Independence Day!!!

In two days we celebrate our country’s independence. It is a huge celebration with fireworks, family, and friends. Although this is important, have you considered how critical it is to have health freedom and independence? This means getting healthy and remaining in that state free from disease as well as dis-ease. Freedom means choosing health care instead of symptom based sick care which is our current model in the United States. Independence means you can live to 100 years and beyond without fear of being dependent on your family for help or on medications to cover symptoms.

Each day should be a celebration of life and light. It is a beautiful thing to celebrate through loving gratitude with your family and friends. Do not wait for the new year or your birthday to make a change, start today. Remember one of the 100 Year Lifestyle principles is: “Change is easy, thinking about change is difficult.”Everyone at GCI is dedicated to serving you and guiding you through a process of positive transformation through the lens of chiropractic. An optimized nervous system allows for the fullest of life expression so that you may make the best choices possible to live a healthy and independent life.

Have a fun and safe Fourth of July!

In Love and Light,

Dr. Elizabeth

Breathe Through the Wave

If you want to be great at anything… it takes practice! There is the well known “10,000 hour rule “that says in order to become an expert you must practice that thing for 10,000 hours! Earlier this week I was thinking about my writing and realized that if I want to be a writer I have to publish more than one article and blog per month! My new goal is to write five blogs per week and have several articles published per month! This is the only way that I can not only become a better writer but truly explore that creativity! IT is easy to write when you have something to say, it is much more difficult to work through writer’s block and create  something powerful!

One of my favorite sayings, that came out of the Transcendentalist movement, is “Live the life you have imagined”(HDT).  I often wear this quote on a pendent around my neck to remind myself of the importance of this quote. In its spirit and honor I am doing just that! Yesterday, I woke up early and biked, then started my cundelini meditation practice which I have not done in about nine months, followed by an amazing yoga session / private instruction on the beach! The ocean was beautiful with dolphins playing in the surf and fairly large waves crashing into the beach. We discussed breathing technique and related it to the waves. I felt connected with the earth, safe in her warmth, and felt my soul open to the possibilities of the day. Later I went into the office to take care of patients, which is my favorite thing to do! Following a wonderful afternoon at the practice, I went to Santa Barbara Dance Tribe for the first time. It was a special event that was led by an international speaker on dance movement, breathing, and life! She discussed the five rhythms of dance and how it is like a wave and how we must breathe through the entire wave and let our body keep moving. It was amazing having my day bookended by this concept of not only waves but the importance of breath.

Often we are in such a sympathetic state, fight or flight, that our breathing is fast and shallow. I regularly  see this with my patients, when I tell them to take a deep breath and it is like nothing is happening! Likewise, with my patients who practice yoga, they take the most beautiful deep breaths that are controlled and prolonged. There is a clear difference and I believe teaching breath work can have profound differences on one’s health and wellness. A shorter breath in is controlled by the sympathetic, but the exhale being longer is controlled by the parasympathetic’s bringing us to a state of rest and digest. Yes breath is automatic but the lesson of yesterday , that I will continue to work on, is to learn how to control this breathing and bring it back into balance. Look to mother nature for important cues on balance and vitality and you will live a healthier life.

Listen to your Body

Pain may hurt, but stress can kill you! Our society enjoys and relies on instant gratification.  If you want to know the latest news you can click a few buttons on your  smart phone. If you want “food” you can pop it in the microwave. If you are in pain, you can take a pill. This is all symptom control and never addresses the root of the issue It limits us from experiencing other cultures for ourselves, eating real food, and from listening to the intuition that the body is constantly offering but we more frequently ignore.

Similar to taking pain killers, just receiving chiropractic adjustments when you are experiencing pain is not an equation for lifelong health. Yes, you will most likely feel better and have little to no pain however, if you do not address your lifestyle, you will continue along the path of crisis intervention instead of achieving health independence. Regular chiropractic care is part of the path to independence, because health is a process not an event!

It is time to look at pain and other symptoms as warning signals from the body, not something to be covered up. These signals should be listened to, they begin in whispers but if ignored long enough the body will scream at you by manifesting disease states. Since we cannot selectively numb feelings, emotions, or symptoms when we take pills we are turning down that important inner voice. This is dangerous because we need to listen to the body and make changes, get adjusted, in order to truly heal.

I encourage you to think of symptoms in a new way, not as something negative, but as your body having an important conversation with you regarding your own state of health. The body is very intelligent and it is time we quiet the mind, and spend time thinking about what our body is communicating. Chiropractic adjustments allow for proper nervous system communication because the brain and body which allows us to really listen in on the conversation our body is constantly trying to communicate. Get your  spine checked regularly and listen when the body whispers to you!

ADIO Love,

Dr. Elizabeth

Intuition

This morning I was in a conversation about how people, especially women who are wives and mothers, have a difficult time articulating what makes them happy. Society wants them to be defined by their titles, wife and mother. They believe that if they do not say this is what makes them happy then they are in fact a bad wife and mother. Women want to be equal in the work place and respected at home but they are so far removed from their essence that they have lost touch with themselves and what brings them genuine happiness.

As a female doctor, I want to have a perfect home where I cook every night and be just as good of a doctor as my male counter parts. Fortunately, because I have amazing mentors in the profession I am realizing my strengths as a woman of wellness and calling on my past to bring pleasure and joy into my daily life. I have come to realize that it is not that I want to be “equal” it is that I deserve respect and the right to create a nurturing space that supports my gifts as a female chiropractor.

This self exploration, has led me to write more frequently because it is a tremendous way for me to exercise self expression. I went horseback riding for the first  time since losing my sight several months ago and it really reconnected me with a hidden part of my past and this is something I know I must keep on doing.  I am coming up with creative solutions so that I can still participate fully and actively in my own life! I spoke with my father that it is my goal to have an infinite pool so that I can swim again. Water is where I feel at home, having been a competitive swimmer for twelve years and a rower for four years. I grew up on the Great Lakes and inland lakes of Michigan and long to reconnect my spirit .  I am very committed to the practice and eventually want to get a PhD in Environmental Health so that I can connect all of the dots of my life and package it in a very unique way to not only share with my patients but with the world.  I am lucky to live in an age where technology allows me to read books with ease, write articles on my computer, and use all sorts of apps designed for visually impaired people. It is truly amazing that I can put my iPhone camera in front of a shirt and it tells me the color of that shirt! The key to employ your technology, not exploit it. When you embrace it as an aid to your life and not your entire life, then you can flourish!

My hope is that all people, particularly women,  can take their challenges and turn into an asset. I will not allow for my sight to impair my life expression! I have worked too hard to let it stop me now. I am slowly finding inner peace with this experience and learning how to adapt so that I can live the life I have imagined with joy, gratitude, and an open heart.

Women: You have a beautiful , innate capacity for love and sacrifice. This is wonderful however do not sacrifice yourself and your own happiness. Give for the sake of giving but do this from an open-heart space that knows when to take a break and self regulate. Tune into your intuition, foster an authentic relationship with it, and trust that it will tell you when to take a deep breath, when to rest, when to play, when to cry, and how to express love to all in your life.

ADIO Love,

Dr. Elizabeth

Ecstatic Life Expression!

Following one of my intense dance sessions, I have had several people come up to me only to be totally shocked that I cannot see! It is beyond their comprehension that a sightless person can dance, twirl, spin, and follow a partner without being able to see subtle visual cues .  This is somewhat comical to me because I do not think of it as being strange or out of the realm of possibility but to others it is amazing. As I reflect upon it I realize several things:

1 When you let innate guide you , you are less likely to trip, fall, hurt yourself and miss a beat!

2 You must create a certain amount of vulnerability to allow another person to be your eyes so that you do not hit anyone dancing around you. This vulnerability is imbedded within a sacred bond that must be seeded in both trust in that individual and the universe.

3 There are no limitations to what you can accomplish in life! You absolutely do not need vision to hear music, feel the rhythm, and move your body.

4When you nervous system has no interference due to spinal subluxations, you are able to fully embrace and immerse yourself in the music and connect with it on a purely energetic level.

5 Finally, every person deserves to have fun and express that genetic potential through the arts. Whether you enjoy dancing, playing music, painting, drawing, writing, or cooking. These are all manifestations of your potential so allow them to flow through your body and guide you in the right direction.

Recently,, I have started going to Ecstatic Dance a couple of times a week. It is my new favorite activity! The rules are simple, come from a place of love, no shoes, and no talking! It is a beautiful, spiritual, and sacred experience that connects your body, mind, and spirit. It is greatly enhanced when the body is free from nervous system interference and you are able to fully connect with your authentic self. 

I love Ecstatic Dance because it is a great workout, I can practice some meditation on the sideline when my body needs a break but my spirit needs to be even more connected. The music is intense, spiritual, and creates an energy in the room that resonates with all the cells of the body. Increasing their vibration, one by one, until all seventy trillion plus cells of the  body are vibrating on a higher level and raising the vibration of the planet. It is powerful and an experience that I treasure in my own genuine heart space.

Joyful creative expression is always enhanced when innate is flowing freely. Trust innate, feel the vital energy of every cell of the body, and pour that love and light out into the universe. Find pleasure in your painful challenges and live the life you have imagined.



ADIO Love,
Dr. Elizabeth