Mind/Body

With the warm weather in full swing, what better time to bring awareness to sun safety? UV radiation is the main cause of skin cancer. UV rays can also damage your eyes. This time of year is especially important to spread awareness about the damage ultraviolet rays can cause and how to prevent it.

For most of us, it is inevitable that we are going to have many sun-soaked days throughout the summer months. The key is to minimize the effects of UV rays as best we can while we are outside. Continue Reading

Acupuncture saved my life. That is a bold statement, but one that I stand behind. Having been chronically sick and battling debilitating depression for years, I had become a slave to my medication and supplement routine. I was trying to do everything as naturally as possible, but I was literally setting three alarms on my phone as reminders to take supplements and carrying around the same pill holder that my grandmother used. All the while, I was still terribly sick and horribly depressed. Something was not right here.

Two years into this, after nearly dying in the hospital from liver failure caused by a medication I was taking, I was told to immediately stop taking every prescription and supplement that I was on. This horrified me. “I can’t stop taking all of this stuff! I am going to get so sick and so depressed. I need these pills!” Continue Reading

Many of us have tried using a sauna before. They have them at lots of spas and gyms. You get in, determined to stick it out a full 30 minutes and sweat out the other night’s less than perfect decisions you made-or drank- until that inevitable voice in your head starts talking. “Am I baking in here?”, “Should I feel this hot?”, “If I pass out, I wonder how long until someone finds me”…… Sounds fun, right?!

It wasn’t until I discovered an infrared sauna that I realized I did not have to have these conversations in my head and didn’t have to wonder if I’d survive the 30 minutes I set out to “relax” in the sauna for. And not to mention, I found out infrared saunas not only were way more comfortable, but they had a slue of health benefits to go along with it. Yes please!

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The skin is the largest organ of the body. Most of us understand how important it is to rid our bodies of toxins through our skin via sweat, but have you thought about what toxins are entering your body through your skin? We often associate toxins with the food we eat and the air we breathe, but what about the long list of products that we are slathering all over our bodies? From soaps to lotions to shampoos and eye makeup- if you’re not careful, you may be introducing your body to more toxins than you realize. One common, highly toxic ingredient in many of our everyday toiletries is parabens.

It takes less than 30 seconds for the chemicals in your skin care routine to enter into your bloodstream through your skin.

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Physical and emotional pain are linked to the same part of our brains, so it is no surprise that chronic physical pain can trigger things like depression and our emotional struggles can cause physical illness or prevent us from healing. This is where mind-body medicine comes in. While this concept is nothing new in Eastern medicine, having been practiced for thousands of years, it is just in recent years becoming more widely accepted and acknowledged in Western medicine.

Energy healing techniques like reiki and acupuncture have been staples in Eastern medicine for thousands of years. The Chinese discovered energy meridians that flow through our bodies over 5,000 years ago and have developed their healing practices to keep these energies in balance in order to achieve optimal health.

If you are not ready to fully embrace the ways of Eastern medicine just yet, there are still ways that you can help balance both your mind and your body to achieve wellness. Whether you are looking to reduce emotional stress or physical pain, these simple strategies below can help.

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Disagree? I did too until I took a long, hard look at exactly what it was I was doing with my time. Have you ever audited your time? If not, it could change the way you look at your days entirely. Write down or track on your phone exactly what you are doing and how long it is taking you for 5-7 days. When you look back- if your days are anything like mine- you may find 20 minutes of non-work related FaceBooking you didn’t need on Wednesday or 90 minutes vegging in front of the TV Friday night.

Now, of course, a little down time here and there is okay, but if you start to see a pattern of wasted time, you can free it up for those last couple things always lingering at the bottom of your to-do list.

Making a monthly, weekly, and daily list of things you need or want to accomplish can also be very helpful. Yes, your head is probably full of things that you need to get done, but what can you accomplish this week? Or better yet, today? Take one thing on your list and go with it. Thinking of the 50 things that have to get done can be overwhelming. Take it one at a time.

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