Breath Work - Exercise 2

Our diaphragm is the ceiling to our cylindrical core. To train core properly all core elements must be addressed. Breath work must be incorporated into all core programs. Dr. Andrew Well recommends three breathing exercises, the second is The Stimulating Breath (also called the Bellows Breath) Exercise.

The Stimulating Breath is adapted from a yogic breathing technique. Its aim is to raise vital energy and increase alertness.

• Inhale and exhale rapidly through your nose, keeping your mouth closed but relaxed. Your breaths in and out should be equal in duration, but as short as possible. This is a noisy breathing exercise.
• Try for three in-and-out breath cycles per second. This produces a quick movement of the diaphragm, suggesting a bellows. Breath normally after each cycle.
• Do not do for more than 15 seconds on your first try. Each time you practice the Stimulating Breath, you can increase your time by five seconds or so, until you reach a full minute.

If done properly, you will feel invigorated, comparable to the heightened awareness you feel after a good workout. You should feel the effort at the back of the neck, the diaphragm, the chest and the abdomen. Try this breathing exercise the next time you need an energy boost and feel yourself reaching for a cup of coffee.

Breath Work - Exercise One

Our diaphragm is the ceiling to our cylindrical core. To train core properly all core elements must be addressed. Breath work must be incorporated into all core programs. Dr. Andrew Well recommends three breathing exercises, the first is The 4-7-8 (or Relaxing Breath) Exercise.
The 4-7-8: This exercise is simple, takes almost no time, requires no equipment and can be done anywhere. Although you can do the exercise in any position, sit with your back straight while learning the exercise. Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth and keep it there through the entire exercise. You will be exhaling through your mouth around your tongue; try pursing your lips slightly if this seems awkward.

• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
• Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of FOUR.
• Hold your breath for a count of SEVEN.
• Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of EIGHT.
• This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

Always inhale quietly through your nose and exhale audibly through your mouth. The tip of your tongue stays in position the whole time. Exhalation takes twice as long as inhalation. The absolute time you spend on each phase is not important; the ratio 4-7-8 is important. If you have trouble holding your breath, speed the exercise up but keep to the 4-7-8 for the three phases. With practice you can slow it all down and get used to inhaling and exhaling more and more deeply.
This exercise is a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. Unlike tranquilizing drugs, which are often effective when you first take them but then lose their power over time, this exercise is subtle when you first try it but gains in power with repetition and practice. Do it at least twice a day, you cannot do it too frequently. Do not do more than four breaths at one time for the first month of practice. Later you can extend it to eight breaths. If you feel a little light headed when you first breathe this way, do not be concerned; it will pass.
Once you develop this technique by practicing it every day, it will be a very useful tool that you will always have with you. Use it whenever anything upsetting happens - before you react. Use it whenever you are aware of internal tension. Use it to help you fall asleep. This exercise cannot be recommended too highly and everyone can benefit from it.

Labour Aides

I was 5 months into my 1st pregnancy when my midwives asked me if I was ready to run my marathon. What?! What kind of question is that? In retrospect it was the best one to prepare me for labour and delivery. They were my marathons.
Dehydration becomes a concern during labour and delivery. The labour aide recipes below will help maintain good hydration by replacing vital minerals and electrolytes. Plus, they’re loaded with easily absorbed simple carbs to help you maintain your energy and deliver at your best. And much like the same instructions when training for a marathon, don’t wait until the big day to try anything new out. Take some time to come up with your special blend. I made mine into ice cubes.

Lemon Labor Aide

•  4 cups filtered water 
•  1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 
•  1/4 teaspoon sea salt 
•  1/4 cup raw honey (or more to taste) 
•  a few drops of concentrace mineral drops (optional) 
•  a few drops of rescue remedy (optional)

Coconut & Lime Labor Aide

•  3 cups coconut water 
•  1 cup filtered water (or more, based on how strong you prefer the flavor to be) 
•  1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (lemon is delicious too!) 
•  1/4 teaspoon sea salt 2 tablespoons raw honey or maple syrup (or more to taste) 
•  a few drops of concentrace mineral drops (optional) 
•  a few drops of rescue remedy (optional)

Instructions - Mix all ingredients together and store in fridge or make into ice cubes.

About The Ingredients:

Coconut water is often referred to as “Nature’s Gatorade.” It contains more potassium and sodium– electrolytes needed for proper cell function – than Gatorade.
Raw honey is a superfood, rich in minerals and easily digestible sugars, which give us energy.  Sugar signals the body to down-regulate the production of stress hormones like cortisol. Cortisol levels spike during exercise and particularly during anaerobic (when you get breathless) exercise. Too much cortisol can disrupt the flow of labour, making this a super ingredient useful on many levels. Of course source local and yes, it must be raw honey. And yes, if you are healthy person going through pregnancy, you can eat raw honey when you are pregnant.
Sea salt is full of electrolytes and minerals. It also plays an important role in balancing the stress hormones produced during exercise. Salt reduces adrenaline levels and supports overall metabolic health.
Trace mineral drops add to the electrolyte content of the drink. Due to soil depletion many of us do not get enough trace minerals in our diet, so I supplement with this regularly.
Rescue Remedy is a bach flower essence that many mamas find help them feel more calm and centered during labour. Rescue remedy is a staple in our house used by all of us. I always have some handy.

Blog post created with help from

http://www.mommypotamus.com/how-to-make-a-labor-aid-electrolyte-drink/

http://modernalternativepregnancy.com/2012/10/09/is-it-safe/#.VEZu4GeBUTI

http://www.livestrong.com/article/536647-is-it-ok-to-eat-honey-when-pregnant/

Dynamic Warm Up

Controls and moves you into all 3 planes of motion. Here is a quick routine to try. Fell free to use a chair or the wall to hold yourself upright.

• Full squats with backward arm circles (10)
• Front to back leg swings (10 each side)
• Side to side leg swings (10 each side)
• Forward and backward hurdle steps (5 each side and in each direction)
• Side lunges (5 each side)
• Forward lunges (5 each side)
• Forward lunge with a twist (5 each side)
• High knee stretch (5 each side)
• Slow and controlled bum kicks (5 each side)
• Big Deep Breath

The Power of Touch

Caesarean Awareness Month had me thinking about the importance of touch, how important skin to skin contact is for newborns and human contact altogether.  As a chiropractor I respect and honour the value of touch.  It is through touch that I deliver an adjustment, connect with people and become part of the healing process.  It is one of the best parts of my job.

Skin to skin contact after birth is no longer a midwifery idea.  It is now practiced and encouraged by many doctors and in most hospitals around the world.  There are a multitude of studies over the last decade that have shown the benefit of this immediate human contact on newborns.  Effects include lowered blood pressure, stabilized body temperature, increased blood sugar levels, proper bacteria colonization and improved breast feeding latch.  For mothers, touch has been shown to decrease the amount and time of bleeding and increase after birth uterus contractions.

At just 8 weeks, touch is the first sense to develop in the womb.  It is also the last sense to leave us in old age and is, in my opinion, essential to the wellbeing of the human spirit.  Touch benefits people of all ages.  It can instantly boost oxytocin and serotonin levels, which heal feelings of loneliness, isolation and anger and touch elevates our mood and creates a feeling of happiness. From the time we are born, our family's touch shows us that we are loved and special.  Touch can reassure, relax and comfort.  It increases our immunity, reduces depression, anxiety, stress and physical pain and of course touch heals.

For more info on skin to skin contact check out:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12804473

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22592691

http://www.unicef.org.uk/BabyFriendly/News-and-Research/Research/Skin-to-skin-contact/Effect-of-skin-contact-on-breastfeeding-attachment-problems-A-randomised-controlled-study/

http://apps.who.int/rhl/archives/gpcom/en/index.html

Cerebral Palsy and Chiropractic

March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month - Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement and motor skills (the ability to move with strength and coordination). CP is usually caused by brain damage that occurs before or during a child's birth or during the first 3 to 5 years of a child's life. The brain damage that leads to cerebral palsy can also lead to other health issues, including vision, hearing and speech problems, and learning disabilities.
Regular chiropractic adjustments help individual living with CP to improve their body function and experience a fuller more active life. Several small studies have shown that regular chiropractic care is beneficial to infants, children and adults, relieving several symptoms (in some cases that surgery couldn’t help) of CP.  
More and more people suffering from CP and more parents of children with CP are seeking alternative methods for treatment and chiropractic is taking the lead in helping improve their quality of life. cerebralpalsy.org states “ Chiropractic intervention aims to improve the structural aspects of the body to clear the pathway for the brain to communicate with the nerves. This can result in improved strength, balance, flexibility and coordination skills, especially in the limbs.”  
Sadly, there is not yet a cure for cerebral palsy, but there are steps you can take to help prevent some forms of the disorder. If you are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, check that any medications you are taking are safe for healthy fetus development and ensure you are eating a healthy diet. As many of my patients will tell you, regular chiropractic adjustments during your pregnancy, not only improve your mobility and comfort, but keeping your body properly aligned can make for a smoother and fast birth, therefor decreasing the possibility for severe birth traumas to your baby. Have baby checked by a pediatric chiropractor to ensure any traumas received during birth are quickly adjusted to safeguard baby’s healthy development. Make sure your baby is always properly strapped into an up to date care seat that is correctly installed to minimize any risks during a car accident.  
To learn more about Cerebral Palsy or to make a donation, please visit http://www.cpsc.ca/

What's The Deal on Dairy?

We all know the basics for a healthy diet, less sugar and more veggies, less processed foods and more whole foods, limit meat and add nuts and legumes. But what many people don’t know is that dairy should be limited or even eliminated altogether from your diet, and can we blame people for not knowing? We see commercials every day telling us the benefits of milk, the USDA just increased the amount of milk it recommends and even some doctors are still recommending milk to women as a preventative measure for osteoporosis. Now, I won’t get into the politics behind all this milk pushing, but I can tell you the facts that research has been telling us for some time now. 

You may not have noticed, but about 15 years ago, milk ads stopped referencing bone health as a benefit. That’s because dozens of studies are showing the complete opposite, with countries that consume the most milk having the highest rates of osteoporosis. One of the largest and most recent meta-analysis (2010 Oct 14 - Epub) of cohort studies of over 500,000 men and women found no relationship between milk intake and hip fracture rate, the chief indicator used for studying osteoporosis. The basic science behind this reasoning is when we eat diets high in animal protein (milk included), our bodies become acidic and calcium is drawn from our bones to neutralize that acidic environment – cheese is particularly acidic. 

Recent scientific studies have suggested that dairy products may be linked to increased risk for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and possibly for ovarian and breast cancers, with the strongest association to prostate cancer. In Harvard’s Physicians Health Study, including more than 20,000 male physicians, those who consumed more than two dairy servings daily had a 34% higher risk of developing prostate cancer than men who consumed little or no dairy products. 

Lucky for us, milk produced in Canada does not contain growth hormones and any cows given antibiotics are supposed to be removed from the milk production processed until cleared from their system. Also, all milk and cream imported to Canada cannot contain artificial growth hormones, except chocolate milk strangely enough. But, modified milk ingredients are not subject to this ban and milk from dairy cows that are full of hormones and antibiotics is often used in the production of Canadian dairy products, such as ice cream, yogurt and cheese, they have names like skim milk powder, milk protein concentrates, milk protein isolates, casein, caseinates and whey protein concentrates. 

Stay away from the low fat dairy or skim milk products, a 2011 Harvard study of 12,829 children showed that skim milk may make you fatter than whole milk. That wouldn't surprise farmers; when they want to fatten up a pig, they feed it skim milk. The reason? Milk sugar. When you remove the fat from milk, what's left is lactose or in other words, milk sugar. The end product is an unbalanced, sugary-like drink that leads to weight gain. 

You’ve seen the evidence, did some of your own research, and you’re ready to cut out dairy, but what should you be replacing it with? Well, did you know that kale contains more calcium per calorie than milk (90 grams per serving) and is also better absorbed by the body than dairy? Other plant-foods boosting calcium include: beans, nuts like almonds and seeds like sesame, broccoli, collards, whole-grains, and tofu. There are more dairy alternatives available to us now than ever before. Almond, rice, soy and coconut milks, yogurts and ice creams, and all with flavours well beyond the basics. 

Want more info? Check these out: 

Books: 
• The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, and his son Thomas M. Campbell II, a physician. 
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition, by Julieanna Hever 
• Diet For A Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappe 

Documentaries: 
• Forks Over Knives (2011) 
• Food, Inc. (2008) 
• Food Matters (2008) 
• Vegucated (2011)