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A New Year, A New YOU! Workshop

Let’s Jumpstart 2011 together!  It’s time to make some changes, if you have (or haven’t) an idea on how you want to make 2011 different than any other year, join us!  On Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 12 Noon we will be hosting a 2011 Goals Workshop!  Join us and Bring a Friend!

We will brainstorm what changes to make and we will come up with an Action Plan on HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!  The more the Merrier!  The more Minds together, the better ideas we can come up with for everyone! 

Bring your snack, your friend, your journal, your lucky pen etc.  Beverages will be provided as well as Worksheets and Pens/Pencils. 

2011 is going to be a FABULOUS YEAR!!!!

Success isn’t permanent, and failure isn’t fatal.’ – Mike Ditka

Unless it is liver failure, or heart failure or….  It seems as if it has become human nature in these overstimulated, overstressed, busy times, that we only deal with things, like our health, when there is a ‘problem’ or a ‘challenge’.

However, sometimes that results in “waiting too long” and the solution is either crisis intervention OR it takes way to long compared to the instant gratification that we would like.

Is there any wealth that is greater than your Health???  You could answer yes, although most would answer “no”.  Anyone that I have ever interviewed that has already lost their health, has always admitted that they didn’t realize how “wealthy” they were until they tried to get and buy there health back.

Keeping your nervous system “tuned up” and functional on a regular basis, monthly for most, is really EASY to do, IF you look at it like a necessity.  For example, you go to the grocery store and the gas station.  Really, there are SO MANY ways that I would rather spend my time, but those are necessities so I make them happen.  With an alarming regularity, I might add!

So is buying gas and groceries MORE important than your regular adjustment/nervous system tune up?  You tell me: what good does it do for you to buy groceries if your Digestive System is not working and you can not break down the foods to their usable form?  Is is really that important for you to have gas if your low back hurts everytime you get in and out of the car or your leg goes numb when you sit in the car too long?

Make taking care of your Nervous System a “necessity” in YOUR OWN mind – knowing that the benefits are definitely in the here and now, but the big payoff will be in the future as you age gracefully and retain your functions!

Call Us today 602.712.9444,  if you are ready to take care of your Nervous System!  And if you are not in Phoenix, we will help you find someone to take great care of you wherever you are!  If you have had an amazing Chiropractic experience, please comment for others to see.  Lets make America healthier TOGETHER!

Tic, Toc! Is your shoulder ache or injury not healing? Try this out:

To D or not to D

It seems that Vitamin D is having its moment in the SUN right now, a place where we humans should be, but in this land of sunshine that my friend calls “The Furnace”, (Phoenix, AZ) we Phoenicians are quick to get in from the heat/sun OR we wear sunscreen.  What is a health conscious person supposed to do to get enough Vitamin D?

The NIH (National Institute of Health) reports that there are over 1,000 studies examining Vitamin D and its function in the body. 

 Preliminary studies have linked vitamin D to decreased risk of colorectal, breast, prostate, ovarian, bladder, lung and skin cancers. 

Studies also show that most obese women are Vitamin D deficient.

The Wall Street Jounal posted an article in December 2008 stating that appropriate amounts of Vitamin D and Calcium can help alleviate PMS symptoms.

And of course, we don’t want to forget about a strong skeletal system!

The body needs vitamin d to absorb calcium. Without enough vitamin D, one can’t form enough of the hormone calcitriol (known as the “active vitamin D”) and then the body can not absorb enough calcium from the diet.  Under these circumstances, the body steals calcium from the skeleton, which weakens existing bone and prevents the formation of strong, new bone.

You can get vitamin D in three ways: through the skin, from the diet, and from supplements. Vitamin D is formed naturally by the body after exposure to sunlight. Fifteen minutes in the sun a few times a week without sunscreen is plenty for many people to manufacture and store all of the vitamin D they need.

So you are probably saying to yourself: “Great, I get it.  I should make sure I am getting more Vitamin D in my diet.  But WHERE do I get it from?  Just tell me what to put in my grocery cart and I will do it.”

I am glad you asked!  Here is something for you to start with:

Milk and dairy products including skim milk

Wild salmon

Tuna

Eggs

Fortified milk and juice

Sardines

Beef liver

Cod liver oil

How much? There seems to be a discrepancy regarding the appropriate amount.  Some experts recommend a daily intake of between 400 and 600 IU (International Units) of vitamin D.   Other sources say women should be getting 600-800 IU/day.  The American Academy of Pediatrics in 2008 stated that children should be getting 400 IUs either through their food or supplementation.

Personally, I think the moral of the story is the SAME AS IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN:  everything in moderation, try to eat a variety of foods, alternate how you cook your food, have fish – especially WILD fatty fish at least once a week, more if you can stomach and or afford it.  And, as always, take your supplements.  In our office we suggest that at a minimum you take: a multi-vitamin, calcium, fish oils and probiotics daily.

If you have questions or want more nutritional guidance, please contact our office @ 602.712.9444.

If you have comments on Vitamin D, Calcium, or recipes that include some of these Vitamin D rich foods:  PLEASE SHARE!!!

Suck it Up

Vaccums are a great exercise for strengthening your core. And, they certainly beat cleaning the house!

SUPERMANs

Strengthen your low back!  1 minute every other day!

HINT: do VACUUM’s on the other days!

Soccer meets Chiropractic… Introducing

Hello Everyone! I’m Laura and  new addition to the chiropractic and wellness world.  I’ve always been very interested about wellness and fitness and taking care of “the human body”, primarily my own of course, because of my involvement with athletics. I played soccer throughout my high school and college careers.

After growing up in Rhode Island, I decided to venture out of my “shell” and experience life for myself. This consisted of living in Boston, New Hampshire, Chicago and currently the sunny and HOT state of Arizona. During my travels, I’ve encountered many great individuals, some I have had the pleasure of calling my friends.

Now that my travels are over and I’ve finally made a home for myself in Arizona, I am very excited to meet the Renaissance Chiropractic Family and hope to call each and everyone of you my friend.  Wellness and Fitness have always been important to me and it is very exciting for me to be learning how to be Fit and Well.  Every day I am learning WITH YOU how to improve my health, vitality and life! 

We are here to serve you and you can contact me at 602.712.9444 or Laura@BeWellAdjusted.com to make your appointments, answer questions or schedule Dr Carlson to come give one of her Wellness and Fitness Talks at your place of work, church or group.  Remember:  Be Well Adjusted at Renaissance Chiropractic!

4 Minutes to a Better Bod

Have YOU ever said: “I just don’t have time to workout”?  It is THE most common excuse ever given.

However, it is just that: AN EXCUSE! 

If you have a minute, or you have 4 or you have 20, after you read this you will no longer have any excuses!

This is a workout of 4 moves, each of which you will do for 1 minute. 

                   Vacuums: lying on your back, bend your knees to place your feet flat on the floor.  Place your hand on your abdomen and take a belly breath.  NOTE: this is challenging for many people and may take some practice in and of itself.  The idea is to take such a big breath, that your belly rises as the lower lobes of your lungs fill with fresh oxygenated air.  Then you will pull your navel down and in toward your spine.  The idea is to pull your belly in the same way you would if you were trying on jeans from high school: SUCK IT IN.  Every time you do your abdominal training you should begin with the vacuum and then add the motion i.e. crunch or leg raise.  This is the most important exercise for strengthening and protecting the low back because it works the transversus abdominis – watch for more in my blog series about this muscle.  Also, check out the Blog Video on this exercise as well.   (Coming Soon).  When you pull your navel in, blow the air out your nose slowly while you cinch your belly tighter and tighter to your spine.  Do this 10x or as many times as you can in 1 minute.

         Push Up Plus: down on your knees or your toes, hands placed directly under your armpits, lower down as far as you can go and then press back up, remember to hold your belly in tight and keep your body taut (no sagging).  When you hit the top of your pushup, press up even further by pushing your hands down into the ground.  You should feel the motion coming from your back, this is the ‘Plus’.  This portion of the exercise will strengthen your shoulder girdle muscles and protect you from injury.  Do as many as you can in 1 minute.

Superman: lay on a flat surface on your belly. Lift everything off of the floor so that you are balancing on your stomach.  Legs are up and tight, arms are up – biceps are close to your ears to protect your neck and your shoulders and chest are off of the floor as well.  Hold for as long as possible, and repeat until you accumulate 60 seconds.  Work up to doing the superman for 1 minute straight.  ***Watch the BLOG VIDEO.  (Coming soon).

          Wallsit: Remember high school gym class?  Good.  So back up to a wall, walk your feet out and slide your back down the wall until your hips and knees are at the same level.  Check your foot placement again to make sure that your knees are directly over your heels and not the toes.  Now hold…. work up to 1 minute.  Once you have gained the strength and can hold for 1 minute, you can start to play with your foot placement.      

So lets say you have an extra minute while you are at the stop light in your car, sitting on the bus or riding the elevator: do vacuums.  Hold your belly in or if you feel like you can control the muscle, then do repetitions.

Or if you have a minute while your spouse finishes brushing his/her teeth, drop to the floor and do a superman and some pushups. 

Or its early in the morning and the house is quiet, do all 4.  If you have 20 minutes, do 5 rotations through.  You need no equipment and will make no noise and you will energize your day!  Come on you CAN fit it in, and it IS a priority!  Lets do it!!!

 Please try this 4 Minute Better Bod Workout and post comments and feedback!  Comments and feedback are alway welcome!

A vacation for your “butt”

How do you choose an office chair?

A patient recently asked me, as I’m often asked, “How do I choose an office chair, and how much money should I spend on it?”

First, in my opinion you need to ask yourself several questions:

• How long will you be sitting in that chair? Most people think hours.  But I ask you again:  How long will you be sitting in that chair?  Or asked another way, how long until you retire?
• Secondly, what state of health do you want to be in when you are finally done sitting in that chair? Again, think hours of a single working day, but looking at the Golden Years of Retirement as well.

 

Then it is not JUST a chair anymore is it?  Your health DEPENDS on your lifestyle decisions: your diet and exercise, your optimism, your sleep habits, and your spinal hygiene.  Your choice of chair falls into this last category: your spinal hygiene.

So, HOW DO you pick an office chair?  Let’s do some math:

6 hours/day (optimistically) X5 days/week X 50 weeks/year (assuming you take a vacation) = 1500 hours per year

Let’s say you ONLY have 20 years left to work: 20 years X 1500 hours/Year = Grand total: 30,000 Hours

 

Looking at it this way, does it make sense that the chair you are sitting in DOES affect your overall health now and in the future?  So then deductive reasoning would say that even if your company won’t buy you a wonderful chair, then you should make the investment yourself.

So, back to my patient, since he is self-employed in the marketing industry, and as such, is in his chair HOURS, I questioned him as to which affects his health more: a lease payment for office space or a chair that is custom fit for him?  Here’s what he bought:

He made QUITE an investment.  Since this product is new to me, we will use this patient as our test subject.  Stay tuned in about 6 months for his customer feedback!

If you have found another fantastic chair, or you have feedback regarding this post, please comment!