May 20, 2012

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10 Quick Ways To Relax During A Busy Day

January 31, 2012 By 3 Comments
chicken with still attached head

This chicken is freakin'

Living in A Fast-Paced World

I’m sure you and your momma have overused this expression – “Sorry I’m late, I’ve been running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” It’s a common idiom in this culture, and maybe one of the most overused.

Think about it –  when is the last time you heard someone show up to work and say “Morning everyone, anyone else feeling like a sea turtle today?”  or “My goodness, what will I do with all this free time?!”

Time is a luxury many of us don’t have. But is this a good excuse for never letting yourself relax?

NO.

There are always things you can do to relax, even in the midst of a busy day. If you insist that you don’t have time to relax, well, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you’re telling yourself a big fat lie. That sound harsh? Sorry. Here are 10 suggestions on how to relax, even when you’re crunched for time.

10 Ways to Re-Attach the Head to the Chicken

1. Sigh it out. Take an inhalation that lasts for at least 4 seconds. Now sighhhhhh it out! (and I mean SIGH, like the kind you used to do in high school when one of your parents said “You’re wearing THAT to school?” ). Repeat at least 10 times.

2. Sing. I’m serious. I don’t care where you are. Bust it out. Favorite chorus from your favorite song? Do it. Everyone (“everyone”) is amused by people who sing even when they can’t – the popularity of karaoke bars is cold hard evidence. Break up the monotony and people will love you. At work? Start a round!

3. Do a round of cat/cow. Pretend you’re a cat. Pretend you’re a cow. Inhale/exhale with each move. Try to flow seamlessly between the two.

Marjariasana

Top four images: cat/cow

Cat and Cow are two common asanas that are often completed within the first 5 minutes of a yoga class; the Sanskrit name for this is Marjariasana. It’s a great spinal stretch that’s also energizing and… funny looking, but who cares what other people think, right?  People love Mick Jagger and Billy Preston – and they do some funny looking things, right?

4. Dance. Fine, I get it. Because people love the antics of Mick Jagger and Billy Preston does not mean they are going to love watching you do cat/cow on the floor at work. If that’s the case, then just get all Billy Preston. Instead of taking a smoke break, do this (I urge you to watch the whole video) :

5. Access your peripheral vision. Stop focusing so hard on what’s in front of you (computer, cell phone, burger). Take a second and relax your eyeballs, soften your focus, check out what is residing at the edges. Feels good, doesn’t it?

6. Access your peripheral audio. Close your eyes and take in the sound around you.  Pretend you are big giant ear in the middle of wherever you are – tune in to the subtle and overt noises of everyday life.

7. Do suggestion 5 and suggestion 6 at the same time. Do it for long enough, it starts to feel surreal. And relaxing. Accessing peripheral vision and peripheral hearing can be a powerful, calming combination. It’s like holding out a treat to the oft’ shy parasympathetic nervous system. You’re heart rate will slow. Your breathing will deepen. If someone says “Jimmy, what are you doing?” you can say “Adding more years to my life.”

8. Have sex. The consensual and enjoyable kind, of course. Or make it simple… and have it with yourself. Don’t do this at work.

9. Laugh. Make up a joke. Even bad jokes are funny. By the way,  I still need a punchline for this one: “A pianist and a flutist walk into a bar….”

10. Enjoy the food you are eating. Take a couple of deep breaths before you start eating. Take a break between bites. Be thankful for your food. Your stomach will feel like it’s been to a spa vacation, and it will reward you for your kindness.

More Suggestions On How to Relax

While I was writing this a bunch of other stuff came to mind, so here is the quick list: hang out with nice people who listen as well as they share, chop vegetables as if it were a meditation, remember that everybody poops – don’t hold it in, drink clean water out of glass, go to bed when you’re tired, pick one cloud and watch it, let your jaw relax, brush your hair, stop taking yourself so seriously, close your eyes and picture someone or something that makes you happy, bend in half and then slowly roll back up one vertebrae at a time, take a bath, doodle at a work meeting, give yourself a foot massage, make fart noises with your armpit, pretend your boss had no front teeth, balance on one leg while you’re waiting for your latte, clean your closet and donate what’s become excessive, get acupuncture or a massage, remind yourself of the reasons why you are deserving of love

Filed Under: Lifestyle, Self Healing Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Secret Life of Stress

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

stressed dude

I think about the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. A lot.

If you don’t know what these words mean – sympathetic and parasympathetic – here is a quick tutorial, and one that you’d benefit to remember. The autonomic nervous system is broken into two subsystems, the sympathetic and parasympathetic. When your sympathetic nervous system is engaged, you are in a mode of “fight or flight.” When your parasympathetic nervous system is engaged, you are in a mode of “rest and digest.” This is all part of your peripheral nervous system, which means, in short, that many of the physiological changes that happen are largely beyond your control.  But not fully out of your control. For a list of ways to assert some control over your own nervous system, check out this blog post: 10 Quick Ways To Relax During A Busy Day

Simply put, the two subsystems explain the physiological processes that are happening in your body when you’re stressed (sympathetic) and when you’re relaxed (parasympathetic).

Now, if you had to make a guess as to which of these subsystems we spend much of our time in, which would you pick?  But first, let me ask you this – are you texting, eating lunch, paying your credit card, reading this blog, and sprinting on the elliptical trainer all at once? If so, your answer should be a resounding “Sympathetic!” [Read more...]

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Getting Poked to Relieve Stress

January 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment

acupuncture modelAcupuncture Shown to Reduce Stress

Thank goodness for overachievers!  Ladan Eshkevari, Ph.D, an assistant professor at Georgetown’s School of Nursing and Health Studies (who also happens to be an acupuncturist/specialist in anesthesia) gave placebo-controlled props to the acupuncture world after heading a recent study that shows that acupuncture significantly reduces the levels of a specific protein in rats.

So what, you say? Well that protein is linked to chronic stress. And yes, in case you are wondering – we humans, though not as fuzzy (and not nearly as cute) release the same protein when under stress. So, one might deduce that acupuncture would reduce stress in humans, eh? Yes, I said “deduce” for all of you nit-pickers out there.

Got Stress?

Stress a part of your everyday life? Chronic stress is linked to lots of things you don’t want – inflammation, heart disease, depression, fatigue, pain…pretty much all the crappy things you can name in regards to feeling unwell.

And stress itself is tricky. It doesn’t have to be the kind of stress you might feel in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. It could be as simple as… well, read the following, and see if you can relate:

You pushed snooze twice this morning because you were up at 3am last night devouring Game of Thrones, the first book of the best fantasy series ever. In the shower, already running late, you realized that your partner used the last of the soap and didn’t replace it. You think about getting a new bar, but you ditch the thought because your running late. You grab the shampoo to wash your hair and when you squeeze it, the bottle farts at you. It’s empty. You shut off the water and dry off, annoyed. For no reason, you scowl at yourself in the mirror. Then, in a moment of childishness, you hide your partner’s toothbrush behind the plant in the bathroom. You don’t have time for breakfast. Or coffee. But you make yourself coffee anyway, every sphincter in your body constricting as you watch the second hand on the clock in the kitchen – it’s mocking you.  You race out of the house and the screen door slaps into your backside; you feel as if you’ve been karmically spanked for having a tantrum, and this sets you over the edge. You get into the car and slam the door shut, turn the key. A yellow warning light blinks on. Your daughter left the gas tank on empty. You premeditate murder. You speed to work, hoping that you don’t run out of gas. You say cuss words out loud while listening to a series of depressing news stories on NPR. Your heart is racing, your shoulders tighten, your neck starts to hurt. You begin worrying about your mother, what will happen when she can’t live on her own anymore? Suddenly, a rush of images scream through your head – your bank account, your unused gym membership, your heating bill, mortality. You get to work 15 minutes late, out of breath and spun-out. Your boss rolls in 15 minutes later ; she was running late too. If you would have known, you would have used that snooze button 4 more times. The work day sucks. It’s super busy and people are grouchy. You are glad there aren’t donuts because you’d probably eat a dozen. 5 o’clock rolls around and you are relieved that the day is done. It’ s (organic) pizza night at home, and Modern Family! Phew! You could use some good food, and a good laugh.

You run out of gas a block from work. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture, Medical News & Research, Self Healing Tagged With: , , , ,

Does Chinese Medicine Work?

January 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

yin yang blue and goldI’m asked this question at least once a week, and it’s become one of my favorite questions to answer. All I have to do is mention that I am an acupuncturist in a crowd of relatively “newish” people and one of three things happens:

1. A barrage of questions.

 “Does acupuncture really…work?” “Is Chinese Medicine real?” (this is normally followed by some mild pinking of the face, as the inquirer usually has the delayed realization that they are questioning the legitimacy of a practice to which I’ve devoted my life… but hey, I take no offense, and more importantly, it gives me a chance to dork out about what I love.

2. A bright eyed and bushy-tailed love.

“Oh my god, I love acupuncture! So, I have this neck pain…”

3. The Acupuncture- is- Quackery Roll of the Eyes, And I Will Remain True to This Notion No Matter What You Say, Therefore I’m Going To Ignore You and Help Myself to a Large Serving of BBQ’d mini-weiners…

Truth be told, these people often become patients of mine, but arrive in my office (initially) with the proclamation that they don’t believe in what I do. In other words, I sometimes get lucky enough to help this kind of person, but usually they are in chronic or acute pain for which they have not yet found relief, and at the urging of some family member, they begrudgingly come to see me. They almost always come back.  Dig?

Addendum (I forgot one):  This kind of scenario usually involves an older man who will look at me with amusement, call me “Hon”, and talk to me as if my head is a balloon filled with silly string: “Hey, Hon, can that ah-coo-punctsha make my wife bettah’ between the sheets?” Which, truth be told, is a question I usually interpret to mean: “Can acupuncture help with erectile dysfunction?” [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture, Medical News & Research Tagged With: , , , , ,

Entertaining Video About Chinese Medicine

January 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Acupuncturists and patients alike should watch this video – cute, informative, and funny!

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Warming Up from The Inside Out: A Simple and Delicious Tea

January 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

picture of snowmanCold Hands and Feet?

Hello, Portland, Maine! Hello, Winter! Hello, I Am So Flippin’ Cold You Could Replace My Nose with A Carrot!

I used to be one of those people – if I caught a chill, especially in the winter, I couldn’t shake it. I used to be confused by this – I don’t have a stationary job, I eat well, and I exercise regularly. Shouldn’t I be naturally toasty? Then the wonderful world of Chinese medicine explained it all, and provided me with some simple ways to start dealing with it.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always been on the colder side. When I was a teenager I resorted to taking an extra shower to warm up.  I’d blast scorching water on my back for 20 minutes until the whole bathroom was fogged with steam and my mother was outside the bathroom door threatening my life. But after my impromptu sauna, I’d exit the bathroom pink and warm and happy. Of course, there were a couple of glaring problems with this method of warming up –  it was inconvenient, it was shamefully wasteful, and it made my mom turn purple. But nothing else seemed to help, and if I didn’t warm up after catching a chill, I’d be a set of chattering teeth for the rest of the day.  My back would tense up, my jaw would clench involuntarily, and I would feel about as flexible as a chopstick. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture, Food as Medicine, Self Healing Tagged With: , , , , ,

Finding Reliable, Compassionate Care

January 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Guanyin

Guanyin. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin which means "Observing the Sounds (or Cries) of the World".

Reliable Healthcare

Sometimes, finding good health care and good health care practitioners is sadly challenging. It’s not unusual for a patient to burst into tears within the first 20 minutes of our initial appointment; when they realize that I am actually listening to their story, their frustration with their former experiences in the world of healthcare (and underlying fear) often rise to the surface.  Most of us have had a similar experience  -  if your symptoms don’t match a recognizable pattern, you get the raised eyebrow and and feeling that you’ve been… dismissed.  You get parting words of: “exercise more” or “lose some weight” or “see a therapist.”

Not that these aren’t good suggestions in their own right. But these suggestions have to be given in the right context, and with the right kind of support.  Telling an overweight patient with an addiction to sugar that their back pain will never go away until they drop a hundred pounds is about as helpful as telling someone that they have unusually large ears. And if you follow this up with a prescription narcotic for pain – well that’s about as good as suggesting that they hide those big ears with a hat. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Chinese Medicine/Acupuncture, Lifestyle, Other Treatment Modalities, Self Healing Tagged With: , , , , ,