Chiro Q&A - Meditation

Posted by: The Balancing Center

In Chiro Q&A we ask the members of The Balancing Center a question and they answer!

Today’s question: What is your favorite way to meditate?

Dr. Dan: I practice spiritual exercises that focus on projecting my consciousness outward.

Dr. Ken: If I’m going to meditate, I listen to the “Holosync CD.” It has some guided listening that helps you get to sleep.

Dr. James: I do something. I walk, I do the dishes, I like to puff on a cigar, doing something helps me zone out and relax.

Barry: Three meditations I practice are the recordings of Kelly Howell, transcendental meditation, and meditating on the mantra I receive from Amah.

Mary: I meditate through a centering prayer and by practicing tonglen, a Tibetan meditation.

Mark: I like to practice a walking meditation. My second favorite way is to meditate while performing the last half of my yoga routine.

Jen: I like to be myself and I usually meditate in bed before I go to sleep. I’ll practice dynamic tension as I meditate and I can fall asleep right away!

Lindsay: There’s this audio track of shamanic drumming that takes me to cool places. I also like to try to listen to everything and pick up every sound that my ears can detect.

Jackie: I love running while listening to music. I can just be in it with my runner’s high.

There’s more than one way up the mountain! Meditation doesn’t have to just be sitting in silence. If your particular practice helps you quiet your thoughts and get you centered, go for it!

Meet the Docs - Dr. James Tickel

Posted by: The Balancing Center

Dr. James Tickel, one of six children, grew up fighting for his food. We joke in the office about how he still inhales his lunches, as if his four brothers and one sister are hiding around the corner. Dr. Tickel says, "The dinner table was a battlefield."

That big family is rooted in chiropractic: Dr. James’ father, mother, older brother (and his wife), and younger brother (and his wife) are all chiropractors. The late Dr. William Tickel was a foremost chiropractor and philosopher on the practice of chiropractic. You might say that it was inevitable that Dr. James himself become a chiropractor.

But he’ll be the first to tell you that while he was born into chiropractic, it wasn’t until college that he discovered he had a true passion for it. As a young adult, Dr. James disliked school and decided to finish his undergraduate degree as quickly as possible and then his chiropractic degree as quickly as possible. He wanted to figure out, as quickly as possible, if the field was right for him.

While attending Life University’s College of Chiropractic in Atlanta, Dr. James found out that he loved chiropractic, while making some of the best friends of his life. Seven years later, he brings his skill, passion, and healing intuition to The Balancing Center every day.

Did you know that Dr. James was a patient at The Balancing Center before he became an associate? He lived in the city at the time, and would visit Dr. Ken to get adjusted on his commute to his chiropractic office in the suburbs. Now he lives in the suburbs and commutes to the city to work--the one thing that has remained the same is that he still sees Dr. Ken (and Dr. Dan) for his weekly chiropractic adjustments!

Dr. James and his wife, a psychiatrist, plan to open a holistic healing center offering psychiatric resources and chiropractic corrections. We love working with Dr. James and witnessing him grow into an even better chiropractor and healer.

In the meantime, Dr. James and his wife enjoy a variety of eclectic hobbies, including the production of their own wine! Dr. James is about ready to bottle wine that has been already aging for a year and the first bottles will be ready to uncork in about six months. They have also imported some grapes from Lodi (a vineyard just south of San Francisco) to begin a new year of zinfandel.

You can ask Dr. James about his wine, and about anything else (since he swears he’s an open book) during your next appointment with him!

Surprise! Allergy Relief

Posted by: Lindsay

One of the wonderful features of chiropractic care is the pleasant surprise. You might come in to ease your back pain and walk out also cured of your migraines. Dr. Dan certainly experienced a number of pleasant surprises after his first chiropractic adjustment. Going in for back pain, he was shocked to discover how his headaches disappeared, his sinuses drained, and his allergies simply went away.

That allergy part sounds great. I’ve had hay fever since I was 8 and learning that chiropractic care can ease my itchy eyes and sneezy nose made me an enthusiastic patient indeed!

How does chiropractic care alleviate seasonal allergies? An aligned spine eases allergies on several different fronts. For one, a subluxation or misalignment in your spine can pinch nerves in your body. Since your brain controls your body through your spine and your nervous system, pinched nerves make it more difficult for your brain to send messages to all the parts of your body. Certain vertebrae are in charge of controlling your sinuses and if these are out of alignment, they cannot control and regulate your sinuses correctly.

If your sinuses are not functioning correctly, they might overreact when certain irritants invade your nose and eyes. Allergies (watery or dry eyes, runny or stuffy noses) are the body’s overreaction to irritants like pollen and ragweed.

So a spinal adjustment that decreases the pressure on your nerves can increase the functioning of your nervous system so your brain can properly tell your sinuses, “Calm down! It’ll be okay!”

And speaking of calming down, an aligned spine means your body is just under less stress. Less pressure on the nerves means better communication throughout the body and if everything can connect without interference or struggle, everything can flow with ease. Your body is better able to respond and react to stress, handling new pressures or changes with grace.

This isn’t to say that chiropractic care doesn’t help your back pain because it definitely can and does! But sometimes people don’t realize or know about the other wonderful, unexpected results you can experience because of a straightened spine.

This allergy season, you might give chiropractic care a try. And maybe you’ll come in for allergy relief and walk out with more energy than you’ve had in years. Visit our office and discover some pleasant surprises!