The best diet: Don't go on a diet!

A couple of days ago, one of my Facebook friends posted a note on my profile page asking what diet I could recommend for losing weight and keeping it off. Here's how I responded:
"Don't go on a diet! Just eat as Nature intended - a balance of fresh, whole, natural, organic, local foods. Focus on a healthy lifestyle rather than the number on the scale or comparing yourself to magazine cover models. I devote an entire chapter to this in Oby's Wisdom. Remember this always: You are Beautiful and Perfect!"

With nutrition as with everything else health related, Nature has the answer. Nature has provided all we need. And when Nature designed our food supply, She didn't include junk like preservatives, food dye, artificial flavorings...



Ponder this: have you ever seen an obese wild animal?

Until next time,
Dr. Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor, lightworker, energy healer, writer, speaker
Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

PS: The Oby Phenomenon has begun!
My new book, Oby's Wisdom! A Caveman's Simple Gude to Health and Well-being is now available in print!For those readers here in the Inland Northwest, you can pick up a copy at these locations:
Spokane: Auntie's Bookstore, downtown
Coeur d'Alene: Hastings
Sandpoint: Inquire Within, Winter Ridge Natural Foods Market, Zero Point and Vanderford's Books & Office Products
If you live elsewhere, you can visit the official Oby's Wisdom website to purchase a copy. www.ObysWisdom.com

Oby is also available through Amazon and your favorite local bookstore.

The answer to our society's healthcare challenges -- and yours -- isn't who pays. It's who takes responsibility.

This is me, living a healthy lifestyle --
physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

One of the hottest topics in the news of late is the healthcare reform debate in our nation’s capitol. Put in simple terms, the discussion boils down to one question: “Who’s gonna pay for my health?”

Whatever answer eventually emerges as the winner in the current debate, it won’t make any meaningful change in the health of our society. Health costs are a challenge, but they aren’t the real problem. Spiraling costs and an ineffective healthcare delivery system are mere symptoms. The root problem is the predominant, rigid belief system that health comes from someone else. A majority of people have relinquished responsibility for their personal health and well-being to external parties. That’s understandable. We’ve been conditioned that way our whole lives. How many times have you heard or read, “always consult a doctor before you…?” And how many times have you been told that such and such a drug, supplement, machine, etc., is necessary for you to achieve and maintain good health?

Health comes from within and only from within. It does not, never has, and cannot come from the outside. The only way we will ever have a healthcare system that actually enhances the health of our population is to instill in everyone a sense of personal responsibility for one’s own health and well-being. When that happens, lifestyles will change, dependence on expensive medical care will be greatly reduced, and the need for most pharmaceuticals will disappear. Think that might save a few dollars?

One of two things will happen to you today: you will either get a little healthier, or a little less healthy. You get to choose...

"One of two choices?" you ask. "Isn't there a third choice? Staying the same...?"

Nope; there are only two choices. Nothing in between. Ask any business professional or athlete -- you're either growing or shrinking, improving or going downhill. There's no such thing as maintaining. (Why would we want to maintain, anyway, when we can always choose to improve?)

When I tell you that you get to choose, that doesn't mean that your choice needs to be a conscious one. You're making your choice all day long, every day, whether you're thinking about it or not -- what you eat, how physically active you are, how often you have your spine adjusted, how much clear water you drink, how you relax, how much sleep you get, whether or not you engage in a spiritual practice, how much you laugh, and many other choices.

Think back to the choices you made yesterday. Taken as a whole, in which direction did those choices steer you...toward becoming more healthy, or less. What choices will make today...this week...the rest of the year...the rest of your life?

A message that is worth repeating: Now is the perfect time for internal spring cleaning.

As I've found out over the last few days, sometimes, if you want to clean up a mess, you need to make a bigger mess first.

In last week's post, I mentioned that I was going to participate in a sweat lodge and then start a fast to cleanse myself of old energys and make room for rejuvenation and rebirth. Well, the sweat was powerful; it initiated a very deep cleansing process for me, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I actually felt kind of sick for a couple of days, didn't sleep very well and had some really freaky dreams. And the fast, which I began on Monday, magnified the experience. It wasn't until about midmorning on Thursday that I started to feel a bit normal. By early afternoon, I felt fantastic -- lighter and with more energy than I have had for awhile. I got lots of work done and even went on a short trail run to enjoy the beautiful spring afternoon.


A photo I took from the trail

If I didn't understand the nature of healing, I might have been tempted to end my fast as I started to feel worse and worse. Luckily, I knew what was going on; feeling sick was how my body happened to be reacting to the deep cleansing that was taking place. Sometimes, in order to wash old stuff out, you need to stir it up first.

Over the last week, I have had several new clients. Two of them actually felt a bit worse after their first adjustment. To explain why, I used the analogy of cleaning a room. When you do your spring cleaning, part of the process is pulling things out of drawers and closets so you can decide what stays and what goes. Initially, the room that you're cleaning will have junk strewn all over the place. It will be chaos. Then, as the cleanup progresses, the room begins to look neater and cleaner. Fianlly, the job is done, the room is neat as a pin, and there's no more junk hiding in the closets.

Ahhhhhh.....

Time for some internal spring cleaning! Get rid of what's no longer serving you to make room for better health...

Happy Spring! This is a time for renewal...for rebirth...

As we all know, one of the most time honored of spring traditions is spring cleaning. I'm an enthusiastic proponent of it myself. But for me, it is not as important to clean out my house as it is to cleanse and renew my self.

There are two personal rituals I practice in conjunction with each spring equinox. First, if you happen to be reading this on Sunday afternoon, think of me -- I'll be sitting with fellow sojourners, in a sweat lodge ceremony of the Native American tradition. The day after the lodge, I will begin a multi-day fast. (I always wait until the day after the lodge to start my fast, because a sweat lodge is followed by a feast, and I don't want to miss the feast.)

Both the sweat lodge and the fast are deep, cleansing experiences, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. They both provide an opportunity to release things that no longer serve -- toxins, foods, vibrations, ego, habits, patterns, relationships, limiting blockages, beliefs, judgements...the list goes on...

When we let go of things we no longer need, we make room for a new, healthier, more empowering way of living. In other words, fasting and sweating -- or whatever avenue you may choose to do your own spring cleaning -- can lead to rebirth.

Enjoy your new life!

What does this image have to do with your health?
I'll leave that to our imagination...

The greatest adventure is the journey of self discovery.

I went on Arctic expedition the other day...in downtown Coeur d'Alene...during my lunch hour!

I often like to take walks during my lunch hour (which is actually two hours). One of my favorite walks includes walking around the CdA Resort's floating boardwalk, around City Park and back around the boardwalk. The boardwalk is just over a half mile long and is the world's longest floating boardwalk.



It was a bitter cold day. The temperature was close to zero; the wind chill was no doubt below zero. The wind was splashing waves up onto the snow-covered boardwalk, making for icy, treacherous walking conditions on a boardwalk that was rocking heavily.



In all, the route is only about two miles, but in conditions like this, two miles has the feel of a raw, extreme, epic adventure! It was a challenging walk, but exhilirating. And it was just outside my office door. You don't always need to travel to a distant locale to find adventure



In fact, you don't even have to step outside your front door. The most daring, sometimes frightening, always breathtaking journey that you will ever take is to go deep inside yourself.

Your journey will take you to beautiful vistas you could not have imagined, by way of dark canyons you never expected. As you descend into the deepest, darkest of valleys, you will behold magnificent views on the way down. At the bottom you will discover some of the most verdant and unexpected beauty—beauty you could not see from the top. Not until you reach the bottom can you find the treasures that the valley has to offer.



As you climb out of each valley toward the next peak, you will rarely get a straight shot to the top. On the way up you will encounter dips, plateaus and unexpected detours. Each of these milestones has a gift which you will find if you keep your eyes open. You will always find the top. Always. Sometimes it might not look like what you expected. Remain open to the different gifts that life has to offer, and you will always make it to the top...

Enjoy your adventure!
Doctor Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor
Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

You are a collection of the finest gems imaginable.

I had an epiphany the other day when I was doing yoga in the snow. (That’s right…I like to do yoga in the snow. I don’t even bundle up. I wear no more than if I were practicing inside my warm house.) The day was clear, bright and sunny. As I moved through my yoga postures, the sun would catch individual snowflakes at just the right angle, and the glint reminded me of diamonds. My mind formed a picture of me practicing yoga in a field covered with brilliant, sparkling diamonds. I was reminded that the beauty of Nature that surrounded me was a precious gift. This is true every moment of our lives, wherever we may be.

“Ha,” you may be saying, “What if I’m in the middle of a big smoggy city, surrounded by skyscrapers and snarled traffic, and can’t even see Nature? Where’s the beauty there?”

“Well,” I reply, “you are surrounded by your own body, a beautiful and perfect creation of Nature."

Every part of your body – every molecule, chemical, cell, structure, blemish, germ, feeling, thought and dream – is a precious, sparkling jewel. Each individual gem brings you a gift, as does the synergistic whole of your being. Think about it for but a moment you will be able to find the gifts in every part of you.

To illustrate the point, go back and look at the picture at the top of this post. It's a picture of a dead tree on a gray, cloudy, freezing, muddy, slushy day. And it's beautiful!

Yours in beauty and perfection,
Doctor Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor
Coeur d'Alene, and Sandpoint, Idaho

Want healthy kids? Let 'em get dirty.

I offered this profound thought in my August 3, 2008 posting, and was inspired to repeat it by this British TV commercial for a laundry detergent. (Thanks, Cricket!)



This TV commercial is entertaining, but it doesn't explain why getting dirty will help make children healthier. Please visit my August 3 post to read the story of the Bulldogs and learn all about it.

Have a vibrant week!
Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor
Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint, Idaho

A timeless truth that bears repeating: You -- yes YOU -- are beautiful and perfect!

A life of vibrant health pulses within you, and is waiting to be released. There is one critical step that you must take to begin revealing the vibrant health within you.

That step is to recognize and embrace what I call The Basic Truth:

You are beautiful and perfect!

Yes, you are beautiful and perfect.

When I tell people that they are beautiful and perfect, a common objection is, “I’m not perfect; only God is perfect.” You are a creation of God, made in His image. Would you suggest that one of God’s creations is anything but perfect? Any such opinion is a human judgment—nothing more. “Well then,” you may ask, “aren’t beauty and perfection judgments, too?” The way I see it, beauty and perfection are divine truths. The way to rise above judgment is to acknowledge them as The Basic Truth and recognize that, whenever we are unable to see the beauty and perfection in ourselves or others, it is because we are looking through human filters darkened by a lifetime of fear, conditioning, others’ judgments and a multitude of other shadows.

The suffering soul hobbling down the street bent over in pain is beautiful and perfect, as is his athletic cousin who springs up six flights of stairs. An ailing octogenarian with a terminal disease is just as beautiful and perfect as her healthy, happy newborn great grandchild.

If you desire to enjoy robust health, The Basic Truth is your most empowering point of departure.

Have a vibrant week!
Mark William Cochran
Chiropractor
Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint, Idaho

The Key to Vibrant Health: Let Heaven and Nature Sing!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Chiropractic facilitates ALL healing.

Chiropractic has never healed anybody of anything.

Healing is a deep, complex process that includes your physical body, your emotions, your mind and your human spirit. All healing always includes all of these dimensions to some degree. Healing arts and practitioners can facilitate healing, but, ultimately, your healing is driven by the innate wisdom of your being. Chiropractic works with this wisdom at every level -- body, mind, emotions and spirit.

The people I serve in my practice fall across a broad spectrum of health. Most are perfectly healthy, many are in pain, some are on a journey with some sort of chronic disease. All are beautiful and perfect. And for each person, Chiropractic is integral to their healing and growth.

Healing Comes From Above, Down; Inside, Out

What do healing and skateboarding have in common...?

When I was a student at Palmer College of Chiropractic, I had a really cool decal on one of my notebooks. It said "ADIO" in large fancy letters. Lots of my friends and teachers thought it was great. I got the decal from my son, Matt. At the time, he was an avid skateboarder. ADIO happens to be the name of a company that makes skateboarding shoes. So, why on Earth would I walk around with a skateboarding decal on my notebook, and why would my Chiropractic friends and teachers think it was so great?

It just so happens that ADIO has been a central concept in Chiropractic from its earliest days. Healing, health and life come from Above, Down and Inside, Out.

It starts with the understanding that there is a power in the Universe greater than ourselves. In Chiropractic philosophy we call that power, "Universal Intelligence." The major premise of Chiropractic is, "There is a Universal Intelligence in all matter, constantly giving to it all of its properties and actions, and thus maintaining it in existence." Your body is a collection of many trillions of cells, thousands of chemicals and countless molecules and atoms. Universal Intelligence is what tells that collection of cells, chemicals, molecules and atoms to be your human body. (Above, Down)

Your have within you an Innate Intelligence or Life Force. Your life force is what causes all of your cells, chemicals, molecules and atoms to work together, in perfect harmony, to give you life. It is the core of your being. Everything you experience in life comes from this core. Life, health, healing, happiness, success--everything! (Inside, Out)

ADIO!

We’re forgetting something. In the food we eat…in healthcare…in exercise…in the way we live. We're forgetting life!

Last Thursday I got high on…breakfast!

Earlier in the day I attended my weekly yoga class where we practiced an especially powerful type of yoga known as Yoga Nidra. After that, I went for a four-mile run on a scenic, challenging trail. The type of running I do is called ChiRunning, which focuses my life force, and brings in the beauty and chi of my surroundings to carry me along the trail. My post-run stretch consisted of more yoga…in the sunshine…next to the lake. Needless to say, by the time I hopped in my car to head home, I felt fantastic!

At home, I made myself a breakfast that included a locally grown organic apple; an omelet of organic eggs, fresh spinach, organic locally grown sweet onion and some locally produced organic goat cheese. I washed it all down with some delicious whole, raw, locally produced organic goat’s milk. There was such a high vibe in that meal that, by the time I finished, I literally felt high!

Yoga Nidra – more life than a cup of coffee.
ChiRunning with Mother Nature – more enlivening than pounding a treadmill while watching TV. More fun, too.
More yoga – more life than not having enough time to stretch.
Fresh, organic, local, unadulterated, delicious food for breakfast – way, way, WAY more life than an egg McMuffin.

Get high on...life!

It’s “flu season.” Is the flu caused by “germs”?

The Germ Theory of Disease tells us that germs are the cause of disease. I have a different theory.

Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary defines “Germ Theory” as, “Theory that certain diseases are the result of the presence of pathologic microorganisms in the body.” The same dictionary defines “germ” as, “a microorganism, esp. one that causes disease.”

So, do germs cause disease? To answer that, let’s delve into another important and time honored theory, the Fly Theory of Garbage Dumps. The Fly Theory states: “Garbage dumps are due to the presence of the flies that buzz around them.” I hope you get a good chuckle from this tongue-in-cheek analogy. We all know that flies do not cause garbage dumps; on the contrary, the dumps provide the environment that allows the flies to proliferate. We find flies everywhere, but large concentrations tend to exist where the environment allows them to, like at your local sanitary landfill.

Tomorrow you may go to work, school or the store, and be sneezed on by someone who has the latest bug that is going around. You may catch it, or you may not. If germs caused disease, you would catch the bug every time you were exposed to it, and so would everybody else. Germs are ever present so if germs were the cause of disease we would all be sick all of the time. To quote Bartlett Joshua Palmer, D.C., known as the Developer of Chiropractic: “If the ‘germ theory of disease’ were correct, there’d be no one living to believe it.”

Like flies, germs are everywhere. I learned in a pathology class that the average person in one of our nation’s cities will inhale 10,000 different types of viruses, bacteria and fungi every day. Right now there are more bacteria in your mouth than the number of people sharing our cozy planet. We will never be able to avoid germs; they are an inescapable part of our everyday existence. Germophobes provide a comfortable home to as many germs as Charlie Brown’s hygienically challenged buddy, Pig Pen. No problem. Our immune system allows us to live in harmony with them. If you "catch the bug" it's because your internal environment is in a state that allows pathogens to proliferate. Your cold or flu symptoms are normal, healthy immune responses keeping you in harmony with your external environment.

Germs are present in disease, but they are also prominently present in perfect health.

Should you get a flu shot?
Check out this funny video first!

The best health insurance is a wellness lifestyle.

A simple blog post for a simple concept:

Enjoy a balanced diet of fresh, natural foods.
Engage in physical activity that you love.
Incorporate a spiritual practice in your life.
Have your spine adjusted regularly to make sure you are in alignment...
...with yourself
...with your external environment
Live!

Reduce Consumption -- Improve Your Health.

Reduce, reuse and recycle -- great advice for taking care of our Mother Earth. It's also great for your health!

Last Thursday at my yoga class, my teacher, Chris, asked us each to make a personal commitment to helping the planet by reducing our consumption of something. She asked us to think of at least one specific thing we could reduce in our lives. As we meditated and reflected on her request, nothing came to me. I'm already pretty conscientious a about conserving. Still, I knew that there are ways that even the most scrupulous conserver can improve, so I left myself open to discoverig new ways I can reduce my own consumption. I knew something would come up, and it didn't take long. After my yoga class and a great trail run, I ran some errands on the way home. One errand was to a music store to buy a CD I've been wanting. At the checkout stand, I spied some delicious-looking dark chocolate bars, and--on impulse--I bought one. Not the healthiest thing in the world, but after all, I rationalized, I had already burned a lot of calories that morning.

Impulse consumption. Something I've found myself doing a lot of lately, and not something that I need to do at all. Eliminating this impulse buying is a small but effective way for me to reduce my consumption and improve my health at the same time.

Symptoms are your body's way of telling you to make a change.

This time of year is many people's favorite, including mine. The fall colors here in North Idaho are resplendent!



Autumn is a season of important -- and beautiful -- transition. As the days grow shorter and the temperatures drop, Mother Earth prepares for her winter slumber. As we observe the most visibile of these changes -- the changing leaves -- we marvel at their beauty. Year in and year out, although we have seen it happen many times, we always treasure the fall for its vibrant colors. This is a change we are familiar with, and one whose beauty we recognize.



Soon the leaves will fall and the trees will appear to be lifeless. But we all know that they are still vibrant and alive; we just can't see it. Great potential lies latent in each tree...waiting. Come springtime, new leaves will bloom and we will marvel at their beauty just as we did six months earlier. With these changes comes new growth.



Our bodies go through cycles as well. They aren't as predictable as the seasons, but they always offer us the opportunity to rest, reflect and -- if we're willing -- change. In this change is where our lives expand and our breathtaking human potential unfolds.



Your symptoms are every bit as beautiful and perfect as the colorful leaves on the autumn trees. A new season is at hand -- an opportunity for breathtaking potential to be revealed.

Wellness is a way. It is not a goal, an end or even a means to an end.

Your health -- are you going to tank...or win?

Wellness is a way of living—a way of being. Wellness is a popular buzz word today, but unfortunately most people have a fuzzy understanding of what wellness really is. I once heard a prominent physician define wellness as, “the prevention and management of disease.” Doc, I respectfully disagree. Wellness is about health and vitality; it has no relation to disease.

Most people believe prevention and wellness to be the same. On he contrary, they are fundamentally different from each other. Let me illustrate the difference by using business as an analogy. Two new business school graduates, Winifred and Tanicus (Win and Tank to their friends) have just earned their MBAs and are charging out into the world of big business to make their fortunes. Tank’s strategy is to steer clear of the pitfalls of the business world so that he can avoid failure. His outlook and approach are based on fear. Tank has a failure consciousness.

Win, on the other hand, chooses to achieve success. She understands what it will take to succeed, and she devotes her time, energy and resources to move in that direction. Win has a success consciousness.

So, time to place your bets. Who will win and who will tank? My money is on Win to win.

The Law of Attraction tells us that what we concentrate on, we invite into our lives. Many “wellness” programs have nothing to do with wellness because ultimately, they seek to prevent disease. They approach health from the same fear based failure consciousness that Tank carries with him into the business world. This does not mean that prevention is bad; it certainly has its place. If it is our main focus, though, it can keep us rooted in the world of disease. A wellness lifestyle, on the other hand, opens the door to success, health, and maximum potential. Which would you prefer to invite into your life?

Maximized Potential Evolves Through Continuous Refinement

I spent last Thursday examining colons.

Frankly, colons have never been of great interest to me so I never took the time to learn much about them. Now I realize that colons are important, even for a Chiropractor like me, so last Thursday was Colon Day for me. I devoted the day to learning as much as I could about colons, and scrutinizing as many as I could find.

I mentioned in a previous post that I am putting the finishing touches on my first book, Oby's Wisdom! A Caveman's Simple Guide To Health and Well-being. I finished the first version of the book over a year ago but, as any writer will tell you, once you've "finished" a book, the work has only begun. Even with the first draft, I knew it was a special book. With every refinement, it is becoming better and better. By the time it is published, Oby's Wisdom! will be a truly remarkable book.

Over the past months, I have been focusing mostly on the content. One thing I've been putting off is checking my punctuation. I'm pretty good with periods, commas, dashes and the like, but I've never been all that great with colons. As I started scrutinizing my manuscript, it became glaringly obvious that I needed to tighten up my use of the colon. So I cracked open my Prentice-Hall Handbook for Writers and honed my colon skills. It took hours, but in the end, it has really improved my manuscript.

As always, there's a health tie-in here. Refinements are always useful. Regardless of how healthy you may be, scrutinizing the details of your wellness lifestyle and making small but meaningful improvements -- nutrition, exercise, Chiropractic adjustments, spiritual awakening -- will allow you to continue to grow, improve and evolve for the rest of your life.

The Furnace; conclusion

Welcome! If you're just tuning in, this is the sixth and final chapter of a serialized story. To read the story in sequence, scroll down September 28 and start there. Enjoy!

Chapter Six (Conclusion)
The Genius…

The next morning, the friend with the malfunctioning furnace still was not present. The others shared most magnanimous concern for their absent friend and hoped he would be able to return soon. After the gathering broke up, one friend approached The Nut.
“I always thought that you only needed to check circuit breakers if you had a problem in the circuit breaker panel. Are you saying that circuit breakers can actually affect things in other parts of the house?”
“Of course they can. Circuit breakers affect the entire house. If one of them trips, there is interference with the power supply to everything controlled by that circuit breaker. This makes it impossible for the house to function at its highest potential.”
“Can checking circuit breakers actually alleviate problems such as our friend’s ‘Malfunctioning Furnace Syndrome?”
“If the problem is caused by a tripped circuit breaker, then turning it back on will solve the furnace problem. If not, it won’t. But the beauty of checking circuit breakers is not in fixing or repairing malfunctions. It is very important to check all of your circuit breakers regularly to make sure there is no interference with the power that runs your house. This maintains your house at its highest potential.”
“Why do I need to have my circuit breakers checked so often? Why can’t I just wait until I have a problem?”
“Many problems are not evident when they occur. If your furnace stops working, you know that right away. But what if your smoke alarm stops working? You might not know that until your house burns down. Checking your circuit breakers is more than just fixing what’s wrong with your house. It’s about taking care of want is right.”
“Wow!” said the friend. “That’s so logical and simple. You’re not a nut at all. Why, you’re a genius! I can’t believe that everyone doesn’t have their circuit breakers checked regularly.”
“Neither can I,” sighed The Genius.
“I sure hope our friend has his circuit breakers checked before it’s too late.”
“So do I…So do I.”

Have you had your family’s circuit breakers checked lately?