Staying in Balance Acupuncture
|
Have you been wanting to start an exercise program? Thinking of eating healthier? Interested in meditation, yoga or tai chi? A small voice inside is telling you to make a change, but you don’t seem to find time. In today’s world time is a precious commodity. There are ways to find more of it and create a plan that maximizes your priorities. My CLIMB method will help you find time to prioritize YOU! (And you definitely, deserve this!) CLIMB is a process where you: CONNECT deeply with yourself LISTEN to your inner wisdom INTEGRATE this wisdom into your life MAP OUT actions to incorporate this wisdom BEGIN anew CLIMB uses meditation, journaling, compassionate presence and scheduling to guide and support you in making changes. I’ll be leading an in-person workshop at River Valley Coop on Sunday, October 26th at 1pm. Using the CLIMB method, this workshop will help you figure out your wellness priorities and find creative ways to schedule actions that will bring these priorities into your life. At the end of the CLIMB workshop you’ll have a better sense of what you truly want, a plan to put actions into practice and a calendar that you can take with you, which includes your new schedule. The principles of CLIMB offer strategies that have helped my patients (and myself) live the lives that we want. I’d be honored to share them with you! Here’s all the info to register. https://rivervalley.coop/.../finding-time-for-self-care... 
0 Comments
When it comes to getting healthier, you may not know where to begin.
There is so much information out there & so many recommendations. While there have been a lot fads that have come and gone, the basics of good health are pretty consistent – relax, breathe, stretch, eat lots of veggies, get a good night’s sleep & practice gratitude. One of the best ways to get healthier is to add time each day for one wellness practice. You can do that! Here are my recommendations based on the amount of time you have each day -- 1 minute, 5 minutes or 10 minutes. My next blog will include All of these recommendations are simple & can be added immediately. No special equipment needed. I’m sure many of you are already practicing some if not all of these habits. If this is you, bring a little more consciousness and attention to whatever habit you are doing. Super important is that you can’t do this wrong. I urge you not to get bogged down in the details. As long as you are listening to your body, life style changes are not dangerous. Showing up consistently is what leads to change over time. As my friend Gena says, “practice makes permanent.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you have 1 minute a day: This is super simple & only takes 1 minute a day. Best of all, you can do this right now. Step away from your computer for a moment or at least stop looking at it. Then, simply stop and breathe. Put your hands on your ribcage and take a deep breath, allowing the ribcage to expand. Hold this breath for the count of 4. Slowly exhale. Repeat for 1 minute. This article explains what happens in the brain & body when we breathe slowly and consciously. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/01/01/breathwork-slow-breathing-calm-mind/ Notice what happens as you practice this. Of course you can consciously breathe for two, three, five or more minutes; but I think just 1 minute a day, every day, can begin to shift your health. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you have 5 minutes a day: Try an emotion balancing meditation that you can do in just under 5 minutes. It’s a meditation that connects body, mind & spirit. Acupuncture incorporates physical, emotional & spiritual well-being into its practice. It does this through the model of the 5 elements. These include water, wood, fire, earth and metal. Each of these elements has a corresponding organ, color, body tissue, taste, season, climate and emotion. Here are the correspondences: Water – kidneys, blue, bones, salty, winter, cold, fear/wisdom Wood – liver, green, tendons, sour, springtime, wind, anger/kindness Fire – heart, red, blood vessels, bitter, summer, heat, over-excitement/peace & calm Earth – spleen/pancreas, orange/yellow, muscles, sweet, late-summer, dampness, overthinking/trust Metal – lungs, white, skin, pungent/spicy, autumn, dryness, grief/integrity See if these resonate with your experience. Do the correspondences feel right to you? Do you feel that body, mind and spirit exist together? In Traditional Chinese Medicine there is no separation between our organs, our thoughts and our dreams. The correspondences describe the relationship between the physical and the emotional and the spiritual. As an acupuncturist, I use these correspondences to diagnose and treat illness. When I treat folks for various health issues, I look to bring balance between and within the five elements/organs. I strive to create balance within the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of each organ. Creating balance is something that you can do on your own. Let this meditation be a guide. It’s a quick way for you to integrate the different aspects of your being. It can give you more of an appreciation for the ways that body, mind and spirit are present in each of us. It can allow you to relax and live in more harmony with nature. Take a listen: www.bonniediamond.com/meditation If this meditation resonates with you, set aside time to listen to it every day. Notice any changes you experience. Remember, you can make change in just 5 minutes a day. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If you have 10 minutes a day: Gentle stretching is one of my absolute favorite recommendations. It's so simple, takes only 10 minutes each day AND the results are FABULOUS! Exercise programs often focus on building muscle. This is important. Stronger muscles will help your body be leaner and more fit, making it easier to lift a child, bring in groceries, go out for a walk or do work in the garden. When you strengthen your muscles, the focus is on muscle contraction. Sadly, if your muscle stays contracted after it has completed its work of lifting, pushing a heavy object or moving a limb, the result is pain. Your muscles need to relax and often exercise programs leave this step out or go over it briefly. Many people skimp on stretching until they find themselves in pain. Often it’s an injury that reminds you that you need to take care of your body. If you find yourself in this situation, you need to stretch, being careful not to cause additional harm. The following are stretches that I often recommend when patients complain of muscular pain. You can do these safely as long as you move only as far as your body allows. If you are in severe pain or have very limited mobility, imagine yourself moving in a way that you would like. This reinforces the loop between the nervous system & the musculoskeletal system. Athletes often use this technique. When doing these stretches, my advice is to slow down, do less and only move to the point where you feel a stretch. Don’t push beyond this point. Over time you will notice that you can move further easily – but this does take time. So it's important to try these on a regular basis.
How did you find doing these stretches? If you felt discomfort, it means that you were pushing too hard. Simply pull back a little. For example, if it’s difficult to lift your leg to do the foot flex, do this lying down on the floor or in bed when you wake up. Listen to what your body is telling you. You may be afraid to exercise after you have been injured. It’s true that overdoing things can lead to additional injury, but our muscles and bones are designed for movement. You absolutely can start slow & build strength and flexibility gradually. And if you're pain-free now, remember that the best way to prevent pain is to treat it before it happens, which is why I recommend gentle stretches for everyone. Try a gentle stretching routine and let me know how it goes! I meant to write a blog post in February, then in March, but between house projects, family obligations & time spent recovering from a bad cold, time slipped by.
Fortunately, I knew that once things settled down and I could get back to my regular schedule, I would write to you. I knew that because communicating with you is something that’s important to me. It’s something that is a part of my practice & part of my commitment to helping you heal. And because this is important, I make time for it….even if I don’t get to it for a little while. I know from my work that some people think about better health, weight loss & eating more veggies for awhile before they are ready to take action. This time spent pondering what is important is time well spent. It gives you the time and space to listen. It allows you to become aware of what changes you’re willing to make. This listening is the first step in making healthy shifts. If you’ve been thinking about making shifts around food, consider my 6-week Yummy Healthy Food counseling program. This is a one-on-one program where we meet online for 6 weeks to slowly create the habits you need to achieve your health and weight goals. This program may be for you if you have a small voice inside that says:
Take a moment right now to check in with that small voice. Just listen to it and see if you can get clear of what it is asking you. If an improvement in what you’re eating is something that small voice is telling you, please get in touch. Over the past decade, I’ve worked to help folks eat smarter without any fad diets, expensive products or overly strict rules. What’s seems to work best for most people is a little more planning & time spent preparing meals. I help simplify this process by giving you information, tips & simple food hacks, all while encouraging you to be compassionate & gentle as you make changes. Here are all the details for the Yummy Healthy Food package: www.bonniediamond.com/yummy-healthy-food-nutritional-counseling If you have questions or are interested in getting more information, do sign up for a free online consult. I’m happy to have a 20-minute conversation with you! www.bonniediamond.com/free-consultation Remember, that small voice inside is important. Listening is the first step. I'm here to listen with you. Bonnie If you woke up this morning, after ushering in the new year, and a small voice deep inside of you said this year things could be different, please know that I hear you.
That voice is important and deserves to be heard. As I sit here writing this, I'm taking a moment to shift my focus to all of you who may be reading these words. Those who are patients of mine & those of you I've connected with in some way by email. And I wish all of you a year filled with happiness & health. As I focus more intently, I feel the emotion that goes along with this. That emotion is one of caring. My heart says, "I feel that you matter." Along with that goes enormous gratitude that you have enabled me to do the work I love. In doing that work, I've learned that listening to those small, inner voices is the beginning of a shift. Yes, just listening. In a culture filled with doing, focused on goals, that encourages us to make new year's resolutions, simply listening is a rebellious act. I believe that just by listening things in our lives begin to change. When we listen, we begin the process of checking inwardly. And when we check inwardly, we can learn more about ourselves moment to moment, and we begin to hear the subtleties that are easy to miss. When it comes to healing, those subtleties are important because they help us discern what works well enough, what we need to act on & what we're willing to do to move forward. We've been conditioned to make new year's resolutions, but according to a Forbes poll, only 6% of these resolutions are in place after 12 months, with less than 75% of them lasting more than 6 months. No surprise that this same poll found that 66% of new year's resolutions have to do with food. So we make resolutions even though they are not a particularly good tool for making change. We can take another approach.
I'll be honest. Making changes around food is incredibly difficult. There is no one size fits all plan. Unless you're a food & health nerd like me, you may not have the information or tools to eat healthy. Food generally gives us immediate comfort. Losing weight, lowering blood pressure & cholesterol, reducing inflammation....these things all take time. What's also true is that 2 weeks of healthy eating can make you feel fabulous. In 3 months, you most likely would take off 5-10 pounds, lower your blood pressure & cholesterol & be free from pain. At this point, your new healthier changes become habits & you may find that you have changed your relationship to food. If you feel overwhelmed and are not sure where to begin or if you're trying to tune in & listen, but aren't getting clear signals, I'm here to help. I'm offering 3 ways to help you listen to what you're body needs when it comes to food. "New Year’s Food Reset" -- Sunday at Serenity Yoga Individual Nutritional Counseling -- Ongoing, online Yummy Healthy Food Group -- Beginning in February, online My approach to healthier eating is to provide some basic information & offer ways to incorporate this info into your life. Here's what Cheryl Sawyer shared,
I'm here to help you in this process. Whether it's by encouraging you in this email to slow down & check in, or it's doing a deeper dive into exploring & shifting your relationship to food & your health. With you on the journey... Bonnie What comes to mind when you think of food?
What comes to mind when you think of dieting? What comes to mind when you think of your weight? All of these are loaded questions with incredibly complex answers. But what if food, diet & weight became simpler? What if instead of focusing on weight, portion size & calories, you switched your focus? When I work with people around food habits, there are 4 aspects of eating that we focus on: 1) Accepting where you are right now with love & compassion. You’re doing the best you can in a busy, stressful world with big food companies spending billions of dollars to make you eat as many processed foods as possible. You’re ok just as you are! 2) Clarifying your nutrition & health goals. Yours, not someone else’s. Only you know what is most important in your life. 3) Finding your problem food area. Most people have one habit that derails their eating plan. Sometimes it’s having a few drinks at a local bar. Sometimes it’s a specific food, like chocolate, that they can’t seem to cut out. Sometimes, it’s stopping regularly at a particular fast-food place. Once you’re aware of the pitfalls you face, you can decide to make simple changes – diluting drinks with seltzer, having nuts & olives as snacks & finding convenient food shops with healthy choices. 4) Adding more vegetables to your diet. Food are packages that contain nutrients. Vegetables happen to be one of the healthiest packages around. With all the different diets, eating well can become complicated. The thing that everyone agrees on is that vegetables lead to better health. Why not start by adding to your diet the one food that there is consensus on, that can be purchased in most local supermarkets & that’s inexpensive & easy to prepare. With these aspects in mind, it’s easier to create a healthy eating plan. One that focuses on your goals, finds substitutes for problem eating & adds lots of veggies to your daily meals. In the New Year’s Food Reset, I’ll be reviewing these steps in greater detail. Then we’ll have some fun choosing foods & recipes that are delicious & nutritious as I share my favorite meals & cookbooks. It will be like creating a food vision board for 2025! Interested? Get information here  Are you feeling a little stressed at this time of year?
I'm finding things are taking a little longer than planned, small problems are feeling magnified and I'm a bit more irritated than usual. All signs that I need to turn inward. Can you relate to this? I wrote a blog about 10 years ago about finding balance during this season that you might find helpful. It begins like this. "One of the great strengths of Eastern thought is its ability to allow for the existence of two opposing forces or ideas at the same time. With this in mind, I offer you some suggestions for maintaining balance throughout the holiday season. My suggestions embrace the notion that the yang side of the holidays – the parties, eating, gift-giving, decorations and commercialism – can be balanced by the yin side – the soul, the heart and the connections we have with ourselves, our memories and the people we care about. By slowing down a little and paying attention to our inner, yin side, we can find and create special meaning at this time of year. Here are some ideas to help you explore ways of doing this. These are only my ideas. Please take them, mutate them and transform them into your own...." Read the rest here If you're looking for other ways to take a breath, slow down & be present consider getting a 1/2 hour craniosacral therapy treatment, which uses gentle touch to settle and relax the nervous system. Until the end of the year, I'm offering a pay from the heart model. Pay $36-$60 for a 30 minute treatment. Schedule online using the link below or send me an email with times that might work for you. It's fine to gift this to someone you know. Simply purchase a gift card & have them get in touch with me. In the busyness of the season, we often forget to check in, be present and share the kindness and love that the holidays are truly about. Consider this a gentle reminder to focus on the things that are truly important. The rest will fall into place. Wishing you much peace, joy & contentment! Bonnie I'm sure that you've heard time and time again to eat more vegetables. It sounds so simple and might be if we lived in a world with vegetable stands instead of ice cream & hot dog stands!
Luckily, there are some easy ways to eat more veggies. One of my favorites is roasting vegetables. Just preheat your oven to 400 degrees, spread 1-2 TBS of olive oil or avocado oil on a baking sheet, and add your favorite veggies, chopped into bite-sized pieces. Listed below are approximate roasting times. It's important to stir the vegetables halfway through cooking time, so that they don't burn. Also, check to to see if they're done by testing with a fork or cooling a piece and biting into it. ~10-15 minutes: Asparagus, Bell Peppers, Bok Choy, Zucchini ~20-30 minutes: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Fennel, Onions, Mushrooms & Tomatoes ~25-35 minutes: Beets, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Potatoes, Winter Squash If you want to get a little fancier, try this roasted cauliflower recipe! Here's to good eating! Bonnie I hear time & time again from patients that as they begin to feel pain relief, they find they have so much more time & energy. Being pain-free allows them to sleep better at night, go back to exercising & be able to return to doing the things that they love.
The truth is pain, while often not serious, can sap energy and be difficult to manage because the brain is sending constant messages that something is wrong. Sadly, for most of us, no one has told us what to do to get relief. Cortisone & muscle relaxers offer temporary, and sometimes necessary relief. However, they don’t treat the underlying problem. To do this, it’s important to understand how pain develops and why it can persist long after our bodies have healed from an injury. We experience pain when special nerve endings called nociceptors detect harmful stimuli and send electrical signals to the central nervous system. There are 3 types of nociceptors that respond to three types of harmful stimuli:
Unfortunately, when pain goes on for a long time it causes the nervous system to be overly sensitized. All kinds of sensations are recognized as threats, creating a feedback loop that perpetuates pain even if there is nothing fundamentally wrong & no immediate danger. It’s not clear to many of my patients why this is happening, making the situation even more frustrating. And pain, unlike more serious diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease and cancer, is often unrelenting. Nerve endings continue to send signals to the brain, sometimes after the injury has healed. Ideally, we figure out what is causing the pain & with the help of acupuncture, craniosacral therapy & simple adjustments to posture, as well as some gentle movements, the body heals & the pain goes away. I see this happening over and over again. But honestly, particularly with chronic conditions, this takes time. What to do in the moment, when there is real discomfort? I recommend these strategies from the Mayo Clinic’s website 4(26.7%) :
Feel free to reach out to me for a free consultationif you are looking for a way to get pain relief. With you on your journey towards health! I was at a retreat this weekend, which was great, but honestly the food wasn’t so good.
I was eating minimally and a friend asked if I was a vegetarian. I responded that I wasn’t and that I didn’t follow any of the types of diets that we usually think of – vegan, paleo, pescetarian, etc… but that I’m thoughtful about what I eat. Someone who knew me well added that while most people eat for enjoyment and energy, I view food as medicine. When he said this, I had this deep aha moment. This is what I’ve been trying to convey when I say that we should eat to maximize nutrients and minimize process foods. Take a moment to think about this. Food truly is medicine. What grows around us enables us thrive and to stay healthy. When we take advantage of real food that we can easily incorporate into our diet, we are doing the work of healing. In study after study, people who eat real food and lots of vegetables have better health outcomes. I’ve been writing a lot about my Yummy Healthy Food Group. I think I’m so jazzed about it because I see the effect that nutritious eating has on my patients. There are those who see incredible results in a few visits because as they get acupuncture treatments, they are also changing their diets, losing weight and finding increased energy. Some patients make major changes, cutting out all processed and problematic foods. Other people make smaller shifts, adding more vegetables & cutting down on junk food. Both approaches lead to feelings of ease and empowerment. For some it means they can, with their doctor’s care, reduce the amount of medication they take. They also reduce their risk of diabetes, heart disease and pain due to inflammation. There are still some openings in Yummy Healthy Food Group. It starts on 9/25 and Monday will be the last day to sign up for the class. If you’re interested in finding out more about it, go to Yummy Healthy Food Group. You’ll be asked to fill out a form & schedule a free online consultation. Also, feel free to contact me by email or phone. This may be the moment for you to start making a change in your life. Don't pass it up. I used to eat on the run all the time. I’d grab a Kind Bar as I was leaving the house. Sometimes, I’d have my breakfast driving to an appointment. I’d find a few minutes in between seeing patients to gulp down lunch.
It’s easy to do and can seem efficient. Sometimes it may actually make sense. As a habit, it may become problematic. Here are some of the benefits of sitting down to meals, eating with friends and family & savoring our food. Enjoyment In addition to adding nutrients to our bodies, food is meant to be taste good & add to our sense of enjoyment. When we spend more time eating meals, we experience more pleasurable feelings. Bonding There are social benefits to eating with family and friends. No surprise that studies show we bond with people that we break bread with. Sharing food is one of the oldest and most enduring customs of humankind. Better Digestion We tend to eat faster when we eat on the run. When we take time to eat, food is more easily broken down with the help of digestive enzymes, leading to less adverse GI symptoms. We’ll absorb more nutrients and our food will be digested and metabolized more efficiently. Weight Loss When we eat slower, we give our bodies more time to reach the sensation of fullness. We’re more aware of when we are no longer hungry, which may make it easier to forego that second helping. Food Quality When we take time to plan or prepare a meal, we’re more likely to eat healthier foods. It’s easier to add greens and other veggies to our diet. Gratitude When we eat with others, we often comment on the taste of our food. We compliment the chefs and take notice of our favorite dishes. We build traditions around the foods we love & give thanks for them. You may think that this sounds great. Still, it may be difficult to embrace eating more slowly & setting aside times for regular meals. Here are some suggestions that can help:
Let nourishment be a pleasurable experience – one that’s available to all of us. If you find any of these suggestions to be helpful (or difficult) feel free to send me an email & share your experience. Here’s to healthier eating one bite at a time! |
AuthorIn practice for over 20 years, Bonnie Diamond offers individualized, heart-centered care using a pain-free, Japanese style of acupuncture. Her work is influenced by her nine year struggle with and complete recovery from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. 
Categories
All
|