by | Apr 20, 2017 | Uncategorized
By Lisa Lin, BA, HHPR
About a year ago I was attending a workshop and before a meal, we were asked to give thanks to the earth that grew our food, the farmers that tilled the soil, the market that sold the food, the cooks who prepared it and the good company whom which we were sharing it with. It had been sometime since I stopped and looked at how I receive the food that heals and nourishes my body and mind. I have studied culinary nutrition and learned about wholefoods, plant rich dietary habits, harvested from sustainable farms and can include ethically sourced meat and fish products. I am generally a conscious consumer of where my food comes from. This moment of gratitude though led me to stop and look at how much energy is put forth by the earth and by a whole community of people to bring food to my table. Think of rich, red beets, and curly, defiant green stems of kale, trimmed meats and get a feel for all the steps it took for the food to be presented to your belly! I can assure you dear reader, that your gratitude will deepen when you sit with that thought for a moment.
Health and Wellness NW Calgary
The choices we make as individuals create a ripple effect in our communities. This week my daughters’ school is celebrating Earth Day and is conducting an assembly and presentations by the students to show regard and gratitude for what a healthy, loved earth does for us each day. They have been learning about “reduce, reuse, recycle” since preschool. I am so glad my children are growing up in a community conscious of teaching children choices and implications in how they impact others and the earth they live on.
5 Things You Can Do to Celebrate Earth Day
- Eat an organic, plant rich meal and sit a moment with gratitude and reflection for where it came from.
- Take a moment to be outside and feel the power of nature – how deep the roots of the trees go, the wind in the grasses, rain pattering on a rooftop, a fresh spring bud on a tree.
- Imagine summertime outside as a child, kicking a ball in the grass, ignoring pesky mosquitos, playing in a lake, running through a sprinkler, climbing on a jungle gym in the playground.
- Taking out the garbage – is there something there that belongs in the recycling bin?
- Conserve water, don’t let your car idle, take and use only what you need in a day.
Most important – enjoy every moment of it! And feel the blessings bestowed on you in a single moment of a single day, simply by being able to live on this beautiful planet of ours. Treasure it and have a wonderful day!
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by | Mar 30, 2017 | Uncategorized
By Dr. Michelle Hagel, ND
What causes Adrenal fatigue?
When we are in a heightened state of stress, our sympathetic nervous system is activated cortisol (the stress hormone) is released from the adrenal glands. Cortisol helps the body prepare for “flight or fight” from stressful situations, freeing up energy stores. After this experience, we should have utilized the energy to get away from the situation and it should be a short period. However, when we experience chronic stress we have chronic cortisol release and energy is stored away in our tissues over time causing adrenal fatigue, weight gain, and insulin resistance. During sympathetic stimulation, we reduce the absorption of nutrients prolonged cortisol release will impact other hormones like our sex hormones and thyroid hormone. Our parasympathetic nervous system which opposes this allows us to rest and digest when we are relaxed or sleeping.
How to identify adrenal fatigue?
Identifying adrenal fatigue can be difficult, symptoms are general and can vary during different stages. Healthcare professionals can test or through extensive questioning evaluate your adrenal status. Some symptoms include anxiety, muscular weakness, neck stiffness, heartburn, gas/bloating, excessive sighing, fidgeting, poor sleep (inability to fall asleep or stay asleep), tired and wired state, sugar or salty food cravings, intolerance to cold and brain fog/difficulty concentrating.
Later stages of adrenal fatigue are in a constant state of fatigue, that only gets worse. Adrenal fatigue is due to the overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. “Type A people” release more norepinephrine and adrenaline than their counterparts “Type B.” Type A individuals are more common candidates for adrenal fatigue.
Is exercise good for adrenal fatigue?
Depending on what stage of adrenal fatigue you are in exercise can make things better or make things worse. It is important to avoid adrenaline release and over stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). If you are in the later stages just doing breathing and stretching exercises are about as far as you should go, these can be restorative. At this point you must be careful to avoid strenuous aerobic activity this will further deplete your adrenal glands and worsen your condition. Start with just breathing, Individuals tend to hold their breath or breathe very shallowly, it is important to breath deep, smooth, quiet, regular. Gentle breathing of the diaphragm through abdominal breathing can calm the nervous system and even can lower blood pressure. Abnormal breathing can stimulate the SNS, it can also trigger panic attacks.
Promote relaxation through activities like meditation, walking, expressing/receiving gratitude, reading or whatever activity you find recharging and relaxing. Watching television can be draining and habit forming, with certain programs elevating our cortisol levels. Our bodies are amazing at healing themselves we just need to identify and give them what they need to start the repair process.
Relaxation Program Calgary
If you are NOT in the crash phase or severe adrenal fatigue exercise can be very beneficial. Yoga and stretching are very restorative. Physical activity allows the body to release endorphins which help boost mood, reduce fatigue and improve alertness and concentration. It also increases circulation throughout the body which improves the immune system, metabolism, and energy. Aerobic exercise is also a great stress relieving activity if you are on the mild adrenal fatigue side of the scale. If you feel energized and recharged after exercise you have likely found the right one for you. Pay attention to your body and do not push it.
Adrenal fatigue and stress have become so common in our society if you want to identify if you fall on the adrenal fatigue scale, book an appointment with Docere Wellness today. Also, ask about our adrenal shots!
by | Mar 29, 2017 | Uncategorized
By Lisa Lin, BA, RMT
Yesterday I went for a walk in my neighborhood, phone camera in tow, looking for signs of spring. As when we see signs of spring, we see signs of hope in our lives. Hope for healing, hope for renewal, hope to just be the essence of who we truly are inside, and hope for the courage to express who we are in the outside world with as much authenticity as possible. Yes, spring brings empowerment with it as we shift out of the heavy slumber of winter. On my mini adventure, I ended up in my backyard looking for signs of spring – I found one – the earliest of buds on one of the trees. A plump, green and golden bud ready to blossom and burst when the rains come later in the season.
What does this have to do with spring cleaning, well everything. As we shed the heavy layers of winter clothing to don on spring jackets, umbrellas and rain boots, so too do our homes want to be aired out, area carpets shaken, clutter reorganized for upcoming garage sales, and good, old-fashioned elbow grease to scrub away neglect and disuse. This weekend my kids were out of town visiting their grandparents and I took the opportunity to take stock of a few rooms in the house and see past their habitual appearance to how the rooms want to express themselves. I delved into the kitchen and the master bedroom. Yes, it was an all-day reorganizing, decluttering, scrubbing fiesta of those two rooms.
Self Care Practices Calgary
Being trained in holistic health practices and massage therapy, I became very aware of what an arduous process housework can be on the body. I take very good care of myself especially through functional fitness and nutrition so my body was cruising through it, loving it. If I hadn’t been in good shape though to do all that scrubbing, lifting and vacuuming I would have had a seriously sore back. I came up with a few tips for you as I don’t want to see any weekend cleaning warriors hobbling into my massage practice in pain when it is mostly preventable.
Top 3 Tips To Protect Your Back When Spring Cleaning
- Bend your knees, bend at your hips. Do not bend forward with straight legs, hanging from your low back. Get help with lifting heavy objects (even if you are feeling impatient!)
- Take rest breaks, eat regularly, drink lots of water. Spring cleaning takes as much mental energy as it does physical.
- Keep your shoulders down (away from your ears), tuck in your lower belly to your back. This protects your back, shoulders and neck from strain.
But What if You are Reading this Article too Late and You are in Pain?
- Rest (I know, frustrating, especially in the middle of a project, but please do it for a few days or you will injure your back worse)
- Ice bag or hot water bottle/wheat bag for 10 min 2-3x per day. Protect your skin with a cloth. *Use ice if the injury feels weak, warm and swollen or puffy. Use heat if the sore spot feels cool, contracted and tense. When in doubt, ice is the general protocol for injury.
- If it still isn’t improving at all or getting worse after 4-5 days, get it checked by a doctor, physio or chiropractor. Massage therapy can aid in relaxing the tissues and prevent tightening of other muscles protecting the injured area. It can help ease the mind as well. Licensed Massage Therapists like myself are trained to deal with injuries carefully to support healing and prevent injuring the tissues further.
Schedule an appointment today with Docere Wellness. Best Wishes for a Healthy Back During Your Cleaning Adventures this Spring!
by | Feb 27, 2017 | Uncategorized
By Lisa Lin, BA, RMT
Building a relationship with yourself that is healing, is much like tending to a garden. When a garden grows and prospers we see color, pungent beauty and luscious green leaves growing towards the sun. This takes practice, love, care and time, it is not a one time ditch effort for those results. If the garden becomes neglected, no longer loved, tended to nor valued, it withers, turns brown and becomes weak. There is still the spark of life deep in the earth, but if neglected or abused enough it becomes very hard to find. Some of the most beautiful gardens we see over the summer months have grown out of timeless love, patience and skill by their gardeners.
I remember when I was a child, my parents, although very busy at work, planted a two tier garden every year that covered half of our backyard. My grandmother would come visit and spend hours weeding and harvesting the vegetables. When I was quite young, I’d stand next to my dad and ask multiple questions (I’m still like that!) while he was digging potatoes out of the ground. Later we’d shell countless peas, scrub soil embossed carrots, and pull beans. When summer hail would come, we’d anxiously await the end of the storm to see if the garden would survive. It always did.
This is the amazing power of nature to nourish and grow with a timeless rhythm. This same nature flows through our own blood, bone and tissues. It ignites our brains, opens our hearts and inspires great health. These resources are available to us to cultivate at any time.
How To Tap Into The Power Of Nature For Your Health
There are numerous ways to do this, endless in fact, but if we return to the simple concept of self care, we are growing our own garden of health with these basic practices.
- Breathe – oxygen – use your lungs – breathwork, singing, laughing, blowing bubbles in the swimming pool
- Water – the staple of life. Consume half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. For example, a 150lb person is recommended to drink 75 ounces of water per day. More even in hot climates and with exertion.
- Nutrition – vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, proteins and fats to nourish you. Include lots of plant based food.
- Exercise – pull out the weeds, till the soil, plant flowers. Use a balance of cardiovascular exercise (egs. brisk walking, biking), strength training (egs. weight training, pilates, medicine ball) and stretching (egs. yoga and stretching) each week.
Healing NW Calgary
Want to thrive with a more natural lifestyle and holistic approach to building your health? I work with an amazing group of compassionate and skilled practitioners, all very talented in their respective fields – naturopathic medicine, chiropractic care, counseling psychology, craniosacral work, and life coaching. I practice massage therapy, reiki, and reflexology. This is integrative medicine – tapping into natural healing modalities to build and restore health. Any one of us or a combination of the above at Docere Wellness Centre can support you in building your self care practice. You don’t need to grow and tend to your health garden all by yourself. Everything you need is at hand. The most important role and the one in charge is the head gardener – that is you. Happy Spring!
by | Feb 21, 2017 | Uncategorized
Don’t Drop your New Year’s Resolutions – Get Clear on what you Value
By Amanda Delamer, MSc, CPCC, ACC
The new year brings opportunity to start fresh, for new beginnings. To tackle that mound of organisation projects around the house, to start a new eating program, to incorporate exercise into your day, to finally sign up for that Spanish language course you have always wanted to take, and the list goes on. Momentum is strong, and this year will be different.
Then February/March comes, and you find yourself unmotivated and not thrilled about those resolutions you set for yourself. You might blame it on lack of will power, and you might decide it wasn’t all that important to you. Another way to approach whether or not your new year’s resolutions are a fit is to look at your values.
Living our values and making choices in line with our values on a daily basis is what supports us in living fulfilled lives. Without analyzing your values, ask yourself “What do I value? What’s important to me?” Identify five values that resonate, and ask yourself, “How fully am I living this value?” To help you get clear on what a value means for you, develop a value string. For example, you might notice that organisation is a huge value for you. An example value string might look like Organisation/freedom/calm/clarity.
Now that you have your top five values, set an intention around them to help you stay committed. If organisation brings you a sense of freedom, of calm and of clarity, be intentional about honoring that value. Whether it’s about scheduling in a few hours a week for organisation, or dedicating a whole day to it, notice what feels right and brings you joy, and commit to honoring what’s important to you.
“It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are” – Roy E. Disney
Holistic Nutrition Northwest Calgary
Don’t drop your new year’s resolutions, or at least not those that are in line with what you value. They are too important to you. Get intentional, and enjoy a fulfilled year!
Make 2017 an amazing year! WINTER/NEW YEAR PROMOTION – sign up for three months and receive 10% off! Sign up for six months and receive 25% off! BOOK YOUR COMPLIMENTARY ONE HOUR SAMPLE SESSION TODAY! Call 403.452.6262
Amanda is a self-awareness and fulfillment coach. Amanda coaches and supports people in living healthy, balanced and fulfilled lives. She coaches and honors the whole person – mind, body and spirit. Her clients experience fulfillment in all parts of their lives – health, family, relationships, career, etc. – and they value and appreciate that all parts of their lives are connected, and that we all have responsibility in and for the world around us. She lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with her loving husband and three inspiring children.
