Month: August 2015

– Under the weather? This might just help! –

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As Canadians we like to savour our summers. But as the weather starts to change and the temperature slowly starts to drop we need to be sure to take care of ourselves. Unfortunately the cold and wind from this past weekend got the best of me and I am under the weather… But here are my 10 favourite go-to’s that tend to help me kill that little bug.

  1. Gargle with warm salt water morning and night.
  2.  I put thieves oil on the glands on my neck.
  3.  Make a delicious thieves-lemon-honey-hot water drink. I use about three drops of the Young Living Thieves oil. It contains: clove, cinnamon bark, rosemary, lemon, eucalyptus (E. radiate).IMG_4198
  4. I put onions on my feet. Sounds weird right? There is some truth behind the old wives’ tale. Onions naturally absorb from their surroundings, so when you take that into account it makes much more sense!
  5. Dress for the weather – Protect your neck! In Chinese Medicine your neck has points that are really good for getting rid of a cold, but also very susceptible to the elements. Always protect your neck!
  6. Acupuncture! A combination of Acupuncture and Guasha does wonders to help me get back on my feet. From clearing congestion to helping get rid of a cough. It is definitely key in my tool kit of health.
  7. Oil of Oregano. Oregano can help reduce a cough and spasms, it also helps fight against some bacteria, viruses, fungi, intestinal worms, and other parasites.
  8. A good night sleep and naps are always a good idea. Your body is telling you it needs rest and is run down. Listen to it!
  9. When I get sick I always tend to look back over the past few days and see what got me to this point. A lot of the time my diet has been compromised, so getting those vitamins and minerals back into the diet are important.
  10. Coconut water! It is great for replenishing – instead of a Gatorade/Powerade type drink choose coconut water to get those electrolytes back up.

So whether or not you are sick right now, next time you do get sick give these a try!

– Difficulty conceiving + acupuncture –

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Having a baby is such an exciting time in so many people’s lives; unfortunately the harsh truth is that there are growing numbers of cases of infertility. I have found that a lot of the time when a couple is having a difficult time conceiving it is the women who seeks treatment or thinks something is ‘wrong’ with her. It is so unbelievably sad to see this.

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First things first, both men and women have fertility issues, it is important for both to get checked out. And secondly, Acupuncture can help!

I am so excited that I have recently completed additional education on helping from conception until birth. Let me tell you, there are a ton of things that can happen in a pregnancy –both positive and negative- I can only imagine how overwhelming it must be.

So now, lets take a look at how acupuncture can help you…

Acupuncture is an amazing therapy for stress reduction. In such a stressful time, it is important to make sure you are taking time for yourself to reduce your stress. This might include acupuncture treatments, yoga, meditation, reading, a nice long walk in nature, or whatever it is that helps you. Research shows that during an acupuncture treatment, endorphins are released – which gives you that “happy and relaxed” type feeling. So, while you are starting to feel more relaxed and not as stressed, acupuncture will also be helping regulate your cycle. Each week of your cycle will be a slightly different treatment because each week, in your body, there is something different going on hormonally with your cycle. For example, at ovulation time, the dominant follicle releases an egg. The follicular phase is considered the most yin part of the cycle. Menses is the most yang, so with Yin and Yang being opposite, we treat in accordance with that. When trying to conceive, 4-5 days prior to ovulation would be the best time to start engaging in intercourse – 48 hours being the peak time.

Taking your basal body temperature (BBT) will help you and your therapist know when or if ovulation has occurred, what phase of your cycle you are in, as well as thyroid function. For your convenience, here is a link to a BBT chart. http://www.babycenter.ca/a7069/download-a-blank-basal-body-temperature–cervical-mucus-chart

A lot of the time, couples feel helpless or like they FullSizeRender copy 2have no control over their difficulty conceiving. Hopefully now you feel a bit better about how you can help your therapist and yourself to bring a new bundle of joy into your life!

If you have more questions, please ask! There will be a few more blogs posts on this issue for both men’s and women’s health…. So stay tuned!