The Springtime and the Wood Element According to Traditional Chinese Medicine
By Gurneet M. Singh, TRIUNE's Acupuncturist
In Chinese Medicine, the spring season is associated with the Wood element. As we look around us, we are surrounded by the essence of the Wood element, the birth and growth of beautiful plants and flowers....a true signal that there has been an end to the quietness and stillness of the winter. As I work in my garden, it amazes me to witness these miracles of growth and of life. I can see life sprouting from the depths of the earth, growth through dead leaves that had fallen and collected on the ground, moving diligently under my fence and even sprouting up in between the bricks of my patio! Even after this rough winter, these plants are ready to move forward, coming forth bursting through the ground with astounding force, and always finding a way to grow. This teaches us a valuable lesson on the spirit of the Wood element...it is full of movement, growth, strength, purpose and vitality. We are reminded that we too can move forth with purpose, ease, and progress.
The spirit of the Wood element not only exists in nature...it is in each and every one of us. In a balanced state, it promotes exuberance, clear meaning, aliveness, moving forward and upward with purpose and hope.
In an unbalanced state of the Wood element, we may feel challenged, confronted, and limited. Feelings of stress, irritability, anger, and frustration that things may not go according to plan arise. It is important to take the time to nourish the Wood element within us. The best ways to support the Wood element all encourage the movement of energy within us, including: body movement like dancing, stretching, walking, hiking, running, yoga, massage, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, acupuncture, tai chi, meditating, and spending time in nature. We can always look to the plants, flowers and trees to remind us of the potential of growth and change welling up inside us, giving us the hope and courage to envision the future. Things in our lives may not always manifest as we have envisioned but the possibilities of growth and change are boundless.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a major health concern, for good reason... our bones protect our vital organs and provide the structural support that lets our muscles move us around.
Some people think of bone as an inert substance that's little more than glorified concrete. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bone is living, vibrant tissue which is absolutely central to our overall health. Among other things, bones create blood cells and also serve as a repository for calcium.
You may think of calcium as something you need simply to keep your bones strong. Calcium is actually used by the body for many functions... muscular contraction, nerve conduction, and creating the electrical signals used by the heart.
In fact, your body will pull calcium out of the bones if your blood levels get too low. It's more important to keep your heart beating than to have strong bones. So if we want to avoid osteoporosis (weakening of the bones), the best way is to avoid losing the calcium in the first place.
Some people focus on supplementation, and yes, if your dietary intake of calcium is low, you’ll lose some there. But there are far more dramatic sources of calcium loss.
The biggest one is sugar. Consuming refined sugar dramatically increases the amount of calcium lost in the urine. Which, in turn, drops the levels of calcium in the blood, and your body will respond by drawing calcium out of the bones to keep this vital element at a normal level in your bloodstream.
Step one in avoiding osteoporosis is to cut out the sugar, including sugary drinks. This is more important than supplementation, in my opinion. Your body can only take in so much calcium at a time (it’s just a tough nutrient to absorb), and you can lose it much faster than you can put it back. So definitely cut out the sugar.
Weight bearing exercise is just as important. Bone is living tissue that reacts to stress. Just like your muscles respond to stress by becoming stronger, your bones will also respond to stress by becoming stronger. The reverse is true: just like your muscles will atrophy (shrink up and get weak) with disuse, your bones will weaken if they aren’t put under stress.
So, make sure you’re exercising. The more weight-bearing an exercise is, the better… that doesn’t mean you have to be a power-lifter, but even the elderly should be doing some sort of resistance training.
Lastly, you can supplement. The main thing to know about calcium supplementation is that you need to be taking vitamin D and magnesium along with the calcium. These are co-factors your body requires to absorb and use the calcium, so they must be included.
Also, it doesn’t help to take more than 500 mg of calcium at once. Your body reaches saturation around 400-500 mg, and the remainder will simply pass out of your body unused. If you need to take more than 500 mg a day, be sure to split the doses up throughout the day.
Some people think of bone as an inert substance that's little more than glorified concrete. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bone is living, vibrant tissue which is absolutely central to our overall health. Among other things, bones create blood cells and also serve as a repository for calcium.
You may think of calcium as something you need simply to keep your bones strong. Calcium is actually used by the body for many functions... muscular contraction, nerve conduction, and creating the electrical signals used by the heart.
In fact, your body will pull calcium out of the bones if your blood levels get too low. It's more important to keep your heart beating than to have strong bones. So if we want to avoid osteoporosis (weakening of the bones), the best way is to avoid losing the calcium in the first place.
Some people focus on supplementation, and yes, if your dietary intake of calcium is low, you’ll lose some there. But there are far more dramatic sources of calcium loss.
The biggest one is sugar. Consuming refined sugar dramatically increases the amount of calcium lost in the urine. Which, in turn, drops the levels of calcium in the blood, and your body will respond by drawing calcium out of the bones to keep this vital element at a normal level in your bloodstream.
Step one in avoiding osteoporosis is to cut out the sugar, including sugary drinks. This is more important than supplementation, in my opinion. Your body can only take in so much calcium at a time (it’s just a tough nutrient to absorb), and you can lose it much faster than you can put it back. So definitely cut out the sugar.
Weight bearing exercise is just as important. Bone is living tissue that reacts to stress. Just like your muscles respond to stress by becoming stronger, your bones will also respond to stress by becoming stronger. The reverse is true: just like your muscles will atrophy (shrink up and get weak) with disuse, your bones will weaken if they aren’t put under stress.
So, make sure you’re exercising. The more weight-bearing an exercise is, the better… that doesn’t mean you have to be a power-lifter, but even the elderly should be doing some sort of resistance training.
Lastly, you can supplement. The main thing to know about calcium supplementation is that you need to be taking vitamin D and magnesium along with the calcium. These are co-factors your body requires to absorb and use the calcium, so they must be included.
Also, it doesn’t help to take more than 500 mg of calcium at once. Your body reaches saturation around 400-500 mg, and the remainder will simply pass out of your body unused. If you need to take more than 500 mg a day, be sure to split the doses up throughout the day.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
TRIUNE
OPEN HOUSE
SATURDAY MAY 22nd 11am-2pm
Refreshments & Food!
OPEN HOUSE
SATURDAY MAY 22nd 11am-2pm
Refreshments & Food!
Please bring your family & friends!*
*Bring someone new to TRIUNE and enter to win a FREE 90-minute MASSAGE!
Meet our Chiropractor Dr. Andrew Piazza!
FREE Chiropractic session with Dr. Andrew
Gift certificates for FREE Holistic Wellness Consultations with Dr. Sherri Edelman
FREE Hydrotherapy (dry)
Stress Surveys
FREE Massages
Exercise & Fitness Advice
FREE Acupuncture Talk with Gurneet Singh
FREE Seminar: "How To Pick A Good Nutritional Supplement
Meet our Chiropractor Dr. Andrew Piazza!
FREE Chiropractic session with Dr. Andrew
Gift certificates for FREE Holistic Wellness Consultations with Dr. Sherri Edelman
FREE Hydrotherapy (dry)
Stress Surveys
FREE Massages
Exercise & Fitness Advice
FREE Acupuncture Talk with Gurneet Singh
FREE Seminar: "How To Pick A Good Nutritional Supplement
JOIN US FOR AN AFTERNOON OF WELLNESS!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Promising New Experimental Bone Treatment
There's some interesting new research coming in on bone healing. Researchers have found a way to adapt the basic mechanisms used by creatures that can regenerate- like flatworms- and apply it to mammals.
In this particular case, they used mice and found they were able to stimulate bone healing by a factor of three times or more. While it's still obviously very experimental, the obvious hope is to one day adapt this technology to humans for use not only with faster fracture healing, but perhaps osteoporosis as well.
In fact, the same basic techinique could possibly be adapted to other tissue types, such as skin, opening the door for a whole new host of regenerative technology.
Now let's just hope they can make it affordable!
In this particular case, they used mice and found they were able to stimulate bone healing by a factor of three times or more. While it's still obviously very experimental, the obvious hope is to one day adapt this technology to humans for use not only with faster fracture healing, but perhaps osteoporosis as well.
In fact, the same basic techinique could possibly be adapted to other tissue types, such as skin, opening the door for a whole new host of regenerative technology.
Now let's just hope they can make it affordable!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Wellness Wheel
The Wellness Wheel
By Dr. Sherri Edelman
As we continue to move through the seasons once again from Spring to Summer, take a moment to reflect on the hopes and dreams you had in the beginning of the new year. Regardless of where you are in relationship to the achievement of those goals, or the actions that you have taken (or not) toward them...take a moment to reflect on the fullness of your life right now! There is always something to practice gratitude for, and when we do that, we come into the present moment, where all is in alignment toward our highest good -- even when we are in a state of confusion!
Visualize your life as a "Wellness Wheel"-there are seven spokes on your "wheel", and each spoke represents a different area of your life: relationships, physical, spiritual, work/purpose, family, financial, and mental/creative. Try this activity to discover whether you are in "harmony" holistically in your life, moving fluently and effortlessly in forward motion with synergy and flow.
Draw a wheel with 7 spokes and a small circle in the middle and label each spoke with the 7 areas above. Rate each area by putting a dot on that spoke: dots toward the edge of the wheel would represent dissatisfaction with how you perceive your life is going in that particular area; a dot closer to the center of the wheel means things are working great. Next, connect the dots and ask yourself the following question: "What would my ride be like on this wheel the way it is now?" If you're experiencing a bumpy ride, develop a plan of action you can take to make your ride (life) smoother, seeking out guidance and getting the support you need to be fully alive!
By Dr. Sherri Edelman
As we continue to move through the seasons once again from Spring to Summer, take a moment to reflect on the hopes and dreams you had in the beginning of the new year. Regardless of where you are in relationship to the achievement of those goals, or the actions that you have taken (or not) toward them...take a moment to reflect on the fullness of your life right now! There is always something to practice gratitude for, and when we do that, we come into the present moment, where all is in alignment toward our highest good -- even when we are in a state of confusion!
Visualize your life as a "Wellness Wheel"-there are seven spokes on your "wheel", and each spoke represents a different area of your life: relationships, physical, spiritual, work/purpose, family, financial, and mental/creative. Try this activity to discover whether you are in "harmony" holistically in your life, moving fluently and effortlessly in forward motion with synergy and flow.
Draw a wheel with 7 spokes and a small circle in the middle and label each spoke with the 7 areas above. Rate each area by putting a dot on that spoke: dots toward the edge of the wheel would represent dissatisfaction with how you perceive your life is going in that particular area; a dot closer to the center of the wheel means things are working great. Next, connect the dots and ask yourself the following question: "What would my ride be like on this wheel the way it is now?" If you're experiencing a bumpy ride, develop a plan of action you can take to make your ride (life) smoother, seeking out guidance and getting the support you need to be fully alive!
Spring Cleaning Your Body
Spring Cleaning Your Body
By Dr. Andrew Piazza
Springtime is here at last, and that means everyone is emerging from their hibernation and starting to move again. Most of us have a tendency to stagnate a bit physically during the winter months, from a combination of the cold weather and short hours of sunlight. And, similarly, most of us have a habit of rushing headfirst into spring after being cooped up in the house for too long.
That rushing back into physical activity often leads to a host of new aches and pains... and even more old aches and pains that resurface when we start moving and exercising a little too much and a little too fast. Who could blame us? Springtime is full of this rush to renew life and energy, and so it is not surprising that we get a little overly enthusiastic in our exercise.
All the same, it's a good idea to ease back into physical activity at least as much as your particular strain of Cabin Fever will allow. Tendons and ligaments that haven't been stressed in a while tend to weaken and get stiff, so sudden and vigorous exertion will tend to put you down for the count with a nasty sprain. Muscles that haven't had to support your spine and the rest of your skeletal structure during physical exercise will weaken and stiffen as well.
Since those muscles and tendons and ligaments all protect your joints, overwhelming those defenses by overdosing it in the gym or on the track could also lead to a nasty acute injury to the delicate joint of the spine. As anyone who's been bedridden with severe back or neck pain knows, this is an experience you don't want to have.
So spend a week in the "Spring Cleaning" of your body. Move, but don't move too much. Start walking before you start running. Lift weights before you start lifting heavy ones. Put an eye to your diet and clear out the heavy winter food in favor of more fresh fruits and vegetables. If you haven't been in to Triune in a while, check in with us and get your spine checked and cleared. Small, sub-acute (injuries not yet bad enough to trip off pain sensors) problems in the spine can interfere with your coordination and set you up for one of those weekend warrior type injuries.
In other words, clear out the cobwebs. Just don't do it so fast that you tear the house down!
By Dr. Andrew Piazza
Springtime is here at last, and that means everyone is emerging from their hibernation and starting to move again. Most of us have a tendency to stagnate a bit physically during the winter months, from a combination of the cold weather and short hours of sunlight. And, similarly, most of us have a habit of rushing headfirst into spring after being cooped up in the house for too long.
That rushing back into physical activity often leads to a host of new aches and pains... and even more old aches and pains that resurface when we start moving and exercising a little too much and a little too fast. Who could blame us? Springtime is full of this rush to renew life and energy, and so it is not surprising that we get a little overly enthusiastic in our exercise.
All the same, it's a good idea to ease back into physical activity at least as much as your particular strain of Cabin Fever will allow. Tendons and ligaments that haven't been stressed in a while tend to weaken and get stiff, so sudden and vigorous exertion will tend to put you down for the count with a nasty sprain. Muscles that haven't had to support your spine and the rest of your skeletal structure during physical exercise will weaken and stiffen as well.
Since those muscles and tendons and ligaments all protect your joints, overwhelming those defenses by overdosing it in the gym or on the track could also lead to a nasty acute injury to the delicate joint of the spine. As anyone who's been bedridden with severe back or neck pain knows, this is an experience you don't want to have.
So spend a week in the "Spring Cleaning" of your body. Move, but don't move too much. Start walking before you start running. Lift weights before you start lifting heavy ones. Put an eye to your diet and clear out the heavy winter food in favor of more fresh fruits and vegetables. If you haven't been in to Triune in a while, check in with us and get your spine checked and cleared. Small, sub-acute (injuries not yet bad enough to trip off pain sensors) problems in the spine can interfere with your coordination and set you up for one of those weekend warrior type injuries.
In other words, clear out the cobwebs. Just don't do it so fast that you tear the house down!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
What is Spring Fever?
by Dr Sherri Edelman
The first day of spring is fast approaching! You may already have had the ethereal wave come over you this past weekend on Saturday when the temperature rose well above 50 degrees, the big blue sky and warm sun shining upon us all! Spring fever refers to several sets of physiological and psychological shifts. It is not just in your head; it is caused by a response in the body’s chemistry and seasonal biology that accompany longer and warmer days occurring on the arrival of spring. There are a multitude of tell tale signs, sometimes paradoxical in nature, such as: an increase in vitality, spurts of energy, loss of appetite, increase in sexual appetite, restlessness, drowsiness, intense nervous excitement, insomnia, euphoria, a yearning to break away or strong desire, a craving to go shopping, and wanting to run away with mad love! Spring fever has made an appearance many times as a major motion picture title, in love poems, stories and medical literature.
I invite you to take this opportunity to welcome the spring season with an open mind and an open heart! How have you spent the cold days of winter?
Did you incubate new ideas, work on projects, or just store up reserves of energy to burst forth as you bloom into this spring season! Now is the time to utilize the creative energy you have stored up and expand yourself and your life. It is almost time to shake off the cold weather, get back into your best shape, move your body out into nature, dust the cobwebs in your mind, and set your spring course for optimum health and wellness!
Dr. Sherri Edelman-Life and Career Coach, Psychotherapist and CoFounder of Triune Wellness
The first day of spring is fast approaching! You may already have had the ethereal wave come over you this past weekend on Saturday when the temperature rose well above 50 degrees, the big blue sky and warm sun shining upon us all! Spring fever refers to several sets of physiological and psychological shifts. It is not just in your head; it is caused by a response in the body’s chemistry and seasonal biology that accompany longer and warmer days occurring on the arrival of spring. There are a multitude of tell tale signs, sometimes paradoxical in nature, such as: an increase in vitality, spurts of energy, loss of appetite, increase in sexual appetite, restlessness, drowsiness, intense nervous excitement, insomnia, euphoria, a yearning to break away or strong desire, a craving to go shopping, and wanting to run away with mad love! Spring fever has made an appearance many times as a major motion picture title, in love poems, stories and medical literature.
I invite you to take this opportunity to welcome the spring season with an open mind and an open heart! How have you spent the cold days of winter?
Did you incubate new ideas, work on projects, or just store up reserves of energy to burst forth as you bloom into this spring season! Now is the time to utilize the creative energy you have stored up and expand yourself and your life. It is almost time to shake off the cold weather, get back into your best shape, move your body out into nature, dust the cobwebs in your mind, and set your spring course for optimum health and wellness!
Dr. Sherri Edelman-Life and Career Coach, Psychotherapist and CoFounder of Triune Wellness
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