Holiday Stress Busters ~ The Beacon for Dec 17, 2013

By now I am sure you have found yourself in full stride of the holiday season.  I am always amazed this time of year just how tense people’s spines feel.  Without a doubt this is the most stressful time of year for many.  It is not surprising when you consider that most people cram 4 weeks of work into 3, and then for the final week we are encouraged to eat and drink indulgently, socialize excessively and abandon our normal rhythms and healthy practices. 

This year I encourage you to keep your health and wellbeing a focus.  Below you will find some simple tips to have your holidays not only joy filled but also healthy.  All the best!

Watch your breathing. Most of us don't breathe enough normally; we take shallow breaths and deprive ourselves of oxygen. Add stress to that and we can even become light-headed. Sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and take 10 deep breaths. Inhale slowly and exhale more slowly. You'll be amazed at how relaxed you will feel!

Watch alcohol and food intake.  Just because it is offered to you doesn’t mean you need to partake in it.  And if you do have one - enjoy it; enjoy it so fully that you may not need a second, third or fourth.  There is nothing wrong with a small amount of alcohol, sweets, or rich foods; it is when we indulge in gluttonous behaviours that take us half of January to finish digesting what we ate for Christmas dinner that is a problem.  Moderation is key or consider upgrading your choices to:  

Indulge in healthy treats.  It is the season for indulging - how about indulging in a nice bag of organic nuts, dried fruit or some other exotic food that you really enjoy that your body would also enjoy (and thank you for).

Make sure you have some quiet, alone time scheduled. The social demands of holiday seasons are high. We are required to interact more with family, co-workers, etc. That can be very tiring, especially if socializing causes you anxiety. Factor in some down-time.

Plan one fun event just for you. You probably spend much time and effort ensuring others are taken care of and entertained this season. Remember to treat yourself - get a manicure, go to a heated driving range, babysit a friend's new puppy or read that new best-seller you've just received.

Connect with family to watch a favourite holiday movie or show.  Pull your family together, laugh, cry, and fill your hearts up with love.  The holiday season is such a time to nourish family connections.

Get some exercise.  Most usual exercise routines get abandoned this time of year. We are full of excuses. But exercise is a terrific stress-buster and it is a terrific way to burn off and move through last night’s cream cheese surprises or sweat out the extra Caesar you drank.  During this time of year we typically have a little extra down time which is just begging to be filled with walks, a yoga class or a run.  You will feel so much better for it.

Get enough rest.  This is a wonderful time of year to nourish your body with a little extra rest.   It’s okay to call it a night before the rest of the party, to sleep in a little extra or to enjoy an afternoon nap.  I dare you!

Be conscious.  Be aware of yourself; don’t turn your brain off.  When you reach for the next treat, pause and ask yourself is this really what I want (Consider the question – Is this going to clog me or cleanse me?)  If you do eat it, track yourself afterward in how it makes you feel 10 minutes or an hour later.  This year I have been blown away with how little I enjoy holiday treats.  Sure they taste great (for the two minutes I am chewing on them) but after that I am left with 60 minutes of dissatisfaction as my energy gets all wonky and I have a hard time focusing on anything.

Give healthy gifts.  Do they really need another box of chocolate?  Instead, how about giving them a yoga DVD or a bag of organic fruit or nuts?  These can be a very welcomed gift at this time of year. Or share our "Gift of Health" certificate (print the attached below) - to introduce your friend, co-worker, family member or neighbour to chiropractic and have their nerve system checked for interference. You'll never know the long-term difference you can make by inspiring someone to make their health and wellbeing a priority. And what better time to start then now and carry forward into 2014!

Holiday Hours - Closed:

Tuesday Dec 24th

Wednesday Dec 25th

Thursday Dec 26th

Tuesday Dec 31st and

Wednesday Jan 1st.

Extra Entrainment Hours - Open:

Friday Dec 27th 10am-12 and 4-6pm

Can You Help? ~ The Beacon for Dec 11, 2013

Can you help us?  We are ready to serve more.  This means that we could be saving and transforming more people’s lives.  90% of all people that come to the Lifehouse meet us through ‘word of mouth’.  This is necessary because we don’t have the assistance of large drug companies and their unlimited advertising dollars to market their wares.  We rely on doing things the old fashioned way, and personally I kinda like it this way. 

If you are someone who believes in the vision of the Lifehouse, appreciates the quality of our work and would like to make a positive difference in other people’s lives, we would love your help.  We are looking for more people to join our conscious healing community at The Lifehouse

We have set up a program to make this easy for you and easy for them too, it’s called The Gift of Health.   Through the holiday season we will be offering complimentary gift certificates for people to visit The Lifehouse with their first visit, on us.   We have included a gift certificate (valued at $100) for you below so you can easily forward this invitation on to your friends and family electronically (we also have beautiful paper copies in the office if you would like some of those too).  In the past many of our clients have written a short introduction explaining from their heart what care at The Lifehouse has been like, how it has benefited them and then forwarded it on to their contact list.  This is a simple gesture that could have far reaching affects to the lives of many.

This truly is a win-win-win as it acts as a wonderful gift for you to give to the people you care about, helps to promote health in these people, and helps us fulfill our mission of creating a healthy vital Nanaimo area. 

Not sure who to refer?  Well this past year we have assisted people to heal themselves of things such as ADHD, Depression, Colitis, RA, ruptured disc’s, headaches, migraines, sciatica, colic and not to miss mentioning the myriad of others who have tapped into a greater quality of life and a greater relationship with their bodies and with themselves. The effects of chiropractic are really far reaching.  I firmly believe that every adult and child should, at the very least, be checked by a chiropractor to find out if they too can be helped with chiropractic care.  From there they can choose for themselves where they want to go with care, no strings attached.  I just want people to be in a place of informed choice. 

Imagine more people with lives transformed, healing things they were told they needed drugs or surgery to resolve, relationships mending, behaviors changing, attitudes shifting, hearts opening and spines aligning.  Just think of the ripple effect more conscious, healthy, on purpose people will have on our community. 

As you are sending those Christmas letters to your family and friends, or looking at your co-worker who is suffering from his third cold this month, or hearing your husband continue to complain about his nagging back pain why not offer them a Gift of Health?

There are people out there who need you to tell them what is possible for them – how else are they going to find out!  Together we are making a huge difference in Nanaimo, now let’s expand and grow.

How many lives are we going to LIGHT up this year?
Yours in service

Dr. Norm and The Lifehouse Gang

Holiday Hours - Closed:

Tuesday Dec 24th

Wednesday Dec 25th

Thursday Dec 26th

Tuesday Dec 31st and

Wednesday Jan 1st.

Extra Entrainment Hours - Open:

Friday Dec 27th 10am-12 and 4-6pm

Gifts of Health

What Are You Entraining To?

What Are You Entraining To?

For years we have been offering you quality chiropractic care at the Lifehouse and one of the most common things I have heard is, "You are not like other chiropractors."  While others have just referred to the work that I do as “magic”.   

As a traditionalist I have used the term “adjustment” to describe the low force application that I use.  As much as I wanted to honour my roots as a chiropractor I have come to the realization that using more appropriate terminology would help our clients better understand and appreciate the work they are engaging in.

Medical Doctors:

Treat = Attempt to suppress or eradicate symptoms and disease.

Traditional Chiropractors:

Adjust = correcting subluxations by realigning the spine and nerve system.

Network Chiropractors:

Entrain = getting in sync with rhythms.

You are familiar with the properties of entrainment.  Woman who live in the same house have their menstrual cycles entrain.  Mom and baby’s heart beats entrain to one another.  If a still tuning fork is brought into a room where another tuning fork is vibrating - it will begin to resonate too.  Entrainment is a natural process which occurs between two or more rhythmic cycles.

During your next entrainment allow yourself to entrain to your breath, entrain to the natural movements of your spine and entrain to your life force.  This drives a process of reorganization in which your brain has the opportunity to better assess the relationship and alignment of your spinal bones and neurological structures and create an appropriate change from the inside out!

Celebrating our uniqueness, mine and yours 

Dr. Norm

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Upcoming Events:

"Gifts of Health" - to inspire, engage and nourish another.

Health Essentials - Thursday Dec 12th - 7-8pm

Invite a friend, family member or co-worker.  Call 250-740-0333 to reserve your seat today!

Holiday Hours - Closed:

Tuesday Dec 24th

Wednesday Dec 25th

Thursday Dec 26th

Tuesday Dec 31st and

Wednesday Jan 1st.

Extra Entrainment Hours - Open:

Friday Dec 27th 10am-12 and 4-6pm