We offer workshops on a variety of topics including alternative medicine, nutrition, healing, healthy weight-loss and more. Admission is free and most workshops are 60 – 90 minutes in length. Sign up today to view upcoming workshops and receive information on new events as they are posted.
Next workshop: May 17, “Journey to Wholeness: Body, Mind and Spirit.”
Teresa Ostman
Meetup.com/Wellnessnews
Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s, which accounts for 60-80 percent of cases. The greatest known risk factor is increasing age, and the majority of people with Alzheimer’s are 65 and older. Symptoms to watch for with your loved ones include; memory loss, communication and language difficulties, inability to focus and pay attention, poor reasoning and judgment and changes in visual perception. A successful way to help is to focus on the Eden Philosophy. The philosophy is to eliminate loneliness, helplessness and boredom with a focus on wellness rather than illness. When an individual’s ability to contribute is recognized, the years to come can be a time of meaningful active and satisfying personal growth.
Lianne Ketcheson, Nanaimo Memory and Complex Care
NanaimoMemoryCare.com
Has your health provider recommended that you try yoga? Yoga is for every body, at any age. Here’s why: Increased flexibility: You don’t have to be a super “bendy” person to benefit from yoga. In fact, lack of flexibility is what initially leads many people to yoga. Practicing yoga poses correctly and regularly will help to stretch muscles and increase the range of motion in your joints. Better posture: Using abdominal muscles to maintain poses will help strengthen your core, making it easier to stand taller, and stronger. Improved breathing: The deep, mindful breathing of yoga can help you increase lung capacity and endurance, and can be very helpful for anyone looking to improve their athletic performance. Stress Relief: Yoga can give you a sense of calm, right from your very first class. Over time you will learn to quiet the mind and better handle stress and anxiety.
Susan Pederson, Owner of Suga Yoga
SugaYogaParksville.com
Want to decrease your stress levels? Try downsizing your closets, home office or garage. These are the three most likely places that need a clean-up on a regular basis, as we tend to throw stuff on surfaces or in piles rather than finding it a permanent home. Start from one corner of the desk, garage or shelf and keep going until you feel happy with the results. Schedule downsizing daily, weekly or monthly and hold yourself accountable to stick to it. Keep a recycle box close to your desk, a donation bag in your bedroom closet and a garbage can in your garage so they are close by when you need them. You won’t get distracted and defeated from having to hunt one down if it’s already in place. See if you can convince your friends or family to help with a problematic area; they may be downsizing addicts and are itching to help!
Marian Remenda, Professional Organizer, Rightsize Your Home
Right-SizeYourHome.com
A health problem may start many years before you experience a symptom. The symptom is like the tip of the ice berg. Warning signs can be plantar warts, corns, athlete’s foot or ingrown toenails. There was a man who had plantar warts at the ball of his foot. In Reflexology, the ball of the foot corresponds to the lung. The plantar warts were surgically removed. He was also a smoker with morning cough. Once he stopped smoking, the cough went away. It is important to heed the warning signs that our bodies give us. With Chinese Medicine, Reflexology, or knowledge about Meridians (Acupuncture, Acupressure), a practitioner knows where in the body a problem is starting. With Reconnective Healing® the body/Creator knows what to heal.
Anna Christine Doehring, RHFP, RCP, Energy All Around Therapies
Energy-All-Around.com
If you enjoy gambling, here are some strategies to keep gambling recreational.
1) Plan Ahead: Arrange your day and evening beforehand and plan other leisure activities in addition to gambling.
2) Set a Time Limit: Determine the amount of time you are going to gamble before you start. Ensure you stick to your time limit by wearing a watch, setting your phone alarm, or have someone call or pick you up.
3) Set a Money Limit: Determine the amount of money you are going to bet before you start. Use only money set aside for entertainment, not money needed for food, bills or other necessities. Decide in advance if you are going to play any winnings along the way or keep them separate to take them home. To help you stick to your set limit, leave your debit and credit cards at home.
Karen Hlady, Community Engagement & Prevention Advisor,
Gambling Awareness Program, BCResponsibleGambling.ca
Registered Nutrition Consultant Practitioners (RNCPs) are scientific evidence-based trained nutritional professionals who can educate you about diet, lifestyle and detoxification for optimum health and energy. They can design an individualized nutrition program that respects your unique biochemistry, food sensitivities and intolerances to help you build and maintain wellness. When designing a program, environmental pollution, metal toxicity, micro-organism imbalances, medications, and other factors that can contribute to your body’s total toxic load and perpetuates chronic disease are considered. RNCPs support your body’s natural detoxification processes to help eliminate wastes and toxins that can damage cells, tissues and organs. They can help you with lifestyle changes that incorporate the benefits of regular exercise: better cardio and lung capacity, more energy, muscle tone, posture improvement, stress release, weight control, and mood enhancement. RNCPs are certified by the International Organization of Nutritional Consultants.
Crystal McMillan, MA, RNCP, Bareroots Natural Health and Yoga Centre
BarerootsNaturalHealth.com
Many seniors wish to maintain an independent lifestyle in the comfort and familiarity of their own home but find it difficult to do so as they age. The good news is that there are a wide range of services available to help seniors do just that. These cost-effective services range from general care to extended care to nursing care. The level of care required is determined with an initial in-depth assessment and consultation welcoming family members, support providers and clients to identify the specific areas of need and care required. General care may include regular or special diet meal planning/preparation, assistance with appointments, grocery shopping and light housekeeping. Extended care attendants can provide family relief/respite, personal care, medication dispensing, pre/post operative and rehabilitation care. Nurses can help with Injections, wound care, catheter and colostomy changes and more. The level of care required can range from one visit per week to twenty four hour, full time care.
Sue Williams, Owner, Sue’s Seniors Care Inc.
SuesSeniorCare.com
As important as it is to feel safe at home, that feeling shouldn’t end when you head out the door. You want to feel safe and secure wherever you might be! Whether in your home, walking to your mailbox or going on vacation, there are devices available that give you 24/7 access to help. These on-the-go devices can send an alert when you press a button, sense when you fall and send an automatic alert, and provide direct, two-way communication with a 24/7 Response Center. They are designed to help locate the user in a variety of situations – home or away, indoors and out. It really is possible to get out there and enjoy life with peace of mind.
Joan Ryan, Nanaimo Lifeline
NanaimoLifeline.ca
What is it and how will you know when you achieve it? Many of us have learned to look outside to what society tells us, whether it be family, friends or the media. From a young age, we have been trained to look up to our elders, do as we are told and mind our manners. Some of these things are good but some are limiting and don’t encourage us to discover our own truth. As a result, we end up in pain; physical, mental, emotional or spiritual pain, all of which is the body speaking to get our attention. A sense of feeling unfulfilled or overwhelmed is another sign of being out of balance. Fortunately, there is much that we can do to change this. Meditation, massage, essential oils and nutritional supplements can all be incorporated into our lives. Join us at the Wellnessnews Workshop on May 17 where you will receive tools and much more.
Tammy Phye, R.A., EOT, Lifestyle Harmony
LifestyleHarmony.ca
Don’t expect me to post tips about how to make Spring Cleaning fun. As someone with a bad back, Spring Cleaning is not exactly my idea of having fun as it involves quite a bit of risk and effort from my part! Having said that, there is one part of the Spring cleaning process that I do enjoy tremendously and that is Spring Decluttering!
Spring Decluttering is an inherent part of Spring Cleaning, as one goes hand in hand with the other. Spring is perhaps the best time of the year to get into the decluttering process full blast! You are tired of the Winter blues, Spring is smiling at you, and your energy levels are rising again. So here you go! Best time to tackle that mountain of clutter as ruthlessly or as joyfully as you wish! It is all a matter of perception after all…
Spring Decluttering is perhaps the best motivation to achieve a thorough Spring Cleaning and to make it an exceptionally satisfying process too. Getting rid of the old ‘stuff’ both literally and virtually and replacing it with something new that will elevate your spirit to new levels is definitely worthwhile in my book!
Get to know your ‘why’
To achieve your goal, you need to first be crystal clear about why you want to do this and what you want to achieve. To make the whole process productive and enjoyable you need to start from a solid starting point which relates to your wants and needs and the values behind them.
Why do you want to declutter your space? What do you want to achieve with that? What will the result offer you that will bring a change that in turn will bring you closer to satisfying and fulfilling deep seated and/or long held wants and needs? What will you be able to afford, enjoy, take pleasure in by undertaking this task? What will replace –or not- the clutter and how that will make you happier and/or improve your quality of life?
If you do it only ‘just because’ you have to do it, it will most likely be experienced like one more chore and not something to enjoy and find satisfaction in. If you declutter and Spring clean your space with a very clear goal in mind, one that has heart and meaning for you, chances are that it will be an enjoyable process you will want to repeat.
Decluttering begins before clutter accumulates
The process of decluttering is not just about getting rid of old ‘junk’, but about changing one’s attitude and values towards consumerism. About moving from mindless buying, to conscious and eclectic purchasing. About picking only what is meaningful, useful and necessary, beautiful, satisfying and high quality.
About getting away from short term buying habits and thinking more long term, as for example instead of buying three cheap, poor quality t-shirts, buying one, good quality, more expensive one. It is about honoring and valuing who you are and what you deserve.
About putting attention and intention where it is due. About creating a space for yourself and your family that will support your goals and wishes, your well-being and happiness. A space that will be enjoyable to live and function in, effectively and effortlessly. A space that serves you and not the other way around.
Taking your power back from ‘stuff’
Think about it for a moment, so many of us spend so much of our time trying to ‘tame’ our ‘stuff’. The usual reasons being:
‘Stuff’ rules our lives, takes up our time, our space and we end up being enslaved to it. Crazy stuff right? Isn’t it time to reverse that trend? To take over and get our power back? Time to set out the rules about what we allow into our space and be clear about the why, the purpose? Time to cut down on the superfluous and excuses and building up on real wants and needs and take action?
Focus on quality, meaning, beauty and utility
The best way to go about it is to take things up a notch. Move away from quantity and towards quality. Away from mindless buying and towards more conscious consumerism. Away from instant gratification and towards more substantial and long term goal achievement and satisfaction.
Living clutter free is a state of mind, an attitude and philosophy towards life in general. It is not about minimalism, Zen or living in a clinical environment. It is not about starving ourselves from sensual pleasures, depriving ourselves from the fun and color of joyful living.
It is all about knowing exactly what has heart and meaning for us, what brings us joy, what makes us happy, what we love and enjoy from an aesthetic point of view and knowing what are our deeper wants and needs and the goals we want to achieve.
Spring cleaning is what you make of it. It can be anything from a simple story of brooms, wash cloths and detergents to a whole different experience that can change your way of looking at life, yourself, your space and what you want out of it.
So, what do you want?
Emmanuelle Stathopoulos is the soul behind Inner Dream To Outer Form – Life & Space Redesign. Using Environmental and Design Psychology as well as Coaching principles and techniques, she helps her clients create the space that best answers their wants and needs.
Services:
www.innerdreamtoouterform.com
