First Acupuncture Treatment

Today, I received my first Acupuncture treatment.  Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese technique that incorporates tiny needles puncturing the skin, into the tissue of the body.  These needles are strategically placed by a trained Acupuncturist along the meridians of the body.  Acupuncture helps to treat many various forms of ailments, addictions and underlying emotional problems that an individual may have.  My visit started with seeking out another treatment, the Gua Sha.

I saw a video where Gua Sha was used on a person to help treat the pain they were experiencing.  Another Chinese technique was used by scraping the tissue with a spoon.  I became curious and wanted to experience this treatment.  I’ve tried cupping.  This one was a similar idea, to bring blood flow to the surface of the skin.  After watching the video, I Google searched for the nearest Gua Sha treatment and came across one close by me.  After I spoke to the friendly receptionist, it was determined that I needed to receive Acupuncture along with the Gua Sha (Gua Sha usually is not performed by itself).

I booked my Acupuncture visit and arrived to the Las Vegas Integrative Medicine with no expectations of what to experience.  I have never received Acupuncture but had been trained in Acupressure and knew about the meridians and the points that is used in Acupuncture.  With this knowledge going into the treatment, I knew that the chi within me was going to get treated.

Dr. Yoojin Lee-Seders, ND, OMD warmly greeted me when she walked into the room.  Very petite in frame, a soft-spoken voice and a genuine sincerity of wanting to know my medical history and current ailments, I felt at ease as we went through my consultation.  My main concern was my right neck, shoulder, hand and knee.  Everything on the right side of my body has been in discomfort.  She digested my information.  Before stepping out of the door, she directed me to put on a hospital gown when she is out of the room and to lay face up on the table.

As I was laying on the table in the hospital gown, I got a little butterflies in my stomach.  For the first time, I felt a little nervous.  She came back into the room, placed all the sterilized needles out on her work station, turned on some soothing ocean sounds (coincidentally, the same ocean sounds I listen to when I take a bath) and started to palpate the areas on my body that I had told her were causing pain.  Stating if the pain was either greater or less when she’d press into my body, she got a clearer vision as to where to place the needles.

After wiping my body down with a disinfecting alcohol wipe, she began to perform the Acupuncture needles, one-by-one into the meridian channels of my body opposite side from where I was feeling the pain.  It felt like a sting, a sharp pain in some areas and sometimes just a tiny poke.  There were two areas on my body that caused a deep, achy, almost unbearable pain.  One was on my left outer knee, the stomach meridian and the other was on the inside of my right heel, the kidney meridian.  Needle after needle were placed into my arms, legs, feet wrists and one in between my eyes.  She then asked how I was feeling before she placed another layer of cloth over my body and an infrared lamp at my feet.  Dr.  Lee-Seders then told me that I would be lying there for 3o minutes and she exited the room.

During this time, I was allowing my body to go through the motions.  I let go of all control and let the work of the needles puncturing the meridians go to work.  At times I could feel some throbbing pain but it only lasted seconds.  Tingling and numbing sensations came and went in waves throughout the 30 minutes.  At one point, I felt a heavy weight laying on my chest.  The weight got heavier, my ribs became compressed and my breathing grew shallow.  I reminded myself that I was letting go and allowing the work of the needles to perform their job within me.  Within a couple minutes, the heavy weight was lifted off my chest, my ribs expanded, my breathing became effortless, I felt like my body was a light weight of air.

The doctor came back into the room to check up on me, asking me if I was relaxed.  I was indeed relaxed, very relaxed, elated even.  She told me I had about 10-15 more minutes left and asked me I would be okay for that length of time, which replied, “Yes”.  I was very happy to hear that I could keep experiencing more work of the Acupuncture needles.  For the remainder of the time, I rested.  No pain, no discomfort, just complete uninterrupted rest from body and mind.

Time was up.  Dr. Lee-Seders began to remove the Acupuncture needles, one-by-one from my body.  I felt like I had just did an intense weight lifting session.  My body felt swollen but was not swollen at all.  She gave me after treatment instructions by using Castor Oil to rub into my skin on certain areas of the body.  The Castor oil helps to bring warmth and promote healing.  We discussed the Gua Sha and decided that she will perform in on me after my next visit.

I purchased some Homeopathic medicine to treat my sinus issues and inflammation in my body and purchased a package for treatment.  With a 5 session package purchase, she gave me the 6th treatment for free.  I now have my sessions booked and look forward to receiving more Acupuncture treatments with Dr. Lee-Seders.  This was a great experience and she was phenomenal.  A great doctor with patience, kindness and ease with performing her well-mastered Acupuncture.

 

 

What’s Within a Kiss

“It’s just a kiss.”  How many times have those words been uttered?  To, Ingrid Bergman, a Swedish actress in the mid 1900’s, “A kiss is a secret told to the mouth instead of the ear; kisses are the messengers of love and tenderness”.

What’s within a kiss that creates so many feelings?  Why is it more than, “just a kiss”?  The tissue on the lips is the same tissue that comprises the genitalia and the nipples.  These three areas are interconnected to each other.  When the lips are kissed it heats up the body and sends signals throughout it heating up the erogenous zones.  The heating up of the erogenous zones creates a desire to allow the body to experience what the lips are feeling.

Men’s Health Magazine did a survey for both men and women.  In this survey, they asked the participant to rank 10 areas on their body on a scale of 1-10 that were most arousing.  Notice on the survey, a kiss for both male and female ranked number two on the survey, being outranked by the their genitalia which came in as number one.  The prelude of a kiss it what begins, in most cases, a sensory inflation within the body.   It is that particular tissue of the skin that creates the impulses to desire more.  It is the kiss that sustains the passion during sex and it is the kiss that concludes the act.

A kiss is 100 times more sensitive than your fingertips.

A kiss is 100 times more sensitive than your fingertips.  There is a reason for that.  A kiss is to be savored, to be reserved, to be longed for from someone deserving of its soft touch.  God was smart when he created the different skin cells for each area of the body.  It is this masterful design that creates yearning for one another.  The touch of a kiss is the peacemaker of relationships.

2018, Year of Love

We are our own harshest critic.  Critiquing ourselves with how we look seems to becoming more and more prevalent with social media sites increasing in numbers.  We tend to compare ourselves with other’s posts.  Filters have deceived our eyes with the reality that truly exists within each post.  I know I am guilty of looking at another female’s picture wishing I could look so flawless like them.  Comparing ourselves to others will always exist.  We will always want a better physique, better skin, better hair, better makeup.

Human nature is competitive.  That innate desire to be better revolves around Darwin’s natural selection theory, that we choose to select things for ourselves based off of our own survival.  Appearance is one of the basic components to natural selection.  It only makes sense that we want to appear a certain way to others and filters, angles, lighting tend to aid us in our “flawless” appearance.

I chose the year of 2018 to be the year of love.  When you love yourself, you are able to accept more of who you are.  When you love yourself, you are able to love who you are without makeup, without the perfect body, without the perfect hair.  When you love yourself, you allow yourself to live more freely, creating more smiles within your day.  When you love yourself, you are able to share your love with others creating healthy and happy relationships.

This new year, year 2018, be that spiritual being full of love and see the anew joy it brings you.  Happy you, happy skin, happy life.  Love.

What is Cellulite?

What is this clustering of nodules that makes your skin’s appearance misshapen and unpleasing to the eye?  Cellulite is one of the most noticeable underlying skin textures that can keep you from wearing anything that would expose its existence.  It doesn’t matter how skinny or big you are, if you’re male or female, cellulite doesn’t decipher between the body shapes or the sexes because it’s too busy settling all cozy-like in the body.  Once when it’s found the right resting spot, it begins to build its home.

imageYour skin has 3 layers, the epidermis, dermis and hypodermis (subcutaneous layer). It is in the latter layer, the subcutaneous layer, where the fat and connective tissue reside. The subcutaneous layer acts as a passageway for the blood vessels and nerves from the dermis to the muscles. It also is the tissue that protects your muscles and bones when you come into impactful contact with your body. It is in this layer that cellulite takes form.

imageCellulite is deposits of fat within the fibrous connective tissue (muscle) lying in the subcutaneous layer which form dimples/ bumpy appearances under the skin.  These fat deposits can be found anywhere on the body but the most common areas are in the buttocks, hips and thighs for both males and females, with just a slight variance of distribution among the sexes.  Since cellulite is in the fibrous connective tissue, the best way to treat it is through diet and exercise. Feeding your body the right kind of food that can be broken down and released within the body and working out the muscles will keep cellulite away.   That is why cellulite can be found in both skinny and big body shapes both male or female because the food that is being fed to the body is not breaking down, leaving a residual aftermath of fat deposits.

If you have cellulite right now, it is by far not the worse thing your body could have. The great news about cellulite is that you can get rid of it, just like it appeared, it can disppear with consistent exercise and healthy eating.

The Cleaner

Welcome to the new year and welcome yet another year to detox your body of wastes from the previous year. I have found the most effective cleanser for your body called, The Cleaner. The name is so fitting because it literally cleans out all the extra wastes lying in your body.image

About six months ago, I wanted to do a cleanse for my body. I did the master cleanse, “lemonade diet” and was not feeling like I was really receiving the cleanse that I wanted, I needed something a little more stimulating to my body to create the detoxification that I needed so I headed to the Vitamin Shoppe.  Their I was informed about, The Cleaner, by one of the employees. He told me it’s the best detoxification herbs he’s ever tried. He said that I just need to make sure to consume plenty of water while taking the capsules and I will get the desired results I’ve been wanting.

With the name, The Cleaner, I was doubtful that it would “clean” me out because I tried so many detoxification kits with morning and night pills, teas, salt water cleanses, I tried it all. How could just a couple of herbal pills detoxify my systems?  I was skeptic. So I started with 2 capsules before bed with 16 ounces of water. I woke up the next morning and nothing happened. Disappointed again by another herbal gimmick, I went to the gym for my morning workout. Midway through my workout, The Cleaner, had woken and I found myself in the ladies restroom, witnessing the effects of these two herbal capsules I had taken the night before. Yes!  I was beyond elated!

For one week, 7 days, straight I followed the directions of this 25 naturally blended herbal detoxification regimen. I had never felt so clean and instantly felt relieved of all the toxins that had been building up in my body from a such a poor diet I had become accostumed to over the years. Now, every 3 months I purchase, The Cleaner, and allow it to go to work, cleaning out the old and giving a kickstart to a renewed system.

The Cleaner has both a Men’s Formula and a Women’s Formula and also has either a 7 day cleanse or a 14 day cleanse. As with any product, when you see great results, you want to keep using it but your body needs to be able to self-stimulate the organs for detoxification, that is why I do it every 3-4 months so my body can function on its own for a time period.

The Cleaner receives a 5 Star Rating! Visit their website, www.thecleaner.com for more information on the herbs used and how to purchase yourself the best internal cleanser I have tried to date in the health industry.

 

 

Thanksgiving Feast With All the Dressings

thanksgivingdinnerEvery time this year, you are back at this holiday, wondering how many gluttonous pounds you will gain this time and if possibly you may fair better than last year, surrounded by the table with those you cherish most, or at least have to act like you cherish during your Thanksgiving feast.   The table will be adorned with Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, warm dinner rolls, pies, any type of dressing passed down from generations to each family and a plethora of drinks (alcoholic and/or nonalcoholic).

Sweet-Potato-cranberryAs you celebrate this year’s Thanksgiving, don’t think about the “should I’s” as you partake in this celebrated feast.  Think about the nourishment that the food will be giving your body and your skin.  Thanksgiving is full of a lot of antioxidants that we don’t tend to naturally “go-to” at any other times.  The dressings, like cranberry, sweet potatoes, and stuffing, yes stuffing, are rich in antioxidants.  (Researchers in Germany found that the bread crust, what we use to make stuffing with, is a rich source of antioxidants.)  So as you enjoy your Thanksgiving feast, be grateful for all your many blessings, in all the various forms they are given to you.

 

What Tea Should You Drink for Healthy Skin?

Black-tea-Green-Tea-White-tea-Oolong-tea-Pu-erh-tea_thumb3Tea is one of my daily must haves.  I prefer to have hot tea over cold tea just because I like the sensation of the heat drizzling down my throat as I sip small amounts at a time.  There are various teas:  white tea, green tea, oolong, black tea and pu-erh tea.  I drink every variety of tea depending on what my body is needing at that time or what the place I am patronizing is serving.

whiteteas_blogThe one tea I drink, when I want to treat my skin, is white tea.  White tea is known to be the most delicate of the teas because it is minimally processed.  What this means is that during the harvesting stages of the tea plants, before the leaves fully open, when there is still white hairs on the tea buds, thus the name, “White” tea, is when the tea plant is dried and processed.  White tea out of all the teas, besides herbal teas, has the lowest caffeine content because of how quickly it is processed after being picked.

whiteteaWhite tea is rich of antioxidants, greater than green tea, and reduces the risks of premature aging.  The antioxidants in white tea help to grow your hair, improve your blood levels and boost your brain function.  The antiaging properties in white tea contain a large amount of micronutrients that help to neutralize free radicals in the body.  Neutralizing free radicals help to slow down the aging process in the body.

All teas are good for the body, each have their own unique properties that help different areas of the body, white teas just tend to be the go-to tea for healthier skin.  White teas consists more of your fruit teas, apricot, cherry, blueberry, pomegranate, etc., as well as your floral teas, jasmine, hibiscus, sunflower teas, etc. These teas are more consumed in the summer than the winter because they are lighter teas, served chilled over ice.  Whichever flavor or temperature your palate chooses, your skin will benefit greatly from a white tea.