Blog

Dietary Therapy in the Fifth Season: Late Summer

Posted on by Hailey Ward-Maldonado
Late Summer season is associated with the Earth element. The Earth element is associated with the Spleen and Stomach energies, two organs that play a major role in the function of our digestion and assimilation. Part of slowing down in this season is simplifying our diet. This means to prepare simple, whole food meals that aren’t too sweet or spicy, cold or hot. Stoking the digestive fire is an important part of preparation for cooler seasons as digestion can become damp and cool as the temperatures (and our activity level) reduce! - Eat seasonal fruits and vegetables like apples, pears, and figs. These foods help to nourish the spleen and stomach and support digestion - Avoid greasy and fried foods...Read More

Microneedling to Help Find Your Balance

Posted on by Hailey Ward-Maldonado
[metaslider id="3610"] Monica MacCarroll is one of our acupuncturists at Balanced You Clinic, and she is the only acupuncturist at BYC who offers Microneedling! The benefits of microneedling may be something you'd like to add to your routine... keep reading to learn the unique benefits of microneedling. What does a microneedling session with you look like (please describe)? Just as with our acupuncture sessions, a new patient session will be 1.5 hrs to allow more time for the intake. Return visits will be one hour. All sessions will include body acupuncture along with the microneedling. The body acupuncture will focus on addressing any underlying imbalances in order to get the most out of microneedling. After the intake, numbing cream will...Read More

How to Create a Bedtime Routine – A Five Element Perspective

Posted on by Hailey Ward-Maldonado
How to Create a Bedtime Routine The summer season is dominated by the fire element. Here, we may have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep due to restless energy and active minds. Routines settle restless energy, creating predictability. Try to adopt three or more of these suggestions as you create a bedtime routine. Eat dinner at roughly the same time each evening Avoid caffeine/ sugar consumption late afternoon into evening Incorporate a movement practice like yoga or qi gong, even if just for a few minutes Give some thought to what's coming for you tomorrow - pick out your clothes or plan your meals Evening epsom salt baths or foot soaks No electronics at least two hours before bedtime Avoid...Read More

Thai Massage with Lydia Moneyhun

Posted on by Hailey Ward-Maldonado
https://youtu.be/1RB2SV1MU68   Lydia Moneyhun is the massage therapist at Balanced You Clinic. She offers a few types of massage services, including ashiatsu style massage and Thai massage. Lydia tells us more about Thai Massage - You may feel like this is the right style of massage for you, or be interested in trying something new! What does a Thai Massage session with you look like? It’s a 90 minute session, and the client is fully clothed in something comfortable, stretchy. Thai massage is very slow, and consists of a lot of compressions on tight areas. And, of course, slow, passive stretching! I describe it as “Yoga being done to you!” What are the benefits of Thai massage? Thai is great...Read More

Summer Food Therapy

Posted on by Hailey Ward-Maldonado
Moving into Summer, the season governed by the fire element, our primary focus with food therapy is to nourish yin fluids and clear excess heat. By maintaining a healthy balance between the water and fire dynamic of the body, we are helping to support hydration, regulate proper fluid metabolism, reduce inflammation, and calm the nervous system. Common foods that we recommend during the summer season: - Watermelon and cucumbers are a staple! It nourishes fluids and clears heat. - Summer veggies like peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini all have high water contents and thus nourish Yin. - Berries help to tonify the blood. - Eat lots of summer greens like: broccoli, swiss chard, kale, cabbage, spinach, parsley, mustard greens, dandelion...Read More

Integrative Bodywork Sessions at Balanced You Clinic

Posted on by Hailey Ward-Maldonado
Rebekah Knause, L. Ac., LMT, RYT is one of the acupuncturists at Balanced You Clinic. We got to talk with her about the benefits of receiving an integrative bodywork session. This treatment has been available with Rebekah for a long time. You may have previously booked a session with her for an "acupuncture massage combo," and that is an integrative bodywork session! Keep reading to learn more about integrative bodywork, and remember, all of our acupuncturists offer integrative bodywork sessions which are customizable to your unique needs. What can a person expect in a bodywork session with you, Rebekah? An integrative bodywork session with me is a combined massage and acupuncture treatment. First I will ask my client, “how is...Read More

Interview with Alyssa Peterpaul – About Craniosacral Therapy

Posted on by Hailey Ward-Maldonado
The following interview with Alyssa Peterpaul took place on Monday, April 1, 2024 with Hailey Ward-Maldonado I had the pleasure of speaking with Alyssa on the phone on a sunny Monday morning. Alyssa shared with me about her style as a craniosacral therapist. We are so excited to have her as a part of the Balanced You Team! What does a craniosacral therapy session with you look like? When a person walks into the room for a treatment, even if I've seen them many times before, I look at them like I haven't seen them before because they're not the same. Their bodies and their emotions have changed, and I need to acknowledge that in order to give them what they...Read More

Foods to Support the Transition to Spring

Posted on by Hailey Ward-Maldonado
In Chinese Medicine, food therapy can be used to help the body during seasonal transitions. So much of this medicine is tapping into our body’s innate, primal capacity to heal – harmonizing our food intake with seasonal eating is a key aspect of this! Spring is associated with the wood element and governed by the energetics of the liver and gallbladder. The wood element governs smooth flow of qi through the body, and it is strongly associated with proper transformation of stagnation in the body (especially coming out of the winter months!). Some basic ways to support the wood element through food therapy include: • Eat early spring greens such as dandelion greens, collards, kale, chickweed, arugula! Lighter soups and...Read More