In chess, checkmate occurs when a player’s king is under attack and has no safe place to go. The king is threatened and every possible escape route is blocked. Such an existential condition, an allegorical “no exit,” is known as checkmate.
In life, a person may be similarly threatened by a serious illness. For example, a person may receive a diagnosis for which there is no effective long-term treatment. Short-term, temporary solutions may be available, but these usually require enormous expenditures of resources, both financial and personal. Most often, when the temporary fix has run its course, the illness persists and the long-term outlook remains the same. Optimally, we would prefer to avoid such medical “checks” and avoid being faced with an untimely “checkmate.” As in chess, obtaining success with respect to our health and well being depends in large part on having a sound strategy in place.
Successful chess players think several moves ahead. High-level chess players such as grand masters have the ability to envision combinations involving ten or more future moves. Fortunately, being successful at the game of promoting personal health and well being is much less complicated. There are only a few elements involved in developing a strategy that works.
These elements are well known and include (1) regular, vigorous exercise; (2) a healthy diet1; (3) sufficient rest; and (4) a positive mental attitude. But despite being well known, only the minority of people actually implements these critical “moves.” The evidence for such lack of action may be seen in the United States, for example, where one-third of Americans are overweight and additional one-third are obese. Merely knowing something is not sufficient to obtain a result.
What is required is actual action.2 In terms of exercise, evidence-based guidelines agree that 30 minutes of vigorous exercise, done five days a week, will provide a sound foundation for health. Optimally, such exercise consists of both cardiovascular and strength training sessions, but the most important point is to do five 30-minute sessions per week. With respect to diet, all the evidence affirms that men, women, and children should follow specific calorie-intake guidelines.3 For example, a moderately active man, aged 31-50, should consume, on average, 2500 calories per day. A moderately active woman, aged 31-50, should consume, on average, 2000 calories per day. A man intending to lose weight, and then maintain an ideal weight, should take in about 1800 calories per day. A woman intending to lose weight, and then maintain an ideal weight, should consume about 1600 calories per day. Regarding daily food intake, the most important rule to follow is to consume at least five portions of fresh fruits and vegetables per day. It is also important, on a daily basis, to eat foods from all the major food groups. In terms of rest, most people require seven to eight hours of sleep a night. This may not be possible every night, of course, but over time people need to obtain the right amount of rest for them. The criterion is simple: if you do not feel rested after a night’s sleep, then you did not obtain sufficient sleep. Obtaining sufficient rest is an often-neglected component of a well-rounded health and wellness strategy.
Our strategy for helping ensure our long-term health and wellness contains only a few components, and involves many less moves than does a winning chess strategy. It should be easy to put such a strategy into place. What is required is a commitment and dedication to ourselves, our families, and our loved ones.
1Voeghtly LM, et al: Cardiometabolic risk reduction in an intensive cardiovascular health program. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 23(7):662-669, 2013
2Carson V, et al: A cross-sectional study of the environment, physical activity, and screen time among young children and their parents. BMC Public Health 2014 Jan 21;14:61. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-61
3Wang YC, et al: Reaching the healthy people goals for reducing childhood obesity: closing the energy gap. Am J Prev Med 42(5):437-444, 2012
Chronic disease is a major problem in U.S. health care. More than one-third of Americans have one or more chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The personal costs to patients and families are often severe, daily, and ongoing. The economic costs to society are almost $1 trillion annually.
Heart disease includes high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, coronary artery obstruction, angina, and heart attacks. Most of these conditions represent a chain of events. Left untreated, of course, high blood pressure is a leading cause of heart attack and stroke.
Most cases of diabetes develop from a pre-diabetic state which is also known as insulin resistance. Insulin - a hormone produced by the pancreas - is necessary for cells to be able to absorb glucose from the bloodstream and use the glucose for energy. If cells become insulin resistant, glucose stays in the bloodstream, leading to a pre-diabetic condition.
Left untreated, pre-diabetes likely advances to diabetes, in which insulin resistance is combined with insulin depletion, as the pancreas loses its ability to produce this important hormone. Diabetes may lead to many severe problems, including kidney failure, and is a leading cause of death from heart failure.
Cancer is now being recognized as a chronic disease. Rather than being a mysterious disorder that occurs randomly, many cancers are now understood to have many elements in common with other chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Pain is a common element to chronic disease. Affected persons often take daily pain medications. Most people become tolerant to their medication and require increasingly stronger doses. The pain of chronic disease is notoriously difficult to treat.
In recent years a holistic approach has been successfully applied in the treatment of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Chiropractic care is an important component of the holistic approach.
Chiropractic care helps restore more normal biomechanical function to the spine, which in turn improves the ability of the nerve system to effectively communicate with the rest of the body. Important benefits of this restored function may be an improvement in the body's ability to repair damaged tissues, a strengthened immune system, and reduced levels of musculoskeletal pain. Such improvements may help lead to improved daily functioning. As levels of pain decrease, a person may be able to engage in more physical activity. Multiple benefits follow.
Chiropractic care is a key part of an integrative approach to the management of the pain of chronic disease. Your local chiropractor will be glad to help you determine whether chiropractic care is right for you.
1"An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease". Santa Monica, CA, Milken Institute, 2007
2Eddy DM, et al: The metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk: implications for clinical practice. Int J Obes 32(Suppl 2):S5-S10, 2008
3"Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer". Washington, DC, American Institute for Cancer Research, 2007
An old cliche for getting to know someone in a new social situation entails asking, "What's your sign?" The notion, of course, is that a simple identifier such as astrological sign would provide grounding for a potential relationship - romance, friendship, or even a new bowling partner. As there are only twelve signs of the zodiac, the odds were good that you'd be able to make something out of your respective astrological signs and go from there. Many marriages, businesses, and contract bridge teams can trace their origins to what were considered favorable astrological pairings.
Although many believe that astrology can offer sound advice regarding matters of health and well-being, there are other more quantifiable categorizations that do impact your health and are backed by reproducible scientific study and research. One such series classifies physical body type into three groupings - ectomorphic, mesomorphic, and endomorphic. These body types are termed somatotypes. This useful classification is both predictive and prescriptive with respect to a person's current and future levels of health.
Ectomorphs are those people who are relatively long and lean. Ballet dancers, competitive figure skaters, and distance runners are almost always ectomorphs. Fashion models are usually ectomorphs, as are many professional beach volleyball players. In baseball, shortstops, second basemen, and center fielders are typically ectomorphs. The character Dr. Gregory House is a typical ectomorph.
Mesomorphs are those people who are more heavily muscled. In football, running backs, linebackers, and safeties are usually metamorphs. Powerlifters are metamorphs, as are shotputters, discus and javelin throwers, and sprinters. Star Trek's Lieutenant Worf is a typical metamorph.
Endomorphs are those people who have proportionately more body fat than muscle, with more of the body mass concentrated in the abdominal area. Endomorphs are more typically engaged in sedentary occupations. The fictional detective Nero Wolfe and Count Fosco of Wilkie Collins's "The Woman in White" are famous endomorphs.
Overall, mesomorphs are characterized by musculoskeletal robustness and endomorphs are characterized by subcutaneous adipose tissue accumulation. In comparison to either group, ectomorphs are characterized by an increased tendency to musculoskeletal injury, including muscle and tendon strains and joint and ligament sprains. Overall, there is an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in those who are thin as well as in those who are more-than-moderately obese.
Chiropractic care can provide benefit to persons of any body type. By optimizing the flow of health-promoting information between your nerve system and the rest of your body, chiropractic care helps you function at peak efficiency. Your body type is a physical expression of the interaction between your genetic inheritance and innumerable environmental factors. Regular chiropractic care helps you make the most out of your physical structure and helps improve your health and well-being.
1Yeung EH, et al: Childhood size and life course weight characteristics in association with the risk of incident type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, March 9, 2010 (Epub ahead of print)
2Singh AP, Singh SP: Somatotypic variations. An analysis of some traditional occupation. J Hum Ecol 19(4):249-251, 2006
3Peeters MW, et al: Heritability of somatotype components: a multivariate analysis. Int J Obesity 31:1295-1301, 2007
Everyone knows the old adage that declares "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This time-honored wisdom certainly makes sense. We wouldn't wait until we were riding on the wheel rim before we repaired a leaking automobile tire. We wouldn't wait until there were obvious signs of termite damage to our home before calling in the pest control experts. But, in contrast, many of us fail to implement the same kinds of straightforward preventive measures to help ensure appropriate levels of physical fitness and ongoing good health.
The main problem with preventive measures is that they consume time. The adage, however, implies that much more time will be spent, as well as financial resources that could be better directed toward other projects, in trying to cure damage, illness, or disease that would likely have been prevented by consistently taking a few necessary steps. In the case of achieving wellness, most people are aware of the need for good nutrition and regular exercise. But even with this awareness, many people persist in avoiding taking the time to do the things they need to do to retain and maintain robust good health.
What is missing is the commitment to be the person who accomplishes such goals. Change comes from within, as is asserted by another well-known aphorism. In order to take on meaningful change, despite the implication that there is going to be a certain expenditure of time and some inconvenience, the value of the activity needs to outweigh the costs. This means a person needs to be willing to authentically choose to take long-term actions in the areas of healthy eating and exercise. Sometimes it takes a wake-up call to get going, but it's much better, in the context of "an ounce of prevention," to start to make things happen before a real problem develops.
Many people will persist in their habits and resist the self-creation of more healthy lifestyles, as demonstrated by the ongoing worldwide epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes. But many others will one day get out of bed in the morning and experience the sensation of being sick and tired of being sick and tired. On that day, such a person will have the immediate realization of the great value to be obtained in taking care of oneself, despite the short-term costs of time and effort. These "aha moments" are the inspiration for many to adopt and maintain a range of healthy lifestyles, with the result of long-term health, happiness, and well-being.
Another well-worn yet still meaningful adage is "If it's going to be, it's up to me." Although friends may tell us what they think we should do, and loved ones may attempt to instruct us in hopes of bettering our welfare, most of us have a fairly ingrained resistance to following the recommendations of others if those recommendations didn't match up with our own already developed plans.
It may be that many friends and loved ones have recommended regular chiropractic care to us over months or even years, with the intention of helping us obtain better overall health. When the time comes when we begin to realize how valuable good health actually is, we will discover for ourselves the value and importance of regular chiropractic care. We will then want to sure that we're getting the most out of our good nutritional practices and the time spent engaging in regular exercise, and we will find that regular chiropractic care helps us do so. By detecting and correcting spinal misalignments and optimizing functioning of the nerve system, our body's master system, regular chiropractic care helps us achieve our goals of long-term health and wellness.
Your IQ that's measured in school has to do with problem solving - mental gymnastics. Your spinal IQ also has to do with problem solving - these are "problems" of the physical kind.
How far to bend over to lift those grocery bags out of your car's trunk? How much muscle force is necessary to pick up and carry your five-year-old child? What specific muscles are needed to maintain your "downward dog" position for 30 seconds in yoga class? How far can your back muscles stretch when you do a back bend at the ballet barre? These are the problems your spinal IQ tries to solve.
Spinal IQ is an inborn ability. Our bodies were designed for the rigors of physical work - they are very smart and very adaptable. One of our built-in control systems is the specialized set of nerve endings known as proprioceptors.
Proprioception is our internal awareness of position in three-dimensional space.1,2 This three-dimensional positioning allows us to keep our balance when we walk or run. Proprioception tells our muscles and joints how to work together to throw a baseball from third to first, to drive to the basketball hoop and sink a lay-up, or to hit a tennis ball to the corner of the opponent's service box and win the point.
Proprioception is very important in spinal IQ. The spine is a complex system of bones, joints, muscles, and ligaments - a smart proprioception system helps all the parts work together smoothly and seamlessly.
To keep all the parts functioning we need to take an active role. In modern society, if we're not proactive, it's easy for our bodies to break down. Two key strategies for maintaining high levels of spinal IQ are regular strenuous exercise and regular chiropractic check-ups.
Exercise helps our bodies stay smart.3 When we exercise, our joints are mechanically stressed and challenged throughout their complete ranges of motion. This activity stimulates proprioceptors - training them to do their job well and building new and stronger connections between nerve cells. Exercise also builds muscle strength and flexibility, and in the process the muscles are getting smarter, too.
Chiropractic care enhances the benefits of your exercise program by helping ensure optimal functioning of your spine and nerve system. With regular chiropractic care, your proprioceptive system is optimized and your body's ability to adapt to physical challenges is restored.
Your chiropractor will be glad to assist you in designed an exercise program that will work for you, helping you to improve your spinal IQ and your health.
1Armstrong B, et al: Head and neck position sense. Sports Med 38(2):101-117, 2008
2Chow DH, et al: Changes in spinal curvature and proprioception of schoolboys carrying different weights of backpack. Ergonomics 50(12):2148-2156, 2007
3Akuthota V, et al: Core stability exercise principles. Curr Sports Med Rep 7(1):39-44, 2008
"Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying." This truism is well-known in human potential circles and can often be heard at personal growth-and-development seminars. But the implications of this meaningful phrase are often ignored in our day-to-day activities and relationships. Sometimes we pretend that others are unable to see through our facade of words and that they cannot recognize our hidden qualities, desires, and intentions.
In the world of Snow White, Sleepy, Grumpy, Bashful, and Happy were exactly that. The dwarves were their names! In our world, though, Madison, Cassidy, Jason, and Patrick don't help us out that much. But people unknowingly present many signposts that function equally well as do names of the dwarves from Snow White. Tone of voice, eye contact, posture, and facial expressions are some of the clues to what's really going on. In fact, if one is able to pay attention and accurately interpret the information available, other people might just as well be holding up pictures of the Seven Dwarves in front of their faces. The character of their inner selves is clear.
Other people really do know what's going on with us. If we could get the full impact of this powerful proposition, all of our interactions would benefit. Also, our stress levels will usually go down. When we're interacting meaningfully and communicating clearly, we become less stressed. The unlooked-for benefit is our health improves as a result.
Here's a quick way to get how you're being in the world. Do dogs growl when they pass you on the street or when you enter the home of a dog and its human companions? Similarly, do cats hiss at you? When you're introduced to a baby or toddler, does the kid start to fuss or cry? These are all pretty good signs of a certain kind of personal vibe.
The flip side is also accurate. When dogs see you, do they start licking your hand, jumping around, and generally letting you know they want to play? Do cats rub around your legs and purr? Do babies smile and gurgle at you? Do little kids show you their toys and smile shyly at you? These are all signs of a different kind of vibe.
Animals and young children are excellent barometers of the qualities of the people around them. Who you are being is not a mystery to them. They get it all. Many of us lose this inner sight and interact with others based on what they say. In this respect, everyone loses - we think if we say the right words, it'll all be ok.
The notion of being-in-the-world is important in health care interactions. The doctor you've waited two hours to see says nice words, but you sense he doesn't really care - he just wants to move on to the next patient. Likewise at the front desk - they're perfectly polite, but you're aware they're super-stressed and can't wait to get out the door themselves.
In contrast, chiropractors are aware of the importance of the human component of their interactions with patients. A chiropractor's office is a welcoming environment - people often say their chiropractor's office "feels just like home". You get the sense your chiropractor is authentically interested in your health and well-being, making sure to take the time to really listen to your concerns and make sure you're getting the service you need. Chiropractic is a healing profession and the quality of the doctor-patient relationship is an important part of the healing process.
1Seedat S, et al: Life stress and mental disorders in the South African stress and health study. S Afr Med J 99(5 Pt 2):375-382, 2009
2Beeri MS, et al: The effects of cardiovascuclar risk factors on cognitive compromise. Dialogues Clin Neurosci 11(2):201-212, 2009
3Koetaka H, et al: Long-term effects of lifestyle on multiple risk factors in male workers. Environ Health Prev Med 14(3):165-172, 2009
You may remember the public health slogan, "Vitamin D helps build strong bones". This message could be seen on colorful school posters and heard on radio and television programs as early as the1950s. Getting enough Vitamin D was a major health issue, primarily for its role in preventing childhood rickets - "softening of the bones".
More recently, and quite dramatically, vitamin D has been strongly associated with reduced cancer risks, preventing autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, preventing cardiovascular disease, and even helping to prevent diabetes. Vitamin D seems to be a one-stop shop for helping combat many serious chronic diseases, and yet vitamin D deficiency is common in the United States. Very few foods are natural sources of vitamin D. The primary source of vitamin D for humans is sunlight - sunlight causes cells in the skin to produce vitamin D.
But most of us don't spend enough time outside to get sufficient sunlight to provide us with our normal daily requirement of vitamin D. Supplementation is needed, in the form of fortified foods such as milk and in vitamin/mineral tablets. Interestingly, meeting our vitamin D and calcium daily requirements is only one step on the road to healthy, strong bones. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium from the intestinal tract. Also, vitamin D helps bone cells utilize calcium to build new bone. But - in adults, new bone will only be built if there's a need for it. Mechanical stress causes the body to produce new bone - and the best source for this kind of bone-building mechanical stress is exercise.
Yes, the E word. It's not enough to passively swallow a bunch of supplements every day. We need to exercise regularly to get the most out of the nutrition we're providing our bodies. When we exercise - particularly when we do strength training and other gravity-resisting activities such as running, walking, and bicycling - our bodies react not only by building new muscle but by building new bone as well. This response follows a physiologic principle known as Wolff's Law - bone remodels along lines of physiologic stress.
In other words, bone responds to mechanical challenges by building more bone. The result is more dense, stronger bones. Such bones are significantly less likely to fracture. And. logically, exercise helps prevent loss of bone mass, a primary cause of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and older adults. Chiropractic health care helps provide assistance to these metabolic processes. All of our metabolic activities are directed by signals from the nerve system. Our nerve impulses tell our cells when to start and when to stop these complicated biochemical processes. Chiropractic care helps ensure proper flow of information throughout the nervous system, helping us maintain optimal physical health and well-being.
Your chiropractor is an expert in nutritional health and will be able to recommend a program and plan that will be right for you.
1Lins P: Vitamin D physiology. Prog Biophys Mol Biol 92)1:4-8, 2006
2Cavalier E, et al:Vitamin D: current status and perspectives.Clin Chem Lab Med 47:1, 2009
3Holick Me, Chen TC: Vitamin D deficiency: a worldwide problem with health consequences. Am J Clin Nutr 87(4):10805-10865, 2008
It's the rare child who actually wants to eat fruits and vegetables. Kids are bombarded by television and radio ads for cereals, candy, and chips that contain huge amounts of sugar and large quantities of saturated fat. The sugar craving begins in childhood - kids quickly develop a taste for sweets. To a child's sugar-sensitized palette, the complex sugars contained in fruits and vegetables are a poor substitute.
We carry these habits into adulthood and our long-term health suffers as a result. Twenty-four hours is not enough time in the day for most of us, and many consistently choose fast foods as a means of satisfying our need for food and a method for limiting the amount of precious time we spend on meal preparation.
But fast foods are not really food in the sense that the nutrition they provide is minimal. Fast foods are essentially empty calories.
In the 1950s and 1960s a well-known health-related slogan was "an apple a day makes the doctor away". This advice represented ancient folk wisdom. Today, decades of research has shown that apples - and all fruits and vegetables - have remarkable health-promoting and disease-fighting properties.
Most fruits and vegetables are packed with magical biochemicals called phytochemicals - "phyto" means plant. Phytochemicals give fruits and vegetables their color, so the more colorful a food, the more phytochemicals it contains.
Ongoing research studies show that phytochemicals - of which there are thousands of varieties - provide protection against the development of many chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis.
Many phytochemicals are antioxidants and neutralize free radicals in human cells. Others have anti-inflammatory properties - these help slow the aging process.
Fruits and vegetables are so important for our health and well-being that many national organizations have promoted the "five to stay alive rule" - the recommendation is to eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables each day.
Portions could include any of these - an apple, an orange, a banana, a cup of grapes, a cup of blueberries, a yam, a couple of carrots, a couple of tomatoes, and a couple of tablespoons of broccoli.
For many of us, "five to stay alive" would be a radical departure from our old habits. It might take a little effort to develop new shopping and eating habits, but once you're in the groove it's likely you'll be feeling so much better you'll wonder why you didn't start this healthy-eating plan sooner.
Your chiropractor is an expert on nutritional health and will be glad to help you create a food plan that works for you and your family.
1de Kok TM, et al: Mechanisms of combined action of different chemopreventive dietary compounds: a review. Eur J Nutr 47(Suppl 2):59-59, 2008
2Ware WR: Nutrition and the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer: Association of Cytochrome P450 CYP1B1 With the Role of Fruit and Fruit Extracts. Integr Cancer Ther December 2008
3Liu RH: Potential synergy of phytochemicals in cancer prevention: mechanism of action. J Nutr 134(Suppl 12):3479S-3485S, 2004
Both Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, and Charles Darwin, author of The Origin of Species and creator of the theory of natural selection, were born on February 12, 1809. Modern evolutionary theory, of course, is based on Darwin's theory of natural selection.
The evolutionary history of humans traces the family history of mammals back to tetrapods, four-footed vertebrate animals in existence 365 million years ago, in the late Devonian period. Tetrapods originally were wholly aquatic, and toward the end of the Devonian they developed the ability to breathe on land and walked out of the seas.
How were the tetrapods able to accomplish this revolutionary transition? Over long stretches of evolutionary time, genetic mutations which conferred a benefit were retained. Those tetrapods that had developed the complex ability to survive and thrive on land gained a reproductive advantage. The history and science of evolution can be summarized by a simple concept - those that produce the greatest numbers of surviving offspring win. The air-breathing tetrapods won because they could explore new territories and find new supplies of resources. They became stronger and could reproduce stronger, survivable offspring who would pass on the air-breathing genes.
Human beings continue to evolve, although we ourselves don't notice the process. Our lives are short in comparison to the lengths of time involved. We are able to observe that humans are certainly taller and live much longer than the humans of 1000 years ago. These changes represent evolutionary advantages.
On an individual level we're not able to alter our genes. But we are able to take steps to make our bodies strong and help ensure our cellular and genetic processes are functioning at their highest level. Cells need the right raw materials and the right metabolic environment in order to function properly. So healthy food in the right quantities and sufficient amounts of regular exercise are important. A key critical factor is proper functioning of the nerve system, which coordinates all your body's activities. The nerve system, conductor of your physiologic orchestra, makes sure that everything runs smoothly and efficiently.
From the point of view of genetics and evolution, an individual human being has an advantage if she is healthy and well. If such a person has children it is likely they will be healthy and well, too. They will survive and pass on whatever genetic advantages they have gained. A healthy nerve system is needed to help ensure such health and wellness. Chiropractic care helps ensure that your nerve system is functioning at peak efficiency and doing what it's supposed to do.
Chiropractic care optimizes biomechanical function of spinal vertebras which optimizes the free flow of nerve signals throughout your body. These nerve signals coordinate the work of all body systems. Raw materials reach cells when they're needed. Genetic function is optimized, cellular products are produced on time, and the cell divides when necessary.
Proper flow of information and instructions transmitted via the nerve system helps ensure health and well-being at the very deepest level. Your genetic advantage is passed on when you're healthy and well. Chiropractic care helps make this happen.
1Zhang F, et al: Copy number variation in human health, disease, and evolution. Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet 10:451-481, 2009
2Danilova N, Amemiya CT: Going adaptive. The saga of antibodies. Ann NY Acad Sci 1168:130-155, 2009
3Solomons NW: Developmental origins of health and disease. Concepts, caveats, and consequences for public health nutrition. Nutr Rev 67(Suppl 1):S12-S16, 2009
You are the CEO of your own personal enterprise. In addition to whatever business you might be running or might be in, your personal corporation consists of the value you generate during your time on Earth.
Some persons such as government officials make choices and take actions that obviously affect the lives of many others. For most of us it may seem that we have less scope and reduced impact, but that is not necessarily so. Our choices and actions affect those people closest to us - our family, friends, and colleagues - and their choices and actions affect persons closest to them. An ever-widening series of ripples continues to flow, affecting more and more people, all stemming from the actions we take and the choices we make today. If we haven't recognized this potential and this power, all that's required is raising our gaze to the horizon and widening our field of view.
In order for a corporation - a personal corporation - to be effective it needs to have a sound balance sheet. If there's a lot of red ink it's going to be difficult to be able to provide goods and services. Depletion of resources leads to depletion of energy. We need to provide a steady stream of raw materials so we're able to create new products that are desired in the marketplace.
Our personal corporations require specific raw materials 1,2,3
If we're not receiving sufficient amounts of any of these inputs, the debit side of our balance sheet increases. We don't have enough energy to accomplish our daily tasks, let alone do the things that will make our corporation profitable. With sufficient inputs we have energy to spare and our corporation thrives.
What are some outputs of a healthy personal corporation? A healthy, happy family. A creative work environment. Ongoing engagement in rewarding social activities. An ongoing experience of accomplishment. Self-expression. Peace. Joy.
In order for our personal corporation to continue to grow and prosper, it's basic needs must be met. In addition, it's always a good idea to make sure all the parts are working properly. That's where chiropractic care comes in. Just as an accountant reviews the financial health of a corporation, your chiropractor reviews its physical health. She makes "adjustments" wherever and whenever necessary, enabling your personal corporation to continue to evolve.
1Fitzbiggon ML, Beech BM: The role of culture in the context of school-based BMI screening. Pediatrics 124(Suppl 1):S50-S62, 2009
2Maizes V, et al: Integrative medicine and patient-centered care. Explore (NY) 5(5):277-289, 2009
3O'Donnell MP: Definition of health promotion 2.0: embracing passion, enhancing motivation, recognizing dynamic balance, and creating opportunities. Am J Health Promot 24(1):4, 2009
