Community News
Let’s Talk About Diabetes

Did you know that Diabetes is a disease of the metabolism?
Our metabolism is the way our bodies process and distribute food for energy. Glucose is our bodies’ main source of fuel and comes from the food we eat. Diabetes occurs when blood glucose levels are above normal, which can affect your body in various ways, causing issues with your eyes, heart, kidneys, nerves, and feet. If you maintain a healthy lifestyle with strength training and cardio workouts, you can help prevent or reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes. In many cases, just losing 5-10 percent of your weight is all it takes to restore insulin sensitivity.

8 Week Movement Challenge

This month, join Registered Massage Therapist, Heather Green, for 8 weeks to explore ways to ward off those morning aches and stiff joints. Each Sunday she will share a new stretch or movement for you to try. Take the time between each video release to notice what the newest movement offers you and explore the effects this entire practice is having on your body. Better yet, repeat this practice in the evening before you go to sleep, which can prevent some of that morning ache from building up. Follow @getbodywell on Facebook to participate!

Tea and Toast Syndrome

“Tea and toast syndrome” refers to malnutrition in seniors when a lack of desire or inability to prepare and/or eat proper meals results in them relying on simpler meals like tea and toast. Seniors who skip meals almost daily, have gained/lost more than 10 pounds in the past six months, take medications, have dental issues, or have a disability can be at risk for malnutrition. Some common signs to watch for include unexplained weight loss, fatigue, memory issues, digestive issues, a weak immune system, muscle weakness, and anemia. There are support services available to help seniors eat well and regularly!

Make Your Home Safer

Here are some things you can do to make your home safer and reduce the risk of falling: Remove tripping hazards like clutter and small throw rugs. • Keep items you use the most easily accessible. • Improve lighting to ensure you can see your path when walking, especially at night. • Install grab bars in the bathroom and ensure your home has handrails on all staircases. • Wear non-slip shoes both inside and outside of the house. • Get a Home Safety Assessment if you are at risk of falling. An Occupational Therapist can help to advise you on making your home safer.

Community Event

April 6 – 9 Tofino Yoga and Wellness Retreat. All-Inclusive 3 night, 4 day. Welcome to the Pacific Sands Yoga & Wellness Experience. From beachfront Tofino accommodations, morning/evening yoga and nourishing meals, to an apothecary workshop and optional surf/massage add-ons, this seaside savasana is what your mind and body has been craving. Namaste. Maximum 12 participants by design; limited space available.

The Importance of Play

When we are young, we view the world with wonder, curiosity and are excited to play. We also experience regular challenge, helping us grow and evolve. As we age, we lose this ability to explore the world with the curiosity a child has. However, play is integral to our psychological growth at every age. The idea of play allows us to practice new learning. It is about giving ourselves permission to go and face new challenges, using our creative facilities to figure out how to problem solve and integrate new learning. It is an essential part of growing up at any age.

WELLness – Thank you, Live Life Alarms

My husband is in the early stages of Alzheimers. He continues to enjoy riding his bike and I used to get very worried as he would sometimes have difficulty finding his way home. Getting him a Live Life mobile alert was the best thing we have done as now I can readily find out quickly where he is. He recently went out cycling and was gone for some time so I called him on his alert pendant. Not only could I talk with him but the Mobile Alert sent me an automatic return text showing his exact location on Google Maps. This has given me so much confidence now and allows him to continue doing what he loves. Vicki Ogston. LiveLifeAlarms.ca

Understanding Yoga Therapy

The core principle of Classical Yoga Therapy is that people have an enormous natural capacity for healing and transformation in which Yoga can play an invaluable role. Whether the desire for healing stems from an illness, injury or from an urge to overcome inner struggle and into a deeper exploration of oneself, a more individual, therapeutic approach to yoga is essential. 

Many people associate Yoga with group classes practicing physical postures requiring strength and flexibility whereas  Yoga Therapy is taught 1:1 and can assist most people, even someone laying in a hospital bed. Yoga Therapy addresses your whole Being; Body, Mind and Spirit and is a discipline of identifying and refining the correct practices for you, AS YOU ARE. 

During our sessions I observe, listen and question to discover your particular confluence of issues, needs and capabilities such as physiological condition(s,) muscular-skeletal patterns and injuries, age and energy level, daily activities, unique personality and thought patterns, current life situation (we all go through times of engagement, despondency, joy, confusion etc.) Even your particular aspirations and connection to that which gives your life meaning are considered. I then choose the correct practices that will be appropriate for your particular journey into healing and well-being. 

As a Yoga Therapist I implement profound tools often overlooked in public classes such as breathing/energy regulation, contemplations, visualizations, meditations, interactive relational practices, lifestyle recommendations and dietary recommendations (based in Ayurveda,) and more. This is a modality that is specific to you and is comprehensive in its scope. 

Yoga Therapy requires your diligence in engaging your practice (which may be only 20min/day) as you are the primary impetus in your own healing and well-being. My role as your teacher is to support your healing and recovery by teaching you the correct practices and the accurate undertaking of them. As transformation occurs you notify me so that further modifications and adjustments to your healing practice can be made to suit your evolved state. 

I have observed that many people start off with good intentions but over time find it difficult to keep up a practice, I offer additional support in these instances.

As well as private sessions I also run public programs and professional training.                                     

To find out more about an upcoming program to support health care professionals email me at: [email protected]

UPCOMING PUBLIC PROGRAM:  Deep Self Care Retreat; Sunday afternoon March 22nd,  1 – 4 pm (see website for details and to register.)

To find out more go to: YogaAndHealing.ca                                                                                                                

Hemp-Derived Wellness Product Review

ACTIVE RELEAF is about the movement to embrace mother nature and the powerful healing ingredients she provides us with. We explore options to help both physical and mental well-being. ACTIVE RELEAF is about being good to ourselves. Providing unique and innovative products made from plants which can provide life changing benefits. These hemp-derived products are made for all lifestyles whether you are in need of everyday wellness products to support various ailments, or you are a competitive athlete, their high quality broad spectrum hemp-derived products, that are rich in cannabinoids, are made for you.

Community Announcement

Did you know that Health Canada now requires providers offering stem cell procedures to obtain formal approval through submitting a clinical trial application? Pagdin Health is the first clinic in Canada to submit a clinical trial application to Health Canada for using stem cells in osteoarthritis. If you are considering a stem cell treatment for osteoarthritis to a major joint (excluding neck and spine), we’ll give you a no obligation second opinion! Book your call with Dr. Pagdin by calling 250-717-3200.

Gaining the Mental Edge

Athletes are always looking to get into “the zone” – a balance of attention, concentration, and confidence. Quick thinking is crucial to making decisions that can be the difference between winning and losing a game. Neurofeedback is a tool that allows for identifying the areas of an athlete’s brain that are responsible for mental flexibility, task switching, and rapid decision-making. This allows an athlete to control how their brain reacts to stress, which in turn can help achieve peak performance. Neurofeedback training can help an athlete increase their cognitive abilities, while reducing the white noise of distractions around them.