The Heart is an amazing organ. Its function is both intricate and fascinating. The heart will beat roughly 100,000 times a day, and will pump approximately 2,000 gallons of blood throughout the body daily. Clearly, our hearts are essential to the physiology of life, but what about the emotional aspect of our hearts? According to Eastern Medicine, the Heart (Xin) stores the spirit (shen). Through this idea, the heart is consciousness and is responsible for being respectful, helpful, thoughtful, as well as emotional. Chinese Tradition says that the “heart opens into the tongue and manifests in the face.” For this reason, the ability to choose and articulate words and to communicate belongs to the Heart Spirit’s relation to the tongue. Expressing kindness and warmth in the face is another heart function. The Chinese have a great respect for the Heart both from a functional as well as emotional perspective. Essentially it is so important to keep the Qi (energy) in the Heart Meridian balanced and flowing optimally. Being aware of an imbalance in this meridian is key. Because the heart maintains the health of the whole body, problems with the Heart Meridian manifest themselves both physically and emotionally. The Heart Meridian is located bilaterally on the inside of the arms, along a somewhat straight line, beginning on the inside of the little finger and extending up the hand and inside (medial) part of the arm, ending at the armpit (axilla). The most common physical symptoms are:
The most common emotional symptoms are:
Respect and take care of your heart for it is a powerful organ and “houses the mind.” It is the Emperor – treat it as such. Photo courtesy of snarky_momma.
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Let’s be honest, we all want to look and feel more beautiful. But before purchasing the next-best eye cream (to add to the plethora of beauty products I’m sure you have), I urge you to look at how adjusting your diet and lifestyle can be the best and most useful tool of all! Internal Inflammation is the culprit of many aesthetic woes, not to mention that it is also linked to most of today’s illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Without getting too technical, it is important that you understand the science: Inflammation is your immune system’s reaction against a foreign particle or poison introduced into your body. As your immune system attacks these poisons, they create free radicals/oxidants that destroy good, healthy cells and tissues and cause them to age (wrinkle), form scar tissue and die. OK, so what are these foreign particles/poisons?
The fruits and vegetables that have the highest amount of antioxidants (which neutralize those free radicals circulating throughout your blood stream) are:
Chinese herbs offer a natural way to help different conditions of the face and body. Herbs can be taken alone or combined with others into a formula. Here are a list of a few common herbs for the skin and their uses:
In addition to lifestyle and dietary changes, acupuncture, as well as acupressure facial massage, is useful to address the energy flow through the meridians that traverse the face. Including one or two acupuncture treatments a month, balancing these specific meridians, also lends itself to a more youthful and beautiful self. Please take a moment and reflect on your diet and lifestyle. I’m sure that there was some advice mentioned that you could take to heart and implement in your life. Keep your eyes peeled during your next trip to the grocery store – I know that you can include several foods listed above. Embrace your beautiful self. Nurture it. Protect it. http://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/ / CC BY 2.0 When watching one of my guilty pleasures – the food network, a commercial break mentioned eating carbohydrates as a snack to help boost mind-calming/mood-altering chemicals in the body, essentially to feel calm and happy. If you know anything about me, I am revered by some as the “food police.” In my defense, I believe that food therapy is one of easiest ways that we can take control of our own health. I discuss diet with every patient and usually send them home with homework – doing a food journal. In the future, I could see myself visiting my patients’ homes and cleaning out their refrigerators…that would be a good time for me! Okay…another guilty pleasure – fridge cleaning!
Back to the point…during the commercial, the suggestions were to snack on popcorn and other carbohydrates for that calming effect. Now, unless you don’t care about your waist or hip circumference…then, by all means, indulge in what is considered as those “comfort foods.” But if you are figure-conscious and want to look stellar in your 7 For All Mankind Jeans, then let me give you the skinny on the subject… The neurotransmitter Serotonin is the chemical that, when released from the brain into the bloodstream, produces a calm and happy, almost sedative effect – hence the term “comfort food.” The food sources for serotonin to be produced are those that contain tryptophan and those that contain B vitamins. Tryptofan is an essential amino acid that can only be derived from food, the body does not produce it. In the brain, B vitamins convert the tryptofan to serotonin. Yes, some of these foods are carbohydrates such as brown rice. However, the others are kale, spinach, collard greens, broccoli, peas, sunflower seeds, almonds, salmon, blue green algae, brewer’s yeast, eggs, meats, and tofu. There are plenty of better foods to choose from when desiring a calming effect. The trouble when relying on the carbohydrates, specifically, the refined ones like cookies, cakes, white breads, is the blood sugar (insulin) crashing effect that occurs. And don’t forget that excess sugar not burned gets stored as fat…or in laymans terms – saddlebags, bat wings, muffin tops, belly pooch, etc. In conclusion, if you’re feeling a little nervous or anxious and desire a little calmness, skip the bread and popcorn, bring on the kale salad or power green smoothie! Here are a couple of my go-to recipes: Kale Salad
Add to the mixture some chopped veggies:
Power Green Smoothie
Enjoy!!! What a wonderful time of the year! It is so great to be able to workout outdoors and enjoy the sun and the breeze (of course not between the hours of 10am and 2pm…well possibly until 5pm here in Tampa)! Now may be the perfect time to assess your workout and decide if it’s time for a change of scenery…both for your mind and your body! Remember muscles have memory and there is a lot to be said for the idea of muscle confusion. Varying your workouts and challenging yourself with new movements will be sure to get you looking and feeling great, especially in a bathing suit! Personally, I choose workouts that use many muscle groups so that you are more able to workout in less time and burn more calories doing so. Of course, the perfect combo to any great workout plan is to include both cardiovascular activity with strength training. Cardio is important to burn fat and strengthen your heart. Strength training is important to build and tone muscle. I am a huge fan of the heart rate monitor…so you can easily track which zone you are in during a workout. Anything that is 60-65% of your maximum heart rate is the fat burning zone and 80-85% of your maximum heart rate monitor is the heart strengthening zone. Now, here’s where my love for Pilates comes in…Pilates is such a challenging workout that, if done properly, you can easily workout in the cardiovascular fat burning zone AND strength train your muscles all at once!! I admit that last statement sounds very infomercial-esque; however, it is the honest truth! Whether it be a fast-paced reformer (equipment) or pilates mat class, you most definitely will be able to break a sweat and feel totally connected to yourself during the hour (my heart rate monitor does not lie)! Breathing is a big thing during a pilates class. In my opinion, breath truly creates that connection between your mind and your body. It makes you aware of which muscles to engage and turn on, which essentially, makes pilates a very precise workout! For those of you that are a little confused about what exactly Pilates is, here’s some history: Joseph Pilates, pronounced Pi-la-tes, was born in Germany in 1880 to a mother who was a naturopath and a father who was a gymnast. Throughout his childhood, he suffered from asthma and rickets (which is a vitamin C deficiency) and was determined at a very young age to transform his body. As a young adult, he studied yoga, gymnastics, meditation, and weight training. He concluded that bad posture, inefficient breathing, and unmindful living was the cause of poor health. As a result, he devised a series of exercises to transform the body and the mind. During his work with injured soldiers during WWI, he devised equipment made of springs and pulleys. This is now called the pilates reformer. In 1925, Joseph Pilates immigrated to the United States and met his wife, Clara, a nurse. Together they opened a studio in New York City working specifically with dancers. Originally, he termed his method “Contrology,” because it related to encouraging the use of the mind to control muscles. He believed that to focuses attention on core postural muscles, the body will stay balanced and spine will be supported. In particular, he stressed the awareness of breath and of alignment of the spine, and in particular strong deep torso and abdominal muscles. Joseph lived until he was 84 years old! So to recap, you should definitely consider incorporating Pilates into your workout plan if any of the following seem important to you:
Exactly 5 years ago my grandmother passed away. She was the MOST positive woman I have ever known. She was the BRAVEST person I have ever known. She was my mother’s best friend. She was my second mother. I’ll NEVER, in all my life, EVER, forget how she looked at me. She and I saw deep within each other, communicated without words. She had this intense and undisturbed faith. She knew things about death that I did not, or could not understand…until now.
My grandmother was born in 1925. Individuals of her generation relied heavily on prayer and faith to get through difficult situations. Many times when I had a question concerning death and dying, particularly her death, she would offer a very comforting answer that was clearly rooted in her strong faith. If I pressed the issue and wondered why she believed such a way, she would dismiss me with a matter of fact, “because that is what I know; that is what I believe.” I respected her answer and held a great reverence for it. She was confident. I wanted to be like her. The practice of Chinese Medicine truly explores the concept of the mind and of the spirit, two ideas that in my opinion bridge the gap between the physical and the spiritual/emotional aspects of a person. And death, again in my opinion, is about the same thing. In some of these texts, the “mind” indicates the activity of thinking, consciousness, insight, and memory. The “spirit” in some classical texts states that it is comprised of five physiological aspects that are each housed in a yin organ system:
My grandmother’s mind was extremely strong and was in complete harmony with her Ethereal Soul seen through her calm vision, insight, and wisdom. The Ethereal Soul (Hun) is thought to be the link between the individual mind and that of the universal mind (our dreams/ideas/spiritual life). Interestingly, it is not attached to the body and leaves the body during death. Alternatively, the Corporeal Soul (Po) is attached to the body and goes down to the earth with it at death. It is experienced in our sensations of touch, hearing, and sight. Our breath is closely linked to our Corporeal Soul as well, hence residing in the Lungs. It is stated that meditation quiets the Corporeal Soul, in turn opening the Ethereal Soul with the Universal Mind. I was a witness to the strength of my grandmother’s Corporeal Soul – amazingly strong, to her last breath. After she passed, I knew that I witnessed something special and was given a gift. I knew that her strong convictions in life (Mind) lead to the completely balanced passing of her Corporeal Soul (Po) to earth and her Ethereal Soul (Hun) to the universe. I already can feel her presence within me, in my somatic self, in my Corporeal Soul. I know that she will visit my Ethereal Soul often and that her legacy now lives on throughout me. Her peace is now mine. Her death is now my life. Someone recently asked me what my New Year’s resolution was for this coming year. As I proceeded to answer, I realized that what seemed like resolutions, were to me, actually evolutions, or ways that I wanted to grow as a person. This got me thinking… According to Mirriam-Webster, there are ten definitions of evolution. The one that I’m most drawn to is: a process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state. The synonym for this definition is growth. Now lets take the word, resolution. Again, several definitions are listed, with one being: a position arrived at after consideration. One synonym for this definition is conclusion. In my opinion, resolution, although a good word, don’t get me wrong, seems to indicate stillness, non-movement, finality. Isn’t that the opposite of the idea of growth? Furthermore, doesn’t it feel more positive to think of growing and expanding instead of being stagnant and still? So, I propose this to everyone reading… Set a New Year’s Evolution! Truly look at growing in a forward direction as a person this year. Set meaningful goals that are close to your heart. Rise above the “I want to get in better shape because I don’t like what I see.” Change the thought to “I love myself so much that I want to be my healthiest so I can live a longer life with my loved ones,” (just one example of many – email me if you want more). There certainly is more to the idea of losing weight or spending more time reading, bla bla bla. PUSH YOURSELF TO FIGURE OUT WHY YOU WANT TO DO THOSE THINGS…find out who you are, what makes you tick, what do you love and why. I’m suggesting and challenging you to see beyond the physical, go against the grain, and when doing so, come at it from a very positive, fearless place. Don’t try to resolve an issue, EVOLVE! |
Blog postings by Natalie Maddox Rougie, AP, DACM owner of Palm Wellness in Tampa, FL.
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