Working Mom

For any of you who are wondering where I've been for the last two months, I've been working in my clinical internship to get my Holistic Health Practitioner diploma. Until last week, I have been working at a senior's living facility every weekday. For the first time since my daughter has been born, I have been a true working mom.

I'm glad that this experience is now over because I don't think being a full-time working mom is for me (or for my daughter for that matter). I'm not saying that being a stay-at-home mom is in any way easy, but at least when I stay at home I don't feel guilty at how little time I am spending with my daughter and I don't have to constantly leave her while she is screaming and crying that she wants me to stay. As a working mom, the moment I got home my daughter wanted all my attention but I still had to cook supper, and on the weekend I had to run around doing various things like groceries and laundry. It seems like even when I was home, I didn't have much time to spend with her.

The internship was perhaps a little worse than some (though not all) jobs. At rush hour, it was a 45 minute drive from home partly in bumper-to-bumper traffic, which added to an already long day. And after Sarah went to bed at night, I had to complete loads of paperwork, research and various assignments before I could go to bed myself. Since my husband has had a particularly busy schedule himself over the last while, we were lucky if the dishes got done twice a week!

On the other hand, staying at home every day puts me into a rut, drains my energy, and deprives me of adult human contact. I personally find it exceedingly difficult to be the sole focus of my daughter's every demand (and she has no small list) every day and all day. The activities she enjoys doing are not usually what I most enjoy, which is sometimes good for me and sometimes exhausting. I know it's all part of being a mother and I am so fortunate to be able to stay home with her but I need something to fill my own cup a little more.

I think my ideal solution is to work one or two days a week. Now I'm not just talking about going to any old job just to scrounge up a little cash and waste some time, but real, fulfilling work where I'm doing something I really enjoy. Two days gets me that time away from home I need to come back refreshed and ready to be fully present with my daughter.

Now if I could just put that plan into action...

How do you feel about being a work/home situation?

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Find a Mirror

It never ceases to amaze me how blind we can be to our own problems. We often repeat patterns in our lives time after time before we even notice what we're doing, let alone change it. Sometimes it seems like no matter how hard we try to work ourselves out we make very little progress without some type of feedback like a mirror.

Try a little experiment... Go into your bathroom (or whatever room that has a mirror) and look at yourself. What did you look at? Your hair? Your skin? Your clothes? And what did you purposely avoid looking at? Did you look at your eyes? Did you look INTO your eyes? Go back to that mirror and truly make eye contact with yourself; keep that eye contact as long as you can. How comfortable were you with that experience? Were your thoughts and feeling positive or negative? For many people, it can be hard for them to face themselves. If it was hard for you, consider exploring why and practice until it becomes easier.

While a physical mirror is mostly helpful when dealing with some physical issues, taking the word mirror in a more metaphorical sense is even more useful. There are a number of different things that can serve as a mirror. For me, I can get a lot of insight from trying to answer questions that I find in self-help and spiritual books. Sometimes writing in a journal can help provide a sense of reflection. In fact, most any of the self-awareness practices I describe serve as a mirror in some sense or another. But I think some of the most useful mirrors are the people around us.

People can act as mirrors passively or actively. In the passive sense, you can observe the people around you and your relationships to them to learn more about yourself. Examine why you consistently react the way you do with certain people, whether positive or negative. You may think that will just tell you something about the other person but you would be surprised at what it can tell you about yourself. Many times, something we dislike about someone else is something we dislike about ourselves (even though it may be more obvious and pronounced in the other person).

In a more active sense, you can ask another person direct questions about yourself. Choose a friend or family member you trust to tell you what they think your biggest blind spot is. Others around us tend to be able to see things about ourselves that we miss. Of course not everyone you know is able to give relatively unbiased information about you so choose carefully who you ask or see a professional (such as a therapist, counsellor or holistic health practitioner) instead.

And of course, you can combine your "mirrors." Find a trusted friend to work through a self-help book with or discuss spiritual questions with. Doing so on a regular basis can help you change things that may not be working for you in your life.

What mirrors can you use in your life?

Image: Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Voter Apathy: A Sign of the Need for Change

I know I've brought up the health benefits of voting before (see previous blog post A Vote for Good Health), but a federal election is coming up in Canada and I'm saddened by what I'm observing.

I see one group of people who are desperately trying to get people to vote against a particular party to the point where they almost don't care who you vote for otherwise. Others are devoted to a single political party and will vote for that party no matter what has happened in the party or with the leader. Some people take the time to research current events and make an informed decision election by election.

But even with all these types of voters and more, what I see the most lately is apathy for this election. Looking at the 2000 Canadian general election, statistics show that most people who did not vote didn't like the choices of parties/candidates, had a sense that their vote wouldn't matter, or didn't care about the issues.^[1] I might even go to say that there is a distinct lack of hope in Canadian voters and it's gotten worse over the past few years. I really think people feel that it doesn't really matter who they vote for, nothing will change anyway. Isn't it funny that here in a supposed democracy, people feel like they have no power? If we were living under a dictator, we might be rising up for our rights but because we still have some perceived freedoms we throw up our hands and say that the loss of our democratic rights, erosion of our health care system, slow deterioration of our beautiful environment and many other things are simply out of our control. My heart breaks just thinking about it all.

ANY political party that tells you that this is not the time for change is lying. The lack of hope and power of the individual Canadian is a clear sign that change is needed and as soon as possible. What can you do? Well, at the very least, if you are Canadian or when it comes time for your own country's elections, please vote. If you don't like the leaders, vote based on the candidates in your own riding. If you want to do more, start speaking up for voting system reform. Educate yourself about voting system reform and the different options. Write to your representative and ask for change.

If you think that the issues in this election don't matter to you, then you have missed something because this election affects all Canadians. Please vote!

If you are looking for more information on voting...
Elections Canada
Election Almanac
Fair Vote Canada
Rick Mercer's Rant on Youth Vote
Join a Vote Mob

[1] Rhonda Parkinson. Voter Turnout in Canada, 2007. Accessed April 18, 2011 from http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/voter-turnout-canada

Image: Keattikorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Power of Positive Thinking

When I was younger, I hated hearing someone say "think positive!" I thought, "I can be negative if I want to!" I didn't see how thinking positively would change anything. After all, I was being realistic, wasn't I?

There are a wide variety of beliefs on positive thinking. Some people go as far as to believe that your thinking creates your reality. While that might be true on a certain level, let's look at the less disputable effects of positive thinking.

According to the Mayo Clinic, health benefits of positive thinking include:^[1]

• Increased life span
• Lower rates of depression
• Lower levels of distress
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Better psychological and physical well-being
• Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

Positive thinking isn't going to change what happens to you but it can change your ability to deal with what happens to you. Some people think that positive thinking means you can never be sad, down, or angry. Being positive doesn't mean you have to walk around with your head in the clouds singing "la la-la la-la," or pretend that the world is a perfect place. And of course, it isn't an all or nothing thing - there are degrees of positive thinking.

If you're not already a positive thinker and want to start moving that way, chances are that it will build over time - you probably won't be there overnight. It can take some time and effort to change your thinking unless you're willing to use some practice that helps change your unconscious thinking (like Neuro-Linguistic Programming or hypnotherapy). However you choose to do it, it's worth learning to think more positively to improve your health and quality of life.

Is your glass half-empty, half-full, or somewhere in between?

[1] Mayo Clinic. (2009). Positive thinking: Reduce stress, enjoy life more, accessed April 11, 2011 from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/positive-thinking/SR00009

Image: Graur Codrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Statistical Probablility or Divine Mystery

The world is an interesting place. Countless hours of scientific work gives us more and more hints as to how things work and yet we're nowhere near truly understanding the world. In all this, I have discovered two very different ways of looking at everything. You can see the world as a fabulous mystery or you can try to analyze everything into statistics. Neither view is necessarily better than the other but it is good to know that you have a choice and that at any given time one view may serve you better than another.

Let's look at an example... Statistically, it is clearly a bad idea to buy a lottery ticket. The chances of winning the big jackpot on a lottery ticket differ from lottery to lottery. Say the odds are 1 in 13,983,816 - that's 1 in 14 million odds of the big win. But if 14 million tickets are bought, there's a good chance that one of those tickets will win it and that one person will have beat the odds. At the individual level, the statistics seem to rule but when you look at the world as a bigger place the statistics take on a bit of a different meaning. I'm not saying that you should spend all your money on the lottery because it's still clearly not the way to make money, but if you're inspired to buy a ticket for the fun of it, don't let the stats ruin your fun.

Now, think for a moment of yourself and how you came to be on the Earth as you are. Your parents had to survive long enough to meet each other and have children together. Each of their sets of parents had to do the same as did their parents and their parents and so on and so on. Some of those ancestors lived through horrible diseases, terrible accidents, horrific wars, ice ages and countless other life-threatening experiences. Some of those terrible things may have even brought some of those men and women together. What would the statistical probability of each of those people surviving and procreating with each other exactly as they did? YOU, in a way, are almost statistically impossible. Of course, some people would say that for the race to survive somebody has to have survived and been born and that it's just random that you happen to be someone who ended up here. But that is one of the choices you can make... Either you are a product of luck or you are a beautiful divine mystery that has already beat the odds. I prefer to look at it the second way.

There are lots of common present-day situations where people "beat the odds." There are many people who have been told that statistically they won't make the Olympics, they won't get the job, they won't have children, or even that they won't survive their disease and some of those people have made the Olympics, gotten the job, had children, and survived their diseases. Each of those people had the choice of seeing themselves as a statistic or of living their life as they chose.

Every time you think that you can't do something, for whatever reason, remember that you may have defied reason to even exist. If someone's statistics are standing between you and something you want, go for what you want and forget the statistics!

Image: Graur Codrin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

What is Energy?

Recently I was in one of my classes and the topic was energy. My teacher asked us "what is energy?" I thought this should be a cinch for me to answer... After all I studied computer engineering for 4 years including classes in physics, chemistry and electrical engineering. As I listened to my teacher, I was amazed to discover what I did and did not know about energy.

According to the dictionary, energy is "a fundamental entity of nature that is transferred between parts of a system in the production of physical change within the system and usually regarded as the capacity for doing work."^[1] In other words it can get transferred and it can do work. So that's what energy can do, but what IS it?

There are different forms of energy including radiant, chemical, thermal, mechanical (kinetic or potential), electric, nuclear and electromagnetic. Energy can be changed from one form into another. So that's where energy can be found or what it can look like, but what IS it?

Then there's the famous E=mc². Almost everyone can spout out the formula but considerably fewer people actually know what it means. Without actually describing the formula itself, it basically explains how all matter (matter = anything that takes up space) is just a form of energy. Energy is energy and matter is energy... everything is energy. So everything is energy, but what IS it?

I'm not really here to give you any answers on this point, but to get you thinking about energy. As "good" as science is, it doesn't have all the answers in this area. There may be forms of energy we haven't quite figured out how to measure yet. Sometimes when people hear about energy healing they get scared; but if on some level everything is energy, then healing on an energetic level makes some sort of sense. The universe of energy is only beginning to be discovered and I can't wait to see where it leads us!

[1] Merriam-Webster, s.v. "Energy," http://www.merriam-webster.com/ (accessed March 27, 2011).

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Body Scanning: Learn About your Body

It's amazing how little most of us are aware of our bodies! As you sit reading this right now, can you list every part of your body that is holding tension? Unless you have a lot of practice paying attention to your body, I bet you would miss a few spots.

Body scanning is the practice of paying attention to your body. I prefer to start at my head and work my way down, but you could also start at your feet and work your way up. Pay attention to every muscle group as you go: forehead, eyes, cheeks, jaw, neck, shoulders, upper back, and so on and so on. As you pay focus on each muscle group, notice how it feels. Is it tense, relaxed, somewhere in the middle? Do you feel any pain there? If you want to relax the muscle group, take a deep breath and imagine the stress and tension leaving the area.

What can just paying attention do for you? Well, it's a matter of self-awareness and learning to relax more fully. For one, the time you spend paying attention to your body is time you aren't worrying about what you have to do for the rest of the day or that your socks didn't match today. Over time, if you continue to practice body scanning, you will more easily be able to identify stress in your body and when you might need some relaxation. Believe it or not, the benefits might eventually extend past relaxation. Becoming more knowledgeable about your body, you will be more aware of the things in your life that serve your body and those that don't.

If you want to go one step further with body scanning, you can engage in Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) where you intentionally relax every set of muscles as you are bringing awareness to them. If you find that you are easily distracted and can't complete a body scan, you can find recordings that will help guide you through the exercise. If you want to do it for free or like things a little more personalized, write up a script, put some soothing music on and record a friend reading your script.

If you are experiencing challenges, you can see a holistic health practitioner to help you through the process. Body scanning can help you relax the very first time you try it and can help you become more aware of yourself as you continue to practice regularly.

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Emotional Sensitivity

I don't remember a lot of details about my childhood, but I do remember that other kids used to call me a "baby." Unfortunately, those experiences affected me a lot, to the point that when I was 12 years old I decided that the best way to keep moving with the world would be to become emotionless. Unaware of what kind of consequences I would be bringing onto myself, I prayed for lack of emotion.

Now I understand emotion a little better. While I may have looked like a baby to some, I was really just emotionally sensitive and without the tools I needed to deal with it. What does that mean, emotional sensitivity? I'm finding it difficult to find an actual definition, but as I see it emotional sensitivity involves how strongly your emotions feel to you. Everyone's experience of emotion is different which can make this concept a little harder to understand. If an emotion is a reaction to a thought, one person's reaction may be very strong and another person's reaction less so. Emotional reactions are probably a factor of physiology (differences from brain to brain), as well as psychology and environment (life experiences change the way we experience emotion), and even energetic (everyone's sensitivity to energy is different).

So what does emotional sensitivity look like? Some people may cry over what seems like nothing to those who are less sensitive, others may use anger to compensate, and there are any number of other possible reactions. Some emotionally sensitive people not only react strongly to their own emotions but are strongly affected by the emotions of others. It may be more difficult for sensitive people to handle criticism. Sometimes emotional sensitivity comes along with other types of sensitivity: sensitivity to loud noise, to crowds, to strong tastes and smells, to physical textures, etc.

An adult equivalent to calling someone a baby is calling them oversensitive. It's not easy (or perhaps even advisable) to try to reduce your level of emotional sensitivity. In my opinion, it's more realistic to learn to appreciate and deal with your particular emotional sensitivity. Take note of all the ways that you are sensitive to things. Then you might be able to find ways to cope with each sensitivity in a unique and creative way. Visualization techniques, flower essences, journal-writing, prayer and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) are just a few of the tools emotionally sensitive people can use.

Though it may be hard for some people to believe, emotional sensitivity can be a gift. Used wisely it can help you learn about your environment and even help you help other people. The key is learning how to accept and deal with your emotions appropriately. Do you think you are emotionally sensitive?

Image: Louisa Stokes / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Unconscious Mind: Friend or Foe?

Do you remember how hard it was to drive the very first time you got into the driver's seat? Then, years later, you don't even think about driving. Think of the expression "it's like riding a bicycle." Even if you haven't ridden a bicycle in years, you still know how to do it. Imagine how much harder life would be if you had to consciously remember how to do everything from throwing a baseball to even walking!

All those things you learn so well but don't forget live in your unconscious mind (see my previous post on the basics of the conscious and unconscious mind). How do these things get into your unconscious mind? Well, basically conscious repetition and practice. After seeing something enough times, your unconscious basically says: "OK, I got it... I can take it from here!" And your unconscious doesn't only pick up physical duties, but mental ones as well. While part of driving is about how to move your hands and feet and when, another part that your unconscious helps you with is mental tasks such as remembering how far you like to stay behind another vehicle and what certain signs mean to you.

Knowing all that, you could say that your unconscious mind is your best friend! But beware: your best friend has a shadow side! Useful, happy things like sports, driving, and sudoku puzzles are not the only things people tend to practice over and over again. Maybe when you are a little kid, someone you trust calls you useless. You think about it and since you're sure this person knows more than you do, you start to think of yourself as useless. Day after day, you think "I'm useless..." and day after day, your unconscious is listening. Eventually, you grow a little wiser and you eventually decide that you are useful for something after all. You start trying to take better care of yourself but something seems to be holding you back. You say to yourself "I'm useful!" Well, your unconscious mind takes note - Useful:1, useless:4,579. The unconscious mind can't tell the difference between what the conscious mind thinks is good or bad, but it can keep track of how often throughout your life you have thought something and how thoroughly you believed that thought.

This unconscious help applies to physical addictions as well. For a smoker, not only does the body physically want cigarettes, the unconscious mind has been programmed that the thing to do when stress is detected is to pick up that cigarette. Same goes for food addictions: if your grandmother made you chocolate chip cookies every time you were sad, your unconscious might help you develop a sugar craving whenever you feel bad.

So what's the significance of all this? For one, it means that it's wise to be conscious of what you say, think, and do. But there's no reason to panic: it will probably take time for your unconscious mind to help you pay attention to your thoughts. There are also several practices out there that can help you change your unconscious mental patterns without just repeatedly thinking something over and over again (and that works best when you really believe what you're thinking). Once again, I'll cover those another time!

Are you aware of the ways that your unconscious mind is "sabotaging" your life?

Mind Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Breathe for Life

When I used to work as a computer programmer, I would sometimes sit at my desk for hours at a time, concentrating so strongly and keeping so busy that I would barely be breathing. With all that I know now about health, I'm not only not surprised that I was sick and tired all the time, I'm not sure how I wasn't even more ill!

Most people in North America breathe from the upper chest area, rather than from the belly, which is the way we breathe as small children.^[1] This shallow chest breathing can result in something called overbreathing, which in turn causes a pH imbalance in the body, which can lead to a number of problems.^[2] Immediate problems caused by bad breathing include changes in heart rate, anxiety, fatigue, headache, dry mouth, attention deficit, trembling, sense of disconnectedness, muscle spasms, and many, many more.^[2] More prolonged bad breathing can contribute to ADD and ADHD, memory issues, anger, performance anxiety, panic attacks, depression, generalized anxiety, burnout, hypertension, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, sleep disturbances, and so on and so on.^[2] You could say that bad breathing is just plain bad for your health.

So what does it take to turn bad breathing into good breathing? There are many different breathing exercises that can help, but the simplest one is to spend a little time every day paying attention to your breathing and re-learning how to breathe from your belly. This is often called diaphragmatic breathing.^[1]

Learning proper breathing is one of the easiest things you can do to improve your health without spending any money. It will probably be beneficial too! Then again, if you do want to spend a little money to get a little help, most holistic health practitioners would be able to help you.

Just remember, breathe deeply and slowly from the belly. It's great for your health!

[1] Brian Luke Seaward. Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being (5th ed.) (Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2006).
[2] Peter M. Litchfield. Good Breathing, Bad Breathing, 2006. Accessed February 23, 2011 from http://www.bp.edu/Good and Bad Breathing.pdf
Cloud Photo: lobster20 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Plastic and Health

It is really unbelievable how much plastic we use in our everyday lives. Most of this plastic is pretty obvious. There is plastic packaging from tupperware, shampoo bottles, water bottles, granola bar packaging, shopping bags, the impossible to open packaging on children's toys, and so on and so on. Then there are the spaces we live in including insulation, windows, flooring, and the list goes on. There is also all of the things we use from day to day from toothbrushes (the handle), to coffee makers, to computers (casings), to toys, to cars, and another endless list of items.

There are also some other uses of plastic which are slightly less obvious. Many of our clothes are made from polyester, which is a type of plastic. There is now plastic lumber and things that used to be made of wood, such as picnic tables and decks, can now be made of plastic. Acrylic is another type of plastic that can be found in many items including paint. Plastic is even used as an additive in some fuels.

There are so many benefits to using plastics: they're affordable, flexible, light-weight, durable, and, as can be seen above, can be changed to be used in almost any way imaginable. In a society such as ours, it is no wonder that we have let plastic take over. Unfortunately, there are also many disadvantages to plastic.

Only some plastics are recyclable, and those that aren't don't biodegrade easily so they sit in landfills for up to thousands of years. Often, plastics don't even end up in the landfill but land in our rivers, lakes and oceans where they disturb marine life. Plastic is made of oil and we already know some of the problems with oil including that there is only so much oil to go around.

There are also additives put into plastic that cause health problems in people. The most notable of these are BPA and phthalates.^[1] Other chemicals have been found to leach out of certain plastics. All of these chemicals affect our environment and ourselves. There are many health issues now being found related to these chemicals including asthma, lower immune response, obesity and reproductive issues.^[1]

So what can we do about all this? We certainly can't change society overnight, particularly considering all of the benefits of plastics. Well, step 1 is to become aware of plastic and how we use it. Reduce how much plastic you use when you can and recycle whenever possible. Perhaps one day, we can find a healthier balance in our use of plastics.

[1] Emily Main. Protect Your Health: Shrink Your Plastic Profile, 2010. Accessed February 21, 2011 from http://www.rodale.com/disadvantages-plastic
Plastic Bottles: Keattikorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Doctor or No Doctor?

People who believe in holistic health often use a wide variety of complementary and/or alternative health practices. But what about conventional medicine? Holistic health practitioners and users vary in this regard - some will avoid conventional doctors at any cost. As for me, I see a conventional physician (a family doctor) on a regular basis.

I agree that, in general, conventional medicine sometimes relies too quickly on "quick fixes" such as pharmaceuticals and surgery. Also, conventional medicine often overlooks mental, emotional and spiritual causes of physical disease. But ignoring the system altogether is somewhat analogous to throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

There are many wonderful benefits to conventional medicine. Doctors excel at emergency trauma and disease diagnosis. If I break my arm, I want an x-ray and a cast. Then I can come home and take flower essences and get some Reiki. If I have cancer, my best chance may be to get chemotherapy in combination with complementary practices (though every such situation is different and requires a great deal of consideration). If I get a cold, I stay away from conventional doctors unless I know that something is really wrong. I also see my family doctor for an annual physical. My doctor can keep track of what is going on in my life and health and send me for tests if things don't seem quite right.

Ideally, each one of us would have a family doctor with whom we could discuss our lives and health, including our use of complementary and alternative therapies (CAM). Unfortunately, many doctors are not supportive of CAM use. Even more unfortunately, is that many people do not have access to a family doctor.

If there are many physicians accepting new clients, you may want to try a few different physicians to find one whose views are compatible with your own. Seeing a family physician may allow you to discover an illness early, when complementary and alternative practices have a better chance of being useful... and that's definitely a good thing.

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy is getting to be so common in our society that most people forget that it is really a complementary/alternative therapy. Though I find that I am not able to experience massage therapy as often as I would like, it is something that I do not want to live without!

According to the US National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine:

The term "massage therapy" encompasses many different techniques (see box for examples). In general, therapists press, rub, and otherwise manipulate the muscles and other soft tissues of the body. They most often use their hands and fingers, but may use their forearms, elbows, or feet.^[1]

There are so many benefits to massage therapy, the best in my mind being the general relaxation. Massage therapy has also been shown to reduce anxiety, blood pressure and heart rate.^[1] Over multiple sessions massage therapy can reduce the tendency to be anxious, and reduce depression and pain.^[1] There is also some evidence that supports the use of massage therapy to help with a wide variety of diseases including fibromyalgia and sleep disorders.

And there isn't just one type of massage therapy. Some of the most commonly known types are relaxation massage and deep tissue massage, but there are many other kinds including Swedish massage, hot stone massage, Thai massage and Shiatsu. Each type of massage therapy has a different background, involves different techniques and provides different benefits. Even among massage therapists of a particular type there are wide variations in style and strength so you may need to explore your options.

There are certain conditions that are not compatible with massage therapy. A well-trained massage therapist will know whether your situation warrants massage but you will not likely be able to experience massage if you have a fever, blood clots, kidney or liver conditions, serious inflammation, or uncontrolled hypertension. If you are pregnant, it would be wise to visit a massage therapist trained in prenatal massage as there are special precautions to be taken in that case.

When my back is tense, there's nothing I want more than a good deep tissue massage. Have you tried massage therapy?

[1] NCCAM. Massage Therapy: An Introduction, accessed February 6, 2011 from http://nccam.nih.gov/health/massage/massageintroduction.htm

Breastfeeding Benefits

There are so many things to be said about breastfeeding, yet most everything I would like to say references the benefits of breastfeeding. So, even though you can find this information in a host of different places, I'll put it in my own words.

There are only a few physical medical reasons that a mother should not at least attempt to breastfeed an infant, including the baby having galactosemia, or the mother taking certain drugs such as chemotherapy. You can find a more complete list here: US Center for Disease Control on Breastfeeding. Mental/emotional or other issues that may prevent breastfeeding are certainly possible as well. If there is no significant reason to prevent a mother from breastfeeding, here's a little look at why it's the best option available for feeding an infant.

Breastfeeding is so good for babies!

• The first milk that comes from a mother after a baby is born isn't really milk but colostrum. Colostrum is full not only of nutrients but of antibodies. These antibodies help protect the baby from it's first encounters with the microorganisms of the world. Many mothers (and others) worry about the tiny amount of colostrum that the baby gets but infants' tummies are tiny and the colostrum they get is just right.
• Breast milk then changes over time. The colostrum turns into milk after a few days, but the changes don't stop there; the milk changes in the amount of fat, sugar, water, and protein that are available to the baby as he or she grows.
• Breast milk is also easier for infants to digest. Human milk has human proteins whereas formula is created from cow milk or soy milk, each which can be difficult for babies to learn to digest.
• Breast milk helps prevent disease. Infants who are breastfed are less likely than formula-fed infants to experience ear infections, diarrhea, asthma, obesity, diabetes, childhood leukemia and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and more.

But if that's not good enough for you, breastfeeding benefits mothers too!

• Breast milk is easier to do (at least over time) than bottle feeding. There are no bottles to prepare or sterilize and the breast milk is always at the right temperature, any time of the day or night.
• Breastfeeding can save money. It's unbelievable how expensive formula can be - especially if your infant has dairy allergies.
• Breastfeeding can help mothers lose the weight put on during pregnancy.
• Breastfeeding provides long-lasting health benefits to a mother including reduced risks of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and postpartum depression.

Breastfeeding is definitely not all butterflies and roses. Particularly at first, breastfeeding can prove particularly challenging. It is not possible for every mother and infant, but when it is possible, with a little persistence and a lot of love, breastfeeding can bring a lifetime of benefits.

[1] U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Why Breastfeeding is Important, accessed January 25, 2011 from http://www.womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/why-breastfeeding-is-important/

Cheaters Never Prosper

From a spiritual point of view, I believe the old saying is true: "cheaters never prosper." However, spiritual consequences are not necessarily obvious to most of us and we instead see so many people "getting away" with cheating.

While adultery is a form of cheating, the type cheating I am focusing on here involves violating rules dishonestly.^[1] This issue came to me as I was watching Dr. Phil a while ago (don't judge, I'm fascinated by mental/emotional issues) and he was talking to a woman who had cheated to win a competition. As he talked to various guests who had cheated on this or that, they all believed that they were in the right to cheat. I was a little horrified! I couldn't believe how many people would do whatever they could to get ahead.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's not like I haven't witnessed cheating in university and college, or cheating in games and sports. As a bit of an optimist, I guess that I always hoped that people knew that cheating was bad but were under enough pressure to make bad decisions. To hear people say that they had no problem with cheating if it got them what they wanted just broke my heart.

I think that most people would agree that honesty is a key part of spirituality. You might be able to knit-pick at the definition of honesty and argue over white lies and such, but I can't see how you would explain cheating as anything but a choice to be dishonest.

Is it any wonder that society has so many problems when there are so many who do not care about the consequences of dishonesty? Would people make different choices if they could see, hear and feel what happens as a result of their choices? I wonder what I can do to change this trend, and the only thing I can come up with is that I should succeed in my life without cheating and try to teach my daughter what I think the consequences of cheating are.

How do you feel about cheating?

[1] Merriam-Webster, s.v. "Cheating," http://www.merriam-webster.com/ (accessed January 11, 2011).

Spirituality and Perfection

Isn't funny that so many people expect religious and spiritual leaders to be perfect? As if following a spiritual path somehow exempts you from facing challenges and making mistakes. I guess some people feel that way about spirituality. They think that becoming spiritual means leaving behind any vices and becoming some sort of "perfect" saint. Even those of us who don't consciously ascribe to this belief are often disappointed when someone we look up to makes a mistake. Sometimes it causes us to re-examine what we have learned from that person, as if a single mistake can undo all good someone has ever said and done. Talk about pressure!

I think there's interesting relationship between spirituality and perfection. The definition of perfection I'm talking about here is "being entirely without fault or defect."^[1] I think some people view God (or the Universe, or whatever you like to call it) as perfect, and that spirituality is an attempt to be closer to God. Does that mean we are striving for perfection?

Every time I think about this, my head goes in circles. Humans are, by definition, imperfect and cannot simply become perfect. So is there really any point in trying? On the other hand, I don't think there's anything wrong in trying to follow your spiritual path and bringing a little of God's perfection into your life. I guess my feeling is that human imperfection is perfect.

I believe that part of the reason we are here is to learn lessons and grow as spiritual beings. Ultimately, I think that's what makes the Universe expands and what makes life possible. The only way we can do that is if we are imperfect enough to need to grow and learn.

So as I see it, it is necessary and perfect that we are imperfect. It is also necessary and perfect that we change so that we are able to grow and learn. I accept that where I am at in my life right now is perfect! Do you feel the need to be perfect?

[1] Merriam-Webster, s.v. "Perfect," http://www.merriam-webster.com/ (accessed January 7, 2011).

Reading Your Body to Learn About Your Mind

Our bodies are incredible machines - they do so much for us. Sometimes we treat them well and sometimes not so well. It is well accepted that our bodies tell the story of our physical life such as whether we have eaten well and exercised regularly, and what environments we have been exposed to. What is not so well accepted, and also not as well known, is that our bodies can tell the story of our mental and emotional lives as well.

Scientists are just beginning to discover just how much our emotional lives affect our bodies. There are multiple studies of how stress sets off reactions in the body and how chronic stress begins to negatively affect physical health. But there are several doctors and other practitioners who have long observed other relationships between mental/emotional patterns and physical disease.

Dr. Bernie Siegel has observed that the location and form of physical disease are often related to psychological disturbances. "Psychological shaping in the formative years ... often determines what disease will occur, and when and where it will appear."^[1] He uses the example of a patient who had a persistent hoarseness and was eventually diagnosed with cancer of the larynx (throat). When this patient was young, when he would speak too loudly, his father would put his hand around his throat, squeeze, and tell him to shut up.^[1]

Louise Hay is a practitioner who has created a list of problem areas or diseases and the corresponding probable mental/emotional causes. For example, she relates lower back problems to lack of financial support, and kidney stones to lumps of undissolved anger.^[2]

The relationship between mind and body is complex. Since each person is unique, the psychological issues that contribute to a particular disease can vary. This makes the experiences of Dr. Siegel and Louise Hay difficult to prove scientifically. That can make it easy to dismiss this information, especially since we often don't want to explore our own feelings. But consider how strong the power of the mind is over the body. There are people with multiple personality disorder who have different allergies, different physical injuries or even different glasses prescriptions depending on which personality has surfaced.^[3]

So spend some time listening to your body... you might learn a lot about yourself.

[1] Dr. Bernie S. Siegel. Love, Medicine and Miracles: Lessons Learned About Self-Healing from a Surgeon's Experience with Exceptional Patients (New York: Harper and Row, 1986).
[2] Louise L. Hay. You Can Heal Your Life (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2004).
[3] Dr. Bernie S. Siegel. Peace, Love and Healing: Bodymind Communication and the Path to Self-Healing: An Exploration (New York: Harper and Row, 1989).

Don't Grow Out of Play

As I watch my 2-year-old daughter go through her day, I am amazed at how important play is in her world. "Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth."^[1] Play is so important that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights has declared it to be a right for every child.^[1]

It's not hard to look around and find all the reasons that play is so important to a child. What I don't understand is why people try to discourage play as we grow older, and supposedly wiser. I guess that as adults, we are "allowed" to play in certain very specific circumstances such as sports, hobbies, or board games, but even on many of these occasions we take things much too seriously. If someone decides to play their way through the more serious tasks of life, such as work, socializing, and housework we call them "juvenile."

Of course there are those people who cannot take anything seriously, but that is not what I'm talking about. As adults, we should be able to perceive a situation accurately and make a good choice about whether a playful or most serious attitude would best serve us. What if doing the dishes became panning for gold? Or if filing your taxes was filling out an application form for becoming royalty? The possibilities are endless and many of the stresses of life would be reduced by a simple change in perspective - that would be great for our health.

I wouldn't exactly call myself a model for playful behaviour. Goodness knows that I was the type of child who was serious far before it became "necessary." It absolutely exhausts me to try to play to the level of my daughter day after day. Even though I don't think it's too late for me (or anybody else), I bring this up more in the context of children. What if we were able to teach our children to keep a healthy sense of play throughout their lives? How might their future and the future of the entire planet be different?

How could we possibly accomplish this? Well, I have to bring it back to us adults because one of the best ways to teach a child is through example. Even with example, it's probably not the easiest lesson to teach as the rest of the world continues to function seriously. But even a small step is a step!

So pick one thing you "have" to do this week and make it a game. And while you're at it, make sure your children catch you at it, or better yet ask them to join in. Let's make play a right for everyone!

[1] Kenneth R. Ginsburg. The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds, Pediatrics 119, no. 1 (2007): 182-191. Accessed January 1, 2011. doi: 10.1542/peds.2006-2697.

Healthy Resolutions?

Happy New Year! It's another new year's day (or as someone I know put it, arbitrary Gregorian boundary condition) and hosts of people are beginning to work on their resolutions in order to achieve their most desired wishes. This is a good way to take care of yourself right?

I'm afraid that I stopped making resolutions long ago. Like so many others, I found that I would start something on January 1st and quickly give up, most of the time before the end of January. I have thought about resolutions a lot and I figure that, overall but with some definite exceptions, they tend to be bad for your health. I certainly don't mean that the intention behind the resolutions are unhealthy - quite the contrary, so many resolutions are implemented in hopes of losing weight or being happier. But the results of resolutions are so often far from the intended gains.

Say you intend to lose a few Christmas pounds and you resolve to join a gym and go every week, three times a week. Week 1 is great, week 2 is tolerable, you drop to twice a week in week 3 (it's cold out), and so on and so forth until your gym membership is relegated to the bottom of your wallet and never seen or heard from again. At least you exercised for a few weeks right? On the other hand, what about the money you invested? And how do you feel about letting yourself down, and keeping every one of those Christmas pounds? You've just paid a high price for a good intention. It doesn't matter what the intention or resolution is, the price of "failure" is often too high.

Of course, I am not saying that you shouldn't try to get healthier or happier, I'm just saying that resolutions put into effect on an "arbitrary" date may not be the best way of going about it. Instead of focusing on resolutions, it is probably more useful to focus on your intentions. Be really clear, and really specific about what it is you want. Remember that this is quite different than being clear and specific about what it is you don't want. What will your target look like? What will you feel when you achieve it? What will you be thinking at that time? What will the repercussions be throughout your life and those around you? This might be a good time to get out a pen and paper and write it all down. Stick to one "target" at a time, since things get a little more confusing otherwise.

Just this process of setting clear and specific intentions will help you get what you want, but most of us need a little more of an action plan. What replaces the resolution? Goal-setting. Did I just lose you there? Goal-setting seems to have a reputation with some people as a dull and meaningless task, but done right, it can be one of the most useful tools you learn in your life. There's a lot to good goal-setting so I'll save that for another time.

If your resolution involves setting a good goal for a well-thought out intention which you decide to put it into place on January 1st, it might be healthy. Otherwise, success might be a matter of luck or will-power, and who enjoys relying on will-power?