.jpg)
Dr Kimberlie Furness 23rd May 2022
Friday night I treated myself to a restorative yoga evening with Yoga Sanctuary. Spending over two hours in gentle yoga poses by candlelight, wrapped in blankets with soft healing music was such a delicious way to treat myself and give my body and mind some much needed rejuvenation. I floated out of the studio feeling like I was glowing and I slept like a dream.
Saturday morning at Lotus is my favourite day to be working there, with lots of families coming in together to get adjusted, making their spinal health a priority in their busy lives. It never feels like work, more like hanging out with great people and having fun with their lovely kids.
The afternoon was tennis at Overport and getting back into playing singles after a long break and then today was a morning run with Mike on his bike and then to the Mt Eliza Farmers’ Market with Evie and Coco, our dog.
Reflecting on all I had done during the week, I had to stop and think about all the movement, exercise, working and living I constantly do and how much I take my spine for granted. I thought about how my spine gives me structure, strength and flexibility, connects my brain to every cell in my body and allows me to do all the things I love and fit into my busy week.
Though I spend time taking care of your spines, a role I love and relish, I realised that sometimes I forget to appreciate and have gratitude for my own.
What an amazing design, having a pelvis to give you a strong base of support for muscles and ligaments to attach to and then 24 vertebrae up to your skull housing your central nervous system and keeping the delicate and soft structures safe and protected in a strong bony matrix. The discs between the vertebrae act as shock absorbers and allow the whole structure to bend and flex and twist whilst still withstanding huge forces, internally and externally. Such ingenious lever systems, load distribution, harmonic motion and intelligent design. So easy to take it for granted and sometimes abuse this incredible structure within us.
As this week is National Spinal Health Week, take a moment to appreciate your amazing spine and think about how you can nurture, protect and maintain it better, so that it lasts through your entire life.
A few tips for better health for your spine….
If you need to sit with your work, commit to getting up every hour and moving for 5 minutes. Get a drink of water, look outside into the distance to reset your eyes and do a few body stretches before sitting down again.
If you are on a screen, make sure it’s level with your eyes and you’re not looking down hanging your neck in a precarious and vulnerable posture. Lift up your laptop, ipad or phone so your neck is protected.
Walk, swim, run or ride for a minimum of 20 mins every day to activate your muscles so that you can keep your spine upright with great muscle tone and strength.
Get adjusted regularly so that your pelvis and each of the 24 vertebrae move well individually and together as a team, keeping you flexible, connected and strong.
Thank you for being a member of our wonderful Lotus community and thank you for appreciating and loving your spines as much as we do. Happy Spinal Health Week