Natural Alternatives Center for Wellness

  Winter Wellness  with Dr Sephanie Lipnicki, DACM, LAc I want to share a poem that I first heard on the show Little Bear  - when my cousin’s son was little and I would watch him while she worked. Little Bear was a Maurice Sendak creation - of Where the Wild Things Are fame, and they shared this poem  - which always makes me think of the Winter Solstice - which is at the end of the week, the poem wasn’t Maurice Sendak’s, it’s actually anonymous: Whether the weather be fine,  Or whether the weather be not,  Whether the weather be cold,  Or whether the weather be hot. We'll weather the weather,  Whatever the weather,  Whether we like it or not! Anonymous In NJ where I am, we  experience a change of seasons, so we need to weather the weather whatever the weather. But we can make it more tolerable by taking steps to stay by dressing appropriately, eating foods for the season, taking steps to exercise in a way that keeps us healthy, and making sure to choose the right supplements to s

 Congee Basics and Variations Dr Stephanie Lipnicki, DACM, LAc Ingredients:   3/4 -1 c of rice (I like to use Sushi rice, but any long grain white rice will do) 7-10  cups of chicken brother, vegetable broth, bone brother, water (the amount of liquid will depend on the thickness you like) Salt to taste (I add very little at the end) Really those three ingredients make a basic congee! Some people rinse their rice, I do not.  Stovetop Method: 1. Put liquid of your choice into your pot and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and add your rice. Next bring the rice and liquid back to a boil, once boiling lower to medium and simmer for about 20-35 minutes, stirring occasionally (you don't want the rice to stick to the bottom of the pot. 2. I generally add cooked protein and veggies to my congee after it has started to thicken (ideas for combos below). If adding raw meat you can add now as well, just make sure pieces are small or shredded. Same thing with frozen veggies - they will warm

 The Separation of Yin and Yang. . . [Originally published April 2011] I had every intention of blogging on a topic every week and at the very least, once a month.  Well it’s been well over a month, and March came in and out like a lion for me and my family as well. I can remember sitting in classes learning about Chinese Medicine and all of its wonders. The root of all things Chinese Medicine could be broken down into Yin and Yang, always intertwining as one waxes, the other wanes going on and on until death when Yin and Yang separate and that which exists changes forever. My maternal grandmother passed away on March 14th, just before the Ides of March (my Uncle said she always told him beware of the Idea of March). She was 92 years young and I am certain that had she lived another 92, I would still feel like I did not have a long enough time with her in my life. She had a stroke on a Wednesday evening  and my Uncle found her early Thursday morning. It was a stroke doctors termed “mas

  So I made the choice to try Acupuncture. . . How long will it take?  Or How many visits will I need? Can you fix me? Dr Stephanie H. Lipnicki, DACM, LAc One of the most frequently asked questions we get as practitioners regarding care are - how long will it take to resolve X condition or how many visits will I need?[ FYI - this question is probably second to the question - what does Acupuncture treat?] That’s a whole other topic I promise to share about later. The answer to today’s question  - that no one wants to hear is - I don’t know. Wait don’t run away!  Okay, the answer isn’t really, I don’t know. When chatting on the phone with potential patients, practitioners can usually get a general idea based on what is going on of what it will take to get a patient back on track. A general rule of thumb with pain, and I have used this equation since I started out 29 years ago as a massage therapist, is: for every year you have battled your pain, consider it could take one month of treatm

 Hypnosis and HypnoSomatic Acupuncture  Dr Stephanie H. Lipnicki, DACM, LAc As a practitioner I am always looking for ways to help my patients to achieve the most optimal state of health and wellness. As someone who suffers from Endometriosis, I am also always looking for tools that help me and my patients to achieve wellness and counter some of the pain of endometriosis.  For some, the word hypnosis conjures images of staged performances where the hypnotist works their craft and then makes members of the audience perform insane tasks - like crowing like a rooster, saying something bizarre, or whatever external response and audience can view.  Hypnosis done as hypnotherapy has an entirely different purpose. The goal is to reach the subconscious mind and have internal changes take place that will enhance the life of the person under hypnosis. As an example, if someone experiences insomnia, they can undergo hypnosis to help alleviate the insomnia. Tools will be suggested that the person

 Falling into Patterns of Health in  Autumn      Dr Stephanie H. Lipnicki, DACM, LAc   When the weather starts to get cooler, and the days shorter, Autumn is a time of drawing inward. We need to prepare for changes in the weather as well as make sure we are eating foods to help keep us warm. Note - patients who are experiencing hot flashes might be able to get away with some foods that are on the more cooling side at this time of year, yet they still need to stay aware of protecting themselves from the external elements of Wind, Dryness, and Cold that work to invade the body in the Autumn.  If Autumn isn't your favorite time of year, you might fight and resist the seasonal change. The environment around us, doesn't resist. The trees draw inward, taking their last bits of nutrients to take them through the winter, and the let go of those leaves, all the while giving us a spectacular array of colors in the process.  That drawing in is also something we are meant to take part in.

 Putting Your Best Face Forward by Dr Stephanie Lipnicki, DACM, LAc There are so many things that Acupuncturists can do to help patients facilitate wellness and spark healing in their lives. While many of my readers, facebook and instagram know that AcuGynecology is a passion of mine, they may or may not know my other love is Acupuncture and Skin Care. My former love of practicing Massage Therapy is only former because I no longer have the stamina to practice Massage Therapy. When it comes to Skin Care, that love started back in 1999. Ok, a bit before that, but officially learning more about it - 1999. Most of my Massage Clients would rave about my techniques when it came to working on their face, scalp, neck and shoulders. They started asking if I ever considered becoming and Aesthetician. . .so I did! Fast forward to my attending Acupuncture school, people I was working on started inquiring about Cosmetic Acupuncture. This was roughly 2005, around the time I was pregnant with my daug

When the summer heat has us wishing for cooler weather - there are steps we can take to cool off by eating foods meant for the season.  One of the first introductions I had to Asian Medicine, back in 1990 in Massage School, was the book Staying Healthy with the Seasons By Elson M Haas. The book explains how certain foods, due to their nature, are healthier to eat at specific times of the year.  Our access to greater varieties of foods due to commerce across vast regions can have us eating foods that might not be ideal for certain times of the year. For instance, if you are sweating and uncomfortable due to the hottest days of summer and global warming frying your buttocks, maybe eating hot peppers that exhaust your body's fluid might not be the best choice. You also don't want to perpetually drink icy, freezing drinks to combat the heat either as that is not ideal for digestion and can squelch the normal digestive fire needed for optimal digestion! How do we strike a balance? E

Keep Your Feet Warm? Sounds like quite the odd suggestion. Why is my Acupuncturist telling me to keep my feet warm to help with my endometriosis and gynecological problems? If you don't already know this, Acupuncturists study hundreds of points located all over the body and those points are located on channels or pathways all over the body. The points are like exits on the highways that are channels. The channels are named after organs that they impact.  There are 3 of these 12 main channels/ superhighways that usually need some TLC when it comes to gynecological concerns and endometriosis. The Liver, the Spleen, and the almighty Kidney. Guess where those channels begin?. . . You guessed it (I hope) - the feeties! Why does it matter if your feet are cold? These channels all have influence on the uterus  - called Zi Gong Xue or the Palace of the Child. AND the uterus does not like cold. WHAT? Nope the uterus doesn't like to be cold. Too much excessive heat isn't grea

This was originally published in 2011 and updated in 2020. I have removed some of the original text as well as added some new information. Added information is in [brackets] Welcome to the  Natural Alternatives Center for Wellness   Blog! If you don't know me, I am [Dr] Stephanie Huth Lipnicki, [DACM], LAc - as you can see from the "about me" corner.  I decided to begin a blog to share information about health, wellness and other things I feel people might find helpful on their path to wellness. [This blog was started in 2011 and clearly not added to frequently enough]. [A great deal has changed since the intro was written. The following is a lengthy bio about who I am and what qualifies me as a specialist in my field.] I started in Massage School 20 years ago [okay it's 2020 and that means it is actually 30 YEARS] and thought my life was going in one direction towards my becoming a Physical Therapist. 20 years later [again 30 YEARS] and after logging many hours of