Chiropractic Benefits of Yoga

Dr. Debra DeMarco
DeMarco Wellness Care
Wellness Care/Chiropractor

The practice of yoga can range from a peaceful and meditative experience to a vigorous workout. Each variety has a different level of intensity, but any style of yoga is helpful for increasing strength and flexibility. Another recurring theme is focusing on posture and body alignment, which is why yoga can have great benefits for chiropractic health.

Types of Yoga

• Ashtanga Yoga: This is a more intense form of yoga to challenge your strength and stamina
• Bikram Yoga: Also called hot yoga, it is practiced in a warm room to encourage flexibility
• Iyengar Yoga: Focuses on proper alignment with precise poses and stretching, which is recommended for those with back and neck pain

How it Helps

During a yoga pose, focusing on a breathing pattern helps hold the pose to gently strengthen muscles. Yoga poses are designed to engage back and abdominal muscles, and strengthening those muscle groups gives more support to the spine.

The stretching yoga involves relieves tension from muscles. If you have pain or an injury, muscles that have been carrying stress need to be relieved. Continued stretching will also improve flexibility and range of motion. Yoga poses also improve posture and spinal alignment. Training your body to function with better posture takes pressure off the spine and reduces back pain.

Chronic pain can often lead to a cycle of mental exhaustion and stress. The meditative origin of yoga encourages a quiet, relaxing environment in order to focus on exercise and breathing. The practice of yoga is also a preventative measure. Increasing your strength and flexibility helps your body defend against potential injury.

Where to Start

Patients with back issues who haven’t tried yoga may feel like it is beyond their capabilities, but you don’t need to be limber and flexible to begin. It is recommended to find an instructor who has experience working with patients who suffer from back pain and it’s important to learn by following an instructor before practicing on your own. Many yoga poses have modified versions for beginners or anyone with limitations. An instructor can demonstrate the use of blocks and straps, which help give beginners extra support and balance.

I Want to Live in an “Active Adult” Community

By: Tom Callahan
       Only Seniors, LLC
       Crisis Manager and Consultant

I must admit, I love the term, “Active Adult Community.”  It makes it sound as though moving to one means that you are suddenly going to be able to jog 5 miles a day, take up hang gliding and live like you are on a cruise ship.  Its concept these communities were designed to inspire.  A life spent pursuing your hobbies and interests without the worries of home maintenance and neighborhood children stomping on your daisies. 

Usually, one must be at least 55 years old in order to move into a community.  So why then, do people wait till they are in their 70’s to move into one?  Could it be that inability to admit-we- are-aging-thing that so many people have?

Active Adult and Independent Living Communities are designed for people who no longer have children at home and who want to pursue a lifestyle not ruled by carpools and soccer games.  They are for people who embrace their aging and aren’t weighed down by the feeling they need to hang onto a house because of the memories it holds.  Houses don’t hold the memories of a lifetime.  We, as individuals do.  No matter where we go, the memories will follow.

Active Adult Communities should not be used as a “band aid” for the issues of aging.  If dad is 92 years old, has trouble walking and is on oxygen 24/7, then an active adult community is NOT the right place for him.

So, the issue really boils down to holding on to something longer than you should.  What’s so bad about freeing yourself up from daily burdens in order to pursue things that make you happy?  Like I said, I want to live in an Active Adult community and jog 5 miles a day…

Use Blogging to Achieve Your Professional Goals

By: David Schuchman
       Princeton Technology Advisors, LLC
       Innovative Solutions for Your Growing Business

As I look at the performance of my own TechTopics4U blog site, I am impressed by how my following has grown, both organically and with my own self-promotion. For example, my site no longer has any zero-view days.

Here are my observations as to why you should use active blogging for achieving your professional goals:

Establish Yourself as an Expert in Your Field
As you write more posts and share more of your expertise, your blog site will change from "just another blog" into a strong demonstration of your knowledge in a field. When somebody visits your site and sees the insights you have shared on a subject, along with the comments of people who respect and seek that insight, it will be clear that you are genuinely an expert in the field. Being an expert is a good thing. You may get consideration for new business, career advancement, or consulting opportunities.

You Will Become a Better Communicator
Just the discipline of sitting down and writing will improve your writing and communication skills. The more you blog, the more you write. Therefore, you will become a more effective communicator of your ideas.

Take Control of Your Online Identity
Whether you are a person or business, there is probably a lot of information about you online. When somebody searches for you or your company online, you want to make sure that they get an accurate and complete picture of who you are and what you are passionate about. A blog is a great way for you to control your online identity and make sure that the top search engine results make the right first impression.

Build Your Professional Network
Starting a blog is a great way to expand your professional network. A blog is a good platform for reaching out to others, who in turn will look to contact you. Interesting and relevant blog posts attract readers who will then comment on your site, and can send you personal messages through your "contact us" widget or page. Some of your readers will ask for help, while others will look to help you.

Improve Your Visibility and SEO
People search for and discover information online more than ever. Search engines want to deliver results that are helpful and relevant to their users. When you write a series of in-depth and valuable posts around a topic, search engines such as Google takes notice. Each blog post that you publish is another opportunity to get traffic from search results. In addition, the comments you receive on your blog posts implies that your blog postings are relevant, which will also improve the SEO visibility of you and your blog site.

No Dessert until After You Eat Your Dinner!

By: Tom Callahan
       Only Seniors, LLC
       Crisis Manager and Consultant

Remember when you were growing up and your mother told you, “No dessert until you finish your dinner.”  She also imparted other words of wisdom like, “Eat all your vegetables to grow up big and strong."  It was instilled in you that a balanced mean contained selections from the five basic food groups. 

So, why is it that when you now go to visit your elderly mother, she has cabinets full of cookies, pop-tarts and Entenmann’s pastries but nary a vegetable in sight?  Who is this woman and where has your mother gone?

This phenomenon is quite common and a sign of several different issues. 

If your mother is single, understand that it has become more of a chore to cook dinner for one than it was to cook for the whole family.  

It is also a sign of depression.  Sugary foods are a treat and provide short term comfort.  When mom is feeling lonely or sad, she turns to pop-tarts and the sadness disappears…temporally. 

It can also be a sign of dementia.  Mom is forgetting basic skills like cooking but she remembers how to open the Entenmann’s box.  And as stated above, that box brings pleasure.

So, what is one to do? 

The first thing to do is realize it is an issue.  The next thing to do is to make a plan.   Sit down and talk with mom to see what might be causing the issue.  Dine with mom a couple times a week.  Make sure she goes home with leftovers in microwavable containers.  Look into some meal delivery programs, (store bought frozen dinners aren't the best option).  Check in with mom to make sure she is eating.

Proper nutrition is important at all ages.

Do You Need to Test Your Cloud Applications?

By: David Schuchman
       Princeton Technology Advisors, LLC
       Innovative Solutions for Your Growing Business

Software accessed via the "Cloud" is a deployment model that provides access to software remotely. It may also be referred to simply as SaaS or as hosted applications. Since the software is vendor-hosted remotely, it removes the need for organizations to program, install, buy a lot of hardware for and regularly maintain the software.

Even though the implementation is a cloud-based, do you still to test the software? Yes, and here's why...

Risk Management
Testing verifies that the software and its delivery meet all of your requirements including functional, performance, security, integration and so on. This verification is done to ensure that you, along with the cloud vendor, have implemented the system correctly and as expected. In addition, testing validates that the system is what the user needs. In the end, validation is performed to help with risk management.

Meets User Needs
Functional testing is the most apparent tool you will have to validate that the product meets your corporate needs. The requirements are the foundation in effective functional testing. Using the original requirements, you can plan and manage tests that are focused on your specific business and user functional needs. Involve the user, either by them directly performing the tests or have them review and sign-off on the test results.

Performance Meets Service Level Agreement (SLA)
Load and Stress testing are a methods used to simulate real life scenario of a given system. It involves testing in real time beyond normal operational capacity in order to observe the results. Have anticipated metrics in place (e.g. maximum number of simultaneous users/connections, number of transaction per second, internet throughput, etc.). Then, measure your test results against the agreed upon performance. Work with the vendor to optimize performance that does not meet your specifications.

Meet's Security Requirements
Mitigating eternal security threats is a huge concern with cloud based software applications. You will rely on the security measures put in place by the vendor, which are largely outside of your control. You need to validate that the product meets the same password change control and user level security that your organization has set for itself. In addition, you need to continually monitor that the vendor is adhering to its own security protection (virus and malware protection, etc.). The level and types of security that you expect from the vendor must be put in the SLA and reviewed regularly by you.

Data Integration with Other Systems
If one of your requirements is data integration with other systems within your inventory, you need to validate that the input and/or output work as agreed. Don't assume that when cloud-based applications use standard data interface files (e.g. CSV, XML, etc.) that the field formats delivered will match those of the other systems. Testing of standard files must be done with the same level of diligence as for or custom interfaces. If you requested custom interface files for your implementation, be sure your contract with the vendor specifies that they will maintain the interface format for as long as you are a customer, and not just the length of the current contract.

Consensus – Sounds Easy to Achieve. But Is It?

By: Tom Callahan
       Only Seniors, LLC
       Crisis Manager and Consultant

“Why can’t we all just get along?” was the plea issued by Rodney King during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.  He made simplistic request to try to quell the violence all around him.  When it comes to making Elder Care decisions for loved ones, family members don’t always agree and then chaos ensues. 

At the heart of the matter, is an elderly person who needs help.  When multiple people have a say in the decision making process that means multiple opinions on the “right course of action.”  This can lead to some heated exchanges as the dynamic switches away from the elderly person’s needs to an individual trying to prove his/her point. 

Guess what – IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!  So stop trying to make it so.  Unless you are a health care or senior living professional, realize that you don’t know the best course of action based solely on your relationship with your elder loved one. 

Your job is to find solutions.  Finding solutions means asking questions.  Asking questions means consulting someone who has been through this process or someone who works in the elder care field.  Asking for help doesn’t mean you are weak or have failed.  It means that you are big enough to admit you don’t have all the answers and could use a little guidance.  It means that you want to do the right thing and get your elder loved one the help that he/she needs and deserves.

Start the process by agreeing to the following:

• Agree to work together
• Agree to discuss different opinions without making it personal
• Agree to ask questions and seek options
• Agree to disagree but still continue on working toward a solution

Learn about different elder care options.  Smart aging never gets old.

What are Senior Living and Elder Care?

By: Tom Callahan
       Only Seniors, LLC
       Crisis Manager and Consultant

We hear the terms senior living and elder care thrown around and everyone seems to have a different opinion and answer for what they are.  So in order to get a clearer understanding of the concepts, we must first ask more questions:

1. What is a senior?
2. At what age does "senior living" start?
3. Why should I be concerned or think about it now?
4. Elder care - that's a nursing home, right?
5. How much does it cost?
6. That's covered by Medicare, right?

Senior Living and Elder Care is an industry - SURPRISE!  It is an industry dedicated to providing a lifestyle and support to people as they get older.  It is comprised of many different parts, styles, age groups, socio-economic levels and care needs.

To better understand it, let's break it down according to the question:

1. What is a senior?  Typically, a senior is an older person who is retired and collecting a pension, (which can include social security). 
2. At what age does "senior living" start?  The Senior Living and Elder Care Industry includes anyone who is pre-retirement, aged 55 and older in this category. 
3. Why should I be concerned or think about it now?  Because, whether we like it or not, we age everyday.  Putting off thinking about or planning for the inevitable means that you may not save enough money or have enough insurance when you do get to be a senior.  A wise man once said, "Failure to plan is a plan to fail." 
4. Elder Care - that's a nursing home, right?  Yes and no.  A nursing home is merely one component of elder care.  There is also Home Health Care, Assisted Living, Memory Care Communities, Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities, (NORCs), Continuing Care Retirement Communities, (CCRCs) and the list goes one. 
5. How much does it cost?  How much do you have?  Well, that's probably not enough.  Yes, I know it’s not much of an answer, but it is the truth.
6. That's covered by Medicare, right?  No, not all of it.  Medicare covers doctor visits, prescriptions, hospital stays and rehabilitation.  It does not cover senior living.  See - I told you that you didn't have enough.

In the next coming months, each of these topics will be explored in much greater detail.  Professionals from each aspect of senior living will be interviewed and give their insight on what you can do to be better prepared to face the future of your aging.  We will have insights from financial advisors, elder care attorneys, assisted living and nursing home administrators.  We will explore topics such as Medicare/Medicaid, wills, trusts, Long Term Care insurance, and Dementia/Alzheimer’s disease. 

Our goal is to make you an educated consumer when it comes to senior living and elder care.  We all have questions.  So let’s explore the answers together.

Please feel free to submit questions to tom@onlyseniors.com.

For quick information, feel free to visit www.onlyseniors.com.

Not Everything that is Important is Actually Urgent

By: David Schuchman
       Princeton Technology Advisors, LLC
       Innovative Solutions for Your Growing Business

Some tasks and projects require more urgency than others. However, if we consider everything to be urgent, we clog our work queue and confuse trivialities with important priorities. Sometimes the challenge we face as a manager is to distinguish between what is actually urgent and what is not. Consider these tips to help you determine what truly is urgent.

Don’t assume that “Urgent” means “Immediately”

Explore with the person that made the request of you what they are really trying to accomplish and when it’s actually needed. Sometimes the sense of urgency is just a way of conveying a person’s importance and power, or even a reflection of personal anxiety. Giving that person a little bit of your time before starting on their request may be sufficient for them to be assured you understand their request and its urgency. Then, you will have the opportunity to determine when you will actually need to address the request.

Distinguish between an urgent crisis and an urgent request

There are times when people making a request have issues that need to be resolved right away, and diving in immediately is the right thing to do. But depending on your business, this may actually be the exception rather than the norm. Probe the person that made the request of you about what would happen if you got back to them in a couple of days or the next week. Often, as long as you commit to a specific completion time, that will be sufficient.

Be prepared to say "No"

Good customer service doesn’t necessarily mean doing everything that the person requests. More importantly it means doing what is best for them, even when they may not realize it. Talk through the implications and outcomes of what the requester is asking for and make sure it’s the right thing to do. Explain your reason why in order to get them to understand and agree.


The PICK chart illustrated at the top of this post is a tool used for organizing and categorizing process improvement ideas in a Lean Six Sigma project. The acronym stands for Possible, Implement, Challenge, Kill.