Core Wellness Institute

In-depth Interview with Dr. Steve About Stress Relief and Crossed Posture Syndrome

drsteve — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:07:34 +0000

The following interview was posted on the popular stress relief resource site, www.stress-relief-workshop.com on July 26^th, 2010.

This is an in-depth interview and will give you the core philosophy of the Core Wellness Institute. Now, on with the interview…

Core Wellness Stress Relief Technique

An Interview with Dr. Steve Hoffman, director of natural medicine at The Core Wellness Institute in Jeffersonville, IN

I wanted to include this stress relief technique because stress can be responsible for changing our posture over time. It does this by creating a damaging patterns of thinking, moving, and eating that creates “Stress Physiology” which goes on to cause degeneration and breakdown.

Dr Hoffman provides a very different approach to helping us to prevent this degeneration and as he puts it "that old age bent forward posture" that prevents us from living full and active lives.

I hope you enjoy the interview and that you take a look at Dr Hoffman’s website and discover more about how you too can use this core wellness stress relief technique to your benefit.

Q. Can I begin by asking you to briefly explain what chiropractic is and how it differs from osteopathy?

A. My favorite "official" definition comes from Dorland's Medical Dictionary which defines chiropractic like this:

"Chiropractic: The science of applied neurophysiologic diagnosis based on the theory that health and disease are life processes related to the function of the nervous system. Irritation of the nervous system by mechanical, chemical, or psychic factors is the cause of disease. Restoration and maintenance of health depend on normal function of the nervous system. Diagnosis is the identification of these noxious irritants and treatment is removal by the most conservative method."

The main difference, as far as historical training, is that osteopaths focus on the musculoskeletal system whereas chiropractors focus on balancing and optimizing the nervous system. I personally think it's kind of silly because you can't affect one without affecting the other. You are ALWAYS affecting the nervous system with any kind of manipulation.

So, in my opinion, a lot of it is simply semantics.

If you are restoring proper motion to a joint then you are calming the noise in the nervous system (the "noise" is called the central excitatory state which sends the "stress message" of breakdown to your body).

So in the end, as long as your dysfunction is diagnosed and treated correctly, it doesn't matter whether an osteopath or a chiropractor does the work. There's a lot of overlap.

The other difference of which I'm aware is that osteopathic manipulation traditionally uses more "generalized, long lever moves" verses chiropractic's more specific adjustments for fine tuning of the nervous system.

The last thing is that the actually "hands on" care from D.O.'s has dwindled greatly since they also have the ability to prescribe drugs and do surgery. The minority of D.O.'s still use manipulation as their primary treatment modality and my hat is definitely off to them!

Just as an observation, I rarely meet any osteopaths at my continuing education seminars related to the new methods of rehabilitation of the musculoskeletal system. It seems that, as a group, they have more of an "internist" or "family practitioner" type of practice instead of a musculoskeletal practice. That's just my observation.

Q. Can Chiropractic be used for all sorts of ailments or is it mainly used for treating muscle and joint problems?

A. Chiropractic, as I stated earlier, is designed to remove noxious irritants to the nervous system. So, for instance, when I help someone get rid of a blocked or stuck joint that was sending a "stress message" to the brain and central nervous system (that's what stuck joints do), not only does the pain resolve because of the big burst of good functional input I introduced back into the system, it also decreases overall stress on the system.

And think about it for a second. What are the top stress related diseases? Cardiovascular disease and cancer are the two big dogs, but in the end, ALL conditions are related back to stress in some way or another, especially digestive complaints.

So my belief is that absolutely, chiropractic helps with all kinds of stress induced conditions.

Q. I notice that you say that your business carries out chiropractic rehabilitation. Can you explain how this differs from normal chiropractic?

A. I'd love to! This is my favorite part of the profession.

Probably the #1 difference is "Active Care" vs "Passive Care".

Passive care is what most people think about when they hear or talk about chiropractic. In the passive care model of chiropractic, you come in, get adjusted, maybe get some ultrasound and an ice pack. You really had no "active" participation in that experience. You had something done TO you instead of you doing something for yourself.

It's the same model as the current conventional medical system. If you hurt your back, you get a pain reliever and a muscle relaxer. That's passive. (Of course the natural methods of adjusting and therapies are leaps and bounds better than putting toxic drugs into your system!)

BUT…with ACTIVE care, you are taught what you can do for yourself so you don't become dependent on passive care! It's interesting that not everybody wants this responsibility. Some would rather just get the adjustment and go on their way without learning a thing. And that's fine. That's their choice. We usually refer them out if that's the case.

If you're readers would like some more information about the benefits of active vs. passive care, I have a short article about it at www.gettoyourcore.com/active-care

Q. As this site is about stress I would like to first ask you about a statement on your site that says “damaging patterns of thinking, moving, and eating can create a stress physiology. Can I ask if you could explain this in a little more detail?

A. Sure. Let's start by describing what I mean by "stress physiology". Stress physiology is the

physiology of breakdown. It's when your brain senses danger (or any type of potentially damaging situation) and, as a result, it "flips the switch" and changes your metabolism over to a state where energy is diverted to making bullets for the war instead of attending to repair and rejuvenation.

The stress response is great for saving your life is survival situations but when you experience chronic stress and live in "protection mode" all the time. You get sick. You get tired. And life is no longer any fun.

So your main goalhas to be to reduce stress from all angles. With our coaching programs we empower you to adopt a new thought system that create the belief that you're "breaking down" and "getting old", like you're often told by your doctors. "It's just your age, Mrs. Jones!".

Instead, you areconstantly reminded that your body is renewing every moment and your cells are paying very close attention to what you're saying to yourself!

Thoughts of stress and replaying painful experiencesof the past put you breakdown mode, remember! We offer self talk affirmations to help you "write over" some of the stressful self talk. It makes a HUGE difference when you become aware of the power of belief and how self talk influences it.

As far as your movement goes…damaging movement occurs whenyou use your body inefficiently and cause unnecessary stress and strain on your musculoskeletal system.

Simply reaching to get a glass out of a cabinet incorrectly eventually causes overload inyour neck and shoulder muscles that lead to pain, headaches, and more. Pain is stress and the stress message equals body breakdown. The stress response related to pain is well documented and even affects your ability to think clearly.

But interestingly,you don't have to have pain to have physical stress. A blocked or stuck joint can do the same thing, as well as any joint that is not in good alignment with it's neighbor.

The central nervous system (CNS) likes it when your joints are in their most balanced and congruent positions. And as a bonus when you have good alignment, you experience much less damage if an unexpected load hits your system (like a fender bender or a trip and fall).

With good alignment and muscle balance, you canmore easily dissipate that force so you don't get injured, or at least not as severely.

When it comes to the nutritional stress piece,probably the biggest source is too much sugar and refined carbs. These "fast carbs" cause your blood sugar to spike and fall. And when it falls hard and fast, your adrenal glands kick into action to release the stress hormone cortisol to get your sugar levels back up.

And if the sugar falls after you've gone to bed and your adrenals fire up at 3am, there you sit…wide awake and wondering why.

As a side note, if you find yourself heading to the kitchen a bowl of cereal when this happens, you're in carbohydrate hell and you must break the cycle.

The other 800 pound gorilla for nutritional stress is too much omega 6 fatty acid intake, usually from grains.

These get easily converted into arachidonic acid (AA) in your body and too much AA tells your brain to tell your adrenals to release more cortisol. That's another example of nutrition induced stress.

Q. One area I am particularly interested in is something you call cross posture syndrome and how it is triggered by both emotional and the physical effects of stress. Can you briefly explain what this is and why it is important that we try to prevent it in the first place?

A. Here's the facts, any kind of stress creates a very predictable pattern of muscle imbalance. Dr. Vladimir Janda, of the Czech Republic, who I had the unique experience of working with before he died, was the first person to recognize these patterns in people with neurological lesions like cerebral palsy and stroke. He also had polio as a child so these neurological issues where near and dear to him.

If you look at a child with cerebral palsy, you'll notice classic spasticity patterns in the muscular system. The thing is, these muscles are the exact same muscles that become tight and tense when your brain and central nervous system perceives any kind of stress!

Dr. Janda identified the "upper crossed posture" and the "lower crossed posture" as classic conditions that occur as a result of these patterns. I simply combined the two together and called it "Crossed Posture Syndrome" or CPS for short.

The upper cross syndrome is associated with tightness in the short muscles at the base of your skull (the ones you use to poke your head at the computer screen) and tightness in the pectoral or chest muscles in the front.

When those muscles tighten, their opposite muscles (the shoulder blade depressors and the deep neck flexors) have no choice but to weaken.

This creates the unattractive, slouched forward, head forward posture that lies at the root of most headaches, neck pain, back pain, and even carpal tunnel (along with other arm and hand problems).

The lower crossed syndrome creates a forward tilted pelvis and jams the low back joints together because the hip flexors (the muscles in front of your hip) shorten along with the big muscles in your low back called the erector spinae. This massive compression and tightness pattern then causes a weakness in your abdominals and the gluteals.

This syndrome is classic for back pain, knee pain, hip pain, and even plantar fascitis.

So why prevent it?

You prevent it to keep from curling up into a little old shriveled heap when your 70 or 80 years old! The longer you have your youthful, efficient, pain free posture, the more you can evolve mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to serve your greatest purpose to humankind!

Why prevent it? So you can have more FUN in you life! To PLAY with more enthusiasm and share joy! That's why we're here. At least that's what I believe.

Q. I know I suffer from the syndrome myself, years of sitting stressed over a desk and general stress at work has done this to me. I am currently working my way through your free video help series for cross posture syndrome. Can I ask how quickly the can syndrome be reversed if your advice is followed correctly?

A. The great thing about the free "Reverse CPS Now!" series is that you can have immediate changes in the way you feel. You should immediately feel taller, more centered, and less stressed.

Actually, the "reprogramming" of your nervous system can take place fairly quickly. It can take as little as 3 weeks to "rewire" a posture program in your brain but it usually takes longer because inevitably, you tend to slip into old patterns as life "triggers" you here and there. The getting "on and off track" means it may take a few months to actually change the neural circuits between your ears.

But as far as actually "remodeling" your tissues to make permanent changes in the architecture of your fascia, muscle, ligaments, tendons, and bones it can take up to a year or more. And the thing is, it's not like you can ever just quit paying attention to your posture.

You ALWAYS have to keep the intention of growth, renewal, and expansion or else "the matrix" of the world will suck you back in to it's stress and protection agenda!

My last two questions are about you personally rather than your work.

Q. In your online videos you always come across as someone who really enjoys their work, I was wondering what aspect of your work do you enjoy the most?

A. Great question! What I enjoy most is LEARNING the latest and most effective techniques and then empowering people to transform their lives with the information.

This field of human performance is advancing at the speed of light and I love being on the front edge. I'm especially enthralled with the whole "dynamic neuromuscular stabilization" model that's finally making it's way from Prague to the states. The concept I created called "Organic Posture" has sprung out this model and forms the foundation for my new coaching course.

Q. I once met an osteopath who was always complaining of a bad back caused by the physical demands placed on him by his work. I was wondering if your work put a similar physical strain on your own body and if so how do you counteract it?

A. I counteract it by practicing what I preach with keeping my joints in their best possible alignment when I do chiropractic bodywork. I also have the benefit of demonstrating exercises so I get to pay my tissue debt that way as well.

I also sit on a ball for most of my work which places me in the best possible ergonomic position.

The worst strain I have is the computer, and I find myself doing more and more of it as I continue to move towards online coaching. My next project is a standing active office desk station where I stand on a balance board while I work. The "makeshift" standing station I've used in the past worked well, but I want to take it to the next level. I'll keep you posted on that.

Organic Posture Correction with the “Push Away Phenomenon”

drsteve — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:35:20 +0000

One of the complaints I hear all the time when people talk about their posture is…

"It HURTS when I sit (or stand) up straight!

Well, that's because whenever you try to correct your posture, you're still using your own dysfunctional movement programs to correct it!

You have an inborn, perfect organic posture pattern inside you that merely needs to be awakened with the right INTENTION or imagery.

All you did when you were a baby to evolve into your upright posture is "push away from your support points".

And now you just need to remember that and start the process of reprogramming your body for more efficient, strain free movement.

Today's episode of Core Wellness TV will get you started. The upcoming posture coaching course will take you all the way!

Be sure to leave a comment below and let me know if this "push away phenomenon" works for you or not!

How To Get Instant Motivation To Stay Young, Fit, and Healthy

drsteve — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:37:08 +0000

"80% Why, 20% How"

I remember Tony Robbins saying on a tape one time that the real driving force behind making a change or getting something accomplished is 80% "WHY" and only 20% "how"

And over my last 12 years in practice, I have to say that

avoiding the look and feel of "the hump" of old age

is one of the top reasons people give me when I ask them

why they want to do a program with me.

In fact, I received an email just a few days ago from a lovely soul in California who put it very eloquently:

—————–

Hi Steve,

I am 50 and looking at my 70 year old Mother I see a posture that makes her look much older than she is. In particular that hump that has formed with her rounded shoulders and head pitched forward.

Are there things I can do now to ensure I will not look like that in 20 years? I see that a poor posture adds years to the body and I suspect it literally influences how the body feels physiologically.

I am interested in improving posture now to look better AND feel better for a long time to come! Looking forward to more from you. I very much enjoy your video training which is thorough and oh so convenient.

I shared your office series with my office and everyone made major improvements to their workstations as a result. Thank you!

JM, California

—————-

I'm really interested in YOUR motivating factor as well.

Sharing your "why" with others does something very powerful to your mind. It automatically puts you in "action mode" toward your goal!

Besides…it's an excellent mental exercise to make you actually do some "future thinking" to get you inspired and excited about taking care of your body.

So…what's your #1 reason WHY you have to get (and keep) your body in shape with good posture, balance, strength, and flexibility? (leave it in the comments below!)

I'm really interested in hearing about it!

Plus, just sharing your reason with someone else will kick the "law of attraction" into effect and things will start coming your way to help you achieve your goal!

Clarity of WHY you want to stay fit and active is much more powerful than the HOW!

The "how" will reveal itself to you and you'll feel an intuitive nudge to act.

Please share your #1 reason why by leaving a comment below (public sharing is more powerful) or email me here to just share it with me.

Just share. OK? You'll feel motivation instantly. I promise.

Thanks so much.

Live your passion and purpose and forget about what other people think and you'll be on the right track!

Many blessings to you.

Dr. Steve

Barefooting for health

drsteve — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:46:47 +0000

I get a lot of emails asking what I think of this shoe or that shoe to help with reducing stress in the body.

Today I got another one but it was about not wearing any shoes at all!

I am a very big proponent of going barefoot as much as humanly possible. TONS of "input" or "afferance" comes in through your feet!

As a matter of fact, a standard treatment for Native Americans suffering with back pain was to run barefoot along a river bank. The flood of input or "afferance" into the central nervous system blocked pain, relaxed tight muscles, and improved coordination to the brain! (This is also how chiropractic adjustments work, btw)

So if you've stopped using your feet the way they were designed in have buried them in leather coffins your whole life, guess what?

You're going to develop a "sleeping foot", or even a "dead foot" that has a real hard time interpreting the terrain underneath you and you're going to have a lot of trouble with your knees, hips, back, and even all the way up to your neck and shoulders!

So here's my response to the email I received and the videos about barefoot running which are all excellent!

—————————————-

"The videos are very good. i believe whole heartedly in being barefoot. I do it mostly

in the garden but would definitely use a barefoot shoe or the vibram 5 fingers.

The coaching the guy did in the vimeo vid was good but, of course, I would teach

about maintaining intra-abdominal pressure so you could maximize the rebound force

or "elasticity" as he called it.

Thanks for the forward. I've had others asking me about the same thing.

Back to nature, my friend.

Steve

—————————————-

Posture Transformation – The Posture of Spirit

drsteve — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:20:12 +0000

(See if you can pick out the "magic phrase" in the video that our new "Posture 2.0" coaching program is based on and put it in the comments below! And let me know what you think about it…I'm curious.)

So many people make posture correction so complicated when it's really very simple.

All you have to do is be 100% at peace and constantly feeling the feeling of growth, renewal, and expansion!

Simple Right???

Yes, except for the fact that the many stresses of the modern world keeps you from ever feeling that feeling of bliss!

So what actually happens to your body when you perceive mental, physical, or chemical stress?

Your body responds by jaw clenching, chin poking, shoulder shrugging, chest breathing, hip closing, and on and on.

When you do this, you create joints that are way out of balance and alignment. And guess what signal this gives to your brain and central nervous system (CNS)? MORE STRESS!!

And what happens when the CNS perceives stress? The stress hormone, cortisol, is released that:

- Tears down muscle and turns it into fat (nice, huh)

-Undercuts your immune system (colds, flu, or allergies, anyone?)

-Demineralizes your bones (ever wonder why they say never to get more than 3 cortisone (synthetic highly concentrated cortisol) injections? Because it eats away your bones!

-Signals your body to use SUGAR instead of FAT for fuel (that means the next size up on your jeans and more INSANE CRAVINGS!)

-Causes decreased amounts of sex hormones to be produced (anybody got any Viagra? or something for these hot flashes?????

-Theres' LOTS more, but that should be enough to get your attention!

I was just talking to a client this afternoon about how amazing it was that just by changing your posture so your joints and muscles are in their most perfectly aligned state, you can make HUGE metabolic changes in your body so you start burning more fat, having less cravings, having better sex, and lots of other wonderful things that make life MORE FUN!

But my point in the video above is that

It ALL starts with your INTENTION.

Are you holding an intention of peace or an intention of stress?

Your body knows. Just look in the mirror.

Remember, it's all just programs in your brain that are just waiting to be "released and rewired"

It's your choice, you can reprogram your mind, remodel your posture, and completely change your life!

(If you want more information about the new paradigm of posture transformation and how to "release and rewire" the damaging patterns of stress that are dragging you down, CLICK HERE to get on our mailing list and receive our FREE "Reverse CPS Now!" video series to reverse the Crossed Posture Syndrome associated with unhealthy aging!)

GardenCast – The Healing and Calming Benefits Of Lettuce Alkaloids

drsteve — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:02:10 +0000

What an awesome weekend here in Indiana.

I did a lot of gardening and was amazed again by all the white "sap" or latex that oozes out of lettuce when you break off the leaves.

So Rebecca and I made a GardenCast to tell about the interesting sedative effects that lettuce chemicals contain. My searches online kept coming up with content about "Lettuce Opium".

Hmmmm…very interesting….

The Hopi tribe used to actually dry and smoke the sap before sleep to induce more lucid dream states.

But you can use the power of this amazing chemical in lettuce to calm your nerves and heal your body in the process.

This alkaloid compound also helps to block substance-P, which is the chemical that transmits the message of pain to your brain. (I didn't mention that on the video).

But there's lots more to learn, so join us in our back yard garden for a short but very important lesson!

See you there!

Dr. Steve

P.S. I also talked a bit about magnesium, "earthing", and meditation to be sure to check it out and let me know what you think in the comments below!

Anti-Gravity Posture Through Finger Spreading – How To Make Your Arms Float!

drsteve — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:24:43 +0000

I released this exercise about a year ago to the people who were in my first Myobalance Method home program trial group.

It's pretty amazing and all you need is a very light theraband (we use yellow).

In the video I refer to an exercise you have not yet seen but it doesn't take away from the power of the message.

Even if you don't have a band you'll still benefit with better posture and less pain if you take the "spreading" concept to heart.

Enjoy!

Dr. Steve

BTW…my apologies for being absent over the last few weeks. A couple of family illnesses have diverted our attention recently. (Rebecca, I, and the boys are all fine!)

But we're getting back on track and I've got the wheels in motion on new coaching program for people who want to get rid of the painful posture of aging and take "Organic" Posture Transformation and Functional fitness to the next level.

I'll also be offering solutions to some of the great comments we've been getting on the blog in an upcoming video, so stay tuned!

How to lift, push, pull, and squat…correctly! (HYDWYDWYDI)

drsteve — Thu, 13 May 2010 18:26:48 +0000

Today you learn the secret to the uncanny success my clients experience when it comes to getting rid of annoying pain and ultimately KEEPING the pain away!

The secret??? HYDWYDWYDI!!!

What's that mean? It means what's really important when it comes to remodeling and rewiring your posture for a pain free, active, and energetic life is…

How You Do What You Do When You Do It!

It's about EVERY MOMENT! This moment to moment awareness of living your life with maximum effeciency and maximum congruence or alignment of your joints is what allows your brain to "rewire" your movement pathways for smooth, integrated movement!

Yes, you can accomplish some significant rewiring with a daily exercise routine and I prescribe corrective exercise for everyone!

BUT nothing compares to rewiring HYDWYDWYDI when it comes to remodeling and rewiring your posture for protection from disc injuries, sciatica, arthritic degenerative disease, carpal tunnel, plantar fascitis, and all the other completely preventable and often even reversable life-stealing conditions!

Enjoy this screencast that goes over some simple corrections to some of the common movements that "chew up" your joints when done incorrectly.

Be sure to let me know if these help you and what else you'd like to know how to do without injuring yourself by leaving a comment below! Thanks!!

Your Welcome Gift from the NEW Core Wellness Institute – Plus a Tour of the New Location!

drsteve — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:02:15 +0000

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT YOUR FREE WELCOME GIFT

This "3 Pillars of Core Wellness" Mini Boot Camp audio (below) lays the foundation for the conscious and sustainable healthy lifestyle philosophy we teach at the Core Wellness Institute and sets the stage for lots more online learning to come on this site.

Normally this Mini Boot Camp cost $47 to attend but as a welcome gift to the NEW Core Wellness Institute, you're going to receive the audio with 2 solid hours of immediately usable strategies to help you get back on track or stay on track with the new paradigm of true health care…FOR FREE

(The last section on movement is very visual and, if you're on our email list I'll notify you when I get the video and slides posted) If you're NOT on our list and would like to be notified CLICK HERE

So enjoy the video tour of our new location and let me know what you think about your "3 Pillars" mini boot camp audio welcome gift and anything else that's on your mind in the comments below!

Goodbye Core Wellness, Hello Core Wellness INSTITUTE!

drsteve — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 01:20:13 +0000

The Only Constant Is CHANGE!

After 5 AWESOME years on Spring Street in downtown Jeffersonville, IN, Rebecca and I have decided it's time to move on and embrace the change we've been contemplating over the past year.

Now that we are moving away from our original intent of creating a "Curves-like" exercise circuit facility and are full speed ahead creating multi-media home training and study courses, we are headed to the Nolan Centre at 131 E. Court Ave. in Jeffersonville just 3 blocks away!

The new space allows us to let go of some of the wide open wasted space and create much more functional studio space for creating new content and will serve as home base for our new online educational adventures with the upcoming CoreWellnessInstitute.com!

Join Rebecca and I in this bittersweet episode of Core Wellness TV as we say goodbye to Core Wellness on Spring Street and hello to Core Wellness Institute, LLC!

And in case you're wondering, YES, I will continue doing chiropractic rehabilitation sessions and nutritional medicine consults at the Institute!!

P.S. If you're local and would like to leave a comment about any experiences or health breakthroughs you've had at the Spring Street location, please do! I've been honored to be a partner in some miraculous transformations in this space and would love to hear your side of the story!