Springtime Exercising!

The transition through March and April can bring swings in temperatures as well as some windy days.   Even with this year’s warmer winter, our bodies need time to acclimate to being outdoors. Learn what works for you and plan for layering options. 

I recently had the opportunity to attend a workshop offered by Karen Scher, Certified Yoga Instructor, who led a group of us through some valuable ways to open up at the shoulders and upper body.  The exercises are simple.

To begin, keep both arms down by your sides.  Take one arm and reach behind you around your low back.  Take hold of your other arm, somewhere near the elbow.  Then focus on relaxing your shoulders down and back, feeling a stretch across your upper back and chest.  Hold the position while you take a few deep breaths before switching to the other side.  This will bring your posture upright, release the muscles along your neck and shoulders and also help free your breathing by opening up the lungs.  Practice the position a few times at home or while working at your desk and then incorporate it into your spring training activities!

It's Spring (almost)! Time to Grow, Create, and Refresh!

This weekend we pushed our clocks forward and began to enjoy longer hours of daylight.  The weather has warmed and our thoughts are turning to the enjoyments of spring.  It's time to grow, create, and refresh.  Karen Giles Acupuncture offers the following suggestions to make the most of your spring!

"Spring Cleaning" often makes us think of cleansing.  Spring is a great time to cleanse and refresh body, mind, and environment.  Enjoy foods that cleanse the body such as lemons, spring onions, and greens. Cleanse your mind by letting go of baggage you have been holding onto and fill your mind with fresh goals you want to reach. Cleanse your environment by remove clutter and organizing.  Cleansing gives you the opportunity to begin anew.  Start a new project or a new routine.  Go someplace you have never been and maybe travel there in a manner you have never traveled.  Spark your creative energy and follow it where it leads.

Why not start a garden and grow some of the cleansing foods you want to eat?  A garden is the embodiment of growth, creation and refreshment and allows you to develop a connection with the earth.  Use the food you grow to create new dishes or the flowers you grow to create beautiful arrangements.  A garden offers endless opportunities for creation.

These suggestions just scratch the surface on ways to maximize the benefits of spring.  Let me know what suggestions you have!

Restorative Yoga and Acupuncture

Winter's Gift

The Quiet Gift of Winter

The Winter has seemed a bit hesitant to settle in this year.  Some unseasonably warm days, while a respite from last year’s snow-filled Winter, is a bit confusing in nature.  Is it feeling that way for you too?  The recent snowfall delivered the gift that Winter offers – “permission” to relax into your own version of hibernation.  Regardless of the changeable temperatures, it is still Winter.  The trees are bare and grey against the sky.  If you listen carefully to nature, you will hear…silence.  There are no birds chirping, very little wildlife is active right now and often the only sound you hear is the wind blowing through the open spaces around us.  Plant life is huddled down, although I have noticed a few buds that wonder what to do on a warm winter day.  How is the Winter within you?  Are you finding some ease in the warmer temperatures and minimal snowfall to date?  Notice how you feel with each swing of the weather as we continue on through what’s left of this season.
 

Elemental wisdom

Winter is the seasonal expression of the Water element.  In the acupuncture tradition, the Water element is literally about the water in us.  Anatomically, our kidneys and bladder function as reservoirs and filters, managing the flow of fluids in our bodies and supporting the delicate balance of chemistry in so many functions.  But the kidneys also guide birth, development and growth, particularly in our bones.  The kidneys are the seeds that are the foundation of our skeletal structure, as well as our vitality. 

The spirit these organs have in this tradition is of power and potential in our lives and bodies.  Are you feeling energized or do you feel like your “tank” is empty?  The ability to power through the challenges of life comes from the Water element.  Physically, by keeping our bones strong and supporting our upright posture.  Emotionally, by helping us move through trying times, conquering fears and determining appropriate boundaries in how we live.
 

Karen Giles Acupuncture is proud to offer the Winter’s Gift Seasonal Workshop: Saturday, 2/4, 3pm-5pm.  A brief overview of acupuncture and the Five Elements will be followed by an in-depth discussion of Winter's Water element, it's gifts and challenges, and how it relates to your well being.  The workshop will conclude with a gentle acupuncture treatment. Registration: $25.

Winter's Gift Workshop

Saturday, February 4th, 3pm-5pm

Karen E. Giles, LAc, MAc
Five Element Acupuncture
903 Main Street, Suite 204, Port Jefferson, NY 11777
(631) 804-5902

The cycles of nature offer much about how to live life with more ease.  Nature seems a bit confused with this Winter’s changeable weather and it may feel that way within you.  As we approach the end of January with temperatures close to 50 degrees, the remnants of our first snowfall remind us that it is still Winter.

What does Winter evoke in your body and life?  Are you waiting for the chance to hibernate with a bit more snow or cold?  Or are you hoping that Spring will come early?

Come learn to about the season of Winter through the Five Element philosophy.
A brief overview of acupuncture and the Five Elements will be followed by an in-depth discussion of Winter's Water element, its gifts and challenges, and how it relates to your body and life.  The workshop will conclude with a gentle acupuncture treatment to help anchor in your body your learning from the afternoon.

Registration for the workshop and acupuncture treatment is $25.  Please reserve your space with me by phone or email, as space will be limited.

Learning how to allow Winter its full expression in your body and life can help you prepare for the Spring ahead.

Tips For Feeling Well During The Winter Months

Is this winter, or an early spring, or winter?!  New Year’s Day was almost 60 degrees.  While that seemed like a fluke, each week since then has been back and forth between a few frigid days and then warm sunshine.  Even the plants are confused, some showing buds on their stems.  Regardless of the swings in temperatures, we are still in winter and that offers some possibilities for your health. 

During the remaining winter days ahead, catch up on some valuable sleep.  This winter may feel like a gift after last year’s constant snow and cold.  The question to ask yourself is will you feel rested and ready for the activity the spring season will bring?  On these 50+ degree “winter” days, it feels like we should take advantage of the good weather.  But what if the winter stays this moderate?  You can still get outside and enjoy the breaks of warmer days while replenishing your reserves.

Getting the right amount of sleep (an average of 7-9 hours for adults) can help support your immune system, key during the winter months of flu season.  But adequate sleep is also showing a correlation with overall mortality.  M.D. Anderson’s Cancer Center in Houston has been studying the effects of sleep on the immune system.  Our immune system is an intricate set of cells and proteins that work to fight off disease.  Just like the delicate balance of our natural environment, any “hit” to this system means there is less ability to fight colds, flu and other diseases.   Diwakar Balachandran, MD, is director of the MD Anderson’s Sleep Center and says, “The more all-nighters you pull, the more likely you are to decrease your body’s ability to respond to colds or bacterial infections.”1 And with that, less ability for the body to withstand other diseases.

Another way to bolster your sleep “bank account” is naps.  Set aside some time mid-afternoon to stretch out for 10-30 minutes (any longer than that and you might feel groggy afterwards).  Usually sometime after 2pm-3pm is a good time to nap since the body has a natural dip in energy, but it’s also early enough in the day as to not affect your nighttime sleep.  Make sure you have a quiet, comfortable place with no distractions.  Not sure you are a napper?  Give it a try and see what you notice!

Balance the respite we are having so far from a tough Northeast winter with some extra sleep.  This is nature’s time of hibernation, so make it yours too…it will likely serve your overall health.

Karen Giles


1  http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/immune-system-lack-of-sleep

January is Hot Tea Month

Cold air has finally found us here in the Northeast.  Your fingers may be feeling a little stiff and you may feel a chill right down to your bones.  Perhaps wrapping yourself in a big warm blanket is not fully chasing away the chill. Well, the timing is perfect as January is Hot Tea Month! Wrap you fingers around a nice warm mug and feel the warmth spread throughout your body with each sip of tea.

Tea is a healthy drink full of antioxidants and other potentially healthful ingredients. Studies have shown that tea can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, lower the risk of many cancers, protect against obesity, and improve mental alertness. And it tastes delicious and has a calming effect as well!
 

Drink your tea slowly and reverently as if it is the axis on which the world revolves—slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment. Only this moment is life. -Thich Nhat Hanh

There are many different blends of teas to try. This is the perfect month to sample many and possibly discover a new favorite! Ginger tea is a popular choice for the cold winter months.  It has a spicy, invigorating taste and often is used to relieve cold symptoms. 

Allow me, Karen Giles, to offer some tea brewing tips:

• Always begin with fresh, cold water
• Allow the water to come to a full boil then use immediately
• Tea bags steep more quickly than loose leaves
• Remove tea leaves once desired strength is reached
• Do not use a tea cozy with leaves remaining in the pot as this will make the tea bitter

So go ahead and brew some tea.  Grab a warm blanket and find a quiet place to relax.  Watch the steam rise from your mug and enjoy the peacefulness.