Inside The Polished Apple

We love to see kids at Elan and from the families we see under care, know it is amazing for their overall spinal and nervous system health and to keep up with their regular bumps and falls! Once a month we have a Family Wellness Evening for both our new families and those under care. We believe it is important to have a community where you can discuss relevant health and wellness topics~please join us!  After a short presentation on “Why Chiropractic Care for Children?” with Dr. Josephene Juell, we will have the opportunity for discussion on topics from Pathways to Family Wellness magazine, or Q&A on related health and wellness topics. All ages welcome. (no childcare on site, office play area available for kids.) Next: Tuesday, June 25th at 7:00PM Complimentary!

Thank you to Margaret Kennedy, Registered Acupuncturist with Elan Family Wellness Centre in Bowness, NW Calgary, on this article on the benefits of Mindfulness.  Mindfulness  is the energy of being aware and awake to the present moment. To be  mindful  is to be truly alive, present and at one with those around you and with what you are doing. There are many ways to practice Mindfulness and even more books that can be obtained either via the internet or library to learn more on the art of mindfulness. Some ways that mindfulness can help you: It reduces overthinking which damages the spleen meridian. It alleviates stress, improves memory, the ability to focus and improves learning. It helps one to be non-reactive to others, so that in the midst of crisis you can remain calm. It allows us to think differently, so de-stressing our lives It enhances our compassion, empathy and kindness to ourselves and others so increasing our ability to be happy. This lessens our anxiety and improv

For all of the women and moms out there! For all of the sacred ways that women create and mother. "She is the healer, the nurturer, the tender of the garden, the guardian of our future, the kitchen witch & magic maker, the creator, the lover, the mother...she is a woman and her work is sacred." ~Brooke Hampton.  We had these beautiful roses in the office this past week to honour our moms and the moms in our lives. A small token of the huge and sacred work that women do.  Thank you to the many women and moms out there who choose us for their chiropractic, massage and acupuncture care, and who trust us with their family wellness care. We value your trust! 

Thank you to Scott Hutchison, Registered Massage Therapist and Professional Coach, with Elan Family Wellness Centre in Bowness, NW Calgary, on this article on may mindfulness. This I find to be a loaded weapon. When I sink down into a process like mindfulness... or as I know it... now-ness, I am hijacked, to some extent, by the stories I carry around.  And inevitably, I move from mindfulness/now-ness to a painful memory from the past that may pop up on me during my experience. It kinda sucks. To counter this... I have learned to simply give myself permission to come again and again into my mindfulness. Often I would beat myself up about it.  Now, I recognize that when my mind does this... it is doing so as some weird or misguided protection strategy. But giving myself the permission to have a second or two of wandering and gently move my mind back to “now”... I regain control over my mind from a higher level of optimization. Then I practice and practice. Usually this is playin

We are in the middle of our Practice Member of the Week celebration and are overjoyed to read the health changes that our practice members experience under care. Here's a peak at April's comments!  "I have been in care for 6 months. Life before Network Chiropractic was busier - Elan helps me to relax and be more in tune with my body! What originally motivated me to seek care was a car accident and a referral from a friend. Since beginning care, I notice my body is relaxing and strengthening and I am increasing in personal awareness. I enjoy coming to Elan - great staff, kind, flexible and friendly!" - Rachelle P. "I have been in care for 4 years! Life before Network Chiropractic was more stressful and physically uncomfortable. I was originally motivated due to a fall that caused a concussion, bruised sacrum, headache and sore jaw. Besides noticing a change in general pain, I am more relaxed and calm and able to handle stressful situations both at work

Thank you to Dr Robert Clarke, Chiropractor at Elan Family Wellness in Bowness, NW Calgary, for this article on incorporating mindfulness into our daily routine.  In life it is easy to fall into routines and habits. The upside of this is we don’t have to expend a lot of our attention to get many daily tasks done. On the other hand it can become easy to let routines and habits take over too many aspects of our lives, this is where its important to bring mindfulness in our lives on a daily basis. “Take time to Smell the Flowers” Slow down, allow your senses to expand, breath deeper, in doing this we bring more mindfulness into our lives. When paying more attention to all of our senses we begin to understand that not only our sight, smell, sound, touch and taste are more sensitive, but our intuitive senses also improve. Firstly, this helps you know when your body is in a stressed ”Fight or Flight" and when it is in “Rest and Digest” this awareness informs us. Technology has prog

Thank you to the donors and participants of this year's Birthing in Bowness! We have the honour of working with pregnant moms (for prenatal and postnatal care), new moms and young families for care at Elan, and have the support of many wonderful people working in the birth care (and family care!) industry. It was fun to come together for one evening to celebrate this group.  We enjoyed an evening making great connections with other moms and networking with health professionals and perinatal supporters. Thank you for helping us raise funds and food for Made by Momma! Nancy Shadlock , Life & Motherhood Coach Jodey Sharman , Registered Psychologist Emilie Sanmartin , Doula Randi van Wiltenberg , Doula Ropa Muchini , Treevein Anu Rishi , Beautycounter

Welcome to May!  I would like to take a moment for a couple of celebrations that are related to May. I want to celebrate the Moms we see in the office-for all of the women we see coordinating chiropractic wellness care not just for themselves, but for their children, families, parents, or friends. Whether we are moms ourselves, or have our birth or adoptive moms to thank for bringing us into the world and raising us, our moms have enormous impact and potential for change in our lives. Thank you for all that you do! (Please visit us the days prior to Mother's Day for our gift to you!) May is also our Practice Member of The Week celebration month. We're including this past month's stories of our selected Practice Members of the Week. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we enjoy seeing them. If you are curious how we select our Practice Members of the Week, there are a number of factors we consider, such as an amazing story to share, commitment to care, contribu