local insights

How to Create an Inspired and Empowered Life

by Nanci Deutsch

To wake up each day and feel happy to be alive and inspired to create is possible. Every day we can feel empowered to speak our truth, set limits and boundaries and practice essential self-care. To do this, begin with practicing the following three principles:

The first principle is connection. We can learn to develop a greater connection with our feelings, our breath and our body, and practice becoming present by grounding. One of the ways to ground is by feeling our feet on the earth, whether in nature or at home. Bring awareness to the sensations as you place your feet in the sand, on the grass or even on the wood floors and carpet of your home. Breathe it in. Before we can make a deeper connection with others, connecting with ourselves is crucial. Another aspect of this principle is to make a deeper connection with oneself and the universe by having more self-awareness, spending time in solitude and connecting to the deeper and higher aspects of oneself such as our Higher Self (a wise and unconditionally loving part of ourselves) and our soul.

The second principle is self-love. The more we learn to love and believe in ourselves, the more our lives will change. Learning how to connect more deeply with ourselves will foster more self-love. Learning self-acceptance, self-respect and self-forgiveness are all important aspects of self-love. No matter where we are on our path of growth, expanding into more self-love is essential. We are infinite beings having a human experience and part of that experience is learning to love ourselves. We can choose to love ourselves in any moment, by placing a hand on our heart, feeling it’s beat, connecting to our breath and saying, “I choose to love me.” Making it a choice is empowering.

The third principle is making decisions and acting by first tuning into and

listening to our intuition. Our intuition is our gift from the Divine that can guide us every step of the way to creating a life we love. Before we can tune in, we need to quiet our mind or clear our energy, ask for guidance, and then allow the answers to be received. Tools such as meditation, prayer, yoga and journaling can all be ways to clear our energy so we can connect more deeply to ourselves and receive the guidance that wants to come through. Nanci Deutsch is a licensed clinical social worker, a certified hypnotherapist and an intuitive breakthrough expert. She is the host of a TV show, Inspired & Empowered Living, which streams live every Tuesday at 11 a.m., on W4WN.com and is a podcast on iHeart.com. To receive her Intuitive Decision-Making Meditation, visit InspiredAndEmpoweredLiving. com/meditation. For more information and to receive emails and/or updates about her upcoming events, call 1-877-HiNanci, email Nanci@ NanciDeutsch.com, or visit NanciDeutsch.com.

WE LOVE OUR ADVERTISING PARTNERS

WE THINK YOU WILL TOO!

KATE MANSFIELD ACUPUNCTURE

716 Greenwich Street, the West Village NYC & 41 Union Square West, NYC

929-277-0760 katemansfieldacu@gmail.com katemansfieldacupuncture.com

See ad, page 40.

Problems Within Thyroid Diagnosis

WHY MEDICATION SOMETIMES DOESN’T WORK

by David Pollack, D.C.

Typically when learning of a thyroid problem, most people are led to believe that their thyroid has slowed down for some reason. Few get more details beyond a cursory mention of a high blood level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) meaning a slow thyroid. These patients are prescribed medications like levothyroxine, synthroid and sometimes natural bio-identical hormones like ArmourThyroid and Nature-Throid, marketed to normalize thyroid levels and balance the metabolism. Despite the medication, many still feel the same hypothyroid symptoms: fatigue, weight gain, brain fog, aches and pains, lack of motivation and more. In most cases, the problem lies within the diagnosis. The most common type of hypothyroid problem is called Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. It is an auto-immune disease and accounts for nearly 70 percent of all hypothyroid issues. The hallmark of Hashimoto's is the autoimmune process, not the slowing of the thyroid. In fact, the thyroid doesn’t slow at all; if anything, it tries to speed up. Our thyroid produces two hormones: Tetraidothyronine, or T4, and the forgotten hormone, calcitonin, which helps control how the body uses calcium. T4 is the weak inactivated thyroid hormone that must be converted into T3, the active form. To do that, our T4 thyroid hormone jumps on a thyroglobulin (TG) bus. This protein bus, which is made by the liver, brings the T4 back to the liver. It is primarily in the liver that T4 is converted to T3, the active form, by the enzyme thyroperoxidase (TP), also made in the liver. The T3 then boosts our metabolism and life is good. In Hashimoto's, however, either or both the TG bus and TP enzyme is destroyed by the body's confused and hyperactive immune system resulting in a diagnosis of thyroid problems. No where is a slow or sluggish thyroid described. In fact, someone’s thyroid could be pumping out T4 because their body is screaming that metabolism is low, but no buses come to transfer it to the liver. The result would be an excess of T4 sitting in the thyroid but not the blood. The thyroid is not slow; the issue is one of transportation and conversion. The excess T4 that piles up in the thyroid can lead to a nodule or cyst. For those interested in reversing and healing Hashimoto's, a systematic approach of healing all the areas involved is necessary. Healing the gut, restoring and detoxifying the liver, unclogging the lymphatic system, balancing all the hormone systems of the body and ridding the entire body of inflammation are some of the most important steps in healing Hashimoto's. Appropriate treatments are necessary, such as acupuncture, dietary modification, passive detoxification and other methods to speed up and more deeply heal the body. There are effective strategies to reversing Hashimoto's and attaining high energy, losing weight naturally and living life to its fullest.

Dr. David Pollack, DC LAc CFMP, is a chiropractor and acupuncturist. He also has advanced studies in nutrition, Traditional Chinese Medicine and botanical medicine. His practice, Pollack Wellness Institute, is located at 66 Commack Rd., Ste. 204, Commack, NY. For more information, call 631-462-0801 or visit PollackWellness.com.See ads, pages 4 and 12.