Cynthia's Top 10 Essential Oils for First Aid

Using Essential Oils On Your Face

Cynthia answers the question "How much essential oils should I use on my face? Is it the same amount that I use on my body?"

Cynthia's Top 10 Essential Oils - Five Element Style

I'm doing a series of Q&A videos on Essential Oils. Have a question you want answered? Comment & let me know. And tell us - what are Your top 10 oils?

Acupuncture & Massage to Quit Smoking

Natural Therapies to Quit Smoking

Acupuncture & Herbs
Massage Therapy
Meditation
See Video at end for demonstration of Acupressure Massage w Essential Oils

Many people turn to acupuncture when they want to quit smoking. This is because acupuncture can be a gentle and effective way to

·         reduce cravings

·         detoxify the lungs

·         stabilize emotions while quitting

Acupuncture is a therapy that works with your desire to quit and helps manage the change as easily as possible. It is not a magic bullet to rely on to do everything for you.

Auricular Therapy, which is Acupuncture needles inserted into special points in and around the ear, is a powerful treatment for over 185 symptoms and diseases.  We use this extensively to help quit smoking because it is known to work so well.

     

YOU DO have to be ready to quit. YOU DO have to be willing to shift to the identity of being a non-smoker. YOU DO have to make necessary lifestyle changes to support yourself.

On a biochemical level, addiction to cigarettes creates an imbalance in the way that serotonin and dopamine are regulated in the brain. You need a constant fix of nicotine in order to keep a relative balance in the neurotransmitter levels. When nicotine is removed, then serotonin levels plummet which causes irritability, fatigue, anxiety, and sometimes depression. Acupuncture has been clinically shown to regulate these vital brain chemicals without causing unwanted side effects.

Herbs:  Depending on your personal circumstances, health status, and medications, Acupuncture is often combined with Chinese herbs.  There are some excellent formulas that help to moderate withdrawal symptoms, diminish cravings, and calm emotions.

How Treatment Works: 

1. It’s best to get a full assessment intake with a special “Clearing Treatment” first. Needles are inserted into very strong points along your spine. This helps clean and balance your Qi before specific treatment begins.
2. We recommend coming in more frequently at first, such as 2-3 times per week, and then taper off as you change and cravings are decreased and much easier to get over.
3. It is always important to Not Smoke for at least 1-2 hours before you come in. Auricular Therapy works best when you are actually craving a cigarette – not after you’ve just had one and the craving is satisfied. Don’t worry, though. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well the needles stop the craving.

Yes, Get Massage.  The way that massage promotes the relaxation response while at the same time helping your body to naturally detoxify is a huge benefit while going through this entire process. We have a student clinic, professional massage therapists, and even the instructors at our school who can add in specific essential oils and energy work to help you achieve success.

Meditation can also be a profound resource for people trying to quit. Mindfulness exercises help with developing space around the cravings and observing them in a neutral state of awareness. This helps to take a lot of the momentum out of the energy of addiction. It gives one a deep inner resource to draw upon when difficulties arise.  We offer classes that include meditation, and we can teach you how to easily do it on your own.

To schedule, contact us at:
main reception: 907-279-0135
community acupuncture clinic:  907-929-4525

The Energy of Gall Stones

Q: Can you discuss Gall Stones from an energetic point of view?

A: Sure, this is how we talk about them in Medical QiGong Energy Healing. First, our Gall Bladder is called “The Decision Maker”, and it’s important to understand that the act of Making a Decision has a huge amount of power and energy that goes with it.

Think about that for a moment – we can go from being wishy washy or not knowing what to do, but as soon as we make a firm decision ALL of our energy in the form of thoughts and actions takes a solid direction and has a force of movement to it.

Gall Stones form when we have things in life that we want to do – to move forward or act on – but we let that energy stagnate and it builds up into a physical accumulation of non-action. For example,

1) we don’t make the decision with the energy of power to act, (ie, tomorrow, next year, after I have more money or time…)

2) we are in conflict between who we think we are and the desired action. (ie, oh, but I could never do that – even if I wanted to.)

3) our love of something is put down (insulted) by external expectations (ie, we are an artist, yet our family structure places a very strong value on financial success – lawyer – doctor….. Our love of art is put down in many ways, and we end up feeling like we would be a failure or disinherited, or too dreamy airy fairy to follow our childish desire.)

When we say “I want to but I can’t do that because…” , the gall stone is our excuse for non-action. It can also be related to another element:
Water = too fearful to act
Earth = too stubborn to act
Metal = too judgemental to act
Fire = not enough connection to love to act
Wood = too stuck or oppressed to act

What do we do about this? First, we become aware of our story – what we are thinking and saying that is holding us back in some way. Next we change this story into something that is positive, believable, and allows for forward movement. Then we release and dissipate the energy of the old story while bringing the energy of the new story through a direct series of meridian pathways that help us to integrate it into ourselves.

The Medical QiGong class will be doing a special Energy Healing Clinic on this exact pathway for 3 Sundays: June 12, June 19, June 26, 2016, 12:30 – 2:00pm, cost by donation.

Art Inspired by Essential Oils

This video features some beautiful artwork done by Alanna K. Dunn, LMT, as part of the homework for the Essential Oil Certification Series.

Alanna completed the series and is now a Certified Aromatherapist. She uses essential oils in her art and in her massage therapy work.

One of the things that I love most about my extraordinary "job" as an instructor is putting out information and watching the incredibly creative things that people do with it—it’s energy that spirals up and out. Enjoy!

Learn tons of great information with my On-Line Essential Oils Course series. You can study here at our school in Alaska from anywhere in the world!

Chron's Disease: Oriental Medicine View

What is Chron's Disease?

Crohn's disease is an Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Auto-immune disorder which causes inflammation in the GI tract. It usually affects the small intestine, and the beginning of the large intestine. Because of the pain, it results in severe diarrhea, and blood in the stools. Other symptoms include Anxiety and Depression, adhesions, bloating and gas, cramping, anal fissures and hemorrhoids Anemia, Fibromyalgia, Constipation, uveitis, fatigue, and many more symptoms.

                Western medicine treats Crohn's with anti-inflammatory steroids, corticosteroids, immune suppressors, antibiotics, anti-diarrhea drugs, and surgery in which it removes the affected parts of the intestinal tract, which can include the whole Small Intestine, and a portion of the Large Intestine. Other than drugs and surgery there is not much else in the way of treating the symptoms of Crohn's in Western Medicine.

What about Crohn's in TCM?

There are four general categories for Crohn's in Chinese Medicine: Damp Heat, Spleen Deficiency, Spleen and Kidney Deficiency, and Qi and Blood Stagnation.

                DAMP HEAT in LI (Large Intestine) is characterized by Diarrhea, mucus and blood in stool, abdominal swelling and pain, irritability, thirstiness, greasy tongue, and pulse is wiry, slippery, and rapid.

                SPLEEN DEFICIENCY May Be Due To Constitutional Deficiency, Or An Excess Of Cold, Raw Foods.   It Is Characterized By A Compromised Ability For The Spleen To Transform And Transport Food Symptoms Such As Frequent And Severe Diarrhea;. Watery Stool With Undigested Food; Dull Abdominal pain; poor appetite; poor digestion; . and gastric discomfort after food intake Sallow facial appearance, fatigue and lethargy are due to chronic malabsorption and malnutrition are some of the signs of spleen deficiency The tongue is pale with a white coat;. the pulse is soft and weak.

                SPLEEN AND KIDNEY DEFICIENCY May be constitutional, or due to the chronic-ness of the disease. Some symptoms of spleen and kidney deficiency is early morning diarrhea around 5:00 am. Also, abdominal pain that increases with cold but decreases with defecation and may . I have an intolerance to cold and cold extremities The tongue is pale with a white coat; the pulse is thready and weak.

                QI AND BLOOD STAGNATION Is An Acute Phase Of Crohn's Disease In Which There Is Severe Abdominal Pain And Fullness With A Palpable Mass In The Right Lower Quadrant. This Condition Is Similar To Acute Appendicitis. In Addition, Patients May Experience Diarrhea, Lack Of Appetite, . muscle wasting and lethargy The tongue is dark purple; and the pulse is thready and knotted.

                 With all that in mind, it's important to realize that Crohn's does not just appear one day. Crohn's starts building up from childhood due to any number of things, especially if the child has been malnourished in anyway (bad food, bad relationships with family, bad, from around the time he / she hits adolescence, until the mid-20s, and suddenly, it hits out of nowhere. Western Medicine says there is no cure, but as long as you are alive and breathing, there is always a way.

            What I am going to explain is how to modify massage for a Crohn's patient:

Massage Relief for Crohn's

            Massage is contraindicated during flare-ups of Crohn's for 2 reasons: First, you do not give massage over an inflamed area.   And second, a person with a flare-up is likely so uncomfortable, that they do not want to be touched.

            Another thing to think about is, often a client with Crohn's has been on pain relief medicine for years, and their intestinal tracts are a mess, and very fragile, so do not perform a deep and vigorous massage, focus on light, gentle massage that will soothe the stomach, and calm the fire.

Doing a light abdominal massage with diluted fennel essential oil followed by some light cupping along the Large Intestine tract will help to reduce / induce bowl movement, and help gently guide the stomach back to its regular cycle.

1.        Warm The Belly With Diluted Fennel Essential Oil, Standing On Right Hand Side. And Pull From Left Side, Along Ribcage, On The Diaphragm.

2.       Cupping, Just Like You Did With The Massage. Take 6 Cups, Starting On Left Side, And Go Along The Ascending Colon Tract, Following It Down To The Descending Tract, And Back Again. Repeat 3 Times, Quickly Putting One Cup Down , and taking another cup off. Then you can use a gliding cup, and go around the small intestine tract.

Those two methods greatly relieve a lot of the symptoms and stress from Crohn's, and make the client feel greatly relaxed.

References

http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=27771

http://vitalitymagazine.com/article/chinese-herbs-for-crohns-colitis/

Agelessherbs.com

http://www.crohnsforum.com/wiki/Crohns-Disease