Now that it is officially spring, it’s time to revive energy and gain new motivations by incorporating color into one’s life. Color therapy, or chromotherapy, is a holistic practice that traces back thousands of years to ancient civilizations. This type of therapy has been documented to naturally affect physical, emotional, spiritual and mental well-being because each color enables the body to heal and balance itself. The following are tips for spring cleaning and detoxifying mind, body and space.
Eat Your Greens – Imagine the color of new life, the color of leaves when they first begin to blossom on trees. Green supports balance and harmony, so incorporate it to all parts of the day. Eat more green foods such as baby greens, asparagus, avocados, cilantro, celery, parsley and sprouts. Try putting limes in a bath, to liven up drinking water, and to freshen up proteins like chicken and seafood. Making guacamole with avocado, lime, and cilantro at a get-together is an easy way to promote a fresh start and detox with friends.
Dress to Impress – Wearing bright clothing and undergarments will instantly put the wearer and those around them in a cheerful mood. For example, pink is a great color that gives off vibes of love – wear it to become more loving of one self and others.
Energize with Water – Transform moods with different colored waters. For example, if energy is being sought after, take red colored paper and place it underneath a clear glass of tap water, or pour water into a red colored glass. Let the water sit in the sunlight and brighten the room as light reflects the color. Use different colored paper or glasses for different moods.
Breathe in Color – While meditating, an individual should visualize breathing in color and being surrounded by it to transform moods. For instance, yellow is associated with being able to focus, instruct, learn and detox. Spring is the perfect time to start fresh in any aspect of your life. Imagine breathing in yellow when seeking to focus on a detox. Colors like lavender and pink are also great for meditation to calm the mind and focus on new endeavors.
Liven Up Home and Office Walls with Fresh Colors – Painting walls a certain color will instill a particular mood for that room. In spring, go with a lighter color palette, think of Easter or the colors of flowers budding, grass growing and a pale blue sky in the afternoon. Again, spring is about starting fresh, and wanting to feel new and improved.
New Accessories, New Room – If painting the walls becomes inconvenient, spice a room up with fun-colored pillows, rugs, window treatments, art pieces or plants to recharge energy. Lavender signifies calming, spirituality and wisdom. Incorporate this color into a room for calming the mind to gain new insights for starting fresh this spring.
When Life Gives You Lemons – Freshen up water. Take a bath with lemons and sea salt to revive skin and get a refreshing spring glow. Squeeze lemons into drinking water or eat them to detox bodies and prepare for spring and summer activities.
Get New Light Bulbs – Light bulbs with full spectrum lighting mimic natural sunlight to emit all colors of the rainbow and reduce depression.
Wear Color Therapy Glasses – Lenses with colored tints allow for light entering the body to be concentrated in one spectrum. Therefore, mood will enhance according to the color of the lenses.
Consider a Color Therapist – Color therapists can determine the most enlightening color for an individual’s mood by providing supervised color therapy treatments under special colored lights. For example, the Enlightened Healing Center in Orland Park, Illinois uses red and infrared light therapy to treat inflammation and stimulate new, healthy cell growth.
A survey in 1999 revealed that sexual problems occur in about 43% of women in the United States, and as the population ages that percentage may be even higher now. Libido or lack of sexual desire is the most common sexual complaint. An occasional transient problem is very common; however if it is persistent, or pain is involved, it is time to seek professional help.
The cause of decreased libido is usually multi-factorial involving hormonal health, and relationship component.
Diminished libido can co-exist with orgasmic issues and vaginal pain, and may be exacerbated by undiagnosed or untreated health problems such as hypo-thyroidism and depression. Medications, including anti-depressants and birth control pills can worsen the problems.
Relationship issues and emotional well-being are major contributing factors to diminished sex drive and satisfaction. Americans tend to prioritize time and energy to other things and the eroticism needed to maintain a healthy sexual life does not easily fit in to our concept of parents and family. The “super mom” runs out of energy and motivation late at night and may be too overwhelmed with multi-tasking to enjoy or create the sexual experience.
Negative body image also intensifies lack of libido; self-esteem plummets when comparing oneself to the beautiful erotic American cover girl.
Many women suffer in silence- feeling they are alone and to blame- and afraid to that no help is available to them. The truth is that there are many treatment modalities available in an holistic approach to the problem.
Biofeedback Therapy Can Help
Each of us creates habitual responses to certain life situations. These responses are learned in childhood, adolescent and adult experiences and can be both negative and positive. Our responses to sexual stimuli are based on these same developed patterns. Awareness of patterns is half the battle in controlling any programmed negative responses. Biofeedback helps us to recognize and counteract our learned tendencies. Biofeedback helps to alleviate the 70% of sexual dysfunction in both men and women that is attributable to the stress response elicited by erotic stimuli. Biofeedback can also be helpful to train women who suffer from vaginismus, the instinctual contraction of vaginal and pelvic muscles, in response to anticipating painful sex and the inability to allow vaginal penetration.
Hormonal testing can be very helpful in evaluation of decreased libido; possible remedies may include vitamin, herbal or hormonal supplementation. Each woman is unique and needs individual evaluation to find the blend of therapies that will improve her libido and enhance her sexual life.
For more information on causes and treatments for sexual problems visit Womancarepc.com
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I’ve come to believe that most unhealthy financial behaviors result from emotional conflict or unrest within the individual. In a few short weeks we’ll be in February, the month of love. It’s the perfect time to understand how you might be sabotaging your relationship with money. Knowing why you’re spending will help you get in touch with your heart’s desires. And it’ll create a vibration of harmony and abundance in your life.
First, let’s look at a few reasons we sabotage one of our most important relationships in life.
• We put other’s needs before our own
How many times have we bought something our husband or kids didn’t need, “just because”?
• We spend on what we think we need
It’s easy to get caught up in the “keeping up with the Jones’” mentality, so we rationalize those expensive briefcases or luxury cars as fitting in with our circles.
• We’ve convinced ourselves it’s a treat
We work hard, so we deserve that high-end handbag. But when it comes at the expense of what what’s really in our hearts, how much of a ‘treat’ is it really?
• We listen to what the “crabs” say
We want the ones closest to us to accept what we want, and we’re devastated when they don’t.
• And one of the biggest ways we sabotage our money situation is to ignore our dreams and desires for the sake of taking care of the “necessities.”
So many of us are just going through the motions in our lives, pushing down our true passions in lieu of what we think life should be. But there’s no better time than now to take the leap.
Here’s an exercise: Sit quietly and listen to your own heartbeat. Ask yourself, “What do I need? What do I want?” Maybe you want more time alone or need a creative outlet or more physical activity. Maybe you need to end a relationship that’s making you miserable or move overseas.
Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. So don’t judge your needs and desires; they have merit and deserve to be taken seriously. Let them flow out onto a piece of paper, and look over what you wrote.
Now choose one of the items on your list and describe some specific, practical ways you might begin to meet it. Do you need fifteen minutes alone each day when you get home from work? Do you need to open a “Europe” savings account and put ten dollars into it each month? What’s the first step, and when can you get it done?
Acknowledge how powerful it feels to funnel your energy toward your own needs and desires. Make a pledge to take at least a few minutes each day to accept who you really are and think of concrete ways to honor the authentic you. Feel the harmonious vibration from one simple act hum through every aspect of your life!
Is your glass half-full or half-empty? Do you see the positive side of life or the negative side to everything? I have a colleague who wisely states that each day that we wake up on this side of the earth is a good day – and it is time to start releasing your negativity and appreciate each day for what it is!
My mom was the most negative person I ever knew. She was happy when she made other people unhappy. Do you know anyone like that? I hope not.
My mantra in life is to surround myself with people who come with batteries – not those who need them. In doing so, I think positive thoughts, release negativity as needed, and I feel better in the process.
So, what are some methods that we might use to release negativity?
• A visual board (cut and paste photos of the positive things in your life and review it daily; add those things that you wish to accomplish and reflect on your accomplishments as they occur).
• Positive expectations (see the winning trophy before you, and chances are that it is within your reach).
• Let a higher power help you (pray).
• Emotional release (we store memories in our bodies, and we need to release those energy stores periodically).
• Close your eyes in a quiet location.
• Select the negative energy you wish to release; concentrate and feel it pass through your body.
• Repeat the process with each issue or emotion as follows: Imagine that it fills up your body, then imagine blowing all that emotion into a balloon. Breathe the emotion out of your body, out of your mind. You may notice as you blow the emotion into the balloon, that it changes colors. It may turn brown or black with the energy of that negative emotion. When the balloon is full, imagine tying it off, and let it float up into the sky. Continue filling the balloons, tying them off and letting them float up until you feel complete release.
• Let yourself feel peaceful.
Feeling better is a process! Being a positive human being is a process! These are processes that you can achieve and appreciate. Let those glasses be half-full; raise them high and celebrate the release of your negative feelings. Celebrate the positives in your life!
http://www.bodymindhypnosis.com.
Drink more water- Yes, I know you have heard this before, so why are you not doing it? Slowly build your pure water intake to 1 quart per 50 lbs of body weight. Tap water is not a good source for your daily H2O consumption. The Rhinofilter , a whole house filtration system, does a great job filtering not only your drinking water but your shower as well. Drink, shower, bathe, live…in healthy water.
Include more raw foods- Include at least 50% of your diet as raw food, such as vegetables, salads, blended drinks, and fermented foods. This is a great time to introduce those dark green leafy veggies such as chard, kale, spinach, mustard greens, turnip greens, and collards. Try out the recipe at the end of this article for Kale Delight. For added Greens insurance add a super green like Jade Chlorella, Living Fiber or Vitality Greens (now available in capsules).
Grow green friends- Everyone should have an herb garden on their kitchen counter…fresh oregano, basil, chives, and cilantro liven up a dish in a flash. Home sprouters allow you to increase your home grown greens to include bean sprouts, radish sprouts, and even your own wheatgrass!
Green your cleaning products- Remove the stress of toxic cleaning supplies from your home. We use Ecover products in our office and our home. These products are toxin free, but they do a great job of cleaning up the toughest stains and messes. Get things clean without toxic chemicals!
Exercise- Not only for weight loss but overall health, you got to get that body moving. Rebounding is one of our favorite daily exercises. It is the most convenient, metabolically effective, acid-removing form of exercise we know. It strengthens the entire body, increases circulation, improves digestion, strengthens muscles, pumps the lymphatic system, works on your balance, and is gentle on the joints. So get that rebounder!
Fresh air- No matter where you live make the time to get some fresh air. If you live in the north like us then take the time to bundle up and breathe fresh air. It helps clear ones mind. At a minimum open the windows to air out your home!
Educate yourself- When it comes to your own health you have to educate yourself. You are responsible for your own health. Read books, take classes, hire a health coach to oversee your plan and help you accomplish your health goals.
Sweat- Not only through exercise but make time to try the Far-infrared sauna. We really believe that everyone should have a far-infrared sauna in their home. Sweating is one of the major ways your body eliminates acids and toxins. The Far Infrared sauna is more than detoxification, it can help with stress relief, enhance immune system, weight & cellulite control, improves cardiovascular health and pain relief.
Live your life with passion and seek fulfilling relationships.
” Kale Delight ” serves 4
1/2 small red onion
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1/2 bunch radishes
1 small daikon
1carrot shredded
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4cup Olive oil
Chop the kale, onion, radishes, daikon in small pieces. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and enjoy! Feta cheese or any other cheese may be added. Bon Appetit!
Now that the daylight hours are shorter and the skies are more often cloudy than sunny, many people are experiencing more depression, tiredness, lack of drive, melancholy, and grumpy moods. One natural way to counteract this is by using color or color therapy to help pick your moods back up. Color is a very powerful tool which has been proven to affect our moods and health and can help us get through this time of year. Color enables the body to heal and balance itself and much research has proven this to be true, such as healing babies with jaundice and helping people with S.A.D.
The colors which are best for this time of year are oddly enough the colors Mother Nature produces in fall. Color combinations of vibrant yellow, green, orange, and red are some of the best colors to counteract the winter blues, especially sun yellow, yellow/green and yellow/orange. My favorite for this time of year is a sunflower yellow. Yellow is cheerful, happy, optimistic, improves self-esteem, and mental clarity. It immediately cheers you up. Green helps bring in peace, harmony, renewal, and stress reduction. Orange is joyful, playful, creative, social and energetic. Red is vigor, vitality, assertiveness, strength, self confidence and passion. The brighter color tones will pick your moods up and give you more energy & passion, the dull or darker color tones of these colors will have a more depressive effect on you, while the pastel color tones will lighten you up with a calming effect.
Ways you can bring color into your life is by wearing colorful clothes and undergarments, paint your home or office with vibrant cheerful colors, bring in accent pillows, art, rugs, window treatments, etc. with these vibrant colors, change light bulbs to full spectrum lighting which emit all the colors of the sun, eat and smell foods, essential oils and spices that are yellow, orange, green and red, visualize these colors in meditation every day, wear color therapy glasses, or stare at a single colored piece of paper or fabric to take in the color or see a color therapist, who can determine the best color for you and provide supervised color therapy treatments under special colored lights such as provided at the Enlightened Healing Center in Orland Park, IL.
“Better to give than receive” seems to be a simple statement yet requires some clarity. An important aspect of giving and receiving is in the thought/feeling and or energy that is behind it. The act of giving can be tremendously rewarding on many levels. However when one is giving from a place of “have to”, “should”, feeling of superiority or with any expectations of how it should be received it defeats the purpose. When we give simply because we choose to without any attachments from a place of love, generosity, & gratitude the act of giving is a blessing for both the receiver and giver. Balance is also crucial. If one gives, gives, gives without keeping oneself priority and taking care of one’s needs first, this person can end up feeling “empty” or depleted and then can serve no one.
Best Ways to Give & Receive:
- Give and Receive from the heart with full gratitude and love
- Be Creative & think outside the box; not just material things but can volunteer time, give a heartfelt card, hand make gifts, be of service with you gifts (give a massage, sing, cook, clean garage/yard, etc.)
- Strive for balance: give what you can in terms of financially, time, and energy
- Give to yourself: Make sure that you are taking care of your essential needs first so that you are giving from a place of fullness, love, and happiness which is what you will ultimately share
- Be an Extraordinary Receiver as well: really appreciate and be thankful for everything you receive—that is the best gift that you can give back to the person that is gifting you!
So, which are better, celebrations or regrets? How are your New Year’s resolutions? Planning for next year? Reviewing your progress from last year? A quick, personal survey will reveal the answer.
1. List your celebrations. Let’s think bigger than birthdays and anniversaries. Think about goals achieved, promises kept, or positive relationships maintained.
2. List your regrets. Again – let’s get deeper than forgot my kids school lunch today, or running out of gas. Think about poor financial decisions, an unforgiven act, relationships destroyed by our own pride.
3. Which feels better, the celebrations or regrets?
4. Which creates a more positive sense of self worth?
Okay, not difficult, the celebrations win! Here is the secret: You Can Choose! Yep, in any situation life brings you can choose to create celebrations or regrets. I know, you are thinking “wait a minute – I don’t choose when people die, or get divorced” and that is true. You can, however, choose how you are going to react to those life situations.
Let’s get back to resolutions. If weight loss is your goal this year, lets re-spin it and focus on creating opportunities to celebrate. For example:
1. You are celebrating the birthday of a close friend or relative, and you are going out to eat. Is this celebration about you or them? Them, right? So, what you choose to eat has no bearing on whether that person is celebrated, correct? Making positive choices in a restaurant will create a celebration of your own.
2. When you grocery shop, is going down the cookie/chip aisle absolutely necessary? You may think ”but my kids need….” Really, do they? Or, is your example setting them up for regrets later? Can your decisions in the grocery store create celebrations for your family? Better health, less doctor bills, lowering weight?
3. When you make the choice to exercise, but only do it once per week. Is this the choice of celebration or regret? If your goal is weight loss, is that extra half hour of sleep creating a celebration or regret?
Let’s start celebrating the self esteem gained by the positive decisions instead of focusing on all of the weight that is going to be lost. Yes, that will happen! Let’s focus on the gain of positive self-image and self-worth instead of the “will-power” necessary to get the job done. When you are making positive choices and celebrating the little steps along the way, will power is not necessary. Positive choices will become your new habit and your life will become one big celebration!
Dr Sargent is president and CEO of Restor Healing Centre in Wheaton Illinois. Her mission is to engage, educate and empower people to take control of their health, prevent obesity and associated chronic lifestyle diseases through nutrition, exercise, and chiropractic care.
We human beings are complex and multidimensional. Often we live in limited and habitual patterns that do not allow us to experience our full potential. Healing is the process by which we bring more of ourselves and our inner truth into our lives. As a physician healer, I have worked with many patients to achieve healing, whether there is a physical illness, hormonal imbalance, or emotional issue that calls them into the healing process. We look at 5 aspects of ourselves that function simultaneously, making the fabric of who we are, and then work with each of these. When all 5 aspects are addressed and working together, we come into alignment, and have an opportunity to experience true well-being and health. The 5 Aspects of Healing provide a framework for achieving total health. They are:
1. Spirit
2. Mind
3. Body
4. Emotions
5. Relationships
Spirit: This Aspect is the core of our being. Connection to our inner spiritual self is fundamental to healing, and connects us with energy beyond our physical selves. When our other aspects truly and fully express our spirit, we enjoy health. If you are physically sick, or having difficulties, connecting with your spiritual self can bring healing energy into the situation. This is the beginning place.
Mind: We are often inundated with a stream of thoughts, or mind chatter from our waking moments until we fall asleep. In our culture we have been taught to identify with our minds, and what they say to us. We forget that we are not our thoughts, and that our mind and its thoughts are meant to serve us and not control us. Our thoughts rarely reflect our inner knowing or voice.
Furthermore, most of the mind chatter that runs through our heads is negative, worried, opinionated, and borrowed from other sources (parents, teachers, media, books). Much of what is on television is toxic—violent or sensational—and provides thought fuel for worries or negativity.
Habitual patterns of thought can become strong and recurrent and solidify into beliefs. These beliefs then dictate our life experiences.
We become what we think about. Our thoughts send a powerful vibrational message to the other aspects of our being directing how we function.
Body: When much of our time is spent in thoughts, we may not listen to our bodies unless we feel pain or discomfort. Even in these instances, we are not good listeners, and want the shortest method for getting the body to stop communicating with us.
Our bodies are our vehicles for carrying us through our life path and work. The body has a language and communication of its own, and when we listen to it, it gives messages of pleasure, pain, and metaphor.
Create health by becoming aware of our body’s signals, needs, and gifts. By listening to and nurturing our bodies, we gain a sense of pleasure and place in the physical world.
Emotions: Emotions can be very helpful to us if we listen to them. When we experience joy and inspiration we can be sure we are in alignment with our inner truth. When we are experiencing sadness or emotional pain, it is a signal that we are out of alignment. Simply, if we pay attention to our emotions, we can use them as a guidance system, alerting us to pay attention to what is serving us and what is not.
Sometimes we suppress our emotions, so that we are no longer aware of pain, but this also dampens the ability to experience joy and pleasure. On the other hand, we can get trapped in emotional downward spiraling which also blocks authentic connection from inner truth. In either case, by being observant, we begin to develop a healthy emotional balance.
Relationships: This Aspect explores how we as individuals interface with those around us, in relationship. This involves identifying and strengthening support systems in your life. At some times in our lives, we may not be supported by those who we think should be there. This is especially true in times of change, crisis, or illness when family and friends may want us to go back to how we were.
When we take the time to look at our relationships and support systems, we can then evaluate which relationships are supportive and which are not. We then consider how we might create more support for ourselves.
To bring alignment in these 5 aspects of being, try some of the following practices:
· Take an inventory of the 5 Aspects and ask “How am I feeling today?” Listen for answers.
· Meditation or prayer
· Gratitude—being grateful attracts more life experiences to be grateful for
· Choose your TV viewing, reading material, your conversations
· Get enough sleep
· Enjoy a massage
Whether you are experiencing a major illness or crisis, or just feel that there should be something more in your life, The 5 Aspects of Healing can provide a framework to help you navigate to a greater sense of health, well being, and peacefulness.
Dr. Marilyn Mitchell is a physician and energy healer who has worked for the past 26 years in women’s health care to integrate medicine and healing. Medical training included M.D. degree from Rush Medical College in 1980 and residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the University of Chicago in 1984. Marilyn received healers training in Mariel Healing in 1988, Barbara Brennan School of Healing in 2001, and EnergyTouch School of Advanced Healing in 2006. Marilyn is a speaker and teacher on many subjects dealing with Women’s Health and the Integration of Medicine with Healing and Alternatives. She is author of The WiseWoman Menopause Workbook and is currently writing a book about the Five Aspects of Healing.
Something that I hear often is “I had another stressful week! And that’s just how my life is.” Many people wonder how they’re ever going to create more health while their lives are so stressful. On the very first visit we talk about how physical, chemical, and emotional stressors that the body cannot adapt to, can lead to subluxations, or interference in the nervous system.
The nervous system is what allows us to live life in the mist of all the stressors. The objective is not to get rid of ALL the stress in our lives, that’s just impossible. It’s to minimize as much stress as possible and make sure that our body is functioning optimally so that it can adapt to the stress quickly. That’s health!
You’ve learned which foods may create more stress on your digestive system, which nutrients may add to optimal function of the chemical body, come in for adjustments, drink water, etc. These are all choices that you’re making in your daily life. They are a part of the 6 Essentials of Health that we discuss in our Wellness Workshop.
What choices do you have when it comes to a “stressful life”? Many feel that life just happens to them. They feel as if they have no control over how much work they have to do, no control over what a jerk their boss is, no control over how their kids are going to behave or what’s going to go wrong next, etc. You’re absolutely right! You DO NOT have control over any of it. No one does. But what you DO have control over is how you perceive it and how you react to it.
At any moment in time you have the choice to feel, act, react, and be any way that you’d like. Making a choice can take less than a second. For example if I asked you to choose between a vanilla ice cream cone or a chocolate one, which would you choose? It took you a second to decide. If I asked you if you’d rather be miserable and angry or calm and happy, which would you choose? Hopefully most of you would choose the latter. And in THAT moment that you choose to be calm or happy, you ARE.
So, the next time you’re stressed, frustrated or angry, think about the power of your choice. If you decide to stay stressed & frustrated, that’s your choice—and that’s not good nor bad, it’s just a choice. No one is making you choose that, you are allowing yourself to be that. However, if in that moment you decide that you don’t want to feel that way anymore, you have that power to create a different possibility. A second later, you may have to choose again because you’re still feeling stressed, but that’s ok, choose again. Choose as many times as it takes in order to get yourself where you want to be. Of course, like any TOOL or exercise in life, the more you practice your power of choice, the better you’ll get at it.
When you choose to do something or be a certain way, at that moment you are that possibility. If you choose at that moment not to be stress but to be happy, then you are. If you can utilize this tool of choice, over and over, you will be creating your life second by second instead of being at an effect of life.
You can let life take you for a ride or live your life. Be at an effect of life and stress or be CAUSE in your life. It all begins with a choice. Remember that it’s as simple as Vanilla or Chocolate. If you’re daring, you can even choose neither and go for the Strawberry! It’s your life.
Touch of Life Chiropractic 2500 W. Higgins Rd. Ste 420 Hoffman Estates, IL 60169 847-310-0303 www.touchoflifechiro.com
Spring Color Therapy - by Karen Erickson, BS
Women: Understanding your libido – by Dr Marilyn Mitchell, MD, BHSP
How women sabotage their relationship with money – by Julie Murphy Casserly,CFP®
Releasing Negativity – by Sharon M. Weinstein, MS, RN
Resolutions to great Health! – by Dr Tom Bayne
Reprogram Your Mind to Live the Life You Deserve – by Dr. Funda Kahn
Healing Ourselves – by Dr. Steven G. Ayre
Vanilla or Chocolate: The Power of CHOICE – by Dr. Helen Lee, D.C.
The 5 Aspects of Healing – by Dr. Marilyn Mitchell, M.D
Let’s Choose Celebration! – by Kristina L. Sargent
Better To Give Than Receive – by Dr Helen Lee
Change Your Colors To Rid The Winter Blues – by Karen Erickson
The Sweetest Valentine: Greater Love, Happiness and Joy in Your Relationships – by Martha H. Howard, MD
The Significance Of Birth Order – by Kathryn Andries
Can What you Think affect your HEALTH? – by Dr. Helen Lee
Public Smoking Ban in Illinois – January 2008 You can really quit! – by Gina Orlando
Challenge To Resolve – by Dr Kristina Sargent
Have You Listened to Your Food Lately? – by Dr Kristina L. Sargent
Negative Emotions and Digestive Health – by Alyce Sorokie, C.T.
Flourishing in Chicago’s Winter – by ChicagoHealers.com Practitioners
The food we eat is can be the greatest communicator we possess, but most of us do not use it to our advantage.You may already be asking yourself “Um, excuse me, but I have never heard my food talking to me”. The food we eat sends our body messages–the challenge is learning the language of food so we can have pleasant communication instead of a hostile take-over situation.
Some of our food talks nicely and uses its manners – we feel energized and alert; other food has a bad attitude and bullies our body into doing things we don’t really want – we feel fatigued and sluggish. The Standard American Diet (SAD), in general, has a very bad attitude and it shows in our health statistics – 67% of the adults and 30% of the children in America are overweight or obese.
Bad fats, sugar, preservatives, and fast food tell the body to increase the production of chemicals that increase inflammation.Inflammation may be the root cause of many chronic diseases such as heart disease, arthritis, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. “Okay, so what? Most of that stuff won’t affect me for years,” you say. But, some of our day-to-day symptoms that we either ignore or use an over-the-counter medication for are really messages sent by our food. Symptoms such as daily headaches, fatigue, foggy head, difficulty sleeping, hormonal issues, and heartburn may be your food talking to you.
Try the following tips to bring some positive food messages to you body:
1. Add small amounts of protein to all meals and snacks – eating every 4 hours is the best way to keep our inflammatory chemistry in check.Maintaining blood sugar and not skipping meals sends fat burning vs. fat storage messages.
2. Keep nuts/nut butters and seeds in your purse or desk – 8-12 almonds and a glass of water are a great energizer and provide the body with good fat and protein.Small plastic containers are a great mode of transportation for butters on-the-go.
3. Fruit is a perfect fast food – especially apples; add a little peanut butter and you have the perfect snack.
4. Use pre-cut fresh vegetables to take along instead of chips. Just as crunchy but they have much nicer manners.
See your doctor regularly and if you are looking for a different perspective on your health or have health concerns that are not being addressed by your current physician, we would love to hear from you.
You may have purchased a new scale, cleaned all the junk food out of your cabinets, gone to the store and gotten all the right foods, prepared meal plans, and even picked up some new work-out clothes and shoes. You are ready! You have even made it through a few weeks of your new schedule – then it’s a holiday or someone’s birthday at work…you were ready to stick with it…
What happens to our resolve in these situations? You may think – “I just don’t have the willpower”, “I’m just not able to…” or “My mom (or other relative) is this way therefore so am I…” This is just not true! The Internet and my office are filled with success stories of large weight losses, reduced cholesterol, increased energy, and resolution of diabetes.
Does this mean you can never have that chocolate cake or that warm, yummy bread dipped in olive oil (Healthy? Right?) ? NO, it just means that when faced with those situations you need to make a conscious decision – where you actually evaluate how you are going to feel when faced with stepping on the scale.
I have learned a few things about making that resolve stick:
1. I take a few minutes or seconds to really think about what I am about to eat.
2. Do I really want this and why? Am I eating out of some emotional reason? (Be Honest – you are only going to hurt yourself)
3. Is this a nutritious food? Or am I wasting calories on junk?
4. How will I feel later if I eat this high-sugar or white flour food? Will I have a headache or will my energy crash?
5. Do I have time to feel that way?
6. I have an accountability partner – someone who wants me to succeed and will keep me on that path. This is someone who speaks truth with love and grace regardless of the decision I make.
Please notice, hurting someone’s feelings did not enter the decision making process. You may even inspire someone else to strengthen his or her resolve.
We want your resolve to stick!
We use lab analysis, food sensitivity testing and vitamin deficiency analysis to create a personalized eating and movement plan, stress management strategies, relevant nutritional supplementation, proper sleeping techniques; all under the supervision of a holistic-minded physician.
We also offer massage therapy, gait analysis, body composition evaluation, chiropractic care and a personal Lifestyle Educator. If you have been searching for a new way to manage your health, we are here to assist you. Contact us at Restor Healing Centre 630.682.5090 or check out our website www.RestorNow.com.
The ancients have always said, “know thyself.” One way to understand ourselves is to study our family and birth order. Birth sequence is significant because it reveals a person’s strengths, challenges and overall influences. There are many different birth order studies available. The information in this article comes from the research done by Denny Johnson.
The first step in this process is to determine your sequence. The father determines the birth sequence, so you need to determine where you fall within his lineage. For example, if your father had a son first, and then you were born next (a boy) you would be considered the 2nd born boy. The fist born determines the gender sequence, so if a girl is the first child born, everyone after that, even a boy, will be in the girl lineage. If a boy is born after the first girl, he will possess qualities of the 2nd born girl. However, when there is a gender change, that child also will have secondary characteristics. In the above example, the boy born after a girl would be considered girl #2, with secondary characteristics of boy #1 (since he was the first boy born.)
Once you have determined your correct birth sequence, you then simply read about the qualities of your birth order. I recommend “The Birth Order Book” by Denny Johnson, or “Soul Choices: Six Paths to Find your Life Purpose” by Kathryn Andries. Here you will learn how each position influences a person.
How does it serve us to learn about our birth order influences? Basically, the more you know yourself, the more chances you have at being successful in life. When you buy a new car, if you read the owner’s manual, you will be better prepared to drive your car. Birth order information can save you time, energy, and repeated lessons in life. If you know your weaknesses, you can master them with awareness. When you know your potential strengths, you can focus on developing those, and then find careers that will showcase them.
Birth order information can also help improve familial relationships. When we know the birth order of our parents and siblings, we can understand why they act the way they do. Then, rather than trying to change them, we can recognize their uniqueness and appreciate their differences. We can also learn how to treat them in ways that creates harmony rather than conflict.
Butterflies, knots in your stomach or that “sinking feeling” … we’ve all experienced ‘Gut Wisdom’. The Chinese Taoist Sages as well as present day researchers believe that our “undigested traumas” live in our bellies. In order to emotionally protect oneself; the body may develop holding patterns, places where tensions are held to prevent the experience of particular emotions, traumas, memories, and stress. This inhibits vital functions, causing physical discomfort and dis-ease, and emotional challenges. Frequently repeated negative thoughts and emotions can cause tension in muscles and organs so that they tighten up like a frightened animal trying to hide from danger. After the stress has passed, these tensions do not completely disappear but leave behind a residue of stress. Unfortunately, these residues can build up with each significant incident.
Stress from negative emotions promotes an increased secretion of hormones into the blood. If a person uses up these hormones resulting from natural stress situations or from “fight or flight” physical danger, via increased physical activity such as running, fighting, or working, these hormones are burned up by the muscles, and do not cause harm.
However, in today’s social settings, negative emotions are usually not acted upon physically. Therefore, your anger stays inside of you; the large amounts of hormones secreted instead of being burned off by muscles or used in digestion, attack and harm various organs. Suppressed or unrealized emotions are the reason for the imbalance in different organs.
Examples follow.
Negative emotions can transform from one kind into another kind. Sadness can change into depression, worry into impatience, impatience into anger, and unexpressed anger into hurt. As a result, large amounts of secreted and unused hormones drawn out by negative emotions poison the body. On the other hand, these hormones are fuel for the production of large amounts of energy, which we suppress to our own harm.
Experience letting go of those toxic emotions to heal the body, mind and spirit. The GUT WISDOM DETOX allows you to detox on all levels: physical, mental and emotional.
Learn:
Alyce Sorokie provides Digestive Consultation, Alternative Healthcare, and Colon Therapy. She is also the author of “Gut Wisdom: Understanding and Improving your Digestive Health”.
For more information about the Gut Wisdom Detox call 773.868.4062
www.gutwisdom.com
One of the best kept secrets to happiness in relationships is guided imagery. It can help you clear out old relationship clutter, and expand your own sense of love and happiness, opening your heart and mind to more loving connections with others.
How can guided imagery do all that?
Letting Go of “Old Stuff” from Past Relationships
If you have ever felt trapped in a negative relationship, (or maybe more than one??) guided imagery can work like a “system restore” program, returning your mind’s “default settings” to a better place. Often major shifts can happen, even with relationship patterns that have been repeated since childhood.
One common relationship pattern is to choose partners who are emotionally rejecting, unavailable, or abusive, and try to get them to be supportive and loving. The pattern behind these choices is usually to try to “right a wrong” from childhood. Let’s say you unconsciously choose a partner just like your older brother, whose idea of a hello was “Hey, Idiot!” and who was a total put-down artist. The hidden game here with your “brother-twin” relationship partner is to try to make it right this time. The unconscious pattern is driven by the mistaken belief that if you can be “pleasing” enough to make the partner accept, or love, or support you, it will somehow “fix” what happened in the past. But it never works! Why? Because you have chosen another person who doesn’t know how to do that in the first place.
What does work? Recognizing the pattern, letting it go, then supporting yourself with positive input, so that you can begin to pick relationship partners who already know how to be loving and supportive. If past relationship problems have been very severe, you may want counseling as well as guided imagery.
Releasing Negative Messages from Childhood
Guided imagery helps change all kinds of negative programming by reaching your subconscious mind with supportive suggestions while you are in a state of deep relaxation. Everyone knows the phrase “the power of suggestion” and has had the experience of someone’s words and suggestions making a powerful negative or positive difference in their lives, especially when you were very young and impressionable.
Why do these words and images cut so deep and last so long? Children’s brains generally cycle at a lower frequency, very much like the slower speed of the brain in the hypnotic state. At this speed, your mind is very likely to accept suggestions-to believe and act on what you are told. If you were repeatedly told “if you act like that, people won’t like you” or “you’re so hard to get along with” or “you never have any friends,” you may be unconsciously fighting those negative messages every time you are in a relationship. Again, it’s almost like a computer “pop up” that shows up just when you don’t want it. The deep relaxation of guided imagery allows you to release these old suggestions and replace them with new, positive underlying messages that you choose to incorporate into the way you think and feel about yourself.
Guided Imagery-an Impressive Track Record
People who may not have experienced guided imagery often ask-”What can guided imagery sessions really do? After all, it’s ‘just talk.’”
Here are ways guided imagery has been proven to be effective:
(This list was developed by Guided Imagery, Inc. I have included only part of it and have done some language edits).
The “Good Stuff”–Bringing More Love and Happiness into Your Life and Relationships
The list above features guided imagery as a problem solver-helping with illnesses and stress, relationship losses, medical treatments. This is also the current emphasis of our health care system-disease management. But what about the good stuff? Guided imagery is equally powerful in building mental, emotional and physical support for better relationships and a better life. The power of positive suggestions is actually even stronger than the power of negative ones. The influence of your subconscious mind is great. Yes, that’s the part of you that makes you lose your keys when you don’t want to go somewhere, and gets you through your routine and out of the house in a flash when you have something you really want to do. Turning this part of your mind into an ally for happiness and success is one of the greatest things you can do.
Part of the secret of the positive power of guided imagery is R&R-relaxation and repetition. What you are doing is being prompted to relax, put yourself in a beautiful place, and listen to words that add vitality and value to your life, health, and relationships. It is always surprising to me, even knowing some of the statistics and studies I’ve just told you about, how effective the combination of relaxation, and positive imagery can be. It is like building a network of support. You can do this either with individual guided imagery sessions, or with CD’s.
In working with people over the years, I discovered that although many people don’t have the time to come in for individualized sessions, they are easily able to put on a set of ear phones before going to sleep and start a CD! This prompted me to create a series of guided imagery CD’s called the Power of Suggestion Series. They can be used in a way that takes no extra time at all. Even if you fall asleep, the words and images come into your mind just as effectively!
In the last 5 years people have used the Power of Suggestion CD’s to:
(these titles are all available at www.wellnessofchicago.com) These “higher states of mind” are the greatest secret of happy relationships, and a healthier, happier life.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
For more information about relationships call 773-935-6377
We’ve heard it before. Think positive, don’t be so negative. Innately we’ve known that this is a good habit to get into. Now science & research are proving just how important it is. Studies are now showing how powerful prayer is for a person who is ill. Any self improvement guru will always work on improving your ability to think positively in order to manifest what you want in life. Religions teach prayer and the power of positive thoughts. Why?
Thoughts are things. What this means is that every thought and thus every feeling we have creates a real electric and chemical reaction in the body. Negative thoughts create negative reactions—causing more inflammation, acid, break down of tissue & fatigue. Positive thought create positive reactions—causing release of endorphins, improves digestion, regeneration of cells and healing. We think and feel 24 hours a day 7 days a week! That’s quite a workout for the body.
Have you ever stopped to think about what kind of dialogue you have with yourself every single second of the day? If you’re like the majority of people, there are more negative thoughts than positive. How many times are you judging someone or yourself throughout the day? How critical are you of yourself? Most people are their own worst enemies! How many times are you getting angry? Frustrated? Worry? Anxious? Fearful? How many times do you think how much you “hate” this or that? Your body does not know the difference between hating something other than yourself–it just knows the feeling of hate–which resonates though your body. And most of these thoughts run automatically. Like a silent tape recorder that never stops.
As if this wasn’t enough, this tape recorder saves & stores every experience in your hard drive—the subconscious mind. This is the same subconscious mind that is responsible for RUNNING your body! If the body is responding to many negative emotional stores, it not only wastes a lot of energy, increases toxicity & chance for disease processes, but also prevents the body from healing.
Positive thoughts & attitudes are key for creating a more harmonious mind, body & spirit into the future. However, identifying & clearing your negative “charges” of the past is also critical for exponential healing. The daily practice of forgiveness is an excellent way to forgive and release yourself from the past. Memories can never be “erased” so forgiveness empowers us to update the same experience with thankfulness & gratitude. There are 4 steps:
The physical body is an expression and response of the experiences of the past. If you want to create a lasting change in the physical body, change the choices you make today. Bio-Energetic Synchronization Technique is an energetic & physical healing technique which recognizes the power of the mind & body. This procedure is designed to directly remove high brain interference from expression in the physical body. Once the body is functioning based on current, updated need, rather than a series of past experience, true healing can and will occur.
by ChicagoHealers.com Practitioners
Living in Chicago builds character. But even the most staunch winter lovers can be affected by grey days, dry air, and the cold and flu season. Sometimes our bodies and spirits take a big hit. But is it true that if you cover your head you won’t get a cold, or if you sprinkle a tiny bit of Cayenne spice in your socks your feet will stay warmer? These proactive health tips from ChicagoHealers.com practitioners provide easy ways to stay healthy during Chicago’s long winter.
Warmth, Sunshine and Hydration
Dr. Hugh Jenkins, N.D. believes that internal warmth is the way to combat the cold, windy days in Chicago. “Body heat is lost mostly through your head, so it is important to wear a hat and essential to layer your clothes to keep your body temperature regulated. This is especially important in Chicago where teens like to wear T-shirts under their open jackets.”
Dr. Jenkins also promotes the immune boosting powers of water, lemon, cayenne spice and nutritional supplements.
See the Light – Don’t be S.A.D
Scientific evidence proves a drop in temperature can affect more than a person’s lifestyle. Seasonal Affective Disorder, a mood disorder associated with depression is related to seasonal variations of light, (SAD) causes many to fall into a funk when the weather takes a turn for the worse. Dr. Jaena Stanley-Gonzaga, D.C., specializes in treating patients with depression.
“There are always ups and downs of life with the ups and downs of the season; this is not necessarily always bad. But there are many ways to help combat the winter blues,” she says.
Fighting Colds in Children
Naturopath, Liat Ben Yakov, MBA,CST, is an expert on holistic remedies, and has tips for battling cold symptoms naturally. “Research has shown that cough medications are no more effective than placebo, yet overdosing and continuous use may cause severe reactions, including death,” says Yakov. Yakov suggests these holistic methods for preventing and fighting colds in children.
Enjoy these inside days – keep your immune systems strong, and think positive thoughts that will warm you from the inside out. Make a friend of Old Man Winter.
by Gina Orlando
With the public smoking ban taking effect in all of Illinois on January 2008 – there are even more reasons to really quit this time! Below are a myriad of reasons to quit, tips to help you quit from a holistic perspective (how to integrate being a non-smoker into your systems, and replace the smoking habit!), and where to find support during this process.
Quit Smoking Today- 10 Strong Tools
By Liat (Scheffer) Ben Yakov, MBA, CST
Smoking is not just about some stick filled with tobacco. It has physical and emotional aspects as well as daily habits connected to it. Therefore, in order to quit smoking we must address all its aspects. If we neglect one of the aspects we will be in danger to get back to smoking or adopt new addiction.
Reasons: The first step is to understand why you want to quit smoking. If you don’t do it for yourself and your health, you won’t do it at all. Quit smoking is usually not easy, if you don’t find good enough reasons to stop this habit you will give up in the way. Women who know that smoking during pregnancy endanger their embryo, can stop smoking in a day. Make yourself a list of all the reasons you need to stop smoking for. The more good reasons you have, you will be more committed to the process.
Change the habit; One of the biggest problems with smoking is that you are already conditioned to smoke when waking up, drinking coffee, having beer, after eating and so on. Break these habits. If it is something you can avoid for a while, like drinking alcohol, do so. When you can not avoid the conditioned habit, like eating, try to go for lunch to places where it is forbidden to smoke so you’ll be forced to break the habit. Try to use cigarette stick substitutes; they will help you with the habit.
Awareness, consciousness; Usually you are not even aware when you take another cigarette. You must be conscious about your smoking; otherwise you will never be able to stop smoking. Move the package away from you, so you’ll have to make an effort to get a cigarette. When you have an urge for another cigarette, stop for a moment, notice your feelings, think why you want this cigarette, try to do something else, take a gum, drink water, eat vegetables or fruits, count to 30 and check again, do you really need this cigarette? Can you skip it this time? When you do smoke, stop all other activities. When you have to make time for smoking and don’t smoke while doing other things, you smoke less and change patterns.
Physical activity; Many smoking people are afraid to gain weight when stop smoking. Engaging in any kind of physical activity and sport can decrease the chance you’ll gain weigh when not smoking. Another great impact sport has, it makes you feel better, healthier and reduce your passion for smoking.
Emotional comfort; Cigarette can function as emotional comfort. Try to realize when you need to be comfort and find healthier comforts – bubble bath, music, dancing, good movie, talk to your best friend, cuddle with your love one or buy your self a little something (you basically save lots of money when not smoking).
Stickers and gums; Use nicotine stickers and gums to help you deal with the physical addiction. They are less dangerous than smoking, and help to deal with the addiction while changing the habits.
Healing visualization; Can you see yourself not smoking? Try to picture yourself as non-smoker. Try to smell the good scent you have, feel the healthy breathing, hear and see your family and friends being proud of you, imagine yourself getting old gracefully, having fun with your grand children. Use the visualization 3-4 times a day, when ever you remember, it will help you create the reality you want.
Baby steps; Don’t think you have to stop smoking for the rest of your life. Think of today think of the next cigarette. It is a lot easier when you don’t think about the next 100 years but only about your next step.
Support; Look for moral support whether it is friends, colleagues, support groups. Whatever you feel most comfortable with. Declare your will to quit smoking and ask your surrounding to help with your decision. Maybe engage a friend to quit smoking with you, ask the smoking friend and family not to smoke near you, ask someone you trust to remind you why you’re doing that and prevent you from smoking when you feel weak.
Professional help; Sometimes dealing with smoking alone is not enough. Maybe you already tried hundred of times to quit smoking and failed, maybe you feel you can not live without smoking. Whatever the reason is, you can look for professional help. There are many different practitioners and techniques you can try, one of them will sure fit you. When looking for a practitioner be sure he or she deal with all different aspects of smoking – physical addiction, emotional attachment and constraint patterns. Kinesiology is one of the techniques which well address all different aspect and deals with each and every one of them.
http://www.chicagohealers.com/interviews/lyakov.html 773-456-9204
Smoking and the Mouth – More Important Information
by Dr. Ray Hatland, DDS
Many smokers overlook the damage smoking causes to the teeth and mouth. “A lot of people don’t understand what they are doing to themselves in terms of dentistry,” ChicagoHealers.com Practitioner Ray Hatland, DDS explains. “The most holistic thing to do to a body is to quit smoking,” he states. Tobacco stains, risks of periodontal disease and loss of teeth are just some of the many adverse effects of smoking on the mouth. Here, Dr. Hatland gives some good reasons to quit smoking immediately:
- Periodontal Disease - A collective term for the inflammation of gums, loss of bone structure and tissue in the mouth, periodontal disease can lead to the early and painful loss of teeth.
- Oral Cancer - Gingivostomatitis and Leukoplakia are both cancers caused by bacteria in the mouth from smoking. Gingivostomatitis causes painful mouth ulcers and sores that make it nearly impossible to eat, talk and eventually breathe. Leukoplakia is a tumor-like growth inside the mouth caused by a barrier the body puts up when bacteria from smoking enters the mouth. Both illnesses can be very debilitating and uncomfortable, and eventually, lead to death.
- Cosmetic and Apparent Effects – Even with mouth whitening toothpastes and home kits, diminishing stains from smoking is virtually impossible. Bad breath and the constant odor of smoke a smoker leaves behind are also unpleasant to the smoker and those around them. http://www.chicagohealers.com/interviews/rhatland.htm 773-338-4440
95% Success Rate for Quitting Smoking
By Karen Erickson, CH, Energy Healer
Enlightened Healing Center has had great success in helping people quit smoking. To help people quit and not gain weight by using a combination of hypnosis and the Ondamed biofeedback system which breaks the addiction. The Ondamed has a 95% effective rate and is very state of the art, better than laser (many different frequencies are applied and you get charged water which helps reinforce it). The Ondamed helps the smoker not have the side effects of the constant coughing, as well, because it the helps the body detox easily. When combined with hypnosis, it is a very powerful way to quite smoking and not gain weight. 708-364-8887
Holistic Smoking Cessation
By Gina Orlando, Certified Hypnotherapist and Wellness Consultant
Her four-session smoking cessation program has tracked a 91 percent success rate for those who completed the program using a combination of self-hypnosis, Emotional Freedom Techniques™, healthy eating and lifestyle changes. According to Orlando, “The trick in quitting smoking successfully is to reduce and eliminate all of the fears, beliefs, triggers and cravings associated with the smoking habit. Research shows that smokers have a higher rate of success when they use individual, one-on-one hypnosis to quit smoking.” Here are some of Orlando’s holistic methods to successfully quit smoking:
Hypnosis – All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. During hypnosis the person relaxes the brain waves where the habit lives and makes the subconscious mind available. The power of the mind allows the smoker to move toward their goal of being a successful nonsmoker through positive suggestions, healthful images and seeing themselves as a non-smoker. Using the power of the mind through self-hypnosis teaches the smoker several short and effective ways to calm themselves form cravings.
Emotional Freedom Techniques™ – This amazingly effective mind-body technique efficiently reduces and collapses the cravings, fears, beliefs, associations, triggers and stresses that are the major part of the smoking habit. Being clear of these, the smoker feels more calm and confident in becoming a nonsmoker forever.
Healthy Eating, Especially Breakfast – Most smokers have coffee and cigarettes for breakfast which give no nutrients to the body or brain. By having a protein fruit smoothie or some other healthy breakfast which is balanced in protein and healthy carbohydrates, the smoker can begin to support brain chemistry and blood sugar, and create a ‘non-craving’ brain.