October 2nd, 2011 by Monica Mae Leibson

I was fortunate enough to attend a luncheon for The Pink Fund on Saturday and walked away feeling blessed and inspired.  The Pink Fund is a michigan based charity organization that provides short-term financial aid during the brief period of active treatment and recovery.  The help that the Pink Fund offers people during a time of crisis is desperately needed and I applaud them for taking a stand for people’s lives.

Kris Carr was chosen to be their speaker because of her journey and her courage.  She was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer that was considered untreatable.  They couldn’t do chemotherapy or operate.  So, she decided to research other cultures to see what they ate and how they exercised to promote longevity.  What I loved about her was her honesty and vulnerability.  She told us that before her cancer diagnosis she would eat very unhealthy food, including spam.  “Spam, people!”  she screamed to us to remind us how disgusting it was!  For her to be considered a health guru now shows she certainly has come a long way.

I was also really inspired by her attitude regarding diet and lifestyle.  She said that we should strive for perfection but never be a slave to it.  When it comes to diet, exercise, and meditation, we would all love to make goals and stick to them.  But oftentimes we are too busy with the many demands of our lives.  She reminded us that we should always aim to meet our goals but shouldn’t beat ourselves up if we don’t.  I really liked this because in my healthcare practice I’ve seen how easy it is for people to engage in negative self talk if they don’t live up to their own standards.  And really, how does this serve us?  It truly doesn’t.  Guilt does nothing to move us forward in our spiritual journey.  Rather, as spiritual beings, we can do our best to take care of ourselves and know that our best is always good enough.

Please take a moment to pay it forward and donate to this amazing Michigan charity.

www.thepinkfund.org

Be inspired at

www.crazysexylife.com

September 26th, 2011 by Julie Silver

Most of us eat foods because they are pleasurable and we enjoy their smell, taste and textures.
Eating is a very personal experience as it is both a source of nutrition as well as a tool for social gathering. Most of us are also well aware of the
nutritional value of food. Eating whole grains (vs. enriched white flours), fresh (vs. canned) vegetables and healthy fats (vs. trans fats) are
cornerstones of many diets. It is also valuable to look at our bodies, the importance of the temperatures and flavors of foods, and the best season to eat them
in.  Read the rest of this entry »

September 26th, 2011 by Monica Mae Leibson

Research Gives Insight Into How Acupuncture May Relieve Pain

Acupuncture—an ancient healing practice that has shown promise in treating chronic pain—typically involves a period of active needle stimulation, followed by a longer period of rest. It appears that the analgesic (pain-relieving) effects of acupuncture may actually peak long after the active stimulation ends. In the first study of its kind, NCCAM-supported researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Logan College of Chiropractic, and Kyunghee University (Korea) evaluated the effects of acupuncture on brain activity following active stimulation.

The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imagery (fMRI) to monitor brain activity in 15 healthy adults before and after true acupuncture and sham acupuncture. The procedure lasted 150 seconds, and the rest period was 5.5 minutes. They also monitored heart rate and respiration and surveyed the subjects on their perception of pain and other sensations (such as deqi, unique sensations experienced in connection with acupuncture and considered to be signs of its effectiveness).

Analysis of the fMRI images showed that following true acupuncture—but not sham—there were increased connections among the parts of the brain involved in the perception and memory of pain. The subjects also reported stronger sensations with true acupuncture than with sham. The researchers conclude that acupuncture changes resting-state brain activity in ways that may account for its analgesic and other therapeutic effects.

Reference

• Dhond RP, Yeh C, Park K, et al. Acupuncture modulates resting state connectivity in default and sensorimotor brain networks. Pain. 2008;136(3):407–418.

Additional Resource

• More information on acupuncture from NCCAM is available here:nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/.

Journal Publication Date: June 1, 2008

(Note: This article is taken from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine)

September 23rd, 2011 by Monica Mae Leibson

Mothers & Mothers-to-be gather to laugh, talk, & cry on our journey through motherhood. In this safe place, we discuss topics of interest, create long-lasting friendships & build community; your children are welcome as you care for them while you attend. Taught by Jahmanna Selassie. Free (occasional speaker/material fees).

Thurs Sep 29th ~ Open, Share, Review, Reflect

Thurs Oct 6th ~ Birth Talk:  Mama to Mama – to -  be

Thurs Oct 13th ~ The work of Mama Juggling

Thurs Oct 20th ~ Babys First Food after Milk

Thurs Oct 27th ~ Open, Share, Review, Reflect

Jahmanna Selassie is a birth & post partum doula, massage therapist, aspiring midwife, mother of 6, and has a special interest in the uniquely revitalizing qualities of ayurvedic postpartum care.

To find out more, go to http://visitindigo.com



September 14th, 2011 by Julie Shindler-Cohen

In the age of food allergies, Sandra Beasley’s Don’t Kill the Birthday Girl: Tales from An Allergic Life is a fascinating read for those of us who cannot imagine living with such food restrictions.  Beasley tells her life story of dealing with severe food allergies and how she has learned to adapt her life around her extreme food sensitivities.  Her food allergies are so severe that she rejected her mother’s breast milk as an infant.  Over many years, doctors were able to determine that she is allergic to dairy (including goat’s milk), egg, soy, beef, shrimp, pine nuts, cucumbers, cantaloupe, honeydew, mango, macadamias, pistachios, cashews, swordfish and mustard; she is also allergic to mold, dust, grass, tree pollen, cigarette smoke, dogs, rabbits, horses, and wool.  (Can you imagine?)  However, the discovery of her allergies also involved countless anaphylactic shock episodes and trips to the emergency room before the correct offender could be identified. Read the rest of this entry »

September 12th, 2011 by Monica Mae Leibson

For women going through IVF, it’s a very emotional time.  And it seems sometimes easier for the human psyche to worry about the negative rather than create a positive future.  Now if having a baby were as easy as “creating a positive future,” we wouldn’t need IVF!  This practice is simply used to focus the mind, rather than letting anxiety and fear get the best of us.

Step 1.  Release the past.

If our mind is cluttered with memories of yesterday or anxiety regarding tomorrow, we cannot truly create from a blank slate.

Breathing in, I allow myself to come into this present moment.

I choose to consciously release the past at this moment.  I internally declare that the past has no power over me and I release and let go.  (Deep sigh of relief).

Step 2.  Create an intention

With an intention, you begin by stating your desire.  Be sure to use juicy adjectives like loving, nurturing, and fully self-expressed.  You want your intention to feel like it really resonates with why you desire to have a child.

The flow of the intention can go something like this…

1. I would love the opportunity to be a loving mother to a healthy child.
2. My intention at this time is be a nurturing mother in a beautiful family with a child.
3. Who I am is the possibility of peace, love, and joy.
4. I am a stand for loving families on our planet.

Step 3.  Release and let go.

Oftentimes this is the hardest part.  But just practice it and see how your heart opens.  You can speak your intention with love and gracefully follow it with a releasing meditation.

“I have shared my intention with the universe and know that it has been received.  With that knowing, I release and let go.  I release the attachment of my intention and choose to stay focused on who I am being, rather than what I am asking for.”

“I choose to have faith in this life.  I know it is not always easy but regardless of the outcome, I choose to have faith in my journey.”

Step 4.  Rinse and repeat

I recommend writing down the intention you’ve created and include the releasing meditation.  You can carry it around with you in your wallet.  You could put it on the mirror in your bathroom.  The honest truth is that you might need to say it a lot in each day.  Worry and anxiety can be so familiar to our brains that it becomes our automatic thought process.  This will truly be a lesson in consciously creating your thoughts.  Enjoy!

September 1st, 2011 by Julie Silver

Feng shui is an ancient art developed in China over 3,000 years ago.  Its goal is to balance the energies of any given space to assure health, wellness and good fortune to those who inhabit it. Like acupuncture, feng shui is based on the principle of qi, an energy that fills our spacesand makes it feel “alive”.  You may have heard the expression that the space has “good feng shui” or even walked into a space yourself and had a good or bad feeling when you did. One of the objects of feng shui is to create a free path for the qi to flow throughout your home.  Picture qi as a gentle stream flowing through your home. By doing a simple walk through your home you can see where the stream flows smoothly and where clutter and objects get in its way. Read the rest of this entry »

August 28th, 2011 by Monica Mae Leibson

For so many women, pregnancy is filled with preparing for birth.  Taking classes, reading books, and practicing relaxation techniques are just a few of the many things that keep a pregnant woman busy.  So for an expectant mom to hear that her baby is in a breech presentation, it can be very disappointing.

Read the rest of this entry »

August 24th, 2011 by Julie Shindler-Cohen

The inability to fall asleep at night can be very frustrating.  Although we may feel tired, we can lay in bed for hours without being able to fall asleep.  Instead of relaxing into sleep, we become more agitated that we cannot fall asleep—it’s a vicious cycle, to say the least.  Sometimes all that is necessary is a formal way to calm the mind.  Try this meditation, a modification of the “microcosmic orbit”, which helps to relax both the body and the mind. Read the rest of this entry »

August 17th, 2011 by Julie Shindler-Cohen

As many women know, menstrual cramps can be quite painful and disruptive to daily life.  The constant aching and pain that may last up 7 days can really take a toll on a woman’s quality of life.  Of course, there are plenty of medications on the market that can ease the pain but do not treat the root of the problem.  From a traditional Chinese medical standpoint, menstrual cramps are the result of energy (qi) and blood not able to flow freely.  (We call this qi and blood stagnation)  There are many different ways to help promote movement during this time of the menstrual cycle that really help with painful periods. Read the rest of this entry »