In the fall of 2010 I joined a game called Health Month. On this website I can make monthly rules for myself and try to keep them for a whole month and see how it feels to for instance: “Eat Raw Fruit,” 3x or 5x or 7x a week. Or maybe: “Floss your teeth;” “Walk Your Dog;” “Go on a Friend Date.” You get the idea. There are hundreds of rules to choose from.

One rule I choose in October of 2010 continues to be on my rules list all these months later. That rule reads: ” List things you are Grateful for everyday.” An attitude of gratitude has become important to me over the months. I’m grateful to Health Month for the daily reminder to make this healthy choice.

This weekend I ran across a little story I wrote about Gratitude in 2004. I’d like to share that with you here.

I lie awake into the dark morning hours. My bed occupies most of the 6X10 room. I have long since turned off the lamp on the table beside the small window. The third and last night of the silent retreat inches past my wide open eyes, as my right hip alternates between achy and just plain painful. I cannot get to sleep. No amount of breath or technique stops the pain or the over load of thought after thought after thought.

Yes, “pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”

No, I am not amused.

What have I done to deserve this?

What kind of question is that?

I’m in pain. It’s not fair!

Now I’m cold, too.

This blanket does not do the job. I should have remembered to bring my own.

There’s another one on top of the shelf.

That means I have to get up. Too cold to get up.

Well, you have to get up to go to the bathroom, anyway.

No. I won’t go.

The walk down the hall could help the hip pain.

No! Nothing will help the hip pain. Nothing!

I’M COLD

I HURT.

I HAVE TO PEE.

I HURT.

I CAN’T SLEEP!!

And so forth…

The dorm is as quiet as, well, as the meditation hall.

In the deafening silence, I begin to listen, really listen to my thoughts. I hear myself whining and pitying myself. I am stuck. Fat lot of good all this meditation has done me.

ENOUGH!

I ask myself:

Just how uncomfortable are you? I mean—relatively speaking…Say on a scale of one to ten? How bad does your hip hurt? How about when you take into consideration all the people who are on the planet, in darkness, asleep or awake, at home or some where else, in hospitals or war zones?

Go ahead. Put it into perspective. How cold are you? And using the same criteria—how safe?

You’re in Marine County for God’s sake! You have a dorm room to yourself at Spirit Rock. Hot and cold running water sits a mere two feet from your feet. You can have light with a flick of the switch, should you need or want it.

These thoughts begin to loosen me up a little. I feel ever-so-slightly less stuck.

I continue to count my blessings:

I tell myself the story that my hip hurts because of sitting meditation.

Then I ask myself to consider the people who could be suffering with pain because they were splitting rock all day, or walking though a mountainous country to escape political injustice, or grieving the loss of a loved one, or recovering from surgery or childbirth, or giving birth in this moment…the list is endless. I let my imagination roam the planet, (careful to stay on the dark side), and I embrace each situation with my breath. I breathe into and out of the pain and confusion of people in many countries, two hemispheres, and several bodies of water.

I give thanks for my own warm, safe, healthy, mobile body—gratitude for the ability to feel. Yes, even pain is a blessing, a message from a healthy body.

I realize that I must be in the high ninetieth percentile of comfort, when seen from a planetary viewpoint.

I continue this train of thought as I get up, walk down the hall to relieve myself, wash my hands and face in warm water, grab the extra blanket, place my head on the cervical pillow which I did remember to bring, (blessing abound!) and begin to fall gratefully to sleep.

I’m passing this on to you for your interest and information.
Please let me know if you have any questions.             (707) 996-9793      .

Also, If you love TruBoost or have not yet given it a try, it’s on special right now:  buy 3 cases, (twelve 4oz bottles), for $30.00 and get one case FREE! (THIS OFFER IS FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY)

Also, this article was written before VITALI  C was formulated for LFI.  The importance of vitamin C for immunity and antioxidant action is well documented.

Access the Life Force website for more information and to place orders directly. http://www.mylifeforce.net/noyesfamilychiropractic

Thank you!
Dr. Grace

Adrenal Fatigue
By Christa Way

All nutrients are needed for proper adrenal function. When someone has adrenal fatigue, their system is very depleted and they need to get their nutrients in a way that doesn’t tax the body. Breaking down pills and capsules puts a lot of stress on an already overstressed system, and they don’t get broken down or absorbed properly.

Body Balance is therefore a wonderful way to get nutrients into the body in a way that doesn’t put any stress on the system. There are a number of nutrients that appear to be deficient with this disorder, especially minerals, and Body Balance has a huge array of minerals, Vitamins, amino acids and enzymes in an easy to take liquid drink.

Calcium, magnesium and potassium are some of the macro nutrients depleted with this disorder. OsteoProCare and OsteOmegaCare are great sources of bio-available calcium, magnesium and potassium, as well as other co-factors necessary for the full absorption and utilization of these essential nutrients.

It is recommended that the person consume plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly green leafy ones. Chlorophyll cleanses the bloodstream, which is extremely important in helping the body re-balance.

TrueGreens provides a wonderful array of concentrated green food, as well as enzymes that help in their digestion. This helps these nutrients find a way into the system that doesn’t put extra stress on the digestion. It is an easy way to get an abundance of greens into the diet, without having to eat platefuls of food.

SunSet contains calming herbs such as St John’s Wort, passionflower, valerian and chamomile, all of which are good stress reducers. It also contains COQ10 which helps carry oxygen to the glands.

SunBright contains a combination of different herbs in here to help stimulate adrenal function and to combat fatigue. One example is astragalus, which has been shown to specifically improve adrenal gland function and also aid in stress reduction. There are amino acids in SunBright which also play a major role in supporting the healthy functioning of the adrenal glands, and in relieving the excess stress that the glands are under.

TruBoost contains ingredients that help the adrenal glands to prepare the body for stressful situations, and provide support in the event of over-stressing. The adaptogenic herbs ashwaganda and tulsi work very specifically with lowering the output of the adrenal hormone cortisol. The continual outpouring of cortisol is what causes adrenal fatigue.

Other Recommendations:

Brewer’s yeast gives a food source of B Vitamins that are necessary for healthy adrenal function.

Nuts (raw) and good quality cold-pressed oils are essential. Eat small deep sea fish and salmon, as these are wonderful sources of EFA’s and easily assimilable protein.

Include garlic, onions, shitake mushrooms and pearl barley. These foods contain germanium, a powerful stimulant of the immune system. Body Balance also contains germanium.

Obviously avoid anything that is going to tax the adrenals even more: alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, fried foods, red meats, highly processed foods, soda, sugar, white flour. These are all actually poisons to the adrenal system.

Getting regular moderate exercise is also really important, even though you may not feel you have the energy.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

With KST, you receive gentle, specific corrections to your spine and structural system – no “cracking” or twisting. KST is very powerful. Patients usually notice dramatic changes from the ir first visit. KST balances you, releases stress and promotes healing. It turns on your “inner healer.”

My experience with KST takes me beyond what we may think of as “normal” excuses for visiting your chiropractor, (pain in back, neck, arm, leg, etc.) KST is effective with problems as diverse as autism, asthma, headaches, migraines, Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, disc conditions, accident-related trauma (including head trauma,) depression, anxiety, heart conditions, digestive problems, vision, hearing, ear, eye and balance problems, fatigue, exhaustion, ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, high blood pressure, stress insomnia and many others.

I personally had such a breakthrough in my own health that I could not help but study this powerful technique to share with you. I’d like for you, your family and friends to experience KST.

Love and Laughter,
Dr. Donna-Grace