by Jennifer Scott
Pixabay.com
Caregivers have one of the hardest jobs imaginable. Whether paid or volunteer, they bear an emotionally heavy load. It only makes sense that they would top a giver’s list during the holiday season, but finding that perfect gift can be cumbersome. This is especially true when the gift carries with it a message of understanding and appreciation for the caregiver’s sacrifice. Here are a few gift ideas to help you show the caregiver in your life just how much you care for them.
1. Massage Therapy & Bodywork
Making sure caregivers get time to relax and destress is incredibly important, especially when that person doesn’t get paid. If you want to give your caregiver a chance to decompress during or after the holidays, consider massage and bodywork options. Massage therapy services come in a variety of forms referred to as modalities. While there is sure to be one that meets the needs of the caregiver in your life, consider their comfort level before purchasing a specific service. One to consider includes Swedish massage, which is the most common type of massage therapy. Others, like acupressure, reflexology, and deep tissue, are design to address specific needs.
2. Spa Services
If your caregiver isn’t comfortable getting a massage, consider the alternative services available at a spa for pampering they are sure to enjoy. If you aren’t close enough to the caregiver to know their preferences, getting them a gift certificate that will cover massage but can be used on any service, like facials, manicures and pedicures, or styling, is a great option. If you are still unsure, consider purchasing a gift card for a national chain like Ulta Beauty, so the caregiver can elect beauty services on their own or purchase their favorite products instead.
3. Subscriptions
Caregivers are often so busy caring for the needs of their charge that they sometimes impose the same dietary restrictions on themselves for the sake of time. Meal subscriptions like Blue Apron and other delivery services can make preparing wholesome, delicious meals a snap. If meals aren’t appropriate, consider other types of subscription services, like wine, cosmetics, or magazines. Really, just about anything your caregiver enjoys is available as a subscription at whatever price point your budget allows, and it will be a gift that will continue to give throughout the year.
4. Adult Activity Books
While massage therapy and spa treatments are obvious ways to help a caregiver relax, they aren’t practical activities for every day. Those spending a significant amount of time monitoring your loved one may enjoy simpler ways to destress and pass the time while your loved one is resting. Consider things like adult coloring books, activity books, crossword puzzles, and sudoku. These offer an element of lighthearted fun to the caregiver’s day without a significant time commitment.
While these options are all great ways to show the caregiver you care and can help them relax during the holidays or year to come, they may not work for everyone. Gift giving is a very personal activity for both the giver and receiver. If you find that none of these meet your needs for one reason or another, just remember to stay focused on helping your caregiver relax, and don’t overthink it. Regardless of the gift you ultimately choose, the show of appreciation for the sacrifices they make will shine through to the recipient.
Another highly effective and lasting tool one could give to the caregivers in our lives, is the gift of stress-control, healing and rejuvenation. By using scientifically based breathing and meditation exercises, our Éiriú Eolas program offers exactly that. It is available for free on our website, with the option of purchasing it as a gift for your loved ones during this coming holiday season.
By Jennifer Scott
The holidays are one of the most stressful times of the year— especially when you have kids. The pressures of event planning and attending, financial strains, workplace pressure, and family drama can all trigger anxiety. Add on those things, but for your kids, and as a parent you have more than enough to handle come December. Once school is let out for the holiday break, it’s almost more than a person can bear.
Of course, you’re more than just a person– you’re a parent. And parents get through the holiday season every year. All it takes is a lot of planning and a little help, and you can make it to the New Year unscathed.
Set Clear Expectations
When it comes to stress management, boundaries are your friends. Sit down and make a list of realistic expectations for what you can and cannot do during the holiday season. Start with work. For example, what days can you come in and what days are you asking off for vacation? Now is as good a time as any to remind supervisors, set project goals, and schedule your out-of-office email responder.
Expectations are not just for your professional life. Set boundaries as far as holiday planning goes. Do you have time to holiday shop for all of your family members, or can you delegate some of that responsibility to your spouse or partner? You may have time to plan one party for work colleagues, but you don’t have to host a gift exchange for every group and club you are in. Your time is one of your most valuable assets, so budget it wisely during this stressful time.
Hire Help When Needed
With all the extra responsibilities the holidays throw our way, sometimes we need an extra hand with all the chores we normally do. For instance, if you need to spend every spare moment shuffling kids to parties and attending recitals, you hardly have the time (or energy!) to clean up around the house once you are home.
Hiring a housekeeper or maid service can take that one thing off your list so you can have that extra time for yourself– up to five hours! It doesn’t even have to take a huge bite out of your budget. HomeAdvisor estimates the average price to clean a house’s interior is $118 to $240. Your home may be crazy busy, but there’s no reason it can’t be crazy busy and clean.
Get Moving!
Exercising is a great way to relieve stress. When your body feels well, your mind performs better. Physical activity also releases endorphins– neurotransmitters that elevate your mood and provide relaxation. Exercise has also been called “meditation in motion.” Practicing mindfulness during stress-filled periods can help prevent mental exhaustion and burnout. Taking time each day to exercise also provides structure in your schedule, which can help us feel grounded during times of stress.
To help your entire family get through the season, exercise together. Take the dog for a walk around a nearby park. Or, play a quick game of your favorite sport. Parents.com has several great ideas for exercising as a family. Get moving to help reduce stress as well as promote bonding.
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The holidays are stressful on their own, but for parents they can be downright crazy. However, you can get through this time of year with a lot planning and a little help. Before the season even begins, set boundaries regarding what you can and cannot do. Don’t let your plate get too full to handle. Acquiring help to take over chores around the house can help free up time you need to focus on other holiday responsibilities– or just to relax! Finally, don’t forget to take time out for your physical health and exercise. Doing it as a family can keep the household calmer while also providing opportunities to bond.
Dr Sircus.com
January 6, 2015
Meditation and breathing techniques, such as those contained in the Éiriú Eolas program, activate and sustain the vagus nerve, which in turn inhibits inflammation and stress by regulating the immune system
In the brilliant scientific paper, ‘The pulse of inflammation: heart rate variability, the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway and implications for therapy,’ Dr. Jared M. Huston, Department of Surgery, Stony Brook University Medical Center discovered a neural control circuit that acts to keep the body’s cytokine production, and therefore inflammatory response, in check.[1]
During the 1990s, the authors of this review quietly opened up an entirely new way of looking at inflammation. Inflammation is intimately connected to all the major diseases of our times shortening lives and causing pain on a persistent daily basis so this is crucial information that sadly is ignored by contemporary medicine.
The vagus nerve is a very long nerve running from the hypothalamus area of your brain, chest, diaphragm, and to our intestines. It wraps around our heart and solar plexus center so it is very involved with our feelings and thinking. We have an extraordinarily hard time healing and even learning when the vagus nerve is disturbed.
What Dr. Huston discovered is an anti-inflammatory neural circuit, the vagus nerve, which is controlled with conscious breathing, yoga and emotional and positive mental frameworks. The difference between life and death (cytokine storms) and recovery from chronic inflammatory diseases begins with the vagus nerve that regulates the heart rate variability (HR,)—varying the rate at which the heart beats beat-for-beat.
Research has found that the neurotransmitter acetylcholine acts as a brake on inflammation in the body.[2] Stimulating the vagus nerve sends acetylcholine (acetylcholine plays part in learning and memory) throughout the body, not only making us feel relaxed, but also putting out the fires of inflammation – something that happens in response to stress.
Termed ‘the inflammatory reflex’, this neurological mechanism involves the vagus nerve, which can sense peripheral inflammation and transmit action potentials from the periphery to the brain stem. This in turn leads to the generation of action potentials in the descending vagus nerve that are relayed to the spleen, where pro-inflammatory cytokine production is inhibited.
Amongst the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Western societies are heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and sepsis. Recent advances in immunology reveal a significant pathogenic role for inflammation in the development and progression of these disorders. Inflammation accelerates deposition of atherosclerotic plaques leading to myocardial and cerebral infarction, mediates insulin resistance, stimulates tumor growth, and causes organ damage in lethal sepsis.
The way it works is that signals from the brain stem travel to the spleen (which is responsible for a lot of immune system regulation) and act on particular white blood cells (lymphocytes, or T cells). These white blood cells produce nerve transmitter acetycholine to reduce the production of cytokines by macrophages in the immune system.
Without the influence of the vagus nerve, cytokines are produced in much larger quantities in response to e.g. bacterial infections. The authors have demonstrated that artificially stimulating the vagus nerve controls the activation of circulating immune cells as well as production of cytokines. Diminished vagus nerve signals normally provide an inhibitory influence on cytokine production.
The dangers of uncontrolled inflammation are inherent to the molecular activity of cytokines themselves, and maintenance of health requires tight control over the steps leading to the production and release of cytokines.
Cardiovascular disease, the Western World’s biggest killer results from atherosclerosis, itself triggered by the action of cytokine produced C-reactive protein (CRP). Several studies have shown an inverse relationship between HRV and CRP levels and to physical activity levels, where the most physically active people demonstrate the lowest CRP, and highest HRV.
This discovery also proposes the reason why health is improved by exercise. It is directly due to the combination of increased HRV and reduced inflammation. Action potentials transmitted in the vagus nerve culminate in the release of acetylcholine that blocks cytokine production by cells expressing acetylcholine receptors. The molecular mechanism of this cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway is attributable to signal transduction by the nicotinic alpha 7 acetylcholine receptor subunit, a regulator of the intracellular signals that control cytokine transcription and translation.
Factors that trigger inflammation also enhance the activity of anti-inflammatory pathways, which function to counter-balance inflammation. This concurrent activation of pro- and anti-inflammatory mechanisms is analogous to other homoeostatic systems but nowhere in medicine do we see doctors prescribing breathing techniques to get control of this particular neuro pathway to maximize the body’s ability to counter-balance inflammation.
Dr. Huston says, “The splenic nerve controls lymphocytes in the spleen, which can produce acetylcholine that interacts with α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors expressed on cytokine producing macrophages. Intracellular signal transduction through this receptor inhibits the activity of nuclear factor-κB to suppress cytokine production. The spleen is a critical physiological interface between cholinergic anti-inflammatory signaling and regulation of systemic immune responses. Heart rate is controlled by action potentials transmitted via the vagus nerve to the sinoatrial node of the heart, where vagus nerve-dependent acetylcholine release essentially ‘prolongs’ the time to the next heartbeat, thus slowing the pulse. Measuring the time between individual heart beats, as can be accomplished with software that captures the distance between R waves on the electrocardiogram (EKG) tracing, provides information about the instantaneous heart rate.”
Heart Rate Variability
Heart rate variability represents the time differences between successive heartbeats (also known as the beat-to-beat interval), and is synonymous with RR variability, referring to the R waves on the electrocardiogram corresponding to ventricular depolarization. The ratio of low-to-high- frequency spectral power (LF/HF) has been proposed as an index of sympathetic to parasympathetic balance of heart rate fluctuation and this is confirmed by the VedaPulse, a remarkable diagnostic machine.
Measures of HRV have been strongly correlated to morbidity and mortality from diverse diseases. Early clinical findings, first observed more than 50 years ago, revealed that variability in RR intervals predict the onset of fetal distress before any measurable changes in absolute heart rate. There is now extensive experience using HRV measures in diverse disease syndromes and these data indicate that decreased vagus nerve activity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. These correlations include increased morbidity and mortality following cardiac surgery or myocardial infarction, increased mortality from sepsis and progression or disease severity in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, systemic lupus erythematosus and sarcoidosis.
Prior to knowledge of the inflammatory reflex, it was thought that decreased vagus nerve activity in these cases resulted from neural damage associated with the underlying diseases. It is now possible to consider an alternative explanation that decreased vagus nerve activity and the associated loss of the tonic inhibitory influence of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway on innate immune responses and cytokine release, may enable significantly enhanced cytokine responses to stimuli that would have been otherwise harmless in the presence of a functioning neural circuit.
HRV and vagus nerve activity are useful as a long-term measure of inflammation in chronic diseases. Correction of chronic, maladaptive levels of inflammation using nerve stimulators might prevent the progression of debilitating and deadly diseases, potentially replacing the need for some biological therapeutics.
Neurologists and psychologists should take notice that a principle nerve pathway exists that acts as a kind of grand unification station to meld body, mind and spirit. Neurologically speaking the vagus nerve speaks for what is happening on all the major levels of our body and being. Our heart does not lie, not when you look at what it is saying on a beat-to-beat basis (HRV). It is our most honest digital code and doctors can read it using the VedaPulse. A five-minute test done in the comfort of one’s own home or doctor’s office and one has a five minute readout of the code the heart is putting out.
Personal Note: There are many ways with or without technology to read into the body, mind and soul of a person. The Russian VedaPulse diagnostic and treatment recommending digital device was very helpful personally in my struggle to get to the bottom of my health situation, which started over two years ago with GERD and ended up mapping out everywhere my vagus touches. I was always nervous, reluctant and downright obstinate about not getting a typical western diagnosis and I have written many books about why I feel this way.
This motivated me to create an entirely new form of medicine called Natural Allopathic Medicine, which I will continue to evolve as long as I have life, breath and love in my life. It is my intent to publish Getting Control of One’s Vagus Nerve – Breathing and Heart Rate Variability – book and accompanying workbook, which will be delivered to your email box every other day.
[2]Pavlov, V.A., and K.J. Tracey. 2005. The cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. Brain Behav Immun 19 (6):493-99.
Éiriú Eolas is a program that teaches a variety of scientifically researched breathing and meditation techniques for relieving stress and clearing away layers of repressed and unprocessed emotions. It is designed to be accessible even to those with little or no experience with yoga, meditation, or other wellness practices.
In this 2 hour workshop we will be discussing the science of stress, how it affects the organs and nervous system, and how certain breathing techniques can influence our physiology (primarily through the vagus nerve) to counter that stress and create a sense of relaxation in a hectic world. We can actively strengthen our body’s innate ability to heal and rejuvenate through practicing these techniques.
Some of the benefits people have experienced on the program include
⦁ fast-acting stress relief
⦁ deeper and more restful sleep
⦁ improved digestion
⦁ reduced junk food cravings
⦁ reduced depression and anxiety
⦁ calmer, less racing thoughts, and
⦁ greater emotional richness and overall sense of wellbeing
The event will be hosted on Friday August 19 at Yoga on 7th, which is a beautiful heritage building a short walk from Broadway and Main. Cost of admission is $20 ($10 for students and seniors). Hope to see you there!
If you’re curious about the program but not sure if you can commit, check out the free online version of the program or its FAQ below.
Free online version
FAQ
The first Vancouver class will be held on Friday May 20th at Yoga on 7th – a beautiful heritage building at 156 E 7th Avenue, a block north of Broadway and Main. Class begins at 7:30pm and goes to 9:30pm. Two other classes will be held on June 3rd and 17th at the same location and time. In these 2 hour workshops we will be discussing the science of stress, how it affects the organs and nervous system, and how certain breathing techniques can influence our physiology to counter that stress and create a sense of relaxation in a hectic world. We can actively strengthen our body’s innate ability to heal and rejuvenate through practicing these techniques. Hope to see you there!
Two more Éiriú Eolas classes are being held in Surrey in May. The first is Saturday May 14th, and the second is Saturday May 28th. Both classes are from 11am-1pm, and both are at Endless Shore Yoga (upstairs in room 222 at 2570 King George Blvd. in South Surrey, British Columbia). In these 2 hour workshops we will be discussing the science of stress, how it affects the organs and nervous system, and how certain breathing techniques can influence our physiology to counter that stress and create a sense of relaxation in a hectic world. We can actively strengthen our body’s innate ability to heal and rejuvenate through practicing these techniques. Hope to see you there!
Two more Éiriú Eolas classes are being held in April. The first is Sunday April 10th, and the second is Sunday April 24th. Both classes are from 10 am-noon, and both are at Endless Shore Yoga (upstairs in room 222 at 2570 King George Blvd. in South Surrey, British Columbia). In these 2 hour workshops we will be discussing the science of stress, how it affects the organs and nervous system, and how certain breathing techniques can influence our physiology to counter that stress and create a sense of relaxation in a hectic world. We can actively strengthen our body’s innate ability to heal and rejuvenate through practicing these techniques. Hope to see you there!
Two more Éiriú Eolas classes are being held in March. The first is Saturday March 12th, and the second is Saturday March 26th. Both classes are from 5pm-7pm, and both are at Endless Shore Yoga (upstairs in room 222 at 2570 King George Blvd. in South Surrey, British Columbia). In these 2 hour workshops we will be discussing the science of stress, how it affects the organs and nervous system, and how certain breathing techniques can influence our physiology to counter that stress and create a sense of relaxation in a hectic world. We can actively strengthen our body’s innate ability to heal and rejuvenate through practising these techniques. Hope to see you there!
There is another opportunity to learn Éiriú Eolas this Saturday, February 13 at 12:30-2:30pm. The class will be held at Endless Shore Yoga, upstairs in room 222 at 2570 King George Blvd. in South Surrey, British Columbia.
In this 2 hour workshop we will be discussing the science of stress, how it affects the organs and nervous system, and how certain breathing techniques can influence our physiology to counter that stress and create a sense of relaxation in a hectic world. We can actively strengthen our body’s innate ability to heal and rejuvenate through practising these techniques. Hope to see you there!
Start the New Year with Éiriú Eolas, for stress-release, detoxification and rejuvenation!
Two Éiriú Eolas workshops will be held at Endless Shore Yoga in South Surrey, BC.
The first is on Saturday January 16th. The second is on Saturday January 30th. Both go from 5-7pm at Endless Shore Yoga, which is in the upstairs room 222 at 2570 King George Blvd in Surrey, BC. The attendance contribution is $20. If anyone wants to come but cannot afford to pay $20, accommodations will be made – no one will be turned away for lack of funds!
An Éiriú Eolas workshop will be held at Endless Shore Yoga in South Surrey, BC!
The class is at 10am on Saturday December 19, 2015. It is located at Endless Shore Yoga, which is in the upstairs room 222 at 2570 King George Blvd in Surrey, BC. The attendance contribution is $20. If anyone wants to come but cannot afford to pay $20, accommodations will be made – no one will be turned away for lack of funds!
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