http://oxytocincentral.com/

Patients who receive Massage Therapy use less medicine and have the lowest costs for subsequent care. (Archives of Internal Medicine, 2001)

Massage Therapy increases the amount of beta-endorphins in the blood, which are believed to be responsible for pain relief and a feeling of well-being. (Kaada and Torsteinbo, 1989)

Massage Therapy improves employees’ alertness leading to reduced stress levels. (Field, 1997)

In sport, Massage Therapy is used for preventative care of soft tissue and joints, it heightens the healing process should an injury occur, and is a performance enhancer. (Smith et al,1994)

Living a life of meaning means stepping into the truth of who you are and what you have to offer.  Everyone has unique gifts, unique insights, skills and abilities to contribute and it is just a matter of finding the ones that truly light you up, make you feel motivated and inspired and add some value to the world around you.

If you feel a quiet sense of frustration, desperation or malaise, maybe it’s time you looked at what you are centering your life around.  What makes up your days? How do you invest most of your hours? Are they tasks that are filling space and creating “busyness” or are they tasks that answer the deeper call within? How many things in your life can you feel genuinely grateful for?

If you are feeling unsatisfied and want to start making some small changes towards living a life that really offers a sense of meaning and purpose, sit quietly with yourself for several minutes and then ask yourself “What do I most deeply desire to contribute to this world?”.  Wait for the answer to arise naturally and then ask yourself “What is it that is most important about this contribution?”.  Again, wait for the answer to arise without effort, keeping yourself still enough inside to hear the small voice of connection and intuition.

Once you hear some valid responses from your inner voice, choose 2 concrete tangible actions to take that will start to move your life in the direction of lining up with your inner truth (ie: I will take 30 minutes today to draw a picture as I feel that creating art is really meaningful to me OR today I will call the person I met who offered me a job opportunity I find really interesting).  Take some actions that are quantifiable in support of you stepping into your more meaningful life.

Living a life of meaning starts with knowing yourself at a deep level.  Once you become clear about your inner truth, about what you would love to do “if only life would let you” then you can start making small steps and changes to bring this new path more into focus. Many small steps lead to great changes as long as you stick with it and keep the bigger picture in mind.

This new program streamlines paperwork and approvals so the practitioner can focus on patients’ care and recovery. The patients would not have to worry about making any payments, submitting separate claims and dealing with any administrative work. The focus of this program is solely for patients’ benefits.

Patients can choose whether or not to participate in the program with doctors, like myself, that are enrolled with ICBC.   For more information click the link below or call the clinic.

http://partners.icbc.com/health-services/docs/PI339.pdf

Dr. Soroush Khoshroo

Here is another offering for people who want to get started meditating but don’t know an easy route.  The best and easiest routes are to utilize those things we are already doing – like breathing!

There are many techniques to meditate using your breath, most involving altering your breathing patterns consciously.  That can mean slowing it down, speeding it up, using your mouth and nose in different ways to stimulate different effects.  We will run through a few easy ones to get you started and if you have questions you can always ask.

For all these techniques you can sit comfortably either on the floor or in a chair, making sure your clothes feel comfortable and you are not too distracted by outside stimulus.  Truly, the greatest thing about breath meditations is that you can actually do them anywhere but obviously BE SAFE!

Each meditation can be practices for 3-30 minutes depending on how much time you want to devote to it and the level of transformation you are looking for.  But don’t underestimate the power of doing just 3 minutes every day - people have changed their whole lives by committing to that small amount of time every day – I’m not kidding.

LONG DEEP BREATHING (relaxing):

A great stress-buster and re-focuser when you are feeling overwhelmed.

Take a moment to notice what your regular rate of breathing is – if it takes you two counts to breathe in slow your breath in and out to 5 counts each (5 in, 5 out).  As you practice and your diaphragm relaxes you will be able to up the time to much higher numbers (ie: in for 15, out for 15 or in for 20, out for 20).

Simply count to yourself the number of beats in and the number of beats out as you breathe, focusing on how the breath feels as it moves in and out of your body.  Breath into your belly and lower lungs before filling the upper lungs – too many of us just use our upper lungs, which is enough to keep us alive but does little to increase our vitality.

LEFT NOSTRIL BREATHING (relaxing):

Breathing through your left nostril relaxes the body by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system – great to do this technique if you are feeling wound up, angry, frustrated, stressed etc. and want to calm down

Keeping your spine and head straight simply reach up with the side of your right thumb and block off your right nostril so only your left nostril is available to breath through. If your nostril is blocked just intend for your body to breath through that side and make the motions as if you are.  If you must allow air to seep in through the right or take  some intermittent breaths through your mouth then do so but try to keep the intention of breathing through your left.  With time your nostril will clear and you will be able to breath smoothly through the one side.

RIGHT NOSTRIL BREATHING (stimulating):

Breathing through your right nostril stimulates your sympathetic nervous system and wakes up your body – great to do if you are feeling sluggish or depressed, fatigued, worn out or need a boost.

Keeping your spine and head straight reach up with your right hand and with your right index finger block off your left nostril and breath in and out through the right nostril.  As above, if your right side is blocked simply intend for your breath to move through this nostril as you breath through whatever means are available to you.  If you keep the intention for long enough your nostril will clear and you will be able to breath quite naturally through it.

ALTERNATE NOSTRIL BREATHING (balancing):

Alternating the breath through the nostrils creates a balance through your whole body and mind, great to do at any time and for any reason.

Keeping your spine and head straight reach up and block off your right nostril with your right thumb and breath in through your left nostril.  Before you breath out release your right nostril and reach around to block off your left nostril with your right index finger; allow the breath to escape through the right nostril.  Continue alternately breathing in through the left nostril and out through the right.  If one nostril is blocked do your best to breath through it, keeping your intention clear and feeling as if you are breathing through the blocked side until it naturally clears on its own.

Blocked nostrils on one or the other side is very natural.  The body switches back and forth of its’ own accord through out the day, which we usually don’t notice.  The more toxins in the body the more clogged the nostrils get so consciously clearing the nostrils can have a cleansing effect on your body as a whole