Inside The Polished Apple

As part of Elan Family Wellness Centre's August theme of Gearing Up, here's my own article covering a gentle routine for August.   Whether we are excited by the soon return of fall's routines, or sad about the end of the summer warmth, we can use August to bridge between both. Just as your family may be settling into summer, our thoughts turn to back to school and work. August is the perfect time to make sure we are fitting in our relax-time and prepping for life with a routine. Routines can be good for all of us, especially the little ones in our lives. It may even help to overcome some of the “I'm bored...” you've been hearing. During these last few weeks of summer and holidays, how about considering adding a morning and evening routine to your summer as a transition? (perhaps for those not already working or in a regular routine). Start by picking a consistent wakeup time and 1-2 important things you want to complete each day- If its important to y...

Move over black bean brownies, we have a new recipe! This recipe was circulating on Facebook, so I'm not sure to whom to give credit. They are a pretty good flour free, sugar free cookie. 1 can chickpeas (1 1/2 c.) rinsed and drained 2 tsp vanilla 1/2 c. Plus 2 TBSP Natural peanut butter 1/4 c. Honey 1 tsp baking powder (or a substitute of cream of tartar, baking soda, and arrowroot) Salt to taste 1/2 c. Chocolate chips. Process all ingredients except chocolate chips. Add chips and stir. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on parchment paper. Squish into cookie shape if so desired. Bake at 350 degree oven for 10 min. Make 14'ish cookies. We have fun offering these peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies and seeing if the recipient can tell the difference!

Join us Saturday, July 13th 10 am to 12 pm for our Community Day! We're offering our services in exchange for donations to benefit Flood Relief Efforts. All money collected will be donated to Children's Cottage Calgary. This centre in Bridgeland was affected by the flooding and we want to help them get back to being able to help kids and families. We heard of them through a little birdie, aka a practice member. On Saturday, current practice members can receive an entrainment at Elan; new and familiar faces can come for Acupuncture or Allergy testing, or for reflexology or stress release sessions. Healthy snacks will be provided! If you've been affected and feel physical or emotional discomfort, we welcome you and hope to do our piece to help in your healing process. More information is available through 403 217 5577 or on our Facebook events link.

As part of our Switching Gears month, here is a post from our Holistic Reflexologist Sandra Catania: I was excited for this month's topic and was planning my portion when disaster struck. So very quickly, "switching gears" became not about having some time off to have a holiday or a trip but to actually go from a normal existence to one hanging by a thread. I actually left Calgary on Monday last week and have been staying in Fairmont, BC with my two children for the past seven nights. The original plan was to stay three nights and return on Thursday but as the weather and road reports worsened, we decided to stay put. Friday was quite surreal here in the Valley (Radium, Invermere, Windermere and Fairmont), when talks of the gas stations being low on fuel began to circulate. I left the kids with my friend who had joined us with her two children, and set off to "get supplies". I wasn't sure just how long we would need to prepare for and to be truthf...

Elan Family Wellness Centre's Theme for July is Switching Gears.  I hope you enjoy Dr. Adrienne Perkins' post on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Dr Adrienne is an Acupuncturist with Elan.  In light of recent events, the theme “switching gears” brings to my mind the idea of phasing from “fight or flight”, trauma and fear to the need for stress reduction, stress management and calm. Our city has just experienced an extremely stressful event and everyone has been affected in different ways. This article is for those who feel overwhelmed, who are having a difficult time coping and who may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD can develop following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless, especially if the event feels unpredictable and uncontrollable. PTSD can affect those who personally experience the catastrophe, those who witness it, and those who pick up the pieces afterwards. It can even occur in the friends ...