Inside The Polished Apple

Thank you to Dr Robert Clarke, Chiropractor at Elan Family Wellness Centre, for this article coinciding with Structure in September. Dr Rob offers Network Spinal care at our office in Bowness, Calgary.  What makes up this physical structure we call our bodies? Certainly bones, muscle, connective tissue, nerves and fluids all are parts of our physical self. What influences the expression of our body is an interesting exploration.  Our thoughts, feelings, social programming, every aspect of who we are affects, our body (our structure). So when you are on the table at the office, where and how you hold tension, is a reflection of your life. As we palpate, where and how you hold tension, we are asking ourselves  what series of mental, emotional, spiritual and physical stressors have influenced you resulting in this expression of you. Then what gentle contact would best help you shift the pattern you are in. In this way, a gentle contact, can have a powerful ef...

Thanks to Scott Hutchison, Registered Massage Therapist at Elan Family Wellness Centre in Bowness, for his thoughts on our September theme: Structure!  September and Structure. There is a certain feel to these words. One calls up visions of packed lunches and the nervousness of the first day back. The other is a wall to lean on, containing the chaos, or perhaps a solid plan. I've mixed feelings about both. I once thought of myself as a master planner, but in truth... I'm a doer that needs a bit of motion to simulate the feels. This leads me to discover or create the structure, the master plan. It's my magic formula. If I start into structure first... I just can't seem to get what needs to be done into reality. Yes yes... planning is a form of action, but it really does not bump my energy. In fact.. it may actually drain me to a point of hiding from a challenge. When I was a kid, unavoidably, September and the new school year rolled around. It meant new uncertainti...

It's Structure month at Elan Family Wellness Centre-Thanks Dr Robert Clarke for some words about how Structure can lead to more Freedom in our Life! Sometimes we resist structure because we value our freedom. What we need to shift is our perspective. Having a structure actually allows for greater freedom within the structure. The structure, if set up well, helps take care of the essential commitments of our lives.  As an example, having a designated place for keys when you come in the door allows you the opportunity to know where your keys are, saving you the hassle of looking for them later. A kitchen where you know where everything is, is much easier to cook in and allows the creative cooking process to happen. The structure or organization of the kitchen gives more freedom to the cook. Sometimes it's externally applied structure that we resist. In these cases it is good to step back and see if the they are serving on a bigger level. Sometimes we gain perspective b...

It's Structure month at Elan... Thanks Scott for some thoughts on this topic!  To be blunt... I have a love/hate relationship with structure in my life. I know that from a top down view, the structures that I put in place can be too over detailed when I sink down into creation mode. Meaning, I overdo it on the thinking/design phase and never get to the doing phase, because I don't know when to  quit  thinking/designing and never feel like it's complete or good enough. I've touched on this before in other posts, but it has to do with the Triad Of Change and how I feel I am wired up. That said, I know that if I start with a behaviour... any  behaviour , from writing a sentence to doing the dishes or taking a shower, that motion drives a spark and it flows into good thoughts and poof... a structure happens.  Structures come into  reality  because I have  certainty  of the outcome and I have attained enough energy to the system I am...

It is that time-we're about to get carried away with school, kid's schedules, and events available at every opportunity! With school starting after Labour Day, I'm beating the rush this year and have started-a la Pinterest bullet journal style-a Habits Tracker. I have projects and habits that keep falling away in my to-do list and memory and thought the easiest way to establish them was with a visual tracking system. This was a plan to establish new habits, or track the ones I hit and miss with-so you're not going to see “Feed kids. Pick up kids. Shower.” I've got those ones down. September is all about Structure and Routines, so here's my next 30'ish day plan. Every time I complete an item, I get to mark it down! Top of my list was to incorporate Morning Rituals. For me this means starting the day in gratitude, visualizing my day, and creating some routine and rituals to energize this and stick to it. Most of the inspiration has come from Tim Ferr...

We have a challenge happening at the office and we've just started our first official week.  The challenge is to work on something in your life and "play" with the Triad of Change as we go. The Triad of Change means that we all have a strength in how we can make change in our life~using either Structure, Perception or Behavior. For the purpose of this challenge, we don't address whether something is a Prime or a Keystone, but keep it simple and look for what strengthens us and what drains us.  (An aside… Prime means it will help us with the spark or the initial start up energy. Keystone means it provides the body/ energy or holds all the other pieces in place. There is also a drain that is not our best way of starting something, or using the energy from, but is actually our gift when all the sides align.) For my challenge, I am being a Memory Keeper , primarily for my daughters. It started because I was chatting about Christmas 2015 and I had no recol...

Feng Shui Bagua Map Finally!  I've been wanting to share some behind the scenes of our ever-so-long but its-going-really-well build out of our new office in Bowness.   Once of the best parts of this do it yourself thing, is being able to be part of every little thing.   We've torn things down, Scott framed it up, drywalled it, and I'm sure we'll eventually share more of the process.  It currently has paint and is about to get some real floors-cork and tile!   One of my favorite things has been to structurally plan where things were going to go and to use the Bagua map from Feng Shui to do so.  I had help from Jessica Erlendson , (music and feng shui) for some pointers for our rooms.   First we took our office layout and mapped out the corresponding zones. See how the colors can correspond?   Easiest way to cover your bases?  Write your affirmations (or they may be intentions) on the wall or in the wall sinc...

We hope that you have had a wonderful summer! Our family squeezed in one last weekend in the Shuswap over the Labor Day weekend and had an eye opener that fall is arriving- temperatures were cooling, lips were blue when we were in the water, and the salmon had already returned for their annual run. It has been a short summer for our family as we've been immersed in the renovations at our new office and creating the structures for business this fall.  Yes... Structure and September always go together in my mind. The fall brings new school routines, new classes, new ambitions, and for many is considered the start of the year.  I find it helpful to keep the Triad of Change in my perspective at a time like this. I'm re sharing how best to identify and use your strengths. If structure is a strength of yours, you probably embrace this month. You love planning, routines, the new clothes and supplies, and having everyone where they belong. If you are cringing or avoiding facing ...

As part of Elan's September theme of Structure, here are some thoughts from our Health Coach Janis.   Spring and fall are natural times of change. The seasonal and temperature changes around us are clear signals of "different-ness". Yet, so commonly, we try to exercise sameness in order to feel accomplished, comfortable and secure. I once heard that the best time to set New Years Resolutions is in May. And every year, I find that holds true. There is a burst of energy around May 1 as the weather changes and the quality of sunlight and energy around is shift to optimism and renewed growth. The same is true in reverse for September. Every fall, clients tell me they crave sleep and sugar. Energetically, it is time to slow down and hibernate. So this year, how about you try some Fall Simplification shifts to make the transition feel more comfortable: 1. Eat with the seasons. Fall produce is "heavier:" squashes, and root vegetables, denser greens and less swe...

Have you had a chance to take a deep breath in? Have you gotten the kids back to school?  Did you finish buying their backpacks, new school shoes and clothes, school supplies, ballet shoes (what?!  just us?), and squeezed in a back to school haircut?   Have you coordinated the upcoming fall between adult's and kid's schedules and figure it may all just fit?  Do you have Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays all planned out?   Have you printed your summer holiday memories?  Planned for next year's summer break, because you didn't find you had enough time at the perfect beach escape?   Are you ready for fall?  Excited because its a brand new start to the year, just like when you were back in school?  Maybe you have a class you're attending yourself, or have your new workout routine at the gym all ready to go.  And the gym shoes and water bottle are packed.   If I'm giving you a panic attack now, I'm going to guess that you may...