Posts Tagged ‘stress’
Acupuncture Offers Practical Stress Management
Acupuncture helps us manage stress
At our new office in Park Slope, we are seeing more people come in complaining of chronic stress. Acupuncture offers an all-natural method for managing stress. Here’s how it works:
- By regulating Heart Rate Variability: a more objective measure of the effects of stress on your body and brain. A stable HRV directly influences the function of the nervous system. Which leads us to benefit #2…
- Balancing the Central Nervous System
- Increasing circulation to the brain to deliver the nutrients and oxygen your main muscle needs to thrive under stressful conditions.
- Increasing natural energy levels and vitality to help you deal with stressful situations in a more sustainable manner.
At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Park Slope, we want to use our expertise in natural healthcare to help our community live more balanced, less stressful lives. If you are interested in taking an active hand in manging your stress, give our office a call to schedule an appointment today.
Acupuncture for Fertility in Brooklyn
Acupuncture is effective at relieving stress and thus, increasing chances of conception
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, stress acts as a traffic jammer, preventing the free flow of energy throughout the body. This is most easily related to the Western idea that stress causes muscle tension- in both cases, circulation to muscles is reduced, causing pain tightness and limited range of motion. Acupuncture seeks to unblock these pathways to help the energy flow smoothly.
- Acupuncture naturally regulates the body’s chemical balance
- Acupuncture releases endorphins, the body’s natural pain-killing chemicals.
- Acupuncture improves circulation of blood through the body, oxygenating tissues
- Acupuncture facilitates the flushing out of waste chemicals such as cortisol
- Acupuncture helps to decrease heart rate, lower blood pressure and relax muscles.
Acupuncture is an amazing way to treat stress without drugs or therapy; the process itself is relaxing and influences calm for days after treatment.
Acupuncture is an effective method for treating infertility in Brooklyn
Stress is a good place to look when fertility tests have determined that no clear medical reason exists for your infertility. At our office in Park Slope, we focus on using acupuncture to improve fertility in the following ways:
- Reducing stress: stress has a great impact on fertility.
- Increasing blood flow to the reproductive organs, including the ovaries and uterus, boosting the likelihood of an egg being nourished and carried through pregnancy.
- Balancing the endocrine system
If you are looking for an alternative to standard infertility treatments, it is worth trying acupuncture; give our office in Park Slope a call to schedule an appointment today.
Making Life in the Commuter Lane Less Painful
If commuting is an inevitable part of your lifestyle, keep the damage at bay…
…by being proactive. There is no use denying it: commuting is a stress inducer- to the body and to the brain, it can be hard to find positives for sitting in traffic twice a day besides the fact that it gets you to work to earn your daily bread. If we must commute, let’s be smart about it: here are some ways that we came up with to negate the effects of a commuter lifestyle.
In the car, keep the zen alive.
- Driving posture: stay upright with hands at 9 and 3. Use a rolled up jacket to support the lumbar
- Deep breathing: Use this time to focus on establishing a pattern of deep breathing and get the oxygen you need to stay sane.
- Podcasts: while the news is important, it can add to your stress level. Switch it up and focus on a subject you love with a podcast; it will keep your brain engaged and happy.
- Comfortable shoes: wait til you reach the office to put on those stiff shoes! Slippers can be a comfortable way to commute.
- Stretching: the neck and lower back are the regions which take the most damage during a drive- simple stretches can reverse this damage.
On the train, take a deep breath.
- Focus on relaxing activities: reading, listening to your favorite music or a podcast.
- Progressive relaxation: tense a different muscle group with each inhale and release on the exhale.
- Massage yourself: focus on trigger points to release muscles from tension.
Don’t let stress sink you before you reach the office
These techniques can help you stay balanced as you enter the workplace and this sets you off on the right foot. One way that we help at Park Slope Chiropractic is by reversing the damage that may have been wrought from years of commuting. By focusing on keeping the spine in balance and reversing muscle tension, we can help you experience less pain which is sure to take a bit of stress out of the picture.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C.
De-stressing on the Job
Start the countdown…120 seconds isn’t long but it is long enough to refresh your body and mind and return to work with a more positive and productivity-oriented perspective. Stress on the job usually centers around the concept of too much work, too little time, and while there may be various parties responsible for creating this quandary, only you can extract yourself and ensure you keep your sanity along with your job. The reason I choose two minutes is because it is just long enough to refresh, but not long enough to detract from your flow. Many people find it hard to stop when they are on a roll; when they are in the zone and don’t want to stop but find themselves slightly ripping at the seams. This is not a healthy way to operate, and sooner or later, it will take its toll. Instead take two minutes and try:
- Walking to the water fountain: get your blood circulating, your body moving for a second and finish it off with a little hydration.
- Putting on your favorite song, dancing a little jig, even if it just means looking silly in your chair: this is enormously rewarding and relaxing.
- Chewing gum or something crunchy (like an apple): the sound and rhythm of chewing has a relaxing effect.
- De-cluttering your desk
- Just looking away from the sreen
- Closing your eyes and breathing deeply: take full diaphragmatic breaths that saturate your cells with oxygen.
This isn’t about finding your happy place, it’s about keeping you mentally balanced and resilient in the face of stress. Letting stress pile on until the cow’s come home is a great way to feel spun out at the end of the day, and if you are living like this it may be time to pay a visit to your Park Slope chiropractor. We practice natural healing modalities including acupuncture and chiropractic adjustment to help regulate the nervous system and restore your musculoskeletal balance and we follow up with massage that dispels tension and promotes relaxation, improving your relationship with pain.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C., L.Ac.
Relaxing Made Easy
“Take a deep breath,” is an oft-repeated maxim that has lost its gravitas amidst new generations who seem to be spending more time “relaxing” than ever. But I can guarantee you that no matter who you are, stress is still cycling and tension is buidling (albeit at different rates and in differing amounts) throughout the week. Some people happen to be very proactive in their management of it, while some people have developed coping mechanisms that waylay the problem and allow them to work and play despite stress being on the fringes; still others watch their lives suffer at the hands of stress and their bodies suffer from chronically high levels of tension. At Park Slope Chiroractic, we believe that relaxation is a key to finding happiness and we want to offer you all our experience in this endeavor.
Ways to help you relax throughout the day, with your brain and body: Massage your hands and wrists, give yourself a stretch and shake out the tension every once in a while. We can show you acupressure points that can be pressurized by yourself at work to help relieve tension or pain wherever you may be feeling it.
Control your environment: not enough can be said about creating an environment that is conducive to relaxation and productivity, both at home and in the office.
Exercise: During a stressful day at work, try going for a walk outside; the more vigorous the better. eating lunch somewhere outside where you can be under the sun. Bright light and vitamin D are very effective at fighting depression and instilling mental calm.
Creative stimulation: What is your outlet? Doing something that is creative, requires concentration, or both helps you stay centered and focus on something concrete that helps your brain reset, while also bringing you pleasure for whatever you produce.
With diet:
- Green tea: for an antioxidant boost, and anger fighting properties.
- Honey: for fighting inflammation in the brain, which combats stress
Everyone could use a plan that helps them manage their own unique blend of stress during the day. At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture in Park Slope we have many years of experience helping people find true relaxation in and outside of our office; give us a call to schedule an appointment today.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C.
Acupuncture for Menopause
Acupuncture is a natural and sensible choice when it comes to responding to the symptoms of menopause: from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a momentous natural process requires a natural response to keep hormones and symptoms in balance. Symptoms of menopause that have been shown to respond well to acupuncture include hot flashes, irritability, and improving quality and quantity of sleep.
Rather than treating menopause as one specific syndome, Traditional Chinese Medicine treats its many symptoms with a multi-dimensional response. We seek out acupuncture points that correspond directly to the physical and emotional side-effects of menopause. Furthermore, by encouraging endorphin release, acupuncture helps treat chronic pain and several studies show that acupuncture is linked to an increase in nighttime melatonin production and a boost in total sleep time. While the treatment does involve the insertion of very thin needles into the skin, the effect we produce is one of intense relaxation that overrides the brief moment of discomfort during insertion.
Menopause is unique to every woman, not only because it can occur at any age, but also because the degree of symptoms varies and thus an individual treatment plan is absolutely necessary. At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we begin with a conversation regarding your medical and lifestyle history to create an individually tailored plan that accounts for your emotions and needs. Through acupuncture and chiropractic treatment, we hope to promote a culture of relaxation in your life during a time of intense emotional upheaval.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C., L.Ac.
Acupuncture for Anxiety
Acupuncture is a natural remedy for anxiety. Typical treatments for anxiety include interfacing with a therapist and anxiety medication which comes with unascertainable side effects to the individual. Each of these is effective in their own right, but a natural alternative to consider is acupuncture. While it may not be for everyone, we have found great success in easing the severity of anxiety symptoms with acupuncture.
Acupuncture works by dealing with the roots of anxiety. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, anxiety would arise as the body’s response to an interference in the flow of energy, or Qi. It also makes sense from a traditional perspective: factors, both within our control and without, can affect our emotional health: injury and stress, poor dieting, and environmental changes are the most common. Chronically high stress levels often lead to serious health issues, especially down the road. At Community Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we want to help you in the fight against stress, to help you preserve a more quality lifestyle.
An acupuncture treatment for anxiety involves the insertion of thin needles with the desired end result to stimulate the body’s production of painkilling chemicals and to stimulate the region of the brain that controls emotion. With the needles, we attempt to restore balance of Qi in the body, freeing you of pain and allowing you to feel less stress. It is not as far-fetched as it sounds: many people are finding great relief with acupuncture for anxiety. Give our office in Park Slope a call at (7180 398-3100.
Dr. Karen Thomas, D.C.
Use Nutrition to Eliminate Stress and Boost your Well-being
Nutrition is a huge component of overall physical health- it influences everything from your metabolic rate to body weight, skin complexion and emotional stability. Healthy living starts with healthy eating! Unfortunately, we live in a society where food is made to be ultra-convenient, fast and filling. Fast food companies and supermarket chains use this as an excuse to replace quality nutrition with food products that are simply not good enough. Living with less stress starts with the nutrients and building blocks that you put into your body.
With this in mind I will spend a few blogs elaborating on easy and convenient ways that you can incorporate healthful practices into your every day routine. Nutrition and chiropractic are complementary sciences that can be combined into a dynamic health plan that will improve your well-being.
One thing that will help cognitive functioning as well as promoting healthy bones and nerves is hydration. So…Drink water! Studies show that 80% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. The body is hugely reliant on water and when it does not receive enough, it has to ration its existing supply, which means that vital organs throughout the body are not getting their recommended amount of H2O. Being just a little bit dehydrated can raise the body’s levels of the stress hormone Cortisol.
Doctors recommend 1 quart of water per 50 pounds of body weight. If this standard is met and maintained you will experience an uptick in the functioning of your brain, nervous system and digestion! Grab a reusable water bottle and make it your companion. Being hydrated is cool.
Remember: Coffee and soda do not count!
At Community Chiropractic and Acupuncture, we want to help you understand nutrition and how it affects your biochemical well being. We offer instruction and monitoring that will help you recover a sense of health that will change your life. We can also recommend vitamin and mineral supplements that you may be missing. Don’t take on the responsibility of changing your diet all alone. Call us at (718) 398-3100 or come on in to our Park Slope office today. By working together, we can change unhealthy habits and replace them with great ones!
Karen A. Thomas D.C., L.Ac.