Community News
Manitoba Business Spotlight

Supporting Manitoba business has never been this easy. The community is always looking for food products to help them maintain and improve their health, as well as support local businesses. Local Meats and Frozen Treats is one place where you can find a wide variety of healthy local food, such as allnatural meats (beef, bison, elk, lamb, sausages, and burgers); Cornell Creme ice cream; Crampton’s Market pickles and salsa; Crampton’s Manitoba Maid jam, jelly, and marmalade; Gorp Energy Bars; Graham’s Groves pies; Heritage Lane Farms free-range roasting chickens; John Russell Honey; Minnie’s Handmade Ethnic Treats (perogies and cabbage rolls). Nature’s Farm eggs and pasta; Bothwell Cheese; Notre Dame Creamery butter; Spenst Brothers pork, sausages, pizza, and meat pies; St. Pierre Bakery tourtierre, pizza, bread, and baked goods; Townsend Farms pasture-raised heritage pork; and various BBQ sauces, oats, wild rice, quinoa, sauces, relishes, etc.

Grandpa Ken, Local Meats & Frozen Treats

Floating to Aid Learning

The benefits of floatation therapy are numerous. Perhaps the most universally appealing is floating’s inclination to enhance creativity, learning, and memory. These days, it’s practically common knowledge that taking a break can boost our creativity and problem solving. It’s not just anecdotal: research backs up these kinds of experiences. In a study at Texas A&M University, Dr. Thomas Taylor selected 40 well-matched subjects and split them into two groups. Both groups underwent a series of learning sessions using audiotapes. One group listened to the tapes while sitting on sofas in quiet, darkened rooms. The other group listened while floating in floatation cabins. The groups were tested on three levels of performance: basic memorization, the ability to understand a concept, and synthesis thinking. Results showed that floaters did much better than the control group did! Floating is the ultimate “recharge mode” for your brain!

Fluid Float, FluidFloat.com

Allergy Relief with NAET®

NAET® was discovered by Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad in November of 1983. Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques, also known as NAET, are non-invasive, drugfree, natural solutions to alleviate allergies of all types using a blend of selective energy balancing, testing, and treatment procedures. The variety of techniques applied includes acupuncture/acupressure, chiropractic, nutritional, and kinesiological disciplines of medicine. We know that many symptoms, such as headaches, backache, joint pain, indigestion, or cough, are often triggered by food and environmental sensitivities. If left untreated, these reactions might eventually cause illness. This therapy often alleviates adverse reactions to eggs, milk, peanuts, penicillin, aspirin, mushrooms, shellfish, latex, grass, ragweed, and flowers. In addition, people who suffer from allergens such as perfume, animal dander, animal epithelial, makeup, chemicals, cigarette smoke, pathogens, heat, cold, and other environmental substances also find relief. Reference: www.naet.com.

Dr. Maria Sabrina DiBernardo, Village Chiropractic Centre

Do You Feel Lonely?

If so, you are not alone in that feeling. Even though we are connected through the worldwide web and various other social mediums, almost one-quarter of Canadians will describe themselves as ‘lonely’. Chronic feelings of loneliness can eventually lead to mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety.  People would rather openly speak about having other ailments than confess to feeling alone. We could be surrounded by people and still feel lonely due to not feeling understood or heard by family and friends. So, what do we do if we are feeling this way? 1. Write down why you think you are lonely. Journaling helps shed light on what is going on inside. 2. Bring new people into your life through joining a group or even an online community. 3. Volunteer in your local community. Helping others raises self-esteem. There is additional support through professional talk therapy.

Patty Parsons, Counselling Therapist, ParsonsTherapy.com

Hearing Loss and Depression

Research continues to prove a strong connection between hearing loss and depression. The two are referred to as invisible conditions, as you cannot see their effects at first glance. Because of this, their effects can often go unacknowledged, unrecognized, and untreated. Hearing loss affects one’s ability to communicate, which can cause stress, fatigue, social isolation, and, in turn, depression. Along with depression, clients with untreated hearing loss are known to experience anxiety, relationship problems, low self-esteem, stress, and other negative emotions. However, hearing aids have been found to help combat these issues. A study by the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) found that those with untreated hearing loss were more likely to report depression, anxiety, and paranoia, and they were less likely to participate in organized social activities compared to those who wear hearing aids. Source: www.audiology.org/publicationsresources/document-library/untreated-hearing-loss-linkeddepression-social-isolation.

Lisa Reid Audiology, LisaReid.ca

Mary’s Story

“I don’t know who I am anymore, where I fit in, I just feel lost. I used to love my job, now I just feel detached. I can’t shut out thinking about my job after hours. Boundaries have become blurred, I’m having trouble sleeping, and I don’t feel safe anymore. Things I thought I dealt with in my own childhood are coming back. I am having a hard time watching the news or movies…I am an emotional wreck.” By becoming aware of the changes in her feelings and recognizing the signs of stress, and with help, Mary was able to engage in emotional self-care (counselling and balancing life), identify cognitive changes by paying attention to her thinking and knowing she is not alone, engage in healthy behaviours (boundaries and taking time off), and find ways to stay spiritually connected.

Patty Parsons, RSW, CCC, ParsonsTherapy.com

Eastern Teachings for Healing

You cannot do a meditation. In meditation, the “I” is dissolved back into its almighty source. Love. The truth is that the “I” is never separate from love, but the mind is often too busy for the realization of this highest order. In Tantra, there are seven main energy centres in the body called chakras. Traditional eastern technologies such as asana (yoga postures) and mantra (sacred sound repetition) help to distribute the energy evenly between these seven sacred centres and their associated nerves. This relaxes, settles the mind, and reveals to you the silent ecstasy of who you truly are. Easternstyle yoga classes are fully available in Winnipeg, and could very well be the gateway into the transformational experience of healing that the cells in your body have been longing for.

Karma Yoga, KarmaYogaWinnipeg.com

How to Navigate Life

In a small village, the ritual bath was on top of a steep hill. In the winter, ice and snow made it slippery. People took a longer route around the mountain, rather than try to climb it. An elder, however, would walk straight up. The people thought this quite incredible. One day, some doubters decided to discredit the elder. They were more athletic. If he could do it, they could. So, they followed him as he climbed easily. But after climbing halfway, they fell and were badly injured. One doubter asked the elder, “What is your secret? How do you do it?” The elder replied, “When you walk with Source, you don’t fall.” There are times we are on a slippery slope. The Source within is guiding and supporting. You have this power within you. Rev.

Anne Ahokangas, Centre for Spiritual Living Winnipeg, cslwinnipeg.org

Stress and Hair Loss

Hair loss isn’t really a condition itself, but rather a symptom of a condition. Stress and anxiety can manifest in so many different ways. Stress can cause many conditions that lead to hair loss. These include Alopecia Areata – the sudden loss of large clumps of hair in areas around your scalp; Telogen Effluvium – a condition where more hairs than normal prepare to fall out; and Trichotillomania – a habitual condition caused by emotional stress and anxiety, where the person pulls out hairs without realizing it. Temporary hair loss can also be the result of physical stress caused by abrupt weight loss, high fever, nutritional deficiencies, surgery, and illnesses such as thyroid disease and anemia. Other common causes of temporary hair loss are related to fluctuations in hormones caused by pregnancy, menopause, and use of oral contraceptives. See your doctor if you notice any significant hair loss.

Evelyn’s Wigs, Evelynswigs.com

Posture Makes Perfect!

Our posture during a variety of activities of daily living can contribute to neck and upper back pain. Whether we are at a computer desk, driving, or sitting in front of the television, our posture can deteriorate if we aren’t trying to help it. Being aware of your posture can also help prevent pain from happening in the first place. Certain muscles will weaken while being strained, and others will tighten up as they stay in a shortened position. The right combination of exercises and stretches can help promote proper posture, and ultimately decrease pain and injury. Stretches to help loosen your pectorals and sternocleidomastoid muscles are extremely beneficial. These help keep the chest open, and head up. You should then try a row exercise to help strengthen the rhomboids, and reinforce the shoulders to stay back, and for the back to stay upright.

Heath Vermette, CAT(C), Southsherbrook.com

Relaxation: What’s That?

How often do we hear this? “The only time I relax is with a drink in my hand. My brain does not know how to slow down.” Diagnosed with anxiety, a recent client found counselling and group work to be highly stressful. “I’m always scared of what others will say or think!” She was always so tired that she barely had energy to complete daily tasks; yet, when she went to bed, she couldn’t sleep. Brainwave Optimization helped her feel relaxed for the first time in her life. By attending to her brain frequencies, she wasn’t stuck in fight-flight anymore. She was able to keep her food down and digest better. Her sleep came more easily without meds. She was calmer around others and felt less intimidated by them. She could hardly believe she could get to that point without having to try and figure out what was “wrong” with her.

Joanne Couture, RMFT, RSW, LaLobaTraumaRelease.com