As a kid I made infrequent trips to Ontario ski hills the steepness of Canada’s Parliament Hill front lawn: Don Mills, the shadow of which can be seen driving down Toronto’s Don Valley Parkway; Kitchener’s majestic Chicopee created from landfill; and the Grand Daddy of them all, Collingwood’s, Blue Mountain. Yet, even on these slopes, I was frequently scared witless. I was always out of control on the ski slopes. So this year, at 48 years old, I wanted to over come that.

I took nine weeks of lessons at Lake Louise with three hundred or so other woman. A couple of weeks ago was my last day of instruction, and it was a triumph of my recovery. Here’s what happened: while on the lip of the steepest part of the Men’s Downhill run, in front of five of my fellow skiers, I froze. As I looked down all I saw was icy death.

“Gene!” I yelled to my instructor. “I can’t do this.”

This is a classic fight-flight-freeze moment. I always remind my clients, if they have experienced one of these reactions that these responses are automatic. It is not weakness to freeze. These responses are biologically hard wired to save our lives. They override any rational logical thinking. It didn’t matter that I had five other women staring at me. It didn’t matter that I felt embarrassed and somewhat ashamed that my body took over. The reality was my heart was racing, my breathing was rapid – short and shallow – my muscles were in clamp down, and I was covered in a cold sweat. I was terrified.

Now from my psychological training, when processing trauma, I work within each client’s “Window of Tolerance”, which is also considered to be his or her “Optimal Arousal Zone” (Ogden, Minton, & Pain, 2006). Too much exposure to stress, people become overwhelmed and get retriggered into their fight-flight-freeze response. This is counter-productive because it deepens the biochemical pathways that support this response. Simply put, we will do anything to avoid feeling this panic; the more we avoid the panic, the more confining our life becomes. However, not enough stress, and people will also stay stuck in a limited existence. So in this moment, staring down the icy steepness of the Men’s Downhill I was, shall I say, “Optimally Aroused.”

“Jan!” Gene shouted. “Look at me!”

Barking out a command to someone in the frozen state is precisely what is needed. Gene’s voice cut through my foggy freeze. Gene stood 20 meters down the hill. I felt vertigo but his shout allowed me to focus on him. Making eye contact was the next necessary step. In that moment I knew I had a buddy who was on my side. It was obvious that Gene cared about me. He was there to guide me through my terror. I was not alone in this.

“Gene! I’m freaking out! I can’t do this.”

When processing trauma it’s important to be mindful of your present state. I define mindfulness as just paying attention to what is happening in the moment.  Simply by naming my terror, and sharing it with Gene, my body relaxed a little more. Basically, I was not wasting energy trying to create a false reality. I was terrified. I named it and then I could work through it.

“Jan, you’re going to be fine. You can do this.” Gene said.  “Now slide down the hill. Come to me!”

And ultimately I did want to go down this hill in some fashion. So I slid sideways to Gene. As I stood beside him, Gene put his hand on my shoulder, and let me know I was doing fine. Physical contact is another way to calm our terror.

“It’s okay Jan. You can either continue to slide down sideways, or you can ski down.” Once again this is the right thing to say. I always remind people that they have a choice when at a crossroads. With the freedom to choose, I could remember my reason for being in these lessons. I wanted to learn to ski and to ski well. I took some breaths, shouted a war cry, stabbed my pole down the hill and took my turn.

When I got to the flats, I stopped and gathered with my group. I felt fantastic. I had been able to conquer a lifetime fear.  I flashed back to the basement of our 1970’s Don Mills town house, on a typical Saturday afternoon watching Wide World of Sports. I could hear that announcer clearly:

“And like the greats of Canadian skiing – Podborski, Read, Irwin – McLeod crosses the finish line in a blistering 26 minutes!”

I really felt I had walked the same path of giants. I couldn’t have done it alone. Learning with fellow skiers and working with a superb coach helps to conquer fear. This was the best winter of my life!

Janet McLeod and Super Coach Gene Durrand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNokrcrJnmw – View of Men’s Downhill run from skiers perspective.

Careful, this hyperlink below has some awful crashes in the beginning. Scroll passed that for a couple of minutes and you will see Franz Klammer’s 1976 Gold Metal run.  It is a classic childhood memory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYj9kIxAL_o – Franz Klammer 1976 Olympic Gold Metal Run

Janet S. McLeod, Registered Psychologist

Reference

Ogden, Minton, & Pain (2006). Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy. New York: W.W. Norton.

Start Nutrient Counting

 Quality calories over quantity of calories | Crystal Phillips, RHN

Two major Reasons why you should not calorie count:

1)    Calorie counting is inaccurate

A calorie is not simply a calorie but rather an approximation of the amount of potential energy in food. How we determine the amount of calories in food is with the help of what’s called a “bomb calorimeter” through the following process:

Electrical energy ignites food Þ Food heats surrounding air Þ Air expands and exists through a copper tube Þ This same tube heats up the water around the tube Þ Calories are calculated by the heat of the water.

Because this process would take too much time, money and energy to perform on every ingredient on the grocery shelf, they use approximations on the labels.

To further contribute to the inaccuracy, there is still energy that can be lost through the absorption and excretion process once ingested.

With this in mind, it is still important to note how incredibly efficient our bodies are at utilizing the energy from food. Approximately 91% of the energy in our food is utilized by the body which is impressive when you compare that to the 12-20% of energy utilized from the gas you put in your cars.

So even with your best effort to measure precise calorie intake, you can still be off by 8-10%.

2)    Different Calories have different qualities

It’s the difference between starting a fire with dry twigs or a damp log. Some Calories provide better fuel than others meaning more of their calories are clean-burning energy. These “quality” calories come from nutrient-dense, wholesome, unprocessed foods that are higher in vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytonutrients.  Some examples of these nutrient-dense calories are; raw fruits and veggies, whole grains, nuts, seeds, cold water fish, game meat and legumes.

The book: “the Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition” by John Berardi provides  an excellent case study of an athlete who needed to lose body fat percentage without losing strength in order to enhance sport performance. Rather than counting calories or reducing calories to lose that excess body fat she increased protein and fat intake as well as the quality of the food she was eating to more nutrient dense, wholesome, unprocessed foods.

Yoga and Spring Cleaning!

 The arrival of spring often brings with it the desire to “shed the old to make room for the new”.  This can be seen as we empty out our garages, cupboards, closets and office files, or clean our windows, wash our car, or rake up the last of the winter dead-fall in the garden.

Springs longer hours of sunlight and warmth give us a boost in energy and vitality.  The body responds by moving into a cycle of rebuilding and cleansing its various organs and systems to flush the accumulated waste of a winter diet that often contains more protein and heavier, acidifying and mucous forming foods.

For this reason, spring is a perfect time for a dietary cleanse and yoga can be an excellent adjunct.  Dietary cleanses can be as simple as reducing or eliminating certain foods from your diet for a short period of time.  This can include processed foods such as wheat, cheese and sugar as well as red meats, which tend to putrefy in the digestive tract.  The duration of a cleanse can be as little as a few days and as much as a week to 10 days.  Cleanses can be supported with herbal supplements from your local health food store.  Seek advice from your doctor, naturopath, nutritionist or herbalist as to which herbs would best support your particular needs and constitution.

A variety yoga poses can assist the body to detoxify by massaging and toning the organs involved in digestion and elimination.  Also, yogic breathing, as mentioned in last month’s article, helps the body release wastes through the lungs.

Generally, backward bending poses are stimulating and forward bending poses are calming. Both have a toning effect for all bodily functions and in particular to the liver, kidneys, stomach, spleen, intestines, bowel and reproductive organs through the compression and release provided by holding and releasing the poses.

A practice that consists of a balance between the two is ideal.  If you have been to a yoga class previously you may have noticed that the teacher often compliments each backward bend with a forward bend, or visa versa.  Examples of back-bends include the Cobra, Bow, Camel and Locust.  Forward bends can include the Forward Fold, Plow, Head to Knee and Butterfly.

Twisting poses provide a similar tonifying effecting, but the compression and release comes from a lateral compression and release, much like wringing out water from a towel.

The inverted poses, such as the Downward Facing Dog, Shoulder and Headstand help to correct displacement of vital internal glands and organs that often slip out of position due to poor digestion and colon activity.

One of the most powerful yogic cleansing practices involves lifting and pumping the abdomen.  This can be done lying down but is best done in a standing position.  It is essential that this exercise be done on an empty stomach and ideally, first thing in the morning, before breakfast.

Bend forward slightly from the knees and waist.  Place your hands in the middle of your lower thighs with the fingers turned towards the inner thigh.  After exhaling all of the air out of your lungs, hold your breath out while you lift the abdomen in and up as much as possible.  Then, pump the abdomen in and out approximately 20 times.  You can repeat this for 10 rounds.  The abdominal lift and pumping tones and stimulates the entire digestive tract, lungs, liver, kidneys and adrenals.

Yoga is a holistic practice that addresses all aspects of one’s life.  Although we may be focusing on its physical benefits, they also positively affect our mental and emotional processes.  As toxins are flushed out of the body and all of its functions are enhanced, one can’t help but notice a renewed clarity of mind and a deepening sense of inner peace.

May the emergence of springs light inspire you to seek the levity that comes from a nurturing yoga practice and cleanse.  Check out www.yogamazing.com for a podcast on “Yoga for Cleansing”, or go to www.yogajournal.com and click on “poses” for pictures and instructions of the poses mentioned in this article.

Should you be suffering from a serious condition you should first seek the advice of your doctor. This article is not a full description of the practices and one should not perform them without prior instruction from a competent yoga teacher.

Anne Douglas has been teaching yoga classes, teacher trainings, workshops and retreats for 25 years and is a Certified Yoga and Meditation Teacher, Yoga Therapist and Holistic Lifestyle Coach.  For further information contact Anne at anne@gaiaclinic.ca or for a private session contact Gaia Clinic Reception at 403-674-4242.

We are coming into the Year of the Snake in the Chinese Zodiac and I feel it provides a wonderful metaphor for change and personal health this year.  Time to get rid of the dead skin and shed what is no longer needed; clutter in your home or office, past resentments, negative patterns of behavior, cupboards full of food that don’t serve you well.  Lighten the load, consider a detox, and free yourself to move forward into new and inspiring levels of health and consciousness.

We are pleased to welcome aboard Colin Hilstrom as our life, leadership, and health coach and Crystal Philips as our holistic nutritionist with a passion for the brain.

Our brain -based programs are continuing to expand and gain notoriety with organizations that are impressed with our outcomes. (read more and cut to blog on our website ) The University of Calgary, Sports Medicine has asked us to be a part of their athlete concussion research  .  Mount Royal University is working with us to design an outcome study on integrative and collaborative health and we are close to starting our in house study of the brain and meditation. In addition, Jeff Melanson, President of The Banff Centre and Michele Stanners, ACAD (Alberta College of Art and Design) are coming to Gaia in the next few weeks to discuss the role of the brain in arts and leadership….the way of the future.

Personally, I have been asked to sit on the Medical Advisory Board for the Branch Out Neurological Foundation, asked to contribute web content for the launch of the new Personalized Medicine Institute in the US , directed by Dr. Jeff Bland, and Dr. Deanna Minich (PhD nutrition) and I are writing a book together on Brain Food.

Clients such as Brett Wilson (philanthropist, business leader, and celebrity, Dragon’s Den) are recognizing the importance of brain health even when you are at the top of your game, athletes are recognizing that there are important modalities that can help them with concussions and sport performance, and guys like Barry (father, engineer, recreational athlete) from Kamloops are grateful to come back from a serious brain injury and eight years of depression.

Brain Canada president Inaz Jabalpurwala, was recently quoted in The Globe and Mail “The collective impact of brain disease is greater than cancer and cardiovascular disease combined.  It’s the singe biggest health burden for this century.”  I believe this wholeheartedly and that it why Gaia has made a serious investment in it’s brain programs.  We are now offering baseline screening at a lower price point for children and young adults. (link to our webpage on brain programs and update).

We will be featured in Westjet’s Up inflight  magazine in Febuary and also in Swerve magazine in the Calgary Herald.  Check us out, but most importantly come in and check on the status of your health and your brain!  Best wishes for the New year!

In Health,

Tracy

Healing Hip Pain with Yoga

You might know it – that familiar hip ache or pain that puts a new spin on the pop song “Hips don’t lie”. The pain may be felt in the groin, leg or back and calls your attention as you wonder if it is another sign of aging, overdoing it in a workout or something more serious.

There are as many reasons for hip pain as there are approaches to resolving it. Hip joints connect the pelvis and leg bones. No wonder hip health relates to the back, knees, ankles and feet. Yoga postures can hurt or heal. So, what to do?

If you have a regular yoga practice, notice if your hips feel the same, better or worse during the session and up to 48 hours after. Move in a way that does not increase the pain. Try taking a couple weeks off and see how your hips feel.

If you are new to yoga, or are not sure if your practice is helping or hindering your hips, consider a private yoga therapy session.  Here, you can find out which muscles are supporting your hips, which muscles are “sleeping”, and which are over-working that should be resting. You won’t need to understand the anatomy but you will learn to listen to your body for the answers. Feeling is healing.

There is no set “prescription”  of exercises or postures to heal hip pain. Each body is as unique as the person in it. WIth yoga therapy a customized home program is designed for each individual’s needs and time availability. The program offers the stimulus needed to wake up the sleeping muscles and ease the overworking ones for support, ease and reduced or eliminated pain in the hips.

My own hip pain of the past was a great teacher for me and ignited my passion for yoga therapy. Now,  I feel strong and pain free in my hips. Hip, hip hooray!

To book an private appointment, call Gaia. For a group class with a therapeutic awareness, drop in to Gaia on Thursdays at 5:45 or Saturdays at 11:15 a.m.

Julie Seibt

Yoga Therapist

It is with great pleasure that I welcome Dr. Stuart Donaldson and his team to Gaia Clinic.  We have been utilizing the services provided by his clinic, Myosymmetries, to add neurofeedback, qEEG testing, and stress response testing to our repertoire of integrative brain testing and treatment for the past few months.  We have found his services to be very helpful for our clients with head injuries and mental illness.  It is an honour to have someone with a distinguished career and specific area of expertise join our progressive brain health program.

Dr. Thomson will also be joining Dr. Donaldson in seeing clients at C-ERA in Calgary in the New year.  The partnership will allow for continued collaboration and expertise in navigating the complexities of brain health clients.

In addition, Stephanie Nihon from Toronto has recently joined the Myosymmetries team and will be available at Gaia Clinic twice a week.  Her expertise is in sports performance and kinesthiology using the stress response and qEEG to guide her in the use of neurofeedback and biofeedback.

Please read below for more information on performance enhancement:

By Dr. Rob Roth

If you have been trying to walk off that persistent injury since July, a different approach to managing your pain and rehabilitation might be the key to your success. But with a keychain full of therapeutic options, how do you find the right key to unlock the door to your recovery and health?

Prolotherapy has earned itself a reputation, both in the literature and from the doctors using it, as one of the most important medical therapies for pain management and injury rehabilitation. Prolotherapy made its appearance in the 1940s with Dr. George Hacket discovering its value in the treatment of complex joint pathologies. Since then, prolotherapy has steadily found favour among the medical profession, used by both Medical Doctors and Naturopathic Doctors; it has grown new branches, displaying itself as the treatment of choice or an important ancillary therapy for tendinopathy, ligament laxity, fascial imbalance, back pain, osteoarthritis, shoulder instability, knee pathologies and torn or damaged ligaments and tendons.

Prolotherapy uses a solution of dextrose, procaine and occasionally includes growth hormone, testosterone or sodium morrhuate to increase its effectiveness. The solution, known as the proliferant, is injected into damaged tissues triggering a local immune cell proliferation and cascade. This influx of immune cell activity, a local inflammation, results in the rescaffolding of damaged tissues, restoring their stability, strength, and function. In many ways prolotherapy shares similar behavioural traits with its cousin platelet rich plasma (PRP) therapy, as prolotherapy also causes the release of a number of growth factors locally in the body, helping amplify its tissue rescaffolding effect.

Aside from surgery there is really no way to regenerate structural integrity in ligaments, tendons, and joints that have become loose due to acute strain or longstanding injury. Over a certain degree of strain (in certain tissues as little as 4 to 6 per cent) the body does not have the tools to regenerate the tensegrity these tissues once enjoyed. The result: chronic pain and structural compensation. Ultimately, other tissues inadequately fill the role of the damaged tissues, which reveals itself as bone misalignment, muscle pain, and further joint instability.

Prolotherapy fills this therapeutic void for those suffering from longstanding injuries that may not be an ideal candidate for surgery or are seeking a less invasive alternative. And while we often reach for the Ibuprofen, Tylenol, or once at our rope’s end, an injection of cortisone, prolotherapy not only rehabilitates all sorts of injuries of the joints, tendons, ligaments, and fascia but also helps rehabilitate an important medical paradigm.

This is the paradigm that pardons inflammation, embracing it as a necessary and important mediator for facilitating injury recovery. This is juxtaposed to the antiquated idea that we ought to mitigate inflammation in the body with anti-inflammatories such as Aspirin, Ibuprofen, cortisone and even icing an injury. After all, blocking the immune cells with an anti-inflammatory blocks the body’s repair mechanism. So while for an undetermined amount of time we can control the symptoms of chronic pain or an injury with anti-inflammatories, we cannot rebuild damaged tissues with them. With prolotherapy, we are able to consolidate and amplify the immune system’s efforts in repairing damaged tissues.

Rehabilitating an injury requires a judicious stride, a stride that causes all tissues involved to reverberate with rapport. Some of us find this stride with physiotherapy or chiropractic care, but when joints have incurred chronic stress the capsules, tendons, ligaments and fascia weaken, stretch and must be functionally addressed.

Prolotherapy meets this requirement.

As Dr. Thomas Ravin, a radiologist and instrumental prolotherapist for more than 30 years, noted at a recent prolotherapy conference in Denver, “If you’re only allowed to take one medicine to the island for injury rehabilitation, there is no better medicine than prolotherapy.”

Dr. Rob Roth, BSc, MH, ND

Dr. Rob Roth is the Naturopathic Doctor at Gaia Clinic focusing on injury rehabilitation and pain management using novel therapeutic approaches including Prolotherapy and Platelet Rich Plasma Injections.

• Cardamom
• Fennel
• Cumin
• Asafetida

Pitta Spices:

• Cumin
• Fennel
• Coriander

Kapha Spices:

• Ginger
• Black pepper
• Fenugreek
• Cumin

In addition to taking the spices with meals each person should begin to use the Ayurvedic understanding of how foods are digested in the body. Below is a list of the different food categories and how fast they pass through the digestive system. Food Category : Hours to Process

• Red meats: 48 to 72
• Fish & poultry: 36 to 38
• Dairy products:  24 to 36
• Beans (legumes): 24 to 30
• Nuts and seeds: 24 to 26
• Grains: 20 to 24
• Root vegetables:  20 to 24
• Leafy vegetables:  18 to 22
• Fruits:  12 to 18

The primary way that all constitutions can use this chart is to change the order in which they eat foods. Eating light foods first will aid the body to process the food first. Eating heavy foods first will cause all other foods that are added in later to ferment which may create toxins or ama. Simmi Latulippe – Ayurvedic Medicine Practitioner/Nutritional Therapist

I am fortunate to have my practice take place in the clinic’s warm, gorgeous, mountain-view space, but am at a loss to describe the true essence of the work we can do together.. When trying to balance self care with the acrobatics of life, simply keeping up with personal maintenance is tricky. {September is always a hectic month for me too}. So, through my hands on help and your inspiration to take some time and truly connect you once again with yourself, we can really get to work on your vision of perfect health; whether that’s sore legs from mountain side climbs, or wanting insight on what those aches and pains really mean. Please, drop by the clinic or give a shout to see if it’s time for a team effort in getting you exactly where you want to be.

Ali Frederick is a Registered Massage Therapist

I reckon it may very well come down to the intent of the business. Are they trying to sell as many coffees at the highest possible margins? Or are they perhaps just totally passionate about coffee? Wanting to share their rapture with others. At that point, I’d argue that it no longer becomes about coffee; instead, you’re paying for an experience – something infinitely more satisfying than a cup of coffee could ever be.

I think healing parallels the above example ever so well. Is your practitioner truly invested in your health? Recommending whatever is in your best interest – even if it means seeing another practitioner – or are they perhaps interested in turning a profit on your illness? The feeling behind each is quite different and may very well be the difference between trapping one in illness or unlocking the secrets to perfect health.

My name is Mark Volmer. As a practitioner, I like helping people remember how amazing they are. I’ve recently started my practice at the Gaia Clinic and would so love to meet you. To find out more about what it is I do and to get a free download outlining what perfect health may actually look like (it might surprise you), visit: www.hiddengemhealing.com