“Health” is a verb…

I would like to share with you a post from one the Chiropractic profession’s clearest philosophical minds on what it really means to live a “vitalistic” life.  He interprets the word “Health” in a very in-depth manner.  I hope you enjoy and you are making the best of decisions on your road towards wellness.

Sincerely,

Dr. Joey Lowery

Dr. Kevin Donka’s, “Health” is a verb,

The other day my kids and I were playing an educational game called Noun or Verb? During the game, my son Brennan noticed that some words could be both a noun and a verb like water, step and love. That was when we decided to think of as many noun-verbs as possible. After the kids went to bed, I started thinking about a phone call I had with a chiropractor in New Jersey last week where we had been discussing the definitions of many words, including the word health.

Most people define health mainly as the absence of some form of dis-ease. I have written many Chirothots on why this can not possibly be the case. I have described the fact that darkness is not the presence of something, but it is in reality the absence of light energy. I have also said that coldness is not the presence of something, but the absence of heat energy. Similarly, any manifestation of dis-ease (whether pain, spasm, inflammation, cancer or ANY other “illness”) is not the presence of something; it is simply the particular and specific way that a decrease in the expression of your Life Energy has shown up in your body.

Having now reviewed this idea with you, I would like to take it a step further. In school, you may have learned about the word homeostasis. This describes how our bodies are constantly adapting in order to deal with changes in our environment and keep functioning at a normal level. The word homeostasis can be misleading because of the “stasis” part. Stasis literally means to stay. But the definition talks about how we are constantly changing. The truth is that health is not the absence of something; in fact, it isn’t a physical state at all!

Health is the ability to adapt to most of the stresses you encounter each day and maintain your NATURAL state of EASE.

This discrepancy between the word homeostasis and its commonly accepted definition has led to one of the world’s biggest misconceptions about health; namely that it is actually possible to be either healthy or sick. The truth is that we are continually dealing with changes in our internal and external worlds, and we are never the same from one moment to the next.

The fact that we are changing in every single moment means that it is not possible to be either healthy or sick! The truth is that in every single moment, you are either getting stronger and moving toward health, wellness and wholeness; or you are getting weaker and moving away from them. And, in order to continually get stronger and move in the direction of health and the full expression of Life, you need three things;

1) A Deliberate Focus on moving toward what you want (as opposed to trying to move away from what you don’t want).

2) A Healthy Lifestyle that supplies all of your cells with everything they need to function properly, heal and continue growing.

3) A Clear Neurological CONNECTION between you and your body. Because your nerve system is surrounded by and intimately connected to your spine, it is necessary to keep your spine aligned and functioning properly to allow this clear neurological connection. This is the true purpose behind a program of regular chiropractic care – to keep you fully connected!

There is one more noun-verb that we need to look at in order to tie this all together; the word is LIFE. Most people believe that life is a noun – a thing; but the truth is that all of life is continually changing – Life is a verb! And, since all of life is constantly changing, and because health is a PART OF life, that means that HEALTH is also a verb! Make sure you are taking care of all three things necessary to keep moving toward the full expression of Life, and always be ready to express your Light. That way you’ll always be ready to write, direct and star in your own life story…lights…camera…ACTION!

Tips to Prevent Lower Back Pain for Golfers

Day after day, Golfers are cutting their golf game short or quit play all together due to chronic pain or injuries.  The most common injury to occur is lower back pain.  Lower back pain not only affects golfers, but as much as 80% of the general population will experience back pain at some point in their lives.  Three common causes of this kind of pain include: posture, lack of flexibility, and restricted motion in the involved joints and /muscles.  So here are some tips to help you stay at the top of your game.

• Get regular Chiropractic check-ups: A recent study done involving golfers who were under routine Chiropractic care stated they experienced not only a decrease in their overall pain levels after playing, but also an improvement in their game (longer driving distance,  and more consistency in attempted shots). 
• Strengthen your core: It is not uncommon for people to be weak or have muscle imbalances in this area. Be sure to include exercises that target all of the abdominal, low back, and gluteus muscles.
• Warm-up:  The golf swing is a very explosive movement that can put extra stress on joints and muscles if they are not ready for action. Do some dynamic stretching and take some easy swings to help loosen up before you practice or play.
• Stretch after playing: Having enough muscle flexibility and joint mobility to execute the golf swing properly is essential. Just 5-10 minutes of static stretching after playing and every day can make a world of difference.

Thes suggestions are simple, but very effective when the objective is to strengthen the midsection as well as prevent lower back injuries. Stay consistent, listen to your body, and expect a strong healthy core to develop that will help you on the golf course!

Best in Health,

Joey Lowery, DC, MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT

What is Health?

We often ask this question to our patients, and most commonly the response is, “Not hurting anywhere” or “No symptoms”.  A point needs to be made concerning this question.  A life lead by the absence/presence of symptoms is a life destined to caught off guard.  Think about this, did someone who went to their Doctor and was told they had cancer all of the sudden develop the cancer that morning or the previous day?  Of course not, it took time for their body to lose its ability to fight off the cancerous environment before giving way to the infection.  We don’t just all of the sudden develop a cold, or flu, or even cancer.   Chances are we have had it for a long enough time that our body was overwhelmed due to it not being able to cope with the stressor.  

If you look the definition of HEALTH, you will see it stated as, “A state of physical, mental, and social well-being.”  Let’s take that definition even further.  HEALTH can be looked at as all systems within the body are working at such a high level of function that it will be able to cope with or defend against any foreign invader or stressor it comes up against.  Sadly, typical human nature displays we only care about our HEALTH when symptoms show up.  One can say this is not HEALTHcare, but rather SICKcare.

Think about the various negative influences  on our HEALTH we are dealing with in our country today.  Our sleep quality is terrible for a multitude of causes, our food choices are poor at best, our consistency with exercise is subpar, our workload is overwhelming us, and our medication intake is higher than any other country in the world.  We make up ~5% of the population, and yet use ~56% of the pharmaceutical drugs on the market!  This is insanity because we are doing the same thing over and over and yet expecting a different result. 

A scenario we often see from patients includes: poor sleep, digestion, concentration, possible depression, and a rigid/inflexible body that is screaming for some type of relief from the stressors it deals with on a daily basis.  The sad thing is all they may have come int0 our office for was their neck or lower back was bothering them.  Our bodies in this case can be compared to an onion due to the many “layers”.  The common action many patients resort to before seeing a Chiropractor is medications for their insomnia, antacids for their GERD, their, laxatives for their constipation, and anti-depressants for their depressed state.  HEALTH does not come from a bottle, shot, or any other unnatural outside source.  HEALTH comes from within.  In fact, HEALTH originates from above (your Nervous System) to travel down (your other systems), and from the inside to the outside.  You never have to tell a cut how to heal, or your heart how to beat, or your GI tract how to utilize the food you’ve consumed.   This does not happen by chance, but by a coordinated chain of events which is all regulated by your Nervous System.  It’s the first system to develop while you’re mommy’s womb. It’s the master computer within you that not only allows you to operate, but helps you cope with any and all stressors out there.  This is known as your body’s Innate Intelligence.  An organization of reactions happening at the exact moment they’re supposed to not because of coincidence, but because of necessity to maintain your life!  However, the Nervous System can only take so much stress.  Being that it regulates all other systems, it is the last to become “sick”.  This is observed in a variety of stress related complications. 

The human race is more sick, more diseased, and further away from HEALTH than it ever has been.  Our bodies are slowly losing the ability to cope with all the physical, emotional, and chemical stresses that bombard us day in and day out.  Statistics show as high as 70% of office visits to the family physician were due to poor lifestyle choices.  Would this have been such a high number if we took responsibility for our own HEALTH?  Would this be such a high number if we made HEALTH our number one priority?  I’m an optimist, so I’d like to think not.  I’d like to think any person reading this that is tired of feeling their HEALTH is headed in the wrong direction will set their personal HEALTH improvements at the top of their 2011 New Year’s resolution list. 

It is time to make choices that improve your HEALTH.  It is time to look at your HEALTH as in invaluable asset that you will not and cannot compromise.  It is time to set you and your family up to be the HEALTHiest you’ve ever been this upcoming year of 2011.  HEALTH has been regarded as a journey, not a distination.  You can begin your personal journey by first recognizing you will have only one spine in your life, which is housed by the only Nervous System you’ll ever have.  If you take care of this one spine, not only will your functional quality of life greatly improve, but your overall HEALTH will improve as well.  In fact, patients under regular Chiropractic care not only felt they had functional improvement over the ailments they first received treatment for, but also stated they had an overall better outlook on life.    

Chiropractic care is a whole body, natural approach to achieving optimal HEALTH by searching for and removing the restrictions (joints that lack proper motion) in your spine so the connection between your Nervous System and body can be re-established.  Give your spine and HEALTH a chance.  Don’t wait for a symptom to show itself.  Have your spine checked today so you can the healthiest 2011 possible.

“If you would seek health, look first to the spine.”  Hippocrates.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you gained a motivation like you’ve never had to make your personal HEALTH the highest of responsibilities. 

Yours in Health,

Joey Lowery, DC, MS, CSCS, NSCA-CPT