What does YOUR posture look like?

Sit up straight, chin up, chest out/shoulders back….. ever heard any of those sage words of wisdom? Chances are you have and chances are even greater that the person telling you to follow those orders was slouched over with their head down and their shoulders rolled forward!

Posture is more than a tag phrase thrown around by well-intentioned authority figures. It is an essential part of living a fully functional and well life. Ever seen a house with a saggy foundation on one corner, or a badly rotted sill? Doesn’t look good or age well, does it? In fact when you look inside, you see windows that don’t open and close, doors that stick, and floors that are un-level, and eventually the exterior begins to deteriorate as well.

The same goes for the body; however, in the body there are more important considerations than the structure to be concerned with. For instance, when your spine is out of “alignment” or balance, the nervous system immediately tries to correct it through muscle contraction, joint fixation and/or hyper mobility, circulatory changes, and eventually chronic scar tissue development. This is just the effect on the bones and muscles. What about the organs and glands?

Question: Can a lack of proper posture affect your heart, your digestion, your thyroid gland, or any and all other tissues in the body?

Answer: ABSOLUTELY!

Question: Would you know if you had “bad” posture that was affecting your health?

Answer: Probably not!

Question: How would I know if I had “Bad” posture?

Answer: Seek the advice of an expert in the proper balance and structure of the spinal column and nervous system… a chiropractor!

As a chiropractic office, the most common postural issues we see are:

• -forward head posture
• -hyper kyphosis
• -hip/shoulder/ear height imbalances

All of these issues stem from the body’s natural and proper attempts to adapt to gravity, and all can be corrected if detected before permanent structural damage is done (usually in the form of degenerative arthritis or, better put, wear-and-tear arthritis).

The best advice: get checked as soon as possible by Dr. Ranae for spinal and nervous system imbalance, and then follow the appropriate corrective measures to get your spine, nervous system, and muscular system to a place of balance and integrity.

Once you have done this, it will be easy to maintain; your health and future well-being will be a blank canvas on which you can paint a masterpiece!

*Thanks to LearningCurves.us for this article!

That being said, tolerance is not something that is always healthy. There are many things that we tolerate as a matter of course in a day that don’t have anything to do with the above mentioned traits; things like noisy neighbors, gossipy co-workers, pushy relatives, and the list goes on. Being a strong assertive person might not always cause you to gain friends, but do you really want to be friends with the guy in the copy room who talks behind everyone’s back?

Believe it or not, some people drink this EVERYDAY! Ewwww!

There are also things about ourselves that we tolerate. The best example that I can think of is headaches. I have met so many people who have complained about headaches, but when I ask them about it they shrug and say “it’s just a normal headache.” They have become tolerant of their headaches. They don’t like them, but they put up with them because they don’t know life without them. There is no such thing as a normal headache, my friends. If you have a headache there is a reason for it. Your body is not putting you through misery for no reason. How about that achy sore back that keeps you stiff and makes it difficult to get your socks and shoes on in the morning? You guessed it; not normal either. Think taking Tums on a daily basis is normal? Absolutely not!

These are some of the common health issues that many people learn to tolerate, and I would like to give you permission to STOP TOLERATING them and do something to rid your life of these issues forever. I believe you can take a stand, give up on unnecessary issues that take away from the quality of your life, and banish these tolerations once and for all. One way that you can address personal tolerances is by visiting our office for chiropractic care. Dr. Ranae deals with these types of problems on a daily basis, and knows the best way to treat them without putting anything into the body or taking anything out of the body. Soon you won’t believe that you ever put up with so-called “normal” aches and pains!

*Thanks to LearningCurves.us for portions of this blog!

If you are reading this, you have made a choice!

There, wasn’t that easy? One of the things that make life so interesting is the fact that we have endless opportunities to make new choices. Our lives can change with dramatic speed and take a completely different course in the blink of an eye. What I find to be incredibly liberating is the idea that if there is something that I don’t like, I can choose to change it. If I am unhappy with my level of fitness, I can choose to get in shape. If I don’t like the direction of my career, I can choose to learn more, work harder, and/or develop new skills that will create greater opportunities for me and my family. If I don’t enjoy the state of my relationships, I can choose to be more attentive to the needs of others and ask others to be more attentive to my needs. If I want to be healthier, I can choose to live a proactive balanced lifestyle that will build health and well being, or I can choose to react to sickness and disease when it appears.

The power to choose is the power to create a meaningful experience in life.

Our lives today are the culmination of all of the choices we have made in the past, and our lives tomorrow will be created by the choices we make going forward from this moment. Now is the time. Life must be lived in the now, yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may never come, so as I see it, there is no other moment for you to make a choice than right NOW.

What have you been putting off, what do you want to change, and are you ready to make the choice to change it? One of my favorite quotes about choice came from Geddy Lee of Rush when he said “if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice”. So don’t think it is safe to stay the same; don’t wait, make the choice; choose a direction that is fulfilling and will create greater possibilities for you to grow!

*Thanks to LearningCurves.us for portions of this blog!

See Fact #5

If you’re already benefiting from chiropractic care, send this along to all your friends and family:

Start your new year with this in mind:

1. Your entire life started off (for about 30 minutes) as one cell, after fertilization has occurred, but before reproduction begins
2. Your eyes have been the same size (not necessarily the same color) since birth, while every other portion of your body has changed as time has passed
3. Your nose can remember 50,000 different scents, many of which are associated with memories and emotions
4. Your liver is capable of around 500 different functions, including the production of bile and detoxification
5. Your arms, spread straight out in a T shape (your wingspan) is the same measurement as your height
6. Your thigh bones are stronger than concrete and steel
7. Your body completely regenerates itself once every 7 years, replacing every cell that makes up your bones, your blood, your organs, your muscles, and your mind–                                                how many regenerations have you completed?

… and most importantly, all you need to make your body do all this is the best possible nerve function!

Innate Intelligence

Your brain and nervous system influence every ounce of your body, every impulse and action, every everything! The human species has survived and even thrived for thousands of years, through plague, natural disasters, and the creation of the Twinkie. It has done so without needing to drown itself in an ocean of pills; if humans truly needed pharmaceuticals to survive, we’d have died out a long time ago. It has done so without treadmills, “super foods”, genetically-modified crops, and Zumba class. The human body, like every other living organism on this planet, has within it the capacity to function properly… if only we’d get out of its way and just let it! This doesn’t mean you can get away with not eating good food, exercising right, and getting quality rest every day– it means that if you are using your body the way it was intended to be used, then you’re preventing a myriad of problems in the future, all without needing to resort to drastic and ineffective measures.

The biggest difference between chiropractic doctors and pretty much every other mainstream professional in the health care industry is the approach to treatment of diseases. So much of the commercial, promoted, hyper-advertised part of “health care” relies on the product they’re selling and not the body you’re using.

“Food” Producers: ”Why yes, you can consume nothing but Lean Cuisines and zero-calorie Vitamin Water and be healthy… provided you enjoy developing more severe health risks in the future because you spent all your time and money avoiding at all costs the intake of anything anywhere close to real food. After all, calories were made by the devil, as were proteins, fats, and carbs… never mind the fact that the human body uses calories as fuel, and is comprised of proteins, fats, and carbs… so ignore the buttload of artificial chemicals and additives we’ve thrown in to make the wood pulp and and glass you’re really eating resemble food!

Exercise Industries: ”Oh, you’re not fat! You’ve just been barely living as a human because you’re not using The Terrific Total Toner!… which happens to be available for 7 easy payments of $49.99. It does all the work for you! It makes you lean and pretty and happy just by looking at it! Hey, even if you just spend 5 minutes a day thinking about using it, you’ll see inches disappear from your waistline! But… you know… be careful when you get this thing in the mail and have to set it up, because that requires… well, using muscles… and we don’t in any way advocate using muscles because that feels like exercise, and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?!”

Remember THIS gem?

Pharmaceutical Companies: ”Why eat good food and move your body when you could be taking this magic pill? It will regrow hair exactly where you want it to grow in the color you want, shrink the bum you can’t get rid of by eating only “healthy” microwave dinners and keeping your high-priced piece of miraculous exercise equipment in the closet, whiten your teeth, prevent any cold or flu ever, get rid of your acne, and make you taller. By the way, some of the side effects include excessive gas and bloating, nausea, acid reflux, joint inflammation, bone loss, depression and/or thoughts of suicide, blindness, an increased urge to gamble, itching, and death… but you should take it anyway…”

So What Makes Chiropractic Different?

Chiropractic will probably never become the hottest celebrity-endorsed craze. Chiropractic will probably never appear as a late-night infomercial with an enthusiastic spokesperson and a seizure-inducing graphic blitz. Chiropractic is not glamorous or as dramatic as an episode of “ER” or “Grey’s Anatomy”.

Chiropractic IS, however, the most effective method of removing stress placed on your nervous system.

Life is complicated, and results in patterns and situations that create unnecessary stress for our spines to handle. The spine that was built to protect the flow of information throughout our bodies then becomes that flow’s primary source of interruption. If left unchecked, that interruption will result in an organ/process/structure that must work incorrectly… in a state of dis-ease.

Chiropractic’s focus is the health of the entire body and its natural ability to heal and regenerate. That health is achieved by correcting those spinal imbalances (subluxations) with gentle and consistent adjustments; nothing foreign goes into the body, and nothing is extracted from the body. There are no side effects, no contaminants, no food dyes or artificial sweeteners, no flashy bells-n-whistles pieces of equipment. It’s just (quite literally) turning your power on!

Why waste your time and money reacting to what happens after your body has been neglected? Why not save yourself all that hassle and prevent those problems?!

Does your diet look more like this...?

... or more like this?

Now that the major holiday season is behind us and all the delicious sweets and treats and large quantities of food have been consumed we can relax a little, right? It’s interesting how over the holidays, even though many of us tend to eat way too many unhealthy foods we are acknowledging the fact and thinking about what we should be eating to be healthier or at least what we shouldn’t be eating. However, when the holiday season passes and we go back to eating our standard diet, are you looking at the foods you eat with such a watchful eye? With all the clever marketing of foods these days it is difficult to know what is good for you and what is not. So here are some general rules to eat by:

• -Never shop hungry– we tend to make poor food choices when hungry
• -Avoid foods with artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame
• -Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup
• -Avoid foods with large numbers of ingredients– if you can’t pronounce a name on the ingredient label, chances are it’s not good for you (found primarily in highly processed foods)
• -Try to do most of your shopping around the outside perimeter of the grocery store where most of your fresh foods are kept
• -Buy organic when you can (Look up the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen as a guideline for economical organic eating)
• -Make sure 70 to 80% of your plate consists of fresh raw or lightly steamed vegetables or fruits
• -Eat reasonable portion sizes and slow down your eating, if you tend to be the first one done at the dinner table
• -Drink mostly water and avoid sugary drinks like soda
• -Take interest in the food you prepare! Learn to prepare healthy foods by reading books or watching cooking programs on healthy cooking!

And remember these two important rules!

• ~If you put garbage in, what can you expect to glean from it?  You probably guessed it…garbage!
• ~If you want to be more alive than dead, then eat foods that are more alive than dead!

By following these simple rules you will greatly increase your ability to be healthy and well all year long, especially when the holidays come around again!

*Thanks to LearningCurves.us for this article’s content!

Many of our patients that are seeing us for their first experience with chiropractic ever come to us because something happened to them: a fall; an auto accident; a bout of illness for which no other course of treatment has worked. But you don’t need something like that to happen first! You don’t have to wait for your health to bottom-out before you take action. A great many of our most successful patients began their care because they wanted to make their good health a priority, regardless of the time in their lives and their current state of health when that they came to that decision.

There are so many things that you already know you can benefit from. Please use the list below as a starting point. Life is too short to fall victim to procrastination. Each day is an opportunity to grow and experience all that life has to offer. The opportunity truly is now. It’s better late than never. Start experiencing more life today!

It’s never too late to…

~Forgive someone

~Quit smoking

~Start exercising

~Start eating healthy

~Go back to school

~Change careers

~Plan for retirement “redirectment”

~Get married

~Take an art lesson

~Learn to dance

~Learn a second language

~Perform a random act of kindness

~Expand your spiritual consciousness

~Kick a bad habit

~Change your mind

~Say I love you

~Get a massage

~Call an old friend

~Get organized

~Create a photo album

~Volunteer

~Set goals

~Start Chiropractic care!!!!!!

~Apologize

~Learn to play a musical instrument

~Take a vacation

~Write a book

*Thanks to www.learningcurves.us for portions of this post!

Brandon is an active owner and proprietor of a successful bar in Fort Collins, and has worked out at a local gym regularly, but when he had a minor accident while working out, he knew to get it checked out before it resulted in him not being able to do anything!

10... 9... 8... !

Maybe you have heard someone say “your attitude determines your altitude”, or “turn that frown upside down”. Have you ever wondered what they are trying to say with these one-liners? It is a well known fact that what we think (our attitude) determines what kind of day or even life we will experience. How we choose to think is our decision.

For example, let’s pretend that it is Monday morning. You get out of the shower and there is no towel and you discover that your curling iron is broken. At this point you have to decide how to think about and react to this situation. You can get angry that there is no towel. You can be annoyed that the curling iron didn’t last as long as you wanted. Or, you can decide not to dwell on the past and focus on the future. You can decide to check if there is a towel ready for you and accept that tools like the curling iron only last so long. It’s not what happened to you that morning that counts. What counts is your reaction to the events and how you choose to think about them.

We at Access To Health believe that there is always a good side to every bad situation. Sometimes it takes a lot of time and searching to discover it. There is a story about a couple who has twin boys. One is an incurable pessimist where nothing is ever good or right. The other is just as incurable, but an optimist. The parents wanted to bring them toward the middle a bit and hatched a plan for Christmas. They loaded the pessimist’s room with all the latest and greatest toys and games. There was no way he could be disappointed by this effort. Christmas morning turned into sobs and disappointment as the colors were not cool anymore, the computer chips were outdated, and there wasn’t enough stuff. The parents were upset and discouraged at the failure to change the pessimist, until they heard the laughter and screams of joy from the optimist’s bedroom. The parents were dumbfounded at this as they had dumped a wheelbarrow of manure on his floor. Why are you so happy, they asked? At this the boy yelled, “With all this manure there must be a pony in here somewhere!”

So you see, what you believe creates your reality. Whether you believe you are happy or sad, you are right. Have a great day. If you don’t, it’s your own fault!

*Thanks to learningcurves.us for this article!

Mmmmmm!

The old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” comes from an old English adage, “To eat an apple before going to bed will make the doctor beg his bread.” While this may not be completely true, a regular dose of apples in your diet is a good choice.

Most people have a favorite apple variety and with 100 commercially grown varieties in the U.S. there is no shortage of options. Apples are a diverse fruit found around the world and are packed with nutrients and fiber.

Health Never Tasted So Yummy!

Nutritionally, apples are an all star. Vitamins A, C, E, K and B are all found in apples. Minerals, electrolytes, and phytonutrients are also abundant in apples. Apples contain no sodium, fat, or cholesterol and for a medium-sized apple you are looking at about 80 calories. So as you can see it really is a great choice for anyone that is conscientious about what they eat.

For the maximum benefit eat your apples raw with the skin. The skin of the apple is where you will find your highest concentration of fiber and nutrients. We recommend that you eat organically grown fruit whenever possible, but if that is not an option, apples are a fruit that can be easily washed. You don’t want to offset the benefits of the apple with the harmful effects of chemicals that may have been sprayed on the fruit. How do you like them apples?

*Thanks to www.learningcurves.us for this article!

That’s why we want to share our services with your family, friends and coworkers for a donation to Realities For Children, which serves the unmet needs of abused and neglected children in Larimer County. What could be a better way to begin the holiday season than by helping both your loved ones and the community?

We’re sure you know at least 2 people that could benefit from our care. They have the chance to get started on the road to recovery & better health for only $50. Half will be used to cover the costs of their New Patient Special, and half will be automatically donated to Realities For Children.

Please give the attached gift certificate at the bottom to you friends and tell them to mention your name as a referral so that they may take advantage of the New Patient Special. If it has been 1 year or longer since you’ve been in, print a copy for yourself and use it to schedule your re-evaluation!

Have your loved ones call 970.530.0981 to schedule their time today!   Exp. 1/6/12

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Holiday Gift Certificate

www.AccessToHealthFC.com       3113 S. Taft Hill Rd., Ft Collins, CO 80526       (970) 530-0981

Dr. Ranae Beard, DC

 New Patient Exam for only $50

(Normally costs $225)

  Someone cares about you and your health!  Discover how chiropractic can help you achieve better health and an improved quality of life.

Don’t pass up this opportunity!

This certificate will cover the cost of your initial exam. This includes a consultation, 2 computerized scans, a thorough spinal exam and personal report of Dr. Ranae’s findings.

This opportunity expires on January 6^th, 2012.                                                               

*Realities For Children Charities is a 501(c)3 charitable organization

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Call 970.530.0981 to schedule your time today!