Hi I am Sarah at Cascade Wellness with our seasonal wellness tips. I am here to tell you about some ways to balance your heart energy which can help with so many summer ailments from insomnia to anxiety to joint pains and anything that leaves you stuck and ungrounded. These are never meant to diagnose or prescribe as you should be making an appointment with your provider to find out what exactly fits you. Chinese herbs and supplements can be used effectively when they are carefully chosen for the right person at the right time. We also believe you are your best healer so having this knowledge can empower you to find what is best for you with the help of your provider. We offer low-cost to you herbal consultations if the situation fits so we can help guide you to the safest most effective treatment for your unique condition.
As spring moves to summer, we want to balance the oncoming sunlight, heat, and brightness with the ability to rest our hearts and minds with sleep.
Herbs offer us an intricate and specific way to access body pathways that can coax us into health and harmony through thousands of years of biological observation.
Through careful analysis of the classics and the formula literature, “Can’t get to sleep” can be encapsulated neatly and simply by stating that the inability to get to sleep is due to heat in the lower jiāo, our root, and connection with yin and rest, which flares upward.
In Huáng Dì Nèi Jīng Sù Wèn it said: “The qì also circulates downward, [if ] the yángmíng counterflows, [then the yángmíng is] unable to follow the way, therefore [one is] unable to lie down.
The path of the yang ming circulates downward, if it counterflows one is unable to lie down.
The stomach helps us receive nourishment including, nutrients, love, money, and everything we need to survive.
Counterflow brings heat and overthinking. Digestion of food and digestion of ideas can become affected.
The Xià Jīng said: [If ] the stomach is not in harmony, then [there is] disquiet [upon] lying down The qì of yángmíng is supposed to descend, but if it does not descend, and instead counterflows, then it ascends upwards, and when the yángmíng ascends, it brings the heat of the stomach with it. It this heat then causes “overthinking” which causes insomnia in the Can’t Get to Sleep pattern.
Therefore, to treat this pattern we have to clear heat from the lower jiāo and sedate and sink the counterflow.
Can’t get to sleep should be used all day, it is not a sedative and it can help you stay calm, focused and clear for your day as it helps you prepare for the night through an intricate balance.
The following is the list of herbs with their actions
“When you’re in a dark place, you sometimes tend to think you’ve been buried. Perhaps you have been planted. Bloom.” – shared via Greg Braden
People often struggle with new years resolutions slamming into a cleanse just to fall back out and find they have done more harm than good. This year I urge you to make safe sustainable change. Here’s a guide to some popular and helpful diet and health plans to get you on the right track. All of these can be beneficial or harmful and it is always best to check with a trained medical professional to see what is best for your body and to monitor your progress through measurable goals. Always feel free to contact us for an appointment to discuss what is right for you. Stay tuned for new programs and options at Cascade Wellness!
Is the keto diet right for you? You may have heard a friend or family member telling you the amazing benefits of weight loss, energy production and optimal brain functioning that can be obtained with the keto diet. It also helps you regenerate through stimulating Autophagy. (More info on Autophagy.) The how to’s can be simple or complicated. Ketosis comes when your body is getting most of it’s energy from fat and not carbs. If you fuel with good fats this can be beneficial. If you fuel with processed (refined) rotten or chemical and toxin laden fat you can cause serious harm. This diet requires a lot of organic unrefined fats. Be sure you know what that is, if you want to be healthy but especially if you want to try this diet. Simply put, if a human messed with the fat it is bad, this includes any refined oil and animal fats who were fed an unnatural diet like cows and chickens who eat mostly grains. There are a lot of guides available. Right now my favorite people with experience teaching and implementing the basics and details keto are my friends Mike and Dianna Mutzel at High Intensity Health.
Detox
We have a whole page of detox resources but before you click the link and dive in let’s go over the basics. Detox is not a fad diet or intense cleanse, detox is something your body does every day. However, how much you put through your system, all the things you are exposed to, are like traffic on a freeway. The more you are exposed to the more resources, nutrients, cofactors and time your body needs to mobilize the toxins. These get out of your body through urine, feces, sweat and breath. To get things out of your gut you need fiber. To mobilize the toxins you need nutrients minerals, including magnesium, and cofactors to get the toxins to where they need to go to be excreted. For the urine and sweat breath and feces to move toxins out they need plenty of water. So doing a fast where you add sugar (juice or master cleanse) and remove fiber can effectively move toxins from safe storage places like your fat and bones and into your brain as the sugar rushes to nourish the most vital organ (brain and heart) while it struggles to regulate without fiber protein or fats. Fats can also support detox while both fats and antioxidants like vitamin C can help protect your healthy cells while toxins are mobilized. If you are constipated it is imperative to handle that asap (sooner than later) with magnesium to bowel tolerance, aloe juice and or herbs as needed. Hydration fiber and probiotics can help keep you regular. Specific foods and nutrients are particularly effective to support detox. Eat lots of cruciferous vegetables, sulfur containing vegetables, berries, good fats and all the colors of the rainbow. You can also contact us for a detox diet guide if you are a current patient or come check in and get what is right for you.
Intermittent Fasting
Giving your gut a break can be miraculous. If you go slowly and choose a time period that is right for you fasting can help boost your energy, stimulate healing and boost BDNF, a protein that helps stimulate the production of new brain cells.
Elimination Diet
A simple elimination diet helps you reset your system and determine what is ailing you. You simply remove anything you may be allergic to or a list of common allergens like wheat, corn, nightshades, dairy and all processed foods. When you add things back in, do it slowly to watch for reactions (one thing every 3 days) and keep a journal monitoring your intake and symptoms as you come out. The elimination should be complete for 28 days or you will not get the same results. Contact us if you are a current patient and want a comprehensive guide, recipes and shopping list to make it easy or come in to see what is right for you and to monitor your progress.
Sustainable Weight Loss
The best way to loose weight is slowly and gradually by working on your metabolism, making sure hormones and thyroid are in check and toxins are reduced and eliminating appropriately. Sarah can help find what is stopping you and would like to help you monitor your progress. Come in for a check in to make sure you are on the right track then simply increase activity and decrease what you don’t need.
Lurking Infections
Infections come in when the terrain, tolerance and susceptibility are out of balance. We need to look at the big picture and optimize your gut and nutrition to support immunity while attacking what can be found. If it feels like something is dragging you down it could be toxins or a lurking infection or both (they tend to come together). Come in to check for what is ailing you and get help treating it from the root.
My New Years Resolution Suggestion
Eat a rainbow every day! Seriously, if all you did was just eat a serving of each color from the rainbow in naturally occurring vegetables and fruit every day you would have no room for junk and your nutrients and fiber needs would be met. This is simple, easy to share with friends and family of all ages and can make a profound difference in your life! Try it for 30 days and beyond!
Get the support and information you need to make lasting food changes that support your optimal wellness.
Nutrition Transformation 1, 2, 3
3 one to one and a half hour lectures (weekly) to help you fully restructure your eating habits. This series is a wonderful follow up to the detox series but will also be very useful on it’s own. Sarah has attended some extensive courses this year through the Institute of Functional Medicine and is bursting with valuable information to share so you can find true wellness! We will be sharing recipes, supporting each other & finding ways to make eating right simple, fun & yummy! Personal functional dietary evaluations and acupuncture can also be very helpful when designing a new eating plan so services will be 20% off durring your nutrion transformation.
$120 for series of 3
Classes of 3-6 can be set up for your schedule.
Email us with your list of people and times.
These links provide more information about acupuncture and the continuing discoveries that validate this ancient medicine that has been used for thousands of years.
“It is the first time the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has explicitly backed the use of complementary therapies.” NHS to give back pain acupuncture
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