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Rolfing
What is Functional Wellness?
This is at the foundation of my practice ~
THE CORE PRINCIPLES THAT DEFINE FUNCTIONAL WELLNESS:
BIO – INDIVIDUALITY:
Functional Wellness views us all as biochemically unique. This approach supports the unique expression of health and vitality for each individual. My personalized approach treats the individual, not the disease. There is no “one size fits all” approach to health and wellness.
AWARENESS OF CURRENT HABITS/PATTERNS:
We work together to identify your current lifestyle barriers to wellness. The power of this therapeutic partnership is based on the fact that you, the patient, are an active participant in the development of the therapeutic plan. You make the sustained lifestyle changes that improve your health and wellness.
FUNCTIONAL WELLNESS IS SCIENCE BASED:
What we put in our bodies, what we do with our bodies and what happens within us is connected in a complicated network of relationships. We work to understand those relationships so we can see the dynamic functioning of the body.
BODY’S ABILITY TO HEAL ITSELF:
Your body is intelligent and capable of profound self-regulation. This ability is expressed through a dynamic balance of all your body systems. We are an intricate biodynamic system that contains incredible feedback mechanisms. Together we focus on maximizing that ability by enhancing your vitality.
WELLNESS IS A LIFE LONG JOURNEY:
Health and wellness is not just the absence of disease, it is a state of vitality. Functional Wellness looks to find the root causes or mechanisms involved in any loss of function (heartburn, chronic body pain, migraines, digestive issues, hormonal imbalance, grief to name a few). It utilizes an “upstream” approach to consider the complex web of interrelations in your life, including the internal and external factors that affect total function or vitality. This unique approach makes that journey easier to travel.
I’m Sandra Jones and I have helped thousands of people to become pain-free with my drug-free approach called Functional Wellness. As a Certified Rolfer, Classical Homeopath and Certified Functional Nutritionist, I offer you an individualized wellness plan to get you out of pain and back to living the life you know is possible.
DYSBIOSIS & PROBIOTICS
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Chronic lower back pain has a lot to do with chronically tensed belly and pelvis muscles. Why do you tense there? One reason could have to do with what you eat.
If you have chronical or recurrent pain in the lower back, you need to look at different factors to find a solution.
Several Rolfing sessions with body pattern awareness combined with 30 minutes of brisk walking 7 days a week can reduce the problems dramatically.
LOWER BACK PAIN IS NOT AN ISOLATED PROBLEM
Often chronical pain in various parts of the moving body has to do with chronically tensed muscles – this also applies to the lower back. But you must remember, that the lower back is not only the lower part of the back, it is also the back part of the pelvis, that is connected with the rest of the body in a complicated and fine network of muscles, bones, ligaments, connecting tissue etc.
That is why it is often of no use to look at lower back problems as an isolated phenomena. We are multi-dimensional beings. There is a lot going on!
TUMMY SIZE AND GUT FLORA
On top of looking at your general movement pattern, it can be relevant to look at what this pelvis contains. A big part of it contains the gut! No surprice, but have you ever given your gut flora a thought? The gut contains about 2 kg of bacteria, which is vital for our survival.
Good health is dependent on this gut flora´s balance. There are beneficial, opportunistic and dysbiotic bacteria. If the balance of these types of bacteria is not beneficial and dysbiotic, it means that the gut wall it is vulnerable and a typical symptom of that is what is known as leaky gut. A leaky gut can´t handle certain food. If you have a dysbiotic gut flora, you might know perfectly well, that you have certain food intolerance, but you might also not know what more food you might have difficulty in digesting.
One of the symptoms of a more or less dysbiotic gut flora is bloating. You know – just a little or a lot every day, maybe beginning at the same time every day, maybe it starts at different times.
BLOATING MAKES YOU TENSE
What makes the problem worse is, that being bloated can make you tense in the inner pelvic muscles. You don´t necessarily know it, because, in terms of muscle sensation, the bloatedness makes you partly numb in that area and you can´t control all the inner pelvis muscles consciously. You aren’t using the appropriate muscles for movement (like your psoas!) because you can’t “find” it.
Additionally dysbiosis creates inflammation in the small and large intestine, which basically are suspended from your lower vertebrae. This extra strain creates susceptibility and eventually can disorganize your spine and pelvic causing pain, stiffness and discomfort.
Frenching Your Dog (It’s Good For You Both)
MARZIPAN MOMENTS…
TO BE COMPLETELY TRUTHFUL, I let my sweet girl Marzipan give me kisses. This article has been in heavy rotation on the internet, but I still wanted to share it here, because I believe that when this research is done, it will indeed prove what I already know ~ that Marzipan‘s kisses are the perfect medicine for me!
Could a kiss from your dog be GOOD for you?
Canine germs may act “as a probiotic,” experts believe microbes from a dog’s gut could be good for their owners and boost our immune system. Probiotics or ‘good’ bacteria, help keep the intestines healthy.
It is well documented that owning a dog boosts a person’s well being. But the health benefits of sharing your life with a furry friend may not end there.
Scientists believe the microbes lurking in a dog’s gut could have a probiotic effect on the owners’ body. And to determine if their suspicions are true, the researchers at the University of Arizona, are recruiting volunteers to take part in a study to test the theory.
The research will focus specifically on the effect dogs have on the health of older people. Scientists at the University of Arizona believe the microbes living in a dog’s gut may be good for their owners’ health. They are recruiting volunteers to take part in their study to test the theory. Kim Kelly, an anthropology doctoral student, and one of the lead researchers, said: ‘We’ve co-evolved with dogs over the millennia, but nobody really understands what it is about this dog-human relationship that makes us feel good about being around dogs.
‘Is it just that they’re fuzzy and we like to pet them, or is there something else going on under the skin? ‘The question really is, has the relationship between dogs and humans gotten under the skin?
The human digestive system is home to more than 500 different types of bacteria, both ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Probiotics, often referred to as ‘good’ or ‘helpful’ bacteria because they help keep the intestines healthy and assist in digesting food, are also believed to help the immune system.
Foods such as yogurt, as well as supplements, can help enhance probiotics in the body.
Dr Kelly, along with researchers at the University of San Diego, will explore whether living with a dog encourages the growth of positive micro organisms in the human gut – enough to improve physical and mental health in older adults.
‘We essentially want to find out, is a dog acting like yogurt in having a probiotic effect,’ she said. Existing research shows that dogs and their owners share much of the same gut bacteria over time.
In addition, some studies have shown that dogs enhance the immune system of children, reducing the risk of illnesses including asthma and allergies.
They believe canine germs could have similar effects to probiotic yogurts, which give people a dose of ‘good’ bacteria, boosting gut health
Dr Charles Raison, principal investigator, said: ‘We think dogs might work as probiotics to enhance the health of the bacteria that live in our guts. ‘These bacteria, or microbiota, are increasingly recognised as playing an essential role in our mental and physical health, especially as we age.
‘We know that not all bacteria are good. ‘We can get very sick from the ‘bad’ bacteria, and modern medicine has done a wonderful job of protecting us from various diseases that are created by these bacteria.
‘But unfortunately, by eliminating the bad bacteria we’ve started eliminating the ‘good’ bacteria, too.’
Participants in the study, which will be conducted with the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, will be paired with a canine companion from the humane society and live with the dog in their home for three months.
At the start of the research, scientists will evaluate the human participants’ gut bacteria, diet, physical activity and immune function.
At the same time the dogs’ gut bacteria and physical activity levels will also be measured.
Follow up evaluations will be carried out after one, two and three months to look for any positive changes to gut micro flora in both the dogs and human volunteers.
Researchers will also look for any changes in the mental health and emotional well-being of the dogs and humans.
By Lizzie Parry for MailOnline
Got Pain? Essential Fatty Acid Imbalances and Deficiencies
Some Interesting Thoughts on Eliminating Chronic Inflammation
Information from Dr. Dan Murphy DC. https://danmurphydc.com/
Simple Healthy Eating For Health & Weight Control
No refined carbohydrates
No processed foods
No grains
No dairy
No alcohol
No between meal snacks (not sure I agree with this one)
No eating after dinner
Eat only when hungry
Do not overeat
No high fructose corn syrup, no trans fats, no glutamate
(MSG), no aspartame, no sodium benzoate, no artificial colors
Eat Only: Vegetables 75% Fruit 25% Meat 33%
Ideally, the vegetables and fruits are organic, pesticide free
Ideally, the meat is grain free with no hormones or antibiotics
EFA: Essential Fatty Acid Imbalances and Deficiencies
Changes in the modern diet are largely responsible for the increasing incidence of
essential fatty acid (EFA) imbalances and deficiencies.
The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fats has changed dramatically due to the
widespread use of vegetable oils (mostly n-6 fats) in cooking and to the processing
of oils to alter omega-3 fats to improve shelf life and eliminate their stronger taste
(just think of the distinctive tastes of cod liver or flax oil).
Historical estimates place the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 oils at nearly 1:1 for
prehistoric humans.
By the turn of the century (1900), the ratio had increased to about 4:1.
The current American ratio is about 25:1.
The sharp rise is due to increased vegetable oil consumption: from 2 lb. per year in 1909 to 25 lb. per year in 1985!
Many of the chronic inflammatory conditions that accompany EFA imbalance are currently treated with symptom-specific pharmaceutical drugs such as steroids,
prednisone, aspirin, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), sulfasalazine, and colchicine.
The problem with such drug therapies is that they prevent the formation of ‘good’ anti-inflammatory eicosanoids, or they shift the production of one type of
eicosanoid to another.
For effective, long-term management, eicosanoid production should be modified through dietary changes (balancing dietary intake of specific fats) and controlling
insulin levels in the circulation.
Maintaining a proper balance between the various families of dietary fats may be one of the most important preventative measures a person can take to reduce the
likelihood of developing one of the chronic diseases of modern civilization, such as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, and autoimmune
disease.
~American Academy of Pain Management
Weiner’s Pain Management: A Practical Guide for Clinicians
Seventh Edition, 2006, pp.584-585, Edited by Mark Boswell and B. Eliot Cole