The ancients found that each season expresses itself in a different body system. This time of year we are transitioning from the winter or Water element into the spring or Wood element. In the winter the kidneys are emphasized and nurtured by the body. In the spring the energy starts to rise again, and the body goies through a growth spurt. The sinews are nurtured, the Liver is the organ of emphasis. The liver is responsible for moving energy cleanly through the body. If the Liver is overburdened we have problems moving the life energy or Qi' freely. As a result we can develop conditions that correspond to qi' stagnation. Allergies, hay fever, restlessness, anxiety or depression can all be manifestations of qi' stagnation.

This is a great time of the year to get your body tuned up with a maintance acupunture treatment to stay healthy and on top of life. If you are having symptoms of allergies, we have a fantastic approach to clearing allerigies called NAET, that works incredibley well to remove the symptoms of alleriges as well as the cause. If you or someone you know is suffering needlessly from allergies of any type, now is the perfect time to refer them for a consultation. For the next two weeks if they mention this article they will get their consultation for free, even if they aren't coming in for allergies. But this offer is good only for the next two weeks. It ends April 15th.

Enjoy the spring while celebrating better health.

My new book "Children of Promise" is now still at the printer. They have promised that I will have it in three weeks, or else.

We will let you know with a specific email as soon as it gets here. I will personalize and autograph each copy sold in the first week it gets here. Come and get it. Late Breaking News!!! Hot off the email, the book is promised to be here by the 10th of April. YOu can see the cover at the publishers web site at: http://www.skywardpublishing.com/ I look forward to your comments and feedback from the book. Please help me make it better and better.

The first evening has been rescheduled to give the printer time to finish the book. It is now scheduled for April 22nd at 7 pm in the Des Peres City Lodge at the southwest corner of Hwy 270 and Manchester road in Des Peres. We will have great tasting healthy snacks, samples of outstanding health products, meet great new friends who have similar interests in life as well as enjoy incredible information.

The physical body is a universe in and of itself. It is a miracle of form and function in every way. Just consider the brain. The human brain is estimated to contain 100 billion neurons. Because a typical neuron forms approximately 1,000 synaptic connections to other neurons, the total number of synapses in the brain is thought to be 100 trillion! Our brains are capable of nearly limitless function. Ponder for a moment the amazing complexity of the continuous process of regeneration. We have over 50 trillion cells. The human body is recreating itself more or less completely every year. That means you are replacing about 1.6 million cells every second until after a year nearly every cell in the body is new. Each cell keeps a perfect picture of the whole of you. That means that as the years pass your nose doesn't migrate to the side of your head your right leg gets shorter and the left longer, but you maintain the same appearance, basically. Yes certain body parts race to our ankles, but for the most part we look the same. The brain is in charge of managing this incredible operation. In spite of the fact that you are creating all that new tissue, you never fail to keep the heart beating on time, the kidneys continue to purify the fluids and retain the vital minerals you need for life and all the other organs perform their perfect dance of health. The bodies Ph stays in the same very narrow range. And this and mcuh much more is all controlled by the brain.

One study using a technology called fMRI, a machine that takes pictures of the body's rate of function, showed how amazing the nerve system really is. They took an fMRI of a lady's brain in a resting state. Then they asked her to lift her right leg and they took another fMRI of the brain while she did this. Next they measured the amount of brain energy it took to lift her leg. Then they took her in the other room and gave her a chiropractic adjustment and retook the fMRI as she lifted her leg again. This time her brain used only 1/20th of the energy to lift her leg as it used the first time she did it. A 20x savings in energy. That is efficiency. If you could get your car to conserve fuel at that pace you would get closer to 300 miles a gallon. Not bad. Boy would that cut back on your fuel bills. Imagine how much easier it is for the brain to process the 5 billion bits of information that are sent to it every second if you get a regular adjustment. Many patients report an unexpected increase in energy with regular chiropractic care (the first key). Is that smart or smart to get your spine adjusted regularly? I think it's unanimous, it is just plain smart.

The brain needs a lot of blood flow so you can distill those 5 billion messages down to only five thousand that you consciously act upon. Five thousand? Yes! Every second you process over Five thousand thoughts and act or react to them. Exercising daily, the second key, even if it is just a 20 minute walk, can make a huge impact on your health, on your brain, and on your posture. It strengthens postural muscle tone, and balances as well as builds the muscles that help you hold your head high. Ear above the shoulders, shoulders over the hips, and hips, knees and ankles aligned. It gets the blood flowing and heart pumping! This helps spread life giving nutrients to the body and oxygen to the cells. Every tissue needs abundant oxygen for healthy function. The bottom line is that if you take care of your body by exercising and making healthy food choices, you will not only feel better, but you will also think and perform better!

The third key will suprise you! The third key is..... self confidence. How do you see yourself? How much do you own what other people think of you? If what you think they think is important to you, then it will negatively affect yor posture and muscle tissue integrity. Such a view of life will increase stress hormones, and these increase insulin. Insulin increases fat production and aging. Aging accelerates muscle breakdown. Muscle breakdown makes you look like a shadow of your true self.

The fourth key is hydration. That means to drink enough water. How much is enough? Usually 4 ounces for every ten pounds of body weight. If you don't, the body gradually dries up. You would think that would make you thin....No way. It does the opposite. Our body starts to scavange fluid. This throws off the cleansing mechanisms in the body. You don't have enough water to wash your dishes. So through time they get dirtier and dirtier. If you think you can use soda or coffee as your beverage, wrong again. It just doesn't work. The body has to work too hard to extract the water from the liquid. No benefit. Good, healthy water consumption will strengthen your kidneys also. In acupunture we learn that the kidneys control the low back and the bones, yes that correlates to osteoporosis.

So to recap...Get a regular adjustment, not to ease pain but to improve function. If you are in pain each time you come in , you are missing much of the benefit. Second, exercise daily to keep the blood moving. Third, have a good accurate self opinion. And fourth, drink enough clean water to keep your body pliable, flexible and mobile. Straighten up those shoulders. That's better.

Childhood obesity is running rampid in the US. One study done at the University of Illinois Chicago estimated that obesity now reduces the average life expectancy by 4-9 months! Most schools have cut physical education programs for our children and have increased the amount of junk food and soft drinks made available to them. Already two thirds of American adults are overweight or obese and these numbers are not dropping. What happens when these thousands of obese children become adults? Daily exercise and a proper diet including all your fruits and veggies (if you haven't tried Greens First you may want to think about it now) will do wonders for your weight! Ask us about Green's First today!

Laughter can lead to a longer, happier life! Laughter benefits the heart as it stimulates the flow of blood and helps you feel less depressed. How many times have you laughed today? And don't you feel great after having giggled a bit? If you are having a rough day or feel a little stressed, just find something or someone to make you laugh....it is hard to be stressed while you are laughing!!!

Intention is the bridge between the emotional and the spiritual. That which occurs on the spiritual level can only be accessed by our intention. Emotional intensity or desire are not relevant when we are delving into the spiritual level of life. A pure and precise intention is the only key to open the doors to spiritual reality.

He who takes offense when offense is not intended is a fool. He who takes offense when offense is intended is a greater fool. Brigham Young

"If you come to the national tournament just to win, you'll lose," he said. "If you come to the national tournament to dominate in the pursuit of excellence, then you wrestle your best." Wrestler Greg Jones A 50-match winning streak. Two previous NCAA titles. A total of 10 takedowns scored against him. In four seasons. And more than 400 takedowns scored.

When we love life, we become loveable. Until we see the wonder in our life and it's surroundings we cannot feel nor give the kind of love that we need to develop our finest parts.

Thanks to Lori L. for this reminder. No plastic containers in the microwave. No plastic water bottles in the freezer. No plastic wrap in the microwave. Dr. Edward Fujimoto from Castle Hospital explains this health hazard. (He is the manager of the Wellness Program at the hospital.)  He says that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.  This applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxins into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Dioxins are carcinogens and highly toxic to the cells of our bodies. Instead, he recommends using glass, Corning Ware or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, without the dioxins. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad, but you don't know what's in the paper. It is just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. Microwaves save time, but use them wisely to get the most good and the least negative effects possible. No more plastic in the microwave. Now let's get out there and be healthy.