Lite and Joy

Water makes up more than two thirds of the weight of every human body.  We would die within a few days if we couldn’t replenish our supply. The human brain is made up of 95% water, blood is 82% and lungs 90% and a mere 2% drop in our body’s water supply can trigger create problems such as  fuzzy short-term memory and trouble with basic math.  Even reading the computer screen and daytime fatigue can be caused by mild dehydration.  An estimated seventy-five percent of Americans have mild or chronic dehydration.

Water serves as a lubricant and forms the base for saliva.  It forms the fluids that surround the joints and regulates the body temperature through perspiration.  It helps to alleviate constipation by moving food through the intestinal tract to eliminate waste and helps regulate metabolism.  8 to 12 glasses of water per day really makes a difference in keeping our body in top running order.

Health Insurance in America continues to cost us more every year.  The insurance companies and businesses are desperately trying to find ways to lower the alarming rise in health care costs.  Knowing that the number one reason for health problems is due to the high lingering and dangerous effects of stress they are beginning to turn to massage and other holistic programs. Preventative medicine is no longer looked at as an unusual and unproven method of treatment, and it is slowly becoming an indispensable service.

Companies that use massage as a sales incentive or an employee reward, have noticed a favorable trend.  They have noticed a  reduction in employee absenteeism and an increase in employee productivity.  This makes a substantial savings for employers. It has been reported that stress accounts for  billions of dollars in lost productivity, work related accidents, workers compensation claims, medical and health insurance related costs. Over 50% of lost workdays and on the job accidents are stress related. Massage, along with regular exercise, healthy foods high in antioxidants and quiet stress free time (meditation), can improve ones overall health.

Sometimes its the smallest actions that make the biggest difference in our attitudes in being able to maintain a positive attitude.  Getting into the habit of saying thank you whenever someone does something for you, no matter how trivial it seems, shows gratitude and makes both of you feel wonderful.  As you are striving to make it a habit be sure that you are not doing it insincerely.

If someone doesn’t thank you for something you have done, just view it as an oversight and try not to be offended.  Other’s may also need to learn through ‘practice’ and you can help them.  I have had situations that I was so engrossed in my own thought processes that I neglected to say thank you.  It was very rude of me, but I would try to contact that person later, apologize, then thank them.  The most difficult thing for me is to sit down and write a thank you note so again, I try to make a phone call and do it in person.

Remember, a positive attitude is contagious and the more we practice, the more we teach other’s.

Researchers who published Dietary Fructose During the Suckling Period Increases Body Weight and Fatty Acid Uptake Into Skeletal Muscle in Adult Rats.  In the journal, Obesity, they wrote, “Consuming fructose during suckling may result in lifelong changes in body weight, insulin secretion, and fatty acid transport involving CD36 in muscle and ultimately promote insulin resistance.”   This study was done on rats instead of humans, but it is worth some thought as to what we, as a nation, are doing to future generations.

Here is a list of the ingredients that you might find in baby formula.  No brand names are listed and this is just a partial list at that.  Check the ingredients on the formula that you feed your baby and see how they compare.

It can be simple to separate the positive from the negative, but you can’t always stop yourself from running into the negative.  Just be aware that when you do, you can choose to do something about it.

Here are some tips for adding some positive influence to your life:

1. Find a happy place. Create a place in your mind that you can go to when you feel stressed or down.  Allow yourself to be in a happy place where you can relax.

2. Get a hobby. Do something you enjoy and that will raise your spirits and help you to maintain a positive attitude.

3. Exercise. It really can bring positive influences to your life.  You will feel better and therefore act better if you have a good exercise routine.

4. Find affirmations. These are sayings, verses or other short pieces that have a positive influence.  It can be a quote, a verse from the Bible or even a line from a greeting card. They are simple and can help you keep your thoughts positive.

5. Exploring new things. Allow yourself to walk towards the unknown instead of away from it.

6. Do not walk away from a challenge. Let yourself accept challenges and find creative ways to deal with them.

7. Make a mess.  Happiness can be messy and unrestricted.

8. Ignore the rules. Break a few rules now and then when you are doing a project and let your creativity take you to new adventures.

9. Pretend. The imagination is a wonderful thing. Allow yourself to get away from your normal life and pretend you are someone else or someplace else.

Life is all about choice, and no matter what happens, you can choose to keep positive and uplifting thoughts.

I work with people everyday that say “I know I should exercise, but I don’t have an extra hour a day to do it.”  I can really relate to that.  Besides being in the health care business and working full time, I have a semi invalid husband who is very restricted in movement and ability, my 84 year old dad lives with us, and I have a semi invalid sister-in-law that I go take care of every Monday and every other Wednesday.  Then there is my children, grandchildren, church and civic duties, and the list goes on and on.

I have heard and read more than once that exercise in short spurts can be as good as, or better than 1 full hour.   Some suggestions could be, taking 10 to 15 minutes to walk during a break or at lunch.  Stretching and walking around the office after you have been sitting for a long time.  Using a treadmill or lifting weights between doing the laundry and cooking dinner.  It just takes a little bit of thought and you can get into a wonderful routine several times a day.  Short spurts of exercise can also clear you head and help you feel more positive about yourself.

Begin to work on changing your mood if you are depressed and unhappy.  You can’t be really healthy if you cannot find happiness.  Laughing is one way to begin to make wonderful changes because it will provide you with a natural inner massage.  Look for something everyday to help you learn to laugh.

After my Grandpa died, my Grandma decided that she really needed to make a change in her life.  She was in her late 80’s and she decided that she would learn a new joke everyday.  Every time she learned a joke she could hardly wait to come over to tell us.  Sometimes as she would begin to tell us the joke, she would start giggling.  The closer she got to the punch line the harder she would laugh.  We would be laughing so hard just listening to her.  She changed a lot of lives, including mine, by putting that idea into practice.  When I look for things to laugh at, especially laughing at myself, I have experienced much less anxiety and panic in my life.

LEARN TO SAY NO to new commitments if you are already stretched beyond a healthy schedule.  Don’t worry about disappointing others, your health and  well being is more important that just pleasing someone.

DEVELOP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE  to improve your stress level and your health.  Being optimistic not only helps you, but lifts others also.  It takes a bit more energy and practice to become more positive, but in the long run, it really can lower stress.

“The trip through the birth canal involves a brilliantly orchestrated series of twists and turns for the child’s torso and pelvis, which essentially mobilizes each joint in the spine and pelvis and stretches all the related musculature and soft tissue. Nature intended this to be a process that relies more on pushing from uterine contraction than pulling from externally applied forces (forceps or vacuum extraction). When those assisting the delivery process apply excessive traction to the child’s head to “assist” the body through the birth canal, significant strains of muscles, ligaments, fasciae and joints may occur. The body’s response to a strain is tissue contracture.  Wherever strains……….occur they can interfere directly or indirectly with proper functioning of the craniosacral system. Strains should be released; contracted tissues should be relaxed; fluid exchanges in tissues;……….. and all joints should be mobilized as soon as possible after delivery.”   John Upledger, DO, OMM

I have worked with many newborn babies since I was trained in the Upledger Cranial Sacral therapy.  Some of them were within an hour of birth and others were several months later.  I have witness some dramatic changes in personality, sleep habits, and improved ability to nurse, along with improvements in colic, chronic ear infections and colds.