Below please find a smattering of Gluten Free Resources for eating in, eating out, and living well:
A helpful Gluten-Free resource is Healthy Villi, the Greater Boston Celiac/DH Support Group.
Here is a link to Trader Joe’s Products with No Gluten Ingredients Used. “These are products in which no ingredients or sub-ingredients contain gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley and their derivatives such as malt or spelt.”
The sixth chakra is located in the Third Eye in humans. Its color is blue-purple, or indigo.
The Brow Chakra is indicated by an open mind and a sense of knowing. This is the seat of intuition in the human being.
An underactive Brow Chakracan show as fear, worry, self-doubt, envy, rigidity, superstition, or relying on others to think for you.An overactive Brow Chakracan show as impatient, fearful, highly sensitive, manipulative, or belittling others.
Physical:brain tumor, stroke, seizure, eye problems, blindness, deafness, tinnitus, ear infection/pain, learning disabilities, seizures, headache/migraine, congestion/infection, hay fever, nose bleeds, loss of smell.
Emotional:non-reliance on intuition, difficulties with concentration/focus, closed-mindedness, instability, overly rational thinking, non-trust in workings of the universe, depression.
Spiritual Lesson:Self-awareness. Here is the place to cultivate intuition. Begin slowly and learn to rely on its innate wisdom.
A quick note to let you know that the chakra pictures in these posts are known as Yantras. A Yantra is visual meditation tool. All chakras have yantras, mantras, and tantras. Visual, verbal and visceral ritual practices that go with them.
The Brow Chakra is indicated by an open mind and a sense of knowing. This is the seat of intuition in the human being.
An underactive Brow Chakracan show as fear, worry, self-doubt, envy, rigidity, superstition, or relying on others to think for you.An overactive Brow Chakracan show as impatient, fearful, highly sensitive, manipulative, or belittling others.
Physical:brain tumor, stroke, seizure, eye problems, blindness, deafness, tinnitus, ear infection/pain, learning disabilities, seizures, headache/migraine, congestion/infection, hay fever, nose bleeds, loss of smell.
Emotional:non-reliance on intuition, difficulties with concentration/focus, closed-mindedness, instability, overly rational thinking, non-trust in workings of the universe, depression.
Spiritual Lesson:Self-awareness. Here is the place to cultivate intuition. Begin slowly and learn to rely on its innate wisdom.
A quick note to let you know that the chakra pictures in these posts are known as Yantras. A Yantra is visual meditation tool. All chakras have yantras, mantras, and tantras which are visual, verbal and visceral ritual practices that go with them.
Ever seen that game in which children us a rubber mallet to try to hit the gophers that pop up before they disappear again? Grief seems to be like that; popping its head up when you least expect it.
I was a second year resident in the Bronx, NY on September 11, 2001. We watched the drama unfold. And my friend described the horror of being on the highway and seeing the towers burn.
All the hospitals in New York were on high alert, preparing at length for all the injured. No staff were allowed to leave; no one was sure which roads were open, and again, we were preparing for huge numbers of injured who would need treatment, so all staff were needed.
Except, there were virtually no injuries. There were only casualties. Even the usual hospital visits ground to a standstill as people remained glued to their televisions. I found what had just happened to be inconceivable and yet, I moved on.
And as someone who thinks about and works on everything in my space, I took for granted that my sorrow and grief over 9/11 was “complete”.
So it caught me by surprise when I found myself in tears listening to an NPR report of the events of 9/11.
This got me thinking about grief. What causes it to come up? What causes it to regress? When does it really “go away”? I don’t have the answers. But I find the questions valuable, and thought you might, too.
The fifth chakra is located in the throat in humans. Its color is robin’s egg blue.
The Throat Chakra is the center of choice: the one gift given humanity by our Creator. Free will (also free won’t!). This is where we are centered, well- spoken, and find the ability to go with the flow.
An underactive Throat Chakracan show as resistance to change and not communicating well.An overactive Throat Chakracan show as domineering, hyperactivity, or overly talkative.
Physical:addictions, sore/raspy throat, mouth, teeth and gum problems, thyroid, facial pain or paralysis, tongue, neck injuries.
Emotional:emotional and physical addictions, self-expression, personal honesty, integrity, criticism, judgment, listening and communication skills.
Spiritual Lesson:Self-honesty. This is where we must all answer the seminal question of life: What do I want? Honestly, even if only to ourselves. This is also where we make our choices—again and again and again.
A quick note to let you know that the chakra pictures in these posts are known as Yantras. A Yantra is visual meditation tool. All chakras have yantras, mantras, and tantras which are visual, verbal and visceral ritual practices that go with them.
Whether you are sitting, standing or lying down how you hold yourself for long periods of time – your posture – influences your health. Although you may notice poor posture when you see it in others, do you grasp the importance of it in your own life?
As a chiropractor, I always observe the posture of my patients and see a clear and consistent connection between poor posture, a postural demand (ex. desk job) and their back/neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, etc. The American Chiropractic Association has guidelines relating to proper posture and in the text below I have shared some of their tips as well as a specific exercise you can do to improve your posture and reduce the related aches and pains.
Before you read further, stop and reflect – How is your posture?
Normally, we do not consciously maintain normal posture.Our muscles and ligaments support our skeletal structure keeping us upright and we rarely think about posture unless, perhaps, our grandmother sternly reminds us to ‘sit up straight’!
When we slouch in our seat and project our head forward (usually towards a computer screen) we place a strain on shoulder/neck muscles that are already over worked (ex. upper trapezius) causing them to fatigue and become pain generators (neck pain and headaches).These larger muscles are intended for periodic heavy lifting and smaller muscles along the spine are better suited to stabilize the spine and maintain an upright posture. Being upright and using these key postural muscles balances the pressure equally on the many joints of the spine preventing irregular wear and early degeneration (arthritis).
A very simple way to improve posture is to (1) recognize the difference between ideal posture and your own, and (2) practice postural exercises that activate and strengthen postural muscles.
(1) Recognize areas of improvement in your posture. Any habit developed becomes difficult to change.With regards to posture, your mind and body movements adapt and actively work around poor posture and over problems develop.Problems like irregular tension on spinal ligaments, muscle fatigue, spinal joint wearing and pain.Below are recommendations by the American Chiropractic Association (www.acatoday.org) on how to best develop your sitting posture.
How do I sit properly?
Keep your feet on the floor or on a footrest, if they don’t reach the floor.
Don’t cross your legs. Your ankles should be in front of your knees.
Keep a small gap between the back of your knees and the front of your seat.
Your knees should be at or below the level of your hips.
Adjust the backrest of your chair to support your low- and mid-back or use a back support.
Relax your shoulders and keep your forearms parallel to the ground.
Avoid sitting in the same position for long periods of time.
(2) Practice postural exercises that activate postural muscles.Once you appreciate proper posture you have to ‘wake up’ muscles that are very important in proper posture and use them.This is very important because muscles that are most important are likely to be weak from disuse. Use the description and images below to practice this postural relief position.
Postural Relief position.
Sit at the edge of a chair. Put your knees apart slightly and your feet under the knees. Arch your back. Rotate your arms outward so your palms face forward. Tuck in your chin. Hold this position for 30 seconds while taking deep breaths in through your abdomen. Repeat 2-3 times per hour.
Poor Posture
Postural Relief Pose
Let me leave you with one last tip – sit well, sit less.Sitting for long periods of time for work is directly correlated not only to back pain and headaches but also obesity, diabetes, hypertension and many other chronic diseases.Take time away from sitting at least once or twice per hour – to stretch, practice your postural relief position or take a brief walk around the office.
