Community News
Water Yourself to Grow Your Health

When it comes to healthy beverages, water has no equal. This tasteless, odorless thirst quencher is essential to your every physiological process and makes up approximately 45-80% of our body mass. Because we lose water as we age, it becomes increasingly important to stay hydrated, a task accomplished by both drinking and eating. Two-thirds of our body’s water volume is found within our cells, making them like mini water balloons. When adequately filled, they are effective in alleviating headaches, improving memory, flushing out toxins, regulating body temperature, hydrating skin, lubricating joints, and – importantly – reducing inflammation which is believed to be the root of nearly all illness and disease including mental illness. If you are looking for an evidence-based and cost-effective way to improve your physical and mental health, look no further: water is truly a life source.

Canadian Mental Health Association, www.mbwpg.cmha.ca

Clean Eating: Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Soft, creamy, sweet and chocolatey – this plant-based, gluten and dairy-free pudding will surely satisfy.

All you need is:

1 and a half ripe Avocados, peeled and pitted

1/3 cup of 100% pure cacao powder

1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey

1/4 cup coconut milk

2 tsp vanilla essence

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Retirement Living

Begin your retirement living at Greenwood Meadows; a new life lease, 55 PLUS, not-for-profit, seniors housing complex designed to allow active, independent persons to ‘age-in-place’ with assistance while in community. The planned 74 suite, fivestory building in the heart of Steinbach, MB, will nurture a safe and secure environment that offers well-designed suites for persons of varying ability; including a ground level, interior heated parkade. The one & two bedroom suites range from 826 – 1415 square feet. Entrance fees start at $140,000 per suite with monthly rental fees dependent on suite size. First time tenants also have input to suite features and upgrades. Pre-lease booking of suites is now available. greenwoodmeadows.ca

Re-boot Your Nervous System

The Nervous system is a complex network of nerves and cells, which carry messages to and from the brain and spinal cord, to various parts of the body. Every movement your body makes, requires communication between the brain, and the muscles. Pain receptors send signals to the brain, when we are injured. Sometimes, pain receptors continue to fire, even though there may not be a physical cause of pain anymore, but the pain response still seems to be the same. Bowen Therapy works through the Autonomic Nervous System by facilitating neuromuscular repatterning, and modifying internal dialogue. During the treatment, gentle signals are sent to the brain to re-set the body to balance tension, reduce stress, and increase relaxation. Many sufferers of chronic muscle, joint, nerve, and back pain have experienced effective, and long lasting pain relief with Bowen Therapy. Balance the nervous system for natural pain relief.

Bernadette Kozak, Certified Bowenwork Practitioner, WinnipegPainRelief.ca

Link Between Depression and Hearing Loss

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/publications-resources/document-library/ untreated-hearing-loss-linked-depression-social-isolation.

Lisa Reid Audiology, www.lisareid.ca

Hot Flashes, Be Gone!

Celebrating International Women’s Day by attending to your hot flashes may not be a bad idea! If you are experiencing hot flashes, night sweats or other disturbances in mood and sleep, you might like to know that Brainwave Optimization has been shown to be a safe and effective therapy to manage these symptoms. During the menopausal process, estrogen levels fluctuate and eventually fall enough to cause impaired temperature regulation, possibly associated with resetting in patterns of brain electrical activity. Hot flash severity scores, insomnia and depression have been shown to be significantly reduced after participants attended to that brain electrical activity with Brainwave Optimization. Imagine yourself at a “brain spa” where you sit in a chair listening to the acoustic feedback of your own brain activity translated into auditory tones. Not only do you relax; more importantly, your brain relaxes and rebalances its activity, reducing those disturbing menopausal symptoms.

Joanne Couture, RMFT, RSW, www.lalobatraumarelease.com

Who Should You Know Better Than Anyone Else?

Have you ever met a celebrity? How many family and friends do you know on a personal level? Whose advice do you take over anyone else’s? Now here’s a good one for you – do you know yourself? Often, we are so focused on work, family, friends and daily distractions that we have never taken the time to get to know ourselves. As an example, I was so busy trying to be the best at everything and become an all-star at life, that for years I ignored myself and the aspects of me that needed TLC, growth, and attention – until my health and happiness reached an all-time low. Then I got to know myself in a hurry! In order to prevent problems from arising OR to dig yourself out of them – I highly recommend that you connect and listen to… You. It may be surprising what you can resolve for yourself.

Shannon Russell, BodyMind Freedom Solutions, www.thedashmethod.com

Float Your Way to Happiness

People generally have heard about floating by the terms “pods” or “tanks,” and start to feel claustrophobic. Float “Cabins” are different. Float Cabins come as large as four feet wide, eight feet long, and nearly seven feet high, and they are easily accessible easy to come out of with standard swing or sliding doors. Within each float cabin, 10 inches of water is infused with up with 1,000 pounds of dissolved Epsom salts, this makes the water extremely buoyant. With the option to remove light and sound, you experience the sensation of floating through space. Other options include the ability to play your own music and enjoy colour therapy as well. Floating regularly helps reduce physical and mental stresses on the body. The brain gives out alpha waves associated with meditation that allows the body to recover from stress and relax. Floatation therapy is a simple way to invest in your own health and happiness.

Fluid Float Studio, www.fluidfloat.com

Have You Tried Kefir?

Kefir is a unique cultured dairy product and one of the most probiotic-rich foods on the planet. Drinking Kefir has incredible medicinal benefits for your digestion and gut health. It’s tart and refreshing flavor is similar to a drinking-style yogurt, but it contains beneficial yeast as well as friendly probiotic bacteria found in yogurt. The naturally occurring bacteria and yeast in combine symbiotically to give superior health benefits when consumed regularly. It is loaded with valuable vitamins and minerals and contains easily digestible complete proteins. For the lactose intolerant, kefir’s abundance of beneficial yeast and bacteria provide lactase, an enzyme which consumes most of the lactose left after the culturing process. Drink up for benefits to your immune system, your bowels (see you later, IBS symptoms!), and your bones. It helps fight allergies, improves lactose digestion, supports detoxification, and even kills candida.

Disability Tax Credit, www.disabilitytaxcreditwinnipeg.com

Positive Mental Health is a Laughing Matter

While living with mental illness is no joke, laughing for positive mental and physical health seriously works. In fact, evidence supports the claim that a joyful heart provides a similar benefit to that of medicine. Although not considered a replacement for medical treatment, some doctors are using laughter as an adjunctive therapy. In the short and long term, laughter has been shown to, 1. Stimulate/boost the immune system; 2. Alleviate pain; 3. Reduce anxiety and stress; 4. Reduce depression; and, 5. Promote a sense of hopefulness. What if you don’t feel like laughing? No problem, fake it until you make it. Physiologically speaking, for the most part, your body doesn’t know the difference. And, faking it often leads to the real thing which may be exactly the health supplement you need to get to the positive side of negative circumstances.

Sean Miller, Canadian Mental Health Association, mbwpg.cmha.ca

Book Club: Big Magic Creative Living Beyond Fear!

Empowering author Elizabeth Gilbert asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Whether we are looking to write a book, make art, find new ways to address challenges in our work, Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.