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Showing posts from 2014

Office Tour-Elan in Bowness

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Welcome to our office-we look forward to seeing you!   In case you haven't been by yet, I thought I'd give you a preview of what you can expect when you come for a visit.   Reception Area Front Desk Entrainment Space for Network Spinal Analysis and a peak into Private Chiropractic Consult Room One of three private Treatment Rooms (Massage Therapy) We hope to share our office space with you soon!  You can help us to celebrate the new space by joining us for our Grand Opening Celebration (AND 10 year birthday party!). Join us Friday, December 5th 5 pm - 7 pm.  We're building our collaborative mosaic, and will have gift bags for our first 50 in attendance, a door prize draw, drinks and snacks, and crafts for the kids!  We're also kicking off our season of giving, by collecting donations for our Adopt a Family from the Bowness Boys and Girls club.  Please RSVP at 403 217 5577.  

A Mosaic in the Making

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I'm excited to be planning a community mosaic for Elan's Grand Opening coming up in December!   The expert that I turned to?  Michelena of  Wolf Willow Studio  in Spruce Cliff, Calgary.  While her studio is currently gearing up for Wreath and Plantar Season with Rocky Mountain Wreaths, she had some time to prepare us for the mosaic we're planning.  I feel like I may be taking on a big project, but knowing what tools, materials and supplies I need will break this into more manageable projects.  Plus, she has so many books for design inspiration!   A sun filled room at Wolf Willow Studio!  Just imagine the evergreen scents.   Digging through the yellow drawer For me, the pieces of our mosaic will represent our different staff members, practice members and our community.  I hope to bring pieces from both the old office and new.  Did you know that our *NEW* (old) office in Bowness came with some funky teal tiles that we pulled off the walls and hope to

Spiritwood Retreat

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Welcome to SpiritWood Retreat in Priddis, Alberta!   It's beautiful here and surrounded by nature and fresh air.  Spending the day here, may mean I will one day write again!   I had the chance to spend the day here for a content/ social media retreat.  But I had to walk the labyrinth for inspiration, during our lunch time break. We arrived in Priddis the day before the snowstorm came to Calgary. It's easier to admire the beauty when you're not worried about the drive!  This lovely creek runs beside the property.   Look!  I actually did some work and have plans to bring to my blog and Elan Family Wellness Centre.  I had lots of good ideas for how to bring content about our programs and services and how we can help enrich your life, through our work-lots of good stuff to come on Reorganizational Healing, Network Spinal Analysis, recipes, and of course, how we can be congruent in our lives, connect with our practice member

Season of Integrate

In the Four Seasons of Wellbeing ( www.reoganizationalhealing.com ) “The fourth season, Integrate, represents the ability to know and consciously choose the combination of seasons (discover-transform-awaken) called for in various circumstances or life changes, and represents a high level of organizational integrity and communication across aspects of the individual’s life.” We've chosen Integrate to be our theme for October.  We thought it was appropriate as we are bringing together 2 offices, 8 practitioners, 2 front office assistants under one roof.  We are re-organizing on many levels and are going through the process of discovering what has and has not worked before or today; transforming our practices, the wellness of our practice members, and an office still under transformation, and hoping we bring grace, gratitude, and greater community to both our office and  neighbourhood.  We probably visit each of the seasons every day in our office! We hope we can share what

Feng Shui at Elan

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Feng Shui Bagua Map Finally!  I've been wanting to share some behind the scenes of our ever-so-long but its-going-really-well build out of our new office in Bowness.   Once of the best parts of this do it yourself thing, is being able to be part of every little thing.   We've torn things down, Scott framed it up, drywalled it, and I'm sure we'll eventually share more of the process.  It currently has paint and is about to get some real floors-cork and tile!   One of my favorite things has been to structurally plan where things were going to go and to use the Bagua map from Feng Shui to do so.  I had help from Jessica Erlendson , (music and feng shui) for some pointers for our rooms.   First we took our office layout and mapped out the corresponding zones. See how the colors can correspond?   Easiest way to cover your bases?  Write your affirmations (or they may be intentions) on the wall or in the wall since its on my drywall forever more.

Hello September

We hope that you have had a wonderful summer! Our family squeezed in one last weekend in the Shuswap over the Labor Day weekend and had an eye opener that fall is arriving- temperatures were cooling, lips were blue when we were in the water, and the salmon had already returned for their annual run. It has been a short summer for our family as we've been immersed in the renovations at our new office and creating the structures for business this fall.  Yes... Structure and September always go together in my mind. The fall brings new school routines, new classes, new ambitions, and for many is considered the start of the year.  I find it helpful to keep the Triad of Change in my perspective at a time like this. I'm re sharing how best to identify and use your strengths. If structure is a strength of yours, you probably embrace this month. You love planning, routines, the new clothes and supplies, and having everyone where they belong. If you are cringing or avoiding facing r

Transform in August

Take Action. Be Strong. Move Forward. These are words for Transform. Transform is one of The Four Seasons of Wellbeing—Discover, Transform, Awaken, and Integrate — which refer to distinct rhythms or periods during one’s journey in life, as well as seasons of care in Network Spinal Analysis. A season is appropriate to ‘‘readiness’’ for reorganization just as seeds are planted or fruit ripens—all in their time. (from http://www.reorganizationalhealing.com/ROH/Seasons.html) Our office is in a season of Transform. In direct contrast to the hot, lazy days of summer, we have action going on both at our current Westbrook location, and our new Bowness location. Instead of determining what we like and don't like about where we are and how to make it work, we are making changes. We are figuring out the logistics on the new space and bringing together more practitioners under a one roof. We have committed to a bigger contribution through our work, both to our current

We've got News!

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We have so much to share!   The big news is that Elan will soon have a new home!    We're currently building the walls, and expect to move at the end of the summer, with Westbrook open until the end of September.  The new office will be in Bowness-the little community in the west that our family has come to love.  We're excited to share our small town with you!  We will be able to continue to offer excellent care to you and your family, but with extended hours, accessible driving and parking, and a beautiful office that we are watching unfold. The new address is: #48, 7930 Bowness Road NW We'll be near the former Bowness library site, on the way to the Bowness Arena, High School, and beside the shops with Bownesian Grocer.   Scott and I the day we got the keys-July 9th! Here's a sneak peek: Construction on Elan as of July 21st We're excited about everything, but also that Elan will be growing as we move to Bowness!   We have new

Community

As part of Elan Family Wellness Centre's July theme of Community, here are Sandra Catania's thoughts.  (Sandra offers Holistic Reflexology sessions at Elan) I am writing this piece on my laptop, perched out on my front step. One of the things that I think of when I think of community is our immediate neighbourhood. The folks all around us. But when I think about it, we only know our immediate neighbours by name and only see some of the others occasionally on our bike trips around the block and on Halloween when we make the rounds. In this day of communicating by computers, I believe our online communities to be much more active. We spend so much of our lives connected to our screens, exchanging information and support. And while I do miss some of the real life contact (and do still see the need for it), I have seen and experienced first hand how our great need to find a community or “tribe” to belong to can be fulfilled quickly and with ease electronically. The w

40 Days

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My 40th Birthday has arrived and I'm now one day past.  I am pleased with my 39 days of 39 project, but feel I want to continue something  for the next 40 days. I have a few ideas brewing, thanks to a little google searching.   My favourite comes from this quote that I saw much earlier this year, by Rumi.   "A new moon teaches gradualness and deliberation, and how one gives birth to oneself slowly. Patience with small details makes perfect a large work like the universe. What nine months of attention does for an embryo forty early mornings alone will do for your gradually growing wholeness." ~Rumi There is something so tied to the number 40.  Death and Rebirth.  Starting anew.  A cycle.  Perfection?  In case you want to have a peak at what is out there in the internet, here are a few links.   What's with the 40 Days in the Bible? From Yahoo    ...According to the Bible, it is the number of the waiting, the preparation, the test or the punishment.

39 Days of Being 39-Complete

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Hemp Hearts for Health

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We have a fun referral prize for the month of June- a basket of Hemp products from Rocky Mountain Grain Products , a company based out of Lethbridge, Alberta.   To tie this to July's theme of community... here it goes.  At Elan Family Wellness Centre, our business is built by people like you through referrals, and you are helping to build our office as a community wellness care centre.  And in turn, building our community at Elan!   We are also surrounded by many amazing local businesses, and we aim to share their information when we can and when appropriate.  This local business that we are focusing on today approached Scott and offered some samples.  We are able to both review the products and share with you!   As it turns out, we love not just the products but also their business!   Some facts about their product & hemp hearts: 30% protein (31g per 100g sample) 50% fat (high amount of essential fatty acids with the ideal omega 6 to omega 3 ratio) (51g of fat

Kid Tested Raw Foods- Snack Bars

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Looking for a kid tested, raw food snack?  Here's one easy snack that fits in the gluten free, dairy free category.  (Just watch your quality of chocolate!)  I promise your kid will like one of these bars-they are gobbled up around our house!   Chocolate Fruit Bar Chocolate Fruit Bar 1 cup unsweetened dates 1/3 cup warm water (use to soak fruit for 5-15 min) 1 cup almonds 2 TBSP cocoa 1/4 cup chocolate chips  (dark) 1/4 tsp vanilla pinch of salt Instructions: Soak Fruit in water.  Throw almonds in processor and spin until broken down.  Add rest of dry ingredients & process.  When mixed, add fruit (and water, or drain off the water- it turns out either way).  Process for about 60 seconds.  Press into a loaf pan-easiest if its lined with wax paper.  Chill until hardened then cut into 6 bars or 12 smaller squares.  Oatmeal Raison Bar 1 cup raisons 1/4 cup water 3/4 cup oatmeal (use gluten free if you need or want) 3/4 cup cashews (or almonds/ pecans)

Building Our Food Forest

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Our Goal:  Urban Farming. Being a little bit self-sustainable in the city.  This year we're working on a circular bed around our new crab apple tree-it's about a 7 foot radius.  (First possible concern... The canopy on this apple tree may extend 20 feet.... Hmmm). We cut out the grass and have hauled away 838 pounds of sod (so far).  There's a little more to do once the rain clears.  I'll need some more plants, but so far I have comfrey, Jerusalem artichoke, and a few herbs to plant in the garden.  Once we're past the May new moon (today!) and add back some soil and compost, the plants can start going in.  Perhaps we'll transplant some rhubarb and raspberries or goji to this bed or use it as another vegetable garden while we start moving plants. I'll need to go plant shopping again soon. Add in some 20 plus more plants, some white clover (or chickweed-I've been hearing it's an amazing green for us) for ground cover and we'll be good to g

39 Days

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Here is my leading-up-to-my-birthday project, 39 Days of 39 Years Old.  I've started the countdown to 40.   I have a lot of people celebrating milestones in my life recently.  It seems I know I lot of people born in 74, and other years ending in a 4.  All those birthdays ending in a "0"; big wedding anniversaries, work birthdays (just wait... we'll be 10 soon!).  It's been fun to see what people think of.  Parties (such as Scott with his bouncy castle...), trips, birthday months, collecting money for charity, having others commit to random acts of kindness.  Starting goals, giving up bad habits, picking new intentions.  So many great ideas.   I had a challenge thinking of what I wanted to do to mark this day.  Its the first birthday that I feel a lot of unease about, and am still hoping that the day I turn 40 will bring more comfort and excitement and me embracing the wisdom of my days ;)   I'm not ready to end any habits at the moment-I'm

Scott's Thoughts: Mind Full (Seasons of Care)

It's not often that I feel the need to write. To be honest... it's almost never, but for newsletter time and when we have something going on at the office that requires it. Today feels different. There is a lot going on in my head. I seem to have an orbit of people going through tough emotional times. These are people I care deeply for, and I know will pull through. I have been looking at what has been going on through a ReOrganizational Healing lens. Meaning: How are these events and conditions a reflection of the Four Seasons described by Donny Epstein? Donny calls them: Discover, Transform, Awaken and Integrate. Four seasons we live with on our healing path. Often, we are oblivious to them, but as they are pointed out, they give us much perspective. I'll walk you through them briefly from my narrow novice perspective. Others, in the ROH model, will have a different view and that's great. We are all on a journey and I am very thankful there are trailblaze

"Mind"ful May

Mindfulness, Presence, On the Subject of the Mind, the Brain... this is what May will hold for us!   The Facebook and social media quizzes are everyone-Are you Right Brain or Left Brain Dominant? What hemisphere may be stronger, which one may be less developed, how does that shows up in our body, how does that shows up in our masculine, feminine, if we spend too much time in our logical brain, if our creative brain is neglected, and so it goes on.   I love seeing when other worlds intersect with this:   * * * * * The recent Pathways magazine has an article called The Pregnancy Circle by Laurel Bay Connell, MA.  She compares her first pregnancy from more of a left brain approach, to her second with more of a right brain approach.  For her first pregnancy, she spent her time researching, doing the expected things, going to the classes, interviewing doctors and midwives, doing her exercises, etc.- making her left brain strong.  Compared to her second pregnancy, she spent her tim