CranioSacral Therapy and Women

One of the greatest benefits of CranioSacral therapy is its effectiveness in dealing with the many natural cycles, conditions and related complications that we women go through as we journey through life.

Conditions such as:

·         Puberty.

·         Attempting to get pregnant.

·         Pregnancy.

·         Pregnancy and birth complications.

·         Infant and toddler care and nurturing.

·         Menopause.

·         Conditions attached to later in life.

It is also in the area of Women's Health that conventional medicine and complementary health approaches are often found working side-by-side.

It is interesting to note that I notice the following:

• The majority of people who make health decisions in the households tend to be the women (booking children, husbands for treatments).
• While women are very happy to put enormous time and energy into looking after others (their unborn children when pregnant, baby infants, toddlers, children, Husbands/partners) - they seem to put themselves last in line when it comes to good old preventative and early treatment of many ailments!

I feel it is important for women to learn to take better care of themselves.

Working with CranioSacral Therapy myself over the last number of years has helped me to get more in touch with my own natural health rhythm - and I have found that while many of my female clients may have come for a specific ailment - over time they start to listen more to their own body and learn just what it needs to get back to health and stay there for the long term.

Jeannette Raskin practices at Family First Chiropractic, 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer, Alberta.  403-347-3261. www.family1stchiro.ca. 

Dealing with stress

We all have stress in our lives, there is good stress and bad stress. The good stress can help build us in a way to motivate us to greater depths of the imagineable. Then there is the bad stress that can take us back a few steps and put is in a dark place of non existance. Sometimes there are unfortunate events that take place whether that is with an illness,  the loss of a loved one, divorce, seperation or injury.

One of the most important ways of starting to identify how you respond to stress yourself is to get in touch with your own typical responses to it. We are all different, we have all had particular life experiences and been exposed to situations that are unique  to us. We will all respond to outside influences in different ways.

                How to overcome the stress? It is a journey indeed to clear away stress. It is a constant battle but here are some steps to bring awareness into your life to clear any obstacles that may be hindering you from maintaining overall health.

                Simply just being in the present moment for 10 minutes finding a quiet place and do a scan where are you holding any stress in your body and focus your attention inside yourself starting at the head then into your neck, shoulders , arms and hands, chest, abdomen, back, hips, legs and feet and make a mental note of where these sites are that you are  holding most of  your tension, breathe deeply and send warmth there into the tension site, dissolving  any negativity. While you are there notice any sensations of discomfort or any emotions that arise. Try not to judge them, just observe them. Breathe this warm sensation into the area, and notice what happens, When you have visited all the areas you identified, breathe deeply again twice and stretch your  fingers and toes before opening your eyes.

              Don't worry as you come out that there are still tension in any of the sites you are experiencing, It takes a few trys to find a calm state in the body as we are built on a foundation that tends to be fast pace. Once you get to know the areas in your body and slow the mind with the breath there will be tools to help you relax and melt the tension away. You can come see a Massage Therapist or Chiropractor or Physio therapist and take a class in yoga and follow a teacher that will guide you in a safe pose where you can stretch tension away or try Reiki and have a practitioner guide you through a meditation and have energy work done to find peace and feel calm after your treatment.

Massage available at at Family First Chiropractic, 142 Erickson Drive, Red Deer, Alberta.  403-347-3261. www.family1stchiro.ca.

Pillows- what kind of cervical pillow do you need?

Many patients ask us what type of pillow do we recommend for sleeping.

Optimally a back sleeping is best with the cervical or neck curve supported. The second best position for sleep is side lying with the neck in a neutral position and a pillow between the knees to keep the spine in a neutral position. The least optimal sleeping position is on the stomach, this position hyperextends the low back causing sacroiliac and back pain as well as causing rotational stress on the neck and upper back which may cause neck pain and headaches.

There are many great options for cervical /neck pillows for sleeping, and at our office, we recommend the Normalizer pillows. These pillows have two curves on either side, the smaller is for back sleeping, and the thicker side is for side sleeping. The thicker side should be the depth of the shoulder tip to the ear, keeping the neck in a neutral side position.

I will often recommend our petite normalizer pillow for women who have a smaller neck structure than males. Children who are at puberty need to use the petite pillow in this rapid growth time to support the cervical spine. Younger children need a proper support pillow as well, and the adult curve is not the correct height and may cause flexion and thus neck issues, always use the appropriate pillow for the age and body composition of the person. If you have any questions on if the pillow is the correct one for your child ask the doctor at our clinic and we will be happy to help fit you for the right pillow.

Dr. Joelle Johnson practices at Family First Chiropractic and Wellness 142 Erickson drive, Red Deer 403-347-3261 www.family1stchiro.ca