Me: God, can I ask You a question?
God: Sure
Me: Promise You won’t get mad
God: I promise
Me: Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do u mean?
Me: Well, I woke up late
God: Yes
Me: My car took forever to start
God: Okay
Me: at lunch they made my sandwich wrong & I had to wait
God: Huummm
Me: On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call
God: All right
Me: And on top of it all off, when I got home ~I just want to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn’t work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?
God: Let me see, the death angel was at your bed this morning & I had to send one
of My Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that
Me (humbled): OH
GOD: I didn’t let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed)
God: The first person who made your sandwich today was sick & I didn’t want you to catch what they have, I knew you couldn’t afford to miss work.
Me (embarrassed):Okay
God: Your phone went dead bcuz the person that was calling was going to give false witness about what you said on that call, I didn’t even let you talk to them so you would be covered.
Me (softly): I see God
God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to throw out all of the power in your house tonight. I didn’t think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I’m Sorry God
God: Don’t be sorry, just learn to Trust Me…. in All things , the Good & the bad.
Me: I will trust You.
God: And don’t doubt that My plan for your day is Always Better than your plan.
Me: I won’t God. And let me just tell you God, Thank You for Everything today.
God: You’re welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children…
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Daoist Method of Eliminating Stress
By Alex Race
Qigong and breathing exercises help us to relax and sense inner tension we have in our body. The more sensitive we become to this, the sooner we can recognize stress and tension affecting us and we can adjust to it. If we don’t see stress coming on and causing physical issues soon enough, we can become depleted more susceptible to illness.
However effective these methods are at helping us to relax, it’s far more important to begin to learn how to eliminate stress instead of fighting it off with Qigong and breathing exercises. In addition, you will find that the practice then becomes much deeper when you practice for periods of time without any major stress….then you really start to discover the secrets of Qigong.
How do you eliminate stress? By addressing it at the root, of course!
And what is the root of stress? No, it’s not your job, your situation or anything external. The root of your stress is you and it lies in your mind!
I’m sure you have heard this before, but understand carefully: you create stress in your mind based on the way you view the world and your relation to it. If you can change the way you view the world, you can change the way external situations affect you internally.
For example, my job can be stressful. So, one might say that maybe my job is the problem, and I should get a less stressful job if I want to reduce my stress. But maybe I’m the problem instead. What if I changed my perspective on my job? What if I didn’t let other people at my work affect my mood? What if I decided one day that I was not going to allow my co-workers stress level get to me? What if I decided to be grateful to have job that all in all is pretty good to me? Well then, I’d be on the road to changing my perspective which automatically reduces my levels of stress.
You will have to explore your own mind to understand how to incorporate this principle in your own life. I can give you examples of things I’ve learned in my life, but ultimately you are walking on your own path, with your own challenges and obstacles.
The point is that you must actively start observing the way you view the world and the things that cause you stress, and understand why those situations affect you in that way. This process of inner awareness will help you understand yourself in a way that only you can know.
Once you become fully aware of your unique perspective, begin to look at situations from a completely different point of view, just to see what it feels like. From there, you can start trying to actually practice that different perspective. You’ll make good progress on some days, other days you’ll totally forget about the new perspective and be absorbed in stress, but later you’ll realize it and it will change you for the better.
Along your path, you might start understanding how stress truly affects your health…you might see the connection between prolonged periods of stress and an flu or cold you catch just after. By understanding this, you might be able to prevent the flu by knowing you need to relax and boosting your immune system with good natural foods (vegetable soups), herbs (ginger teas, astragalus) and Qigong. You will understand more and more as time goes on, and it will unfold for the rest of your life.
So what is the Daoist method of eliminating stress? Fixing your mind so that stress does not have a chance to exist in your new perspective.
Want to learn Qigong ONLINE in the comfort of your own home?
http://www.learnqigongonline.com is a unique online learning environment for people motivated to improve their health and overall well-being.
Special workshops not available anywhere else are all included in your online membership at http://www.learnqigongonline.com. Get started any time, no commitments.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Race
http://EzineArticles.com/?Daoist-Method-of-Eliminating-Stress&id=1337092
Provider by Dr. Paul R Mahler also see our article on controlling stress
Beginner’s Guide to Qigong
By Alex Race
What is Qigong? Let’s break down the Chinese word into it’s 2 parts, Qi and Gong.
The concept of Qi (pronounced “Chee”) is a Chinese concept that predates written history. It is translated into “life energy” and is present in all things in the universe. Chinese scholars and doctors have had the longest history researching Qi, and have brought the understanding of Qi to a very deep level. In fact, Traditional Chinese Medicine, as practiced today, developed from this research in Qi.
Gong means “work” or “cultivation”. Thus, Qigong is “working with the essential life energy”, learning how to become sensitive to this energy and understanding how we can improve our health and state of mind by being aware of it’s flow.
How does the practice of Qigong improve one’s health? Qigong is linked to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and works off the same principles. One does not need to be schooled in TCM to practice Qigong, but the background is interesting and gives us a foundation in which to understand what is happening. According to TCM, the human body is full of energy channels that run throughout and distribute this vital Qi to all areas of the body. Acupuncture works exclusively off the system of meridians, and modern science has proven the existence of these meridians. So, Qigong works by making us more aware of these meridians through relaxing, breathing and gentle movements. We also gently stretch the meridians, allowing the energy to flow stronger and clearing any blockages that may have accumulated. With all the tension and pressures of the modern world, we all have certainly absorbed tension in our bodies, and thus have created blockages in our energy system, which will certainly manifest into physical illness if not corrected. Qigong clears these blockages, allows more energy to flow, thus preventing illness and providing us with more energy and clarity of the mind.
What makes Qigong a fantastic system of achieving health and well being? The Chinese people have meticulously refined this system of health and healing for literally 3000 years or more which has resulted in a complete system of health and well-being. Many other cultures have rituals and practices they use for health, but none as refined and well documented as Qigong. Furthermore, since Qigong is rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it has a complete medical foundation to draw upon for it’s concepts.
Why do most Americans not know what Qigong is? It has been only recently that the Chinese government has allowed the practice of Qigong in China itself. For many years, Qigong had to be practiced in secrecy and was passed down only by word of mouth from person to person. Only recently has the government approved the practice of Qigong, and thus it has only been available to other cultures for the last 50 years or so.
What are the differences between Eastern and Western medicine? Many. Western medicine tends to treat the symptom, while Eastern medicine treats the root cause of the problem. An acupuncture needle in the foot can cure a headache, though these 2 parts of the body seem unrelated to us. In Western medicine, we typically emphasize taking a pill to cure problems, such as headaches, high blood pressure, etc. However, we have found this only leads to other problems and does not treat the root of the problem. Eastern medicine focuses more on lifestyle, our state of mind, and the balance of our body in society and nature. It typically says that imbalances in the body and lifestyle lead to illness, and can be corrected by bringing our body back into balance.
What are the main concepts in Qigong? We are concerned with 3 things: Posture, breathing and our mental state.
Posture: The most important thing in Qigong is to RELAX. Little or no muscular effort is needed to perform these exercises. All movements should be done slowly and deliberately.
Breathing: Natural and from the belly, otherwise known as “abdominal breathing”. Your belly expands out naturally (not forced) when you inhale, and contracts or goes back in when you exhale. This allows air to get to the bottom of the lungs. Fill your lungs to 75% capacity. Never fill them to 100%, as you put tension in the chest when you do that (try it and see for yourself!). Breathing is in through the nose, out through the nose, unless otherwise specified.
Mental state: You should work to free your mind of distractions and thoughts. They will only hinder your practice. Achieving this usually takes years, so be kind to yourself, be patient and work on this little by little each time you practice. You will start to get glimpses of what the meditative state is like, and this should encourage you to keep working at it. Don’t try to clear your mind, allow the thoughts to dissolve naturally.
Want to learn Qigong ONLINE in the comfort of your own home?
http://www.learnqigongonline.com is a unique online learning environment for people motivated to improve their health and overall well-being.
Special workshops not available anywhere else are all included in your online membership at http://www.learnqigongonline.com. Get started any time, no commitments.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Race
http://EzineArticles.com/?Beginners-Guide-to-Qigong&id=6422301
Provided by: Dr. Paul Mahler
The Secret to Qigong – Breathing and Relaxing
By Alex Race
We all love the gentle movements of Qigong. Not only does it provide gentle stretching for our muscles and tendons, but it circulates vital Qi and blood to all areas of the body, re-energizing every cell. In the beginning, the external movements are the easiest to see, and we can sometimes mistakenly think these movements are all there is to Qigong.
The real secret to Qigong is what happens inside the body, not out. When you relax and breathe naturally, your body shifts into a state of natural healing, moving your vital life energy into your organs and all the internal areas that call for more energy. This is not a conscious process – this is the design of the human body and happens only if you relax and breathe and let it happen on it’s own. Any conscious attempt to relax or circulate the energy is not genuine, and the mind will get in the way of this process.
Real relaxed breathing happens when your mind and body are relaxed. You breathing will not be relaxed otherwise – so work on the easiest part first – your body. Take one deep breath and relax the shoulders. Notice your mind, are you preoccupied? If so, don’t worry about – that’s normal. Take another deep breath and relax your body more.
Those with trouble doing seated meditation and breathing might fin the external movements of Qigong helpful. As you slow down your breathing and co-ordinate your external movements to your breathing, your body comes into balance, harmonizing the inside and outside of your physical and energetic body. At this point, you will naturally feel more relaxed and at peace, and thus you are halfway to a meditative state!
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to cultivate inner stillness. Qigong is a special time where we can turn our focus inward and work on this inner stillness, but we must begin carrying this inner stillness over into our everyday life. Start making the effort today to cultivate calmness and stillness in your everyday life. Take 10 seconds to shut out everything around you and just breathe. 10 seconds! We all have 10 seconds of free time throughout our day.
If you find it difficult to breath properly, it’s probably because you are not practicing! It takes work, but not effort like you would if you were digging a ditch. Just relax and begin working on meditation every day. No excuses! If you want to learn, the only way is to start trying. Be patient, walk the path slowly, and remember, there is no end goal – walking the path is enlightenment itself!
Want to learn Qigong ONLINE in the comfort of your own home?
http://www.learnqigongonline.com is a unique online learning environment for people motivated to improve their health and overall well-being.
Special workshops not available anywhere else are all included in your online membership at http://www.learnqigongonline.com. Get started any time, no commitments.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Race
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Secret-to-Qigong—Breathing-and-Relaxing&id=6422280
mahler-chiropractic.com: Quick Tip More Doctors Recommending Exercise: “Nearly 33 percent of adults who saw a doctor in the previous year s… http://wp.me/p1OMfm-dp
Is health the absents of illness? To may of us we may answer yes but this is far from the truth. Health is the ability to Play with our children and grandchildren. It is the ability to smile and laugh with our friends and to climb that mountain or staircase when we want to for our enjoyment and pleasure. In many ways real health is tied to our happiness.
This may be an answer that is different from what we often hear but I state this emphatically for several reasons. If you are not living life to its fullest for yourself and others in happiness and grace then you are not living a full healthy life. The second reason is that our bodies are never devoid of disease, at all times of the day our bodies are removing cancer cells, fighting off foreign bodies (toxins, bacteria and viruses), and repairing damaged systems such as tendinitis, gastrointestinal problems, fibromyalgia and the list goes on.
So these two realisations bring use back to the question, what is true health? It is the body’s ability to adapt to the changing internal and external environment. It is not the lack of disease! Disease is always present. If this disease is kept in check by the body then we can play with the kids, climb that mountain, and laugh with our friends and family.
So if this is true health and you are not doing this today then why not. No one can heal you it is up to you to decide to heal yourself. As a chiropractor my goal is to help create the environment for this healing to occur but all healing is from within and giving to use by the power that created use. The power that allowed use to grow from a single cell to the great and wonderful human being you are today.
That means that your health is in your hands and the power to regain it is yours. It is my job and the job of all health care professionals to advise you of how to reach this goal but only you can define your true happiness and therefore your measure of health.
So go out today and start taking steps to be happy and healthy today.
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The physiology of pain can often be complicated. The bottom line is that pain is all in your head and is also based on your life experiences. Pain is also the bodies last warning system that something is wrong and often comes after months or even years of dysfunction.
So what is pain? Pain is the brains interpretation of the nerve signals being sent from the injured region of the body. There are several factors on how pain is perceived by an individual. One of the most important factors is life experience what is the worst pain ever to a child will often not phase an adult who has lived through several traumatic events. Second is the emotional state of the patient. Yes I did say the emotional state, people who are depressed or have other normal physiological factors may ether magnify painful symptoms or ignore them all together. Finally the quality of the signal is an important factor if the signal for pain that the brain must interpret is reduced or amplified by forces on the nerves themselves (chiropractic subluxations being one type), it is like using a dimmer switch on a light and the intensity of the pain may change. This is often seen when there is disc involvement or in sciatica.
As well as these three main factors on the quality of pain there are several factor that effect the location of the sensation of pain. Again location can be effected by interference with the nerve and how it transmits the signal. If there is pain in the right leg it may not be the right leg at all. In some instances pressure may be placed on the nerve as it exits the spine or even in the spine, but since the brain thinks this nerve ends at the foot it thinks you have foot pain. This is the same mechanism that causes phantom leg syndrome in amputees.
To further complicate the situation there are disease that excite the nervous system and produce the symptoms of pain in areas that may have no injury at all. Some of these conditions are fibromyalgia and RSD. Finely there is the double crush syndrome. This is often seen in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), and is when pressure is put on the nerve in two or more locations. In the case of CTS this is often the neck and wrist with some shoulder involvement. What happens is when the wrist puts pressure on the nerve there may be no symptoms but when the neck and wrist or shoulder and wrist or all three act up the hands go numb or become very painful to the point of being debilitating.
All of these factors make managing pain difficult in some case. If your pain doesn’t resolve in a reasonable amount of time you may have one or more of these factors. In these case it takes a professional with many years of experience to help track down the cause and place you on the road to recovery.
At Mahler Family Chiropractic Center we have over 10 years of experience helping people with these problems.
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In this post you will find a description of tendinitis (informally also tendonitis) its causes and contributing factors. Simply put tendinitis is an inflammation of a tendon. It occurs when there is an injury, a tear, of the tendon or over use which involves micro tearing of the tendon.
The healing time of these injuries varies based on several factors. The first factor is time of injury. This is due to the fact that the longer there has been a tear or micro tearing the more scare tissue that forms. Age is another major factor. Once the growth plates close, this occurs in the early twenties and depends on gender and genetics, the blood supply is removed from tendons and ligaments in the body. This lack of blood supply means that the tendons rely on moment to provide nutrients for healing and the removal of toxins. This fact leads to the injury taking a minimum of 3 to 6 months to heal. The final major factor is re-injury and if you are still using the injured area this will increase healing time to as much as 2 to 3 years.
In the chiropractic office there are several ways that these injuries are healed. First the inflammation is reduced using a combination of ice and cold laser. Second chiropractic adjustments are used to remove pressure from the affected joints and to support the patient through the healing process, as well as to maximise range of motion during healing and recovery phases. Finally during the healing phase a combination of stretching and strengthening exercises are used to help decrease the chance of re-injury.
Now you have a greater understanding of tendinitis its causes and how to manage it.
For information on how this may affect your golf game or other sports visit our web site Mahler Family Chiropractic Center
By: Paul R Mahler Jr. DC
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By Dr. Paul Mahler
Is chiropractic care appropriate for my child? This s a question asked by many parents I the US. And often the short answer is yes. Chiropractic care for children has been found to be both safe and affective when administered by a trained doctor of chiropractic. Lets tackle the first question. How safe is chiropractic for my child? Chiropractic is one of the safest forms of health care. A baby’s spine is very supple during the first few months of life and there are Chiropractic techniques that apply only a slight pressure, up to 6 oz. Of pressure, to make spinal adjustments. Under normal circumstances, chiropractic adjustments are painless and will not hurt your child. Chiropractors do not perform any invasive procedures (such as surgery). These are some of the reasons why malpractice insurance rates for chiropractors are only a fraction of what other physicians pay and why more than 30 million Americans choose chiropractic care for their children and themselves. Chiropractic treatments have been shown to be Safe for Children. In a literature research study conducted the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) concluded the risk of injury as a result of chiropractic adjustments was low for adults and even lower for the pediatric patient. After reviewing 31 years of medical literature only one questionable report of injury to a child following chiropractic care was found. This ICPA study concluded “the potential risk to children is so low it can not be accurately estimated”. The above safety rate of chiropractic care for children should be compared to the adverse reaction rate of medicines. The next question to be answered is, how can chiropractic care benefit my child? To answer that question we will look at just three of the most common reasons chiropractors see children. It is important to remember that there are many other issues that may be addressed by a chiropractor. This is due to the fact that the chiropractor is not only affecting the musculoskeletal system but also the nervous system. The nervous system in turn affects every system in the body from digestion to the immune system. Chiropractors Treat the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system and by improving their function they improve the function of many of the related systems. This is an indirect effect. Lets look at three of these conditions. In the January 2003 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), the results of a study on lower back pain in children was conducted. The journal article notes that about 50% of children suffer from lower back pain at one time or another. It also notes that about 15% of children experience frequent or continual pain. The study was conducted on 54 children between the ages of 4 and 18 in the cities of Calgary, Alberta, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the study the children with lower back pain received chiropractic care from a variety of volunteer chiropractors in Canada. The children were tracked regularly during the study to monitor their progress. Results were obtained in several ways including responses from the patients themselves on how they felt their progress was coming. Results of the study showed improvement over the follow-up period was observed in 46% to 92% of the children for various criteria. In a period of 30 days 82% of the children reported that they were “much improved.”
The researchers conclusions were, “Patients responded favorably to chiropractic management, and there were no reported complications.”
Another common area where parents seek chiropractic care for the children is in cases of asthma. One-third of Asthmatic Children In Canadian Province Use Non-Medical Care. Reuters Health Information printed an article in the Journal of the AMA. It was a report of a survey that showed many children with asthma were seeking complementary medicine for their asthma. The parents of 117 pediatric asthma patients were surveyed by Dr. Sheldon Spier, of Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary and thirty percent reported using complementary medicine to help manage their children’s symptoms. Among these the most commonly used were herbal medications, chiropractic care, and homeopathy.
Several studies are listed on the ICPA web site ( www.icpa4kids.org ) discussing the benefits of chiropractic for children with asthma. In summary these studies showed 76.5% of patients with bronchial asthma said they benefited from chiropractic treatment, peak flow rate and vital capacity increased after the third treatment, and significantly lower quality of life impairment rating scores were reported for 90.1% of children after 60 days of chiropractic care. During this 60 day period the average number of asthma attacks decreased an average of 44.9%, and asthma medication usage was decreased an average of 66.5%. Among parents of asthmatic children who had received chiropractic treatment, 92% considered this treatment beneficial.
Finally lets look at Chiropractic Adjustments for Children with Acute Otitis Media. A study published in the March 29, 2004 edition of The Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, (JVSR), showed chiropractic adjustments had a positive effect on children with acute ear infections. In the study 21 children were examined and all of these children showed acute inflammation in the inner ear with a red and bulging tympanic membrane and a mean oral temperature of over 100 degrees F.
The study noted that after chiropractic adjustments, tympanic membrane returned to normal in 95% of the children and was accompanied by a normal oral temperature.
In conclusion there is scientific based evidence to suggest that chiropractic care for children is both safe and effective for children. Chiropractic care is both less invasive and safe. For more information contact your local chiropractor or visit our website at www.mahler-chiropratic.com
This article can be reproduced as long as it is in its entirety.
I have been involved with swimming for over 30 years as both a swimmer and coach. It has been my experience over the years that the repetitive injures common to swimming respond very favourably to traditional chiropractic care and I only wish I had known of the benefits of chiropractic care 30 years ago.
According to Dr. Jack Barnathan, a chiropractor from New York “injuries can build up and cause nerve pressure-in other words, pain. Chiropractors are trained in treating such problems.”
Barnathan has worked with athletes worldwide, including super swimmer Dara Torres, who used chiropractic for her back, hips and shoulders before resuming training for the Olympics in 2000. In the pool, she found that chiropractic provided great relief for her body-post-workouts and prior to competition.
According to Torres, “when you need a quick fix and don’t have time to rehab something, I always found quick relief from chiropractors,”.
Olympic head coach Richard Quick began using chiropractic resources at the University of Texas in the 1980s.
“Chiropractic is playing a larger and larger role in all forms of athletics. It’s an issue of figuring out what works and helps athletic performance, and making it a part of your program,” he says.
It is often overuse syndromes that plague swimmers and this often difficult to mange the injuries and maintain a high level of conditioning. This is why the chiropractic model works so well for swimmers and other athletes, while rest may be initially needed I have found that it is best to incorporate parts of the activity that is being preformed in the treatment itself. This philosophy lends itself to continued although often modified training and results in minimal loss of conditioning allowing the athlete to perform at peke levels sooner and shortening healing time.
For swimmers it is often strained back muscles or shoulder injuries and it is important to strengthen and support these injuries through intensive training. But it is even more important to avoid injuries that can be accomplished through a good warm-up and stretching routine. Please see our page on shoulder stretching.
Citations:
Swimming World and Junior Swimmer Aug 2003Swimming World and Junior Swimmer, Stott, Michael J
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I have been involved with swimming for over 30 years as both a swimmer and coach. It has been my experience over the years that the repetitive injures common to swimming respond very favourably to traditional chiropractic care and I only wish I had known of the benefits of chiropractic care 30 years ago.
kingstonchiropractic 