Category Archives: Health and Wellness

By Keren Brown Wilson, Ph.D

Labor Day is upon us. Started in 1882 to recognize the contributions of men and women in the U.S. workforce, in 1887 Oregon was the first state to make it a legal holiday.

Today it’s widely viewed as the unofficial last weekend of summer. But it’s still a celebration of the dignity of work, largely of the contributions that benefit society – like building things, caring for others or supporting the work of teams. And work implies a state of being worthy of esteem or respect.

Last month I mentioned that having purpose is an important element of successful aging. Tome, that’s related to dignity of work. Consider the phrase “labor of love.” Typically that’s something one does based on one’s interest in the work itself rather than any payment – work for one’s own enjoyment, or for the benefit of others.

For anyone who is retired from paid work – or sufficiently disabled to not work in the paid labor market – there is no barrier to being involved in a labor of love. It can give purpose to one’s life.

There is much to be done in our communities and for others in acts large and small. Imagine not only benefitting others, but yourself by various activities in which you get involved. Look around as you enjoy the last weekend of summer and ask yourself, “Where am I needed?”

Never think you are too old, too used up or too out of date to be able to contribute meaningfully as a part of aging gracefully… with purpose and with dignity.

Keren is president of the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation. Based in Clackamas, the nonprofit helps elders live full lives with dignity. Its strategies focus on bridging the gap for elders, families and communities throughout the United States and around the globe. Contact her at 503.408-4088 or KWilson@jfrfoundation.org, or visit JFRFoundation.org.

By Keren Brown Wilson

Many are talking about the makeover of various Portland neighborhoods, including the Concordia community and surrounding areas. I leave that discussion for others. I want to talk about changes that occur when we age, and about how we react.

As someone who has worked with and on behalf of older adults for the past 40 years, I have observed many changes in myself, my family and my friends. Many of these occurred slowly. Some are relatively minor, such as changes in hair color and body shape, or decreases in hearing and eyesight. Others are more significant, like limitations in mobility and chronic conditions such as diabetes and blood pressure. And we note our forgetfulness with a certain anxiety in case it is a sign of dementia.

Then there are the social, psychological and economic changes. Our networks change as we lose friends, stop working, or limit our external activities for various reasons. We might experience the loss of a spouse or siblings. Children grow up and create their own lives. If school, raising a family and work occupied a large part of our lives, then who are we when that is in our past? Often our mentality shifts to conserving our personal and financial resources. Sometimes the response to these changes is to hunker down, avoid others and look inward.

Clearly maintaining good health, having opportunities to interact with others and being economically secure make it easier to age successfully. But there’s one strategy that does not require good health, a large social circle or money. It’s having purpose.

Purpose can take many forms, such as volunteering for an organization, taking care of grandchildren, caring for a pet, learning a new skill or becoming more knowledgeable about one’s religion. The question to ask oneself regularly is, “What gives my life purpose?” If the answer is “nothing,”then it is time to give some thought to what could bring purpose into your life.

We plan around our purpose, organize our lives around it and use it as a method to remain engaged in ways important to us physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally.

If you feel you have no purpose – and don’t know what it is – ask yourself this one important question, “What would motivate me to act?”

Keren Brown Wilson, Ph.D., is president of the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation. Based in Clackamas, the nonprofit helps elders live full lives with dignity. Its strategies focus on bridging the gap for elders, families, and communities throughout the United States and around the globe. Contact her at 503.408-4088 or kwilson@jfrfoundation.org, or visit the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation website.

By Kim Magraw

Although the human brain may soon be outsmarted by the computer, at present the brain is the most sophisticated and intricate machine we know of in the universe.

One of its most marvelous functions is automation. Once we’ve learned something handy – like turning our head, walking, juggling, typing, talking, driving or playing an instrument – our brain can put these activities on autopilot so we can focus our attention on some other activity.

But what happens when one of these programmed activities is unhelpful in a situation? For example, we move to a place where cars are driven on the other side of the road? Or we’re accustomed to speaking English and we move to a country where the language and sentence structure is completely different? Or we got a lot of attention from our parents by whining when we were young, but somehow all that whining doesn’t serve us at a later age?

When these preprogrammed habits are serving us, we are in a groove. When they don’t, we might think we’re stuck in a rut – a behavior that is really difficult to unlearn.

A trick is to have some tools to get us out of a rut. It turns out that a great first step is awareness. We quickly become aware when we’re driving on the wrong side of the road because that’s obvious. But a whiny attitude may be less easy to identify in ourselves.

After awareness, we can set the stage to bust out of a rut by putting some parameters in place:

• Urgency: “I’d better get in the other lane or I’ll hit this oncoming car.”
• Fascination: “This person seems so interesting, but she doesn’t speak a word ofEnglish.”
• Focus: “I’m going to find a quiet space for two hours to practice my mandolin.”

Yes, automation is an amazing adaptation. Better yet, and more uniquely human, is plasticity –the ability to change and adapt, no matter how deep and rutted our groove may be.

Kim Magraw, a licensed massage therapist, may be reached via the ConcordiaMassagePros.com directory.

Remember when you were a kid and your mom said “go outside and play.” Get moving! Believe it or not, your mom was on to something. Andrew Lafrenz, Ph.D., Concordia University Exercise and Sports Science associate professor and researcher, conducted a large study in the workplace showing the importance of even small amounts of movement on one’s overall health and happiness.

Participants in the study spent their work days sitting at desks. The workers were given timers and instructed to take two- to three-minute movement breaks every hour. Those who took as little as two to three minutes every hour to stretch and move were more productive, had higher job satisfaction and experienced reduced blood pressure.

“People often ask me how to drastically change their health by starting an exercise program or changing their diet,” he said. “My advice is to listen to your mother. Get off the couch, move a little bit every hour, eat your vegetables and spend more time with your family and friends.”

There is a similar link between activity and good health in children. In a study of health in children, he found that children with higher parental engagement, who ate meals as a family and who participated in school clubs and sports were much more physically active, had better nutrition, and they had lower rates of disease.

“We all know we’re not supposed to remain seated for hours on end,” pointed out Karen Morgan, assistant professor of Exercise & Sports Science and director of Physical Activity courses at Concordia. Many apps – designed for adults, families and children – have been created to remind you to get up for that much needed break.

“Some of our favorite free apps can be downloaded to your phone, computer or other device to remind you to take breaks from sitting at a desk too long,” she added. Those include: Stand up! The work break timer and Awareness.

“Try some Pokemon Go in the Concordia Neighborhood and at Concordia University,” she suggested.

It is no mistake that as our days get longer, and spring gifts us with more time and energy, our lives get busier, especially if you are a Mother. Some days I feel like I just don’t get time to breathe. I am a mother of three, domestic goddess and homemaker, wife, teacher, and human being- which is like having a few full-time jobs.

I know I am not alone in that story. It’s the way we do life. It’s the way we survive. It’s installed into our genetics; Master Multi-Tasker! This is also why I am a big supporter of self-care and rest. I actually find time to make space for ME because I know that if I am not grounded, centered, and nourished, I have nothing to offer others in my life. That might require that I go for a walk by myself after dinner instead of sitting around – or that I get up an hour earlier than my children to journal and drink my tea in silence. But I have learned the value of this time and space. It gives me my happiness and my sanity.

Here are some simple ways, that I hope you find helpful, to begin a new habit and give yourself a gift:

Get out of Your House!
Leave the place that you constantly clean, but it doesn’t ever seem to stay that way. Changing up the venue – taking a walk, going for a hike, moving your body in a yoga or dance class – or just going outside to take a few deep breaths while leaving the mess behind can do wonders to make you feel peaceful again.

Connect with a Friend
My best friend and I love to go soak at a local spa and sauna. It is so relaxing. I also enjoy visiting with friends while sipping a warm beverage at a local café and just getting real about the life we are living. Relationships are essential to living a life fulfilled.

Make a Gratitude List
Nothing shifts the bad story I have playing in my head about how I did not do enough, or make the right decision, or whatever the judgement is that is keeping me grouchy. I will just write it down wherever I am if my journal is not within reach, and let my life regain a sense of perspective.

Read a Few Pages and Reflect
I tend to be an all-or-nothing type person; it’s either chocolate or vanilla, read a whole book or don’t bother, but this kind of thinking is what stresses me out. I give myself permission to read a page (or paragraph) or two of something inspiring, and then I will contemplate it, meditate on it, or write about it. It’s a great practice to cultivate positivity.

This Mother’s Day, I hope you find time to give yourself what you deserve, and if you are the partner to a wonderful Mama, then give her the best gift of all; some space to rejuvenate.

Jennifer Allison is a parent-child teacher and early childhood educator at Gnome’s Home. Please go to http://gnomeshome.org/ for more information on classes for children and adults.

By Kim Magraw, L.M.T.

As a massage therapist, I witness the many ways our bodies harbor the stresses that we subject them to.  I am also witness to the body’s astounding ability to process and release stress – be it physical injury, mental stress such as from overwork, or emotional trauma – and to do so seemingly autonomously when circumstances are just right.

More and more, I find myself appreciating the extent to which the body is a reflection of the mind, and the mind a reflection of the body.  Stresses on the mind become stresses in the body and healing of the body can facilitate healing of the mind, and vice versa.  Taking this another step, our approach to the world around us – our perception of the world – can be seen as a reflection of our minds and our bodies.  For example, I might ask myself, “Am I in touch with the world around me?  Do I treat it with reverence and respect?  Do I take only what I need or do I take what I can?  Do I see connections and commonalities or differences and winners/losers?  Do I engage and try to make the world a better place, or do I just go along?”

Then, I can take these same questions and pose them about my mind (my inner world) and my body (my interface between inner and outer worlds), and I find a surprising consonance among the answers.

Of late I have often heard:  “What you think about, you bring about.”Taken to its logical extreme, this statement seems absurd.  I don’t believe that I can bring about world peace, or a hot fudge sundae, just by thinking about it.  But, in the proper context this statement speaks powerfully to the connection between our inner landscape (our thoughts and feelings) and the outer landscape.  We can’t make ourselves more confident simply by repeating positive affirmations ad nauseam, but we can make room for greater confidence by modeling confident thinking.

For that matter, it could equally be said:  “What you bring about, you think about.”For example, a nice walk in the woods is a great way to transform an attitude of frustration into one of possibility and hope.

No doubt, there are plenty of stressors in the world, in our bodies, and in our minds.  It also seems to me that we have much to learn by examining our relationship with each of these, and to use one as a mirror to explore and develop another.  Maybe my body is lethargic because it has been raining for ten straight days.  Maybe that over-confident guy at the gym bothers me because I dislike the same quality that I perceive in myself.  Maybe I enjoy the sound of a small airplane engine because it reminds me of trips I took with my father.

Contact information for Kim Magraw, L.M.T., can be found by visiting the www.ConcordiaMassagePros.com directory. 

By Hana Lanin LAc, LMT

Did you know that community acupuncture is happening all around Portland? You may have heard someone mention a “community” or “group” acupuncture clinic they’d been to, but wondered what exactly they were talking about.

Community acupuncture is a mission! Its aim is to make acupuncture accessible to a broader economic spectrum than only those who have health insurance or can afford private treatment rates. It’s low cost, low frills, effective acupuncture, facilitated in group settings by licensed acupuncturists. The community acupuncture movement is alive around the country and it is especially popular here in Portland!

What to expect
At a community acupuncture clinic, there may be from four to a dozen reclining chairs and massage tables arranged for maximum comfort in an aesthetic, if sometimes Spartan environment. There is usually a waiting and/or payment area. You may hear soft music wafting through the room, the lighting is peaceful; people speak in a slight hush. When you enter, you may notice a few folks who’ve already been given their treatment by the acupuncturist on staff and are resting with the needles. There is a lulling, nurturing sense brought about by all who are present; who’ve taken an hour out of the rush of the city day, to rebalance the health and flow of their bodies via the gentle yet powerful persuasion of acupuncture treatment.

What does it help?
What ailments can acupuncture help? There are many! Acupuncture is best known for its effectiveness in relieving body pain due to injury, aging, arthritis, headaches, menstrual cycle, digestive issues – just about any sort of pain in the body may respond well to acupuncture.

Other conditions include women’s health, sleep issues, health maintenance from pregnancy through labor, childhood and adolescence to healthy aging, immune support, including treatment of wintertime colds and flus, as well as seasonal allergies and asthma, skin problems, mental and emotional rebalancing, adjunct support for cancer patients, the list goes on.

Nowadays, people are learning to turn to modalities like acupuncture to assist in handling day to day life stress, which we know can be disruptive to our health and well-being.

How much does it cost?
Prices for treatments at community clinics will vary – some operate on a sliding scale basis while others offer a flat fee. The usual range for an acupuncture treatment at a community clinic is $20 to $40. Some clinics will have a nominal extra fee at the first visit for an initial patient intake.

There are several community clinics in each quadrant of the city, where group treatments are either an option to private treatments, or where group treatments are the sole mission of the clinic. Some of the clinics participate in the Community Acupuncture Network, others may be located by Googling “community acupuncture Portland OR.” Still more clinics may have flyers posted on neighborhood bulletin boards.

So now, when a friend tells you they had a great experience at group acupuncture or when you see a “Community Acupuncture” flyer posted at the corner coffee hub, you’ll know the drill!

Hana Lanin brings you People’s Welcome Health Space in Hollywood, offering community and private acupuncture sessions, as well as massage therapy. She has been an acupuncturist since 2002, LMT since 1993. For more information visit www.kunlunmountainhealing.com or call (503) 432 3322.