Living in a space that is not connected to oneself can be detrimental to our mental and emotional health. Feeling trapped in an environment that doesn't align with our values and beliefs can be overwhelming. However, imagine living in a space of peace and love where you feel comfortable and free to grow. Many of us would choose this option, yet we often find ourselves stuck in between spaces, unsure of how to move forward.
The anti-aging effect of intermittent fasting is quite profound. It slows down the aging process and has been found to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation ( 1 ). IF can also suppress genes that accelerate the risk of age-related chronic disease like cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes ( 2 ).
Love and self-respect are two fundamental pillars of our well-being, and they are cultivated from our earliest experiences. However, it's not uncommon to find ourselves yearning for a love that doesn't match our worth, perpetuating a cycle of disappointment and dissatisfaction. This cycle only sows seeds of discord in our future relationships.
Marcus Aurelius “You’re better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve.”
Feedback whether it is constructive or destructive stings. In my teens, I created my first song and recorded it. The response was generally well until one came in that said it's not bad BUT it's not as good as D’Angelo’s (Recording Artist who had a hit called How Does It Feel)………...this stopped my creative pursuit to attempt to finish the rest of the album. It got SCRAPPED because my ego felt like CRAP. Fully acknowledge the EGO bruised and stained, the wisdom comes later I create from a place of care and love of the process. I learned when I was young that I was trying to get the approval of one particular person which did not line up to my soulful purpose of doing GOOD and inherently down the narrow path of not so GOOD. The parallel to this is that as children we look for the approval of our peers or parents but fail to see the caring people that are on our peripherals that have been waiting for our craft to be released. The cycle continues as we look for validation as the person looking up at us is looking for our blessing. There has to be a better way of acknowledging and sharing our energy with those looking for what we are doing. Why do we play for one particular person or group? We need only a few to understand our work and look forward to what we are bringing to the table. Simply, bring your best version of yourself at that moment with consistency. This will yield to a high percentage of many seeing your true gift. You are the Gift.
What caused you to stop your creative work? Are you now ready to pursue it again?
by Ryan Hayes RMT
A new year. A new variant. A new challenge. A new stress. While the global upheaval persists, many people continue to struggle with isolation from friends and family, scheduling conflicts of homeschooling children, and a topsy-turvy work environment, finding ways to create consistency can be difficult. There seems to be less and less that we can rely upon for stability. One thing that needs to remain constant through this turbulent time is our sense of self.
As the responsibilities of the individual continue to mount, we can easily find ourselves sinking beneath the surface of functional physical and mental health. Now, more than ever is the time to put ourselves first. How can we be either a supportive spouse, sibling, parent, teacher, or coworker if we are struggling to stay afloat? What can we offer to others if we refuse to pay attention to our own needs?
Many of us are quite adept at putting everybody else and their needs before our own. Further, the responsibilities of the average individual often exceed the energetic output available to effectively manage the altered pandemic lifestyle of today. However, there are many people out there whose job is to help declutter the brain, relieve tension from the body, and help restore a better balance between the body and the mind.
Today’s society necessitates active reflection over our state of health. We need to make sure to take some time to put ourselves first. The time for this does exist. We do not have to create time. We have to allocate time. It is neither impossible nor unreasonable to take an hour or two a month to have our batteries recharged. It is essential to seek out a healthcare provider to help in the areas we are finding ourselves deficient or need support.
This help can come in the form of a talk therapist, a massage therapist, a personal trainer, an acupuncturist, an osteopath, etc. There are many different venues and practitioners to help with the multitude of strains that we are put through daily. Even a car needs an oil change every 5000km. We are no different. Unfortunately, we drive our bodies until they run out of gas. This is not ideal in the long run.
We must resolve to invest in our health. If our health suffers then all aspects of our existence are diminished. A mind cannot function optimally if it is distracted by the woes of the body. Further, the hamster wheel in the head can grind the body to a halt. To function effectively in the home and society our body must function effectively from the inside out. A healthy individual can be a productive individual.
We save for our retirement, we save for our children’s education, we save for a home, we save for a trip. When these moments arrive how can we enjoy them if our health is less than functional? Part of saving for the future is investing in our health today. Make massage therapy a part of your support network. Your daily productivity, your sleep, and your ability to manage stress will improve. Your body and mind will thank you.
Over the past few months, I have been going back to some of the research that I have collected to increase the ability of the brain to be optimal. Ever since spending a bit of time with Dr. Norman Doidge for a course that we were both taking called Matrix Repatterning, I have kept my eyes and ears open to new approaches or old methods that can keep the mind finely tuned. Over the years and hundreds of articles and books to keep up to date it seems that having awareness about the mind is more important than ever. We are chemically prone to be emotional. We react to stimuli that create sadness, anxiety, happiness, and such that our phones are able to evoke.
(photo by James Lee)
For the brain to seek change something drastic has to happen. According to research for someone trying to change a habit such as smoking greatly increases when someone close dies or gets diagnosed related to smoking. We ignore or choose the possibility of cancer or death happening to us or the people we are around. Once it does come in contact within our circle a higher chance of quitting a habit occurs. We are operating only at a minimal percentage when we react through emotions and stressors. The emotional or if it was to be mapped on the brain, the limbic system is great for fight or flight but you probably know this is not so great for everyday living. The number #1 killer for humans is not stress but instead inflammation. When the nervous system responds like a blowfish by expanding to protect itself every day leads to a decrease in circulation and proper firing in the body. If you want a body that performs better must first start in the brain. We have to be diligent in how we let things in our thoughts for this can lead us to make costly mistakes. Guess what though it’s not your fault. The increase of sugars in everything and of course genetically modified products are one of the main causes for the brain to not respond at the highest peak. Here’s a little trick for you. According to research by having fats in the morning, GOOD FATS such as MCT (coconut oil), avocado, olive oil (cold), and other high-performing fuel for the brain keep you from not snapping at the person that just cut you off in line.
So from now till that next person that cuts off….pause…..breath……and like Mr. Castanza say these words, ‘Serenity NOW!!’ or increase your intake of some Good Fats to keep your brain and emotions in check.
Keep it Balanced
Garnet
By Peter SJ Lee, Registered Acupuncturist
(Credit Fran_loablog)
Personally, I am more interested in alleviating psychoemotional conditions such as insomnia and depression. Not only are psychological and emotional conditions difficult to treat but also there are limited options available for them in modern medicine. Most of the treatments are through medications and they only alleviate the symptoms, ignoring the root cause of the problem, and inevitably have side effects. Also, each individual requires different types and dosages of medications, hence, making it impossible to treat everyone with one type of treatment. On the other hand, acupuncture does not have a limitation on who can or who cannot receive the treatment and is able to address both root and branches of a problem with minimal chances of side effects.
"Acupuncture can alleviate psychoemotional conditions such as insomnia and depression"
One of the most basic theories of acupuncture and traditional East Asian medicine is that everyone is different. By gathering relevant diagnostic information and with treatment plans tailored for each individual, acupuncture can alleviate psychoemotional conditions such as insomnia and depression.
Most people would acknowledge the importance of sleep. However, not many people realize just how many of the common main complaints come from not getting enough sleep. Insufficient amount of sleep will increase the risks of or directly lead to irritability, headaches, heart diseases, weight gain, poor vision, infection, gastrointestinal conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), depression, diabetes, and cancer. Sleep is extremely important to our overall health. Both the amount and quality of sleep is directly related to the physical and mental health.
In traditional East Asian medicine, insomnia is defined as a condition in which quantity and quality of sleep are decreased consistently for more than a month. Insomnia may be present in the form of one or more of the following: difficulty falling asleep, waking up easily throughout the night (Not from pain or full bladder), early awakening with difficulty going back to sleep, and dream-disturbed sleep. Insomnia may be due to multiple factors including pathogenic heat, overthinking, emotional frustration, and depression.
Nowadays, there are more scientific researches that study the effectiveness of acupuncture. Among many, in a research published in the Shanghai Journal of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, acupuncture was shown to be 90% effective in improving total sleep duration and sleep quality for patients with depression. Acupuncture treatments had similar clinical results and lowered the relapse rates just as much as antidepressants without any side effects. There were two groups; one being acupuncture group and the other being antidepressant medication (Mirtazapine) group. Total effective rate for acupuncture treatment was 90% while that of mirtazapine treatment was 92.5%. However, dizziness, drowsiness, vision changes, weight gain, increased appetite, and constipation were common in the medication group while acupuncture group did not experience any side effects.
In the research, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) was used to measure improvements. Within one month of the treatment, the acupuncture group showed 9.7% improvement and the medication group showed 15.9% improvement in the HAM-D score. Within three months of the treatment, the acupuncture group showed 36.2% improvement while the medication group showed 32.5% improvement.
"acupuncture improves total sleep duration and sleep quality significantly, which in return, reduced the relapse rate for depression and insomnia and improved overall health, both physically and mentally, without any side effects."
For three months, the acupuncture group received treatments every other day while the medication group were given 20 mg of mirtazapine tablets orally once a day. The point prescription for the acupuncture group consisted of primary acupuncture points, which addressed the depression and insomnia, and of secondary acupuncture points, which addressed differential diagnosis of each individual. The primary acupuncture points included a point on the wrist (Shenmen – HT-7), a point on the leg (Sanyinjiao – SP-6), and a point between the eyebrows (Yintang). The secondary acupuncture points, which were added to address the different needs of each individual, included a point on the foot (Taichong – LR-3) and a point on the leg (Yanglingquan – GB-34) if the other symptoms they had were liver related symptoms such as headache, irritability, and rib pain, or a point on the arm (Jianshi – PC-5), and a point on the leg (Zusanli – ST-36) if the other symptoms they had were spleen symptoms such as poor appetite, indigestion, vomiting, nausea, and epigastric or abdominal pain. The acupuncture needles were stimulated every 10 minutes and were retained for 30 minutes.
It was concluded that acupuncture improves total sleep duration and sleep quality significantly, which in return, reduced the relapse rate for depression and insomnia and improved overall health, both physically and mentally, without any side effects.
Another study, a single-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled research, concluded that acupuncture improves sleep and reduces insomnia when compared to sham acupuncture (random needling) and to a medication, estazolam. Acupuncture showed significantly superior results improving total sleep duration and sleep quality just like the previously mentioned research. The acupuncture point prescription in this research included few points on the head (Shenting – GV-24, Sishencong, and Baihui – GV-20), a point on the wrist (Shenmen – HT-7), and a point on the leg (Sanyinjiao – SP-6). The estazolam medication group experienced side effects such as daytime drowsiness.
In another research, acupuncture was shown to increase the bodily serotonin levels and the concentration of gama-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in cerebrospinal fluid. Serotonin is one of the neurotransmitters which regulate cognitive function, mood, sleep, and appetite while GABA is another neurotransmitter which reduces the excitability of the neurons thereby calming them down. In this research, acupuncture was shown to have 93.3% total effective rate in the treatment of insomnia. The point prescription included a point on the head (Shenting – GV-24), a point on the wrist (Shenmen – HT-7), points on the leg (Sanyinjiao – SP-6 and Zusanli – ST-36), a point between the eyebrows (Yintang), and a point behind the ears (Anmian). The needles were retained for 45 minutes each session. Additionally, acupuncture points in the ear (Subcortex and Shenmen) were used with ear seeds (Vaccaria seeds covered with zinc oxide tape) rather than needles and patients were to stimulate them for few minutes each day.
'Acupuncture acts as a guide to lead the body in the right direction to the healthy state because where you are headed is more important than how fast you are moving.'
In conclusion, many modern day scientific researches are done to show the effectiveness of the ancient art of healing. The researches showed that acupuncture successfully increased total sleep duration and quality while decreasing daytime dysfunction and sleepiness with no side effects. As acupuncture is a nature way to treat our body, acupuncture took some time to show the results. For conditions like insomnia and depression, it is highly unlikely that there will be drastic improvements with one treatment. One research was as long as three months. Acupuncture simply cannot alleviate the symptoms as quickly as the medications because acupuncture does not add synthetic hormones into the system or chemically modify the human body. Unless a condition developed overnight, it will not disappear overnight as like how it takes time and effort to change a long-term habit.
Though our body knows how to heal itself, sometimes it is overwhelmed and does not know where to start or which direction to head to. Acupuncture acts as a guide to lead the body in the right direction to the healthy state because where you are headed is more important than how fast you are moving.
Peter SJ Lee is a Registered Acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner at M.O.A. Living Wellness
References Kelman L, Rains JC (2005). Headache and Sleep: Examination of Sleep Patterns and Complaints in a Large Clinical Sample of Migraineurs. Meier-Ewert HK, Ridker PM, Rifai N, Regan MM, Price NJ (2004). Effects of Sleep Loss on C-reactive protein, an Inflammatory Marker of Cardiovascular Risk. Benedict C, Brooks SJ, O’Daly OG, Almen MS, Morell A (2012). Acute Sleep Deprivation enhances the Brain’s Reponse to Hedonic Food Stimuli: an fMRI Study. Orzel-Gryglewska J (2010). Consequences of Sleep Deprivation. C. A. Everson. (1993). Sustained Sleep Deprivation impairs Host Defense. American Journal of Physiology. Tauseef Ali. James Choe, Ahmed Awab, Theodore L Wagener (2013). Sleep, Immunity, and Inflammation in Gastrointestinal Disorder. World Journal of Gastroenterology. Baglioni C, Battagliese G, Feige B, Spiegelhaldar K (2011). Insomnia as a Predictor of Depression: A Meta-Analytic Evaluation of Longitudinal Epidemiological Studies. Ye GC & Yan H. (2014). Therapeutic Observation of Acupuncture for Depressive Insomnia. Shanghai Journal of Acupuncture and Moxibustion. 55(6) Lin-Peng Wang, Guo, Jing, Cun-Zhi Liu, Jie Zhang, Gui-Ling Wang, Jing-Hong, Yi, Jin-Lian cheng, and R. Musil. Efficacy of Acupuncture for Primary Insomnia: a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Deutsche Zeitschrift fur Akupunktur 57, No. 4 (2014): 31-32 Wang H, Meng X.H, Zou W. (2014). Curative Effect of Acupuncture Therapy of Regulating Mentality combined with Auricular Point in the Treatment of Insomnia. Journal of Clinical Acupuncture and Moxibustion. 30(7).
Movement Kitchen is our take on an emerging way movers all over the world are starting to teach and practice physical expression. This new style of movement is essential for us to fully understand our bodies and reconnect with our natural movement patterns.
Many existing exercise and fitness trends revolve around isolated body parts and a mechanical view of how our muscles operate, without much insight into the other systems that our muscles are connected with. While isolation has its purpose, it fails to train our movements in a way that is natural, functional and useful for everyday.
Movement Kitchen is a way to reawaken our most basic and vital kinetic capabilities. Why? To better function in our day-to-day lives. Movement Kitchen will create benefits to tasks most of us do all the time: laundry, opening a door, going up or down stairs, walking the dog, playing with a kid, picking up a bag of groceries, and so on.
Not only will you move more efficiently, you’ll feel energized and more powerful. And unlike some forms of exercise that leave us feeling battered or worse, actually injured - you’ll notice chronic tension and pain can slowly resolve as your body starts to work again as a complete unit.
Of course, how we train depends on our intention and goals. Someone training for a triathlon has very a different training practice from someone training for martial arts. But everyone can benefit from a baseline of general movement and mobilization. Athletes who train in specific activities arguably need more generalized training to safeguard against injury by balancing out the repetitive motions they’ve been focusing on.
What’s up with the kitchen theme?
Movement is as crucial to human survival as food.
But it goes beyond just getting the daily recommended amount of nutrients. Once you start moving well, things can get pretty interesting. You can start cooking up new and exciting flavours of movement to explore.
We rarely ever want to eat tasteless food simply for the sake of staying alive. In a similar way, many people struggle with going to the gym when they think of exercise as something to drag themselves to do. 30 minutes of treadmill and repetitive machine exercises don’t truly capture the full human experience of what it means to move.
By learning movement in its natural, wholesome form, you’ll be able to create your own expression and add spices and flavours you enjoy. This translates to doing activities you actually like and hopefully some dancing mixed in as well.
With Movement Kitchen, we’ve boiled down some of the most crucial principles of how to move well. We’re inviting you into our kitchen to feel how moving the body can create greater awareness, not just physically but also in the mind and open up new opportunities in your life.
(Shoulder mobility exercise for improving posture and decreasing pain)
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Live Better. Keep It Balanced.
