Inside The Polished Apple

You must read this book!   Last Child in the Woods  by Richard Louv was recommended to me a dozen times.  Have you ever heard the term "Nature deficit disorder"?  That's from here.  We need to save our children from losing their connection with nature. We need to continue the imprinting process that we went through when we explored fields and forests, built forts, and picked wild strawberries or flowers.   Have you ever been on a walk through a quiet forest early in the morning?  The sun starts to trickle through the trees and suddenly everything is gorgeous.  You want to remember how the leaves looked, the brilliant shade of green of the moss, the fungi on the trees, the smell of all things FRESH, the birds singing, the squirrels chasing.  Complete sensory overload in an amazing way-maybe you snap photos that don't quite capture it, write about it, sketch pictures, or somehow try to cement it in your memory.   Louv's book had that effect on me.

It's that time of year again!  Elan Family Wellness Centre is offering our Holiday Promotion to our friends, patients and practice members.  You can gift an Initial Consultation and Examination to your friends, family, coworkers...anyone you know needs a little more peace and ease in their life!   This evaluation will allow them to see how their body is coping with the physical, chemical and emotional stress of life.  Typical exam in our office may include postural assessment, physical and neurological exam, and infrared thermography and electromyography.  This offer does not include any treatments or adjustments.   This is one way we want to share the warmth and happiness of the holiday season.   Ask us how you can send this to a loved one, at no cost to you or them!  You can get details by calling us at 403 217 5577, or email at elanctr@telus.net.   Happy Holidays to you and yours!  

Did you know that there are health benefits to being creative?   I just happened on a Huffington post article that linked to:  Make More Art .  The health benefits of being creative vary from improved immune health, to decreased stress and anxiety, to less depression.  Never mind that it is fun, counts as a mindful meditation in my world, and you get to make unique pieces.   I've been on a creative splurge lately-everything from baking (or non baked food items), jewellery & Christmas ornaments, scrapbooking, photo selection and editing, to my next favourite project.... Wool felting!   I attended a workshop this past weekend held at the Calgary Waldorf School where we made a scarf using a Wet Felting Technique.  Silk chiffon, merino wool... how could you go wrong?  We essentially sandwiched 2 layers of wool around a thin silk material, soaked it in hot water and dish soap, pressed it, rolled it 1600 times, and voila, one beautiful scarf. If I make more, I may includ

I am considering a new hobby.  For now, I would like to share a few pretty pictures of Mandala Pies.   The first one was created by Julia Corbett-author and Raw Dessert Goddess.  I enjoyed taking her class offered at the Light Cellar a couple of weeks ago.  I now have lots of raw cookie, square, and pie recipes up my sleeve.     These two little pies are ones I made!  With almond crusts, one has a cream filling (cashew nuts) and one has a raw cacao filling.  They have healing herbs added, and are decorated with rose petals, lavender, goji berries, grapes, and cacao beans. Definitely a hobby that I could support.   Healthy food, aesthetically pleasing, good to eat, fun to share, with a little meditative creative time thrown in.   One last share- isn't this the most amazing and professional teaching kitchen that they have at the Light Cellar in Bowness.  I felt like we could have been on TV!   I'm getting exc

It's October and we are on to another important topic at Elan: Perception: a topic that needs to be narrowed down a bit. One way to look at it is how we perceive a situation, our environment and our mindset. Perception can be different from person to person when given the same circumstance. How I perceive a colour or a smell or a taste is based on how my brain interprets data coming in from various bodily systems. Maybe my wiring is different than yours... Maybe Kale tastes awesome to me and like grass to you. Maybe the green and red colours of this newsletter look yellowish and purple to you. We are all different. However I have noted in the past, when it comes to a task I need to do, my perception of how I am feeling about it will play a giant roll in if it gets done. Referring to the Triad Of Change -- Structure, Perception and Behaviour -- I need solid Behaviour (action) for me to have the other things fall into place. If I sit and stir over how I am going to do something... ti

My tree balance pose in yoga has improved this morning.  Is it possibly better because of the Women's Circle I participated in last night about balance and harmony?   I visited a new Women's Circle, AKA Purpose Party, as I enjoy spending time doing a little recharge-exploring my thoughts and feelings on a topic pertinent to women; taking the opportunity to explore the movement my body interprets from said topic; seeing a beautiful new studio (thanks Wolf Willow Studio! ); and meeting lovely new faces.   The topic of Balance was timely with the recent fall equinox.  Balance of light and dark; a time to learn equity and harmony; more objectivity and perspective.  A time to release the old; prepare for the cold season ahead; build our strength for what is ahead.    We discussed how balance may be a difficult concept to grasp or to live.  What does balance mean to you?   For me, balance ties in to the rhythms of my day-I create space and time for what I value.  I ha

As part of Elan's September theme of Structure, here are some thoughts from our Health Coach Janis.   Spring and fall are natural times of change. The seasonal and temperature changes around us are clear signals of "different-ness". Yet, so commonly, we try to exercise sameness in order to feel accomplished, comfortable and secure. I once heard that the best time to set New Years Resolutions is in May. And every year, I find that holds true. There is a burst of energy around May 1 as the weather changes and the quality of sunlight and energy around is shift to optimism and renewed growth. The same is true in reverse for September. Every fall, clients tell me they crave sleep and sugar. Energetically, it is time to slow down and hibernate. So this year, how about you try some Fall Simplification shifts to make the transition feel more comfortable: 1. Eat with the seasons. Fall produce is "heavier:" squashes, and root vegetables, denser greens and less swe

Have you had a chance to take a deep breath in? Have you gotten the kids back to school?  Did you finish buying their backpacks, new school shoes and clothes, school supplies, ballet shoes (what?!  just us?), and squeezed in a back to school haircut?   Have you coordinated the upcoming fall between adult's and kid's schedules and figure it may all just fit?  Do you have Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays all planned out?   Have you printed your summer holiday memories?  Planned for next year's summer break, because you didn't find you had enough time at the perfect beach escape?   Are you ready for fall?  Excited because its a brand new start to the year, just like when you were back in school?  Maybe you have a class you're attending yourself, or have your new workout routine at the gym all ready to go.  And the gym shoes and water bottle are packed.   If I'm giving you a panic attack now, I'm going to guess that you may resist structure, and may

One easy, family-friendly recipe for you.   If you have the following book, turn to page 93.  This is an old recipe book from the Calgary Attachment Parenting Group, circa 2004.   If you don't have this book, here's the recipe: 1 garlic glove, crushed 2 coriander roots, chopped (or powdered) 1/2 whole black peppercorn (or pepper) 2 TBSP oil 1 can coconut milk (the recipe actually calls for 1 cup of curry milk) 1 TBSP curry powder 1 potato diced 1 cup chickpeas (we use a can-whatever size) 2 tomatoes, sliced 10 sweet basil leaves (or we'll sub oregano) 2 TBSP light soya sauce 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar Heat oil, fry the garlic, coriander, pepper.  Stir in remaining ingredients in order, bring to boil, and simmer until potatoes are al dente.   We vary the ingredients in quantity, and sometimes add other vegetables.  For instance, at the recent AP picnic we added 1-2 cups of zucchini.  Salt and sugar can be omitted or added to tas

As part of Elan Family Wellness Centre's August theme of Gearing Up, here's my own article covering a gentle routine for August.   Whether we are excited by the soon return of fall's routines, or sad about the end of the summer warmth, we can use August to bridge between both. Just as your family may be settling into summer, our thoughts turn to back to school and work. August is the perfect time to make sure we are fitting in our relax-time and prepping for life with a routine. Routines can be good for all of us, especially the little ones in our lives. It may even help to overcome some of the “I'm bored...” you've been hearing. During these last few weeks of summer and holidays, how about considering adding a morning and evening routine to your summer as a transition? (perhaps for those not already working or in a regular routine). Start by picking a consistent wakeup time and 1-2 important things you want to complete each day- If its important to y

Move over black bean brownies, we have a new recipe! This recipe was circulating on Facebook, so I'm not sure to whom to give credit. They are a pretty good flour free, sugar free cookie. 1 can chickpeas (1 1/2 c.) rinsed and drained 2 tsp vanilla 1/2 c. Plus 2 TBSP Natural peanut butter 1/4 c. Honey 1 tsp baking powder (or a substitute of cream of tartar, baking soda, and arrowroot) Salt to taste 1/2 c. Chocolate chips. Process all ingredients except chocolate chips. Add chips and stir. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on parchment paper. Squish into cookie shape if so desired. Bake at 350 degree oven for 10 min. Make 14'ish cookies. We have fun offering these peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies and seeing if the recipient can tell the difference!

Join us Saturday, July 13th 10 am to 12 pm for our Community Day! We're offering our services in exchange for donations to benefit Flood Relief Efforts. All money collected will be donated to Children's Cottage Calgary. This centre in Bridgeland was affected by the flooding and we want to help them get back to being able to help kids and families. We heard of them through a little birdie, aka a practice member. On Saturday, current practice members can receive an entrainment at Elan; new and familiar faces can come for Acupuncture or Allergy testing, or for reflexology or stress release sessions. Healthy snacks will be provided! If you've been affected and feel physical or emotional discomfort, we welcome you and hope to do our piece to help in your healing process. More information is available through 403 217 5577 or on our Facebook events link.

As part of our Switching Gears month, here is a post from our Holistic Reflexologist Sandra Catania: I was excited for this month's topic and was planning my portion when disaster struck. So very quickly, "switching gears" became not about having some time off to have a holiday or a trip but to actually go from a normal existence to one hanging by a thread. I actually left Calgary on Monday last week and have been staying in Fairmont, BC with my two children for the past seven nights. The original plan was to stay three nights and return on Thursday but as the weather and road reports worsened, we decided to stay put. Friday was quite surreal here in the Valley (Radium, Invermere, Windermere and Fairmont), when talks of the gas stations being low on fuel began to circulate. I left the kids with my friend who had joined us with her two children, and set off to "get supplies". I wasn't sure just how long we would need to prepare for and to be truthf

Elan Family Wellness Centre's Theme for July is Switching Gears.  I hope you enjoy Dr. Adrienne Perkins' post on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Dr Adrienne is an Acupuncturist with Elan.  In light of recent events, the theme “switching gears” brings to my mind the idea of phasing from “fight or flight”, trauma and fear to the need for stress reduction, stress management and calm. Our city has just experienced an extremely stressful event and everyone has been affected in different ways. This article is for those who feel overwhelmed, who are having a difficult time coping and who may be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD can develop following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless, especially if the event feels unpredictable and uncontrollable. PTSD can affect those who personally experience the catastrophe, those who witness it, and those who pick up the pieces afterwards. It can even occur in the friends or fam

It was so timely-I had a call with my coaches this week about prioritizing the things in life.  What is urgent, non-urgent, important and non-important?   Calgary is in the midst of a cleanup from the recent flooding-an amazing recovery is in progress from this disaster that has affected thousands of families, the town of High River, the Calgary downtown core and more.  (Including my little incredible and wonderful community of Bowness.) It all was and is urgent. Urgent to pack bags and get out of your house by 7pm. Urgent to watch the news and Facebook updates all day and all night. Urgent to fill bathtubs or jugs of tap water. Urgent to feel as though you should drop everything and start shoveling out basements. Urgent to purge your house of anything unnecessary and donate to families in need.  Urgent to give food, clothes, money, anything you can scrape together.   The urgency makes it difficult to see what is the most important thing to do at any moment, and what cou

Hello Elan community! We hope you are safe and dry. Our apologies for our on-line absence during the floods. Many of our office team were in various degrees of evacuation, or evacuation alert, although it now looks like our homes are safe. We know that we have practice members who are still evacuated and you are in our thoughts. Please let us know if there is any way that we can help and s pread the word within our community. The generosity of this entire city has been amazing. If anyone still needs a place to stay, food, clothing, household or children's items, please ask. We may not be able to personally provide, but we can put the request out. Our office is open regular hours. We know that it may be difficult for some of you to reach us and please be safe if you are considering coming in. As odd as it may sound, it was very calming to be at work yesterday and have a little piece of normalcy and serenity. Take care! From all of us at Elan.

We all disappear at some point don't we? While I haven't been away from the office TOO much, time seems to have disappeared.  I've had a busy month with practice members and squeezing training into every spare moment.  This is exciting information to come!  But out of the office... in the past 5 weeks I have had 3 birthday parties (out of town that is, and I think there were one or two additional ones here), an upcoming wedding, a training seminar in Ottawa, a community garage sale, end of year picnics and dinner, and will have spent an estimated 40 hours of highway driving.   So patience with me at the moment!  I am well aware of the lure of being busy, and have to say it has not been only busy but productive time as well.  I am dreaming of staying put for a bit and having a weekend with much space.     That or perhaps find a log cabin in the woods with some wifi?   The good news, the garden is up and flowers are blooming; our family adjusts and adapts, and summe

June is our Nature and Nourish Month!  Here's a Guest Post from our Health Coach Janis, with a challenge for you.   As you are already seeking a holistic approach to health with your work with Elan Family Wellness, you probably already have good or excellent eating habits.  You’re up for some challenges, such as the Raw Food Challenge.  But what about seeking nourishment beyond food?  So often, our focus is on the external factors in our life: work, caring for loved ones, the self re-filling to-do list…. Summer is a natural time to slow down and enjoy a more relaxed pace of life, so I’d like to encourage you to do a Nourishment Challenge.  Perhaps this challenge involves food and exercise (I’m never going to argue with that), but I’d like you to focus on self-care: ·           Dance ·           Sing ·           Write ·           Give yourself 10 minutes of undivided attention every day (turn off your iphone, close the laptop and shut that book you are reading.  

As part of Elan Family Wellness Centre's Brain Month, we're happy to have this guest blog post from our Reflexologist Sandra Catania. This fun read was previously published in our May Newsletter. When I first heard the topic for this month, I had to laugh. After spending the past five years either pregnant and/or caring for babies (read: not getting much sleep), I definitely subscribe to the idea that "pregnancy brain" can last a very long time. This condition is described with words like "brain fog", "absentmindedness", "forgetful", "short term memory loss". New moms and moms-to-be may even experience spelling and grammatical errors. After consulting with my friend google, it would appear that there are just as many articles disproving the fact that "Momnesia" exists as there are proving it. And what does it matter? I say if you are experiencing any of these symptoms, pregnant or not, it probably means that you

We came home from Prague with a bit of an obsession.... MARIONETTES! It started when we bought tickets to see the marionette version of Don Giovanni when we were in Prague. Real theatre with four foot tall marionettes! Then it grew as every path from our apartment to any attraction walked us right by a marionette shop. Some were made in Czech Republic, some were probably made in China. Soccer players, presidents, princesses and witches-all with strings attached to animate them. The first marionette we bought was the momento "doll" to add to the collection. But then she became the daily entertainment back at the apartment. Next there was a request for a marionette for dad. No. But we did buy a couple more for gifts to take back home. Of course, we bought them from a little old stooped over lady from some tucked away shop. Czech language only of course. The dolls all travelled well home and found themselves in their respective homes. One string repai

It does not get easier than this. Unless you dump a can of soup in the pan. What do you make when your food coop order comes into the house and your pantry is exploding? Never mind that we don't actually have a pantry. You want a fast and easy dinner, veggies are good, healthy fats are good, and some ginger thrown in to kick the nausea that may have arrived with eating out yesterday is excellent. And yes, it's 26 degrees out in May and half of the neighborhood is BBQing, but doesn't all of that scream for soup? From Cans in the Pantry... Easy easy soup recipe: 1 Onion 3 tsp butter (or other oil) Melt butter, throw in onion for 3-5 minutes. And add: Can of coconut milk Can of pumpkin purée 2 cups vegetable broth 1/2 tsp EACH cumin, curry, ginger Dash of salt. Simmer for 20 minutes and you are ready to serve up a lavish picnic of pumpkin soup. To a Soupy May Picnic. Did I mention that coconut oil is good brain food? Happy Brain month!

From our May newsletter, Scott's Thoughts on Nutrition (primarily influenced by David Wolfe).   My wife calls it a man-crush, and that may be very true, but the fact that David Wolfe (nutritional guru, face of the Nutribullet and all around super nice guy) was in town last week compelled me to take action regrading my immediate health and knowledge base. What kind of action you ask? Well, I had been stuck in my comfort zone of just following him from behind the computer screen, occasionally getting to hear him speak at events around Calgary. So, last weekend at The Seed Event, I made my move to say hello. And I did. It was nice. Josephene describes the encounter as me gushing like a 1950's teenage girl at an Elvis concert. The following day I was procrastinating on the sofa as to whether or not to attend a talk David was giving at The Light Cellar that night. Mulling it over as I normally do , making excuses as to not take a step. Then suddenly

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Guy Kawasaki, David Wolfe, Theoren Fleury and more! What a treat to have them in one place in one day; an even bigger treat to be a part of that day. The SEED event brought together many inspirational speakers- from the subjects of nutrition to personal development to spiritual enlightenment. The day included a marketplace that supported personal and community growth and included us-our very own Elan Family Wellness Centre! We were honored to be part of this day and help to educate participants on Reorganizational Healing and how our forms of care can help our health and wellness. Dr Adrienne at the Elan Family Wellness booth at the SEED Marketplace Sandra and Scott hard at work-Reflexology & Muscle Testing As part of the day, I did manage to hear some of the speakers-I was able to hear both Guy Kawasaki and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar speak. Following are some of the seeds of change that found themselves in my brain... Guy Kawasaki spoke on the