Celebrate Two Years of Wellness

The Spring winds stir up growth and change. Deep roots and flexibility allow for growth and change without being blown asunder.

Come celebrate Spring and its bounty.

New Moon Family Acupuncture and many of the other practitioners of the New Moon Family Wellness Center are celebrating two years in our current location.

We also have new and returning practitioners coming to the center.

Gwendolyn Sheveland, a Certified Structural Integrator and Licensed Massage Therapist is joining our ranks of capable, effecting and empowering practitioners.

Virginia Pham, an East Asian Medicine Practitioner and RN is returning to her acupuncture practice after maternity leave.

To celebrate the continued success of the center and to welcome our new and returning practitioners we will be having an open house.

May 5th, from 4pm-6pm.
906 South Cowley St.
Spokane, WA

Bring yourself, friends and family.

Light refreshments will be served.

Prizes will be raffled at the end of the event.

RSVP desired but not required. We’d love to see you!

After a long dark winter, many of us delight in the brighter Spring days. Springs brings with her the energy of growth, new life and new beginnings. However, if our bodies are out of balance, Spring may also mark the beginning of runny noses, itchy eyes, irritability and frustration. The Liver and Gallbladder are the organs most impacted by the Spring and if they are out of balance, Spring can be a very challenging time physically, emotionally and spiritually.

If your Liver and Gallbladder feel out of balance, be sure to get to through this article for recipes and self care tips and download a fabulous handout to direct you toward many simple tools to balance your Liver and Gallbladder.

Spring is the perfect time to change your diet from the heavier diet that may be more appropriate in Winter, to a lighter more detoxifying diet that matches Spring’s energy and crop. Organic dark leafy greens are powerful for nourishing and detoxifying and they are quite delicious with just a little preparation.

Beets, beet greens and lemons are perfect for cleansing your liver and moving your bowels. Here is a simple delicious recipe that should change your opinion of beets and make your Liver and Gallbladder dance and quiver with cleansing delight: http://www.newmoonacupuncture.com/beets-rock/

If you are finding yourself sniffling and sneezing, itching and wheezing and need a little extra support. Consider coming in for acupuncture. If you know you have seasonal allergies, it is best to support your system before the season arrives to reduce and prevent allergies. Many of my patients who were regular allergy sufferers are no longer suffering after a course of treatments and some herbal and dietary support.

I am attaching a great handout that is full of self healing tips to support the Liver and Gallbladder all year long. Since Spring is often the time that the Liver and Gallbladder may rear their ugly imbalance if they are congested and restrained this is a timely offering:
liverAndGallBladder

Tis the season for pathogens to fly about and lodge into our ears, noses, throats, and lungs.  However, illness is not inevitable and if illness strikes we have tools to put up an efficient fight.

A strong body, especially if it is supported by good rest, nutrition, and maybe a little extra herbal care (this time of year) will not succumb to a mild or moderate pathogen.  However, a strong pathogen or a weaker body, or an ignored body because we are too busy to rest, eat, or notice that tickle in our throat before we are struck down for days, weeks, even months does happen.  It can happen to you; it happened to me.

Following are some tips and tools to protect you from the nasty bugs and keep you healthy and strong.
Some of this is the information we all know, but don’t always apply:

• Get enough sleep and down time. If you have a problem with insomnia, review the information shared in my last blog article:  http://www.newmoonacupuncture.com/insomnia-aids/
• Eat well.  This is soup, stew, and roasted vegetables season, use garlic and onions with reckless abandon make your crock pot your friend.  Remember refined sugar weakens your immune system and it takes 24 hours for it to rebound.
• Drink plenty of clean water; half your weight in ounces.
• Supplementing with vitamin D3 can be important.  I have chewable orange-flavored fish oil that also has vitamin D in it that some of my kids eat like candy.
• Stay warm and protect your head, neck and waist from cold air.  Wear scarves, turtlenecks, and coats and shirts that keep your middle covered and warm.  Rice-filled socks can be heated in the microwave and thrown around your shoulders before going out into the cold, or throw them on your belly or by your feet when you go to sleep.
• Preventative herbal care:  Elderberry syrup can help keep your immune system strong. Immuplex is a great whole food multivitamin with extra immune boosting properties. There are some great East Asian Herbal formulas that a licensed practitioner can prescribe.
• Moxibustion on Stomach 36 is an ancient preventative therapy to keep your immune system strong and pathogens at bay.  This blog article and the link details using moxa on Stomach 36 and we are happy to sell sticks of moxa to anyone:  http://www.newmoonacupuncture.com/conditions/immune-support.

• Dry skin brushing is also a powerful immune-supporting and detoxifying tool that can be used regularly:  http://www.newmoonacupuncture.com/detoxification-support-through-dry-skin-brushing/.

If you feel a tickle in your throat, heaviness in your chest or sinuses, or are just tired and achy, take action (and inaction).

• If you start feeling run down, clear your schedule and rest.  Your body needs energy to fight pathogens.
• Eat well and cut out pathogenic white foods:  Dairy, white potatoes, and refined grains and sugars.  Increase healing white foods:  Onion, garlic, radish, turnips, pears and apples.
• Keep drinking plenty of water and warm fluids (not coffee or black tea).  Drink water every time you cough to keep your lungs well-hydrated.  If your throat is raw, add some olive oil to the water.
• Herbs:  Increase dosing of Elderberry syrup to 3 times a day.  The Chinese formula Yin Qiao or Gan Mao Ling are great to stop a pathogen at the first sign.  I keep these in stock during cold and flu season.  If the pathogen settles, there are other great formulas that can support a quick recovery.  Cupping, gua sha, and acupuncture are always helpful.
• A few drops of hydrogen peroxide in each ear:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=M0t1K_-YA30&NR=1.
• Easy to make cough remedies:  4 T. honey, 4 T. lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) and if desired 1 tsp whiskey or rum.  Warm it on the stove so everything mixes well and take a tablespoon 3 to 6 times a day.  (To make this stronger add 4 T. raw onion juice.)  Another homemade remedy is:  1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp cloves, 2 T. honey (or to taste), 2 T. water, and 1 T. apple cider vinegar.  Take 3 teaspoons when needed.
• Inhaling the scent of peppermint essential oil (from the bottle, on a cloth or diffuser) can help reduce spasmodic coughing and asthma attacks.
• Wet sock treatment:  Our in-house naturopathic physician, Dr. Laura Flanagan, recommended this to me and I believe it helped me turn the corner from succumbing to illness to entering recovery.  This website has good directions: http://www.vsnaturopathy.com/Wet-socks.html.

I often have patients who come to me with insomnia.  At times it is their primary health concern, more often it is just one of the many signs and symptoms that comes to light during a detailed intake.  Severe insomnia can be debilitating, occasional insomnia is inevitable.  Fortunately there are many ways to overcome insomnia; acupuncture and East Asian medicine can help.

Sometimes after just two or three treatments sleep quantity and quality begin to steadily improve.  A 20-minute acupuncture nap is as rejuvenating as six hours of restful sleep, and most of my patients “sleep” on my table by the third treatment.

Of course, acupuncture and East Asian Medicine is only part of this bed time story:  Matthew Edlund, MD, is an expert on rest, sleep, performance, and public health. He is the author of The Power of Rest, The Body Clock Advantage, and Designed to Last.  Previous articles of his can be found at therestdoctor.com and wegethealthynow.com.  He is the Director of the Gulf Coast Sleep Institute Center for Circadian Medicine in Sarasota, Florida and is well spoken in this interview on The Peoples Pharmacy: http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2012/10/27/878-solving-the-sleep-dilemma/.

Zentangle is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns. Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being. The Zentangle method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages.  We believe that life is an art form and that our Zentangle method is an elegant metaphor for deliberate artistry in life. – Maria Thomas & Rick Roberts, founders of Zentangle

Zentangle is Intuitive, Fun, Relaxing, Portable, Non-Technical and Empowering.

Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT), Loretta West found Zentangle after life changing events and noticed that when she practiced Zentangle her shoulders relaxed and she felt at Peace.  As a professional artist and art instructor, it was the gift she was looking for; a more meaningful way to share art as an easy tool and a lifelong practice.  She is available for group and individual lessons and workshops.   For more information or to book a session, contact Loretta at colorgardenstudio@comcast.net or 509-995-1647.

What others are saying about Zentangles:

“I have insomnia but the worst part was losing my creativity…It has been wonderful, I’ve been doing at least one a day, I do it sometimes in the evening for hours and have had the best night’s sleep that I’ve had in years”

“I work with men that are incarcerated and I have to be honest I was not sure how creating Zentangles would go over with this population. They enjoyed creating them and the quietness that fell over the room was welcoming in such an environment. They felt proud and were sharing their creations with each other.”

“Zentangle nurtures the soul and encourages life enhancing outcomes.  It is a pastime, a life skill, and a simple metaphor for life in a complex and busy world.  If you can’t sit on a pillow and meditate but you can hold a pen, Zentangle is the process of relaxation for you. “ Meredith L. Yuhas Ph.D., LPC, NCC

Zentangle Workshops:

The First Monday of the Month.

6:30 – 8:30 pm

Cost: $35.00 for adults and $25.00 for children under 16 years of age per workshop.

To register call Loretta or Download the form and mail it in:Zentangle Registrationworkshop New Moon reg form

Workshop includes all supplies needed.

Sources:  www.Zentangle.com website and The Book of Zentangle by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas.

Please join us as we celebrate the return of the crisp Fall and the beautiful community we live in.

We will be offering Bone Health Seminars and Affordable Bone Density Scans and free community clinic acupuncture samples.

When:  September 30th, 2012 from 10 AM – 2 PM
Where:  New Moon Family Wellness Center, 906 South Cowley, Spokane, WA
Who: Bring yourself, friends, family and co-workers. Children are welcome.

11am-1 pm: Free Community Acupuncture Sessions

11am-1 pm: Free 10 minute Massages

10 AM and 12 PM~ Free Bone Health Lectures

10:30AM -2:00PM~ Bone Density Scans

Dr. Howayeck is a Board Certified Foot and Ankle Surgeon.
Podiatric/Osteoporosis Author of “Bone Health Made Easy” & Lecturer,
Owner : Five Star Onsite Testing Ultrasound Bone Density Screenings,
Ultrasound Testing Interpreter, Osteoporosis Education and Counseling,
Certified Speaker for the Foundation for Osteoporosis Research and Education.
A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine.  His passion is to see the end of bone, joint, and pain issues.

$20* Ultrasound Bone Density Screenings performed personally by Dr. Howayeck
*$20 pre-registered $25 at the door

For more info and to preregister:
Anthony 509-290-6065 anthony@newmoonspokane.com

Here is a link to the Flyer:Bone Scan Flyer 9-30-2012

Raffle Drawing at 2:00 pm

Raffle prizes include: Moxa kit, Moody Cow Meditates book, immune supporting herbs: Immuplex by Standard Process, Digestive Healing Herb by Health Concerns, Chzyme and Enteromend.

We will be serving nutritious and delicious snacks.

]]> http://www.newmoonacupuncture.com/join-us-for-our-autumnal-equinox-open-house/feed/ 0 http://www.newmoonacupuncture.com/love-your-lungs-and-large-intestine/ http://www.newmoonacupuncture.com/love-your-lungs-and-large-intestine/#comments Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:07:47 +0000 Rebekah http://www.newmoonacupuncture.com/?p=1036

Have any of you been waking up, for “no apparent reason” between 3 and 5 in the morning? You still want to sleep, but for some reason you are awake? Are you experiencing more sinus or chest related symptoms? Have your bowel habits changed, for better or worse? It may be mysterious to you, but it makes perfect sense to an East Asian Medicine practitioner.

In East Asian Medicine each season is affiliated with an organ pair. The organs that are associated with the season are the organs that may be most impacted (positively or negatively) throughout the season. Bringing awareness to the functions of the organs and ways to support them with nutrition, movement and attitude can be a powerful tool to create and sustain wellness.

If you are wondering why you are waking up so early, or just want to know how to support your Lungs and Large Intestines as we move into Fall check out this link: Lung and Large Intestines

Nature is a tool to guide us through our own cycles of creating and letting go: Trees in autumn don’t hold onto their leaves in fear they may need them next year.

Let us embrace the letting go that Autumn preaches – those decayed leaves, the old negativity stored in negative thought patterns and stuff we horde onto.

Let us prepare for a fresh start by letting go of that which no longer serves us.

This season, more than any other allows us transition and space to let go of our waste. Whatever is old and stale, crisp yet crusty, meaningful yet mournful: it must be released.

Long walks, yoga, healing bodywork, seasonal eating, herbal therapy, simple cleaning, clearing our cupboards, our basements, our hearts of the unneeded can create space for new growth and clear direction.

May this be a Fall full of joy and release.

As a woman approaches her estimated due date or passes it, there are many messages that may put into question whether her body and baby are wise enough to know when to open, release, and surrender to the process of birth and life outside the womb.  In my experience as an acupuncturist and birth attendant, many of the barriers to the onset of labor are a matter of the mind or a matter of policy.

In some cases, if the mother’s endocrine system was out of balance before conception, from recent or extended use of the birth control pill or fertility treatments, this imbalance may be a true barrier to the spontaneous onset of labor. If this is the case, it is not a sentence to medical induction, it is just noteworthy.  Also a history of physical trauma to the cervix from previous surgeries or infection can present a physical barrier that may affect to flow of labor and delivery. A mother with a history of an imbalanced endocrine system or cervical trauma may need to do extra work to help support and balance her system well before her due date arrives.

As long as mom and baby are doing well and the placenta remains vital there is often no need for a medical induction.

It is important to remember that the average gestation for a first-time mother who is not medically induced is 41 weeks and a day.  At 36 weeks most babies are developed enough to live outside of the womb, however their optimal gestation is unique to their situation and a medical induction before 40 weeks should only be considered if there is a real risk to mom and baby.  That being said, there is an abundance of ways to prepare and ripen a mother for labor and delivery.  The beauty of many of the natural labor-promoting protocols is that they will only work if mother and baby are ripe for the process.  Thirty-six weeks’ gestation is the earliest that any of these treatments should begin.

It is important to remember that the average gestation for a first time mother who is not medically induced is 41 weeks and a day. At 36 weeks most babies are developed enough to live outside of the womb, however their optimal gestation is unique to their situation and a medical induction before 40 weeks should only be considered if there is a real risk to mom and baby. That being said, there is an abundance of ways to prepare and ripen a mother for labor and delivery and the beauty of many of the natural labor promoting protocols is that they will only work, if mother and baby are ripe for the process.

Following is a link to some recommendations to promote labor:

Promoting Labor Naturally

This web site provides a clear description of the stretches performed in the video: http://www.livestrong.com/article/371145-aikido-wrist-stretches/

Set your computer clock or phone to signal a stretch break every hour or two. The five minutes an hour should help prevent or reduce pain and allow you greater comfort and efficiency.

Prevention truly is the best medicine. In addition to stretching, acupuncture and nutritional therapy provide additional relief and get to the root cause of the imbalance.