An estimated 20.4 million Americans practice yoga—and that was in 2012! Without a doubt, yoga is huge and with good cause: it benefits the mind, body and soul. Not only that, but yoga is an ideal complement to chiropractic care.

No one knows this better than Dr. Chad Schleiger, director and owner of The Wellness Pointe of Elkhorn, WI.  "What makes chiropractic and yoga so unique is their simple principle of bringing the body back into balance, using what the body already has inside itself to self-heal and regulate". 

Mind, Body and Spirit Benefits

"The benefits of yoga are pretty amazing," says Dr. Chad from The Wellness Pointe of Elkhorn, WI.  "From physical strength, flexibility and endurance to overall better mental clarity and more energy." Those who regularly practice yoga, much like chiropractic, will experience the benefits long-term. 

As most know who have been to orientation class at our Elkhorn office, chiropractic does not treat low back pain.  And most yoga instructors will say the same -- yoga is not a treatment for low back pain but many people with chronic low back pain have shown a reduction in pain and an increase in function with regular yoga practice.  Other studies have even been linked to reduced heart rate, lower blood pressure and show improvements in anxiety and depression.  

Are you ready to hit the mat? Keep these in mind: 

Select the class that’s right for you. There are many different class styles so find the one that fits you -- from beginner to advanced. 

Avoid a large meal one to two hours before class. Lots of moving and bending may leave you feeling uncomfortable if you’re full or still digesting.

Try different instructors. There are a wide range of instructors.  Just as there are a wide range of doctors of chiropractic.  A one-size fits all mind-set is not always best.  Just because you had a bad experience with one pair of shoes doesn't mean you have to walk barefoot for the rest of your life. 

Speak up and don’t be hard on yourself. If a pose isn’t working for you, ask your teacher for a modification. Everyone who practices yoga has to adapt their practice to the specific needs and limitations of their body.

Don’t think flexibility is a requirement. Piggybacking off the last tip—practicing yoga is not about being perfect, and it’s certainly not about meeting specific requirements. And if you’re not flexible, you’re in luck! Regular yoga is bound to improve your flexibility.

Get comfy.  Wear clothing that suits you.  You'll figure this out with practice and usually after the first or second class. 

Remember to Breath and ENJOY! 

Soon summer will be here... blistering heat, blistering sunburns and for some who might over-exert themselves after hibernating all winter long... blistering heart conditions... 

Summer is the only season in Wisconsin that can make us suffer AND we still enjoy it!  

According to the World Health Organization, heart disease kills 17.3 million people annually and for over 50% of those who experience a heart attack, their first symptom is death. This alarming statistic should make some of us more motivated to improve the overall function of our heart and cardiovascular system.  

The Chiropractic-Heart Connection

Did you know that chiropractic care helps support your cardiovascular function? Proper heart regulation is dependent upon the integrity of the nervous system. Chiropractic care supports your optimum nervous system health, giving it an even more direct connection to your overall health.

Studies have been done to show the positive effects that chiropractic care may have on an increasingly popular objective measurement of health known as Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and one’s ability to adapt to the environment. In one study the authors reported, “The decreased heart rate and increased total power from the HRV analysis indicated a healthy autonomic nervous system balance after correction of vertebral subluxations.”

What else can I do? 

Here are just a few suggestions for you and your family to encourage one another other to keep your heart healthy.

• Exercise together
• Contact a Registered Dietitian 
• Cook heart-healthy meals (Anti-inflammatory -- ask me if you don't know what this means)
• Quit smoking
• Supplementing with CoQ10, Omega-3's or our favorite Shaklee Vitalizer Gold. 

Spend time together making dinners that are low in trans fat and minimal amounts of grains. Consider taking walks after dinner as a family. And by scheduling regular chiropractic checkups, you and your loved ones will be well on your way to a healthier heart and healthier spine.

Just a quick reminder from us here at The Wellness Pointe, especially our WEEKLY wellness members, that spring is often the time of year where we need an ‘extra boost’ adjustment here and there!

The positives to spring is the breeze, the sun, the warmth and the fish are biting... But the not so positive is our body's "plumbing" system will be called upon to do some additional work for the next few months.

As we have already taught many of you (If you've been to the extra workshops we offer here), our body’s “plumbing” system is really run by our “electrical” system (nervous system), our “HVAC” system (respiratory and lymphatics), and our “waste removal” system (gut and digestion). If any of these systems, especially the neuro-immune system, are not functioning at full throttle right now, the increased demands of spring time (dirt, pollen, dander, etc) will begin to “bog it down” and lead to the common symptoms most everyone calls – ALLERGIES. 

 The real truth behind all this is your body’s not really “allergic” to that certain substance, it’s just that your body may not be working at optimal capacity and efficiency in the way of clearing them out. 

So while many people feel “miserable” this time of year and are virtually forced to hide inside and load up on over-the-counter allergy meds, for many of our long-standing wellness patients it may be as simple as needing an extra “boost adjustment” or two during the spring times!

Here's a few suggestions to help keep those "allergens" off your barriers (eyes, nose, hair, mouth, etc..)

1. Wear a hat: Many people accumulate "allergens" in their hair while they are outside and drag them back inside, lay down on their bed and now they have completely engulfed themselves both outside as well as inside with pollen, dirt, dust, dander, etc.. 
2. Wear sunglasses: People sometimes get irritated eyes during this time of the year.  Wearing an extra barrier over you eyes during this time can help. 
3. GET ADJUSTED; -- Nothing better than a better adaptive neuro-immune system when fighting off foreign invaders! 

QUESTION: If you are a current WEEKLY member (meaning you've been checked within the last 7-10 days and you've been to ORIENTATION class) and you need an EXTRA adjustment this week for a "boost", HOW MUCH DOES IT COST YOU??? 

NOTHING!  (If you put something in the box for your first visit this week) Isn't Wellness Great! 

People say, "I'd really benefit or my family would really benefit from chiropractic BUT it's just TOO EXPENSIVE".  These excuses are rooted in 3 reasons: Time, Money and/or Insurance.  At The Wellness Pointe, we understand all of that -- SO we make each appointment quick, within your means (we explain this more in orientation class) and WITHOUT insurance.  

As with everything, The CAUSE is the CURE.  

See you all later this week or AGAIN this week if you need an extra boost! 

Chad Schleiger, D.C. 

Greetings Everyone! 

WOW! Time has flew! It feels like it was just yesterday I was writing March's Newsletter.  I don't know about you but I'm tired of all the "shoveluxations" and "plowluxations".  Enough snow already!  I'm ready for Spring to officially begin! 

The Perfect Storm Workshop will be here at TWP Tuesday April 21 from 7-8:30 --- We will uncover the hidden CAUSES of childhood illness with an emphasis on Autism and the Chiropractic approach to help these kiddos.  If you know a parent who has a special needs child we'd LOVE for you to attend the Workshop with them.  If you are a NEW parent or soon-to-be parent, this is a MUST ATTEND EVENT!  
(WARNING!! Orientation Class was the 101 version of chiropractic, The Perfect Storm is the PhD version of chiropractic BUT I promise to have it ALL make sense before you leave)

Next, I want to clear up some confusion about being OUT of alignment (subluxated) and what it means to be put back IN.  You see, the opposite of being OUT of alignment is not being put back IN alignment.  If that was my goal then I'd just refer you all to an orthopedic surgeon and have him/her fuse your spine "IN alignment" so it would be "IN LINE" FOREVER. That's crazy thinking... because if you did that YOU would become very SICK very QUICK. 
Our goal is to bring subluxated vertebrae that are STUCK OUT (not moving) and bring them back IN MOTION.  In other words, in chiropractic, the opposite of "OUT" is "IN MOTION".  As I mention in Orientation Class, the "misalignment" portion of a Subluxation is the least important of the 3 components: 
1. Misaligned vertebra
2. Which then the vertebrae become "stuck"
3. Which then CAUSES the nervous system to be "stuck" in a higher state of stress "fight or flight". 

When this occurs, 2 things happen: 
1. Joints don't move properly and become ARTHRITIC 
2. It causes DELAYED HEALING because the "fight or flight" switch is activated. 

Last thought for me -- I think I realized this week why so many chiropractors get discouraged when their practice members tell them where they need to be adjusted.

They'll say, "Adjust me right there because it hurts right there." Or they'll say, "Nope... you didn't get it. I still hurt, it's still there."  Deep down chiropractors are shaking their heads wondering what they did wrong.  Wondering if they explained chiropractic correctly in Orientation Class, IF they even have an orientation class and some might even be thinking, "NOPE... it is YOU that didn't get IT" and blame the patient for their lack of understanding of the science of chiropractic.  

I often wondered why my colleagues had so many complaints about patients leaving chiropractic care after they started to "feel better"...and then it dawned on me... Their patients "order" adjustments like it comes off a Chinese Menu... "I'll take a C4 from column A for my right shoulder and lower neck. A T5 for my gallbladder and an L1 from column B for my large intestine and left knee." 

People have come to think chiropractors are "Construction Workers" for the spine. They think we hammer down vertebra so they are "IN" because they were "OUT" and if the chiropractor puts it back "IN" then they should be immediately "OUT" of pain.  There is a reason that doesn't work.  It is because chiropractors are more like ELECTRICIANS than Construction Workers.  We can't "hammer" bones back into position in a second and have health restored quickly or have pain diminish in an instant.  We work subtly by slowly turning the dimmer switch from dim to bright. Often, (more often than not), when a person first calls or visits The Wellness Pointe for the first time, their dimmer switch is nearly off.  They are badly subluxated -- they are a very DIM light.  When we make an adjustment, we turn the dimmer switch as much as we can and "voila!"  More electricity gets from the brain to the dim tissue cells.  It is usually not completely "bright" (healthy) but the difference CAN be "blinding".  They are once again illuminated but not as bright as they can be. 

Therein lies the problem.  Since change was so dramatic, they think they are "instantly healed" and if they did not pick up the MESSAGE fully in ORIENTATION class (or worse yet, they haven't attended), they think they never have to come back and it will never go "OUT" again.  But when muscle memory and STRESS puts them "OUT" again, they are MAD at me (or their chiropractor for not putting it IN all the way).  We have to stand their and listen to them say, "Why is my pain back?", "You didn't fix it all the way!", or "This time adjust it all the way so it stays fixed!"  Or in other words, "You're a lousy Construction Worker!"

Chiropractors are NOT construction workers for spines.  We are ELECTRICIANS for the body.  Natural forces are destructive, around us ALL the time and come in 3 different "flavors" (thoughts, traumas, toxins).  When theses natural forces are GREATER than the forces inside your body attempting to RESIST, ADAPT and MAINTAIN in balance/homeostasis then the system inside (nervous system) Subluxates -- or blows a fuse -- which then, in turn, causes less electrical flow from the brain to the tissue/organ. 

The job for chiropractors (electricians) is to remove the interference to the electrical flow and restore the communication so the WHOLE body can be as BRIGHT as possible. 

No offense to the construction workers out there and sorry for making light of political non-sense BUT I love being a self-employed, non-union ELECTRICIAN.  

Give your body the "right to work" with Chiropractic! ;) SMILE and have a LITTLE fun!

See you all this week!  Enjoy LIFE Subluxation-Free! 

Chad Schleiger, D.C.   

I know I haven't "blogged" in a while but after listening and reading the excellent, well-versed debates happening in the chiropractic profession on their pages I thought I'd share some of my opinion with you all and give you a "PRACTICAL" insight of why "I do" or "don't do" certain things... 

Essentially, the question is this: What do you tell a patient that does not want x-rays taken as a "pre-requisite" to an adjustment? 

Many chiropractors answering felt that x-rays are essential to giving an adjustment and I believe they are right if they "think" they are right.  In other words, if their chiropractic technique requires them to take x-rays then they need x-rays to deliver their "type" of adjustment.  They hang signs up in their office that say: "Why Chiropractic x-rays? To see is to know, not to see is to guess, and we will not guess with your health." 

I take issue with comments such as those.  There are plenty of techniques that do not "require" IONIZING RADIATION to make an adjustment as there are plenty of ways to determine if a subluxation exits.  Those of us not taking x-rays are not "guessing", we are using other scientific data gained subjectively and objectively by observation, palpation, range of motion, leg length, body language, movement, muscle testing, etc...to make a principled, specific, scientific chiropractic adjustment.  

Others who claim they are "not guessing" but still require x-rays put up signs to express the "safety" of x-rays that claim: "Chiropractic upper cervical x-rays = 0.22mrems, A flight from LA to Paris = 4.8mrems, dental x-rays = 910mrems, Apollo X moon flight = 480mrems, CAT scan =4,500 mrems, Barium enema study = 8,000mrems and radiation treatment for cancer = 6,000,000mrems." 

Any amount of radiation is NOT "safe", there are NO "safe" levels and we know that radiation/x-rays are cumulative over time -- and we were ALL taught that in chiropractic school.  

The notion that a chiropractic adjustment cannot be performed without x-rays is puzzling to me... 

Is palpation, range of motion, muscle testing, heat difference, posture, leg length, etc... not enough to determine if someone is "out of balance" and needs to be adjusted?? I know I'll make a lot of chiropractors upset who read this BUT does it really make "PRACTICAL" sense to have a "wellness doctor" use radiation as a pre-requisite to start "recovery to wellness care" and then have pre-determined dates to "re-radiate" (x-ray) to determine progress???

And if your answer to this question is "Yes, absolutely" then my advice to you is to make sure you pack up your portable x-ray machine on your next chiropractic mission trip to Honduras and x-ray every individual in that village before you put your hands on them.  And if you cannot find a portable x-ray machine or the airline doesn't allow you to take one then CANCEL your trip...


But you'll be missing out on witnessing children who have been locked in their own bodies, unable to speak, start talking.  You'll miss people suffering from chronic, debilitating pain get up and walk again without any symptoms... You'll miss miracle after miracle performed all by "laying your hands on the sick" or someone in need.  You'll miss what it means to give for the sake of giving, serve for the sake of serving and love for the sake of loving.  

You'll miss it... all because you wanted a "pre-requisite" for care so you can bill Medicare $256.  Because you went through a "third party" payer and attempted to enforce policy.... You missed it...