by Jen Owen, N.P. | Sep 30, 2020 | Mind-Body Medicine
My Dad was literally a jack of all trades. In fact, we used to tease that DAD stood for “Do-it-All-David”. One of his skills was electricity. When I was a little girl, I was on the other end of wiring more times than I want to remember. For those of you who don’t know, all those light switches are attached to wires that were guided through small holes in the walls and attic spaces of your house. It’s not an easy or particularly fun process. Sorry…I digress.
Anyway. When electricity is added to a house, the MOST important part is the GROUNDING wire. The purpose of a ground wire is to give excess electrical charges a safe place to go. In a properly grounded electrical system, that excess electricity goes directly into the ground. If home electricity is not properly grounded, the excess electricity can spark a fire or surge backward and harm your electronic devices and appliances.
You can think of your own body energy system in the same way. When you’re running around in your head all the time, you become ungrounded. you become reactive to what’s happening around you, rather than being able to roll with things. Sparks start to fly like anger, frustration, and annoyance. If you’re not grounded, there’s no place for those energies to go except up and out, or they stir inside of you causing you to feel exhausted and “burned out”.
Make sense?
Getting grounded isn’t hard to do.
Here’s how:
If you can be outside it’s even better, but anywhere will do.
- Stand or sit with your feet solidly on the ground (floor)
- Pretend you have roots like a giant tree coming out of your legs and feet
- See them large at the top and spindling smaller and going down deep into the ground
- Stand or sit and feel how it feels to be connected to the ground below you
- If you’re feeling any “sparks” at the moment, you can send them down those roots and ground them.
I recommend doing a grounding exercise every morning before you start your day and any time during the day when you’re feeling “off”.
Try it for a few days and let me know how it goes. Post your comments below and be sure to share this article. If the whole world was more grounded, I think things we feel a whole lot differently, don’t you?
Want to ground with me? Join my monthly Restore & Revitalize Women’s Circle every 2nd Saturday at The Flourish Center. Learn more and sign-up on our Events page.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Sep 30, 2020 | Integrative Medicine, Mind-Body Medicine
Are you feeling strained and drained? Those are the best words I can find to describe what I sometimes feel myself, and also see in my patients.
We’ve had so much to deal with these past few years.
How are you coping? How are you keeping away the strain and drain?
There are three specific effects of strain and drain I often see: foggy thinking, trouble sleeping, and feeling tired. This makes a lot of sense.
Most of us are running around in fight-or-flight. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, start here. This causes elevations in the stress hormone cortisol. Short-term elevation of cortisol affects our sleep and our energy, and long-term elevation of cortisol can actually reduce the number of brain cells and/or stop new brain cells from being made.
The best way to handle this is to do everything we can to keep cortisol levels down. This can be done in several ways. You can do deep breathing and meditation. You can add an adaptogen herb as I discuss in this article. And, here are some specific tips for each of the three main areas of strain and drain.
The 3 Effects of Strain & Drain:
#1: Trouble Sleeping
As you can imagine, all the extra cortisol is affecting our sleep. My patients are describing fitful sleep and waking up for no reason and not being able to fall back asleep.
If this is you, too, it’s more important than ever to practice sleep hygiene. This means getting off of technology at least an hour before you want to be asleep, making sure your room is as dark as possible, maybe taking a warm bath or long shower before bed, and considering a nice cup of relaxing tea.
We have to allow the body time to let the cortisol levels reduce. If we go to bed when they’re still high, we won’t be able to fall asleep or stay asleep.
So, just like Peter Rabbit’s mother, why not try a nice warm cup of chamomile tea?
Science has yet to definitively prove that chamomile actually does something in the body that induces sleep, yet herbalists have been using the herb for centuries for this very purpose.
With very few side effects, it’s worth a try.
Add 1 T. dried flowers per cup of water, cover, and let it steep 20-30 minutes. Then strain and enjoy.
#2: Feeling Tired
If we’re feeling more stressed in general and not sleeping, it makes sense that we’d be feeling tired during the day.
One way to get more energy is through B-vitamins. B vitamins help you convert your food into energy. Without a proper amount, we can feel low in energy.
I always recommend more mindful eating of vitamins first and add a supplement only if needed. Foods high in B-vitamins include whole grains, nuts/seeds, dark green leafy greens, meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs.
If you need more support, you can visit a health food store like New Seasons and purchase a Vitamin B-Complex. Some people have genetic issues which make it difficult to properly assimilate B-vitamins, so taking large amounts could cause anxiousness. Be sure to come and see me or another expert for advice on which supplement would be best for you.
#3: Brain Fog
The last effect of these times I’m seeing frequently is brain fog. This can be helped with all the above, as well. Here’s another fun tip… rosemary.
Rosemary has gotten a decent amount of press for its effect on memory. Small studies have proven that when people smell the oil, they remember things better. Interesting.
What I find with rosemary is that is makes me think better in general. It’s like a mini mental stimulant. You can use the essential oil and smell it as you start to feel foggy or you can simply use the plant. It grows everywhere here in Portland. Simply cut a small sprig and keep it near you. When the brain fog hits, rub your fingers along the leaves and smell. It’s that simple.
Here’s some rosemary oil I have brewing right now. I’ll use it on food and to rub it on my skin on days when I need a little boost.
It’s often the simple things that seem to make a big difference. Slow down and stay in your body. Try not to let you mind run wild all the time. This doesn’t support healthy cortisol levels and can cause all the effects we’ve discussed.
I’d love to hear from you. How are you handling the strain and drain? Is there anything else I can do to support you?
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Aug 21, 2020 | Mind-Body Medicine
Whenever I mention the “M” word to my clients, I often get the same blank stare. Then almost immediately I hear the usual excuses,
“I don’t have time”
“I can’t do it”
“It never works for me”….and on.
That “M” word is Meditation.
Of all the health and wellness tools I’ve added to my own toolbox, meditation has been THE MOST important.
I started meditating almost every day about 7 years ago when I opened my first practice.
A few weeks ago, my exercise class started back again since being canceled due to COVID. It happens at 8am, so I had to rework my routine. I literally forgot to meditate. A couple of weeks in, I noticed I was becoming more anxious and grumpy by the end of the day. I got up a little bit earlier and restarted meditating and voila–back to normal!
I didn’t think I could meditate at first either. Whenever I tried to sit on a cushion and be “zen”, my mind would wander, and my back would hurt.
I kept with it.
I realized that I do much better when I lie down. Regardless of what you might read, meditation still works when you lie down. (Now, I do recommend getting out of bed and lying somewhere else, because otherwise, you are likely to fall asleep).
I started using guided meditations where someone online would guide me to breathe, relax all the various parts of my body, and help me stay focused. Guided meditations are a great way to start out!
Now, I can play music and meditate on my own most days and I still used guided help when I’m overstressed or can’t focus.
There are also great free apps you can use like Headspace and Insight Timer to help you get used to meditating.
I have a challenge for you:
~Try getting up and meditating for 3 days in a row, even if it’s only for 5-10 minutes.
~When the 4th day comes, don’t meditate.
~Notice the difference in your day on that 4th day: How is your energy different from the 3 days prior? How is your ability to handle stress? What other differences did you observe from meditating and not meditating?
Once I started meditating every day, it became very clear how different my days were on days when I skipped meditation. I’m quicker to react to difficulties, I crave more sweets and salty carbs, I’m less patient, and I don’t have as much energy.
When I take even 15 minutes in the morning to meditate, my days go MUCH better.
So, if you’re not a meditator, you CAN be.
It’s more important than ever right now to take care of your nervous system and your soul.
Meditation is one of the best and easiest ways I know to take care of both!
I’d love to hear your experience with the challenge. Please comment below and tell me what happened for you.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Aug 6, 2020 | Integrative Medicine, Mind-Body Medicine
One of the most common things I’m seeing in almost every patient right now is shallow breathing.
And, wearing a mask everywhere isn’t helping.
Take a moment right now and notice your own breathing. Are you breathing deep down into the bottom of your lungs?
Before you read on, I want you to take three deep breaths in and out. Stop right now and do it.
Breathe deeply (your lungs go all the way down into the bottom of your rib cage).
See and feel your rib cage moving up and down.
Did you do it?
Okay.
Now, notice how you feel now as opposed to before you took the breaths. Better, right?
Perhaps your breathing is a little slower, maybe your shoulders relaxed a bit, maybe you don’t feel so stressed?
Deep breathing is free and easy and the benefits are many. It also only takes a couple of minutes to make a big difference.
One of my favorite breathing techniques is 4:7:8 Breathing.
I learned this technique from Dr. Andrew Weil many years ago when I was working night shift. I would do this breathing technique any time I needed to sleep. It gave my body the cue that it was time to sleep no matter what time of day or night it was.
And, 4:7:8 Breathing isn’t just for sleep. It can be done any time during the day for a refresher, especially with all the sitting most of us are doing. Getting oxygen deep into your lungs helps to bring more oxygen to your entire system and keeps the bottom lobes of your lungs healthy. When the bottom lobes aren’t getting enough oxygen, you might feel short of breath or anxious.
Here’s how to do it:
~Place the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth on that place that separates the teeth from the roof of your mouth (even if you forget this step, you’ll still get benefits).
~Breathe in as you slowly count to 4.
~Hold that breath for a slow count of 7.
~Exhale all the air with a little force for a count of 8.
Repeat this cycle 4 times.
That’s it!
Try it now and see how you feel after you do it. It seems to take people from the fight-or-flight mode into the rest and digest mode quickly and easily (learn more about this here). Want to watch a live demo? Here’s one for you on the FLOURISH Facebook page.
I recommend doing this at least a couple of times a day if you sit a lot and during stressful times. It’s also very helpful to do before bed if you struggle with sleep issues.
An Integrative approach to healthcare always includes practical tools like this breathing technique. Instead of always going right for a medication, we look for underlying causes. Lack of proper breathing is a very common cause of anxiety and stress, and even gastrointestinal issues.
If you’d like to experience an Integrative Medicine appointment first hand, I invite you to see me in my clinic. You can find more information here.
I’d love to hear how more deep breathing goes for you!
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Jul 30, 2020 | Mind-Body Medicine
How does your day begin?
Do you grab your phone first thing or do you take a little time for yourself first?
If you’re like most people, your phone is next to your bed and it’s the first thing you tap into even before your feet hit the floor.
Here’s some tough love for you: STOP DOING THAT!
When you start your day like this, you’re immediately initiating your fight or flight system (read an article about this here) and you’re bringing in all sorts of energies that don’t even belong to you.
I highly recommend a new way.
Develop your own morning routine.
One of the things that happened to me when the first stay-at-home order began is that I stopped setting an alarm. I got up whenever I pleased and I didn’t go right into the morning routine I’ve practiced for years.
And, the effects starting becoming obvious. I started eating more junk food, I totally bailed on my exercise regimen, and I started letting all the events and opinions of the times get to me.
Finally, I put two and two together and got back to my routine.
Here’s how it goes:
>Wake with an alarm and as Mel Robbins puts it, I blast out of bed like a rocket with a 5-4-3-2-1 GET UP!
>Drink some water, take vitamin D, and get right to meditation. This might be 15-30 minutes depending on what I feel like I need that day.
>Next stop is vislualization, a now proven way to bring your goals to fruition by visioning what it will look and feel like when you get there.
>Then, it’s onto affirmations. These are statements about what I most want in life in the form of things that are already true, like, “I’m so happy and grateful for patients who love me and need my particular form of help”.
>I move from there into some gentle yoga or Pilates for about 10 minutes to stretch and get the blood flowing.
>I end it up with at least 10 minutes of reading personal development books (every minute you read a day equals about 1 book per year–imagine if you read for 10 minutes every day!) and then I journal a bit about what I read.
Even if you have 20 minutes in the morning, you could breathe slowly and quietly for 4, visualize for 2, say affirmations for 1, do one sun salutation, and still have 10 minutes for reading.
Time is the biggest excuse I hear for about every personal change there is. “I don’t have time to cook healthy food, I don’t have time to exercise, I don’t have time to write down my goals, I don’t have time to read” and so on.
Yet these same people are lying in bed on their phones for 30 minutes before they get up.
(Just sayin). 🙂
We make time for what we value.
I value energy and vitality.
I value staying grounded throughout the day.
I value compassionate and caring interpersonal communications.
I value not getting emotionally reactive to difficult situations.
I value having the peace in my body to practice active listening.
I value being fit, strong, and stable.
And I value feeling great!
So, I get up and set up my day so all of that can happen.
If you need more inspiration, check out the book Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. It’s a short and very inspiring read about the power of the morning routine.
What do you value?
What will it take to get there?
Need more help to get your morning routine and other mindset practices into place?
Consider joining my Mindset Foundations course. By the end of the program, you’ll have a rock solid morning routine and so much more!
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Apr 3, 2020 | Mind-Body Medicine
There’s never been a time like this before to challenge our mindset principles and practices. When I’m on a coaching call with a client, I find myself with no previous experience to draw from. It’s a strange feeling.
So, we focus on mindset.
Your mindset is all the thoughts and feelings you have about a certain situation. And by golly, there sure are varying thoughts and feelings about the situation we’re in with COVID-19. It can be very overwhelming to even scroll through social media, let alone watching the news or trying to make sense of how this is all being managed.
I’ll admit it. A couple of days ago, I found myself feeling pretty discouraged. I didn’t see how my practice could make it through this as I’m just starting into my 3rd year here in Portland, and I’ve made some significant changes along the way. I started feeling sad about how much Portland will change from this, all the restaurants and small shops that will have to close, and on and on and on. Basically, my mindset was in the toilet.
Then, yesterday, I was talking with a colleague and I was reminded that this whole thing is about resilience. Those who have the resilience to survive this will survive.
Now, to be clear, I’m not placing blame on anyone who is sick from this or who has to close their businesses or anything like that.
What I’m saying is that it takes resilience to keep going, and many of us have been preparing our resilience for some time. We have prepared by eating the rainbow diet, exercising regularly, and getting fresh air to keep our immune systems healthy. We have primed our resilience with savings accounts and “rainy day” funds. And, we have prepared by learning and mastering our mindsets. Most of us have done some of these things, but maybe not all.
I can’t help you with your savings account, but I can help you with the other two.
There’s no time like the present (and most of us have plenty of time) to start a new health regimen, get health coaching or a establish a relationship via telemedicine with that integrative medicine practitioner you’ve been wanting to see. If that person is me, you can click here to get scheduled.
Most of all, you get to decide what mindset you’re going to hold. Are you going to let this ruin you, your health, your business? Or, are you going to roll up your sleeves and get resourceful and prove your resilience?
When my recent mindset shift happened, I pictured Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. After some of the worst things that could possibly happen to a person happen to her, she walks into the burning fire and comes out unscathed and brings with her three dragons. She could have wilted away or given up all hope, but instead she does the unimaginable. Now that’s a rock-sold mindset!
It gave me this image of myself still standing after this wild ride is over. Who can you invoke or what energy can you call into your mindset to give you the resilience you require right now?
If you don’t know what I mean by mindset tools or you’re having a very hard time remaining calm and stable during this crisis, I invite you to take part in my Mindset Foundations course. It’s an 8-week course designed to give you all the tools you need to develop, grow, and sustain a mindset that will help you face and overcome anything that comes your way. I’m offering it at a 50% discount to help everyone through these times. You can click here to learn more….
Regardless, stop and take an inventory of your mindset. Are you taking on too much of other people’s energy and feelings? Are you staying grounded? Are you taking good care of yourself and using the tools you do have available?
We will get through this and I believe that having a rock-solid mindset is the best way to do it!
Please share this post with anyone who might need a little mindset pep talk today, as well, and let me know how I can support you and your mindset.
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