Archive for the ‘Improve Your Health’ Category
Exercises for Opening the Shoulder, Neck, and Rotator Cuff
Aug 16, 2010
Acupuncture is remarkably effective at treating shoulder pain, neck pain, and rotator cuff injuries. I treat these issues with great success.
I recommend these simple stretches as part of my approach to treatment and post therapy maintenance.
A Wooden Hinge Gets No Worms
There is a saying in Chinese medicine, “A wooden hinge gets no worms.” The idea is that a wooden door, cabinet, bench, or stump will get worms because it does not move. It just sits there. But a hinge moves all the time and prevents decay. In other words, move it or loose it.
These are exercises which I have collected from many excellent teachers. They should be performed slowly with smooth movements. You can read more about them in two excellent books: Xing Yi Nei Gong
Rotate your head
The head, neck, and shoulders are connected, pretty obvious. The muscles of the shoulder are interconnected to these areas, and tightness in the neck will cause tightness in the shoulders, and vice versa.
Neck Stretch
Neck Stretch Right
Standing straight, feet shoulder width apart. Slowly look to your right, and now slowly look to your left. Don’t push it. Don’t go farther than you naturally can turn your head. Repeat 10 times.
Look Up and Down
Looking Up
Looking Down
Standing with relaxed shoulders, gentle look up. Do not push beyond your natural limit. Now, gently look down. Repeat 9 times.
Open the shoulder
Stand straight. With your right arm, grab under your left shoulder. Rotate your arm, at the shoulder in a big circle. First going forward 9 times, and then doing it in reverse, backwards ten times. Switch arms.
Opening the Shoulder
Opening the Shoulder
It is very simple. Open the joints, keep them moving, and you will feel better. Do these exercises a few times per week. If you are very stiff, you can perform them slowly steadily, but do not push beyond your limits. Gradually your body will loosen up.
Read More:
We’re Having a Heat Wave
Jul 26, 2010
Here in NYC, we’re having a heat wave. It is important to stay cool and hydrated.
Here are a few of my favorite posts with tips from the Chinese Medicine cabinet to stay healthy in the summer.
This weather can also exacerbate chronic illness, which is the subject of my next post.
Cooling Summertime Tea
Jul 19, 2010
It’s a hot summer here in New York City. In China there is a very simple herbal tea which is used to stay cool:
Chrysanthemum flowers and Wolfberry (Ju Hua and Gou ji zi) Tea
Chrysanthemum and Wolfberries
Ingredients:
Ju hua and gou qi zi- 6 grams each
2 sugar cubes
hot water
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a cup and add hot water. Enjoy!
When you finish, refill the cup again. The same herbs can be used a few times.
How it works:
The tea is not cold itself, traditionally it is drunk while still warm. But the herbal properties make it cool. Ju hua are chrysanthemum flowers and Gou ji zi are wolfberries (which recently have become well known for the powerful anti-oxidant abilities).
Ju Hua (Chrysanthimum flowers)
Ju hua is cooling while gou qi zi generates fluids, preventing dehydration. Ju hua is especially helpful for summer time colds and headaches. This combination can also be used for eye allergies like redness and tearing.
Wolfberries (Gou qi zi)
Think Global, Eat Local: Earth Day 2010
Apr 22, 2010
Earth from Apollo 17
Celebrate the earth and yourself this year. Eat locally.
It seems almost too simple that choosing foods that are grown locally and in season can have such an impact, but it is true. Here are the five reasons to do it.
1. Cuts down on greenhouse gases: Eating locally produced foods cuts down on green house gases. The food does not have to travel very far. It is really fresh, no refrigeration for fruits and veggies that were picked that day.
2. Less Pesticides and Fertilizer: Most (but not all) local farmers use organic and biodynamic practices. This cuts down on fertilizer and pesticides, which are actually petroleum products and increase our dependence on oil. Not to mention the health benefits of organic food. It is good to ask the farmer about their practices at the market or in your CSA.
3. Helps the oceans and rivers: Eating organic helps the waterways and fish. Excess fertilizer runs off into the streams and rivers, causing algae blooms which drastically reduces fish populations. That means less for you to eat!
4. Benefits small businesses and local economies: Buying local helps the small family farms keep doing what they love. This helps to build communities, create jobs, and grow the economy in your area.
5. It’s Delicious and Nutritious: You’re tired and worn out after a long trip, well so is your food. Local and organic food is more nutritious and has more taste. So you’ll actually enjoy it.
It is easy to begin to shop for local food. Go to your farmer’s market, or join a community supported agriculture group in your area.
Read more:
Photo: US National Archives
What are Acupressure Points?
Apr 19, 2010
Acupuncture points are locations on the channels where qi tends to gather and the channels are more accessible from the skin’s surface. They can be felt very deep or shallow depending on the body part and symptom being treated. As you practice acupressure, you will be better to feel the correct level of pressure.
Acupressure is a wonderful tool for you to use on your own to help improve your health. Based upon the concepts of Chinese medicine and acupuncture channels, it is the massaging or pressing of specific acupressure points on the body that work to decrease pain and relieve tension.
What are acupuncture channels?
The Chinese mapped a system of channels which connected different parts of the body. These acupuncture channels do not simply lie on the outside of the body, but rather are more like waterways connecting the internal to the external areas and vise versa. The channels help protect the body from diseases and we can also uses them treat diseases with acupuncture and acupressure.
Read More about Acupressure:
- Acupressure for Eyestrain
- Acupressure for Cramps, Digestive Problems, and Boosting Energy
- Acupressure for Nausea, Hiccups, and Acid Reflux
- Acupressure for Headaches
photo: Wild Pixels
Computers, Stress, and Eye Strain
Mar 18, 2010
Modern life brings many benefits, and also some problems.
A recent report showed that the percentage of people with near sightedness is increasing for the last couple of decades. This is probably in part due to what you are doing now, staring at a computer.
The staring at a computer not only causes near sightedness, but it is also uncomfortable. This may be due to physiologic stress and cell damage. A recent study showed that prolonged looking at computer screens causes oxidative stress. But there are things you can do help relieve the stress.
How to relieve Eye Strain
1. Give your eyes a rest: Taking regular breaks and looking up from the screen is the most important thing to reduce the amount of eye strain. For each 45 minutes, you should take at least 5 minutes break.
2. Beta Carotine: It is true, eating beta carotine improves your eyes and can help reduce the damage from eye strain. Carrots have beta carotine, but also other vegetables like yellow squash, yams, and dark leafy greens. In Chinese medicine carrots also boost qi, they are called the little ginseng.
3. Herbal Teas- The combination of the herbs gou ji zi (wolfberry’s) and ju hua (chrysanthmum) is a traditional herbal remedy for treating eye diseases. Modern research has shown that these herbs both have strong antioxident effect.
In my following post, I will share a few acupressure techniques and points which help to improve circulation and decrease pressure on your eyes.
Acupuncture for Stress and Depression
Jan 20, 2010
Inflammation contributes to all sorts of diseases, mental and physical. It makes you to feel crappy when you are sick or have an injury. Chronic long term stress can lead to inflammation which may contribute to depression.
One of the most powerful aspects of acupuncture is its ability to reduce inflammation throughout the body.
Acupuncture, Depression, and Inflammation
Acupuncture works by correcting imbalances. Once the imbalance is removed, the body can work to help heal itself.
Acupuncture can help bring balance to both the mind and the body. Working on many levels, it can both help to reduce inflammation as well as calm the mind and ease anxiety and depression.
Clinical I treat depression and anxiety often. We approach each patient as an individual, giving a personalized diagnosis and treatment.
Some research now supports that acupuncture works to treat depression. One study, done through a Canadian-Chinese collaboration, showed that electroacupuncture helps to treat the clinical symptoms of depression and also to reduce the circulating levels of cytokines, which are inflammatory markers.
When to incorporate acupuncture for depression and anxiety?
Acupuncture is most useful for those with chronic anxiety and depression. It is very safe and there are very few side effects. It can be used with and enhance other therapies, like psychotherapy and psychiatry.
If you are in an emergency or crisis, you should contact your local mental heath clinic or call 1800-273-TALK.
If you are in the New York City area and are interested in learning more about acupuncture for anxiety and depression, please call us at 917-887-4946.
Stress, Depression, and Inflammation
Jan 20, 2010
The connecting between stress, depression and anxiety has been known for a long time. Of course, stress has a negative impact us emotionally. Stress also has a physiological effect on the body, causing hormonal and inflammatory changes that can lead to the development of depression and anxiety.
Releases of Cortisol
A stressful event causes the release of cortisol, the stress hormone, from the adrenal glands. This reaction involves both the nervous system and the endocrine system, and affects the whole body.
A stressful event causes a part of the brain called the hippocampus to secrete corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRT) which then stimulates the pituitary gland to create ACTH or corticotrophin. ACTH travels through the blood stream and acts on the adrenal glands to cause the release of cortisol and other hormones.
The cortisol then circulates throughout the body, affecting every organ, priming them for extra metabolic activity. This is often referred to as the flight or flight response.
A negative feedback loop stops the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands. The circulating cortisol in the blood stream will bind to receptors in the brain, called glucocorticoid receptors (GR) and to stop the further production of CRT.
Stress and Inflammation
A problem in the negative feedback loop can occur from chronic stress. This deals with the effect excess stress has on the hormonal feedback receptors.
Excessive cortisol causes the GR receptors to become less sensitive to the hormone, so it is more difficult to turn off the negative feedback loop and allows cortisol production to become excessive. As a result of the excess cortisol in blood circulation and the excess stimulation of the hippocampus, the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response) remains activated 1. Eventually this causes cells in the immune system to release proinflammtory cytokines, which are molecules that promote inflammation.
The proinflammatory cytokines may inhibit cellular repair of the nervous system, leading to neuronal cell death and damage. It may also disrupt the normal functioning of neurotransmitters 1. In addition, alterations in the GR may lead to changes in gene expression, further reducing the ability of the brain to repair itself 2.
Is depression just physical?
No, one cannot say from this work that depression is only physical. This theory argues that the damage to the cells and chronic inflammation may further exacerbate the impact of stress on your mind and emotions making it easier to become more depressed and harder to treat it 3. But it can also shed light on how we can improve our treatments.
In the next post, I will discuss how acupuncture can help treat depression, control the impact of stress, and reduce inflammation.
If you are currently need emergency mental health you can call 1800-273-TALK.
Photos: The Rocketeer
Foods You Should Eat
Jan 13, 2010
There was recently a great article on Well, a NYTimes Healthblog. It is about 11 foods people should be eating, but don’t often. Most of them are easy to eat, delicious, and in season now. You can get almost everything on this list from the Greenmarkets.
Here are some ways I like to prepare the local ingredients from that list.
Beets are great roasted or boiled. Serve with a little goat cheese. Last week, we sliced them thinly and put them on our homemade pizza.
Pumpkin is also east to cook. Just chop it up and roast for 1 hour with some olive oil. Also tastes great with cheese. Or add it to chicken or vegetable broth and blend it into a soup. Don’t forget to dry and then toast the pumpkin seeds. Makes a healthy snack or garnish.
Of course cabbage is too often overlooked. It is very affordable, and extremely healthy. Cutting it up from some homemade cole slaw is always delicious. For an Asian style, use sesame oil, a dash of soy sauce, and sesame seeds. Or you can saute the cabbage and add some hot pepper. I remember this is how they cooked it in Hunan, where I studied Chinese medicine.
And remember, Think Globally, Eat Locally!
What Makes Us Happy
Jan 11, 2010
This week, PBS is playing a wonderful documentary about emotions and happiness called This Emotional Life. It discusses what happiness is, how to achieve it, and how we can be more resilient.
There is a lot of science looking into happiness these days. Some of it examines the effect meditation has on the brain, which may prime neurological circuitry towards positive emotions. Some of looks at a new branch of psychology called positive psychology that focuses on character strengths and virtues.
And much of it comes back to what we already knew. Strong social connection
s, ties with friends and family make us happy. In fact, some researchers have shown that happiness is actually contagious. If a friend of a friend is happy, you are 15% more likely also to be happy. This continues down to 4 degrees of separation from you!
Smile and be happy! Someone may catch it from you.
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