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4 Paws' Elements
Wellness for Dogs and their Humans
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The concept of Qi for dogs, humans and all beings
As a practitioner of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine I recognize and work with the concept of Qi (pronounced “chee). Qi means life energy or vital energy. The idea is that Qi flows through a series of pathways called meridians. Within these meridians travels Qi and nourishes every cell, muscle, organ and gland in the body. Although my Acupuncture education is based on humans, the concept of Qi is applicable to all living beings. And just as us humans alike, dogs often experience health problems during their lives as well, which can cause their Qi to be affected.
The body can become weakened, Qi can become blocked, restricted or deficient and pain and other problems may arise.
Many things can cause Qi to be blocked or negatively affected, such as
- poor diet,
- physical trauma
- emotional trauma
- inherited Qi weakness (genetics)
- chemical/physical or emotional stress
- illness
- and sometimes unknown causes.
Signs that your Dog is full of healthy Q and therewith is in good health are:
- a healthy coat and fur
- good digestion and elimination patterns
- shiny, healthy eyes and nose
- good spirit and balanced emotions
- no signs of pain
- strong immune system
An emotional balanced dog, a relaxed dog and one that is well nourished and looked after properly, will show signs of healthy Qi, just like us. Good nutrition, exercise, fresh air and a positive mindset are keys to healthy living.
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Trust your journey... enjoy your walk
As a doggy owner, do you always fully trust your dog in any situation? And do you always trust yourself making the right decision and the right choices? It is easy to be driven by doubt and fear.
As a dog owner, not everything is always rosy and cute. Having a supportive community can be key in building trust, self-esteem, health, joy and happiness for your and your best friend - even if it is your Facebook community!
So, I am happy you are here! Thanks for being part of this page!
And don't forget: Trust the journey you and your pet are on, and remember to enjoy ... the walks! ;-)
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Dog owner and doggy wellness
Help your dog to live a happy life, by helping yourself to do the same! Be well, be healthy and practice self-care.
What are your well-being priorities that you create for yourself and your pet?
For me: I try to foster a positive mindset, spend quality time with family, friends and of course my fur babies. I love my work and I meditate regularly. My dogs are being "body groomed" regularly, meaning they get gentle massages on acupuncture points and along their spine to keep all the energies flowing.
But I also acknowledge that there are many areas that I could improve on. Health is a journey. A gradual introduction of better habits often can help to create lasting changes.
What are the areas that you could improve on, for you, and for your pet? Don't be shy, let's hear!
#4PawsElements#4paws#dogwellness#wellness#Love Dogs#dogs#self care#mindset#mindfulness#healthiswealth#healthisajourney
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Reason # 5 why you should meditate with your dog
Reason #5
Enrich spiritual life and strengthen the bond between you and your dog
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What is spirituality and what does it mean to you? There are many different thoughts on what the meaning of this word reflects, and we all might have our own opinions about it, and we all might be right.
When I think about spirituality, I think about that we reside within the universe and the universe resides within us. It means for me to acknowledge that all creatures are from the same energy source and that the same energy source runs within all of us. This energy source is the same concept as Qi, Prana or simply said universal life force. I also believe that all creatures are sentient beings. Spirituality allows us to expand our consciousness beyond ourselves and to connect with everything around us.
Can a dog be spiritual, or does it have a spiritual life? In my opinion absolutely yes! As mentioned above, I believe that this innate universal life force that makes us spiritual beings, runs in all of us, whether humans, dogs, cats, reptiles, plants, insects, etc.
Many dog lovers would agree that there is a spiritual bond between their fur-balls and themselves. This bond allows us for a deeper connection and better understanding.
One way to expand your spiritual life and to strengthen the bond with your pet, is by meditating together. Spiritual people, or people who meditate, often are more positive, more grateful, show increased vitality and are energetically more balanced. These are all great qualities that will benefit yourself, but also your dog, and really any other area of your life as well!
Try meditating by sitting quietly together with your pet or try walking meditations. Walks in nature often bring us much closer to our source and it is a great way to connect, but also to broaden our awareness.
Most importantly … if you haven’t started yet, get on it! You and your dog will love it!
#4PawsElements#4paws#dogs#Love Dogs#doglover#dogtraining#dogslife#meditate with your dog#meditation#spiritual#spiritualpath#spiritualgrowth
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Reason #4 why to meditate with your dog
Reason #4:
Become more confident in your dog an in yourself
In the World of Dog it is easy to feel stressed or judged by others. Is my dog behaving? Am I handling the situation properly? What do others think? Am I a good doggy owner? Etc.
Self-doubt, and doubt in your dog’s behavior, obedience, skills, tricks, etc. can get in the way of you enjoying dog ownership to the fullest. With positive images, affirmations and reduced anxiety it is easier to feel more confidence.
The goal of meditation is to experience the moment, without judgement of the current situation. You learn to manage stress and foster a generally more positive outlook. The increase in emotional and spiritual balance will help you to tackle any situation with higher self-esteem and more confidence. You learn to trust and to connect on a deeper level with your own core and also with your fur baby. Life will be so much better!
When meditating you can incorporate mantras such as:
- I feel confident in myself and my dog
- We are a great team
- Life with my best friend is fun
- I believe in my own and my dog’s abilities
- (Or any other mantra that feels right for you)
Have fun!
#4PawsElements#meditation#meditate with your dog#confidence#affiermation#mantras#dogslife#Love Dogs#cute dogs
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Reason #3 why to meditate with your dog
Reason #3:
Help your dog by helping yourself to stay calm in stressful situations - on (human) Cue!
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As we learned in reason#2 of this 10-point series, a dog’s stress hormones (cortisol levels) have shown to be higher if our own stress hormones are increased. It is in my heart’s desire to help dogs and their owners to live a more relaxed, stress free and happy life together. By making sure that stressors are reduced you and your furball will be much more enjoying life and each other.
So if you have a dog that has separation anxiety, reacts to loud noises, hates car drives or freaks out if he has to visit the vet, or if you are afraid of going to the dog park, meeting other dogs on the street, or entering a doggy competition, etc., you can help yourself and your dog a great deal with tackling the stress on your end of the leash first.
How? By practicing meditation and relaxation exercises regularly and implementing certain techniques on cue. If you practice regularly, not only will you be calmer and more relaxed in general, you can also put the relaxation mode “on cue”. And imagine how nice this will be!
Practice the following technique:
Quick Tensing and Relaxing on “Cue”
Before you start this exercise, choose an image that conveys peace, comfort and happiness, a place or symbol that you will connect with the mental and physical attribution of calmness. This image can be anything you like. You may think of the beach, the view from the top of a mountain, or a favorite spot in nature. It can be an image like the sun, colorful leaves in the wind, ice melting, or any soothing thought. It may be the face of your pet for example. You will then use this image every time when you do this exercise and when you need to relax. This will be your Cue.
Tense your whole body for a few moments. Start at your feet and lower legs, then your thighs and buttocks, pelvic muscles, abdomen, and lower back muscles. Continue to your hands, forearms, upper arms, shoulders, belly, back and the facial muscles.
Hold the tension for a few moments and notice how it feels in your body. Then release the tension completely and let all those tense muscles soften and become supple and relaxed.
Now, every time you do practice the above relaxation exercise, call up that image of yours, at the very moment as you relax your body. Allow the image to take over your bodily and mental calmness. Let all of the qualities of that symbol come to mind and imagine the love, the calm, the quiet, etc. move through your body on the rhythm of your breath.
As you practice this more, you will be able to close your eyes anywhere and relax quickly by calling up your image and filling your awareness with it for a few moments. You will experience, that by recalling the image, your body will now automatically relax much easier.
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Chaser the border collie has the largest tested memory of a non-human animal. She knows 1,022 different toys by name and can retrieve them all by name or category. She also understands common nouns (like house and tree) and can infer the meaning of new words based on ones she already knows. Source Source 2 Source 3
youtube
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Reason #2 why to meditate with your dog
Reason #2:
Develop more awareness = The dog as our mirror
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The bond between a dog and its caregiver is unique and powerful. Our pets are living with us as companions and share living space and time with us. No wonder that our behavior reflects in our beloved companions. So, if you have an agitated, stressed or anxious dog at home, it would be a good idea to refocus your awareness on yourself first. Stress and similar emotions are contagious, and your dog might very well mirror what you portray. So, stop and take a moment, breath and check in with yourself. It might be time to implement some stress relieving techniques, so that you can not only help yourself, but by doing so, also help your dog.
A great way to work on your emotional balance is by developing a mediation practice. And I would like to encourage you to start meditation together with your dog!
A study finds that “Long term stress levels are synchronized in dogs and their owners”. Read the full study here.
The study shows the connection of increased stress hormones and influenced cognitive functions in dogs and their stressed-out owners. Not only short-term stress, but also long-term stress has shown to affect our four-legged friends with raised Cortisol levels. Interesting is that the scientists believe that dogs mirror their owner’s stress level, rather than vice versa! Meditation has shown to lower serum cortisol levels in humans. Therefore, if you are able to reduce your cortisol levels, it will ultimately also reduce your dog’s.
There are many different forms of meditation from Zen meditation to Transcendental Meditation to Chakra Meditations, just to name a few. And I know it can get confusing. If you are unfamiliar with meditation, then you might want to try out different forms and use what works best for you. Topic of today’s blog is to build-up your overall awareness, therefor I like to suggest you try out Mindfulness Meditation, but again, this might differ from person to person.
Let’s have a look at Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a practice that Buddhists call Vipassana or “clear insight” meditation. It is the art of becoming deeply aware of what is here right now in this very moment. The focus is on what’s happening in and around you, and on becoming aware of all the thoughts and feelings that are taking your energy. Mindfulness meditation teaches us to be conscious of what is happening in our lives as well as our environment.
Did you ever notice that animals and also children live in the moment? They do not worry about what’s to come next. With the practice of Mindfulness, we want to achieve exactly that. To live in the moment. Being present in the moment is extremely empowering.
There are many benefits of Mindfulness. Here I will mention some (the full list is much longer) that can be equally beneficial for you and your dog:
Mindfulness helps to relax and calm the mind, reduce stress and anxiety. It helps us to recognize, slow down or stop automatic and habitual reactions which do not serve us. We can respond in a calmer more effective way in stressful or difficult situations. Energy is enhanced, at the same time muscle tension can be decreased. It can help us to make better decisions and to become a more thoughtful leader. It can help to increase the confidence in you and in your dog.
Jon Kabat-Zinn’s, who is the founder of MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) attributes seven attitudes that we need to develop to be successful with Mindfulness:
· Being Non-Judgmental
· Being patient
· Allow ourselves to start with a beginner’s mindset
· Trust our own experience
· Non – Striving attitude
· Acceptance of self
· Letting Go
So, don’t wait any longer, start meditating with your pooch today!
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Reason #1 why to meditate with your dog
Reason #1:
“Understand and learn how your own energy and state of mind influences your dog.”
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Animals communicate through energy. A calm energy from you will generate calmness in your dog. This is especially important if you have a nervous and anxious puppy, or if you get anxious and nervous, or frustrated and irritable easily.
If you can control your own energy and control your thoughts, then this will transfer to your best friend. You can help him to stay calm and you can assure him that everything is cool.
Control your breath, slow your breathing down, put a smile on your face and ground yourself. Drop your shoulders, relieve tension and smile some more. You can use a mantra, for example: "All is good - all is calm" or anything else that helps you to balance your energy.
Sit with your dog and practice this regularly. Also practice this while walking your dog. Walking mediations are fantastic! You will find yourself able to go back to this state of energy easier and easier the more you practice.
In situations where your dog is nervous, you can help her - and yourself - to make it easier and more pleasant for both of you.
Start today, you won't regret it!
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The fate of animals is of greater importance to me than the fear of appearing ridiculous; it is indissolubly connected with the fate of men
Emile Zola
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