Planning to Get Your Flu Shot?

A patient in my Oakland office today mentioned she got her annual flu shot & I was surprised. It made me realize that I needed to remind my community about the harmful side effects & fallicies that flu shots work. It is important to do your homework before you allow yourself or a loved one to be injected. 60% of MDs avoid the vaccine and because it can be more dangerous than the flu itself! Think about it:  If a chemical can harm you when you are well, it can not heal you when you are sick!

Side Effects
According to Drugs.com, the possible side effects of Tamiflu are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, nose bleed, eye redness, insomnia, cough or other respiratory symptoms. Serious side effects in children can be sudden confusion, delirium, hallucinations, unusual behavior or self injury. Nervous system side effects such as headaches have been seen in up to 18% of the people. According to NVIC, Gillian-Barre syndrome (GBS), an autoimmune disease, has been associated with the influenza vaccine since 1976.

Seniors are especially at risk as reported by the ACIP Provision Recommendations for the Use of Influenza Vaccines. In 2007, a study published in the Annals of Medicine concluded that abnormalities in arterial function and LDL oxidation may persist for at least two weeks after a slight inflammatory reaction. This could explain the earlier report of an increase of cardiovascular risk in the first weeks following vaccination.

Effectivness
There is no scientific evidence that supports the effectiveness of flu shots in preventing the flu. In fact, The National Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy boldly stated that “flu shots don’t work in the elderly.” Actually, the possibility of the vaccine impairing your immune system is a concern. There are components in vaccines that are neurotoxins which can depress your immune system and brain function.

Kids & Pregnancy
According to the CDC, the flu vaccine, FluMist, which is often given to children, contains chick kidney cells and MSG. Many other flu vaccines contain formaldehyde and mercury which are neurotoxins. Christina England, a contributor on VacTruth.com just informed readers that there has been a 4,250% increase in fetal death rates reported to VAERS after flu shots were given to pregnant women. Pregnant women should be aware as the flu vaccine has been officially listed as a Category C drug which means that its safety has not been established scientifically and adverse fetal effects in animals have been detected. The FDA states that “Category C drugs are more likely to cause problems for the mother or fetus.”

Not everything that feels like the flu is actually the flu. According to the CDC, only 13% of the people with flu-like symptoms who were tested for the flu this year tested positive! So this means your body could be in a healing process that "looks" like a flu but isn't, so taking a flu vaccine will add another element of challenge & toxicity for the body to process out.

What To Do Instead

Get your spine checked! Subluxations of the neck & lower back cause poor immune function. I have patients all the time tell me they rarely get sick no that they are under Chiropractic care! What controls healing? The nervous system!

Lighten the Load: Eat light, limit animal meats, dairy & grains. When your body is processing adaptive changes from the enviroment, ie. from fall to winter, that is a stress. Eating light will allow more phiosiological energy availble for healing processes. Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and healthy fats. Avoid the white devils such as white sugar, white pasta and white flour. Eat more whole grains and legumes.

Exercise can also strengthen your immune system. Slow & Steady: Hiking, swimming, walking were you get a good light sweat for at least 20 minutes 4 times a week will lubricate the joints, move toxins & increase circulation. Then, Strong & Long: You want to build core strenght & have long strong muscles through activities such as weight training, Pilates, or yoga.

Sources:
http://www.drugs.com/sfx/tamiflu-side-effects.html
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/11/01/flu-vaccine-and-its-side-effects.aspx
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-flu.pdf
http://vactruth.com/2012/11/23/flu-shot-spikes-fetal-death/
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly
http://suite101.com/article/60-%-of-doctors-dont-get-a-flu-shot-a136897

http://www.thefamilypractice.net/tfp/homepage/display_articles.php?id=235

The Chicken or the Egg?

A mommy brought in her 6 month old little boy to get checked, but this time its not the usual every two weeks & "he is doing great!!"... growing, laughing & smiling all the time. Nope, this time they had a huge scare, so much so they took him to the hospital with a severe fever, sweating, panting & not eating. The doctors gave him antibiotic shots & said it must be something viral. Shortly after, their little boy had severe torticollis where his whole spine was bowed tight like an arrow to the right. I adjusted him and spinal tension began to ease.


It got me thinking about what comes first?.... chicken? egg? His fresh & new nervous system is developing at such an exponential state, picking up everything from this new environment, good & "bad". Was he sick in the first place or just in the process of a powerful immunity reset system-wide? When the body chooses to express any symptom, there is always a purpose. When we throw up, it is because the body is getting rid of a "poison".... and, I can only imagine what a test it must be to be for a mom to see her child expressing symptoms and want to help & immediately stop the pain for a little one, what a challenge!

Our physiology is in a constant adaptive state, dealing with stress to survive as a basic function of LIFE; whether it be physical, chemical or emotional. When a powerful chemical is shot into this new & highly sensitive infant's system... the body responds to the stress of processing antibiotics. Just think of the last time you got sick, had the flu... it seems like every cell in my whole body cramps like its trying to squeeze "it" out, whatever "it" is... There is only 4 ways the body can get rid of toxins: breath, sweat, pee & poo. Fevers make ya sweat and the rest, well you know how that goes. Maybe this little one's nervous system just got overloaded with A) processing whatever immune shift that needed to happen at the time and B) then, had to process the antibiotics and C) assumed a "sick" posture to adapt.

Think about like this, a house has a breaker box for what reason? Yep, just in case there is a surge, force or overload on the electrical circuits... it saves the whole & sacrifices the power to maybe one part of the house turning off the power.  Inside our spine is our very own breaker box that does the same thing for us! How smart! If we have chronic or a sudden major physical chemical or emotional stress... we blow a fuse at the level of our spine. Let's say you trip, fall, ouch: you hurt your back. Now, clearly that is a physical stress that causes subluxation (causing abnormal nerve function). But, what if you drink too much wine? Ever get a headache in the morning from one to many drinks? Sure. Your body has already experienced billions of stress's & has adapted wonderfully, mostly. Think you might be a little used to this by the time you are 20, 30 or 40 years old? What about at 6 months old? Whoa! Everything is a huge deal to process!

Now, what if you do not flip the switch & turn back on the breaker? Right, no power. How does that show up in a human being? Remember: our physiology adapts to stress to survive whether physical, chemical or emotional. Each time (& there are millions of moments), that we experience a trauma its like we get just a little dimmer, like the dimmer switch in your house. Look a perfect tiny newborn: radiant! Then look at most people as they age... usually a bit dimmer huh? So, checking babies keep them at 100% light & life force so their little bodies can grow, develop & change into big boys & girls!

Why wait for your children to grow up & deal with the problems you may be having now... Don't wait until there is a problem with your child, get them checked regularly as they blossom!

Natural Nourishment - Wed. February 22nd @ 7pm

Nourishment? What is BEING nourished and where does nourishment come from?

My mom would say that I take pretty good care of myself, in fact I think she thinks I am a bit hedonist. Always wanting to go to the spa when I am in town, pull out my yoga mat in the kitchen or go to the gym every day. She seems to give me the funny side look as I go out the door. Am I over-nourishing myself? Or do I just come from a different age group entirely, a differently mentality that HAD a different operating system... the freedom to choose to nourish this body in this life. We come from our parents operating systems in the way we view the options in life in subtle and sometimes powerful ways. As a chiropractor I hear men and women speaking about their lives and how they care for themselves all the time. They have belief systems around what is neccasary for nourishment in their lives, lets look at them together and create a powerful nourishing program to support you being as alive as possible.

What is communication? Commune. Connect. Relate. Share.

Why is communication important? It is Life itself. Communication is happening all the time around us. Within us. Our awareness of it is only but a fraction of what it really is.

Let's begin a journey, peeking into the microcosmic field of communication, through the levels of life until we reach the macrocosmic unified field of communication.

Once, you and I were 2 cells, within another human being & within 280 days we became a human being. There is something that communicated the creation and perfection of this process, what was it?

In Chiropractic we call the force, medium that creates and maintains life Innate Intelligence within the individual. This same Intelligence is still riding every cell, relating vital information within the human body.

Where did it come from? In chiropractic we say "as above, so below"... life is above down inside out. This undeniable Intelligence is operating all the time within us. It is Spirit or Nature or whatever you would like to call it.

Chiropractic connects man spiritual to man physical. We see sickness and disease and a block of the flow of Intelligence. The flow within the human body allows Communication to occur perfectly between the brain - body / body- brain.

Look at Intelligence as the program, the body as the computer, that Life Force as the power source.

Biological healing is cellular replacement. Perfect communication is required for perfect healing. For example, a leaf on the tree turns brown. Does it turn green again? No. It must die. What happens? A new bud will arise, a new leaf will grown. The same thing happens in our body. The time it takes to heal depends on the tissue being replaced. We have new skin every 7 days, a new heart every 2 months, new bones every 3 years. Why then do we not heal perfectly?

There is an Interference to the perfect communication & flow of Intelligence. Where does it come from? What is it? On a gross level, it is the traumas of Life. The build up of many little ones, the big ones throughout life. Think about the three biggest traumas of your life. When did they happen? So long ago. Did they shape you? These “Interferences” are Forces much like wind is a force. As the branch bends, so will it grow. So if a tree is on the side of a mountain, it will grow according to the continual forces of the wind.

Now, how do we remove Interference to perfect healing? First we have to know that it is happening. How? To restore the Communication of Intelligence. How? We must cultivate the sensitivity and integrity of our Nervous System. How?


Think of your Nervous System as the medium or highway of the Intelligence within you. It is speaking to you all the time. Just for a moment, close your eyes, become still, wait and listen. What did you get? This is the Intelligence communicating with you though the Mental & Emotional Impulses. Now, touch someones thigh with your finger. The other person: Before they touched you were you thinking about the sensation or area under their finger? No. Tap it a lot. Are you no highly aware for the sensation? Yes. This is the Intelligence communicating with you though the Physical Impulses.

The Chiropractic Adjustment restores perfect Communication of Intelligence. Every time you get adjusted, we are waking up your nerve system. Every day, every moment, trillions of messages are coming from your body to the brain, from the brain to the body... imagine a switchboard operator with trillions of lines trying to perfectly send massages to the right place all the time! The Chiropractic Adjustment clears the nervous system from overload. How?

Think of the electrical system in this house. There is one power source, you cant see the wires but you know they are there. There is power going to each room. Now, if there is a surge or force that the electrical system cannot handle what happens? Power to that room is turned off. Why? To protect the whole electrical system of the entire house. Smart, yes? Good, Yes? Is it optimal, no... The same thing happens in the human body. Daily stress, overload of the switchboard, or a large force, stress or “surge” occurs... Because we do not understand how Communication occurs within the body, we think “huh, I just woke up and my neck hurts, I must have slept wrong.’ No. You blew a breaker some time ago and did not know it, the body tried to restore power (communication), there was Interference to the communication and the power was turned off at the level of your neck to preserve the whole electrical system of your body.



Lets talk about Communication from Human Being to Human Being or your environment. Your connection to others in Life is essential for Life. Sickness and disease is Separation from Universal Intelligence. There is Innate Intelligence within and Universal Intelligence without. Ok. Let’s tap into the intelligence between us. For example, you are walking down the street, you see someone, is there not a feeling that arises as to whether or not to like that person? An attraction or repulsion? What about your job? Do you like all aspects of your job? Are you repulsed or attracted to a certain job requirement? What is there? The Intelligence within you is communicating information about your environment all the time. Why? TO GROW. What does all of LIFE do on this planet? GROW/DIE. What can you learn from the repulsion or attraction? You can learn about YOU. Where you can be more HONEST, LOVING, PATIENT, COMPASSIONATE, UNDERSTANDING, WISE because this IS GROWTH of a human being.

Listening. Turn to the person next to you. One person tells a story to the other about their day. Completely ignore the importance of what they are saying to you. How did it feel? Then, one person listens with full engagement and excitement. Switch. How did you feel when they fully listened to you? Imagine how YOUR BODY FEELS WHEN YOU FULLY LISTEN TO ITS REQUESTS? People come in and they say, “ya I have been feeling this tension for 10-15-20 yrs” like they are talking about the weather! When we IGNORE the attempt the body makes to communicate with us is when we experience DISEASE!

Let’s do an exercise in communication. stand up and be 5 inches from the person next to you face to face. Be present, look directly into their eyes, do your best to stay fully with them. What happened? What did you notice? What was communicated to you?

What is your current relationship with your self? How do you treat your body? Like a work house? Like a fragile child that is not strong that needs to be protected? Do you give it rest? How do you talk or communicate to yourself? Do you judge yourself? Ask them to share it.

We are currently running the operating system of a community that does not function from inside out. 99% of our world is outside in.

We have been talking about the Communication within the Human Being. So now we know that we have an Intelligence system from above down inside out, with the need to continually, perfectly communicate for Life and Health to be optimal. That the chiropractic adjustment removes the interference, restores the power and flips on the breaker.

'Breath for Life' free class w/ Dr. Jennifer Wilhelm

Thursday September 29, 2011
6:30-7:30

The breath is the first and last experience in life. It can be expanded bringing tremendous energy into the human system. Learn a simply daily practice to enliven your being. Sign up today and bring a friend or family member so you can transform your environment!

"What is Vitality?" w/ Dr. Kara Waltz

Tuesday, September 13th
6:30-7:30

Vitalistic living is that which is in harmony with nature, being sensitive to the natural rhythyms of body in regards to life, wellness, sickness and disease. Learn a deep, fulling trust in your internal wisdom and awareness enabling you to cultivate this power in your life!

Sign Up Today at (510) 457-5874

Transformative Workshop: Self-Massage

Cultivate your sense of self love through a daily massage practice to deepen awareness and vitality! Nourishment starts with taking care of yourself, in this body in this life...now. Invigorate your body, stimulate your nervous system, and explore the layers of your anatomy with techniques of self & partner massage. Join us at ALIVE Chiropractic next Monday, August 15th at 6:30pm!

Transformative Talk: Core Care

What is your core? Not the stomach or abdominals, your CORE is the deepest part of you, the most fragile, delicate tissue in the entire body, the intrinsic muscles and tissues that surround your spine. From that place comes all power for coordination of all actions of life. We will gain quick and effective ways to cultivate this strength with a simple daily practice to nourish all aspects of your life and lifestyle. Join Dr. Kara at ALIVE Chiropractic July 28th at 6:30pm!

Transformative Talk: The Genius Within

Innate intelligence is the body's internal knowledge of the absolute, the intelligence that coordinates all life, continuously. It is your own genius of body and life, the organizing principle of all living beings. Why does a body do what it does? Is it chaos? Or is it wisdom? There's perfection inborn within all living beings. The function of innate intelligence is to adapt the universal forces (the environment) for use by the body. We will connect you with the magical wisdom within and provide simple and powerful ways to allow its full expression in your life. Join us Tuesday July 12th at 6:30pm. ALIVE Chiropractic 4157 Piedmont Ave. Oakland, CA.

Transformative Workshop: Yoga for the Neck

The neck is a vital energy bridge for the brain to connect to the body, mind to matter and spiritual to physical. Without that connection Life cannot occur. Our current culture has weakened this bridge with our sedentary lifestyles. See specific and effective ways to strengthen and re-enforce your energy bridge in your body to have more energy, aliveness and integrity in your body and life. Join us this Thurs June 23rd at 6:30 pm at ALIVE Chiropractic.

Transformative Talk: Translating Symptoms

Most of us listen to the little voice in the back of our minds when it makes a remark such as, "Great idea!" or "Let's not do that". But do we listen to the voice of our body? Are we aware of the messages our body is sending us. We call these messages symptoms, such as fevers, sneezing or pain? Join Dr. Kara Waltz and discover how to translate what your body is telling you, and develop your understanding of how your body adapts to the world around it. Tues May 10th, 6:30pm @ ALIVE Chiropractic

Mother's Month

In honor of all the Givers of Life, ALIVE Chiropractic is offering initial visits and massages half off for mother's during the month of May! Give back with a gift of enhanced flow of life and relaxation. Gift certificates available.

Transformative Workshop-6:30pm Thurs 28th

Why is the breath so integral to life and health? It is the core function of our body that allows life to occur.

Breathing, very much like your heart beat, is essential to life and vitality. The breath and mind are deeply linked to each other. The wellness of your mind is essential to the health of your breath. Meditation, the practice of noticing your mind, supports conscious control of your breath. Join Dr. Jennifer Wilhelm for a transformative workshop to learn breathing and meditation practices that will raise your awareness of Self. Just as the chiropractic adjustment releases stored human potential, adjusting the breath provides access for you to tap into your unique potential and allow it to flow through your body to engage vitality in your life.

Give Global With Us!

Don't forget to come to our Give Global Benefit tomorrow friday afternoon; from 3 to 6pm!

Don't we need to be able to give in order to recieve? Giving and recieving is a natural aspect of life. Life can be out of balance when there is too much of one or the other. We find that the more we stay in a state of service and abundance with our clients and community...it returns ten-fold! Join us in abundance, freely give what you have and see how each and every time it makes you feel a deep sense of richness inside!

Chiropractic adjustments (for current clients only), chair massage, food and wine will be offered by donation.We will have a raffle for facials, haircuts, massage, acupuncture, dinners and much more to help raise money. All proceeds will benefit the nonprofit organizations: AdjustWorld and Mission International; dedicated to bringing chiropractic to parts of the world in need of help and health care.

Kara will be back from Haiti and we will have a slideshow of her trip at 4:30pm... don't miss her extrordinary experience.

Please drop by an celebrate life with us! Feel free to bring friends and family!

The Big Idea

B.J. Palmer was the greatest chiropractor ever. He wrote the following piece to describe 'The Big Idea'. He wrote it for each of us to read and understand how specific chiropractic can help the world by reducing the sickness, suffering, fear, and death that has troubled us throughout our existence.

Small Things Are Large

A slip on the snowy sidewalk, in winter, is a small thing. It happens to millions.
A fall from a ladder, in the summer, is a small thing. That also happens to millions.
The slip or fall produces a subluxation. The subluxation is a small thing.
The subluxation produces pressure on a nerve. That pressure is a small thing.
The pressure cuts off the flow of mental impulses. That decreased flowing is a small thing.
That decreased flowing produces a dis-eased body and brain. That is a big thing to that man.
Multiply that sick man by a thousand, and you control the physical and mental welfare of a city.
Multiply that man by a million and you shape the physical and mental destiny of a State.
Multiply that man by one hundred thirty million,* and you forecast and can prophesy the physical and mental status of a nation.

---

Now comes a man. Any one man is a small thing.
This man gives an adjustment. The adjustment is a small thing.
The adjustment replaces the subluxation. That is a small thing.
The adjusted subluxation releases pressure upon nerves. That is a small thing.
The released pressure restores health to a man. That is a big thing to that man.
Multiply that well man by a thousand, and you step up physical and mental welfare of a city.
Multiply that well man by a million, and you increase the efficiency of a State.
Multiply that well man by one hundred thirty million, and you have produced a healthy, wealthy, and better race for posterity.
So adjustment of the subluxation, to release pressure upon nerves, to restore mental impulse flow, to restore health, is big enough to rebuild thoughts and actions of the world.

Cultivate Your Children's Potential

Why is it important to have your child’s spine checked for good alignment?
Their life depends on it. The spinal cord and brain use the spine as the highway for life! All communication and life expression occurs through the nervous system.
If their neck were broken, they would be paralyzed or dead. I know because at the age of 25 my neck was broken and I was paralyzed. It was like a bad cell phone connection, impossible to coordinate my muscles with my mind. It is your nervous system that communicates vital life function.

What causes misalignments in children?
There are times where physical, chemical, or emotional stress accumulate and affect the function of the nervous system. These stressors cause Subluxations. Subluxations create nerve interference. Nerve interference cause disease. A newborn has the same amount of stress hormones in its system as an adult experiencing a heart attack during birth.
A child falls on average 400 times by the time they are 7 years old.

How do you know if your child is in good alignment or not?
Can they talk to you? Most children cannot articulate what they feel as stress in their system. Can you feel the subtle aspects of your own body functions? Such as your heart beat, or maybe blood sugar imbalance? How about the oxygen exchange in blood? Children also do not have a way to articulate exactly what they are feeling, they may shut down or act strange when their system is under stress.

The Purpose behind Pain and Symptoms.
They are the “scream” of the bodies wisdom that there is something wrong. We recieve “whispers” all the time, yet we ignore them in general. Things can be imbalance for years before symptoms arise. We are taught to “fix” them right away, to cover them up. Does that really deal with the cause? The 4 ways the body excretes toxins are through the respiratory system, skin as sweat, the urinary tract and bowels. How do we most often get "sick"? This is our internal wisdom detoxing our system and bringing back homeostasis. Much like the purpose behind a fever, to bring up the temperature inside the body, kill off the sick cells and burn energy to heal and create new whole functioning cells.


Innate Wisdom of the Body.
Well-adjusted children are very adaptable to life, open to new experience and vibrant. The clearing of the nervous system brings a person into growth, transformation and development from the inside out. The inherent drive of life is always to toward more and greater expression. When life within is freed our armor melts from the inside out and we are able to express the totality of ourselves. Just like a blade of grass that pierces concrete to grow toward the light of the sun, our body always is healing and expressing life. This is evident as from 2 cells; in 280 days within a totally self-supporting biological system, a human being is created.

Cultivation of Life Force in our Children:
Should we wait until our children have sickness and disease to cultivate their health? We can specifically improve the function of their nervous system from birth. By trusting the Innate Wisdom of life, we can help them thrive and be nourished from the inside out, naturally.