The True Crisis

Let’s solve the problem we REALLY have.

Lobbyists, insurance companies, and politicians, even health care providers have been talking about “The Healthcare Crisis” as though we need a financial solution to a social health problem. Between the lines is the assumption that we are suffering in our physical body because we are being bled-dry by the cost of health care.

In my opinion, they still have it wrong. [And] if we buy into the notion that having more money will actually make us healthier, WE'VE got it all wrong. I’m saying: The TRUE CRISIS is people are not choosing to be healthy.

Hear me out: I believe SOMETHING SHOULD be done at the public policy level—I’m glad the debate has started. However, bear in mind this one fact clearly: Our current healthcare system will neither make us healthy, nor prevent us from experiencing illness—no matter how good it is, or how much money you pour into it.

If we want to achieve VITALTY, we have to do something ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.

You and I have to make healthier choices in the first place. This means nutritious, preferably organic food, preferably grown locally with no use of hormones and pesticides. It means that we have to exercise, stay strong, flexible, and active in our lifestyles. It means choosing not to ingest poisonous foods, substances, and toxic news. Achieving vitality also means having a stress-management plan to balance your body's energy and anxiety—and clear our minds to focus on what's important.

For those who are dealing with health challenges, it means being willing to work with complementary health professionals whose goal is to actually increase vitality rather than merely manage the symptoms of disease.

There are natural healers in every town and community. Some of them are acupuncturists, naturopaths, chiropractors, nutritionists, and massage therapists. As a pioneer in the health and wellness industry, I have developed a technique that helps you reach vitality through great posture. Wherever you begin your journey, you will be among people who you can relate to. Just start somewhere—today.

At the Vitality Center,in San Mateo, we specialize in using natural ways to help you experience freedom from pain, and vitality you can actually see. Call us and let us help you get there easier and more effectively. (650) 347-4565

As this summer fades into autumn, I am asking you to join me in reclaiming control of every aspect of your health. Here are some simple things you can do to get started:

1--Don’t read or watch ANYTHING that makes you feel bad. It makes you nervous, which makes you eat, drink and smoke. Instead, read and watch things that INSPIRE you and make you LAUGH, which will calm you and relax your spirit.

2--This month, buy ORGANIC foods. Ask for ORGANIC salads at your favorite eatery.

3--Choose one place to walk to, that you would have otherwise driven or taken a ride. If you are headed to the store, walk this time. If you would take the elevator, try the stairs for at least one floor, and add more later.

Finally, It’s up to me and YOU to respond to the true health crisis. What are your health goals?

What will you do TODAY that will make a difference for yourself and your family? ∞∞∞

Fire in the Belly 2

A truly inspiring person is often perceived as possessing passion with a purpose. Their energy comes from a place deep within. That place is an area in the abdomen, above or around the navel.

This energy center in the body actually operates as though it has three channels. I haven’t figured out a cool name for this energy center, but what I have seen is a person who has a sense of freedom—there’s no “binding” in their expression of life, there is circulation in their being, and there is energetic movement occurring around them. What you have is a person who is in their right-livelihood making a contribution, feeling connected with the Spirit, and fully engaged in a cooperative life-work, with other like-minded individuals.

The three channels seem to have one energy source, which will flow through one channel or the other. In an ideal and perfect world, you would have all these channels fully awake and fully energized, thus you’d be able to apply the energy in all nuclei at the same time. You can do that if your pelvis is flexible and free (different lecture).

The movement of your abdomen and flexibility of your ribcage are what keep this energy grounded and circulating, ultimately manifesting themselves in some meaningful, tangible way.

The second energy center in the abdomen is the one for passion and bliss. If you can think of a person you’ve ever been dazzled by—it’s almost as though you imagine that being with this person will awaken a part of yourself that you desire to be in touch with. Perhaps an hour or 10 minutes, a night, or a lifetime with that person will awaken the part of your soul that you’ve been longing to have access to. That’s the passion and bliss nucleus of this energy center.

When you pursue that passion—there’s something deep within you that becomes satiated in a way that you feel, perhaps even momentarily, complete. As though you’ve experienced a state of bliss, are spiritually connected with the dazzling essence of the divine.

Viscerally you reach a state of inner and outer harmony. You are physically connected and you have a rewarding unexplainable experience. It’s as though you’ve touched and become a part of another soul and gained access to your own soul in a way that no other physical experience can give you.

As human beings having a spiritual experience, passion and bliss are hardwired, into the pleasure centers of the body. It is important to recognize and nurture this important aspect of our nature. For some of us, this may demand for us to reconsider boundaries or barriers of sensuality that may have developed over the years. For others, we simply need to do a couple of exercises to release any binding patters related to this essential energy center. Whatever you do, take action and allow yourself the freedom of passion and bliss. It is your birthright.

One of the best exercises to help increase access to bliss:
Step-Up Lunge

Fire in the Belly- Emotional Anatomy

Fire in the Belly

Emotional Anatomy of the Lower Abdomen

A truly inspiring person is often perceived as possessing passion with a purpose. Their energy comes from a place deep within. That place is an area above or around the navel.

This energy center in the body actually operates as though it has 3 channels. I haven’t figured out a cool name for this energy center, but what I have seen is a person who has a sense of freedom—there’s no “binding”, there is circulation, and there is energetic movement occurring around them. What you have is a person who is in their right livelihood making a contribution, feeling connected with the spirit, and also fully engaged in a cooperative life work, with other like-minded individuals.

The 3 channels seem to have one energy source, which will flow through one channel or the other. In an ideal and perfect world, you would have all these channels fully awake and fully energized and you’d be able to apply the energy in all directions at the same time. You can do that if your pelvis is flexible and free (different lecture).

The movement of your body and flexibility of your ribcage are what keep this energy grounded and circulating, ultimately manifesting themselves in some meaningful, tangible way.

The first channel, in no particular order of importance, is the spiritual channel. This is the part of a person that longs to have a deep connection with the divine. Yes, we say our heart yearns to be with our deity. We want to feel that connection. That desire to connect comes from right below the navel. It’s different from prana energy, which comes from the pelvis. It’s more like what the ayurvedic healers call kundalini energy. This energy taps you into your connection with Spirit. When a person feels most connected with Spirit, it’s almost as though they feel that God walks through their lives, in their bodies. It’s almost as though that person can feel the divine working through them as they go about their daily lives. When this channel is open and free, there is some spiritual energy that seems to perhaps guide and direct that person toward the places they can be most useful and make the greatest contribution. That’s the spiritual channel of this energy center.

You can awaken this center in yourself with a few exercises, one of which is the Step-Up Lunge.

Instructions:
1. Using a chair and starting off close enough as if you were going to sit, measure your stretch distance by standing with the back of your calves against the front of a chair.
2. Take one comfortable stride forward. Turn around in that spot to face the chair. Now, check to see that your back foot and toe are pointing straight ahead—not to the side.
3. Step one foot fully onto the lap of the chair. With your front foot flat in the chair, lean forward until the knee and the ankle are straight up and down.
4. Look down at your back foot. The heel should be at least one inch off the floor, with your weight balanced on the front arch of the foot. The heel should not be flat at this point. You should feel this stretch in front of your hip and perhaps the top middle of the “down” leg. You should not feel this in your calf at all. If you do feel it in the calf, bend your knee so that the focus point of this stretch shifts to the front of this hip.
Special Note: Check to make sure your torso is upright, not forward. When you have your arms hanging at your sides, do your best to be so upright that they hang behind your body’s midline or even behind where your hips are.

5. So you’re in position now. Breathe five times in your nose, out your open mouth—feeling the stretch on the front of your hip going down to the front middle of your leg.
6. After five breaths, pivot or wiggle your back foot a few inches farther back, to open the front of your hip joint even more. Keep the back foot straight, headed forward, and correct your front leg and body position if you need to.

7. Breathe five times. Again, in your nose—big—out your open mouth wide open first, then breathe out.
When you are done, use your front foot to push yourself out of the chair, and catch your balance. Then, walk around to recalibrate your body’s tension balance.

Living your life infused with Spirit flowing through you carries with it the responsibility of keeping your body healthy and whole, fluid and flexible.

In doing so, you will tap into a natural resource within yourself that will leave you with a sense of accomplishment, peace of mind, and connectedness with the divine.

We will continue this discussion by going into the 2^nd channel of energy in our next blog.

Emotional Anatomy of the Neck and Chest

Heart and soul—the center of courage and self-love

The breastbone starting at the center point at the base or sternum—this is the area where bravery, courage, and pride tend to manifest themselves. What’s also there is self-love. You’ve heard—“Mary has a warm heart to do such a thing.” Or… “Barry has the courage to take on a big challenge in life.”— The energy of courage manifests itself in the ribcage right behind the sternum bone, sometimes referred to as the heart chakra.

By contrast, when a person has a depressed or compressed ribcage, that person decreases their capacity to experience not just self-love, but feeling cared about. Even though other people may care about them, one lowers their capacity for experiencing and feeling that love by closing the ribcage down. They limit their capacity to express caring and courage in life.

Here’s more: You will find that a person has a greater capacity for self-confidence if their ribcage is higher and fuller. As you go higher to the upper part of the breastbone you discover the part of the body that one holds the energy to stand up for one’s self. This is different from speaking up for yourself, which is higher, at the base of the throat, but standing up for one’s self. The energy of courageous compassion is what I’m talking about.

Picture a mama bear with her cubs and how protective she is over them. Imagine the unbridled fierceness that the mama bear has if some other predator or intruder gets near her cubs. She’ll kill that person, that other animal, to drive them away even if it means the cost of her life.

For you and me, this manifests itself in our willingness to take a stand for what we believe in for our, a cause, or for a person we really care about. That energy comes from this part of the ribcage—open it and you’ll expand. Compress it and you’ll be hesitant to speak, or stand, up for yourself, your loved ones, your livelihood, your cause.

The next area is just above the breastbone at what is referred to as the suprasternal notch, at the base of the throat. That is speaking up for one’s self.

When this area is open and free, you’ll be much more willing to say what’s on your mind, to express your truth, and you’ll be able to say it without hesitation. Certainly, tact and talent are part of how the delivery occurs, but the willingness to make the communication in the first place—that shows up at the base of the throat. Open it and you’ve got freedom. Close it and you’ll notice constriction and hesitation.

In fact, the chest and throat tend to close down when a person is making an uncomfortable communication. Imagine someone clearing their throat, coughing and facing down slightly. They’re trying to open this area so that their truth can come out. When this area is open and free, your message becomes much clearer, especially to yourself.

The ego gets stored in the neck. When the neck is rigid, short, pulled down, stiff, and pitched forward, the energy flow for that person gets constricted. When it’s constricted, it prevents the person from being realistic about who they are to themselves and to others. In the absence of a realistic self-view, people tend to paint a picture about themselves to camouflage the absence or confusion their self-esteem.

When you open this area and bring freedom back to your neck, not only your self-confidence, but also your self-perception is much more likely to be accurate, give you a sense of confidence, and one that is compatible with how other people actually perceive you. It’s likely to also complement how you fit into the universe you’ve built around yourself.

In conclusion: Self-love, self-confidence, courage, caring, and compassion are close cousins in the emotional body. The healthier you become, the more open and free your body will want to become. Today, make the commitment to stand up and speak up for yourself or someone or something you care about. You just might change the world!

Emotional Anatomy of the Face and Jaw

The face stores a wide variety of emotional energy. Stress, worry, joy, gladness, and passion—you can see it in a person’s face. What happens in a person’s history, or if the person doesn’t allow themselves to experience those feelings resulting from events, is, stress or something else builds up in particular muscles… Then you can see anger, un-cried tears, grief, stress. You can even “see” un-communicated thoughts when a person has pursed lips or clenches their teeth.

Anger and resentment, seething and vengefulness are stored in the jaws. Many of us know someone who seems angry most of the time. Look at their jaws. Are they tight? Bulging with veins? Short temper? Is that person overly reactive to the slightest provocation?.
The stress we store in our face and jaw can be harmful to us. Facial stress can age us prematurely. It can rob us of the sparkle in our smile, affect our speech and breathing, and send confusing messages to our friends and loved ones.
Many times, emotional stress can work the other way around as well. We can resolve a personal issue with a professional therapist. Sometimes, however, the person, or the negative energy from the issue may remain stored in the muscles of their body. So, in a sense, the emotions keep re-creating themselves because they haven’t been released from the body.
When a person is experiencing a Facial Reposturing® treatment, sometimes, a person may emit a tear when the facial muscles are stimulated and release latent emotional energy. Some people notice a dramatic and visible result when they come out of their Facial Reposturing treatment. They have a bigger, brighter smile that comes from the new freedom of movement they feel in their cheeks.

When you release the old tension patterns from a person’s face, what happens is the natural authentic self begins to shine and radiate from the person. Their smile looks more authentic. Their eyes are brighter. There’s a quiet confidence that comes to the countenance of a person’s face. Even if the person still has some unresolved issues—they come to a point when they, at least, no longer store it in their face.

There’s a natural, unforced mirth that shows in a person’s cheeks as a result of releasing the tension patterns that get stored in a person’s face. It becomes physically and structurally possible for them to experience authentic joy. Aliveness, peace of mind, radiance, and enthusiasm is the proof on the face of a person whose soul is free.

Introduction to “Journey Through Your Emotional Body” series

Different parts of the brain control and respond to different parts of the body. In a similar way, different parts of the body store and transmit different types of emotional energy.

Many of the phrases that exist in our language testify to the type of emotion that is stored in different parts of the body. Such as “pain in the neck” when someone is bothersome. “Weak in the knees” when a person feels like they have trouble confronting the truth, especially when it comes to an authority figure. “Shouldering responsibility” the shoulders happens to store authority. Or when someone has the guts to do something, courage comes up from the abdomen and moves through the chest into the center of bravery, courage and pride.

There are different aspects of our emotional-selves that deserve as much attention as we pay to being fit and looking good. Consider the energy required to heal your body when it is wounded or has a condition.

Starting at the top of the head, face and jaw, The “Journey Through Your Emotional Body” series will be an analysis based on observations from my clinical practice over 20 years and commentary from my clients and my discussions around each area.

Welcome to the world of Reposturing where the mind, body and sprit are considered as one. On Friday November 20th, look for “Heart and soul—the center of courage and self-love” the emotional anatomy of the neck and chest.

Organization Detox

Every spring, many of us start to look at our homes, garages, and automobiles to see what we can clean out, give away, or toss. There is this curious phenomenon that happens when people start to get organized. They start getting weird—and then they get frustrated. Organizing is a good thing. Why should there be stress around it?

Think of organization as detoxifying one's life. The whole process calls for equally detoxifying your mind and body. The process itself may even make you feel sick, tired, cranky or just a little “off”. Here's a basic principle in the physics of vitality & wholeness: “How organized your life is reflects how healthy your mind and body are.”

When you change one area of your life, you'll likely feel an innate drive to make changes in other areas too. They toss things they no longer need. Many of my clients suddenly notice a desire to get in shape, improve their diet or change relationship status with friends, associates and "significant others."

When you feel tired, unsettled and off-centered, it's your body's way of saying, "Slow down, I need to catch up with you and figure out where you put all the furniture, food and forks". If you don't give yourself time and space to get used to the new arrangement, that can give you a bad attitude & really stress you out.

You can avoid "flip-out-factor" by doing stress neutralizing activities such as getting a massage, taking a walk or doing a fun and familiar activity you already know how to do.
This will help your mind, body, and spirit the opportunity to re-synchronize quickly & safely.

I have worked with many professional organizers for myself and for my clients with great results. At the same time, I avoid the "flip-out factor" by scheduling myself to receive structure-improvement oriented bodywork, such as Reposturing Dynamics and message therapy.

For a professional organizer in your area, call The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) at 856-380-6828. For a Reposturing Dynamics Practitioner, call 1-888-7POSTURE.