Another option is to participate in a Portland-area focus group either this week or early next week~ they will only be in town for these interviews for a few more days.  Remember that the focus is on using naturopathic treatments that you may have included within your regular conventional treatment, such as acupuncture and Chinese medicine. I am coordinating the local focus group for them, so please call me at 503-616-4856 or email me at maria@mylifeworkstoday.com to register asap.

This is a wonderful opportunity to help bring awareness to our medical community that thinking outside the box offers more options for us in taking care of ourselves.

******Update:  We have scheduled a date and time for this focus group~ Thursday, July 7th at Beaverton Library.  The time frame is from 1-3pm, but there is opportunity to still be interviewed until July 9th.  Refreshments and a Starbucks gifit card will be offered for focus group participants.  We have a couple of spots left~it’s simply you telling the researchers about your use of naturopathic treatments and what part they’ve played in your wellness.

With that in mind, MLWT Guest blogger Becca at Thrive Acupuncture  gives us a quick overview of how acupuncture can be used to ease headache pain and may even help in preventing future headaches down the road.  As always, be sure to keep your medical team updated on an changes you make in your health management.

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It doesn’t matter what type of headache you experience.  Be it your run of the mill headache, tension headaches, migraines or cluster headaches.  They can be related to stress or hormones.  No matter the cause or type of headache, Chinese medicine has a way of getting them out of your life!

Below are some acupressure points that you can massage in order to ease your headache.  For best results, find a licensed acupuncturist who you can work with to determine your Chinese medical diagnosis and get to the bottom of your pain.

Large Intestine 4 (LI4) is a point that strongly moves Qi in the body.  This point can also be used to specifically treat disorders of the head – perfect for headaches!  Do not massage this point if you are pregnant.

Du 20 is a great point for treating many disorders of the head, based on its location.  This point will be especially effective if your headache is near the acupuncture point!

Heart 7 (Ht7), as well as all of the rest of the points along the crease-lines of your wrist, are great for treating headaches that are located in the base of your neck.  There are several acupuncture micro-systems that portray the hand as your head, with the wrist crease representing the back of the neck where it meets your head.

If your headaches are located at your temples, massage them!  Tai Yang is an acupuncture point located in your temples!

And, like massaging your temples, feel free to massage the areas where you experience pain.  We have many many acupuncture points on our heads, (which would make for a very long blog post!) so chances are you’ll be massaging one or more!

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Becca Seitz, MAcOM, LAc  is a licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist living here in Portland, Oregon.  Learn more about her and the health options she offers for you and/or your pets at Thrive Acupuncture .

Last month, I went on a hike through Tryon State Park with my new friend, MLWT Guest Blogger and Acupuncturist, Becca Seitz .  Despite my constant and intense headaches weeks prior, I felt the need to get outside and move.  Preferably with someone to talk to and in beautiful surroundings, which Becca and Tryon Creek provided effortlessly.  During our walk, I was telling her about my headaches and being buried under a great deal of stress.  I had several theories for my throbbing temples ranging from lupus (of course) to changing barometric pressure.  She shared with me some philosophy, which I plan on hitting her up for in a future blog post, that struck a chord in me and I’ve been mulling it over daily since our walk. 

She explained that this philosophy (I believe it is within Chinese medicine) describes a symbiotic relationship between us and trees that involves an exchange of stress.  We often hear how detrimental stress is to our health and wellbeing, causing all sorts of problems within our own bodies and spreading to other peoples’  ‘bodies’ we share our days with.  What we don’t always consider is the wood element in Chinese medicine, also present in Western pharmaceuticals.  Trees have been a part of treating illness for centuries when it comes to medicine, but there is more to that relationship than just the ingredients of the bark we absorb.  The trees are believed to absorb from us, too.  Becca brought up how stressful conditions actually make trees stronger and, if you garden at all, you know to not to tie up your new tree seedlings too tightly to their pole.  The movement from the wind and other forces actually strengthen the trunk during its development .  As we walked along the path through the trees, we spoke of this wonderful idea about unloading the stress we have within us during our walk to make us healthier and that, in turn, we could actually be benefitting the trees around us by making them stronger. 

I’ve been pretty frustrated with the weather here this Spring, as I suspect many of you have been, too.  I thought that it could be because I’m back to sitting in front of the computer for longer periods of time working on several big projects.  Maybe it is because of the gray skies leading to my darker moods, aches and poor sleep.

It could be that I just miss time with my friends and trees, my fellow stress magnets. 

This weekend promises some heat and sunshine, and not a moment too soon. My oldest daughter is graduating from high school and she will be the first to be leaving the nest, so there has been some stress building up within me over that, too.   I know I will be hitting a trail as soon as possible to relieve some pressure and make something good with it, or I will undoubtedly explode. 

Today, I came across a link that leads the reader through a meditation linking trees with de-stressing .  I did it and, surprisingly for me (I don’t like meditating), I actually felt great afterwards. I’d put it here, but haven’t yet figured out whether I need to gain some permissions in writing first.  There’s something else to stress about!  The gist of it is just to stretch, breathe deeply and move gently as if responding to wind.  You can take it from there, but it isn’t anything new.  Just be sure to recognize your own limitations and don’t push yourself too hard.

Wishing all of you a more gentle breeze today and a wonderful weekend~