Q: I want to do some tricky hikes this summer. My partner and I plan to do some scrambles and I really need my reading glasses to see the maps. Is getting progressives worth it for this?
A: Your optometrist or optician can take a look at your prescription and records to see if it would work for you. I often tell my patients that progressive bifocals are built for convenience, so that you don’t have to keep switching between reading glasses and far distance glasses. Some newer designs of progressives are made for comfortable vision in difficult situations like steep stairs or uneven terrain, and they’re easier to get used to than ever. As a bonus, full-time glasses can not only enhance your vision, but also protect your eyes from ultraviolet light and become darker in bright conditions if you so wish.
Community News
Conversations with a Tree
Jane Warren Campbell, in her book “Conversations with a Tree”, states that, “Love is the unconditional appreciation for all life, it is the acceptance of who you are and the allowing of others to be who they are. Love is the foundation to happiness. If you do not truly love yourself, deep inside, you will not create the life you dream of.”
Trees have a bounty of love for all and are worth having a conversation with. Seek out a tree, hug it, talk to it, lay your back and head against its trunk, and you will receive love, wisdom, and healing.
Food as Medicine for Inflammation
In holistic healthcare, inflammation is often recognized as a root cause for many chronic and acute conditions. The four major signs of inflammation include redness, heat, swelling, and pain. For management of chronic inflammation symptoms, using food as medicine can be very effective. The first step is to minimize foods in the diet that promote inflammation, which include any type of sugar (including honey and high-sugar fruits), grains, and processed vegetable oils like canola oil and peanut oil. The next step is to focus the diet on high quality, nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, high quality animal protein, turmeric, and healthy fats.
Happiness Runs
Making music with another person is like having a conversation without words. A conversation that goes deep. One day in the adolescent unit of the hospital where I worked as a music therapist I was playing guitar and singing softly in the corridor. In a room close by I knew that there was a young man who’d been admitted for attempting suicide. He quietly emerged from his room with a guitar and sat down opposite me. Soon he joined in the music. We made eye contact once. He smiled. Without speaking we had already shared so much.
Movement is The Door to Learning
Movement-based learning is an adventure that fires up the brain! Did you know that simply adding physical activity to everyday school lessons can help your child be more focused, organized and relaxed? How great is that! Imagine your child learning multiplication tables while doing physical activities and enjoying the whole experience. Brain Gym exercises activate cognitive functions and flood the body with endorphins, while helping with depression and anxiety. Movement is a powerful experience and can make education stimulating and fun! Unlock your child’s full learning potential today and create a healthier future for tomorrow.
Feeling Stuck?
Life can get sticky sometimes – maybe it’s a job you don’t want, or you notice you’re not doing the stuff that will help you feel okay. Or maybe you are finding other people really hard to bear. We can struggle to be effective at times, and blame ourselves – or we feel blamed by the people who are getting us down to begin with! How to change your circumstances? Counselling can be a safe and neutral place to consider your options – whether you want to find new boundaries, bounce back, act in new ways, find acceptance, or support yourself better.
Foot Care for Seniors
It’s important for seniors to keep their feet in good condition so they can remain mobile. There are several things you can do to keep your feet feeling their best. Ensure that you wear good quality running shoes or shoes that are specifically designed for walking. Have your foot care professional treat your corns, callouses, and ingrown nails, as well as evaluate your foot mechanics for any structural imbalances. Gentle exercises and stretching of your feet and legs can reduce tightness, improve mobility and flexibility, and increase circulation. Finally, get involved in a walking program to keep you moving!
Teach Children Financial Literacy
The end of summer means kids are jumping back into their normal school routine of learning. This school year, add financial literacy into your family’s daily routine to help your children learn the importance of money management. You can do this by:
•Walking your kids through making smaller payments (e.g., paying for dinner).
•Using the opportunity to teach budgeting and saving skills when they receive money from chores or as gifts.
•Opening up a bank account for them to manage.
•Teaching your older kids about using cash versus credit, reinforcing the idea that “money doesn’t grow on trees” and credit is borrowing money you’re promising to pay back.
Self Care vs. Self Improvement
We are often on a quest for improvement, striving for an ideal of a better version of ourselves. What if we could feel good about how our skin and health feel right now? What if we were to shift our thinking and focus on honouring how our skin serves us so well, protecting us from external pathogens, yet sensitive enough to feel the light touch of a breeze. Focus on ways to view self care as something you find pleasure in, rather than a chore. By finding joy in the process of our daily routine, we can use it as a time to ease tension and gain acceptance of ourselves.
World Suicide Prevention Day
World Suicide Prevention Day Sept 10th Who thinks about suicide? It is estimated that 5% of the Canadian population has thoughts of suicide at one time or another (ASIST BC Crisis Centre). Loss of people we love, relationships, jobs and money are all possible reasons to want to escape a problem that seems insurmountable. We are wired to find solutions to our problems. Most of us naturally reach out, talk to someone, and together find solutions other than death. September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. I urge you to seriously listen to someone that is talking about suicide, ending it all, or not having a choice. Help them discover their choices and reasons to live.
Recipe for Fermented Dills
Fermented pickles provide healthy pro-biotic digestive enzymes, make the nutrients more bio-available and are easy to make. In a clean, 1 quart glass Mason jar, place a horseradish leaf in the bottom. Tightly pack with washed cucumbers, making sure there are no air pockets. Add sprigs of dill and cloves of chopped garlic evenly throughout the jar and top with bits of horseradish leaf. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of course sea salt and fill to top with clean, filtered water. Cover with a Mason jar lid and leave on the counter for 5 – 7 days to ferment and then store in the fridge.
