January 26th: 10 Hippie Things

Not that this should come as a shock to any of you, but I'm something of a hippie weirdo, and I say this with pride :) This isn't a contest and I'm not about to get on a soapbox or anything, but I do try to reduce the scary chemicals in my life. Since I missed yesterday's List Post and I wanted to make sure I got a post in today, here's a quick list of some of the changes that I have made to reduce the chemicals in my life:

- I wash my face with honey in the morning (no, it's not sticky, it works like a charm and it is dirt cheap)

- I remove makeup/nightime cleanse with almond oil (if I'm out of that, I've also used olive oil or avocado oil, if you're not familiar with the Oil Cleansing Method, google it, there's tons of info about it and my skin loves it)

-I use white vinegar as a fabric softener ( It does not make your clothes smell like vinegar, works great is another dirt cheap switch)

-I use baking soda as an exfoliant (again, works great, no scary chemicals, dirt cheap)

-I drink ginger tea instead of taking Tums or similar antacids (I have acid reflux and I am on perscription level medicine for it that keeps it pretty well controlled, but for minor bouts ginger tea has been great)

- I use hydrogen peroxide instead of mouthwash (yes, this is safe and yes it is a common use for hydogen peroxide, the instructions are right on the bottle. I do alternate with a regular flouride rinse, though).

- I clean my kitchen counters with either white vinegar or hydrogen peroxide or a mix of vinegar and baking soda (again, works like a charm, dirt cheap)

- I use natural deodorant (I don't sweat very heavily, so if you're prone to sweating, the natural deodorants might not be enough for you, but I've been using the Crystal line of natural deodorants for years and they work great for me)

-I take bee pollen as a nutrition supplement (I do take vitmins too, but bee pollen is great stuff)

-I drink shots of apple cider vinegar (for a zillion reasons, everything from digestive health to anti-inflammatory)

Ta :)
Lynniebee

C is for *Chiropractor*

Hello There ;)

   Day 3 of the A-Z Blogging Challenge! This has actually been really fun so far, ;) I know the title for today's post topic sounds a little boring, but I promise it is not.

   Yesterday was my first ever visit to a Chiropractor. I've been meaning to go for, literally, years, but such obstacles as no health insurance or health insurance that would not cover chiropractic care, lack of time and not knowing a reputable Chiropractor got in the way. Now, finally, I actually have really good health insurance, and I have been led to a wonderful Chiropractor who is a friend of a friend. While I didn't actually receive any adjustments yesterday (my first one is tomorrow), I had a full workup with medical history and x-rays and got to have good, lengthy conversations about chiropractic care with both the Nurse and the Doctor.

 Okay, now that the setup is over, I can get to the blog-worthy part. Everyone knows the spine/spinal cord  is important, of course; it's what sends the messages from the brain to the rest of your body. However, I didn't realize how much the health of your back/spine could affect health in the other areas of your body that, on the surface, have nothing to do with your spine.


 Let me see if I can explain this without butchering it too badly (if there are any chiropractors reading this, I apologize for any inconsistencies). If some event or repeated events (car accident, bad fall, repeated bad posture, etc) throws something out of alignment in your spine, this obviously causes pain (although, interestingly, I learned yesterday that only about 10% of the nerves in your body are devoted to pain response, so by the time something *hurts* the damage causing the pain has been going for quite awhile). However, pain is only one part of it. This misalignment or *subluxation*, (there's a fancy science word for ya) in your spine effects how the messages get sent from your spinal cord to the rest of your body, so all kinds of nervous system signals to the rest of your body could be getting missed or screwed up.

   Take me, for example. I sought out chiropractic care because of migraines, neck shoulder tension headaches, neck/shoulder/upper back pain, and sinus issues. However, I also have (controlled) acid reflux. Most of these issues developed during my undergrad years, and have peaked and valleyed ever since. It came up in my medical history that I've been in several car accidents (none of which were my fault), and taken several bad falls (no broken bones, though) What can I say? I'm clumsy. But, when asked to ponder the onset of each of the symptoms/health issues I listed above in relation to when these accidents or falls occurred, it was like a light-bulb went on in my head. When I was a senior in high-school I fell down the stairs and slipped and fell in the bathtub (on two separate occasions, not on the same day), and within a year or so of that I developed migraines. Within two years of being in a nine-car pileup accident, I developed sinus issues and acid reflux. Last winter I fell and hit my head and I've had neck tension headaches ever since. I don't know why I never linked these things together before. Probably because none of these occurrences presented any immediate, obvious injuries, so I sort of just wrote them off. Obviously not realizing that just because it *didn't hurt* at the time, that didn't mean that something wasn't thrown out of whack and could cause other problems down the line.

  When I took Yoga, I had a teacher that constantly stressed the importance of keeping your back healthy. If your back is healthy and happy, YOU are healthy and happy, and while I certainly listened and understood what she meant, after yesterday I think I've taken it to heart in a new way. The idea that the headaches, sinus pain and tension could be alleviated through better back/spine care is absolutely  music to my ears. I don't remember a day when my head didn't hurt at least a little, and getting on a regimen that someday might leave me virtually pain free is a challenge I am happy to accept :)

  So, I guess it was Science Day today here, I hope this post wasn't a drag to read. I'll let you know how my first adjustment goes tomorrow :)

Happy Tuesday ;)
Lynnie