Community News
Spring Cleaning with Lemon Essential Oil

Spring is here, and as nature’s colours begin to reveal themselves once again, many people are cleaning up their homes as well as their body’s lymphatic systems. Lemon essential oil is inexpensive, and it’s a great natural alternative for cleansing and energizing yourself and your house. Lemon essential oil is superb for helping throw off any lingering coughs or colds. It can also be used to cleanse the skin and remove grease after automotive or household repairs. If you’re looking for a safe and effective way to remove sticky price tag residue…try a drop of Lemon essential oil. And you can forget those nasty aerosol cans and plug-in “air fresheners”…just add some Lemon essential oil to a spray bottle and mist the air throughout your home. The essential oil molecules will stay airborne for several hours and give your living space a clean, fresh scent that naturally uplifts your mood!

Nelson Meggitt, OptimumWellnessFactor.ca

Embrace Your Body Intelligence

The same intelligence that grew you in embryo is still present within your body, with an innate drive towards health. It expresses as rhythmic motions in the fibres, fluids, and energy fields of your living anatomy. How can you tap into this? A Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist (RCST®) gently holding your fully clothed body can help you tune in! This facilitates a natural slowing down. In response, tissues rehydrate and soften, fibres lengthen, and pulls dissipate to allow spontaneous realignment. This letting go of old holding patterns, and natural dropping into deeper states of relaxation, brings a sense of expansion: in breath, mind, and the physical body – while the nervous system totally slows down. Organs, glands, vascular, lymphatic, digestive, and other systems function more optimally, supporting essential flow of biochemical and neurological information. In this state, your health is expressing more fully, and most symptoms, including chronic pain, can dramatically lessen – and eventually dissipate.

Christina Nienaber-Roberts, MSc, NHPC, RCST®, CYT, CourtenayMassageTherapy.com

Reduce Injury from Gardening

It’s said the secret to a healthy garden is a healthy gardener. Gardening is an active pursuit that, while beneficial, can also cause muscle strain to the lower back, shoulders, knees, and arms, especially if you’re out of shape from a winter of inactivity. To get the most from your gardening season, physiotherapists recommend the following. To reduce strain, keep your tools close to your body and your back straight. When weeding, don’t bend at the waist. Instead, squat or kneel on a kneeling pad. When lifting or carrying, know your limits, and bend your knees, not your back. When digging or shoveling, keep your back straight, bend your knees, and avoid twisting. Take frequent breaks, spread tasks over a period of time, and allow yourself to recover between projects. Remember to stay hydrated. For more healthy gardening tips, consult your physiotherapist.

Doug Treloar, Physiotherapist, PhysioFirstClinic.ca

Benefits of Tuina Massage

Tuina massage therapy makes use of rhythmic compression techniques in different energy channels of the body to establish a harmonious flow of Qi (bio-energy). Tuina uses various hand techniques in combination with acupressure and other manipulation methods. In Tuina massage, that often focuses on the deeper layer muscle and connective tissues. This massage removes the blockages and keeps the energy moving through the meridians, as well as through the muscles and joints. The best part about it is that it relaxes as well as energizes. Tuina is a very effective therapy for stiff neck, sore back, arthritis, sciatica, and muscle aches and spasms. It also helps with stress-related disorders like insomnia, indigestion, and headaches. It can be used to address both internal illness and muscular injuries. If you’re suffering from a physical ailment or looking for an alternative, holistic approach to overall wellness, Tuina massage may be an effective option.

Dr. Li Lin, Brandon Acupuncture Chinese Medicine & Herbal Centre, Brandon-Acupuncture.com

Access BARS® – Change with Ease

What if you could change your whole life in just an hour, all while lying down and relaxing? Access BARS® is an energetic body healing process. It is very nurturing and relaxing. At worst you will feel like you have just had the best massage of your life. At best, your whole life can change into something greater with total ease. Having your BARS® run may have so many profound effects like reduced stress and worry and mind chatter, increased energy, elimination of aches, pains and stiffness in the body and elimination of insomnia. Also, helps with depression, Autism, ADD, ADHD, decreased aging, and it can even help you lose weight! Two years ago, I had my BARS® run for the first time. My life changed dramatically! This healing modality has helped me lose 100 pounds, start, and run 3 businesses, improve my sleep, and handle life with ease.

Wendy Omilanow, Access Consciousness Bars

You are Not Alone!

Making the decision to separate is a very hard decision, whether you are the initiator or not. Do you feel like you are alone and nobody can understand what you are going through or what you are feeling? Do you feel as though nobody understands the sadness, heartbreak, anger, and all the other emotions you are going through? Everyone goes through an emotional time during a separation/divorce. But everyone has a unique experience on the roller-coaster ride. You find yourself at a fork in the road and don’t know what path to take in this new phase of your life. A Life Coach can guide you through these changes and help you find your path to happiness. Your coach will help you find balance in your life and guide you to creating the new you. You don’t need to navigate this emotional rollercoaster alone! Kori Gordon, Finding You – Body.

Mind. Soul, FindingYouNow.com

Listen to Your Body

Did you know our bodies are trying to send us messages all day, especially when we are not willing to pay attention to different aspects of our lives? If you are experiencing neck pain, it may be that your body and mind are trying to tell you something. When you have a sore neck, ask yourself who in your life is a pain in the neck. Can you bring more compassion to the situation to soften the tension? Are you sticking your neck out for someone else? Are you breaking your neck to get something done? Is someone breathing down your neck? Were you aware that waking up during the night is an indication that your body is unable to process an issue that could be affecting your life? If you are feeling overburdened, your shoulders will ache. Our bodies are letting us know what parts of our lives require attention.

Inspire You Studio, RobinChant.com

Mobilization and Manipulation

Mobilization and manipulation are terms that have become interchangeable. The lack of a clear definition of these terms often results in communication problems and leads to misconceptions. These terms describe passive techniques; that is, maneuvers performed by physical therapists and other qualified health care providers. They may be applied to joints and related soft tissues at varying speeds and amplitudes (ranges), with the primary purpose of increasing joint mobility, normalizing joint function, and reducing pain. Mobilizations are graded, oscillatory techniques that move the joint within its physiologic range of motion, the voluntary range of motion available in a joint. However, a manipulation is a high-velocity, short amplitude (thrust) technique performed at the end of the physiologic barrier. Appropriate selection and safe application of these techniques require extensive training and knowledge of anatomy and pathology by a qualified therapist.

Paula Moreira, B.Sc., BMR.PT., MCISc., FCAMPT, Physio 4U, Physio4U.net

Pets and Lyme Disease

It’s important to routinely check your animals for ticks, particularly if you live in high-risk areas or have recently visited one. Vets have access to a reliable blood test so if your vet suggests testing for Lyme, it’s a good idea. Dogs can be vaccinated against Lyme disease, but the vaccine is relatively new and somewhat controversial. Common symptoms include arthritis (sudden lameness), pain, fever, lack of appetite, dehydration, inactivity and swollen lymph nodes and joints. Lyme disease in cats is rare, but not unheard-of. Lyme disease is also very common in horses. Some studies show that 50% of horses in high-risk areas will contract Lyme disease over their lifetime. Horses are at a higher risk than other animals because ticks often go unnoticed. It’s difficult to accurately diagnose animals with Lyme disease. Be sure to follow-up with your vet right away if your pet’s condition doesn’t improve.

Source – CanLyme.com

Heed the Gut-Brain Connection

More and more evidence is showing that your gut health has an enormous effect on your brain, your body’s immune system, and hormonal secretion. Food sensitivities can cause ill effects beyond the physical symptoms of inflammation, allergies, and asthma. Anxiety, depression, irritability, and mood swings can also appear, because they create imbalances in key chemicals in the brain. Dietary changes that include probiotics, fermented foods, and natural fats help your microbiome and gut-brain signaling. Stress and cortisol equip you with energy to attend to tasks at hand; however, excess or chronic stress has a negative effect on brain chemistry, causing thyroid dysfunction and/ or adrenal fatigue, which leads to compromised mental and physical health. Know that Brainwave Optimization brings relaxation to the master regulator of the nervous system – the brain – so it can help your gut. In a “both-and” world, it’s all connected.

Joanne Couture, RMFT, RSW, La Loba Services, LalobaTraumaRelease.com

Craving or Clue?

How many rice cakes does it take to satisfy a chocolate craving? About 10 followed by a gigantic chocolate bar. What if cravings are clues that you have a need that’s not being met? That instead of chocolate what you really need is rest, pain relief or someone to talk to? A craving that doesn’t come from hunger can’t be satisfied with food. How to know if you’re hungry for a Mars Bar or a nap? 1. Become aware of a sudden and intense craving. 2. Be curious. What’s going on right now? How am I feeling? Am I actually hungry? How hungry am I? What is my real need here? It may very well be a Mars Bar, but you don’t really know until you ask yourself. If it is, savour it without guilt and congratulate yourself on the mindful decision for real self-care.

Lisa Kehler, OffYourPlateNutrition.ca