by Nicole Johnson, MFA, CHHC | Acupuncture, Adrenal Fatigue, Anti-Inflammatory, Education, Health and Wellness, Immune Health, Kidneys
In October, we are already noticing the shorter days and longer nights of winter. Nature is pulling back in, and the Yang energy of warmer months converts to the Yin energy of the cooler months. In East Asian Medicine, this is the time when the in-breath emerges into the out-breath.
Here are some themes present during this transition period:
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Last of the Harvest
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Getting organized
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Recommitting to health
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Establishing routines
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Warmer foods
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Crisp air, invigorating
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Romantic relationship with nature
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Preparing to go inward (nature)
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Preparing for Holiday time (but perhapsnot wanting to)
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Harvesting and cover crops
Most animals begin to hunker down and rest, yet we humans start speeding up with holiday shopping and enormous amounts of busy winter-season preparations.
With awareness and intention, we can be mindful and nurture ourselves. Maybe you need a few extra hours of sleep or a joyful activity. When it comes to cooking, we like to make soups, stews, broths, and stir-fries that increase warmth and comfort.
Prepare to Nurture & Nourish Throughout the Season of Yin
At times, when we don’t feel nurtured, we eat emotionally. When coupled with stress, this is a ticket to everything from lowered immunity to inflammation, bloating, weight gain, increased anxiety, general dissatisfaction, fatigue, and melancholy.
You may want to find some delicious indulgences that will make you feel well-loved and won’t throw your system off by making you crave a whole bag of candy corn. Try this easy Golden Milk recipe and add a little pumpkin pie spiceto it for a seasonal Pumpkin Spice Golden Milk to treat and nourish yourself.
As the holidays rapidly approach, ask yourself:
What joy can I gift myself?
What minor changes can I make to simplify?
How can I slow down for the next 8-10 weeks?
We wish you warmth and gentleness for the Yin season to come.
Feel free to contact us by email or phone with any questions.
If you would like to schedule your next Acupuncture session or mini series, click here.
Yours in Support,
Chad & Nicole
by Nicole Johnson, MFA, CHHC | Acupuncture, Adrenal Fatigue, Fatigue, Health and Wellness, Insomnia, Nutrition
The holiday season is upon us. With it comes shorter days, longer hours of dark and for some of us, a struggle to feel balanced. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) –produced by the reduced sunlight in the Northern hemisphere this time of year– does impact how we feel. The recent time change combined with the colder weather and gray skies might make us feel fatigued, lacking motivation, and an overall sense of feeling down. The Vitamin D produced in our bodies after exposure to sunlight, plays an important role in regulating our mood and well-being.
What can we do to improve our mood, energy, and happiness as the days get shorter and the night gets longer?
Here are 7 ways to shine your light in this season of Yin.
1. Nourish the YIN.
Be gentle with yourself this time of year. In Chinese medicine, the winter is a time to slow down, rest and sleep more. We are moving into the deeper YIN time of the year, where the element of Metal is present.
Fall: Metal, Lung, Grief
The color associated with Metal is white, the organ is the Lung, and the emotion is Grief. Regardless of how you feel overtly, there has been a tremendous amount of collective grief the past number of years. We have a lot to grieve. Honoring this, feeling this, validating this is important to our vitality. It’s OKAY and imperative to grieve and grieve well.
2. Emphasize hearty, warm and nourishing foods
This helps us stay in sync with the season, connected, and grounded. If you are sleeping more and eating a bit more, remember that this is a natural part of your body’s rhythm for this time of year.
3. Acupuncture
As you may know (or suspect) Acupuncture helps regulate mood, balance hormones, and put the body into “rest and digest” mode, bringing a sense of balance & peaceful contentment. It reconnects the body, mind and spirit. Acupuncture sessions can support the lungs both physically and energetically and help you process grief.
4. Sun-gazing
Just as the sun breaks the horizon, go outside. Look around the sun – trace your eyes like a clock – this helps reset your circadian rhythm. Think of it as relighting your inner flame with the light of the sun. As the days get darker our light will shine brighter.
5. Try a sun lamp
They are most effective when set 20 inches from your face and used for 20-30 minutes in the morning. Sun Lamps mimic natural sunlight and give the body the impression of being out in the sun. This helps improve mood when used consistently.
6. Walk outside even when it’s cloudy
Getting outside to get some natural light even if it’s not bright and sunny in combination with exercise helps improve mood. An hour walk in the morning works wonders to elevate mood but even 10 minutes a day makes a difference.
7. Take some Vitamin D
You can test your vitamin D levels to see where you’re at. Supplement to ensure you’re getting enough. (Please check with your MD before starting any new supplements.)
In this season of Yin, shine your light.
by Nicole Johnson, MFA, CHHC | Adrenal Fatigue, Anti-Inflammatory, Covid-19, Fatigue, Health and Wellness, Immune Health, Kidneys, Pain Management, Prevention
We are living through stressful times. It’s time we elevate our lifestyle to incorporate a foundation of health that will keep us healthy, grounded, and centered in our everyday lives. If we follow this three basic practices, we can come back to center as we navigate through our everyday experiences. If we get triggered, we can come back to center. With a simple daily practice we can bring these into our everyday lives helping to keep us healthy, our immune system ,strong and our spirit resilient. It’s what we need in these times.
The three essential components to staying conscious, mindful and at ease are
- Breathing
- Hydration
- Sleep
The breath is the Organizing Principle. Proper breathing allows the body to extract Qi (Chi) from the air just as we extract nutrients from food. When we practice mindful breathing we connect the brain and the heart with the kidneys and all the organs can communicate. We feed our life force. Now more than ever, we need to recognize the shift from self-care to essential practice.
A Simple Way to Begin.
- At night before sleep, while resting in bed, place one hand on the belly and one hand on the heart.
- Take a deep cleansing breath and exhale strong. We are ready to begin,
- With your hands still in place, breathe in slowly into the abdomen, feel the belly rise. Inhale to 60% capacity.
- Exhale long and slow. The exhale should be double the length of the in-breath. (Want to know why? In stretching we stretch deeper, we release on the exhale. In Martial Arts we kick or punch on the exhale. The action or the release happens on the exhale.)
As you practice nightly, you allow your body to come into the Parasympathetic state (rest & digest). This was considered self-care prior to 2020 and it is now essential.
You can also watch this Video: Qi Gong Breathing: 7 Minutes to calm body and mind
Proper Hydration is critical for all of the functions of the body. When dehydrated, the fibers of the muscle look like a dry lake bed. They lose their conductivity. This makes pain feel worse and can hinder or delay recovery. Even if sub-clinical, dehydration can cause muscle pain and tightness. Even if you drink water regularly, you can become dehydrated.
How much should I drink?
Everyone’s hydration’s needs are different. But here is a general idea from what The Mayo Clinic recommends:
Around 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids for men
Around 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for womenAn easy way to get your water in is to pre-fill your bottles of water for the day and make your way through them. Often we need electrolytes as well so as not to over tax the kidneys. Always be sure to drink clean, purified water without chlorine or fluoride.
Now, more than ever we need adequate sleep. Life is stressful in a macro way, not just a micro way as it used to be. We are all affected by what’s happening in the collective, we need to sleep, to rest and to recharge our body, mind and spirit. Everyone’s sleep needs are different. Some need 8 hours, some need 10 hours. Experiment and see what helps you feel well-rested in the morning.
See what bedtime works best for you. Often climbing into bed by 10pm allows for deeper rest even if reading for 20 minutes. For a good night’s rest, be sure that all cell phones are off and out of the room. Turn off the wifi in your home. Disengage from electronics, news and other stressful events 30min to 1hr before rest. Try some gentle yoga stretching with the lights low, drink some warm decaffeinated tea, practice deep breathing and then rest and repair.
If you’d like support with a breath work daily practice, learning more about hydration or help with better sleep. Call us, we can help.
by Nicole Johnson, MFA, CHHC | Acupuncture, Adrenal Fatigue, Fatigue, Immune Health, Kidneys, Nutrition
It’s been a rough few years and we have all been -to varying degrees- in fight or flight. This raises cortisol and puts extra strain on the Adrenal Glands.
Here are some quick tips to support your healthy body and its myriad of functions:
- Get plenty of rest – 8-10 hours of sleep, embrace naps, and scheduled downtime.
- Hydrate – have you tuned into your water lately? Drink high quality H2O and plenty of it.
- Support your Kidneys (the Adrenals and Kidneys are best friends) – do this by doing the above, drinking bone broth or vegan mineral broth, keeping warm, being chill.
- Moxa & Acupuncture support the Kidneys and Adrenal function – they are the deepest layer, they are in charge of the will and in relationship to the heart spirit as well. A moxa and acupuncture treatment can support better sleep (goodbye insomnia), relieve anxiety, and support the body in keeping the parasympathetic response.
What is your stress level on a scale of 1-10?
Sometimes the first step is to realize you are operating at a high level of stress. Some folks feel like they are at a 4 when they’re really at an 11 on scale of 1 to 10. Take a moment to tune in and assess where you really are. Are there activities or habits you can let go of?
We are here to support you. Call to schedule an acupuncture treatment or a health coaching phone session.
by Nicole Johnson, MFA, CHHC | Adrenal Fatigue, Health and Wellness, Immune Health, Insomnia, Prevention
Sleep is one of the most important tools we have to support good health. And it’s free.
The bedroom is the place we go to recharge, unwind, and support deep rest.
The bedroom is a sacred space.
Look around with an unbiased eye and take note of what’s happening in your bedroom.
Is it cluttered? Are there pictures or knick-knacks that drain your energy?
Sleep is critical for our physical, mental and emotional health. It is our time to unplug, recharge, detox, and quite literally, rest. This supports a healthy immune system and a healthy nervous system.
Without quality sleep, we experience greater emotional stress, susceptibility to illness (lowered immune response), premature aging
, and anxiety.
Here are 7 tips on enhancing your beauty and your health through sleep.
1. Remove the cell phone from your room. If you’re using it as an alarm clock, do yourself a favor and purchase a real one. Cell phones are always sending out and receiving a signal and this is highly disruptive to sleep.
2. Choose an alarm clock with red or orange light, not blue or green. Or go old school. The spectrum of red or orange light is much more soothing to our bodies. If you want to drop a few bucks on a super zen battery operated chime clock, check these out.
3. Sleep in the dark. Our bodies are programmed to sleep in the dark and wake with the light. Have you ever gone camping? Once the sun goes down, sleeping happens much sooner.
Buy black out curtains or simply hang extra fabric to seal out the light. Studies have shown that light while sleeping can affect hormones, mood, and ovulation in women.
4. Keep electronics away from your head. Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) disrupt our health and can trigger anxiety, restlessness, and prevent sound sleep. This includes alarm clocks (you can put this across the room or in the hallway), lamps, really anything plugged in to the wall. If you like to read at night, unplug the lamp before you settle to sleep. Some people even like to flip the circuit breaker.
5. Remove TVs, computers, stereos, and other unnecessary gadgetry from your bedroom. Studies have shown that once you turn off the TV it continues to radiate for 8 hrs. Not so good if you’re trying to rest and repair.
6. If you suffer from insomnia, try eliminating caffeine. Even a small cup of coffee at 8am could affect someone who is extra sensitive and prone to insomnia.
7. Create a nighttime ritual – 5- 30 minutes should do the trick. Here are some ideas to explore:A hot salt bath (or if your feet are hot, a cool foot bath with peppermint soap), slow yoga to meditative music, 10 deep belly breathes, or a foot rub. All of these bring your energy inward, calm the nervous system and prepare the body for sleep.
by Nicole Johnson, MFA, CHHC | Adrenal Fatigue, Anti-Inflammatory, Digestion, Fatigue, Gut Health, Immune Health, Kidneys, Liver, Nutrition, Prevention, Recipes
Golden Milk is a delicious and nourishing drink that packs incredible health benefits into one warm mug at a time.
It’s very
Some of the wonderful benefits of Golden Milk:
- Anti-inflammatory – easing joint pain
- Soothing to the spirit and aids in digestion and sleep
- Supports healthy liver function
- Supports the spleen and stomach
- Supports healthy blood sugar levels
- Supports the heart and brain
- Supports a healthy immune system
- Supports the nervous system
The key Ingredient in Golden Milk is tumeric – which is a powerhouse. Curcumin is the most active ingredient in turmeric – It’s a strong antioxidant is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial anti-fungal. However, curcumin is not well-absorbed into the body — UNLESS it is blended with black pepper. Black pepper contains piperine which has it’s own anti-inflammatory properties. The black pepper enhances the curcumin ability to work synergistically with the body. Golden milk is blended with other herbs and spices for flavor and health benefits. Once you begin to get the hang of it you can add your own favorites in.
You can drink Golden Milk 2- 3 times per day. I prefer it before bed. You can make a homemade version with our recipe below or purchase a mix. We have used Gaia Herbs brand and it is wonderful – with the added benefit of Ashwaganda. Ashwaganda is an adaptogen which helps the body deal with stress. That said, you can certainly add that into your recipe.
Delicious Golden Milk at Home
- 1 cup Milk or Dairy Free coconut milk (regular, full-fat, canned)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (can use MCT coconut oil)
- 1½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (optional – to taste – I love cardamom and addition to almost everything)
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- if sugar sensitive sweeten with 10 drops liquid pure stevia extract, or to taste
- OR Sweeten with raw honey to taste after removing from heat
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the coconut milk, water, coconut oil, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, and pepper. Warm slowly until hot but not simmering, about 7 minutes
- Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the stevia or honey (not both!)
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to three days
