Healthy Living

“When was the last time you spent an entire day outside?”

That’s a line from a movie I saw a while ago. I can’t even remember the name of the movie, but the line has always stuck with me and I think of it often.  It popped into my head again recently when I read a statistic that Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors (although our long Minnesota winters don’t help much!).

Numerous recent studies are showing that spending time in nature, parks, sunshine, and green environments are critical to our health and well-being. Researchers have shown that when our skin is exposed to the sun’s rays, a compound is released in our blood vessels that helps lower blood pressure, which in turn lowers risk of heart disease and stroke. Sunshine exposure also helps to benefit skin disorders, boost mood, reduce depression, and strengthen the immune system.

Research is also showing that children who play and explore outdoors are less stressed and may further benefit by gaining confidence and learning social skills. Spending time in any natural settings, even just 15 minutes in an urban park, can reduce stress, improve mental health, and lower blood pressure for adults Read More

Spring

Are you ready?

If you live in Minnesota, and you have endured this wintery season, most likely your answer is ‘absolutely yes!’ Even though we are still seeing snow outdoors and the temperatures may not be as warm as we would like, spring is definitely here.  Read More

Happy early spring Selby Acupuncture community. You encourage us, and we want to encourage you!  We all need a pep talk, and here is yours for today!

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February 10th, 2013 is the first day of Chinese New Year!

There are many traditions associated with the Chinese New Year. One of my personal favorites is the giving of gifts in red envelopes. This tradition came from the story of a mythical evil beast, the Nian (pronounced Nee-on), who terrorized a village at the beginning of each new year, eating and destroying everything in its path. The villagers protected themselves by putting food outside their doors to prevent the evil beast from entering their homes. One day, a little girl dressed in all red clothing scared the Nian away and the villagers learned the beast was frightened of the color red.

Every new year from then on, villagers began placing red decorations on their homes and gave each other gifts sealed in red envelopes. Because the Nian was also frightened of loud noises and fire, they lit firecrackers and held a ceremony called the Festival of Lanterns, in which red paper lanterns were lit and lifted to the night sky to celebrate another year of avoiding the beast. This gave the villagers hope and joy for another year of life and love.

What can the Chinese New Year mean Read More