National Massage Therapy Week!

Massage lovers and newbies alike are invited to celebrate National Massage Therapy Week with The Center for Integrative Practices! Find out the many therapeutic benefits of massage and manual therapy with our in-house massage therapist, Michael Grego. This week (October 22-25) we will be offering $20 off a massage or manual therapy with Michael Grego to celebrate.

                                             Photo Courtesy of ABMP

Check out The Center's Website for more information and to make an appointment today!

Fresh for Fall

Happy first day of fall! While summer still looms in the air, now is a great time to get together your fall beauty routine before the new season fully hits. In honor of the new harvest, why not try some fall inspired beauty products with some DIY recipes?  A DIY Pumpkin Facial mask rich in vitamin A and C is easy to make and can brighten up your skin after all of the sun damage from the summer. Other DIY recipes include this list of Thanksgiving inspired beauty products which features a butternut squash enzyme mask. Craving apples? Apple cider vinegar can be used in some beauty product recipes listed here.

Enjoy the new season and keep visiting The Center for more news and updates.

Relabeling Our Food

Do you find food labels obtuse?  The New York Times recently wrote an article that shared a project by UC Berkley School of Journalism where students are trying to redesign the way you process nutrition facts. Changing fonts, colors and titles, students are flipping food labels on their heads to make nutrition facts more transparent. A cool way to make nutrition easier to understand. Check out the full article here to see examples of the potential future of the back of your cereal box.

For all the latest news about The Center, keep checking our website.

Staying Cool this 4th of July

It may be a rainy couple of days in New York City, but the humidity and heat can make any 4th of July BBQ a little unbearable. The Mother Nature Network posted an article a couple years ago about unusual ways to stay cool and healthy during the summer. Some surprising methods they found were eating light foods, eating spicy food (spice makes you sweat without raising your body temperature!), and running cool water over your pulse points. All these great ways to stay cool and more can be seen here. The city can trap you in a dense heat often, especially if you are taking the subway or have to walk to get around town. Here are some ways to cool yourself off while stuck without air-conditioning in the city:

1) Map out the free Museums in the city. Always air conditioned, you know you can seek respite here, if only for a few minutes.

2) Use the water ways! On a breezy day, walking along the East River or Hudson is a great way to get from point A to point B and will provide you with a little relief from the dense heat you would feel walking along Lexington or Madison Ave.

3) Seek shade! Central Park is a perfect place to seek shelter in the summer with paths dotted with trees.

4) Public pools are open for the season, a sure way to cool you down on even the hottest days. For a full list of pools, click here.

5) Enjoy smoothie season to it's fullest! Here's a fun July 4th recipe.

Stay happy, stay healthy, and stay tuned for more news from The Center.

Style and Psychology: A Delicious Blend

Welcome back to The Center for Integrative Practices blog! It's been a while and we are excited to share some exciting news with you. It isn't often style and psychology are mixed, but the New York Times style section featured our very own Dr. Amanda Baten this past week! The article discusses beauty products that are created out of food and the possibility of wearing these food-scented products as a dietary technique.  If you didn't have a chance to read this article yet and see what Dr. Amanda Baten has to say on the subject, check out the online article here! For more information on The Center for Integrative Practices, follow our blog or follow us on Facebook. We'll see you back here soon!

Keep your Body Clean while Playing Outdoors

Happy daylight savings! Sunday may have not been fun if you realized too late that you lost an hour, but the prospect of more daylight should boost your spirits. Having longer days means more time to do your favorite outdoor activities like biking or running through Central Park or picking up a game of basketball after work.  The prospect of being outside more is exciting, but an article posted on FitnessMagazine.com warns that pollution may be problematic for the health of the everyday outdoor player.  But don't fret! The article suggests that exercising outside early in the morning or in the evenings reduces your exposure to air pollution. The article also suggests limiting your exposure to grass sprayed with chemicals and checking the air quality levels in your area. Keep yourself healthy this spring and check back with The Center for Integrative Practices for more information on keeping your body and mind healthy.

Personalize your Juice!

It's the start of a new year! There are so many new years resolutions to uphold, and here at The Center, we hope to help keep you healthy in your body, mind and spirit. A fun way to do that? JUICE! The juice cleanse has become a popular part of the detox process, but along with detoxifying your systems, juice can provide you with many health benefits if incorporated into your daily diet.  To help you on your way to feeling great, try this website that let's you choose the ingredients that you love (or the ones you happen to have in the refrigerator at the moment) and concocts a juicy creation complete with detailed recipes, nutrition facts and information about each juices health benefits. Dr. Amanda Baten will be sharing her favorite juice recipes soon so stay tuned!

Detox with Dr. Amanda Baten

Detox December is underway! For the next couple of weeks,  Dr. Amanda Baten will be blogging  her knowledge and advice on detoxing.

And now, our guest blogger  Dr. Amanda Baten on the first steps to detoxification:

Cleansing can happen in several ways; fasting, juicing, or eliminating foods and drinks that build up in the system.  We recommend all three, but done in steps and supported by your physician or health practitioner.

Let’s start this week with an elimination diet:

1. Avoid the following: sugar, caffeine, wheat, gluten, dairy, alcohol, drugs
2. Transform to a diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables, with a significant reduction in the intake of processed foods.
3. Start the day with warm water and lemon.  Then have glass of filtered water with 1 tbsp of psyllium husks and a ½ tsp of chlorophyll.
4. Use a body brush (you can purchase this at whole foods) every morning for 10 mins.  Brush towards the trunk and up. This creates detoxification through the lymph nodes.  Remember that skin is an organ of elimination.
5. Switch to organic products.
6. Alter your animal intake. Try leaner meats that are organic, free range, and without hormones or antibiotics.
7. Reduce fish intake and avoid the big fish like tuna, large mackerel, swordfish, and shark.
8. Read labels carefully.  Avoid processed food, dyes, and chemicals.

Here are a list of foods that will promote the elimination diet and support cleansing:

1.     Beets – an excellent source of betaine, which supports detoxification in the intestines, blood, and liver. It is also a great anti-oxidant.

2.   Lemon and Orange Peels – these aid the liver in neutralizing carcinogens 

3.    Chicory, Endive, Radicchio – these greens promote discharge into the GI tract of bile,  a substance that assists in carrying away toxins. 

4.    Cruciferous Vegetables – cauliflower, broccoli, and brussel sprouts help the liver detoxify chemicals, drugs, pollutants. 

5.    Raisins – lessen the burden on the liver by stimulating the kidneys and clearing out poisons in the gut. 

6.    Oatmeal, Apples, Pears, Strawberries, Peas, and Beans – provide soluble fiber to soak up toxins in the intestines and escort them out of the body. 

7.    Asparagus, Avocados, Potatoes (boiled in their skins), Raw Spinach, Okra, Walnuts, and Chicken –  aid in the removal of fat soluble toxins. 

What are the outcomes of a detox diet? You will feel revitalized!  Expect radiance, vitality, and energy, as well as clear skin and better sleep.  Equally as important is increased immunity, better focus and concentration, decreased depression and anxiety, greater self regard by nuturing and taking care of yourself! The other benefits are combating depression, which is affected by a sluggish liver. Our body, mind, and emotions are all influenced by the foods we eat and the toxins that we take into our bodies.

Detox December

New Years is typically the time people decide to get a fresh start, get rid of bad habits and start making healthier life choices. At The Center, we recommend getting a head start on New Years resolutions with detox December! There are so many ways to detox, and this December we will be sharing with you our favorite ways to do it. A detox diet usually means cutting out processed foods with high chemical content and replacing these foods with raw, organic foods, water and cleansing spices. It is a process that requires discipline but  has revealed many extraordinary results.

Next week, Dr. Amanda Baten will be providing some of her favorite detox tips right here. Stay Tuned!

Shelley Poovey talks BodyTalk

More Website Updates! This week, The Center for Integrative Practices has a new interview with Shelley Poovey who practices The Pilates Method of Conditioning and The BodyTalk System at The Center . What is BodyTalk you ask? Shelley says "We can use the basic techniques of focus, intention, breathing, and movement or light touch to restore balance. Pilates does this through a focused method of body conditioning, and BodyTalk does this by allowing me to be guided to the area in need of attention and then applying the appropriate BodyTalk technique. Both are very effective, very gentle, completely non-invasive, and not contraindicated with any other treatments." Shelley has shared this helpful link to The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Healthcare where you can learn more about BodyTalk and the future of alternative medicine. Keep checking our facebook page and our website. for more updates and upcoming events!

The Center welcomes Jennifer Warner

A warm welcome to our newest practitioner,  clinical social worker and psychotherapist Jennifer Warner! Jennifer has a unique approach to health and wellness that fits with the center's mission. Jennifer explains, “My approach is insight-oriented, practical, and holistic: assist clients to heal both their minds and bodies through the understanding of the impact of life experience on behavior, and building the skills to effect real change in their own physical, nutritional, and mental health.” For more information on Jennifer Warner, check out her new page on The Center's website and her full interview here.

Make Your Week Stress Free

Relaxation is an important part of keeping your body and mind healthy. It can be hard to remember to take the time to relax, especially in the city that never sleeps. At The Center for Integrative Practices, our practitioners support a healthy amount of relaxation everyday. For some relaxation tips, we asked our practitioners what they do to unwind. Micheal  Grego said: 

'Confucius said, "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." I get the best stress relief by doing what I love, helping people with massage and other techniques that help restore them to their maximum potential. After that I enjoy being outdoors, meditation and contemplation.' 

It can be difficult to find  meditative spaces in New York City, so here are a list of five public spaces that we find relaxing in Manhattan:

1) Sheep Meadow in Central Park 

2) Bryant Park and The New York Public Library

3) Riverside Park

4) Stuyvesant Cove

5) Battery Park 

For more information on The Center for Integrative Practices, check out our website or facebook page. 

Have a stress-free week!

Interview with Michael Grego

More website updates! Michael Grego, LMT, Massage, Manual and Neuromuscular therapist at The Center for Integrative Practices talks about the versatility of his practice and what inspired him to get into integrative health in this new interview featured on The Center for Integrative Practices' website: 

"Michael’s empathy gives him a unique approach to therapy and he understands that a patient needs more than a massage to get back on their feet. His practice is two-fold: 'Traditional massage is the best choice for stress relief or to get more from your Chiropractic adjustment.  For those that have pain, structural or functional problems and want results as fast as possible, patients have the option of an Integrative Manual Therapy approach.'" Read more here

Look for more interviews from our other practitioners coming soon!

Welcome!

Welcome to the new blog for The Center for Integrative Practices! We are an integrative wellness and holistic health center located in the heart of Manhattan at 1201 Broadway. Our practitioners work together to provide individualized care to each visitor to The Center. Here we will share all of our latest news, updates to our website, events and things we think you should know about. For more information on The Center, please check out our website or follow us on facebook.