Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic – Page 7 – We Only Get One Chance

THE ANTI-FAN

I attended a football game at Michigan State University this past Saturday “GO SPARTANS!!!”. I love going to the campus, I love being in the stadium and I just love everything about a day of college football. It was the most beautiful day for a football game and we sat in some really great seats…well, great seats to watch the game, not so great seats for one particular fan, or “anti-fan”, that sat behind us. The entire game, this anti-fan shouted out the meanest things. He was a MSU fan and I am pretty sure one that has been attending games for years and years. He was loud, angry, negative and down-right mean. They would do something great and he would be sarcastic with his support. They would do something bad and he would shout something like “WELL WE HAVE GROWN TO EXPECT THAT FROM YOU GUYS!!!” They would start moving the ball down the field and he would act shocked, they would have a turnover and he would go back to his “of-course-that-just-happened” attitude. It was unbelievable that someone would pay money to come to a college football game and knock their team so much…to top it off, he was not quiet about it. His wife was with him and a younger woman sat on his other side…both of them were ultra-quiet…and it went on the entire game.

There are two things I learned from that…1. I am really glad I do not have anyone in my life that is that negative and 2. if you are a fan, BE A FAN!!! There is a saying “You get more bees with honey than vinegar”. If you are looking for positive results, it is important to have a positive attitude. Now some would ask, how much effect could one guy in the stands have on a team that is down on the field? and, does it really matter if one guy is being negative in a crowd of positivity? Have you ever heard the saying “One bad apple spoils a bushel”? I was not letting him effect me on a conscious level, but who knows what he was doing on a subconscious level to my energy, much less everyone else around him. More than anything, if a guy is that pissed off and negative at a wonderful college sporting event, I can only imagine what he is like in a stressful situation. If someone like that is the patriarch of a family, I would wager his negativity infiltrates his family members…and I know for a fact that it is effecting his health.

It isn’t always easy to keep a positive attitude, especially when life seems to be throwing you lemons…but what about that saying “When life throws you lemons, make lemonade”. By writing about this, I am by no means complaining about him. I am hoping to increase the awareness around attitude. When someone asks “How are you?” let’s run through 2 possible answers. “Not bad.” is one possible answer…but “Not bad.” leans towards negative energy. What if when asked how you are, you answer “I am good.” or “I am really great!”. Even just saying those two answers, as compared to the first, really changes the energy of how you are feeling…and in essence changes the energy in and around your body.

How are you spending your life? Where are you focusing your energy? What small changes can you make to shift your perspective in a more positive direction? Let’s start today…we only get one chance to make this the best life possible!

HALLOWEEN

Halloween means 2 things to me…COSTUMES AND CANDY!! The costume part of the 2…pure fun! The candy…a double-edged sword. Candy does a weird thing to me. It is fun to eat, tastes amazing, and releases “feel good” and comforting chemicals in the body. I always have mixed feelings about giving away candy at Halloween…and it mostly has to do with the detrimental effects the sugar has on immune system function. I have settled this battle in my head by giving out caramel apples at the Cafe. It allows me to still have fun with candy but also get that apple in there as well since…”An apple a day keeps the doctor away!”.

So this year I decided I wanted to do a little more educating when it comes to sugar and the immune system. What is the physiology behind sugar and the immune system and why is sugar so detrimental?

Interesting to note, October-February seems to be dubbed “Cold and Flu Season”. I would like to open your minds a little bit to the fact that it may be better termed “Sugar Season”. Halloween starts with the candy that can last for weeks, then Thanksgiving is filled with deserts, and December is the month of endless holiday parties, Christmas cookies, wine and other cocktails.

Do you want the physiology? The major players in the immune system, namely the white blood cells, need vitamin C in order to do their work. Vitamin C and sugar have a similar structure and if sugar is around, it will bind to the activation site and block Vit C. When you ingest sugar you can think of your immune system slowing down to a crawl. Not a good thing. Then do that over and over for days, weeks and potentially 2 straight months…guess what? COLDS and FLU VIRUSES set in!!

So let’s approach this holiday season with a little more awareness…and a little more will power to steer clear of all that sugar. Indulge some, but keep it to a minimum and I bet you will find more energy to enjoy the celebrations, friends and family, and I bet you will come through the winter season a little happier and healthier.

I am by no means saying that I keep my diet completely clear of sugar. On most days I do however I found myself digging in some on Halloween with all the goodies we had at the Cafe of LIFE. I also found myself experiencing some intense sugar cravings on Tuesday, needing extra sleep on Tuesday night and a good portion of Wednesday and am finally feeling back to normal. It is fun while it lasts…tastes great while it is in your mouth and I feel good about it all for about 3-4 minutes. Then I spend 3 full days recovering from it all. It simply is not worth it.

We may as well do the best we can with the choices of what we put in in our bodies…we only get one chance.

TRIATHLON SUCCESS

As many of you know, I have spend the past couple months training really hard for the First Try Triathlon. Well I am happy to report that my training paid off. The event was this past Saturday over in Linden. I have done many races but as we got closer to this event, I was really nervous. To do 300 yard swim had become kind of a simple thing, 9 mile bike ride-no problem, 2 mile run-piece of cake…but to put them all together and do them back to back, I wasn’t so sure.

So my morning looked like this…

Alarm goes off, get dressed, early breakfast and hydrate, load up gear, blast loud music as I drive over to Clover Beach, survey the scene, unload my gear, set up my transition area, get body marked with my number and age, put swim cap and goggles on, strip down to swim gear (it was about 60 degree with a treacherous wind and very difficult to part with my sweatshirt), line up in heats, swim, dodge weeds, catch my breath and swim some more, run up the beach to transition area, change to biking gear and bike 9 miles (shoot I forgot to put my sunglasses on), back to transition area, change to running gear, try not to throw up (I was very nauseous), run 2 miles still trying not to throw up (and thinking I wish I had time to use the bathroom), finish, cheer on my family and friends, find my mom and run the end of her race with her, and enjoy and celebrate the completion of my first triathlon.

WOW! That was so much fun! During the entire race I was sure that I was in the middle of my heat…not near the front nor the back…but figured I was right in the middle. I have abnormal anatomy in my heart that limits my oxygen carrying capacity so even though I do a lot of running races, I mostly do them to complete them rather than compete. At the end of the triathlon I go to check my times and of course I start in the middle of the list and work my way down…my name is not there. I thought that was a bit odd, so I scroll down it again. Well there is no way I should look above half way on that list…I have never been above that point. So I scrolled up the list and low and behold I found myself finishing at number 52!!!!!! I thought to myself “this can’t be right, there is no way”…but it was and I actually finished 4th in my age group!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!! I was and still am thrilled. I am not one to throw placings around (mostly because I am usually so far back on the list) but this time I have to.

So my overall view is the triathlon itself was incredibly well organized, I had so much fun, I smiled the entire time, I finished and felt great and the icing on the cake is the fact that I actually did really well. Of course you will currently find me trying to figure out when I can fit another one into my schedule.

I am always up for an adventure. I learn so much about myself and about life by taking on challenges like the triathlon. Life is about learning, growing and evolving. Have you been stepping outside your comfort zone to find your limits? The great thing is when we do, we find that our limits are in a constant process of changing and we can usually go farther and do more than we previously gave ourselves credit for. We may as well test our limits…we only get one chance.

I AM IN LOVE

I am in love …WITH SWIMMING!!! In my trek to my first triathlon, I have discovered a love for swimming. I am so crazy about it and I had no idea I would enjoy it this much. In fact, I find myself so excited during the day knowing that I get to go out there and jump in the water and swim! So in this crazy joy I am finding in swimming, I am taking a step back and trying to understand what is happening in my mind that makes me love it so much.

I do most of my swimming out in the lake and the water has been really, really beautiful. I have been focusing on free-style stroke which I am hoping to do for the entire swim distance of the triathlon.

I have been working really hard on rhythmic breathing in order to be able to tackle the stroke which is a challenge in and of itself for my body. The breath is taken through the mouth and then the head goes in the water, breathe out the nose and then coming back up for a breath and start again. I have found such a peacefulness in the time that my head is underwater.

I have goggles on of course and can see in the water but cannot see anything because the lake is rather deep. I see the bubbles coming from my nose and I watch my arms as I take strokes and watch the trail of bubbles that follows my hands as they move through my visual field. There is something about that scene that I am completely mesmerized by and I think about during the day.

It is really quiet underwater. That peacefulness is contrasted every time I take a breath with all the chaos on top of the water from the sights and sounds of the world above the surface. Then I return to the peace, then chaos, then peace, then chaos. I also notice how much of the water I can feel when I first jump in and the temperature contrast of that first submersion when compared to the air. I have come to really enjoy the slight pressure on my skin as I move through the water and the sweeping sensation the water makes as I begin covering the distance. When I am finished and get back up on the dock, there is an incredible euphoria and sometimes a slight dizziness from over oxygenation of the body. I am hooked…in a really serious way.
Those of you who know me realize that I am continuously exploring and looking for new adventures and new doors to open. In that, I have made some really awesome discoveries.

Have you been exploring? Are you finding new and wonderful things in this life on a continual basis? Life is a process of discovery…on many levels. I am in love with swimming. Get out there and try something new…we only get one chance. …oh, and come cheer me on on June 25th 8:00am at Clover Beach off Linden Rd:)

SUMMER IS HERE

What a beautiful long weekend!!! It really feels like summer now. For some reason Mother Nature feels that the people from Michigan can handle going from 50s right to 80s and 90s. For those of us that live in this amazing state…if it means we get to see th

e sun, WE WILL TAKE IT!!! There is a certain feeling that comes along with summer. I think it may have to do with the shedding of all the layers we have to wear during the winter in order to keep warm. Once summer comes, even something as simple as being able to wear flip flops is so freeing.

We are incredibly blessed with all the water and lakes that surround us. In this great little town alone, we probably have 8 or 9. Life on the lake is really nice. I am fortunate that my parents live on the lake just south of town and on the weekends, my brothers and their families gather and we hang out and play all day. We usually gather with food and music and spend the entire day chatting, catching some rays and watching my niece, Charlei, learn about the water, sand and navigating the deck. It is a lot of fun and has become my most favorite thing to do. Yesterday was wonderfully hot, the lake was incredibly busy, and the water was amazingly refreshing. Everything wrapped up around 7 or so and everyone headed home to get some final rest before the week begins again. I headed down a couple doors to a small gathering that was happening, chatted for a few minutes and helped them clean up… And that is when it happened…I had my first bite of watermelon. I don’t know anything that says “welcome to summer” more than biting into fresh watermelon. It’s summertime. Get out there and enjoy yourself!

MOTHER’S DAY

I had a wonderful weekend enjoying time outside and soaking in the sun and I always enjoy celebrating Mother’s Day. I am very fortunate to live so close to so much family, and my mom is included in that. I have a wonderful relationship with my Mom and she and I are very close. Moms are moms and life happens which can sometimes create an awful lot of baggage in a parent/child relationship. I am very fortunate and get to spend a lot of time with my Mo

m. I consider her one of my closest friend and tend to discuss most aspects of my life with her. There are quite a few people that are curious of her and my relationship and most people make the assumption that we have been this close my whole life. I grew up with three brothers and was pretty much carted around with them, doing everything that they were doing and not getting much room to be an individual and almost never getting individual one on one time with my Mom. I never really learned the value of good quality female relationships until I went away for school many years down the road. Then came the invention of Internet and email. I was living in Alaska at the time my Mom first got email. We began to email each other 2-3 times per week and I really felt like I was able to get to know her, and thus get to know myself at a deeper level. This progressed for a few more years and our relationship really began to flourish to the point that I she became one of my very best friends. I moved back home in 2004 and lived under the same roof with her for two years. She is amazing, brilliant, straight-forward, talented, level-headed, caring, loving, balanced and really happy. I admire her and all the trials she has had in life and how that has shaped her to really be grounded in who she is. Though she is not “raising” us anymore, because of the mutual love and respect that the my brothers and I have for her, we are able to go to her when things come up and allow her to guide us when we need guidance. It really is a beautiful thing. For Mother’s Day this year, she spent the entire day working and wasn’t going to be home until 8PM. In my mind, she still deserves recognition, as every Mom does, on that special day. We made a small desert celebration happen last night to surprise her, and we did just that. Without my Mom, there wouldn’t be a Me and without a Mom like I have, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Thank you Mom!!! Happy Mother’s Day…today and always!

A NEW PERSPECTIVE

I taught my very first yoga class this past Saturday and I have a new perspective. It was called a “feedback session” which means all the teacher trainees were invited as well as anyone else I wanted to invite. The concept is I teach an hour long slow flow class and the teacher trainees stay after and give me feedback. It was a wonderful process in spite of all the nervous energy that takes over the body when one undertakes something like that and I learned a couple interesting lessons from it.

First, I have been practicing yoga in the room I taught in for over 4 years now. To me, this room is sacred and when you are in it, the rules are you need to obey “noble silence” which means shut your mouth and stay out of other people’s business. There is rarely even whispers going on in that room except for if someone is trying to make room for someone else’s mat. My routine when I go to take classes is to go in, set up my mat, go to the back, change my clothes (I am almost always coming from work), do some talking in the tea room and when I am done and ready to be quiet, I go in and find my place on my mat and prepare to be present. So in the beginning of the class that I taught, none of my regular routine was happening and it kind of threw me off. There were 8 or 9 people in the class and getting them to lay down on their mat by a simple verbal cue was pretty easy. After working with breath for a few minutes it was time to start the class. I was almost paralyzed by the idea that I had to talk for the next 60 minutes in a room where everyone else was quiet and I had always been silent in for the past 4 years of my life. My lesson…I am a “rule-follower” almost to a fault. It was so funny to see the panic inside of me as I faced this 60 minutes of talking. But I did it and as the minutes slipped past, it became more and more comfortable.

Second, I am a vinyasa student and I was having to teach a slow flow class. The vinyasa classes that I am used to are a little, and sometimes a lot, faster pace than slow flow and some of the moves take a little, and sometimes a lot, more effort to transition in to and hold. I thought I was making a flow that would be great for the level of students I was working with. Apparently it was a little, or a lot, too hard!

For 9 years of my life, I was an aerobics instructor and I taught so many types of classes, and even yoga, in a gym setting. During these classes, I was able to gage the participants by their body language and energy. One of the goals of yoga is to build up the capability of peacefully handling incredibly intense moments, both on the mat and out in real life. As my yoga class is progressing, all the participants were peacefully moving through the postures in what appeared grace and ease and to me, didn’t seem like they were working very hard….I had forgotten that is part of the whole point of yoga.

So after class, some of the attendees were like “Were you trying to kill us?!?!?!” When I look back, it is a really obvious thing and I chuckle at my naivety. The lesson here is in yoga, or even as we walk down the street or around the grocery store, we have no idea what is going on inside of each person that we pass. One of the biggest lessons of yoga is to have compassion for others and extend loving kindness to all people in our lives. Since we have no idea what is going on inside other people, what better way to look at the world than from a place of loving kindness and a new perspective…we only get one chance.

MEALS

I wanted to take a moment to share a little bit about my meals.

Since posting my cleanse blog, people and many patients at my office, Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic, have been asking me about what is in my smoothies and what do I eat for lunch…so here it is (and organic ingredients as much as possible)

Smoothie: (this was/is breakfast and dinner for me)
half an apple (I don’t know any better apple than organic pink lady apples)
1 spoonful of almond butter
1 scoop of brown rice protein
large handful of greens…spinach, collard greens, kale, mustard greens – choose one or mix
flax oil maybe a tablespoon or so
4 frozen strawberries
almond milk

Lunch: (this is just one recipe of many you could make but my ultimate favorite)
the following blend I would make ahead of time and leave it covered in the refrigerator:
Quinoa
black beans
chick peas
cumin (lots of cumin)
olive oil and fresh lemon juice
the day I was eating it I would put more olive oil in a pan, put however much I wanted to eat that day in, add loads more cumin and cook just enough to heat it all up and put it on a plate.
add: fresh cilantro – as much as I wanted (which is usually tons because I LOVE IT)
squeeze juice of half a lemon over the top
and ENJOY!!!!

Ok, now I am hungry and it is time to make some more meals.

TIPS

Last night I had the privilege of being 1 of around 2,000 people listening to Deepak Chopra right up in Flint! The CRIM Foundation brought him in, we had to register early but we got in free and they paid for all the parking downtown so that was free too. AMAZING!!! I need to review my notes and I will write a little more at a later time about the actual lecture, however on each seat there was a brochure with some “Things you can do to become a healthier you” that I wanted to share with you. I think the brochure originated from CRIM and Deepak Chopra and this is word for word right from it.

“Things you can do to become a healthier you:

1. Work out regularly! Do something for your cardiovascular health, your flexibility and your strength at least 4 times per week. Walk, run, swim, bicycle, skate, play tennis…Do Whatever Moves You! You’ll feel better, look better and have more physical and mental stamina.

2. Eat to live, don’t live to eat.

3. Have an empowering social network. Invest your time with those who are inspired by life and have a greater purpose to fulfill – you’ll find that you are more inspired as well.

4. Control the chaos; make your home a sanctuary. Be selective about what you bring into your home – not just in terms of physical things but also the computers, music, television, and other forms of electronic entertainment that compete for attention.

5. Start a daily meditation/prayer/quiet-time practice. This can be as little as 10-20 minutes but research has proven the stress-relieving and health benefits. Not to mention, it’s been proven to extend your life.

Personal Commitment Statement:

Starting today, I commit to working toward a healthier me and to helping my family be healthier. I know that by doing so, I am also contributing to a healthier community – physically, socially, and economically.”

Good stuff, huh? Simple too! Health is a choice that we have to make every single morning when we wake up. We may as well choose to be healthy since we only get one chance…

EVERY YEAR…

…around the birthday time for the Cafe of LIFE, I ask people for 3 words that describe their experience here. That small piece of paper is then entered into a drawing for some gift certificates, shirts, bags, etc here at the Cafe of LIFE. Last year I decided to post all the words on here so that I had a place to remember them since knowing that people describe the Cafe using these words is a HUGE compliment to the staff and I.

…positive, professional, friendly, relaxing, comforting, peaceful, welcome, kindness, easy, convenient, personable, healing, compassionate, laid-back, cool, friendliness, caring, wonderful, pleasant, fun, calming, helpful, healthy, hopeful, welcoming, complete, calming, enlightening, healthy, friendly, awesome, nice, relaxing, positive, altering, happy, healing, peaceful, wonderful, I love Erica, I love Teri, fun, great people, serenity, practical, makes me feel good, everyone makes me laugh, great experience, relaxing, hopeful, life-changing, convenient, expedient, amazing, fun, life change, positive, exciting, P.S. everyone is friendly, relaxing, rejuvenating, therapeutic, sense of well-being, uplifting, inspiring, amazing, relief, comfort, relaxation, release, healthy, re-aligning with LIFE, enlightening, growth, encouraging, healing, welcoming, did I say healing?, peace, health, calmness, thankful, rejuvenated, health, relaxing, friendly, refreshed, energized, relaxed, relief, learning, comfortable, invigorating, healing, fun, relaxing, stress-release, calming, wonderful, helpful, hopeful, relief, refresh, fun, painless, peaceful, restoring, cheerful, healing, grateful, new, me again, straight, relaxing, new, feel better, friendly, always smells good, relaxed, clear, energized, educational, serenity, rejuvenating, delightful, awareness, awaken, alive, relaxing, inviting, efficient, calming, relaxing, comfortable atmosphere, understanding, gentle, kind, relaxing, helps, relieves pain, wonderful, pleasant, fantastic, relaxing I love Erica, friendly I love Angie, awesome I love Teri, good health, peace, calming…

There were another 20 or more of the word “relaxing” but I didn’t want to keep writing it.

Bottom line…I think we are doing our job and we are looking forward to many more years to come. Thank you to all of you for adding to our Cafe of LIFE community!!!