Have you ever watched babies stretch their arms and legs as they wake up?  If so, you have witnessed pandiculation.  This is the nervous system’s natural way of waking up the sensory-motor system and preparing for movement.  As we age and develop habitual ways of standing and moving, this natural response becomes inhibited.  As muscles become tight and fail to release, tension and pain may result.  Our nervous system has learned to keep muscles tight, it can also learn to release those same muscles. Somatic exercises re-educate the brain to restore the natural mind-body pandiculation response.

Carol Meekes, at ease Somatics, ateaseSomatics.com

Looking for care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia? Nanaimo Memory & Complex Care provides a high standard of living for your loved one in a beautiful and relaxing environment.  Their building is designed to accommodate different levels of cognitive ability and to promote the highest level of independence possible. They feature private and companion suites in a pet-friendly environment.  The enclosed gardens and walking paths offer a place to stroll freely in nature to help create a sense of independence.  Nanaimo Memory & Complex Care offers both long-term residential or short-term respite care.

Heather Fisk, NanaimoMemoryCare.com

Take a trip back to Juno Beach with a WW2 veteran, in TheatreOne’s presentation of Jake’s Gift. Jake’s Gift tells the story of a Canadian World War II veteran’s reluctant return to Normandy, to find the grave of the brother who never came home. Jake encounters Isabelle, a precocious 10-year-old who’s inquisitive nature and charm challenge the old soldier to confront some long-ignored ghosts. At its heart, Jake’s Gift is about the legacy of remembrance and makes personal the story behind one soldier’s grave. VIU  Malaspina Theatre Thursday to Saturday, April 25-27 at 7:30pm, and Saturday, April 27 at 2pm.

TheatreOne, TheatreOne.org

BOTOX^® is one of the most common, non-surgical cosmetic treatments on the market. By injecting the neuromodulator into targeted areas, nerve signals to the muscles can be blocked preventing movement and contracting that leads to static wrinkles. BOTOX^® can be used both as a preventive measure to reduce dynamic wrinkles and a solution to temporarily diminish static fine lines and wrinkles.  BOTOX^® treatments are quick and effective; they usually take only a matter of minutes. It can treat frown lines, wrinkles, crow’s feet as well as excessive sweating and chronic migraine headaches.

Elegance Sculpting, EleganceSculpting.ca

Proper digestion is important to our overall health but we forget that digestion starts in the mouth with proper chewing. Nutritional experts say that each mouthful of food should be chewed forty times.  If we do not chew our food properly, it passes through our digestive system in a chunk that essentially rots as it passes through our digestive system. Patients with dentures have 90% less chewing force. They tend to list “digestive problems” as health concerns and often need medications for these issues. Dental implants bite with a force similar to that of natural teeth and may resolve these issues.

Vancouver Island Implant Centre, VancouverIslandImplantCentre.com

Did you know that falls are the leading cause of senior hospitalization in Canada? Or that more than 1 in 3 seniors suffer from malnutrition and 1 in 10 seniors suffer depression? An in-home nursing service dedicated to quality and continuity of care can help. Look for individualized care-plans for nursing and companionship services to suit your needs. With a little intervention and extra help, it is possible to keep seniors safe and happy in their own homes.

Comfort Keepers^®, Parksville, ComfortKeepers.ca

Our brain shrinks as we age. Interestingly enough, recent studies have shown that brain shrinkage occurs faster in hearing impaired individuals. This happens because a lack of hearing stimuli doesn’t affect just the ears. It also affects parts of the brain that deal with speech and sound. Parts of the brain that stop receiving sound stimuli shrink at a rapid rate and can lead to early onset cognitive impairment like dementia and Alzheimer’s. If you have concerns about your hearing, don’t wait. Get your hearing tested today. The sooner you return auditory stimulation to these parts of your brain’s hearing system, the better.

Lana Cuddeford, Nanaimo, HearingLife, HearingLife.ca