What is Chiropractic care?

If you haven’t visited a chiropractor before, you might be missing out. Millions of people around the world have experienced the incredible benefits of chiropractic care.

One of the best things about chiropractic care is it’s a drug-free and surgery-free path to healing naturally.

People have reported chiropractic benefits help to improve:

• Back pain
• Headaches
• Ear infections
• Neck pain
• Arthritis and joint pain
• Scoliosis
• Asthma
• Blood pressure
• Healthy pregnancy
• Organ function
• Surgery prevention

There are a lot of misconceptions about chiropractic practices and how chiropractors are trained. In fact, did you know many chiropractic programs also incorporate an entire year of PhD-level advanced nutrition training?

However, most of the benefits of seeing a chiropractor come from getting a chiropractic adjustment.

Dr. Paul Samuel can provide adjustments, nutritional and supplemental care, and a drugless approach to pain management. Elevate your health, and get adjusted today by calling (802) 557-8568, or stop by our South Burlington office.

Stay strong and balanced!

New Partnership: Elevate Health Chiropractic and Body Therapy

South Burlington chiropractor, Dr. Paul Samuel DC at Elevate Health Chiropractic llc, is excited to announce massages are now available at our office. We have been serving exceptional chiropractic care to the greater Burlington and Shelburne areas for the past 2 years, and during this time, we have been searching for the right massage therapist to join our team. This August, we are happy to announce Body Therapy LLC, with DeAnna Bevilacqua, has recently become a part of our wellness family and will be offering services specializing in deep-tissue, Swedish, and Thai massage. Check out her website: 
http://bodytherapyllc.massagetherapy.com/home (518) 331-6380

To commemorate this special occasion, we are raffling off a 1-hour custom massage with our new partners Body Therapy! The drawing will be live on 9/20/16, and entries can be made via Facebook. Like this post to be entered once, or share for 2 entries. Give us a call for more information or to schedule an ‪#‎adjustment‬.
Stay ‪#‎healthy‬ and ‪#‎balanced‬ ‪#‎VT‬! www.elevatehealthchiropractic.com (802) 557-8568

Benefits to a 1 minute workout

1 Minute of All-Out Exercise May Have Benefits of 45 Minutes of Moderate Exertion

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

 APRIL 27, 2016 5:45 AM April 27, 2016 5:45 am

Photo

Credit

For many of us, the most pressing question about exercise is: How little can I get away with? The answer, according to a sophisticated new study of interval training, may be very, very little. In this new experiment, in fact, 60 seconds of strenuous exertion proved to be as successful at improving health and fitness as three-quarters of an hour of moderate exercise.

Let me repeat that finding: One minute of arduous exercise was comparable in its physiological effects to 45 minutes of gentler sweating.

I have been writing for some time about the potential benefits of high-intensity interval training, a type of workout that consists of an extremely draining but brief burst of exercise — essentially, a sprint — followed by light exercise such as jogging or resting, then another sprint, more rest, and so on.

Athletes rely on intervals to improve their speed and power, but generally as part of a broader, weekly training program that also includes prolonged, less-intense workouts, such as long runs.

But in the past few years, exercise scientists and many of the rest of us have become intrigued by the idea of exercising exclusively with intervals, ditching long workouts altogether.

The allure of this approach is obvious. Interval sessions can be short, making them a boon for anyone who feels that he or she never has enough time to exercise.

Previously, I have written about a number of different interval programs, involving anywhere from 10 minutes of exhausting intervals in a single session to seven minutes, six, four and even fewer. Each program had scientific backing. But because of time and funding constraints, most studies of interval training have had limits, such as not including a control group, being of short duration or studying only health or fitness results, not both.

Consequently, fundamental questions have remained unanswered about just how well these very short, very intense workouts really stack up against traditional, endurance-style training.

So scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who had themselves conducted many of those earlier studies of interval training, decided recently to mount probably the most scientifically rigorous comparison to date of super-short and more-standard workouts.

They began by recruiting 25 out-of-shape young men and measuring their current aerobic fitness and, as a marker of general health, their body’s ability to use insulin properly to regulate blood sugar levels. The scientists also biopsied the men’s muscles to examine how well their muscles functioned at a cellular level.

Then the researchers randomly divided the men into three groups. (The scientists plan to study women in subsequent experiments.) One group was asked to change nothing about their current, virtually nonexistent exercise routines; they would be the controls.

A second group began a typical endurance-workout routine, consisting of riding at a moderate pace on a stationary bicycle at the lab for 45 minutes, with a two-minute warm-up and three-minute cool down.

The final group was assigned to interval training, using the most abbreviated workout yet to have shown benefits. Specifically, the volunteers warmed up for two minutes on stationary bicycles, then pedaled as hard as possible for 20 seconds; rode at a very slow pace for two minutes, sprinted all-out again for 20 seconds; recovered with slow riding for another two minutes; pedaled all-out for a final 20 seconds; then cooled down for three minutes. The entire workout lasted 10 minutes, with only one minute of that time being strenuous.

Both groups of exercising volunteers completed three sessions each week for 12 weeks, a period of time that is about twice as long as in most past studies of interval training.

By the end of the study, published in PLOS One, the endurance group had ridden for 27 hours, while the interval group had ridden for six hours, with only 36 minutes of that time being strenuous.

But when the scientists retested the men’s aerobic fitness, muscles and blood-sugar control now, they found that the exercisers showed virtually identical gains, whether they had completed the long endurance workouts or the short, grueling intervals. In both groups, endurance had increased by nearly 20 percent, insulin resistance likewise had improved significantly, and there were significant increases in the number and function of certain microscopic structures in the men’s muscles that are related to energy production and oxygen consumption.

There were no changes in health or fitness evident in the control group.

The upshot of these results is that three months of concerted endurance or interval exercise can notably — and almost identically — improve someone’s fitness and health.

Neither approach to exercise was, however, superior to the other, except that one was shorter — much, much shorter.

Is that reason enough for people who currently exercise moderately or not at all to begin interval training as their only workout?

“It depends on who you are and why you exercise,” said Martin Gibala, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University who oversaw the new study.

“If you are an elite athlete, then obviously incorporating both endurance and interval training into an overall program maximizes performance. But if you are someone, like me, who just wants to boost health and fitness and you don’t have 45 minutes or an hour to work out, our data show that you can get big benefits from even a single minute of intense exercise.”

Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/1-minute-of-all-out-exercise-may-equal-45-minutes-of-moderate-exertion/?ref=health

Ease Pain Through Meditation

A Military Pilot Study Shows How Mindfulness Can Help Ease Pain

It could help heal so many invisible wounds.

• Anna AlmendralaSenior Healthy Living Editor

ZENSHUI/ANTOINE ARRAOU VIA GETTY IMAGES

You can’t change chronic pain, but you can change the way you respond to it, finds a new study. 

Mindfulness meditation may help combat veterans with traumatic brain injury manage their chronic pain, according to a small but promising pilot study published in the journal Military Behavioral Health. 

An estimated 44 percent of U.S. combat veterans and 26 percent of Americans in general suffer from chronic pain, a condition in which pain persists for longer than 12 weeks and in some cases for a lifetime. If the pilot study’s results are borne out in future research, the military will have an effective and economical tool to help treat soldiers who return from the field with lifelong pain, says Thomas Nassif, a researcher at the Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center and professorial lecturer at American University. 

What’s more, this mindfulness therapy could apply to civilians with pain problems, providing another way to supplement traditional therapies like pain medication, psychological counseling and surgeries or implants. 

Meditation resulted in a 20 percent decrease in pain

Nassif tested a particular mindfulness meditation program called Integrative Restoration Yoga Nidra, or iRest, which focuses on breathing exercises, guided imagery and progressive relaxation. Because of promising but preliminary research on iRest, it is already offered as an “educational class” (read: not official therapy) at VA medical centers and other active-duty military facilities nationwide.

But Nassif’s pilot is the first time it has been tested for its effect on chronic pain. Past research has shown that iRest can help decrease PTSD symptoms and emotional reactivity in vets, but these studies did not have case control groups, he noted.

The participants in Nassif’s study were all male combat veterans of wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo and Bosnia. They had all experienced traumatic brain injury during their service and returned to the U.S. with chronic pain. In order to isolate the effects of the meditation, the researchers excluded all men who already seemed to be self-medicating on some level: those who drank a certain amount of alcohol, had used illicit drugs in the past month, relied on prescription medications known to alleviate pain or who were already regular meditators.

That left nine people, who formed two groups. Four of the men spent two months doing at least two hour-long meditations every week, and the five case controls did not participate in the meditation program until after the experiment was over. 

After the two month meditation experiment was over, Nassif asked the men to re-assess their pain, where it hurt and how much it hurt. He found that the vets who had meditated reported an at least 20 percent reduction in pain intensity and pain interference, which means whether or not pain can disrupt sleep, mood and activity levels. The control group that didn’t meditate did not report any pain improvement.

You can’t change pain, but you can change the way you react

Like the tenets of traditional mindfulness meditation, which encourage practitioners to observe their surroundings, thoughts and feelings without judgment, the iRest meditation program encourages practitioners not to avoid their pain but to focus on it from a “nonjudgemental perspective.”

It’s thought that slowly changing a person’s perception of their pain reduces the mental and emotional burden he has to bear, which in turn could help increase their coping skills and minimize the pain’s effect on day-to-day life, explains Nassif. This success could, over time, develop into a sense of empowerment over their pain.

“Our theory is that mindfulness meditation encourages patients to not practice avoidance so much as sustain their attention on painful sensations without judgment and without bringing up any unpleasant cognitions, thoughts or emotions that might accompany these painful sensations,” said Nassif. “The sensations may still be there, but they wont be as bothersome, and we consider that self-management an important process through which mindfulness meditation can help veterans manage their pain better.”

A way to complement pain control

Because the pilot study was so small, and conducted among such a homogenous group of participants, Nassif can’t make any generalizations about whether mindfulness meditation can help others living with chronic pain. But he can say that the program is a promising approach to pain control that empowers people to establish a better quality of life for themselves.

Nassif is also clear that he doesn’t see mindfulness meditation as a complete replacement for things like pain medication or therapy. Instead, he explained, it could provide veterans with one more option to help cope with their pain — especially those who are concerned about the long-term side effects of certain pain medications, or those who find that the pain medications have stopped working for them.

“For many of them, the pain level is sometimes a nine out of 10, or 10 out of 10, every minute of every day,” Nassif said, referring to a traditional pain scale. “This is just one example of a tool that may help make the pain more tolerable and may provide some healing, at least on a mental, spiritual or quality-of-life level.” 

More research is needed on the topic, he concluded.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/military-mindfulness-meditation-chronic-pain-study_us_56bbb28fe4b0c3c5504ff995

Take Control of Your Pregnancy

Take the Wheel – Chiropractic and Pregnancy

By:  Dr. Ron Robinson

In today’s fast paced highly technical world, the journey of pregnancy has become a mixed bag of emotions for women. With all of the doctor appointments and “routine” tests, it leaves many women feeling overwhelmed and fearful for the journey ahead.

These feelings were very apparent during a recent casual conversation with a friend whom I hadn’t seen in a couple of years, and the conversation gradually shifted over to the fact that she was expecting her first baby in just under four months. I generally have these types of conversations quite often with women, because prenatal chiropractic has been my focus for nearly ten years.

This conversation was no different from many of the others, but something she said really struck me: We were discussing who her birth provider was and where she was delivering, when she casually hinted that she wasn’t really happy with her current doctor. Her description of their relationship was, “I feel like I’m a backseat driver along for the ride.” To which my response was, “Maybe you need to take the wheel

The “Typical” Experience

This is your pregnancy. You shouldn’t feel like a “backseat driver.” As most of my conversations go, I started asking her all kinds of questions. Again, her description of what had occurred up to that point was very similar compared with most women. She had first met with her obstetrician around 8 weeks, because she was over the age of 30, and her doctor wanted to keep an eye on things from an early stage and get an accurate due date. Despite having no prior complications or previous pregnancies, the nurses informed her that she was going to undergo some simple blood work and a routine ultrasound. With no previous experience, she decided that her doctor knew best and had the test and the results came back normal.

If we fast-forward three more visits to her OB, she has now had three more ultrasounds, despite her previous normal results and her reluctance for all of these tests. She has also had the famous blood glucose test, which came back slightly elevated. This, of course, lead to another test, but these results came back normal. Despite these normal results she was labeled with gestational diabetes. At this point, she started to ask friends about their experiences. As it turned out, they had experienced very similar situations with many different doctors.

You are probably thinking; “So what?” right? Well, the ultrasounds and the gestational diabetes are merely the beginning of this journey. As technology has advanced, so has our utilization of technology in pregnancy and birth. This is leading to our current rates of inductions, epidurals, and c-sections. I won’t get into the controversy that surrounds the utilization of these procedures during pregnancy and birth, and actually that’s not the issue here at all.

If you noticed, she was not alone in what she had experienced. The primary issue is that many pregnant women are feeling left out when it comes to how this journey may shape up. Women honestly ARE like a backseat driver. They are on this journey, and as they are moving down the path, they may say, “I would like to do this……” but often times are met with a dismissive response or are told, “because of x, y, or z we can’t do that,” or “we don’t do it that way here.”

Taking Control of Your Pregnancy

In my office we encourage seeking options and will help you find answers.

I have seen it first hand too many times; women will come to the office in tears, because they are told something along those lines, and they feel helpless and scared. They feel trapped with no exit options.

Women may come to their doctor with their route planned, only to find that their doctor is using a GPS to navigate to their destination on a different route. Both routes will get the same result, the baby will be born, but they simply are not choosing the same route and probably not the same arrival time to that destination either.

Women are put in the backseat and are saying, “no it’s not this exit, I wanted to take this route”, but the doctors still push forward with their own route. This is never the feeling anyone should have in their healthcare, especially not during pregnancy, when it is so essential for women to feel safe and confident, so their babies feel safe and grow healthy and unstressed. Not only are these women being denied control of their own pregnancy and birth journey, they are not being encouraged to seek out options and answers.

Why Chiropractic?

The truth is that pregnancy and birth MATTER! In my office we unfortunately see this classic story all the time and its long term effects. I would love to never hear these stories again. These stories are why I’m so obsessed with educating and empowering women to take control of their pregnancy and birth to start rewriting the classic story.

I am often asked, “Why does a chiropractor even care about pregnancy and birth?” The answer can be quite simple, yet many people don’t see it. Most people have a skewed view of chiropractic. Our main role as chiropractors is not to treat headaches and back pain. Rather, we are trained to help each and every patient reach their full potential by allowing their body to work with ease and efficiency.

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How Chiropractic Helps with Pregnancy & Birth

When an expecting mom receives chiropractic during her pregnancy, it has been shown to:

• decrease pain during birth
• shorten birth times
• reduce the number of birth interventions

Each of these benefits are not only great for mom, but important for what all parents want at the end of their pregnancy—a healthy, happy baby.

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The easier a pregnancy and the birth process are, the less stress and strain babies endure, which leads to better bonding, better nursing, better sleeping, and fewer digestive complaints (colic, reflux, and constipation). With this classic story that we heard above, we find nearly 95% of children have stress at the base of the skull and upper neck which hinders their ability to function with ease and efficiency. This stress on the neck is exactly what pediatric chiropractors are experts at detecting and correcting.

Still people may offer objections to me discussing pregnancy or birth, because I’m not an OB. To be fair I understand that, but you see, an OB is trained to deliver your baby, not raise a healthy baby! When you receive chiropractic care prior to and during pregnancy, not only do you receive adjustments, you will be consistently educated and empowered to ask the questions and take the steps that help you achieve the birth that is best for you and your baby’s long term health. We want what every family wants; for you to have a healthy, happy baby. The best way to achieve that is by preparing, educating, and taking control of your own care.

The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.
H. Jackson Brown

In order to have that healthy, happy baby, you need to be a healthy, happy mom. To become that healthy, happy mom you need to prepare your body to be at ease and function with efficiency. You also need to become educated about the journey ahead, so you can plan your route and know your destination.

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Source: http://www.premierwellnesschiro.com/take-the-wheel

The Importance of Good Posture

Posture Affects Standing, and Not Just the Physical Kind

PAUL ROGERS

By JANE E. BRODY

DECEMBER 28, 2015

A distraught wife begged me to write about the importance of good posture. “My husband sits for many hours a day slouched over his computer,” she said. “I’ve told him repeatedly this is bad for his body — he should sit up straight — but he pays no attention to me. He reads you every week. Maybe he’ll listen to you.”

So here goes: Yes, dear sir, listen to your wife. Slouching is bad. It’s bad not only for your physical health, but also for your emotional and social well-being. More about this in a bit.

Without delay, get that computer on a proper surface (laps can encourage slouching) and get a supportive chair that enables you to sit up straight with your head aligned directly over your shoulders and hips when your eyes are on the screen.

As a short person who is prone to back pain, I have long been aware of the value of good posture, and seating that minimizes the stress on my spine and the muscles and ligaments that support it. I know within seconds of sitting in a car whether it will hurt my back or neck; when renting, I test car after car until I find one that suits my diminutive frame.

I bought my current vehicle, a Toyota Sienna minivan, largely because I was immediately comfortable when I got behind the wheel for a test drive. My entire back was supported, so not a twinge was felt there, unlike what happens in many other cars. I could also easily see over the steering wheel without tilting my head back, which is not the case in most other vehicles. And I could reach the floor pedals without unduly extending my leg and straining my lower back.

Poor posture can have ill effects that radiate throughout the body, causing back and neck pain, muscle fatigue, breathing limitations, arthritic joints, digestive problems and mood disturbances. It can also create a bad impression when applying for a job, starting a relationship or making new friends.

Poor posture can even leave you vulnerable to street crime. Many years ago,researchers showed that women who walked sluggishly with eyes on the ground, as if carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, were much more likely to be mugged than those who walked briskly and purposely with head erect. I can’t prove posture was at fault, but this is indeed what happened to a Brooklyn neighbor on her way home one night.

We live in a gravitational field, and when our bodies are out of line with the vertical, certain muscles will have to work harder than others to keep us upright. This can result in undue fatigue and discomfort that can outlast the strain that caused them.

In a study of 110 students at San Francisco State University, half of whom were told to walk in a slumped position and the other half to skip down a hall, the skippers had a lot more energy throughout the day.

Any repetitive or prolonged position “trains” the body’s muscles and tendons to shorten or lengthen and places stress on bones and joints that can reshape them more or less permanently. Just as walking in high heels can shorten and tighten the Achilles’ tendons and calf muscles, slouching while sitting hour after hour can result in a persistent slouch, while standing and walking while slouched can lead to permanently rounded shoulders and upper back.

Although early humans spent most of their waking hours walking, running and standing, today in developed countries, 75 percent of work is performed while sitting. Most people sit going to and from work and while relaxing after work. The longer people sit (or stand) without a change in position and movement, the more likely they will be to develop a postural backache, according to a report in The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.

“Text neck,” a term coined by a Florida chiropractor, Dean L. Fishman, is a repetitive stress injury resulting from hours spent with the head positioned forward and down while using electronic devices. This leads to tight muscles in the back of the neck and upper back. And those who lean forward while sitting may be inclined to clench their jaws and tighten their facial muscles, causing headache and TMJ — temporomandibular joint syndrome

Leaning forward or slouching can also reduce lung capacity by as much as 30 percent, reducing the amount of oxygen that reaches body tissues, including the brain, according to Dr. Rene Cailliet, a pioneer in the field of musculoskeletal medicine who died in March.

Additionally, slouching or sitting in a scrunched position compresses the abdominal organs and may reduce peristaltic action that is important to normal digestion and bowel function.

One of today’s most troublesome activities, especially for children and adolescents whose bone structure is still developing, is carrying extraordinarily heavy backpacks to and from school and often throughout the school day. The weight forces them to bend forward, with potentially the same consequences as slouching.

It is time to return the rolling backpack to youthful fashion. I have used one to lug heavy files and books back and forth to work since these packs were first invented as an outgrowth of the wheeled luggage that came into vogue in the 1980s.

For far too many years, I carried everything, including a heavy briefcase and groceries, over my right shoulder, which forced me to raise that shoulder and lean toward my left, clearly an undesirable posture. When carrying heavy items is unavoidable, it is best to balance them on both sides of the body.

Among other postural habits to avoid are these, listed by Britain’s National Health Service.

• Standing with a flat back, with the pelvis tucked in and lower back straight (the normal spine has three curves – in the neck, chest and lower back).

• Standing with chest pushed forward and buttocks pushed back (the so-called Donald Duck posture that exaggerates the lumbar curve).

• Leaning on one leg, which puts undue pressure on one side of the lower back and hip.

• Bending the head back and sticking out the chin while looking at a computer screen or television. Instead, lower the screen or raise the seat.

• Holding the phone on a shoulder. Instead, use a hands-free device like a headset or Bluetooth.

Improving posture requires a conscious effort and often strengthening and flexibility exercises to correct muscular imbalances, according to Nick Sinfield, a British physiotherapist. For example, exercises that strengthen the core, buttocks muscles and back extensors help correct a slouching posture, he said.

Cited from: 

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2015/12/28/posture-affects-standing-and-not-just-the-physical-kind/?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com

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6 Health and Wellness Gift Ideas for the Holidays

The Holiday Season is upon us and we thought we would share we few health and wellness centric gifts for you all! Finding gifts that appeal to everyone on your list can be a challenge, fortunately we have come up with a list that will please everyone, and keep them healthy for the coming year!

1. Gift Card for first appointment or acupuncture to Avalon Natural Medicine, visit Avalonnaturalmedicine.com or call
802-578-3449 to purchase.

2. Yoga set for beginners (29$)- This set is perfect for those just starting out in yoga. It includes everything you need at an awesome price! Visit Amazon to purchase. 

3. UP MOVE activity tracker (45$) This is a stylish and low-cost alternative to the FitBit. This device tracks sleep patterns, steps and calories burned. Visit BaubleBar to purchase.

4. Blender with to-go cup (23$) This is an awesome gift idea for a college student, smoothie enthusiast, or mixed coffee drinker in your life. It is an awesome design and can make smoothies or iced coffee drinks on the go!  The price is excellent and it is a quality product. Visit Amazon to purchase. 

5. Gift card for initial exam and adjustment at Elevate Health Chiropractic (144$) Getting adjusted will reduce holiday stress and boost the immune system for flu season. Good health is always the best gift! Visit elevatehealthchiropractic.com or call 802-557-8568 to purchase. 

6. Initial Exam at Waterbury Integrative Health- This office focuses on whole-person wellness, and treatment plans are tailored to individual needs. Visit waterburyintegrativehealth.com for more information, or call 802-560-5594. 

Tips for a Healthy Thanksgiving

One of the most difficult times of the year for those trying to lose weight or eat healthy is the holiday season. While the holidays are a time to get together with family and friends, every party and gathering is also an excuse to take a holiday from your healthy heating habits. A cookie here, a chocolate there, washed down with some egg nog, and before you know it your pants are too tight and you are feeling guilty. 

The good news is that with a little foresight, those holiday pounds can be easily avoided while still enjoying the holiday season.

To start off, here are our tips for getting through Thanksgiving:

• Start the feast on a healthy -- and filling -- note. Instead of caloric dips and fatty appetizers, have low-calorie pre-dinner munchies available during food preparation and pre-dinner socializing.

• Place bowls of different-colored veggies without sauces on the table first, either at the start of the buffet or as the first dishes passed around the table. That will allow people to cover a good portion of their plates with healthier choices before serving calorie-denser foods like stuffing and mashed potatoes.

• Serve salad as a first course. Go heavy on greens, light on non-veggie add-ins like cheese. Try using antioxidant-rich types of greens such as kale, mustard greens or arugula. 

• Make the vegetable side dishes the star of the show -- or at least the co-star. Try new, eye-appealing and interesting veggie recipes that pack plenty of flavor without extra calories.

• Avoid adding hidden calories during food preparation, such as adding butter to mashed white or sweet potatoes, or butter, oil or cheese to veggies.

• Sneak a few veggies into the dressing, such as diced onions, celery, leeks, shallots, carrots, even cauliflower.

• Instead of using store-bought high calorie cranberry sauce, try making your own. You can add in healthy fruits such as pears or apples in place of sugar. 

• Make gravy a choice, not the default. Instead, the default serving should be turkey without gravy. If someone wants gravy, they should add it themselves.

• Be mindful of served portion sizes; someone can always ask for more.

• Get everyone up and moving before dessert. Always have plain fruit options along with traditional choices.

• Have plenty of water on the table and readily available. Make non-caloric beverages the default option.

Green Light It Up!

Holiday meals don't have to pack such a high-calorie punch. Simple makeover tips can lighten a meal and keep the taste just as good:

• Baked turkey -- choose a plain bird over a self-basting bird to lower the sodium content. To ensure a moist bird, bake un-stuffed, leave the skin on while roasting and remove from the oven when internal temperature reaches 170 degrees in the breast.

• Gravy -- use a gravy cup or refrigerate the pan juices (to harden the fat) and skim the fat off before making gravy. Save around 656 grams of fat per cup!

• Candied yams -- leave out the margarine and marshmallows. Sweeten with a little fruit juice, such as apple and flavor with cinnamon.

• Green bean casserole -- cook fresh green beans with chunks of potatoes instead of cream soup. Top with almonds instead of fried onion rings.

• Mashed potatoes -- use skim milk, roasted garlic and a little parmesan cheese instead of whole milk and butter.

• Bread -- serve smaller pieces or omit it altogether.

• The plate method -- imagine your plate divided into thirds. Use the first third to fan out white meat turkey, no skin. Use the second third for salad and low-fat vegetables. Finally, the last third is for all the starches (sweet potatoes, stuffing and cranberry sauce).

Via Joanna Dolgoff, M.D. (Huffington Post) 

Pediatrician, Child Obesity Specialist, and Author, Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right!

Posture Fixes

How to Reverse Poor Posture

Poor posture is a major issue in our technology obsessed world. Bad posture, however, is completely reversible and here are some ways to help!

Below are three exercises you can do in your own home or office setting. Actually, you can do the Bruegger’s exercise just about anywhere. I recommend it to most clients and teach it in the majority of my Forrest yoga classes to improve posture, alignment, and breathing capacity.

Clients and students walk away after completing these exercises with a greater ability to inhale deeply into the upper chest and feel a decrease of tension in their neck. What I observe is that they are standing upright, with shoulders retracted back and down away from their neck. Additionally, they speak with more energy, which I would deduce is a result of alleviating breathing restrictions and increasing pulmonary circulation.

1. Cobra Pose

Hold posture for 5 breaths minimum, working toward 10.

1. Begin by lying on your belly, elbows bent under your shoulders and palms face down.
2. Breathe and visualize that you are opening your front ribcage and reversing your slouching posture.
3. Inhale and press your torso up, lifting your chest. Your elbows should lift off the floor 3 to 5 inches.
4. Exhale while contracting your glute muscles toward your upper thighbones, creating length in your in low back and sacral-iliac joint.
5. Inhale and pull your chest forward, widening your sternum between your collarbones.
6. Feel your solar plexus and upper abdominal muscles widening. This indicates the diaphragm is drawing down into your mid torso and pressurizing your lungs to receive deeper breaths.
7. Feel your neck lengthening anteriorly, posteriorly, and bi-laterally. Avoid hanging your head forward, looking down, or craning back. You don’t want to feel pinching anywhere along your neck.

2. Bruegger’s Exercise or Bird Wing

5 rounds:

1. Begin with your elbows bent at ninety degrees and squeezing gently at side of your ribcage. Place your forearms forward with palms up and hands open.
2. Breathe with the following in mind: synchronize your breathing with your movement to strengthen your longissimus, illiocostalis, trapezius, and splenius, and expand your ribcage. Inhale into your mid back, pressing your shoulder blades down. On the exhale, roll your forearms out, keeping your elbows tucked at your ribs. On the inhale, roll your forearms forward, keeping your hands in front of your elbows.
3. Feel the bottom tips of your shoulder blades squeezing toward your spine.

3. Arching Over Physioball

Hold for 1 minute, pain free.

1. Begin with your feet on the floor, knees bent, and hands holding your hips until you feel balanced.
2. When you are balanced on the ball, reach your arms wide.
3. Breathe into your upper chest, belly, and down toward your pubic bone.
4. Feel your chest muscles stretching and your neck and head relaxing on the ball to stretch the front of your spine.

Posture Up

A daily practice of good posture is vital to our health. It helps build and maintain the strength required for our diaphragm and lungs to provide our brain and body with adequate air to stay alert and responsive to external stimuli.

The resulting mental clarity will also help with daily productivity and keeping a positive outlook on life. Don’t let stressors weigh you down. Posture up and stand strong.

Writing and Photos via: http://breakingmuscle.com/mobility-recovery/3-exercises-to-reverse-the-effects-of-poor-posture