30 MINUTES TO HEALTH

Last night marks the beginning of our monthly workshops called "30 Minutes to Health". There has been a huge demand for our services here at the Cafe of LIFE lately, to the point that we have quite a waiting list in order to get in for an initial visit. To me, the message in the fact that we are so busy is people are looking to get more out of life, looking to thrive in their life rather than just survive. When we are in survive-mode, we are just making it THROUGH THE DAYS...when we are in thrive-mode, we are actually GIVING TO THE DAYS. There is a very big difference between the two and I am here to help move people towards the latter. Last night our workshop focused around the things that make up health...diet, exercise, rest, positive attitude and properly functioning nerve system. With the 30 minutes, we were able to dig into a few of these topics in more depth. The audience was challenged in getting to the Cafe due to snow and ice on the roads last night though we still had a good turn-out and a very attentive audience. My most favorite part of doing workshops like this is the light bulbs that go off for people as they have an "ah-ha" moment.

If you missed us last night, we will be holding monthly workshops on the second Tuesday of each month from 6:30-7:00pm, our next will be February 8th. Join us! Bring a friend or two! I am here to help you get the most out of this life...since we only get one chance. See you soon!

SOME THINGS TO NEVER POST ON FACEBOOK...

I was just browsing through this very interesting website and I found some rules about facebook. #4 in the list was "If it came out of your body in a projective fashion, never post it on facebook." I thought that was interesting and instead of posting it on facebook, I would actually blog about it on here. So last week on Tuesday (some of you may know this already), I came down with that flu that is going around. Maybe some of you reading this have experienced this one, if not, it is fast and furious....literally there are people puking in their cars because they do not have enough warning to do much of anything about it. For me, I was hit with it right around 6am and I had enough warning to run 15 feet from my bed to the toilet...thank goodness. It went on for about 3 hours and then it was over and I was happy and feeling good. Some people are calling it a 24 hour bug, however (this may be because of all the adjustments I had while I was in Colorado) my body was over and rid of it all in 3 hours. When you condense that bug down that much, naturally the intensity raises and that is exactly what happened.

So you are probably thinking to yourself, "is she really writing an entire blog about puking????"...one key to the whole story is the part where I said "and then it was over and I was happy and feeling good". You see, there was something going on with my energy level and aura for about 3 months, I would say since the beginning to middle of October. I felt good, but not really good like I am used to. I had enough energy, but I am used to an abundance of energy. When I looked in the mirror I looked presentable, but I am used to seeing a glow behind my skin. I would get a large quantity of rest and I would wake up in the morning feeling like I could sleep all day, and I am used to getting up and facing the day easily. After that morning of puking and the entire day of rest, I FELT AND STILL FEEL AMAZING!!! I feel like I got my mojo back or something. I feel like I was able to finally process something. I feel like I got a little oxygen to my flame that burns on the inside. I really truly feel like I have a new body and I am really diggin' it. Now mind you, I have not puked in a really long time...that is not something that my body does easily. The fast and furious-ness to the 3 hour flu thing is that I also got rid of everything inside of me and my body kept trying to do more...yes this is known as dry heaves. Horrible, long-lasting dry heaves where the entire body is convulsing. Excuse me for being really "out there" with my thinking processes, but to me, I am wondering how awesome that entire body contraction is for stimulating the nerve system and changing a pattern. It was pretty intense and often a major pattern interrupt is exactly what is needed. It did it for me. It changed things up for me on the inside and now I feel WAY BETTER than just "back to normal".

So to sum this up, no it is not fun to be sick, I do not enjoy vomiting, and I am glad it is over. Could that flu been prevented by taking a flu shot (which for the record I would NEVER do), I really do not think there is any reason to ever get a flu shot...and the benefit I got out of the ability to purge whatever that was, PRICELESS. Do you think it is possible that the flu was created by nature or universal forces for us to take a "time out" and get a chance to learn something about ourselves? stimulate something? clear something out? change a pattern? Just some food for thought...

COLORADO = A BREAK FROM MY "EVERYDAY"

I just spent an amazing week in Colorado. I love Colorado, in fact I tell people that my heart lives in the mountains of Colorado, Summit County to be exact, and I just go and visit it a few times per year. It really is the truth, Colorado is home to me...when I land I have this deep sense of "I'm home" I just haven't figured out a way to move my entire life in Michigan out there yet. Many of you know already, most of my close friends from chiropractic college live right in Denver. They are the kind of friends that even if we never got out and did anything, just sitting around and talking with them rejuvenates me. This past July, another one of my really close friends moved out to Boulder from Michigan, though actually I think he and Choco miss each other more than they even consider me. :) So my time was spent between the mountains, Denver and Boulder. I was able to get 4 full days of snowboarding in which was amazing. Saturday at Vail with friends, Sunday at Breckenridge with other friends, Wednesday at Breckenridge my myself and the last full day at Beaver Creek, my new favorite place. During my time away from my "everyday", I also like to spend some deliberate time journaling and creating an image for how I want my life to be. Have you ever sat and thought about what you really want in your life? Did you know you have a choice in the matter? It is a wonderful, powerful and super fun thing to do if you haven't ever tried it. The great thing about it is once you put it on paper, you get to look back from further down the road and see how much of what you wrote down, actually manifested. Give it a try!

So my time away from my "everyday" was a perfect blend of time in the mountains, time with friends, time alone, time on my snowboard, time in the city, time wandering, time being active, and time resting. The pictures tell the story...

LIFE IS INCREDIBLE!!!!

This is un-freaking-believable!!! I am sitting in seat 37A (the picture is my view from this seat, back end of this plane is empty) on a Delta flight to Atlanta and I AM ON THE INTERNET!!! Because I flew just last week, I knew free Wi-Fi was happening on these flights so I packed my laptop...I thought, what a perfect time to catch up on blogging!!! So I am heading down to spend New Years Eve with some really great friends. New Years Eve is always a little over-rated however I think the plans that we have are going to be just the ticket to ring in 2011.

I would like to say a fond farewell to 2010 as a lot of wonderful things happened this past year: traveled to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Georgia (twice), South Carolina, Colorado (twice); bought a commercial building to move my practice into and renovated the building; welcomed a beautiful niece into this world and have enjoyed watching her grow; one of my brothers got married so also welcomed another sister-in-law to the family; spent a lot of time with my wonderful family; welcomed a lot of new practice members into the Cafe of LIFE; welcomed a lot of new little ones into the practice since we see a lot of pregnant mothers; took doula training; ran the Detroit Half Marathon for the 2nd time; finished the CRIM 1o mile for the 5th time; dated a super neat guy; made some new friends and deepened some existing friendships; enjoyed a few sweat lodge ceremonies; intensified my commitment to my yoga practice; healed from a nasty shoulder injury; started coaching chiropractors again; started playing soccer again after my 15 year hiatus; and so many other wonderful things too numerous to list here. Looking back on your year, what fond memories have you created?

Some of my friends and I come up with a slogan for the year...like last year was "Life is Zen in 2010"...which for me, really didn't pan out so well (not in a bad way, just not quite what you would call "Zen0. So this year we are talking "Life is Heaven in 2011" but I am not sure sure I want to have quite that high of an aim (no pun intended)...so I am thinking "There will be Seven in 2011". Seven what you might ask? I will be asking the same question and I look forward to finding that out. I kind of dig the mystery of what it might mean... we only get one chance...make your 2011 the best year yet!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

WISH TO YOU...

"Wishing you a slower pace, some private time, a dreaming place, and all the things that make a happy heart"...

LET IT SNOW!!!

The snow is here!!! Come on people, it is inevitable that it was coming. How much more sunshine and warm weather could you handle? Sometimes I just get so sick of the sunshine!!! I'm only kidding, who doesn't love the sunshine. I really look at snow like it is a little touch of sunshine. I absolutely love when everything is beautifully covered in the white stuff. It really isn't the holidays without snow so I think December 1st is the perfect time for it to start flying. Of course many of you know that to me, snow means SNOWBOARDING!!! One of my most favorite things to do. My happiest place is anywhere strapped to my snowboard. Since I could walk, my parents had me on skies (and prior to that, I was in a backpack on their back while they skied). Getting to play in the snow like that from such a young age makes for growing up with a great appreciation for winter. I have 3 brothers and together we were busy-bodies. The 4 of us were born within 5 years (my parents were going for 10 kids, stopped at 4 thank goodness) and my parents would get us involved in things that would wear us out. In the summer we would swim 4-5 times per week and in the winter we would ski 4 days per week out at a little private ski place called Kandahar on Foley Rd. (anyone remember Kandahar?). We would ski Wednesday nights, Friday nights, all day Saturday and Sunday would make for 4 very tired children (they were smart parents). About 14 years ago, I took up snowboarding and have not turned back. In fact, every winter I watch skiers and wonder what it would be like to be going down the hill facing forward with feet strapped to their own planks. It seems like such a strange thing. I am sure I would just pick it right back up, but it has been years and years. Big Sky, Montana is my most favorite place I have been, then Vail, Colorado and Alyeska, Alaska would have to be third. People are happy on the slopes, everyone is in a good mood and some of the world's greatest conversations are had on the chairlift. To me, it is meditative, it is peaceful and the closest thing to flying. I will be hitting up Mt. Holly a little bit this year as well. Maybe I will see you on the slopes. :)
Pictures are me in Colorado last March. First one is at Keystone and the second one is smiling on the chairlift at Vail.

THANKSGIVING

Just two more sleeps until the greatest holiday is the year. I simply love the idea of food, friends, family and fun. I love that there are no presents and it is just about being present. I love the simplicity of joining together to celebrate a day of gratitude. I am going to be spending my day with some of my most favorite people. First off, I will start my day in the hottest way...HOT VINYASA yoga class. I am contemplating a 1 or 2 hour class and am probably going to opt for the 2 hour class. The greatest thing is that both yoga studios that I go to, and probably hundreds more around the nation and world, do classes for donations on those days and then give the money to food banks or charities, etc. It is a great feeling to just be in those classes, however it is even better to know that the place that I participate in is giving back to the community is a powerful way. Then I will probably wander around a bit and find a hot cup of tea somewhere. From there it will be back home to get things put together for dinner at my aunt and uncle's house which is always a lot of fun. My Mom and Dad come from HUGE families and every holiday was filled with tons and people...I am not joking when I say 30-40 was a regular dinner times 2!!! I think this one will be probably about 25 as people have other priorities now that we are grown ups. :) In the evening I will probably head over to another aunt's house for dessert and drinks maybe...then Friday...start the whole thing over again. I will find a yoga class, probably get some decorating done and then head to dinner at my brother's house. The weekend will probably be filled with holiday decorating, probably some shopping, hopefully some left-overs somewhere, a hike or two, maybe a run and some good ol' fashion down time, like curl up on the couch with a cup of tea and listen to Christmas music. ahhhhhhh....the holidays. :) Happy Thanksgiving!!!

JOIN US!!!

HALLOWEEN

The fall has been so wonderful and the end of October marks one of my most favorite holidays, Halloween. This year the Cafe of LIFE was bustling with people on our Trick-or-Treat event with the Chamber of Commerce. The Cafe of LIFE was open on Friday the 29th from 1-6 and we had loads of fun. I want to get some of the pictures up so you can check it out. We probably had around 200 people swing in that day. It was Teri's (one of fabulous massage therapists) birthday and there was a little extra celebration for that. Fun times. I hope yours was safe and fun as well. I will post a few more pictures soon.

I AM A RUNNER

Ok, so now I find myself in a serious mind over matter situation once again. I will be running the Detroit Half Marathon this coming Sunday and am not quite sure how that is going to go. I have been running and walking though the summer and the fall and am pretty well trained for the weekend ahead of me. The biggest challenge is that my longest run as of recent is 9 miles. My plan was to get in an 11 mile run 2 weekends ago but I ended up under the weather and couldn't make that happen. So this past weekend, with lungs still compromised, I made a 9 mile happen on Friday and an 8.25 happen on Sunday (Choco did the full 8 with me as well, what a rockstar he is!). I will head down to the expo tomorrow to pick up my number and I am sure at that time my body will start to get into the race mode. They do a great job with the expos for these races and really gets you in the mood. Sunday I will wake up early and head back down to Detroit for a 7am start. Think of me around 8am when you are thinking about getting out of bed as I will be well on my way over the Ambassador Bridge to Canada. Around 9:00am when you are making breakfast, I will head back through the tunnel to the United States and finish hopefully somewhere around 10am. Ever think of doing a Marathon or Half Marathon? Maybe start with a 5K race around the holidays this year. Lots of Turkey Trots and Jingle Jogs happening around the southern Michigan area. So back to this weekend...and not knowing how it is going to go...I guess there is only one way to find out! Wish me luck!

http://www.freepmarathon.com/