Hi, I'm Dana LaVoie, LAc, Acupuncturist & Herbalist specializing in women’s health for over 15 years.
And in this video I'm going to show you one of my favorite home remedies for hot flashes - it's an acupressure ear massage mediation all wrapped up on one 2-minute package.
I'll show you how to use a regular stress management/active relaxation technique to reduce hot flashes & other menopausal symptoms.
I'll also show you the studies - as in many, multiple, over and over, showing that this is incredibly effective. Plus of course it feels good, it's free, and you can do it anytime, anywhere in about 2 minutes!
Here's what you'll see in the video...
00:07 How this video can take the place of time traveling to the future
00:30 I reveal - THE BIG SECRET
00:47 Research shows meditation helps reduce hot flashes (by a huge amount)
01:07 Another bit of research shows paced respiration helps reduce hot flashes (by a lot)
01:26 Yes more researches found that meditation decreases hot flashes (by a huge amount)
02:05 Why I recommend starting small & consistent
02:20 How the technique I’m teaching today uses 3 techniques at once to maximize your benefits in minimal time.
02:55 Here’s the exact protocol
04:37 This is me looking more relaxed than I ever have on camera - from doing this simple massage for 2 minutes!
04:47 I show how you can do this massage anywhere like sitting in your car (when you’re parked - not while you’re driving)
05:00 You can see here how much my dog loves this ear massage as well
05:10 How I like to fit this little massage into my daily routine
05:59 How to download my Menopause Toolkit for FREE and get lots of other home remedies for menopause
Essential oils: In the video I used Geranium essential oil - one of my faves for ears.. But I also love to use either Lavender or Frankincense for this ear massage - whatever I have handy. Just be sure to use the highest quality essential oils.
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Links!
I mention a number of links in the video.. well here they are - all worth checking out!
A study showed..
http://www.webmd.com/menopause/news/20060913/meditation-may-cool-hot-flashes
The NAMS recommends relaxation, specifically paced respiration because of this...
http://www.menopause.org/docs/default-document-library/tfprelax_eng.pdf?sfvrsn=0
Heres a youtube video of Dr Sarah Gottfried showing paced respiration...though in my research most experts recommend adding a pause - so after you inhale - hold your breath for a count of 2-4 before exhaling - do everything else the same!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aDEwZ2MuRk
UMass researchers found...
http://www.prevention.com/mind-body/natural-remedies/4-reasons-you-need-meditate
Bonus! TM can also benefit menopausal women in this way...
http://www.tm-women.org/menopause/
Heres a fun app for learning meditation online.
And here is my PERSONAL FAVORITE breathing app
http://www.saagara.com/apps/breathing/health-through-breath-pranayama
Want to learn more Acupressure?
Check out this post to learn an Acupressure routine that's perfect before bed.. Acupressure for Menopause Insomnia.
Read the full text of my Home Remedies For Hot Flashes: Acupressure Ear Massage Meditation Video here:
How would you like to decrease your hot flashes & other menopausal symptoms without changing your diet, taking a pill, or time traveling to the future?
In this video I’m going to show you one of my favorite home remedies for hot flashes. It's free and takes just minutes a day and does all this and more - so stick around.
Hi I'm Dana Lavoie, Acupuncturist, Herbalist, and founder of Menopause Basics.
So what’s the big secret?? It’s stress management - or active relaxation - or meditation - it has many names. It’s one of the secrets Asian women know- that doing this helps reduce menopausal symptoms and I want to get the word out about it everywhere else because it is so effective!
In 2006 a study showed that meditation decreased the number of hot flashes women were having by an average of 39% and decreased the severity of the hot flashes by 40% and the women found their overall quality of life increased and they were better able to deal with the hot flashes they still had.
The North American Menopause Society recommends relaxation - specifically paced respiration - for 15 min twice a day and Dr Sara Gottfried says paced respiration practiced for 20 min has been shown to cut hot flashes and night sweats by 44%.
And researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School found the severity of women's hot flashes when they were in menopause decreased by 40%. when they practiced meditation.
And as a bonus… research has shown that the Transcendental Meditation technique reduces heart attack risk and the risk of metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women.
So - hopefully you’re feeling like ok Dana I'm convinced how to do I do this!! First - let me say it’s easier than you think to have a regular stress management or active relaxation practice - also known as meditation… and when you add acupressure - you just up your benefits. What I recommend is start small but consistent - so 2 minutes a day - but make it a habit and do it every day. Then when that gets easy - increase it to 5 or 10 minutes.
Now i want to show you how I like to do this - I actually love to meditate, but find it hard to find the amount of time i would like for it.. So i combine modalities to get the most out of the time i do spend meditating… Plus I want to show you a relaxation technique you won’t find everywhere else!
It's an acupressure ear massage -and it combines the benefits of acupressure, breathing, and essential oils (if you want to use them) so you’re getting a 3 in one - practice it for 3 minutes and get 9 minutes worth of benefit is the way i see it! (not that meditation is supposed to be a race - but why not?)
Here’s the protocol - and be sure to check out this same video on my blog for all the links mentioned in the video and other great natural home remedies for hot flashes - plus links to great places online where you can learn different styles of meditation and breathing exercises including paced respiration.
So the first thing that I do or my ear massage is I put a little hand cream on my hands. This just dilutes the essential oils in a really easy way. Then I grab my bottle of essential oil and just upend it on my finger. You don't need a whole drop you just need a tiny little bit, and I rub that into the pads of my pointer finger and my thumb of both hands.
Now the two movements you're going to be using during the massage are this gentle circling and this pulling motion. So to start you're going to do a circling motion with your ear between your thumb and the pad of your pointer finger.. and start at the top of your ear and work your way down making little circles with gentle pressure while you take 3 deep breaths in and out. And if you want, after you inhale you can hold your breath for a moment before you exhale.
When you've gone all the way from the top to the bottom go back to the top and pull your ear away from your head at the top, the middle, and the bottom taking a deep breath each time. And that is the whole ear massage. you can do it that quickly and that easily. you can repeat the whole thing if you want a little more benefit.
You can do this massage anywhere. I dont recommend doing it while driving, but I love do it while parked in the car before or after whatever I'm going to be doing. And I've got to tell you, everybody loves this ear massage. Even horses they especially like it when you pull their ears away from their head. This ear massage is great to do when you first arrive home after work before you go in the house. It can really help you switch mental gears from thinking like you're at work to thinking like you're at home.
It's great to do after any stressful meeting or encounter, and I love to do it to set the intention for relaxation and good health for whatever the next segment of my day is going to be.
And when you're out and about doing this there is no need for the essential oils.. you can do this without the oils, all you need is your ears and your fingers, you're still going to get tons of benefit. However, if you keep the oils in your purse and add them to your massage every time you walk into a room people will be like "what smells so good" when you show up.
So I hope you loved that! And if you did, be sure and download my FREE menopause toolkit for other great natural home remedies for hot flashes plus info on how to optimize your vitamin D levels and more..
And please be sure like this video and subscribe to my channel for more great women’s health tips. I’ll see you next time - this is Dana LaVoie, and thanks for watching.
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