Bright Light Chiropractic April Newsletter

Hours: 

Closed April 3rd for Good Friday

Closed Saturday, April 18th 

Closed May 14-16th for continuing Ed

Closed Saturday, May 30th

𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵…

𝗢𝗿 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿?

Every April there's something unusual that occurs. The sun shines, we throw open the windows, and suddenly, everyone is a professional declutterer and a part-time health guru. Smoothies are whizzing, gym memberships are being reanimated, vitamins are popping like Tic Tacs, and somebody out there is drinking something green made of spinach and asparagus that has the consistency and color of the bottom of a fish tank.

And you know, I’m totally fine with all of that. I am genuinely OK with all of that. If you want to drink some blended kale with your regret, go ahead. You’ll probably feel a little better for about three days, maybe even for a whole week. But here’s the question that might burn just a tiny bit:Are you getting healthier or are you just getting more excited?

They're not the same thing.

Spring really tends to trick us into thinking we're moving forward when we're really just moving around. Think of cleaning out your garage: you pull everything out, you sort it into some piles, you get rid of the trash that is just absolute trash, and you put the rest back. It looks cleaner.It feels like you did something. But you know, in your gut, that really nothing has changed.You just became better at shuffling your own clutter.

That's really what a lot of us do when we go through the "health kick" phase.

We're just adding stuff. Better food. More exercise. A new regimen. And those things are great, truly they are. But when your body just doesn't work the way that it was built to work, all you are really doing is stacking more good things on top of the bad thing.No amount of adding the good stuff can fix a system that's not functioning correctly.

Your body does not need more. Your body needs less obstruction.

When the brain can't communicate to the body properly, the body can't do what it was designed to do. That's it, that's the long and short of it. You can eat perfectly. You can exercise rigorously. You can do everything right but still only be operating at a fraction of your capacity if that communication link is down.

So as we all dive headfirst this spring into "What should I add?" I would love for us to ask this question instead:

"What do I need to take out?"

Because health doesn't happen when you keep adding things to a flawed system; it happens when you eliminate that which is not supposed to be there in the first place.  (Hint, Hint... A Subluxation)

And then the body can go back to doing exactly what it was trying to do the entire time:

Better function.

Better work.

Better healing.

No green drink required. 

OK, maybe drinking your AG1 is a good idea, but lay off the blended asparagus!  We can smell your pee from a mile away!  (And, yes, that's a shameless plug for AG1 because they give me a free pouch of AG1 when you subscribe with the above link.)

𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗞𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗛𝗮𝗱 𝟯𝟬 𝗗𝗮𝘆𝘀… 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳?

Let me ask you a question that's going to be a little bit uncomfortable for some.If you knew with 100% certainty that you only had 30 days to live, what would you change about your everyday life?Not what you'd say or who you'd go see, I'm talking about the day to day choices you make. Would you still hit the snooze button, gobble down whatever is easy, ignore that tickle of irritation in your body? Or would something actually be different?

What I've learned in over thirty-seven years of taking care of others is thatmost people lack urgency, not knowledge. They know what they need to do. They just don't feel like they have to do it yet. And this word"yet"holds everything.Yetis where most people sit.Yetis where time disappears while the body slowly adapts and keeps getting further from optimal.

Then, one day, the "yet" expires. Something hurts. Something's wrong. There's now a reason to change. Urgency appears. How funny is that.

So here's the actual question. Why are you waiting for your body to manufacture urgency for you?Why are you waiting for pain to give you permission to care?The one and only vehicle you get to live your entire life in is your body and most people treat it like it's on a perpetual, unlimited warranty.

If you knew you only had 30 days you wouldn't wait. You would act with intention. You would prioritize what matters before it commands your attention. Maybe the point isn't 30 days. Maybe the point is just to stop living like you have a limitless supply of them, because the clock is ticking already. The only question left is:What will you do with the time you have right now?

𝗪𝗵𝘆 “𝗜 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗲” 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗕𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲

There are 3 words that hold people back from caring for themselves more than any others. I feel fine. The phrase sounds logical, responsible even but is dangerously misleading.

That's because feeling fine is very different from living your best life.

Your body is the masters of adaptation. It compensates, reroutes, and just keeps you going even when it shouldn't. While amazing, it is also a deceptive process which can conceal the underlying problem. And while you feel fine, trouble may already be occurring internally.

Cavities don't start with pain. They don't begin with your body screaming that something is wrong. Neither does a heart attack. Instead they progress without awareness for a very long time, a long time before the feeling stage. It works in much the same way for your spine and your nervous system. Interference and pressure can occur throughout the system but the body finds a way to soldier on.

This makes waiting for symptoms a guaranteed way to lose the fight. By the time you notice what's happening, it's normally been going on for ages. The pain you feel, isn't normally the start of the process, but often the finish.

So, stop asking yourself if you feel fine, start asking, 'Am I performing optimally, living my best life the way God designed me to?'. One asks if you can deal with it, the other if your performance levels are right.

If you desire more than to simply get by, don't gamble; get your spine checked- not because it's broken but because you want to be sure that everything is working right.

And Now Something Funny

 Things You Learn if You Live Long Enough!

I choked on a carrot this morning, and all I could think of was, "I'll bet a doughnut wouldn't have done this to me."

 Nothing spoils a good story more than the arrival of an eyewitness.  (Mark Twain)

  It only takes one slow-walking person in the grocery store to destroy the illusion that I'm a nice person

 It turns out that when asked who your favorite child is, you're supposed to pick out one of your own.  I know that now.

 It's fine to eat a test grape in the produce section, but you take one bite of  rotisserie  chicken and it's all, "Sir, you need to leave!"

 I can't believe I forgot to go to the gym today.  That's seven years in a row, now.

 If you dropped something when you were younger, you just picked it up.  When you're older and you drop something, you stare at it for just a bit contemplating if you actually need it anymore.

 I like to make lists.  I also like to leave them lying on the kitchen counter, and then guess what's on the list when I am at the store.

 I relabeled all of the jars in my wife's spice rack.  I'm not in trouble yet, but the thyme is cumin.

 I just read a book about marriage that says treat your wife like you treated her on your first date.  So tonight after dinner I'm dropping her off at her parent's house.

 The best way to get back on your feet is to miss two car payments.

 I love bacon.  Sometimes I eat it twice a day.  It takes my mind off the terrible chest pains I keep getting.

 Driver:  "What am I supposed to do with this speeding ticket?"  Officer, "Keep it. When you collect four of them, you get a bicycle."

 I told my Chiropractor that I broke my arm in two (2) places. He told me to stop going to those places.

 I put our scale in the bathroom corner & that's where the little liar will stay until it apologizes.

  When I was a kid, I used to watch the ‘Wizard of Oz’ & wonder how someone could talk if they didn't have a brain. Then I got on Facebook.

  Do you ever get up in the morning, look in the mirror & think, "That can't be accurate!"

I want to be 14 again & ruin my life differently. I have new ideas.

  Apparently RSVP'ing to a wedding invitation with "Maybe next time" isn't the correct response.

  A guy walks into a lumberyard & asks for some 2x4s.  The clerk asks, "How long do you need them?"  The guy answers, "A long time. We're gonna build a house."

 I hate it when people act all intellectual and talk about Mozart when they've never even seen one of his paintings.

 Never trust an electrician with no eyebrows.

 So my neighbor knocked on my front door at 3 a.m.  3AM!!!  Luckily I was already up playing the bagpipes.

 Instead of cleaning my house, I just watch an episode of "The Hoarders," and think, "Wow!  My house looks great."

And Now A Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of life and for the incredible way You designed our bodies to function with purpose and intention. You did not create us to simply get by, but to live fully and abundantly.

Lord, give us clarity to see where we have become passive and where we have assumed everything is fine without truly knowing. Replace complacency with conviction, and help us to act with purpose instead of waiting for a reason.

Stir within us a sense of urgency rooted in stewardship, not fear. Remind us that our bodies are a gift entrusted to us, and help us to care for them with consistency and intention.

Guide us to remove anything that interferes with how You designed us to function, and draw us closer to You in all that we do.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

In Health and Faith,

Dr. Jay, Kim, Kerrie, Tammie and Lori