Healing Tips

This page is set up to share what we have learned about health and healing as a result of our working with SCENAR with others over the last five years. We will share our experiences, the results of research we have done into certain pain issues and health/healing in general, as well as local practitioners we have found to be competent and helpful to us personally. Our clients have shared with us practitioners and tips they have found beneficial that we will also pass along.

Some of this information you may already know, but hopefully, some of it will surprise you as it has us, and therefore, be worth sharing. If you try something we have posted and want to make a comment about your experience, please feel free to do so. We hope you enjoy this page and find your experience with our blog to be meaningful.

Releasing Your Own Neuropeptides

After working with the SCENAR for the last 5 years and seeing the effects on our clients, we have come to the realization of how important neuropeptides are to health and healing.  Their release by the body causes what is known as a relaxation response. The mind and emotions become quieter followed by a physical feeling of well being. Very often after just a few moments of treatment, clients will sigh (called the “SCENAR sigh” by experienced practitioners). Sighing and yawning are known to be signs of emotional release. When emotional tension is released, the way a person breathes becomes deeper, more relaxed, and normalized.  So breath, emotions,  and neuropeptides are closely related.

It was our work with experienced and devoted meditators that made this even clearer. They could identify immediately (before the SCENAR even registered it) that the neuropeptides had been released, by the familiar feeling of peace and rest that they felt in their bodies during meditation. We also found that they could speed up the body’s completion of its adaptive reaction by consciously directing their thoughts and their breath to the area where we were working. As they did this we could watch it happening by the display on the device.

It is also generally known that thinking positive thoughts facilitates health and healing. We have noticed that only a few sessions will elicit a shift in our clients where they appear to become generally more relaxed,  hopeful, and develop a more positive relationship with their own bodies.  As their bodies begin to heal, they begin to feel more confident and trusting in that capacity within themselves to move toward health.

So, are there things that we can do in our every day lives that releases neuropeptides so that we may more consistently have a feeling of well being? Are there ways to direct the neuropeptides consciously to areas where we feel distress?

Below are some things we have found that anyone can do that will cause their bodies to release neuropeptides:

1. Exercise-it is commonly known and accepted that exercise causes the release of neuropeptides-especially endorphins (often called the “runner’s high”). This release enhances the body’s ability to heal itself, plus provides the exerciser with sensations of ease and well being.

2. Meditation-this activity is best when done on a regular basis. It can be as simple as a mindfulness relaxation exercise, or as complex as deep transcendental work. It is the consistency that is important. Getting to the point where one can recognize what the release feels like gives the meditator more awareness of the body and more ability to engage their consciousness in creating and directing the release.

3. Breathing- taking deep and relaxing breaths as often during the day as you remember to will create a neuropeptide release. It is best if done in threes. This oxygenates the blood and provides the body with more energy. When you have taken three deep breaths, you will likely feel a sense of relaxed energy and well being. If you consciously breathe into and out of an area that is painful during meditation or at times during the day, you will likely notice the pain diminishes (there will be another article about this in the future).

4. Sex- I likely can’t tell you anymore about this than you already know. You might just notice the similarity of feeling that marks the release of neuropeptides.

5. Doing a creative or pleasurable activity- whatever you love to do, where you become so engaged that you feel like you enter a different psychological state (lose track of time, etc.), will create a neuropeptide release. When you feel positive emotions of joy, peace, inspiration, interest, curiosity, excitement,  etc., you are releasing the body’s internal healing pharmacy. Candace Pert, the neuroscientist who first documented the existence of neuropeptide receptor sites in the body, says in her book, Molecules of Emotion, that neuropeptides are intimately connected with the emotions and create the inner network of communication we call the body-mind.

6. Laughter- Laughter is an expression of joy, so the more you can find the humor in things, the healthier you will be.  Watch funny movies, hang out with children, read the comics–anything that will make you laugh.

7. Gratitude- Take time to be aware of your blessings, even the smallest ones. Really FEEL the gratitude that you have for the people, experiences, and things you hold most dear. Let those feelings move you deeply. Neuropeptides are released when you are deeply grateful for all the blessings in your life.

So, just as an interesting point of curiosity, see if you can identify what a neruopeptide release feels like in your body, and experiement with consciously directing it to issues of pain or discomfort. You may be surprised with what you are able to do.

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Keeping Your Autonomic Nervous System Healthy

There are many things you can do to keep your sympathetic and parasympathetic systems in better balance. Try to do these on a daily basis:

1. Keep your thoughts and your emotions as positive and uplifted as you possibly can, all of the time. Our thoughts and emotions have a powerful influence on the body. Negative emotions will fire up the sympathetic system.

2. Do your best to stay in a state of appreciation. Being able to notice and enjoy the simple things encourages positive emotions and increases happiness. Being able to stop at least once a day and take stock of all that you appreciate about your life will draw more things to you to appreciate.

3. Don’t take anything personally. This places you in a position of power and compassion. It is much better than letting yourself feel like a victim, which always leads to a sympathetic “flight or fight” response.

4. Cultivate contentment. Contentment is a state in which you are at peace with yourself and your world, even if the world around you is not to your liking. You can learn to let the world go and choose contentment rather than trying to control the world. Trying to control the uncontrollable is a certain trigger for the sympathetic response.

5. Don’t compare yourself with others. This causes fear, resentment, and anger. From  our limited perspectives, the world can seem unfair. However, there is much that is hidden. If you knew more about others’ lives, you would likely be less inclined to trade places with them.

6. Train your mind to stay away from negative thoughts and emotions. These include worry, fear, anger, and guilt. These turn on the sympathetic system and keep it active. When you catch yourself thinking and feeling negatively, ask yourself, “What is a thought that I can have that can make me feel just a little better?” (Think of something or someone that brings a bit of a smile to your face.) As you begin to feel a little better, ask yourself that question again. And so on, until you realize you’ve broken yourself out of the negative thinking.

7. Become aware of who and what truly gives you energy, versus who and what mainly use up your energy. Try to do one thing during your day that brings you energy, that you enjoy, that is just for you. A day without fun is like a day without sunshine. Seek out those who bring you energy.

8. Rest often. Nap often (research has shown that those who nap daily live longer) and sleep at least 8 hours a night. The hours before midnight are by far the best for sleeping.

9. Practice breathing. This is one way to control the autonomic system with voluntary action. Slow, deep breathing stimulates the release of neuropeptides by the parasympathetic system and turns off the sympathetic system.If you mind starts thinking about your day when you lay down to sleep, just begin to breathe deeply and slowly. Focus on nothing but your breathing and what it feels like. It will help you relax and go to sleep.

10. Eat well and mindfully. Eat at a table, not in front of the TV or while reading. Notice what you are eating and appreciate the color and taste of the food. This stimulates the parasympathetic system which facilitates your ability to digest and make the best use of the food for the nourishment of your body. Fresh foods that you cook at home are best. Supplemental nutrients that calm the sympathetic system are calcium, magnesium, and zinc. B-Complex is important for the nerves. Herbs that calm the nervous system are valerian, passionflower, skullcap, and hops, among others.

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Meditation for Relieving Pain

Those of you who are experienced meditators may already know about this technique. But for those of you who have little chance to meditate, this might be helpful in dealing with chronic pain.

The pain of Post Polio Syndrome is very similar to the pain that people with fibromyalgia have. It tends to be in broad areas or very specific sites. But, it can move around the body, which makes it frustrating for people in their efforts to treat it. Personally, I most clearly am aware of my pain as I lay down at night and begin to relax. It keeps me from falling asleep.

In 2004 I took a mindfulness class. After the first few sessions, my instructor gave me this procedure to use in my meditation at night when I was most troubled by pain, and I found it to be helpful. Perhaps it will be for you.

Lay on  your back in as comfortable a position as possible (pillow under the knees, etc.). For a couple of minutes, just relax your breathing. Let your breath come easily and comfortably. Begin to scan your body, looking for tension and relaxing it when found. Begin at the toes and work your way up the body, relaxing whatever you find that is tense. Be aware that sometimes when relaxing a muscle that is tensed in an effort to protect an overused or injured joint, one may experience a little more pain. Accept that and move on to the next area of tension. Don’t let it distract you from the scan.

Once the scan is complete to the top of the scalp, gently allow your awareness to be brought to an area of pain. Stay with it for about three seconds, and then shift your awareness to another area that is trying to get your attention. Stay with it for about three seconds, and then open yourself to other areas that may feel pain. Just gently let your awareness be drawn to the painful areas. Don’t try to resist. You may be drawn to an area over and over and that is ok. Notice that after awhile, when you let your awareness be drawn there, the pain is less intense than it was previously. As you attend to your body in this way, the overall level of pain comes down to something that is more comfortable.

My instructor said that when you allow yourself to have a detached awareness of your pain,  it can actually diminish it. It is the resistance to pain that increases the discomfort. For chronic pain sufferers, the fear of pain can make it feel much worse than it has to. By opening to it with detachment, the experience of the intensity of the pain can be improved or eliminated. I use this practice to go to sleep every night.

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Things You Can Do To Treat Foot Pain

Stretching is the single most important thing you can do for foot pain. Tight hamstrings can communicate issues all the way from the sitzbones to the Achilles Tendons. Keeping them stretched and flexible is an important way to maintain the health of the foot. Two easy stretches we have found helpful are:

The Runner’s Stretch – Place your hands about two feet away from each other on a wall while standing about two feet away and leaning into the wall. Step forward with one foot, while leaving the other with the heel on the ground behind you. You are looking for a gentle sensation of stretch, not discomfort in that leg. Krista Kelley at Mission Rehab Services told us that a stretch any shorter than 45 seconds is not worth doing, so count slowly to 45 and then switch the positions of the feet and stretch the other leg. Doing this in the morning and evening will help the hamstrings to not get so tight. Muscles get tight from normal use so slowly that we may fail to recognize the sensation. Doing this exercise will help you become more familiar with the feeling of muscle tension so that you can monitor the status of your hamstrings more accurately and stretch them more effectively, thus preventing issues from arising.

The Hamstring Stretch – While laying in the bed, before arising, use a towel or strap and loop it under the ball of the foot. Holding an end of the towel in each hand, gently raise the leg while using the towel to keep the foot at a 90 degree ankle to the leg. Raise the leg until you feel a gentle stretch, not pain. Hold for 45 seconds, bring the leg gently down to the bed, and do the stretch on the other leg. Over time you will be able to raise the leg higher and higher as the hamstring is re-educated to be relaxed rather than tight. This will prevent the discomfort and possible micro damage to the tendons that can occur when getting out of bed when hamstrings have tightened up during sleep.

Things you can do to improve the health of your feet:

Massage - In the evening, while relaxing, deeply rub and massage your feet in a conscious way from the tips of the toes to the backs of the heels. Let it be your intention to touch every single inch of skin on the bottom of your foot. When you find areas that are tender, press into them and hold. In just a few minutes the tenderness will dissipate and the area will relax. This can also be a good way to improve your overall health through Reflexology.

Strengthen the Muscles of the Foot - The muscles in the feet need exercise and strengthening, just like any other muscle in the body. However, shoes are not conducive to exercising foot muscles. Take off your shoes and socks and while sitting in a comfortable position, imagine (or use real ones if you’d like) that you are picking up marbles with your toes. This strengthens the muscles in the arch which tend to flatten as our foot muscles weaken with age and wearing shoes.

Strengthen the Muscles of the Ankle and Top of Foot – How many of us have sat on the beach and almost unconsciously (because it feels so good), moved our feet back and forth from side to side in the sand, digging a little trough. This motion strengthens the muscles in the ankles and top of the foot to provide better stability for walking. You don’t need sand to do this. Sit in a comfortable position and imagine doing this little activity as if you were at the beach, moving your feet against the floor back and forth from side to side. If you vividly imagine you are at the beach digging the comforting little trenches with your feet, your body will not know that you are not, and other benefits such as shoulder and neck relaxation can be experienced as well.

Our feet are probably the most ignored area of the body. They carry our weight and do whatever we ask for most of our lives without complaint. As we age, our inattention to caring for our feet can take its toll. Notice your feet. Appreciate how hard they work for you. Do kinds things for them like massage or hot soaks. Become friends with your feet. They will love you for it!

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More Advice About Staying Healthy and Treating the Flu Naturally

We found more recommendations for staying healthy and treating flu symptoms in an article from San Francisco. Karen Peters, ND recommends the following to protect your health:

• Get plenty of rest and manage stress to keep the immune system healthy
• Avoid sugar, white flour, and other processed foods especially if you are feeling stressed.
• Add lots of garlic to your diet as well as immune system boosting maitake, shittake, and reishi mushrooms.
• Probiotics build health from the inside out. Try Kefir which has more probiotic power than regular yogurt. Use plain and add fruit in a smoothie for sweetness.
• Elderberry syrup boosts the immune system and is good for kids.

If you come down with the flu, she makes the following recommendations:

• Eat a broth-based diet if you become sick. The body needs its energy for fighting off the infection, not digestion.
• Herbal tea and homeopathic cold remedies should be used based on personal preference.
• Although monitoring fever is essential as very high fevers can be dangerous, fever is the body’s natural way of killing off the invader, and so taking heavy medicines to reduce fever may interfere with the body’s efforts to recover.
• Herbs that can help are chamomile (aids digestion and reduces anxiety), Boneset (helps relieve achy muscles, fever) and Marshmallow (soothes sore throats and coughs).

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Recommendation of an Excellent Community Resource

Because SCENAR is such a complementary therapy to just about any other traditional or alternative medical modality, we are always looking for other practitioners whose work can enhance the health of our clients. When we participated in the Wise Women’s Herbal Conference, we attended two classes taught by Mimi Hernandez on adaptagens and phytochemistry. Her knowledge and expertise regarding plants and their uses for health was impressive. But, more importantly, her warmth, openness, and generosity of spirit gave reassurance of her trustworthiness. We can refer our clients interested in herbal alternatives in treating disease with enthusiasm and assurance. We are lucky to have her in our community. For more information about Mimi’s organization go to One World Healing Arts Institute .

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Another Tool for your Health Arsenal

Here is a “home remedy” that you may not have encountered. It was passed along to us by a friend who is incredibly knowledgeable about natural and homeopathic remedies. She hasn’t taken a pharmaceutical in 40 years! She swears by this remedy and that’s good enough for us! The remedy comes from an Ecuadorian Medicine Woman.

“Magic” Syrup For Colds, Coughs, Sore Throats, Flu, Bronchitis, and Sinusitis

Ingredients:

• 3 large onions
• 1 bunch of radishes
• 10-12 large garlic cloves
• one 2-inch piece of fresh peeled horseradish
• 3-5 lemons
• 3-5 limes
• honey

(Organic ingredients are best, especially the lemon peel, but this is not essential.)

Grate the onions, radishes, garlic, and horseradish, on the medium side of a grater (if you don’t have a grater, chop the ingredients very finely). If the garlic is chopped rather than graded, mash the small pieces as well to release some of the juice.

Add finely grated peel (outside yellow and inner white layers) of one large lemon. Put all ingredients (including the juices) in a large bowl or jar. Completely cover all ingredients with equal amounts of fresh lime juice and lemon juice (the number of limes and lemons needed will depend on how juicy they are – probably 3-5 of each).

Cover bowl or jar tightly and leave on counter over night (at least 8 to 10 hours).

After 8-10 hours press mixture through a medium screen sieve, so that a little of the finer texture goes through with the liquid. Discard the remaining solids.

Heat, but don’t boil, about 1/8 cup of the above liquid to dissolve 3 level tablespoons of honey in it. (Preferably local honey where you live.)

When dissolved, add honey mixture to rest of liquid in a large covered jar and shake well. Put in the refrigerator.

Take two tablespoons of this liquid 5-6 times a day and if you awaken at night.

This amount should last 4-6 days.

Note: it is a good idea to make this up ahead of time (it stores up to 4 months in the fridge) so you can take it at the first sign of illness, instead of waiting 8 -10 hours for it to be ready.

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Michele Drivon – Local Alexander Technique Teacher

It is really a pleasure to pass along resources we encounter that we find to be of an important value to those who may be suffering with pain and dysfunction. It is our belief that the secret to taking care of oneself naturally is to find the best combination of modalities that work for one’s particular complex of issues. Just as there is no one traditional medical therapy that works by itself for everything, in the natural health field, one must become educated about the various modalities available so as to assemble the best intervention process for specific individual needs.

Although I use SCENAR for general health and pain management, I wanted to work with Michele to find out about the Alexander Technique and to see if there were things I could do to reduce the ineffective ways that I  move my body that predispose me to muscle tension, overuse, and pain.

I will share one amazing realization that has had a huge impact and demonstrable improvement on my well being. During our second session together, Michele showed me how to relax my knees while standing. I had been completely unaware that my muscles around my knees were tense. I was surprised to find that I could relax my muscles around my knees and remain standing. It was a curiosity I took with me into my life, and the next time I was at Earth Fare, I had a chance to test it out. Generally, standing is really difficult for me, and after about 2 minutes, my body begins to complain, and I start wishing I could sit down. I dread standing in check out lanes. However, this time I used the wait as an opportunity to practice relaxing my knees. Immediately my whole body felt better. I stood in the line for 5 minutes with no sense of needing to sit down and with none of the usual complaints from my back or legs. I have continued to bring my awareness to my knees to assess their muscle tension and relax any that I find throughout the day, especially when I am providing SCENAR treatments. I find that I’m not dreading finding myself in standing situations any longer.

I know from my work with SCENAR that bringing one’s awareness to where the device is working enhances the effect and outcome of the treatment. The beneficial effect of conscious awareness being brought to a specific area of the body has been demonstrated to me. So, the premise of  the Alexander Technique of using body awareness to release muscle tension and improve postural alignment fits with that understanding. It is inner as well as outer work. Akin somehow to both Zen and Yoga.

I am happy to recommend Michele Drivon and the Alexander Technique to you. Michele walks her talk and lives her teachings. She brings a profound sensitivity and awareness to her work. You will learn things about your body you never knew, and you will learn things about living a quality of awareness you may never have experienced before. Her work with me has been life changing.

You can contact Michele Drivon at 828-712-2804.

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FDA Warnings out on Ultram and Ultracet

For a while in 2004, when I was taken out of work because of symptoms related to Post Polio Syndrome, I took Ultram for the pain. I was taking no other drugs at the time. I took it as I needed it, but more regularly at first. It worked well, at least at first. Then I started feeling like I could not fully wake up the next day with symptoms of severe fatigue. These got worse, so I quit taking the drug. Six months later I took it again once, and woke up feeling so bad that I threw the remaining prescription in the garbage. Thinking that it was just that my body reacted to the drug, I went on with my life.

Now 5 years later, the FDA issues a warning about the drug. It is so sobering when these things happen that call into question the safety of the pharmaceuticals that we take without question. It was crossing paths with the SCENAR that saved me from needing drugs to treat pain. It is now a choice. I no longer have to possibly hurt my body to treat my pain.

2 Comments

• 

  By Mom, November 4, 2009 @ 12:51 pm

  Can’t tell you how proud and honored I am to be the mother of this fantastic woman named Michele Drivon. She constantly amazes me with her life – her interests, her charm, everything about her. I can’t wait for her teachings with the Alexander Technique to reach the East Coast. Surely we can’t be this far behind. You go girl!

• 

  By Penny, November 4, 2009 @ 6:13 pm

  I hope that I get the chance to meet the mother of this most amazing young woman. Your mothering has gifted us with a very special contribution to our collective well being. Michele will bless many many people’s lives, I’m sure.

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