​​DON'T SHELVE THE PLANK

February has the perfect number of days for a 28 day Plank Challenge !!
Planking is a practiced pose and so we start off with an easy 20 seconds and work our way up to holding the position for 240 seconds. You did just do the maths right !  And I hear you  groaning, “ A 4 minute plank, why would I do that to myself ?”
Here's why -
• Straight up efficiency with a smile
Doing the plank exercise improves your posture.  A good posture boosts your mood, increases your productivity and ensures that you are able to breathe more effectively.

• Keep on hopping gym bunny
The plank engages multiple muscle groups simultaneously. It strengthens your shoulders, hamstrings, glutes and core. Increased stability protects you from other workout injuries meaning less days off from your workout schedule.

• Bending becomes a breeze
As your core strength increases, your body is able to move better and
handle every day activities thus reducing lower back pain

• Goodbye creaky joints
Weight-bearing exercise lays down new living bone tissue and increases circulation to the joints.  Strike a plank pose regularly and you have healthier bone density without any jarring impact which can do harm.

Knowing all of that, makes being able to hold a 4 minute plank seem like the best gift February's 28 days could give us. The best part is that you can plank anywhere with no special equipment required.
We are definitely up for the challenge.  Time to dust your plank poses off the shelf,  challenge your friends and family and join us.

Here's how -
Like our Facebook page and join the Plank Challenge event. (Button link to the event)
Watch our “Strike the pose” video for a guide to achieving good plank form (Link to video)
Share your planking pics on our Facebook page each day for the 28 days.

​The truth of the matter is that it can only be answered comprehensively in a conversation.  I would need to ask a few questions and perhaps in the end you would tell me whether you need to come back!
So why did you come to visit us in the first place?
Some ache or pain is usually the motivating factor for picking up the phone and making the appointment, however this is often driven by a deeper need or issue that is affecting your life.
“I have back pain which is interfering with my ability to play with my grandchildren.”
“I have neck pain and headaches which are making it difficult to concentrate at work.  I am unable to perform at my optimum.”
“I am irritable and distracted which disrupts the rest of the class and my teacher hates me.”
If you just want to get rid of the symptom the adjustment plan is going to be driven by when that symptom leaves.  So if the back pain or neck pain or headaches are gone you would be well justified in feeling that you don’t need to come back.
However, what was causing that symptom in the first place?  How long did it take for you to do something about that symptom?
Now we are in the realm of dealing with the underlying cause.  Perhaps I can ask you to imagine an iceberg, which always makes me think of the Titanic – however I digress!  What is above the surface of the water is a small picture of the entire iceberg, what is below the surface is what sinks the Titanic.  Now if you want to deal with the underlying cause of what has brought you into the practice we have to move away from using the symptom as our measure of how things are going and start looking to the cause of said symptom.
Was there a physical reason for this occurring? Some accident or injury which caused this?  Or a more prolonged repetitive injury, perhaps caused by bad posture, incorrect ergonomics at your desk or a job which needs you to get into challenging positions – a plumber getting under a sink comes to mind!
Was there a biochemical reason for this occurring?  The substances we put into our body can affect how well it heals and repairs.  Good nutrients are essential to build and maintain a strong and healthy body.  We do tend to put in many things which are detrimental to our general health and well-being.  Smoking, drinking, consuming various drugs and medications. The additives and preservatives in processed foods can contribute to this stress on the body.
Was there a mental or emotional reason for this occurring?  The stresses and strains of daily life can eventually lead to physical symptoms.  Our state of mind can certainly affect how we perceive pain so this can be a significant factor contributing to the reason you first made the appointment.
I must now mention the health continuum.  If you imagine a scale with severe illness at one end and optimum health on the other, a point midway would be a place where you are experiencing no symptoms.  Does this mean that you are healthy?  Well it would depend on which way you are travelling along the continuum…
Most often when patients come into the practice, they are in pain and are travelling towards severe illness on the continuum.  With a few adjustments we can turn this around and get the patient out of pain but now we are only midway on the continuum, to continue travelling in the direction of optimum health we have to continue with the changes that we have made.  Doing exercises that will strengthen the body, improving the nutrients we put into our body so that we can heal and changing our mind-set. Now back to the iceberg.  How long did it take to form that iceberg?  How long is it going to take with all the positive changes you have made to clear that iceberg so that you are at optimum health?
Chiropractic adjustments will aid this positive process and we need to remember that every positive action we take bio-accumulates.  Over time we can get better and better.  The bad news is that every negative action we take also bio-accumulates so we need to not only balance the negative actions with positive but in fact do more positive things if we are going to clear that iceberg!
So do you need to come back?  Yes, certainly.  But it depends on your expectations and circumstances.  We will support your decision whatever you choose to do.

​​Champagne glass in hand, all excited for the coming year, I prompted a conversation about resolutions. A family member's answer was “ The only successful New Year resolution I've ever made, is not to make any”. This was as the countdown to 2019 began, perhaps a little too last minute to change his mind.  It got me thinking about this tradition and why New Year resolutions are so seldom achieved.

So on a new found mission to make my hastily scribbled list a reality, I chatted to more people, I did some reading and I reflected a little on why my previous resolutions haven't stuck. I wanted to share my new found wisdom.

1. Intention is far more important than “musts” and “shoulds” - the immediate tendency with being told to do something, is to rebel even if we told ourselves to. On that note, if your resolution is about meeting someone else's expectation, it does not have your intent behind it and chances are, you will let it go somewhere around February.
By making the resolution more about the intention, we create a sense of direction instead of destination, of moving forward instead of arriving.  This makes every action towards the intention a success.  The key is to believe that you can and replace all negative self talk with positive, kind words.

2. Deprivation and punishment are not motivating.  Make the goal more about what you are gaining than what you may feel you will be “giving up”. It is easier to stick to something when you are visualising the reward instead of avoiding the punishment.

3. Dream BIG !!  Then break it down into segments to avoid the BIG becoming the overwhelming. Create a plan and check in with yourself on a weekly basis. I am going to repeat, be kind to yourself.   Be willing to adjust your environment or circumstances where possible,  to alleviate obstacles and know that moving a few of this weeks tasks to next week is not a big deal.  Remember the BIG DREAM, don't derail it completely because this week didn't work out the way you'd hoped. Follow your intention and move forward. Celebrate EVERY success.

4. The why is far more valuable than the how. The desire creates personal meaning and even when the how aspects get a little tough, the why remains motivating. If your why is because you should or must, read the first one again and reevaluate whether this resolution deserves to be on your list. When you write down the resolution, write down the reason for it too.  Go back to the reason when you feel the resolution coming unstuck.

5. There is a belief that we are “innately perfect and that our job is to come home to that”.  Nothing about your resolutions needs to be more perfect, nothing about your actions towards your goals, needs to be more perfect.  If you wait for every star to align and every T to be crossed, you will likely never start. If you look at what is missing in everything you achieve, you will probably not continue. Celebrate how perfect you are in your imperfection and enjoy the journey.


My original hastily scribbled list now represents a number of ways to leave this year feeling like I have not achieved what I set out to. So, my options were to follow the advice and abandon the concept altogether or take another look and start over.

And so, the fireworks and champagne have come and gone and we are fast approaching that awkward time when it is too late into January to be wishing each other Happy New Year and my list of resolutions has yet to be finalised, but I am more positive about the direction I am taking and less inclined to feel that I have complied with an expected tradition.

If you had decided to abandon yours, perhaps you will reconsider.  Keep them simple, quality over quantity and most of all let each one be meaningful and life enriching for you.

Happy 2019. May all your dreams come true !

​Renee Lee