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Acupuncture During Pregnancy for Advanced Prenatal Care

While this topic seems to be geared toward those expecting or planning to get pregnant, many of us have friends or family who plan to have a child, so the more ears and eyes aware of the tools out there that can help, the better.

It’s apparent that we’ve created a culture here in the US of fear around pregnancy – and I and other acupuncturists and herbalists are here to say that pregnancy can be a really wonderful experience and that it’s truly the beginning of someone’s life. The time in utero is a critical time and should be protected.

 

Acupuncture and herbs are safe throughout the entire pregnancy!

Of course choose someone who has experience and training in working with pregnant women.  At Energy Flow, we create a customized treatment plan to prepare someone for a healthy pregnancy, and we help support each stage of the pregnancy.

 

As you may know, the United States is behind most developed countries in maternal care and prenatal and postnatal health.  Acupuncturists who specialize in women’s health and pregnancy, like me, are here to change that.  We are dedicated to changing outcomes for the better.  Here’s more about some issues that can arise during and after pregnancy and how acupuncture and herbs can help.

 

 

Conditions treated during pregnancy:

  1. Pain

    Pain is blockage.  Acupuncture is specifically designed to release blockages in the energy meridians of the body thus removing the block to flow that results in pain.  Trust me, you don’t want drains on your energy during pregnancy – you need all the energy you can get to grow the baby and prepare for caring for the baby.  Not to mention all your other responsibilities.

  2. Nausea and Vomiting

    While some queasiness or nausea is normal and even can be a good sign in the first trimester, feeling sick beyond the first trimester, or continual vomiting in the first trimester, should be treated.  Hyperemesis gravidarum patients respond well to acupuncture and herbs.

  3. Keep the Bowels Moving!

    This is especially important during pregnancy and postpartum.  If you are not eliminating every day, this is a sign that your system needs rebalancing to adjust for baby’s presence.

  4. Indigestion, AKA acid reflux or heartburn

    When I was pregnant the first time, I thought it was normal to have heartburn and didn’t think of it as something that needed correcting other than to take baking soda water all the time! Again, this is not par for the course!  It can and should be eased.

  5. Urinary urgency, frequency, or stress incontinence

    Yes, there is a baby sitting on top of your bladder, however, the body is designed to compensate for this normally.  This can improve with treatment, making your life in those last months, especially, much more comfortable!

  6. Swelling and Fluid Imbalances

Acupuncture and herbs help tremendously with balancing fluids so that swelling is greatly reduced and amniotic fluid levels can be regulated in        cases of polyhydramnios or oligohydramnios.   Fluids metabolism and balance is a major focus of East Asian Medicine.

7. Improve Outcomes for High Risk Pregnancies

The known benefits of acupuncture including reducing stress, which helps to regulate metabolic functions like blood pressure, relieving pain, and     improving circulation are all going to be beneficial especially when treatments occur throughout the pregnancy regularly.  This is an excellent       addition to prenatal care for high risk pregnancies.

 

Homework Assignments for Expectant Parents

In addition to using acupuncture and herbs in the clinic, we also send expectant parents home with acupressure instructions including points for the partner to press or rub during labor.

Pregnancy and childbirth are very special times in a woman’s life, and we are passionate about partnering with families for support throughout. We’d love to discuss partnering with you, just call or text 630-335-1069 to schedule a complimentary consultation.

No Smoothies? What can I eat for breakfast instead?

The Breakfast Dilemma

Many of my patients have this exact concern after they start working with me and we focus on repairing the digestive system.  Digestion takes place at body temperature, yet Americans love to slurp and sip cold drinks and liquidy foods.  Why is too much liquid a concern? One reason is because many of us have inadequate stomach acid.  Consuming too much fluid dilutes the acid and encumbers digestion.

 

My goal is to make sure that my patients’ bodies don’t have to use up extra energy (Qi) just to get their foods warmed up to body temperature – we are all already Qi deficient!  Warm foods are easier to digest.  So then –

 

What Can I Eat?

For this we can turn to the nutrition branch of Chinese Medicine, and the traditional breakfast of China and other Asian cultures – Congee! “What is THAT?” I hear you say…  Congee is basically rice porridge.  It’s a small amount of rice cooked in water in a 1:6 or 1:8 ratio.  Anything can be added to it, making it very versatile and adaptable to anyone’s tastes.  It is made with white rice, which is a nourishing easily digested “herb” in Chinese Medicine.

Warm Food for a Warm Belly

I want to leave you with a patient story – I had a patient recently who reported having a protein shake every morning for breakfast – when I listened to her abdomen upon percussing I could hear that smoothie sloshing in her stomach more than an hour after eating it.  The patient had some other signs of digestive weaknesses, so I suggested steering away from cold liquid meals.  In subsequent visit, I listened and heard no splash sound in her stomach – turns out she’d heeded my warning and started making her shake with warm-hot water.  Just that change allowed her body to assimilate it better.

Send me an email and I’ll send you a handout about making congee at home.

Healthy Fats and oils

Welcome to my kitchen!

Did you know that regularly consuming the wrong oils contributes to inflammation, chronic disease, and obesity? Here I discuss a variety of fats and oils that are an important part of a healthy diet. Specifically we will cover olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, tallow, ghee, and avocado oil.

Why it matters to know your fats

In this video I introduce you to several of the oils and fats that I think are useful in cooking.  I don’t have just one, because not only do they lend different flavors to your food, but they have different smoke points.  The smoke point is the temperature at which the oil will become damaged and free radicals develop.  Free radicals cause inflammation in the body – and we all want to prevent inflammation sources if we can.

Olive Oil and Extra virgin olive oil

Do you know the difference between these two popular oils? One has been partly refined, while the other is closer to the raw state of actual pressed olives.  Olive Oil can be used over heat, for sauteeing, and can withstand a temperature of approximately 450 degrees F.

Extra virgin olive oil, however, is cold-pressed, and will become damaged and therefore damaging to our tissues, at a lower temperature.  EVOO’s smoke point is around 350 degrees F or so.  So I recommend using this oil in room temp or cold dishes, and not heating it in the oven or on the stove.

Coconut Oil

While I absolutely love coconut in all its incarnations, I know many people who say they can’t stand coconut, or simply don’t like the way their food tastes when cooked in its oil.  Still, it’s health benefits are undeniable. It is a medium chain fatty acid, which means it’s readily available for the body to burn for energy.  Unrefined, it is solid at room temperature, while you can also find refined CO as a clear liquid at most stores. Since I love coconut oil, and prefer all things in their natural state when appropriate, I have never purchased refined.  You can read more about the difference between refined and unrefined here, and here, from two of my favorite producers of quality coconut oil.

Tallow

This is fat rendered from beef.  I end up with a lot of it when I make my homemade bone broth.  I take it off the top after it’s been refrigerated. We’ve been indoctrinated for decades to believe that saturated fat causes heart disease, but I don’t buy it.  Of course, I would not recommend eating fat from animals eating anything but their natural diet in a low stress environment.  Like lard, it can be used for frying.  Again, if you use lard, which is rendered pig fat, make sure you know what the animals ate and how they were treated while alive!

Ghee

When you heat butter gently and remove the solids, you are left with a clarified butter, also known as ghee in India, where it is an essential ingredient in cooking. Now you can find ghee in jars from grass-fed cows without too much effort. I like the rich flavor.  If you are dairy sensitive you may be able to tolerate it since the proteins are removed.  While I’ve made my own before, I tend to buy mine because I am dairy sensitive and would rather err on side of caution!

Avocado Oil

I’ll mention this one last since it’s been appearing in paleo foods and at Costco and you may wonder about it.  I like it mainly for it’s high smoke point of 400-500 degrees F.  This makes it useful for pan frying, which I use often.  This article mentions that it is actually doctor recommended in France for it’s ability to treat arthritis!  So I say, give it a try.  It’s flavorless, and so can be used in baking also.  A great alternative to canola oil if you ask me!

I’d love to hear how you use oils and fats in your everyday cooking or even for your beauty and health routines so please send me a note! Below is my video you can share with others as well!

Energy Flow Health Now Open in Naperville!

 

(Naperville Acupuncture)

 

Energy Flow Health Now Open in Naperville! Your Way to Digestive and Hormonal Balance.

Presenting Energy Flow Health

A little over a year ago, I struck out on my own and created my own practice.   I named it Energy Flow Health because we all want more energy and encouraging healthy flow is the way to get it! Now my practice finally has a new home in Naperville!

Years ago, I had a dream for my future practice – to be in a wellness center with other like-minded practitioners in a beautiful light-filled space, a whole building, dedicated to helping others to heal themselves, so that we all can go out and heal this troubled world of ours.  Then, sooner than I’d imagined, I was introduced to a group that wanted me to join them!

I’m so excited to tell you that the doors are finally open at Estuary Center for Living & Healing Arts.  The parking lot still needs paving, and the landscaping will come with the spring blossoms,  But the beautiful inside is painted and the bed heaters are turned on!!

Services Offered at Estuary

You may be curious at this point: what is Estuary Center? Who is there besides me?  I actually came in later in the vision of this wellness center.  Several women had begun planning its inception years earlier and became its founding members.  They are therapists, psychologists, but mostly healers, like me.  Throw into the mix several massage therapists, an art therapist, a Doctor of Integrated Manual physical therapy, and a Functional Medicine Chiropractor and you have Estuary! Together, we’re bringing an invigorating synthesis of mind-body-spirit care.

 

More about the Benefits of Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine in my other blog post here.

 

Visiting Estuary

I hope when you walk through the doors that you will immediately feel cared for and more relaxed, as we’ve designed the space to be a sanctuary and respite.

I have appointment times available now throughout the week and am ready to take on new and old patients.  Please call me to make an appointment, or if you would like a free 15-minute consultation.

 

Namaste, I look forward to serving you. Please, get in touch with me if you have any questions  (630) 335-1069.

 

Visit us at:

Estuary Center for Living & Healing Arts
24W788 75th Street
Naperville, IL 60565

 

 

 

6 Proven Tips for Harnessing the Power of Change

6 Unbelievable Tips for Harnessing the Power of Change

Autumn – a time to turn inward and accept the Power of Change

 

Perhaps your inbox is bombarded with tips for the season – pumpkin-themed recipes, back to school tips, Halloween happenings.  I know many of us love this time of year.  Yet for some it forbodes an impending doom – summer is gone and winter will be upon us with all its frigid cold and dangerous icy patches!

 

Finding Meaning in the Season

Let’s take a breath and consider what this time of year has meant over the millennia for many cultures that experience the four seasons and confer its symbology into their philosophies.  Fall is a time when the energy we spent outwardly growing and producing fruits all summer is mostly spent and then that energy converges inward to prepare for winter’s hibernation and storage of energy until life’s rebirth in spring.

In health terms, if we choose to live in tune with the seasons, our physical and mental energies turn inward also.  It’s the perfect time for reflection, and warming our hearts and spirits with gentle activity and meditation.  I like to take this time of year to revisit my purpose and values.

Over the summer, I was busy enjoying outdoor activity, engaging with friends, and allowing a bit more freedom into my schedule.  Now, I want to hunker down and get back to the core of why I’m on this planet.  Here are some suggestions to help you take advantage of the inward turning of life’s energy so that your roots may be well mulched to endure the long and cold winter months.

 

 6 Unbelievable Tips for Harnessing the Power of Change

 

My Tips for Harnessing the Power of Change

  1. Journaling – not your thing? Never done it before? Need enticing? Start with a beautiful book in which to write your deepest thoughts and dreams! I love Paperblanks.  I’ve gone through many of these over the years and delight in getting a unique new design each time.
  2. Mindfulness for the Beginner – ok, I’m no one to talk about having a devoted meditation practice, but over the years I’ve learned there are so many ways to incorporate mindfulness without sitting on a cushion or chair 30 minutes twice a day as experts such as Deepak Chopra recommend (although I do believe this is an admirable and worthy practice).  The important point of meditation is to give that monkey mind we all have a break and focus on being in the present moment, so try one of these methods that fit into your life if sitting still is not appealing.
  3. Take in Nature – this can be as simple as walking around the block and collecting fallen leaves, or visiting a nearby stream and listening to it gurgle, or laying outside and looking up at the infinite sky for a few minutes.  Again, this is all the same as #2, which we really all need as much of as we can get.
  4.  Weightless floating – a friend recently visited the local Float Club and commented on how she was able to release control and tension more and more and more during her hour session.  This can be useful for the very type A person who is constantly in action and has trouble turning off. Here’s a link to a local place to try.
  5. Let go of that which no longer serves you –  This takes courage and willingness to look at yourself from the inside, and identify what you have accumulated so far this year that is not for your highest good.  You can consider consulting a therapist or a good friend to help you identify old patterns that you are ready or in need of releasing. Some people like to write these things down on paper and burn them in a fire.
  6. Acupuncture – many of my patients say that acupuncture helps them shift energetically so that the previous 5 tips are accessible and useful.  Acupuncture works by releasing energetic blockages within our bodies thus restoring homeostasis when the natural flow of energy is reestablished. Breath comes easier, patience is more attainable, and stress is more manageable. Here is more information about Acupuncture on my site and in Wikipedia.

 

What do you usually do and think when energy shifts and we are facing the the power of change? Please, share in the social media with me or contact me personally!

 

I hope this article has been helpful for anyone who could use a shift or who was just curious about how to best utilize the change of season!

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