“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Some time ago I wrote an article about laughter and it’s value to our health, which today for some reason keeps coming back to me and I always take those little prompts as a need to write about something.  If you haven’t read it before you can do so here and if you have, I would urge you to do it again.  It is one of the Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life).  I have written thirty to date, and all of them discuss things we can do to improve our health and it won’t cost a penny.  If you would like to read more of them, just key in Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) in the search bar of this blog.

Today we discuss smiling and putting on a happy face,whether we feel like it or not. Our personal happiness doesn’t depend upon who we are or what we have; it depends solely on what you think”. – Dale Carnegie.  Smiling is not only good for your health, but it is also infectious – which means it’s also good for the health of others too! A smile is a beautiful way we can spread health,  happiness and harmony to the world around us.

Robert Zajonc is just one of many psychologists whose scientific research explains the fact that smiling and putting on a happy face (even a fake happy face) leads to physiological changes in the brain which causes the release of hormones and neurotransmitters – this is our own little drug factory right here in our body- no need for a trip to the pharmacy at all! So even a smile that starts out as a fake can produce this response.  Our body produces homones -  serotonin, endorphins, anti-histamines, estrogen, and progesterone , testosterone etc in response to many different triggers (including smiling and laughing).   Hormones are chemical substances in the body. They are made by endocrine glands which pass the hormones directly into the bloodstream. They are carried around the body in the blood and, in this way, hormones can cause changes at some distance from the gland where they originate.  Your nervous system controls your endocrine glands.   Your thoughts, (and traumas and toxins) can cause  interferences to the nervous system.   To be able to achieve it’s functions perfectly, the body needs a nervous system free of interference. Your spine houses the nervous system.  Interferences to the nervous system cause dis-ease within the body.  Your Chiropractor is a Spinal Nerve Specialist who specialises in removing interferences from the nervous system.  Chiropractic Life Chiropractors introduce you to the system of Eating Well, Moving Well and Thinking Well to improve you health and life.

Take Advantage of our Complimentary  Consultation Today! Visit our clinic for a personal consultation with one of the Doctors of Chiropractic  to find out how your nervous system may be the key to getting you well and keeping you well too!  Chiropractic Life is passionately committed to your success and provides specialized care for many health problems not commonly associated with the spine.

CALL NOW to schedule your free (no obligation) consultation to see if we can help you.  You’ll be glad you did!

Chiropractic Life, 88 Portland Road, Hove BN3 5DL  -  Phone 01273 208188

Join Chiropractic Life on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/chiropracticlife

Dr Richard McMinn - Chiropractor Brighton

Dr Helen Martin - Chiropractor Brighton

Dr Glenn Fredericksen – Chiropractor Brighton

Posture Posture Posture!

“To be able to live a long, active, energetic life –  few things will  matter more than good posture.“ Roger Sperry Ph.D. (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1981)

Your mother was right!  Good posture is vitally important to your good health and wellbeing. Mothers and teachers from the fifties were well known for their admonitions of “Sit up straight!” “Don’t slouch!”  –  somehow mothers always know what’s best and we know for sure your posture is powerful!

In this week’s Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) we consider the famously wise words of Socrates who said “If you would have health, look first to the spine”, your mother, like Socrates, knew just how important your posture was, and still is! Unfortunately traditional medicine seems to have forgotten this one vital fact that your nervous system (housed in the moving bones of the spinal column) controls and co-ordinates virtually every other cell, tissue, muscle, gland and organ in the entire body, which is why the spine is so important to your health.   Clinicians and researchers throughout history have placed posture at the very foundation of physical health.  Hippocrates (440 – 377BC) saw the spine as central to the treatment of ill health and reputedly used spinal manipulation to correct dysfunctions in the body.  Roger A Sperry Ph.D (Nobel Prize winner in Physiology and Medicine 1981 has been quoted as saying – “the more mechanically distorted a person is, the less energy available for healing, metabolism and thought.”  Did you know that an adult human head weighs approx. 12 pounds (5.4kg), or the same as a light bowling ball – imagine that weight pulling your head forward if you are not standing/sitting upright.  It is not hard to understand the impact this could have on your health over time.  No wonder people feel tired and fatigued since poor posture means your body has to work harder to maintain function.   Doesn’t that just make you want to sit up straight?

Good posture can be defined as proper alignment of the body. From a side view, your ear, shoulder, hip, and ankle should all line up.   When this happens, the three curves of the spine are right along the body’s centre of gravity and there is no uneven pressure on nerves, discs or muscles. During the last thirty years of practice in chiropractic clinics, it has been interesting to note the increasing prevalence of Forward Head Posture – especially in children and young people which we believe is a direct result of the modern age.  With the introduction of hand held computer games, more time spent on the computers which are often laptops and viewed in the looking down position, hours spent texting, slouching in front of TV etc. it is no surprise that this is happening.  Children were once very active, running and playing, hanging from trees, jumping and swinging all day, every day, using their posture for sport and play and there has been a distinct decrease in this kind of activity, which we believe has had such a detrimental effect on children’s posture.  This observation is purely anecdotal and has not been conducted as a scientific study, however we believe “as the twig is bent, so grows the tree”!

Research shows that our posture also conveys a lot of information to the world around us about our mental and emotional health and how we perceive ourselves. A low self image can contribute to poor posture.  By simply paying attention to the way we feel about ourselves and improving our internal dialogue and becoming conscious of how we stand and sit, it becomes possible to improve our posture.

Dr. Rene Cailliet, director of Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of California decided that posture, and especially Forward Head Posture was so important to health that he documented the following:

.   Incorrect head position leads to improper spinal function. .  Forward Head Posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal load on the cervical spine
.  Forward Head Posture results in loss of vital capacity. Lung capacity is depleted by as much as 30 percent. Loss of lung capacity leads to heart and blood vascular problems.
.  The entire gastrointestinal system is affected, particularly the large intestine. Loss of good bowel peristaltic function (regular bowel movement) and evacuation is common to people who suffer from Forward Head Posture.
.  Forward Head Posture causes an increase in discomfort and pain. Freedom of motion in the first four cervical vertebrae is a major source of stimuli that causes production of endorphins.
.  Forward Head Posture causes loss of healthy spine-body motion. The entire body becomes rigid as the range of motion becomes diminished.

Oxygen, glucose etc -  nutrients vital to the brain, are transported from the body to the brain through the Cerebrospinal Fluid, and this transport is compromised if Forward Head Posture is present, therefore it is not hard to understand why posture is so vital to our overall health and wellbeing.

Dr. Roger Sperry, the 1981 Nobel Prize recipient for brain research, has demonstrated that ninety percent (90%) of ALL the energy output from the brain is used for posture alone – keeping the body upright under gravity. Only ten percent (10%) has to do with thinking, metabolism, and healing.  We understand therefore, that better posture frees up energy for your body to do all the processes it needs to do – thinking, healing, metabolizing, digesting, reproducing – just living!!

Through taking action to do this one Ridiculously Simple Step To Transform Your Health (and Life) you will be giving yourself a special gift – developing better posture through awareness and practice, practice, practice to improve your overall health and wellbeing.

There is much you can do for yourself, however our Chiropractors are here to help you every step of the way.  Phone Chiropractic Life 88 Portland Road, Hove BN3 5DL for your Free Consultation.

We love and welcome your comments!

Dr Richard McMinn Chiropractor Brighton

Dr Helen Martin Chiropractor Brighton

Eat a light and healthy dinner

Dinner Like a Pauper

There are so many conflicting “expert” opinions and information offered about how, when, and what to eat for health that it is almost impossible for people to decide which is the correct advice. Each Ridiculously Simple Step To Transform Your Health (and Life) draws on inspiration from our ancestors who were in tune with their environment. In keeping with this philosophy of looking to nature and copying it, it appears to make sense to eat less towards the latter part of the day, however culturally it seems that dinner is the time of day when people generally eat the most.

Adelle Davis’ words Breakfast like a King, Lunch Like a Prince and Dinner like a Pauper is certainly in keeping with the rhythms of the universe.   If we consider food as fuel, which it is, to ensure that our machine (body) works efficiently, breakfast is preparing us for the work of the day, lunch to ensure our peak concentration and our evening meal to prepare us for sleep.

All meals should begin with a piece of raw fruit or vegetable to stimulate enzyme activity which prepares the body for healthy digestion.  The calories we put into our bodies late at night cannot be burned off or processed in a healthy way. This leads to weight gain and fat storage in the body’s tissues.  It has been suggested that the last meal of the day should be at 6pm, or no later than 7pm, which allows time for the food to digest and prepare the body for a restful sleep.

What we consume is as important as when it is consumed, especially in the evening.  Dinner should really be a lighter version of lunch with a little carbohydrate (which is calming and prepares us for rest) and proteins to carry us through the night.  Diabetics who snack on carbohydrate foods late in the evening increase the risk of a high blood sugar reading the following morning.  Following the advice for diabetics is also a healthy approach to eating for everyone – light protein and vegetables.  Many people who have not been diagnosed as diabetic also experience blood sugar fluctuations (hyperglycaemia/hypoglycaemia) which can be controlled by eating more and regular protein.  Keeping carbohydrates to a bare minimum, especially in the evenings will help to regulate blood sugars.

Consuming food later in the evening is an invitation to the world where people are struggling to prevent weight gain and since obesity has become a real problem in the western world it makes sense to pay attention to this forgotten piece of advice to “eat dinner like a pauper.  Unfortunately, many people eat late at night (and over indulge on the wrong foods) because of stress, anxiety, apprehension and other negative emotions and problems and then this ends up becoming an all-day problem.  It helps to feed the vicious cycle of overeating and making poor food choices because it affects the following meal at breakfast, which is likely to be skipped, so it is not hard to see how this becomes a negative cycle of events, each dependent on the one before.   The poorer the food choice, the worse the weight gain is going to be, and therefore the overall decline in health.

To follow this week’s Ridiculously Simple Step To Transform Your Health (and Life) is to consider what, how and when we eat in the evening.  The following suggestions may help you avoid those late night urges to eat.

1.  Adopt a hobby that keeps you occupied during the hours you feel the strongest urges to eat and avoid watching TV as there are always food advertisements to entice you.

2.  Take a gentle evening stroll – weather permitting

3.  Drink herbal tea

4.  Brush your teeth earlier than usual before bed as this signals to the body you are ready to settle down.

5.  Don’t forget to Breakfast Like a King and Lunch Like a Prince – as this will help set up the cycle for you.

Please leave your comments and suggestions.

Dr Richard McMinn Chiropractor Hove

Dr Helen Martin Chiropractor Hove

Heathy Lunch

Lunch Like a Prince

Keep your lunch hour sacred!  It is the time to refuel and refresh your body and mind.

Following on from last week’s Ridiculously Simple Step To Transform Your Health (and Life) we continue our discussion of the optimal way to eat.  Perhaps it’s boring, old fashioned even, to consider taking your own lunch to work , however this is often your best protection against consuming the wrong foods while at work.  Whether we are in fact at home or at work, lunch should be a considered meal and should definitely be seen as an important part of your day.  Many people, especially those working in an office environment have acquired poor eating habits simply because of the lack of available healthy, fresh foods.  Bringing  your own from home will help you avoid the temptations of unhealthy alternatives that are paraded at check outs.  The smell of baked goodies drifting on the air, inviting us to buy can often be overwhelming when we are hungry.  Basic tip number one – never go shopping for food of any kind when you are hungry as you will inevitably make unhealthy choices and spend much more than you intended.

What we  eat can definitely help us stay alert and energised during the day and into the afternoon, however food cannot compensate for other lifestyle factors that may be affecting our concentration and productivity.  If we are all ready sleep deprived,( see Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life): Step Fourteen), bored or disinterested in our job, or the activities in which we are involved, no food of any kind is likely to keep us alert and healthy.

To be productive all day long we need to prevent our metabolism from becoming sluggish.  By eating high fat, high sugar foods we place an unnecessary burden on the digestive system  which causes us to become drowsy,  because the body is using all it’s energy to digest and process. The body is a magical machine and it knows where the most energy is needed at any time and digestion becomes high priority to the detriment of focus and clarity.   Many people like to finish their meal with a piece of fruit but we recommend to always start the meal with a piece of  fresh fruit or vegetable which will help to make enzymes readily available for digestion – remember the rule – Fresh Fibre First! By consuming whole, natural foods that provide us with dense nutrition, high-protein and high-fiber, we give ourselves the very best opportunity to be alert and productive during the afternoon.    Eating lunch like a prince is all about eating a good sized nutritious lunch, although obviously not a “king-size” one as at breakfast.  Lunch should be heavily weighted in favour of  soups, salads/vegetables and lean meat with a smaller portion of grains if desired.   Your nutritional strategy for maintaining your mental edge after lunch is similar to breakfast – eating foods that will give a gradual, steady release of energy.  A healthy lunch sets us up for a high energy afternoon and will also help to curtail that evening bingeing.  The wrong foods can wreck our mood and bring on early afternoon cravings which can again cause us to reach for the wrong foods by dinner time.

Planning is the key to eating well. Being organised with healthy foods from home will help to prevent the cycle of events that leads to making wrong food choices when we are in a hurry.  It will also save you money!  A lunch of delicious fresh food brought from home not only provides you with the very best nutrition but you have the opportunity to avoid the lunch crush at the local deli and you can find a quiet spot outside in some sunlight (if possible) where you can eat in peace.  This gives your mind and body a break from the intensity and demands of the office and will refresh and renew your spirit.  Take your allotted lunch hour – you will be more productive for doing so and you will even have time for a stroll and some deep breaths to prepare yourself for your demanding afternoon.

While introducing this weeks Ridiculously Simple Step To Transform Your Health (and Life), to lunch like a prince, you pave the way to health and vitality and clear your head of fog and confusion so that you are more focused, creative and decisive all day long.

Your comments and suggestions are invited on this blog post.

Dr Richard McMinn Chiropractors Brighton

Dr Helen Martin Chiropractors Brighton

Breakfast like a King

A healthy breakfast is important

During the sixties I grew up with the words of Adelle Davis ringing in my ears – “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper” which simply means eating more food earlier in the day and less food later, which is generally opposite to what most people do. Adelle was a keen advocate for healthy eating.  Through our Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) we aim to help you focus on eating well, moving well, thinking well and living well.  When taking our Ridiculously Simple Steps collectively, there is an increased likelihood of attaining and maintaining improved health and wellbeing.

It is common knowledge that breakfast is the meal that “breaks the fast”,  however many have lost sight of Grandma’s advice which was to have a hearty breakfast.  This simple lifestyle habit can have a profound effect on our health all year long. We believe that breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day. Numerous scientific studies performed over the past twenty years have shown that eating a nutritious breakfast improves our overall nutrition, performance and affects our ability to concentrate.  It also helps control our weight since breakfast jump starts our metabolism early in the day.   When we skip breakfast our body goes into a defense mode and tries to conserve the energy by slowing our body down.   Due to this, our overall daily calorie burning process is affected and makes gaining weight much easier.  A nutritious breakfast not only supplies vital nutrition, it also helps to balance our moods. Food is energy which we need to get us from dawn to dusk!  The brain (and central nervous system) run on glucose — that’s the fuel we use  to walk, talk, and carry out all activities. Maybe your last meal at night is at 10 or 11 PM (common, but not optimal). The following day, breakfast is not eaten until about noon. That’s thirteen or fourteen hours with nothing in your system. The brain is deprived of nutrients  and the body has to work extra hard to break down any stored carbohydrate or turn fat or protein into a usable form for the brain to function.   This can cause fatigue.   I have seen this happen to co-workers over the years, those who steadfastly refuse to make time for breakfast but by lunch were having difficulty focusing.

The best breakfast will supply nutrients that release energy over differing lengths of time throughout the morning.  In other Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) we discussed the value of drinking water infused with lemon first thing in the morning and eating fruit before your meal (every meal) and this is especially true at breakfast.  It is also absolutely essential that protein is part of our breakfast, because it is protein that helps to regulate our blood sugar levels, postponing the symptoms of hunger.  Protein can be found in many breakfast foods including good quality muesli (see recipe below) which contains nuts and seeds, oatmeal porridge, spirulina food drinks, natural yoghurts, eggs, fish and meat.  Accompany these foods with fruit and you have the perfect breakfast.  Check out Jamie Oliver’s website for further healthy breakfast ideas.   Dr James Chestnut (www.thewellnesspractice.com) recommends giving our body foods we were originally designed to eat.  Unfortunately the breakfast cereal marketers have done great harm to people’s health in cleverly marketing their ready made cereals which mostly lack essential nutrition and are often packed with hidden sugars.

Many people find they just cannot face breakfast, however during the morning when they are looking for that quick burst of energy  they are more likely to reach for that unhealthy food which also lacks nutrition and is loaded with sugar.  Lack of hunger in the morning is mostly due to what was consumed the night before – often a heavy meal late in the evening.  As a result, the body has spent most of the night digesting and processing the meal.  After working all night, the last thing our body wants to do first thing in the morning is eat!  For those trapped in this scenario, we suggest avoiding an evening meal for several days to rebalance the body.  You may be pleasantly surprised by your new found desire for breakfast!

Eating breakfast is important for everyone, but is especially so for children and adolescents. According to the American Dietetic Association, children who eat breakfast perform better in the classroom and playground, with better concentration, problem-solving skills, and eye-hand coordination.

If you are among the many millions of people who skip breakfast every day or fuel your body with a single cup of strong black coffee, now is your opportunity to kick the habit.  Knowing that this Ridiculously Simple Step To Transform Your Health (and Life) has the ability to make such a positive difference to your health, all you need do is to make a plan to have your breakfast foods ready to use.  To help you, I have included the muesli recipe which we use.  We hope you will consider taking this Ridiculously Simple Step To Transform Your Health (and Life) and make it a “must do” every morning, since to breakfast like a king will give you the best possible start (and finish) to your day and may well be one of the best kept secrets to manifesting health and vitality through to old age.

Karens Organic Breakfast Muesli

• 1 kilo breakfast oats (not quick cook ones)
• 250 gms Raisins
• 125gms Flax seeds (crushed)
• 125 gms Pumpkin seeds
• 125 gms Almond flakes
• 125 gms Ground almonds
• 125 gms Sunflower seeds

Mix all ingredients and store in airtight container.  Serve with organic blueberries and  banana.  I use almond milk and/or natural yoghurt  Use honey or virgin maple syrup for sweetener if desired.

P.S.  I top my muesli with  a dessertspoon of Innate Choice Omega Sufficiency (omega 3 oil) (now available at Chiropractic Life)

Your comments and suggestions are invited on this blog post.

Dr Richard McMinn Chiropractor Hove

Dr Helen Martin Chiropractor Hove

“No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated and disciplined”
~Harry E. Fosdick

Ridiculously Simple Steps to Transform Your Health (and Life) have been created to help you make improvements in your life using discipline and steps so small that it is impossible to fail.

You may well ask “what does discipline have to do with my health”? Ever since the world had access to light at the flick of a switch and pain killers that could kill pain in minutes, the world seems to have demanded instant gratification in all other areas of life too. The introduction of computers, mobile phones and text messaging only appears to have made matters worse. The current mode of living seems to be I want it, and I want it now! Discipline is the rejection of instant gratification in favour of something better. It is the giving up of instant pleasure and satisfaction for a higher and better goal. It is the ability to stick to actions, thoughts and behaviours, which lead to improvement and success. Self-discipline is self-control, and it manifests in spiritual, mental, emotional and physical ways which affects our health (and life). It endows us with inner strength which enables us to focus all our energy on a goal and persevere until it is accomplished – this is extremely important in regard to making decisions about our health and having the discipline to carry them through.

Each time we decide on a course of action we require discipline to carry it out, whether it is to lose weight, improve our physique through body building, embark on physical exercise or spend time and effort to maintain our relationships, building a business, changing habits, or embarking on self improvement in any way including meditation or other spiritual growth activities and even keeping and carrying out promises to ourselves and others – in everything, if we desire a positive outcome, we require discipline. One of the most simple (but not necessarily simple to execute) and effective methods to develop will power and self-discipline is by refusing to satisfy unimportant and unnecessary desires. Everyone is constantly confronted and tempted by an endless stream of desires and temptations, many of which are not really important or desirable. By learning to refuse to satisfy every one of them we will grow stronger. When we practice self-discipline we feel like we are in control of our lives. We feel content and motivated because we are moving toward our intended goal.

Recently I was at a business meeting and a candle was lit. Everyone was asked to close their eyes and focus on trying to snuff the candle out – just by thinking about it! It will be no surprise to you, that of course the candle did not “snuff” it and it required someone taking action to actively extinguish it. The moral of the story is of course, that things don’t happen just by thinking about them, and we can think all day about introducing discipline into our lives to help us achieve our goals (and this could be in regard to our health), but focusing all day, without discipline and action steps is like thinking we can extinguish that candle just by thinking about it.

We can strengthen our inner resolve and discipline by adding a good habit to our existing bad habits! This takes the focus off the bad habit and is especially true in relation to our eating habits. If there are foods that you definitely cannot think about giving up (at this moment) but you know that you would be healthier if you did, you could focus on introducing a healthy food to your meal – so if it is chips you desire, make sure you eat a piece of fruit first and gradually, gradually it is possible your desire for chips will reduce. In this way we use discipline in a positive sense because we are not focusing on what is negative (thinking about removing the chips) but rather adding a piece of fruit. Make sure it is a piece of fruit you really enjoy. In one of our earlier Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) we suggested eating a piece of raw fruit or vegetable before each meal and we have had some interesting feed back from people who have told us that this simple piece of advice (and discipline) on it’s own has led to improved health and gradual weight loss.

During most of our waking day we are confronted by simple decisions – will I get out of bed when the alarm goes off, will I have breakfast, will I walk to work, will I prepare some lunch, will I shower, will I make my bed, will I clean up after myself etc – all these actions require a level of discipline and by exercising discipline at these times we are preparing for moments that may require greater levels of discipline. If we tried to run a marathon without having practised we are sure to fail. The same is true with discipline – if we do not practise it regularly we have no hope of having it at our disposal when faced with bigger life challenges.

Discipline can be learnt like any other skill and is the key to personal improvement. Our inner power grows by constant practice, just as exercising increases our physical strength. It is the magical quality that opens doors and makes all else possible. People with strong self discipline are admired and respected and are able to achieve great success. Consider for a moment if you know of anyone whose achievements you admire that have not been won without personal discipline. People have overcome difficulties, learned new skills, reduced their weight or become a leader in their field and excelled where it seemed impossible – through discipline. Most of us know of people whose lives have been broken through lack of discipline even though they have had many opportunities through education and family connections. I have often mentioned to our children that if discipline could be store bought we would all have it in abundance!

Many years ago Thomas Huxley gave this piece of advice – “Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.‘” It probably still applies!

This week’s Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) invites you to rate your level of discipline (on a scale of one to ten) in the following areas which will reveal any area that requires some attention – any positive improvements can’t help but affect your health and life.

* Business/ Career
* Family/ Friends
* Money/ Finances
* Recreation/ Fun
* Health/ Diet/ Exercise
* Faith/ Spiritual
* Personal/ Development

You are invited to leave comments and suggestions.  Thankyou.

Dr Richard McMinn Chiropractor Hove

Dr Helen Martin Chiropractor Hove

Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing

All that is worth cherishing in this world, begins in the heart (author unknown)

Love is the most powerful, yet most under utilised gift we have in our possession, a gift that can change our health and life. For many people, self-love may be the greatest and most important love they ever experience. The mere mention of love conjures up wonderful emotions and for centuries, artists have examined love through theatre, poetry, painting and music. In recent years, scientists, supported by The National Institute of Health have begun to research and understand the chemistry and biology of love and the impact it has on our health – mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually and physically.

Is there any emotion more complex and abstract than love? In previous Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) we have discussed many of the gifts of life that cannot be bought or sold, not for all the money in the world, but perhaps love is the most precious of them all. We cannot bribe, coerce or demand it from anyone, it really must come from the deepest recesses of the heart. Most people know the feelings of love and warmth and friendship and experience a richer life because of it, but little is mentioned of the actual effect it has on our health and wellbeing.

Love is a verb. When I was a child at school, we were told verbs were “doing” words and certainly love is not just a feeling, it is an action – a doing word! Love wasn’t put in our hearts to stay, love isn’t love ‘til we give it away. No amount of loving words can take the place of action. Love must be the only commodity in this world that grows, simply by sharing and giving it away, and yet sometimes we hold so tightly to it! In his book The Road Less Travelled, Scott M Peck speaks about the desire to love as not actually being love at all unless this intention is followed by an action. Our longevity in love is decided by our loving actions! It has been said that there is no better exercise for the heart than to lovingly reach down to lift another up. This may mean giving of our time to put love into action.

We have different levels of consciousness and love exists at a very deep level. The experiences of life gradually add protective layers over events that are and have been painful and sometimes our ability to give and receive love is compromised as a result of this. In his book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, Deepak Chopra explains “deep within these layers is where our most entrenched feelings are stored and it is from here that our ability to love and be loved arises – where the deepest human values are known. Without such knowledge–not just of love, but of beauty, compassion, trust, strength, and truth–these words would be meaningless. To love and be loved is an essential part of life. We recognize it because it vibrates in us, far below the conscious level. Being able to live from this level can bring about complete fulfilment but this only happens as we resolve layers of conflict and contradictions that constitute our resistance.”

The power of love to change people is legendary, built into folklore and often recounted through everyday experience. Throughout history, “tender loving care” has often been recognized as a valuable element in healing. There have been recent scientific developments into ways to measure the health benefits of loving interactions. These have been observed in epidemiological studies in humans (collecting and analysing data on different groups of people), however, full epidemiological studies are expensive and laborious and before any study is started, a case must be made for the importance of the research and while we know love is so important in the development of both human and animal babies, often the value of love towards our ageing population has been overlooked. We know that love and health go hand in hand with a bond that ties them together and that emotions have a huge effect on our general health and wellbeing. Our very cells respond either positively or negatively depending on the hormone that has been released because of our thoughts and emotions.

A recent scientific study (the study was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry) has proved that when we are happy and in love we heal faster! Further – those in love can deal better with pain and stress. Love has a calming effect on the body. There may be times in our life when we do not have that special person in our lives, however this does not exclude us from developing loving feelings and actions and having them returned. Love includes the whole of humankind. Researchers can’t say for sure that romance trumps an affectionate family or warm friendships when it comes to our health, but it does seem that kinship and caring and sharing in love boosts our immune system and make us stronger. It may even make us live longer!

As you consider this weeks Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) remember, we may not yet fully understand how love and affection develops between people, or how love affects our health, but we do know that friendships, family and love partnerships are precious and beautiful and we need to spend time and effort to protect them.

Your comments and suggestions are invited on this blog post.

Dr Richard McMinn Chiropractor Hove

Dr Helen Martin Chiropractor Hove

"Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints."

“Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one’s thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world”
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Our health depends on a healthy planet. Our relationship with ourselves (and each other) is about health in all its dimensions – mental, emotional spiritual and physical. Individual health and wellbeing collectively, determines the health and vitality of civilization and our planet, as we are interconnected with each other and the world we inhabit. Chief Seattle’s words – “man does not weave this web of life – he is merely a strand of it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself”

It may seem that we face a bewildering series of challenges as we traverse the road towards the future of our environment, however there is no doubt in my mind that one of the most simple ways that we can address the challenge of toxic garbage in our environment is through personal responsibility towards reducing consumerism. Simple! There may be new discoveries and unforeseeable future developments which may help our transition towards a more responsible, more resource-efficient society but we need to act now – for the sake of our health, our children’s health and the future of the planet. This weeks Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) is aimed at Reducing, Reusing and Recycling since it is something we can all do to make our world a cleaner, safer place. One of the advantages of this approach is that it also saves you money! The materialistic world in which we live is focused on wanting and having and getting and accumulating which of course adds to the all ready burgeoning pile of toxic environmental garbage. When our children were growing up and they looked on other children and what they had and thought they should have too, we would ask them the following questions -
Do you have enough food to eat?
Do you have enough clean water to drink?
Do you sleep warm at night?
Do you have family who love you?
Do you feel safe?
And of course they always answered yes, which we would respond to with, so then have enough! It is heartbreaking to note that most of the people in the world cannot answer yes to those five questions. Our children are now in their twenties and thirties and I am delighted to know that their focus in this world is not on “what next can I acquire”. We desperately need to educate our children not only in the academic areas of life but also in social responsibility and emotional intelligence, since children are our hope for the future. As with any undisciplined desire there is a constant yearning to have our needs satisfied. If we constantly gave in to our desires to eat (consume) we would soon discover we could no longer fit into our clothes. Consumerism is no different. Affluence has caused a feeding frenzy on consumerism which has caused indisputable problems for our planet and it is time to address the issue.

Reducing, Reusing and Recycling (especially plastics) cannot fail to make a difference to the amount of garbage which ends up in landfills – part of the millions of tons of plastics we dump each year. Plastics may be washed out from land during storms, lost overboard from cargo ships and sometimes even dumped illegally and are left drifting in the oceans causing havoc to bird and sea life and creating a toxic soup which is now entering our food chain. Recently I was made aware of a vast whirlpool of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean where four major ocean currents meet and form a giant whirlpool. Most of the garbage that ends up in the Pacific Ocean eventually gets caught up in this whirlpool which has formed into a mass approximately twice the size of Texas!!!! Further investigation has revealed this may not be the only toxic whirlpool in our oceans and could be just the tip of the iceberg. Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-slusark/giant-trash-dump-in-pacif_b_179728.html.

Marine Biologist, David Barnes says that “Plastic is not just an aesthetic problem, it can actually change entire ecosystems.” Humans are part of that very eco-system. Following the eco psychological insight that a disturbed ecosystem can make people mentally ill, it is also true that a disturbed ecosystem can make people physically ill as well. There is also growing evidence linking cancer to environmental contamination and this has become not only important to our personal health, but it has also become an urgent human rights issue. What a price to pay for our preoccupation with consumerism!

As a child I was always amused by my father’s approach to conservative consumerism. At the beginning of each week my mother would wrap sandwiches for my father’s lunch in greased paper lunch wrap, and every day my father would give thanks for his lunch and afterwards, carefully, lovingly and ceremoniously fold this same lunch wrap to be used for the following day. The lunch wrap folding process would last an entire week and he was always miffed when my mother would introduce a new piece of lunch wrap at the beginning of the following week. He always said it had more life in it yet!!!!!!!!! Recently I came across some gingham fabric envelope style sandwich wraps that could last an entire lifetime – I wonder if my father would have approved?

While perhaps we don’t need to follow my father’s example in reducing our carbon footprint to that degree (but why not?) we can follow his example in making conscious decisions that will affect our health, our life and our planet. By choosing to introduce some of the following Ridiculously Simple Steps to Transform Your Health (and Life) and reduce our reliance on plastics we will also contribute to our health personally, the health of future generations and the health (and beauty) of the world in which we live:

• Think before you buy – consider if it is essential, important but non-essential or just a want

• Invest in high quality, long lasting products

• Recycle plastics wherever possible

• Carry reusable canvas or fabric bags to the store instead of using yet more plastic bags

• Buy from bulk bins where possible placing straight into your carry home bags.

• Use reusable plastic containers rather than purchasing made to order ones

• Set up your own compost bin – you will need less kitchen garbage bags

• Carry your own mug for your morning coffee

• Choose natural fabrics for furnishings

• Instead of purchasing, consider joining a lending co-op or library or borrow from friends for family

• Avoid buying bottled water – depending on how long it has been on the shelf and at what temperature it has been stored will also determine how much chemical has leached into the water. Bottles also have to be disposed of!

• Recycle your cell phone

• Buy second hand if possible

• Sell anything you no longer need – reduce demand for new products

• Use refills if possible – many independent shops now provide this facility

• Resist takeaway food – there is always so much packaging associated with prepared food.

From the right to know and the duty to inquire flows the obligation to act.” ~ Sandra Steingraber

You are invited to leave your comments and suggestions on this blog post.  Thankyou.

Dr Richard McMinn Chiropractor Brighton and Hove

Dr Helen Martin Chiropractor Brighton and Hove

Nature's Amazing Palette

There is no colour in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice ~ John Calvin

The colours of nature are, scientifically speaking, different wavelengths of light striking your retina and being interpreted as colours by your brain.  When considering the purpose of colour and the part it plays in healing in our everyday lives, (though we may not be consciously aware of it), we need look no further than the ancient Egyptians who have been recorded as having used colour for health and healing thousands of years ago. They were worshippers of the sun and knew that without that light there would be no life. In everything – they looked to nature and copied it, often using it in their temples and homes. Their knowledge and understanding of the healing power of colour could easily have been lost, but thankfully it has managed to survive and there is now a revival of interest in healing with colour, one of the many forms of energy medicine.

During the Middle Ages, Paracelsus reintroduced the knowledge and philosophy of colour, combining the use of music and herbs with the healing power of colourful rays of light. Unfortunately, authorities hounded him throughout Europe and he was often ridiculed for his work. Most of his manuscripts were burnt, however in recent times many think of him as one of the greatest healers of his time.

With renewed interest in the healing effect of colour, businesses are accepting that their employees may work better, given a certain environment and it is encouraging to see large corporations and those in charge of hospitals and prisons becoming aware of the effect that colour has on the people who live and work there. Lasers, which are beams of coloured light, are commonly used by the medical community. The colour of the light beam used is directly related to the type of surgery being performed and the colour of the tissue being treated. Colour is light split into different wavelengths, vibrating at different speeds and different frequencies.  These different wavelengths are, in essence, a form of energy medicine.  Light is energy.

In keeping with this renewed interest and understanding that colour can affect our mood and emotions, paint companies have introduced colour cards with these therapeutic aspects in mind. Never to be left behind, cosmetic companies have created ‘colour therapy’ ranges to satisfy demand knowing there is no doubt that colour plays a big part in our lives, however subtle it may appear. Several years ago when we were creating our clinic (www.chiropracticlifehove.com) we hired Katherine from www.incolour.biz to help us create a visual, tranquil healing space, employing the use of colour, and it has delighted us to know people often intentionally arrive early for their appointments just to savour the healing environment created, in part, by the subtle use of healing colours.

Intuitively we are drawn to colours to help create balance in our lives. In previous Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) we discussed how our bodies vibrate at different frequencies depending on our state of health. Each colour has a unique vibration too. It is also said that everything around us is made up of electromagnetic energy, vibrating at different frequencies which correspond to sound, light and colour. All food has a vibration, but fresh, raw, organic food has a much higher vibrating frequency than any other food we eat. A new study by scientists in the U.S. has found that red and blue foods are the best when it comes to fighting cancer. They say the natural pigments which give some fruit and vegetables a rich red, purple or blue colour act as powerful anti-cancer agents. The researchers say compounds, found in foods such as purple corn, aubergines, red cabbage, elderberries and bilberries, restricted the growth of cancer cells and in some cases killed them off entirely, leaving healthy cells unharmed. In ancient times the Romans in high office often wore purple robes and perhaps they knew something of the healing power of colour. Purple dye was available to only a select few, as pigments used to dye fabrics was very expensive and difficult to obtain.

Colour, like light, can stimulate our endocrine system, and to take advantage of the palette provided in nature, we need only step outside our door and immerse ourselves in our natural environment – be it in a garden, the seaside, a park or woodland, the fields or the sky – summer or winter, autumn or spring.   Exposure to such a diverse range of energy wavelengths from the colours of the environment and  plants and animals in nature is, of itself, a healing experience.  The vibrant colours of summer, rich and earthy tones of autumn, delicate winter hues and brilliant colours of spring all impart subtle healing through their presence.  Spending time in nature allows our brain to explore a more diverse natural reality, causing it to function at a higher cognitive level.

Blues and greens are often used in healing (to tone down inflammation which of course is red) and rose pink is said to calm and relieve stress. Lavender is also a soothing and calming colour and it is no co-incidence that the essential oil of the lavender plant has been used to soothe and calm and help promote restful sleep down through the ages. Using yellow will help to stimulate your memory – often the first choice of children! Inflammation of cellular tissue is often the result of our modern lifestyle and one way this can be addressed with colour is to introduce more “green” foods into the diet by using barley greens or spirulina to tame the fire! There are many different ways that Colour Therapists use colour to heal, however in our Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) this week we recommend you trust your intuition (it is a powerful force) and surround yourself with the colours you love and feel drawn to – in the colours you wear, the foods you eat and the furnishings you choose so that colour becomes a conscious part of your everyday life. It is very likely that the colours you choose are the very same colours your body will respond positively to.

You are invited to leave your comments and suggestions on this blog post.  Thankyou.

Dr Richard McMinn Chiropractor Hove

Dr Helen Martin Chiropractor Hove

VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci

As we head into 2010 we continue our steps towards making choices that will transform your health and life. This week our focus is on voluntary simplicity which has been described as a manner of living that is outwardly more simple and inwardly more rich.

Perhaps now, more than at any other time since the fifties, we have the opportunity to consider living a life of simplicity, due to the current economic situation. To lead a life of simplicity we need to eliminate the unnecessary from life. Much of what we focus on is unnecessary. Life can become overwhelming which creates stress and in turn creates discord and ill health. Due to technology we are constantly bombarded with things to buy, places to go, things to do, people to see and unless we make a conscious decision to reject them, we can be drawn into the web. Much of the actual joy of living can be found in every day simplicity and allowing ourselves the space to savour life. Sometimes we are so busy doing, that we lose the essence of our human being….. being present to the small everyday details and finding enjoyment in them.   The simplicity of life, can help us focus on what truly is important.

Making changes requires taking risks which may mean stepping out of the comfort zone, but this is required to enhance our life through simplicity. In 2001 we, as a family (all seven of us) decided to move from New Zealand to the UK, initially for three years (that was nearly nine years ago!) and all we brought with us was a suitcase each. We are still here with that suitcase! Even though our daughter had just celebrated her 13th birthday she had to leave behind gifts she had received one week earlier as they would not fit into the case and although it seemed hard at the time, it has been a valuable experience to discover the freedom of living a life uncluttered and discovering what really is important in life.

Life often seems to be so complex. There is so much choice that it just creates stress trying to choose and the effect of stress on our health is disastrous. Even choosing which mobile phone to buy can become an expedition into stressful territory if all you want is something to turn on and off! Recently we were travelling with some friends and decided to stop for lunch. After finally agreeing on the venue (too many choices!!) we sat down to decide what to eat (choices). I will never forget one of the men who just took one look at the menu (150 choices) and threw the menu in the middle of the table and announced – just serve me food!! Too much choice can cause stress!

There are many benefits to voluntary simplicity which is really an art and a discipline and requires presence of mind to create and after you experience the absolute freedom it gives, you will wonder why you never considered it before!

To help you get started we have suggested some Ridiculously Simple Steps To Transform Your Health (and Life) below and if you are really keen you could consider checking out http://theminimalistpath.com where Dave will lead you through many more ways to create simplicity and a life of minimalism. You will discover how freeing and delightful a life of voluntary simplicity can be.

1. Possessions take our time and attention and money to maintain. Simplify by having less.
2. Simple living means eco friendly – you create a smaller carbon footprint and contribute to a greener planet.
3. Chores, responsibilities, appointments and information all take our time. Consider saying “no”.
4. Practise eliminating one thing from your household every week that you no longer need or use.
5. We have less to worry about with a simple life. Trying to maintain everything is often the cause of stress and anxiety which eventually leads to ill health. Let go of the unnecessary.
6. We can view the world through a new lens by practising simplicity. It is far more beautiful that you could have imagined – have courage to take the first step.
7. Kick the multi tasking habit – become a single tasker! Enjoy the simplicity.

We know that consumerism is not sustainable, nor are any satisfactions gained from it. Just ask yourself the question “How much of what you are doing and pursuing is going to matter in the long term?” It is usually the least important things that force us to put the truly important on the back burner and in so doing we miss the best things in life and our health eventually suffers. Simplicity is really a path to the good life – taking back control of your life yields such benefits that we urge you to consider taking this week’s Ridiculously Simple Step To Transform Your Health (and Life). You will experience more of all the things in life that really matter!

“In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Your comments and suggestions are invited on this blog post.

Dr Richard McMinn – Brighton and Hove Chiropractor

Dr Helen Martin -  Brighton and Hove Chiropractor