career. Look before leaping into a turbulent “sea”. 

If you would like to learn more about your Health Focus for 2022 according to the Chinese New Year of the Tiger, you can take this quiz: 
#chineseastrology #yearofthetiger #chinesezodiac #zodiacpredictions #newyearpredictions #lunaryear #startalk

How Can Someone with Mild COvid-19 Symptoms Best Recover?

Best practices for getting over coronavirus symptoms:

• Health focused mindset: It is important to think about what you can do everyday to support your mind and body. Making sure to be hydrated, eating nutritious foods, getting sleep, limiting electronics, and visualizing yourself getting better and when you will be healthy and strong. Do not focus on the  negativity, watching too much of the news is a point of stress and stress is not your friend. 

• Time and expectation: Give yourself the time to heal, there is often an attitude that we have to recover fast, get back to work and be productive. When we do this, we put strain on ourselves and diminish our life force (qi).

• Sleep: One of the best ways to boost immunity is to get quality sleep. It is during sleep that we are able to regenerate and heal. We also produce cytokines, a  protein that targets infection and inflammation, effectively creating an immune response. Long term  sleep problems are associated with many chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and pain. 

• Drink Tea as well as water! Both green and black teas (Camellia Sinensis family) have shown to have natural anit-microbial and antiviral properties . The antioxidants in black help prevent stomach cancers and have a direct bactericidal effect against Streptococcus mutans. The throat is the gateway for bacteria and viruses to enter the body so Tea is what the doctor ordered.

• Ginger, tumeric and Raw honey have known antioxidant and antibacterial properties that boost the immune system as well as help maintain good digestion.

• Taking Probiotics and Pre-biotics to help keep your digestion and immune system in balance. Studies show microbes in the gut play a role in immune and autoimmune homeostasis.The gut is also important for emotional resilience.There is a brain gut connection with over 90% of serotonin being produced in the digestive tract. 

Traditional Chinese Medicine: herbs, acupuncture, bodywork and moxibustion. The methods used by China to contain the coronavirus included TCM. Work with a practitioner to help with herbal remedies and acupuncture or acupressure that can help you with prevention, treatment and recovery. 

• Food is medicine: your body is in a tremendous battle and it is important to replenish nutrients and help stabilize your body so you don’t get hit with another illness. Incorporate superfoods into your diet. Superfoods such as dark vegetables, mushrooms, berries, avocado, nuts and seeds and more. These are also nutrient dense and have health benefits beyond their nutrients.

• Rice Congee: Traditional Chinese Medicine home remedy. This is a type of diluted porridge made from rice. It is made by cooking 1 part rice to 6 to  8 parts of water. The rice is cooked by bringing to a boil then simmer until it disintegrates and you have a thin gruel, soup or porridge approximately 2-4 hours. This is a base congee, in which you can add a hard boiled egg or pickled vegetables and even some herbs like astragalus for more immune boosting and medicinal purposes.

  • By cooking the rice for a long time it is easy to digest after your body has been battling the virus and gives your body nutrition to absorb and speed recovery. 

• Music: Studies show classical music had an effect of modulating the immune response by increasing the activity of natural killer cells, lymphocytes and interferon-γ. 

• Gratitude: it is important to be grateful that you are in the recovery stage and not fall into a depressive mode. Gratitude is also shown to support immune function.

  • Connection: Loneliness is on the rise and with isolation your mental health is already challenged, it is important to know you are not alone. If you are sick with Covid-19 it can be a life or death situation so connect with trusted people and let them know that you are sick, create a buddy system. Allow them to help you, and whether it be sending groceries or walking your dog. 

    #healing #runnynose #coldflu #pediatricmedicine #homeremedies #lonelinesscure #healthyholiday #healthpractices #chickensoup