Have you been enjoying the hustle and bustle, the parties and leisure time spent eating and drinking with family and friends this holiday season?

Reiki is an ancient healing tradition brought to light in the early 1900s by Mikao Usui of Japan.  The word “Reiki” has deep meanings, which can be summed up most simply by the concept “universal life force.”  Everyone benefits from being alive with energy – that is what Reiki is about.

In Asia, for thousands of years, people have understood that these subtle energies of life exist within us and around us.  As a result, spiritual practices were developed long ago to cultivate these life energies within the human body.  Such practices include Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and in yoga, pranayama breathing.  The words “chi,” “qi,” and “prana” all refer to this same life force energy with which all living things are filled and which permeates all levels of being. 

As a practice, Reiki involves the practitioner placing her or his hands on or near the body, and allowing the flow of Reiki energy to come through to fill the person’s body and energy field (aura) with fresh, relaxing, restorative energy.  Reiki usually includes aura clearing and chakra balancing as part of the process. 

A person receiving Reiki usually gets to relax, lying comfortably on a massage table.

During the holidays, we often feel pulled between our desire to be there for and with others, and our desire to rest and renew ourselves. 

Here are some practices which can help you do both:

1.  Gratitude. 
Practicing gratitude during the holidays is more important than ever, because of the stress of trying to get everything done for everybody.  If we stop and think about it, though, what we are actually trying to express through our actions is love and appreciation for the people in our lives.  

So, why not take time before we begin our day to think of all the people who will be part of our day and our holidays, by spending a moment feeling grateful for them, even if what they bring us are challenges that help us to grow.  By taking a few moments to acknowledge several things for which we are grateful, and for why we appreciate the people in our lives, we can shift our own energy to a positive state of being, and we can take that positivity into our day and share it.

2.  Breathing. 
Before we get ourselves busy in the morning, it is good to breathe deeply, allowing ourselves fully to oxygenate ourselves, clear our sinuses, and feel energized for our day.  Throughout the day, when we feel tense or tired, deep breathing, especially coupled with gratitude, can release tension, increase our positive energy, and relax us.

3.  Mindfulness. 
While deep breathing, it helps if we notice where the tension may be found in our bodies, and allow it to release.  We may take time to notice what our bodies need, and honor our bodies.  We may notice our own attitudes, and realize that we can choose a new, more positive attitude if we need to.  We may notice our feelings, and what we would like to receive for ourselves.  We may notice what others actually need from us, and realize that our highest consciousness truly does seek to be there for others, even if we don't feel like it in this moment.

“Literally, the average child now spends more time watching TV than attending school.  This kind of electronic engagement has had a profound effect on kids’ behavior and the development of their brains.” Dr. Scott Shannon

The above quote by Dr. Shannon highlights the growing problem of children spending too much time with media.  On average, children and teens are spending 7 hours per day with media.  With Christmas just around the corner, people are lining up to purchase the latest media devices.  Popular gift ideas include tablets, smart phones, video game consoles and laptops.  But I’d like to recommend caution regarding the trend to make these the top gifted items for children. 

Here are 3 reasons to reign in the media exposure for our children:

• Media contributes to overweight children.

  Media consumption is mostly a sedentary activity, and therefore a strong contributor to weight gain.  In a recent study, it was found that children who consume media for more than 2 hours daily and who have less daily physical activity than recommended were 3 to 4 times more likely to be overweight. Media has another powerful way of helping put on the pounds, and that’s through advertising.  Several very intriguing studies have looked at the food advertising during prime time, and during Saturday morning kids’ programming.  The vast majority of food promoted on television contains low quality grains (i.e. mostly refined, low-fiber grains), a deficiency of many important minerals and vitamins such as calcium, magnesium and vitamin E, and high amounts of sugar and fat, promoting weight gain.

The short answer is “YES!”  but the true answer is much more involved and requires several more questions in order to decide how to best achieve long lasting weight loss.

Chinese medicine and Acupuncture can be an effective “assistant” to weight loss and weight maintenance but how do we go about finding out why there is a weight issue to begin with?

Many Factors Affect Weight Loss

There are several factors when considering a weight loss plan that need to be discussed.  For example,

• Is the weight gain due to poor dietary and exercise habits? 
• Is there a metabolic function issue that needs to be addressed?
• Are there psychological factors contributing to the inability to lose weight?
• Is there a hormonal or thyroid issue
• How is your digestion?

As you can see, there are many reasons why a person gains weight and, as such, there are many techniques to help lose that weight. 

Childhood Illnesses: Colds…Chicken Pox…Heart Disease?!

Starting three years ago, it became routine to test all 9 to 11 year olds for cholesterol level.  According to a December 2011 Pediatric News article, “…heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems in adulthood are often the end result of cardiovascular risk factors that went unrecognized throughout childhood…”¹

I’m glad to see that we, as pediatricians, are acknowledging the fact that heart disease, like many other diseases, really starts in childhood.  And while I fully support the screening process, I’m much more interested in prevention.  What should we do during that first decade of our children’s lives to make the screening unnecessary?  It’s all about diet and lifestyle. 

Trending Toward Disease

For the past thirty years, child health has been going in the wrong direction. Childhood overweight and obesity has skyrocketed during the past 3 decades.  And that trend is directly linked to the increased incidence of a variety of heart related disorders in children, most notably high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and high cholesterol levels.  This is a very serious problem, given that epidemiologists are proposing that life expectancy for this rising generation of children could be shortened by as much as eight years.  So, what are the primary factors leading to these disturbing trends?