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What is Myofunctional Therapy?
Over the past decade or so, we have started making the connection that the tongue is within the mouth, and the mouth is connected to our airway. We need open airways to breathe, eat, and sleep effectively, essentially all the things that keep us alive. If the tongue is interfering with the airway, we’ve got a problem in all three areas. Myofunctional therapy is a way to strengthen, tone, and teach the tongue where to rest within the oral cavity so it can get out of the airway during breathing, eating, and sleeping! It’s a specialty that focuses on the muscles of the face and mouth. If these muscles are working and functioning together properly, we have balanced craniofacial growth.
Benefits of Psilocybin Assisted Therapy
Psilocybin is a psychoactive compound found in certain mushrooms, often called “magic mushrooms.” There is growing interest in its potential therapeutic benefits, including its impact on the brain’s neuroplasticity. Emerging research indicates that psilocybin enhances the brain’s connectivity, which supports the establishment of new neural pathways. Such pathways allow for different regions of the brain to communicate more effectively, yielding greater adaptability and flexibility of thought.
Trauma-Informed Care: A Compassionate Approach to Healing
Trauma-informed care represents a paradigm shift in how we approach healthcare, emphasizing understanding, empathy, and collaboration in the healing process. A trauma-informed healthcare provider’s goal is to create a safe and supportive environment where individuals feel empowered to heal and thrive. This fits well with a holistic approach to health, in which multiple dimensions of health – physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual – are taken into consideration as practitioner and client work together.
What is Direct Primary Care? Is it the Solution to America’s Healthcare Problem?
Direct Primary Care is a affordable subscription-based model that focuses quality face-to-face time with your doctor and direct communication outside of the office - all for the cost of a daily cup of coffee. The model has many advantages over traditional primary care including longer appointments (30 minutes to an hour depending on your needs), a focus on preventative care, and most importantly the ability to develop a trusting relationship with your doctor. It may just be the solution to America’s ‘sick care’ system.
Pilates: A Versatile, Flexible and Fun Form of Movement
Pilates, named after founder Joseph Pilates, is a form of exercise that’s effective for nearly everyone. The low-impact movements in Pilates strengthen core muscles, build flexibility, stability, and endurance. Although specialized equipment can be used for Pilates such as the Reformer, there are many Pilates mat exercises that can be done on the floor. This makes Pilates a flexible and versatile form of exercise that will help you move well in the studio and at home or traveling. Since Pilates emphasizes whole body movement, core control, and proper alignment, it builds a great foundation for clients that are recovering from an accident or injury and want to resume all the activities they enjoyed before the injury. Pilates for rehab exercises can be adjusted to your comfort level. A critical part of our practice is helping our clients understand their body and movement.
Lifestyle Factors and Healing
When you sleep, your body repairs and restores itself. Studies have shown that poor or interrupted sleep slows down healing and has a negative effect on body systems. When your body is recovering from an injury, surgery, or illness, your nutritional needs increase—you require more energy and nutrients to heal your tissue. Certain compounds like vitamins A, C, and D; amino acids arginine, glutamine, and methionine; and micronutrients like zinc can support your body’s healing response. Stress has a negative effect on virtually all of your body’s systems. It can slow your healing by disrupting the hormones that coordinate the healing response and can wreak havoc on your digestion, interrupting your ability to absorb nutrients that your body needs to mend itself.
The Therapeutic Power of Physical Activities for Trauma Recovery
Trauma can have a life-altering impact on both the mind and body, leaving us struggling with emotional scars that may seem too great to overcome. While therapy and counseling play crucial roles in the healing process, incorporating physical activities into your routine can also be a powerful tool for trauma recovery. Moving your body not only can better your physical well-being, but also creates an opportunity to release pent-up emotions and tension. In this blog post, we'll explore a range of activities that involve body movement that can make you feel empowered in your healing journey.
Understanding Seasonal Affective Disorder
As the seasons change, many folks experience shifts in their mood and energy levels. It's normal to feel a little down during the colder and darker months, but some people struggle with a form of depression known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is linked to seasonal changes, particularly occurring in fall and winter months when daylight is limited. Individuals affected by this disorder experience more than just “winter blues.” SAD is a legitimate mental health concern that can interfere with daily functioning.
The Benefits and Joy of Pilates for Seniors
As seniors, finding an exercise method that trains whole body movement, balance, and joint mobility is important to avoid falls, maintain strength, and to live with comfort. Pilates for seniors does all of this and more. Get inspired by Joseph Pilates, the founder of the method, who practiced it until his death at 83. You’re never too old to learn something new! Let’s look at why Pilates is a safe and effective exercise for seniors.
How to Show Up for Yourself in Your Relationship
A relationship is also a partnership; there needs to be a balance between you and your partner that allows you both to contribute to the relationship while still maintaining your own identities. Things like communication problems, self-esteem issues, or even unhealthy relationship dynamics like codependency can make it easy to lose yourself in your relationship. Let’s cover a few ideas you can implement right away to show up, stand up, and make a difference in your relationship dynamics.
Have You Heard of the Blue Zones?
The concept of Blue Zones, founded by Dan Buettner, started from demographic work by Gianni Pes and Michael Poulain from the Journal of Experimental Gerontology. Pes and Poulain discovered Sardinia to have the highest concentration of male centenarians. Buettner built off this research to find other longevity regions around the world, and those areas became known as Blue Zones. After examining health and lifestyle in each of these regions, the Blue Zones team discovered what has come to be called the Power 9: Natural Movement, Purpose, Dietary Portion Control, Plant Based Diet, Moderate Alcohol (Wine), Relaxation, Belonging, Loved Ones, and Social Circle.
Connection in Action: Small Businesses in Community
How do we best serve our community while also caring for our own businesses, families, and health? We CONNECT. We unite to solve problems as a collective. We form networks that fill in each other’s gaps. This is how we learn and grow as individual providers, how we adapt to a changing healthcare landscape, how we thrive as small businesses in an industry driven by large corporations, and how we remain healthy and grounded in our own bodies and lives.
Herbal First Aid Kit for the Home
Most of us have a first aid kit at home but how many have a natural herbal first aid kit? In this article we will cover topical and internal herbs to keep on hand to help with bleeding, burns, colds, coughs, sore throats, headaches, sinusitis, stomach pain, constipation, aches and pains, insomnia and urinary tract infections (UTIs). Below are a collection of formulas that would complete a basic first aid kit to have available in your home or while traveling just in case any illnesses or injuries happen.
The Low-Down on Pelvic Organ Prolapse
Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a descent of the vaginal organs that creates a bulge or pressure into the vaginal opening. This occurs due to a weakening of the support structures that hold these organs in place such as the ligaments, health of the vaginal tissue and pelvic floor muscles. The most common types of prolapse are:
Bladder (Cystocele)/Urethra (Cystourethrocele), Rectum (Rectocele), Uterus (Uterine)
So What IS Acupuncture, Exactly?
I get asked this question so often. It’s the number one most-asked question. The complexity of Eastern healing is vast and trying to simplify it is a challenge. Acupuncture has been PROVEN to regulate the Central Nervous System (CNS), which controls most functions of the body and mind. It consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The spinal cord is the conduit for the signals between our body and the brain. When needles are administered in the body, sensory input, information processing, and motor output are all effected. By stimulating the CNS, several other systems are activated, like an increase of blood circulation which will release muscle-tension, the release of endorphins (our happy hormones), and the activation of the parasympathetic system, which controls our “rest and digest,” mechanisms.
CranioSacral Therapy: What Is It and How Can It Help You?
CranioSacral Therapy is a noninvasive therapy that assesses, modifies, and corrects restrictions in the craniosacral system to improve wellness and enhance the body’s ability to self-regulate. The craniosacral system is a physiological system that is responsible for the production, circulation, and re-absorption of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This fluid is what keeps your brain from hitting the side of your skull and it flows all the way down your spine and back up again. Not only does the CSF protect your brain but it also helps maintain the environment for your nervous system to develop, function, and thrive. The system itself consists of the ventricular system that produces the cerebrospinal fluid, dural membranes surrounding the spinal cord, and the bony and fascial attachments of membranes. The practitioner is observing and feeling for areas of restriction in what we call the craniosacral rhythm. This rhythm is the movement of the bones and body tissues in response to the flow of CSF that I mentioned earlier.
Psychedelics in Therapy & the Psychedelic Science Conference
Much research has already been undertaken that demonstrates the efficacy and long term success of psychedelic-assisted treatments: Clinical trials exploring ketamine, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), and MDMA for treatment of depression have shown promising long term results for reduction of symptoms. Research exploring psychedelic medicine indicates that therapies incorporating it into treatment can help individuals process and heal from trauma. Neuroimaging research has shown that psychedelic treatment promotes increased neural plasticity, allowing for new connections and reorganization within the brain. Other studies exploring addiction and recovery suggest that the profound and transformative experiences induced by psychedelics can lead to increased motivation, self-reflection, and a greater sense of purpose, which can aid in the recovery process.
Is Melatonin a Safe Sleep Solution? What Users Need to Know
Millions of Americans are turning to Melatonin as a “natural” alternative to sleep aids … but is it safe? Endogenous melatonin is a hormone produced by the pineal gland in the brain and helps to regulate the body’s internal clock, called the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle that regulates various internal processes, including the sleep-wake cycle, body temperature, metabolism, and digestion. Melatonin’s job is to tell the body when these cycles start and stop in a 24-hour period. However, despite confused reports, melatonin plays no role in the quality, depth, or overall restfulness of sleep. Although melatonin is thought to help with sleep issues, it is not effective for chronic insomnia, restless sleep, frequent nighttime waking, or other troubles with sleep at night.
Box Breath aka Square Breath for Calm
This style of breath, also called a “Square Breath” or a “4x4 Breath,” can be used in moments of stress or anxiety, or simply when you’d like to calm down or relax. You may have heard of Box Breathing due to its use as a part of Navy SEAL training—it’s used by soldiers to reduce stress and improve focus during chaotic moments of combat. Research supports this technique to help regulate your autonomic nervous system and it is correlated with improved sleep quality, decreased blood pressure and heart rate, and decreased symptoms of depression.
Mindfulness At The Workplace:Why We Need It
Mindfulness may seem like a buzzword, however it is on the cusp of becoming a household name. It is a centuries-old idea that has been reinvented to address modern day mental health challenges. So what is mindfulness really? It is a “mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic and meditation technique.”