Resources, Articles and Blog

Your body relies on an uninterrupted flow of air. Without air you would die in minutes. Air is so important that we have a respiratory system within us that we never have to think about. Breathe in, breathe out. When we’re calm our breathing gets slower, deeper and quieter. When we’re stressed or exercising our breathing gets shallower, quicker and louder. We know that shallow breathing is inefficient, using more energy and exchanging less air. Inefficient breathing causes us

A recent study reported that the average worker has 57 headaches per year. That’s more than one headache per week! Amazingly enough, we’ve been lead to believe this is “normal.” Rather than addressing the root cause of the headache, we’ve been conditioned (largely by pharmaceutical companies) to reach for pain relievers. Based on our standard treatment, you’d think that our body was suffering from an aspirin deficiency! Aside from drugs, what are some options? First of all, t

A Body’s Best Defense If we’re healthy, our bodies work around the clock fighting off any number of illnesses and diseases that we encounter everyday in our environment. Strengthening your immune system means focusing on preventing illness from taking hold in the first place. There are many ways to bolster your immune system, one of which you’re already doing: exercise. Exercise keeps the body strong and can apparently speed recovery from common colds. A recent study found th

When our body screams "Pain!" it's important to pay attention and take care of the cause. Often, we ignore the message, quieting it with pain killers. Think of how ridiculous it would be for your mechanic to tell you to "just turn up the radio" if you told him that your car's engine was making a funny noise! Active people sometimes think of their aches and pains as merely a nuisance, instead of taking them as indications of possible trouble. When your body gives you a very ob

The Mental Factor As number four in our series of the five (exercise, diet, sleep, attitude, and sound physical structure) factors of health, ATTITUDE plays perhaps the biggest role in determining our level of health. You’ve heard it before but it’s true. Business research shows that your attitude is the most important determinant of success. Health research on aging indicates that it profoundly affects the immune system. And sports research clearly documents that a positive

Many of us don’t realize just how much we eat. That is because the amount of food on your plate makes the choice for you and it doesn’t matter if you are a “clean your plate” eater or a “leave a little left over” eater. Some people who used to be satisfied by a 12-ounce can of soda may now feel that a 20-ounce bottle is just right. It's "unit bias," the tendency to think that a single unit of food — a bottle, a can, a plateful, or some more subtle measure — is the right amoun

Are you new to massage? Tanya, one of our massage therapists, gives us a brief introduction to massage.

Stressed? Depressed? Frustrated? Worried? Longing? All of these feelings are common in our lives. What do you do when they seem to last too long? What do you do when you just want to feel better or help another feel better? One method is “Honoring and Appreciation.” Take moments throughout your day to stop, check in with your surroundings and your body. Take stock of what you see, what you have and where you are. Choose one (at least) and say how and why you are grateful. For

Modern Science now demonstrates that oxidative stress is a significant precursor to more than 100 human disease including atherosclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, cancer and even wrinkles. So what is oxidative stress? Free radicals are the molecules that, outside the human body, cause metal to rust or a peeled banana to turn brown. In the human body, free radicals attack and damage our cells and tissues and are a significant factor in the aging process. F

I’m often asked about what to do for muscle cramps, so here is some information for you. Almost everyone experiences a muscle cramp at some time in their life. A cramp can last a few seconds to 15 minutes and then re-cramp multiple times before it finally stops. Some happen at rest (like those annoying ones in bed) and others are caused by exercise (sometimes starting hours after activity). In general, muscle cramps can be prevented by adequate nutrition and hydration, but so

So, you’re getting older, you’re not recovering as fast as you used to, and the thought of arthritis keeps popping into your consciousness. How nice it will be to enter your retirement years with the physical ability and energy to revel in your freedom. But, how do we keep our joints healthy as we age? It’s clear that you need to use it or lose it. Physical activity is critical for healthy joints and muscles. Even people with arthritis feel better with exercise. Activity buil

When it comes to musculoskeletal injuries, we often don't realize that the majority of pain comes from chemicals released during the injury and swelling (inflammation) process. Swelling builds up during the first 3 days and remains throughout the healing process (3-6 weeks). If the tissue isn't allowed to heal because of repeated stress, the swelling could last years, leading to arthritis. The swelling protects us by causing pain and restricting our movement, but it also dela

Presence carries products and remedies to support your health and wellness... Want to learn more about holistic wellness in Auburn?

With the weather cooling and the holiday food on the way, it’s a great time to take a moment to prepare our minds and bodies for the winter cold and flu season. The combination of cold weather and lots of sweet and rich holiday food is a flu bugs’ dream come true. With our defenses down, the rest of our body looks like a nice warm home to a lonely virus or bacteria. All that extra holiday food takes a lot of energy to digest and detoxify leaving less energy for fighting those

(This is the third in a series about the five factors of health.) In the news these days you'll find an abundance of conflicting and confusing information about diet and nutrition. With the wealth of information available, it seems we've lost track of many simple truths that should guide us in choosing foods to eat. The most basic rule to live by is "eat foods in their natural, unrefined state." It's far better to concern yourself with the quality of the food you eat, rather

For many years, the medical and scientific communities have held the belief that "80-90% of attacks of low-back pain recover in about six weeks, no matter what type of treatment was given. A study published in the British Medical Journal dispels this myth. The authors followed 463 adult low-back pain patients from their first visit to a general practitioner through the following 12 months. Their goal was to "investigate the claim that 90% of episodes of low back pain that pre

Getting Good Zzzs As one of the five (exercise, diet, sleep, attitude, and sound physical structure) factors of health, sleep is vitally important for your body’s regeneration and healing. We need just enough sleep to feel rested. There’s no need to get hung up on how many hours you sleep and whether it’s more or less than 8. In general, a short nap in the afternoon (the siesta zone between 1:00 and 3:00) will leave you more rested than the same amount of time tacked onto you

Generally, shin splints are felt on (1) the outside front part of the leg or (2) the inside back part of the leg The first type is generally due to walking or running on hard surfaces or poor shock absorbing ability of the involved muscles or shoes. The second type is common in athletes whose feet are hyper pronated (roll in/flatten). Repetitive over straining of muscles are a factor in both types. Sports with the highest frequency of shin splints include long distance runnin

So how exactly does exercise contribute to your health? Research has shown that it strengthens your cardiovascular system (stronger heart), immune system (lowers the risk of infection), digestive system (lowers appetite, better absorption of nutrients, regulates bowels), nervous system (coordination and sleep) musculoskeletal system (prevents injuries, osteoporosis) and your mental health (feel better about yourself and stress reduction). To get the maximum benefit from exerc

Dorlands Medical dictionary defines health as "a state of optimal physical, social and mental well being, not merely the absence of illness and disease." Consider the person with cardiovascular disease whose first "symptom" is a massive heart attack. Obviously, he was not in a state of optimal physical well being, yet he probably would have said he was healthy if asked. This illustrates the crisis-care view of health that we're raised with. It's short sighted and, actually, h