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Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Zylla Wellness Center Opens In My Neighborhood
September 23, 2016
— 3 Comments
Zylla grand opening
party time
party time
party time
friends bearing basil
The nurse is in
I was happy to hear my favorite acupuncture practitioner decided to expand her office space near my home. Jessica Breton has treated me for serious chronic pain issues as well as tune ups for general well being for years. She decided to team up with some other diverse health and wellness professionals to offer our neighborhood a very well rounded and comprehensive set of offers from which to choose. This delights me because I am an extreme local shopper, wishing to support businesses as close to home as possible. I can bike to the center in five minutes to receive the highest quality services I know of in Tucson. The specialists who practice at Zylla offer a unique synergy of services for transforming health issues.
- Jessica is accomplished in Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture and tui na. She is very attentive and hands on in her treatments.
- Justine Robbins is trained in cranio-sacral therapy and lymphatic drainage. She recently purchased a Theralase cold laser that she uses to produce miraculous results, decreasing pain and inflammation. This medical breakthrough is non-invasive, painless, and quick. I am extra pleased to have access to the magic Theralase right in my ‘hood.
- Denise Cabrera joins the team as an RN with a specialty in functional medicine. Her business, Natural Diabetes Nurse, serves patients who want to find natural alternatives to manage or prevent diabetes. This approach is much needed in the world today. I expect Denise to make a big difference with her coaching and medical practice. Folks need to be educated to improve their own wellness.
The grand opening party was a blast, with all ages and all walks of life attending. Welcome to Midtown Tucson del Norte. This is my kind of upgrade to the area.
The Health Bank
November 16, 2015
— 3 Comments
sunflowers
Health and vitality are valuable assets and worthy investments of time and money. In order to preserve our good feelings and ease into our senior years we need to budget wisely. This budget is less about money and more about effort and habits. I consider the transactions such as good diet and sound sleep to be deposits into the account and less healthy choices like overeating or loosing emotional composure as withdrawals. Nobody can be perfect all the time, but if we balance the deposits with the withdrawals we will be more likely to maintain our health. Bouncing a well being check might have some disastrous consequences.
What kind of assets make up the wellness investment portfolio?
- strength and flexibility
- good balance
- healthy tools to manage stress
- healthy eating
- regular exercise
- clean uncluttered environment
- good relationships with friends and family
- satisfying hobbies or activities
- sound sleep
What kind of practices diminish the value of the well being portfolio?
- insomnia
- worry and stress
- poor nutrition
- lack of movement, including too much sitting
- all work and no play, or all play and no work
- financial mismanagement
- lack of pleasurable social contact
- addiction and over indulgence
You will have to balance the budget each week to stay in line with the goal of staying in good health. The first step to proper management is honesty. Once the balance has fallen below zero sincere action is needed to restore good health. It is easier to maintain than it is to recover once it has been lost. I wish you health and happiness this winter, gentle reader.
Fall Superfood, The Sweet Potato
September 27, 2015
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sweet potato vine
My food prep practice has helped me introduce more variety into our diet and reduce waste. I don’t aspire to fit all my preparation for the week into one day, like many of the serious preppers. My goal is to consolidate my cooking in order to have a few days each week free from major kitchen cleaning. The reward is so valuable to me that it inspires me to improve my strategy. I believe 3 days at leisure with a selection of prepared meals available is ideal for me because I do enjoy cooking. My perfect style is like having a delicatessen at home that never runs out of treats. Sometimes specialty items can be purchased to fill in for home-made, but cooking from scratch is what I like to do and the way I like to eat. Trader Joe’s helps me a lot when I don’t want to fuss, but I have a goal of eating more whole foods.
This autumn season I want to develop some new variations on some old themes. Chowder, chili, and cornbread are on the menu for savory foods. Tapioca pudding and bubble teas are on the new frontier of desserts. I like deconstructing desserts, then building small portions when I want a bite. Deconstructing lends itself to food prep, since you can create the elements to be combined later as desired.
There is one healthy food I want to include more often in new ways. That food is the mighty sweet potato. Most of the dishes I prepared in the past were sweet, like soufflé or sweet potato pie. I recently tried a savory sweet potato salad with cilantro, bell peppers, cumin and chiles. That savory recipe has inspired me to experiment with the spicy/savory realm. There are good reasons to include sweet potatoes in your diet:
- Potassium rich
- Fiber source
- High in antioxidants
- Low glycemic index
This healthy root vegetable will be featured on our fall table in as many new ways as possible. What is your favorite sweet potato recipe, gentle reader?
sweet potatoes
Wellness and Self Expression
March 26, 2015
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flower
aloe
green
The quest for balance and health leads down some blind alleys. I found a medical doctor last year in my neighborhood because I will soon have Medicare and have no idea how to make it work for me. The guy is billed as alternative health gerontologist, so I thought he would be right for my philosophy. We had a fairly long initial interview and then he asked me to get a mammogram or thermography. I was glad to go for a full body thermography because I was curious to know what it would reveal.
After my test was concluded the results were sent to the doctor and we discussed them on my next visit, which was for a pelvic exam. My breasts showed no signs of problems, so the doctor decided that everything must be fine. I asked him to discuss the areas where my thermography revealed inflammation because I was really concerned when I saw it. He dismissed my concern by saying “Don’t you think that is just a generalization?” I was shocked for half a second, and then I realized there was no point in talking to him about anything not initiated by him. He would call the agenda for my body and let me know. Strike one. He told me to go do my “alternative thing”, using two fingers on each side to make that obnoxious parenthesis gesture. I honestly wanted to slap him.
The pelvic exam results were inconclusive and he thought there was some problem. I was sent to a specialist for another exam. My insurance had covered the first one, but I had to pay full price for the extra one. My pelvic exam, done by a more professional person, showed no signs of problems. Strike two. Now I have received a letter from this guy informing me that I have the opportunity to pay him $500 EXTRA dollars a year and have super special access to him. He will give one hour consultations and hand out his private cell number to the exclusive group of patients which will be limited. I do have the option of being followed by a physicians assistant who will be hired to deal with those of us who do not care to see the doctor. This was a very easy decision for me. I picked the assistant.
I am not of the mindset that the doctor is always right. In fact I am intensely iatrophobic, suspecting error and negligence in every medial procedure done on the planet. I have not taken any prescription drugs for any reason, and do not plan to start. I feel good and enjoy life. I think my health is a function of my own enjoyment and self expression. One of the ways the new “health care system” disrespects the individual is by not listening. I have decided to take the entire incident as a warning. I still go to my osteopath and pay cash when I need a doctor. She does manipulative medicine only , and I trust her completely. I am a regular receiver of body work and acupuncture, which I value much more than time in a MD’s office.
I believe it is my own responsibility to care for myself and evaluate my choices constantly. I also think that repression is a source of ill health. Wellness springs from our emotional and spiritual contentment. Acceptance of the self as magical, artistic, and full of creativity opens the door to a full life. We each have instinctual wisdom about our own health. My own philosophy is that we need to open to our center to give our art a conduit to the world. Of course it is wise to seek medical attention when needed, but a daily dose of movement, social interaction with friends, and creative challenge is the prescription for well being. I hope you find your own creative muse, gentle reader. The relationship can be a valuable asset to your continued good health. The right primary care muse can make all the difference to your future.
Coffee+Butter=Bulletproof?
January 10, 2015
— 9 Comments
Bulletproof
This week I decided to try this fad about which I have heard so much..butter in black coffee. The admirers think this produces a perfect high. Some people have told me about using coconut oil in black coffee, but I decided to go with dairy butter for my taste test. I began with a very small dab of butter, slightly afraid of what it might do. It was hardly perceivable, so I used about a tablespoon total in a cup. I was hankering after the taste that was described in the literature by the proponents. The taste of dark rye toast with butter, dipped in coffee was, more or less, the flavor of the drink. It felt greasy, but I think cream in coffee too slick and thick, so that was similar. It was rich, but not in a way I appreciated. For me, this was something I could do without for the rest of my life. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. When both butter and coconut oil are added this drink is called bulletproof coffee. People are going wild for it.
The morning at my desk produced two different reasons to call my banks..somehow both of them had issues on line the same day. Both issues with both banks took much longer to resolve on the phone than I had expected. My cranky attitude swelled as I listened to too much phone hold music for dummies. I noticed that I was full of angst at these trivial problems. I wondered if this high level of anxiety had something to do with that wonder coffee. My gut feeling was distinctly unpleasant waiting for the bankers to take care of my accounts. I was in no real danger, but had a high level freak out in mind and body.
I recently declared patience to be one of my three words for 2015. The assault to test my patience began as soon as I made the statement. Events aligned to make me wait for everything, not just this banking. The high performance bulletproof life is a conflict of interest with my patient, persistent, poetic self. I have returned to sipping small cups of coffee and milk that I keep nearby in a thermos all morning. I like the light, steady dose of tasty hot richness for hours. I do not aspire to be bulletproof in any way. I leave that to those who want to take off like rockets and feel invincible in the morning. Invincibility is just not poetic.
Healthcare/Wellness/Insurance
October 2, 2013
— 3 Comments
healthy food
The way words are used has a big effect on culture and expectations. The words health care have come to mean prescription drugs and medical procedures. Wellness has come to mean any kind of body work, cleanse, or restrictive diet. What is even more debilitating to the public health is that insurance policies determine the care most people use. There is abuse on both sides, by wellness quacks and medical losers. Wellness or health coaches are essentially practicing counseling in everything from nutrition to psychiatry. The unhealthy American population is vulnerable and guilty, willing to jump to all kinds of conclusions, buying into all kinds of cures and programs. The market is so crowded the consumer has been confused by all the possibilities. Now the public will need to understand how health insurance functions. This is a giant leap for the citizens, a shock to the system.
I made a living teaching and promoting health and wellness through water for many years. I have enjoyed waters and spas all over the world and had the pleasure of teaching many wonderful students. I have a strong healthy body that I treat to the best food and body work I can afford to give it. Since I love movement, I move. I don’t take any prescription drugs; my plan is to avoid them. The reasons I am keeping my insurance policy as it is, and not vexing myself trying to read all the options are:
- In two years I will have Medicare, which I do understand well from the parental care I did.
- My policy allows me to go to any provider I choose
- If I change I will undergo an unknown medical exam requirement I do not care to do
- I am satisfied with the service when I do have a transaction with the company
- I am guaranteed to get a rebate under the new laws because I use far less than 20% of my premium costs each year on covered services.
- My senior care experience taught me that it is very difficult to know what will and will not be covered; the only way to find out is to need something, then be denied.
- My senior care duties showed me the many entities out there financially abusing seniors by swindling Medicare. I am sure this has not improved since my parents died.
- I am convinced that the shopping on the exchanges will damage my wellbeing.
- My time is better spent in the pool increasing my core strength and flexibility.
- Staying away from the crisis in health care is healthy.
Wellness Account
April 3, 2013
Paying attention is the first step to wellness. Our individual health is like a bank account. We deposit good constitution and healthy habits such as whole fresh food and solid rest. When things go wrong it is impossible to tell which check has overdrawn the account. If you take out more than you put in this will always be the result. Rather that be too crazy about diagnosis and specific remedies, a good overview can help sort out the most crucial from the unimportant. How and why do you use your own resources to damage your health?
Our bodies consist of an advanced bundle of cells and energy connected to create this network of life, feeling and emotion. We are a conduit to something fantastic and sometimes unimaginable; a Responsive Universe…. Our bodies are our best friends. We need to listen to our bodies signals – wellness is the only true focus. Are you listening?
Please check out my latest article published at MindBodyGreen which focuses on listening to our bodies and how we can positively respond to those signals…
Do You Listen To Your Body’s Signals?
John C. Bader
About the Book: www.responsiveuniverse.com
Now Available: Amazon Barnes & Noble
Healing vs Stagnation
February 19, 2013
— 3 Comments
There is a tendency to avoid truth and maintain status quo in an effort to stay in control. This habitual use of the lowest common denominator to define reality is detrimental to wellbeing. Bernie Seigal notes in the above video that to forget is to get something for yourself. To forgive is to give something to another. The gift that everyone has to give is responsibility. We have selective memories and stories that we tell about ourselves and our circumstances. The story about the wound is the one that keeps the wound alive, whatever it may be.
Woundology is the currency exchange that places value on damage. The currency of pain only has value if you accept it and give it. Carolyn Myss coined the phrase and noticed a growth of the epidemic. Her work as a medical intuitive has been to explain and teach Why People Don’t Heal. I believe that there is a codependent heath and fitness industry that feeds the insecurity and pain as a way to make a living. I have seen this in action, although I do not think the participants had awareness of their folly. If your health and fitness story is not a clean, clear and happy one, the good news is that you can change it. Change your story by refusing to allow the past to define your present. Trade in the wounds for a brand new set of possibilities.
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