We have buttons. We have triggers. We have experiences that send us flying off the handle. These intangibles cause a ton of stress in our lives and in our relationships. The interesting piece to this is that we do not wear our buttons on our surface. Others don’t even realize they are pushing our buttons because they cannot see them. A button or trigger for one person is totally neutral for someone else. This means that the buttons and triggers themselves are not actually the issue – how we react to them is the issue. Our reactions stem from our minds and are a result of our past, our patterns, and our beliefs. Our buttons, triggers, and reactions are resolved by uncovering and removing them within the mind itself. What buttons/triggers do you have that if resolved, would eliminate stress and conflict within your life?
Community News
Drive Right
ROAD TRIP! The car is packed, snacks ready, music cranked, you’re ready for a summer adventure! Then aches come, back tight, legs cramped, neck stiff. It’s a common problem you can help avoid with simple vehicle ergonomics. The back of the knees should be 2-3 fingers width away from the seat pan and the left knee at a 90-degree bend. Recline the backrest from vertical by about 2-3 inches; adjust lumbar support if you have it. With hands on the steering wheel at 9 and 3 o’clock, positions elbows should be at your side with a slight bend. Be close to the car/load you lift when packing/unpacking the car, no twisting motions and lift with your legs! Remember it’s your holiday, take breaks. Get out of the car every few hours to stretch and move. Enjoy your vacation, you earned it!
Benefits of Green Tea Extract
Green tea extract is a powerful fat burner loaded with beneficial antioxidants called catechins that help support immune function, cardiovascular health, and fat loss. Studies show that regular consumption of green tea extract has a positive effect on overall health and to your dietary habits. It also contains 2% to 4% caffeine, which affects thinking and alertness, increases urine output and may improve the function of brain messengers. The addition of caffeine to the potent mix of catechins revs up your production of noradrenaline, pumping you with feel good confidence, stimulating the nervous system, heart, and muscles by increasing the release of certain chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. To safely incorporate green tea extract into your weight loss regimen, consider drinking plenty of water. One of the active ingredients in SlimROAST weight loss coffee from Valentus – The Healthiest Coffee on the Planet!
Screen Addiction & Your Kids
You have over 230 moveable or semi-moveable joints in your body, and guess what they are designed to do? That’s right – MOVE! When joints are motionless for long periods of time they begin to lose normal function. Now look at the posture our kids have when they are looking at their devices. They often assume this gargoyle like pose for hours. Though it may seem like they are just wasting time, they are also damaging their spine. The Canadian Society of Pediatrics state infants aged 0-2 years should not have any exposure to technology, 3-5 years be restricted to one hour per day, and 6-18 years restricted to two hours per day. As we end the summer and move back into the school season, there is an inevitable change in our routine. Use that change as an opportunity to schedule time for your kids (and you) away from electronics.
Creating Balance; How Full Do You Need to Be?
Our lives are a blank slate…what we put in them is up to us. Logistics to make our lives operate well is essential, but the bigger question is how do we create a balance within to nourish ourselves and decrease the cortisol levels so that we don’t always run on adrenaline? When we schedule too many things in our lives, we rob ourselves of precious down time and an opportunity to replenish. Our quick texting and instant gratification world we live in demands us to be “on” and creates a fear of missing out, trying to please and wrestling with the guilt of saying: “no thank you I shall pass on that.” There is definitely an important skill to develop where we honour our obligations and expectations to others without neglecting a need to take care of ourselves.
Is Illness Normal?
No. No. No. Due to the prevalence of issues with poor health in today’s society we consider illness normal and inevitable. We have a ‘victim’ mentality and that we are unable to do much about the ’inevitable’. We take medicines (prescription and over-the-counter) but they mostly just mask symptoms or slow down the progression of a health condition. Health issues such as diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, depression, IBS, Alzheimer’s, cancer, dementia, allergies, issues with thyroid, gut, adrenal, auto-immune, inflammatory processes or skin can likely be traced to a poor diet. 71% of the calories in the Standard American Diet did not exist 100 years ago. We have strayed so far from the diet that our ancient ancestors thrived on. Let a Primal Health Coach teach you how YOU can allow YOUR body/mind to heal and BE IN CHARGE!
Financial Fitness: Retirement Checkup
Here are three signs that your retirement plan could use a check-up:
1. You don’t know your number. Are you aware of how much retirement savings you need to retire successfully? If you can’t answer that question, you can’t measure if you’re on track to hit your goal.
2. You expect to have one or more loans in retirement. Living on a fixed income in retirement isn’t easy, and hefty debt payments don’t make it any easier. You should re-examine your debt repayment strategy if it looks like your mortgage, credit cards or line of credit are here to stay.
3. Are you unsure when to take government benefits? The timing of your government pensions is critical to a successful retirement. You’ve paid for them your entire working career so now is not the time to let that money go to waste!
Eating for Your Genes
Not everyone is created equal, right? Nutrigenomics is a new scientific discipline that uses modern genomics technology to study the relationship between genes, nutrition, and health. Nutrigenomics examines how the interaction between genes and diet can positively influence human health. Genetic differences can affect how we respond to the foods we eat, giving each of us our specific nutritional needs. The comprehensive genetic test is a simple saliva test that consists of 45 genetic markers. Learn how your genes can affect weight management, nutrient metabolism, food intolerances and more. Together we will use the information from the Personalized Nutrition Report and your current dietary habits, preferences or restrictions to develop a personalized nutritional plan. Recent research has shown that giving people information about their genes motivates them to adopt healthier dietary habits and stick to them!
What can Green Tea Extract do?
Green tea extract is a powerful fat burner loaded with beneficial antioxidants called catechins that help support immune function, cardiovascular health, and fat loss. Numerous epidemiological studies show that regular consumption of green tea extract has a net positive effect on overall health and can be a worthwhile addition to your dietary habits, especially if your goal is fat loss. It also contains 2% to 4% caffeine, which affects thinking and alertness, increases urine output and may improve the function of brain messengers. The addition of caffeine to the potent mix of catechins revs up your production of noradrenaline, pumping you with feel good confidence, stimulating the nervous system, heart, and muscles by increasing the release of certain chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters. To safely incorporate green tea extract into your weight loss regimen, consider drinking plenty of water.
Valentus – The Healthiest Coffee on the Planet!
Disability Tax Credits
There has been a lot of talk lately about the disability tax credit. You may have seen an ad in your community newspaper telling readers that they can get a considerable tax saving of $2500 per year, as well as sizable tax refund of up to $20,000 from Revenue Canada Agency (CRA). The basis of all of this is that it is dependent on a person having both a medical condition that meets the eligibility criteria for the program and taxable income enough to be able to use a tax credit. Most are skeptical of these ads, thinking that it can’t be true, that CRA will actually pay them back tax money they paid in past tax years based on the severity of their medical condition. Some will ask how is this possible and why haven’t I heard about this. Well, I can tell you that it’s true. Let me tell you a bit about the Disability tax credit program, and how it has helped thousands of Canadians save money on their income tax each as well as receive a nice tax refund.
The Disability Tax Credit (DTC) and the disability amount is a non-refundable tax credit that a person with a medical condition that meets the eligibility criteria can claim to reduce their yearly taxable income. When determined eligible to use the credit, a person may be able to claim the credit for future use or have it applied retroactively to past tax returns. The refund or tax reduction is based a person’s total payable tax amount and may be worth up to a $2,500 tax reduction or refund for each year they qualify. Before applying for the disability tax credit a person must have a medical condition that meets the eligibility criteria that CRA has set out. In assessing the medical condition, CRA looks at the effect that a person’s medical condition has on their daily activities and details specific activities that must be affected in order to be considered. The application process can be somewhat involved and may take some time to go through, but the outcome can be worth the effort.
Let me tell you my own experience with the disability tax credit. A number of years ago I went through a difficult period of time, experiencing pain in my daily activities. I had two hip replacements within an 8 month span, this after living with osteoarthritis for over 12 years prior. With help from a tax credit consultant, in 2009, I went through the disability tax credit process and received a tax refund of close to $20,000. Over the next 5 years, I was able to use the credit when I did my taxes and saw an additional $10,000 in tax savings.
Readers may ask how to go about applying for this substantial tax credit. While it is possible try and go through this process on your own, a person may be better off consulting with a professional who knows the policies and procedures that make up the disability tax credit program in order to maximize the benefits of this program. A tax credit advocate with experience at the DTC program will help clients assess their medical condition and financial situation in order to make sure they have a chance of meeting the criteria and are able to use the credit if they get it. An initial assessment can make a big difference in determining whether or not it would be worthwhile for a potential applicant, their spouse, or family member to go through the process of trying to gain eligibility for the DTC. Advocates help guide people through the DTC process by preparing the necessary preliminary documentation, review and submit the required paperwork to Canada Revenue Agency, follow the progress of the application from start to end, and make recommendations can help a person stay informed and involved in the process. Where there is a problem or delay, an advocate can resolve issues and keep the process moving forward. As a person who has gone through the disability tax credit process, I believe that each person who applies deserves the best chance of getting the Disability Tax Credit. For more information about the disability tax credit and how to apply, please feel free to call Brett Scott 1-844-453-5372
Medication Reviews
Most people are aware that prescription medications can interact with each other, sometimes causing adverse side effects. However, over the counter products such as vitamins or herbal products can also interact with prescription medications – these interactions can potentially change the effectiveness of the drug and lead to harm, such as a fall. If you are on prescription drugs, it is important to have a discussion with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any over the counter medications to ensure you are taking the right products at the right times. A pharmacist can also conduct a full medication review with all of your prescriptions and over the counter products and advise you on safe medication use.
