Body Mocha - Healing Chronic Pain

Today my neck and shoulders were tense. My mind could not stop thinking about my finances and the economy. I was simply stressed out and wanted to be relaxed and centered again.

So I popped in a yoga DVD and my mind was forced to think of the present and not the future or the past. After an hour of yoga, I felt refreshed, like I just got a massage.

If you’re like a lot of people, you cannot avoid stress. It’s everywhere, whether at work or at home. The secret to stress management and destressing is to stop your mind for a moment. Stop thinking and worrying, even if it’s only for an hour. How do you do that? Here are some ways to destress.

Yoga: Yoga is all about focusing on the breath and coordinating movements with your breath. Some of the poses require you to really concentrate so it forces your mind to take a vacation away from your negative thoughts. At the same time, you are stretching various muscles of your body. Some parts of your body that are never stretched, now get to relax. Some poses are stretching your internal organs as well to help you center yourself. In a way, you are giving yourself a massage, to your entire body as well as strengthening it. And the beauty of yoga is that it can balance your hormones, thereby helping you sleep better at night!

Tai Chi: Like yoga, tai chi is about coordinating movements with your breath. You’re also moving qi around in your body to promote better circulation and self-healing in your body.

Meditation: I’m sure you’ve read about meditation before, but how do you do it? Find a quiet place, where you won’t be bothered. Being around nature helps. Focus on relaxing your face, eyes, jaw, and the rest of your body. Close your eyes and focus on deep belly breathing. When you breathe in your belly expands and is filled with air. When you breathe out, push your belly in and let all of the air out. If a thought comes to your mind, let it pass. An easier way to meditate is to listen to a meditation CD or watch a DVD. I use Practical Meditation with Buddhist Principles. The gentle, calming music that accompanies this DVD forces my mind to relax, immediately! And it also teaches you to let go of anger and resentment.

Acupuncture: It may be difficult to imagine that having needles, thin, hairlike needles placed all over your body will help you relax. But it definitely works. Acupuncture is about bringing your body into balance by removing blockages of qi. If you don’t believe in qi, look up some acupuncture points online, based on ailments that you have. Then press those acupuncture points with a finger and you’ll notice that those points are sensitive and tender. For instance, there’s a commonly used acupuncture point on your hand, in the webbing between your thumb and index finger. Feel for the spot right before where the 2 bones of the fingers meet. Then squeeze it on both sides. Most likely, this spot will be tender. Note: Do not press on this point if you are pregnant.

Massage: A great massage makes you feel good. It also helps your body get rid of toxins by pushing out the lactic acid in tense muscles.

Bath: There’s nothing like a good, hot bath, especially with bubbles, bath salts, or even a bath bomb! Your muscles get to relax in the hot bath and you’ll feel like yourself in no time.

Listening to music: Get your ipod out and enjoy your favorite songs. I love putting together playlists because I know I’ll like every song. Your favorite songs will make you happy and become more positive.

Playing Music: If you are a musician like me, you know that playing the guitar, piano, or other instrument automatically helps relieve stress. Playing music helps release tension and keep you focused on something positive. Writing music unleashes your creativity, feeding your mind, body, and soul.

Hobby: Whether your hobby is playing Scrabble, doing photography, or riding your bike, it will keep your mind busy enough to avoid having negative thoughts and worries for awhile.

Talking to a Loved One or Professional Therapist: Talking about what stresses you out can help you release some stress. However, be mindful that you can also end up stressing out the person you are talking to. Keep your complaining to a minimum. If you have a major issue or crisis you are dealing with, consider talking to a professional. That’s what therapists are for… so you won’t drive your friends and family crazy!

Journal: You can say whatever you want, however you want, in your journal because it is only for yourself. I find that this helps me re-assess situations. You can also help yourself figure out solutions by expressing your thoughts in one place. When you go back and read it later, you may feel different about the situation.

Beach or Park: If you are lucky enough to live near a beach, by all means enjoy it. Listen to the waves crash against the sand. And feel the sun warming up your skin. If you don’t live near a beach, then go to the nearest park and absorb the energy from nature. There is qi radiating from nature and it gives you positive energy. When you look at a green lawn or trees, how does it make you feel?

I’m currently reading The Body Owner’s Manual - An Acupuncturist’s Teachings on Health and Well-Being by Deborah A. Degraff. It’s a great book about how to take care of your own health, with the knowledge of an acupuncturist. This book was originally published in 1998, 10 years ago, but the information is still current.

I’ve been seeing an acupuncturist for the past couple of months and I have always wanted to know what I can do myself to improve my health. I always ask the acupuncturist of course, but there is so much information that it’s more thorough reading it from a book.

Some tips for healing your body:
- Cut out sugar
- Eliminate stimulants like caffeine
- Do a blood sugar balancing diet if your body feels weak. Eat protein and vegetables for breakfast and eat breakfast soon after getting up. Basically, eat what you at for dinner at breakfast. Eat a whole grain snack before lunch. Eat lunch and dinner at regular times. (I’m currently doing this. It helps curb my late night snacking.)
- Eat whole, organic foods when possible.
- Eat warm/hot foods
- Reduce stress
- Relieve stress through yoga, tai chi, qigong, meditation, or a hobby
- Express how you feel and say what you mean, don’t repress anger and emotions
- Sleep by 11pm. The body replenishes your organs at night while you are sleeping.
- Exercise

She also provides a chart, Five Element Chart of Associations, that provides a guide on how to support specific organs that are weak. For instance, if you know that your kidney is weak, like you frequently need to go bathroom and not too much fluid comes out, then to help heal your kidneys, you would eat foods that are black. Black foods include black beans and black fungus.

The Body Owner’s Manual also includes a section on specific conditions such as insomnia, asthma, shoulder pain, PMS, and what you can do about it. She also talks about cleanses. Basically, the message of this book is to get in touch with your body. When you have pain, don’t medicate it, listen to it. What is your body trying to tell you.

I really enjoy this book and it would be a great Christmas gift for a loved one.

I have had digestive problems and stomach pains for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t until I discovered digestive enzymes that I was finally liberated. I can eat almost any food (nuts, ice cream, milk, pizza) now without worrying about the after effects. I do limit fried foods and cheese as a personal preference. And best of all, I haven’t had to take antacids or anti-gas medicines in a very long time!

I meet people all the time who tell me that they have to avoid certain foods like broccoli, pizza, milk, ice cream. How sad is it to go through life and not be able to eat everyday foods?

As we get older, our body produces less digestive enzymes that break down our food for digestion. For some people this happens sooner. And when our body can’t fully digest foods, we end up with undigested foods circulating our bodies. Our body ends up not getting the full nutrients from food for optimal health, resulting in painful indigestion, bloating, gas, and diarrhea.

Raw Foods Vs. Cooked Foods

There is one school of thought, the raw food movement, that believe in eating only raw foods or foods cooked below 104 degrees F. That way, the digestive enzymes that are naturally occurring in foods are not destroyed. They believe that cooked foods are deficient in enzymes. However, I find that I cannot digest raw foods, like carrots on my own without digestive enzyme supplements.

There is another school of thought, Chinese medicine, that do not believe in eating cold foods during certain seasons, such as winter or the week before and during the menstrual cycle. And raw foods like salads are considered “cold foods”. I side more with the Chinese medicine school of thought because it has been around for over 5000 years.

By taking digestive enzymes, we are helping our body digest foods and absorb the vitamins and minerals. According to one of my favorite books, The Detox Solution: The Missing Link to Radiant Health, Abundant Energy, Ideal Weight, and Peace of Mind, incompletely digested foods can lead to intestinal toxicity.

What to Look for in a Digestive Enzyme Supplement:

Protease - breaks down protein

Amylase - breaks down carbohydrates

Lipase - breaks down fats

Lactase - breaks down milk sugar or lactose

Cellulase - breaks down plant fibers

Invertase - breaks down sucrose in cane and beet sugars

Recommended Brand:

Rainbow Light Advanced Enzyme System

Not only is it made from plant sources and vegetarian friendly, but it contains all of the above enzymes and additional ingredients that assist in digestion, such as ginger, turmeric, and peppermint. Take 1 capsule before eating. You can find digestive enzymes at health food stores.

Other popular digestive enzymes include pineapple enzyme (digests protein), Lactaid (digests milk products), and Beano (digests beans). The problem with these enzymes is that they only digest one thing and not the full spectrum like Rainbow Light.

Foods containing enzymes that aid in digestion:

• miso soup
• yogurt
• turmeric
• ginger

If you are skeptical about digestive enzymes, try making your own miso soup and drink it before eating a difficult to digest food. I recommend making your own miso soup as opposed to buying it from a restaurant because most restaurants over boil their miso soup, thereby destroying the useful enzymes. Here is an easy miso soup recipe from my food blog YummySF. Happy eating!