It’s Allergy Season……

Sunday, Mar. 7th 2010

For those of you who suffer from seasonal allergies, you may have been preparing for Spring for some time, preparing for weeks of misery. Symptoms will range in severity and affect everyone just a little differently, making it difficult to find consistent relief from conventional treatments.

One of the major culprits, Pollens are tiny grains released into the air by trees, grasses and weeds that will get into your nose, airways, clothes and hair - sending your immune system into overdrive. Being proactive and taking precautions to minimize exposure to pollens can make a huge difference in the way you feel.  Here are a few tips that can give you a heads up!

·         Keep track of the pollen counts in your area.  The higher the pollen count, the greater the misery.www.pollen.com is a great resource to keep you up to date.  Keep in mind that pollen can travel for miles and windy days can be particularly troublesome.

·         Keep your windows closed during these high pollen times. Although it is tempting to keep windows open to let the fresh air in, you’ll also be letting in the pollen.

·         When spending time outdoors, remember that pollens cling to fabrics.  Change clothing immediately when returning home to avoid depositing these allergens onto your furniture and other surfaces in your home………that counts for Fido too!  Use a damp cloth to wipe down your pets when they spend time outside.

·         Wash bedding in hot water weekly to keep the bedroom free from any pollen that might have made it back into the house.

·         Wash your hair before turning in. Often times, pollen stuck in your hair may have been the culprit for a restless and symptomatic night.

·         Sinus rinses are helpful in cleaning out your sinuses and keeping them free from the pollens that are irritating you.

·         Natural supplements such as D-Hist (available from our Apothecary) can help calm down the exaggerated immune systems response and acts as a natural antihistamine.

If, despite your best efforts, the pollen continues to creep in, allergy testing and treatment may be the key to helping you feel your best. If you have any questions about the allergy testing and treatment here at Visions, please give us a call and we will be happy to discuss the process with you.For those of you who suffer from seasonal allergies, you may have been preparing for Spring for some time, preparing for weeks of misery. Symptoms will range in severity and affect everyone just a little differently, making it difficult to find consistent relief from conventional treatments.

 

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The Pursuit of Happiness

Saturday, Mar. 6th 2010

One of the most common comments that I get from my long term clients and students is that the work we do together brings about an inner awareness that leads to a state of harmony and happiness. I personally believe that happiness is one of the key ingredients of health. The reason why I call the work that I do transformation healing is that it is a conduit for inner transformation on all levels including the development of true happiness.

Happiness. What does it really mean? It is a way of being, a felt sense that is in harmony and balance with our essential nature. It does not come about by doing or getting. According to eastern mindset, happiness is an overall sense of satisfaction and contentment with life and living, a state of appreciation for all that you have, the understanding that every experience can bring growth and spiritual expansion and inner wealth, a perception of balance and peace, a feeling of being whole and complete within oneself. We have all heard the saying “happiness comes from within” Why is it that our culture does not nurture this?

It is human nature to be in the pursuit of happiness. We often seek happiness from external sources such as relationships, the acquisition of monetary wealth and power, careers, developing intelligence, externally looking good and successful to others. Material things can make us comfortable, relationships are a vehicle for us to express emotions and connect in different ways to others. Recognition for accomplishments and admiration for how we look can make us feel good and successful but they do not provide long-term happiness. There is nothing wrong with being connected externally; in fact it is an important and necessary part of life. The important thing to be aware of is that it often brings temporary satisfaction by gratify the ego. If you go through life desperately focusing on the results of trying to acquire status and material things along with striving to look good to others to achieve happiness, joy and peacefulness will evade you.

We also have no control over the outside circumstances in life. External situations can often leave one feeling stressed, dissatisfied, disappointed, depressed, victimized and confused. To experience soul-satisfying joy we must look within. We must break free from the preconceived mindset that our achievements and possessions define us. We must release the expectations of others and find the genuine value within ourselves. When you have a desire, and it gets fulfilled, there is a period of time when you are content. In that moment, you experience the happiness that is a natural part of your being. But then external stimulus such as the media, including marketing, or opinions and beliefs of others intervene and you shift into a state of lack or want. Happiness fades. If you are not aware of this it can become a never-ending cycle. When you are able to realize and recognize that you experience happiness when you are free from constant desire and fear around being accepted, you can start to create your life differently. You have an opportunity to choose and accept yourself and the Universe as it is. You gain a freedom to flow with life. With awareness you can allow your innate nature to spring forth in the absence of the bonds and demands you and others put on yourself. Part of this process is being in an inquiry around your taught beliefs and values. Do they totally resonate with your consciousness, heart and soul? Keep those values, which are in harmony with who you are and release what does not feel true to your core. Take a hard look within to find your own personal truth.

Personal practices such as yoga, meditation and qigong help to cultivate inner peace and truth. Treatments such as shiatsu and transformational healing release entrenched holding patterns of stress and tension, support inner balance and help to integrate body, mind and spirit promoting health and happiness. As you become more aware of your heart, mind and body connection it creates a sense of freedom, which allows you to be satisfied with yourself exactly how god made you, perfect, whole and complete It can shift your reality around how you view yourself and the world. The goal is to be able to enjoy being a unique individual without trying to compete with others. Also assisting you in the development of self-acceptance and ability to take pride in the inner gifts that come naturally without trying. The pursuit of happiness is a journey within. It is a journey through life with a destination of peace, health and contentment.

 

 

Posted by Nancy Web, ABT, LMT, RYT | in Practitioner Blogs, Shiatsu/Transformational Healing | No Comments »

More Ways of Asking your Body

Saturday, Mar. 6th 2010

I’ve been talking a good deal lately about asking your body, and listening to your body, primarily by self-touch and paying attention, and the simple tools I teach called SRI (Somato Respiratory Integration).

Today I want to mention some other very important ways you may want to ask specific questions of your body. These differ from previous discussions in that they involve consulting a health care professional. Some simply shed more light on some of the finer points of your health. Some may be as serious as a heart attack, for example, the cardiac enzyme test that detects when someone has had a recent myocardial infarction.

There is a range of tests your health care professional may administer or order as part of a health assessment. This will not be a complete list by any means. Among the many you may encounter here at Visions Medical Center, are BIA (Body Impedance Analysis), which many consider to be a more useful assessment than BMI (Body Mass Index), and which Jonah Soolman, RD, one of our nutritional consultants, utilizes extensively. There are all kinds of lab tests, for thyroid function, stress and adrenal insufficiency, yeast/candida, heavy metal toxicity, parasites, and food sensitivities. The Nursing Department administers allergy testing, using low-invasive protocols to identify allergies and environmental sensitivities. And we have the EKG, or ECG (electrocardiogram), for heart electrical wave analysis.

Some of our practitioners also use their own training and skills in their areas of expertise, which may include such simple but enormously valuable tools as manual palpation, the intelligent touch of highly trained hands, to gather information for their healing approach. Our acupuncturists and massage therapists make use of their palpatory sensitivity to help guide them in serving you best.

Among the many ways I ask your body questions, I pay attention to all the subtle ways your body expresses what it might be feeling and experiencing. Expression shows in your face, in your eyes, your mouth, in your hands. I observe the way you stand, how you walk, how you sit, how you breathe. I notice how your body lies on the table, how you hold your shoulders and hips, and how freely and fully your respiration moves up and down your spine.

In addition to visual observation, one of the most important ways I receive information from your body, is through the light, gentle touch of my fingers and hands on your spine and the muscles along and around it. There are all different types, qualities, shapes and tones of tension, and I’ve spent the past 18 years studying them intensively.

So, like the song said, let us hear your body talk. It might very well have something important to tell us.

To learn about some of the many fascinating ways that your body communicates, call Greig Andrews MA DC at Visions Medical Center at 781-431-1333.

Read more about spinal health on my Visions blog. Follow me on Twitter and friend me on Facebook!

Posted by Greig Andrews, DC, MA | in Chiropractic, Practitioner Blogs | No Comments »

Repeat Forgiveness

Thursday, Mar. 4th 2010

Forgiveness is a lifetime task, endless, constantly ebbing and flowing. Why? Because the human brain has constructed the ego as a way to function in our complex civilization.

Ego is the inner judge that creates the need for ongoing forgiveness. My partner and I have discovered that we need forgiveness with one another almost daily! We say thoughtless or reactive things. We have our own emotional challenges.

For whatever reason, skillful forgiveness is a highly valuable tool in human relating. It takes the fuses out of everything. Rumi’s words address this beautifully: Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.

That field is a place we all want access to 24/7/365. We hurt one another, dear one. All of us. No matter the goodness of our intentions. And, it would be good to remember the scarily truthful adage that only hurt people hurt people. I never met a person who wasn’t hurt in one way or another.

Forgiveness, using the ritual in this booklet, or any others is useful both to remember and to practice. Use it well and often. If you’re not yet convinced, let Leo Tolstoy persuade you: Let us forgive each other—only then will we live in peace.

And what a relief that both is and will be.

For spiritual nourishment, visit Dr. Susan Corso’s website and blog, Seeds for Sanctuary. Follow her on Twitter @PeaceCorso and Friend her on Facebook. And discover your own Inner Peace at, To Me Peace Is … What is Peace to You?

Posted by Susan Corso, DD | in Practitioner Blogs, Spiritual Alignment | No Comments »

Forgetting

Thursday, Mar. 4th 2010

I know, I know, the old expression goes, “Forgive and forget.” But, you know what? The greater truth is that when one truly forgives, there is no need to add the second step. In fact, I think the forgetting part is a burden.

Think on this. When there is genuine forgiveness, there is no need to forget. Clinging to the need to forget, you’ll find that if you look deeper, true forgiveness hasn’t happened.

It’s actually a good test. Do you feel the need to “make yourself forget?” You probably haven’t forgiven.

This is a good time to revisit the greater purpose of forgiveness. Consider these wise words from one of the world’s forgiveness experts, Lewis Smedes: To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.

Are you still imprisoned by an event or circumstance in your life? That’s okay, just keep it on your forgiveness list. Keep at it. You’ll get there.

Here is another of Mr. Smedes’ wisdoms: You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well. Really well. Just because they too were born children of God.

There’s no hurry here, dear one. Take all the time you need. Your consciousness is yours for this whole lifetime. Clearing it out is a lifetime process.


For spiritual nourishment, visit Dr. Susan Corso’s website and blog, Seeds for Sanctuary. Follow her on Twitter @PeaceCorso and Friend her on Facebook. And discover your own Inner Peace at, To Me Peace Is … What is Peace to You?

Posted by Susan Corso, DD | in Practitioner Blogs, Spiritual Alignment | No Comments »

Feeling Forgiven

Thursday, Mar. 4th 2010

I like what Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Bishop Desmond Tutu, says about forgiveness: Without forgiveness, there is no future. The future is always about possibility, is it not? Without forgiveness, possibility becomes severely restricted. Who wants a future like that?

Feeling forgiven is a remarkable experience. Most often my response to being forgiven is a physical release. I’ll cry, or yawn, or laugh, or do a funny dance. Often, I feel a release in my solar plexus, as though some pressure I didn’t even know was there has suddenly let go.

The most interesting thing to me about feeling forgiven is that it does not always require an interaction with the person involved. It is more often an internal process—spirit to spirit. The greatest forgiveness I ever received was from my already-dead father.

One of the things I always do when I celebrate a funeral is to have a few moments for forgiving and another few for forgiveness. It is a kindness to set our loved ones free.

I think, overall, that feeling forgiven is an extremely personal matter. It can be instantaneous and it can take time. If it is a longstanding issue, seek forgiveness again and again. All beings want to forgive one another at bottom. It’s just getting to that bottomline desire that takes time.

Again, there’s no rush. Forgiving is a spiritual discipline and it takes place in Kairos, eternal time, not Chronos, chronological time.

For spiritual nourishment, visit Dr. Susan Corso’s website and blog, Seeds for Sanctuary. Follow her on Twitter @PeaceCorso and Friend her on Facebook. And discover your own Inner Peace at, To Me Peace Is … What is Peace to You?

Posted by Susan Corso, DD | in Practitioner Blogs, Spiritual Alignment | No Comments »

Insights from Avatar and Wellbeing

Thursday, Mar. 4th 2010

Yesterday I saw Avatar with my teenaged daughter.  I had gone merely to see this new style of cinematography, expecting the theme to be the usual sci-fi war battle of good vs evil.  What I got was so much more.  Not only were there layered themes about spirituality, learning self-trust and establishing a deep connection with the earth and other living things, but a refreshing look at creating possibilities for ourselves and seeing beyond the apparent.  I was blown away with how this connected with my own present life circumstances and how I approach the many clients whom I see facing some very difficult challenges.

Taking the time to see ourselves as precious and seeing this in others is a gift and a discipline.  When we can honor who we are, both the visible and shadow sides of ourselves, we have an opportunity for growth.  Hiding that which shames us or embarrasses us, can only hinder growth.

Bringing this to the level of nutrition is a concrete example of this work.  I will use myself as an example.  I was quite heavy as a child, teased and left out, not always treated well by other children my age because I could not run fast or play sports very well.   I learned to use food as a way of hiding my emotions and became very sugar addicted.  As I wrestled with my weight, I would either diet or compulsively eat.  This behavior went on for a long time and I was quite shamed by it, while at the same time, fascinated by the nature of addiction.

I chose the field of nutrition, then psychology to learn more about my responses and how I might help others dealing with similar behaviors.  It has been a long process, a rich process and my journey has provided me with such wonderful opportunities to dig deep inside and question, Who Am I, What Is My Purpose, How Might I Serve the Greater Meaning of It All?

What I learned from Avatar was that in just being, connecting with all that is around us, both visible and invisible, we have unlimited potential to be  fulfilled, at peace and not longing (for food or other substitutes)!

I suggest that everyone take advantage of this real-life fantasy and see Avatar with a loved one!

Posted by Julie Freeman, RD, MA, LD | in Other, Practitioner Blogs | No Comments »

I Hear A Symphony ….

Thursday, Mar. 4th 2010

Ever go to the symphony?  If you have not, you ought to.  They are as delightful and amazing to watch as they can be to listen to.  The far-flung array of clusters of players of such a wide variety of instruments, most of which look as beautiful as they sound, can be both mesmerizing and enthralling.

In addition to following the musicians, I usually spend a fair amount of time watching the conductor.  They are fascinating to observe in action, the waving of the baton, the flailing of their arms, the facial expressions, the bodily gesticulations, especially of those who participate deeply and emotionally in the feel of the music, as Bernstein was noted for.

Have you ever paused to wonder what might happen if the conductor was not there?  They may look to us like not much more than cheerleaders or living metronomes, but the conductor is the most important member of an orchestra.  They coordinate each section, and every single player takes their timing and other crucial cues from them.  The first violinist might be the greatest player alive, but if Seiji Ozawa or Keith Lockhart is sick, that violinist will be out of synch with the orchestra as a whole, and it will sound terrible.  The conductor holds it all together, literally, with his or her bare hands.

Similarly, your nervous system is the conductor of your entire body.  Each organ is like a single violinist or flautist, and each system is like a woodwind or brass section.

Your brain and spinal cord, your central nervous system, coordinates what each player does and what each section does; what each and every cell, tissue, and organ does, and what each system does.  We are talking about your immune system, your endocrine system, your digestive system, your respiratory system, cardiovascular system, and lymph system.  An organism of this staggering multi-level, multi-dimensional complexity requires constant fine precision coordination.

So, what do you do when YOUR conductor is sick?  What does the Royal Philharmonic of Fred, or the Susan Symphony Orchestra, do, when Seiji has the flu?

Network Spinal Analysis (NSA), is the Conductor Corrector.  NSA helps keep your nervous system in tune, so it can keep all your cells, tissues, organs and systems in tune.  People under NSA care have been shown to suffer from fewer autoimmune issues, less stress, less tension, less fatigue, less of the kinds of things that happen when we are out of synch internally.

When your nervous system is better coordinated, all the functions of your body and your mind are better coordinated, more in tune, more in synch, more in harmony, more synchronized.  Your entire body behaves once again the way it is designed to, like a finely tuned instrument, or like an orchestra with a brilliant conductor at the podium.

For, as Kahlil Gibran put it, “Your body is the harp of your soul,
and it is yours to bring forth sweet music from it, or confused sounds.”

For assistance conducting your orchestra, and bringing forth your sweetest music, contact Greig Andrews DC MA at Visions Medical Center 781-431-1333.


Read more about spinal health on my Visions blog. Follow me on Twitter and friend me on Facebook!

Posted by Greig Andrews, DC, MA | in Chiropractic, Practitioner Blogs | No Comments »

When You Can’t Forgive

Saturday, Feb. 13th 2010

Sometimes, there are circumstances that you simply feel you cannot forgive, that it is just not within your capacity to give good for supposed evil. With the understanding that this is still a function of your own judgment, there is a way to proceed toward forgiveness.

The most powerful story I ever heard about this was told by Corrie ten Boom, the Dutch resistance member who was eventually caught and sent to a concentration camp during the second world war. Her sister Betsie was interned with her.

{Warning: the story is quite drastic.}

Corrie saw her sister raped and beaten to death. Before Betsie died she told Corrie, “There is no pit so deep that God’s Love is not deeper still.” After the war, Tante {Aunt} Corrie called herself a Tramp for the Lord. Her deeply held Christian beliefs insisted that reconciliation was both necessary and possible.

Then came the fateful day that she was giving her usual testimony about God’s Forgiving Love when she recognized a man in her audience—the man who had killed her sister.

After her speech, she stood at the back of the room greeting those who had turned out to hear her. As the former concentration camp guard neared, Tante Corrie was sure she simply could not forgive him. However, she took a deep breath and said inside herself, “But Jesus, I’m sure you can. Do you forgive him through me.”

And then the man she wanted not to forgive, to hold in her judgment to human accountability was towering over her with tears in his eyes.

“Fraulein,” he said, “I have done some terrible things in my life. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to hear about your forgiving God.”

Tante Corrie wrote, “For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.”

So, dear one, if you cannot forgive—no matter the reason—you have another option. You can turn to the God of your own understanding, whatever face that Deity has, and ask Her or Him to forgive for you.

The reason this is so powerful is because the avatars of the world understand the true power and need of forgiveness. They see a far larger perspective than we do, and they know that your willing heart is all that is needed for forgiveness to set you and the one you have judged free. That Peace and that Freedom is what all Deity wants for us.


For spiritual nourishment, visit Dr. Susan Corso’s website and blog, Seeds for Sanctuary. Follow her on Twitter @PeaceCorso and Friend her on Facebook. And discover your own Inner Peace at, To Me Peace Is … What is Peace to You?

Posted by Susan Corso, DD | in Practitioner Blogs, Spiritual Alignment | No Comments »

Ask Your Body

Saturday, Feb. 13th 2010

Last blog post we talked about NSA care promoting enhanced communication between you and your body.  We talked about the importance of listening to your body, of listening to its symptoms; of listening to your symptoms.

Today we’re going to take it one small but important step further, from passive to active.  Today we’re going to talk about actually ASKING your body for feedback.

It‘s really a fairly simple and straightforward proposition to ask your body; to check in, to gather information about your symptoms, your pain, about your health, about your life.

Wherever you are feeling pain or symptoms right now, choose the one location on your body about which you are most concerned right at this moment.  Now gently place one hand, or preferably both hands there, and preferably with one hand on top of the other.  But please place your hands in the manner that is easiest or most comfortable.  If you have headaches, for example, place both hands on your head; if they are in the area of your sinuses and your eyes, place both hands gently over your eyes and sinuses, but allow plenty of room to breathe.  If you have elbow pain in one arm, for example the right elbow, place your left hand on your right elbow.  It would not be practical in this case to place both hands on one elbow.

Now rest your hand or hands gently and lightly on the location you have chosen.  I’ll say it again: GENTLY and LIGHTLY.  Next, fully and deeply, but slowly, and yes, gently again, breathe in your nose and out your mouth.  Repeat, several times, slowly, and several more times if need be.  Listen.  Wait.  Listen some more.  Pay attention.  Feel.  If you don’t hear or think or feel anything at all, breathe into your chosen place for another couple minutes or so.  If need be, you may even ask this part of your body, what do you want?

You may feel or hear actual words, but often people feel emotions or impressions, or see images in the mind’s eye that have meaning for them.  Or they think of something that happened in the past, and remembering it carries some charge or difficult feelings with it.  Whatever it is, don’t judge it, don’t own it, don’t name it.  Just allow it.  Simply breathe and allow it, without analyzing it or trying to figure anything out.  This is not a problem to solve.  This is a connection to make with a part of your Self.

You may actually get answers to questions that apply in your life now.  You may put your hands on your chest and get the message to cut back on coffee so your heart won’t race.  You might place your hands on your head and feel the gentle impulse to drink more water to ease your headaches.

Or it may be less specifically about actions that need to be taken, and more about simply connecting with a feeling.  You may put your hands on your stiff and sore shoulders and become aware of a feeling that you can relax and forgive yourself for being human, and that you don’t need to always carry the whole world on your shoulders.

You may put your hands again on your aching back and feel a deep desire to forgive a loved one for that old betrayal that has been held between you for so long.

It just may be so much less about answers, and more about simply connecting to long lost parts of your self again.

Touching your own body in an unselfconscious, non judgmental, self accepting, self nurturing, self empowering, self loving way, may be one of the most important moments in your healing process.

To learn more about healing your body and your Self, contact Greig Andrews DC MA at Visions Medical Center at 781-731-1333.


Read more about spinal health on my Visions blog. Follow me on Twitter and friend me on Facebook!

Posted by Greig Andrews, DC, MA | in Chiropractic, Practitioner Blogs | No Comments »
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