mind body planet

Chiropractics

In the fall of my first year here at school I was introduced to a class that opened my eyes in a lot of ways to many healing practices that I had never heard about. Though my parents were fairly liberal and interested in those things that may be considered fringe, they were never wealthy enough for us to be a part of those things. Living out in the middle of nowhere didn’t help either. Anyway, this class was probably one of the best classes I will ever take in terms of exploration of a topic that I’d love to learn about and not necessarily study in depth. The class was a very general survey of alternative, complementary, and preemptive healing methods. At the time I was pretty blown away by most of the information that I was being flooded with because it was all very new to me and some of it, like shamanism, I didn’t know still existed other than in Carlos Castaneda novels. After the class ended I knew that I would like to try some of these new methods and still I was bound by my limited budget as a student. This summer though I finally gave in and realized that it would do me a lot of good in my life to go ahead and try something. My big question was which one I should choose. I finally decided that I would try Chiropractics because it seemed to me to be the most effective of all of these modalities at really solving a much bigger problem.

My experience with Chiropractics, though still very limited, has been nothing but positive as of yet. The whole series of appointments began with an initial examination that is very similar to a general examination that you might get in a doctor’s office. The guy who I picked out was amazing and he really made me feel like he cared. The entire examination lasted about two hours during which we did a full physical, x-rays, and a questionnaire sort of interview. He then gave me a brief overview of what he wanted to do the next time and told me he’d call me in a day or so. When I went back for the next appointment he had my x-rays up on the projector and showed me the problem areas of my spine. He told me that a car accident I had had a few years ago my be the cause for the problems I have been having with my arches in my feet lately. He said that all of our health problems essentially boil down to an imbalance and areas of trauma in the spine. He did an adjustment on my spine that first day and gave me some evaluations of the strength of different areas of my spine. That was last week and now I am really excited for my appointment tomorrow.

I have been looking in to chiropractics more and more now that I am a subject and I feel better about it every time I read on. The work that Chiropractors do on the spine has been used by various cultures for a very long time and many of their theories are being proven by science long after they known that they are truth. It’s really a very beautiful set of theories of health and human development based around the proper functioning and shape of the spine in order to balance the whole of the body system. Based on my current level of care and improvement I would not suggest that this level of satisfaction will change any time soon. I will have to recommend this to every one of you if you have the money to shell out since many insurance policies do not cover this amazing form of medicine.

Organics(2)

As I promised, I am back today to talk a little bit more about how a person such as myself can survive on an Organic and local diet on a students’ budget. I am here to tell you people that though the statistics are stacked against you, the opportunities are all right there in front of you to take advantage of. Even though I was raised in an environment where I have been buying these types of foods all of my life, I still had to learn how to buy foods and how to budget in a place away from home like this and it was nothing short of difficult.

For me the biggest key to making the transition to an entirely local and Organic diet is to remember that it is just that. We are trying to save the world and make ourselves much healthier as soon as possible, but we can’t do it all in one day. I am quite radical compared to many of my close friends when it comes to this and I still this that it is always a process of growth and inclusion. If your personal budget doesn’t allow you to make the entire cart beam with Organic beauty, then don’t worry about it. IF you can go to the farmer’s market and get what you need and only supplement some things from the grocery store, that is better than most. I think that when you get in to the habit of feeling guilty for not being a complete Organic or completely local foods shopper, then you are just hurting yourself and those you come in contact with. Just stay positive about it. It is all a long process like anything else in life.

On a more practical and individual level, there are some things to pay attention to when you are forced to make these decisions. Some foods are basically the same when they are Organic and when they are conventional. Some foods like grapes and apples just drink up and retain pesticides until you digest them. Foods like these are the ones you want to never compromise on if you are dedicated because these are the ones that are causing the most damage. Then there are foods that are much better not purchased at all if you are concerned with local foods issues. Many of the fruits that we buy are not from this country, or they are from the other side of the country. If you live on the east coast and get oranges from California, you are burning something like a gallon of gas for that one orange to get to your hands. To me that seems absurd when I can grow strawberries or blueberries around here and be just fine.

It surely is a huge issue when you really get down to the nitty gritty like this, but in the end it is all about your own personal battles and priorities. IF you are driven crazy by the energy wasted in this country around or food transportation scheme, then locals are for you. If you are more worried about what is going in to your body when you bite in to that mutated corn then Organics may be your route. Like I said, it all depends on what is most important to you in your food choices.

Organic On a budget

Last time I talked about the joy and wonder behind where I get my foods from and I realize now that I may have gotten a bit ahead of myself on that one. When looking back on that entry I realize that I may have frightened away even myself a few years ago. I want to make my angle here very plain and simple folks. I don’t want you to change your lives because of some huge and idealistic higher cause. Though it would be nice, I don’t expect anyone who finds my little ole’ blog to do as such. What I want to do here is educate and that is exactly what I am going to do. So today I am going to talk about something that is much more accessible to those of us on the limited budget and the more mainstream diets. Everyone hears the word Organic thrown around whenever there is a discussion about food these days. I don’t think that most people quite understand what that means exactly so I want to give a little bit more information on that.

The popularity of Organic foods has grown out of what I perceive to be an awakening by people who realize that they have no idea what they are being fed. In agriculture in the country for the last century we have been obsessed with the use of pesticides and fertilizers to increase production. What has grown out of that is an obsession that spilled over in to much more research and development in genetics that simple agriculture. Today we have major corporations the produce our seeds for the most major staple crops in the country which contain pesticides all the way until they are in our stomachs. Of course these seeds have been given some kind of health clearance, but so have all of the other products that we are not informed about at the start. There are seeds for certain crops given frog and fish genes so they can resist extreme temperatures. Now I may think personally that this concept is a bit weird, but I don’t want to say that I don’t think it’s fine for businesses to do this. It is their right. For those of us who want to feel safe about our foods, the market power of our dollars has been speaking load and clear over the past few years.

Organic foods are foods produced and sold without the use of pesticides and petroleum based fertilizers. This essentially means that what you get when you buy Organic is the same foods your ancestors would have been buying. Then within the term Organic there is also another split that we have to watch out for. The term Organic does not include the use of genetic modifications. So that is why there are some labels that say non-GMO organics which means that they have not been genetically modified. In other words these products are the original strains of the products you think that you are buying. I hope that this makes a little bit of sense to you now and so you can disseminate between all of the various labeling for food out there. I will go in to more detail about Organics next time so that I can discuss how to live Organic on a limited budget.

Yoga’s Role

In this country today we have received the best and the worst that the other cultures of this world have to offer. We have gotten all of their best and brightest, which may be changing, and we have managed to make them our own unique product in some way, shape, or form. With every one of our own cultural interpretations of other practices, we seem to have a hard time finding the same truths in other cultures when we try them on. There must be something inherent in our own culture that doesn’t allow us to see the truth of a situation. One of the biggest items along these lines that I can think of is the role of the Hindu practice of Yoga within our society. Somehow in our cultural view of this ancient art form of life and breath, we have managed to find a way to make it something in the league of jazzercise. It is now something that is viewed here as an exercise routine that is reserved for soccer moms and older women who need something to do to stay out of the hospital. Concurrently we have turned what has been historically a male practice in India in to something that seems to turn men away. Now I don’t know if it has something to do with the American Patriarchic ideal that men should not be in touch with their inner selves, but I would certainly say that I have felt uncomfortable in many Yoga classes because the women feel that I am invading their sacred space. In my experience the majority of people who populate Yoga classes in this country are women and any man how rolls out a mat is either viewed as a possible homosexual or someone who is less that a man. I would like to just say that this is a purely American product of skewed views and prejudice of a practice of self-knowledge that might just be able to heal the problems ailing this country.

Yoga is a practice of joining the mind and the body with the breath in order to move to higher planes of existence. This is not some religious vision or spiritual quest that only ascetics attempt in their wisdom and knowledge which we in this country cannot comprehend. This is something we can all take part in. Though the structure of Yoga classes in this country are typically based on the goal of exercise and flexibility, the efforts of the individual can make all of the difference. Some of the best teachers in the country and in the world understand the true goal of the practice, but if a student doesn’t want to hear the words then they won’t.

The practice of Yoga is meant to calm and aid in the practice of daily life. We all cannot spend our lives on the mat or in seclusion, but we can all be proactive about our own lives and find our own truths within. All we have to do is be patient and have the courage and strength to sit up straight, breath slowly, and listen to the silent voice within ourselves.

I am lucky enough that the college I have chosen is right in the middle of a nice farm belt.  There aren’t too many of them that are interested in local foods movements and Organic growing.  Most of the farmers are much more traditional in their loyalties and in their own corporate sponsorships.  Around here though there are a nice selection of farms that specialize in such progressive and sustainable farming.  Because of these farms there is also an almost daily selection of farmer’s markets around if you have a way to get their and mouths to feed. I usually go to a farmer’s market five days out of the week with the exception of wednesdays and sundays which are apparently rest days for the farmers to maintain work back at the farm and rest a little bit.  These farmer’s markets are not only relics of a past economic structure that we had in this country and others still have today, but they are a sign of growing acceptance of the fact that we need to be stewards and not only consumers.

Many farms around here also participate in programs known as CSA’s for short.  These programs are called community supported Agriculture and within the last decade or so they have been blowing up in popularity and sheer numbers.  Basically what a CSA is is a way for the farmer to get community support for their farm while the people paying get seasonal food that was picked that day fresh.  Every January these farms start taking money and make up a big list that they limit to make sure everyone is going to get what they pay for. Then they take that money and invest it in the basics of the farm and the whole things cycles back around. I don’t know personally, but I would imagine that in a system like this the farmer’s are not making that much money, but really they are doing something that is so much more important than that. By setting up a system like this they are essentially bringing all of the economic growth and support that would have gone to already prolific farmers in areas like California or Florida and bringing it back to our town.  This also helps us to minimize how much energy is being expended to get us our food.  Instead of flying strawberries from across the country, I get about ten pounds of them in the early summer. 

Today is Tuesday and in this context this is like the perfect storm of a day for my style of food.  On this day I have a farmer’s market a block from my apartment and I pick up my CSA about three blocks past that.  Today I came home with corn, blueberries, lettuces, potatoes, and onions.  All of the food is so fresh and delicious that it makes dishes taste totally different that if I were to make them with even Organic grocery store foods. This is the aesthetic payoff of the local foods movement, but the implication are much larger than that. These are just two of the more practical support structures that most people can access on a daily basis for making change in the world around them. Go out and find one or both of these today and make your difference. 

I would like to start of my blogging career by just giving an overview of the kinds of things I will discuss on here as well as a little bit of a background on myself. This will be my first blog ever and I will surely hit some snags along the way and run out of things to say eventually, but right now I have plenty of things to spout about. I hope that in all of my ramblings, that I can educate those who are seeking, discuss with those who are learning, and learn from those who are willing. This is my goal, and this is my blog.

My life has always been sort of steeped in the world of the natural way of living you could say. I have only recently had to begin calling my way of life “natural” because people like labels and we can’t deny ourselves that. Since I was a young child in our home, the primary methods of medicine were yoga, and herbs. I have only begun using supplements on my own periodically when I feel that my body could really use something that plants cannot provide in a quick enough time frame. I grew up in a home where there was little to no exposure to television and much of my free time was spent gardening in the summer and reading in the colder months.

Now that I have reached collage age and I am being forced to live in the way that everyone else here must, I have had to make some adjustments to the way in which I live to cope with a reduced amount of natural surroundings to use at my disposal. This has forced me in to the world of local foods and ,at times when I can’t get things at farmer’s markets, organics foods at the grocery store. I look at the way I am living my life right now as sort of a model with which a person can function on a sustainable and natural way of life, even while caught in the grips of faster paced living conditions. I have been walking the path of eco friendly living forever, but now I am out there in the big world with everyone else, just trying to do my part to help with the mess around us.

At this point in my life I have been a yoga teacher, a professional musician, an amateur music therapist, and a farmer. My mother and father were both practitioners of qigong and Reiki. The background that I bring to the table should provide readers and discussers with something interesting at times, and something that they may disagree with at other times. That is the wonderful part of this path. There are so many routes to take and every one is just as valid if they work for you.

I hope that I have given everyone a good taste of what is to come and what may be discussed on here. If anyone has anything that they would like me to bring up, please don’t hesitate to stop me and just ask how I feel or tell me how you feel on something that interests you. Here’s to a wonderful time from here on out. Salute!