21 Day Challenge Starts April 2nd!

Use the first 21 days in April to get your health on the right track as we move into warmer, brighter and more active days. The winter can leave us feeling a little blah, a little demotivated and a little sluggish. Too often it takes us all spring and summer to get our groove back. This challenge is designed to speed up this process and get you feeling great and ready to make the most of the amazing weather!

There are 2 extra fantastic things about this challenge:

• Number 1 is you get to declare what is important to you. You choose the target you want to hit! Want to lose some weight? You can! Want to cut processed foods? Workout more? Watch less television? You can do all that! That target that you choose is specific to your goals, nobody else's. It only has to be measurable for the 21 days. We don't want any wishy washy goals, for example, feel better. This means nothing, because we can't measure it!
• Number 2. As extra motivation, you get to wager a bet on yourself that you will achieve your target. When you achieve it at the end of the 21 days, you get 90% of this dollar amount back. The rubber meets the road when we have to put your money where you mouth is. This number will be different for everyone - $100 might be the ticket or the thought of losing $20 might compel you into action. Whatever the number is it should motivate you to keep going when it gets hard or you feel like you just can't be bothered. For example you bet $100 on yourself to achieve your goal. This amount would hurt a lot if you lost it. At the end of the challenge you have hit your target... Amazing! You will receive $90 back. (The 10% is payment for the challenge, guidance, and accountability.)

There are less than 48 hours to sign up! To be involved you must commit before Tuesday, March 27th at Midnight. To do this - send an email saying I'm IN! and declare what your target is and how much you're willing to wager.

I'm so looking forward to your success. Committing to your health is literally the best thing you can do for yourself because it affects everything and everyone in your life!

Peace, Love and Wellness

​Dr. Liz

Public perception of a chiropractic adjustment seems to be stuck on bone out of place, adjust, bone back in place… all better! But what is actually taking place is so much more than that. So let me elaborate a bit, and I will try not to get too science-y on ya.
First let’s establish some facts. The body is controlled by the brain… Fact. Without your brain you would cease to function… Fact. To control the body the brain uses the nervous system… Fact. The nervous system travels through the spine and enters/exits at various levels so therefore its protected by the spine… Fact. If the nervous system is interfered with at any level it can cause changes in how the message is received or sent by the brain and disrupt the bodies equilibrium… Fact. The body is always striving for health… Fact.
Now let’s tie these facts into some new research from Dr. Heidi Haavik and her team at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic.  Dr. Haavik is a chiropractor with a Ph.D in neuroscience so I think it is safe to presume she knows her stuff! What they are showing is that the brain operates based on it’s own reality, and sometimes that doesn’t match up with actual reality. For example in your eye you have a blind spot where the optic nerve enters and exits. But unless you actively try to see the blind spot, your brain will make a well informed guess based on the other sensory information coming from your eyes to fill in the gaps. So if something out of the ordinary is in your blind spot, your brain may never know it is there. This means that the brain’s inner reality (what it thinks) isn’t matching up with actual reality (what is actually there). This can happen throughout the rest of the nervous system as well. When the message either coming or going from the brain is distorted due to a subluxation the inner reality of the brain no longer matches the outer reality.
So, what does this mean for a chiropractic adjustment I hear you ask? Well I am glad you did! Dr. Haavik’s research has shown that a single chiropractic adjustment changes the way the brain perceives it’s body, allowing the inner reality to match up with the outer reality. Let’s go back to our facts to show why this is so important: The body is controlled by the brain. With better perception of what is going on in the body, the brain works more effectively at striving for health. So with regular chiropractic adjustments the brain’s inner reality is more accurate with the bodies outer reality allowing for a more appropriate expression of health. And just to clarify health is not merely the absence of disease, but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being.
Hopefully this has given you a better perspective on why regular care is so important for your whole body. OR it could have given you way more questions! Which is totally fine as well, I love questions. Feel free to comment and ask away 
Yours in Health,
Dr. Liz

The term evidence based medicine is thrown around as justification for treatment regarding ailments, disease and injury. It should mean that all prescribed treatment should be backed by scientific studies that show the effectiveness of that treatment. But according to this article by the Huffington Post, traditional medicine is not as ‘evidence-based’ as people may think. Studies have been done on the efficacy of what medical doctors are prescribing and have been found wanting. So, what does this mean for you?
When you go to your doctor and are prescribed medication; it may work, it may  not, it may actually harm you or the effects are unknown. The majority, according to the British Medical Journal, have unknown effects. I don’t know about you, but if I am going to put something in or on my body as a treatment, I would like to know that it was going to work, all the time. By no means am I promoting you ditch all your prescriptions and throw caution to the wind! But I think it does warrant a discussion with your doctor about what you are taking, why you are taking it and if it is actually helping your health ailment.
As a chiropractor, I do not claim to treat anything. Your body can heal itself better than any drug, pill or potion out there. While I don’t claim to treat anything, what I do claim to do is backed by the latest science. The adjustment that I give in my office has been proven to effect the way the brain perceives the body. I spoke about this in more detail in this blog post. So I would postulate that what I do as a chiropractor is evidence-based. This is a far cry from many people who routinely call Chiropractors ‘unscientific’ or ‘quacks’.
The more people who realize that their ability to heal is inside them and will always travel from above, down, inside, out, the better off we will be. Where above is the brain as the control center, down is the communication pathway of the nervous system, inside is the body and out is the flowing of energy from our body to affect the world around us. Health and healing doesn’t come from a pill, potion, or topical ointment. It comes from within.
What do you think? Do you believe that you can heal yourself? I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic!
Peace, Love and Wellness
Dr. Liz

I have been reading Well-Adjusted Babies by Dr. Jennifer Barham-Floreani and want to bring some gems from the book straight to you. Pregnancy, like a lot of things, has become big business. There are countless pre-natal, pregnancy, and post-natal tests that you can have performed to enhance your experience. But does this process actually need enhancing? In some cases, yes it does. Sub-optimal nutrition and health by the mother or possible complications due to the baby may require tests for a healthy pregnancy, birth and baby. But, women have been giving birth for thousands of years without any intervention, so it can be done! Please note, this list is by no means exhaustive of all the things you can do to have a healthy pregnancy, and is not meant to take the place of medical advice.

1. Learn about pregnancy. Appreciate how your baby develops so you can understand their growing needs.
2. Broaden your knowledge by interviewing other women, couples and maternity care providers, and then decide on your individual approach to pregnancy and birth.
3. Learn about general health and wellness.
4. Get checked by a wellness-oriented chiropractor. When your nervous system or ‘life-force’ is free of interference, your body is better able to express its full genetic potential for vitalism and health.
5. Assess your pre-pregnancy health status. Naturopaths and Chinese herbalists are trained to assess specific nutritional needs or deficiencies which might impact on a mother’s pregnancy or long-term health. Dr. Teresita Martinez at The Golgi Clinic is my recommendation
6. Adopt self-care principles and healthy lifestyle habits.
7. Focus on a wholesome nutritious diet.
8. Reduce your toxic load.
9. Maintain a positive learning attitude.
10. Relax, meditate, and connect with your baby.

This list is something that I have been focusing on during my pregnancy and has definitely taken some of the unknown elements out of what I should be doing. Deciding to start a family or becoming pregnant is an exciting and nerve racking time in your life. This is your process and there are a lot of options out there. Find the ones that resonate with you and stick with them as long as they continue to feel right. If you would like to read more of the book, I have it in the office to borrow, along with the DVD ‘Doctored’ which looks at the monopolization of our medical system.

I would love to hear everyone’s experiences! How did you stay healthy during your pregnancy? If you have any questions about the list, don’t hesitate to reach out. Also, if you know anyone that would benefit from this list, please share it with them!

​Peace, Love and Wellness
Dr. Liz