Eye of the Storm
Chaos is overrated. So are drama, stress, and busyness. You can keep ’em.
Then again, balance is also overrated.
Balance is at best fleeting and is often the casualty of a life lived with meaning. Harmony trumps balance when you are trying to get something worthwhile done.
I find myself vacillating between the desire to get more done and the need to stop and breathe on an hourly basis. Big visions birth great opportunities – and with them, responsibilities, details, disappointments, surprises, distractions, support, challenges, wins, and losses. At the end of the day, I simply want quiet.
Not the quiet that you find in laying on your back in a meadow, shaping clouds and tracing planes, but the soundless, calm, and stillness found only in the eye of the storm.
Step left or right, tilt, lean, or drift away from center, and feel the wind. Sense the total chaos surrounding you – the energy, the noise, the busyness.
Step back to center and focus.
You cannot stand still in the eye of the storm. Storms move. They are dynamic.
To stay in the quiet, calm center you must be deliberate. You must be mindful. You must keep moving.
SF
Dr. Stephen Franson
On the first day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
An adjustment will keep you healthy.
On the second day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Two dozen burpees
and adjustments will keep you healthy.
On the third day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Three organic meals,
Two dozen burpees,
and adjustments will keep you healthy.
On the fourth day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Four days’ vacation,
Three organic meals,
Two dozen burpees,
and adjustments will keep you healthy.
On the fifth day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Five L-hold rings,
Four days’ vacation,
Three organic meals,
Two dozen burpees,
and adjustments will keep you healthy.
On the sixth day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Six grams Fish Oil,
Five L-hold rings,
Four days’ vacation,
Three organic meals,
Two dozen burpees,
and adjustments will keep you healthy.
On the seventh day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Seven hours of sleeping,
Six grams Fish Oil,
Five L-hold rings,
Four days’ vacation,
Three organic meals,
Two dozen burpees,
and adjustments will keep you healthy.
On the eighth day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Eight months breast-milking,
Seven hours of sleeping,
Six grams Fish Oil,
Five L-hold rings,
Four days’ vacation,
Three organic meals,
Two dozen burpees,
and adjustments will keep you healthy.
On the ninth day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Nine types of stretching,
Eight months breast-milking,
Seven hours of sleeping,
Six grams Fish Oil,
Five L-hold rings,
Four days’ vacation,
Three organic meals,
Two dozen burpees,
and adjustments will keep you healthy.
On the tenth day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Ten minutes napping,
Nine types of stretching,
Eight months breast-milking,
Seven hours of sleeping,
Six grams of Fish oil,
Five L-hold rings,
Four days’ vacation,
Three organic meals,
Two dozen burpees,
and adjustments will keep you healthy.
On the eleventh day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Eleven smoothies drinking,
Ten minutes napping,
Nine types of stretching,
Eight months breast-milking,
Seven hours of sleeping,
Six grams of Fish Oil,
Five L-hold rings,
Four days’ vacation,
Three organic meals,
Two dozen burpees,
and adjustments will keep you healthy.
On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My Chiro said to me…
Twelve times deep breathing,
Eleven smoothies drinking,
Ten minutes napping,
Nine types of stretching,
Eight months breast-milking,
Seven hours of sleeping,
Six grams Fish Oil,
Five L-hold rings,
Four days’ vacation,
Three organic meals,
Two dozen burpees,
…And adjustments will keep you healthy.
Why do we do better when we have eyeballs on us?
You know that this is true. Intrinsic motivators are the strongest drivers, but we all do better when we know that someone is watching us.
The Elf on the Shelf is the penultimate example of the Big Brother Effect – or as behavioral psychologists call it – the Hawthorne Effect. It turns out that just the thought that someone could be watching drives better performance in any domain. If we know that we are accountable to another party, we simply do better.
Leverage this. Buddy up, hire a trainer, bet someone some money, rent a billboard, post it on FaceBook…plop an Elf on your shelf…whatever form feeds that innate need for consistency between pronouncement and performance – just do it.
We all need all the help we can get.
With eyes on you,
Doc
Dr. Stephen Franson
Health is one of the most precious gifts of the holiday season. And it is all too easy to put off improving your healthduring the stress of the holiday season. But don’t wait for the New Year!
The team from Franson Family Chiropractic will be a part of the North Shore Holiday Fair this Sunday at the Holy Ghost Society Hall in Peabody. Meet the team, learn how chiropractic can help you, and enjoy lots of other fun holiday stuff for the family.
Sunday, December 11th, 2011 at the Holy Ghost Society Hall in Peabody, MA from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
At the Gift & Craft Fair, guests will have the opportunity to shop all types of vendors – crafters, retailers, independent sales consultants, etc. It will be an excellent opportunity to get a jump start on your holiday shopping and find something for everyone on your list!
FREE Admission
Holiday Kids Zone
Live Holiday Music
Holiday Character and Santa Appearances
)She will be continuing to CrossFit, receive regular chiropractic care, teach the Bonfire Health lifestyle to everyone she meets, and spend more time with her wonderful boyfriend who is stationed down there in the Navy! Sarah’s last day will be Thursday, December 22nd. Please keep up with her adventures at http://sarahtymann.blogspot.com/“The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for.” — Zig Ziglar
Yes, I am thankful for Thanksgiving.
I am thankful for the way it allows me a whole day with people that I love, a day to speak aloud all the wonderful things that have happened over the last year (or three wonderful things as is the case in my family…we have to limit ourselves. It would take a week, or more, if we were all able to say everything)!
I crave that time to pause, sit with loved ones, and to reflect on what the year has brought me. Every year I find that I leave Thanksgiving dinner (usually after a long nap) wishing that there was a tiny bit of Thanksgiving in each day.
So, this year I was inspired to do something different. My dear friend, Heather, said that she was going to record the things she was grateful for each day, in the month of November, on Facebook leading up to Thanksgiving. I have decided to join her!
Why should we only express gratitude on one day a year?!
Here are some of mine from the month:
“Day of Thanks #4: Coffee with Alexis before work, crisp fall air, feeling really productive today, eating leftovers from the soup I made last night, naps on the couch with the warm sun shining on me, working out at GymCore CrossFit and lifting way more weight than I thought I could (and getting two new PR’s!), thanks to the epic combo of encouragement and butt kicking from Greg, sweet surprise notes from old friends from high school, sore muscles from a good workout, having a landlord who is going to deal with the squirrel issue. ”
Sarah T. that's me!
This is me just 2 months ago...when I thought that 65# was too heavy!
“Day of Thanks #8 and #9: Dates with Jordan and Julie , lululemon athletica wunder unders (how are they SO amazingly comfortable all the time? I may never take them off). Quiet office all to myself, coffee in a red mug that looks like a bucket, sunshine, sunshine, sunshine, new haircut…expectation of great things to come in this day.”
See what I mean? Its just....so happy!
“Day of Thanks #19: Fall leaves blowing in the wind, candles that smell like Christmas cookies, new songs to learn and write on my heart, flannel sheets, breakfast with my amazing, wonderful, consistent, wise, humble, and favorite Dad, new brakes in the car, snuggle time with beautiful little ones, joy, hope, the smells of fall, crisp air with sun in the sky, a cup overflowing. ♥”
My Dad and Me: How could you NOT love this man?
Not only was this super fun, but what I have found over the last month is that these gratitudes completely overpower any minor bump in my day. The bumps seemed to pale in comparison to the sheer number of things big and small to be grateful for. I found myself looking forward to the surprises of gratitude I would see in the day ahead: a sunrise, hug, phone call, my favorite song on the radio, time to read a book, my family.
I have decided to offer myself up a challenge, and I would love for you to join me. I am deciding to not let Thanksgiving be the only time I outwardly express my thanks. This year, I am going to use Thanksgiving as a launching point for the weeks and months to come, to meditate each day on even just ONE thing I am grateful for. I think you will find, as I have, that as Zig Zigler states, “The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for.”
Some other things I am grateful for this year:
Crazy and Wonderful Friends: Cass and Alexis
My inspirational parents.
Cousins
Paleo Food to FUEL my life
My Phenomenal Boyfriend
My Roommates
The Lord allowing my Dad to survive his heart attack.
My Church
The amazing team I get to love alongside every day.
With Gratitude, Thanksgiving and Love!
Sarah
Food Drive Supporting Beverly Bootstraps’ Food Pantry for Local Families
We want to help families in need. But our mission to teach families to get healthier was not being served by collecting and donating processed, lifeless, dead foods. We just did not feel right giving needy families processed, sugary junk.
So we created a new way to have a food drive. Rather than collect the leftovers from the back of your cupboards, we started from scratch. We partnered with Beverly Bootstraps to deliver a huge stash of fresh, local produce right to local families. To do this, we collect cash donations that have our team pick up and hand deliver the proceeds to Beverly Bootstraps, which has specific spots earmarked for this great stuff to go. And to cap it off, we add recipe collections to ensure that everyone knows how to make the best-tasting meals with real, whole foods.
Spine and Nerve System Stress Screening, Courtesy of Franson Family Chiropractic
See how chiropractic can help you get your health back
Our team of skilled, friendly doctors will be available onsite. They will perform spine and nerve system stress screenings to determine where you may be experiencing nerve irritation. For every person who gets checked who decides to schedule a full, in-office evaluation, Franson Family Chiropractic will donate 50% of the examination cost to the Beverly Bootstraps Food Drive. Further, a full in-office examination, which typically costs $285 dollars, will be available to schedule for $47!
Help families in need have a healthier Thanksgiving!
All of the proceeds of the food drive will be donated to Beverly Bootstraps to supply local families directly with what they need for food for Thanksgiving. Beverly Bootstraps is a local, independent charity in Beverly that directly aids the local families in need on the North Shore.
I have many sources of inspiration, but few compete with what I see every day in the 15 x 13 foot space that I like to call my “Adjustitorium.” My patients never cease to surprise me. In the midst of financial upheaval, job insecurity, media frenzy and legitimate economic contraction, our patients remain steadfastly grateful.
As a common thread that weaves through so many lives in this community, I feel qualified to assess and compelled to recognize the level of genuine thankfulness that I witness each and every day. I stand awestruck at the depth and sincerity of the graciousness expressed so freely by this group of people. A contagious, infectious attitude of appreciation spreads between patients, staff and doctors. And I get to stand in the middle of it.
Outsiders often question me about the rising stress and despair that I must be hearing about from our robust patient interface. They are usually taken a-back when I honestly reply to the contrary. These people are authentically thankful. Thankful for something…anything…everything.
I want to stop and recognize this group of people for being extraordinary. Not because they are gifted – or oblivious – but because they have chosen to have an extraordinary attitude.
Every day we get to choose our attitude. Thankfulness is a choice, not a feeling. It’s a decision, not a sentiment.
If we wait for our situation, circumstances, or environment to produce a feeling of thankfulness, we’ll be in for a bumpy ride. Our attitude is best described by Dr. James MacDonald as “a way of thinking developed over a long period of time.” We develop our attitude by repeating thoughts and responses over and over again. Like wearing a path in a rug, our brain simply starts firing neurons along a familiar course. This repeated practice develops a reflexive tract of thinking and reacting that inwardly directs us and outwardly defines us. Ask the people who know you best.
MacDonald goes on to describe our hearts as a bucket that we fill with our attitude over our lifetime. You can’t see what’s in this bucket until you bump it and its contents spill out.
Our circumstances may be challenging and seem out of our control at times, but our attitudes are always ours to choose. Replace criticism with acceptance. Choose gratitude over frustration. Dilute complaining with thankfulness.
If you say Grace this week, thank God for the clarity of sight, the resolve of faith, and the ability to choose an attitude of thankfulness. Following the events of the last two years, we shouldn’t be asking whether or not there will be bumps in the road along the way. Instead, the better question to ask is when they do happen, what spills out of your bucket?
In Thanksgiving for you all,
Dr. Stephen Franson
Fat is good. Good fat is good, that is. In fact, good fat is great. Fat is great.
You are fat. I am fat. We are all fat – and lots of it. You are cells, I am cells – we are all a big cluster of cells. And cells are, largely – fat.
I know that this reads like a Dr. Seuss story, but it’s true –
I and you are simply that –
a big, beautiful, magnificent, brilliant blob of fat.
Forgive me, but between my 5 and 7 year old children and a budding fish oil company, all I seem to be reading nowadays are Seuss books and fatty acid research.
I try to give my patients a good dose of “WAK” with every visit, blog post, or workshop. WAK is Walk Around Knowledge. I prefer the “Know This – Do This” format. In fact, I secretly wish that the whole world of “experts” would serve us this way…”This is what you need to know…this is what you need to do.” Cut to it. Let me know what’s important here and set me to it.
I could not possibly overstate the importance of FAT is your life.
The right fats are the gateway (quite literally) to greater health, whereas the wrong fats are the slippery slope to a sure demise. Pun intended.
A thorough and comprehensive discussion of fats is outside the scope of this post – but available here.
The purpose of this segment of our fat discussion is to address a specific function of the fatty acids: EPA and DHA. These critical lipids are best recognized for their incredible cardio-protective qualities (heart health) and anti-inflammatory benefit; but these polyunsaturated fats are also powerfully effective in protecting against arthritis, diabetes, and some psychiatric disorders.
In addition to protection against disease, these fats are vital nutrients that promote optimal health – for every cell in the body!
Fats are the basic building blocks of the cell walls. Think of them as the “bricks in the wall”. These cell “walls” separate the internal environment of the cells with their external environment. This “semi-permeable membrane” plays a complex balancing act between the inside and the outside of the cells. Interspersed between the “bricks” are “doors” and “windows” made of protein. These proteins are highly specific shapes and sizes. These doors and windows are locked, and only specific molecules have the key to open them to get inside the cell.
What gets inside (or goes outside) of cells determines cell function, and therefore health.
The omega-3 fatty acids make a cell membrane more “fluid.” Science tells us that cells that have ideal “fluidity” function better. In short, they help the walls, the doors, and the windows work like they should.
Stay tuned to upcoming posts right here to learn more…
And join us this Wednesday, November 9th for the Inflammation Nation workshop to learn how you can make choices that promote healthy cells for you and your family!
In health from within,
SF
Dr. Stephen Franson
Understanding inflammation is critical to the health of the lower spine and therefore to your core strength, power, and workout capacity. It is well-known that a host of inflammatory chemicals are involved in discs that are herniated or degenerative. However, during a chiropractic exam, the areas around a swollen disc are visible much earlier, often long before more obvious crisis occurs.
Dr. Gonstead’s work, detailed in Roger Herbst’s “The Art and Science of Chiropractic,” described how the early signs of injury to the disc are accompanied by a generalized swelling,or inflammation. Think of the last time you saw a sprained ankle. Damaged joints respond by producing swelling and inflammation.
However, the current common medical treatments do not address these disc problems early. In fact, the current medical treatments do not correct the problem during crisis, either. “Current treatment strategies for disc degeneration typically address the symptoms of low back pain without treating the underlying cause or restoring mechanical function.”1
Restoring mechanical function is precisely what is necessary to maintain the health and integrity of the disc. Properly structured chiropractic adjustments restore movement, alignment, and function. The alternative, namely chronic dysfunction and inflammation, creates a progressively weakening core.
Disc Model Mech. 2011 January; 4(1): 31–41. Degeneration and regeneration of the intervertebral disc: lessons from development
Lachlan J. Smith, Nandan L. Nerurkar, Kyung-Suk Choi, Brian D. Harfe, and Dawn M. Elliott.
