I am a sucker for stories with morals. I recently came across this story that I think is an apropos reminder at this time of year of how our thoughts, words, and deeds affect our lives:
‘A man and his young son were hiking in the mountains, when the boy suddenly lost his footing and slid down the steep mountain side. On his way down, the boy caught a tree root. The root kept the boy from falling onto the rocks at the bottom of a deep chasm thousands of feet below. Scared and embarrassed, the boy cried "you idiot!" A voice shot back "you idiot!"
A short time later, the father reached the boy and pulled him to safety. The boy told his father that while he was hanging onto that tree root - he heard someone call him an "idiot". "That was your echo", the father said. "Let me demonstrate. You are strong!" the father yelled. A voice echoed "You are strong!"
There is a universal law that says, whatever you say, think, or do - comes back to you. It's known as the "echo effect". If you project positive things in your thoughts, words and deeds - positive things will come back to you. If you lie, cheat, and steal...well, you know what you can expect. Being positive or being negative will come back to you. You can choose to do one or the other. Which will you choose?’
Here’s to POSITIVITY in 2011!
Yours In Health,
Dr. Karen Baker
Monday, January 17, 2011
Growing Pains: The truth about this strange phenomenon
Dr. Jordanna Clarfield-Henry, DC
Does this sound familiar? Your child has been complaining for weeks about pain in her leg. She didn‟t fall, or get in an accident. She simply started feeling deep aching pain in her hip, knee and leg that just won‟t go away.
Your GP tells you she has growing pains, and that there is not much you can do, other than wait it out; he recommends, in the meantime, she take some children‟s Advil to ease the pain. Well, that‟s one version of the truth.
From a chiropractic viewpoint, this scenario raises some questions: Is your child‟s leg growing faster then the rest of her body? If not, then why isn‟t she getting growing pains in the other leg, or her arms? How come she only has pains in one leg? Why are some kids affected while others are pain-free?
Here‟s an alternate explanation: Our pelvis is designed to move in a figure-eight pattern as we walk. There are two large joints in the pelvis (the sacroiliac joints) that share the work of the lower body, 50/50. Imagine the left SI joint becomes stuck; the right SI joint would take on almost 100% of the workload. Guess what? Those muscles down that right leg are going to get tired, achy and sore. The alleged growing pains are actually overworked muscles complaining about the injustice of this imbalance.
Your chiropractor can gently adjust your child‟s SI joints to get that „stuck‟ left side moving again, and help to stretch out the tight, overworked muscles on the right side. She may also provide some home exercises and tips to help maintain this balance. With regular check-ups your child should be able to grow - without any more “growing pains”.
Dr. Jordanna Clarfield-Henry, DC
Does this sound familiar? Your child has been complaining for weeks about pain in her leg. She didn‟t fall, or get in an accident. She simply started feeling deep aching pain in her hip, knee and leg that just won‟t go away.
Your GP tells you she has growing pains, and that there is not much you can do, other than wait it out; he recommends, in the meantime, she take some children‟s Advil to ease the pain. Well, that‟s one version of the truth.
From a chiropractic viewpoint, this scenario raises some questions: Is your child‟s leg growing faster then the rest of her body? If not, then why isn‟t she getting growing pains in the other leg, or her arms? How come she only has pains in one leg? Why are some kids affected while others are pain-free?
Here‟s an alternate explanation: Our pelvis is designed to move in a figure-eight pattern as we walk. There are two large joints in the pelvis (the sacroiliac joints) that share the work of the lower body, 50/50. Imagine the left SI joint becomes stuck; the right SI joint would take on almost 100% of the workload. Guess what? Those muscles down that right leg are going to get tired, achy and sore. The alleged growing pains are actually overworked muscles complaining about the injustice of this imbalance.
Your chiropractor can gently adjust your child‟s SI joints to get that „stuck‟ left side moving again, and help to stretch out the tight, overworked muscles on the right side. She may also provide some home exercises and tips to help maintain this balance. With regular check-ups your child should be able to grow - without any more “growing pains”.
STRESS RELIEF
Julia Pilliar, BKin, CPT
The holidays are a time to unwind and relax – right? So why does it usually feel like we need a break after they‟re over? The holidays pose their own stresses, with late nights, driving through blizzards, buying numerous presents, and hosting parties; these can take their toll. Since stress is a primary cause of diseases including heart disease, mental illness, and cancer, we need to find ways to cope. Here are some strategies to reduce your stress and enhance your physical and mental wellness:
Regular physical activity: Any way you want ... get moving! Simply moving your body to raise your heart rate stimulates feel-good hormones. A balance of strength-training, cardiovascular-training, and flexibility-training is best.
Eat REAL food: Foods that are not present in nature, or that have been refined or processed are not easily recognized by the body, causing stress to the digestive system, which may need to use some of its own nutrient stores to properly metabolize these unnatural foods. Base your diet on a balance of natural foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, lean meats, natural yogurt and dairy products) and stay hydrated with water.
Breathe DEEPLY: Deep breathing increases the oxygen coming into the body and rids it of all metabolites such as CO2. It also requires muscular contraction and tones the core muscles. Slowly and fully inhale through your nose, hold, and slowly exhale all the air out through your nose, forcing the last little bit out of the lungs. Repeat for at least 5 breaths, concentrating on the evenness of your breath.
LAUGH each day: Laughter is truly the best medicine. It works the core abdominal muscles, it releases endorphins, and it‟s contagious. There‟s even a yoga practice based on laughing, making use of its anti-stress properties.
Sleep: Adequate sleep is essential for physical repair and recovery. The hours between 10pm and 2am are essential for psychological repair, and between 2 and 6am are needed for physical repair. Go to sleep earlier each night to feel more relaxed throughout the day.
Julia Pilliar, BKin, CPT
The holidays are a time to unwind and relax – right? So why does it usually feel like we need a break after they‟re over? The holidays pose their own stresses, with late nights, driving through blizzards, buying numerous presents, and hosting parties; these can take their toll. Since stress is a primary cause of diseases including heart disease, mental illness, and cancer, we need to find ways to cope. Here are some strategies to reduce your stress and enhance your physical and mental wellness:
Regular physical activity: Any way you want ... get moving! Simply moving your body to raise your heart rate stimulates feel-good hormones. A balance of strength-training, cardiovascular-training, and flexibility-training is best.
Eat REAL food: Foods that are not present in nature, or that have been refined or processed are not easily recognized by the body, causing stress to the digestive system, which may need to use some of its own nutrient stores to properly metabolize these unnatural foods. Base your diet on a balance of natural foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, lean meats, natural yogurt and dairy products) and stay hydrated with water.
Breathe DEEPLY: Deep breathing increases the oxygen coming into the body and rids it of all metabolites such as CO2. It also requires muscular contraction and tones the core muscles. Slowly and fully inhale through your nose, hold, and slowly exhale all the air out through your nose, forcing the last little bit out of the lungs. Repeat for at least 5 breaths, concentrating on the evenness of your breath.
LAUGH each day: Laughter is truly the best medicine. It works the core abdominal muscles, it releases endorphins, and it‟s contagious. There‟s even a yoga practice based on laughing, making use of its anti-stress properties.
Sleep: Adequate sleep is essential for physical repair and recovery. The hours between 10pm and 2am are essential for psychological repair, and between 2 and 6am are needed for physical repair. Go to sleep earlier each night to feel more relaxed throughout the day.
Gluten Free vs. Wheat Free
Sarah Dobec, Holistic Nutritionist
There is a lot of buzz about wheat and gluten allergies these days. In a nutshell, we eat a lot of wheat in North America, and for some of us, we need a break from it. Like anything in life, when we get too much of it we can create an intolerance (a lack of enzymes) or a sensitivity due to overexposure.
Wheat can be found in bread, cereal, cakes, cookies, crackers, pasta even soy sauce. Gluten on the other hand is the protein composite found in wheat, rye, barley, kamut and spelt. It gives elasticity to dough and a chewy texture to other food products. Many people have an allergy to gluten (an immune response), the most sever being Celiac Disease.
Everyone could benefit from avoiding gluten or reducing their intake, we tend to eat far too much in this country. Gluten-free grains include millet, rice, quinoa, Job's tears and buckwheat. There are heaps of wheat and gluten alternatives on the market these days; everything from pancake mixes, bread, crackers, cakes and cereals.
Sarah Dobec, Holistic Nutritionist
There is a lot of buzz about wheat and gluten allergies these days. In a nutshell, we eat a lot of wheat in North America, and for some of us, we need a break from it. Like anything in life, when we get too much of it we can create an intolerance (a lack of enzymes) or a sensitivity due to overexposure.
Wheat can be found in bread, cereal, cakes, cookies, crackers, pasta even soy sauce. Gluten on the other hand is the protein composite found in wheat, rye, barley, kamut and spelt. It gives elasticity to dough and a chewy texture to other food products. Many people have an allergy to gluten (an immune response), the most sever being Celiac Disease.
Everyone could benefit from avoiding gluten or reducing their intake, we tend to eat far too much in this country. Gluten-free grains include millet, rice, quinoa, Job's tears and buckwheat. There are heaps of wheat and gluten alternatives on the market these days; everything from pancake mixes, bread, crackers, cakes and cereals.
Let us help you get FIT & HEALTHY in 2011!
In our new FIT & HEALTHY class you will SWEAT, you will WORK your muscles, you will improve your strength, endurance and flexibility. You will BURN calories and TONE your muscles. The FIT & HEALTY program will help you bring balance to your body (and your life) through functional and corrective exercises, proper nutrition and good lifestyle choices.
Join us Wednesdays at 6pm - Call Today!!!
In our new FIT & HEALTHY class you will SWEAT, you will WORK your muscles, you will improve your strength, endurance and flexibility. You will BURN calories and TONE your muscles. The FIT & HEALTY program will help you bring balance to your body (and your life) through functional and corrective exercises, proper nutrition and good lifestyle choices.
Join us Wednesdays at 6pm - Call Today!!!
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