Tap Water, Seriously?

Ok, since I taut myself as a Holistic Chiropractor, I must be a tree hugging, save the planet, drink bottled water freak.  Well, most of that is true.

I definitely do my best to live with integrity towards others, including the planet, and some of my best “friends” are trees.  My son and I are Boy Scouts so when we are in the woods we live by the principle of Leave No Trace. Everyday I do my best to help others and teach others how to be healthy.

Here comes the rub.  Many years ago at a seminar I learned about tap water.  Now for those of you thinking I am about to dog tap water, you’re right.  I learned of the evils of tap water and how all our health troubles will go away when we consume good, clean water.  (Of course, one of the sponsors of the seminar was Dasani.)  Now, that may be true but you have to ask what is good, clean water and where does it come from?

As the old saying goes, “If you want to know who’s running the show, follow the money trail.”  So after some research, I learned that tap water isn’t that bad for you.  Huh, go figure.  I was convinced it was.  Then I looked into where all the plastic bottles go.  That was really scary.

This video by Annie Leonard is the most succinct explanation of why tap isn’t that bad, bottle water isn’t that good AND where all those plastic bottles go.   Watch and be amazed.

Oh, by the way, about 10 years ago, I started using a home reverse osmosis water filter to pull out all the parts of the tap water I didn’t want to drink, like chlorine.  Most recently, I’ve been using a Kangen Water Machine and love it.  Mostly because it helps alkalize my body and provides water with a high ORAC (anti-oxidant) value.  But the truth is, if all you have to drink is tap water then YOU are the tree hugging, granola crunching, planet saving freak.  Seriously.

How often do you feel stuck in your life?  The same routines day in and day out.  When’s the last time you saw something that you never thought possible?  For many of us, our days seem to be the same.  That’s not to say that each day isn’t busy and full of stuff to do.  Honestly, kids and life can keep you red lining it until you run out of gas.  And that’s the point.

Where in your hurried schedule do you build time in for you. If your everyday is the same hurried and scurried race to bed everynight to get up and do it all over again, here is a short video that might just make you pause and say, “WOW!”

How does this relate to chiropractic?  Easy, we get so busy moving in our life we lose sight that our bodies are what keeps us going.  If we take time to nurture our bodies, our bodies will be around a long time for us.  I wonder what these guys and gals at Pilobolus do to take care of themselves?

Watch and find out how one doctor thinks it is better to get the Swine Flu than the seasonal Flu.  Plus, he goes on to say his kids are better off with out the vaccine for the Swine Flu.

What’s the best way to stay healthy?

Proper diet and exercise for your body type is number one.  Also very inportant is to keep your immune system up by Network Chiropractic care.

When do you say, “Enough is enough, I quit!”

Luckily for us, Sheila never has and her story is an example of hope, inspiration and never giving up.

Sheila is a modest, humble woman who just keeps moving forward despite her health challenges.  A lifelong struggle with diabetes has given her plenty of challenges.  On this video, I had the opportunity to capture part of her inspirational story one day in the office last year.

Originally, I intended to use the footage to motivate you into taking better care of yourself and adopt a more alkaline lifestyle.  You’ll see that in the video.  I’ve come to realize her story is so much bigger than any one type of eating plan and the depth and richness of Sheila is seen in her perseverance and faith.

As a doctor, and more so, as a human, I want Sheila to be healthy, whole and to feel great all the time.  But when you’ve lived with Diabetes for 40+ years, there are going to be definite problems to face.  It seems her strength is being tested again.  April 23, Sheila is having yet another major surgery.   Her ability to recover from sickness and illness is remarkable, and Sheila can always use our prayers.

After watching the video if you are so inclined, please send her thoughts, well wishes and prayers.  If you want to contact her either comment on the blog or send me an email and I will forward it to Sheila.

I appreciate you taking the time to include Sheila in your intentions.   She has enriched my life in so many ways and she is a beacon of what is possible with long term sicknesses.

What dreams have you stopped chasing?

Susan Boyle has become an overnight YouTube sensation for her appearance on the t.v. show Britain’s Got Talent.  Why?  Is it because she has a beautiful singing voice?  Doubtful, there are better voices with less recognition. Is it because she is an average looking woman from Britain or is it that she is 47 on a t.v. show?

For me, as I watched with tears in my eyes as Susan sang incredibly and hit the high notes with power and JOY, it’s because she is living her dream.  After 40+ years of chasing a dream and never giving up.  She is realizing what her imagination has seen to be true for so long, standing on stage, singing her heart out and wowing the crowd.

Watching her made me realize there are dreams I have given up chasing.  Maybe it’s part of the maturing process to give up the “foolish notions of our youth”.  Blah.  No matter how old you are it’s never too late to be young.  I recall the quote from Mark Twain, “Youth is wasted on the young.”

As of this moment, I am recommitting to my dreams.  Isn’t the purpose of dreams to let your soul lead you in a direction?  A direction that may not make sense to you all the time, but hey, that’s OK.  Along the way, you might just discover who you are, for now.

You never know, don’t be surprised if you hear about the 37 year old chiropractor who just won an Oscar for his latest short film, or is now on a cattle drive deep in the southwest, or sailing in the Caribbean for 6 weeks, or . . .

Click here to watch Susan

WOW!   Now you can see what it would be like to actually fly like an eagle.

This is a POV (point of view) video of an eagle flying.  The camera is actually strapped to the eagle.  My imagination is running wild by seeing this video.

To all my practice members, this is what I want for you – BE FREE.

BIg thanks to Chase Jarvis for blogging this originally.  He’s an amazing photographer – www.chasejarvis.com

Love to all,

Dr. Stasi

The most searched word on the internet is weight-loss.

Feeling guilty, full of regret, and bad about herself, Amanda wrote on her intake form how fat she felt.

I had the privilege to watch her lose over 50 pounds in the course of a year.  She looked great, not even the least bit fat!  She had to develop the discipline of an English Sentry at Buckingham Palace.  Nothing would take her away from her objective.  Except. . .  she recently had a “human moment” and overate for a day.  She told me that her pants felt a little tight.  Amanda, needless to say, was worried that all her effort would disintegrate.

Just the other day I was talking to this internet guy (he helps your website show up higher on google).  He mentioned that the most searched word on the internet is weight-loss.  Now, without working for Google, there’s no real way of knowing.  But, it does point to an interesting truth.  According to the CDC over 1/3  of America is obese.

There are reasons for that and I will cover them in future posts.  What I want you to take away from this is that the fat isn’t nearly as dangerous as the negative feelings about yourself.

Please understand, this isn’t a pass to eat till you drop.  Of course, the last thing I want Amanda to do is gain back the weight she worked so hard to lose.  But, if you’re going to splurge, do it with gusto and don’t look back!

In the Vibrant Body Course, I teach people to have ZAG days.  In a month there a 5 days built into your eating plan that give you freedom to eat what you want.  ZAG days are no guilt days.  Why?

The guilt and regret will kill you faster than the calories and fat!  That’s right, the stress you will build in your body is much worse than splurging for a meal or even a day.

Now, if more days than not are ZAG days, we have to talk!  The grey matter between your ears is playing tricks on you.  The key is to set up your daily eating plan, but don’t try to be perfect.  You will eventually fail and the first time you do, there is a big chance you might say, “forget it.”

You are perfect with all your imperfections.  Eat, drink and be merry and  do it with gusto!  Most of all create a daily plan so when you do splurge, you’ll know it is momentary and you have the ability to go back to building greater health, wellness and fitness.

Posture says so much about a person. What does your posture say about you?

If you ever watched Michael Jordan walk through a room and studied his posture you would notice something he has in common with most other commanding, powerful men and women.  He walks with his chest in the air.  No, not like the Skipper off of Giligan’s Island, but he carries the top of his chest just a few millimeters higher.  To find the spot to lift, place your finger in the notch right below your throat and drop it down an inch.  Yep, right there.  Michael lifts that area just a little bit higher.  Why?  That is an area when carried high, projects certainty and power.  Does he consciously think about it or is it just happenstance?  Doesn’t matter, that is the posture of certainty.

If you get depressed, what tends to drop?  First your head but ultimately your shoulders round in and your chest drops.  This leads to not enough oxygen, poor vitality and an overwhelming feeling of being “down”.  Hmm, I wonder where the phrase “being down” comes from?  Your posture maybe?

If you want to snap out of depression, a great place to start is standing in the mirror and smiling.  That’s right, a big toothy grin.  At first you may look pained and crooked trying to smile in the mirror.  Only because if you’ve been “down” for a while you can forget how to smile.  Overtime you will retrain your facial muscles to flash those pearly whites.

Your posture says a lot about you.  If you walk around bent forward with your head in front of your body then you are probably ‘ahead of yourself’.  You might even be angry or feel a little powerless depending on the position of your tailbone (if it is too far tucked under, kinda like ‘your tail between your legs’ then you probably feel a little powerless.)

How you feel in any given moment is in direct relationship to your posture.  Said another way, if you want to feel different change your body position.  That’s why after you have been sitting at the computer for a while and you get all in your head.  It’s best to stand up, focus on something in the distance, lean back and then side to side.

Keep tuned in for more tips on Vibrant Living.