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.

Our Fall Updates

Posted by: The Balancing Center

The seasons have changed and taken us along for the ride! New systems, new promotions, and new employees--here’s what’s new for Fall at The Balancing Center!

Going Green:

Transitioning to our electronic records system continues. Despite some early glitches, we are running more smoothly every day. It’s been a period of real learning, challenge, and growth for the chiropractors, bodyworkers, and front desk associates. And it’s also been a time of change for our patients, whose patience we greatly appreciate!

November New Patient Promotion:

From November 1st until November 30th, we are featuring a special “New Patient” promotion. New patients can receive $50 off their first visit! We are handing out promotional postcards with all the details to our wonderful existing patients. If you know someone who could benefit from our care, this is a great way to give him or her the gift of health.

Monthly In-house Raffle:
Also starting November 1st, we are running a monthly raffle. If you are an existing and active patient, you can be eligible to win one of our monthly, changing prizes!* This month you can win a $100 gift card to Whole Foods! Ticket entries are based on your presence at and engagement with The Balancing Center.

How can you increase your chances? Here is the breakdown:

Action	Tickets
Complete an appointment at the office	1
Like, share, or comment on our Facebook, Twitter, or blog	2
Complete your monthly care plan	5
Leave us an online review (Yelp, Google+, Citysearch, etc.)	5
Refer a new patient	10
Provide a written or video testimonial	10
Graduate between stages of your treatment plan	10
Invite one of the docs to give a FREE health talk at your office!	25

Our first raffle drawing will be on November 25th. We love our patients and want to show it! Look for more information about this raffle coming soon.

New member of our office family:

We would like to formally welcome Jackie to The Balancing Center as our newest front desk associate and patient advocate.

 

Jackie Woodruff graduated with a psychology degree from Duke University, which she loves to put to use by better understanding and meeting the needs of the Balancing Center’s patients. She has a deep understanding of the power of thought and belief, and greatly enjoys learning more about the connection between the brain and body. Her passion for wellness and service come together perfectly at the front desk, assuring the best quality of assistance for our patients.


November Hours:
To accommodate for being closed on Thanksgiving and Black Friday (Nov. 28th and 29th), we have extended hours on November 27th from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm. Dr. Dan will be working the Saturday shift on November 30th from 8:30 am until 1:00 pm.

That’s all we have for you for now! We wish you all a most happy Fall and hope to see you soon!