Cultivating “Calm”

Do you know anyone who experiences stress on a consistent basis? Could it be you?

No matter what your health goals are — whether it’s pain relief, more sleep, weight loss, or hormone balance — chronic stress can work against your progress. And even though you can leave an acupuncture treatment feeling wonderfully grounded and centered, life often creeps back in and you can end up feeling tense, anxious, exhausted, and burned out.

What if you could fundamentally change your relationship with your nervous system to feel calm and confident, no matter what’s going on in your life?

My friend, classmate and fellow acupuncture colleague, Brodie Welch, L.Ac., M.S.O.M., is offering a game-changing online subscription.

Brodie’s been practicing Chinese Medicine, yoga, meditation and qi gong for over 13 years. She is an amazing wealth of information, especially as it relates to educating patients on self-care. She’s assembled an awesome toolkit of the most clinically effective strategies — bodymind bio-hacks like breathing, qi gong, and meditation; along with practical info on acupoints, essential oils, diet, and lifestyle — to empower you to change your relationship with stress and anxiety. The course is designed to fit into the cracks of your busy life.

“I think most all Westerners would benefit from having the amazing tools in the Calm Yourself toolkit” – Jennie Cramer, Corvallis, OR

Like all good acupuncturists, we’re interested in getting to the root of the problem, not just managing the symptoms. So this course also comes with reflection sheets that help you identify the thought and belief patterns that keep you stuck in stress patterns, and the not-so-helpful behaviors that we fall into — things like relying on caffeine and sugar to get through your day, or letting your Inner Critic say mean things about you.

Her lectures are dynamite – really informative, clear, and very human. She really understands what it is to live our modern, stressful lifestyle, and her class is wonderful at teaching you ways to cultivate the much needed Calm to balance it. And the last module of the class delves into the science of habit change and gives you strategies to make it all stick.

“It was a life changer for sure!” – Kay Graven, Corvallis, OR

This course was made for you if:

1. You get that there’s a connection between how you’re living and how you’re feeling.

2. You’re interested in learning body-mind strategies.

3. You’re willing to let go of the idea that self-care is selfish.

4. You want to start a practice of meditation, qi gong, or yoga but haven’t been able to make it stick.

5. You’re interested in learning more about yourself from a Chinese Medicine perspective.

You can take the course in your own home, at any time, at your pace.

“I  learned how good it feels to be as good to myself as I am to others. It doesn’t take away from my life.  It adds to it.”- Susan Richardson, Corvallis, OR.

Check it out here.

Dawn Potter, AP, Dipl.OM

#breathtechnique #mentalshift #BrodieWelch #calmingtechniques #meditation #qigong #anxiety #stress #bodymindconnection #calm #stressrelief #relax #calmclass

The Medicine of Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is certainly one of my favorite holidays. In most of our day-to-day lives we are striving to do/be/have more. Thanksgiving asks us to stop and look from a different perspective, to reflect on what we have, what we’ve been given, what we’ve created and become, and most importantly, who we have in our lives, and to acknowledge those blessings.

In our modern Western culture, most of our holidays revolve around giving things, but this one is about giving thanks. How refreshing! Gratitude is its own gift that we can give ourselves and our loved ones.

It has always seemed to me that those who maintain grateful attitudes are happier and healthier. In fact, there is research that suggests this. Dr. Robert Emmons is a professor at U.C. Davis. In 2007 he published a book called Thanks!: How the new Science of Gratitude can make you Happier. In it, he summarizes several research studies demonstrating that those participants who kept a daily gratitude journal reported feeling better about their lives, more optimistic toward the future (which, by the way, contributes to stronger immune system), as well as fewer health problems. They also reported sleeping deeper and longer, and feeling more refreshed in the morning.

Emmons says that grateful people tend to take better care of themselves by eating healthier and getting more exercise.

Studies have also shown that regular “counting of one’s blessings”  is beneficial for those with neuro-muscular diseases (such as post-polio syndrome), and it has a protective effect from heart attacks.  It also is wonderfully helpful in the management of daily stress, which, in fact, is a cause or major contributor to many of our common health problems. Even when life is difficult, or tragedy strikes, there is something we can be grateful for, and in fact, this is probably the most important time to acknowledge these blessings.

Use this Thanksgiving as a reminder to cultivate an ongoing attitude of gratitude, as part of your health and happiness regimen.

Dawn Potter, AP, Dipl.OM

#gratitude #happiness #healthbenefitsofgratitude #thanksgiving