Community News
Amazing Yoga Benefits for Children

Just like adults, children live in a fast-paced world with many stressors and expectations. The practice of yoga helps to bring minds and bodies back into a place of harmony and balance. Children classes consist of more than just the physical yoga poses; they also incorporate yoga teachings and traditions in a safe and nurturing environment. Classes are taught in a non-competitive, playful, and vibrant way through games, storytelling, music, and guided visualization. Through yoga, children will physically develop skills such as flexibility, strength, body awareness, balance, and coordination. They will also grow mentally cultivating self-love and respect while learning self-calming and relaxation techniques through breath work, mindfulness, and meditation. All improving attention and behavioral regulation, enhancing self-confidence and social interaction. Through yoga, children become connected; mind and body strong.

Harmony Warrior Kids Yoga, www.harmonywarrior.com

Play to Heal

Are you worried about your child or youth’s current behavior or mood? Anxiety, defiance, grief and behavior at school are just a short list of common concerns that parents may have. As a parent, it is hard to see our children hurting, and we may not know where to turn or what to do. Play Therapy is a treatment for children, youth, and families that involve therapeutic elements similar to adult talk therapies with very playful elements such as puppets, dolls, art and sand that allow children and youth to express their inner most emotions. Through play therapy, children and youth can also learn social skills and skills to manage emotions and self-regulate.

Melissa Beer B.S.W., R.S.W, M.Ed (counselling), www.growingrootstherapy.ca

Natural Product Review

Genuine Health Greens+ Extra Energy. Do you often feel tired or in need of a healthy, all-natural energy boost? Here’s your healthiest solution: greens+ extra energy. With greens+ extra energy, you get all-natural energizing ingredients including taurine and naturally occurring caffeine from the kola nut, PLUS a full serving of nutrient-rich greens in every scoop! Just one scoop daily provides immediate and long-lasting energy, while feeding your body the healthiest, research-proven nutrients. Benefits of taking greens+ extra energy include: An immediate, long-lasting source of all-natural energy, increased vitality and mental clarity, no over-stimulation or energy “crash” side-effects. Greens+ Extra Energy provides a full serving of greens for essential phytonutrients, antioxidants and research-proven health benefits. No matter how hectic your day may be, enjoy greens+ extra energy every day for the healthiest source of long-lasting energy – naturally.

Matthew Calvez, www.nutritionplus.com

Do You Have a Bad Knee?

Knee Osteoarthritis is the leading cause of lower extremity disability. Osteoarthritis is defined as degeneration of joint cartilage and the underlying bone. Some risk factors that increase your risk of having osteoarthritis are age, history of trauma to a joint repetitive activity and obesity. People who suffer from osteoarthritis usually have muscles weakness, altered muscle function, increased joint stiffness and lower aerobic fitness. Research suggests that exercise and education on weight-loss are the first lines of treatment for osteoarthritis. The most beneficial forms of exercise include; flexibility training (stretching), strength training (squats) and cardiovascular training (bike/walking). Physiotherapists are equipped with skills to assess and treat people who suffer from osteoarthritis of the knee. Physiotherapy includes techniques to help the joint move better through massage and mobilizations as well as providing you with a specific exercise program that is tailored to your needs and to make it the most enjoyable for you.

Kristy Maksymyk, Prairie Trail Physiotherapy, www.prairietrailphysio.ca

Clean Eating: Easy Ricotta Protein Muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups ricotta

4 eggs (or 1 cup egg whites)

½ cup natural sweetener of choice

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp orange zest (opt)

Instructions: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin pan with liners and then spray the liners. Mix everything until very well combined. Evenly divide batter into muffin tin. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. The tops are golden brown when done. Makes 12. Great warm or cold and a healthy dessert served with maple syrup, berries and greek yogurt. Switch up to savory by omitting vanilla, sweetener and orange zest. I like sundried tomatoes, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning for a pizza version. Original recipe: Laura Hickman, www.bakingoutsidethebox. com.

Lisa Kehler, www.offyourplatenutrition.ca

Product Spotlight: OxyFresh Dental Gel

Are you experiencing mouth pain? Try a natural alternative to oral pain gel. Oxyfresh Dental Gel offers instant relief to sore and swollen gum tissues. Condition, soothe and deodorize your teeth and gums with Super Relief Dental Gel from Oxyfresh. With a super-fresh wintergreen flavor, Super Relief Formula delivers powerful healing power with Tea Tree Oil, Chamomile, Aloe Vera, Essential Oils and Folic Acid. Super Relief Gel is formulated with Oxyfresh’s patented odor-eliminating combination of zinc and Oxygene® to promote fresh breath by neutralizing the volatile sulfur compounds responsible for halitosis. Super Relief Dental Gel also helps eliminate canker sores, speeds healing of oral cuts and scrapes, deodorizes oral wounds and conditions irritated gums.

Sarah Sangalang, www.reflectionsdentalhealth.ca

Assessing our Relationships

There comes a time in our lives when we are in need of evaluating our relationships to assess what life is giving and serving us and what is no longer meeting our needs and holding us back. It is important to distinguish between unfinished resentments that need to be expressed and cleared in order to open up communication and ease between friends, versus getting stuck in old entrenched patterns that have nowhere to go and keep being played out. One of the biggest gifts we can give ourselves is surrounding our lives with loving and kind people. Creating an inventory of who is in your life, where you are spending your time and how enriched you are feeling is valuable information. Sometimes a person comes into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime, and we don’t always know their purpose in advance!

D’Arcy Bruning-Haid, www.souls-journey.com

Who Should You Know Better Than Anyone Else?

Have you ever met a celebrity? How many family and friends do you know on a personal level? Whose advice do you take over anyone else’s? Now here’s a good one for you – do you know yourself? Often, we are so focused on work, family, friends and daily distractions that we have never taken the time to get to know ourselves. As an example, I was so busy trying to be the best at everything and become an all-star at life, that for years I ignored myself and the aspects of me that needed TLC, growth, and attention – until my health and happiness reached an all-time low. Then I got to know myself in a hurry! In order to prevent problems from arising OR to dig yourself out of them – I highly recommend that you connect and listen to… You. It may be surprising what you can resolve for yourself.

Shannon Russell, BodyMind Freedom Solutions, www.thedashmethod.com

Ask The Expert: RRSP’s

What is my RRSP invested in? A. Your RRSP can hold a wide variety of investments, like mutual or segregated funds, stocks, GICs, bonds and even mortgages. There is no one-size fits-all plan, so your retirement savings should be customized to you and your goals. Are you a risk-taker with a long time horizon until retirement? Then your RRSP will likely hold very different investments than that of someone who’s only a year or two from drawing on their account. Q. Will I use my RRSPs before retirement? A. If you think you may tap into your RRSPs as part of the Lifelong Learning Program or Home Buyers’ Plan, that will impact your plan design. For starters, you should ask about fees or restrictions on withdrawing the funds. Secondly, if you withdraw any contributions made in the previous 89 days, you may lose the tax deduction. So be sure you leave your contributions invested long enough to maximize your RRSP benefit.

Thomas Johnson, Financial Advisor, Cascade Financial Group

Is Diabetes Preventable? Reversible?

Current medical ‘experts’ that treat diabetics and support organizations for diabetics claim that Type 2 diabetes can only be managed. They are ignoring the science that shows that the diet that allows humans to thrive is the diet that humans evolved eating. The current Standard American Diet is the root of most chronic health issues, including diabetes. People that permanently change their diet to one that supports their genetic heritage typically eliminate T2 diabetes or greatly reduce the effect of T1 diabetes. Do you want to continue on the path of ‘managing’ diabetes and accept the inevitable heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, amputation and neuropathy? Enlist the help of a Primal Health Coach to educate you on what steps to take to allow your body to heal and thrive.

Tom White, www.EndDiabetesManitoba.ca, www.becomeHEALTHY.ca

Float Your Way to Happiness

People generally have heard about floating by the terms “pods” or “tanks,” and start to feel claustrophobic. Float “Cabins” are different. Float Cabins come as large as four feet wide, eight feet long, and nearly seven feet high, and they are easily accessible easy to come out of with standard swing or sliding doors. Within each float cabin, 10 inches of water is infused with up with 1,000 pounds of dissolved Epsom salts, this makes the water extremely buoyant. With the option to remove light and sound, you experience the sensation of floating through space. Other options include the ability to play your own music and enjoy colour therapy as well. Floating regularly helps reduce physical and mental stresses on the body. The brain gives out alpha waves associated with meditation that allows the body to recover from stress and relax. Floatation therapy is a simple way to invest in your own health and happiness.

Fluid Float Studio, www.fluidfloat.com