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Are we ever too old to crawl?

Are we ever too old to crawl?

The Benefits of Crawling Are you ever too old to crawl?  Let’s find out…  My fascination with crawling began when my first-born began to roll, reach, stretch and find his own way towards movement on all fours and crawling.   As a dancer and massage therapist I could scarce pull my eyes away from this miracle of movement unfolding in front of my eyes.  The dynamic combination of determination, push and yield that I witnessed, running throughout his whole body, has fuelled my own exploration of crawling, and an ongoing inquiry to its wellbeing benefits.  In this article I will share some of my passion for this simple and profoundly effective method for regaining original strength, as well as a little of the science. A baby’s determination to crawl is initiated by 4 billion years of human evolution coupled with profound curiosity.  In the case of my son, this curiosity often took the form of our cat; though anything that lay in easy eyesight and just out of reach would do.  This movement of reach is made possible by the dynamic force of push that comes from an opposite limb, often on the diagonal, sometimes on the same side of the body.  The push and pull would start with the extremity of toes, fingers, elbows or knees gaining traction on the surface beneath them, and lead to a rocking movement that would gradually provide the momentum for progress towards the said attractive object.  Integral to this push is a movement of yield, when the opposing muscles soften.  This allows the spine to arch and become a spring of rocking movement,...
The Fascia-nating webbed world of Fascia

The Fascia-nating webbed world of Fascia

Fascia and fascia massages You may have heard me speak of the fascia (myofascia) during a massage treatment. We are going to dive deep into this amazing, webbed world: What is fascia? The fascial network is a beautiful, crystal-like, three-dimensional, spider’s web structure that is ever-flowing and uninterrupted. It encompasses the entirety of the body, connecting our superficial skin layer to the deepest tissues within us. It connects our physicality to our physiology. It connects our toes to the top of our head. It is our connective tissue. It can be broken down into the superficial fascia, the deep fascia and the myofascia (‘myo’ is Latin for muscles and ‘Fascia’ for band). It is an elasto-collagenous matrix that is continuous and allows us to move and be kept in posture. It enables us to have a high degree of flexibility combined with being super, duper powerful and resilient to overstretching. It has a superb memory and we each have our own unique fascial fingerprint; memories and restrictions within the fascia can be stored from birth. It is our hydraulic shock absorber and enables the body to cope with load bearing, like gravity and mechanical stress. In its truest form, well hydrated and well looked after, it is fluid, dynamic to stress and powerful, allowing us to be in tip-top holistic health. What is fascia made of? The fascia is made up of a matrix of: Elastin – an elastic protein fibre that allows for stretching and contraction, it is what allows our skin to bounce back to its normal shape. It has a load-bearing role. Collagen – an inelastic...
Back pain: My back just went and I’m in agony – I only picked up a pencil!

Back pain: My back just went and I’m in agony – I only picked up a pencil!

All I did was pick up a pencil! And the back pain is horrific! We have a lot of people come and see us in agony; excruciating back pain radiating down their legs (sciatica), that started after picking up a pencil off the floor! It’s not always a pencil, however some arbitrary movement you’ve done many times before.  So why does your back ‘go’ in such an extreme way when you weren’t doing something silly or heroic?!  The best answer is the saying: ‘The straw that broke the camel’s back’.  What this means is, a camel can carry a lot of straw, however eventually there will be the difference of one piece of straw that will ‘break the camel’s back’. So what do humans and camels have in common? Well, I’m not going to go down the hump route.  The similarity is, as modern day humans our 21st century lifestyles are constantly putting stress (bits of straw) on our backs.  We are not designed to sit, yet we sit for hours on end at work or in front of the tv, often in poor postures slouching.  Research tells us we sit on average for 7.7 hours per day, which is 55% of our waking day.  We are designed to lift using our legs but we lift mostly using our backs.  We aren’t designed to live constantly stressful lives, yet we live lives filled with deadlines, worries and negative thoughts.  So what happens is we constantly load and stress our lives with pieces of straw, and often our spine is taking the brunt of it.  One day we do something we have...
The BIG Idea – BJ Palmer 1944

The BIG Idea – BJ Palmer 1944

The BIG Idea Written in 1944 as part of the Chiropractic Green Books, here is BJ Palmer’s Big Idea.  The Green Books have acted at the foundations for Chiropractic Philosophy and are still relevant today.  Here is BJ’s Big Idea:   The BIG Idea A slip on the snowy sidewalk in winter is a SMALL thing.  It happens to millions. A fall from a ladder in the summer is a SMALL thing.  It also happens to millions. The slip or fall produces a subluxation.  The subluxation is a SMALL thing. The subluxation produces pressure on a nerve.  That pressure is a SMALL thing. That decreased flowing produces a dis-eased body and brain.  That is a BIG thing to that man. Multiply that sick man by a thousand, and you control the physical and mental welfare of a city. Multiply that man by one hundred thirty million, and you forecast and can prophesy the physcial and mental status of a nation. So the slip or fall, the subluxation, pressure, flow of mental images and dis-ease are big enough to control the thoughts and actions of a nation. The pressure on a nerve is a SMALL thing. The released pressure restoring health is a BIG thing. Now comes a man.  And one man is a SMALL thing. This man gives an adjustment.  The adjustment is a SMALL thing. The adjustment replaces the subluxation.  That is a SMALL thing. The adjusted subluxation releases pressure upon nerves.  That is a SMALL thing. The released pressure restores health to a man.  This is a BIG thing to that man. Multiply that well man by a thousand, and...
Why are we making our team stand with a new standing desk?

Why are we making our team stand with a new standing desk?

Why are we making our team stand with our new standing desk? Hopefully you’ve noticed, if you’ve been in recently, that we have a new desk in our centre.  Apart from looking much better, the biggest difference between the new one and what we had before if that our CAs (Chiropractic Assistants) stand behind it rather than sit.  So, why have we chosen to have a desk to stand behind rather than one to sit at? Why a standing desk and not a sitting desk? As a clinic, we hire CAs and not receptionists.  This means that they’re not your “computer says no” receptionist that you occasionally meet (disclaimer: I’m playing on the Little Britain stereotype and in no way insinuating that all receptions act this way), they’re an active part of the centre and essential in part of our patients’ healing process.  We want them to freely move from behind the desk and greet and help patients.  A standing desk aides this process.  If you’re already standing, you’ll be far more inclined to hold the door open for a mother with a pram than you would be if you were tucked under a desk on a chair.  It requires a lot of effort to get out of a chair to do any task, so during a long day if the task is not essential then you’ll naturally be less inclined to do it straight away.  We want your CAs to be proactive and stay one step ahead at all times – and they’re amazing at doing it.  On another note, I think they look great- more professional and add...

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