It’s time to ELEVATE!

Here we are once again, halfway through another year. It’s usually at this point we stop and wonder, “How did we get here so quickly yet again?”

So why does time seem to pass faster as we get older? This phenomenon has been contemplated quite a bit. The general consensus within the field of psychology is that it’s due to the repetitive routines we settle into. If you do the same things repeatedly day after day, the brain doesn’t make detailed, lasting memories of this, so one day blends into another. The good news is that the solution is relatively easy: take advantage of new and unique experiences. Attempting new activities will imprint deeper on the brain, and when we look back on memories, this extra detail will seem like a longer period of time.

Take a moment to evaluate how easily you may have slipped into a daily, weekly, and yearly routine. Instead of operating on autopilot, try to become a “yes” person rather than saying “no” to new experiences.

This one improvement can literally be life-changing. If you’re just coasting through life in a routine, your health can deteriorate quite rapidly - we can lose our “lust for life”, become less active, and develop poor eating habits. This can also lead to a deterioration of our mental wellbeing and depression. It usually takes a stimulus to shake us out of these bad habits, like a health scare, or someone to take our hand and pull us out of the hole we have dug.

Helping people is why I chose to become a healthcare provider. Sometimes that help is small, and other times it was life-changing. But eliminating pain and making daily experiences more enjoyable can help to lift people out of these ruts and routines, and into more enriching lives. At Inner West Chiropractic Care I have tried to assemble like-minded practitioners who share these same goals. Let’s look at the main pillars of our health, and how to maintain them.

Structural Health Our body is our only true possession, and yet we often treat it with some degree of disdain. Our physical health determines the quality of our existence, and when premature degeneration of joints, chronic pain, and lack of activity take their toll, our lives suffer. The solution can be straightforward in most cases. While you can’t reverse degeneration, it is well known that increasing activity levels and movement decreases pain signalling to the brain, and improves our mental wellbeing.

A good manual therapist like a chiropractor is adept at normalising biomechanics of the joints and muscles and influencing the nervous system where pain is experienced. This reduction in pain can give you the confidence to take your health to the next level. A good practitioner will take the extra time needed to achieve these goals, utilising manual therapy, joint mobilisation, soft tissue work, dry needling, and exercise prescription. Massage therapy can also be very beneficial to spend the extra time needed on stubborn soft tissue complaints.

Chemical Health

The fuel that we put into our body is no different than the fuel we put into our car. It’s needed to power our cells and give us energy and vitality. Sadly, we often make the wrong choices. Our shelves are stocked with rather unhealthy but tempting options that over time deprive us of the nutrients our bodies so desperately need. As these effects happen slowly over time, we often don’t associate our habits with our ill health. The long list of symptoms is so varied that we often can’t make the connection between our gut and our lack of nutrients. A good naturopath is skilled at identifying the imbalances in your diet, the intolerances to certain foods, and devising a game plan to get you closer to optimum health. It’s not a matter of eliminating, but often making simple substitutions so you don’t feel deprived.

Mental Health Stress reduction is something we all need in this hectic world. We can’t necessarily change our surroundings, but we can change how we respond to it. All of our practitioners can help with strategies to cope with stress.

Get out of your rut this month at Inner West Chiropractic Care – check out the special offer for intouch readers in the online magazine. For more information visit www.innerwestchironewcastle.com.au