Dr. Kenney’s Friday 5 Spot
On Fridays I like to share some of the experiences I’ve had during the week with patients and in my personal life that I’ve found significant in some way. I like to share them in hopes that you might find value in them and have something resonate with you in your life.
Something I believe is important when dealing with people. We are living in an age now where people can and will freak out over even the slightest thing. I find myself less interested in having certain conversations but in those that do matter to me, I like to use the concept of “converse not confront.”
When you “converse” with someone you are trying to calmly listen to them, ask questions and respond with words that you choose carefully (and not in a way that insults them). This is meant to make both parties feel comfortable and is often a great way to proceed toward common ground. “Confronting” is when you let your emotions go, don’t choose words carefully and often ignore who is/is not around to hear it. This has its place but is something to be reserved for rare occasions. When someone is being unkind, malicious or is out of control, that’s when I am personally willing to switch into that mode. Of the two forms of communicating, confrontation can sometimes make you feel better in the moment, but conversing will usually get you a whole lot further.
An important observation. As most of you know, I have 4 children and the first 3 are boys. We are an extremely active family but, on days where we are less active (due to weather for example) I notice that their behavior becomes different. The older boys will get “chippy” with each other and the youngest will get upset over things that usually wouldn’t bother him. When this happens, either my wife or I will immediately get them doing something physical and without fail, they instantly feel better and act like themselves again. I bring this up because this same thing happens to adults as well. If we don’t burn off a certain amount of energy each day physically, that energy can turn to aggravation, annoyance, anxiety, stress and/or any number of other negative things. If this is you, try getting more physically active and watch how quickly you begin feeling better, handling stress more easily and becoming more productive. Make your energy work for you, not against you!
Do you like inversion tables? I am asked this almost daily and the answer is yes, in fact I have one of my own. Due to all the sitting most of us do, we are constantly compressing our spines. An inversion table is a simple way of using gravity to our advantage to alleviate pressure on our spines. As the spine is gently stretched it allows for pressure to be removed from the discs, vertebrae, nerves, and muscles which accelerates the healing process and helps with mobility and pain relief/maintenance. Some are wary of inversion tables because of too much blood rushing to the head while fully inverted however to get the benefits of an inversion table you do not need to fully invert (there are settings for less than 180 degrees). Even 2-3 minutes per day of inversion can make a tremendous difference to your spine and overall health.
A common nutrition mistake I often see after exercise. After a workout, your body needs the right nutrition to start rebuilding and repairing itself so that you can maximize the benefits of the activity. Ideally, you want to have protein within 45-60 minutes after exercise and carbs and fats as well, though they are not quite as important. When I used to train clients many years ago, I would often see this mistake being made and once we corrected it the results were always significant. As far as the type of protein you consume, that could come from eggs, meat, shakes, yogurt, nuts, peanut butter, beans, or various other sources. Make sure you’re getting enough protein after a workout and you’ll notice how much it helps.
Some quotes I love.
“I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” – Thomas Jefferson
“Comfort is where your growth goes to die.” – Eric Basek
“You will lose a lot of friends when you get serious about your goals. That’s why a Lamborghini has 2 seats, and a bus has 30.”
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” – Zig Ziglar
“The world is not full of a-holes, but they are strategically placed so that you’ll come across one every day.” – James Yeager
Want more?
- Don’t forget to follow Dr. Kenney on Instagram @Coloradochiropractor
- To see previous Friday 5 Spots, visit www.newbodychiro.com and go to “blog”
- Check us out on Facebook under New Body Chiropractic