The Importance of Fun

My wife said the other day a profound statement to me: "We aren't as fun as we used to be." She is right. We don't schedule fun the way we did when we first met while in college. Then fun was the priority after homework. Now, even though we have a priority 'hierarchy' that is: God, Family, Chiropractic, fun doesn't always make it to our to-do list.

Last year I read a book by Gretchen Rubin (no relation) called The Happiness Project (you can find it at: http://www.happiness-project.com/). It was an awesomely simple book explaining how to put more happiness back in your life. One thing she mentioned was, as crazy as it sounds, to schedule happiness or fun in your day to day and week to week calenders. We did that for a while but when obligations get in the way, we take fun off the list first, don't we?

As a chiropractor, I realized how important chiropractic adjustments are, in combination with a great exercise program, good foundational nutrition, and a positive mental attitude. I think I've got to add fun to that list as well. Chiropractic, exercise, diet, PMA, and scheduling fun. How does that fit for you?
Please let me know at rubinchiropractic@gmail.com.

The Fear Economy and Why You Don't Have To Participate

The other day while driving, I saw a homeless person holding a sign that said, "Will pour concrete for food." He was standing about a block away from a very large church parking lot, right at the time that the service had ended. The street was flooded with exiting vehicles. I took note that he didn't choose one of the smaller places of worship around here...he chose one of the biggest. Here is the question: If he is that bright that he could figure out all the details to be at the right place at the right time, then how come he doesn't use those skills to get a job?

It is easy to get caught up in the fear-mongering that is going on right now, as the stock market tumbles yet another day. In the example above, the homeless man was not toting a sign proclaiming, "The end of the world is near," but in essence, both signs were true. The end of the world was near, FOR THAT HOMELESS PERSON. And that is the lesson in all of this stock market crashing. It is NOT the END OF THE WORLD as we know it. It does not really matter IN THE LONG RUN whether the USA has a triple star rating or double plus star rating. It only matters IF YOU MAKE IT MATTER. What really matters in life is not what happens to us, but our reactions to what happens to us.

The law of attraction
There is a law that the universe operates by. If you have read any self-help books lately or saw the movie, The Secret, you have heard of the Law of Attraction. It basically states that, "What you think about, comes about." Or, my favorite way of saying it, "If you think about what you want, then you will attract more of what you want." However, the corollary is true: "If you think about what you DON'T WANT, then you will get more of what you DON'T WANT." Unfortunately, the law works BOTH WAYS.

During this time of financial change, let all the uproar occur around you. Divorce yourself from becoming attached to the news or the stock reports. Another great old saying applies: "This too shall pass." Let it pass. As it is written in the Bhagavad Gita, detaching from expectations is one of the keys to a happier life. Dr. Sid Williams always told us to: "Give for the sake of giving, love for the sake of loving, serve for the sake of serving, with NO EXPECTATIONS OF RETURN." Go out there and do whatever you do, no matter what job you have, and do it to the best of your ability, with no expectations of renumeration. You may argue and think, "Things like this shouldn't be happening." But as Byron Katie says, you cannot argue with reality. What is,is. Sure, things like this SHOULDN'T happen, but if they did, then apparently they were meant to happen.

The stock market always goes up and down. That's just what it does. Expect it. Yes, it is super volatile now, but if you can accept it, then you can move past the fear. Sure, there may be some people who were about to retire and lost a big chunk of their life savings. But even that is not the end of the world, UNLESS you make it that way. Think about what you want, NOT what you don't want. Don't be like the homeless guy who is smart enough to stake out the perfect parking lot, but isn't ready to commit to working the law of attraction in his favor.

Think about what you want. Over and over again. Focus on the good all around you. Believe you can do it, and you can. As FDR said, "The only thing to fear, is fear itself." Would love to see your comments. Email us at rubinchiropractic@gmail.com, or comment at www.theadjustment.com.

The New Drugless Revolution

There's a different way to live. You don't have to live the life of sickness but you do have to take proactive action steps toward health. Patients are coming to our chiropractic office stating "I don't want to be on these painkillers anymore", or "Johnny has had 4 rounds of antibiotics in the last 6 months and I HATE doing that to him." People are tired of relying on this pill or that pill for the quick fix. They are becoming patients not only to feel better in the short run but to LIVE BETTER in the long run. A 50 year old came in today and said, "I am proud that I am not taking any drugs at all at age 50." That's the way it SHOULD be. But we know the stats.
Our son has NEVER had any drugs in his body, not even a baby Tylenol. How many 16 year olds can say that? And my wife and I have not taken any drugs, whether prescribed or over the counter, since 1992. Almost 20 years drug free. Contrast that with these stats: almost 50% of Americans are taking at least 1 drug/day, and 25-30% of US children are taking drugs daily for chronic conditions. The cost to Americans per year is $300 billion, which is $3,000,000,000 (National Center for Health Statistics).
It's time to take a stand. Yes, drugs work great in emergencies and in chronic situations. But that's NOT what most drugs are being taken for. Top drugs such as cholesterol drugs (which may be diet related), antidepressants (which may be stress related), stomach drugs (which may be diet and stress related), and antibiotics (which may be diet and lifestyle related) can be reduced overnight if more people band together and just say no. We need to start a New Drugless Revolution. We need to take action steps so that a 50 year old not taking any drugs is normal not outstanding. Let us know what you think at rubinchiropractic@gmail.com.

Great books to read over the summer

 

Summer is my favorite time to catch up on all the books you've wanted to read but haven't been able to get to. Over the years my wife and I have been exposed to some awesome, life changing books. Some of them are novels, others non-fiction, but all of them changed the way we look at things. Most of them are available in your local libraries or Amazon will have inexpensive used copies.

Way of Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
7 Habits of Highly Effective People/7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen Covey
Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan
Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason
The Greatest Salesman in the World/ The Greatest Miracle in the World by Og Mandino
Jonathon Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
The Bigness of the Fellow Within by BJ Palmer
There is a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem by Wayne Dyer
Who moved my cheese? By Spencer Johnson, MD
Diet for a New America by John Robbins
How to Talk so Kids will Listen & Listen so Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Anatomy of an Illness by Norman Cousins
Love, Medicine & Miracles by Bernie Siegel, MD
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
Don’t Eat This Book by Morgan Spurlock
Power vs Force by David Hawkins, MD, PhD
Body For Life by Bill Phillips
Are You the Doctor, Doctor? By Fred Barge, DC
The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
The 4 Hour Work Week and The 4 Hour Body, Tim Ferriss
Good to Great, Jim Rollins

Please let me know which ones you like or if you have other favorites.
Email at rubinchiropractic@gmail.com

Forgive and Forget: Events that changed the course of chiropractic

The birth of anything, be it a baby or a profession, is called labor for a reason. It is hard work, yet the effort makes the ‘blood, sweat and tears’ worth the price paid. The birth of chiropractic is no exception to this rule, and even though today we have past our hundred and twelfth birthday, we are still ‘babes in the woods’ in terms of the relative age of our profession compared to other healing arts.

In the first half of this article, we will briefly mention some of the most influential ‘growing pains’ in chiropractic, from its discovery to present day, and then conclude with a discussion on how these events might still be holding the profession back, and how we might be able to forgive and move on.

7 Events that Changed Chiropractic History

It has been said that one of the biggest mistakes the Palmer’s made was to start a profession without having all their facts lined up. But if that was the case, if they had waited for science to prove how DD Palmer had helped Harvey Lillard regain his hearing, then we might still be waiting for the profession to get started.

It didn’t take long after the discovery in 1895 for two actions to happen. The first event was the decision to formally teach this new principle. This occurred in 1896, with the establishment of the Palmer Chiropractic School and Infirmary by DD Palmer. The second inevitable event was the introduction of competitive chiropractic colleges. As early as 1901, Solon Langworthy, an early Palmer graduate, started the first competitive chiropractic school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, later to be called the American School of Chiropractic. Half a dozen other schools opened up in the next few years, including, most notably, the National College of Chiropractic in Chicago (founded by John Howard in 1907) and the DD Palmer College of Chiropractic in Portland, Oregon, which began in 1908 (1).

Since each early chiropractic school was founded by either former students or faculty members of Palmer, tensions soared, especially evidenced in DD Palmer’s 1910 Chiropractic Textbook. This 1000+ page tome, aside from having the foundational pillars of chiropractic within its pages, also contained hundreds of pages of DD Palmer’s lashing out at various other chiropractors who he argued were teaching chiropractic erroneously (2). Hence, within the first 15 years of our profession, it was already divided.

BJ, who had graduated and taken over the Palmer school in 1902 (1), introduced X ray into the school’s curriculum in 1910. This caused a huge schism in chiropractic. Because of this, Joy Loban and other former faculty started the Universal Chiropractic College that same year, down the road from the Palmer school in Davenport, Iowa. (3). More bricks in the wall (accompanied by further faculty exiting) occurred when BJ Palmer introduced the neurocalometer in 1923 and when he announced the HIO technique in 1930 (4).

Chiropractic fought hard for third party insurance payment from 1965 until 1972, when chiropractic was included, although in limited form, in the Medicare bill (5). Inclusion into medicare delighted some DC’s but infuriated others, who said the language that forced us to adjust subluxations only seen on x-rays was too restrictive. In 1987, the Chester Wilk vs. the AMA case made history. After 11 grueling years, a US District Court judge ruled against the AMA, stating that the American Medical Association was guilty as charged of trying to eliminate chiropractic. This landmark antitrust case forced the AMA in an injunction to cease restricting the association of chiropractors and medical doctors and to stop restricting the growth of chiropractic and its associated schools.

Finally, in October of 2002, Life University, at the time the largest chiropractic school in the world, lost its accreditation in a ruling by the CCE. Although by February of 2003, a retroactive injunction restored Life’s accreditation back through the day it had lost it, the damage had been done and the school went from an enrollment of over 3000 DC students to less than 1000.

How do we forgive and move on?

Forgiveness should be a healing journey. However, if we are holding on to old “baggage,” it is difficult to let go. Forgiveness does not mean you need to approve of past behaviors or experiences you have gone through. Grief and mourning are a natural response to past loss and injustices. Grief is a normal reaction to loss and mourning is an outward expression of grief typically utilizing rituals.

To forgive, we must first decide to make a change. When we identify the pain that a grudge or hard feelings create, we must realize they are emotionally, physically, and spiritually draining. Burying memories of hurt and anger does not allow them to release; they just manifest in other ways. Lack of forgiveness causes distress to the body and eventually leads to dis-ease. Grudges can crowd our positive viewpoint on our world. Studies have shown that anger can exacerbate the disease process. According to the Harvard Women’s health Watch, holding a grudge has shown to mimic the way the body responds to actual stressors through muscle tension, higher blood pressure and increased sweating. Studies have reported that people who releasing their stress by ‘talking it out’ display greater improvement.

The 7 pivotal chiropractic events, as mentioned above, have lead to a lack of trust across the profession. These feelings of betrayal can lead to difficulty in future relationships and interactions. We can learn from the past if we put it into perspective to understand the lessons that have been taught, even if they are at first perceived as negative. We must understand that we can not always control events around us.

For instance, BJ Palmer brought x-ray into his chiropractic school before anyone knew much about it. Many of the Palmer faculty was outraged at BJ’s insistence on bringing x-ray to the school, wondering why he would forsake palpation and clinical experience over some crazy scientific invention that they were sure was just a passing phase. Back then, the introduction of x-ray was so radical that it probably looked threatening to the fledging profession. Add to that BJ’s demanding personality, and it isn’t unfathomable to understand why Joy Loban and other faculty stormed out of Palmer’s hallway’s forever. Chiropractic was only 15 years old then! If we consider that the father of medicine, Hippocrates, was born in 460 BC, almost 2500 years ago, it is clear how chiropractic was and still is in its toddler stages. Aren’t most toddlers a bit confused by paradigm shifting new ideas?

That old saying, however, holds true: hindsight is always 20/20. Where would chiropractic be without x-ray in the 21st century? It is probably one of the most important diagnostic tools at our avail, is taught in every chiropractic school, and has been for years. BJ saw the future in that decision; even the neurocalometer (back then called the neuro-calamity by its naysayers) was his precursor to the modern surface EMG’s as the HIO technique was the birth of specific adjusting now seen in modern chiropractic techniques such as Activator, CBP, and the many derivations of Upper Cervical Technique.

Another example is the rise, fall and subsequent rebirth of Life University. We arrived as faculty on the Life University campus in the Spring Quarter, 2001. Little did we know that only a few quarters later, Fall 2001, a chain of events with the CCE would nearly drive Life University to its knees. Within one year we watched with horror not only the events of 9/11 but the devastation of what was when we arrived a booming chiropractic school. Class sizes went from over 200 to 30 or 40 students tops. We knew, in early 2004, that without some divine intervention, something cataclysmic was going to happen, not just to the University, but to the profession as well.

Enter stage left: Dr. Guy Riekeman. From his arrival in Spring 2004 until the writing of this article in late 2007, we have witnessed the turn-around of the century. Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, enrollment at Life University has increased to over 1000 DC students, coupled with a new and grander vision that will make LU not just the leading chiropractic school but also a cutting edge university poised to take on the problems confronting the 21st century and beyond. Who would have imagined this result in 2002 when the CCE yanked Life’s accreditation? Obviously, things do happen for a reason.

How do we practice and learn forgiveness for ourselves?

The following are some simple suggestions on how to bring forgiveness into your life and master the skills that can allow for a smoother journey:

Reminiscing about the positives of a situation
Journal writing to express your feelings and thoughts
Share your feelings with others
Support groups to help you not feel alone in your experiences
Work on your relationships
Work through pain of loss
Heal past wounds to go on to future
Make a list/letter of what and who you need to forgive, use symbolic closure (i.e. burn, bury or mail the letter)
Visualize what it would look like when you let go of the hurt/anger
Forgiveness quotes/affirmations (ie, Everything happens for a reason, Let go and let God)
Create a forgiveness calendar
Read motivational books and listen to inspirational tapes
Go to chiropractic and motivational seminars


Move to the future

Chiropractors have a unique history and should be celebrating the accomplishments achieved over the past 100+ years. However, it is also a time for letting go and moving forward. As a profession, it is important to bring forgiveness as a gift to all your patients that participate and support Chiropractic. Forgiveness will allow you to be a better server and giver and has the ability to change the face of a healing art for generations to come. We have weathered every storm that has come our way. Let’s move positively in the direction of our dreams, together, forgiving our past transgressions, propelling us towards a healthier human race for posterity.

Article written by Drs. Drew and Lisa Rubin

References

1. Senzon, Simon A. The Secret History of Chiropractic. PhilosophyOfChiropractic.com, Asheville, NC, 2005: 168-184.
2. Palmer, DD. The Chiropractic Textbook. Portland Printing House, Portland, Oregon, 1910.
3. History of the Universal Chiropractic College history, found at: http://www.chiro.org/Plus/History/navigate.html.
4. Palmer, BJ. The Subluxation Specific, The Adjustment Specific. Palmer School of Chiropractic Printing Press, 1934.
5. Chiropractic on the Medicare Chopping Block, Dynamic Chiropractic
November 2, 1998, Volume 16, Issue 23, found at: http://www.chiroweb.com/archives/16/23/01.html
6. The Chiropractic Antirust Suit: Wilk vs AMA, found at: http://www.chiro.org/Wilk
7. Life gets preliminary injunction. Dynamic Chiropractic, Mar 10, 2003. Found at:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3987/is_200303/ai_n9171494
8. Harvard Women’s Health Watch, Harvard Health Publications. January 2007. Found at:www.health.harvard.edu.

Why massage works so well with Chiropractic

Prenatal Massage
Prenatal massage is specifically tailored for the expected Mother’s needs. Swedish massage is recommended during pregnancy because it addresses many common discomforts associated with the skeletal and circulatory changes of the mother-to-be. Massage can be incorporated into routine prenatal care as an emotional and physical health supplement proven to improve pregnancy outcome and maternal health.

Potential benefits of Prenatal Massage include:
• Hormone regulation
• Reduced sciatic nerve pain
• Reduced back and joint pain
• Improved circulation
• Reduced edema/swelling
• Reduced muscle tension and headaches
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• Improved oxygenation of soft tissues and muscles
• Better sleep!

Remember, relaxation is one of the keys to labor and delivery!

Postnatal Massage
As a new mom, you need to take care of yourself while caring for your newborn. Postnatal massage is one of the best ways to do that! It not only gives you nurturing and emotional support to help you gain back your lost energy, but also helps the body return to its condition before pregnancy.
When to Start Postnatal Massage

For mothers who delivered naturally or without complications, they can start their postnatal massage as soon as they are comfortable and ready. For caesarean delivery, it is best to wait at least 2 weeks after giving birth or when the incision is properly healed before starting postnatal massage sessions.

You are even welcome to nurse your infant while you receive a massage in a side lying position. Bringing your baby with you eliminates the need for childcare and makes you feel less anxious about leaving your newborn. Postpartum massage is a great way to enhance your bonding experience and attachment to your baby.

Massage for All Moms
It is hard work being a mom. Picking the baby up out of the crib, putting them in car seats (plus the shear weight of baby and car seat), holding children on your hips, nursing or bottle feeding the baby… all of this wear and tear on your spine and your muscles adds up to tremendous muscular tension. This is especially evident in tight shoulders and sore lower back muscles. Regular massages are a great idea to relieve some of the built up tension in and around the spine, which not only helps you, but helps the kids as well, since you will be feeling better and hence able to accomplish more. Sign up for your massage today…

Jamie Baumhardt, LMT, NMT at Rubin Family Chiropractic at 770-937-6300

What Are You Waiting For?

My mother passed away from colon cancer in 2006 and my dad died from Alzheimer's three years earlier. It was a crushing blow to the family, especially for me, as an only child. In the last 8 years, Lisa and I have lost 6 close relatives to heart disease, cancer and diabetes, some of the nation's top killers. So my wife and I went on a quest. Are we doing enough, even with all the good health choices we currently make?

We originally made a decision to become vegetarians, about 16 years ago, because of a patient's husband who died of a heart attack one month after he retired. My patient said to me to be sure to live life to its fullest because you never know when it will be taken away. My wife and I decided after this conversation with my patient that if we ever got "sick", we would do a whole list of alternative life-style changes. Then we realized, "What are we waiting for?"

We started adding more health related practices to our life. We became strict vegetarians (no meat or milk, very limited sugar & white flour, no preservatives or additives), took no drugs of any kind, began exercising a minimum of 5 days a week, and of course, continued our weekly chiropractic adjustments.

We closely examined what my parents did, to make sure we were not doing what they did. Research shows that even if you have a genetic predisposition, you’ve got to do something to turn on the ‘bad’ genes. Hence if you do what your parents or siblings or aunts did, you’ll get what they got. Our goal was NOT to get what they got. My mom & dad never exercised and had a horrible diet. Yet they always took handfuls of vitamins every day since I was kid, because they thought that vitamins alone prevented cancer. Unfortunately that is not the case. One cannot ignore the triune of health (chiropractic, diet, and exercise), and expect vitamins to be the answer to poor diet and lack of exercise.

Your health grows the way a bank account does; the more deposits you put in, the more your "health" account grows. Your goal should be to find more ways to make health deposits to 'diversify' your portfolio, with Chiropractic as your foundation. Most of America waits for there to be a problem with their health, and then they scramble to fix it. Our thought is to get your health to an awesome place and then keep it there. Why wait for your body to fall apart until you fix it. You can always become healthier. You can always grow your health bank account. Aim to have a million dollar health portfolio rather than an overdrawn health plan. So here is the key question: What are the one or two things that are you neglecting in your life? If you can fix those items you are neglecting, with habits of daily discipline, watch your health account balance soar! What are you waiting for?

How Your Child Can be the Healthiest One at School

Our children are among the sickest in the top 100 industrialized countries of the world. The United States spends over $2 TRILLION per year (that’s $2,000,000,000,000, or 2 with 12 zero’s) on health care! That’s $100 BILLION more than in 1990.

Asthma is one of the fastest growing childhood problems. Ear infections run rampant through our pre-schools and elementary schools. Ritalin is being given to over 3 million boys under 10 years old every day for hyperactivity, and Prozac is being prescribed to children under 5 at ever increasing rates. Allergies are plaguing more and more of our kids today, with shots and Claritin becoming regular routines for millions of youngsters. Obviously, the United States spending more money on our health care is not producing a healthier society, and especially not producing healthier kids? What do we as parents do?

What health specialty are more and more parents turning to for relief of their issues and their children’s problems? Where did over 600 million Americans go to in 2004 for help with their health? The answer might surprise you: Chiropractic. Yes, we all know that most adults (over 80%) who go to chiropractors first visit this kind of specialist for lower back pain, headaches, whiplash or other injuries. But many of these adults learn something very unexpected about their new chiropractic lifestyle:

1. Since everybody has a spine, including their children, (only it’s a lot smaller), it is very important to have their kids spines checked because if the parent has a spinal problem, it’s highly likely that their kids may inherit it!

2. The nerve system does a whole lot more than control whether you feel pain (which is the most obvious reason why an adult goes to see a chiropractor). As a matter of fact, only 15% of the nerves’ function is to control whether or not you feel pain. The other 85% of the nerves’ function is to control the organs, the muscles, your balance, and YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM! That’s right. Your immune system, and as a parent, having a child with a healthy immune system can have a much different impact on your life than having a child who is sick every other week. Let’s investigate this impact:

Money A sick child costs you a tremendous amount of money since not only are you paying for doctor’s visits, but for prescription and non prescription drugs, and their side effects as well. A study recently done and mentioned in the Ladies Home Journal states that the average American spends over $4000 per person on their health per year. Hence an average family of husband, wife, and 2 kids spends over $16,000 per year on their health. All that money isn’t keeping them healthy, it’s spent trying to restore health. Health is not something you wait to find once you lose it. Rather it’s something you hold onto dearly everyday once you have it, so you’ll always have it.

Time A sick child costs you time. Time off of work, time for the child being out of school. This adds up to increase financial burdens too, since if your child can’t get to school, you can’t go to work, and that costs you your paycheck

The solution: If all the kids were healthier, the day care centers and schools would have healthier kids in them. Parents would take less time off of work. Parents could take all the money they used to spend on prescriptions and invest it. But how do we get our children healthy? Chiropractic care to first boost their immune system to normal, then to keep their immune system at peak performance so that they stay healthy.

Your health and the health of your children should be treated like a bank account. If you want your money to grow, you’ve got to keep on putting money in the bank. Then when you need to write a check, you’ve got money waiting there for you. Same thing with your health bank account. If you want to be healthy, you have got to do something for your health every day, and every week, to keep that precious commodity.

Many parents around the country are turning to chiropractic care not just for themselves, but for their kids too. The spine is the body’s foundation. If your child’s foundation is weak and they suffer from earaches, allergies, or asthma, you might want to try something different. Chiropractic unlocks the body’s ability to heal itself for both adults and kids alike. Add that benefits to savings of time and money, and you have an alternative for taking care of your family.

Chiropractic Principles are NOT just for Chiropractors! By Dr. Lisa Rubin, Ph.D.

As a psychologist, people walk in my office everyday with emotional pain and suffering which changes their physiology and often manifests into physical symptomatology. Everyone has a story, a little box with the lid locked tight, a closed door slammed shut and bolted, a ball and chain that gets thrown off balance, everyday, every night, all the time. It is so important to look at the whole person. Listen to them and watch their body language and how they say what they say. People give you incredible clues into their lives, but first you must open your eyes and ears just a little more, each time you see them. For instance, have you ever sat with an individual that felt so lost and out of touch with universal intelligence that they wanted to hurt himself/herself of someone else? How do you tenderly touch their innate? Help them find light in the darkness. Listen. Guide. Teach gently the priceless gifts that chiropractic philosophy has taught me and my family over the years.

To be responsible for someone else’s life is a huge responsibility, isn’t it? With that responsibility comes extra hours away from your family, sleepless nights of tossing and turning. Thoughts go through one’s mind, asking, “Did I do the right thing?” “Is the patient ok?” “Should I have made a different choice?” “Could I have done more, not just for their physical pain but for emotional suffering as well?” That loud voice gets even louder, and it takes every ounce of energy to hear that ‘wee small voice’. To remove the ego, focus on the individual and know you are not walking in this journey alone.

So you see, many of the chiropractic principles apply not just to chiropractic; they are timeless laws that apply to all mankind, to every profession and person, young or old. As a species, we must celebrate our uniqueness, and realize that with each one of us, our effects are far reaching, far more than you will ever know.

What's Love Got To Do With It? 5 Questions About Love for You & Your Spouse

1. How did you meet and when?

Lisa: Drew and I met 23 years ago when he was in Chiropractic school at Life and I was at Emory University. Drew and his friends would come to the medical school library at Emory to study. I would study at the med library because it was across the street from my dorm. We were introduced by Drew's friend and would all go out to eat for study breaks. Drew and I were friends for 4 months before we ever dated. Drew asked me out on our first date on February 6th and we went to a dance club. We spent most of the night talking for hours learning about each other. Our lives changed from that night on.

Drew: It was September 1987. Life library was maybe ¼ the size it is now, with few books and fewer places to sit. My friend and I had this crazy idea that maybe if we went far enough away from our apartments to not easily make it back home to nap or eat, we could get a lot of work done. Little did I know studying at the Emory Med School library would be so life-changing. After I met her, every time I was at the library I would go to the water fountain a thousand times just so I could stop at her table and briefly chat with her. She was just so fun to talk to. Still is, 20 + years later.

2. You and your spouse both have the commonality of working or studying at Life University. How does it feel to have that in common?

Lisa: Drew & I, early on, decided we wanted to work together on our mission of helping others and promoting health. We created a plan to design our life. Here we are 20+ years later sharing a location for our private practice and working at Life University together. I love the energy at Life U and the ability to share the philosophy, vitalism, chiropractic and special people with my husband. How many people can say that they work in the same location and love being together everyday? We also have the ability to have our son present with us. He is currently in high school and at Life U with dual enrollment. Our son comes to seminars and events with us. My husband and I always try to meet for a kiss or a quick hello on campus, just to share our love for each other.

Drew: We are extraordinarily blessed. Few couples get to share their work life with each other, let alone being passionate about what they do. We both adore chiropractic, and still after this many years of marriage plot and scheme to find more ways to spend time with each other. Being at Life gives us the best of both worlds. We get to do something we love and believe in while spending some extra time with each other. It must look funny to others…we are constantly texting back and forth, trying to coordinate where we are so we can grab a hug.

3. What strengthens your marriage?

Lisa: We base our love on the following path: G-d, family, chiropractic. This foundation helps us decide which decisions are right for us as a couple. Our marriage is based on love, trust, compassion, philosophy and positivity. The journey is one we share together every step of the way. It is amazing to be more in love today after almost 20 years of marriage. We honor and cherish each other daily and constantly work on our relationship. We do everything together from the moment we wake up with a ritual of stating our intention for the day, reading, prayer, working out, making breakfast, listening to motivational tapes, texting throughout the day and always connecting and sharing our day with each other. Every day is a blessing and miracle we get to spend together.

Drew: The bedrock of a successful marriage is honesty and integrity. There is no substitute for these characteristics. Years ago, everyone told us that we’d stop holding hands and showing other displays of affection once the ‘honeymoon’ period is over. We have set out to prove them all wrong. Another key attribute is getting rid of the concept of ‘balance.’ There is no such thing. It’s always 100%-100%. You can’t give 50% to something and expect the kind of results that only 100% can give you. Add to these things lots of laughter, smiles, humor, and don’t forget hugs.

4. What kinds of things do you like to do together as a couple?

Lisa: Most of all, Drew and I like to spend time together. We love to go for walks in nature, go to waterfalls, and roller blade together. We love to watch a thought provoking movie or go to a seminar that challenges our thought process so we can discuss it. Drew and I love talking. We focus on our goals, our vision and our purpose. I love when we sit in front of our fireplace or go in our hot tub together. How many people can say they love being with their significant others and are always trying to find ways to spend more time together?

Drew: We love challenging each other. We try to find things to bring us to higher levels of awareness. Whether it is going to a Life U basketball or rugby game, listening to Jim Rohn or Zig Ziglar audio tapes, reading books like “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” or “The Way of the Peaceful Warrior”, or watching movies like “Defiance” or “I-Robot”, we always find a way to bring chiropractic philosophy into the mix. We have this idea that “everything matters”, so we try to really plan whatever we do to really matter. My favorite time spent with Lisa is a tie between going to some really awesome seminar and talking for hours about it, versus going to an incredibly gorgeous place out in nature like Sedona, and talking about that for hours too.


5. What is the most challenging thing about being married?

Lisa: The most challenging thing about being married is having to be ‘an adult’. It is much more fun to be giddy and laugh. Responsibility from the outside world makes it difficult to have the quantity of time with each other that we would like. Relationships are a work in progress. Our challenges, when handled correctly, help us learn from our mistakes and become the best people we can be. We try to make every minute count when we are together. We have to work harder today to keep our relationship energized and exciting. Falling in love is easy; staying in love is a constant work in progress. We have tried to master the secret to an exceptional and incredible loving relationship that is more powerful today than it was 20+ years ago.

Drew: Clearly the hardest thing we have to deal with is time. Quality has to make up for quantity. When we first started dating, while Lisa was at Emory and I was at Life, time seemed so endless, so eternal. Now with both of us working at Life U and having private practices and being parents and playing sports and all the other stuff involved, time really has been whittled down. I have taken lately to a quantum view of time. Time can be Newtonian, like 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour. Or time can be Quantum, like when you spend an hour doing something you truly enjoy with someone you love, and it is described as “time flying.’ Contrast this with sitting in a boring meeting and in the same 60 minutes is described as “time drags.” It is the same amount of time, just a different use of it. So we try to maximize our time together. Make it count. ‘Cause everything matters!


Ask these questions of you and your spouse, write down the answers, and then read them to each other. This simple exercise gave us 2 hours of awesome conversation and lots of good feelings. Try it and tell us what you think!

Adapted from the February “Love at Life” newsletter, Life University, Marietta GA

Life Change Through Saying ‘No’ By Dr. Lisa Rubin

I began my health quest about 23 years ago, when my husband and I first met. As a chiropractic student at Life University, he started sharing a whole new world of health I had never heard of before. I received chiropractic adjustments and began giving up dairy products and red meat. Next went all dairy products. Then I began to incorporate organic products. I read labels and started going to health food stores. Eventually, I consumed no processed sugar, no caffeine, no chocolate, no white flour, no preservatives, chemicals, and the list goes on. The more I gave up of the “old” and added more of the “new,” the better I felt. I also realized how other choices in my life began to change. I tried to get rid of negative input that was in my life: no more TV; no newspapers; no radio; and no magazines. I no longer took medication of any kind. I started letting my body heal itself. The body heals by removing interference that is in its way. This interference may come in many different forms: from the nervous system, or from chemical, emotional, spiritual, or even environmental factors.
I received a lot of pressure from my family and friends about my new lifestyle which increased when my husband and I decided to have a homebirth. All “*#@&!” broke loose. My family was in fear of what could go wrong as opposed to what could go right. Of course I knew that their concern was for my safety. I acknowledged their worries, explained my side of the story and showed them that I was unbending in my choices, but that I was open to conversation about those choices. This was very difficult for people to understand. The homebirth was magical.
As my son has grown, the choices have become easier; however, the resistance increased temporarily. Some of our alternative health and life choices included: no vaccinations, no drugs, nursing on demand until my son decided to wean himself, a family bed, vegetarian diet, attachment parenting, home schooling, etc. Some people comment that “You look normal, buy you just don’t do anything like anyone I know.” I take that as a compliment. I don’t want to be like anyone else. I don’t want my son to feel pressure to be like all the others. If we show our children it is okay to step outside the box and look at life differently, maybe we can begin to contribute to a healthier more positive outlook on life in the next generation.
Now the resistance is minimal. Our son is almost 16, and is taller and healthier than all his cousins. Many in our extended family are adopting or at the very least taking a deeper look at our health choices. All those “No’s” across all those years has made a lot of “Yes’es.” So start small. Start by saying no to what you don’t want anymore, and by saying yes to what you do want. Then move forward in the direction of your dreams.

Dr. Lisa Rubin, Clinical Psychologist, specializes in natural parenting, motivation, and transformation. She sees clients individually, hold workshops, and lectures in the community. Call 770-937-6300, or email her at lisa.rubin2@gmail.com

A Better Way To Live

Sometimes, just when we think we haven’t got a clue as to how things are going to work out, innate provides. Have you ever examined your life as it zigs and zags, wondering, “how did I get here?” I don’t mean physically in the place where you are sitting or standing or sleeping, but here at the place where you are spiritually and emotionally and healthfully. How did you get here?

Innate has been on the job. How did you find your occupation, your mate, your first client, your home? How did all this happen? Some people think life is a series of coincidences, or that they are being pulled around in life by a force called fate. They show up and whatever happen to then just, well, happens.

That’s not the philosophy BJ Palmer, the developer of chiropractic, lived by. He practiced an art of connectedness to source that emanates through his writing, which is affectionately known as the Green Books. BJ recognized the power of becoming one with this source, the fountain of all love, creativity, and abundance that exists in the universe. “Get the big idea..all else follows” was not solely based on the idea of chiropractic as ‘the big idea.’ It was really about reconnecting to innate. He wished us to understand that, if we can free up our innate intelligence and our ability to talk to the ‘wee small voice inside,’ then we will be lead by this intelligence to all the right people, places and things in our life, at the perfect time.

People are coming to my chiropractic office to learn this, to be a part of something bigger than fixing a backache. They are searching us out not for simple pain relief but for another way, a better way to live.

There are thousands of families and individuals in chiropractic practices who have caught the idea that there is a different way to live life altogether, one at which they are at 100% of their potential, all the time, subluxation-free. Women have better pregnancies and quicker labors while under regular chiropractic care, benefiting both them and their newborns. Children live healthier lives with less ear infections, asthma, allergies, and chronic illness than their peers. Adults live more active lives playing sports and running around after their 2.5 kids with chiropractic care on their side. I even watched my father pass away quietly, without fear or pain, in his sleep, because with chiropractic on is side, there’s even a different way out of this earthly plane. There’s a different way into this world, there’s a different way to live, and there’s a different was out.

Innate is on the job. Look around you when spring begins. The flowers will pop up and the buds will sprout on the tress. How did they get there? Yes, you can argue that someone planted them, or that a seed somehow managed to find its way into the soil, but I believe in a divine intervention for everything. There are no coincidences, just lessons, teaching us daily, ever moving us toward the source of all creation. This entire universe was created by what science calls a big bang, in which all the matter of the universe stemmed from. If that is true, and we are created from energy, that means all of ‘this’ came from the nothingness into the somethingness in a millisecond of intention. That would mean, if you want to wax really into philosophy, that all of the energy contained in our bodies dates from the very moment of the creation of the universe (as Dr. Wayne Dyer says)!

The abundance of the universe is ours to connect to, if we so desire. How? Listen to the wee small voice. Get the big idea. Reconnect to the majesty of this grand intelligence. Feel the power of the entire universe in your fingertips. Transfer that power to others, through your thoughts, words and deeds. Live an innate life. Chiropractic can show you how. Email us at rubinchiropractic@gmail.com.

Can you imagine getting your tooth drilled without Novocaine?

I had to go the dentist to check out what to do for 2 cracked fillings. This always makes me nervous, since my teeth and gums are very sensitive, even when merely having my teeth cleaned.

Bad news. Not only were my fillings cracked, but also the dentist informed me that decay had developed underneath. The answer may be appear very simple: get a shot of Novocaine, or use nitrous oxide/laughing gas, and get the teeth fixed. However, over the last ten years, I have not had any drugs in my body of any kind, so what choices do I have now? I began to ask myself, “Can I do this without any anesthetic?” I wasn’t sure. I tried convincing myself that this is an invasive, minor surgical procedure and therefore have the right to use Novocaine IN THIS SITUATION, just to be somewhat comfortable. But my own mind wouldn’t let me get off that easily. I had a homebirth with no drugs and intervention. Surely, I could have 2 little teeth drilled if I could get a 7 pound 6 ounce baby out of my body. The debate in my mind lasted for three months as I investigated what dentist to use, what techniques were important, what substances should be used in the filling, what supplements and herbs should be used before, during and after treatment to help with detoxifying and strengthening my body.

I finally decided to go with my local dentist. Even though he is not really “holistic”, he has always been totally respectful to myself and my family with our alternative choices. No x-rays? OK. No Fluoride? OK. He respects our differences of opinion. The main deciding factor was that my 8-year-old son was totally at ease in his office and loves going to the dentist.

I knew that I could trust this dentist and he had agreed to do the filling with no Novocaine and using a non-mercury based filling without hesitation. The next decision I had to make was what supplementation I should use. I began taking garlic and vitamin C regularly for two weeks before my scheduled appointment. I am not a big user of supplements so I try to stick to the basics only. I went to our local health food store, Natural Marketplace, and spoke to David, the owner, who I also trusted. He told me his wife had also done the same type of procedure and used clove oil on her gums to naturally anesthetize the area, and used Bach’s ‘Rescue Remedy’ cream on the outside of her jaws on her face before and after the drilling. He also gave other suggestions (which I did not need to use), but included arnica cream to rub onto to one’s face to prevent swelling, soreness, and any black and blue marks (none of which I experienced). David also stated that their were homeopathic remedies that could be used if one experienced any toxic side effects due to the release of mercury gases form my old fillings (i.e. fatigue, moodiness, depression, etc.). Luckily, none of those effects came my way.

I began to use specific visualization techniques such as ‘seeing’ how I would look in the dentist chair, while he was drilling my teeth, in a state of calmness and experiencing no pain or discomfort. I then visualized how I would feel after the drilling. I would feel energetic, excited and empowered. I also used repeated positive affirmations (i.e. “Anything is possible, no matter what!). I incorporated these two techniques with my daily workout routine when my energy level was very high and my heartbeat was up. In this way, I anchored the positive thoughts and visualized them over and over again in this intense state. This is one way of outsmarting your brain, which, during both intense exercise and significant fear or pain, raises your heart rate. By creating a raised heart rate and linking to it a positive visual and auditory affirmation, I built something in my mind to turn to that was anchored in there.

On the day of the procedure, I took garlic, vitamin c, and started with Echinacea tincture. I went in feeling a bit nervous, but continually kept repeating positive affirmations and visualizing my end result. I used rescue cream on my face and put clove oil tincture on my gums. The dentist went very slow with the drill and used lots of water to decrease the amount of friction and heat on my teeth. He also used hand tools as much as possible to decrease the use of the drill. He explained exactly what he was doing at each step and gave me a mirror to watch. I also squeezed a pressure point (the skin between my thumb and forefinger) to help reduce pain centers.

I couldn’t believe it only took 30 minutes. The dentist had scheduled in one hour of his time so he would not be rushed. I walked out feeling exhilarated. I accomplished something everyone told me was not possible. Where did the notion in my head start to define pain to a filling when I never experienced it before? As a matter of fact, is the pain we feel after going to the dentist from the Novocaine shot and its after effects? I never even thought of that before.

I believe this is the same for birthing. I was able to have a healthy and happy homebirth because I refused intervention into my innate expression of life. My hope is to help others use these techniques to understand how to live life to the fullest.

Dr. Lisa Rubin, Ph.D. is a holistic counselor who focuses on motivation and transformation. Her private practice is in East Cobb on the corner of Johnson Ferry and Paper Mill. She has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, and is the Director of the Student Success Center at Life University. She also runs educational workshops throughout the community.

Autism, Asperger's, ADHD, Allergies and Asthma: Are they related?

Recently there has been a lot of talk about Autism in the news...how it is NOT linked to vaccinations. While I agree that vaccines are not THE cause of autism, there is no doubt that vaccines can create a situation in a child that can make them more susceptible to a cascade of events that can lead to major problems...not just autism.
Autism is one of the more severe issues that can occur in the mixture of a immature immune system with chemicals that are way too powerful for THAT PARTICULAR CHILD to handle. But other challenges can be a result, ones that may not show up as immediately as Autism. What about the other "A" disorders? Asperger's and ADD/ADHD to start. How about Allergies and Asthma? With the exception of ear infections, those 5 "A" disorders are amongst the most common health issues we are seeing in today's kids.
Do I mean to imply that these 5 "A" disorders are somehow related? Autism, Asperger's, ADD/ADHD, Allergies and Asthma? Yes, and I am not alone in this thinking. Check out this book, my favorite in the league of new information coming out about linking these problems together: Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders. Dr Bock, the author, doesn't include Asperger's which is on the "Autistic spectrum" as it is called. His book does a great job describing the problem and tackling some of the main issues, like diet and supplementation. He omits chiropractic care which I have found to be critically important in getting these kids to the next level, and doesn't include rehabilitative exercises, also a must with children in the 5 "A" category.
Another great book is Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological Disorders. Dr Melillo is a chiropractor with a specialty degree in neurology. He talks about how kids with Autism and ADHD have brains and body's that are in a way "disconnected." The left sides and right sides of the brain and hence the body do not communicate very well with each other, and hence the child cannot function at his/her optimum. He calls it "Functional Disconnection Syndrome", and is very big into rehab exercises and dietary modification.
Several months ago an article came out in the AJC, "Settlement Reached in Autism-Vaccine Case." It was the first case in which a child was awarded a monetary settlement due to proof that the child's autism was in part caused by the vaccine. Just so happened that the child's father was an MD who did his own research after all this happened and wrote 2 articles in the Journal of Child Neurology proving his case. Dr. John Shoffner's main thesis was that in certain children who have a genetic disorder that may not have been identified prior to vaccination, the vaccine may trigger an event that he calls "autistic regression with fever." Check out the article at http://jcn.sagepub.com/content/early/2009/09/22/0883073809342128.abstract.
All in all, the issue we are dealing with here is what we would call "Roulette".
You cannot KNOW FOR CERTAIN how a child or adult will react to any given drug or vaccine at any given time, even if they appeared fine during prior exposures. The suggestion is to think twice before everything you do, especially when related to health care. Will whatever suggested course of treatment or even examination have more positive benefits by doing it than negative ones by not doing it? A patient a few years ago told me about his neighbor's child that went in for MINOR ear tube surgery and DIED because of a reaction to the anesthesia. Risk vs. benefit must always be played out. Think twice, and have a happier, healthier New Year!