by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD
NIWH launched its new website today! While the domain and address remain the same, the design and presentation is completely new. Now, while this may not seems like a health blog topic, let me say finishing a long term project and finally "having it done" is one of the best stress busters - ever - and something I personally wanted to share with all of you.
The NIWH team has been working for a long time (I think we started the new site in April) and when you are so focused on a project such as this, you loose sight of how much work you are doing and how tense you become as you are completing it and coming closer to the ever looming launch date!
After we launched the site today, we all took a deep breath and were so grateful that we won't have to be up into the wee hours of the night writing and re-writing copy, searching for, buying or editing photos, picking out appropriate quotes for page headers, designing collages or worrying that we forgot something REAL important that needs to be added.
While there is much tweaking that will undoubtedly take place over the next few weeks, what is SO wonderful and worthy of sharing with you is that when you have an END POINT to stress in your life it’s such an opportunity to realize and be thankful for the wonderful feeling of just being rather than being submerged in SO-MUCH-DOING.
So we hope our SO-MUCH-DOING is something you will enjoy looking at and please feel free to give us your feedback. Visit us at www.niwh.org.
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved
Friday, July 30, 2010
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Relationships and Health
by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD
Recently, I attended a grief support group for adults who have experienced a significant loss over the past year. All the attendees were at various stages of grief and loss, from a wide range of life altering experiences.
What was so important to me about having the priviledge of hearing their stories is that each and every person talked about how being in relationship and or belonging to their family or loved ones was, in the end, the most important aspects of their life and the their loss was devastating, no matter how much success in other parts of their lives they had experienced.
Many of the attendees had excellent incomes, owned high end homes and lived what would be called abundant, successful lives. But what each of them discovered through the sudden loss of a spouse or family member, or through an unexpected divorce, is that Freud hit the nail on the head when he coined "we are never so hopelessly unhappy as when we lose love."
When it comes to our health, we often do not connect how imperative the experience of loving, being loved and belonging are to our overall well being and immune function. Leaving the support meeting, it felt important that from time to time we remind ourselves about what really matters in our lives, as our health and our relationships are intimately intertwined.
Many of the attendees also suffer from chronic headaches, fibromyalgia, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome or ulcers. All of these conditions can be traced back to the stress they experience from the loss and subsequent grief that comes from the loss of relationship.
Do something good for your self today, and for those you are in relationship with. Take a moment of gratitude for the gift of family, friends, spouse, partner, peers who enrich your life and keep you healthy.
Without the gift of sharing love, our lives and our health suffer.
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved
Recently, I attended a grief support group for adults who have experienced a significant loss over the past year. All the attendees were at various stages of grief and loss, from a wide range of life altering experiences.
What was so important to me about having the priviledge of hearing their stories is that each and every person talked about how being in relationship and or belonging to their family or loved ones was, in the end, the most important aspects of their life and the their loss was devastating, no matter how much success in other parts of their lives they had experienced.
Many of the attendees had excellent incomes, owned high end homes and lived what would be called abundant, successful lives. But what each of them discovered through the sudden loss of a spouse or family member, or through an unexpected divorce, is that Freud hit the nail on the head when he coined "we are never so hopelessly unhappy as when we lose love."
When it comes to our health, we often do not connect how imperative the experience of loving, being loved and belonging are to our overall well being and immune function. Leaving the support meeting, it felt important that from time to time we remind ourselves about what really matters in our lives, as our health and our relationships are intimately intertwined.
Many of the attendees also suffer from chronic headaches, fibromyalgia, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome or ulcers. All of these conditions can be traced back to the stress they experience from the loss and subsequent grief that comes from the loss of relationship.
Do something good for your self today, and for those you are in relationship with. Take a moment of gratitude for the gift of family, friends, spouse, partner, peers who enrich your life and keep you healthy.
Without the gift of sharing love, our lives and our health suffer.
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Integrative Overview of the Endocrines Part V
by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD
To review the subject of the Endocrine System:
The endocrines are just so perfectly expressed as "everything being connected to everything else in the body" that it is pure joy to share the information.
We will discuss SEVEN aspects of the reproductive glands based on these concepts:
(1) the physical gland
(2) the seven (7) virtues
(3) organs and systems
(4) Selye's stress model
(5) the five (5) Whole Health aspects
(6) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
(7) the seven (7) "deadly sins"
The Thyroid is the next endocrine gland to discuss. The Thyroid, in yoga and energy circles is often referred to as “the throat” chakra. The Thyroid gland is located in the neck. It differs from other endocrine glands in that its hormones are stored for future use, as well as secreted for immediate metabolic needs. The hormones produced by the thyroid, Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3), are responsible for stimulating cellular metabolism throughout the entire body as well as growth and energy. The Thyroid controls how many calories we burn, our body heat, and how much we weigh. If the Thyroid was removed and there was no hormone replacement, the cells would cease to function metabolically and death would occur within a relatively short period of time.
The Thyroid is the personal power and self expression component of Maslow's Hierarchy. This is easily understood when we think about how our throat is “our voice” and when we speak our truth and express ourselves in the world, we own our personal power and experience self-expression. Under functioning Thyroid problems are believed in many healing circles to be caused by “not having a voice” and not expressing ourselves in the world. Physically the Thyroid is intimately connected to our Brain Cortex – and our interpretation of Self.
Regarding Selye’s Stress Model, the Thyroid can express the Fear, Worry and Lack of Trust dynamic. The Thyroid is the mental-cortex-intellect component of the Whole Health Five Aspects.
So far we have gone over FIVE (5) of the SEVEN (7) aspects. The last two, as we saw with the reproductive glands, the adrenals and pancreas and thymus, clarify the emotional and behavioral aspects of each specific endocrine gland.
The VIRTUE of the Thyroid is FORTITUDE or strength. Often the force of will of an individual determines their fortitude or strength. The “throat chakras” – which relates to our voice in the world and how we express our WILL in the world, is what the Thyroid represents. People who have Graves disease, where their eyes are bulging from their sockets, is the result of a hyperactive thyroid gland and appears very clearly as a forceful expression of WILL or anger. If you have ever witnessed anyone becoming intensely angry about not getting their way, you can see this eye bulging occur.
The DEADLY SIN of the Thyroid is once again the opposite of its virtue. The opposite of fortitude and strength is weakness, fear and ANGRY WILLFULNESS. When we are too focused on getting our way or imposing our will onto others, we suffer from aggression that ultimately can become expressed through the symptoms of chronic conditions, such as Graves Disease.
Once again we can see the value and importance in understanding how the body works a whole integrated being. The Thyroid is another important gland in the endocrine system, enabling us to function well metabolically to keep us healthy or if malfunctioning can make us sick.
The function of our Thyroid function is in our hands. The way we think, treat ourselves and others play a role in the health and function of our Thyroid gland.
Next Endocrine: The Pituitary Gland
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved
To review the subject of the Endocrine System:
The endocrines are just so perfectly expressed as "everything being connected to everything else in the body" that it is pure joy to share the information.
We will discuss SEVEN aspects of the reproductive glands based on these concepts:
(1) the physical gland
(2) the seven (7) virtues
(3) organs and systems
(4) Selye's stress model
(5) the five (5) Whole Health aspects
(6) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
(7) the seven (7) "deadly sins"
The Thyroid is the next endocrine gland to discuss. The Thyroid, in yoga and energy circles is often referred to as “the throat” chakra. The Thyroid gland is located in the neck. It differs from other endocrine glands in that its hormones are stored for future use, as well as secreted for immediate metabolic needs. The hormones produced by the thyroid, Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3), are responsible for stimulating cellular metabolism throughout the entire body as well as growth and energy. The Thyroid controls how many calories we burn, our body heat, and how much we weigh. If the Thyroid was removed and there was no hormone replacement, the cells would cease to function metabolically and death would occur within a relatively short period of time.
The Thyroid is the personal power and self expression component of Maslow's Hierarchy. This is easily understood when we think about how our throat is “our voice” and when we speak our truth and express ourselves in the world, we own our personal power and experience self-expression. Under functioning Thyroid problems are believed in many healing circles to be caused by “not having a voice” and not expressing ourselves in the world. Physically the Thyroid is intimately connected to our Brain Cortex – and our interpretation of Self.
Regarding Selye’s Stress Model, the Thyroid can express the Fear, Worry and Lack of Trust dynamic. The Thyroid is the mental-cortex-intellect component of the Whole Health Five Aspects.
So far we have gone over FIVE (5) of the SEVEN (7) aspects. The last two, as we saw with the reproductive glands, the adrenals and pancreas and thymus, clarify the emotional and behavioral aspects of each specific endocrine gland.
The VIRTUE of the Thyroid is FORTITUDE or strength. Often the force of will of an individual determines their fortitude or strength. The “throat chakras” – which relates to our voice in the world and how we express our WILL in the world, is what the Thyroid represents. People who have Graves disease, where their eyes are bulging from their sockets, is the result of a hyperactive thyroid gland and appears very clearly as a forceful expression of WILL or anger. If you have ever witnessed anyone becoming intensely angry about not getting their way, you can see this eye bulging occur.
The DEADLY SIN of the Thyroid is once again the opposite of its virtue. The opposite of fortitude and strength is weakness, fear and ANGRY WILLFULNESS. When we are too focused on getting our way or imposing our will onto others, we suffer from aggression that ultimately can become expressed through the symptoms of chronic conditions, such as Graves Disease.
Once again we can see the value and importance in understanding how the body works a whole integrated being. The Thyroid is another important gland in the endocrine system, enabling us to function well metabolically to keep us healthy or if malfunctioning can make us sick.
The function of our Thyroid function is in our hands. The way we think, treat ourselves and others play a role in the health and function of our Thyroid gland.
Next Endocrine: The Pituitary Gland
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved
Monday, July 26, 2010
Integrative Overview of the Endocrines Part IV
by Georgianna Donadio, MSc, DC, PhD
To review the subject of the Endocrine System:
The endocrines are just so perfectly expressed as "everything being connected to everything else in the body" that it is pure joy to share the information.
We will discuss SEVEN aspects of the reproductive glands based on these concepts:
(1) the physical gland
(2) the seven (7) virtues
(3) organs and systems
(4) Selye's stress model
(5) the five (5) Whole Health aspects
(6) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
(7) the seven (7) "deadly sins"
The Thymus is the next endocrine gland to discuss. The Thymus, in yoga and energy circles is often referred to as “the heart” chakra. The Thymus is a primary source of all immune cells being formed through the stimulation of “T” (thymus) cells and “B” (bird – because they were first discovered in birds) cells. From the very early stages of our embryology the Thymus is the primary mover in the development of our immune systems. It shrinks after early childhood but still plays a roll in communicating with the early T and B cells it populated back when we were still in our mother’s uterus.
The Thymus is the self-esteem component of Maslow's Hierarchy. This is evident in as much as our immune function is an expression of how we care for and think about ourselves. To see this at work, the observation of HIV positive patients, who have a high self-esteem and self worth, rarely manifest AIDS; sometimes never does it manifest, or only when the individual is confronted with profound stress such as loss or grief which lowers the immune system function. Less than 50% of HIV positive patients ever develop AIDS and much of this is contributed to the individual’s self-esteem level. Physically the Thymus is intimately connected to our Immune System and Neurotransmitters.
Regarding Selye’s Stress Model, the Thymus can express Infections/Compromised Immunity - which is a loss of self protection. The Thymus is the environmental (internal and response to the external) component of the Whole Health Five Aspects.
So far we have gone over FIVE (5) of the SEVEN (7) aspects. The last three, as we saw with the reproductive glands, the adrenals and pancreas, clarify the emotional and behavioral aspects of each specific endocrine gland.
The VIRTUE of the Thymus is HOPE – the individual who sees the world as good and holding promise for the future has hope and feels positive about life and what is to come. This also creates a positive sense of self and self-esteem. Hope fills our life with thinking about the future and that we can fulfill our dreams and goals, rather than directing our attention to what others have and we don’t have. With hope comes the belief that we can be valued, loved and belong in this world – which is an important component to being healthy and having a strong immune system.
The DEADLY SIN of the Thymus is very opposite of the virtue of the Thymus - hope and belief in the future, seeing the world as good and abundant; the sin of the Thymus is that of ENVY – resentment towards what others have; feeling diminished and less valued because another may be perceived as having more than us. Envy, jealously and resentment are poison to the heart, the mind and the body. Envious thoughts send messages to the cell membranes of our immune system that are toxic to the body’s health and function.
Once again we can see the value and importance in understanding how the body works a whole integrated being. The Thymus is a major player in the endocrine system, disabling or empowering the immune system to keep us healthy or make us sick.
The outcome of our Thymus function is up to us – out thoughts, behaviors, virtues and negative actions all play a role in this amazing gland’s function.
Next Endocrine: The Thyroid Gland
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved
To review the subject of the Endocrine System:
The endocrines are just so perfectly expressed as "everything being connected to everything else in the body" that it is pure joy to share the information.
We will discuss SEVEN aspects of the reproductive glands based on these concepts:
(1) the physical gland
(2) the seven (7) virtues
(3) organs and systems
(4) Selye's stress model
(5) the five (5) Whole Health aspects
(6) Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
(7) the seven (7) "deadly sins"
The Thymus is the next endocrine gland to discuss. The Thymus, in yoga and energy circles is often referred to as “the heart” chakra. The Thymus is a primary source of all immune cells being formed through the stimulation of “T” (thymus) cells and “B” (bird – because they were first discovered in birds) cells. From the very early stages of our embryology the Thymus is the primary mover in the development of our immune systems. It shrinks after early childhood but still plays a roll in communicating with the early T and B cells it populated back when we were still in our mother’s uterus.
The Thymus is the self-esteem component of Maslow's Hierarchy. This is evident in as much as our immune function is an expression of how we care for and think about ourselves. To see this at work, the observation of HIV positive patients, who have a high self-esteem and self worth, rarely manifest AIDS; sometimes never does it manifest, or only when the individual is confronted with profound stress such as loss or grief which lowers the immune system function. Less than 50% of HIV positive patients ever develop AIDS and much of this is contributed to the individual’s self-esteem level. Physically the Thymus is intimately connected to our Immune System and Neurotransmitters.
Regarding Selye’s Stress Model, the Thymus can express Infections/Compromised Immunity - which is a loss of self protection. The Thymus is the environmental (internal and response to the external) component of the Whole Health Five Aspects.
So far we have gone over FIVE (5) of the SEVEN (7) aspects. The last three, as we saw with the reproductive glands, the adrenals and pancreas, clarify the emotional and behavioral aspects of each specific endocrine gland.
The VIRTUE of the Thymus is HOPE – the individual who sees the world as good and holding promise for the future has hope and feels positive about life and what is to come. This also creates a positive sense of self and self-esteem. Hope fills our life with thinking about the future and that we can fulfill our dreams and goals, rather than directing our attention to what others have and we don’t have. With hope comes the belief that we can be valued, loved and belong in this world – which is an important component to being healthy and having a strong immune system.
The DEADLY SIN of the Thymus is very opposite of the virtue of the Thymus - hope and belief in the future, seeing the world as good and abundant; the sin of the Thymus is that of ENVY – resentment towards what others have; feeling diminished and less valued because another may be perceived as having more than us. Envy, jealously and resentment are poison to the heart, the mind and the body. Envious thoughts send messages to the cell membranes of our immune system that are toxic to the body’s health and function.
Once again we can see the value and importance in understanding how the body works a whole integrated being. The Thymus is a major player in the endocrine system, disabling or empowering the immune system to keep us healthy or make us sick.
The outcome of our Thymus function is up to us – out thoughts, behaviors, virtues and negative actions all play a role in this amazing gland’s function.
Next Endocrine: The Thyroid Gland
With all good wishes,
G
© by NIWH 2010 all rights reserved
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