Let Go of Back Pain
Help Your Body Let Go of Back Pain
Back pain is absolutely no fun! Are you discovering that there are activities you don’t get around to doing because your back hurts? If that is the case, it’s time to help your body be happier and less reactive.
The Cost of Back Pain is Huge
In the United States, the impact of back pain can be measured not only in discomfort but dollars, time lost, decreased productivity and on-the-job performance.
“The prevalence of pain has a tremendous impact on business, with a recent report by the Institute of Medicine indicating that the annual value of lost productivity in 2010 dollars ranged between $297.4 billion to 335.5 billion. The value of lost productivity is based on three estimates: days of work missed (ranging from $11.6 to $12.7 billion); hours of work lost (from $95.2 to $96.5 billion); and lower wages (from $190.6 billion to $226.3 billion).(1)”
The research cited is from Institute of Medicine of the National Academies Report. Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research, 2011. The National Academies Press, Washington DC. (page 260)
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=13172&page=260
You can read the full article on http://www.painmed.org/patientcenter/cost-of-pain-to-businesses/
The economic, physical and psychological impact of back pain is enormous as shown on paindoctor.com.
“Beyond the impact of the sheer number of people who suffer from back pain every year, the burden on the healthcare system is enormous. A study by researchers at the Duke University Medical Center found that patients with back pain spend $90 billion a year on medical expenses, with over $26 billion of that total spent directly on back pain-related medical care.”
“While specific figures are difficult to come by in the United States, a review of available data in the Medline database found the following indirect costs associated with back pain between 1996 and 2001:
- Workers missed 149 million days of work due to low back pain alone, as compared to 101 million days missed due to a work-related injury.
- Chronic low back pain cost approximately $1,230 for each man and $773 for each woman in lost work days, with an annual loss of productivity total of $28 billion.
- The reported average number of days of work disability due to back pain ranges, from 75 for the first incidence to 337 days of total compensated missed work days.”
Read the entire article at https://paindoctor.com/the-impact-of-back-pain/
“Health economists from Johns Hopkins University writing in The Journal of Pain reported the annual cost of chronic pain is as high as $635 billion a year, which is more than the yearly costs for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.”
American Pain Society. “Chronic pain costs U.S. up to $635 billion, study shows.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 September 2012. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120911091100.htm.
Scary Costs of Pain
If those numbers don’t scare you, think about how back pain interferes with your happiness.
A Cooperative Back
I don’t know about you, but if my desire to hike, garden or exercise is being usurped by a body project, it’s pretty likely that I’ll end up in a funk. I want my body to cooperate so I can do whatever I want to do! If you are staring at a long to-do list and have a cantankerous back ache, it might be affecting your fun activities as well as getting in the way of taking care of computer projects or office work. For most of us, if we can’t get something accomplished because our body is talking, we can be pretty hard on ourselves. And that makes everything worse. The mental and emotional states of feeding the physical imbalance and everything gets even more exacerbated.
Chronic, Acute or Nagging Back Pain
Whether you are experiencing chronic or acute pain or whether you have a persnickety nagging project that talks to you once in a while, your body is getting a message to you that it is time to ease the tension, tightness and imbalance.
When your back is in a state of blocked energy, your sense of well-being can be impacted because your core balance has gone awry. Low back connects to foundation and sense of safety and security. Your mid-back connects to breathe and natural transitions that allow for easy transformations. And the upper back is often connected to “too much on your plate” and confusion in the system. Any of that sound familiar to you?
You Are Now Entering the State of Comfort and Ease
The long and short of it is that our backs need to be in a state of comfort and ease so we can “put our backs into it” and easily do what we want to do and accomplish what we set out to do. The key is to have the phrase “put my back into it” be a positive statement and that we have a positive mindset. The body will sense any negative. For you to be fully in the present and a positive state, there are some simple energy points you can hold to help you move through your day.
Practice Makes Perfect with The Daily Clean Your House Flow
Consider doing the Daily Clean Your House Flow as your daily practice. It helps create a firm foundation that prepares our bodies for what we are going to ask them to do and prepares them for what might come at them, even if it is totally unexpected.
Then the following energy tips will be that much better and faster received by the body. The changes you want to take place will more easily happen so you can do all you want to do.
Back Pain Relief is at Your Fingertips
Holding these energy balance points will bring smooth movement and flow and help release any back and neck tension:
- Right hand – cup back of neck with fingers on the left side
- Left hand – hold fingers on the coccyx (base of spine)
- Left hand – hold fingers on outside of left knee
And holding these points will connect with breath and easy transition:
- Right hand – hold fingers on left elbow
- Left hand – hold fingers on right elbow
- Left hand – move fingers to base of right ribcage
- Left hand – move fingers to outside of left knee
Wishing you easy movement so you can have fun AND get things done! Let me know what transpires!
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- Conference Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2016
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photo by Olenka Kotyk
Allergies Getting the Best of You?
All of that rain followed by heat and here comes more rain! Then pollen is released! If you have allergies, this may be a recipe for suffering.
Is your body in reaction?
You can get on the other side of it by helping your head empty the build-up. And you can potentially do it without using over-the-counter drugs. Make use of your fingertips and do a few acupressure flows!
The reason that allergies can create so much havoc is because a suppressed or depleted immune system will allow your body to react more readily to the allergens that are all around you. Build up your immune system and you can increase the chances that your body can change its pattern and not react to the allergens.
Build a strong foundation to support balance and harmony by doing the Daily Clean Your House Flow.
Here is a sneak peek of my soon to be released Seasonal Allergy Relief: The Insider’s Guide to Feeling Good Every Day.
Help your head feel lighter and provide relief for tired eyes by following this simple tip:
- Hold fingertips on the right side of your forehead with your left hand
- Then, hold fingertips at left base of your skull with your right hand
Check back soon for how to get your copy of the Insider’s Guide.
Re-patterning
Renewal = transformation = changing your patterns
My last article was all about rejuvenation and making sure you set aside time to get back in touch with YOU. My Mexico vacation definitely created the space for that to take place for me. (That article is all about Mexico and beach and sunsets!)
It looks like that downtime actually helped me create a pattern that is continuing for me! I’m starting most days in the hot tub and doing the Daily Clean Your House Flow. I’m taking more walks and setting aside chunks of time for reflection and meditation. The walks and the meditations are short, and I am on my way to strengthening these habits.Re-patterning requires those moments where you start and then continue a new habit, a new way of being. My body is getting in sync with these new habits AND it’s super happy about it. I’m doing yoga positions daily so my yoga and exercise classes are more effective and productive.
My “taking care of me” has helped me boost my productivity.When I do sit down to get something done in my office, I am focused, my body is in a state of relaxed readiness and I am getting things done. My brain is even going along for the ride and there is less effort. Of course, I’m doing my energy work which creates the space for these new patterns to become established and grow stronger. My new behaviors (essentially my new habits) have an easier time integrating into my life.
This energy flow is what is making a difference for me. I created it when I realized that I wanted to get my body and my brain working together on the same page so I could more easily get to where I want to go. Consider doing the following flow to help you in YOUR re-patterning process. It is simple, there are only four steps. Do this flow as often as you desire. There’s no such thing as too much self-help!
Deborah’s Re-patterning Energy Flow for Clarity, Confidence and Completion (Getting Things Done)
- Cup your forehead with one hand and cup the base of your skull with the other (right fingers hold left side of forehead, left fingers hold right base of skull).This will help clarity and focus and help you and your body get on the same page!
- Hold your hands at mid-back, right fingers on the right side at kidney level and left fingers on the left side at kidney level.This hold pattern will rejuvenate and renew your energy system.
- Sit on your hands: it’s all about vitality and giving you and your body that extra boost of energy!
- Hold fingers on outside of knees, left fingers on left knee and right fingers on right knee.Are you ready for re-patterning your behavior? This will do the trick!
Soaring
And, by the way, my time in the hot tub was exceptionally beautiful this morning. I received that time of renewal AND I was lucky enough to see TWO red-shouldered hawks land on the tree right next to the tub! The tree literally bent with their weight. In addition, there were two pairs of red-tailed hawks swooping above us! What a magnificent way to start the day!
I’m hoping that YOU find exceptional ways to experience renewal, transformation and changing YOUR patterns!
Water and Energy – It's all the same!
The water is a-flowing! Well, we were wishing for rain – and we got it!
I knew it was going to be a big storm and I prepped for it. One of the big chores was to fill sandbags and place them in strategic locations with the hope that my garden paths didn’t get totally rutted out as the water came down the hillside.
Now you know that I consistently talk about balancing the energy in our bodies so the pathways are open and flowing. When we accomplish this, it’s all about correcting the movement of the energy so the rivers are flowing easily. When we do our daily energy balancing, we are literally re-patterning and reprograming our energy system so our bodies are ready for what we’re going to ask them to do and better prepared for whatever might come at them.
In this particular instance, my goal was to do the very same thing – use the sandbags to help the flow of water go where I wanted it to go so the garden paths wouldn’t be drastically impacted. Well, best laid plans – it sort of worked! The rain came down so hard at times during the night that I fully expected the garden to be full of new rivers gouged out by the downpour. My paths were definitely not perfect this morning, but they could have been a whole lot worse. My work to correct the impact is going to be a lot less than it might have been. I’ll need a load of gravel but it should be easy to take care of the project.
Moral of the story – be prepared! Take care of yourself, whether it be your body or your property, and you’ll have fewer big projects that get created. The rest of the lesson – do your energy balancing before you ask your body to do any activity. Because I did mine before filling the sandbags and moving them around, my body didn’t go into reaction. And because I did my Daily Clean Your House Flow this morning, I was okay to be out there shoveling gravel and getting the pools of water to let go and flow.
My next suggestion is to stay dry and warm! Wishing you a healthy and happy holiday season!!
What Is On Your List?
“Making a list and checking it twice; gonna find out who’s naughty and nice.”
I’m not talking about Santa Claus coming to town, making his list OR you figuring out your holiday shopping list! The list I want to discuss is “what pieces and parts of you are talking?” Hopefully, every piece and part of you is “happy and nice” but IF something has been trying to get your attention, are you even aware of it? More often than not, we are so involved in our state of doing and being engrossed in the step-by-step needs of the day, that we’re not aware when our body isn’t in a state of easy balance — when there’s a germ bug that’s ready to latch on, when there’s a muscle that’s tight and ready to create aches, when the stress of the day is becoming overwhelming to the physical and emotional body, when sleep hasn’t been quite as rejuvenating as you need it to be. The list can go on, and on…like an endless string of holiday lights with multiple bulbs lighting up out of sync with the rest.
Getting to that place of being consciously aware, (which comes from energetic balance), can be an easy, effortless practice. You can put balance and health in your life in just a few minutes a day. When you commit to a daily practice like the Daily Clean Your House Flow, you give a gift to yourself that is revitalizing, calming, and balancing. Another energy flow that can boost your immune system is the Source of Life. Both of these flows are part of my Energy Balancing Care Guide.
No matter what you choose to do, give yourself the gift of self-care and be a partner with your body! That is how YOU can really BE in touch, know what your body is up to and be able to determine if your body wants some extra special attention. The key: live in a state of balance so your body doesn’t create big projects that you have to deal with later. You’ll be ahead of the game and have a body that is ready to do everything you want it to do. And you won’t have anything to “cry or pout about!”
Peace on Earth and in Your Body
Here’s an easy to-do energy tip that will give you lots of breath and lots of energy, plus clarity and calming, all in one fell swoop.
- Left hand: cup back of your head with fingers on right base of your skull
- Right hand:cup forehead with fingers on the left side
- Right hand: cup sternum directly below the collarbone
- Left hand: hold fingers on tummy directly below the naval
- Right hand: hold base of spine
So, Santa Claus is coming to town and checking his list! I hope that ALL of your lists are easy and effortless to move through and check off! Enjoy your holidays, be IN joy, and be in balance! Happy Holidays!!!
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie
You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list,
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry.
Better not pout, I’m telling you why.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I’m telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He’s making a list,
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!
O! You better watch out!
You better not cry.
Better not pout, I’m telling you why.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
Gratitude
Gratitude
I love the word! And it really does help the world go around. When we’re in gratitude we’re in a space of recognizing that something good has come our way. Then, when we take the next step and acknowledge that we have received, we are showing that we accept it. In that moment in time, we are creating the space that allows more to come our way.
Does that sound like we’re expecting to receive? That we’re being demanding or feeling entitled?
I don’t think that’s the case. In fact,I believe that when we’re in gratitude, we help our energy move, and movement of energy allows us to draw to us what will help us improve our state of being, whether or not we’re even aware what that might be. THAT is not being demanding. Rather it’s creating the space for possibilities to happen.
My Right Foot
Here’s what recently happened to me. I needed minor foot surgery. As soon as a close friend heard what was scheduled for me, she informed me that she was organizing healing circles – friends to come and give me healing energy work. My initial response was, “Jan, it’s just my toe.” Her response was, “So? It’s time for you to receive. You have given and now it’s time to be helped by those you have helped.”
Receiving is a Gift
So, I got out of my own way, accepted that the circles were scheduled and allowed Jan and all my beautiful friends to take time to come to me. Then came the actual circles. In the saying “yes” and “thank you” to their gifts of time, energy, and love for me, I allowed magic to happen. Those healing circles (three of them!) helped improve my state of being and the results were magnificent. In addition, many more friends were continuously sending me good thoughts and lots of great healing energy, all of which boosted that magic. I know that the time spent receiving from my dear friends is what has helped my recovery be smooth with very little discomfort. I know that I’ll continue to heal easily and that my body will be happy, healthy and balanced.
Deja Vu
I’ve had this lesson from my friends before. When my husband, Randy, was ill and we needed some financial assistance, these same friends created a benefit. THAT was a big one for both Randy and me to allow. But what an amazing gift! Then, six short months later, after Randy had passed away, those friends came together again to help me organize a beautiful event to celebrate his life.
Surrounded by Love
I’m a lucky one. I have extremely special friends in my life who keep reminding me to open up to receive. I am in gratitude that they’re here for me and willing to say: “it’s time to allow.” I have gratitude for my friends, for all the special clients and students in my life, for my beautiful children, and for my home and garden. I have gratitude for how I get to spend my days – bringing energetic balance to my clients, teaching how we can do our own energy work and become our own care providers, and creating new ways to help others, especially children, be healthy and productive.
Giving and Receiving
My wish for you is to be in gratitude, allow, receive, acknowledge and accept. And the gifts will keep on coming and you’ll keep on giving. Then comes more gratitude. That’s how the world goes around and we create magic.
The San Francisco Giants Won! Working Together = Success
Okay, I admit it – I’m a major Giants fan! I love baseball, and isn’t it great for me and all other Giants fans that we had an amazing October! And, lo and behold, the Giants won the World Series – the third time in five years. That’s a testament to their individual talents and effort, their attitudes and perseverance, their love and passion for the game, their love for their teammates, and their desire to have lots of fun. Take them all together, and the Giants are a team that was actually called a dynasty last night by the announcers. But you can’t have a dynasty without everyone working together as a well-oiled machine. This particular machine had a big plus on its side – they KNOW how to work together and they listen and cooperate. They also have flexibility to change in mid-stream as the information comes in. They accept change and allow it.
You can see that on the field. I watched every Giants game this year. They’re usually recorded and sometimes I have to watch them late at night. By the way, I even watch the whole game when I know the end result. That’s how much I love baseball and the Giants! I only fast forward through the commercials because each and every play is an important one. Each and every play gives messages as to what each of the players is up to and how they’re all fitting together to make the game work.
Team Work
That’s actually how our bodies work – all the parts talking to each other and letting each other know how the whole is working out. When all the parts (physical areas, organs, etc.) are working together, the systems that they are within can function easier and perform to their ultimate purpose. For example, the respiratory system can perform easily and effortlessly if the lungs and the diaphragm are stepping up to the plate doing what they need to do (pun intended). And when the mid-back and the abdomen are flexible and allow the movement of the breath, the respiratory system can fully do its job. There are energy balance points that are specific to those organs and those areas of the body. When those points are open and balanced and the energy rivers can flow easily with no blockages, the entire respiratory system and all that is within it can do all that the body needs and wants.
Take a Breath
I bring up the respiratory system because when I’m watching the game, I’m watching the players and their breath. When the breath is open and the diaphragm has full space to inhale and exhale, the pitcher can more easily be in the moment and get that ball where he wants it to go. When the breath is open, the batter is able to have full flexibility and able to be fully present, seeing the ball and seeing the bat connect with that ball. When the breath is open, everyone on the field is able to be fully aware and focused with all attention in the moment, not the past and not the future – just the now.
The Giants are a good example of a team that has all the parts working together. Our bodies can be that same good example. All you need to do is remind the body to be in breath. So here you go – some easy to do energy movements that will give your body the message to “just breathe” so you can be fully present and able to do all you want to do:
- Hold upper arms by folding arms across chest
- Hold fingers of one hand on elbow and hold other hand at base of ribcage
- Hold thumbs (gently cup and hold)
- Cup sternum directly below clavicle and with other hand, hold fingertips in a vertical pattern below the naval
Have fun being in your breath – both the inhale and the exhale. And enjoy walking around in a body that is like a Giants team playing all the needed positions on the field! Then, feel the gratitude – gratitude for a body that knows how to take care of you!
To learn more about breath and to discover how to navigate through the holidays with ease, consider attending my upcoming introductory workshop on Monday, November 17th.
Hormones, The Good, The Bad, The Balanced
Are you feeling healthy, vital, vibrant and comfortable in your body?
All of those are signs that your body is in a state of balance. If you have moments in the day where you’re just feeling “off”, the chances are good that you just may need to tweak one or more of the following: your diet, “busy scheduling”, exercise, sleep time or “time you spend in your head”. And, of course, it just might be good to add in a few more energy balancing flows to perk up your entire system!
If you’re feeling “off” and tired, fatigued, and maybe even “out of sorts”, your hormones may be in a state of imbalance. Balanced hormones help all the systems in your body to work together easily and effortlessly. And when they’re balanced, everything you’re already doing for your body, mind and spirit will be that much more effective. In addition, your body will be less likely to even experience symptoms of stress if your hormones are regulated. We usually hear more about hormones when women are “going into menopause”.
Hormone health is appropriate conversation no matter your age
Hormones are always in flux and therefore finding balance is a life-long goal. At my retreat on September 7th, we will be experiencing energy work (Jin Shin Jyutsu/acupressure self-help) and yoga that will be all about the endocrine system. In addition, we will have the expertise of an acupuncturist/Chinese herbalist who will be sharing all about hormones and creating an endocrine system that is regulated and balanced. No matter what your age, plan on discovering what YOU can do to be in a body that is in a balanced state. Join us: me (Deborah Myers), Maria Battista, and Shiroko Sokitch, so you can experience a “me day” at my home and garden! And plan on having lots of yummy, healthy food from Garry and Judy Baker.
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