Entries Tagged as 'Miscellaneous'
Alternative Medicine - What Happens During Acupuncture Treatment
By: Stephen White
Acupuncture is one of several popular alternative therapies tracing its roots to traditional medicine in China more than 5,000 years ago. Although the treatment is regarded as one of the most common and oldest worldwide, acupuncture only started to become recognized in the US after New York Times journalist James Reston wrote a feature on how his post-surgery pain was eased by doctors in China in 1971 using the procedure.
1. The Basis Of Acupuncture
The treatment assumes something called qi (pronounced key) - energy in living beings that passes through twelve meridians or invisible energy lines in the body. Each line links to a specific organ system; the belief is that any imbalance in qi flow leads to a disease. The key component of acupuncture treatment is the insertion of needles into key points on the meridian lines to renew balance. These extremely thin, metallic needles are aimed at specific anatomical points and controlled manually or by electrical stimulation. An individual usually feels relaxed and energized after acupuncture.
2. Modern Treatment
The US Food and Drug Administration reclassified these needles as medical devices in 1997, from the earlier classification as experimental. The FDA notes that over $500m are spent by people in the country every year for the treatment, for which a good number secure insurance coverage. The agency’s main restrictions with the needles are that they be non-toxic and sterilized and that they be used only once and discarded immediately after.
- Acupuncture is endorsed by the National Institute of Health
- Is practiced by dentists, doctors and other health practitioners
3. Increasing Acceptance
Increasing acceptance of acupuncture was highlighted by the National Health Interview Survey in 2002, which indicated that the number of American adults turning to the treatment surged from 2.1 million in 2001 to about 8.2 million the following year. The interest in acupuncture also received a boost from the impatience individuals had with the failure of conventional medicine.
4. How Does It Really Work?
Acupuncture reportedly induces the release of endorphins in the body, relieving an indivudal from pain. Other effects attributed to the therapy include influence over neurotransmitters, or substances transporting nerve impulses; promotion of circulation; and effects over the body’s electrical currents and autonomic nervous system. Many common ailments and undesirable conditions are addressed by acupuncture treatment.
5. Commonly Treated Conditions
- Sinusitis
- The common cold
- Smoking and other addictions
- Migraines
- Tennis elbow
- Infertility
- Menstrual cramps
- Obesity
- Low-back pain
- Asthma
- Arthritis
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
6. Procedure
On the first meeting, acupuncturists usually ask new clients to fill up a personal health record prior to an interview. A session then has the client answer questions that cover main health issues, diet, emotional and psychological profile, and overall lifestyle and regular activities. The therapist should also be informed by the individual of any current medication and treatment being taken. During this interview, one can also expect the practitioner to evaluate pulse points and establish how healthy the individual’s twelve meridians are. A diagnosis is then given, followed by the use of between 6 and 12 needles as treatment is commenced. Patients keen on acupuncture must realize that the exact placement on target points on the meridians is more important, not the number of needles used.
The initial insertion may make the patient feel pricked or stung. However, the treatment should be painless and comfortable for the duration that could extend to an hour or more. An individual should immediately tell the acupuncturist to discontinue if he feels any numbness, discomfort or pain. Variations of the treatment may involve use of herbal medicine - capsules, tablets or tea made from Chinese herbs to boost the therapy. Some practitioners also integrate cupping - a suction effect created with the use of glass cups on the skin, in part to promote blood circulation and continuous qi flow.
7. Rising Popularity
The recent withdrawal of the Vioxx painkiller has raised apprehension over pain relievers available in the market. This concern, combined with statements from the NIH and other government and health organizations that side effects from acupuncture are significantly lower, has made more individuals turn to the treatment, particularly for pain relief. Several studies have also shown how acupuncture has helped patients with osteoarthritis, post-chemotherapy nausea and even depression. Despite all the apparent positive feedback, those considering acupuncture should still consult regular doctors and health-care professionals for advice on their conditions first. If they decide to pursue the treatment, they must make sure that the acupuncturist or practitioner they see is highly-qualified and certified by organizations such as the American Academy of Medical Acupuncturists.
About the Author:
For more great acupuncture treatment related articles and resources check out http://acupuncture.naturaltherapieshq.com
Tags: Miscellaneous · Acupuncture
The Four Techniques
Theoretical Physicists have made observations about time, concluding that it is speeding up. As the universe expands, time speeds up. Well, for those of us down here on the street, that’s a no-brainer. Every year, every month, every week, sometimes seems like a break-neck rush from one crucial task to another. If we can keep–or find–our sense of humor through it all, and gain a moment of perspective, we might realize that even one minute of ceasing all activity, or one minute of disengaging from the worries and frustrations created by our expectations, can mean the difference between misery and well-being
It is in this spirit of calmly sitting in the eye of the hurricane of our lives that I offer well-tested, scientifically sound techniques you can apply on yourself to reduce pain, eliminate worry, restore equilibrium and bring back that natural state of well-being. I use them daily myself, and have never seen them fail (provided I actually take that one minute and apply them
Some of these techniques come from ancient spiritual practices, others from modern research into human physiology. They take a minimum of discipline to perform, and produce nearly immediate results. You don’t have to ingest any substance, rub anything on, or smell anything. And, best of all it’s free.
PRACTICE #1 - The Inner Smile
I first read about this in a book by Taoist Master, Mantak Chia, Awaken Healing Light. The entire book is absolutely fascinating, but this one practice is emphasized as being very important:
Smile with your face.
Then, imagine a smile on your heart. See it beating joyfully and purposefully.
Get your liver to smile, your stomach, lungs, intestines, brain.
Now find a discomfort, pain or tightness. Make it smile. You will notice this act seems to relax the area and the area around it.
Now breathe slowly into the area.
This immediately allows energy to flow through and past the blockages causing the discomfort, and, most importantly, causes an awareness of tension and the thinking that created it.
PRACTICE #2 - Take it Away
I discovered this phenomenon on my own after doing the Inner Smile consistently in yoga class. I’m speculating as to why it works, and at this point am thinking that pains and discomforts are really the body’s attempts at reaching out for relief. All that is necessary, apparently, is to grant relief from a forgiving, smiling space.
Make the pain-discomfort-fear-worry or unwanted emotion smile.
See the condition as a shape. It has a form–it can be a blob, a structure, any shape.
Now, calmly smiling, gently say to yourself, “Take it away.”
Observe it leaving.
The Taoists and Buddhists say that there is no heirarchy of tasks. In other words, the flapping butterfly wings are as significant as an erupting volcano, or moving a mountain and moving your little finger are really the same order of magnitude. Motion is motion. It is merely the rearrangement of surfaces. Our assignment of difficulty or ease is an arbitrary and thus illusory habit of mind, thus, the more it hurts, the more severe must be the cause.
This concept is important because it factors in to this practice. If nothing else, this practice will teach you that a mildly stiff back and a sharp, stabbing pain in the knee are just different shapes of the same thing: the body’s request for relief. I have noticed that whether it is a mild discomfort or worry, or a sharp pain, the time it takes to dispel it seems to have nothing to do with intensity, so I’m quite sure that is completely arbitrary. Experiment with it.
I’ve also gotten definite signals or requests to do something to accompany the Taking Away, such as “drink water,” or “eat a grapefruit,” or “breathe deeply”–probably to help re-normalize the system.
PRACTICE #3 - Jumper Cabling
I discovered this in a practice called Jin Shin Jyutsu (”The Art of the Creator through the person of compassion”), developed in the early 20th Century by Jiro Murai, a Japanese sage. The automotive electrical reference was assigned the practice by Mary Burmeister, the American who was Murai’s primary student. Burmeister’s late sister, Alice, published the reference book on the art, The Touch of Healing in 1997.< Jin Shin Jyutsu has several levels to it, and can be practiced by a therapist or by a person on themselves. The particular practice of "jumper cabling" involves simply holding a finger of one hand with the other hand. Each finger contains the energy meridians for particular sections of the body. For example, hold the thumb to assist with digestion, the index finger for kidneys and lower back, the middle finger for liver functions, the ring finger for respiratory and intestinal conditions, and the little finger for the heart.
The objective with the holding of the fingers is to continue until you feel a definite pulse in both the finger and the hand holding it. This is the signal that energy is flowing through the respective organs. The time it takes to feel the pulse can be anywhere from immediately to 10 minutes in my experience. Plus, when the pulses get going, a wonderful, warm, throbbing sensation can be felt throughout the body
Use this practice with #1 and #2 above for quite a revelation.
PRACTICE #4 - The Heart Lock-In™
I found out about this practice during a lecture by Gregg Braden a few years ago, and it’s stuck with me since. Braden presented fascinating information developed by the HeartMath Institute. Founded by Lew “Doc” Childre in the early 90s, the Institute has done exhaustive research on the psycho-physiological connection between the heart and the brain, and has developed a biofeedback device for teaching how to consciously control heart rate that then changes brain chemistry.
From this reserach has come a wonderfully simple and non-mysterious technique based on yogic breathing, they call “The Heart Lock-in™” (this and much more available on their website in exchange for your email registration): 1. Shift your attention to the area of your heart and breathe slowly and deeply. Heart Breathing helps draw the energy out of the head, where negative thoughts and feelings are amplified. Remember, breathe slow and deeply in a casual way. Imagine the air entering and leaving through the center of your chest and heart area.
2. Activate and sustain a genuine feeling of appreciation or care for someone or something in your life.
3. Send these feelings of care toward yourself and others. This benefits them and especially helps recharge and balance your own system.
When you catch your mind wandering during a Heart Lock-In, no big deal, simply refocus your attention on the heart area and reconnect with feelings of care or appreciation. When you sustain coherence for 5 minutes or more it makes the state more familiar and accessible to you when you need it to meet challenges of stress. With practice, the coherent state becomes your new reference point, making the experience more automatic.
An intriguing aspect to the research of the HeartMath Institute is that it was found that the heart actually has a brain of its own–actual brain matter (ganglia). It was also found that the heart sends more signals to the brain than the brain sends to the heart. Consequently, during frustration or emotional upset, the heart and the brain can go “out of phase,” with the heart beating out of rhythm, creating stress on the whole body system. By bringing the heart rate into a smooth, continous rhythm, the communication to the brain is calm and steady, creating corresponding changes in brain chemistry. This they call “coherence.”
Conclusion
By using these techniques, and teaching them to your family and friends, many of the milder physical symptoms created from stressful modern living can be managed, and most importantly, brought under empowering control. Further, any dietary supplementation you may be using can certainly be enhanced with these practices.
So, take that one minute in the middle of the day, or that five minutes before getting out of bed–and certainly at bedtime–and use these practices to learn about your body-mind connection, and your inherent right to your own well-being.
About the Author
Boyd joined Tristar in 1998 as a product distributor, and came on as a staff member in 2002. He designed the website and sees to its daily maintenance, including the Vibrant Living Newsletter, where he is a writer. Boyd is a well-known musician (drummer) in the Portland, Oregon, area, having toured the U.S. and Europe with national-level musical acts. He is an avid, daily Bikram Yoga student, with a keen interest in metaphysics, natural health, and alternative healing methods.
Tags: Miscellaneous
Know Your Fats
The UDSA advises getting 25-30% (or less) of our diet from fats. That’s a lot when you think about it! Fats are essential to our health, so severely restricting them is not desirable depsite the low fat advice we get from our healthcare professionals.
Fats from food provide the raw material that help in the control of blood pressure, blood clotting, hormonal balance and other bodily functions. They also supply essential fats (those that cannot be made by the body) and when chosen carefully can actually assist with weight loss even though fats have over twice the number of calories as proteins or carbohydrates.
Saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high LDL (bad) cholesteral. The USDA recommends limiting your intake of saturated fats to 10% (or less) of total fat intake. These fats are found mostly in animal foods and some plants. Animal sources high in saturated fats include most animal meats, butter, whole dairy products, cream and cheeses. Plant sources include coconut oil, palm kernel oil and cocoa butter.
Trans fatty acids are formed when vegetable oil hardens (a process called hydrogenation). These are even less desirable than saturated fats and should be avoided. Trans fatty acids raise LDL (bad) cholesteral and lower HDL (good) cholesteral and are associated with many degenerative diseases.
Unsaturated fats, when used in place of saturated fats, can help lower blood cholesteral. While these are considered good fats, they are still high in calories. Unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature whereas saturated fats are hard. There are two types of unsaturated fats:
*Monounsaturated fats can be found in olive oil and canola oil, flaxseed, olives and avacados. The UDSA recommends mono-unsaturated fats make up 10% of your diet.
*Polyunsaturated fats can be found in cold water fish and flaxeed,sunflower,corn,soybean,safflower and cottonseed oils. Again, 10% of your diet should come from polyunsaturated fats.
There are several unsaturated fats and fatty acids that are excellent for your overall health. The best known are the omega-3 fatty acids which can be found in cold water fish and flaxseed oil. They have been found to protect against many degenerative diseases and to aid in weight loss.
In summary, limit saturated fats and avoid trans fatty acids. Twenty percent of your diet should be split between poly- unsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. If you don’t have a direct dietary source of omega-3’s take a few fish oil caps each day.
About the Author
Dr. Lanny Schaffer is an Exercise Physiologist and the President of The International Fitness Academy. For more cutting edge fitness and nutritional advice go to http://www.aerobic-exercise-coach.com
Tags: Miscellaneous · Healthy Eating
Revolutionary H-bath - Natural remedy for your healthier life
Many years ago, during my Ph.D. program at Osaka University Medical School, I first heard of the half-body-bath (h-bath). My first impression of the idea to “Put the lower half of the body in warm water until the whole body is warm” was that it was hilarious. How could you warm up your body, while your upper half-body is out of the tub?
I had completely forgotten about it until 2 years ago, I was reminded of the h-bath by a friend, did some investigation on it, and then started the h-bath by myself. I read books about the h-bath and watched TV programs produced in Korea and Japan, and then I learned in detail about the h-bath. The h-bath was started by Dr. Yoshiharu Shindo, Japan, and spread into Korea and China over the years.
After I started the h-bath, first I was surprised at the amount of sweat in only in 20 minutes by putting lower body in the tub. Secondly, I felt my whole body was still warm enough even long after the h-bath (it lasted about 2 hours). I then recommended it to my wife who was suffering from “cold hands and feet”. Guess what! She was able to get rid of “cold hands and feet”, and was able to have good night sleep. Now even my 10-year-old daughter is enjoying the h-bath every night.
What other health benefits did we get from the h-bath practice?
I lost 17 lbs in 8 months and also was relieved of shoulder pain I had for more than 15 years. Best of all, is the daily stress management by the h-bath. As mentioned previously, my wife was finally relieved of “cold hands and feet” (Raynaud’s disease), as well as the long-time-suffering of GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease), a.k.a. acid reflux. We both gained much more energy than we previously had. Of course, I also did a daily exercise of 30 minutes of walking combined with 30 minutes of the h-bath. I am sure that the h-bath had a synergic effect in my weight loss.
Since I am not an exercise orientated person, like many of you, I knew that both walking and the h-bath were programs I could continue. My daily walking program is not strenuous; rather it is a relaxing slow walk of 30 minutes around the work place or on the treadmill during a lunch break. At night, I did 30 minutes of h-bath everyday. That’s it! I feel much energized now.
I am a scientist, majored in the medical sciences and quite often I couldn’t control the stress from research, discussions, and presentations and so on, until I started the h-bath. I never knew that a bath could be fun. Different from ordinary whole-body-bath, your arms and hands are free, which means you can read a magazine, book etc and fully enjoy the half bath experience.
I want to share the experiences and science of the h-bath with you and recommend the h-bath for healthier you. Best of all, you don’t need to purchase any special equipment for the h-bath, but you should learn proper instructions to start.
What is the half-body-bath (h-bath)?
The main purpose of taking a bath is to sanitize the body. After a bath, we feel relax and relieved of day to day stress. This implies that a bath has a stress relief effect. Fatigue can be relieved when submerging your whole body into the tub-full of hot water. And a bubble bath or few drops of essence oils can also help you to be relaxed. You may have experienced falling asleep while taking a bath, right? Taking a bath is not only good for cleaning purposes, but also for mental health.
The history of submerging-body-bath is older than we think. According to the history records, there was a public bath in Rome, AD 300. The ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes shouted “Eureka, eureka!” when he found the principle of buoyancy (Archimedes’ principle), while he was taking a bath. For a long time, taking a bath meant whole-body-bath (w-bath), which is submerging a body up to the neck. In the early 1980’s, Dr. Yoshiharu Shindo, an ENT clinician, established a revolutionary bathing method, the half-body-bath (h-bath). Dr. Shindo mentions this in his first book, [Remedy for all diseases - controlling the thermodynamics of the body];
“I have been suffering from the “cold hands and feet” especially during the winter, so I used to wear long boots and thick cloths. And, finally came across the thought that what if I warm up the lower-half-body in the bath. It was cold winter, but I tried everyday. I thought that winter is the best time to test the effect of the h-bath, since it is the most severe season for the “cold hands and feet”. After many trial and errors, I concluded that maximum effect can be obtained by using warm water (100-104oF = 38-40oC), which is slightly higher than the body temperature. And keep the water level up to the 3-4 inches above the belly button, and then stay in the water for 20-30 minutes.
I even tried that when I got a common cold. After 20-30 minutes for the h-bath, I started to sweat a lot, and experienced a complete cure from fever & cold the next day. I was also relieved of the shoulder and upper arm pains. They were gone after few months of the h-bath. Of course, a common cold is not the problem anymore. I used take a short nap during the day to have enough energy for the rest of the day, but after continuing the h-bath, I realized I could keep up my activity without a nap. After I investigated the relationship between coldness and diseases, I am assured that the unbalance of the thermodynamics of the body is what causes many diseases. By fixing this heat unbalance by the h-bath, many diseases related to thermal unbalance can be cured naturally. This can be confirmed through the observation of my patients. In combination with conventional medical treatments, the h-bath enhances the cure index in the most of respiratory diseases including common cold”.
Dr. Shindo not only found that the h-bath primarily controlled his “cold hands and feet”, the so called ‘Raynaud’s disease’, but he realized that the h-bath helped to restore the human body naturally by equilibrating body heat.
Blood flow is a prime method of distributing heat evenly throughout the body. Poor blood flow can cause a reduction in the temperature of the extremities, and researchers theorized that poor blood circulation can cause cold hands and feet, subsequently causing other problems such as insomnia. Needless to say, the heart is responsible for the delivering of “warm blood” throughout the body. However, for some reason, it does not go flow through to the end of the body, like the hands and feet. If you take thermography of the whole body, you can see that the heat distribution of the body is not even. The upper body has higher temperature (98.6 oF = 37 oC around the heart), however lower body has comparatively low temperature; especially the temperature of the feet which is below 87.8 oF (31 oC).
Japan was built up from volcanic eruptions, and has many naturally formed hot springs all around the country. So over a long period of time, they developed unique bathing culture. Taking a bath is a daily part of a life in Japan. Paradoxically, on average 10,000 people die in the bath every year. The majority of people who die in the bath are elderly, mainly caused by cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction and cerebral hemorrhage etc. If so, is taking a bath deadly for elderly?
The answer is “it depends on the way of bathing”. A traditional w-bath can produce a lot of stress to the heart, mainly caused by water pressure. Since the whole body is warmed up from the w-bath at the same time the heart is experiencing stress, the heart beat rate and blood pressure rapidly increases and sometimes can cause cardiac or vascular problems. Besides, body heat can hardly be equilibrated since 85 - 90% of your body is submerged in the same temperature, and head is the only place to get the extreme blood stream and excess heat.
However, with an h-bath, the blood circulation increases gradually and reasonably with less stress to the heart and also does not provide the added stress of the water pressure. According to scientists, the h-bath does not significantly increase the blood pressure, shown by measuring cardiograph during the h-bath. The h-bath is comparatively safe, and is hugely effective for blood circulation. However, it doesn’t mean that the h-bath is “totally safe” for elderly and cardiovascular disease patients. Consult your doctor prior to start the h-bath.
The h-bath has spread all around Japan, Korea and China in a short time period. Millions of people continue the h-bath everyday and are accumulating their experiences and pre-scientific data. According to the h-bath people’s network, the h-bath is very effective in weight loss, improving skin health, helps to decrease the discomfort during a woman’s menstrual cycle, and lowers the blood pressure by enhancing the blood circulation in general.
There is no need to purchase expensive equipment for the h-bath. A bathtub and warm water are basically enough. A thermometer, reading materials and a rubber ducky are optional. The rest is continuing the h-bath with consistency and making this part of your daily activity.
About the Author
Andy Lee, Ph.D. in Medical Science Andy got a Ph.D. in Osaka University Medical School. And now he is working in the Biomedical Institute in San Diego as a faculty. Andy is interested in the alternative medicine and trying to understand and explain with the western medical theory. http://www.hbath.com Send email to Andy at: andy@hbath.com
Tags: Miscellaneous · Detoxifying
Demystifying the Powers of Hypnosis
“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can
achieve.”
- Napolean Hill
Hypnosis is an enjoyable, easy and effective way to change
our bad habits into good ones and our negative feelings
into positive ones. All of our emotions, beliefs, and
habits reside in the subconscious mind and hypnosis
provides direct access to the subconscious mind to replace
any negatives with powerful, positive beliefs.
While many people think of it as “deep sleep”, hypnosis is
a comfortable and relaxed state that focuses attention and
concentration, bypasses the conscious mind filter, and
allows the subconscious mind to be open and receptive to
positive suggestions, tapping into the power of the
body-mind connection. Most people experience a heightened
state of awareness when they are hypnotized, while only
about 10% will enter into a state where their mind is so
relaxed that they do not remember the session.
People experience this natural, normal state at least twice
each day – before they go to sleep and when they wake up.
If you have experienced arriving somewhere and can’t
remember actually driving there, or if you have missed a
freeway exit then you have been in a natural hypnotic state
often referred to as “highway hypnosis”.
Natural hypnosis may also occur when you become so involved
in an activity, reading a book, or watching a movie that
everything else seems to be blocked out, even to the point
of not hearing people who talk to you. Whenever
concentration is intense, it’s easy to slip into a natural
hypnotic state.
Hypnosis has been used for thousands of years as a powerful
tool to help and heal. Early records mark the Egyptian
sleep temples and the Temple of Aesculapius in Greece as
sites where hypnosis was used as an important part of the
healing treatment.
The ancient Hawaiian Kahuna’s, healing masters, routinely
used hypnosis in their healing practices. A resurgence of
the use of hypnosis began in the 1700’s with the work of an
Austrian physician named Franz Anton Mesmer. In the 1800’s
Dr. James Braid brought hypnosis to the medical arena with
his work in hypnoanesthesia.
Hypnosis was used as an effective and rapid treatment for
“shell shock”, now referred to as post-traumatic stress
disorders, following World War I, World War II, and the
Korean War.
The American Medical Association approved hypnosis as an
effective treatment in 1958 and recommended that training
in hypnosis be included in medical school curriculum.
Hypnosis and guided imagery continue to be integrated into
modern medical and health care systems.
The National Institute of Health recognizes hypnosis as a
Complimentary and Alternative Medicine treatment modality
and continues to fund research to validate the importance
of hypnosis.
Research results have shown dramatic results in a variety
of areas, particularly as an adjunct to conventional cancer
treatments and for pain management. Moving even more into
the traditional arenas of medical care, hypnosis remains as
one of the most powerful healing modalities by utilizing
the power of the subconscious mind in motivating the
mind-body connection for balance and health.
Hypnosis is probably best known for breaking habits with
stop smoking and weight loss success and yet it has been
found to be effective in reducing and managing stress,
achieving deep relaxation, increasing energy, overcoming
fears, overcoming insomnia, and reducing the experience of
pain.
Hypnosis has also been shown to be effective in overcoming
test anxiety, improving test performance, improving sports
performance, improving motivation, setting and achieving
goals, improving memory and concentration, increasing self
confidence, and building self-esteem.
Most of us have habits or feelings that we’ve tried to
change and yet nothing we do seems to make a difference.
We know how we want to act and feel, but our
decision-making and will power doesn’t seem to be enough to
have any lasting effect. Although our conscious mind has
made a decision to change, the beliefs and ideas held in
our subconscious mind won’t allow the change to take place.
Hypnosis allows the subconscious mind to move into
agreement with conscious desires and goals so you can live
a life of freedom and success!
Debbie Friedman, M.S., C.Ht., is the Manifesting Maven who
helps people consciously create the life they love to live.
She is the creator of the popular Cleaning Out the Closet
of Your Mind for Wealth series.
Copyright 2005 Debbie Friedman
http://www.CleaningOutTheCloset.com
Tags: Hypnotism · Miscellaneous
