My Wellness Team, Part 2 - Dr. George Keogh

I've long been an advocate of chiropractic care as a means of improving and maintaining health and I believe finding the RIGHT chiropractor for you is especially important. Over the years I've worked with several different chiropractors, but found Dr. George Keogh of Proctor Chiropractic to be the ideal practitioner for me. Dr. George isn't merely a crack you and your on your way type of chiropractor. It's no surprise he was voted "Best Chiropractor" in KING 5's "Best of Western Washington" for 2013. 

At the beginning of each appointment he solicits an initial self-assessment from you about how you feel. He wants to know how you think your body is doing and where you believe potential problems may lie. Since I see him for monthly maintenance care, meaning I don't currently have any acute issues we're trying to correct, these queries can give him quick indicators of where to begin as he performs his physical assessments. I feel he trusts me to know my body well enough to give him a starting point. Then he takes it from there.

A few years back, I was rear ended on my scooter. Since I'd already been seeing Dr. George for a while, I was in a much better place to recover from the soft tissue injuries which occurred. He knew my back's history and was able to develop a plan for getting me back to proper function within a couple of months. And because I trusted his judgement and trusted what chiropractic care could achieve, I knew what to expect from the process. I will always be grateful that my health journey already included routine maintenance chiropractic care when that accident happened.

And those videos I send to EPLifeFit? I also show them to Dr. George. He provides feedback and suggests corrections to make or supportive stretches to for better positioning. After that, he EXPECTS to see another video with improved form. In this way, I've created another feedback loop for assisting me lift as heavy as I can as safely as I can. I like to think of Dr. George as the "structural care" component of my wellness team. 

My Wellness Team, Part 1 - EPLifeFit

One of the features of a Paleo lifestyle is movement. Lifting heavy things and full functional body movements dominate the exercise philosophy. I LOVE to lift weights and as I've gotten wiser my focus shifted toward lifting with proper form. I've subscribed to EPLifeFit, a subsidiary of Everyday Paleo, since February. There I have access to a suggested workout every other day, forums and other valuable information. I don't always do their workouts in the prescribed order. Much depends on which equipment is available to me on a given day and which exercises I feel I can muster up the enthusiasm to give the necessary intensity to. But it's nice to have workouts laid out for me and not need to organize myself to put one together. 

What I personally find most valuable, their "Critique My Movements" feature in the forums. I send in video of my squats, deadlifts and other movements. The trainers review my lifts and make suggestions on how to improve form in order to prevent injuries and lift stronger.

Another feature of EPLifeFit is their videos. You can view videos of each movement suggested in each workout. You can also watch videos for their Advanced Mobility exercises. These exercises go beyond stretches for increasing mobility and preventing injury due to a lack of range of motion in your joints. The exercises usually require a foam roller or a lacrosse ball to perform.

I think if I had specific goals, such as a competition or a specific sport, I would consider a local trainer to work with. But for my general "be healthy" aspirations, EPLifeFit works great.

My Wellness Team - Introduction

Over time, as I've developed my personal ideas around health, I've created my own "Wellness Team". My Wellness team consists of a combination of local and online resources I turn to for making the best health choices I can for myself. These currently include the Blogs listed to the right, an online exercise organization called EPLifeFit, and local professionals; my chiropractor Dr. George Keogh, my massage therapist Heidi Johnson of BeeHive Massage, my naturopath Dr. Katie Data and my counselor Deborah Jordan. 

Each play a very different, but I believe very vital, role in my staying as healthy as possible. And this is a constantly evolving team. While components fit and work well for me, I hang onto them. When my needs change, I add additional elements or change some of them completely. 

Over the next few posts, I'll talk about each in more detail. Stay tuned!

On the Run Spaghetti Squash

So I tried Crock Pot Spaghetti Squash Curry from Paleo Pot the other night. Super easy prep and I can see such versatility with this recipe. It was a great christening of my new Cuisanart Slow Cooker. One of my strategies for this kind of recipe is to make it with no real plan for how to use it. But I have it on hand for whichever protein I choose to use it with over the next couple of days. In this case, I prepped the ingredients and started the slow cooker during the few minutes I had before heading out one evening. When I returned home 4 hours later, I simply scooped the spaghetti squash into a storage container, added some of the sauce and popped it into the fridge for lunch the next day. 

In retrospect I might add fish sauce or coconut aminos during the cooking process for a little more salty flavor. I added salt after the fact, though, and it worked quite well.

Each to their Own Journey

One of the things I've noticed as I've been working toward eating a more Paleo style diet is how skeptical those around me are. Many seem unwilling or unable to believe that I would choose to eat the way I do. Either through concern for me straying from what they feel to be standard or perhaps feeling my own efforts threaten their way of eating. I often wonder if it would be easier on those around me if I did have a severe allergy preventing me from eating grains and legumes. Then they could reconcile my choices with their own view of the world. 

You see, I am not "restricted" from eating anything. I choose to avoid grains and legumes. While I probably fall more into the Primal camp due to small amounts of dairy I consume through cream and cheese, the Paleo label seems to be more recognized. Again, these are choices for me. I feel better, sleep better and I believe I live better this way. And the more I make these choices on a regular basis, the better I feel.

So I wonder how many others, especially in my own little city of Tacoma, feel similarly. I don't think our paths need to feel solitary.