Health & Wellness with Dr. Greg

Have you ever got into your car and noticed your windshield was dirty? I have noticed my spotty windshield for a couple days now. You know the kind- dried dead bug splat (how does it dry within a split second anyway-and it wasn’t even a 100 degrees yet), other finer dots and smudges of unknown origin, etc. When I first get in my car,the dirt is more obvious. As I begin driving I quickly forget about the dirt on my windshield-in fact I don’t even see it.  The next time I may notice it is when I once again sit down in my car- before I  begin driving. Isn’t it amazing how when I’m driving I don’t notice my windshield-unless of course a bug decides to fly a suicide mission right into my windshield. Then my attention for a split second goes to my windshield (if I kept my attention on my windshield for too long I  may run into someone ahead of me). 

I find something similar to people  and their bodies. Often people will come in with a complaint-let’s say lower back pain. I will do a complete chiropractic evaluation and find a problem (subluxation- a term when our spine is out of proper alignment and interfers with the flow of energy/information between the brain and a part of our body) in a place the person didn’t report or even know of. In this example, let’s say I  found an additional problem in the neck. Because everything is connected it is possible the lower back pain is related to the condition in the neck-a condition the client wouldn’t have even know about unless there was an awareness. In this case - a symptom.  Symptoms or pain for many people is like an annoying bug buzzing around-distracting us from enjoying life or getting something done. If this pain could talk what would it say?

If my  windshield could talk it would probably say “clean me”. Of course I will push the button and out comes the cleaning solution. Sometimes it cleans better than other times ( I guess it depends on the chemical composition of the dead bug). But what if my windshield could talk? What if I refused to listen and just go about my day? At the very least- my windshield would get dirtier wouldn’t it?  Let’s say I have a high tolerance for dirt and I am not so easily swayed by the mounting blotches and dead bug remains. In fact, instead of driving my car in the daylight (which illuminates or exposes my dirty windshield), I decide to drive my car only at night-or on overcast days.

This is how many of us unknowingly care for our bodies. It’s not till we have built up so much stress, distorting our posture and life line (a.k.a. spinal chord), blocking out our bodies many cries for help that finally a symptom is too big or too annoying to ignore.  We are definately experts in not listening to our own bodies. We keep our lives jammed with one thing after another; or if we do get a ’symptom’ we reach for Big Pharma’s special chemical concoction-not considering what message our body maybe trying to communicate to us.

What’s really cool is-and when  it’s not too late- a symptom-or even better- a spinal adjustment refocuses our attention. A refocus to the windshield called our body. So much of our attention is outside our bodies. So the times we get a spinal  adjustment (or for some people on some occassions, a symptom) it is a time we may see, hear or feel things we didn’t know about. This is one way and practice of staying healthy. In life we are going to come into contact with bugs-or symptoms. Our windshield-or body is going to require our attention. The question becomes- do we love ourself enough to have a daily,weekly or monthly practice of checking in on our bodies without the mounting presence of symptoms? The gentle form of chiropractic I offer (and receive) is one such practice. Next time I will go over some things that have resulted due to a better connection achieved thru this practice. Till then -enjoy your windshield!

Need some help? Email or call for me for suggestions.

(chiropractic, etc) -o ch

Today I had a client in to get a spinal tune up. During the course of her care she relayed to me how she was going to physical therapy. Although she was doing better she relayed how this person was really pounding on her back. She said that he was trying to ‘adjust’ her over and over again and her bones “wouldn’t adjust”. She was concerned and thought maybe it wasn’t good for him to being attempting this.

How many times have we let someone do something to us when we intuitively feel it is inappropriate.  My basic philosophy is, first, go to people that specialize in a particular field- and that have experience in a particular discipline. Health care might improve if it were more like a dance. There has to be partnership and flow. I am not interested in someone imposing their will into my body.  Putting alot of force into me to get my bones to move.; or trying to trick me into relaxing to be able to accomplish “their goals”. Life is sacred and so are our bodies. I find that when we approach the body- meeting the body on its terms-working in harmony with it-the person and their body will be more responsive. That’s one of the reasons our gentle adjustments are so powerful. Sure we can move things around being forceful. At the sametime I have found that a precise, specific, gentle approach is heard and received better by the body. This leads to the magic many people get enthused about following an adjustment in our office. 

Remember, it’s your body, you get to decide what happens to it. Speak up. Let your voice be heard- and enjoy the dance!

Friday is a ketchup day (I meant to say catch-up. It must be getting close to supper time). Errands,weeds etc. Well it was time to give the state of Arizona some extra money to add to their coffers as I was required to get the  emission of my car inspected.  I was at the Deer Valley near 7th st inspection place waiting in line. As I approached the front of the line ever so slowly with my car -I couldn’t help but notice the guy checking the cars in front of me. This guy was meticulously inspecting everything- the gas tank, all side of the cars-and had a big smile on his face. He reminded me of Mark “The Bird” Fidrych, a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers baseball team. Recently Mark passed away. He was a rookie sensation. The baseball stadiums would sellout every game. Mark was a delight to watch as he got down on his hands and knees -manicuring the pitching mound and  talked to the baseball. This guy at DMV reminded me of Mark. Both guys were just so happy and go lucky- infecting everyone around them with positivity. I thought to myself- for as much as I disliked the DMV and having to get my car checked- I wouldn’t mind coming back again… just to see a person smile big, check my car’s hood was closed with a gentle thoroughness I’ve never seen before and thank me for coming. Positivity- it’s our choose. What do you say about putting alittle more positivity and brightness in your daily activities-making the world a better place? Let’s do it!

As nervousness and tension rise about the possiblities of the latest scourge to plague humanity-let’s take a step back for a moment and see what one expert said. When watching CNN last night one medical doctor was pretty realistic when he put this whole flu thing in perspective. Dr O stated that we don’t know this flu will be any worse than any other flu. A small number of people die every year related to the flu. This doctor furhter stated- to prevent this flu-or any other for that matter-the best thing to do is to get alot of exercise, eat your fruit and veges (greens particularly) and don’t stress out. Sound familiar? Words of wisdom no doubt and similar to the words of wisdom we preach about at the pulpit called our adjusting tables. So how do you increase your odds of catching the Swine flu or any other ilnness for that matter- well here are the keys: 1. lay around and do as little activity as possible; 2. eat dead processed man-made foods and zero fruits and veges; 3. watch the news and get caught up in the fear and negativity of the day.

I remember back in school, the stress during test time or taking board exams. Inevitably more people would come down with colds and sickness. The perceived stress of exams ultimately affects our bodies; the stress response begins with our thoughts and directly tweaks our nervous system. Observe the body position of an angry person. Compare that to a happy positive person. Big differences. The happy person will project and attract different energy, things and events into their life than an angry person. Suffice it to say we all get stressed, some people just seem to hold onto stress longer than others and this affects their nervous system which then controls all the other systems in the body- including-guess what? Your immune system!  Is it any wonder that some of the healthiest people in society are the people that have been receiving chiropractic adjustments the longest? Spinal adjustments allow your spinal joints to move more appropriately. You have greater energy. Adjustments affect your brain function, your immune system, your attitude. So if you find yourself in fear (whether it’s from the Swine Flu, your boss, or the boogey man), stuck in life, or just wanting to be your best to meet the challenges that life brings to you- consider 4 things: eat more natural foods (at least 10 servings of fruits and veges daily), exercising (20- 30 minute walks are a good start), think good thoughts (may require not watching the news or reading the newspaper), and get your spine (brain and nervous system) tuned up and cleared out of old stress patterns (a.k.a. adjustments) from a qualified chiropractor.  If you need a referral for one ask me - I may know of one in your area.

Finally, I pray for the people in Mexico that they may know peace and the principles to health. God didn’t make junk and our bodies when treated correctly can overcome just about anything that comes it’s way.

Okay, so it’s been awhile since my first post. I am going to attempt to have a better relationship with my computer (I do prefer human contact which should be obvious since I am a chiropractor by trade).  Today I want to share a quick story of what is possible when our bodies/spines are well adjusted. “T” is an 18 years young practice member referred to our office by his caring mom interested in making sure he was as healthy as he could be.  On examination it was evident that “T” had a pelvic imbalance along with a left short leg, muscle imbalances and a couple of other vertebrae out of alignment (we call these misalignments ’subluxations’ in chiropractic.  Anyway, his body received the gentle spinal adjustments well.  On his follow up visit “T” came in all smiles-bright as can be and exclaimed that he had just placed 5th in a track meet and took 30 seconds off his 1 mile run. Never had he run so well.  Of course we congratulated him and adjusted the young budding track star a second time and sent him on his way.  On his next time into our office, once again he was all smiles and bright as can be.  When asked how things were going he gleefully announced that he had just taken 2nd place in an 800m run and reduced his time by a full 6 seconds.  These results are even more amazing considering he received a soccer scholarship and was guaranteed to be a starter as a freshman in college.  This is a pretty good athlete we are talking about.

I would like to offer my congratulations and appreciation to “T” for his performances reminds us what is possible when we are well adjusted-and the earlier in life we get started and checked for subluxations the better our destiny can be!

With the recent passing of my wife Patricia’s mother-an event like this seems to cause us to stop what we are doing and bring us back to the more important things in life. Some will begin to reflect on their own life and the brevity of their time on earth. At times like this -when a life is gone or our life is drawing to a close we have more value for it. The same goes with health. When we don’t have it-it becomes more valuable. Life and health are closely related in this regard. So with this in mind I begin this first blog. One of the purposes of this blog is to reinforce the sacredness of life and health-before it’s gone. Why wait till we’ve lost it- or we take it for granted and it slips away before we realize. I will present for your review, thoughts, ideas, humor, and real life experiences of living and healing. In addition I will do my best to cut through the crazy conflicting information that we are fed as health care/sickness care so as to maintain a focus on the natural truths to living a simple but fulfilling sacred life. Your thoughts and feedback are appreciated-and tell a friend about us-it just might save their life-or add more years to their life.