B Holistic

B a Quitter: November Special

 

B a quitter and participate in the Great American Smokeout on November 20th.  The smokeout proposes putting your butts out for a 24 hour stretch.  Try acupuncture if your inspired to quit for a longer duration.  Acupuncture helps take the edge off withdrawl symptoms and cravings.

Three sessions over the course of two weeks can be just what you need to stay on track.  Cost: $150 non-members $100 for members 

B Defensive: Strategies for Seasonal Pathogens

Follow these defensive strategies to protect yourself and your family against this seasons pathogens:

BUILD:  Enhance immunity to not only prevent illness but also strengthen your defenses against pathogens.  Here are some suggestions:

Supplements are useful before and after you get sick. 

• Vitamin D, Pro-biotics, Omegas, and Vitamin C are good for the entire family.  Shop here.
• Preventative herbal formulas:  There are herbal formulas designed to enhance immunity depending on your individual needs.  (stay tuned for more info. on herbal strategies)

Eat and drink:

• Increase vegetable intake: Leafy greens, mushrooms, garlic, scallions, cruciferous veggies etc.  Download and print this list.  Involve your kids and check the items off for fun.
• Teas - Treat yourself to a daily cup of tea.  Green or white tea are loaded with anti-oxidants. 
• Soup- Warm and nourishing- soup is a must this time of year.  Make a batch and freeze some so it's available.  Here's one of my favorite chicken soup recipes, but there are endless options.  However, if you don't have any on hand order take-out from your favorite Thai restaurant.  

Daily Routine:

• Rest- Now is not the time to burn the candle at both ends.  Sleep is your body's time to restore itself.  Try going to bed an hour earlier than usual.

• Exercise- Be careful in the gyms but don't neglect them entirely.  A good sweat can potentially eliminate any pathogen before you even notice it.
• Dry brushing- Brushing your skin with a natural bristle brush improves your blood AND your lymphatic flow.
• Sinus cleanse and gargling- It's a must.  Try the nasaline or purchase a neti pot (available at most grocery stores)

PREPARE:  Prepare your medicine cabinet so that your ready if you or a family member gets sick. 

•  Make sure your medicine cabinet has adequate supplies of:
• • Tylenol and Motrin (for adults and children)
  • Fluids with electrolytes:  Pedialyte and /or gatorade to prevent dehydration
  • extra battery and slipcovers for your thermometer
  • masks - this is important if you have young children and are breastfeeding. 
    
  • I don't usually recommend clorox wipes, but this is a good time to get some.  Useful for doorknobs, telephone, toys, light switches, faucets, etc...
  • Yin Qiao San - A common herbal formula used at the onset of sickness. 
    
• Know where to go if there is an emergency.   Certain hospitals are creating special centers for immediate attention.  It's just good to have a plan.
  

CONTROL:  Stay calm, cool, and collected if you or a family member gets sick.  Kids can get very high fevers so it's all about controlling the heat.  Use whatever you can to keep the fever down.

• At the onset of sickness (esp. scratchy throat) use Yin Qiao San to expel heat. 
  

• Call your doctor if you suspect the flu so they're aware of the situation.

• Controlling the fever
• • alternating between Tylenol and Motrin for especially high temps. (102 and up)
  • cool-cold washcloths on wrists, ankles, and foreheads

• Wet sock treatment ( helps to rev up the immune system so the fever breaks)
• • Soak the feet in hot water- hot as you can take it
  • soak dry-wick socks (sport socks or cut the feet off of tights) in ice water
  • ring socks to remove excess water and immediately place on feet
  • cover feet with wool socks and go to bed.

• Quiet and rest as much as possible
• fluids (soup or plain broth, pedialyte, gatorade)
• Acupressure and hand techniques for children include (quick rubbing of the inside of the arm and the back, Stimulation of Du-14, and Lung points on the back and wrist)
• WATCH for signs: Difficulty breathing, severe lethargy, dizziness, blood in stools or vomit all may require emergency attention

B Conditioned: Teas and Tips to Promote Fertility

Conception is about the conditions.  There's a delicate balance at work and the conditions have to be right for conception to occur and pregnancy to maintain itself.   These days it's not uncommon for women to undergo extensive fertility treatments to ensure these conditions are met.  I applaud these women and always hope it works out for them because the end result is worth the emotional roller coaster. 

I love Susan Weeds series of books for women and in  Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Years she suggests a few simple things to augment fertility and promote conception.

RED CLOVER flowers: High in both vitamins and protein that nourish the uterus and body.  The Calcium and Magnesium levels promote fertility by relaxing the nervous system.  Many of the minerals present are useful for glands which contribute to hormonal balance.  This herb also helps balance the acid/alkaline levels in the vagina and uterus contributing to a nice stable environment for conception.

Weed suggests infusing 1 oz of Red Clover flowers with 1tsp of peppermint leaves in a quart of water for four hours.  Drink throughout the day for several months.

NETTLE Leaves:  The common stinging nettle is a great herb for nourishing the uterus while strengthening the kidney's and adrenal glands.  This is important because actively attempting conception is VERY stressful.  This is a simple way to help combat some of that tension.  

RED RASPBERRY:  The high calcium content and properties that tonify the uterus make this another popular tea for women.  Combine this with Red Clover for maximum effect.  Use 1/2 oz of each in a quart of water for four hours. 

Add DANG GUI to these infusions if you need to normalize your periods.  Add this tincture between ovulation and menstruation.

Finally, just when you were getting used to clinical sex, she recommends "lunaception", which is to leave a light on in your bedroom for 3 nights mid cycle since ovulation is controlled by light.   Having intercourse on these "light" nights can help promote conception.  Keep your room in total darkness the rest of the month. 

Next week, I'll discuss fertility and the lunar cycle.  Until then...happy baby making.

B Pointed: Palace of Heaven

A.k.a Tianfu or Lung 3.  This point is located on the Lung channel which begins on the lateral side of your chest down to the edge of your thumb.  Lung points are obvious points for respiratory conditions like asthma.  But, Lung-3 is interesting because it has a spiritual component.  The Lungs store the corporeal soul, called the "po" which is one component of several that make up our spirit energy.  This particular point  is a great one for common conditions with an underlying emotional aspect to them.  Sometimes, we experience things that seem out of the ordinary.  So don't feel like you're crazy if you feel disoriented and are more forgetful than usual, or are overcome by sadness and find yourself weepy, or even if you feel drowsy but can't sleep.  We need to trust ourselves when we feel a little off and recognize that TCM may offer a pointed explanation.

B Clear: Remove Clutter to Clear Your Mind

Clutter in our home and office can be distracting to creative and cognitive processes.  Taking time to clear the clutter, tackle projects,  and re-organize can help focus our energy for more important matters.  This is a great time of year to remove clutter since Fall is about gathering and clearing as we prepare for colder months. 

Begin the Gathering:

1.  LOCATE a place in your home and bring all the stuff you want to sell and/or donate to that spot.  This helps begin the cleansing process without having to make permanent decisions for parting ways.  Set a date for a garage sale or charity pick-up.  You don't want that space or room to become a permanent designated place for stuff.

2.  CONTAIN.  Focus on one room at a time and bring with you a bag for trash and an empty box for stuff to move, donate, or store.

3.  PART ways with good stuff and avoid being too attached.  Sometimes, our good stuff doesn't work in our home anymore.  The velvet curtains I sold at my garage sale look much better in  The woman who bought my velvet curtains was excited to put them in her bedroom, a much better place than my basement.

Begin the clearing:

4.  CLEAR & CLEAN.   Have a bucket of suds and a rag to freshen up the space before you reorganize closets, shelves, and drawers.

5.  DESIGNATE spots.  Group stuff together and designate space for like items.  A chest of drawers became a new home for mailing materials, TCM catalogs, and craft materials.  

6.  BE RESOURCEFUL.  There is plenty of containers in your home without having to buy more.  Nice boxes are great for containing loose materials like scarves, smaller purses, and jewelry.

7.  LIST your projects and just DO IT.  Projects like hanging pictures and towel bars can linger in my mind's to-do list for months.  These things can take up unnecessary space in our homes and minds.

8.  BASK in the glory of organization.  Good job!

B Treated with a Seaweed-Clay Mask: October's Special

This October - treat yourself to a customized facial.  The treatment includes a light exfoliation followed by a blend of seaweed, herbs, and clay customized for your skin type.  No tricks here, these natural substances work harmoniously to cleanse, hydrate, and improve skin tone. This treatment along with a few carefully chosen acupuncture points will restore and rejuvenate your spirit, a perfect way to embrace the Fall season.   Cost: $40 (non-members) $30 (members).

B a Member!

Become a B Holistic member and ...

• automatically receive $10.00 off all services including acupuncture, facial acupuncture and adjunct treatments like cupping gua sha, and moxa treatments

• know that 5% of service fees will be donated to charitable organizations.  B Cause!  We will begin with Donorschoose, an organization dedicated to raising funds for classrooms in local communities.  As a group we'll decide on which class to donate.

• participate in monthly specials that will be posted on www.bholistic.com. 
  

• be the first to find about workshops and other group events

• receive monthly giveaways...a little something because you're worth it

We're excited to offer this new program and hope it'll be a fun and rewarding experience.  Join for FREE.  Tell a friend and receive a bonus gift!  Email bholistic@sbcglobal.net with your mailing address and date of birth to enjoy B Holistic benefits.  Thank You! 

B Channeled: TCM Meridian Theory

"Qi cannot travel without a path, just as water flows or the sun and moon orbit without rest.  So do the yin vessels nourish the zang and the yang vessels nourish the fu"  Spiritual Pivot Chapter 17

The flow and distribution of acupuncture meridians were studied in minute detail by ancient civilizations and still remain the basis of channel theory today. Theory holds that all aspects of our body including individual cells, tissue, and organ is supplied by a particular channel.  The channels are named by the organs they run through, the limb they travel within, and it's yin or yang (inside/ outside/ back/ front) position.  Like a tree, every channel has a main "trunk" aspect, but also several "branches" that run deep throughout the body to connect the muscles, skin, tendons, ligaments, bones, head, torso, limbs, and the sense organs to form an integrated whole.  Channels relate to one another through a network and carry qi, blood, and body fluids to supply and nourish our bodies.  Acupuncture points located along the channels are used to activate these substances.

B Organized: The perfect day planner

Time management is a key component of managing stress.  It's not fool proof, but writing things down helps free our minds from the everyday clutter of appointments, things to do, ideas etc.  There are many options for organization, but my search for the perfect planner has ended.  Moleskine's 18-month (July -December ) 2009-2010 planner is stylish, compact, and complete with a logical layout.  The layout and sizes vary per notebook.  I'm thrilled with the small pocket size book that has a week's agenda on one side and a  ruled page for lists and inspiration on the other.  This book also contains a year long time-table, a traveler's itinerary, and a pocket for miscellaneous items.   Now there's no excuse for flaky mishaps.

B Crafty: A back to school project

Craft projects are a great way to engage with the kids and express creative energy.  These whimsical pens/pencils are fun, simple, and actually useful.  They make great gifts and are the perfect back to school project.  

Simply, dab hot glue onto a writing utensil and wrap the pipe cleaner around it.  When you get to the top, dab some more glue and tuck the feathers into the pipe cleaner for a secure fit.  Wrap the pipe cleaner around tightly and voila...a writing wand.

The possibilities are endless with this project.  Artificial or Tissue paper flowers could be used instead of flowers.  Or substitute florist tape for the pipe cleaners.  

Thanks to one of my most creative friends for this crafty project!