If you’re a parent and you suffer from migraines or chronic headaches, you already know the special challenges of parenting through severe pain. Busy lives full of school events, sports practices, and errands mean that the days of disappearing into a dark room to sleep off a headache are practically non-existent when tiny beings depend on you for everything.

So, what can you do?

Here are 3 secrets to being an awesome parent, even if you suffer from migraines or chronic headaches:

1. Invest in Yourself
No matter how busy your schedule is, write in 15 minutes of “me time” every day, without exception.

Why? Because you need a minimum of 15 minutes a day alone to be your best self.

My 15 minutes starts the second I wake up in the morning. Whether my daughter is awake or not, I head straight to my journal and write 1 page of affirmations to start my day. Then I spend 10-15 minutes reading book(s) that nourish my soul. This “me time” is non-negotiable. Can’t get your littles to give you 15 minutes? If you’re married, ask your spouse to backfill your parenting position. If your kids are easy persuaded with bribes, give them something to keep them happy for 15 minutes. Build your “me time” into a daily routine. It’s not always easy, but kids and spouses are trainable especially when something happens every day at the same time of day!
 
2. Reverse-Engineer Your Life
Identify what obstacles are blocking you from living a headache-free life. Is it too many looming deadlines at work? Is it unresolved tension in your marriage? Is it sitting in 2 hours of traffic everyday and feeling stuck? Obstacles are everywhere and they come in all different sizes and shapes. Write down 5 obstacles that contribute to your headaches. Then, reverse-engineer a solution to all 5 or as many as you can. Some may be easier to abolish than others. But you won’t know how hard or how easy it can be to overcome obstacles in your life until you figure out what they are.

3. Claim Your Strengths
What are you “good” at?  Are you good at helping others? Cooking? Showing up on time? Going  to church every Sunday? Dancing? Take a quick inventory to write down 5 things you do well. Then, think about why you do those things well. Are you good at showing up on time because you plan ahead? Are you good at dancing because you dance like no one else is watching? Embrace your strengths and celebrate them. If you do get a migraine or a horrendous headache, celebrate tiny victories like having enough energy to get out of bed and give your kids a hug after baseball practice. On headache days, the small victories count the most.

Are you interested in learning more about natural approaches to long-term relief from migraines and chronic headaches? Indigo Healing Acupuncture has teamed up with Julie Balderrama Coaching to offer a unique holistic program for anyone suffering from headaches.  We help people (who have tried everything) break free from headaches by discovering hidden obstacles to healing. We empower them with knowledge and tools to find long-lasting relief so they can thrive with freedom and joy in their life. 

Do you suffer from Migraine or Chronic Headaches?

• Are you tired of hiding in dark quiet rooms to avoid light & noise?
• When you have a headache, do you feel pulsing pain that gets worse when you move?
• Do headaches cause you to cancel plans and activities?
• Are you ready to relieve your headaches without the side-effects of prescriptions or Botox?

We have a solution for you!

We’ve teamed up with Qi Gong Extraordinaire and Mind-Body Coach Julie Balderrama to provide a comprehensive program for relieving the root cause of Migraines and Chronic Headaches. This program will not only banish headaches, but improve your life with easy tools and strategies for migraine and headache prevention.

Join us at Skull and Cakebones on Saturday February 9, 2019 at 11am to learn how you can reclaim a headache-free life you love. RSVP required, click the button below or call 512-686-0777.

About 12 years ago, I suffered from debilitating chronic migraines. They would start with an aura, usually consisting of a blind spot that would prevent me from reading anything, including my watch. The aura would last about 25 minutes, then the vomiting would start, followed by intense pressure building in my skull. The worst sensation of each migraine was the stabbing pain behind my eye that could last for 12+ hours. All I could do was lie in a dark, cool room waiting for the pain to subside. There was no sleep, just unrelenting pain and silent prayers for relief.

The migraines consumed my life, 2-3 days of every week. I lost work days, I lost friends, my marriage decayed, and I fell out of touch. People got tired of hearing me say “Sorry, I have a headache.” It was both depressing and terrifying.
 
I tried over-the-counter meds like aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen. I tried drinking coffee and dark chocolate during the aura. I had a CAT scan and a MRI, which revealed nothing. Neurologists prescribed an assortment of pharmaceuticals, but they either didn’t work or had terrible side effects (topiramate = hair fell out/slurred speech/memory loss). Plus, they were only mildly effective, reducing the rate of my migraines to about 2 a month. My neurologist warned me that I would need to take a beta blocker (propranolol) for the rest of my life to prevent the migraines from coming back.

​I was only 28. The rest of my life sounded like a very long time.
 
As a last ditch effort, I gave acupuncture a try. There was an acupuncturist across the street from my office and she performed nothing short of a miracle.
 
The frequency and severity of my migraines diminished over the course of a few weekly treatments. After a few months, I was able to stop the topiramate. After two years, I weaned off the beta blocker. It was a long journey to relief, but manageable with acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
 
At this point, I can look back and see how migraines caused me to stop and rebuild my life. The migraines called me to become a holistic doctor and help others find relief. They turned out to be an amazing blessing in an awful package.
 
What are your migraines telling you? 
​

Let's talk about Chronic Pain...

• Have your aches/pains persisted 12 weeks or longer?
• Do you suffer from osteoarthritis, headaches, migraines, fibromylagia, tendonitis, neuralgia, knee pain, back pain or other pain that just won't go away?
• Is pain preventing you from activities you love?

If you answered YES, acupuncture can help you return to your best life without drugs or surgery!

A recent study in the scientific journal Pain found, “90% of the benefit of acupuncture over usual care is retained at 12 months after the end of a course of treatment.”  Indigo Healing Acupuncture offers customized treatment plans designed to provide you with long-term relief of chronic pain.

If you're ready to live your best life and return to activities you love, schedule a consultation by calling 512-686-0777 or send an email to info@indigohealingacupuncture.com

• Do you suffer from an illness that is mysterious in origin?
• Do you have a condition that MDs have described as idiopathic (no known cause)?
• Have you tried every tool of modern medicine (pharmaceuticals, surgery, rest) and still haven’t found relief?

When I was in my late 20’s, I suffered from debilitating migraine headaches and idiopathic tachycardia (fast heartbeat). I had monthly appointments with a neurologist who had me try at least a dozen different medications to decrease the frequency and severity of my headaches. The side effects were brutal: weight gain, memory loss, personality changes… the list could go on & on.  As a last resort, a coworker suggested scheduling an appointment with an acupuncturist across the street from our office. The acupuncturist had helped her with chronic insomnia and she convinced me I had nothing to lose by giving it a try.  

I will never forget my first appointment. For an entire hour, the acupuncturist asked me about my illness and actually listened to my answers. I had never had a doctor really listen to me before.  After checking my tongue and pulse, she explained my diagnosis and explained how acupuncture could help. Three months later, I walked out of her clinic migraine-free. My neurologist was astounded when I told him I was no longer taking the daily cocktail of prescriptions and had not had a migraine in a month. 

So how does acupuncture solve medical mysteries?
Acupuncture is based on an entirely different medical system based on over 2,000 years of clinical experience.  Specifically:

1. Acupuncturists treat the body-mind-spirit as a whole. There is no division between the physical body and the mind, nor is there a division between the physical body and the spirit. Acupuncture is a form of holistic medicine that understands the whole person, not just a constellation of symptoms.
2. Acupuncture promotes self-healing through homeostasis in the nervous system, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, and immune system. Each acupuncture point stimulates these systems which allows the body to self-regulate and heal itself. 
3. Through tongue and pulse diagnosis, acupuncturists can diagnose and identify the root cause of every illness or pain. Unlike modern medicine, there is no such thing as an idiopathic illness or a mysterious symptom. Everything is connected and explainable, much like a leaf on a tree is dependent on healthy roots in the ground. 

These three aspects of acupuncture enable modern medical mysteries to be solved in a gentle, safe, and nourishing manner. 
 
To schedule a consultation to solve your own medical mystery, contact Michelle. 

Today is the first day of Spring!

Spring is the season of the Wood element. In Oriental Medicine, the Wood element corresponds to the Liver & Gallbladder. People with a Wood constitution are Type A overachievers who seek control. Their body shape is long & lean, like a tree. Daily exercise & fresh air are absolutely required by Wood types! They are driven pioneers who take initiative & thrive on action. When Wood-types sense a loss of control or life isn't going their way, they become even more controlling and easily frustrated. When they become unbalanced, they often suffer from migraines, tension headaches, indigestion, tight achy muscles, alternating constipation/diarrhea, mood swings, and irritability. Common vices include alcohol & coffee.

Luckily, Oriental Medicine can bring an overacting Wood element back into balance with the other 4 elements (Fire-Earth-Metal-Water) and alleviate symptoms. 

By the way, your custom AcuGraph report will measure the energy in your meridians to determine your primary 5 element constitutional type! Contact Michelle to schedule an appointment today!

Chinese Medicine has known the health benefits of cannabis seeds (Chinese herb huŏ má rén) for over 2,000 years.  Now, modern medicine is catching up and learning about the health benefits of cannabidol (CBD). There is a tidal wave of CBD oil products hitting the market... here's a quick overview of what they are and how they work.

What is CBD?
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter in the human body that is regulated by the endocannaboid system in the nervous system (central & peripheral).  CBD can also be harvested from the Cannabis plant. 

How does the body produce CBD?
Omega-3 fatty acids* are converted to CBD in the central nervous system. There are two types of cannaboid receptors (for the science folks: CB1 and CB2) distributed throughout the body. 

*Wait, what are Omega-3 fatty acids?
This could be a whole blog post, but here's a quick explanation of Omega-3 fatty acids. There are three types: 

• DHA (docosahexaenoic acid): Found in chlorella, fish oil, anchovies, wild-caught salmon, wild-caught herring, wild-caught mackerel, wild-caught tuna, wild-caught halibut, organic chicken liver or organic grass-fed beef liver.
• EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid): Found in wild-caught fish
• ALA (alpha-linolenic acid): Found in organic flaxseed oil, organic hemp oil

What does CBD do?
The CBD produced in the endocannaboid system helps maintains homeostasis (biological balance) throughout the body. If your body does not produce enough CBD, you may experience chronic aches and pain, headaches, migraines, insomnia, poor appetite, digestive problems (heartburn, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, irritable bowel), reduced immunity to bacteria and viruses, allergies, fertility issues, and/or memory problems. As you can see from this list, the endocannaboid system works hard to keep us feeling good!

What are plant based sources of CBD?
CBD is harvested from Cannabis (Cannabis sativa). CBD is the 2nd most abundant compound in the plant (the most abundant compound is tetrahydrocannabinol aka THC).

What can CBD oil products do?
Cannaboids derived from the plant Cannabis sativa have many therapeutic uses. Research studies show CBD reduces anxiety (including social anxiety disorder), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), epilepsy, and pain. There are links to research studies at the bottom of this post for reference.
​

Is CBD oil legal? 
Yes, hemp-derived CBD oil is legal to purchase and use in the US.

Who should not use CBD?
If you look at the latest research on pubmed.gov about "cannabidiol and pregnancy" or "cannabidiol and breast" you'll see that CBD crosses the placenta and changes the morphology and physiology of cells in a developing fetus. Animal testing has demonstrated CBD is excreted in high concentrations in breast milk. The many benefits of CBD do not outweigh the risk it poses to fetal or infant development; therefore, we do not recommend it to pregnant or breastfeeding patients. There are much safer herbal alternatives available.

Book an appointment to find out if CBD is right for you!

​Have you ever wondered about Chinese Herbs? What they are? What they can do? 

Before we dive into it, are you a fan of Harry Potter? 
Do you remember how Professor Sprout taught a magical herbology class at Hogwarts?
Harry and his friends studied herbs for 5 years, which is the same amount of time most Oriental Medicine practitioners (a.k.a. an Acupuncturist-Chinese Herbalist) study Chinese herbs in medical school.

There are over 350 herbs in the Chinese herbal medicine Materia Medica, which is our version of an herbal encyclopedia. Herbs can come from plants, minerals, and animals. When they come from plants, they can be the whole plant, or parts of plants like seeds, leaves, flowers or roots.

High-quality Chinese herbs are grown and harvested in accordance with the season and carefully prepared to protect their magical, oops, I mean medicinal properties. Every herb in the Materia Medica is carefully categorized according to its function.  For example, some herbs like rou gui (cinnamon) can warm you up, while other herbs like bo he (peppermint) can cool you down. Some herbs are minerals, like mang xiao (Glauber salt, similar to Epsom salt). Have you ever had a drink made with Epsom salt? If you have, you know that it drains downward and serves as a natural laxative.  The Chinese figured this out over 2000 years ago! 

Trained Chinese herbalists know how to use herbs effectively and safely. Some herbs can't be used together and some are only appropriate for specific conditions. There are over 100 ancient Chinese herbal formulas, each containing anywhere from 2 to 20 individual herbs that work synergistically together.  Taking the right herbs at the right time for the right condition can have downright magical results!

Chinese herbs can be taken in several different forms and it's an acupuncturist-herbalist's job to figure out which way is best for you. Herbs can be taken internally as:

• Decoctions... a fancy word for herbs boiled in water and consumed as a tea
• Capsules, tablets, or honey teapills
• Tinctures... herbal extracts preserved in alcohol or glycerin
• Food... can be added to soups, stews, or congee (rice porridge)

Herbs can also be absorbed externally through the skin as a poultice or by soaking the hands or feet.

So, what conditions can be treated with herbs? 

• Pain and inflammation
• Arthritis
• Stress
• Insomnia & Fatigue
• Headaches (including Migraine)
• Allergies (food and environmental)
• Low Immunity (catch colds easily)
• Recovery from respiratory illness (help relieve cough, phlegm)
• Anxiety, Depression & Mood Swings
• Hormonal Imbalance
• Digestive ailments like heartburn, stomach upset, constipation, diarrhea, IBS, colitis
• Poor circulation (cold hands or feet, varicose veins, neuropathy)
• And more!

For women, herbs can help with:

• PMS, menstrual cramps, irregular menstruation
• Endometriosis, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
• Infertility

So, that's a quick overview of Chinese herbs. When used properly, they can accelerate healing in a safe, natural way and keep you on track between acupuncture appointments.

If you want to find out how Chinese herbs can help you feel better, schedule a consultation with Michelle today!

​It primarily affects children who are three to ten years old and can show up suddenly with symptoms like abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, sudden loss of appetite, skin sensitivity, and pale complexion. These symptoms also appear in more serious conditions, like appendicitis, so if your child is suddenly sick with the symptoms listed here, it is best to immediately call your pediatrician and/or visit the emergency room.

Cause of Pediatric Abdominal Migraine:
Scientists have not yet identified all of the biomedical mechanisms or causes of migraine, but migraine is known to be hereditary, meaning it runs in families. If Mom and/or Dad suffer from migraine, their child is more prone to experience migraines in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. 

Pediatric Abdominal Migraine Triggers:
One way to help your child is to become aware of specific migraine triggers, or things/activities that can trigger the start of a migraine. Common migraine triggers in children include:

• Sleep: Not enough sleep, sleeping in too late, waking up too early, getting overtired
• Meals: Waiting too long between meals, dehydration, high-sugar diet, or food allergy
• Emotions: Stress or anxiety about something going on at school or home, anger or frustration (can be as simple as feeling anger towards a sibling over not sharing toys)
• Environmental: Changes in weather, exposure to gusty wind, exposure to bright lights or flickering lights, too much TV or computer screen time, general overstimulation 
• Travel: Car sickness or motion sickness, jet lag

Treatments for Pediatric Abdominal Migraine:
When a child is suffering from symptoms that look like abdominal migraine, I advise parents to carry a small notebook to record the date, time, and events leading up to the abdominal pain, such as long car ride, up late last night, skipped a meal, etc.  Your pediatric acupuncturist or pediatrician can review the log to help identify specific triggers and patterns.

At Indigo Healing Acupuncture we treat pediatric abdominal migraine holistically by examining all aspects of the child's mind-body-spirit to identify areas of imbalance. Lifestyle adjustments, needle-free painless laser acupuncture, and customized Chinese herb drops can reduce the frequency, severity, and pain of abdominal migraine attacks in children.

Hey, are you...​

• Feeling stressed?
• Suffering from anxiety?
• Plagued by tension headaches?
• Tired of mood swings?
• Up all night overthinking and worrying?

Have no fear, Enlighten Herbal Elixir is now available at 
Indigo Healing Acupuncture!
 
What is it?
Enlighten Herbal Elixir is a hot beverage containing eight Chinese herbs.  The herbs work together to help relieve:

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Mood swings
• Depression
• PMS
• Headaches, including migraine

 
What does it taste like?
Enlighten Herbal Elixir tastes good. It has a golden color and smooth consistency that feels great on the throat.
 
Still have doubts an Elixir made out of Chinese herbs can taste good? 
Over the past month, Enlighten Herbal Elixir has been extensively taste-tested and approved by one of my most discriminating patients… my two-year old daughter! She loves it and serves it up at her tea parties!
 
How do I know it will work?
This Chinese formula has been used for over 900 years. Western science has conducted clinical studies on its ability to treat the conditions listed above. For a list of clinical studies, contact Michelle and she’ll email it to you so you can see the evidence yourself. 
 
Why is it so hard to find?
Enlighten Herbal Elixir is currently farm-direct to only 150 clinics in the US. Indigo Healing Acupuncture is blessed to be one of those clinics! The Sichuan farm produces herbs in a sustainable manner, therefore quantities are very limited. All raw herbs are stored in humidity and temperature-controlled warehouses and the dried herbs are free from sulfur and sulfites. Thin Liquid Chromatography qualitative analysis and High Performance Liquid Chromatography qualitative/quantitative analysis are conducted on the raw and dried herbs to ensure the highest level of active constituents of the herbs are preserved. There is further testing to check for pesticide residue and heavy metals.  In short, the eight herbs in this elixir meet strict European Union standards for quality and potency.
 
Contact Michelle to find out if Enlighten Herbal Elixir is right for you!

When summer temps rise above 100°F, drinking a cup of hot tea sounds like a crazy idea, right?
 
I don’t know about you, but when I get hot, I get cranky with a monster tension headache. 
(Not a good place to be, especially for an acupuncturist!)
 
That’s when I take a few deep breaths and enjoy a cup of organic Peppermint tea.  
 
Peppermint is an aromatic, pungent Chinese herb called Bo He that is known to release wind-heat from the body’s exterior. It enters the Liver and Lung meridians where it

• eases tension headache
• clears heat (redness) from the eyes
• soothes a sore throat
• clears heat rash
• calms the colon

 
Peppermint’s cooling sensation is produced by the organic compound menthol. A factoid is that menthol chemically triggers cold-sensitive receptors, which results in a cooling sensation when ingested. It actually relaxes the “smooth” muscles in the walls of the intestine which is helpful for relieving indigestion, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, and menstrual cramps.
 
As amazing as Peppermint tea is, there are some people who shouldn’t drink it:

• Breastfeeding moms (it will decrease milk supply)
• People with heartburn
• People who are allergic to menthol
• Someone who is acutely ill with cold sweats

 
These are my favorite loose and bagged organic Peppermint teas. Enjoy!