AmberWolfPhD's Weblog

Tired and Wired??

amberwolfphd — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:53:42 +0000

In another, deeper look at the miracle of our body chemistry, there is always hope!
Is stress making you fat? Adrenal balance and weight loss
by Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP• How stress can make us gain weight
• Best place to store fat? The belly
• Number-one for your adrenal health: Eat!
• Pacing yourself to promote healing
Too often, women and their healthcare practitioners think weight loss is all about cutting calories and exercising more. But I have plenty of patients who’ve tried these avenues with no success. These women are genuinely trying to do everything “right” for their health. They exercise regularly, eat well, take their supplements, and so on. But they haven’t lost a pound, and they’re frustrated — and trust me, I know how they feel, because I’ve been there!
These patients are always surprised when I ask them about the stress in their lives, and they want to know, What does stress have to do with weight gain?
Key points in this article:
• Chronic stress causes cortisol to increase in your blood, which can increase blood sugar, increase hunger, and promote more fat storage.
• The body stores “stress fat” in the belly to prepare for a crisis.
• Eating 3 healthy meals and 2 snacks with some form of protein with each can help regulate cortisol and relay the message that your body is not in crisis mode.
• Finding ways to lighten your stress load, like good sleep habits, deep breathing, light exercise, and a program like our Personal Program for Adrenal Health can also help regulate cortisol and promote healthy weight.
After years of chronic stress, our adrenal glands — which govern our stress response, help balance a woman’s blood sugar, and regulate many other of our body’s processes — can become imbalanced. Our adrenal glands are fundamental to our health, and when they are out of balance, the body prepares for disaster the best way it knows how — by storing calories. Genetically, some of us are more predisposed to this than others. But the good news is that if we restore the adrenals to their normal, healthy function, stubborn pounds often fall away without too much effort, and our energy returns.
Let’s take a closer look at the adrenal glands, then talk about solutions for healing your stress response — and finally getting rid of that stubborn weight.
How stress can make us gain weight
I’ve seen stress lead to weight gain over and over — especially as women’s lives become increasingly demanding. We usually think “being stressed-out” is an emotional state, but the body understands stress quite physically. And one of the ways it physically handles stress is by being stingy about how it uses calories, storing them primarily in the form of fat around the abdomen.
Why we’ve evolved this way has much to do with living in the wild. If we were being chased by a bear, our adrenals shifted instantly into fight-or-flight mode, releasing adrenaline and cortisol into the blood. The adrenaline and cortisol helped to give us that superhuman strength and to quickly mobilize energy production from carbohydrates and fats. And once the threat was gone, our instincts led us to refuel with calorie-dense foods that are most readily stored as fat. With cortisol’s influence, we are less sensitive to leptin, the hormone that makes us feel full, and eat more than we normally might.

The problem is that this sequence of events takes place whether the threat is real or perceived. Since most of our modern-day stressors don’t require fleeing or fighting, we generally don’t need all the extra calories our bodies ask for. What has also changed is that in the past, stress came and went. Many of us exist now in a state of constant stress, operating at elevated cortisol levels over long periods of time.
Best place to store fat? The belly
Could adrenal imbalance be causing your weight problem?
• Do you feel bone tired during the day, only to perk up at night?
• Do you tend to nod off at the movies, at meetings, or while reading during the daytime?
• Do you love to snack in the evening and frequently stay up late into the night?
• Do you feel hungry, confused, or shaky when under pressure during the day?
• Do you habitually rely on caffeine and high-carb snacks to boost your flagging energy?
• Have you noticed a “spare tire” growing larger and larger around your waist each year?
• Are you eating modestly and exercising, but still not losing weight?
If you answered to yes to two or more of the above, adrenal imbalance could lie at the core of your weight gain.
Women with adrenal imbalance often have a “spare tire,” or what we call visceral fat deposits. This happens for several reasons. Under normal circumstances, when we haven’t eaten for a while, our blood sugar (glucose) drops and the brain sends a message to the adrenals to release cortisol. This cortisol mobilizes glucose (via glycogen in the liver), amino acids (primarily from muscles), and fat (from fat cells). This prevents hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), keeping your brain and body fueled with energy in the absence of food. So cortisol maintains glucose levels in the blood, while insulin helps usher glucose into the cells.
When we have long-term stress, cortisol and insulin remain high in the blood, and the extra glucose that isn’t needed for energy gets stored in the form of fat — primarily abdominal fat cells, or “visceral fat.” Scientists have discovered that fat cells have special stress-hormone receptors for cortisol, but that there also seem to be more of these cortisol receptors on the fat cells in the abdomen than anywhere else in the body! And sadly, visceral fat doesn’t just “sit there” doing nothing; it’s almost as if this fat is, itself, an endocrine organ that reacts to the stress response, spurring still more abdominal fat deposition. So the cycle continues unless we take steps to heal the metabolic imbalance. A good place to start is with the adrenal glands.
Number one for your adrenal health: Eat!
Some of you may have read my article on how to eat for adrenal health; everything I discuss there applies here as well. Here are a few key points.
Eat well, and regularly. Sounds funny, I know — telling women to eat more instead of less! But if you want to convince your body that it’s in no danger of starving to death, that’s exactly what you have to do — only make sure it’s good food that provides nutrients you need.
As I explained above, cortisol is integral to maintaining blood sugar, so it makes sense that keeping your blood sugar as level as possible lightens the load on the adrenal glands. Allowing yourself to get too hungry sends the “oh, no! famine is here!” message and puts added stress on your adrenals, forcing them to pump out excess cortisol. To prevent this, I recommend you eat well and regularly — three balanced meals and two balanced snacks per day, spread out across the day to work with your natural circadian rhythm.
When you eat matters too. Cortisol has a natural cycle that works with your circadian rhythm. Normally, cortisol is highest in the early morning and declines gradually throughout the day to help you get ready for sleep. Because eating always bumps up cortisol, it’s ideal to eat your largest meal in the morning. Eating within one to two hours of waking helps cortisol reach its optimal morning peak, replenishes your body, and relieves your adrenals from maintaining fasting blood sugar levels. Healthy snacks between meals help moderate the natural downward slope of cortisol levels as the day wears on. If you experience a slump in the late afternoon, a balanced, low-carb snack around 3:00 PM will help avert this. I also advise eating dinner early, around 5:00–6:00 PM if you can, and making this your lightest meal of the day. (For a picture of how this works, see our diagram of the cortisol cycle, showing the effects of meals and snacks.)
Keep healthy foods close at hand. What you eat is equally important. And if they don’t have access to healthy food when they need to raise energy levels, many women load up on sweets and caffeine, because they’re so easy to get! But this often leads to an even greater drop in energy. When you need a boost, make sure you have micronutrient-rich foods that support your adrenals, like asparagus, avocado, cabbage, garlic, ginger, and lean protein. Limit or avoid refined and processed sugars, other processed foods, damaged fats, alcohol, caffeine, and possibly gluten. I’ve found that many of my patients with adrenal imbalance are sensitive to gluten, and do much better when they take it out of their diets.
Pacing yourself to promote healing
“When it comes to dietary supplementation for stress adaptation and cortisol control, the first line of defense appears in the form of a comprehensive multivitamin/mineral supplement…. In particular, vitamin C, magnesium, and the full B-complex group are probably the most important from the standpoint of their direct involvement in the body’s stress response, but all of the essential and semi-essential vitamins and trace minerals are needed as well.”
— Shawn Talbott, PhD, The Cortisol Connection, p. 127. Alameda, CA: Hunter House.
We live in a multitasking world where we’re expected to be on-line 24/7. From cell phones and e-mail to TiVo and Facebook, we rarely take a break. Restoring adrenal balance means taking time for yourself, and for many of us, that means slowing down. I know it seems counterintuitive: we think being “on the go” all the time would help us to lose more weight. But if you’re tired, wired, and overweight, it’s likely you will need to lower your stress and heal your adrenals to stop the vicious weight-gain cycle.
What do I mean by pacing yourself?
• Sleep. Many patients tell me they get a second wind after dinner, or that they’re “born night owls.” But when you turn your circadian rhythm upside down, your cortisol cycle can follow, leaving you tired all day and wide awake all night. You can avoid this pattern by eating less late in the day, ending all screen time (TV, computer, cell phone) by 8 PM, and making a point of being in bed, asleep, sufficiently early that you get no fewer than 8 hours of sleep each night (and more, if you can manage it). Quality sleep is essential for your adrenals to heal so you can shed those pounds!
• Exercise wisely. If you already exercise regularly, try easing up for a few months while your adrenals are healing. And try to keep your heart rate under 90 beats per minute. If you don’t exercise, try walking 15 minutes once or twice a day, especially after meals, outdoors if you can. Exercise helps to reduce stress, as long as you are enjoying it, but this is not a time to push yourself hard.
• Play. For once in your adult life, make having fun a priority! Many of us forget just how relaxing a few hours of fun or a good laugh can be. So today I am writing out a virtual prescription for you: “Play!”
• Breathe. Three to four deep breaths through your nose can slow your heart rate and calm the whole body down. Find time throughout your day to just breathe, especially when you feel stressed. Learn to recognize the signals that you need to take a break, and get some fresh air, have a cup of herbal tea, or simply put your feet up.
Let your body relax and release
In talking with women every day, I know how much we have on our plates. It can seem next to impossible to take a minute for ourselves! But I also know that weight gain and lack of energy are serious concerns for women, and that it’s frustrating to try everything to shed extra pounds without success. For many of us, the stress in our lives is intimately connected to our weight. Our bodies are wise — when stress is the predominant state, your body will protect you by holding on to extra pounds.
You can coax your body away from “crisis mode” by healing your adrenals. Doing this often means taking more time for you — including taking more time with what you eat, how you sleep, and how you live each day. You deserve every bit of it! And once you replenish your energy and calm your stress response, you will be amazed and delighted by how the weight will come off!

Balancing Our Adrenal System

amberwolfphd — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:48:36 +0000

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms I hear about from my patients. When I ask these patients to tell me about what’s going on in their lives, all too often the answers include: more responsibility, tighter schedules, less money, and less time. They’re waking up tired, unable to think straight in the morning without caffeine; needing high-carb snacks, more caffeine, and then at night they’re too wired to sleep. Soon these folks are in a seemingly unending cycle of exhaustion and poor nutrition — and they feel desperate for the energy they once had.
Science tells us that if you experience stress on a chronic basis, the tiny adrenal glands that moderate your stress response and balance many other hormones in your body will suffer; adrenal fatigue is next. As the great balancer of more than 50 hormones in the body, the adrenal glands have a broad impact on your health and energy. And as the adrenal glands become increasingly compromised, you can end up with excess abdominal weight, decreased immunity, lack of concentration, irritability, disrupted sleep, and ultimately, pure exhaustion. OK, enough of the bad news…the upside is: adrenal fatigue can be prevented and reversed. I’ve seen it time and again. And one of the best places to start is by paying closer attention to the choices you make about food — and not just what you eat, but when you eat it and how.
From my own experience and that of my patients, I know it’s most difficult to make good nutritional choices when we’re going through periods of stress. Not only are our minds preoccupied with the stressor at hand, but our bodies are telling us they desperately need support, so we reach for foods that provide quick energy. Particularly at the end of a stressful day as the body is entering a period of recovery, overeating or making poor choices can be easy to do.
I know it feels overwhelming to think about changing your eating patterns, but believe me, small, incremental changes can really support better adrenal gland function and your daylong energy reserves. You don’t have to drag through the long days or dread your alarm clock every morning. Let’s look at some options for supporting your adrenals — so you can enjoy good energy all through the day, and get a great night’s sleep. The difference can be like night and day!
The adrenals are primarily responsible for activating your stress (“fight or flight”) response, shifting energy away from restorative processes like digestion and toward the organs of action — your heart and skeletal muscles — by pumping adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream. But they also synthesize numerous other hormones, including androgens and their precursors, such as testosterone and DHEA, as well as estrogens and progesterone — which is why it becomes more important than ever to support our adrenal glands as we approach menopause, a time when our bodies come to rely more heavily upon the regulation of hormones.
But aside from the life-critical job the adrenals play in activating your stress response and supplementing healthy hormonal balance as we age, the hormone cortisol itself has a powerful hand in so many other regulatory processes across all your systems: protecting the body from stress by regulating blood pressure, normalizing blood sugar levels, helping to regulate the immune and inflammatory responses, and influencing mood, memory, and clarity of thought.
Maybe this helps explain why, when your adrenal reserves are depleted, you might feel a little crazy, and your sleeping and eating habits seem a little crazy, too!
First and foremost: timing your meals and snacks
One thing I often tell my patients is to never allow themselves to get too hungry. Low blood sugar by itself puts stress on your body and can tax your adrenals. You may not realize that your body is in constant need of energy — even as you sleep. And the primary adrenal hormone cortisol serves as a kind of moderator in making sure your blood sugar between meals, especially during the night, stays adequate. It does this by signaling to the liver to release its stored sugar, glycogen, when there isn’t food on board. Long periods without food make the adrenals work harder by requiring them to release more cortisol to keep your body functioning normally. So eating three nutritious meals and two to three snacks that are well-timed throughout the day is one way to balance your blood sugar and lessen the adrenal burden.
When you eat can also make a difference in preserving, supporting, and restoring your adrenals. As you can see in the graph, cortisol has a natural cycle that works with your circadian rhythm. Normally, it begins to rise around 6:00 AM and reaches its highest peak around 8:00 AM. Throughout the day cortisol gradually declines — with small upward bumps at meal times — in preparation for nighttime rest.

It’s ideal to work with this natural cycle to keep the tapering-off of levels as smooth as possible as the day progresses and to avoid dramatic ups and downs. To do this, it helps to get the majority of your food in earlier in the day, and to eat an early dinner (by 5:00 or 6:00 PM). If it’s difficult to eat early, as it is for many of my busy patients, at least try to make your evening meal the lightest one of the day, to prevent a surge of cortisol from ramping up your night-time metabolic rate and disrupting your ability to fall or stay asleep. Many of my patients tell me they overeat to soothe themselves in the evening. This “night-eating” habit is due to the appetite-stimulating effects of residual cortisol, and unfortunately, it only further disturbs our hormone axis.
Keep in mind that cortisol will also rise a bit with exercise. Lighter activities, such as a walk after dinner or a bit of gentle stretching before, will not subvert this natural tapering-off process. But to work in concert with your body’s natural cortisol cycle, more intense exercise is best planned for the morning.
But I’m not hungry in the morning…
As your mother probably told you, breakfast is important. But maybe you don’t feel hungry in the morning, and if so, it could be for the following reasons:
• Corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), which has appetite-dulling effects, begins to enter the bloodstream at a fast rate first thing in the morning.
• Decreased liver function, which can accompany adrenal dysfunction or a heavy toxic burden, can also dampen morning hunger.
Even if you don’t feel hungry, having a nutritious breakfast within an hour of rising — preferably with protein — will provide energetic benefits to your metabolism and cortisol levels that last throughout the day.
Here are some other simple ways to gently support your body’s natural cortisol cycle:
• If possible, eat breakfast by 8:00 AM or within an hour of getting up (earlier is better), to restore blood sugar levels after using glycogen stores at night.
• Try to eat lunch between 11:00 AM and 12:00 noon. Your morning meal can be used up quickly.
• Eat a nutritious snack between 2:00 and 3:00 PM to get you through the natural dip in cortisol around 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon.
• Make an effort to eat dinner around 5:00 or 6:00 PM, and make this your lightest meal of the day.
Supporting your body’s natural rhythms by timing meals and preventing dramatic dips in blood sugar not only minimizes cortisol output and frees up your adrenals to perform their secondary functions, but gives you more sustained energy throughout the day — and life becomes much more enjoyable when we have the energy we need.
Eat, drink, and support adrenal gland function
As our awareness about when we eat increases, it’s also helpful to think more about what we eat. Stress often brings out the worst in us — especially when it comes to food choices. Many of my patients with adrenal fatigue tell me they reach for foods that give them an instant burst of energy — foods like cookies, cakes, doughnuts, white bread or pasta. These foods contain refined sugar and flour, and allow a great surge of energy, but generally the surge is followed by an even greater dip in energy, causing you to feel worse.
Another problem with high-carb foods like these is that they often contain gluten, a protein that is found in many grains (including wheat, rye and barley, and oats) and frequently used as a food additive, too. I have found in my practice that many women with adrenal fatigue are sensitive to gluten. For this reason, a gluten-free diet is one of the first things I suggest to my patients with symptoms of adrenal fatigue, who often report feeling much better when they get the gluten out of their diets.
Other women with adrenal fatigue drink more and more coffee or soda throughout the day to stay awake. They may think it’s not affecting their sleep patterns, but research has linked higher caffeine intake to classic “night owl” or “evening-ness” behavior. (See our article on the effects of caffeine for more info.) Caffeine can pick you up in the short term, but it can also over-stimulate the adrenals, which only compounds fatigue as it wears off.
If you find yourself craving caffeine — or sugar for that matter — it may be that your cortisol is low, but it also simply may be that your body needs to rest. I encourage you to honor your body’s request and take a break, instead of winding it up another notch. Take a quiet moment and treat yourself to some deep breathing or a ten–minute walk. And if drinking a cup of coffee is a relaxing part of your routine and you don’t want to give it up, drink it in the morning with something nutritious to eat, and add cream to dull the negative effects of caffeine.
Choosing adrenal–healthy beverages
Just as with food, your choices about drinks can contribute to the support or strain on your adrenal glands. Here are some good and not-so-good choices.
Every day we make choices about what we eat and drink. Some days those choices are helpful for the body and other days — or meals — aren’t so helpful. What I encourage you to focus on is balance. Nourishing your body with balanced meals and snacks can do wonders for your energy and feed your adrenal health at the same time. Yet, you don’t want to be so stuck on eating “right” that you cause yourself more stress! I always tell my patients to eat their best 80% of the time. The other 20% is up to them.
Eating meals and snacks that are made of fresh whole foods, preferably organic or locally grown, without colors, dyes, chemicals, preservatives or added hormones are best to strive for. Including some protein in all your meals and snacks (especially in the morning) will have a stabilizing effect on your blood sugar, which in turn can help you overcome caffeine and sugar cravings. To lessen the stress that often comes with trying to eat healthfully, think about preparing nutritious foods on the weekends so you have them ready and available on busy weeknights, or stop at a health food store to pick up some hot prepared food. Don’t feel guilty if your food isn’t homemade every day in your own kitchen. Guilt is the last thing your adrenals need!

Salt and adrenal fatigue
Women with adrenal fatigue often crave salt — and many of my patients are surprised when I tell them to honor this craving. Yes, salt can increase blood pressure, but low blood pressure (hypotension) is a very common sign of adrenal fatigue — at all stages. If you feel lightheaded when getting out of bed in the morning, standing up quickly, or getting up out of a bath or hot tub, you may very well have low adrenal function, and including more salt in your diet could be helpful. But try to make it good-quality, iodized sea salt.
Craving for salt in people with adrenal fatigue is complicated to explain, but in a nutshell, it’s a result of low aldosterone. Aldosterone, a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex, is part of the complex mechanism that regulates blood pressure in the body. Levels of aldosterone go up and down in much the same diurnal pattern as cortisol does, and likewise go up as a normal response to stressful situations.
Production of aldosterone by the adrenals depends on how much cortisol-stimulating hormone (ACTH) is being sent from the brain. The brain takes its signals from the amount of circulating cortisol — not circulating aldosterone — so high cortisol tends to lower the brain’s ACTH production, which in turn decreases aldosterone secretion, leading to lower blood pressure.
Another consequence of low aldosterone is electrolyte imbalance and cell dehydration, which both have negative effects on almost all physiological reactions in the body: aside from salt cravings, low blood pressure and lightheadedness, patients with adrenal fatigue often experience an irregular heart beat, lethargy, muscle weakness, and increased thirst. These are all a result of imbalance in sodium and other minerals, including potassium and magnesium. Increasing your salt intake is one way to help restore these imbalances.
A nutrient-rich foundation — essential for healing adrenal fatigue
If you decide to do nothing else for your adrenals, I urge you to provide your body with a strong nutrient base. The vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients available in a pharmaceutical-grade supplement like the one we offer in our Personal Program are absolutely essential for healing adrenal fatigue — as well as for the everyday workings of your adrenal glands.
Vitamins like C, E and all the B vitamins have crucial roles in the reactions that occur in the adrenal cascade. And a mineral like magnesium provides necessary energy for your adrenals — and every cell in your body — to function properly. Calcium and several trace minerals like zinc, manganese, selenium, and iodine provide calming effects in the body. These minerals can help to relieve the stress that comes with and causes adrenal fatigue, which will ultimately lessen your cortisol output.
A strong nutrient foundation also supports the endocrine system overall. There is great synergism between the different organs of the endocrine system (including the adrenal glands), where each organ and its secretions interact with the others to up-regulate and down-regulate activity to keep us in balance. But as hormonal levels become deficient or excessive, the natural response of our cells is to compensate by increasing or decreasing their receptors for those molecules. To do all this optimally, they need nutritional support!
Small things, dramatic differences
Your adrenal glands are tiny in comparison to many other organs. They are roughly the size of a walnut, yet they have enormous responsibilities in your body. When they are functioning at their peak, these small glands can help you feel energized when you need to be and relaxed when it is time for rest. They contribute to the production of estrogen, testosterone, progesterone and so much more. But life’s demands can slowly drain the balancing power of the adrenal glands. Even the healthiest person’s adrenals, though evolutionarily equipped to handle periods of stress, become fatigued under chronic, unrelenting stress.
You have the power to lessen the burden on your adrenals — and your whole body. It doesn’t take much. The small choices you make in regards to your nutrition and eating patterns will make a difference. Here’s my advice to you: support your foundation with a high quality nutritional supplement and eat good food in harmony with your body’s natural daily rhythms. Soon you’ll find the energy you thought you lost — and it’ll be here to stay!
Thank you to Women To Women health program for the basis of the preceding information.
www.womentowomen.com

Surfing the Desert

amberwolfphd — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:15:26 +0000

This trip to Tucson was so interesting in so many ways. We had scheduled to go when I found out Lee was going to be there so that we could begin to create new community in a place we love to visit. Every other time we’ve visited Tucson, we’ve stayed in our travel trailer (mostly at beautiful Catalina State Park) and we hide out just the two of us. As most of you know the moving the trailer around has NOT been fun for me, so for this trip we chose a hotel, the Windmill at St. Phillips Plaza, close to the Unity Church where we would be with Lee. See my TripAdvisor review of the hotel and Plaza.
My intention for this trip (and asking for a Most Benevolent Outcome from my angels) was to create community. It must have been the perfect request because it felt like we got a big YES everywhere we went.
We booked the trip before the shooting violence in Tucson. That wouldn’t change our reasons for going, of course, but I have to say that I could feel the difference in a city and community in shock. Kryon gave an amazing channel about all of that you can hear for free at this link:http://www.kryon.com/k_freeaudio.html. It was so moving and hopeful. And the community at the Unity Church was so warm and welcoming, as I got a chance to meet pastor Larry Swartz, minister there sinc 1986. Unity is on 20 acres in the Catalina Mt foothills with the energy of sweet love permeating every cati
We sold my CD’s there, of course, including my brand new Affirmations for Transformation and I lead two brief meditations before the chanellings and we had a full day’s appointments for treatments following.
We continued to meet wonderful people after the event, and all through our stay. Tucson just kept on saying ‘yes’. And I got a big affirmation about my MBO (most benevolent outcome) asking and the we are really supposed to spend more time there…probably focusing on Novemeber to April. Sid especially likes the weather (after 25 years in San Diego) and I am growing to enjoy the beauty of the desert. I am a water baby, so I do miss the ocean, but the energy of the 3 mountain ranges surrounding Tucson creates its own ‘surf’. I would never have imagined me singing the praises of the desert, but it is actually green this time of year; a lovely contrast to our north.
Thank you again, Marilyn and Don Phillips for hosting Lee and signing up to host us in March; you rock! So, for now mid-March is our next trip to the warmer world; till then, I am grateful for hearts and doors opening in this desert oasis. Blessings, Amber

21St Century Labyrinth?

amberwolfphd — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 02:27:16 +0000

July 23, 2010
I leave today for Chicago, going from 95 degrees and dry to 95 degrees and 85% humidity.
This trip is two weeks later than originally planned, but I can feel the energy of this perfect weekend (plus 3 days for me) aligning.
It struck me today as I looked down into Security screening and the miles of black elastic stretched back and forth, that maybe I was looking at the Labyrinth of the 21 the century. I mean really, where would be without air travel? It seems impossible to imagine our world without it. And how many feet of this black elastic are strung back and forth, a daunting aspect of every traveler, across the planet? I take a quick trip into a fantasy of wondering about the entire industry of people involved in making the elastic to create the labyrinths in the airports across the world.
And I wonder, as I look below into the sea of bodies moving snail-like through the Security maze, how many of these folks have ever actually walked a Labyrinth…a real one?
The first non-elastic Labyrinth I ever encountered was at the amazing cathedral in Chartres, France. We were part of a tour that seemed like:“25 castles and cathedrals in 10 days”. But I was really looking forward to Chartres, since it was Catholic and Mystic (like me . We arrived on a sunny spring French day (“April in Paris” is usually gray and rainy), and I was the first one up the steps and through the doors. To my utter dismay, the amazing, spiritual, mystical labyrinth was completely covered with metal folding chairs to hold the overflow for the popular mass upcoming…Easter. Never having seen a real labyrinth, I didn’t know what to expect, but I was torn between my desire to actually ‘walk’ the labyrinth and the feeling of blasphemy of having it covered by all these 20th century, ugly metal chairs. Sigh…so, I didn’t get to walk the labyrinth that day, but today, I walked the elastic labyrinth at DIA (that’s Denver International Airport).
And now, here I am sitting in First Class instead of row 19 as originally assigned; so the Force is with me! No, I’m not a platinum plus member, but this morning, during my meditation, I decided to plug into the ‘upgrade matrix’ along with the ‘safe/on-time flight matrix’ and here I am…well 10 minutes behind schedule, but not bad. Since studying and practicing Matrix Energetics my very visual consciousness has had a field day! I try to ‘see’ ahead to every place that I will be playing and connect to the morphic fields that handle all the details. I see my travel Angels at work aligning all the perfect things happening for me, and I keep saying ‘yes’ and ‘thank you’ to every moment that unfolds in its perfection.
Example: today I couldn’t get signed on to American Airline’s website, so I had to call, and I still couldn’t get my seat changed. Instead of frustrated and flustered, I imagined an old fashioned switchboard with all the wires and plugs that connect thingies, and asked the ‘operators’ to connect me to the right upgrade person. And, I kept breathing and trying to be patient and letting go…not easy, but a good experiment ; worst case is my aisle seat over the wing, which Sid swears is the least turbulent. Finally, at the gate, the lovely boarding agent called my name and now I’m writing from 1st class, only $30 less in my pocket. Thank you angels of travel!
Looking out the window from 33,000 feet, the land below is checkerboard-ed with green farms; another labyrinth of the bread basket of our country?
The words Sacred Geometry click through my brain… I’m not much of a math wiz, so I think I’ll go back to my red wine, served in a REAL glass, and my warmed assorted nuts (no peanuts included) and read my book. Chaio!

Vitamin D

amberwolfphd — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:48:25 +0000

The more I learn about Vitamin D, the more there is to learn! Here is what is out there currently:

Vitamin D is the enabler that allows our DNA structures to do what they were meant to do. It affects cell growth, cell death. It affects getting down to a deeper level; and that’s just the beginning.

Vitamin D has often been taken for granted. Most of us are only familiar with this vitamin’s major job, which is to help maintain the body’s calcium balance by increasing calcium absorption. When it comes to bone health, however, calcium usually gets all the attention. New research suggests that even an abundance of calcium won’t keep the skeleton strong if vitamin D is lacking. But this hormone-like vitamin plays a crucial role in many metabolic processes, and has important effects on regulating cell growth in the cardiovascular system. A strong connection has recently been found, for example, between low blood levels of vitamin D and congestive heart failure-a condition which afflicts many seniors.

Vitamin D is essential to our immune system as well. Many of our important disease-fighting cells, including those that fight cancer, have vitamin D receptors. Scientists believe that risk of autoimmune diseases and various types of cancer is lowered by vitamin D.

Sunshine is the most efficient source of vitamin D; it also produces the most effective form, vitamin D3. Other food sources include fish oils and eggs. Certain types of mushrooms also have considerable amounts. Only 15 minutes of sun exposure daily gives you your ‘daily dose’, however its doesnt’ last more than one day! So, if you don’t get out every day you arent’ getting enough. That’s why supplementation is necessary.

The daily recommended dosage (RDA) of Vitamin D is set at 400 IU (international units). Taking this amount of Vitamin D guarantees you one thing: Deficiency. New scientific findings have revealed the multiple functions of Vitamin D – far above and beyond anything mainstream finding being taught. These latest daily Vitamin D recommendations actually go beyond up to and beyond 5000 IU/day which is now seen to be the optimal amount – over 12 times what the FDA suggests! And you can take it one dose without any side effects. Get good quailty vitamins as we always recommend; Vitamin Cottage or online at our favorite discount vitamin/supplement website; iherb.com for 30-40% off.

Smile, big, bright and healthy!

amberwolfphd — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:26:22 +0000

BRUSH, FLOSS, RINSE, & NEEM Thank goodness for modern dentistry! Even with its incredible expense (I could own several Italian Villas by now) it is worth it to me. As a person who has had a lifetime of dental dramas,traumas and suffering, I’ve done a lot of research on what helps out in the mouth.These are my lastest and most exciting findings.

Did you know that good oral health reduces degenerative diseases? Most of us know that poor oral hygiene leads to tooth decay and gum inflammation, but it can also drastically elevate the risk of inflammation driven diseases such as arteriosclerosis and diabetes. You know that ‘plaque build-up’ in the arteries that we hear about? Well, recent studies are indicating that this plaque can start in the mouth, increasing the risk of arteriosclerosis, heart attack and stoke. There is also strong evidence that gum disease can also increase the risk of pre-term births and low birth weight. Gratefully, thanks to a wonderful plant native to India, what we put in our mouth can contribute to our over-all health…that little miracle plant is NEEM. Researchers already knew that the leaves, twigs and seeds of neem trees have powerful antimicrobial and antifungal properties. So they set out to test just how efficient neem really was in treating gum disease.The study, involving 3 groups of people, used a neem mouth gel made from dried neem leaves. A 25% alcoholic extract was prepared from the leaves, and then turned into a gel.The study lasted 6 weeks and the outcome was clear: after three weeks the users of neem gel showed the lowest dental plaque levels. They also had the lowest levels of harmful bacteria that are associated with the formation of dental plaque and tartar. In another clinical study 50 patients with advanced gingivitis were treated; 40 of them suffered from bleeding gums and pustular discharges from the gum. The patients were instructed to brush their teeth twice daily with neem toothpaste. (The toothpaste contained neem leaf extract.) After only three weeks 80% of them showed significant improvements. All patients had lower levels of bacteria, and bad breath had disappeared. There were no side effects. Another study in Germany used 70 patients with periodontitis in different stages. The study reports similar results (stop of bleeding and discharge, gums return to healthy color) after only five to ten treatments with neem toothpaste and mouthwash. There is no known cure for gum disease. A number of small studies, anecdotal evidence, and thousands of years of traditional use, all agree that neem may:prevent and heal gum disease, prevent cavities, eliminate bacteria that cause cavities and inflammation of the gums,prevent bacteria from adhering to your teeth (reduce plaque), enhance mouth immunity in general,and through all this freshen the breath. Nice stuff, this NEEM. For more info go to a very informative site :Discover Neem

My latest News, Newsletter Style

amberwolfphd — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:51:28 +0000

Phoenix Healing Center Newsletter

Dear Patients, Family and Friends~

OK, I admit it. This isn’t the first time that I’ve googled something and gotten lost; but, oh what a fascinating journey. Did you know that there are 49,800, 000 google images relating to ‘Angels’? That includes: the light, the dark, the fallen, the ‘babes’, the baseball team and various tatoos. Just looking for an image to include here, I journeyed long into the world of Angels…what a way to start my day (big smile).
As my dear friend, Tupelo Kenyon, says in his beautiful song, ‘there are Angels around us, I can hear them smile.’

We believe in Healing Miracles for you~ Sid and Amber Wolf

Try this at home by Dr. Amber
If you’re reading this, chances are you’re sitting down. You don’t have to go anywhere or do anything, except be right here. Now is the perfect time to bring your blood pressure into a more normal range, clean your lymph system, normalize your blood sugar level, alkaline-ize your blood, and generally feel better.
How? Read these simple steps, then do them! It takes a minute or less to have these results. Big claim? Try and let me know if you DIDN’T feel a difference. Come on, one minute is worth it for your health!
1. Close your eyes
2. Take a full breath in through your nose; feel your lungs fill and your belly softly expand
3. Breathe out through your nose
4. Repeat the breath in and out, this time feel your shoulders relax
5. Repeat the breath and see, behind your eyelids, a soft wave lapping onto the shore
6. Repeat the breath and imagine yourself walking down to the shore and
letting the wave softly touch your feet
7. Repeat the breath and the wave washes out again
8. Repeat the breath, soften the shoulder and belly
9. Hear the wave, feel it touch your feet, breathe.
10. Feel the peace. Hmmmmm. Enjoy!
Upcoming Events
peace

Quantum-Touch

There is still time to register for the Quantum-Touch workshop this Saturday and Sunday at the Phoenix Center. Presented by Sabina Rechter, of Santiago, Chile, Sabina is South America’s premier instructor of Quantum, and this 12 hour workshop will gain you a certification in the first level of the Quantum-Touch healing modality.
Join us this Friday evening at 6 pm for an introduction and demo (and Chilean wine and snacks). Call 303-774-9525 for more information or to register. $245 if registered by Friday.

Yoga Classes
Here are the date for the Jan and Feb Yoga Classes at the
PHC. Remember, these classes are perfect for beginners, and drop-ins are always welcome ($15). Class begins promptly at 6 pm going to 7:30 pm.
Jan 21, Feb 4, Feb 25.
Laughter Yoga dates coming soon. BTW, Laughter Yoga classes are FREE!!!

Gratitudes
Here’s an ‘out loud’ thank you for such a wonderful visit from LEE CARROLL and Kryon, and for a fascinating, informative and love-filled Sunday in Longmont. The new and positive information about our changing times was very welcome!
My big, big thanks to all my helpers and volunteers; we had 150 people, the biggest crowd ever at this event, squeezed into the Longmont Free University; thank you Dennis and Shirley of LFU. Thanks to all the participants who sat shoulder to shoulder in the Light of the day getting to know each other, and for some their first visit with Lee and Kryon.
Thanks to my son, Orion, for the ‘heavy lifting’ (again!), to Sid for handling all my last minute ‘honey I forgot’s', Astrid, Sabina and Amy for coming from
Santiago, Chile to be with us, and all your willingness to help and laugh, Francie for your transformation and transportation, Connie for your beautiful, inspired jewelry (and your smile), Alison for the delicious coffee (and many details), Marcie for the best cake on the planet, Emily for decor, and all the participants who really make the day!
Here’s to the continuing unfolding of a wonderful and tranformative 2009!

Contact Information
phone: 303-774-9525 Join our mailing list!

Retail Holidays or Peace on Earth and the New Year

amberwolfphd — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 05:17:25 +0000

Wow; silly me…I didn’t plan ahead and ran out of cat food and had to go shopping on Dec 26. Traffic, crowds, lines , and for me, the price of cat food was still the same. I’m continually amazed at our ecomony! The strangest things are happening here. We seem to be living in days when anything and everything can and does happen. One day we have money, prosperity and the American dream, and the next, folks are looking at ruin.

So, what is the point? Are we ready to through in the towel, turn off the TV’s and start meditaing??? Not a bad concept, but is it practical for the American public…not so much, I’m thinking. But it could start with less TV and a little quiet time. I’ve been encouraged by the groups I’m finding that have Peace on Earth for their missions; there seems to be a lot of young folks, (online and off) who are adding to the Peace on the planet. They care, they’re doing stuff, creating community; most of all they are hopeful. They feel like what they do counts, that they can make a difference, that their voices can be heard. Remember when you were young enough to think that? Wasn’t that a wonderful feeling? Then what happened to us? I think we got cynical and tired. Thank goodness for the new generation of folks who are carrying the ball and inventing some new rules (just like we did) and I’m really looking forward to 2009. Its going to be a GREAT year!

It’s either up or down!

amberwolfphd — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:28:56 +0000

Sept 11 was a memorable day for all of us and I planned on making my prayers and acknowledgements with friends in Sugarloaf, but the Universe had other plans…

I started the day with a wonderful long walk around Golden Ponds, little knowing that it would be my last long walk for a very long time. Just a few hours later, I took a short, but very intense fall down the stone steps of our deck. Now its crutches, a walker and ice packs…the good news is that nothing is broken and I expect to be back to dancing in two weeks; well maybe walking without assistance, anyway~

But no bike riding or last of the season kayaking with Sid; so sad. I am grateful for strong, flexible bones! Keep eating those leafy greens and calcium supps and Body Talk!!

Sweet Sunshine, Early Sunset

amberwolfphd — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 03:25:38 +0000

Another glorious day in Colorado; we were in our kayaks at Union Resevoir for most of it. What a blessing! The birds are gathering as a migration pit stop. We saw pelicans, snowy egrets, great blue herons, coots, grebes, gulls and a couple of hawks. Perhaps the most remarkable was seeing a group of about 12 pelicans flying in formation and circling the lake to land. Then there were the 2 dozens sail boats from the sailing school skirting the shore like a flock of fledglings We took our boats out at about 4:30 and held down the shore for a bit, watching the boats and birds at play; it was too chilly to sit in the shade…a first for the tail end of a full season. Tonight the sun went behind the ridge at 7:30…my my, so sad. I can already free the smallest part of contraction happening as my ‘inner’ gets ready for the short days and colder temps. BUT before that, I’m up for an long and glorious Indian summer; how about you?