My Father was a Pioneer

No, he didn't blaze any trails across the wild West or battle Native Americans for land rights. He wasn't part of any gold rush either. But yes, my father, and mother, were pioneers. They both looked to bring Chiropractic care to America in the 1950's and 60's. They believed in everything it had to offer. In a time when "modern medicine" had very little to offer and diseases such as polio were running rampant with no cure in sight, they looked to bring natural, holistic cures to people seeking relief from their aches and pains. You see, in 1933, my father received a vaccination that was popular at the time and a bad reaction to the serum almost took his arm. He wore the scars of that vaccination for 80 years until the day he died in July of 2013. And he vowed to find a better way to heal people that were sick.

In my previous post, I wrote about eliminating negative people and things from your life. Surrounding yourself with positive people and situations. But once you've done that, you still need to remain positive yourself. In order to do that, you must take care of yourself. Take ownership of yourself and stop blaming others for your shortcomings. Proper sleep and nutrition is a must. Do whatever it takes to ensure that you are able to get the rest and nutrition that it takes to achieve your goals.

To complete the balance in your life, you must take care of your body completely. Exercise of some sort is essential to your well being. My father would be quick to offer an adjustment to keep you balanced and keep your organs operating optimally. I swore by what I was taught my entire life. That pinched nerves can cause numbness, dizziness, shortness of breath and allergies. Vital organs can function improperly if the nerves working them don't receive the proper signals from the brain. So, whenever I would have anything from a headache to a pain in my foot, I turned to Dad and chiropractic care. My father taught me that the body wants to be "in line". In recent years, I've seen chiropractic offices offering massage therapy and I thought it was genius. The body wants to be in line. Relax the muscles and the joints will almost fix themselves. The problem is though, if the muscles are too relaxed, it is even easier to joust something out of place. I thought that there has to be a better way.

That's when I found Yoga. And I know what the images are that come to mind about yoga. They are ALL untrue. Recently many Youtubers have been doing the Yoga Challenge in an effort to entertain their viewers. There are untrained kids trying to do the most ridiculous maneuvers and poses. While it is entertaining to say the least, it is NOT Yoga. Many people often confuse yoga with meditation too. Yes, it helps to concentrate but meditation is something different.

I'm sure that if my father had been born in a different time, he would have been a Yogi. As it were though, it was known as something from the East and having served in the US Navy during WW2 in the Pacific, anything remotely Japanese was tabu.

The truth is that Yoga has eliminated my asthma. It has eliminated my allergies to pollens and danders. Yoga has improved my posture and helped in my digestion. My muscles are more toned and I've been able to maintain a healthy weight, well into my forties. Last year, I ran my first 5k when in the past I couldn't run a half mile.

All this has given me confidence to do so many things that I never thought I would be able to do. Anyone can do yoga. Most days, I do simple beginner stretches. They keep me balanced and help me to feel better about myself, so I can take on the day. The assisted living home where my parents lived offered chair yoga for those that could not get up and down easily. It is simple stretching. Any runner or swimmer will know how important stretching can be. And any doctor will tell you how important it is to stay active and exercise.

This is what works for me. Everyone is going to be different. I guess my point is that over the years, I have taken the knowledge given me and searched out what works for me. It took many years and trying different things.

Find what works for you. Eat well, get plenty of rest and exercise.
Once you have yourself ready to take on your next challenge, you will wonder why you didn't start sooner.