Last week I wrote about 3 common challenges that people face on their healing journey. One of those challenges is acceptance or being in the present moment. The present moment is the time when you are aware and focused on what is happening right now, rather than being in the past or the future. Being in the present moment can help reduce …

Whatever your goals are when seeking healing, you are likely to face certain challenges. These challenges can be like road blocks or they can be like speed bumps. And even though we can feel impeded by these challenges, like a treasure chest, they contain lessons and gifts. In fact without these challenges, we would not fully heal. The first challenge …

While examining the relationship between emotions and chronic pain, let’s define what we mean by “emotions” and “chronic pain”. Over the years I’ve heard of people calling emotions either “negative” or “positive”. When referring to their healing process, I’ve heard some say things like: “I feel like I just need to get this shit out of me.”, referring to thoughts …

The aOS runs our bodies literally like clockwork. It’s a level of functioning that is automatic and does not need our input in order to do its work. It not only involves the nervous system (all the nerves, spinal cord and brain) but also hormones. Like a thermometer reads the temperature outside, our aOS requires accurate information so that the …

It has come to my attention in the last few years how important and necessary is the work that we do at the Happy Spine. This isn’t going to be about flagrant self-promotion:). If I wanted to flagrantly self-promote I would mention a practice member’s comments this past week. As I asked him to lift a part of his body, …

Classical music is big in my family. My mom’s father sang opera and played the piano, cello and organ. One of my aunts was a concert pianist trained in Europe. My mom sang for many years in the Niagara Symphony Chorus. Both my sister and I studied classical piano at the Bradley Institute in Niagara Falls, Ontario. I remember that …

If I were to say to you that the structure of the spine is important, you would probably think that sounds quite reasonable. But would you be aware of how important it really is? You may think that the spine’s structure is best when the spine is straight. But then how could you take into account its curves? The best …

Symptoms (secondary conditions) have two main functions: To get you to stop and pay attention. To get you to do something different. Have you ever driven somewhere and once having reached your destination, you don’t remember how you got there? We often go about our lives on automatic pilot.  Our day to day autopilot usually determines our daily actions. We …

When you stretch out a rubber band as far as it can go, and you let it go, it bounces quickly back into shape. This is a good example of resilience: Bouncing back into your ‘best self’. When we’re not as resilient as we could be, we get bent out of shape. We get bent out of shape mentally and physically. …

In past articles I have written about the importance of the PreFrontal Cortex (the most advanced part of the brain) and its many implications for our optimal health. The PreFrontal Cortex (PFC) is where we think rationally, where we’re able to weigh various aspects to a decision and it’s where we’re able to adopt more than one perspective at a …