Acupuncture Girl

De-stress: The 4-7-8 Relaxing Breath Exercise

This has been what I have relied on for the past couple days, my depression and anxiety is overwhelming me but this seems to help. Hope it helps you guys too.

Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.

Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.

Hold your breath for a count of seven.

Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count ofeight.

This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

Note that you always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth. The tip of your tongue stays in position the whole time. Exhalation takes twice as long as inhalation. The absolute time you spend on each phase is not important; the ratio of 4:7:8 is important. If you have trouble holding your breath, speed the exercise up but keep to the ratio of 4:7:8 for the three phases. With practice you can slow it all down and get used to inhaling and exhaling more and more deeply.

This exercise is a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. Unlike tranquilizing drugs, which are often effective when you first take them but then lose their power over time, this exercise is subtle when you first try it but gains in power with repetition and practice. Do it at least twice a day. You cannot do it too frequently. Do not do more than four breaths at one time for the first month of practice. Later, if you wish, you can extend it to eight breaths. If you feel a little lightheaded when you first breathe this way, do not be concerned; it will pass.

(Source: drweil.com)

PTSD: Breathing Exercises

yousetyourlimits:

My therapist emailed me this exercise and I liked how it was worded so I wanted to share it with all of you. Learning how to control your breathing is extremely important, it can help you so much during stressful events (ie: flashbacks, waking up from nightmares).

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anxiety.

I blame the solar flare activity for this collective ‘theme’ of complaints seen over the past week by one acupuncturist:

collectivecomplaints:

irritablility. stress. fear. dread. panic. shortness of breath. racing mind. palpitations.

watch out world: people are freaking out, and pissed off.

Bay Acupuncture: Acupuncture and Natural Treatment Options for Depression

Approximately 38 million Americans suffer with chronic anxiety or depression. One out of eight adults are currently taking antidepressant medications—that statistic alone is depressing. While these medications can offer support and benefit for certain individuals, there are indeed many people that do not respond well to this form of treatment. This can be due to a number of factors including:

Unpleasant side effects that outweigh the benefits of the medication

A developed tolerance to the medication that causes benefits to diminish

Excessive sensitivity to the concentrated, chemical nature of these medications

Depression that is not due to a biochemical imbalance, but is the result of a deeper unresolved spiritual issue

In my clinical practice, I have worked with a number of patients who were convinced that they had run out of options after finding medications and/or talk therapy to be ineffective for their needs. Many of these people try acupuncture as a last resort. Based on the experience I have in working with numerous patients who suffer from chronic depression, I truly believe that Chinese medicine, nutritional supplementation, meditation, and yoga can offer tremendously helpful support in healing the root causes of this epidemic. This approach is much more comprehensive and much less invasive to the brain than using SSRI medications. It accounts not only for biochemical factors, but also energetic, nutritional, and spiritual influences as well.

Acupuncture

Practiced for over 2,500 years, acupuncture is a branch of Chinese medicine that treats the energetic level of the human body and mind. As surprising as it is to most people, acupuncture is usually a profoundly relaxing experience that establishes a deep quality of restoration and balance to the central nervous system. Most people feel altered, dreamy, or sleepy after treatment. This feeling tends to stick around for a few hours after the treatment and becomes a more continuous experience with repetitive treatment. Acupuncture works by balancing the flow of Qi, or internal life force in the body.

Chinese Herbs

There are a number of Chinese herbal formulas and Western herbs and minerals that can work wonders for depression. I use a variety in my practice to treat this condition. Each individual’s condition is unique, so the herbal therapy is also customized.

Nutrition

One of the most important considerations here is to maintain stable blood sugar throughout the day. Many patients with depression suffer from hypoglycemia. They tend to eat refined carbohydrates and/or drink coffee to start the day, only to experience the typical ‘crash’ around 2-4pm. To keep the blood sugar stable, begin the day with a high protein breakfast such as eggs, turkey bacon, whole oats, or smoothies with whey or goat protein in them. Eat a low glycemic snack every 2-3 hours. Avoid coffee and other forms of caffeine. It can also be revealing to avoid allergenic foods such as wheat, gluten, pasteurized dairy, and refined sugar for one month to see if the depression significantly improves.

Meditation and Yoga

Many people find meditation and yoga to be their most powerful allies in healing depression. With regular practice of various breathing techniques and yoga postures, people often feel that they have much more control over the depression and that it need not run their life anymore. These practices can be direct gateways to the rest and restore mode of the nervous system. On a deeper level, they can help us forge a spiritual connection with our lives that instills an unshakable sense of trust and safety in the workings of the universe.

From a holistic perspective, our symptoms are never random. There is always a reason why they creep up. In the case of depression, it is helpful to disengage from our personal feelings about it and look at the bigger picture. What is the depression telling us about ourselves? Is it a warning sign that something is amiss and needs to be acknowledged or changed? In any regard, the practices mentioned here can offer a profound level of support in getting to the root of the problem and inducing a gentle course in a new direction of inspiration and insight.

Amie Brooke Nelson, MSOM is a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist and holistic nutritional therapist. She can be reached at (415) 860-7896.

Insomnia: Lifestyle Changes, not drugs

The ads for drugs that will help you sleep have become very commonly prescribed. While the side effects are disturbing, many people take them simply because they don’t know what else to do.

Sleep is essential for our health. During the time that we are sleeping, our bodies repair themselves and ‘stress’ response chemicals are dispersed. So many people run all day without recharging, and then get too little sleep. This affects your health sooner or later.

So sleep early, and sleep often. For a good night’s sleep, what I recommend is the following:

Establish a regular rhythm to your daily schedule, including going to bed and getting up around the same time every day (including weekends)
Go to bed no later than 11 pm; 10 pm is great, 9 pm is even better. Best practice is to go to bed when the sun sets, and get up when the sun rises. Our bodies did this for millennia prior to the invention of the electric light. It is only in the past 100 years, since electricity has become widespread, that we all have lost the natural rhythms. One of the impacts to us is all the chronic disease you see. Sleep deprivation many not cause chronic disease, but if you don’t allow your body to heal each night from the cumulative stress of the day, disease will definitely affect you.
Listen to your body about how much sleep you need. If you wake up tired, or if you are tired throughout the day, you probably need more sleep. Think about getting plenty of sleep just for one week, to see what a difference it makes.
Nap if you can, and if you are so inclined, especially if your schedule (or babies) prevent you from sleeping through the night.
Eliminate electronics (TV!) from your bedroom, and even though it is suggested in the article mentioned below, please do not sleep with your cell phone. We already have quite enough exposure to EMR (Electro-magnetic radiation).
Allow your bedroom to be as dark as possible, all night long. If you live in an area with a lot of light pollution, get better blinds or thicker curtains (or both). It will pay off in better sleep and better health. Turn off electronics that light up the room.
If you have to get up in the middle of the night, do not turn on the bright lights. This affects the endocrine system. Instead, use a dim light (think about ‘moonlight’ as a goal for any artificial brightness if you need to light your way to the bathroom or to let the dog out.
Eliminate caffeine from tea, coffee, sodas as much as possible; if you need a cup in the morning, so be it; but strive to reduce the amount of caffeine as much as possible if you are having sleep problems.
Read the warning labels on any medication you are taking. Is one of the side effects listed as something like, “Insomnia”? Explore a different medication with your doctor, if this is the case. If you can’t sleep, any other health challenge becomes worse.
Avoid taking narcotics, alcohol, and other sleep aids such as the widely advertised Lunesta.
Allow time for quiet activity before bed, such as reading a boring or soothing book. Don’t read something that makes your heart pound or that makes you angry (e.g., the newspaper!) if you have trouble sleeping.
Don’t watch TV before bed if you have trouble sleeping, especially not the news, or violent shows that stress out your adrenals and make your heart pound.
Start a practice such as Tai Chi, Yoga, meditation, or Qi Gong. Practice this anytime of day, or whenever insomnia strikes. Deep focused breathing can help.
Consider starting acupuncture, which can help balance the energy flow in the body and remove barriers to natural sleep. Keep in mind that you might need a period of regular acupuncture in combination with the advice listed here - it’s not a ‘one and done’ therapy.
Exercise is beneficial, but watch out for strenuous exercise right before bed.
Take a soothing, warm (but not too hot) bath in the evening.
Journal about your worries and cares to release them before you go to sleep. I recommend not stimulating your system with using an electronic device. Try, just this once, using paper and pen. You could also use this as a journal to record your dreams as soon as you awake. That’s a whole different, but worthwhile, adventure.
Forgive your family, your adversaries, your co-workers, and any others in your life if you find you are upset about these people when you are trying to fall asleep.

And finally, can’t sleep? There’s an app for that! (This last advice is tongue-in-cheek - instead of using these apps, try the tips listed above).

http://mashable.com/2010/06/25/iphone-better-sleep/