A Horizontal Baby Is A Healthy Adult

Nine (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life - Baby Step #1

Life can be manic, can’t it?

Rushing around from here to there… There’s always something that needs to be done.

There are some things, however, that simply can’t be rushed, one of which is nature.

You see, nature has got it perfect – the way that we as humans have been designed, the way that the seasons roll into and out of each other, and the way a baby goes through its stages of development, for example.

One of those stages of development for a baby is to be horizontal until she is ready, in her own time, to be vertical.

Notice I said “in her own time”?

That’s because many well-meaning parents want to get their little one up and running before a lot of essential development has taken place.

So what’s the “essential development” that your baby needs then?

Quite simply, she needs to develop functions that will support her when she finally gets to that stage of standing unaided. Not only will these functions support her, they will also give her an infinitely better chance of a life free from pain… Well into old age!

We’ll talk more about developing functions in your child in the remaining “Eight (Baby) Steps On How To Give Your Child The Absolute Best Start In Life”.

Until then…

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I'm In Pain - Fix Me NOW!

This is a comment I left on another blog - I thought I'd give it a home here also:

The ‘fix me’ attitude is a symptom of the society within which we live, the so called Western World. We expect to be able to purchase instant gratification. THe most unfortunate thing is that it is probably our most pervasive export.

Pain is indeed a call for attention. Actually, the body offers many more subtle messages to inform us that all is not well. By the time we have pain, the message is more akin to a desperate scream.

Symptom based treatment is at best short sighted. At it’s worst it is unnecessary invasive surgery giving little or no relief.

Fortunately the body has many forms of communicating and posture is available for all of us to see. As posture is a snapshot of function (the ability of the muscles to perform a given task without pain, limitation or compensation) deviations from design posture tell us of imparment.

By addressing the posture and treating the body as the highly integrated unit it is we begin the process of REPAIRMENT -

“the dynamic process of regaining health and vitality, far beyond the absense of symptoms and limitations.”

Check your posture for imbalances now - click here.

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Women are more susceptible to back problems - Nonsense!

Article - Easy strategies can help ease back pain

"Women are more susceptible to back problems because their backs and abdomens are weaker, causing more strain on the spine.

Childbearing, carrying heavy purses and doing housework also add to the potential for pain..." more

While this is is simply not true, it also prepetuates an unhealthy victim mentality. STOP! and think about this for a moment - do you think that in 4 million years of existance that nature has played a sick joke on women? That women are weak and fragile and 'that's just how it is'?

And don't think it stops at back pain, next you'll be being told that nature intended for you to be chained to the kitchen sink!

The 'information' age we now live in, means that we are all bombarded with thousands of messages daily. The danger is if we do not challenge the logic, validity and ultimate truth of those statements we can begin to allow them to seep into our consciousness and beliefs, accepting them as truths.

Gaining an understanding of how posture offers you an opportunity to become empowered and accept responsibility for your health (a corner stone of the success of the Egoscue Method) is for many a first step and important step. That understanding won't come from books (or blogs) it's not intellectual, - it's experiencial!

With the acceptance of responsibility, comes the need to challenge the healthcare providers and 'experts' from whom you seek advice. This is not to be 'difficult' or obstinate. Understand that many of the very well intentioned people we put our trust in, have built their beliefs on their own life experience.

Is it time you found your own truth?

Follow The Leader? Follow Yourself...

I came across this quote by the Japanese poet Matsuo Basho today...

"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought."

So we could look at this in the same sense as Motivation Vs Inspiration. The wise person is one who moves towards pleasure, rather than moving purely away from pain.

Or put another way, the wise person is one who moves towards improving posture for a life without limitations, rather than simply moving away from pain.

We'll leave you with that thought!

Motivation v Inspiration

The inspiration for this post came from an Egoscue message board post by Matt Whitehead, Clinic Director - The Egoscue Method Portland.

Motivation is fear based - away from. Inspiration is joy based - towards.

Big difference, don't you think?

Think about this: why do you want to be pain free? And is being pain free really your goal?

• If you are taking action (such as doing your Egoscue menus) to be Pain Free, that is motivation – a short term, fear based approach.

• If you are doing menus to get your body able to walk, run, play with your grandkids, or climb a mountain, that is inspiration - which is a long term solution.

Inspiration doesn't have to be big or clever, it just has to have meaning.

Right, Who Made My Back Hurt?!

StopMusclePain » Blog Archive » Selective activation of muscles with eToims

Firstly I do have to admit that I have not yet looked at any of these movies. There are a few points though that do spring to mind.

I do admire anyone who will committ to a course of action for the long term. It speaks a great deal about the stickability of the individuals which is uncommon.

There is however the fact that this man of 81 years of age has been suffering needlessly with back and neck pain for 50 years! 50 years!!! And now for the last 16/17 he's been having these weekly treatments.

While I'm certainly not implying it's the case here, I am often amazed by the lengths people will go to, to give responsibility for their health to an "expert".

If only we'd take a small step (or 3) back and look at the whole picture. We wouldn't for instance, stand in an orchard and assume an apple was suspended in mid air, because we take in the whole picture and see that it's hanging from a branch, connected to a tree and that that tree is firmly rooted in the soil.

The likely hood is that the roots of your pain lie in a very different location to the symptom. Your posture is the secret to unlocking your pain.

What?...Posture Work Helps Pain???

The Egoscue Method - Be Pain Free

This is a great post of this guy's experience with Egoscue and how it's affected his pain and posture to date. There really isn't much else to say about this except that I love this line,

"It wasn’t that slouching was uncomfortable, it just felt unnatural."

Read it all here

Maybe there really is something to this posture malarkey after all?!!!

Causes of Back Pain

Article - Why Does My Back Ache?

"Muscle strain; poor posture; fractures; viral infection; women suffering gynecological problems; infection of kidney or bladder; too much pressure on a nerve root; tumors; osteoporosis; bacterial infection; arthritis and stress or trauma.

The doctor will diagnose the reasons for your backache after performing several tests on you. A blood test is required. Plus X-ray of spine, CT scan or MRI can also be required depending upon the seriousness of the issue." more...

The simple fact is that few of the listed reasons are likely to be the cause of your back pain. Possible, but statistically highly unlikely.

So what about looking at the simple solution first. The one that is non-invasive and the only side effects are entirely positive.

Mention of infections, tumours and diseases just scares people to death, while being dressed up as a warning or of educational value. Sure, regular health checks are advisable, yet there is little benefit in people becoming hypochondriacal.

If we have a few glasses of wine at a party, we don't wake the next day assuming we have a brain tumor typically. So, why is it so easy to ignore the cause of our back pain (or other pains) and look for diseases or blame the trigger?

We'll talk more about the difference between a trigger and a cause soon...

We've now talked more about causes and triggers. Check it out here.

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More P3 Pics

Greg Smith from Aegis Training has up loaded some nice pics from the Egoscue P3 (Posture, Pain & Performance) Workshop to his photo diary blog here.

Check out some of his other offerings too - I particularly like the dramatic contrasting skyscape with the London Eye - is there really no end to this mans talent?!

Donal

P3 - Great Success!

Break out time at the Egoscue P3 last weekend in London.Greg tells Donal how it really is!

We had a great day with everyone at the Egoscue Posture, Pain & Performance Workshop on Saturday. It was a really good mix of participants from different backgrounds - personal trainers, massage therapists, pilates teachers, a chiropractic student and even a stock broker! - who ALL contributed to the rich tapestry of the day.

Big thanks go to Aegis Training for hosting the event in their awesome training space and studio. Greg and Graeme were both very welcoming and true stars!!

Keep an eye out for the video action coming soon...

Welcome!

Hi folks,

Just a quick post to say hello and to look out for some great things related to Posture, Pain and Performance (we'll throw in some prevention too!). You're invited to share in all of the health news and views.

Look out also for details of Saturday's very successful Egoscue P3 workshop, along with some very cool video clips and photos!

See you soon!

Matt & Donal