EFFORTLESS ERGONOMICS

I gave a talk today entitled:

EFFORTLESS ERGONOMICS: Three keys to making your workstation work better for you (and a new chair isn't one)

What you should know is that the right equipment helps, but it doesn't replace what your body needs to do on it's own.  Check out this diagram that demonstrates what I'm referring to.  The chair looks pretty good but is useless given the body position:

How many times doe we find ourselves so focused on work that we don't realize that we are doing this very thing?  It doesn't have to be this way, in fact, I can give you the tools to ensure this doesn't happen to you.

If you'd like more information about the remedy, I'm happy to share so contact me!   I'd also love an opportunity to present the facts about ergonomics to your colleagues, give me a shout and I'll contact your business...

NEVER do this on Friday's...

I was told that one should never make an announcement on a Friday.  Maybe because Friday's are reserved for resignations.  They also said never send a newsletter on Friday.  Perhaps in the efforts to wrap up a work week, readers are less likely to see it due to the push to get everything done.

Whatever the reason, I'm bucking the system and not following either recommendation.  I'm SO EXCITED about this news that I couldn't wait another day.  What better way to start the weekend than by sharing great news!

The Big Announcement: 

BODYWISE is Expanding

2012 is a year of growth and I’m pleased to share that I’ve been invited to join a clinic!   That’s right, I’ll be working side by side with a group of professionals in Totem Lake.  This clinic is right beside the Puget Sound Birth Center, where my youngest was born almost 3 years ago, and near the hub of Evergreen Hospital’s Medical complex.  I’m excited to serve more pregnant and post-partum clients. 

My hours will be expanded to include the Clinic - Kirkland and the Studio - Bothell.  Choosing a location will be easy when booking online.

Current clients will continue to receive the benefits of FAST treatments or can choose to split FAST into straight-up, best-in-the-industry massage or focused, therapeutic exercise rehab.  

This marks an important shift for BODYWISE.  It will allow me to grow my knowledge base by treating more and diverse clientele while working alongside other medical professionals.   I love the supportive and collaborative environment that a diverse staff offers.  And the benefits get passed on to you directly.

I’ll announce the Grand Opening event along with special deals when the date is finalized.  You can still reach me at the same phone number, email, and web address as always.
206.898.5327
dawn@bodywisebodywork.com
www.bodywisebodywork.com

Thanks for your continued support!  I look forward to another health filled and prosperous year with you.

The new office information is:
Eastside Natural Medicine
13128 Totem Lake Blvd NE, Ste 104
Kirkland, WA 98034
425-814-2045

You’ve Got an IQ - Know Your PQ, too!!

IQ, or Intelligence-Quotient, is used as a predictor for things like educational achievement, job performance, and income.  While the debate continues about whether IQ is inheritable, it has been proven that those with higher IQs tend to seek out more stimulating environments that further increase their IQ.

In essence, if you’re smart, you are on the look out for environments that support and increase your intelligence.  This is no less obvious to me than watching my kids grow.  There are some toys they used to play with often, and then they stopped because the toy wasn’t challenging or stimulating any longer.  It’s no easy task to keep children occupied  and content when you need it the most, like on long flights or in a waiting room.  

That brings us to the question, what is your PQ? 


One of the world’s foremost motivational speakers and brilliant business minds, Jim Rohn, said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” 

There it is - the People Quotient.  This happens to be a measurement of your People Smarts.  It includes abilities such as understanding others, expressing yourself, and collaboration.

At the end of the day, does PQ really matter anymore?  With all the ways in which we communicate that don’t require us to be face to face - email, voicemail, IM, etc - it may seem that having a high PQ is unnecessary.

However, there are still plenty of service industries.  There are businesses who are thriving because they have nailed the PQ in their service, marketing, and sales.  Restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets, and fast food are prime examples of how maintaining a high PQ can sustain them through tough times.

PQ is linked to what you value.  When your values match up to the people around you, your PQ score naturally gets higher. 

Who’s big but is getting in your way?

A colleague of mine wrote about her big but getting in the way of her success.

It got me thinking about my big but:  How it snuck up on me, why it’s holding me back, and what the heck I need to do to get rid of it.

I remember clearly when it was my Mother's big but that got in my way - when I left home, I found I had my own big but to maneuver around.  How could this have happened? 

It happened because my BUT was bigger than my WHY.

Growing up, my Mother said things like "Lifting weights is good, but you're a girl", "Traveling is a great idea, but you're not old enough to drive alone".

In these cases, her but's became the why I did certain things and the way I did them:  I lifted weights and I tried lifting more weight each time.  I didn't just fly across the country, I took my two young kids to prove I can take care of me and them, too.

I used my Mother's but's as motivation to accomplish things I may not have otherwise.  It's given me strength, experience, and independence. 

Her but isn't enough anymore, though.  These days, I need to have more value.  I choose based on what is important to me, now.  In doing so, I've found my own why's:  I lift weights to relieve the pain from accidents;  I travel with my kids to spend holidays with grandparents and cousins.

I am grateful for the big but's that were once my Mother's.  If she didn't have them, I wouldn't be aware of the really big but in my life right now.  It's been there for a long long time.  This one, oooh, it's a doozy.  This is the Biggest But and it should have been obvious to me, but wasn't - probably because it's the one I believed the most.   It's been driving my thoughts, my feelings, and my actions every single day.

I've been thinking small.  I've been living small.  It's time to get this big but out of my way!

What big but has gotten in your way?  Create a bigger why and watch your but melt away!

I ate dinosaur tongue!

Over the holidays I stayed with my sister.  She invited a friend over on New Years for hors d’oeuvres.  This friend told me she would never eat shrimp and explained to me that it was 'dirty' and shouldn’t be consumed.

I leaned over to inspect the plate of shrimp between us.  It was deveined, rinsed, and organized in a circle around the horseradish sauce - all in all, it looked pretty clean to me.

I didn’t understand what she was really getting at so she described how shrimp are ground feeders, eating all the ‘garbage’ on the ocean floor.  Because she did not want garbage in her body, she would never eat shrimp.

Taking a big bite of shrimp, I just had to laugh.  That 'trash' tasted pretty good.  If she remembered anything about the most basic and fundamental law of physics,  Conservation of Energy, she would probably starve.

Basically, the Law of Conservation of Energy states that in an isolated system (the earth in this case) energy can neither be created nor destroyed.  Our total energy remains constant, it’s conserved.

It can move within the system and appear in a different form, but the energy itself remains constant over time.  For example, a worm eats the compost from my kitchen scraps.  The compost is turned into worm castings (essentially worm poop) which is the dark, rich soil that I use in the vegetable garden.  The seeds that I plant use the minerals and energy from the castings to produce roots, stems, flowers, and pollen.  The pollen, along with nectar, is taken by a bee back to it’s hive and is turned into honey (essentially bee vomit). 

This honey is harvested by a neighbor who sells it to me at QFC and I mix it in my herbal tea.

So really, we are constantly using energy that has been here all the time.  It is a gift to transform energy into other forms like tears of joy or breast milk for a child.  This is the natural order of things in the world.  The cycling of energy is necessary for our very existence.

When I think about it, I’m quite happy that the shrimp eat all the garbage on the ocean floor - if not, it would get pretty ugly down there.

So where does the dinosaur come into the picture, you ask?  Well, my herbal tea was harvested from special mountains in Japan.  The dirt that the plants grew in came from a decomposed Stegosaurus who was gleefully chewing shrubs just before a volcanic eruption...


www.bodywisebodywork.com
206.898.5327

Who Needs You?

What are you willing to do for someone who needs your help?  What lengths are you willing to go to keep someone from certain tragedy?

I found out I was willing to plunge into freezing water to retrieve my son out of the Snoqualmie River.  And it was an eye opening experience.  I could see the potential danger he was in.  I could see that he felt desperate.  I could clearly see the action steps necessary to bring him to safety.

What would you think if the story were different? 

What if I had stood on the shore while my son struggled in the cold river and coached him:    “Practice your strokes!”  or  “You’re almost there, keep up the good work!” 

I could have reached out my hand, urging him to take it,  waiting for him to get close enough to reach.  I might have called my husband, a better swimmer than I, to help him because I didn’t have the right qualifications.  Hell, I could have told the people standing next to the big rock to get him, they saw him first after all. 

That’s not what happened though... my son needed help - my help - the signs were obvious and I didn’t hesitate, or rationalize, or reconsider.  I just took the action that was necessary.

Which brings my thoughts to you.  Do you know what you're headed for?  Do you see what lies ahead if you stay on the course you've chosen?  If you don’t address that nagging something, what will happen after 1 year?  5 years?  10 years? 

You’ve experienced BODYWISE Bodywork.  You know what your body is doing (or not doing) that will keep you healthy and living well.

It would be wrong for me to stand by and watch you continue a particular body pattern that doesn’t serve you.  It goes against my moral being to give you just one session, or maybe two, or even three, and then say “Good luck with that” when I *know* what you need to do to stay out of pain may mean something more or different. 

It is my gift to see such shifts in your body and to show you how simple (maybe not easy, but simple) it is to rebalance and live fully capable.  It is my life’s purpose to improve the way your body moves so that you, in turn, can fulfill your life’s purpose. 

Let me dive in.  Give me the opportunity to help you.   You’ll be prepared to help the someone who needs your gift, then they’ll be able to use their gift, and that person can better use the gift they’ve been given, and... you get the picture.




www.bodywisebodywork.com
206.898.5327

My Resolution Solution

I've discovered the second secret to keeping my resolutions.  It's so crazy simple that I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before.

Every year I think about what I want to accomplish and what didn't happen the year before.  I often get discouraged looking at the list of possibilities.  I might say to myself "What if I had practiced my violin only 15 minutes a day - I would be so much further along".

Time to stop the 'What Ifs' in my life!

In order for me to practice my violin every day, I've got to take something away.  Rather than add to my already full life, what will make violin practice a reality is taking something out of the schedule.  Then inserting violin is easy.

At this point, it's beneficial to review my values.  I can then find a 15 minute window of time that doesn't map to what's on my important list. 

Resolution Solution at last!