Spinning Out

What do you do when something really big crashes in your world? When a relationship sours, a loved one passes, or a job ends? In our society, often our ways of coping are not the most healthy. Many drink or eat or escape into video games or television. Others go to the doctor and are prescribed antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. While none of these things is in essence bad, none of them should be abused. Rather, they should be used as a stop gap while we build self awareness and reach towards healthier coping methods.

Some of you might argue that some of those are bad!! What I say is this. Depending on how you were raised and what you saw your parents doing, these may be the behaviors that you were taught would help. Any coping method is good. You are trying to take care of yourself. Just be aware that alcohol is a depressant, that monkeying with your brain chemistry with prescription medications is not always the answer, and that if you gain ten pounds, that is going to spin you out even further.

Healthy Coping Techniques:
1. Reach out to someone to talk. Share your pain and remember that we have ALL gone through this. Somewhere, someone else has experienced what you are going through.

2. Take proper care of yourself as much as possible. Go to bed at a reasonable hour. Try your hardest to limit the junk food and turn the tv off.

3. If you choose to use an antidepressant or anti anxiety medication, continue to work on things and try to use as little as needed and WEAN off of it when you are doing better.

4. Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine actually has herbal formulas that can help with stress, depression and anxiety. Acupuncture can help with stress as well.

5. Exercise and breathing go a long way towards helping!!

6. Aromatherapy has been extremely useful. Contact me to experience some of the Young Living Blends like "Peace and Calming" or "Valor" or "Surrender".

7. Don't forget yoga, meditation, therapy and I am sure there are loads more that you could name!!

It saddens me how many people come in with a long list of prescriptions and they are still unhappy. Often an unresolved issue needs to be changed. I want to comment here that for some prescription medications are necessary and helpful, but often our society seems to feel that we should never be uncomfortable or unhappy. We don't let ourselves suffer and work through these things naturally. With so many experiencing large changes in their lives - your acupuncturist is a good coping tool to have. Call me to schedule a free consultation and allow the valuable tools I have to be at your disposal!!

Helping you see your health from a new point of view!
Tina Laue, L.Ac.
Acupuncturist/Herbalist
303-881-1971
www.goodneedles.com

What if Being Sick is a CHOICE!!?

Well folks. Yesterday I tried an interesting experiment. I have been reading a lot that says being happy uses the same receptors in our bodies that viruses attach to. By the end of a day treating patients I felt drained, depleted, and sick...again. (This year those viruses have been nasty and sneaky and long lasting - haven't they?)

I had a few choices.
Put myself on Chinese Herbs.
Meditate, ground and clear out the negative energy.
Go out to dinner with my girlfriends as planned.

The third choice seems just plain out crazy, right?! Go home and rest. Get on those herbs. I did meditate and ground out the energy that wasn't working for me and imagine myself being filled up with wonderful healthy energy. I did consciously make a choice to not be sick again. And I did choose to go to dinner with my girlfriends.

Here's the thing about these two ladies. They make me feel energized. They make me laugh. I feel completely myself around them. We went and did something really fun and the food was really healthy (http://mataamfez-denver.com/). So being with them actually raises my energy and causes me to be happy and therefore keep that virus from attaching.

Did it work? By an hour into hanging out I no longer felt sick at all. By the end of the evening, I was my normal, silly, energetic, fun to be out with self.

I often teach my clients that they have the power to shift their health with their energy. I walk people through the steps of how to ground out negative energy. I support them with herbs if they need them. I open doorways to what they want and help them remove blockages that are keeping them for having these things.

There is a lot of difference between talking about a concept and using it! I really put that difference into practice last night and it is a powerful feeling. Now I don't encourage everybody to run out and hang out with all their friends when they get a sore throat at the end of a long day. Making all your friends sick is not necessarily a good plan.

I do encourage you to start exploring your choices and evaluate the things that deplete you and the things that energize you. For cold and flu prevention, my prescription is this..."Laugh and do things that make you happy" (and see your acupuncturist!)

The life that you dream of is created by each and every single choice you make each day. If I can support you in changing your life and transforming your health, please contact me to schedule your appointment!

Warmly,
Tina Laue, L.Ac.
303-881-1971
www.goodneedles.com

Valentines Day and Your Health!!

Happy Valentine's Day!! This year, let's all celebrate the part of Valentine's Day that is about LOVE. The spirit of true love is kind, gentle, patient, trusting, giving, caring, hugging. Love is not demanding. Love does not get pissed at your spouse for not getting you flowers. Love does not sit there feeling lonely without a partner. Love counts its blessing in friendships, family, boyfriends or spouses or girlfriends or lovers that you do have.

Your Heart in Chinese Medicine is the monarch who rules wisely. The Heart sees the big picture of how all things go together. Joy or lack of joy come from the heart. Excess joy scatters the energy. A Heart out of balance emotionally can have a hard time finishing a sentence, jumping from idea to idea. A Heart may feel too open or too closed to be comfortable in relationships. A bored Heart may create some drama just for the fun of it!

Physically your Heart may skip beats, or have pain, or feel tight, or cause cold hands or lots of sweat at the armpits if it is having problems. You may not sleep well if the Heart is troubled.

If you do not LOVE yourself, it is difficult for others to truly LOVE you.

This Valentine's Day, whether you are single or not - please give yourself the gift of LOVE of self. If you want or need flowers, then go get yourself some as a gift from YOU! If your spouse or loved one gets your some too - more is better!

Fill up your love cup to overflowing by asking yourself two questions!
What do I need?
Am I happy?

Before you pick a fight with your partner or sit around feeling lonely and depressed because you are alone - ask yourself those two questions. It is within your power to discover what you need and to give it to yourself!!

If you need any help treating the heart on any level - please call me!! 303-881-1971 and get in here for an appointment. I really can help you with your Heart health!!

Lovingly,
Tina Laue, L.Ac.
www.goodneedles.com

Happiness in the Moment: A Lesson from Poetry

So today I had a pretty powerful realization. It happened while I was reading from my favorite poet, Wislawa Szymborska in her book Poems, New and Collected. The poem is called Nothing Twice. I will share it in full.

"Nothing can ever happen twice.
In consequence, the sorry fact is that we arrive here improvised
and leave without the chance to practice.

Even if there is no one dumber,
if you're the planet's biggest dunce,
you can't repeat the class in summer;
this course is only offered once.

No day copies yesterday,
no two nights will teach what bliss is
in precisely the same way, with exactly the same kisses.

One day, perhaps, some idle tongue
mentions your name by accident;
I feel as if a rose were flung
into the room, all hue and scent.

The next day, though you're here with me,
I can't help looking at the clock:
A rose? A rose? What could that be?
Is it a flower or a rock?

Why do we treat the fleeting day
with so much needless fear and sorrow?
It's in its nature not to stay:
Today is always gone tomorrow.

With smiles and kisses, we prefer
to seek accord beneath our star,
although we're different (we concur)
just as two drops of water are."

The beauty of this poem touched me, but what really got to me was the truth of it. The sheer beauty of truth is so amazing, especially when captured in such beautiful words.

The fact is sometimes we all feel unprepared and overwhelmed. We are not happy with our spouses, our own actions, with so many things. We look for the differences. We find something good one moment and bad the next. Each day is different. Each experience has its own beauty or sorrow.

The lesson I got from this poem, the metaphorical 2x4 between the eyes, was not to expect one experience to be better than another. If I can try to take each separate thing as it comes and appreciate it for what it is, I think I can be happier. I think I can grab that happiness and hold onto it.

As always, I remind you that your happiness affects more than your state of mind. It has a positive effect on your body as well!!

Be happy by accepting things as they are. Leave the idle comparisons to the side.

Wishing you joy on your journey and support from friends, loved ones and your Acupuncturist should you need it!!

Gratefully,
Tina Laue, L.Ac.
www.goodneedles.com

Two Simple Questions to Help You Stay Happier

I have been pondering away how much my life has shifted over the last year. I ended a relationship. I moved my office. I started a new relationship. I have opened into my intuitive skills more fully. I have started amazing new friendships. I have seen and healed many new patients as an acupuncturist.

Am I happy? I have been a plot out your course kind of gal. Today I find that doesn't work. It doesn't allow me to stay connected to myself or what is working for me. It doesn't allow me to have room to breathe in my relationships or be as kind as I want. It doesn't allow room for things to work out in a win/win way. In reality, it is actually a dead way to live, robbed of choices and emotions as we plod down the path we have set.

So here's what I ask myself.

Is this making me happy? What do I need right now?

If you plug those two questions into everything, every moment, and every decision, then you will begin to have more of what you want in your life. You will live from a more authentic space within yourself.

Take this one step further and learn to communicate those needs powerfully, authentically and kindly. If you discover that something does not work for you, you are in charge!! You don't need to be mean. Simply state your truth and say NO. Hold your boundary. Don't worry about the guilt. Don't worry about the voices in your head that say you did something wrong. This is your life. Those are your precious minutes, your precious energy, and it is all right for you to claim and hold your own power to do what you want to with your life.

It's not easy to change, but it is so worth it. Using Five Element Acupuncture, I have been helping people uncover their selves, their personalities, and their quirks and to work with them more functionally. I love this work and I think you will too. If you need help seeing yourself more fully and changing your life, I would love to work with you. I have great joy in discovering myself and helping others to do the same. Call 303-881-1971 to schedule an appointment today.

Tina Laue, L.Ac.
www.goodneedles.com

If losing weight is your New Year's Resolution, do these three things now...

If losing weight is your New Year's Resolution, do these three things now...

1. EAT three meals a day at regular times. Make sure it is good food, but skipping meals slows down your metabolism.

2. Drink green tea. It really does suppress your appetite. (Make sure you eat a little even if you are not hungry at lunch!).

3. Consider adding in a fiber supplement to clean the junk out of your intestines, even metamucil crackers are fine, or I have a good one to recommend. Vitamin Cottage, Sunflower or Whole Foods will also be happy to help you pick a good one.



Bonus:

Drink more water

Get off the sodas

Get more exercise



Ease your body into these new good habits. Don't go from drinking a glass of water to a gallon. Build up to it. If you drink 4 sodas a day, try to limit it to one. If you are doing nothing, a gentle 10 minute walk each day is a great place to start!!



Remember that the body likes to store fat this time of year. Do these things consistently and build good habits now without getting overly stressed about results. In the Spring, you will be ready to hit the exercise harder!!

Addictions and Society's (Our) Tolerance

When your children are little you teach them not to touch a hot stove. You teach them not to run out into traffic. But often we don't teach them to be careful of addictions. In fact, our Society is fairly tolerant of them and certain addictions are socially acceptable and "normal" such as drinking and overeating.

Our inability or resistance to regulating ourselves harms our health and our relationships. Below are a list of statistics taken from http://www.preventdisease.com/worksite_wellness/health_stats.shtml.

1. Preventable illness makes up approximately 80% of the burden of illness and 90% of all healthcare costs.
2. Preventable illnesses account for eight of the nine leading categories of death.
3. The United States spends more on health care than any other industrialized nation in the world and yet, in many respects, it's citizens are not the healthiest. (2)
4. More than one-quarter of children without health insurance coverage had no usual source of health care in 1997, compared with 4 percent of children with health insurance. (4)
5. Uninsured children were nearly three times as likely as those with health insurance to be without a recent doctor's visit in 1997. (4)
6. The US healthcare system is the most expensive of systems, outstripping by over half again the health care expenditures of any other country. (2)

Thanks to Prevent Disease.com for these statistics and please visit their site to see their sources.

So if most of our disease, misery and suffering in the US is self inflicted, it's time we all took a look at it. The choice to change our behavior is always there.

FOOD
Why is it socially acceptable to binge, overeat, and go crazy with junk food? Why do we tell our kids that they deserve a "treat" for being good. When I work with eating problems I usually see emotional holes that are begging to be filled. In fact, most of the time I treat overeating with an addiction protocol known as the NADA protocol.

ALCOHOL
It soothes us, it takes off the edges after a hard day. If we go out with our friends and they don't drink, we think it's weird and a problem. There are many people who would prefer not to drink at times, but are pressured to get one too.

Here is some data from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alcoholism.html:
For most adults, moderate alcohol use is not harmful. However, nearly 17.6 million adults in the United States are alcoholics or have alcohol problems. Alcoholism is a disease with four main features:

* Craving - a strong need to drink
* Loss of control - not being able to stop drinking once you've begun
* Physical dependence – withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating or shakiness after stopping drinking
* Tolerance - the need to drink greater amounts of alcohol in order to get “high”

Alcoholism carries many serious dangers. Heavy drinking can increase the risk of certain cancers. It can cause damage to the liver, brain and other organs. It can cause birth defects. It increases the risk of death from car crashes and other injuries as well as the risk of homicide and suicide.

NIH: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

With tougher economic times, more stress at work, we are all paying a heavy toll and we aren't thinking that hard about it. "Drinking at home became more popular last year after liquor sales posted an increase for the twelfth straight year." (Read more: http://technorati.com/business/article/spirits-in-the-house-sales-of/#ixzz16yWSJ4Cm).

What Can You Do?
1. If you engage in pressuring people to have more food or to drink, stop it.
2. If you are drinking or eating too much due to emotions or stress, start to learn what else you can do for stress or being upset. Take a walk, a yoga class, a meditation class, do deep breathing, talk to someone. These lists go on and on.
3. Develop self awareness. Know why you are making choices and what your emotional state is.
4. Learn alternative ways to help stop stress.
5. Don't go down the slippery slope of one beer becomes two or three or once a week becomes every night. Don't let 2 cookies become a bag.
6. Obviously we don't want to poke into our friends, families and co-workers lives too deeply. However, that being said, if you see someone who is hurting, invite them to a yoga class or for a walk. A caring comment may be appropriate. Don't ignore others suffering. We are all connected and we all affect each other.

THE SOONER WE ALL LEARN THAT ALCOHOL, POT, FOOD, OR STUFFING EMOTIONS IS NOT A SOLUTION, THE BETTER!

I welcome your comments and feedback. If this article touched you, let me know!! As an Acupuncturist who works with the emotions and personal growth, please know that there is help out there for you or your loved one if there is willingness to grow beyond your addictions. And for those of us who live at the mild end of them, remember that it is never too early to cultivate healthier solutions to our problems!

Wishing you exceptional health,
Tina Laue, L.Ac.
303-881-1971
www.goodneedles.com

Tina's practice is in Wheat Ridge, CO and serves the greater Denver area. She works with families, emotional health and personal development while taking good care of the physical body. She is accepting new clients.