1. Take a minute to direct someone who is lost, even though you are rushing.
2. Write a letter to a child who could use some extra attention. Kids love getting mail.
3. Offer to pick up groceries for an elderly neighbor.
4. Give a homeless person your doggie bag.
5. Say “I love you” to someone you love.
6. Put a coin in an expired meter.
7. Help a mother carry her baby stroller up the stairs, or hold a door open for her.
8. Each time you get a new item of clothing, give away something old.
9. Take someone’s shift as the carpool parent.
10. Bring your assistant coffee.
11. Out of the blue, send flowers to a friend.
12. Say “please” and “thank you” and really mean it.
13. When you are on a crowded train, offer your seat to an elderly, disabled or pregnant person.
14. Don’t interrupt when someone is explaining herself.
15. Offer to babysit for a single mom.
16. Let a fellow driver merge into your lane.
17. Put your shopping cart back into its place.
18. Call or write a teacher who changed your life.
19. Bring a healthy snack to share at the office.
20. Forgive someone a debt and never bring it up again.
21. Listen with all your senses.
22. Encourage someone who seems despondent.
23. Volunteer to take care of a friend’s dog while he or she is vacationing.
24. Help a friend pack for a move.
25. Pass along a great book you’ve just finished reading.

It’s back to school time and kids are getting ready to fill up their backpacks. Today, more and more schoolwork is given to kids and as a result, their backpacks get heavier and heavier. The heavier the backpack is, the more unnecessary stress is placed on the child’s spine. This can cause the misalignment of vertebrae of the spine (vertebral subluxations), which if left uncorrected can have serious health consequences.

It may be difficult to control the amount of schoolwork your child receives. However, there are things that you can do to ensure that their backpack does not cause damage to their spine.

First … Limit the amount of weight that is placed in the child’s backpack at one time. Usually ten percent of the child’s body weight is appropriate. Occasionally, schools will allow you to purchase a second set of books so that it is not necessary for the child to carry the books back and forth between home and school.

Second … Get you child a spinal checkup on a regular basis. Carrying heavy backpacks can cause poor posture. Posture is one of the most overlooked keys to best health and performance. Good posture improves fitness, thinking ability, emotional state and general vitality. Parents who appreciate the importance of checkups for their child’s teeth, hearing, eyes, ears, nose and throat often draw a blank when it comes to their child’s spine. In fact, a spinal checkup could be one of the most important of your child’s life. Schedule an appointment with your family chiropractor today. Start the school year off on a healthy note. Bring your children in for a spinal checkup and give them the best chance to get healthy and stay healthy throughout the school year.

What controls the things that happen in your life?

1. Do you believe certain things just “happen” to you, maybe just by luck or caused by other people, without your ability to stop them or change them? 

2. Or, in contrast, do you believe you have the power to make changes in most areas of your life? This belief is described as “locus of control.”

If you answered “yes” to question 1, you have an “external locus of control.” If you answered “yes” to question 2, you have an “internal locus of control.” Your beliefs about control can have a great influence on your decisions and behavior. We commonly experience some wonderful personal accomplishments in the first two decades of life: feeding ourselves, walking, tying our own shoe laces, learning to whistle, riding a bike, driving a car, graduating from high school, finding a job. Each of these accomplishments toward adulthood brings with it a feeling of personal satisfaction and self-confidence. The feeling of “I can do it myself” is a very powerful realization.

As we mature however, we begin to accept the fact that there are certain things that we cannot change. This can become a problem, though, if we view as “unchangeable” some important aspects of our lives that we can control. 

For example, most of us have experienced health problems during our lives. We may have grown dependent on the authority of other people to tell us what is wrong and what to do about it. We may have lost the sense of choice about healthcare. Traditional medicine focuses on treatment of symptoms; however, the symptoms are not the true problem. Symptoms result from underlying problems which compromise our health, and these problems may worsen over time unless the underlying cause is addressed. Chiropractic care focuses on finding and correcting the cause of the symptoms and uses natural means to correct the problem. 

Many times the underlying cause of symptoms is a subluxation (misaligned vertebra). Chiropractors focus on the human body as a whole unit, with special attention to the importance of the spine. Nerve impulses flow from the brain, through the spinal cord, to the rest of the body. Optimal health depends on the successful delivery of these nerve impulses to the organs, tissues and cells of the body. Each of the spinal vertebrae protects the nerves.  If a vertebra is misaligned by injury or the activities of life, the nerves can be affected and a health problem can result. Chiropractors correct the misaligned vertebrae with an adjustment and restore the free flow of nerve impulses through the nerve system. This enables the body to heal itself.

We have many choices in our lives these days: more options in the grocery store, on the internet, in the automobile showroom.  We also have the most important choices to make in healthcare, and you have the power to choose wisely. Make your choice the natural, safe and effective choice. Make your choice chiropractic care for yourself and your family.

• Every so often push your luck.
• Never underestimate the power of a kind word or deed.
• Never give up on anybody; miracles happen every day.
• Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
• Learn to listen.
• Think big thoughts, but relish small pleasures.
• Don’t expect others to listen to your advice and ignore your example.
• Opportunity sometimes knocks softly.
• Leave everything a little better than you found it.
• Don’t forget a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
• Never waste an opportunity to tell someone that you love him or her.
• Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
• Make new friends but cherish the old ones.
• Don’t use time or words carelessly; neither can be retrieved.
• Judge your success by the degree that you’re enjoying peace, health and love.
• Smile a lot; it costs nothing and is beyond price.

-AUTHOR UNKNOWN

It is time that you recognize how wonderful, powerful and perfect you already are. All of the answers you will ever need are right inside of you. All you need to do is trust your inner wisdom. Set your goals, raise your standards, and choose to show up as the “Best YOU Ever!” Decide to live in the present and live an “EXTRAORDINARY” life. Share this valuable information with those you care about so they can transform their lives too!

A study in the May 2007 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reports health plans that use Chiropractors as Primary Care Providers (PCPs) reduce their health care utilization costs significantly.

The study covers the seven-year period from 1999 to 2005. Researchers compared costs and utilization data from an Independent Physicians Association (IPA) that uses Chiropractors as PCPs and a traditional HMO that doesn’t.

The Chiropractic PCPs had 59 percent fewer hospitalizations, 62 percent fewer outpatient surgical cases and 85 percent lower drug costs compared with the HMO plans.

The patients in the Chiropractic PCP group also reported higher satisfaction with their care than the HMO group. Over the seven-year period, Chiropractic patients consistently demonstrated a high degree of satisfaction with their care that ranged from 89 percent to 100 percent.

Study co-author James Winterstein, D.C. says that patients using Chiropractic PCP health care groups “experienced fewer hospitalizations, underwent fewer surgeries and used considerably fewer pharmaceuticals than HMO patients who received traditional medical care.”

“The escalation of medical expenditures remains an urgent problem in the United States and it’s becoming quite clear that cost containment strategies by conventional medical providers are failing to achieve even mediocre results,” he said. “This study confirms that the integration of [medical], chiropractic and other complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) providers can positively impact patient quality of care while limiting costs. This approach to patient care has great potential to improve the U.S. healthcare system.”

When we can’t figure out just how to use our new computer, digital camera, cell phone or any other machine for that matter, it is usually because we haven’t read the instructions. An automobile, a computer, a fax machine- these are all complex mechanical devices requiring instructions. We can learn how to use them effectively by reading the instructions or by allowing somebody to teach us how to use them.  Sometimes, if we haven’t used these machines in a while we have to go back and review the instructions all over again. These complex machines are a very important part of our lives. In fact, sometimes we feel lost or out of control if we lose the ability to use them.

Are you aware that the human body is defined as a “machine”? We generally think of a machine as made of metal and moving parts, but a “machine” can also be defined as “an intricate natural system or organism, such as the human body.” Unfortunately our bodies don’t come with an instruction manual when we are born.  And it is true, our bodies are the most important machines we will ever own in our lifetime.  It is very wise to learn as much as we can about it.

Let’s focus first on the terms “natural system” and “manmade systems.” Computers and cars are not natural systems. They are manmade and come with a set of instructions to learn from. The human body is a natural system and does not come with instructions. Instead, the body comes fully equipped with its own natural ability to heal itself. When we are experiencing a health issue, it is important to understand that symptoms of illness are our body’s intelligent way of letting us know that something is wrong.  Something is interfering with the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

Chiropractic care is so effective because it works with the body’s natural healing ability. Pills will simply mask the symptoms of an illness without ever locating and correcting the cause of the problem. Chiropractors do not rely on pills but rather focus on enabling the body’s natural system to restore health.

The most amazing aspect of this “natural system” is that it works with no conscious thought. Our body works perfectly without us even thinking about it or reading an instructions manual to operate it. We don’t have to tell our heart when to beat or how to digest food or how to grow hair. When there is no interference in communication between the brain and the rest of the body, each system works optimally.

Chiropractors restore the body’s communication system by removing interference caused by spinal misalignments (subluxations). When the vertebrae of the spine are misaligned, this can cause a breakdown in communication of nerves to other parts of the body. This is when symptoms can arise. Chiropractors correct subluxations with an adjustment and help to restore the body’s natural ability to heal itself. 

Chiropractic care is a health care approach based upon the body’s natural ability to heal itself and is a very important step in a commitment to optimal health. Optimal health is one of our most valuable possessions. We should value ourselves enough to strive for the highest level of health. When we take responsibility for the choices we make regarding health, we give ourselves the best opportunity to achieve all of our health goals. Chiropractic care can help give us the natural health we deserve when we commit to learning more about our body and take all of the necessary steps to stay well.