Any Day is the Best Day to Make a Change

Posted by: The Balancing Center

Everyone is talking about resolutions: which to make, why we make them, why we break them, how to keep them. Of course, the new year sparks these discussions. The promise of a new beginning is both inspiring and irresistible.

But you know what’s amazing? Any day is technically the start of a “new year.” The entire calendar might not roll over, but if you are here today, you were (most likely) here exactly one year ago and you will (hopefully) be here exactly one year from now. January 1st might be a poetic date to start anew, but January 2nd is just as good. And if January 2nd or 3rd or 4th happens to be today, than it is automatically better than January 1st. Because today is the only day you can do anything, change anything, be anything.

Any day can herald the ending of an old habit and the beginning of a new one. Any day can be Day 1 of your Awesome Plan to Get Healthy, Wealthy, and Happy.

“Any day” also takes the pressure off of January 1st. The first day of the New Year doesn’t have to be the be-all, end-all date of your life changes. Why not create a new anniversary, a new personal holiday? Celebrate a year of success, growth, and change on February 12th or April 24th, or maybe every day of the year. Celebrating success is a profound way to make sure you keep on striving for it!

Also, as long as we’re discussing resolutions, what happens If you lapse? First, according to countless studies that I will not link here, that’s almost to be expected. Second--and it can never be stated enough--lapsing is perfectly awesome. You’re human and it happens. Get back on the horse. Pick yourself up and brush yourself off. It’s not about perfection: it’s about perseverance. After all, the master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.

And finally, in the meantime, the best place to begin is with self-acceptance. Accept yourself, unconditionally, right now. Warts and all. Flaws and everything. Self-acceptance is like a rallying cry for your dreams, intentions, and actions. Let’s gather together and accept every last part of Me today and push ahead into the future as one whole, powerful unit.

You might know where you want to go, but it is so much harder to get there if you don’t know and accept where you are. Imagine trying to get directions with only an end location. “Well, I want to arrive at X but since I don’t know where I’m coming from, I have literally twenty options to try to get there.” Which is all still fine. But without knowing where you are, you might end up on the scenic route when you want the express lane, or end up caught in traffic because you didn’t know about a strategic overpass that avoids the messes.

You might not necessarily like where you are or who you are right now. But did you know that that’s awesome? It’s awesome because dissatisfaction can give you the inspiration and drive to be somewhere else and change into somebody new. But who you are today is an integral part of the person you will be tomorrow. You can’t have the “after” picture without the “before.”

So, let’s recap:
Accept yourself for who you are today.

Start your changes any day. Any day can be a New Year.

If you lapse, start again. And again. And again.

When you get there, celebrate your success.

Repeat.

And have a most wonderful 2014.

Barry Krost Featured in Podcast on Family Constellations

Posted by: The Balancing Center

Yesterday, Barry Krost, one of our bodyworkers extraordinaire, was featured in the podcast "Ancestral Roots," hosted by Rosalba Stocco. 

Barry practices "Constellation Bodywork" in order to help people resolve issues that might not even be their own. Just as we inherit our hair color and nose shape from our parents and grandparents, we might unwittingly inherit the emotional entanglements of our ancestors. It's hard to enough to solve and resolve your own problems--imagine trying to resolve the problems of past generations without even knowing that they are from the past!

This is where Family Constellation systems can help. Barry focuses on meeting clients where they are--mentally, physically, and emotionally--in order to best facilitate their sessions. With thirty years of training in various modalities of bodywork, Barry brings something extra to his constellation sessions.

Barry offers constellation appointments at our office and they are a wonderful complement to the more physical care. You can call the office to find out more about his work and availability!

And you can listen to the entire podcast here: http://bit.ly/18Ue4NC

Why I Love Chiropractic Care

Posted by: Lindsay

Yesterday morning began like any other morning when I have to be at work by 9:30. I woke up to my alarm, snoozed for ten more minutes, lounged under the warm covers for three minutes more (wishing I could take them with me), and then rushed through a shower to make up time.

The pain began when I was blow-drying my hair. I’d had pain similar to this before: sharp and throbbing, contained to one particular spot on one side of my head (but sometimes radiating to the other), exacerbated if I bent over. The pain would recede as the day wore on, surprising me in intervals but turning into nothing more than a slight nuisance.

I was not so lucky yesterday. As I walked fifteen minutes to the train, every step seemed to make the pain worsen. By the time I was on the Red Line, I was almost dizzy with discomfort. Nausea overtook me, and my stomach roiled with the swaying of the car. My headache added to the nausea and the nausea augmented the headache. I counted down the stops with increasing desperation, wanting nothing more than fresh air and solid ground. And, of course, for the pain to stop!

Needless to say, by the time I reached the office, I was a useless wreck. I could barely get my heavy snow boots off and explain to my coworkers that I was feeling at least slightly ill. 

My office manager told me that I could have stayed home. And I was certainly planning on heading straight back there. 

But not before I got an adjustment.

I am beyond fortunate to work in an office that provides absolutely world-class chiropractic care. As awful as I was feeling, I knew that I stood an infinitely better chance of feeling better if I could make it to the office and get onto an adjusting table.

Dr. Dan himself provided my adjustment. He corrected my neck, adjusted my upper back, worked on my head, and corrected my neck again. I stood up from the table and felt a little dizzy, and lightheaded, but in the good way, as if I was floating and free. One of the best parts? The pain was gone. 

As I sit at my desk today, I am so grateful that I work with some of the most talented healers in Chicago. It’s liberating to know that my pain was addressed at its root level and not just masked by a painkiller. 

My story is not unique. Countless people come to The Balancing Center seeking relief. Some people enter unable to walk and leave dancing; others suffer from monthly migraines that recede into memory as they progress in their care. The doctors here strive to bring wondrous healing to everyone who comes through our doors. 

Some important takeaways: 

Healing takes time and progresses in stages: the damage of a few years is not cured within a few days. Like braces remold your teeth over time, chiropractic care heals your spine over time.

New pain might actually be old pain that is allowed to resurface and come to light. Has your foot ever fallen asleep and gone numb? Well, it’s undoubtedly a good thing that it comes back to life, even if the pins and needles are new and painful.

Regular chiropractic care is better than sporadic chiropractic care, just like regular flossing and tooth-brushing are better than sporadic tooth care. Regular care keeps you healthy and out of crisis just like regular tooth-brushing keeps the cavities away.

Finally, when you feel awful and want to cancel your appointment, come in anyway. Yesterday’s train ride was one of the longest, most unpleasant experiences of my adult life, but it was absolutely worth it for the relief and healing I received.

After Dr. Dan finished adjusting me, I went home to sleep off the remainder of the monster headache. Little twinges of pain did return as the day progressed, but rarely and not nearly at the same intensity of the morning. It was almost a miracle.

I say “almost” because while my healing was wondrous, it certainly wasn’t unusual, extraordinary, or unexpected. This is what chiropractic care does and is meant to do, after all! We think of the results as miraculous because they can be so profound and personally meaningful--in that way, this care is indeed miraculous. Chiropractic care, however, is not a supernatural phenomenon that is unavailable or inexplicable: if you’re willing to give it a try, you can welcome some wonder into your everyday life.

Your Immune System Could be 200% Stronger

Posted by: The Balancing Center

It’s that time of year. As if the snow and the dark weren’t enough to deal with, the winter season can be a harbinger of the cough, the cold, the runny nose, the stuffy nose, the sore throat, and the flu. The physical and mental discomfort of being sick stops us in our tracks and for good reason: the body heals best when it’s at rest.

Sometimes the commitments of being adults force us to leave the comfort of our homes and beds. In the throes of a nasty cold, canceling the non-essential items on our list can be a huge relief. Maybe your haircut or shopping trip can wait until after you’re not hacking up a lung or running a fever.

But if you want to get better faster, here’s a crucial tip:

Keep your chiropractic appointment!

People who are feeling sick will venture out to visit the doctor’s office for antibiotics or a check-up. You might want to cancel your adjustment but remember that your chiropractor is a type of doctor, and, more importantly, a type of doctor who can help you feel better even faster!

By getting adjusted, you are making sure that your spine is allowing your nervous system to function at its highest capacity. Why is this important? Because the nervous system is the master control of your body, affecting your organs, your brain, your muscles, and your various systems, including your all-important immune system. A misalignment in your spine can greatly interfere with your nervous system and subsequently the regular functions of your body.

A misalignment also throws your body into its “defense physiology.” When your body is under stress, any systems that aren’t essential to your immediate survival are suppressed. The stress of a misalignment reduces the efficiency of your digestion, respiration, elimination, procreation, and your immune response.

So, first, getting aligned means that your immune system won’t be compromised. Second, and even better, regular chiropractic adjustments can actually further boost your immune system! In a five-year study, subjects who receive regular chiropractic adjustments had a 200% increase in immune response than subjects who did not. Chiropractic adjustments also increase the number of white blood cells in your system.

We hope you stay healthy all winter long but if you should come down with a cold, keep that appointment or call us to set one up! In addition to bed rest, hot beverages, and chicken noodle soup, a chiropractic adjustment is just what your body ordered.

Live to be 100 Years Old!

Posted by: The Balancing Center

How would you like 4 quick, proven, you-can-do-them-all-today ways to increase your chances of flourishing until age 100?

Dan Buettner and National Geographic teamed up to study the areas of the world that boast the most centenarians. They called these areas and this project “Blue Zones.” All the communities of the world that celebrate multiple 100th birthdays share 9 characteristics in common. You can watch the amazing talk Dan Buettner gives for the full picture and visit his website for the full breakdown of the “Power 9.”

In the meantime, here are 4 things that you can integrate into your life today!  

1. Move Naturally

What if I told you that you don’t have to exercise to live until 100? Shocking, unbelievable, almost blasphemous to say, right?

In each Blue Zone of the world, centenarians don’t exercise in the way we are familiar with. They don’t jog, do Pilates, Crossfit, or visit the gym. They do, however, incorporate lots of natural movement into their daily lives. How? By “deconveniencing” their lives.

In Okinawa, Japan, people don’t have furniture for sitting and end up doing 30 to 40 squats every day just by sitting down and getting up to perform daily tasks. Sardinians walk, on average, 5 miles a day as they go to work and pick up groceries.

Try substituting walking for one leg of your daily commute. Walk to the grocery store and use the natural weight of your groceries to build your muscles. Sit on the floor while you watch TV--you’ll have to exert more energy each time you want to get up. Forgo a seat and stand while you’re on the train or bus to sustain good posture and increase your blood and energy flow.

2. Downshift

Stress is a killer, most people would agree. One way to live longer and better is to take time to destress. By just taking ten to fifteen to thirty minutes each day to unwind--with no distractions, no cell phone, no email--you can increase your lifespan and your enjoyment of it.

What’s your favorite way to have fun? What is guaranteed to make you laugh? Pets are shown to decrease stress and if you don’t have one, here’s a video of an adorable corgi in a losing battle with a tennis ball! Have a glass of red wine tonight and simply sip and enjoy. (Incidentally, moderate and regular alcohol consumption is another thing you can do tonight to increase your longevity!)

3. Hara Hachi Bu

The Okinawans repeat this phrase at the start of each meal to remind themselves to stop eating when they are 80% full. The benefits to this are plenty.

For one, this will give your brain the time it needs to register that you have enough food in you to function. It takes about twenty minutes for the signals to get from stomach to brain and stopping before you think you are 100% full can provide you with that necessary time.

For another, you end up eating less, which leads to less wear and tear on your body overall. Fewer calories means you can maintain a healthy weight with more ease, and I hardly need to repeat the reasons why a healthy weight is, well, healthy.

4. Honor a loved one

Centenarians live in communities that put their loved ones first. Grandparents and the elderly live at home, children are nurtured and nourished, and people make lifetime commitments to their romantic partners.

These are lifetime practices, but the practices of a lifetime can begin at any time and today is always the best time. Take a minute to call up a loved one, arrange a dinner for your friends, hug your children, or go for a walk with your spouse. Added bonus? These activities are opportunities where you can practice hara hachi bu, destress, and add some natural physical movement into your life.

At some point, the number of your age doesn’t matter. But wouldn’t it be wonderful to live a better, richer, and flourishing life for whatever time you are on the planet?

Check out the full Power 9 and see what you can integrate. We wish you a long and lovely life.

November's Product of the Month

Posted by: The Balancing Center

The holidays are approaching. (Maybe you noticed the storefronts around the city have gone straight to displaying Christmas trees? We’ll be celebrating Christmas in July soon enough.)

Whichever holiday you observe, the upcoming months are a wonderful time for the three Fs: family, friends, and food.

And oh, the food. Holiday meals are more like feasts, tables arrayed with countless combinations of meats and vegetables and fruits in a variety of spices and seasonings and sauces.

Between the freezing wind outside and the plates of rich food inside, hibernation begins to make sense for us humans.

That’s why for this November, our Product of the Month is Eaze, a digestive supplement from Orenda. Eaze is a supplement that supports digestion from mouth to stomach to gut and not only relieves digestive discomfort but supports an overall healthy digestive system. You can digest rich feasts easier with this blend of 31 digestive enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics!

Prebiotics and probiotics, however, are not just for easier digestion (though they are stupendous at that). Recent research suggests that repopulating your stomach and gut with healthy, essential prebiotics and probiotics can help support a buoyant and healthy mind! Scientists have long known that the brain sends signals to the stomach and digestive tract but only recently have they begun to study how the stomach and digestive tract actually send signals back to the brain.

Read more about the effects of prebiotics and probiotics on mental health here.

This holiday season, digest your feasts with ease with Eaze! And, as a bonus, give your brain a boost!

To order Eaze, stop by the office to pick up a bottle at a $5 discount! You can also click here and select the “Get Started” icon in the top right corner of the page to shop for it and other Orenda products. If you have any questions, give us a call at (312) 787-7222 or schedule an appointment.

Spotlight on Barry Krost

Posted by: The Balancing Center

Therapeutic bodywork is a wonderful complement to chiropractic care. The advanced techniques of practices like Ortho-Bionomy, craniosacral, or Neuromuscular release, (just to name a few), can enhance the body’s innate ability to heal itself, especially in tandem with regular adjustments. If chiropractic keeps the roads straight, clear, and flowing, bodywork increases and deepens the connections made on those roads.

If you’ve been a patient of ours and want to see great acceleration in your healing, consider scheduling an appointment with one of our skilled bodyworkers. This week’s spotlight is on Barry Krost, a.k.a., the Psoas Whisperer.

Barry has over 30 years of experience in bodywork and energy healing, specializing in Ortho-Bionomy and Family Systemic Constellations, among several other techniques. He has an incredibly deep bag of skills and calls upon any and all of them when he is working with a client. Barry tailors his session to match each client’s unique needs.

He is known as the Psoas Whisperer because he has extensive experience working with the psoas muscle, a muscle that is located in the lower back and flexes the hip and spine. As Barry states on his website dedicated to the psoas, “Back pain frequently results from a dysfunctional psoas muscle. When the psoas becomes contracted due to injuries, poor posture, prolonged sitting, or stress, it can alter the biomechanics of the pelvis and the lumbar vertebrae creating intense pressure on the lower spine.”

So, basically, have you been experiencing lower back pain? Pain in your hip or leg? You might have a stressed psoas muscle and you might not know it!

And Barry’s talents just begin there! He is also a skilled Family Constellation facilitator, and helps people heal their bodies, minds, and spirits by way of Family Constellation therapy. This modality centers on untangling you from the intricate web of your family, past and present. Have you ever felt stuck, lost, confused, personally or professionally, no matter how many techniques you try? You could be caught in the unresolved tension present in your family and even your ancestors.

Barry just returned from the US Systemic Constellation Conference 2013, a four-day conference in Seattle. He had the opportunity to meet and breathe with indigenous Maori tribesman, participate in profound constellation sessions, and deepen his connection with the work. And he also completed a year-long immersion course in Family Constellation facilitation training, mentored by Suzi Tucker, a prominent author in the field.

Barry is a warm light at the office, offering his perspective and wisdom on both healing and office flow. He offers appointments from Monday through Saturday and his schedule complements the chiropractors’ schedules so patients can heal at optimal times for them!

Call for an appointment with Barry to relieve your lower back pain, untangle yourself from your family web, and accelerate your innate ability to heal. And visit one of his many websites for more information on his modalities and techniques.