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Photo credit: Elana Smith
Story Expired On: November 28, 2006
White Plains: An Oasis of Alternative Health Options
By: Elana Smith
Published: September 28, 2006
We all know White Plains as a diverse, bustling, up-and-coming commercial center with plenty of good eats and a burgeoning arts scene. Less known, is that tucked within the city’s structure are various oases of alternative health comprising a small, yet vibrant and blossoming community. What we find in these hidden gems are ways to deeply relax, modify our diet to eat nourishing foods, stay active and athletic while maintaining a balanced lifestyle, and learn the art of ancient movements to restore health, energy, and emotional well being. Arbor Vitae Acupuncture is run out of the chiropractic office of Dr. Patrick Eglauf and is part of the Eglauf Wellness Center in downtown White Plains. This center specializes in but is not limited to treating the athlete, with various fitness machines throughout the office. The Eglauf Wellness Center is a multi-disciplinary approach to health, offering chiropractic services, acupuncture, and massage therapy.
Dr. Margarita Borisova specializes in orthopedic disorders and pain management, focusing on the restoration and maintenance of athletic performance and active lifestyle.
Acupuncture is a form of Chinese Medicine, dealing with the concept of chi, which translates loosely into ‘life force,’ says Borisova. Chi flows along pathways throughout the body called ‘meridians,’ which nourish corresponding muscles and organs. When the flow of chi is disrupted, pain and illness may occur. She explains that the sources of energetic imbalance can be trauma, illness, poor diet, insufficient exercise, or mental and physical stress.
In Acupuncture, needles are inserted into sites of convergence of chi throughout the body, termed ‘acupoints.’ “This results in restoring the equilibrium of chi,” says Borisova. Her individualized and holistic treatment plans also include Chinese Medicinal herbs and aromatherapy. Borisova, also a certified aromatherapist, explains that essential oils can restore balance and have anti-bacterial properties when infused with the air we breathe.
She explains that throughout treatment, which includes lifestyle modification, some patients keep a diary of changes that have occurred in their lives. “That’s how people become aware,” and awareness is essential to the healing process, says Borisova. She emphasizes the importance of regular exercise in a wellness maintenance plan. A certified personal trainer as well as acupuncturist, Borisova may instruct patients on using fitness machines in the Eglauf Wellness Center as a part of their holistic treatment and always in the context of acupuncture and Chinese traditional medicine. She also offers dietary advice, noting the importance of eating fresher foods, adding that raw foods in particular contain a large amount of life force and can be beneficial in some cases.
In synergy with acupuncture and healthier lifestyles choices, herbal Chinese medicine is an important part of the holistic treatment Borisova offers. Chinese herbal medicine has developed over centuries alongside acupuncture and today, can be taken easily in the form of tablets, powders, granules, and medicinal teas. Unlike western medicine, which may eliminate symptoms, but does not address the underlying cause of illness, Chinese medicinal herbs do both. Although there are pre-existing herbal formulas, they can be adjusted to fit a specific individual’s needs, maximizing effectiveness.
For further information, contact Margarita Borisova at: Eglauf Wellness Center, 5 Waller Ave., 761-1886.
 Photo credit: Elana Smith
Angela Lee Chen is both an acupuncturist and Taichi instructor who runs Living Arts Acupuncture & Taichi in downtown White Plains. Chen offers individualized holistic care, focusing on balance, circulation, and conservation to maximize wellness in her patients.
In order to achieve health, Chen explains we must find balance, both in our physical needs and in our lifestyle. Not only must we balance food intake with our bodily requirements, we also need to balance work and play, activity and rest, responsibility and freedom. According to Chen, acupuncture helps the body restore its natural balance.
Good circulation is the next important aspect of good health, and it implies circulation of the chi as well as blood.
Emotional distress and pain of any kind is a sign of impaired circulation, as is swelling, water retention, sluggishness of digestion, to name a few symptoms. “Good circulation can only happen when you’re relaxed,” says Chen. She notes that acupuncture increases circulation and the effect is one of deep relaxation of body and mind.
We must also conserve our resources, Chen says, explaining that we can consider our energies as limited resources and uses the analogy of a bank account. We are born with a massive savings account of life force, manifested by explosive growth and vitality as infants and children. We transfer chi into our checking account as we use it. Long-term excessive expenditure of energy drains chi and depletes us emotionally and physically. Worry, anxiety, and recreational drugs are some main sources of chi drainage. Through lifestyle changes, we can limit unnecessary expenses, maximize use of our energy reserve, and replenish our reserve through meditative breathing and careful diet, which according to Chen, includes awareness of what we eat, how and when we’re eating.
Chen advocates the practice of Taichi in maintaining the three principles outlined above. She explains that unlike most exercises, which cause the unnecessary burning of adrenaline, Taichi allows one to learn and be conscious while exercising. The practice is about self-awareness, integration, and posture, says Chen. On a deeper level, “it is really about the turning of the will or the intention.” She explains that through the study of Taichi one becomes increasingly aware of the deeper subtleties and nuances of each movement, making it an endless spiritual path. Chen explains that Taichi teaches one to “relax into the situation at hand,” and completely finish one action before starting the next. By taking the time to focus on a single action, we are more effective in our actions and no longer compromise the free circulation of chi throughout our bodies.
To speak further with Angela Lee Chen, contact her at: 210 Martine Ave., 831-5354, www.livingartfully.org
 Photo credit: Elana Smith
She designs individually tailored programs for those who wish to make the lifestyle change of embracing a healthier diet. Healthier dietary choices can relieve various disorders such as “fatigue, diabetes, mood swings, PMS, obesity, weight problems, depression, Candida, asthma, arthritis, cancer, cholesterol problems, hypertension, and heart disease.”
Her programs include one-on-one counseling sessions, in-depth health food store tours, pantry purges, where she helps you rid your kitchen of undesirable food products, cooking classes where students learn to make simple, healthy, whole meals, and an array of informational material, e-mail support, stress-relieving massage, and whole food samples.
Following Elle’s program will enable people to connect “with the body’s inner wisdom,” she explains. They will, “make connections between mood and food…control food cravings, addictions, and binges…and create balance in the way they eat and live.”
Elle’s skin care services are the perfect marriage with holistic nutrition as the skin is a reflection of internal health. Thus, a program that provides proper nutrition and Elle’s high-quality, naturally based skin care products is optimally beneficial.
She offers a variety of facial treatments for conditions such as acne, wrinkles, and hyper pigmentation. You may meet with Elle first for a free, tailor-made consultation which can involve a gentle skin cleansing and sight diagnosis, in which Elle reads skin activity on certain parts of the face as an indicator of imbalance in a corresponding internal organ.
Elle’s Eden also offers a variety of body and facial hair removal services and alternative therapies such as massage, reiki, reflexology, and chakra work; wellness groups, where like-minded individuals can transform their lifestyles with each other’s support; as well as workshops with themes such as detoxification and ‘Destination Transformation,’ a consciousness-raising journey.
For more information, contact Elle at: 151 E. Post Road, Suite 115, 948-0220.
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