1. You’re tied to your desk – in the office and/or at home

Did you know that sitting puts 40% more pressure on your spine than standing? Sounds crazy but it is true. Problem is that of course during the day, when you are so engaged in your project because you have to meet that deadline or it is just soooo interesting, the last thing you think about is your posture, hence your back. And that regular getting up from the chair to stretch or to just have a little walk around just doesn’t happen. But that is actually a big mistake as your back muscles will weaken if you don’t use them, make them work. If your joints remain inactive they will lose their lubrication which ultimately leads to pain and faster aging.

What to do: Sitting at a 135-degree angle can reduce compression of the discs in the spine, so lean back slightly every now and then. Do it when you take a phone call, read on the computer or have a coffee breakMake sure your office chair supports the curve of your spine. Your lower back should be supported, and your head should be straight—not lurching forward—when you look at your computer screen. Get up and walk around for a couple of minutes every half hour—take trips to get water, use the bathroom, or have a chat with a colleague. Anything that gets you off the chair. And by the way, it pays to have an ergonomic chair. Even if the boss doesn’t pay for it, you should consider getting one yourself, considering the amount of hours you are spending on it.

2. Very regular long commuting

Just like at your desk, hunching over a steering wheel can tighten chest muscles and cause your shoulders to round which of course leads to bad posture and ultimately pain. Also many drivers tend to kink their body, particularly when driving an automatic car, because you are only using one foot and the other rests.

What to do: Make sure you sit at a 90-degree angle, close to the wheel so you don't have to stretch. Make sure your full back and your head rests at the seat in order to avoid the slouching.

3. Watch out ladies!

A heavy handbag may cause back damage that’s comparable to a sports injury!

When you constantly carry a heavy bag, your shoulders become imbalanced. Your body elevates the shoulder carrying the bag, which throws your spine off alignment. Doing this every day can cause back and neck  muscles to tighten and ache very quick.

What to do: Well, that’s easy answered. Carry the lightest bag possible. The American Chiropractic Association recommends that your bag—when fully loaded—weighs no more than 10% of your body weight. Alternate which shoulder you carry the bag with from day to day,  or when walking for a long time, change every half an hour or so. And if you need to take heavy stuff, consider carrying it in a backpack which also helps you with your posture. And there are some really stylish ones nowadays.

4. The good night sleep

Can’t remember the last time you replaced mattress? Your back may be in trouble.

A good mattress lasts 9 to 10 years, according to the National Sleep Foundation, but consider replacing yours every 5 to 7 years if you don't sleep well or your back throbs. A study at Oklahoma State University found that most people who switched to new bedding after 5 years slept significantly better and had less back pain.

What to do: Obviously go shopping for a new mattress. When you do replace it, go for one that’s not too squishy or too hard. Very firm mattresses can increase pressure on the spine and worsen pain, say Spanish researchers. A study of 313 people revealed that those who slept on medium-firm mattresses were more likely to report pain improvement than those on firmer ones. Many bedding companies now offer a 3 month trial period for the mattresses, so you can really test drive them and give them back if they don’t work for you. To help ease nighttime discomfort even more, tuck a pillow under your knees if you sleep on your back, between your knees if you're a side sleeper, and avoid sleeping on your tummy. And of course with a good mattress comes a good pillow. So make sure you have a pillow that gives you the maximum comfort and doesn’t kink your head too much which interrupts blood flow.

5. Thinking that back pain is normal

Many people don’t take their back pain serious as they think it is just normal to live with back pain. But trying to block out pain could make it worse, finds research from the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

By trying to avoid the pain you compromise the bodies muscles even more which eventually leads to more pain.

What to do: Accepting pain may be the best way to mentally cope. Be very conscious about the pain and if it hasn’t eased dramatically or is gone completely after a week you should seek help. The earlier you get in the better the chances of quick healing.

6. You Watch Too Much TV

Sitting in front of the TV for hours and hours a day doesn’t make your back very happy.

For one thing, excess TV time is probably cutting into exercise time, and I hope you know how important exercise is for a healthy back. In one Norwegian study of teens, those who sat in front of TV or computer for 15 hours a week or more were 3 times as likely to have lower-back pain as their more active counterparts. And even worse, with the TV often comes the bad food…..

What to do: Limit TV to what you really want to watch, instead of idly channel surfing. And instead of fast-forwarding through commercials, do some stretches or strength moves during the breaks, which will prevent muscle strain from sitting still too long. If you have a kid complaining of back pain, make sure he walks at least 1 mile daily; this can cut back pain in half and give his still-developing spine a chance to stretch out.

Okay, that’s it for today, I hope that helps and if you think so then please feel free to spread the information.

To a healthy back

Barbara

And of course amongst all that there is also a lot of talking about the foods we need, the ones we should avoid and those we shoucld have only very rarely as they are yummy but not really good for us. Keeping all this in mind is certainly not easy and today I can give you a list of 40 foods, none of them too extraordinary to be found, which you can use on a daily basis, knowing that you are doing yourself and your body a favor. May be it is a good idea to just make a list of the foods and have it in your wallett, so every time you go out for a snack, you just check on your list, what is good to buy.

Access the 40 good foods here

And by the way, of course food and eating also has an effect on pain, so the better the food you put into your body the stronger your body becomes and can fight conditions that might cause pain at some stage.

Have a good food week

Barbara

Going through my emails I received an interesting article about the wearing of high heels and the impact on the body. I am not at all a fan of high heels, neither on myself nore on other women. But I know that a lot of women like wearing them and a lot of women are required to wear them - office policy. How stupid. Of course from my own personal experience as a practitioner I know that women wearing high heels are often in pain and it can often lead to back pain as well. Hence I recommend all my female clients to ditch the high heels and look for still acceptable alternatives. They are out there, and guess what, the pain often disappears when they follow my advice.

Now I obviously do not have any scientifically backed research on the impact of heels on back problems or other pain, so I can only assume that there is a direct connection which of course has an impact on the wallett as well as it costs to get out of pain. And I was rather surprised when reading the article in my inbox the other day. http://www.wellbeing.com.au/newsdetail/The-verdict-on-high-heels_000186

I still think it is not our natural footing to be on our tippy toes the whole day just to look beautiful for whom ever and we shouldn't have to do it if we don't want to. We are beautiful as we are and who can't see that won't open the eyes by looking at high heels.

Your comments are always welcome

Have a lovely day

Barbara

My,   husband has spent the last 3 months in Germany - for business. Yes, 3 months. It was a long time but to be honest, it went so fast that I was actually surprised when he came back and I realised how much of the things I wanted to do I hadn't done yet. But I also had done a lot of fun things which I hadn't thought about before hand. So I guess in the end it all stayed in balance.

While he was over there I engaged him in a little bit of work for myself as well. And that meant he had to check out some things regarding Dorn Spinal Therapy. He had 3 treatments with different practitioners. He took a closer look at different St. John's Wort oil and what is in there and he also was supposed to check out books on the market to see if anything new has been added. And what can I tell you, nothing much has changed. That means, the treatment routine is pretty much the same as it used to be 16 years ago when I learned it and how I still teach it. The only difference seems to be that the pumping action when working on the spine has been replaced by constant pressure. But that could also just be a personal preference by the practitoner. So if you want to try it give it a go. The oil is still just the flowers diluted in olive oil but it is about double the price of the oil you can purchase through me. Guess that's because I don't pay staff yet to pick the flowers but do it myself..... Or may be Germany just simply is more expensive.

Regarding books there is a lot of them out there. But looking through them it really seems as if they all do talk about the same, just using different words. And regarding the digital media available - the est DVD is in english and available in Australia.... I hate bragging but I was really disappointed by what I was seeing there.

So all in all we can just keep hoting and there is no reason at all to call an advanced workshop or anything similar. And it just makes me really happy that Dorn Spinal Therapy is just simple enough to deliver results, but good enough to deliver on its simplicity exactly what we want. No changes needed. Fabulous! So what can I say, practitioners,please stay true to what you are doing and clients, congratulations on taking on the wonderful treatment of Dorn Spinal Therapy and hopefully you will be one of thousands and thousands of grateful clients around the world.

And on a last note I just wanted to invite everyone who is interested to take a look at an event which is coming up in Sydney in September and where we can see the likes of Richard Branson, a real business hero in my eyes, and Tony Robbins amongst many other inspiring people. To check it out please click here.

So, that's it from me today, I have packed my bags and ready to hit the slopes in NZ from tomorrow onwards. Very excited and really looking forward to holidaying with my family. Will tell you about it when I am back next week

Barbara

Lots of talking has been done and I am sure, just like myself you are tired of talks which no one understands anyway and that in the end don't seem to bring any of the desired results anyway. Politicians only do act on what is popular to get more votes and changing our lifestyle or saving in order to make a better future certainly is not popular to most voters - even though it should be. So non wonder that not a lot is really happening in the area of saving our environment.

Like the plastic bag discussion. How long have we heard talks about banning plastic bags in shops or make them not free anymore but as far as I am aware there is only Bunnings Warehouse that charge for plastic bags. And of course ALDI, a german supermarket because Germany has been charging for plastic bags for about 15 or even more years. And people accept it, bring their own bags or use the boxes sometimes available which they hopefully then put into their recycling box.

Ever since coming to Australia I was hoping that eventually we would catch up to what is happening in Europe on the "green front" but I realise that it takes a long time and it won't be the radical political leaders in this country but the people, just like you and me, that make change happen. And when you think about it, that is the case with a lot of things. Which puts us into a quite powerful position although it always takes confidence to see it as such. Because hardly anyone notices it or mentions it publicly. Apart from sometimes, and today is about one of these some times.

Last week I was listening to the radio and they interviewed a woman who, together with others, started a website called www.onemillionwomen.com.au and their goal is to get 1 Mio. women to reduce their carbon foot print collectively by 1 Mio. tons of carbon dioxide per year. Sounds impressive and so it is. But for each one of us it doesn't require a lot of things to change but the things we can change are all very helpful and hopefully model like so others will follow. And the plastic bag issue is probably the easiest one to solve along with stopping to buy bottled water and take your own water. We all know, it only takes 21 days to change a habit and we can change so many bad habits into good habits and help our environment and ultimatley our children. So of course it is very important to involve the children as well because it is their future world and they have to learn early what to do to make it a great place to live.

So please go to www.onemillionwomen.com.au and find out what it takes to reduce your CO2 emission by 1 tonne per year. Let's do it together and feel the power!!! Of course this issue is not only related to men and may be one of you guys will set up the website www.onemillionmen.com if it doesn't exist already. Or just do what you need to do to contribute to CO2 emission reduction because it just is good!

Enjoy your day, feel free to leave a comment and if you find it worth your while please pass the link to the blog on to others.

Barbara

Here is the information and if you would like to know more please contact Scott at07 5441 7397

Traditional trainings International

Registration Form

 Authentic Hawaiian / Kahuna Training Workshop

10 day workshop learning an authentic old family linage of Hawaiian massage. Training provided from one of the last true kahuna’s and island elder Allen Alapai. Allen Alapai was selected by his grandmother from 30 grand children to be trained traditionally as her apprentice in the family linage of healing massage arts. This level 1 workshop will provide training and knowledge as handed to Allen by his grandmother. Inclusions include

• Hawaiian Protocol, Prayers, and Chants
• (PULE prayer, MELE songs, OLI protocol, chants)
• Cleansing Rituals
• HO`OPONOPONO (Releasing Process)
• Lomilomi Techniques
• Basic HULA (dance) 

 A true authentic Hawaiian cultural experience which are fast disappearing from the old ways to the modernised western versions. Experience it before it disappears.

Visit Allen Alapai’s Website :- www.allenalapailomilomi.com

4^th to 13^th October / Surfair, Marcoola, Sunshine Coast

Positions Limited - $1750

For more Information / Bookings Contact

Scott Strand  - 07 54417397

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Traditional Trainings International

Registration Form / Minimum Deposit Required $450 ( Remainder before course starts)

Bookings Required by the 20^th July

Name............................................. Contact...................................................................

Address..........................................................................................................................

And if you want to attend just copy and paste this form and send it off to him

How good would it be to have a trip to Hawaii and make it a business trip. Especially as winter is coming down on us....

If you are going, let me know how it was and enjoy it

Barbara

Well, one of my students, she is a kinesiologist amongst lots of other things, gave me this really good tip on how we can help to "retrain" the mind to make sure that changes we have initiated will last and eventually hopefully become the new habit. And the beauty about it is that it is really simple. Here it comes:

After the treatment is finished you tap with your forefingers on the crown chakra or the highest point of the head, one of the main acupuncture points. Just tap a few times, not too hard obviously, and then slide your fingers down, basically spreading the hand on top of the head, a few times. Remember how kids do the egg cracking on the head and imitate the flowing down of the liquid egg? That's exactly that. And that should leave our client with a new information engraved in the brain. Try it and let us know what you experience.

Of course you can do that also on yourself....... Have fun trying it

See you soon here again

Barbara

Have you ever heard people saying, or said it yourself, “You only have to look at him, the way he walks, and you know what he is like.” Watching people, which I like doing as I find it quite interesting to see how many people have very bad posture and I know they either are or will be in pain and need help, has lead me to some very interesting conclusions. And I know they are by far not sustainable or scientific and certainly you couldn’t use them to proof anything but it might help you in your daily work when you start looking at people and draw some conlusions yourself. As you might get answers you normally wouldn’t get easily. Especailly when it refers to their emotional life.

So for example, when you see someone with their head bent down and looking up with their eyes as they talk to you, but not moving their head up that often means there is a lot of fear or disappointment they have experienced in their lifes. Some of their pain probably stems from that unnatural position of their head and when they come to see you as a practitioner, they want you to “fix their pain”. The problem is there is only so much you can do, the rest is up to them.

What does that mean? One of the most used sayings about Dorn Spinal Therapy is “They walk in crook and they come out straight”. That obviously relates to being in a protective position when walking in to see the practitioner and after the treatment they can walk straight again as there is no more pain hence no protective body posture necessary. But that happens only if the person is willing as well to attribute to the treatment meaning following the advice the therapist is supposed to give them regarding exercises and body postures.

But of course if there is an underlying problem like emotional problems that have lead to a bad posture then it is a completely different story and the practitioner has to point out to the client that from a structural point of view the body is now okay but the other issues have to be solved in a different way. Obviously that requires quite some sensitivity form the practitioner but also some openness and understanding from the client.

That could mean to talk about roles in life a client plays which might have lead to their posture. Or what views of life do they have to change in order to change their posture. And this is not going to happen over night and not without professional help. But it is important to point these things out so clients know that their participation in their wellbeing is required and that noone else can do that for them. They have to become proactive and take responsibility. And of course for the practitioner it is important to be able to read these body languages and act accordingly as it also means you cannot blame yourself of failure when the client keeps coming back with pain when they are not prepared to go and work on the next even more important issue – their emotional wellbeing.

It is just a reminder that we are not fixing problems but hopefully kick starting a healing process for our clients.

Enjoy your day and watch your postue!!

Barbara

 Fixed Mindset

For some, actually I think quite a lot of people, one could say they are their own worst enemy. Meaning they are so stuck in their mindset about themselves that they just cannot move into any other direction and open themselves up to new opportunities, thoughts, experiments or whatever it might be. They think that everything just has to be the way it is and that soem people have talents and they don't. And for that reason they wouldn't do anything they don't think they are talented in. Reality is that we rarely are ruled by our talents and even if a person is talented it still takes a lot of work and dedication to bring that talent to shine. So it really is a shame to see so many people missing out on great experiences because they have such a fixed mindset. Now if you are one of those people start losening up and open yourselfs up to opportunities. Thik about what it is you would really like to do and give it a go.

Not enough thinking

There is somethin out there called do-itis. You know what I mean? People who are constantly doing doing doing. But just because we are doing all the time doesn't necessarily mean we will grow more successful because we exhaust ourselves and tend to oversee the more important part in running life and business: Think. In the end it is all the ideas successful people develop that contribute to their ongoing development. Just look at people like Bill Gates or Michael Dell or even Mahathma Ghandi etc. And it certainly doesn't mean we should all now sit back and put our thinking cap on and everything will just work by itself. No. What it means is that we should put aside a certain time during the day - every day - even only 10 minutes and do nothing else but think. Asking ourselves questions and think about the answers. Repeat the question even if nothing comes to mind in the first few moments. It will happen and there surely will be some interesting answers. And then we can decide what we want to do.

Lack of daily rituals

This one I like because it makes so much sense. Doing specific things at a specific time in a specific way regularly creates success. If we rely on our mood and our motivation, we will often be lost and not doing the things we should do. But if we have a ritual and stick to it, no matter what, we will succeed in the end. One of the best examples would be exercising. How hard is it to exercise at different times to those you are used to just because you didn't want to get up early or just didn't feel like it at that particular time and then all of a sudden the day is gone and - no exercise. And that doesn't happen only once or twice in a year if we don't stick to our ritual of getting up, getting dressed and just doing it. And in the end that is how sports people are successful. Every day a ritual to keep that body going and becoming better.

Enough for you to digest? I think so. Have fun implementing as many of these great tips as possible and if you want more just buy Siimon's book. I will. Because I really like what he says and I am sure there is so much more valuable stuff written by him.

Enjoy your week and your life

Barbara

Whilst I have had an experience myself recently in a can-do-thinking situation - it was with GoDaddy and they blew me away with their customer service and their honesty - I would like to use an article from Sandi Givens from www.sandigivens.com.au.to show everyone what we can do to improve our can-do-thinking attitude. And I totally agree with her and of course added my own thinking to the points.

1. Explore what you can do

It seems our brains have become well trained in focusing on what we can't do. So as soon as you catch yourself thinking about what you can't do or achieve switch those thoughts and start thinking in a psoitive way. You will be amazed how much comes out of this.

2. Express an apology if you can't meet the initial request

It is important to acknowledge the possible disappointment or frustration the other person may be feeling. For example, say, "This seems important to you, so I'd like to see what else I could do that may help." Important in any customer realtion field but sometimes I just think it is so important in the area of health as we are often confronted with very desperate people. And yes they can be demanding and we wish they would go. But may be this is your best word of mouth customer just because you COULD DO!

3. Avoid excuses and lengthy explanations

Your customer doesn't want or need to know the reasons why you can't do what they ask, they just want to know what can be done now. Remember how I always say, your customers are looking for solutions, for benefits, not for your stories, how ever interesting they might be. Sorrry.

4. Under promise, over deliver

Ask questions, be curious and think beyond the immediate moment. What can you give your client what they didn't expect? An extra pet on the back. A nice quote for the day, a beautiful cup of tea or even something bigger if it is a very special client. They will be forever grateful.

5. Leave a positive, lasting impression on your client

This may well be the first and last chance you have to make a lasting positive impression on this person - and all the people they will talk to about their impressions of your company and/or your services. But if you keep all the above points in mind you can't but leave a good impression.

Hope that gets you into a very poitive swing of the day and if you like it please feel free to send it on to others. Have a wonderful time until we meet here next and I will let you know more about Siimon Reynolds webinar.....

Barbara

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