Even If You Have Allergies, Don’t Sneeze On My Breakfast

Benefits of Acupuncture and Herbs for Allergies and Deep Breathing

I was pretty psyched about my breakfast. I made scrambled eggs (they were perfect), I toasted my Lender’s bagel lightly brown with cream cheese, and made beef fry (Jewish bacon).

I sat down to eat and my brother, who just woke up, smelling disgusting, leaned over my food and sneezed all over it. He then picked it up and put it in the sink and turned on the water. I am pretty laid back and always have been throughout my life. But this all changed when my brother soup nazi’d my breakfast. I still can visualize how red my face got and how my brain went from peaceful (Snoop Dog chill) to full-on rage mode (Oscar Will Smith). I thought, "How can I kill my brother as fast as I can and as painfully as possible?"

I jumped up and attacked and we rolled around, me wildly trying to kill him, smashing into everything. He was bigger and stronger so it was all pretty unsuccessful.

My mother (not overly coordinated) who was upstairs heard the WWE brawl going on in the kitchen. She bolted to the stairs, tripped, and grabbed the picture on the wall, smashing down all the stairs and shattering the picture. My brother (now a rabbi, who still feels really sorry about this breakfast incident) and I immediately stopped our death match and ran to her because we were sure our mom had flown through the windows and was dead outside. 

Two things that you can learn about my family from this story: One, my brother had bad allergies. He would sneeze all day everyday. He would have gross mucous tissues everywhere. They were in his room in the bathroom, in the car and every pair of shorts and pants he wore. He also spent two years on the toilet in college having violent stomach attacks because no one knew lactose intolerance was a thing but that is a whole other blog.

Two, when my rabbi brother decided to ruin my breakfast I should have taken a breath, walked away, tried to control my emotions and then come back and killed him.

What you can learn from this blog 

I try to teach all my patients to take a breath. There is an idea in Chinese medicine of breathing in your Dan tian. It's your lower abdomen, and deep breathing in this area helps to relax your system. We all forget to breathe but after I put the needles in and I am about to leave the room I remind my patients to focus on their breath. It helps to slow your system down, rebalance your nervous system and be present with your body.

As far as allergies go, we are deep into allergy season. Come in and see me for acupuncture and herbs. When one's immune system isn't up to par our allergies overtake our system. There are a couple of formulas for allergies that help to curb the potency of the external factors. A combination of herbs and acupuncture is very effective at keeping our immune system strong to fight off all the pollen, ragweed and other pathogens in the air. 

Acupuncture is an investment in your health. Take time each week to carve out an hour to reset your mind and body as it is essential to an optimal NYC life.