During this last quarter of the year time seems to speed up and the world seems to get busier. It’s a good time for self-care, mindfulness, and gratitude practices.
Focusing on gratitude can uplift your mindset and foster feelings of connection. Studies link gratitude to enhanced physical health and sense of well-being. Research shows that it improves sleep, lowers blood pressure, and reduces inflammation. Practicing gratitude is a way to calm the nervous system and can help us find balance during challenging times. Read about the research!
I know a gratitude practice isn’t a fit for everyone - as always you have to know yourself, your tools, and how and when to apply which tool! If it stresses you out or takes you in an unhealthy direction - skip it!!! There are so many good practices and ways of being, why waste time on something that doesn’t work for you. Keep exploring, learning, and growing - find the practices that make you feel more present and more like your authentic self.
BUT if you would like to try a gratitude practice here are some steps you can take:
A gratitude practice is a way to be more appreciative of the good things in your life. It can include a lot of different techniques. Pick one or two and incorporate them into your day to day. It takes repetition over time to make any kind of lasting change - so stick to it with an eye toward how it impacts you over time.
Journaling: Writing down things you're grateful for, such as people, places, objects, memories, or events
Expressing gratitude: Telling someone you're grateful for them, or writing them a letter
Doing a kindness: Doing a favor for someone you're grateful for, or volunteering
Noticing positive moments: Paying attention to positive things that happen during the day, or savoring your experiences
Practicing gratitude first thing in the morning or before bed: Starting your day or ending your day by thinking about what you're thankful for
Focusing on your breath: Taking a few moments to focus on your breathing and being grateful for the ability to breathe
Environmental Allergies? Strengthen Your Wei Qi!
If you suffer with allergies or get sick easily, Traditional Chinese Medicine has a lot to offer you. According to TCM, Wei Qi is your initial defense against invading pathogens much like your immune system in western physiology. In fact, the strength of your immune system depends on the strength of your Wei Qi. When your Wei Qi is strong, your body can respond effectively to pathogens. When Wei Qi is deficient, you are more vulnerable to illnesses like colds, allergies, asthma, and skin problems.
Located on the outer shin just below the knee, the acupuncture point called Zusanli (ST36) has been used for a few thousand years to tonify Wei QI and boost resistance to illness. Modern research at Hubei University of Chinese Medicine shows that acupuncture at ST36 benefits the immune system, enhances serum interferon-γ levels, and stimulates the production of helper T cells and cytokines.
Herbs like ling zhi (reishi mushroom), dong chong xia cao (cordyseps), and huang qi (astragalus) are impressive immune boosters, and Yu Ping Feng San (our go to formula for supporting the immune system) has a very real superpower - it has a bi-directional immune-modulatory effect so it can stimulate immune activity when needed but can also suppress the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in conditions of chronic inflammation.
Self-care practices to support your Wei Qi:
Diet: Eat a healthy, seasonal diet of whole foods, and avoid late-night eating, cold raw foods, processed foods, and fried foods.
Sleep: Get 7–9 hours of sound sleep per night. Establish a morning and evening routine to regulate your internal clock.
Stress: Manage stress, improve resilience, and process your emotions with qigong, t’ai chi, yoga, meditation, mindfulness, journaling, or practicing gratitude and forgiveness.
Exercise: Get regular aerobic exercise to reduce airway inflammation and improve lung function.
Breathe: Practice breathing exercises, such as breathing meditation or pranayama - your Wei Qi is made from the food you eat and the air you breathe.
Acupuncture: Acupuncture and acupressure can help strengthen Wei Qi. Hold pressure, burn moxa, or get acupuncture at ST36, LI10, LU7, K3, and SP6.
Herbs: Use adaptogenic herbs like Huang Qi (Astragulas) and Dang Shen (Codonopsis), and mushrooms like Reishi, Turkey Tail, and Chaga.
Plant Power Porridge
Autumn always makes me think of hot tea, soups and stews, roasted veggies, hearty sauces, porridges, and baked fruits. It may still be a little warm to bust out the dutch oven, but I do have a plant-based breakfast porridge recipe that is hearty enough to satisfy my autumn cooking urges without heating up my kitchen too much. Check it out and let me know what you think.
What makes rosemary so special?
Preferring full sun and hardy enough to survive south central Texas winters, rosemary is native to the Mediterranean but grows well here in Austin. We are accustomed to seeing it in yards and garden beds all over town. In early spring and summer its evergreen, leather like needles create a backdrop for lovely small, pale blue, tubular flowers. It's beautiful, smells great, and dries easily. It blends well into cooked dishes and can also be found in many body care products.
Rosemary was held sacred by Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans alike and was valued as a token of love and friendship throughout Europe for centuries. It has been considered a symbol of remembrance and an emblem for trust and constancy. In ritual, it has been both burnt as incense at funerals and worn as a headdress for weddings. Thought to bring good luck, rosemary has also been used to impart protection from magick and witchcraft.
Today we see it used in shampoo and tonic formulas for hair growth as studies have shown that rosemary oil can help control dandruff, eliminate bacteria, and stimulate the scalp to regrow hair especially in instances of hair loss due to scalp infections or androgenic alopecia.
Essential oil of rosemary is an excellent Yang tonic that invigorates the senses while moving Qi and Blood. Its scent is strong and fresh, camphor like with woody undertones which can help relieve both mental and physical malaise. Warm in nature, it is indicated for joint pain of a cold, fixed nature and is one of the best essential oils for rheumatic conditions. Used in a 2% solution with a carrier oil, it can ease sore, stiff and cramping muscles.
Considered an exhilarating herb corresponding to the 6th Chakra and ascribed to the solar diety Apollo, rosemary has an intense and enlivening energetic nature. In traditional Chinese medicine we attribute rosemary to the fire element. It opens the orafices and empowers the mind. It offsets brooding and can even embolden one who has become overburdened with apathy. Used to strengthen intuition and the pineal gland, it is said to help eliminate forgetfulness and encourage remembrance to help us stay true to our higher heart path.
Please, do not use rosemary while pregnant or nursing or on children under two years of age. It should also be avoided by individuals with epilepsy and should always be used diluted in a carrier oil.
© 2024 Elephant Acupuncture
Meditation Is A Natural State
Have you ever been filled with awe while gazing at the sunset... or felt electricity coursing through your body as you explore something new... or been so in love that your heart seemed to turn to light? Then you've already found your way into a meditative state.
Read moreHow Often Should I Come For Acupuncture?
People ask me all the time: “how often should I come for acupuncture?” In the past, my standard response has been “whatever your schedule and your pocket book will allow”, but I’m changing that response to something like - “it depends on what kind of results you are looking for”.
When I’m getting regular acupuncture, I feel great and I’m better able to roll with whatever comes my way. By regular acupuncture, I mean once a week; although I have been known to see my acupuncturist multiple times in a week when I have something specific I’m working through. If you are using acupuncture for wellness, self-care, or to relax, once every week or two can be enough, but anytime you are trying to address an illness or specific condition, it's much more effective to up the frequency to a couple times a week or every other day. In fact, when addressing illness, a traditional course of treatment includes 10 acupuncture sessions administered one of two ways - either every other day, or everyday for several days followed by a few days off and another round of daily treatments until the entire course is completed; in some cases with deeply entrenched patterns another whole course of treatments may be necessary.
Think of it like this: broadly speaking, acupuncture nudges the body toward health by encouraging the restoration of homeostasis and proper circulation while reducing inflammation (a disturbance of homeostasis is a component of all disease and nearly all diseases involve inflammation). One acupuncture treatment can have a notable impact, but things tend to revert back to old patterns after a day or two. After the initial push towards balance, it is best to give a second push before the first has completely worn off to build a cumulative effect.
But what if you can only come once a week due to schedule conflicts? Even if you wait between session and symptoms begin to return after a couple of days, there will be some internal momentum moving you in the direction you need to go; you just don’t move forward as quickly. By coming more frequently, you can move through issue more quickly, but if you can only come once a week, you still get results - it just takes longer.
I’d like to do whatever I can to make more frequent visits accessible by making myself available for more hours in the day by special appointment and by making my session more affordable through package pricing and sliding scale. When you come in for more frequent treatments, we can get you in and out more quickly by keeping the consult simple. So, don’t hesitate to let me know how you’d like to approach your treatments - slow and steady or right to the point (pun intended)!
Be well,
Rebecca
Consider this perspective from Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon.
"The ideal frequency for acupuncture therapy (assuming both patients and practitioners have the option to adjust to it) depends on one's concept of the function of acupuncture therapy. Consider a few examples of other therapies. Would you -
take nutritional supplements (such as a vitamin/mineral) once per week or once per day?
take a course of antibiotics, one dose per week for ten weeks or one dose per day for ten days?
take a decongestant once per week during allergy season, or every day during allergy season?
undertake exercise, 20-30 minutes once per week, or 20-30 minutes at least five days per week?
take an herb decoction or other herb preparation once per week, or every day?
get a good night's sleep once per week, or every night?
eat healthy foods once per week or every day (or most days)?"
Read the whole article here: http://www.itmonline.org/arts/restructure.htm