Marley gets needled!

Everyone must remember little Marley, right?

Marley has inquired some possible allergies. He has been scratching a lot plus has some yeasty ears. Not being one to personally take lots of medicines, I choose to follow that same thinking and scheduled an appointment for Marley to have acupuncture.

Yes, all animals can have acupuncture too and it very often gets GREAT results.



While he was a bit uneasy at first, after a few minutes he became very relaxed in my arms. We are working on some dietary changes, a digestive aid and a liver detox and will proceed from there. There is really no doubt that this will be helpful as long as we follow the acupuncturist's advice on what to feed him. We need to clear the heat out so need to feed cooling foods. So Marley is going to have to forgo his beef and venison for a little while.

Will post in the future with updates!

What a pain in the neck!

Headaches often start out as tension in the neck muscles. There are various kinds of headaches though from sinus headaches, cluster headaches, hormone headaches and migraines. Most of these tips to helping control headaches are geared towards tension headaches.

It is estimated that 45 million Americans suffer from these various headaches, many chronically. Of those, 28 million have migraines. 60% of children suffer occasionally from headaches. The cost on the work force? $50 million in missed work days and doctor visits.

One definition of a headache states "pain in the head". Tension headaches often start out with a stiff neck, achy occiput region (the area right below your skull on the back of the neck) or even tension in the jaw. Everyone has different area's that might get tight and later cause a headache. The best thing we can do is prevent this tension from invading our bodies. Any form of bodywork that we received regularly can help immensely as well as doing yoga, qi gong and/or meditation. In my line of work, I have discovered that people with poor posture seem to be prone to headaches.

Preventing headaches is key. As a sufferer of both tension and migraine headaches, I speak from my own experience. As I mentioned above, getting regular bodywork is essential. Not only does this help your muscles relax, you are retraining your body on how it should move in a healthy way. You are learning to relax our shoulders, not walk about with them at your ears. How often a client has bodywork is up to each individual. I suggest a few sessions as close together as possible. Ex. once a week. After those sessions are complete, an evaluation is done to see the progress. Most clients then find they can space sessions further apart. Personally I like to go for my sessions once a month.

I mention yoga, meditation and qi gong again. Any of these techniques will stretch and relax the body and mind. When we learn to breath properly, our bodies benefit greatly. I have found that doing qi gong every day has made a world of difference in how I feel and the lack of headaches I get.

Often the spine is out of whack and needs a chiropractor. Talk to some local friends and search out a chiropractor in your area.

Chinese medicine can be a great tool also. Part of the treatments I receive involve bodywork (tui na), acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicines. Finding a qualified Licensed acupuncturist is getting easier and often is covered by insurance plans. To find a practitioner near you, click on the link to the left for the NCCAOM.

In the second part of this article, I will offer some easy at home things you can do to prevent headaches and to ease them once they have infringed on your life.

Insomnia

As many of you know, I have had my fair share of sleeping issues. I hear from so many people their horror stories, being up all night, tossing and turning all night, ect. and I feel for you all. So today I want to give some easy (or not so easy) suggestions to help us all get those much desired zzzz's.

One of the most common things you hear about are essential oils. Lavender Oil is one of the most popular essential oils to help the body relax and it is a safe oil. Sprinkle a few drops on your pillow before going to bed or rub a few drops into the bottom of your feet. A few other oils that may work well (because not everyone likes lavender) are chamomile, cedarwood, and valerian.

Here is one out of the book "Chinese System of Food Cures" by Henry Lu. He suggests crushing an onion and putting it in a jar. Inhale the vapors through the nose while in bed. Normally you fall asleep in 15 minutes.

In homeopathic medicine there are various options. Nux Vomica is effective for insomnia as a result of coffee, alcohol or drug abuse. Nux Vomica is also used when there is mental strain. If attacks of anxiety and fear drive you out of bed, try Arsenicum. Coffea is best used when the mind is overactive. Arnica is helpful if you have overextended yourself physically or mentally and now feel to tired to fall asleep. Lastly, Chamomilla is good for cases of extreme irritability, physical pains or addiction to sedatives.

Another thing we can do for ourselves or have a loved one do is acupressure. Two common points used for insomnia are Kidney 6 and Bladder 62. Massage and press these 2 points together on both sides to help the body relax and promote sleep. Holding Heart 7 for a minute on both sides as well as Pericardium 6 can help. Press and massage into the points to stimulate each point for about a minute or two.

Lastly, when these things don't help, it may be necessary to seek professional help. You may choose to see a MD but I would also suggest talking to a licensed acupuncturist/herbalist and you may also get relief from receiving bodywork. If you read past posts on this blog, you will see how getting acupuncture and taking herbs that were prescribed to me by a licensed professional has helped immensely. You do not need to suffer!

Sweet dreams!