A client  named Joyce called yesterday. A little frustrated by the pain she was feeling after following her Doctor’s recommendations. She decided to let go of the frustration and disappointment. She change her mind.

She did so changing her question from,”What’s wrong with me?” to “What is my body trying to tell me?

That simple switch inspired her to move to her egoscue exercises where she got relief after doing the first one.

So what is your question when you feel pain?? Does your question help you to hear what your body is saying??

You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out

It’s that time of year again. Snow is starting to fall (or at least cold rain if you live in Nashville), houses are decorated, and “A Christmas Story” is all over the television. Life is good! This is one of my all-time favorite movies, and one that I can (and do) watch over and over. As a child I was even given my own Red Ryder BB Gun. What great memories. And, I’m happy to report, I didn’t shoot my eye out.

This movie did recently get me thinking, however. I think it’s interesting that everyone surrounding little Ralphie never instructed him what to do but instead focused on what not to do. Instead of teaching him how to aim and fire correctly, all everyone could think about is what could go wrong with him and his BB gun. The echos of, “You’ll shoot your eye out! You’ll shoot your eye out!” continually haunted poor little Ralphie. The adults were approaching Ralphie and his BB gun with a fear-based mindset.

I can’t help but think that in this day and age of uncertainty and fear, life is imitating art. The economy is tanking, the sky is falling, and your body isn’t enough. How often are you told what not to do rather than what to do? Don’t run, don’t golf, and don’t garden. Something bad will happen. You’ll shoot your eye out! And, if that happens, you’ll NEVER be healthy again!

It made me chuckle a little bit, because we at Egoscue are coming at it from a completely different point of view. Rather than scaring the living daylights out of you that you might lose an eye, why not show you how to shoot properly? Instead of taking away running, why not teach your body (muscles and bones) how to run properly? Golf properly, garden properly, etc? And, rather than tell you that you’re “weak” (how many of you have heard that?) LET’S REMIND YOUR BODY HOW STRONG IT, IN FACT, IS. That fallen arch of yours? Rather than brace it with expensive orthodics, why not remind the muscles of the arch that they are designed to withstand 10-12 times the body weight, at impact, when walking and running. For a 200 pound male, your arch is literally designed to withstand a TON of weight at impact when you go for a jog. The arch is an engineering marvel! And you want to artificially create that with a little bit of plastic? I don’t think so.

So, this holiday season, rest assured that LIFE IS GOOD! YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIVE IN FEAR. You aren’t broken… YOU’RE THE SOLUTION. You aren’t weak… YOU’RE STRONG. And, if you take the proper steps, and do what you need to do, you won’t shoot your eye out!

Got pain?? Time for some medication.

This may be hard to believe coming from an egoscue therapist, especially since Pete Egoscue declares in his first book that those who reach for an aspirin when they hurt are short circuiting responsibility for their health.

But the reality is pharmaceuticals are good for us. No… not the ones produced by well meaning scientists. Rather the ones made by the most exquisite pharmacy…YOUR BODY.

That’s right your body is able to produce the chemicals that fight cancer, provide pain relief, give you a sense of well being and enable you to breathe whether you think about it or not. It’s a fantastic creation.

But this begs the question…if it can fight cancer and win etc…then why do some loose the fight?

The straightforward answer is the health of your body results from the health of your cells. Keep the body’s cells healthy and you are at a great place to provide your body the stuff that makes it renewable and effective at combating unhealthy agents within.

A robust metabolism provides the body the fuel necessary to maintain cellular health. The kicker is that motion and metabolism are inextricably linked. Muscles invite oxygen into the body via the lungs. Oxygen is a universal measure of metabolic rate because oxygenation must be present for molecules to come apart and become usable to the body.

The body uses the result of this break down to heat itself and allows it to work. That’s important since sixty percent of your body weight is the muscles and skeleton. We were designed to work, to move, to play…a lot!!

Muscles and bones put this fantastic machine into gear and keep it running. When we bring this machine to a halt in a nearly motionless environment, metabolism still goes on if there is enough oxygen. But lack of musculoskeletal health profoundly disrupts the ongoing chemical processes of the body. We then weaken, get sick and die.

That’s why poor posture affects our body’s ability to deliver its pharmaceuticals. Slumping, misaligned posture indicates a metabolic dysfunction. Poor posture is actually a cause of metabolic dysfunction. Once the deep muscles (the ones closest to the bones) disengage, the metabolism backs off because the body’s monitoring system tells it there are fewer cellular mouths to feed. The other eleven organs of the body immediately lose the benefits of a revved up, efficient, fully functional metabolism. Even all the chemical reactions and cells of the immune system are dependant upon metabolism. Available energy is what the body uses to make healthy living possible.

Is this a grim picture? Not really because a miracle cure is available. Tap into your inheritance as human being. You were born with a potentially strong and erect body. So find that wealth by allowing good posture to make its positive mark on your metabolism and immune system.

Are you ready to take your medicine??

For those of you who may prefer listening rather than reading, clinic director Chris Kusoff  (Director of the Orange County Egoscue Clinic)  was recently interviewed by “Extraordinary Living” Podcast. Chris adds great things to our method and anyone in the Orange County area might give Chris a call to find out how to live the active painfree lifestyle he describes in the interview. This  interview can be found at the following link…*http://tinyurl.com/2egfjl Enjoy the podcast and pass it on to friends.  It’s an easy way to help others understand the basics of our method. 

Welcome to the first entry in the Egoscue Phoenix blog: 

In the February Issue of Psychological Science 2007 the following study was published.

Harvard researchers studied 84 housekeepers working at seven hotels. Investigators told workers at four of the hotels that their on-the-job exercise of cleaning rooms met or exceeded the U.S. Surgeon General’s activity recommendations for a healthy lifestyle. Others were told nothing.

Purpose: to determine whether the belief that exericse improves fitness would result in any fintess improvements.

After 4 weeks 80% of the women who had been told that their activities were exercise had

1. lost weight

2. lowered their blood pressure

3. reduced their body fat, lowered their body mass index and shrunk the size of their waist in relation to their hips

The woman who had not been told the their work was exercise did not experience any significant changes.

Hmmm…my take.

When our minds are prepared for physical changes the body is ready to follow. Movement affects us the best when our mind, attitude and body are all headed in the same direction.

Keep moving! John