Our habits help reduce cognitive effort and allow us to focus our attention on other things. Take driving for example, one focuses on the road, while braking and steering becomes habitual. Movement habits that have developed in response to pain, injury, tension and stress can be counterproductive. These habits often inhibit movement, breathing, and create tension in parts of the body needed for optimal mobility and stability. The Feldenkrais Method offers solutions to better functioning by fine-tuning your senses to pay attention to your body while you are moving, working, exercising and resting. Workshops and individual lessons taught by a skilled Feldenkrais Practitioner clarify key areas where habitual movement is hindering function and performance, creating tension and pain. Feldenkrais helps develop sensory acuity, enlisting full body movement connections that can spring board us to easier and better functional movement.

Roxanne Derkson, Registered Massage Therapist, Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner
www.vivitherapy.com

Sometimes we know when a migraine is coming, and sometimes we don’t. Often there are specific triggers that start a migraine that may include physical movement or even weather changes. When it starts at the base of the skull, then the cause of the migraine is likely structural. The human body is built to be STRUCTURALLY BALANCED with the head centered over the shoulders, which in turn is centered over the pelvis, which ideally, is level with the ground. When the head and the neck shift out of proper alignment, this may result in decreased blood flow INTO the head, and decreased flow OUT. In fact, it’s the latter that often describes what people feel with migraines – a feeling of built up pressure inside their head. Chiropractors are able to correct and unlock these structural shifts in the head and neck, allowing the body to return to its normal, balanced state.

Dr. Matthew Kittleson
www.uclife.ca

Each weekend, about 56 million North Americans mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year and producing tons of air pollutants. Garden equipment engines, (mowers, trimmers, edger’s, blowers) which have had unregulated emissions until very recently, emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, producing up to 5% of the nation’s air pollution and a good deal more in metropolitan areas. Assuming that a typical car travels 18,000 km per year, 33 gasoline lawn mowers would produce as much pollution a car produces all year. The 56 million gasoline-powered lawn mowers generate as much pollution as 1.7 million cars. Traditional landscaping gasoline engines create Ozone, O3, a colourless, odourless gas at ambient concentrations which is a major component of smog.

Richard Larkin
www.SuccessBizCoach.com

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is difficult in the face of modern pressures and the many available conveniences that make it easy to rely on highly processed instant foods.  Thankfully, Jenni Muir has written a book full of pragmatic advice for busy people, using dry Australian humour to present healthy, tantalizing recipes incorporating whole grains into a contemporary diet.  Muir’s focus is on easy to achieve steps in the path to whole foods health.  The book includes helpful hints, a multitude of recipe variations that will suit even the pickiest eater, and a profoundly useful table that describes the cooking time, texture, and yield of each grain.

Jenni Muir
www.russellbooks.com

Adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, and benefits your heart, weight, mind, and more. The cost of poor sleep is much greater than many people think; it can have profound consequences for our long-term health. People who consistently fail to get enough sleep are at an increased risk of chronic disease.  One potential cause of inadequate sleep is Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Multiple arousals each night are a result of the closing of their airway when asleep. This causes decreased oxygen levels and increased blood pressure. Over time, this leads to the chronic elevation of blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. Fortunately, when sleep apnea is treated, sleep quality improves, blood pressure may decrease and so do the associated risks. Testing for sleep apnea is done in the comfort of your own home.

Shelley McCulloch, RRT
www.medprorespiratory.com

For years people have suffered with uncomfortable, loose, and awkward lower dentures but you don’t have to anymore.  Dental implant technology has come a long way over the years and many people are now comfortable with and enjoying their lower dentures.  It is a very affordable procedure these days as well as being more painless than most people realize.  Call your Denturist today and book a consultation with them about dental implants.  Isn’t it time to enjoy the meals you deserve to eat without the frustration of your bottom denture?

Kent Roberts RD
www.burnsidedentureclinic.com

The holidays are a stressful time of year for many of us and it’s easy to over indulge in all the goodies this season offers. Our overindulgence and stress can lead to fatigue and many of us turn to caffeine as a way to lift our energy levels. Unfortunately, the caffeine in coffee and energy drinks creates an acidic environmental the body which contributes to fatigue, creating a vicious, ultimately unfulfilling cycle. Drinking Matcha, with its mix of L-theanine and caffeine does two things to help with fatigue and overindulgence. 1. It creates a feeling of energized calmness and 2. It creates an alkalizing effect in the body which both settles the stomach and reduces fatigue. Drinking matcha may just be the best gift you can give to yourself this holiday season.

Tiffanie and Kip Home
www.justmatcha.com

You may have heard that fluorescent lighting can be bad for our eyes, but did you know why? Studies have shown that blue-violet light can be damaging to the retina, and therefor has the potential to cause Macular Degeneration (AMD), which is a disease of the eye that causes vision loss centrally. So what does this have to do with fluorescent lighting? Higher amounts of blue light are emitted with the use of fluorescent lights, but that’s not the only source. Also, through the use of LEDs which are found in electronic devices including computer monitors, TV’s, and personal devices like tablets and smart phones. So what can we do? Lens coatings can block out a large portion of the harmful blue light, which can reduce the risk of AMD. If you spend large amounts of time in fluorescent lighting or using computers/tablets, ask your optometrist about the protective coatings!

Nicholas Catchuk
www.iris.ca

December can be one of the most stressful months of the year, for many people. Whether you are a student with pending exams; a homemaker facing all the tasks of preparing for the holiday season; the financially responsible adult, trying to make ends meet and have enough left over for Christmas gifts; the person who fears blowing their diet with holiday goodies; or the flying phobic who wants a holiday but is terrified of getting on a plane, stress is a common factor. And for many, it can be one of the loneliest times of the year. One of the best stress-reduction, self-care strategies I know for this time of year, is the ability to say “NO!”

Saying “NO” can be very challenging for many people; especially those who have difficulty setting boundaries for themselves or around others. Are you one of those people? Are you the person who has always cooked the Christmas meal each year, and are desperate for someone to take it over, but feel guilty asking? Are you caught up with inner “shoulds” about what MUST be done to make the holidays “perfect,” but exhausted or financially stressed as a result? Are you the person who knows that the temptations of holiday goodies, drugs or alcohol will damage your health but cannot say “NO” and then suffer the consequences? Are you a spouse who has dutifully gone each year to visit in-laws for the holidays, when you would really just love time alone with your hunny, or a even a separate holiday? Are you a student who needs to brush up for exams but have difficulty saying “NO” to friends or family who want to lure you with other distractions? Finally, are you a person who finds yourself sinking into a yearly depression at Christmas time?

For many people, saying “NO”, brings up fears: fear of looking selfish; fear of being rejected or unloved if they show vulnerability or declare their needs and feelings; fear of other’s negative judgements of you don’t feel you measure up to expectations; fear of losing out or being deprived of pleasure, to meet a more important goal. All of these kinds of fears tend to show up when a person’s NO to another or themselves , is really a YES! for their authentic Self.

YES! – Saying NO when it honours your own needs and feelings is really a YES for your authentic self. If we truly want to honour our self and others, it is essential that our actions are congruent with who we really are. This means we must give them the gift of revealing our true self as well as hearing theirs. Sometimes our fears are related to childhood events, where we had a negative experience related to expressing oour feelings or needs. These events can then contribute to core beliefs about our own worthiness or lovability. For example: “I am only loveable if I put everyone else first; I have to be the responsible one to be worthwhile; people will think I am selfish if I ask for what I want.” But usually these beliefs are erroneous, or they are based on our point of view as a young, vulnerable, dependent child; not as a capable adult.

What about people who feel depressed or lonely over the holiday season? In this town, with many singles and people whose families live far away, the situation is common; but it does not need to be a time of misery. However, it may require saying “NO” to being a victim of one’s situation, and taking action to connect with others and seek support. Inviting other single friends for an “orphan’s dinner, volunteering at the numerous Community events, asking a family to “adopt” you for the holidays, or treating yourself to some extra special pleasures that can pull you into a YES state of enjoyment, can all be effecting in dispelling the holiday blues. If it seems just too overwhelming, then honour your needs, say YES to yourself, and seek professional help.

As a user and practitioner of the fabulous self-care tool called Emotional Freedom Techniques (also known as EFT or Tapping) I have found that time and again, it can assist people in expressing a healthy “NO” when it is in their best interest. And, it can be helpful for releasing unhealthy NO’s related to depression, or anxieties, which stop people from living with ease. Individuals with fears or phobias such as: flying; heights; elevators; small furry critters, insects, crowds, public speaking, exams, or interviews (to name just a few) can limit their true nature and block self-fulfillment because their unconscious mind says “NO WAY! ”when they really would like to say YES!

The simple and easy to learn EFT Tapping process can help people of any age, to work on present day or past issues that block them from speaking their truth, asking for help, widening their horizons and living with more ALIVENESS! Check it out at my website, www.karenledger.ca where you will find free EFT Tapping instructions, so you can try it for yourself or email me to arrange a for a Free 15 minute phone Consultation and/or a private counselling session. This may be the best gift you ever gave yourself!

Wishing You an Authentically Happy Holiday Season

Karen Ledger, RN BScN., Health Education and Counselling

I am realizing that I have an addiction to distracting myself – mainly via Facebook in recent times. In the excellent talk by Dr. Gabor Maté that I have provided a link to, below, he asks, and answers, the question What Is Addiction? He says that all addictions are simply ways/attempts to relieve ourselves of pain/distress.

I have watched Part 1 of this video a couple of times before. It is only a little over 3 minutes long, and it is an excellent overview of his message. I would, however, strongly encourage you to watch Part 2, also, as I just did. It is over 18 minutes long and is a TedX talk he gave in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It truly is one of the best TedTalks I have ever seen. And given how many excellent TedTalks I have seen, that is really saying something.

So, back to me and my own addiction. The truth is, I don’t know the exact origin of my own personal pain. There were challenges and traumas in my growing up years, to be sure. But in comparison with many people I have met over the course of my life – not all of of them patients, but also friends, family members, colleagues, and acquaintances – what I remember of my past seems trying, but not extreme. What I cannot argue with, however, is the clear evidence that trauma has occurred, and that there is a marked impulse to distract from the pain of it.

Now in both parts of the talk by Maté, he speaks directly of, and quotes others also advocating for, the need to simply be with the Pain. All addiction is essentially trying to run from the suffering, and the “surest way to Hell is to try to run from it” is the gist of one those quotes.

How does one be with the Pain? How can I do that? Well a couple of things are crucial. The first, is what I am doing here, now: admitting it is a problem. Secondly, anyone who has identified their addiction will need compassion and support (from themselves, and others) to choose, over and over again, to be with that Pain. Unfortunately it helps not at all for others to point out that (I’m) “You’re doing it again”. That just ends up being perceived as shaming and blaming – whether that is what was intended, or not. Recognizing instead that there is some sort of pain that I am trying to evade, and having compassion for that process, feels very supportive.

So, this writing is a reminder to myself to let my own pain be registered; to let it land. For me, that means taking breaks from online time, so that there is the space to let my mind rest. Only then can I be with my own pain. Today I spent all afternoon in the garden, raking leaves and cleaning up. That worked well for me.

I am also reminding myself here, that as a practitioner, and simply as a fellow human Being, I can be compassionate with the addictive attempts by others to deaden or distract from their pain. Now of course it is easy to become an enabler of the addictions of others. But unwavering Love and Compassion can be firm and holding, while not collapsing.

There is, of course, so much more that can be said on this subject. This much is what I needed to share here and now.

Howard V. Dieno DO (UK)

British-trained Osteopathic Practitioner

Member of BOA, www.howarddieno.com