What is Stress?

We all have it to one degree or another, but what exactly is stress? We often think of stress as a stimulus from the environment that makes us feel negative in some way, whether it be anxious, afraid, or angry.

In order to really understand stress however, we have to look at our own brain and  mind. It first helpful to think of any outside stimulus as just that a stimulus. It is how we are conditioned to react to that stimulus that makes it either a negative or positive factor. Someone once told me that Fear and excitement/anticipation are actually the same emotion It’s simply a matter of how we “frame” the  event or stimulus that colors the experience.  Is unexpectedly being called into your bosses office enough to make you fear and doubt your work and you worth in the office?  does that upcoming public speaking engagement make your stomach clench up in Knots or does it fill you will excitement like looking at the Christmas tree with your presents under it before going to bed on Christmas eve?.

The stress response is an Physiological response based On our individual assessment of a threatening event or even “perceived event”  The stress response causes our heart rate and Blood pressure to go up, our respiratory rate to increase, Blood is shunted from surface structures and floods the muscular system to supply increased workload as we prepare to either fight or run. At the same time, The stress response shuts off unnecessary systems, like digestion, reproduction,immune response, memory/learning, cellular repair, and other body systems, The idea is, “resume homeostasis later, if there is a later. The Caveat is that in the animal world when a stressful event happens such as, You are a zebra eating grass on the savanna and a Lion jumps out of the grass to eat you, there is a transient stress event which usually lasts  matter of a few minutes and then it’s over and the Physiology goes back to normal very quickly, In The Book “why Zebras don’t get Ulcers” we learn that in the wild animals don’t spend a lot of time worrying about the threats that  lie in wait for them. This is why their physiology’s  return to normal very quickly while we humans continue to think about and worry about threats and perceived and in many cases, “made up threats” creating a chronic state of stress response in our bodies where we are literally bathing ourselves in hormones and chemicals that are helpful in the initial threat response to help us get away from the threat but prolonged exposure to the stress hormones (adrenaline, glucocorticoid) end up being more damaging to us than the perceived threat.

The above movie explains the stress response, in much greater detail than I could and you get to hear the results of their scientific research right from the horses mouth. The first time I watched this documentary I was both shocked and validated. I was shocked because I innately knew that stress was damaging not only to our emotional and psychological health but to our physical health as well and I was validated because i had believed that all along that stress contributed to chronic un-wellness and disease. I just didn’t know how Intimately it was connected

The Physiological effects of Stress

The research presented here in this movie links Stress as a “CAUSATIVE” factor, and this is important It is not just a contributor, in many of the major health concerns we face today: the affects are:

1) Chronic Hypertension

2) Vascular damage

3) Obesity, especially fat deposited around the midsection

4) Clinical depression

5) Ulcers

6) depressed immune function/response

7) Chromosomal damage

8 ) Cancer

9) reproductive dysfunctions

10) Memory Loss/ Learning dysfunction

What can you do about stress?

We now  know that stress is damaging to our health in a multitude of ways, so what can you do to combat stress and It’s unhealthy effects?  There are a number of activities that are known stress reducers; from gardening, to spending time with pets, exercise, walking outside is particularly effective, meditation, visualization, going to church, engaging in pleasurable pastimes such as Fishing, art, reading and so on. But the most important thing you can do starting right now to reduce your risk of stress related diseases is to pick something and DO IT! Many people I have spoken with have said things like, Oh I tried meditation but I couldn’t concentrate, or “i tried yoga but didn’t like It”.

We live in a fast foot, therapy culture where its much more convenient to spend an hour or two at the doctor’s office and walk out with a Pill to cure our ill.  But even that is not a long term answer, pills all come with side effects and many are damaging to our stomachs, livers, and kidneys. Often after we have been on a drug regimen for long enough our bodies become resistant to the drug and we need ever greater doses of the drug to get the same effect. Wake up people, We were made to be able to heal our selves but we have to value that ability by taking the necessary steps to maintain health and wellness. We as a people and a society need to learn to value balanced lives more so than money and achievement.  only then will we live in a society that truly values wellness.

Hey everyone,  This post is to update you on how the juice fast is going…

Unfortunately as of this writing the fast has ended.  12 days Into the fast I came down with pneumonia.  But my consolation prizes included; a nice shot in the butt and a 5 day course of Azithromycin , lol.  

So what happened? Do I think the illness and and the fast are related ?  Well a Little yes and a little no. I think the illness was just plain bad timing. That combined with  a busy, stressful week followed By a very sick child That kept me and her mother awake all weekend were most likely much bigger contributors than the juice fast itself.  I do think however that the dramatic change in my calorie intake from around 2500 Calories a day suddenly reduced to 700 calories a day while On the juice fast did Leave me with an energy deficit that made It harder for my body to fight off the ill timed bronchitis and allowed it to develop into a full blown case of pneumonia.   

So as of this writing am I still juicing?

You bet I am! Even though I was only able to make it to day 12 of my planned 30 day fast. By day 7  I was feeling a degree of energy and mental clarity I hadn’t felt in years.  I am most definitely at this point a huge believer in the benefits of Juicing.

Will I try the 30 day fast again?  

Yes I will, I will give myself a bit of a rest and next time plan for a time period when things are a little less hectic. You see, I may have been a bit zealous in my experiment as we are actually in a transitional period. I recently sold my house and moved my family to another town. I however, still have a job in the old community and am living with my mother 4 days a week and travelling home to be with my wife and child on Friday evenings. Fridays are long days. That particular Friday after a long 14 hour day I arrived Home to find a Sick and Crying 3 year old who wanted to be held and carried all night for the next two nights.

I would feel confident in putting the idea out there  that stress most likely contributed to my illness as well as the demise of my fast.      

So what did I learn about juice fasting?…  

Despite The complications, I felt like this experience was a success. Up to the point where I got sick, I was feeling great and the energy levels and mental activity were wonderful. It was amazing how much easier It was to keep a positive mental out look with nothing but  high density organic micro nutrients coursing through my blood stream. I was on course to lose up to 60 pounds by the end of the proposed 30 day period and I could feel and see the Improved skin color and tone In my face.

The Process also taught me how much our beliefs and prejudices about food affect our eating  behaviors. I came to realize that if a person wanted to, They could live indefinitely on only freshly made juice.  It is not because of biological need for, or any physiological benefits that we consume cooked food on a plate. Our need to have food presented in a certain way is purely psychological in nature. In fact I would Love to have had labs done On a weekly basis to test the amount of nutrients present in my blood stream. I would be willing to bet that I was the most well nourished I had ever been while on my fast. The one and Only concern I had was Protein.

The Protein Dilemma… 

As I stated earlier, I have been working out 3-4 days a week and by the 9th day 0f my juice fast  I began to notice that I was fatiguing quicker than I was used to while lifting weights.  This prompted me to question my protein requirements and to determine if they were being met. after a Bit of research The Formula I decided upon was as follows: (Body weight x .37 = grams of protein).  with my body weight at that time at about 248 lbs My daily protein requirement  was calculated to be 91 grams. I wasn’t coming anywhere near that with the vegetable options available to me  at the time; even with consuming 4 26 oz glasses of juice a day and consuming about 5 servings of each of the following: kale,spinach and lettuce as well as celery and a few other veggies each day I was sitting at around 58 grams of protein/day.    Now if I was eating I could have utilized Nori ( sushi wrap) which is wonderfully high In protein at 36 grams/sheet.  So to make a Long story short, I supplemented with whey protein in my drink bringing my protein consumption up to about 85 grams a day.  Problem solved.

Now I can hear any Vegans out there hollering about how misinformed I am about the amount of protien in  vegetarian diet But remember I was juicing and not everything translates well in juice. I tried Mustard Greens… Yuck.  Zucchini, Not happening.  not everything works well In the juicer. And, lets not forget that part of the experiment here was to see just how hard it was to get complete nutrition from the produce available to me on the Indian reservation and to be honest with you, it is hard to get a good variety of vegetables and many of them did not look like they were at their best.

In conclusion

The Most surprising aspect of the experience however was The prejudices of people, particularly the medical professionals  have about what constitutes “good nutrition” and “healthy choices”. The nurse who triaged me suggested I consider a Lap band procedure when I told her about the Fast. One of The concepts you learn about in the study of NLP is the idea That only 30% of communication between people is verbal the other 70% is through body language as well as Tone and facial expression and it was interesting to watch the reactions of the staff around me as we talked about the fast and how They seemed to be communicating to me that they thought I was crazy and was putting myself In danger with my fast.

I still continue to replace two of my meals a day with Juice. I will now eat an evening meal, sometimes It’s a salad or other raw food Item sometimes It’s cooked food. I think I am getting through to my mother who, bless her heart, Like any mother worries that i am not taking good care of myself.  She has however replaced The Soda pop in the fridge with bottled water and now the majority of the foods in there are vegetable instead of bologna and processed foods. maybe I will change some minds yet…

Mitakuye Oyasin – We are all related.

I have been dabbling at becoming a “high-raw” eater for the better part of a year prior to the time of this post. My family and I have seen the benefits of eating an organic, raw and nutrient dense diet for several months and we intend to continue to improve our eating habits, I say dabbling however because we do still eat meats and occasional processed foods. This is mostly due to cravings for some of our favorite comfort foods; my deadly weakness is Chinese food followed closely by cheeseburgers.  Over the last few months however I have noticed some things that have brought me to the conclusion that it’s time for a detox.  Things like, difficulty losing weight, occasional pains In my armpits and groin  in the areas of  lymphatic watersheds, fatigue, poor concentration, negative moods and thought patterns. Even though my family has made what many would consider to be major changes in the last  year I felt like something else needed to be done.

Fasting is something I am familiar with, fasting is a part of my Lakota spiritual practices and I have undertaken several fasts over the years. Many other cultural and spiritual traditions practice  fasting as  means of cleansing and purifying the body and focusing the mind. I have undertaken fasts lasting 1,4 and 7 days in the past and all have been good experiences but all have also been associated with cultural spiritual events, This time is different….

When I decided to undertake This particular fast I had several goals In mind, Lose weight, detox and change my mindset and relationship with food. It was not enough to just lose weight, I have become an expert over the years at losing weight, The problem has been keeping it off. When I was younger all I had to do was increase my exercise frequency and/or intensity and the weight would come off. I didn’t have to think about how and why the weight would always come back. As I got older however my priorities changed, I got “distracted” with the mechanics of Life, Things like, a career, a family and being  part of the rat race.  Now at the tender age of 45  things Just don’t seem to work the same, but fortunately due to my education and experience as a Physical therapist and My study of the martial arts, I have developed enough body rapport over the years that I can feel the physiological imbalance occurring within me.

The Most Important Step…

At the time of this post I am actually 7 days into my fast. It has been an overall good experience.  I have lost 8 pounds during this time without any increase in my activity level, keep in mind however that I had already been working out 3-4 days a week.  As I talk to people about the experience of Juice fasting though the inevitable question so far, ends up being,  ”can you give me some recipes? ” At first i wasn’t exactly sure what to do about this question and started writing down any impromptu juicing concoctions I created. I went to the computer and found several juicer recipes with jazzy names like, ” Very Berry Medley, Or Citrus spritzer.”  Then, one of my relatives was telling me about how they were thinking about doing a juice detox and how they bought a juicer and a book about juicing and detox but they haven’t used the juicer at all yet. It was at that point that I had my AHA!… Moment, The Most Important thing you need to to do a juice fast is COMMITMENT!

There is an old saying,

“if you want different results than you’ve always gotten, you need to do something you’ve never done before.”

It’s not that hard to make a checklist of things you’ll need like, oh… buying a juicer, getting veggies and looking up, downloading or copying juice recipes But none of that means anything if you aren’t committed to  taking action.

How To Start your Juice Fast!…

Step 1.  Decide that It is time to take action and commit to that action. How do you go about doing that? well I Like to refer back to Tony Robbins for this step. “Know your reason/outcome”  If your goal is to lose weight then set a number of pounds. Keep in mind that if  you want to lose 20 or more pounds that you may need to fast for 30 or more days.

Step 2. Consult your Doctor! I cannot emphasize this part of the process enough, especially if you are being treated for a medical condition such as Diabetes, heart disease, hypertension or any other chronic disease process that requires medical management.  It is also important to be aware of any food allergies or food and drug interactions. For example some cholesterol meds may require you to avoid consuming grapefruit.

Step 3. Get  Juicer!  If you have already taken care of this part feel free to read on, If you are not sure what to buy however or are on a tight budget, I have included a recommendation for a simple Little Juicer at the end of this Blog post. Just click the widget to veiw the amazon product page. It is The juicer I am using now and it is adequate. The port to put the fruit and vegetables in is small and  requires a little more time to cut the food items into smaller pieces. Also, it has only one speed setting But it has plenty of power to do the job for your average Juicer.

Step 4.  research your Recipes and food requirements. There are a number of blogs out there on the subject and many have good recipes available on the right on site.  For our purposes, I will refer you to the web page of the two famous juicers that inspired me.  ”fat, Sick and nearly dead”   is an amazing movie about two men who changed their lives and their health through Juice fasting.  Here is a link to Joe’s Juice Recipe Page: Juice Recipes

If you have The courage of your Convictions and are willing to truly change your life you may want to consider a Juice fast in your not-too-distant future. remember to follow the suggestions provided for you above and always do your research. I am currently in the process of my own life Reboot and Juice fasting and raw food nutrition will continue to be a major part of my life from this point forward.  Learning to correctly nourish your Body is one of the best things you can do to improve your overall wellness  and I hope you consider joining me. Thanks!

What Does Organic mean?

The USDA has implemented a program to certify foods Claiming an organic production and handling process. For a food item to carry the USDA certified organic seal They must pass all the requirements of the certification program and must have at least 95% organic ingredients. if you would like to know all the requirements to participate in the USDA program Please visit their website at: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/nop

Organic foods, those labeled as certified organic, must be produced without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Animals produced under the organic certification process must be free of growth hormones and use of prophylactic antibiotics and other medicines. Most of these animals are free range but beware, just because a cut of meat in the store says “free range” that does not mean it is organic. Organic fruit and vegetable producers utilize crop rotation and hand tillage techniques as well as natural pest control techniques such as attracting “helper” insects and animals that control pest insects or weeds for them.  Organic animal producers utilize free range and rotational grazing and make sure their animals receive high quality organic feeds themselves.  Disease is kept at a minimum by keeping the environment clean and using housing that prevents crowding issues.

To participate in the program a producer must become certified and the products offered for consumption must  include at least 95% organically produced ingredients. Food producers however can still list their products as having “organic Ingredients” if the overall product has at least 70%  of its ingredients coming from organic production methods. Some producers will list their products as being: “free range” or having “natural ingredients” or “healthy ingredients” in order to cash in on the growing organic consumer trend. If you are not already a label reader, it is essential to become one. Marketers are as clever as any psychologist and have a strong understanding of what kind of packaging, what words and what image on a package will increase your motivation to purchase their product.

There are also a number of small producers across the USA that participate in local farmers markets and local coops who do not participate in the USDA organic program because it is  not economically practical for them to do so. many of them utilize production methods that would qualify them for the national program but do to the small scale of their production they choose not to participate. Many of these local and farmers market producers however do not use exclusively organic methods. if you frequent local farmers markets it is important to talk to the local producers, develop a relationship with them and see if their values match your own. You may be surprised to find out how the food you consume is actually produced.

To go organic or not to go organic, that is the question.

So what is the debate Really about… over the last few days and weeks as I thought about how to approach this post. I have spoken with several people about the subject. Most people really aren’t confused about the amount of nutrition in an organic apple versus the non-organic apple. In fact the media is quite accurate. In a side by side comparison, Organic foods and non-organics stack up pretty much the same as far as the amount of nutrients go, some producers may argue that there are a number of variables that concern any individual crop  including, soil quality, variety of apple and so on… but for arguments sake lets just assume that an apple is an apple is an apple as far as the type and amount of nutrition contained within. That being said, I think the media is kind of missing the point. For many organic producers and consumers it’s not so much a case of what’s in the foods they eat,  but what is Not! Chemical pesticides, chemical fertilizers, Growth hormones, antibiotics, Genetically modified varieties, these elements combined with the prevalence of harmful food additives such as: MSG, Aspartame, excessive levels of sodium, high fructose corn syrup, irradiation of our foods, genetically modified varieties and exposure to any number of environmental risk factors during the handling process is making more and more Americans question our food culture.

While the USDA does administer the Organic certification program, The FDA continues to endorse and refuses to require labeling of GM ( Genetically modified) foods. Foods that are treated by irradiation are only required to be labeled with small print. In at least one state, Irradiated foods are allowed to be labeled as “pasteurized”  Despite The fact that the FDA states that Irradiation is efficient at Killing food born bacteria. there are a Number of studies that show that the two most dangerous bacteria for human consumption. Salmonella and  Clostridium botulinum, are both resistant to radiation at  the level recommended by the FDA. The evidence according to The federal government would seem to be established but multiple independent researchers have found concerns with irradiated food as the average dose of radiation applied to a  chicken breast in order to kill salmonella is 10x the dose of a single Xray.

In my opinion the debate over Organic vs. non-organic is nonsense. People choose organic foods and products because they choose to participate in a movement toward a way of living that is more In tune with the natural world. They want their food produced in a more sustainable and healthier manner. They want foods that build up our bodies and our health instead of contributing to our breakdown and decay. Whether the old school establishment likes it or not , I think Green is here to stay. More and more people are going to be making their voices heard by by choosing to consume foods and other goods that are produced with sustainable methods and take future generations into consideration. The Lakota people say that this earth is not ours, it belongs to our grandchildren 7 generations from now. This is the only right way to think about our world.

In my Lakota culture I was raised with the concept of the 4 directions as a symbol for all that exists in the world. Each of the directions represents various elements of the physical world including conceptual and emotional aspects.  For example, the West: Wio’piyata, is associated with the Powerful storms of the spring and summer months.  It represents raw power that when unleashed has the potential to destroy but also has a flipside in that its fury, while destructive, may make way for change and growth in the same way a prairie fire caused by lightning burns the old growth and makes way for new.

As I grew in my understanding I also came to know of the next two directions which included: what is above and what is below. These two directions are associated with more spiritual awareness with “what is above” including not only the sky and the stars but the great mystery that is the creator of all things. It is the male energy of the universe and in the eastern tradition would be called “YANG.”  It is our recognition of our connectivity to the great mystery that is life.  The Direction known as  “what is below” not only refers to the Earth but is also representative of the qualities of nurturing and healing.  It is represented by our Mother Earth whom we walk upon and she gives us a solid foundation, a home and life giving nourishment.  It is the feminine aspect or what in the eastern tradition would be called “YING.”

In the more recent years of my life I have come to understand that there is a seventh direction that may be for each one of us the most important direction of all for it represents a greater understanding of our individual place in the universe and of our connectedness to all things including the cycle of life and death. The 7^th direction is within each of us. It represents a point in life when we become aware enough to begin looking within ourselves for the answers to our life’s questions. When we are clear enough  to look inside and see that all the other attributes of all the other directions are reflected within us and we are complete and whole just as we are.

A recent survey conducted by the federal government indicated that one quarter of  Americans suffer from back pain at any one time. and one eighth of Americans suffer from neck pain. The causes of the symptoms are varied but complications associated with back pain include: missed work days, visits  to the doctors office, inability to perform fundamental daily activities ie… laundry, child care, houshold chores. They can also include intolerance for lifting, decreased capacity for sitting ie.. in a car, pain with walking or standing, altered sleep quality and quantity, pain with movement. dizzyness, nausea,, increased blood pressure, increased blood sugar, short term memory difficulties… the list goes on.

During my course of study in physical therapy school, several of my instructors stated  that back pain was the most common complaint that gets people through the door in a therapy clinic. not long after graduating from therapy school, while attending a continuing education course provided by Ron Hruska of The Hruska Clinic and the Postural Restoration Institute, Ron was overheard to state, “if you are a human being living on planet earth, you will experince some form of back pain  during your lfetime.

The mechanics of Back pain (how to make your back Hurt)

We have established the prevalence of back pain in America, Studies show that in all other developed countries back pain is also a large scale problem with 1 in 3 patients complaining of back pain at some point in their lifetime. In as such, It is a problem that has received a lot of scrutiny and study over the years. The medical model for understanding the mechanics of back pain include: Poor lifting and movement mechanics, Poor posture and alignment, deconditioning, Strain/sprain/spasm and overuse. While the medical model does recognize stress as a contributing factor to the problem of back pain, in My experience, it is rare that clinicians prescribe or educate patients in activities/strategies specifically designed to reduce stress.

I have also observed many patients come into the therapy clinic with a history of problems that can complicate the recovery picture. These include:

1. A history of chronic back problems that can span up to 10 years and beyond.
2. Significantly overweight and deconditioned.
3. Any number of “compensatory” patterns that allow a person to “get through the day”
4. adaptive changes in the soft and bony tissues due to stress and degerantive processes
5. Depression, emotional stress due to pain and uncertainty
6. Lifestyle habits that contribute to a pattern of imbalance and stress on the core structures including the spine and discs.

So what does back pain look and act like?  here is a profile of a typical chronic back pain sufferer.

MALE:

Age: 35-99

Weight: usually over weight even obese. Not allways however, some are younger healthy individuals who may have injured their back during high school or college sports or in a work related event.

posture:  Excessive lumbar curvature, often times due to excessive weight around the midsection. Acquired forward head positioning and large upper back curvature ie.. hunchback appearance.  barrel chested, sloped shoulders.

Mechanics:  May have poor lifting mechanics, often rely heavily on their back to perform job duties. Excessive use of “BLT”( Bending/lifting and twisting), combines Bending Lifting and twisting movements repeatedly stressing the lumbar discs. Often has poor range of motion at knees and hips

Work: Usually involved in a job that requires heavy lifting or lifting light to moderate weight objects multiple times during the workday. They may alternatively  be involved in a job that requires sitting for long periods and long periods of inactivity ( truck driver, toll booth)

Self medicaters: these guys will often have a chronic history of  ibuprofen usage or some other OTC pain management medication.

Body Wisdom: Most of these guys will be completely out of touch with their bodies. “aches and pains are part of life, just ignore em”  ”cowboy up”

Fitness:  ”I get enough activity at my job, I don’t need to exercise.”

Female:

Age: there is a greater variation in age ranges here, however women will tend to seek medical help a little sooner, but not always, some women will suffer quietly for 10 years or more, they might wait until degenerative changes reach a point of no return before seeking help. often in their late 60′s, after medicare benefits kick in.

weight: Again with women, the worst of the chronic pain sufferers are usually overweight and many suffer from other chronic pain issues such as fibromyalgia.  However, with women, weight is not always a primary consideration. I have seen many thin women of small stature in the clinic with complaints of  back pain.

Posture: Chronic back pain sufferers can demonstrate either excessive low back curvature and forward tilted Pelvis or Opposite to that, Very flat back appearance with Rounded shoulders, and pronounced  head  forward position.

Mechanics: Many of these women will be severely out of touch with themselves, leading to low levels of physical activity, These are NOT athletes.  hip Range Of Motion will often be abnormal with restricted hip extension on one or both sides and possibly excessive hip external rotation  and limited hip internal rotation. Many of these women will have weak Abdominals and pelvic stabilizers.

Work: Work poses a different kind of hazard for most of these women, often these women spend 8 or more hours a day on their feet or sitting behind a desk, leading to an overuse and fatigue type of problem which contributes to their low back pain. many of these women are the primary Housekeeper and care givers as well, work doesn’t end at the end of their job day. many of these gals also put in another 3-5 hours of work at home.

Body wisdom: Here is where the root of a lot of these women’s problems lie. many of these women are severely out of touch with themselves. body wisdom for many of them consists of knowing when to to eat and that something hurts somewhere. many of these women have body image issues and are more concerned about their Body “appearance” than about healthy weight management or fitness and conditioning. As stated earlier many of these women have other chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia and have poor stress coping strategies.

Fitness: some of these women may exercise but tend to focus on “spot trimming” activities to get rid of  their hips or their Butt. but many demonstrate poor overall conditioning.

Overall,  the lifestyle picture of the chronic back pain sufferer includes poor conditioning and excessive weight especially around the midsection. Poor work and lifting mechanics including excessive use of BLT strategies. Postural imbalances and adaptive changes in the joints that limit range of motion at the Hips, back and knees. The typical back pain sufferer will often work at a job that encourages excessive loading of the back with heavy lifting or repetitive motion.  These sufferers will also often have a poor mind/body connection and suffer chronically from a low/moderate to moderate amount of stress. many will demonstrate poor stress coping strategies. Many of these people will also have lifestyle habits that contribute to their pain as well, including:

• Smoking/Drinking
• Poor diet
• sedentary
• Stressful home and/or work life
• weekend warrior

An Integrated approach

So What then Can we do To avoid this problem that would seem to be predestined to trouble us? There are a lot of competent and helpful professionals out there including: Doctors, Physical therapists, Chiropractors, massage therapists and Personal trainers. Each of these professionals have their strengths and weaknesses. each of them has their specialty and an education in a discipline to provide you with a specific service. Many of my patients in the therapy clinic also use a massage therapist and/or a chiropractor to supplement their physical therapy. So then, what is left for you to do? how can you improve the chances that you’ll never have a serious problem with back pain?

My reason for writing this article as well as for hosting this blog is to not only educate you the reader but to EMPOWER you as well to take charge of your own health and wellness.  Remember that no matter how many letters a health care professional  has behind their name, you are the expert on how your body feels.

Lets take a look at one possible plan to reduce the chances of back pain and serious complication associated with it…..

1. Core and Pelvic stabilizer muscle strength! studies have shown that people with back pain don’t necessarily have a “weak back”  the problem is more likely to be weakened and deconditioned core and pelvic stabilizers including the abdominals and Paraspinal muscles as well as the Glutes and hamstrings and hip adductors.  I highly recommended yoga. But there a large number of activities that can build core strength and stability.

2. Correct any postural imbalances and misalignments. A good chiro can help resolve acute bony misalignments however, long standing chronic Imbalances are multi factorial and often a person’s  movement strategies and muscle imbalances will cause a relapse of misalignment within minutes after leaving the chiropractors office, (sorry) chronic misalignments require a comprehensive postural reintegration and stabilizing program and a good coach to help correct compensatory movement problems as well as a  good mechanical adjustment.

3.  Learn to breath using “natural” or “diaphragmatic”  mechanics to avoid rib and spine dysfunction associated with inefficient breathing strategies/mechanics. The diaphragm has a greater influence on lumbar mechanics than many practitioners had previously realized. A  good yoga or mediation teacher or even a singing coach may be able to help with this.

4. Learn  Stress reduction/relief strategies and techniques.  there are ton of ways to reduce stress and to deal with stressful situations. we will cover some in future posts.

5. FOOD IS MEDICINE! improve your diet, there are any number of reasons to improve your nutritional intake including the most obvious, Weight loss! many of us however also eat diets high in sodium, fats and sugars as well as food additives such as MSG that have been shown to be damaging to our bodies and organ systems. Our diets contribute to a tendency toward chronic inflammation in joints and  organ systems. Research has also recently demonstrated that the average American is actually walking around day to day in a state of mild dehydration. this also has a number of physiological effects on the body that we will go into in another post.  Drink water and remember, only water is water, it can’t be replaced by pop, soda, coffe, tea, juice, beer etc…

6. Adopt a more active lifestyle. While exercise and training of the core and pelvic stabilizers is essential for preventing and reducing the effects of back pain, it’s Not enough. Begin walking, get involved with something that will get you up and moving. Enjoy Life! thats what It’s all about. very seldom do I get people comming to see me in the clinic who are active, happy and fulfilled people, and when i do usually it’s more of an acute type of injury rather than a chronic problem. So get out there and live, laugh and love. your wellness depends on you taking action every day.

Mitakuye Oyasin (we are all related)

Rich is a wellness coach and practitioner with 7 years experience as a clinical physical therapist and is also a certified strength and conditioning coach. To contact rich for consultative purposes or to host a workshop please see our workshop and coaching page for details.

]]> http://7directionswellness.org/2011/01/an-integrative-approach-to-preventing-back-pain/feed/ 9 http://7directionswellness.org/2010/12/god-on-your-side-or-on-the-other-team/ http://7directionswellness.org/2010/12/god-on-your-side-or-on-the-other-team/#comments Wed, 15 Dec 2010 07:35:18 +0000 http://7directionswellness.org/?p=26 A  Loving God

I live  in The Midwest. Nebraska to be exact. I was born and grew up in south Dakota.  There is a strong Christian conservative culture In the Midwest, in fact I would say it is probably the foundational element of Midwestern culture. My mother was a single parent and she came from a very strong Roman Catholic upbringing and I remember as kids, My sister and I were sent to bible school, I remember sitting there listening to the nuns talk about the bible and the lessons Jesus and God wanted us to learn, being the typical boy, of course, I didn’t pay much attention… oops, sorry  mom.

So, I certainly don’t consider myself to be a fanatically religious person or any kind of scholar or student of the bible.  I tell people that I am a “recovering catholic” because I am not a very good church goer. I do believe that there is something in this universe greater than me, greater than any of us, but I’m not the one to define it. I don’t know what god is, my infinitesimal speck of a brain can’t even begin to conceive of  or define what god is. But I know something of  divine love when my daughter wakes up in the  morning and looks at me and says, “Ate’ let’s play.”

What i remember of my Christian education is that our god is supposed to be a loving god. He, ( god is always refered to as a man in christian rhetoric) created us in his likeness and gave each of us the gift of a soul.  God looks after us as a loving father would, this is what I was told as a young boy.

In recent years, partially because of my profession and partially because i am interested in people and what makes them tick. I have spoken with a number of people In pain, pain from physical ailments as well as from spiritual and emotional ailments.  One of the things that has surprised me the most about bearing witness to the pain of others is just how often and how quickly these people place the responsibility for their pain squarely on God’s shoulders. These are good, god fearing, hard working people, some have lost their jobs, some have experienced catastrophic health problems some have experienced divorce and some have lost loved  ones. Some have experienced two or more of these events. The one common denominator however has been that they have all expressed the following lament in one form or the other in my presence, ” why does God test/punish me so? ”  These people are suffering, they feel hopeless, they appear lost and small and each of them wears their pain like a badge.

The Forest or the Trees?

There is a movie I discovered a few months ago, The name of the movie is “It Might get loud”  this Rock Doc is basically a conversation with three influential guitarists in the genre of Rock and Roll. in the movie The Edge ( guitarist for the Irish rock band U2) talks about The commercially planted forests in Ireland

“When you Go past a managed forest you see tree trunks, but when you look again, you see they are all in perfect rows.  Clarity!  Clarity of vision.  you realize what you’ve been looking at and not seeing at all. you labor and you sweat to see what you couldn’t have seen from that other perspective.”

Wow, what a poignant twist to an old cliche’. So many things in life are really all about perspective.  I have desperately wanted to ask ask these people I have met, who feel god has put upon them these trials of biblical proportions. Is your God really so petty that he feels the need to punish you specifically? …And for what?  Most of these people are normal people, not serial killers, not horrendous criminals, so what have they done that God himself Feels the need to Put upon them this pain and suffering?

What if?  What if maybe… just maybe, God didn’t  do it?:  This is the God mind you, who I was taught was a benevolent father, who watches after his children. What if, he didn’t punish you?  What if, you just made some bad business decisions and things didn’t work out? what if God didn’t make your marriage end? What if you and your spouse just grew apart and your values and priorities no longer included being in love with them. What if, that loved one  just plain died, we all die, it’s part of the natural order of things. we are born, we live ,we die. we don’t always get to choose when or how.

Why is it necessary to put God into the picture here, what purpose does that serve? what if maybe just maybe it isn’t god that is punishing you? what if the only person punishing you is…YOU?  Why  would you do that? Maybe  you  feel, like so many in the world, that maybe somewhere deep down inside, you are afraid you’r not good enough to be loved unconditionally? maybe you feel you deserve pain and that in order to be worthy, of your God’s love, you need to suffer?

When studying with some of the worlds top Personal development coaches and personalities, people like Tony Robbins, Dr John Demartini, Chloe Madanes and others, it is the consensus that the most common limiting belief that people suffer from is the belief that they are not good enough, that they don’t deserve what they desire the most.

Now, lets relate that back to the List of basic Human needs that we outlined in my last post.

1. Certainty/security
2. Uncertainty/variety
3. Significance
4. love/connectivity
5. growth
6. contribution

The operational theory is that every human being finds some way to meet at least the first four needs. sometimes we meet them through dysfunctional behavior. For example being addicted to sex, through that addiction people may find a negative or unhealthy way to meet at least the connectivity part of the Love/connectivity need. maybe they also meet their need for significance through this behavior as well.  how about uncertainty/variety maybe they met that need by ending up with a large variety of lovers. What is it that creates an addiction? When a single behavior pattern manages to meet three or more of the basic needs that person will be assured to repeat that behavior and thus the potential for an addiction is created.

So how does this all fit in with blaming God for our personal suffering?  lets put it in the framework of meeting the basic needs.

1) By holding a belief  about pain that puts your suffering and pain in the hands of a supernatural being it takes the responsibility for that pain out of your hands and creates a hopeless situation where you have no control over the pain itself but you do have definite control over your hopelessness and fear and you can conjure up that fear and pain in an instant by asking “Why is God Punishing/testing me”  this satisfies the need for certainty. you have created a situation where you are certain your suffering is being directed by supernatural forces and you are doomed.

2) By being able to conjure up a dramatic story and the emotions to go along with it, you can commiserate with other people who are suffering and feel a sense of connectivity to your fellow man, who also is suffering. this satisfies your need for connectivity

3) by continuing to wear your pain and suffering like a badge, you will find others who will sympathize with your situation. they will say things like, ” I am so sorry for you.” You become the center of attention . this meets the need for significance.

Now you have the makings of  full blown addiction, addiction to pain and suffering.  The LAW OF ATTRACTION ( LOA) states that whatever you focus on and feed emotional content to will manifest in your life. If you focus on pain and misery and feed it with feeling of hopelessness and sorrow, more pain and sorrow will be gaurenteed and soon, you will become the self fullfilling prophecy. As Dan Millman’s Socrates Said to him in the book, “way of the peaceful warrior”

“Life is not suffering Dan, but you will suffer it until you learn to free your mind ”

My god remains a benevolent father and like all benevolent fathers,  gives nudges to correct us when we go astray, putting us back on the correct path. But he does  not repeatedly punish and force us to suffer simply for existing. That is the behavior of an abusive, imbalanced personality and my God is not that.  Suffering is not god’s plan for you, of this I feel certain. I also feel certain that everyone can learn to find happiness. But it requires opening our hearts and minds and accepting the fact that we were made in HIS likeness and we do ultimately deserve to be loved, unconditionally. I will leave you with another quote from the book, Way of the peaceful warrior,

“You haven’t yet opened your heart fully, to life, to each moment. The peaceful warrior’s way is not about invulnerability, but absolute vulnerability–to the world, to life, and to the Presence you felt. All along I’ve shown you by example that a warrior’s life is not about imagined perfection or victory; it is about love. Love is a warrior’s sword; wherever it cuts, it gives life, not death.”

Mitakuye Oyasin, We are all related.

A variety of changes are coming down the line for the average hard working American. The health care industry is just like so many other industries that have been impacted by our economy. But theres a bit of a back story at work here as well. The average american has been caught in a financial power struggle between The health insurance industry and health care “systems” which are really just nothing more than huge conglomerates where the highest level executives only knowledge of the people they serve are the financial reports that cross their desks. Dr. Andrew Wiel was quoted in a interview I read recently, ( I hope you will forgive the fact that I honestly don’t remember what the magazine was I read it in, i think it was a copy of AARP magazine)

” The industry of medicine is taking things in the wrong direction. focusing on developing Costly, technologically advanced methods and tools for diagnosing problems and not spending enough time, energy and money on prevention”

The other half of th terrible twosome is the health insurance industry. Every year health care premiums increase and more and more often coverage decreases. In response to president Obama’s health care bill we have seen health care companies race to change policies regarding coverage of children. I myself have seen my health insurance premiums increase twice in the space of 12 months and with the economy putting many employers in a cautious state, my employer like many others,  decided not to give me any kind of a raise this year so we used the same old budget as we watched our cost of living increase. I can’t imagine what kind of struggle this scenario must be like for the masses of people who have lost their jobs in the last two to three years and in that time may have needed health care services. The problem with Obamacare as it has been tagged in the political media is that it unfortunately does NOT do the one thing it was supposed to do. Cut the cost of health care.  These laws offer people some wonderful protections including The following:

• Insurers can no longer simply drop your coverage if you come down with a particularly expensive illness. They can also no longer deny coverage because of technical mistakes in the paperwork
• New policies must cover preventative diagnostic procedures such as colonoscopies
• No lifetime or illness cap on your Benefits, i wonder how this will effect the $1,500 cap on Physical therapy services that is currently Medicare’s policy, hmm??
• Pediatricians and OBGYN’s will be Now  listed as and considered to be family doctors,  no prior authorization or referral is needed to make an appointment.
• Insurers can’t force you to pay more for out of network referrals

These are wonderful protections. They will put an end to some ethically dubious policies that had impacted the lives of many Americans in the past. Unfortunately, these new changes will end up costing more in the long run and we can all expect to pay higher premiums even for group policies. employers may be forced to decrease the quality of coverage due to higher rates. The most distasteful aspect of Obama care for me personally is in the fact that It allows the federal government to penalize you, the already financially overburdened citizen by forcing you to maintain a health care policy on yourself and members of your family or, your tax refund can be confiscated and or you could be fined. Not cool in  my book…

I have spoken with at least a dozen health care professionals in the last two years who have decided that dealing with government  managed health care insurance ( Medicare) is not worth the hassle. We are seeing a startling trend in health care as more  providers are changing their practice to cash only business models or simply refusing to accept Medicare do to the  fact that submitting billing to Medicare drives The cost of their practice up!

The Rubicon

When I sat down to write this post I had no intention of  turning My opening statement into such a political rant.  Once I started writing however, It became glaringly obvious to me that i needed to set the tone for why a change In our paradigm is necessary.  The scales are definitely tipping and my generation as well as  future generations will come to live in a world where the financial burden of a poorly managed national debt and a precarious position In the world economy are going to be placed squarely upon young shoulders. This will quickly become the legacy of the baby boomers when their shift as caretakers of our countries financial well being comes to it’s close. we can’t aford to be complacent any longer. We can’t assume that government programs like Medicare and Social Security will be there to provide for us in 20 years, because they simply wont be. There is a reason that health care and insurance coverage was high on Obama’s “to do list” once he got into office. Health care costs In this country have surpassed 2.3 TRILLION dollars, yes I said Trillion with a T, A YEAR!! And they are continuing to rise. Wikipedia Reports that, “More money is spent per person,on health care costs in America than any other country in the world.’ In The region of The country where i grew and continue to live, I have seen various people point the fingers at programs like Indian Health services as one of the reasons for the high cost of health care but the numbers just don’t show that to be true. The Health care Budget for Indian health services is $4 Billion per year,

The Budget builds upon resources provided in the recovery Act for IHS. This covers 2.5 million Native Americans and Alaskan Natives for an average cost per person of $1,600, far less than the average cost of health care for other United States Citizens.

we only have our selves and a lifestyle where stress, overeating, loss of sleep, dehydration and emotional imbalance have become as american as baseball and mom’s homemade hot apple pie to blame. research demonstrates that the three Most prominent and costly health care problems in America today are: Obesity and related health concerns, heart disease and and associated disability issues as well as a quickly increasing rate of Type II diabetes. All of which have been shown to be directly connected to lifestyle choices.  If you are a thoughtful person at all and you choose to educate yourself even a little bit, the truth is written on the wall. The only choice for the future is maintenance of health and well being through a balanced lifestyle which focuses on wellness practices like daily exercise, active lifestyles  and stress reduction education and activities, nutrition education and learning to balance our personal priorities.

My Personal Wellness Paradigm

Wellness can be defined as: ” A general sense of well being that is not only defined by the absence of disease and it’s symptoms, but also incorporates healthy and balanced attitudes and feelings in regard to all the aspects of the human condition including: emotional health, spiritual health, psychological health and of course physical health and fitness.

To me, Wellness is a truly holistic concept that is focused on healthful and balanced fulfillment of all our human needs, both the physical and the more abstract. I see that the word holistic has been used and a bit abused by some health care practitioners, particularly chiropractors in recent years.  I believe words have a power and a spirit unto themselves and the word holistic to me means that a practice considers all aspects of what makes a person “whole” . I believe there is a sort of tensegrity at work in every human life and all aspects of that life are bound together by the basic human needs. Tony Robbins defines these human needs as follows

1. Certainty/Security
2. Uncertainty/ Variety
3. Significance
4. Love/Connectivity
5. Growth
6. Contribution

The problem is that not a single one of us was given an owners manual when we came into this world. And for The vast majority of us, we spend our lives either meeting or attempting to meet those first four needs. The last two needs on that list well, sometimes we meet them at least for a short time, either through our work or as we become a parent and must teach another human being our values and rules for living. But do we ever truly master The art of life? do we apply ourselves to the  art of Being The Best of The best  that you can be?

Wellness is a state, and a state requires maintenance, it requires thought and planning and it requires action. Wellness is a balance between the needs of The Physical, spiritual and Psychological aspects of our being. Far to many people believe that if the just Do P90x and lose 15 pounds then they become well… My wife used a term once to describe a yoga teacher and personal trainer we knew a while back. The term was “a beautiful wreck” I liked that term. I understood immediately what she meant. This person had the look. she was fit, trim and attractive.  She represented herself well in her classes. outside the studio however she struggled with various aspects of her life,  relationship issues and emotional dissonance.

My purpose in this world has seemed to be to ask the question, “why”  why are some people happier, healthier and living a much higher quality and standard of life than other people, especially when the two lives may have very similar resources? I want to know why we have the most expensive health care system in the world and yet we still end up being out performed by other countries in key areas such as infant mortality rates and caring for the disabled.

There is a fundamental concept in the personal development paradigm, that concept is, Self Responsibility. Everything starts with YOU! I believe this to be true with our health and well being as well. we must stop saying “should’ve, ” i should have done My exercise, I should have said no to that second peice of Pizza, i should’ve  gotten a good Night’s sleep. it’s time to replace that word (should’ve0 with another word, Must!

Together we can create a healthier happier and More balanced country and world But only if we begin by taking a look in the mirror and asking ourselves what can I do Today to improve my health and my life.

Mitakuye Oyasin (we are all related)

Hello again! it’s nice to be back. This last month has been a series of Ups and downs as far as The internet world was concerned. Some bizarre anomaly occurring on this website caused my web host a lot of concern and we spent a couple of weeks chasing down a plugin  that was causing my hosts CPU usage to skyrocket. eventually, we had to reinstall wordpress which is why This web page was down for a few days and Now is back with a New look.  This whole experience came at about the same Time when a family problem emerged that affected my wife deeply.  the stress of the two events combined made me feel like i wanted to close my websites down and forget about the whole thing. and In a fit of anger I even emailed that very sentiment to my host’s tech person who was very patient and understanding of my frustration. Fortunately, I was able to get a little emotional control back and realize that this whole experience was an opportunity to grow and to focus. It was a great realization because through this insight I was able to take a step back and see where my focus had been lacking and where I was wasting energy.

When my hosting company suspended my accounts for the third time due to excessive drag on their CPU, I damn near decided to give up on wordpress. I lost two weeks fiddling with plugins and trying to figure out what could possibly have caused such a drain on their CPU.  Eventually, I ended up fiddling with the site enough that it started showing that a fatal error had occurred and my webpage would no longer display. Thats not a good feeling when you are spending every spare minute you have trying to establish your website and communicate an important message to people.

Perspective

What changed my perspective?  I just decided that what i was doing was important enough that I was going to keep doing it and frankly WordPress is the best vehicle to get my message out there into cyberspace. So here we are, back again, new WordPress installation, new theme and a new focus. I apologize for the lack of content. at this time unfortunately, I have not been able to retrieve a back up of my most recent post, at least not yet. But i will keep working and striving to create the best online wellness community available. there is no other option.  I chose to take up this blog, and i have something to say. Technical problems are basically the cyber gods way of telling me, ” time to learn a new skill, my son.”  In the end, I know my outcome, I will teach and coach and spread the word about wellness.  The time has come to consider wellness as a necessary alternative to the healthcare model we currently have in our modern world.  i see too many people who darken my doorstep who are so far out of touch with their own bodies and their own wellbeing. Sure, i can teach them some restorative exercises and get that rotator cuff stronger and restore range of motion but after 7 yeas of doing this Over and Over again often to have the very same person come back and visit me again for the exact same problem or for the same problem but on the opposite side. I have decided that maybe it’s better to, as the bible says, “teach a man to fish rather than give him a fish.