Friday, January 27, 2012

Life Without Interference

Right now
Your heart is beating
Your lungs are taking in air
Filtering it through capillaries
To your bloodstream
Swapping it for carbon dioxide, and expelling it out

You are healing wounds,
Growing hair
Laughing with your friends
Telling bad jokes
Converting food into chemicals your cells can use for fuel
Millions of actions and reactions
Happening simultaneously

Your central nervous system coordinates it all!
The order
The timing
The synergy
This happens within you
Whether you are conscious of it or not.
Do you have to tell your heart to beat
Or your lungs to breathe?

Your nervous system
The master controlling, ever-coordinating system in your body is protected by
Your bones.
The skull surrounds and protects your brain
The spine surrounds and protects your spinal cord
Your spinal cord relays information from your brain
To every cell in your body

And back again
Keeping them all in synch with each other.
What happens if coordinating information that travels along the nerves is stopped
Or meets interference?
Can all the parts work together? Or do they go off and do their own thing?

Interference.
When the bones of your spine are out of place and create pressure
The muscles around them spasm and create pressure
Chemicals get released and
Irritate your nerves
What happens to the messages that run up and down?
Are they garbled?
Are they silent?



The joints of the spine must be working properly and be in the right relationship to your central nervous system so that all of who you are can be coordinated properly, can heal and function as you were meant to. When you come and get adjusted you are helping your body heal the structures and remove the interference to your body’s communication system that’s getting in the way of your best health. 
Live life without interference!


Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Start Somewhere

This year I plan to talk a lot about restoring health and wellbeing. Partly because it’s the journey I am on personally, and partly because I see so many people around me that are either working on the same thing, or who feel discouraged about it. One of the things I’ve discovered about making changes in your health, is that it doesn’t matter where you start, but it’s important to start somewhere.


One of the main perspectives of chiropractic is that our bodies have an inherent ability to be well, to heal and rejuvenate. I have seen this borne out time and again both personally and professionally. So never fear! If you’re alive, chances are you have the capacity to improve your health situation.

The subject of healing is huge, because there is not only a range of physical health to consider, but also mental, emotional and spiritual health as well. I’ve seen people improve their lives by starting in any one of these areas and following it all the way through. By that I mean, they might start by focusing on their emotional wellbeing by going to a counselor or psychiatrist, or whatever they find is necessary to feel balanced emotionally. Becoming balanced emotionally shows them other problems they had been unaware of, and now see more clearly since they are feeling better. If a person starts to feel better emotionally, chances are they’re going to want to feel better physically, so they might find themselves making changes to their diet and how they exercise etc.

I think most of us start with whatever is “yelling at us the loudest”, by that I mean, our biggest problem. Since I’m a chiropractor, I see lots of people whose “loudest” problem is back or neck pain. When they come in to resolve that problem through chiropractic adjustments, they may begin walking to help support the muscles surrounding their spinal column, and as a result, begin to lose weight. This in turn helps their diabetes. You get the picture.

It's all connected, and any positive thing you do for yourself will have a positive impact on all areas of your health and wellbeing, whether you keep all your New Year’s resolutions or not. So go ahead and start somewhere that feels “do-able”. Whether its tackling your biggest health problem, or making a small change in your daily habits, every good thing you do for yourself is never lost, and will help you on every level.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Have You Tried Massage?

    If you are looking for a way to positively impact your health, consider a massage. Everyone is trying to find ways to stay healthy and feel better, and I’m here to tell you this is one of the best ways I know. You don’t have to give anything up or reduce anything or change anything about yourself (except you might have to be willing to feel great. I have actually known a few people who weren’t but they’re very few and far between!)

    Massage therapy is the manipulation of muscles, tendons, and fascia (both deep and superficial) in the body to promote healing and wellbeing. There are many different styles, focusing on creating different effects, but they all have the same general purpose.

    Specific benefits of massage include musculoskeletal pain relief, decreasing anxiety associated with temporary issues, and decreasing blood pressure and heart rate. Done on a regular basis, it can help with managing chronic pain, and help decrease a person’s susceptibility to anxiety and depression.

    One of the things I like best about massage is that it’s one of those things you can do for yourself that is not only good for you, but feels great. The benefits from even one treatment are long lasting, so getting a massage once a month or so can benefit your health and make you feel better all month long.

    Dean Copeland, LPN, LMT is the Massage God at our clinic. I used to call him the massage therapist, but that name seems so inadequate when compared to how I felt when I got off the table after the last massage he gave me. It was like having a new body, or remembering what my body used to feel like when I was a kid. He knows many different techniques and he was good at listening to me when I told him about how I was feeling and what I wanted. He did nothing that was jarring or harsh. So I’m a Big Fan.

    There are lots of things in life that feel good but aren’t good for you (I’m sure you know what those are!!!!), but this is one thing that feels wonderful and improves your life at the same time. Kind of a “No-Brainer”.