Community News
Holiday Stress Busters

The holidays are rapidly approaching, and a good many of us should be afraid – very afraid!  A time where we should be spending quality time with friends and family turns into a physical and emotional apocalypse.  Lets say we start with Thanksgiving and end at New Years 2016 – that’s a little more than 2 months where we let tradition lay a whopping on our health.  We just finished rolling off the couch following Thanksgiving then the excessive candy at Halloween (yeah right its just for the kids!) , Costco has Christmas decorations out already, so the office (and friends) parties are soon to follow.  With those parties comes a bit more of the sauce (not the type you put on the turkey) and more treats that almost guarantees you cant fit into the clothes you get under the tree!  Give yourself the gift of health this season – Eat Well, Think Well, Be Well.

Dr. Dave, Academy Chiropractic
www.academyhealthsite.com

Reiki for Animals

Animals are far more emotionally and psychically sensitive than we can ever imagine. All animal lovers will agree that they enrich our lives with kindness, love and support beyond that of any human. Reiki is a gentle laying-on of the hands healing system. Reiki has been medically proven to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, lessen physical and emotional trauma and effectively treat chronic conditions such as physical pain or addiction. It effectively aids in the healing of fearful, sad, and overactive newly homed animals. Reiki is loved by animals because it is non-invasive, soothing and loving energy that they may be missing or depleted of in their day to day lives. Reiki is an excellent complement to Western Medicine. It has been medically and experientially proven to reduce the pain of post-traumatic surgery wounds, chemotherapy, sprained or broken bones.

Jill Saifer
www.soulsticespirithealing.wordpress.com

Natural Product Review 

MyoNatural offers a revolutionary pain cream that guarantees pain relief or your money back. Now you can live an active, pain free lifestyle without the worry of product side effects. MyoNatural was developed by health care professionals for sports injuries, workout enhancement, joint pain, sore muscles, arthritis, back pain relief and more. It is recommended by doctors, health care professionals and world class athletes, including Tom Brady. MyoNatural is the world’s only toxin-free, all-natural anti-inflammatory cream that actually heals damaged tissue and cells for not only immediate pain relief but long-lasting recovery. Using a patented delivery system, MyoNatural pain cream delivers natural anti-inflammatory compounds directly to damaged tissue where they reinforce and strengthen cells. These cells are now better able to resist rupturing which leads to pain and inflammation. Because our pain cream only uses all-natural, non-toxic ingredients there are absolutely no side effects. Only fast and long-lasting pain relief.

A1 Nutrition
www.a1nutritiongrant.ca 

MRI’s and Low Back Pain

Your back pain may not be due to reasons explained by an MRI, which may well point you towards unnecessary surgical procedures. Current studies show most individuals will have MRI findings of disc degeneration, height loss, or bulging disc. More than 50% of asymptomatic individuals 30-39 years of age and 90% of individuals 60 years of age or older have signs of disc degeneration, height loss, or bulging discs. What does this mean for you? It is possible your MRI findings are the reason for your pain but a lot of the time it isn’t. Low back pain isn’t always because of these “abnormalities” and will not effect the treatment you are receiving at physiotherapy. Physiotherapists are trained to help you with your low back pain using manual therapy and providing you with an exercise program to manage your low back pain. So before you consider surgery, try physiotherapy first.

Lindsay Stevenson
www.prairietrailphysio.ca

The Power of Grief

Working with people’s grief at a time of deep loss and hurt in their lives is an incredible honour. Grief gets held and stored in our bodies and can be all consuming and overwhelming. People are often reluctant and scared to fully feel their pain in fear that they will never get out of it. When grief becomes stuck in our bodies it can play havoc with our energy levels, sleep, anxiety and our physical and emotional wellbeing. When not worked through it can lead to depression and disease. I recommend and support people to grieve deeply for 20-30 minutes daily when they are going through a rough time or loss in their lives to release the heaviness inside and lighten their load. It’s like a deep rain shower that cleanses that which is no longer needed. Body psychotherapy is helpful when you are not ready to do it alone.

D’Arcy Bruning-Haid
www.souls-journey.com

Clean Eating: Pumpkin Chia Bars

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cup rolled oats
½ cup honey
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup chia seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line a 8×8 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, add pumpkin, honey and vanilla extract.
Mix until combined.
Fold oats and chia seeds into batter, mix until incorporated.
Press evenly into baking dish.
Bake for 20-30 minutes.
Let cool and cut into 8 bars and store in air tight container.

www.savynaturalista.com

Creative Ways to Pay off Debt

If your debts are beginning to pile up, now is the time to develop a personal debt reduction plan. Budgeting and putting credit cards away for a while are all important parts of a good debt reduction plan, and they are easy to implement. But if you are like most of us, finding the cash to reduce credit card and other debt can be a little more difficult. If you need to pay off debt, consider some of these creative ways to bring down your balances:

Bump up your income. One of the easiest ways to increase your bank balance is to get a second job. However, before you start hunting for the perfect part-time job, check your day job’s moonlighting or second job policy. You should also ensure that you are having the appropriate amount of income tax deducted to reflect the new total income.

Another way to increase your current income is to increase your hours. If you have a part-time job, you may be able to up your availability and qualify for more hours. Full-timers can volunteer for additional projects.

A second job can also be conducted from home. Mary Kay, Avon, and many food, jewelry, or home care product companies offer opportunities to make money while setting your own goals and schedule. If you enjoy talking about these special interest items with friends and neighbours, you may be able to make a significant contribution to your debt reduction piggy bank.

Be a small-scale Entrepreneur. You can add to your income by marketing your skills, or by providing a service that others need. Don’t be intimidated by the thought of starting your own business. Small scale business opportunities don’t require a huge bank account or expensive advertising budgets.

The simplest way to start earning extra income is to provide a service to others that you already provide for yourself. Are you the only stay-at-home parent on the block? Consider offering after-school day care or specialty care for infants or sick kids. Do you have the loveliest yard in your neighbourhood? Providing your services as a garden design and care consultant or a lawn care provider can add enough money to make a significant reduction in your debt load. Animal lovers can offer in-home day or vacation care, or walk neighbourhood dogs.

Other suggestions of services to offer include:

  • Residential painting
  • House cleaning
  • Home organizing
  • Auto detailing

Advertise your services through word of mouth, flyers, Kijiji or your neighbourhood Facebook page.

Create your own job. If you’re tech-savvy, using a computer, tablet, or smart phone is probably second nature to you, but for many they are confusing and difficult to use. If you know your way around emerging technology, you can help others make the best use of their tech appliances. Repairing electronic devices or assisting in setup are just two services that you can provide. Programmers, graphic artists, and photo editors also have special skills that are very marketable.

With a little creativity, your special skills can be a valuable tool in your plan to pay off your debt.

LC Taylor Trustees in Bankruptcy

www.lctaylor.com

Prevent Sports Injuries

Now is the time of year where many athletes will start their fall/winter sport. This often involves changing from summer to winter sports. However, did you know most injuries occur in the first and last third of a season? This is often due to the change of muscle requirements being used for each sport or sometimes the movement patterns involved. Going from baseball to hockey requires a significant increase in the use of your hip flexors – the muscles that bring your knees to your chest. This is a common “early season” injury for hockey players. Doing proper warm ups, stretches and slowly progressing the volume of skating may help in preventing these types of injuries. Also check your overall hip mobility; if you can lift your leg 10 degrees off the floor while on your stomach and at least 70 degrees when on your back, that’s a good sign that you have sufficient movement about the hip.

Jason Moniz, South Sherbrook Therapy
www.southsherbrook.com

Compassionate Beauty Care

There are many thoughts that go through a person’s mind once a cancer diagnosis is received. What does the future look like and how will my life be changed. What common activities that I do now, will be affected by treatment and subsequent side-effects? However life changes, one thing is for sure, pampering yourself will make you feel better, and finding a spa that offers compassionate and safe treatments is key. Where the treatments are non-invasive, no cutting of cuticles, no razors used on feet, just simply therapeutic services that are focused on the individual going through any cancer. Having a facial with no extractions, just comforting and customized for your skin. Using all natural products that contain no carcinogens or any toxins. Products with ingredients listings you can pronounce and recognize. The best part – not having to explain what you are going through because a compassionate esthetician already understands.

www.theunexpectedgift.ca

The Important Big Toe 

Your big toe is the most distant joint in the push off phase in walking or running. So if the big toe is compromised, the ankle, knee, hip or back have to take up the slack! It’s not that uncommon for the big toe to be stiff or arthritic (even in younger people). If you’ve less than a 70 degree bend in your big toe, then some other joint in your leg is doing more work than ideal, or is being forced into a traumatic position to take up the slack. If the big toe is painful from an injury (ever kick the bed frame while rushing to get the phone?) and you avoid transferring your weight through it, you are also putting more strain on another part of your leg. When your big toe is injured/ compromised, it needs to be rehabilitated before the rest of the leg suffers.

www.dougchristiephysiotherapy.com

Steps to Breast Health

When it comes to preventing beast cancer there is no magic solution and no guarantee. But you reduce your risk. It is never too early, nor to late to begin, but maintaining a healthy lifestyle and body weight throughout your lifetime are key. Here are four steps to follow: 1. Eat a well balanced diet: Open your mind to whole grains, fruit and vegetables. Strike a healthy balance from all food groups and avoiding foods high in fat and sugar. 2. Get Active and stay that way: Go for a walk, a workout or cycle. Do what you enjoy and do it for at least 30 minutes/day, at least 5 times a week. 3. What you drink: The more alcohol you consume, the greater your risk. Limit your intake to one alcoholic drink or less per day. 4. Do not start smoking and if you do smoke, quit.

www.curves.com