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The Big PictureBy D. Scheuner

Here at Spring Back to Life Clinics, we have established that there is a natural set of core essential requirements that the body requires to SURVIVE AND THRIVE.

Structural/neural integrity, breath, water, sunlight, nutrition, rest and exercise.

We believe that in order to optimize healing, health and wellness, it is necessary for these fundamental life-giving needs to be in balance. With the many stresses, toxins and traumas of life, it is almost assured that most people at any age will, suffer a lack of health and disease, as life’s core essentials become out of balance.

Imagine now if you were able to improve poor breathing behavior, improve dietary habits, maintain adequate water intake, get adequate sunlight manage stress and have adequate rest.

If only we could make improvements in each of these key essential areas of health, we are giving the body a chance to function naturally at its very best.

THE 9 FUNDAMENTALS OF HEALTH

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Structural/Neural Integrity+

Breathing+

Water+

Diet+

Stress Management+

Exercise+

Sunlight+

Sleep / Rest+

Hormonal Balance=

OPTIMUM HEALTH

The following questionnaire is to help you to get a feeling of how you are doing in each of these fundamental life giving areas and begin to see where

simple small changes in each of these areas may make a massive difference to your health and life.

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1. Do you go to a chiropractor regularly?

-Do you have neck pain, back pain? -Do you have one leg shorter than the other? -Is your head hanging often to one side, one shoulder lower, often stand with weight on one leg?

2. Do you breathe through your mouth, or nose?

-Do you know the average breathing rate? -Do you know your breathing rate? -Do you know how to breathe? No really, do you? -Do you know that the right level of carbon dioxide is needed for life?

3. How much water do you drink?

-Do you know how much water your body requires to function optimally?

4. How do you rate your diet? POOR AVERAGE GOOD

-Does it consist of mainly natural, unprocessed food, from the ground? -Do you know the difference between good fats and bad fats? -Do you know what a balanced diet is? -Do you feel you could improve your diet?

5. How do you rate your stress levels? LOW MEDIUM HIGH

- Do you have a stress management plan?- How do you deal with your stress?- Do you regularly attend a church or have a faith?

6. Rate your level of fitness POOR AVERAGE GOOD

-How many times a week do you exercise? -Are you within a normal healthy weight range for your height? -Are you happy with the amount of exercise you get?

7. Do you know the importance of sunlight to your health? - Do you get enough sunlight each day?

8. How do you rate your sleep? POOR AVERAGE GOOD -Do you know the recommended hours of sleep per night? -Do you consider you get enough sleep? -Do you have adequate time to relax and enjoy leisure time?

9. Do you know the important role hormones play in your life? -Do you check your hormone levels?

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This questionnaire is simply for you to start thinking about your own health habits. I have to be honest and say there are times when life gets too busy and me a little lazy that I don’t rate that well myself. You can start to see why our health can deteriorate so easily when we start to neglect these basic fundamentals of life. Just think of the poor plant that has not got enough water, minerals or sunlight. Got it?

Again I wish to draw your attention to the absolute importance of the following famous quotation by Edison.

Below, we simply want to expand on the Health Questionnaire and answer some of those questions and suggest action steps that you can simply implement into your life.

1. STRUCTURAL & NEURAL INTEGRITY

It has now become so obvious, one of the keys to maintaining health is maintaining health of the human frame, as Edison previously mentioned. This obviously includes the spine which forms the conduit where all life flows. If your head is off to one side, you have a short leg and often prefer to stand out of

balance, it is indicating you ARE out of balance. If your structure is out of balance, you simply wear out faster and this puts a stress on your nervous system that creates the stage for many other health issues to develop.

Action Steps: If you are not already under ch i ropract ic care, seek a chiropractor of good standing and educate yourself as to the importance of structural maintenance care, as you would regularly service your car.

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2.BREATHING

This may seem a little silly, but I commonly ask people, “how important is breathing”? Obviously really important, right! Then, why is no one really taught the importance of breathing correctly? What is the correct way to breathe anyway? All the physiology textbooks state that we must breathe in such a way to maintain approximately 40mmhg of pressure of CO2 in the lungs. Yes, you have read correctly, carbon dioxide is very important to be maintained at a certain pressure. This is why breathing into a paper bag may help asthma and anxiety attacks. The reality is many p e o p l e a r e o v e r b r e a t h i n g , hyperventilating, which means depleting their CO2 levels that then affects how the body functions. The nose is like a valve that we breathe through, which controls the pressure of air in and out. The problem is that most people tend to breathe through the mouth and develop bad breathing behaviour . To make matters worse, the breathing rate which should be around 8 -12 breathes per

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“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame in a proper diet, and in the cause and prevention disease”-Thomas Edison

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minute, is often way above this. The Buteyko technique is a powerful breathing retraining program of which all people should be aware of. Change your breathing and you can change your life!

Action Steps: Shut the mouth ☺ ! Practice breathing less air, at a slower rate, in and out gently thru the nose at all times and notice what changes. Catch yourself breathing through the mouth and replace with nose breathing. Use the diapragm. Research the Buteyko technique.

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3. WATERHow much water should you drink each day? A simple question with no easy answers. Studies have produced varying recommendations over the years, but in truth, your water needs depend on many factors, including your health, how active you are and where you live. Though no single formula fits everyone, knowing more about your body's need for fluids will help you estimate how much water to drink each day. Health benefits of water:Water is your body's principle chemical component, making up, on average, 60percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. Forexample, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cellsand provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues. Lack ofwater can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don't have enough water in your body to carry out

normal functions. Even mild dehydrationcan drain your energy and make you tired. However, a rough guide is that youshould drink approximately 40 ml of water per Kg of your body weight.Action Steps: Simply increase your water intake daily. This should be approximately on average 12 cups of water a day for men and 9 cups per day for women.

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4.DIETI’m not going to get too scientific here, as there is enough information out there! Just asking people to think! Eating a balanced diet means choosing a wide variety of foods and drinks from all the food groups. The more natural the better. Minimize preservatives, food colourings, enhancers and anything called by a number. In other words eat more of the natural food supplied by the earth and less of the manufactured stuff in our supermarkets. It also means eating certain things in moderation, namely saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, refined sugar, salt and alcohol. The goal is to take in nutrients you need, to maintain optimum health.

Action Steps: Take control of your health. Do a little research around a balanced diet and compare it to your diet. Ask yourself where you can make improvements. Read a book called “Changing Habits, Changing Lives” by Cyndi Omeara. Another good question to ask is “ Does this food or action give life, or take life away”? That will help with your diet decisions.

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5.STRESSStress has become a modern epidemic. It is no secret life is full of hassles, deadlines, and demands. For many people, stress is so common place that it has become a way of life. In small doses, stress can motivate you and help you perform under pressure. But when you’re constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the price. Stress can affect all the other life giving essentials such as diet and exercise and quickly snow ball into a serious condition. You can protect yourself by recognizing the signs and symptoms of stress and taking steps to reduce its harmful effects.

Action Steps: Do your research in this area. It is important for everyone to

understand the full impact of STRESS. There are some great websites

dedicated to this major problem. A big area to consider and explore is the topic of healthy relationships. Don’t ignore it!

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6.EXERCISE

The body lives for movement. Sir Isaac Newton once said “Motion is Life”. If you were to dam a running stream, it

would stagnate. So let’s keep moving ! Today it is obvious that our sedentary lifestyle has taken away the importance of daily activity. Hence, the epidemic of obesity, heart disease, arthritis and other lifestyle conditions. So what does all this mean? It is important to have some kind of physical activity on a daily basis.

Action Steps: Find at least 30 minutes of time each day, of which is dedicated to some form of exercise that you find fun. It is important to raise your heart rate. This may simply be a brisk walk on the beach, or playing in the park with the children. A personal favourite of mine is polewalking. It gently exercises the whole body, increases the heart rate, is gentle on all the joints, everybody can do it, but most of all it is a lot of fun !

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7.SUNLIGHT

Researchers have started recognizing the importance of sunlight for a healthy lifestyle, recent studies reveal that sunlight renders many health benefits. Apart f rom Sunl ight mainta in ing temperature and humidity, sunlight plays a significant role in nourishing and energising the human body. It is also vital in order to get the full nutritional value from the food that you consume and it has been proven that getting sufficient sunlight aids in preventing chronic ailments such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), osteoporosis, high cholesterol, depression, type 2 diabetes, and cancers affecting the bladder, breasts, cervix, colon, ovaries, prostrate and the stomach. To put it more succinctly, sunlight serves as the perfect medicinal pill in promoting a healthy lifestyle. Sunlight provides the needed daily amounts of Vitamin D which is used by our bodies to make calcium which

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keeps our bones healthy and strong.A c t i o n S t e p s : Studies show that exposing your face to sunlight for 10 minutes every day can provide your b o d y w i t h t h e Vitamin D that is required for the day. Your body simply does not

store it. The goal here is not to “Cook Yourself”.

+ 8. SLEEP AND REST

Sleep and rest are absolutely necessary t o l i f e . S l e e p i s i m p o r t a n t f o r concentration, memory formation and the repair of damage to your body’s cells from. Chronic lack of sleep increases the risk for developing obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and infections. When people do not have enough sleep, they cannot concentrate well the next day and have problems forming memories. Researchers believe that during sleep, neurons can shut down and repair any damage done during the previous day. Without these repairs, the neurons may not function correctly due to a buildup of waste products. Sleep also seems important for the formation of memories. Important hormone production is regulated during sleep; in children, human growth hormone (HGH) i s re leased dur ing deep s leep . Insufficient sleep can affect hormonal balance in adults as well.

Action Steps: Obviously Sleep is important and research is suggesting between 7-9 hours per night of good quality sleep. So therefore, it is of importance to have a suitable bed and pillow that puts your body at most ease allowing for this to happen. To help ensure your healthy sleep habits, it is important that all other fundamentals of health are addressed.

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9.HORMONESThere are two systems that drive your body. The nervous system and the hormone system. Hormones are so important, as they are the fuel that drives us in so many ways. They maintain our metabolism, heart health, sexual health, bone density, growth and development. Both age and poor lifestyle deplete our hormone levels. If you understand this importance, it is easy to check and maintain your levels to have you sail through life.

Action Steps: Take control, understand the basic importance of hormones in your life and how they increase your vitality. Know your hormone levels with a simple blood test.

=OPTIMUM HEALTH

Can you see how these little things we may take for granted may have a massive effect on our health and wellbeing? Not only that, they all somehow interrelate with each other like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and in order to complete the picture of health, we must have all the pieces. It is common place for most people to fall short in not one of, but several of these areas. Now it is not too hard to see why the health issues today needlessly exist.

Sure, you could throw other factors into the mix, like the different mental states such as happiness, laughter and attitude, which are very powerful. The body reacts to whatever is going on in the mind and thinks of it to be real, so you need to keep guard of that mind.

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