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11/7/2018 Nature Heals Did you know doctors in the UK now prescribe nature to their patients as medical treatment? You can read more about how and why here. Research shows that if you spend 90 minutes of your day outside in a wooded area you will have: * a decrease in brain activity related to depression * reduced blood pressure * reduced anxiety * increased happiness * reduced aggression * improved ADHD symptoms * improved pain control * improved immune system Join us for this nature retreat for your health! More on the science here EbbTide believes that getting outside is a fundamental daily practice for wellness. Join us for a daylong retreat in the woods Saturday November 17th where we will connect with the land and with ourselves.  10/3/2018 Take Mindfulness on a Walk! The beautiful fall weather has arrived, beckoning many of us outside! Walking in the woods or around the neighborhood is a great way to ground and relieve stress. Although 'normal' walking is great for health and wellness, we can also approach walking with Mindfulness.
What is Mindful walking? Mindful walking, like Mindful anything, is simply being present with the action of walking. Feeling your feet as they meet the ground. No earbuds or phone calls, just being in and with your body as it moves. Let your attention rest in your body as it moves, not in the thoughts that so strongly pull for our focus. Let your senses open and receive the crisp air on your skin, sound of crunching leaves, smells of the season, and sight of changing colors. Be in your body as it moves you through space and open up the the joys and delights of your senses that we often miss when not being Mindful. Read more about Mindful walking, including a short guided walking meditation here. Interested in Mindfulness? Join Heather Tuesdays at 9:15 am or 6 pm and learn the tools of Mindfulness for more present and easeful living.  SELF magazine recently published a great article reviewing the evidence for health benefits of Mindfulness. The take home message of this piece was that there is good evidence for positive impacts of Mindfulness on depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. Evidence is also emerging demonstrating a decrease in inflammation and signs of aging with Mindfulness practice. Key Points:
What are you waiting for? Join us for Mindfulness Meditation Tuesdays at 9: 15 am or 6:15 pm and begin to see the effects for yourself. https://www.self.com/story/mindfulness-meditation-health-benefits  Meditation is a useful tool helping to deal with chronic and acute pain. For example, research has found that 10 minutes of meditation increased patient's ability to be with pain. We become more resilient and less reactive to pain over time with meditation. People new to meditation may be surprised about the directions they are given when using Mindfulness for pain. During meditation it is commonly instructed not to go to a 'happy place' or distract yourself from the pain, but to GO TOWARDS IT. Yes, that's right, to help pain, feel your pain. With mindfulness, one learns how to feel the pain as sensations, for example heat or tingling or pressure. Focusing on the physical aspects of the pain takes our attention away from the emotional distress and worry that often accompanies pain. “To diminish the suffering of pain, we need to make a crucial distinction between the pain of pain, and the pain we create by our thoughts about the pain. Fear, anger, guilt, loneliness and helplessness are all mental and emotional responses that can intensify pain.” ~Howard Cutler Brain scans show that when people meditate to help pain they have increased activation in areas of the brain related to sensory experience. Although one would think that would increase pain, to the contrary this is associated with decreased suffering because the brain is processing the pain as physical sensations, not emotional arousal. Parts of the brain related to stress and emotion are less active during meditation with pain. We can't often control what is happening physically in our bodies, but we can alter how we respond emotionally and improve our overall perception of the situation. We invite you to watch this short video from the National Institutes of Health to learn more about the impact of meditation on pain and the brain. Learn how to use Mindfulness for pain by attending our Tuesday drop-in classes (9:15 am or 6:15 pm). Or sign up for the fall Six-Week Introductory Mindfulness Series.   A recent longitudinal study published in JAMA shows what many have suspected; social media use in teens is associated with the development of ADHD.
Researchers followed approximately 2500 high school students over two years. At the start of the study none of the teens had symptoms of ADHD. Students were surveyed 5 times across the two years regarding their self-reported use of digital media, such as checking social media and texting, and frequency of ADHD symptoms. Researchers found an association between the frequency of digital media use and a higher likelihood of ADHD symptoms. By and large, students who frequently used six or more digital activities had a higher likelihood of developing ADHD symptoms. Further research is needed to determine whether this association is causal. So what should teenagers and parents do? Limiting digital media is a start, but even as adult sometimes we engage in more screen time than may be healthy. Mindfulness can help! Researchers have suggested that time to 'reset' and relax, working on self-regulation, and tools for healthy emotional expression can help diminish the impact of screen time- all things Mindfulness offers! Help your child or teen balance out their technology time with the tools of Mindfulness. We offer monthly introductory workshops for children, tweens, and teens. Learn more here. Reference: Ra CK et al. Association of digital media use with subsequent symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among adolescents. JAMA 2018 Jul 17; 320:255. (https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.8931)  Needles inserted on the face create a healing response, increasing collagen production and decreasing fine lines and wrinkles. Eye bags, sagging skin and acne are treated with body points focusing on detoxing the body, increasing blood flow and circulation, and supporting the immune system.
Weekly treatment for 8-10 weeks is recommended to allow time for renewed collagen production. “Side-effects” of treatment may include improved sleep, decreased anxiety, better digestion and improved overall well-being. Glow from the inside out and let your light shine. Try for yourself during our 30-minute Acupuncture Express 10:15 am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Ask for the "glowing skin” treatment. 5/14/2018 Acupuncture For Weight Loss Clinical study shows that acupuncture promotes weight loss through changes in hormones related to appetite.
Researchers demonstrated an average decrease of 6.4 lbs and 1.43 BMI (body mass index) over 5 weeks in 40 overweight women receiving acupuncture without changes in diet or exercise. Participants attended two sessions of 20 min/week for a total of 10 sessions. Investigators also found decreases in insulin and leptin levels and increases in plasma ghrelin and CCK levels (hormones associated with appetite, satiety, and blood sugar regulation) in the acupuncture group. Based on the results, the researchers concluded that acupuncture is an effective treatment to support weight loss in patients with obesity. According to the authors, "These findings suggest that acupuncture may help to regulate weight owing to its beneficial effects on hormones such as insulin, leptin, ghrelin and CCK in obese subjects even after a few weeks of treatment." Check out the full study here! Want to try the treatment for yourself? Come join us for 30-minute Acupuncture Express at 10:15am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and ask for the "weight loss treatment!" Güçel F, Bahar B, Demirtas C, Mit S, Cevik C. Influence of acupuncture on leptin, ghrelin, insulin and cholecystokinin in obese women: a randomised, sham-controlled preliminary trial. Acupunct Med. 2012 Sep;30(3):203-7. The evidence keeps coming, not only does Mindfulness and yoga feel great, but both have tangible physioligical health benefits. This latest study shows that yoga and mindfulness practice has a positive impact on the stress response and immunological systems. See our latest calendar for you chance to start practicing today for less stress and better health. RESEARCH SUMMARY: A new research article investigates the effects of yoga and meditation on people by looking at physiological and immunological markers of stress and inflammation. By studying the participants of an intensive three-month yoga and meditation retreat, the researchers found that the practices positively impacted physiological and immunological markers of stress and inflammation, and in addition improved subjective wellbeing.
 New research showing that after just one mindfulness meditation session anxiety and cardiovascular risk decrease.
EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY 2018 For the study, 14 participants with normal blood pressure AND high levels of anxiety were measured on factors related to cardiovascular functioning--including heart rate, blood pressure, aortic blood pressure (blood pressure in the aorta, specifically) and arterial stiffness--before and after a 60-minute guided introductory session of mindfulness meditation focusing on breathing and awareness of one's thoughts. The results demonstrate that even a single, brief intervention can yield measurable improvements in people with anxiety. Researchers said most participants reported continuing to use mindfulness after the initial session and anxiety scores were reduced even further one week later. According to the lead author, John J. Durocher, "Our results show a clear reduction in anxiety in the first hour after the meditation session, and our preliminary results suggest that anxiety was significantly lower one week after the meditation session. Participants also had reduced mechanical stress on their arteries an hour after the session. This could help to reduce stress on organs like the brain and kidneys and help prevent conditions such as high blood pressure. This study is different because we examined the effect of a single mindfulness meditation session on anxiety and cardiovascular outcomes, while other studies have examined the effect of several days or weeks of mindfulness meditation," Durocher said. "The results suggest that a single mindfulness meditation session may help to reduce cardiovascular risk in those with moderate anxiety." What are you waiting for? Get started with Mindfulness today! Tuesday classes at 9:15 am and 6 pm. 10/20/2017 Meditate for a Healthy Heart The American Heart Association just came out with a report in which they say meditation practices may help decrease heart disease risk factors. Specifically, it reduces stress and anxiety levels and lowers blood pressure.
This statement comes from the review of dozens of studies that investigated the impact of a variety of sitting meditation practices on cardiovascular health. Heart disease outcomes considered in the review ranged from heart attack to blood pressure, stress, atherosclerosis and smoking cessation. Meditation is known to decrease psychological and physiological markers of stress, such as cortisol, which may be in part why it can be helpful in heart health. The practice of meditation is also known to increase empathy and compassion. A part of many practices is the cultivation of loving kindness and tuning into the heart space and wisdom. Together, we like to think that meditation keeps the heart healthy on lots of levels! This statement from the AHA is encouraging but emphasizes the need for meditation to be considered as an additional treatment for more well-studied traditional interventions. Hopefully there will be some larger clinical studies coming out soon to clarify the specific role meditation can have in cardiovascular disease prevention and health. Here at EbbTide we agree, complementary approaches to health and wellness are the smart approach. |
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