Tag: winter

JANUARY

It is hard to believe we are a day away from the end of January!

How are you doing with the year so far?

What changes have you made?

What changes do you want to make?Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - January - Dr Erica Peabody

What things do you want to do this year?

The polar vortex has put a little damper on this week, however, it has also given us a few minutes to slow down and sit still, or at least I hope you are taking some moments to sit still.  This is a great time to contemplate, plot and scheme for your success going forward.

We have been open a good portion of our regular hours this week as other business have chosen to be open, and some have closed.

I was reviewing some things in my life last night as I was trying to figure out whether to be open today or not (we are OPEN!!!!).  First off, some of you know and some of you may not know, I lived in Anchorage, Alaska for 3.5 years, I got my bachelors degree at University of Alaska Anchorage.  It was an amazing experience just to be up in Alaska, much less get a chance to live there and be able to experience it all.  I have a great appreciation for the arctic northern temperatures having to live and work in negatives (-40 for an entire month one winter) for those years.

I watch you all get out of your cars here at the office this week, all bundled up with 1-6 children in tow and I applaud and honor you.  It reminds me of getting bundled up to go to class and work at one time.  I honor you for taking a moment to make it in to town and stop by our office.  I honor you for your commitment to the change you want to make for yourself and your family this year.

If you have cancelled your appointments this week, I honor you for staying home and staying safe and warm, I honor you for respecting that small voice inside that said “not today”.  I honor each and every single one of you and I watch as schedules change daily due to school closings.  I honor you for being resilient enough to shift and change your days around to be able to manage it all.

We are open because I am going to be here anyway.

We are open because cabin fever is a real thing and has set in for many of you and you need an excuse to get out of the house and go do something.

We are open because our shifts are a little slower but it gives us a chance to catch up on other things, like hanging pictures and signs, getting ahead of the endless paperwork and doing a lot of cleaning.

We are open because we are here to serve you, and not as arctic heroes or something, but because we can make it here to the office and we also know you are doing a lot of extra shoveling and shivering and that there is a little extra stress this week that we can help you with.

We are here for you.  We honor you for staying inside your cozy home with your loved ones and hunkering down.  We honor you for getting out in the cold and heading this way.

Old Man Winter took his good ol’ precious time getting here this year but came in with a blast!  When it warms enough to get outside, I encourage you to do so because I believe one of the healthiest things we can do through the winter months in Michigan is get outside and get some fresh air.

While you are inside of these slower moments, take a glance at what your plans are for this year and make a choice today to move you in the direction you want to go.  That can be as simple as grabbing an extra glass of water, taking a few more trips up and down the stairs to get the heart pumping, journalling, reading a book or playing a game of checkers with your child.

Bundle up!!!  Stay safe and warm!!!  Take a few minutes to evaluate how you are doing now that January is coming to a close and let’s connect soon!!!

 

I PLANNED ON HEALING

I am calling my newest snowboard trick “double back-flip to face plant”.  Sounds a little like something that Shaun White would do in the Olympic Men’s Half-Pipe competition, however probably without the “face plant” part of it.  Actually it is not a trick at all…and don’t worry, all along I planned on healing.

It was the second run of the day at Georgian Peaks, a private ski club in Northern Ontario.  I drove over and met a friend there and we hit the slopes for the weekend.  It has been a while since I have actually snowboarded with skiers, I usually snowboard with other snowboarders, and we definitely attack the slopes a little differently.

I have said over the years that snowboarding is meditative for me, and is one of the reasons I love it so much.  You have to be 100% present-time consciousness otherwise you will find yourself in trouble in a hurry.  This time maybe, just maybe I was a little bit distracted.  Maybe.

Fenton Chiropractor Georgian Peaks

I was cruising along to keep up with the two-planker, and I caught my back edge on some ice.  I am not exactly sure what happened from there.  I know I hit my head twice (thank goodness for helmets, do yourself a favor and do not go out there without one) so I am convinced I flipped twice.  I also know how I landed, so the face plant definitely happened.  No one was there to witness it but I am positive 5’10” red jacket and loud plaid pants flipping down the hill was quite a show.

When I gathered my thoughts and got back up on my feet, I became acutely aware that I had jarred my right ankle and knee.  I am not sure what movie this line comes from, but my mind went right to “That’s gonna leave a mark.”

When injuries occur, I go into a mode that I like to call “let me just pretend that didn’t happen”.  “Where thoughts go, energy flows and manifests in physical form.”  Over the years it has served me to distract my mind from what just happened, and it usually leads to quick healing.

I snowboarded the rest of the day and met up with some of my friend’s friends at the lodge afterwards.

I noticed that my ankle was a little bit uncomfortable when we were sitting and chatting with friends.  After a half hour went by, it became impossible to ignore.  Another half hour and the pain is nearing a 7 out of 10.  By the end of 2 hours of chit chat, I was in so much pain, I was nauseous.  Even through all that, in my mind I was still planning on healing.  

Our original plans to head out for dinner and drinks changed in a hurry as my body required that I succumb to RICE mode: Rest, Ice, Elevation, Compression.  The friend I was traveling with is a Naturopathic Doctor and we were able to add some homeopathic remedies and do some manipulation of the ankle joint to add to the RICE efforts.

After a few hours, it became apparent that I was probably not going to be able to walk the next day, much less spend any time on my snowboard.  As the evening progressed, it was increasingly difficult to ignore what was happening with my body, however I still planned on healing and the RICE efforts continued well into the night.

The real test came the following morning, when I took my first step on to the floor from the bed.

I have to admit, I was groggy, needed to use the restroom and my mind wasn’t focused on our evening spent in RICE mode when I took my first steps.

Half way to the restroom, it dawned on me that I was not only able to walk normally on that foot, it also felt 90% better.  Good thing I planned on healing all along.

The next question was “do I dare snowboard today or just spend my time resting?”

If you know me at all, you know the answer to that one is always, “Let me just give it a try and see what happens.”  And so I did.  But remember, my mindset was always that I planned on healing.

Turns out I was able to comfortably ride harder that day than I did the day before.  It felt good to be out there in my happy place strapped to my board.  I also know when one experiences joy and happiness, healing energy is turned up a notch as well.

I was happy.  I planned on healing all along and my body did exactly that.

We were both astonished at the fact that I felt as good as I did the very next day.  We both witness incredible healing on a regular basis in our different professions, however we were still amazed by how quickly this process happened for me.

When situations like this come up in my life, it just leads to the building of a stronger and stronger faith in the body’s innate recuperative powers and it’s incredible ability to heal.  We, as a society, have not given it enough credit for what it can do.

It is important to listen to the body’s warning signals and stop when it says stop.  We also need to be living a healthy lifestyle so the body has the building blocks it needs to heal, grow and repair.  But one of the most important factors is plan on healing.

In retrospect, I know that my mindset of “I planned on healing” took my healing energy up a level.  I am not at all recommending that you test the limits of your body, but when you do happen to get injured…do yourself a favor and plan on healing.  I guarantee you will be astonished at how quickly your body follows those orders.