Patience?

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." ~ Hal Borland

I know this quote is hard to believe, especially since snow is still in our forecast and it is May 2^nd as I write this.  Ugh!

The saying ‘patience is a virtue’ comes to mind.  Is it? Always? And is that all it is?  For some odd reason, I want to challenge this (yet another) conventional thought provoked by this lingering winter weather and I think there is an important correlation to be made to our health.

Being patient with the arrival of spring is probably not our greatest challenge right now, even though we’re very tired of winter.  After all, what can we do about it?  But have you ever chosen to exercise patience and ended up frustrated, suppressed or even depressed?  Where is that line drawn and how does that happen anyway? 

Do you think of being patient as some sort of serene endurance?  When has choosing to be patient actually brought you peace?  Look at these Webster Dictionary synonyms:  forbearance, long-suffering, sufferance, and tolerance. And here are a few more related words:  acquiescence, resignation, conformism, subordination, submission, or submissiveness.

Dating back to the 14^th century the Greek origin of the word was pēma, which meant suffering.  The Latin, pati then patiens also meant to suffer, which has brought us our English word patient.  This makes total sense in the established use of the word as someone who is sick and being cared for by a medical team.

Where is the virtue in suffering and in all those other synonyms and related words?  Maybe our understanding of the word patience should be reconsidered because in our natural health practice, we have observed lots of folks (mostly women) wearing this virtuous badge of ‘patience’, yet suffering from the physical consequences of chronic suppression.

In case you haven’t picked up on it, I’m building a small case for our mind-body-spirit connection.  From a holistic standpoint, whether it is suppression, anger, forgiveness, fear, or any number of negative emotions – they are all eventually destructive to our physical, emotional and spiritual health.

Suppression, in particular, brings some level of loss (ie: loss of freedom of expression or personal power), which results in a grieving process.  Bereavement studies have provided systematic evidence suggesting an increase in the risk of physical and mental illness associated with the inability to cope with loss.  This is where many of our clients live, but because they cannot identify a specific object of loss and because patience is a virtue after all, they do not make the holistic correlation between their belief system and their health problems. 

Fatigue, memory loss, muscle tension, headaches, backaches, menstrual difficulties, poor sleep, lowered immunity (catch frequent colds), gastrointestinal problems, allergy flare-ups, even frequent sighing – are many signs of stress brought on by chronic emotion suppression.  You can thank your adrenal glands for simply reacting to the insidious threat of your extinction brought on by suppression.  Adrenaline and cortisol flow through your blood stream, releasing harmful fatty acids, breaking down proteins, raising your blood sugars, on and on… This is just not the way it is supposed to be!

How about replacing this ‘patience is a virtue’ cliché with honest acceptance. Now there is a positive word of approval and agreement that has no suggestion of suffering or resignation. If there is a situation, a mind-set, or a belief system you cannot honestly accept or embrace with agreement, then changes are in order. If you remain in it, you will become a literal patient. 

THE TRUTH ABOUT SATURATED FAT DVD IS READY!!

Speaking of long-suffering, many of you will be thrilled to know that I’ve finally finished my DVD “The Truth About Saturated Fat”. It is not perfect but I honestly accept that (ha!).  This DVD is so basic, so fundamental to every concept of natural health that Energy Concepts teaches.  Please view the Introduction part of this video now on our website on the Instructional DVD page.  If you want to purchase the entire DVD just fill out an order form (on the Ordering Page) and send it my way.

(And while you're on the website, check out the Enzyme descriptions on the new Enzyme Solutions page)!

Those who have pre-paid for this DVD, let me know if you’d like to pick it up or I can mail it to you or you can get it in class this month.

First Tuesday of May (7^th) will be Self Assessment Review as usual. Class fee $8 per person.  Bring your temps, pulses, pHs, questions, etc… and let’s see what is going on!

Third Tuesday class (21^st) will be “What is Sucrose?”  Class fee is $10 per person. This presentation will be one part of my next DVD “The Truth About Sucrose” which I will plan to have completed by this July. 

Classes are always in our building (somewhere) and start at 6pm.  Visit our website (energyconcepts101.com) for more information.  I’m not sure if Google maps is correct yet, but we are at 300 E. Sunshine.  Email any questions!

We’re looking forward to seeing you!   

Carla & Ronnie

Third Tuesday of April Class!

Tuesday, April 16th - 6pm

The topic for New-trition by Carla's Third Tuesday's presentation 

in April will be

 "What is a Fatty Acid?"

This topic is actually Part 2 of the 3 part instructional DVD entitled 

"The Truth About Saturated Fat" 

Part 1 - The History of the Myth

Part 2 - What is a Fatty Acid?

Part 3 - Surprising Truths

Starting at 6:00pm, April 16th, in the basement classroom, we will discuss the simple structure of a fat molecule, the difference between saturated and unsaturated fats, as well as Omega 6s, 3s, and 9s. Trans fats will be explained and we will discuss what all this means to your body and your health. 

The Truth about Saturated Fat DVD may be completed and available for purchase by this class time (not sure yet), but pre-orders will be taken for those interested.  The instructional DVD price is $25.

Saturated fat is what I’m calling one of the three S’s that are critical for good health at all ages, yet we have been programmed that they are to be avoided.  The three S’s are:

1. Saturated Fat

2. Sucrose (sugar)

3. Salt

These three S’s will be the class topics through June with the respective instructional DVD for each.

Class fee is $10 per person and will include handouts, lecture with power point presentation, question/answer time and group discussion.  

We look forward to seeing you soon!  Bring a friend!

Spring from Within!!

April E.C. News is a bit late this month… but maybe that is fitting since spring seems to be tardy as well. And of course, spring is the anticipated topic of most April/May columns and newsletters being written to inspire and refresh readers.  I guess I’m not too original there.  It is just seems dichotomous to think of the grandeur of spring when sleet is hitting my office window.

So I think I’ll save the spring sentiment for May.  Surely, most of us will actually be digging in the dirt by then and our lawn mower blades will be sharpened.

An interesting thought however, is regarding the changes taking place within living things as plants and animals (including you) sense the seasonal transformation.  Even if the weather is slow to catch on, there is something innate happening at the cell level that is truly rejuvenating and biologically rousing. 

We are familiar with common signs of spring in our very own front yard. Crocuses and daffodils bloom as early as February, little buds start to appear on trees and bushes, the grass turns green and starts to grow, your perennials amazingly begin to reappear.  We also see outdoor animals begin to shed their winter coat, and robins and hummingbirds return.  I could go on and on.. every spring of our lives we see it, experience it, expect it; maybe to the point that we don’t wonder at it.

But what about you?

Surely, as a living being interwoven into this environmental tapestry, your body-mind-soul is equally responsive to seasonal changes.  You are spinning on this earth as all forms of life are, entering all the orbital phases that brings us minutely (relatively) closer or farther from the sun and at different angles.  That is enough to wonder at alone, but let’s look at a different universe of a constantly moving reality - the trillion plus cells that make up your human body.

Yes, we have insulated houses, furnaces, air conditioners, sunglasses, curtains, and bright lights. We are warm when it is cold outside, we are cool when it is warm outside.  We have lights on long after the sun has gone down, we have curtains closed as the sun comes up. Of course, we must protect ourselves from the extremes of our climate to ensure our survival, but have we thought about how this ‘protection’ may impact our natural cycles and necessary grand rhythms of activity and rest?

Cycles and rhythms; that is how we’re made.

Whether it is on a 24-hour basis, a monthly basis, seasonally or over one’s developmental stages of life, our body functions within cycles and rhythms.  That is why I often say achieving optimal health is a moving target.  And for cycles and rhythms to occur, at every level, there must be HORMONES!!

There will be cycles and there will be hormones – No Escape!!

What has the most impact on your hormones?  As Bruce Lipton’s 3^rd chapter of his book Biology of Belief states, “It’s the Environment, Stupid”!  So without attempting an explanation of cellular and metabolic adaptation to changes in environment, just know that it is very real in your body.  It may not be as noticeable as the signs of spring in your front yard, but it is happening at an accelerated rate right now.

Are you taking advantage of this?

Or are you hiding in your house, car, or office?  Are you automatically placing those sunglasses on your nose the minute you step outside?  Did you know that your retina has a significant impact on your metabolic signals? 

Is being a little cold for short periods of time too uncomfortable? Did you know that thermogenesis (the body’s effort to increase core temperature) is a metabolic boon?

Are you sitting more than you are moving?  Did you know that movement sends longevity signals (hormones) of growth and vitality to brain centers that regulate metabolism as well as cellular energy production in the mitochondria?

If you want to increase the impact of this very positive phase or season of regeneration on your body and metabolism, then let the natural environment have its way.  Get outside! Take a walk! Sit on your uncovered porch or deck or employee patio for 20 minutes every day. Let your cells synthesize awesome Vitamin D (more effective in preventing the flu than a flu vaccine by the way).

Breathe fresh air, feel the breeze on your neck and face, bask in some warm sunshine. At least, open your curtains and, when possible, windows.  Limit wearing your sunglasses for protection or safety in the glaring, reflective rays that impede your vision. Otherwise, open your eyes!  Call it retina therapy!

The refreshment to your soul by doing this will be immediately apparent, but expand your awareness to the amazing cells in your body.  Experience gratitude for how you are made and that simple sunshine is far more beneficial than an anti-depressant or anti-anything prescription.

I don’t know about you, but with all this talk – I’m excited even if it is cloudy and cold today! 

Now for a bit of housekeeping…

We are having our usual First Tuesday Self Assessment Review (April 2^nd), but by the time you receive this EC News that will be history.

Our Third Tuesday class (April 16^th) will not be as stated on the website.  The plans to begin a fitness emphasis are still in the works, but are not in place yet. So I’m going to postpone the presentation on plyometric fitness by Marie Orchard until a later date.   That leaves me with a last minute decision of a topic for class, which actually hasn’t been made yet

Since I hope to have The Truth About Saturated Fat DVD completed by the 16^th, I thought it might be a good topic, especially for some of our newer clients who are still reeling from our unconventional slant on nutrition.  I personally have 3 other project deadlines in the next week, so offering a topic that is still relevant and happens to be prepared was appealing to me. 

There is a remote possibility of my going with Ronnie on a weeklong bus tour that week also.  Very remote, but I will send out a fast EC News if we will be gone and we’ll postpone class to the 23^rd.  So just a heads up…

Thank you everyone for surviving the winter with us!  

We look forward to spring and good health together!

Personal Responsibility for Personal Health

How many years has this been our most fundamental mantra?  

This cliché is both tiresome and triumphant.

“Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it.”
George Bernard Shaw

“It is a painful thing to look at your own trouble and know that you yourself and no one else has made it.”
Sophocles

“A sign of wisdom and maturity is when you come to terms with the realization that your decisions cause your rewards and consequences. You are responsible for your life, and your ultimate success depends on the choices you make.”
Denis Waitley

We all want good health, personally and for our loved ones.  You made that New Year’s Resolution to lose weight, to change your eating, to exercise more… so how is that going?  This is March and since it only takes 21 days to form a new habit, you should be well established in your healthy and healing patterns!  You should be empowered by taking personal responsibility, experiencing better health and you probably do not need this month’s EC Newsletter!  Gold Star to you if that is true!!!!

But…if it is not true… then what or who are you blaming?  Something got in the way - that is certain.  Was it circumstances, money, job demands, an illness, a relationship(s)?  Or was it you making choices within those circumstances that are not conducive to your health goals?  As the quote above states, it is a painful thing to know that only you are to blame. 

So as I said above, taking responsibility may seem tiresome. It conveys work, discipline, self-denial, and you’re not sure you even reap any rewards.  And, after all, it is so much more comfortable to remain powerless. 

It is time to change that.  The triumphant part of the cliché “…Personal Health” is much too important and too magnificent to associate with denial and blame.  

“Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the high road to pride, self-esteem and personal satisfaction.”
Brian Tracy

“The willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life is the source from which self-respect springs.”
Joan Didion

Here it is 2013.  What are you going to look like, feel like in body, mind and spirit in 2014 or 2015?  Make a list of what is stopping you and take action.  If simply ignorance (not stupidity), or not really knowing what to do is part of the problem then decide whom you are going to listen to.  We are in an age of TMI (too much information) and at some point you have to put the blinders on. 

At EC, we have established our science-based blinders to which we weigh all the TMI against.  This way we remain ‘open-minded’ but with a consistent, firm foundation.  It really simplifies things and the outcomes are always good. After all, the human body in all its amazing wisdom is ageless and unchanging.  This is why the mission and focus of EC is EDUCATION!  We don’t want to just make recommendations to guide you toward optimal health; we want you to understand why so you can take 

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR PERSONAL HEALTH!

I, Carla, personally know the price for standing up for what I believe is right and for achieving my health goals in spite of circumstances.  I lost the 20 lbs. that I talked about losing for 5 years - which was a challenge living with Ronnie who loves to feed Carla!  And I recently got “discharged” from the medical system because I refused to comply with discriminatory, punitive policy.  Now I’m realizing another long repressed goal of creating instructional DVDs.  None of these were possible without three things:  my determination, my vision and Ronnie’s support.  

Your determination and vision are the ultimate keys as they come from within, but needing and benefiting from a support person(s) is what makes us human. (Thank you Ronnie)

Announcements:

First Tuesday Class:  SELF ASSESSMENT REVIEW - March 5^th, 6pm in our office

Third Tuesday Class:  WHAT’S IN YOUR COOLER? – March 19^th, 6pm in basement classroom

See our website for class descriptions, fees, etc…

DVDs:

NOW AVAILABLE!!!   “Self Assessment for Self Care” – be looking for the Introduction video on our website and how to order.

TO BE AVAILABLE SOON! (by April 1^st)  “The Truth About Saturated Fat”