health – Page 7 – We Only Get One Chance

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!

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.

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!!!

YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

As many of you know, I practice yoga…a lot. I have been committed to cultivating my inner yogi for the past 4 years and spend 2-3 nights at Ethos Yoga Studio in Holly http://www.ethosyoga.net/.

It is one of my passions and helps to make me a better person in this world. My usual classes are Monday and Wednesday night over at Ethos and Friday afternoon either there or down at Center For Yoga in Birmingham http://www.centerforyoga.com/. It is therapeutic for me; mind, body and spirit. It is absolutely one of the greatest things I have added to my life and spend a lot of time talking about it during the day at the Cafe of LIFE. In order for the body to be and stay healthy, it needs to move. I haven’t found a better way to move the body than to flow and twist and turn in a yoga class and would highly recommend it in some way to everyone.

Tomorrow starts a new phase of yoga for me. I am always on the hunt for rich, rewarding experiences and I will begin a Yoga Teacher Training course over at Ethos Yoga. The course is 3 months long and is designed to immerse trainees in the yoga philosophy. We will be practicing yoga on a daily basis on our own or in a class. We will develop a personal meditation practice on our own and in class. We will change our eating habits to vegetarian or vegan. So this is going to be in addition to what I already have going on which is running a really fun chiropractic practice, hosting an amazing Book Club, giving Half Hour to Health lectures, participating in an awesome Walking Club, being a dog mom, and a runner amongst many other activities I am involved in. It means getting up an hour earlier and time managing a little better. It means studying and spending a lot of down time reading and writing. I look forward to it. I will keep you posted during the process.

(pictures are right off Ethos website; Kel Leigh Coale photography)

BEST CASE SCENARIO

I work with hundreds of people on a regular basis. It is the most wonderful and rewarding work and I feel blessed to be able to serve in the way that I do. Lets talk about best case scenario.

At the Cafe of LIFE we see people that are really struggling with their health as well as people that are feeling good and want to remain that way. I learn a lot about people by interacting in the way I do and helping them to express a better them. All kinds of wonderful things come up for people and I love that there are some real break-throughs happening on a daily basis.

I do see a pattern happening that I want to address. I think it is simply a human thing, though I am sure it is largely influenced by our culture. Whether people are starting from a place of feeling really good, or feeling really bad, when something happens, some sort of new symptom or aggravation happens…the human mind goes automatically into “WORSE CASE SCENARIO” mode. Some people have taken very minor things that have been going on for about 2 hours and seriously talked themselves into this may be the end of their lives. I am not sure when we lost the faith in our body’s ability to adapt and heal from just about anything, but we did. Instead of saying “Oh this sinus infection has been going on for 2 days, but my body can fight this off and I will be better in the long run for letting my immune system kick in”, people are running out for some remedy that will help with the symptom, which almost always compromises the immune system and doesn’t allow it to do what it was designed to do. Or “My wrist hurts, but it has only been an hour or so and I am sure my body will handle it” they go to the MD and immediately get it x-rayed to make sure there isn’t a tumor. These are just a couple examples to give you the idea of how extreme our thought patterns are.

My point being…let’s start giving our bodies the benefit of the doubt. The body’s ability to heal is much more powerful then anyone (and especially the media) has lead you to believe. We all have within us an inborn, recuperative power that is in charge of proper adaptation and integration of the many stresses we encounter every day. When things come up, let’s start thinking BEST CASE SCENARIO and that have a mindset of “my body can probably take care of this” and watch and wait. If you are doing all the right stuff with diet and exercise, getting good rest, keeping a positive attitude, staying away from toxins, and getting regular checks for your spine and nerve system, a large percentage of the time the body will do just that…TAKE CARE OF ITSELF. When the body is given the opportunity to take care of itself, and it does, we are better off than if we continue trying to combat symptoms with drugs and surgery. We only get one chance…let’s keep focused on BEST CASE SCENARIO.

A NEW BOOK IN THE NEW YEAR

As many of you know, I am one of the organizers of the Cafe of LIFE Book Club. We have a phenomenal group of women who sit down every other week together and study books that add to our lives. We have done a number of books with titles such as “Eat, Pray, Love”, “A New Earth”, and “Loving What Is”. We ended our year with a celebration of the year and it was amazing to look back on what we had accomplished together as a group in one short year! Years are short anymore. Time just goes by really fast! Anyways with the New Year here now, we are beginning a new book starting Thursday January 8th. Our new title is “Radical Forgiveness” by Colin Tipping. Sounds like an amazing title and I’m sure the book will be equally as amazing. We have a few new people who plan on joining us this time around and we welcome anyone who would like to add studying with a book club to their life. Let me put it this way, I guarantee this will become on of the greatest and most looked forward to hour and a half of your week. Come join us! If you have any questions, direct them my way and WELCOME TO 2009!

DURANGO

Durango, Colorado!!! I visited such a wonderful place last weekend I have to share with you. It is a small town in southwest Colorado, very near what they call “The Four Corners” where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah come together. I guess there is a monument there that you can straddle with your arms and legs and be in 4 states all at one time. I didn’t make it there however I did get to explore the area. Durango is a very conscious city. The people of Durango pay attention to what they eat and how they treat the land and environment. They recycle whenever they can, ride their bikes if it is possible, and respect others. It seems that many people are questioning standard western medicine there, thus leading to healthier births, childhoods, and lives in general. I have friends that practice chiropractic there in the city and are loving every minute of being in their small piece of paradise. Though it is more than a hop, skip, and a jump to get there, if you get a chance to go, TAKE IT!!!

BOOK CLUB

One of the most wonderful things that has come into my life in this past year is the Cafe of LIFE Book Club.

I am not the originator though it was passed to me because I host it at my office. It is such a wonderful experience each and every meeting we have. We all leave lighter and with more ease than what we came in with. We cozy up here at the Cafe of LIFE and have open discussions about real things, that really matter. If you ever get an opportunity to join something like this, take it. And if you haven’t found one yet, COME JOIN US!!!! We begin a new book “Loving What Is” by Byron Katie tomorrow, Thursday Sept 25th at 6:30pm and meet every other week to discuss about 3 chapters at a time.

One word to describe book club….INSPIRING!!!

DOMS

Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness, DOMS,….my friends and I laughed and joked around when we first learned this in school. It is seriously referred to as “doms” and I had a serious experience with it over the past weekend. On Friday I decided I would do a step aerobics class (60 min), a yoga class (60 min), and then I had my first horseback riding lesson. I used to show horses when I was growing up but once I left for college, it was difficult to find time or a horse to ride on a regular basis. Essentially I have been away from horses for 10 years. So I decided I would start taking riding lessons to get involved with horses again. It was great fun but I found muscles that had not been worked in a long time (like 10 years). I work out all the time and I would think that power yoga 3 times per week should have touched all of those muscles but I guess not. Each exercise uses different muscle groups and that is why it is so important to cross-train on a regular basis. My next riding lesson is tomorrow and I am really excited because each time it will be easier and easier on my body. And of course getting adjusted on a regular basis is so important to keep it all balanced. I will be doing that tomorrow as well!!!

PEDIATRIC CHIROPRACTOR

I have the great honor of being a pediatric chiropractor and working with so many children every week in my practice. I want to take a moment to congratulate the parents that bring their children in for a regular check of the spine.

Why would I congratulate them? The choices that we make each day and especially for the little ones, have profound effects on the rest of our and their lives. Growing up with a healthy spine and nerve system allows their little bodies to have normal and regular development. If the spine and nerve system is compromised, the communication and development is compromised as well.

So many parents and beginning to realize that the health of their child largely depends on the health of the child’s spine and nerve system. The body is a miracle and no pill, antibiotic, elixir, or anecdote is going to create health.

Health comes from within, it always has and always will. I love being a pediatric chiropractor.