The recent article by NPR, Flattening The 'Mummy Tummy' With 1 Exercise, 10 Minutes A Day, starts off with a sensational, grabbing title. A click bait title that we wouldn't expect from a trusted news source like NPR. But it certainly got your attention, especially if you recently had a baby and now are feeling a little weak around the core. And since this is NPR this should be safer than something random you pull off the internet, right? Well, yes and no.
With addiction, deep fractures are drawn between our mind and our body, our needs and our habits, our emotions and our actions, and in the relationships that we have to ourselves and to others. Yoga, on the other hand, is connection.
It's a great time to pay attention to how stress is affecting you. Common stressors include work, family, money, children, illness and more. Stress can impact both your body and your mind causing symptoms such as muscular pain, irritability, fatigue, and headaches. Here's how we can help...
According to CDC data, 32% of women delivering a baby did so via C-section in 2015. Some of these are elective (planned) & others unplanned or emergent. If you are one of the 32%, what can you expect following a C-section?
Do you feel like your insurance coverage gets more confusing each year? That’s probably because it does! It seems like each year there is another rule or exception to your plan but the cost keeps going up. Here at Jade, we are often asked, “how much will this cost?” The answer isn’t as easy at it seems.
Summer is less than a month away marked by the Summer Solstice that follows a full moon. That is by far the happiest sentence I’ve written so far this year. Summer is the time of year where temperature, culture, traditions and we as individuals exhibit the most Yang type activities in the most Yang of environments.
Raise your hand if you’re prone to a sniffly, congested nose or red, itchy eyes when the trees start budding every Spring. It may be helpful to know you’re not alone. In the United States, over 60 million people suffer from allergic rhinitis and 30% of the population has experienced allergic conjunctivitis due to pollen exposure. These numbers have been steadily increasing as the world undergoes a change in climate patterns, consequentially making an impact on pollen production. Couple this with the recent discovery that most OTC decongestants don’t really work, and you have quite a large problem needing a solution.
Women who experience irregular periods with longer menstrual cycles have been associated with a higher risk of ovarian cancer, coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, mental health issues and now, a shortened lifespan. At Jade Integrated Health, we are a team of practitioners who are devoted to promoting women’s health and longevity. We integrate physical therapy for pelvic health, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to balance menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause states in a woman’s life.
Behind our new location at 12 Windorf Circle in Brunswick is a magical northern forest with trails galore. You will find pleasant easy walks that are well signed and blazed. Maps are posted at the trail junctions and can also be found online at Maine Trail Finder.
Nearly everyone has had the experience of an unpleasant or disturbing emotion that persists so long we wonder or even doubt it will ever change. We can forget what it was like to be without the feeling and believe it’s just the way it is, a part of us - like a body odor. We can try to cover it up like using deodorant but perhaps we would rather discover the cause and change it. This month we dive deeper into compassion meditation and how it can help us in our every day lives.
The Chinese New Year falls on Friday, February 16th this year. Also known as the Spring Festival in China and Taiwan, it is celebrated for the entire week and is a good time for spring cleaning and wearing bright red for good luck. On this special day it is wise to avoid accidents and focus on gentleness and appreciation to create a beneficial influence for the rest of the year.
Qigong (pronounced che-gong) is a form of gentle exercise that is a fundamental component of self-care in traditional Chinese medicine. Less acrobatic than many yoga forms and more active than most meditation practices, this movement therapy gently strengthens, calms, and supports both body and mind. It involves meditation and repeated movements that improve circulation and increase qi (energy), encouraging an overall sense of well-being.
Is it possible to help a breech baby turn? This is a question we often hear from moms hoping to have a vaginal birth. Moxibustion treatment can be a great option for these women. Moxibustion is an adjunctive technique often used by acupuncturists in their treatments, and research has shown that a course of daily moxibustion over a specific acupuncture point on the baby toe is very successful at prompting a breech baby to turn.
In one pointedness meditation we begin with focus on a selected meditation object, and develop strength of mind. As this grows we maintain the focus and observe thoughts as they arise and let them go, rather than beginning to think about them. We begin to appreciate and gain insight into attachment and impermanence and our own nature.
Although being a new mom is an amazing experience, it’s not without its challenges. Emotional changes, changes to daily routine, and new physical demands often accompany motherhood, and the transition can be overwhelming. As an acupuncturist, many of my patients seek treatment during pregnancy and continue postpartum because acupuncture is a low-risk way to manage physical and emotional issues, and can dramatically improve a variety of afflictions.
Our modern work culture has created flexibility in a lot of areas. The traditional 9-5 has morphed, with more people working remotely from home, on trains, planes, buses and in hotels. The internet has allowed the traditional work-place to become fluid, allowing many people an escape from the age-old problem of being stuck in a cubicle all day.
Flu season generally begins in November- December and can last until May . Every year concerns are raised about new strains and the risk to elderly or immunocompromised people. But it's not just the extra vulnerable among us whom colds and flus impact. None of us enjoy being sick, missing work, and experiencing muscle aches, fever, and chills. There are many ways we can boost our immune systems to prepare for changes in the weather and circumstances that start the spread of communicable diseases.
Sinus congestion is one of the most common ailments that is mentioned during acupuncture appointments. It often comes up as a secondary complaint, but after applying needles to a few key points I hear about immediate benefits in ability to smell and breathe through the nose. Let’s explore how those needles work.
While birthing parents are typically excited for their babies to arrive, the final weeks of pregnancy can be exhausting, uncomfortable and emotional. You have a small person, or multiple people inside of you, just about ready to be born. It can take a toll on you and your partner as well. Here are some easy ways to help you enjoy those last few weeks.
The benefits of meditation are as infinite as we are. Google it, and you'll discover so many ways meditation helps people physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. There are almost as many ways to meditate as there are benefits from it. Taking two minutes between clients to breathe deeply is as valid a meditation form as sitting with one pointedness for hours on end. Equally valid but different in the results.
