Monday, December 12, 2011

The gift of acupuncture!

Are you looking for a unique and special gift this is holiday season? How about giving the gift of acupuncture? Acupuncture is a special gift that can make a real difference to the lives of the ones you love. Points of Wellness Acupuncture provides care to people throughout the year, and during the holiday season, we help our clients reduce stress and improve their well-being.

From backaches and headaches caused by long to-do lists to holiday dinner fears to over-spending insomnia, the holiday season is a stressful time for many of us. One of the most negative outcomes of stress is a breakdown in your immune system, leaving you at risk to colds and illness. Eating fattening foods, exercising less and stressful family situations can truly take a toll on your health.

Acupuncture helps you cope with these demands and enables you to function at a high level of wellness. Stress, anger, or any intense emotion creates a traffic jam in your body, blocking the free flow of energy. For example, people who are stressed tend to experience upper back, shoulder and neck pain. This is because stress stops the flow of Qi (energy) passing through channels in your body to these areas resulting in pain, tension, stiffness, and sometimes, headaches as well.

Acupuncture removes these energy blockers allowing energy to flow smoothly, which not only alleviates the symptoms of stress and anxiety, but also the underlying stress and anxiety itself. Additionally, acupuncture improves blood circulation throughout the body. The calming nature of acupuncture decreases your heart rate, lowers blood pressure and relaxes the muscles. Acupuncture also helps relieve many aliments, such as headaches, and improves overall health.

In addition to acupuncture treatments, here are some other basic tips for staying healthy during the holiday season, or any season for that matter:

Quality sleep between 10pm and 2am regenerates the adrenal glands, which controls a large portion of the body’s hormonal system.

Exercise has many good points. It is a natural stress and pain reliever, as well as an immune system booster. If you do not have time for a 30-minute exercise session, then at the very least, do some stretching or a few yoga poses to keep your circulation up.

The old saying, “You are what you eat,” is very true. Sugar and processed foods increase inflammation in the body and damages your immune system.

Eat plenty of colorful vegetables, leafy greens, and choose organic when possible.

Remember the best shopping areas in a grocery store is the perimeter!

Soups are great for this season. You can use leftovers, such as turkey, turkey bones, beef bones, and vegetables, to make a yummy and nutritious broth.

Research shows that if you want to feel good, do something for those less fortunate. You can volunteer or donate to a local food pantry, or buy Christmas gifts for a
less fortunate child.

And, with these last few tips, I wish you and your families a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!