Let me just begin by saying that what I'm about to discuss is true science and not something made up from fantasy land. I've spent some time writing about the mind body experience and how your thoughts determine the world you live in. I followed it up with quotes from several brilliant minds and could follow it up with many more from Jesus Christ to Einstein to Buddha to Eckhart Tolle and on and on. They all discuss how your thoughts determine and lay the foundation for the world you live in. One famous quote that you may have heard by Norman Vincent Peale, "Change your thoughts and you change your world." What if this was backed up by science? Would you believe then? Quantum physics may take you there. It is a branch of physics that deals with physical phenomena at nanoscopic scales, where the basic rules of physics falls apart. If you have the time watch "What the Bleep Do We Know, Through The Wormhole" on YouTube, prepare to see another side of the world you didn't know existed. The most intriguing theory relating to quantum physics, to me, is the Observer Effect. It states that by the very act of watching, the observer affects the observed reality. You read that correctly. In other words, the tiniest of particles behave differently from when they are not being observed compared to when they are being observed. It's best that I leave it up to Morgan Freeman to explain in this video, but you have to watch it to the end. 

Any thoughts on that? Again, the smallest particles in nature that make up all things is randomly scattered, but once it is observed, their behavior changes. How we think about things, events, etc., may shape our reality according to actual science! Hopefully, I didn't lose you on this one.
I hated physics in college, but there is something mysterious about quantum physics that has to make you wonder.
Thanks for reading and please share so that we can all BeneFIT!

We as consumers seem to be catching on to the harmful products being added to our foods and beverages. It seems that every time I check my Twitter account, there is another article about an additive and its harmful effects on the body. You may have heard about the recent uproar regarding Subway and the use of the same chemicals found in yoga mats  being found in their bread. All of this is to save money and add shelf life (maybe that is why my clothes smell after I spend greater than 5 minutes in that place!). The difference in quality is not that much better because of the use of these products. I just wanted to educate you on the caramel additive in most soft drinks that is found to be carcinogenic in mice. That ingredient is caramel coloring. Caramel coloring gives drinks their brown color so you will not find it in Sprite or Mountain Dew, but you definitely will in Pepsi and Coke. Some types of this artificial coloring contain a potentially carcinogenic chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-MeI) and is the single most used food coloring in our food. Under California’s Proposition 65 law, any food or beverage sold in the state that exposes consumers to more than 29 micrograms of 4-MeI per day is supposed to carry a health-warning label. Consumer Reports did some homework on the levels found in these different drinks and discovered that they still contained higher levels in these drinks than California had allowed and if they tested levels in New York they were even higher because of the lack of regulation.  There are four types of caramel coloring, only the two made with ammonia compounds can contain 4-MeI.  However, manufacturers can use the general term “artificial color” interchangeably with “caramel color”. We have to stay educated on the trickery used by the food industry if we want to eat healthy. Soda drink sales are declining as people seem to be catching on to their harmful effects. 
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"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." -Shakespeare

Having acceptance to other religions, theories, beliefs, etc. has opened my eyes to a new way of thinking and approaching life. There is a lot to learn from Western belief systems and it is something I stumbled across in a store in Seattle, WA. The book is called ZEN and the Art of Happinessby Chris Prentiss. It's a little book with a little fat guy and a fat grin on his face (he must've read the book!). It's Buddha if you haven't figured that out. Anyway, there are some great quotes in this book and it made me realize how connected all of the major world religions are. I keep coming across the idea of staying in the moment and avoiding the busy mind. This can be found in so many writings by the most brilliant minds that walked on this planet. It is still possible to have a strong Christian faith while learning from others. Prentiss even says, "Zen is a journey of exploration and a way of living that, in and of itself, does not belong to any one religion or tradition". It is something that we can all BeneFIT from and help us lead healthier lives!
Prentiss basically starts out the book by asking simple questions about whether you are happy with your current situation, your life, your possessions and if you are keep doing the same things. If not, the choice is yours to make the changes to be the person you want to be. It is a simple idea, but yet so effective if you are willing to embrace these thoughts or lack there of. Let me throw some quotes at you from this book:

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. It is founded on our thought, it is made up of our thoughts." - The Dhammapada

"The true man sees what the eye sees, and does not add to it something that is not there. He hears what the ears hear, and does not detect imaginary undertones or overtones. He...is not busy with hidden meanings." - Chuang Tzu

"When you find yourself in a trying situation, that's when you go to work, reminding yourself of this truth and causing yourself to act as though whatever is causing the difficulty is for your maximum benefit." - Prentiss

"The Universe doesn't make mistakes. Everything is happening just as it should. It's only our perception of difficulties that causes us the distress and the difficulty we experience. Not only that, but when we label events as "bad", we fail to perceive the benefit that is waiting for us." - Prentiss
How many times have you heard this throughout history?! There are so many distractions in our world today that we don't have time to hear the birds chirp and calm the mind and we wonder why anxiety levels are through the roof.

"If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?" -Dogen (love that!)

"Your worst enemy cannot harm you
As much as your own thought, unguarded.
But once mastered,
No one can help you as much."
                                                                 - The Dhammapada

This is something that we may come back to in the field of medicine, Greek physician Hippocrates, who is considered to be the father of medicine, told his students that negative emotions cause disease and that positive emotions are a crucial factor in recovery! So poorly accepted in Eastern medicine and I hope we figure that out sooner than later.

Avoid expectations. Expectations set you up for failure.
"You should not be surprised at whatever you see or hear...If you are ready to accept things as they are, you will receive them as old friends."
                                                                                          - Shunryu Suzuki

"The Universe always strikes at your weakest point because that's what most needs strengthening." - Prentiss

"The miracle is not to fly in the air or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth." - Chinese Proverb

"Do not pursue the past.
Do not lose yourself in the future.
The past no longer is. The future has not yet come.
Looking deeply at life as it is in the very here and now,
the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom."
- Bhaddekaratta Sutta

These are all simple methods of thinking yet so effective and repeated so often throughout history (for a reason)! Hopefully, this relaxed your mind! Please share so we can all BeneFIT!

What is Nike NG360 Golf Performance Powered by the Gray Institute? Fortunately, I can tell you first hand after becoming certified in October of 2013 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Here at Sandestin, we've had an influx of tourists visiting the resort and the golf season is ramping up as the weather improves. There has been a lot of interest in the program and the golfers are starting to walk into the clinic to inquire. I thought it would be good to explain. The NIKE course was amazing and put on by the incredible Gary Gray, PT who is Michael Jordan's physical therapist through the Gray Institute and therefore, added into the name of the program. The focus is improving your movement in 3 planes of motion, 3D. We move as humans in three dimensions and should train in a similar fashion. If you look at most workout routines, everything seems to be in what we call the sagittal plane, motions that move forward and back (bicep curl, squat, lunge, etc.). The idea here is to get the body better moving which will carry over into golf. Most of the clients I have seen so far require the basics in training in strength and flexibility before we get into the more golf specific activities. If you look at the golf swing you can see how much rotation is involved in the body. It makes sense as to why the ankle and hip have a major influence on the low back during the golf swing. Most of the elite golfers in the game right now have incredible flexibility. Look at the picture provided below. The rotation at the ankle and hip is amazing and usually the primary focus of our training. At NIKE, they emphasized improving the "Transitional Zones" which are the end of the back swing and the end of the follow through knowing that everything in between will take care of itself. Agreed. Look how internally rotated the left hip is in the golfers below. The average Joe cannot obtain this position and it's something we see instant results with once we target the appropriate musculature. Lifestyle promotes tight hip flexors from sitting and traveling which ultimately limits the follow through. Most of the clients I work with finish their swing with the pelvis still in a flexed position and the low back extended until we introduce a couple highly effective stretches in a weight bearing position. Getting the ankle to pivot also provides instant improvement and takes immediate stress off of the low back. If the hip and ankle are not rotating, guess what has to rotate more and does not want to? The low back. If Fred Couples didn't rotate on that ankle below, the hip wouldn't rotate as much and the back would be jamming into more extension. Most of the older gentlemen are already standing with increased extension in their low back because of the tight hip flexors (and pot belly) that we had mentioned earlier causing the pelvis to tilt forward resulting in an extended back. Now a back that is already resting in an extended position certainly does not want to go into more extension, especially in a violent manner that is performed during the golf swing. That translates into pain. I threw in a video of Gary demonstrating the stretches that I tend to use quite often in the clinic without the use of the fancy gizmo. Give it a shot and you'll notice instant mobility after a good couple minutes of stretching. We went over each joint in the class in a similar fashion to the video below. Enjoy and please share so we can all BeneFIT! 
Also, please ask questions. I could not possibly cover all of the info detailed in the class. Thanks for reading!

Here is something amazing that I came across in my search for answers that has strengthened my faith and hopefully will yours. Incorruptibililty is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that Godly intervention allows some human bodies to avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their holiness. Sounds crazy, I know, but there are many of these Saints around the world that have not been embalmed. The lady in the picture is Saint Bernadette. Marie-Bernarde Soubirous was a 19th century French Christian mystic famous for receiving apparitions of the Mother Mary. She died at an early age of 35.  However, 30 years after her death the body was exhumed and was found free from decomposition, while the rosary she held had oxidized! The Virgin Mary instructed Bernadette to dig in a spot at Lourdes, France where a well sprung up and came to be regarded as a healing place. She is still there today.
Saint Silvan is another inexplicable incorruptible example, although some skeptics believe the body on display is a statue or wax figure. St. Silvan is on display at the Church of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He was martyred in the 4th century. After nearly 1,700 years, his body remains intact. His eyebrows are still in place, and his curly hair remains lifelike while his skin and lips have retained a remarkable amount of natural color!
Saint Catherine of Bologna died in 1463 and was buried casketless in the ground. After a few weeks, she was dug up, showing no signs of decay. This didn't exactly convince anyone she was incorruptible, but the fact that she's been on display since 1500 without further decay has to make you wonder!
Check out this video on YouTube below if you want visuals. 
There are many other Saints who are considered incorruptible around the world. Please share this blog so others can explore this further and perform their own search for answers. As always, please "share" so others can BeneFIT!!

A trigger point is a small patch of tightly contracted muscle or an isolated spasm affecting just a small patch of muscle tissue that actually cuts off its own blood supply creating pain, discomfort or weakness. They also appear to be a result of the muscle being overworked or not strong enough to balance the pull of the opposing muscle, if that makes sense. So, if your pecs are tight because you sit at work all day, the muscles that pull your shoulders back become fatigued and often develop these trigger points. Over my short career, I've treated numerous patients who describe pain down the arm, into the neck and around to the front of the shoulder. Often, this is diagnosed as cervical radiculopathy (meaning, pain coming from a disc issue in the neck) although upon evaluation in physical therapy, there may not be any evidence of neurological involvement. The patient has full neck range of motion. Check out the chart below, it will help you understand why. The same goes for sciatic pain which has some major trigger points at the hip that refer pain down the leg.  We have a lot of success with this at the Sandestin Physical Therapy Services through the use of soft tissue work that includes massage to the specific areas referring the pain. The results can be quite dramatic if it is the source of the pain. If you're unsure that your pain is joint or nerve related, ask your physical therapist if it could be a trigger point! 
Come see us if you're in the area! www.sehwc.com 

If I believed in coincidences, I'd tell you that I picked up this book called "The Emperor's Handbook" by Marcus Aurelius, A New Translation of the Meditations by C. Scot Hicks and David V. Hicks by accident, but I don't believe it. I was strolling through Barnes and Nobles and just happened to pull this book out of the thousands that were there and began reading. I was in awe of the information and life changing quotes that were packed in this small book. It was the first book that sparked a curiosity for more answers because of it's powerful message. This is no novel with a story, it's just a book with bullet points and amazing quotations similar to the one in the photo attached to this blog. Let's first point out that this book was never meant to be published, it was the thoughts of a great thinker written as if it were a diary, but only pertaining to his thoughts. I'm not going to give you a history lesson on Marcus Aurelius, but I'm going to share with you some of his thoughts which may in turn change yours.  

I would like to introduce everyone to another up and coming supplement that has some powerful effects. It's called Berberine and was also recommended to me by Dr. Lemay from the Andrew's Institute. Remember though, to check first with your physician because it may interact with other meds you are currently taking. This supplement was used in ancient Chinese medicine and has been around for awhile, but has started to draw a lot of attention. Dr. Oz, of course, put it on the map again. One of its great benefits is its ability to inhibit bacteria from attaching to human cells, Berbrine helps protect against many bacterial infections particularly in the throat, intestines, and urinary tract. It has been shown in scientific studies to significantly lower blood glucose and hemoglobin levels.  Berberine has actually been proven to be as potent as the pharmaceuticals to treat diabetes! Remember, ask your doctor first because you run out and buy it.
Berberine has also been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels in clinical studies while also lowering blood pressure and increasing weight/fat loss! Wow, I have your attention now! I said fat loss! 
A study reported in the Cardiovascular Drug Review also “indicated the cardiovascular effects of Berberine may make it useful in the treatment of arrhythmias and/or heart failure." Check this out Dad! I also have to mention that Berberine has been shown to help with brain and mental function and promising in the prevention of Alzheimer's Disease.Here is some more frosting on the cake, more research has shown improvement in bone density, protection against acute brain injury, reduction in inflammation (the new big thing in research), cartilage preservation and also the reduction in cancer cell proliferation. 
Please share so everyone can BeneFIT!