If perspective is one of our most powerful tools for Aristotle’s the good life, then how can we mold it to create our ideal reality today?

By following the path of the greats.

Here is one of them.  Seneca’s prose is meant to be ruminated on, savoring each phrase for the power in his well thought out choices.

I imagine to myself that the testing time is drawing near, that the day that is going to see judgement pronounced on the whole past of my life has actually arrived,  and I take a look at myself and address myself in these terms: “All that I’ve done and said up to now counts for nothing.  My showing to date, besides being heavily varnished over, is of paltry value and reliability as a guarantee of my spirit.  I’m going to leave it to death to settle what progress I’ve made.  Without anxiety, then, I’m making ready for the day when the tricks and disguises will be put away and I shall come to a verdict on myself, determining whether the courageous attitudes I adopt are really felt or just so many words, and whether or not the defiant challenges I’ve hurled at fortune have been more pretense or pantomime.  Away with the world’s opinion of you – it’s always unsettled and divided.  Away with the pursuits that have occupied the whole of your life – death is going to deliver the verdict in your case.  Yes, all your debates and learned conferences, your scholarly talk and collection of maxims from the teachings of philosophers, are in no way indicative of genuine spiritual strength.  Bold words come even for the timidest.  It’s only when you’re breathing your last that the way you’ve spent your time will become apparent.  I accept the terms, and feel no dread of the coming Judgment.”  (Seneca, Letter XXVI from Letters from a Stoic)

With death’s presence always a day away, what will you do with today?

Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Parsippany, NJ. He has been trained under the Integrative Diagnosis system for “clinical excellence”. He loves to help people pursue their own hero’s journey. Please reach out to him if he can be of a service in any way. It doesnt hurt to ask.

Question.

Do you crave bliss, ecstasy, or the passion of life?

Maybe even heaven on earth?

If not, do you at least want to be a little happier?

When neurologist Jill Taylor had a stroke[Part 1], little did she realize that she would help us figure out how we could live a happier existence by simple stepping to the right.  

Without going further into her story, Jill Taylor learned what it was like to live exclusively in the right hemisphere of her brain.  That’s because the left hemisphere of her brain had quit on her.

On her return from the stroke, she realized that we could teach ourselves how to step to the right to be happier.

Here, we discuss some thoughts on how to get into the right hemisphere of our brains.

5 Ways to Activate Your Right Hemisphere of Your Brain

1.  Meditation

There’s a reason why nearly every religion on Earth uses this practice to connect with each of our true selves.

It seems that through the right hemisphere of our brains, we can connect to an existence on Earth that exposes our bonds with all of life.  That’s powerful.  As an easy way to start, Susan Piver’s Open Heart Project shows you a little bit of the magic.

2.  Mindfulness

 Are you an excellent multitasker?  Well stop it!!

It might allow you to get more done, but it disengages your consciousness from your life.

Have you ever focused on just doing what you’re doing?  Try just doing one thing … waking up, eating a ripe strawberry, washing the dishes, walking down the street, taking a hot shower, or even sitting peacefully in your chair.  Notice that these simple acts of daily life, can be very pleasurable if we focus on the fact that we are alive and able.

For a great resource, check out Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hahn.

3.  Flow opportunities or creative ventures

What do you love to do?  What is your passion?  What allows you to get lost in the moment, so that time seemingly stops?

In the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes how flow experiences significantly raise people’s happiness levels by letting them engage in the creative parts of their brain, mainly the right hemisphere.

Whether you enjoy playing music, listening to music, painting, drawing, writing poetry, treating patients (like me), playing video games, walking in nature, envisioning new businesses, cooking food, you should create the space to do more of just that.

4.  Soul-gazing or life connecting

I don’t have a book for this one.

I recently did an exercise with a group of people who are high on the charts for character traits like compassion and empathy.  Each individual was required to go around in the circle and stare into each participant’s eyes.  No words were allowed.  Just looking.

The connection that I felt looking into every person’s eyes without expecting someone to squander the moment with needing to fill the space with noise(as evidenced by the enormous amount of tears from all participants) was tangible and more real than almost anything I’ve experienced before.

Try it.

There’s magic inside through the doorway of the eyes.

5.  Angel cards

Jill Bolte Taylor pointed me in the direction of the Angel Cards.

Have you ever left an experience open to the universe?  Wondering what emotion or intention you should bring to a particular day, event, process, or time of your life?

Angel Cards can help with those.

They are a series of cards with words or emotions on them, allowing you to bring a certain, conscious energy to an experience.

When I think of Angel Cards, I think of my worst day, when I ask the universe for help.  I choose a card and it says “gratitude”.  And my entire day flips upside down.

Instead of being so darn logical all the time, maybe we should let our creative hemisphere see what it can conjure to lead us on the path of happiness.

Your Right Hemisphere and You

The actions steps above might be a bit abstract or hard to conceptualize.  After all, we’re excluding the logical portion of our brain which resides in the left hemisphere.

There are times when I sit down to meditate and I ask myself, “What am I doing exactly?”

What I can assure you, though, is that my life is infinitely better every day that I incorporate the above 5 things.  And meditation is at the top of the list for a reason.  It seems that maybe brain circuits are being rewired.

It’s a personal goal of mine to get to the point where I meditate for an hour a day.

I seem to average 15 minutes at a time and I definitely don’t do it everyday.  But I’m gentle with myself.

My challenge to you: Try one of the ways above to step away from the logical brain and into the creative, right side of your brain.  Note how you feel, whether your energy goes up or down, how the lens through which you see the world changes, and how over time, your happiness level goes up or down.

After all, the research has proven that 10% of happiness lies in external conditions.

That means 90% of happiness, lies within you.  

Love and gratitude  : )

Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Denville, NJ.  He has been trained under the Integrative Diagnosis system for “clinical excellence”.  He loves to help people pursue their own hero’s journey. Please reach out to him if he can be of a service in any way. It doesnt hurt to ask.

What if I told you that bliss, nirvana, enlightenment, oneness with God, oneness with the universe, ecstasy, heaven on earth, or whatever the heck you wanted to call the happiest you can ever imagine being, actually has a physiological basis in the body?

That’s right.

Just like how diabetes is caused by the death of the Beta cells of the pancreas and how marijuana activates the pleasure centers of the brain, bliss activates a specific area of the brain too.

Holy cow, right?! 

This is big news. 

How did Jill Taylor discover this? 

As a neurologist, Jill Taylor studied brains.

As a stroke victim, Jill Taylor experienced the perspective of one of the brains she used to study.

In her book, My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey, Jill Taylor explains how it took a stroke, losing the functionality of the left hemisphere of her brain, to understand that you don’t have to be a monk with superhuman meditation powers to experience bliss.

Alll you have to do is learn to step to the right. 

When the stroke hit, all that functioned was Jill’s right hemisphere.  And guess what?  Bliss followed.  Without the left hemisphere streaming thoughts through her head, analyzing, organizing, and feeding ego into her head, Jill Taylor was able to just “be”, exist as one with the universe.

What else is there to desire in life?

Bliss continued, but Jill no longer felt whole.  Human even.  She couldn’t communicate with her fellow humans, couldn’t organize thoughts, and didn’t understand what the concept of a number or a glass of milk was. 

“Bliss is pretty cool,” Jill thought.  But how could she let her fellow human beings know what she had discovered about the location of bliss if she didn’t get her left hemisphere’s functioning back?  Searching her mind, learning to activate apparently dead circuitry from the trauma, Jill rewired her brain circuitry to function, one moment at a time.

Long story short, Jill became whole again, writing a book and giving one of the best TED talks I’ve ever seen.

Returning to us, Jill Taylor gave us her message:

Heaven is a place on earth.  If only we can step to the right.  That is, step into the right hemisphere of our brains.

Now you understand that the experience of bliss is rooted in the body just like the experience of learning algebra, doesn’t it make you want to pursue it to live a better life?

As any good humble observer, it’s important to learn about the universe and adjust our actions accordingly.

In Part 2, we will explore how to intentionally step to the right.

Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Denville, NJ.  He has been trained under the Integrative Diagnosis system for “clinical excellence”.  He loves to help people pursue their own hero’s journey. Please reach out to him if he can be of a service in any way. It doesnt hurt to ask.

Photo courtesy of and gratitude for h.koppdelaney and jurvetson.

Note: This post is meant to be long and educational.  Proceed at your own time expense.

If an Olympic athlete jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?

Kinesio Tape is big these days.

It’s all over the olympics, the NFL, and pro-cycling, being worn by such celebrities as the Green Bay Packers, the Houstan Texans, and Lance Armstrong.

Just because a professional athlete wears it doesn’t mean it’s good for your health.

The Power of Symptom Reducers

Riddle me this.

If something reduces the intensity of your pain, is the problem gone?

My best friend and roommate at Franklin & Marshall College (nick-named “T” because he used to cry when he struck out in t-ball as a child) was a fantastic football player and a wing nut of a human being who caused one heck of a ruckus in school.

This was the guy who would take any bet you put in front of him when asked in a sarcastic tone, knowing that he’d try to accomplish the action:

T, you can’t lift 1000 pounds!

T, you won’t light your hair on fire!

T, you won’t fight that entire fraternity with two other guys by your side!

T, you won’t try the gallon challenge! (and failed twice, he did … you can imagine what happens when you fail at chugging a gallon of milk in an hour … it’s not pretty.)

Hopefully, you have a decent picture of the shenanigans of this guy.

I mention that he was a good football player because he also happened to tear his A.C.L. on three different occasions in college.

T tore his A.C.L. for the third time during his first rugby practice when I asked him to come out for rugby with me.  Sorry roomie.

On the earlier second occasion, T couldn’t walk after our football game at dear ‘ol F&M.  His A.C.L. was gone, which means no anterior knee stability.

The thing about alcohol is that it numbs things.  The thing about adrenaline is that it makes you do things you shouldn’t be able to do.

Half a case of beer and another gut check (“T, you can’t run without an A.C.L.!”) later, T is sprinting through the dorm halls, wrestling five other football players, moving like the All-American football player he should have been.

Finally, he woke up the next day in way MORE MASSIVE pain (a sign that he put load or stress on damaged tissue) than he’d been when he’d torn it a day earlier, not having any recollection of the night before.

Well T, you ass, you were sprinting around the halls like Batman with Gotham City to save!

Lesson Learned: Alcohol makes pain go away.  So does ice and adrenaline.  Kinesiotape does too.

Not one of these solutions is good for your health as evidenced by the way you are asking an injured area of your body to do work.  But if athletic performance or reduced symptoms are your goal, then use away.

On Effectiveness – The Research on Kinesio Tape

Before I fully address the “health” component, first I’m going to downplay the effectiveness of KT.

Here’s some of the research.

Generally, the only thing most studies agree on is a decrease in symptoms and an increase in pain-free range of motion (ROM) or strength, all of it, temporary:

• In one study diagnosing shoulder pain patients with “rotator cuff tendonitis” or “shoulder impingement” (2), Kinesio Tape was effective at increasing immediate pain-free range of motion overhead, but nothing over the long term.
• In another 2012 review of several studies using Kinesio Tape (3), there was minimal evidence of any positive effect using KT over traditional non-elastic tape.
• KT does not affect neuromuscular performance in healthy subjects (4).
• KT does get immediate results as far as increased ROM and decreased pain, but over the long term, these results are not significant compared with the control group (5).
• Both cervical manipulations and KT reduced pain in cervical neck pain patients (6).  An interesting observation about this study is pointed out below.

But this brings us to an interesting point: The authors stated in the abstract:

(6) Because we did not include a control or placebo group in this study, we cannot rule out a placebo effect or natural changes over time as potential reasons for the improvements measured in both groups.  [the bold is mine]

The above comment is my BIGGEST PROBLEM with any chosen modality in the face of acute pain (or pain that began a brief time ago).  The vast majority of acute pain conditions will feel better no matter what tool you choose to fix it, even if it’s sham modalities such as me giving you a “wet willie” (How to) or even a “noogie” (How to).

That’s why at Barefoot Rehab, we like to focus on treating chronic pain.  When someone has had pain for months or years, he knows that the pain going away was not caused by the natural history of the condition, but by effective treatment.

On Health – Let’s Play Red Light – Green Light

Here’s why KT might help momentarily reduce pain at the cost of your health.

Did you ever play “Red Light – Green Light” when you were little?

That’s ok if you didn’t, because we’re going to play right now.

When your body is healthy and damage-free, you experience no pain, and your subconscious brain tells your musculoskeletal system:

Green Light!

Go, move, do as you wish.

When a body part is damaged, you experience pain, and your subconscious brain tells your musculoskeletal system:

Red Light!

Don’t go, don’t move!  And if you do, compensate!

That’s why you limp when you sprain your ankle.

Or why you can hardly bend forward if your “back is out” when you could touch your toes the day before.

Your hamstrings just didn’t get a boatload of scar tissue in one day.  Your brain is using your hamstrings as a protective mechanism to take stress off of a damaged disc!

Let’s come full circle back to the Kinesio Tape …

In one of the larger KT reviews from above (3), the authors observed that:

KT can increase pain-free ROM and strength when applied, but that it was not known whether that increase in ROM or strength was beneficial or harmful to the body. [the bold is mine]

If you have tissue damage, your body will compensate with decreased ROM or increased pain.  If you apply some tape to the injured area, you (may) immediately have decreased pain or increased ROM or strength.

Or in other words …

You’ve artificially green-lighted a red light!  Picture an intersection with four green lights causing a crash right in the middle.

Imagine you have a torn labrum in your shoulder and not being able to lift your arm overhead is protecting you.

But if you apply a little tape, “Oh, now you can move overhead!”

Whoops, you’re loading a damaged labrum, and now it’s doubly-damaged.

Your labrum is sad.

Not very smart.

On Athletic Performance – What is Your Goal For Treatment?

One of my chiropractic mentors had a son who fractured a leg bone in a skiing accident.  As the doctors went to apply morphine into his IV, the father said “No medication.  He took an action that caused the fracture to happen.  He needs to remember what the consequences of his actions are.”

While a little harsh, there’s a lot of truth to owning the pain we put out bodies through.

Here’s my simple guideline:

Pain is there for a reason, as a signal from your nervous system to your conscious mind that there is tissue damage.

Don’t turn off the fire alarm, put out the fire.

Your choice for a certain tool needs to keep in mind whether “health” or “athletic performance” is your goal.

If you value your health, I don’t advise turning off the fire alarm and using Kinesio Tape, ice, pain medications, drugs, or alcohol.

If you are an athlete that values your performance more than your health, then turn off the fire alarm if you wish, but realize the consequences.

The cost to these treatments is that you do not heal to the full extent that your immune system is capable of.  And you can damage something irreparably.

Remember the 1999 Texas high school football drama Varsity Blues where star quarterback Lance is manipulated into taking cortisone shots in his knee so that he can play, only to have medical doctors find enormous amounts of scar tissue in his knee from neglect?  Watch the scene here.

Heck, I used to take adderall before football games (yes, that’s the ADHD medication, which is very similar to cocaine).  Taking that stuff, I could run through a brick wall and therefore, perform better as a linebacker.

That doesn’t mean it was good for my health.

Conclusion

NFL athletes are playing for money.  Olympians play for glory.

The vast majority of the population, including weekend warriors, Crossfitters, and those of us just trying to stay healthy, are playing for neither.

Kinesio Tape can help reduce pain, but it comes at the cost of your health.

Because this may be the only body you receive, always perform a COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS of any specific treatment. 

Your life and health deserve the thought.

Resources

1.  See Reason #4 in 8 Reasons People Do Dumb Things (t-nation.com)

2.  The Clinical Efficacy of Kinesio Tape for Shoulder Pain: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Clinical Trial.

3.  Kinesio Taping in Treatment and Prevention of Sports Injuries: A Meta-Analysis of the Evidence for its Effectiveness.

4.  Kinesio Taping(®) does not alter neuromuscular performance of femoral quadriceps or lower limb function in healthy subjects: Randomized, blind, controlled, clinical trial.

5.  Kinesio Taping reduces disability and pain slightly in chronic non-specific low back pain: a randomised trial.

6.  Short-term effects of kinesio taping versus cervical thrust manipulation in patients with mechanical neck pain: a randomized clinical trial.

Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Denville, NJ.  He has been trained under the Integrative Diagnosis system for “clinical excellence”.  He loves to help people pursue their own hero’s journey. Please reach out to him if he can be of a service in any way. It doesnt hurt to ask.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr, Quillons

Guess what?

Whoever you think crucified Jesus, crashed those planes into the World Trade Center Buildings, and killed Santa Claus and maybe even the Easter Bunny …

Didn’t do it alone.

I did it too.

Santa and the Easter Bunny aren’t really dead.  But if they were and somebody was responsible, it would be me.

I did not literally drive a nail through Jesus’s hand or hijack those planes or sabotage Santa’s sleigh.

But still, I accept responsibility for all of these catastrophes happening.

You might want to think about accepting responsibility too.

Any good butterfly would.

The Butterfly Who Didn’t Know She Had Wings

There are two types of people in the world.

Victims and Movers.

Victims refuse responsibility and blame others.  All butterflies have wings, including the victim-type.  But these types don’t know they have wings and therefore, don’t flap them.

To have a victim mentality means to stop growing as a butterfly or a person.  Your thoughts might go like this, “Those who killed Jesus, the unlucky ones in New York City on that day, and Santa are horrible people and deserve to be punished.”

Notice the verbiage: it’s them, not you.

As a victim, there’s nothing you could do differently.  Your mindset removes all empowerment on your own part to become aware of what caused this act of hatred.   And you have no role in preventing it from happening again.

Movers, on the other hand, accept responsibility and determine what they can do better.  The mover-type butterfly understands that flapping her wings just might cause a hurricane.

Accepting responsibility and being proactive about your response when confronted with a stimulus is Stephen Covey’s first habit of highly effective people.  (R.I.P. Mr. Covey.  To see the gigantic footprint he left in the world, read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - affiliate link.)

To have a mover mentality means to understand how you can be responsible for making sure it doesn’t happen again.  Your thoughts might go like this, “What did I do wrong?  What can I do better?  How can I affect the world in a more positive, visionary way?”

Notice the verbiage: it’s you, not them.

As a mover, your actions always have a consequence.  The Butterfly Effect is real.  Your mindset allows you to understand that hatred does not happen on an individual level, but on a population level.  Something that each person has a say in.  And that society’s mind, which is manifested by the Collective Consciousness of all of its individuals, adds up.  Only for the mover does growth enter the conscious mind.

You Have Wings: Will You Flap Them Or Not?

The reality is that all butterflies have wings.

The choice then, is this: will you flap them?

You get to choose your mindset: victim or mover … Their fault or YOUR fault too.

We (everyone in society, including you) won’t kill our Jesuses, Martin Luther Kings, John F. Kennedys, NYC Workers, or Santas when we ALL own our parts and take responsibility for our worlds.

What can you take take responsibility and action for today that you’ve previously felt victimized by?

If you can make the choice to flap your wings, your life will change. 

Promise.

P.S.  I recently found this video by Napoleon Hill, who wrote one of my favorite manifestation books, “Think and Grow Rich.”  In this 10 minute video, he shares his first secret.

Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Denville, NJ.  He has been trained under the Integrative Diagnosis system for “clinical excellence”.  He loves to help people pursue their own hero’s journey. Please reach out to him if he can be of a service in any way. It doesnt hurt to ask.

““If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path.  Your own path you make with every step you take.  That’s why it’s your path.”  ~Joseph Campbell

In the midst of the storm, with the thunder, lightning, and heavy winds, darkness is all around.  Perhaps you’ve just become single after a long relationship, or you’ve lost a loved one, or you’ve begun to question your own identity.  Negative thoughts in the form of monsters start to creep in on you, scary ones with really big teeth.  And you can hear them hissing, causing you to tremble in fear, which is exactly what the monsters want.

And it. is. scary!  You’re fearful beyond all belief.  You can’t imagine how you’ll be able to bear the pain for much longer.  The monsters demand your attention at all times, when you first wake, as you eat your meals, before you go to bed, and especially when you’re alone.

You find your eyes tearful more than not.

The crappy weather with its minions is not a fun experience.

Here’s the thing though.

The crappy weather is external.  It’s outside you.  It’s happening around you, whether you want it to, or not.  For your own good!

That’s the amazing part.  You get to decide what your internal environment is like and how you respond.

You get to decide your direction on your path.

Whether you become stagnant and stuck, with your feet sinking in the quicksand ever so slowly, paralyzed by the monsters …

Or …

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”  ~Joseph Campbell

Whether you’re going to face your monsters and move forward despite the rain, one foot in front of the other.

Each step is a movement, an action on your journey, allowing spiritual growth.  Allowing you to live up to your infinite potential as a being on Earth.  And live the life of your dreams.  Being your own hero on your hero’s journey.

Joseph Campbell, Meet (Put your name here)

A year ago, a good friend (Thanks Steve M. for trying) first told me I’d love Joseph Campbell.  I blew him off.  (Dumb idea!)

Three months ago:

“You have to watch this movie.” as Jason Schroeder of Brazen Athletics thrusts a DVD into my hand.

“What is it?” I asked.

“You’ll love it, just watch it.”

That was the beginning of my romance with Joseph Campbell and his teachings, which the documentary Finding Joe is all about.

I soon read The Hero with a Thousand Faces and An Open Life: Joseph Campbell in conversation with Michael Toms (much easier read than the former book).  The Power of Myth is waiting on my nightstand.

I’ve become obsessed.

I hope you’ll give Joseph a chance too.

Your passion, purpose, and dreams depend on it.

Physical Exertion as Leverage for Starting Your Journey

“What we’re learning in our schools is not the wisdom of life.  We’re learning technologies, we’re getting information.  There’s a curious reluctance on the part of faculties to indicate the life values of their subjects.”  ~Joseph Campbell

It’s difficult to change a limited mindset grounded in the standard growth process.

Your parents raise you the best they can, as do our schools.

But it’s a conventional growth with limited potential.

It’s nobody’s fault.  It’s just that people have been battered down so often by others that they learn to accept the b***s*** that others try to suppress them with.

When I was little, I wanted to be a professional football player.  In the 3rd grade, my first year of the sport, my friends, teammates, family, and coaches fed me b***s***:

“You’re too small to play football.”  ~ The naysayers

If I’d listened to them then, I’d never been able to play in college where I captained Franklin and Marshall, was first team all-conference, and was team MVP for 2005.  I may not have made it to the NFL, but the dream inspired me to act and caused a whole lot of growth in the process.

Listening to my own call and acting with persistence and determination, I was able to not only become physically fitter but grow mentally through habit formation and spiritually through doing exactly what my heart desired me to do.

What’s cool about taking focus in one major area of your life (the physical) is that it translates to other areas (the mental and the spiritual).

Take physical fitness.  Everyone knows they have the potential to be as healthy as they’re able to put the energy in.

When you actually make those steps, wow!  Look out, because your life no longer resembles what it used to.

Making a choice and taking a step on the journey towards better health is not just about losing a few pounds.

It’s about setting foot in the gym every day, setting your mind to finish a workout, creating the habit of pushing through adversity to finish what you set your mind on doing, losing weight and gaining energy in the process, but also teaching your heart and soul that it can achieve whatever the heck it wants, allowing those dreams you had when you were five years old to creep back into your sleep, allowing you to pursue them, and live the life you will look back on when you are on your deathbed. (How about that for a run-on sentence?)

I might even argue that self-care, or the act of taking care of one’s own health and happiness (H&H for the savvy Humble Observers), is a path towards saving our world.

“We’re not on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves.  But in doing that you save the world.  The influence of a vital person vitalizes.”  ~Joseph Campbell

To test that hypothesis, there’s only one way to find out.

Introducing Heroes Journey: Crossfit Lake Arrowhead

“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ~Joseph Campbell

Gyms are cool, they let people work out like they did back when we were hunter-gatherers.

But it’s not good enough to just help people better their physical selves and lose a few pounds.

In my mind, that’s boring.

I want to inspire people to live seriously happy lives where they face their monsters, chop their heads off, and save the damn prince or princess.

That’s where our new gym in Northern New Jersey comes into play: Heroes Journey: Crossfit Lake Arrowhead.

My partners and I are extremely passionate about using physical fitness as a tool for helping people living more passionate, more purposeful lives.  All to make people a lot happier than they were before.

We are cultivating a place where you leverage physical effort to live up to your utmost potential.  Where you become your own hero and join other heroes on their journey.

“The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure ” ~ Joseph Campbell

If you live in Northern New Jersey, check out Heroes Journey: Crossfit Lake Arrowhead.

If you live outside of the region, I can’t recommend watching Finding Joe enough.  The next step I would make is to find people to support you in all of your goals: physically, mentally, and spiritually.

The vast majority of human beings are damaged goods from being torn down so much.

And a less than fulfilled potential is no longer acceptable.

Monsters and thunderstorms exist.

But their existence is not for the purpose of scaring us away.  Monsters want to be slain.  Storm clouds are only temporary.

Are you paralyzed?  Or are you taking a step?

Your path is calling you.

Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Denville, NJ.  He has been trained under the Integrative Diagnosis system for “clinical excellence”.  He loves to help people pursue their own hero’s journey. Please reach out to him if he can be of a service in any way. It doesnt hurt to ask.

Think of your family members, one by one, and list all of the medical conditions that run in your family.

I’d put money on it that your list is long.

As somebody who values your own health and happiness, dealing with your family can be frustrating.  Your uncle just wants to continue crushing donuts and spaghetti and meatballs and you just want him to eat better so that he is present on this Earth for you to spend time with him.

Just because I am a doctor doesn’t mean that my family members listen to me either.  Trust me, they don’t.

Family members ask me all the time:

“My neck hurts … or I’ve gained 5 pounds … or my asthma is getting worse.” ~ Suffering family member

“Do a, b, and c.” ~ Me

“Yeah, I won’t do that.” ~ Stubborn and annoying family member

“Then this conversation is over.” ~ Me pulling the hair out of my skull

To avoid the frustration of the above, I now just hand them Diane Sanfilippo’s new educational recipe book, Practical Paleo: A Customized Approach to Health and a Whole-Foods Lifestyle (affiliate link).

Instead of telling you exactly what’s in the book (which you can do here), I thought I’d share what my family members thought of the book.

A Family Gathering

As I looked around the dinner table, I went down the list:

• My aunt, who has MS.
• My grandfather, who is recovering from brain cancer.
• My grandmother, who suffers from diabetes.
• Several members with nicely sized love handles.
• A couple little sisters nicknamed, “The Carb Queens”.

I wanted to tell them about the book, but I’ve learned that I can’t reach out to them myself. They have to make the first move.

So I left the book on the kitchen counter as bait.

Throughout the day, I saw various undercover family members discretely flipping through the book.

By the end of the day, my grandmother and aunt had pre-ordered it.

The book sold itself.  That’s how sweet this thing is.

Let My Family Tell You How Serious This Book Is

“Are there desserts in here?” ~ My nine-year-old sister Lea

Yes, there are desserts in there Lea you little maniac.

“Recipe books are all the same.  This one has simple, whole food ingredients.  I don’t need to buy crazy spices from the mountains of Tibet.  I can simply follow the “Blood Sugar Regulation” section for my Type 2 Diabetes and know that I’m helping my body.” ~ Grandma Emily

Diane has included 30-Day Meal Plans for specific medical conditions:

• autoimmune conditions
• blood sugar regulation
• digestive health
• thyroid health
• multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue
• neurological health
• heart health
• cancer recovery
• athletic performance
• fat loss
• squeaky clean paleo

All of the guess work has been taken out so that someone with any medical condition can find a specific meal plan and follow it.  The educational material about each condition comes from a functional medicine perspective, which means giving the body what it needs to operate at its highest capacity and treating the cause of the problem.

After all, you can’t hammer a nail with a screwdriver.

“I love the way the book is written.  Diane makes disease so easy to understand.  Nobody has ever explained to me exactly how my digestion works from the brain to the mouth and through the intestines.  Telling me that ‘insulin is like my mom always trying to put things away’ makes complete sense.  Why wouldn’t anyone completely understand and embrace the Paleo Diet?”  ~ Aunt Jennifer

Exactly, Aunt Jennifer.  (She’s lost 25 pounds on the Paleo Diet by the way and no longer needs red blood cell transfusions for her anemia since going gluten-free.)  Keep it up AJ!

With beautiful images of foods and body parts as well as diagrams educating the readers on different aspects of food processes, Diane makes the somewhat complex topic of dietary physiology more palatable.

After all, the book is called Practical Paleo.

There are even tear out shopping guides in the back to take with you in case you forget that linguini or fusilli is not on the shopping list.

The book was designed with the intent of creating an action plan for anyone to eat Paleo.  Even if a medical condition is a concern.

Practical Paleo Book Giveaway

In my practice and at The Humble Observer, we talk about Paleo alot.  But that’s because it’s a big deal.

The first priority to someone’s health is not getting treated by a good manual therapist as myself, nor is it to start Crossfitting immediately, but getting the internal system of the body in good functioning order.  And that means de-inflaming the system with Paleo.

If interested, do your body a huge favor and buy Practical Paleo.  You won’t be disappointed.

Learn more about Diane at balancedbites.com.  Because of Diane, I eat a cup full of sauerkraut on a daily basis and I don’t drink any liquids with meals.  She’s a Paleo Powerhouse that knows how to help you make lifestyle changes.

Not only is she one of my Paleo gurus, but she’s a wonderful person with your best interest in mind.  Supporting her is an easy choice to make.

In honor of the upcoming release of Practical Paleo, I am giving away a copy of the book on August 7th, the date of its release.   To enter the GIVEAWAY do the following and then come back here and leave a comment letting me know you’ve done so:

• “Like” Humble Observer on Facebook
• “Like” Balanced Bites on Facebook
• “Follow” Balanced Bites on Twitter
• Comment with any piece of humble pie wisdom you hope to get out of the book.

Only one entry via comment is allowed per Homo sapien.  One winner will be selected at random (using random.org) on Tuesday, August 7th at 9pm Eastern time. Please be sure that you include your email address in your comment (not publicly displayed) so that we may contact you to claim your goodness.

For the New Jerseyans: Diane is giving a Balanced Bites workshop on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at Crossfit 908 in Berkeley Heights.  It’s an all day seminar about Paleo for $45.  I’ve already attended once and will be attending again with my family and a bunch of my patients.  I can’t recommend anything that Diane does enough.  Sign up here.

PS.  The Humble Observer wouldn’t be a great resource if we didn’t help you find where to get health sources of food as well.  While we always recommend local (I order from Mini Mac Farm in Long Valley, NJ), US Wellness Meats (affiliate link) is another great option for grass-fed animal products if you don’t have quality local sources.

Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Denville, NJ.  He has been trained under the Integrative Diagnosis system for “clinical excellence”.  He loves to help people in ANY way he can. Please reach out to him if he can be of a service in any way. It doesnt hurt to ask.

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

When you’re a child, your birthday is a big deal.

You give your mom a wish list.

You count down the months, then weeks, and finally days.

And no matter how intently you wish your birthday to be “today,” you must wait.

You can’t hurry up time, it is a process, and it must be respected.

Or you’ll drive yourself nuts.  Like the crazy girl above who can’t wait to crush mounds of candy.

Pain conditions, both physically and spiritually based, follow similar processes.  So do other natural processes such as pregnancy, detoxification, and getting to the tootsie roll center in a tootsie roll pop.

Samesies. 

You might as well enjoy the ride. 

What Else Can I Do For My Back Pain? 

One of the most common questions after the first visit the patient throws on me is this:

Is there anything else I can do for [enter back pain, neck pain, disc herniation, plantar fasciosis, pimple, bloating from beer and pizza binge, my pregnant belly, etc.]

Sometimes, there’s a stretch or an exercise that can palliate symptoms a bit.  The law of diminishing returns often moves me to not even bother giving this advice.

I normally do offer the standard recovery rules of:

• Eat Paleo to de-inflame your system.
• Move to keep traffic moving through increasing bloodflow, because “the only healthy posture is one that’s always changing.” ~Stu McGill
• Drink LOTS of water.
• Consume as much fish oil as humanly possible.  One study said as little as 1200-2400 mg/day (2-5 capsules) of omega 3 supplements can be effective with pain caused by herniated or degenerated discs.  According to my good friend, Dr. Alex Rinehart, a chiropractor and clinical nutritionist, it’s not uncommon for him to prescribe 5000-20,000 mg/day for some conditions.  That’s a lot of pills.  But it works.
• Sleep as many hours as possible, especially in the winter.
• Be happy.
• Last, but most importantly, learn to be still or meditate.  This step is the only way I know to truly understand patience and respect for your path, no matter what road you’re on.

The truth of most pathologies is that due to their nature, time is all that is needed.

How Many Licks Does it Take?

It takes …

• 3 licks by that crazy owl to get to the tootsie of a tootsie roll pop.
• 5-10 days to recover from an acute bout of cervical internal disc derangement.  (I’ll write an article about IDD soon.)
• 5-50 treatments to relieve a bad case of achilles tendonosis.  (AT is a monster to get rid of, but it can be done).
• 365 days for a depressed, alcoholic-abusing 21 year-old to get out of pain from a lumbar disc hernation.
• 120 days for your red blood cells to regenerate.
• 7 days for your skin cells to regenerate.  (That’s why a sun burn only lasts a few days, or even shorter when you eat an anti-inflammatory diet).
• 3-5 days for the bloating to go down after binging on pizza, cookies, beer, and anything else you might be able to get your hands on.  Assuming you go back to excluding grains, dairy, sugar, and processed foods from your diet, of course.
• 40 days for gluten to leave your system after 1 cracker.
• 4 months between the time you give your mom your Christmas Wish List and Santa to deliver those presents you want so badly. 
• 9 months for the baby to pop out of the pregnant mom.
• 44 years for the 21 year old college graduate to retire.
• ‘x’ years to manifest the life of your dreams.

Whether you really want that darn tootsie roll, your birthday gifts, or your pain to go away, time is a real variable on this planet. 

Take action in confidence that you’ll get where you’re going.  But you might as well enjoy the ride until then.

Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Denville, NJ.  He has been trained under the Integrative Diagnosis system for “clinical excellence”.  He loves to help people in ANY way he can. Please reach out to him if he can be of a service in any way. It doesnt hurt to ask.

And live it up while you’re here on Earth.  Life is short my loves.

Perspective is a powerful tool for change and a better life.

Some ignore their health for decades.  They witness a loved one die prematurely from lifestyle choices (a sugar-laden diet or a 2-pack-a-day cigarette habit).  Next thing you know, they’re working out 7x/week and eating like a perfectionist.

Others are complacent living the life that the universe has seemed to hand them.  Victimized.  They witness a person who lives his passion, doing exactly what he wants every single day that he awakens, trying to get others to do the same.  Finally, they realize they can have their dreams too.  Pursuing the job they never thought they could have, the travelling they were always too scared to do, or the family they never imagined they could have.

When you get out of your shoes and put on someone else’s, you see the world through a different lens that allows you to take different actions than you would have taken before.  To change your reality to create the life of your dreams.  And to appreciate what you have.

Other Human Being’s Shoes

Every year, there are 1.6 million diarrhea-related deaths across the world, most of them in children under 5.  That’s why Water Charity exists.

When’s the last time you said “thank you” for the water from your faucet?

I just read Crossing the Heart of Africa. by Julian Smith (Thanks Kara for the recommendation!).  In 2007, National Geographic writer Julian Smith followed the path of Ewart Grogan, who in 1898, was the first man to travel the poles of Africa from South to North by foot!

On the way, Mr. Grogan encountered man-eating hippos, man-eating bacteria and parasites, as well as man-eating men, that would eat men alive.

In the United States, we have no perception of man-eating anythings.  How lucky are we?

In the same book, Julian Smith recounts the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.  Tutsi rebels chopped millions of men, women, and children to death with machetes.  Multiple machetes by multiple people on one victim.

Developed civilization sure sounds like the bee’s knees to me.

Expressing Gratitude for “Freedom”

The United States celebrates July 4 … and our “freedom”.

When is the last time you thought about what that “freedom” means?

Whether it’s having limitless food at your disposal, clean drinking water, the ability to be in nature, to work as hard as you want to have the income (because MONEY = FREEDOM) that you want, to be able to go to the movies or bowling, or to pursue the life of your dreams.

Or to go on a hike outdoors and not be eaten by something else.

The shoes that Americans are wearing feel pretty comfortable to me.

Let this be a call to reflect and express gratitude.

What does “freedom” mean to you?

Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Northern NJ.  He has been trained under the Integrative Diagnosis system for “clinical excellence”.  He loves to help people in ANY way he can. Please reach out to him if he can be of a service in any way. It doesnt hurt to ask.

Don’t you get bored with salad?
How do you eat that many salads per day?
You eat like a rabbit!

These are some of the questions I get when discussing paleo and the Manliest Salad Strategy, also knows as Get As Many Veggies Down Your Throat in an Hour Strategy.

No, I don’t get bored with salad.

Variety is key.

I eat 1-3 salads/day.

If by “rabbit”, you mean “an animal who dominates lettuce and loves every second of it,” then …

Yes, call me “Bugs Bunny!”

What Type of Salad I Ate Today (how do basil and liver sound?)

Here’s why I don’t get bored with salad.

Variety.

Today, I had a basil and liver salad.  Let me tell you about it.

The ingredients consisted of:

• Basil: With no lettuce in the icebox, I picked 2 cups of basil from the garden.  No washing of course (a little dirt has bacteria and minerals that are beneficial to our bodies).
• Liver & Onions: Left-overs from yesterday, or as my friend Karen Friend Smith says from The Kitchen Skinny, LUST-overs!  Cooked in coconut oil and browned slowly after the onions have become translucent, HOLY MOLY!  I’m convinced any meat eater could enjoy this.  And oh!  The vitamins in liver!
• Parsley: a cup of parsley from the garden.  Good for your breath too.
• 3 Scrambled Eggs: Since I don’t use a microwave, I heated the liver & onions in my trusty cast iron pan.  When they were almost warm, I threw the eggs in there and scrambled them up.  The cast iron pan is absolutely my favorite instrument in the kitchen.  Do you have one?
• Nuts: almonds, walnuts, and pecans.
• Raisins: aka dried grapes.
• Spices: sea salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic, rosemary, channa masala  (a heavenly mixture of Indian spices).
• Dressing: a nice dosage of mustard, extra-virgin olive oil, and red wine vinegar.

Guess what?

I’m looking at the ingredients list … and it’s weird … and I’m weird for eating it.

But it tasted unbelievable! It always does.

It’s like you take a big magic bowl and start putting random stuff into it and a wonderful flower of a meal comes out of the pot!

How NOT to Get Bored With Salad

Here are four tricks to enjoying every salad you’ll ever make:

1.  Get a BIGGER bowl.

Whatever bowl you have now, get a bigger one.

Nevermind that, the pot that you used to cook pasta in for the family?

Use that!

Load ingredients into that.

People will judge you, but you’ll live thirty years longer than they will.  The universe balances itself out.

2.  Don’t be scared of fat or protein.

Your brain likes fat and protein.  Your body does too.  Don’t be scared of these two friends.

They’ll satiate you better than any carbs (fruits, vegetables, grain, or junk food) will.

It’s a common occurrence that I’ll eat one meal a day, a gigantic salad, and not crave or eat anything else for the rest of the day.

3.  Eat healthy animals and plants.

Don’t worry about beef ruining your triglyercides, cholesterol, or increasing your risk of heart disease.

Don’t believe me?

The fats in grass-fed beef are entirely different and good for you when compared with conventionally raised grain-fed beef.  Check out the peer-reviewed research on grass-fed beef.

You’re welcome.

This is why I only purchase my meat from a small, local farm in North Jersey.  Mini Mac Farm is located in Long Valley.  Plus, that Helen who owns it is a peach!

To find a small local farm near you, check www.localharvest.org.

As long as you’re eating a healthy animal instead of a sick one, you’re all good. A healthy animal is one that is wild-caught, raised outside or in its natural environment, is grass-fed, raised organically, without drugs, pesticides, or fertilizers, and lives a mostly happy life.

4.  Know your key ingredients:

I know that as long as I’ve hit a few of my key ingredients to a salad, I’m going to enjoy it.

My list: mustard, avocado or soft-boiled egg (for fat), some form of protein, basil, lemon/lime juice, garlic.

Your list: what is on your list of key ingredients?

Besides tasting heavenly and releasing feel-good hormones in my head just like a drug would, my body is happier than my mind is.  I imagine the massive influx of vitamins and nutrients after I eat a bowling ball-sized salad and my cells saying, “Wow, thank you for feeding me with nutrition I can actually use.  I’ll be busy for two days.  Eat again then.”

Remember, your body makes itself directly out of the food you put into your mouth.  If you put twinkies into your mouth, that’s a body made out of twinkies.  Me, I want a body made out of iron (hence, all of the green veggies).

What is on your list for key ingredients in a salad?

Dr. Christopher Stepien is a chiropractor, chronic pain specialist, and A.R.T. provider, and clinic director of the Barefoot Rehabilitation Clinic in Northern NJ.  He has been trained under the Integrative Diagnosis system for “clinical excellence”.  He loves to help people in ANY way he can. Please reach out to him if he can be of a service in any way. It doesnt hurt to ask.