Self-care has become a trendy buzzword in the post-Covid era but the benefits to practicing regular self-care are undeniable. 

First, let’s talk about what self-care is and what it isn’t. Self-care is taking steps to address your physical and emotional health needs to the best of your ability. Self-care is not being selfish or self-indulgent. 

Most of us have an overwhelming to-do list that depletes us mentally and physically. Just like a healthy diet and regular exercise, self-care is the next key to great physical and mental health.

The best part about self-care is that it includes a variety of activities that can range from exercise, yoga, hiking in nature, or bike riding, to quieter outlets like reading, meditation, prayer, or a warm bath. It really is up to you to determine what outlet is best for you. 

Be Your Best Self

Self-care really boils down to this simple truth: if you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t be there fully to take care of others. If you continue to drop your needs down that to-do list and you miss out on healthy meals or an activity that charges your batteries, you might just be slowing yourself down and holding up your progress over the long term. For example, a 2018 study found that medical students who regularly practiced self-care reported less stress and a better quality of life than those who didn’t.

Overall Wellness

At our core, we probably all understand that taking care of ourselves is important. We all know we should eat right, get enough sleep, and exercise regularly — but that doesn’t always happen, especially if we have others in our lives that depend on us to take care of their needs as well. This is where it helps to really take a look at what you find enjoyable and what really provides you with energy and fulfillment. 

If nothing comes to mind immediately, try a few different activities to see what works for you. If yoga or hiking isn’t your thing, maybe try something else like a Zumba workout class, drumming, or get a facial. If one thing isn’t working, don’t hesitate to move on to something else. Your version of self-care could be a regular coffee visit with friends, tennis lessons, or joining a book club. There is freedom in finding out what works best for you — your version of self-care doesn’t have to look like someone else’s.

Awareness of Personal Needs

Finding out what works best for you is really how you develop an awareness of what it is you need to refocus and find that all important balance in your life. That awareness includes your physical, mental, and emotional needs. It’s important to find activities that address all facets of the mind-body connection, and that you care for your whole self. 

Develop Resilience

Proper self-care also allows you to develop resilience as you are better able to handle challenges that come your way when you are caring for your own mental and physical well-being. The anxiety and overwhelming feelings that can tumble your way throughout the day’s challenges don’t seem to have the same impact when you are maintaining your mental and physical strength through self-care. 

Talk to me about different self-care ideas. I will take a complete health history and work with you to address your physical, mental, and emotional health needs, and get you started on your self-care journey!

The post Four Reasons Self-Care Should be a Priority in Your Life appeared first on Tybee Acupuncture.

But while our planet manages to garner heavy doses of TLC, there continues to exist a large dumping ground for dangerous toxins, chemicals, and man-made impurities: our bodies.

Increasingly we are under the influence of more and more artificial products, and their cumulative effect over the past few decades is beginning to show.Despite significant advances in the healthcare delivery system, obesity rates are skyrocketing, autoimmune diseases are on the rise, and there are more medicinal and surgical procedures being administered than ever before.

Antibiotics continue to be abused, and prescription medications of all sorts are showing up in water supplies across the nation.

While emergency medical care is absolutely essential, continually dispensing medicine for conditions better treated naturally or more conservatively is misguided, and in many cases downright dangerous.

One of the greatest things about acupuncture is that it facilitates healing while preserving the sanctity of the human body and mind; it’s the ultimate green healthcare!

If a body is already ailing, what sense does it make to subject it to an onslaught of dangerous chemicals? It is far more productive to nurture the body by bringing it back into balance naturally and allowing it to rid itself of disease.

But aside from the health advantages of limiting your consumption of drugs, it is simply more efficient to tap into the renewable resources within the body than it is to try to power it from the outside. The body is healed and powered by the meridian system, proper diet and exercise.

As we continue to uncover the long-term effects of medicine and other chemical products, the responsibility falls on us as consumers to be sure that we are making the best decisions for us and for our planet, and it is imperative that our choices regarding healthcare be included in the mix.

It’s time to stop making choices that poison our body and the world around us, and start trusting in cleaner, healthier alternatives that support the body’s natural balance.

The post Going Green On The Inside appeared first on Tybee Acupuncture.

Based upon Taoist meditation practices, the Inner Smile Meditation can have profound effects on your body and mind. This simple meditation suggests that you ‘smile’ to all of your internal organs and glands. It is a way of saying “thank you” to your body for working 24 hours­­­, 7 days a week!

Focusing your attention and smiling in this way can calm the autonomic nervous system, revitalize the internal organs, and increase the flow of blood and Qi.

Here you will find the Inner Smile Meditation for the main Meridian Organ Systems. For more information, please refer to Mantak Chia’s book, Taoist Ways to Transform Stress into Vitality.

Choose a quiet spot and keep warm throughout the meditation. Sit comfortably at the edge of a chair, feet flat on the ground with your back straight. Breathe deeply and relax. Clasp your hands together, left hand on bottom and right hand on top, palms touching, and rest them in your lap.

Close your eyes and feel a connection between the soles of your feet and the ground.

Focus on the midpoint between your eyebrows. Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth. Put a smile on your face and journey down to the wonderfully amazing body that keeps you alive, alert and active.

Heart -See your heart as a vibrant red color. Focus the energy of “joy” into your heart. Feel it pulse with love. Breathe in and exhale with the sound of HAW.

Lungs – Radiate the feeling in your heart to your lungs. Picture your lungs as pure white. Focus on letting go of sadness and grief. Exhale with the sound of SSSSSS.

Liver – Keep the feeling spilling over into your liver, which is just under your ribs on the right side. Picture it as a vibrant grass-green. When exhaling, let go of anger and frustration with the sound of SHHHH.

Spleen – Continue to the left, under the ribs. Shine a vibrant yellow color into this organ. When you exhale, let go of overthinking and worry, and use the sound of WHOO.

Kidney – Focus your attention on your lower back, just below and under your ribs. Imagine a deep blue-purple light. Breathe in courage and exhale fear. When you exhale, use the sound of WOOO.

Once you have traveled through your body, begin to focus your attention on your navel. Smile down to your navel, and focus your attention there.

Mentally move the energy in a spiral at the navel 36 times. Women start the spiral counterclockwise, men start it clockwise. Next, reverse the spiral direction and bring the energy back into the navel, circling 24 times. You can use a finger to guide the spiral motion.

It is ok if you don’t know the exact locations of your organs. Just bringing awareness to these areas of your organs is benefit enough. Your body will love you just the same.

Perform each exercise 9 times, twice a day. These exercises can affect your body and mind; consult me if you have any questions about this meditation.

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There have been numerous cases where professional athletes in the peak of their careers have died of heart attacks and other natural complications. Could these deaths have been prevented by taking better care of their overall health? Possibly…

A physically fit body is typically a body that exudes health and vibrancy, however, this doesn’t mean that underlying illnesses such as cancer or cardiovascular disorders are not underneath the surface.

According to traditional Chinese medical theory, when there are meridian imbalances in the body, our organs are not functioning to their fullest capacity; this can lead to pain and injury.

Although you may feel in great athletic shape, when your body is out of balance, your organs are not getting the sufficient energy and blood flow they need to function properly; many of my patients who participate in rigorous workout schedules, don’t even know to stay properly hydrated.

The best thing to do is listen to your body. If something feels off or you feel low energy, these could be signs of an imbalance in your body. I often see people who continue to workout while their body is trying to fight off a cold. It’s more important to take a little extra time to rest, and seek out the proper therapies to get yourself  ‘tuned back up’.

The foundation of healthy living is a powerful, free-flowing meridian system, free to help the body without interference. Acupuncture points on the body are used to restore balance, providing better overall health.

Come in for an acupuncture tune-up today!

The post Fit versus Healthy appeared first on Tybee Acupuncture.