Are We Ever Really Satisfied?
By Dr. Gene Clerkin
When I first began playing the guitar, I was happy just to hold the strings down enough to create a clean sound. Then I just wanted to learn a few simple songs. It wasn't long before I became bored with that and was prompted to learn more complicated chords and songs and even some lead guitar. I also remember aspiring to play out to an audience and being nervous about the prospect of doing so.
Someone asked me recently if I still got nervous playing on stage. I think there will always be a few butterflies, but nothing that would keep me from getting up there on stage. Remembering all this got me to thinking about my progression to that point, and how it made a nice analogy to wellness care and to life in general.
When I was in school, I learned about three basic phases of chiropractic care: crisis care, corrective care and maintenance or preventative care. Within this progression of care, we initially try to help a person out of pain or whatever symptom s/he is experiencing. The objective then becomes to get the spine back to acceptable functioning, and finally to maintain it in that state.
If you look back at your life, you'd likely recall times when you may have been satisfied with the person you'd developed into with regard to emotional maturity, financial success, spirituality or relationships. But consider this, would that same level of personal development serve you now?
For instance, think back to a time when you were in your late teens or early twenties. What was the quality of the romantic relationships you had at that time? What kinds of behaviors did you engage in when in relationship at that time? If you engaged in a new relationship today without having grown or changed at all, do you think your old behaviors would contribute to the success of your current relationship or one that you are presently seeking?
I'm sure your answer would be a resounding no, unless you're still in your teens. I suppose if you were forty and still had the mentality of a teen, you might want to date one.
I think that in most aspects of life it is part of human nature to continually grow and learn. Whether in playing sports, a musical instrument, academically, scientifically or in relationships it's natural for us to strive for more and more depth of experience.
Wellness care is much like life in that respect. The goal isn't to fix you, get you back to where you were, or even maintain you in any particular place. Wellness care is about developing more evolved strategies for adapting and thriving in life.
One of my practice participants asked me an interesting question the other day that was one of several impetuses for this article. He asked if people ever graduate from care. In other words, do people ever get to a place when they can stop care? I explained that people can and do stop care when they reached their goals… or if they haven't.
What makes wellness care different than maintenance care is the fact that one can continually grow and set and achieve new goals. In fact, the University of California found that, tracked over a nine year period, people receiving Network care appeared to have no ceiling to the level of wellness they could achieve based upon self reported outcomes.
In my own experience, I find that when I receive care my life is better. Not only do I feel better physically and emotionally, I also notice that I continually grow in all areas of my life. I often wonder if that's not what life is about.
Where Do I Begin?
By Dr. Gene Clerkin
I often receive phone calls or start new clients looking for advice about what to do to become healthier. Since every person is different and information about what the best diet or exercise program is always changing, I hesitate to give rote advice about what they should or shouldn't do. For that reason the focus of my wellness practice is to help people become more self aware and more in tune with what specific needs they have for their body and their life. With this approach they can navigate health decisions using logical concepts and by listening to their own body's needs.
That being said; there are some general concepts about treating the body well that I'd like to share. The following is a list of ideas that one can consider to enhance their health.
1. Breathe Deeply. Oxygen is the single most important thing that our cells need to stay alive and thrive. It sounds simple enough but the fact is that if you are not breathing deeply enough to open the diaphragm; you are not fully accessing the lower third of the lungs which contain a large percentage of the alveoli. These alveoli serve to exchange oxygen into the bloodstream.
2. Drink More Water. If you experience dry mouth or thirstiness or if your urine is not clear, then you are dehydrated. Some experts say we should drink at least half our body weight in ounces of water daily. One thing to consider is the purity of your drinking water. Since it is likely that most tap water is polluted, you will probably want to drink water that has been run through a reverse osmosis system for purity.
3. Eat More Whole and Raw Foods. There are valuable nutrients and enzymes that are destroyed when food is cooked. Raw foods are easier on our system as well.
4. Cut Down on the Toxins. The least amount of chemicals going into your body, the better off you'll be. There are chemicals in everything from our food to our personal products. Preservatives, artificial sweeteners, pesticides and hormones, drugs, alcohol are among the many toxins. You may not be able to get away from all of them but you can continually work toward eliminating them from your environment. Use natural products and eat organic food whenever possible. It is also a good idea to consider some kind of cleanse.
5. More Good Fats, Less Bad Fats. Make sure you get an adequate supply of essential fatty acids. Every cell in your body requires fats or lipids, especially brain cells. The good fats are the Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids which can be derived from fish, flaxseed and olive oils, avocados, almonds, hazelnuts and pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Fats to be avoided include margarine, butter, cheese, eggs, milk, vegetable oils and shortening.
6. Consider Supplementing. On one hand there's a pretty good chance that even if we eat well, our foods probably don't have as much vitamins and minerals as they used to. The question becomes the quality of the supplement you take and whether you are actually able to absorb and utilize them. Supplementing is definitely something to consider though.
7. Keep your pH balanced. In order to function properly the body must maintain a very specific pH level. High acidity can lead to numerous health problems. Animal proteins, coffee, sugar and alcohol are a few of the things that create an acidic environment in the body. Try cutting down or out the acidic foods and adding lots of greens. Alkaline boosters can be taken to help balance the body pH. You can monitor your own pH using a simple litmus test.
8. Exercise. This one goes without saying but I figured I'd mention it anyway. Exercising decreases chances of high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, stroke and cardiovascular disease, while increasing energy levels and self esteem. I believe people are much better off engaging in an exercise that they actually enjoy.
9. Take Care of Your Body. Our modern lifestyle tends to create a significant amount of stress that gets stored in our bodies. If you don't take care of your body you can't trade it in for a new one. There are many types of bodywork available to help you release stress and tension from your body. Try some different types and find which of them work best for you.
10. Be Present. In my opinion, this is probably the most important thing you can do. The stress and resulting physiology created by continually replaying the past and worrying about the future is detrimental to physical and emotional well being.
There are probably many other things that can be added to this list and some things that you may disagree with. If you are looking to increase your health then they are worth exploring. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing approach either. Try one thing at a time if that works better for you. And if you need, you can always get help from a qualified natural health practitioner.
Good luck and have a Happy, Healthy New Year!