Community News
To Floss or Not to Floss?

By now, most of us have heard of the recent Associated Press (AP) article, which looked at 25 peer-reviewed studies on flossing. The article cited weak or unreliable evidence that flossing has long-term benefits (published Aug 2016). The Canadian Dental Association (CDA) continues to support flossing as an effective preventative measure to remove plaque, the main cause of gum disease. Floss is meant toclean between teeth and under the gums (areas where your toothbrush can’t reach). If you avoid interdental cleaning, you are missing as much as one third of your tooth surface! There are other tools available, such as interdental or proxabrushes and mechanical devices, such as Waterpik (or AirFloss). However traditional floss is the most cost effective option and, therefore, the one most often recommended. If you have any questions, contact your local dental office.

Dr. Sarah Keating Sangalang, www.reflectionsdentalhealth.ca

Self-Awareness Is Key

How could you ever repair a vehicle if the causes of what made it break down were invisible to you and everyone else? This statement is true for nearly everyone in all aspects of our lives (not our vehicles). We desire to improve our health, relationships, and life but we have no idea what is actually preventing us from achieving these desired improvements. “I would fix it if I knew what it was’” is a common theme for many of us. Becoming self-aware leads us to uncover and understand what are the hidden causes and factors. It also gives us the opportunity to release, move on from, and heal whatever the invisible factors have been. Self-awareness leads to answers. Answers lead to solutions. Solutions lead to living a most excellent, healthy, balanced, and productive life. Are you looking for solutions? Self-awareness is the key!

Shannon Russell, www.bodymindfreedom.net

Mindful Holiday Eating

It’s not the shortbread or chocolates that’ll get you. It’s what you THINK about the shortbread and chocolates that’ll do it every year. It’s the extreme all or nothing thinking, the good food/bad food mindset that’ll turn a couple cookies into ten. It sounds something like this: “get it while you can and lose it in January” or “I’m not gaining an ounce this year.” Mindful eating is the middle ground. Conscious eating decisions that leave you feeling better after eating, holidays or not. Less food provides more joy and satisfaction which lends itself well to savoring all the season has to offer. The basics to ask yourself this season before eating and drinking: 1. “Am I Hungry?” 2. “How Hungry Am I?” 3. “What do I REALLY want? 4. “How much will satisfy my hunger/craving while leaving me feeling peaceful? 5. “How do I want to feel in my body after I’m done eating?”

Lisa Kehler, www.offyourplatenutrition.ca

Healing with Crystals

Crystals and gemstones have amazing holistic healing abilities and can be used for many applications such as meditation, reiki, and chakra clearing and balancing. With a little practice and intuition, anyone can interpret the immediate characteristics of a stone. For example, red is the colour of action and red stones can invigorate and enliven in the same way that the blood in your body gives you life. Amethyst is a good crystal for protection against all sorts of negative energy. It expands the mind, encouraging creativity, intuition, and calm. Rose quartz is a beautiful crystal for love, compassion, tolerance, and radical self-love. Citrine is the prosperity crystal. It attracts abundance, as well as boosting your self-esteem! Hematite protects against negativity. Its mirrored surface deflects other people’s moods and bad vibes.

Sherri Versluis, www.thepreferredperch.ca

Grow Your Mo’

Movember is the month formerly known as November, where men and women across the globe join together to raise awareness and funds for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer to affect Canadian men. One in eight men will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime. Prostate cancer can be slow-growing and some men who develop it may live many years without ever having the cancer detected. It is important to get screened regularly so that if you do develop prostate cancer, the appropriate action can be taken. The moustache is our ribbon. This Movember, grow your Mo and use it to raise funds for men’s health.

Care At Home Pharmacy, www.careathomepharmacy.ca

Community Event

As part of Manitoba Addictions Awareness Week, St. Raphael Wellness Centre is hosting the “SEX AND ADDICTIONS Conference” on November 15-17th at the Norwood Hotel.

The conference begins on November 15th from 7-9 pm with a public forum, entitled, “ Porn Crisis? The Porn Dilemma in Today’s Culture.” Discovering that someone close to you is secretly watching porn is usually met with a range of emotions and most of us do not feel prepared to navigate a conversation about it. This community presentation will describe six principles of sexual health that can be a foundation for talking with someone about their use of pornography.

This will be followed by a day and a half discussion on sex/drug-linked behaviour.  Family members, counsellors, therapists, mental health professionals and others who want to help individuals talk about and address issues of sexual health and substance addiction will want to attend.

www.straphaelcentre.ca

 http://straphaelcentre.ca/srwc-conference-2016-2/

 

10 Ways to Cultivate Self-Acceptance

Be intentional. Articulate your goal of self-acceptance and dedicate yourself to it each day. Celebrate your strengths. Name one of your strengths each day. Create a support system. Surround yourself with people who accept and believe in you. Forgive yourself. Accept past mistakes, learn from them, and move on. Shush your inner critic. Be gentle to yourself and treat yourself the way you would a loved one. Grieve the loss of unrealized dreams. Acknowledge the loss and then move forward. Perform acts of kindness. Giving to others enriches your life. Be kind to yourself. It is not selfish to love yourself. You are worthy of self-compassion. Understand that acceptance is not resignation. Letting go of the things you cannot control allows you to grow. Speak to your highest self. Visualize your best self in times of stress. Tap into the wisdom that lies within you.

Canadian Mental Health Association Manitoba, www.winnipeg.cmha.ca

Book Club: Chakra Wisdom Oracle Toolkit

A 52-Week Journey of Self-Discovery with the Lost Fables Paperback by Tori Hartman. Let this book guide you in opening up your intuition, removing blockages from your life, improving your relationships, and realizing your highest potential. Have you ever wondered about chakras? You may wonder how to open your chakra channels or just understand what they are. Maybe you just wish to make your life more colorful and become something more. Become a successful, interesting person, a witty talker, a person who knows more and is determined to continue developing. This book is for you.

70 is the New 50

Working into retirement, postponing having kids, living longer – the lifecycle of Canadians is changing. This has implications on personal finances and retirement savings. New research suggests that old age now starts at 74, with middle age lasting at least nine years longer than current estimates. What we think of as old has changed over time and it will need to continue changing in the future as people live longer, healthier lives. Two hundred years ago, a 60-year-old was a very old person. Someone who is 60 years old today could be argued as middle aged. In terms of health, longevity, and view of life, “baby boomers” in their sixties and seventies will be more like their parents and grandparents were at 50. This means people can work longer if they so desire. For many people, 70 is the new 50 and signifies the quiet revolution that has taken place in longevity.

Brett Scott, www.disabilitytaxcreditwinnipeg.com

5 Tips for a Happy Home

Life and school are easier for kids who live in homes where good communication, healthy habits, and regular routines exist. Here are some strategies for good communication: 1. Talk Often. 2. Get to the point. 3. Express feelings clearly with ‘I’ statements. 4. Speak for yourself and not for others. 5. Focus on behaviors rather than traits. Effective communication serves as preventive maintenance, reassures family members that they care about each other and appreciate each other’s efforts. Great everyday communication is more efficient when you need to bring up issues, make requests when needed, and resolve conflict when it arises. Communication problems can raise any family’s stress level, leading to conflicts that strain relationships and reduce the general quality of family life. Good communication can help address conflict in a productive way, let family members be heard, and help them stay connected to one another. Family therapy can help families work on essential communication skills.
Judith Nuesch, www.nuyutherapies.com

Time to Enhance Your Mental Health

With fall and its back to school activities, the risk of feeling scattered and overwhelmed is high. Sometimes we even feel a little “crazy” and our mental health starts to waver. It’s hard to find time to relax even though we know that’s what will help to truly put things in perspective so we can accomplish what needs to be done. This, most probably, is an indicator that your right brain is over active. You may be tempted to take something to slow things down some, opening you to substance abuse or medication dependence. You can relax your brain in another way. In this scenario, Brainwave Optimization, which reads surface measures of brain electrical activity, would probably show you high-frequency asymmetry at the temporals. BWO, with its auditory tones to facilitate the auto-calibration of brain activity, will have you functioning more harmoniously, so you can make more conscious, rewarding decisions.
Joanne Couture, laloba@lalobatraumarelease.com