With aging comes the natural transition through Menopause. In some cultures, women are recognized and celebrated for the wisdom their years have accumulated, and they achieve newfound status at this time.
Some women begin to experience mild to significant discomfort at this time, putting accolades of status and wisdom on the night table while efforts to sleep are wrestled with the blankets and elevated body temperature. Hot flashes are common symptoms of menopause. In some cases other symptoms develop as well including headaches, insomnia, anxiety, blood pressure fluctuations, irritability and fatigue, exacerbated by sleep disturbance. The flashes tend to occur more commonly and more intensely during the first two years of menopause, but can last longer for some women.
In 2003, Dove soap commissioned a global study in which only 2% of women described themselves as beautiful. Dove followed this with an advertising campaign called “Campaign for Real Beauty”, which defied the fashion and beauty industries by promoting “real women” as beautiful. Their ads contrasted the “tighter… firmer… younger…” media messages with messages such as “beauty has no age limit”. Dove criticized the popular anti-aging movement and put pro-aging on the map. Unfortunately, the company that owns Dove, Unilever, was later criticized for the digital photographic touch-ups of their “real” women models, and for the absolute contradictory message promoted in their women-objectifying Axe Body Spray ads (available on youtube). Marketing analysts suggest that Dove didn’t really believe that a truly pro-aging approach could work.
Beauty, youth, and “anti-aging” are often central concerns for women transitioning through hormone changes known as menopause. Misguided cultural and medical perspectives categorize menopause as a disease state characterized by hormone deficiency, which can be “fixed” with treatment. In her book The Wisdom of Menopause, Dr. Christiane Northrup outlines our “cultural inheritance”, in which Hormone Replacement Therapy was advertised by doctors in the 1960s as “the pill that would keep your husband from understandably leaving you for a younger, more beautiful woman”. Decades later, facets of this perspective still affect our culture, our medicine, and the women currently experiencing menopause. Some geographers believe that this negative cultural definition of menopause is exactly the reason why we experience significantly more serious menopausal symptoms than most cultures.
Though menopausal symptoms are common and sometimes severe, menopause is a normal and healthy part of growing older that can be symptom-free.
Many studies conducted internationally over the past 15 years have demonstrated an increased risk of heart disease for people who consume more than the recommended limit of 1500mg of sodium daily. Dozens of countries have implemented programs that encourage their populations to reduce sodium intake, resulting in up to a suspected 65% decreased risk of death from heart disease! However, a controversial gold standard study conducted by the Cochrane Review in 2011 found a lack of benefit for people who reduced their sodium intake. How is this possible?
The answer may lie in a growing understanding of how nutrients such as sodium are only markers of risk, and not a cause. Cholesterol for example, is an antioxidant that your liver generates to fight inflammation in the body. Inflammation is strongly and repeatedly associated with many chronic degenerative diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. The idea that cholesterol causes heart disease remains only scientific theory, and the suggestion that cholesterol is a protective mechanism exerted by the body against inflammation is also a well researched and valid theory. In fact, the new research linking the use of statin pharmaceuticals (used to forcefully reduce cholesterol levels), with an up to 50% increased risk of diabetes (another risk factor for heart disease),
Tuesdays, August 7th to 28th, 7pm to 8:45pm
$80 for the 4 week course ~ Maximum 10 participants
Facilitated by Jocelyne Leyton, DOMP
This four-week course is an introduction to Vipassana (Insight) Meditation and a support to those who wish to deepen their practice. Jocelyne is an experienced Mindfulness Meditation instructor, and maintains an Osteopathy practice here at KIHC.
For more information about Mindfulness Meditation, please read Jocelyne’s article, here. Please call or email early to register, as Jocelyne’s classes fill quickly.
The KIHC book club celebrated its first anniversary by reading and discussing My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor. We agree that it is an extremely hopeful, comforting and inspiring book.
Bolte Taylor, a brain scientist, suffered a stroke in her mid thirties. Her book examines her pre and post stroke life, her astounding step by step description of the stroke itself, her chronicle of the arduous path to recovery, and a discussion of the workings of our brain. The book is simply written and a rather quick read, yet it is chock full of amazing information.
We appreciated her description of how the brain works. She made clear the differences in left and right brain hemispheres and the completely different ways that the two process information. She demonstrates that the brain’s different ways of processing give us a “complete” picture of the sensations that our bodies experience. She reminds us that we are energy beings, processing energy input, with our miraculous brains making “sense” of it all.
Heart attacks involve interruption of the blood supply to or through the heart causing a shortage of oxygen supply and damage to heart muscle tissue. Symptoms of heart attacks can include chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and anxiety. Symptoms sometimes occur over a period of time that are not noticed or ignored, resulting in later stage diagnosis.
From an energetic science standpoint, the client is often not grounded. Signs of not being grounded can include cold extremities, hyper or excitable personality characteristics, blood pressure irregularities, smaller lower body to larger upper body proportions, etc. A lack of grounding results in an individual feeling unstable, ‘not quite right’, and also a lack of balanced energy level. We need a full spectrum range of electromagnetic frequencies in the body for good health. The individual’s chest may be collapsed or flooded with energy causing imbalances in the rest of the body. Typically the heart vulnerable individual is used to using a forcing current or control that is relied upon to get things done without the ability to centre focus or intention with ease. Thus ‘dis-ease’ results and in this case weakens the heart and supporting structures.
Healing Science work supports individuals to work towards
Monday, June 25, 2012
6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at Kingston Integrated Healthcare
$40 includes all materials and refreshments
Facilitated by Kathleen Pratt, MSW, RSW Facilitator of “Rebuilding When Your Relationship Ends”
Are you single and looking for a long-term relationship? Attend this workshop and improve your chances of finding lasting love. Build confidence with tools and knowledge to avoid common mistakes in relationships. Learn how to recognize signs of potential problems and evaluate whether a new relationship is worth investing in. Enter into new relationships with your eyes wide open!
Please contact KIHC by telephone (613.547.5442) or email ([email protected]) to register. Last day to register is Friday June 22nd before close, at 3pm. A refund of $20 (50% of the fee) will be given with less than 24 hours notice of cancellation. Please complete and submit your Participant Registration form, which is available at reception or by download here: singles-workshop-participant-registration.pdf.
For more information about the workshop, please contact Kathleen Pratt, at [email protected].
Thank you for making our open house such an outstanding success! And congratulations to our draw prize winners, Holly Mitchell, Diana Reyers, and Elaine Koshowski!
If you missed our event and are still hoping to meet some of our practitioners one-on-one, please give us a call to schedule a complimentary 15-minute introductory appointment.
Too Much Energy (hyper, jittery)? Too Little Energy (tired, stressed, depressed)?
Find out what is involved in balancing your body’s energy system and overall health. Learn simple but effective movements you can do anywhere without any equipment, even in small spaces (like the office!) Gain a physiological
understanding of the body and how it works to regulate our energy balance and how we undermine/ignore/or don’t know how to listen to it – and how to get that back!
Take advantage of the upcoming season to put some new habits into place towards a more healthy you! Now is the time with the season change to gain some new ideas to incorporate. Spring brings better weather, more sunshine and a different work environment – there’s more spring in our step. You will work towards a healthier, happier, more energetic and more relaxed lifestyle.
A healthy weight and a healthy energy level are related. If we use this to our advantage, we can begin to make changes that will last all summer into fall. We’ll feel more energized and enjoy our summer more. Here is some information, movements and techniques to get you on your way.
Understanding tick-borne diseases is not usually on our summer priority list, but times are changing. Ticks infected with Lyme disease-causing bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) are present in Kingston and pose a risk for contraction of serious chronic illness. The Chief Medical Officer of Health in Ontario acknowledges that Lyme disease cases and the number of black-legged ticks that carry the illness are increasing. The illness cannot be diagnosed with lab testing alone and since symptoms vary widely between people, acquiring proper medical help can be difficult. Consequently, prevention and early treatment even before symptoms appear, is critical.
Ticks in Ontario that carry infections are usually reddish brown, 3 to 5mm small, live in wooded areas, and are active from early Spring to late Fall. Infected ticks may transmit bacteria to people through a bite, though most people exposed to these bacteria never contract a disease. Please see below for our Prevention Guidelines for more information on detecting and treating tick bites.
Many of the symptoms health practitioners are taught to look for, such as a non-itchy “bulls-eye” rash, may actually only occur in less than 50% of people with Lyme disease. The high variability of symptoms mimics many other diseases, including Multiple Sclerosis, Bipolar disorder, arthritis, and Fibromyalgia. The great variability may be explained by the bug’s suppression of the immune system, which allows inflammation or other chronic infections to attack the body according to the person’s individual genetic, lifestyle, and environmental exposure history. This change in immune function may also be why people with Lyme disease often develop additional chronic illnesses, including depression, thyroid conditions, and possibly Alzheimer’s or Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
We respectfully acknowledge that Kingston Integrated Healthcare is situated on ancestral Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee territory. Since time immemorial they have cared for these lands and waters, and we are grateful. We recognize that a healthy environment is essential to the wellbeing of all people and all life.
