Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Monday, March 16, 2015
Postive Posture
This is a good blog about posture from the UK. Follow along and learn the importance of posture!
Find Your Own Good Standing Posture
by 
No matter what we’re doing, we’re in some kind of posture – stooping, leaning, sitting and, of course, standing. Have you ever wondered what your own Good Standing Posture is? If so, here’s the blog and video that will teach you how to find it. A lesson for life.
This is not so good because the muscles now working are not postural muscles and can fatigue.
This causes pain.
To help improve your head and neck posture, you must be able to hold your head back a little so that your ear is in line with the middle of your shoulder when observed from the side. If you’ve stood with your head forwards for many years this will not happen quickly. You need to practice the Retraction Exercise which is on my previous blog. This will allow you to stretch the tight structures that are stopping you from holding a good head posture. You must do this about three times a day to have a gentle, effective stretch.
So, to find our good, pain-free standing posture this is what you do…
Now, the Retraction Exercise in my previous post will help you cope with a particularly common fault that causes poor standing posture. But of course, there are many other bad habits we can slip into, and we’ll look at some of them in future posts. But remember, once you know what good posture is you can work towards it.
So try out the advice we’ve covered today, and let me know how you get on!
Find Your Own Good Standing Posture
by No matter what we’re doing, we’re in some kind of posture – stooping, leaning, sitting and, of course, standing. Have you ever wondered what your own Good Standing Posture is? If so, here’s the blog and video that will teach you how to find it. A lesson for life.What is Standing Posture?
- It’s when you’re standing!
- It’s always comfortable.
- Your standing posture is probably not textbook perfect and so can be improved.
This is not so good because the muscles now working are not postural muscles and can fatigue.
This causes pain.
For example: Standing with your chin poking forwards
Now, this is something many of us do because we’re sat at a desk for hours, and that encourages the “Tortoise Posture”. When you stand like this, the muscles that must come into play to stop us from dropping our heads are the middle fibres of trapezius, and they run from the top of our shoulders to the base of our neck. This muscle can’t work for long periods and is a big source of pain for many people. So improving your posture will help reduce the activity of this muscle and thus you will get less pain.To help improve your head and neck posture, you must be able to hold your head back a little so that your ear is in line with the middle of your shoulder when observed from the side. If you’ve stood with your head forwards for many years this will not happen quickly. You need to practice the Retraction Exercise which is on my previous blog. This will allow you to stretch the tight structures that are stopping you from holding a good head posture. You must do this about three times a day to have a gentle, effective stretch.
So, to find our good, pain-free standing posture this is what you do…
- Stand with your back against a wall with heels 2cms away from the wall.
- Your bottom, upper back, and if possible the back of your head should be resting on the wall. If your head won’t reach the wall don’t strain.
In this position there should be just enough space to slide your hand in between the lower back inward curve and the wall. - If there is too much space, flatten this inward curve until your hand is touching the wall on one side and your back on the other side.
- This will be your good standing posture for the lower back.
- Whilst finding this position, keep your knees straight and don’t drop your chest down.
Mini Squat Exercise
To help you to learn and adapt this position, find your good posture position as explained above or on the video then…- Whilst maintaining this good posture, slowly bend the knees to do a mini squat…
- …and then straighten your knees keeping the good postural position.
Now, the Retraction Exercise in my previous post will help you cope with a particularly common fault that causes poor standing posture. But of course, there are many other bad habits we can slip into, and we’ll look at some of them in future posts. But remember, once you know what good posture is you can work towards it.
So try out the advice we’ve covered today, and let me know how you get on!
Monday, March 2, 2015
Benefits of Gratitude
Want to be happy, healthy and have great relationships? Sure, we all do! And we’ve hear a million times about the obvious ways to take care of ourselves: exercise, diet etc.
But there’s one simple exercise that boosts all of these things simultaneously and that most of us simply don’t know. What’s that? Being thankful. Sound too simplistic to you? Not so fast! Check out 13 of its stellar science-backed benefits:
2 – Brings you Happiness that Lasts. In fact, an attitude of gratitude can not only help you increase positive emotion, but also sustain it. Heck, ice cream can make us happy in the moment but gratitude leads to long-term happiness (ref)
3 – Protects you from Stress & Negativity. Gratitude is associated with decreased anxiety and depression and increased social support (ref)
4 – Reduces Your Materialism. One reason gratitude boosts our well-being is that it reduces materialism (ref) which is a good thing because materialism is linked to less happiness (ref)
6 - Leads to better relationships. Gratitude strengthens your relationships and helps you create and maintain good relationships and feel more connected (ref1 and ref2 and ref3 and ref4)
7 – Makes you Sexier. Gratitude improves romantic relationships by making people feel more satisfied in their relationships and connected to their partner (ref)
9 – Strengthens Your Willpower to Make Better Decisions Gratitude make you stronger and helps you achieve your goals (ref) and make smarter long term decisions (ref)
10 – Benefits you at all ages from adolescence to adulthood (ref)
12 – Makes others better people too: those we thank are more likely to become more ethical people too (ref1 and ref2)
13 – Makes the World a Better Place. When you express your gratitude to someone, that person will go on to be kinder to others (ref)
Don’t feel grateful? No worries! It’s accessible to anyone. Whether we’re sick or well, old or young, employed or unemployed, if our heart is beating, air is flowing in our lungs, and we have had a meal today, we have something to be grateful for. “Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a Rather Large Amount of Gratitude” (A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh).
2) Another way you can boost your gratitude is by spending a few minutes out of your day devoted to gratitude. Below is a gratitude meditation I put together that you can download and try for yourself today.
3) And finally, here’s a video by Brother David Steindl-Ross I love that never fails to elicit gratitude.
Let me know how it works out for you and share your experience in the comment section below!
But there’s one simple exercise that boosts all of these things simultaneously and that most of us simply don’t know. What’s that? Being thankful. Sound too simplistic to you? Not so fast! Check out 13 of its stellar science-backed benefits:
Benefits of Gratitude:
HAPPINESS
1 – Increases your Happiness. Counting your blessings leads to heightened well-being, especially positive mood (and who couldn’t use more of that?) (ref1. ref2 ref3).2 – Brings you Happiness that Lasts. In fact, an attitude of gratitude can not only help you increase positive emotion, but also sustain it. Heck, ice cream can make us happy in the moment but gratitude leads to long-term happiness (ref)
3 – Protects you from Stress & Negativity. Gratitude is associated with decreased anxiety and depression and increased social support (ref)
4 – Reduces Your Materialism. One reason gratitude boosts our well-being is that it reduces materialism (ref) which is a good thing because materialism is linked to less happiness (ref)
RELATIONSHIPS
5 – Makes you more socially intelligent (ref)6 - Leads to better relationships. Gratitude strengthens your relationships and helps you create and maintain good relationships and feel more connected (ref1 and ref2 and ref3 and ref4)
7 – Makes you Sexier. Gratitude improves romantic relationships by making people feel more satisfied in their relationships and connected to their partner (ref)
HEALTH
8 – It Even Improves Sleep Quality & Duration- in part because you have more grateful/happy thoughts before you go to sleep (ref). Count blessings, not sheep?9 – Strengthens Your Willpower to Make Better Decisions Gratitude make you stronger and helps you achieve your goals (ref) and make smarter long term decisions (ref)
10 – Benefits you at all ages from adolescence to adulthood (ref)
IMPACT
11 – Makes you a better person. It makes us better, more altruistic, moral and ethical people (ref1 and ref2). We become more helpful and kind to others (ref)12 – Makes others better people too: those we thank are more likely to become more ethical people too (ref1 and ref2)
13 – Makes the World a Better Place. When you express your gratitude to someone, that person will go on to be kinder to others (ref)
Don’t feel grateful? No worries! It’s accessible to anyone. Whether we’re sick or well, old or young, employed or unemployed, if our heart is beating, air is flowing in our lungs, and we have had a meal today, we have something to be grateful for. “Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a Rather Large Amount of Gratitude” (A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh).
Practicing Gratitude
Here are some simple ways to strengthen your thanking muscle:
1) A powerful way scientists have found can increase your well-being is simply making daily gratitude lists. Write down 5 things you feel grateful for every day. This simple (and short!) act can significantly increase your happiness.2) Another way you can boost your gratitude is by spending a few minutes out of your day devoted to gratitude. Below is a gratitude meditation I put together that you can download and try for yourself today.
3) And finally, here’s a video by Brother David Steindl-Ross I love that never fails to elicit gratitude.
Let me know how it works out for you and share your experience in the comment section below!
Gratitude Meditation
Another way you can boost your gratitude is by spending a few minutes out of your day devoted to gratitude. Here’s a gratitude meditation I put together that you can download and try for yourself today.Thursday, January 29, 2015
Dr. Mike's Experiment
It all started a few months ago. There seemed to be a trend with some clients wanting to increase the time between their visits. For some reason, some were starting to believe that they didn't need to come in as often as was recommended by Dr. Mike Rumpel.
So, Dr. Mike decided to try going 1 month without an adjustment. This was no easy task, as Dr. Mike has been getting adjusted regularly since he was 7 years old. After being pushed off a slide at age 5 and falling on his head, Dr. Mike started experiencing severe headaches, inability to concentrate and daily vomiting. He was getting in trouble at school constantly. Luckily, someone suggested to his parents that he see a Chiropractor.
Chiropractic literally saved Dr. Mike. Going "cold turkey", was against everything he knew. All the miracles we have seen in our office, all the benefits of regular chiropractic care, would be ignored.
Dr. Mike's passion for what he does, the results he gets, and the value he sees in every life he touches were just some of the reasons he needed to try this experiment.
So, Dr. Mike decided to try going 1 month without an adjustment. This was no easy task, as Dr. Mike has been getting adjusted regularly since he was 7 years old. After being pushed off a slide at age 5 and falling on his head, Dr. Mike started experiencing severe headaches, inability to concentrate and daily vomiting. He was getting in trouble at school constantly. Luckily, someone suggested to his parents that he see a Chiropractor.
Chiropractic literally saved Dr. Mike. Going "cold turkey", was against everything he knew. All the miracles we have seen in our office, all the benefits of regular chiropractic care, would be ignored.
Dr. Mike's passion for what he does, the results he gets, and the value he sees in every life he touches were just some of the reasons he needed to try this experiment.
My regular Chiropractic routine
is to get my spine checked weekly, adjusting what is necessary; this has been
my standard for many years. Rarely do I ever have pain; the purpose of my
adjustments is to optimise nervous system function and improve health
expression.
The trend of some clients who
had been under weekly or biweekly care for years wanting to extend their visits
to monthly got me curious as to what they were experiencing and the “why”
behind it.
By week two I started getting
neck and upper back pain, end of that week a headache. Week three the
pain continued and energy levels, normally high, started to get lower. My
mood got worse and my focus and concentration levels dropped by the end of week
3. The 4th week was bizarre: my pain disappeared, I felt good
physically. Interestingly though, I continued to be affected mentally,
which was difficult to truly perceive because it was starting to feel
“normal”. My focus at work was way off, I was sleeping terribly, I was
super grumpy and short-tempered (especially with my wife and kids), I became
very negative in my overall outlook towards life; all while physically feeling
great!
This was VERY revealing to me as
to what is happening with so many people unfamiliar with regular Chiropractic
care. Most people benefit holistically from weekly or biweekly care at a
neurological level. Because the brain and body have an amazing ability to
adapt, the initial physical symptoms associated with not getting adjusted soon
disappear because of this adaption. Relying on pain to dictate health and
the necessity of getting adjusted is therefore unreliable because adaptation
covers up the true neurological dysfunction of a subluxated spine.
Ultimately, going too long results in brain function changes which alter
emotions, mood, sleep, energy levels and overall happiness with this amazing
life we’ve been given.
So what I experienced, and what
some of our Clients have experienced is truly deception – being robbed of full
life expression and enjoyment because of adaptation.
Great personal experiment, not
to be repeated because basically it sucked, plain and simple. I love
living a life full of optimism, massive energy, clear thinking and a full
capacity to serve and help others....if this means getting adjusted regularly
to achieve this, I’m all in!
Dr. Mike, testing the limits to understand more for his clients.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
JUST - a four letter word.
http://www.sharewik.com/just-just-another-four-letter-word/
My hearing (or lack of it according to some people) has become highly sensitive to any sentence that begins with “I’m just…”
We can change the way we view ourselves by changing the soundtrack in our head. It won’t happen overnight, but become aware of your self-defeating slogans. Make 2015 the year of the Positive Affirmations. Make your platform one that is filled with uplifting and optimistic statements.
Stop yourself when the words “I’m just” start to form on your lips. Rethink and rework that statement before uttering it.
Try to look at it this way: When we were kids, we couldn’t say certain words or else we would suffer some nasty consequences. Start to think of “I’m just” as a phrase that could cause your dear great-grandmother Tillie to faint dead away. Or even better, utter those words and have a “time out corner” dedicated in your name. Let “I’m just” start to taste like Irish Spring on your tongue.
One way to strike it rich before “I’m just” leaves your repertoire is to keep a jar handy and every time you say that dastardly expression, throw in a dollar. You just might jet off to Europe for a month’s vacation, all expenses paid.
© 2015 ShareWIK Media Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Just: Just Another Four-Letter Word
My hearing (or lack of it according to some people) has become highly sensitive to any sentence that begins with “I’m just…”
Maybe it comes from years of personal experience, but I try to be so careful about what I say about myself – either to myself or to the general public. I leave all the sarcastic slings to a few close friends. They need and want the practice.
Most people don’t say the words “I’m just” and follow it with…”fabulous,” or “so excited about my future,” or “so mindful of my own goodness.” Or phrases like, “I am just so grateful to be able to get up each day and explore new options.”
No, nowadays it just seems to come in the form of “I’m just not getting any place with this job,” “I’m just never going to move ahead with my life,” and my least favorite: “I’m just not good enough to matter.”
What I find unbelievable is when I hear negative, self-defeating putdowns coming from intelligent, clever and creative people. People who have so much potential – just ask them when they aren’t beating up on themselves and are focused on their goals. But the soundtrack they play in their minds comes from years of self doubt along with the biting and hurtful words from some lovely individuals (who are probably dealing with a self-sabotaging soundtrack themselves) who helped reinforce all that personality pollution that whirls around a perfectly fine brain.We can change the way we view ourselves by changing the soundtrack in our head. It won’t happen overnight, but become aware of your self-defeating slogans. Make 2015 the year of the Positive Affirmations. Make your platform one that is filled with uplifting and optimistic statements.Stop yourself when the words “I’m just” start to form on your lips. Rethink and rework that statement before uttering it.
Try to look at it this way: When we were kids, we couldn’t say certain words or else we would suffer some nasty consequences. Start to think of “I’m just” as a phrase that could cause your dear great-grandmother Tillie to faint dead away. Or even better, utter those words and have a “time out corner” dedicated in your name. Let “I’m just” start to taste like Irish Spring on your tongue.
One way to strike it rich before “I’m just” leaves your repertoire is to keep a jar handy and every time you say that dastardly expression, throw in a dollar. You just might jet off to Europe for a month’s vacation, all expenses paid.
© 2015 ShareWIK Media Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Nelson Mandela
I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/nelsonmand447245.html#peQg77pbP26dUP2x.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/nelsonmand447245.html#peQg77pbP26dUP2x.99
I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela_2.html#C1jc7sAT65ihAsVZ.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela_2.html#C1jc7sAT65ihAsVZ.99
I was not a messiah, but an ordinary man who had become a leader because of extraordinary circumstances.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela_2.html#C1jc7sAT65ihAsVZ.99
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/nelson_mandela_2.html#C1jc7sAT65ihAsVZ.99
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Christmas with Chiropractors with Compassion
Yes, the
Christmas season is just around the corner!
I love the holiday season because to me it represents promise, love,
giving and family. Generally speaking
it’s also the time of year we see people reach out to the
needy and less fortunate. For the last
few years we have done the same by offering the Christmas Gift of Health. This outreach has always been very important
because we feel blessed to be given the ability and opportunity to help people
with their health and change their lives for the better. However, to be completely honest, there is so much more work to be done. Many people in our community are lost, sick
and suffering when it comes to their health and happiness and many are losing
hope and vision for their future.
Our
office has been a proud partner with Chiropractors with Compassion (CWC) for
over 6 years. CWC funds holistic
child-centered projects in third world nations, focusing on developing the
child to empower them to escape impoverishment.
As some of you know, I travelled on a CWC mission trip to Kenya in 2011. In Africa, I personally got to experience
horrifying poverty on a level that is indescribable; this was balanced by the
hope and joy of seeing the schools and water treatment facilities that CWC is
building that are allowing kids to escape the cycle of poverty. By helping one person at a time locally, each
CWC partner is also changing and saving lives globally. CWC partners commit to donating $20 for every
new patient that comes into their office.
Amazingly within 7 years, CWC has funded over $2.3 million in projects
in Africa, Central America and more prominently now in the Dominican Republic.
So, I am asking for your help.
I’d like
to see this become the biggest and best Christmas outreach ever! Not only to help lots of
people in our community heal and regain better health, but also to make a big
contribution to CWC projects that change and save lives of children in third
world countries! We simply wish to have
lots of people give and receive the free gift!
Starting
in late November we will distribute Gift
Lists to all of our clients. The Gift of Health you are giving is free for
you to give, and it’s worth up to $325 of
FREE CHIROPRACTIC CARE
including an initial visit, spinal examination, x-rays and 6 complimentary adjustments. Simply write the names and phone numbers of the people you would like to offer the Gift to and we will mail them a Christmas card explaining the gift you are giving them. We will follow up with them without any pressure or obligation to see if they would like to redeem the gift. This is an amazing opportunity to let people know you care and give them a chance to see how chiropractic can help them.
including an initial visit, spinal examination, x-rays and 6 complimentary adjustments. Simply write the names and phone numbers of the people you would like to offer the Gift to and we will mail them a Christmas card explaining the gift you are giving them. We will follow up with them without any pressure or obligation to see if they would like to redeem the gift. This is an amazing opportunity to let people know you care and give them a chance to see how chiropractic can help them.
– it’s a
Win-Win-Win situation; you get to give a gift at no charge, more people get
checked, and more kids escape poverty!!!
We are
personally asking each and every one of you to consider sending 3 Gifts of Health to a
family member, friend, co-worker or acquaintance that you genuinely believe
needs help or who would greatly benefit by receiving chiropractic care. Please consider those who you know who are
especially sick and suffering, who have lost hope; we would love to help them
restore true health from the inside-out, the way they were designed.
Thank you and we wish you many blessings and good health this
holiday season.
Dr. Mike, Karen & Sheryl
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