Fire Cupping has been around for a very long time, yet many people don’t know what it is. Several glass cups of different sizes are used to help with intestinal disorders, lung disorders, sore muscles/tight muscles/muscles spasms, colds, immune system, relaxation, lymphatic system, and more. A cotton ball soaked in alcohol is lit and held inside the glass cups to take all the oxygen out of the cups, then the cups are layed on specific spots on the body (depending what condition is being treated) the skin under the cups are sucked into the cups and a tight suction is formed, bringing blood to the surface, helping with circulation as well as stagnant blood, and blocked qi (pronounced chee). I am very excited about offering this service in our practice. I feel it will help a lot of people, and my husband (who I practiced on) loves it! He does Jiu Jitsu so his muscles get sore, and this really helps, also he said it made him relax. He doesn’t like to sit still long enough to get acupuncture and he hate to get a massage, but he loved this! If you have any questions leave me a message or give me a call 913-825-3900.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
'No evidence' acupuncture boosts chances of IVF baby
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT BBC NEWS
There is no evidence acupuncture or Chinese herbal medicine increase the chance of getting pregnant through IVF, fertility experts say in new guidance.
The methods are increasingly offered as a way of boosting the chances of a baby, but the British Fertility Society suggests couples may be wasting money.
They analysed 14 trials involving 2,670 people before issuing the new guidance.
But a leading practitioner said that better designed trials would show that the methods could help some couples.
All the trials involved acupuncture, in which needles were inserted into different areas of the body at different stages in the in vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycle.
No matter at what stage of the process acupuncture was used, it had no impact on the pregnancy or live birth rate, the BFS researchers found.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT BBC NEWS
Wednesday Welly Walk
Happy Hump Day! It’s been a good Wednesday for me and I hope it has been for you as well.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about tonight until I went to our basement to store our cat carrier and found 2 inches of water gurgling around our drain and its perimeter. Yikes! Because I believe that our outer world is a reflection of our inner world, and that the circumstances of our life are never an accident or coincidence, I found myself asking “Where am I clogged up?”
I find it extremely enlightening that I have been practicing EFT regularly and have gotten acupuncture over the last week, both of which are releasing mechanisms, and yet our basement drain is clogged. Where am I clogged up? I am not sure that an answer will come to my conscious awareness right away, but I will continue to ask and observe (and love myself in the process!).
I got to wade in my green wellies tonight!
In the little bit I know about Feng Shui, stagnant water is not considered a good thing. It supposedly blocks good health and prosperity. But I did read that stagnant water is “yin” energy, and that is what my acupuncturist said needed balancing in my body and what she gave me herbs for. Hmmmmmm.
Ok, enough philosophizing for a Wednesday night. As I always do, I will continue to observe my outer world and go within to consider potential inner causes. To me, this is an empowering choice because every challenge creates an opportunity for me to learn and grow. And tonight the water our basement was an opportunity for me to do a Wednesday Welly Walk. I love my wellies!
May you feel as good as possible as often as possible!
Today I added the honey supers
I went to all my bee yards and added honey supers, next week the citrus blooms should be opening. I’m hoping for a big honey crop this year, below are some photos.
#gallery-2 {
margin: auto;
}
#gallery-2 .gallery-item {
float: left;
margin-top: 10px;
text-align: center;
width: 33%; }
#gallery-2 img {
border: 2px solid #cfcfcf;
}
#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {
margin-left: 0;
}
This spring season, The Wallace Family Apiary lost 20 colonies, and we are down to just 10 colonies. We currently do not use any chemicals in our hives, consequently the colonies that survived did so because of their genetic makeup. The honey bee colonies that have high degree of hygienic traits in their genes are the ones that are survival colonies. These survival colonies are going to be the queens we use to raise/rear our future colonies. We have a goal of having 50-60 strong and healthy colonies this year, and that means splits and divisions. That also means buying established colonies from trusted bee and queen producers, for increase in genetic diversity and for more colonies to be divided for growth and expansion,…and that can be expensive. We believe in being good stewards with the bees that we have been given the responsibility and charge of, and we freely place our colonies on gardens, crops, community gardens, and orange groves…at no charge. You also, probably know that bees have been hit hard in the past few years, thousands of colonies have simply collapsed and vanished. Our community and our country needs us the local beekeepers and our bees more than ever. You can help us in our goal and in saving the bees, by donating any amount that you wish. If everyone gives a little than we can reach our goal of 50-60 healthy colonies, and we can provide more bees to our neighbors and our local agriculture community. If you want to help and donate, just click on the Donate button, and follow the instructions. Thank you for your support and thank you for helping us.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Laser Treatments for Smoking Addiction
I’ve had several inquiries lately from people who are interested in using cold-laser therapy to quit smoking. I say that yes, there is a well conducted study showing that cold-laser treatments can help.
That study can be found here:
http://www.jcm.co.uk/media/cms/File/JCM86_46.pdf.
The laser treatment is designed to use cold-lasers to stimulate acupuncture points similar to what acupuncture needles would do. Cold-laser therapy is a wonderful tool and very effective for treating a large number of health problems, including mental/emotional issues including depression and addiction.
In my opinion, however, I’d prefer to use acupuncture needles over my cold-lasers for addiction. Why? Unless you have several lasers and several hands at your disposal, laser treatments are done one acupuncture point at a time. With acupuncture, I can treat all points simultaneously and get the true synergistic effect of all the points together. What about the laser therapy clinics that only use lasers to treat problems like addiction? In general, it is because they are not qualified to practice acupuncture. Stimulating acupuncture points, whether it is with needles or lasers, relies on a thorough understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In the United States, a Masters in Acupuncture or Chinese Medicine typically involves a 3-4 year education.
A final word on smoking cessation: There is no “silver-bullet” to quit smoking. Acupuncture, with needles OR lasers, will not make you WANT to quit. We cannot inject willpower through our treatments, regardless of some of the wild claims made by laser treatment centers. Our treatments can lower the anxiety, irritability, and depression that come with trying to quit. In some cases, our treatments can lead to changing the taste of cigarettes. We do this by altering the levels of nor-epinephrine, dopamine, and seratonin in the brain. All of these neurotransmitters are involved in the addiction and “feeling-good” sensations in the brain. The first step, however, is to decide that you really want to quit.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Do You Expect Lifestyle Advice from Your Acupuncturist?
This subject really divides opinion! Some people like to come for treatment and expect it to immediately help their ailment. Of course, it’s not always going to work straight away. It often takes a series of treatment to see an improvement and ongoing “top-ups” to maintain health. But it’s not just the acupuncture treatment that will help. As a health practitioner, I take a holistic approach and often give my patients lifestyle advice that will further enhance their recoveries.
Feeling heavy, muzzy-headed, bloated? It could be what in Chinese Medicine we refer to as a symptom of ‘Damp’. One of the causes of Damp is what we eat, particularly dairy food. I don’t ask my patients to exclude milk, cheese, eggs etc. but will advise that they cut down if one of their ailments is a consequence of Damp.
Hot flushes, constipation, thirst and anger outbursts? This could be a result of Heat. Cutting down on coffee (replace with warm water, Roobios, herb teas), alcohol and ‘hot’ foods such as curries will help reduce the symptoms.
Mood swings, constriction in the throat, built up rage? It could simply be that your Qi (energy force) is stuck and needs moving. A walk in Coates Water Park, round the shops or just dancing to music will get the Qi moving and you’ll start seeing improvements.
You see? You should expect lifestyle advice but it’s straightforward, simple to implement and will do you the world of good … alongside those needles !
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Acupuncture, it is...
I feel as if I’m embarking on a new adventure; that is to say, I’m happy I’m taking some steps, doing something outside of what I can do for myself. I met with my ‘new’ acupuncturist on Friday – remember, the one who ONLY works with infertile people.
The clinic had an Eastern flavor to its atmosphere; very calming, soothing, warm, and overall comfortable [unlike the clinics I have been to or worked in]. As you know, filling out paperwork is a must everywhere you go: medical history forms and liability forms. My first appointment with my new acupuncturist [E.] went much like I had previously experienced: very thorough review of my medical history, history of present issues, discussion of my goals, listening to/feeling my pulses, and looking at my tongue. I was given an explanation of what sort of sensations to expect from the needles. After I took off my shoes and socks and hopped on the table, the sticking began: forearms, hands, lower legs, ankles, feet, stomach, head – not bad, most I didn’t even feel…maybe just a little prick. Once the needles were in, and the heating lamps placed over me, I was left alone to rest in the darkened room with their relaxing music playing. The sensation was very unusual, but pleasant. My body felt kind of heavy, yet light…I didn’t have a desire to move [although I did have to resist my initial temptation to look at , play with, and take pictures of the needles 
]. My mind was restless at first, but cleared by the moment, and I felt totally relaxed.
Before all of that, a few of my questions were answered.
We discussed my uncertainty about pursuing further IUI treatments or IVF at this time. We also discussed the option of acupuncture as the sole treatment for a while. E. briefly reviewed the anatomy/physiology involved in developing a follicle, and how it takes at least 90 days to do so, before you ovulate that egg. Obviously she was hopeful that acupuncture could help with the nourishment/development of a healthy egg, as well as help balance my system and hormones in the process. She works with many women who use acupuncture in conjunction with Western medicine, as well as with women who use acupuncture alone. Either way [if I decide to pursue IUI treatments in the future or not], she would have recommended acupuncture alone for a couple of months, just to give time to nourish that follicle.
I’d have to say she was optimistic yet somewhat guarded [or is it realistic?]. She mentioned many times that there are always a lot of factors to consider that must fall into place for pregnancy to occur; and she needs some time to get to know me and my body/system. She mentioned it’s hard to isolate what it was that worked for couples [meds, insemination, acupuncture, herbs, vitamins, change of lifestyle, etc], or if it was the combination of treatments and things we do on our own that resulted in pregnancy – she was empathic that this is a very frustrating issue. She mentioned we can definitely improve on the things that are bad, but the cycles that may not be good [factoring in a magnitude of possible reasons in a given month], just might not be good. I guess there are no guarantees for anything.
E. didn’t think my FSH levels were THAT high or alarming. She reiterated that FSH levels can change cycle to cycle [so maybe mine COULD be better some months]. She said she has worked with women in my situation which resulted in ‘natural’ pregnancies, although the length of time varied. She took a look at my temperature charts – she thought I was ovulating by looking at them; except for the month that I took the clomid, interestingly. But based on my 2 most recent progesterone labs taken in 2009, I’m not ovulating. Hmmm….
Her recommendation at this time:
-Acupuncture 1-2x/week for 3 months [for monetary reasons alone, it will have to be 1x/week].
-Follow-up labs to check my progesterone [at my MD clinic] for a couple of those months
-She mentioned that she would not recommend another cycle of clomid and IUI for me, stating that clomid does not work well with someone with high FSH levels; if I were to pursue IUI again, she would suggest IUI plus injectables. After a few months, we will discuss combination therapies as a possibility, if I’m interested.
She mentioned herbs, but didn’t want to push them on me at the first visit. E. did say that she typically combines acupuncture and herbs – although I’m totally undecided about the herbs. I don’t even like to take tylenol when I have a headache, so the idea of herbs kind of frightens me. Has anyone ever taken any? How did they make you feel?