emotional wellbeing - Darwin Health Care - Darwin Kinesiology Clinic

Happiness and Joy

24/05/2022 • Uncategorized • by Rena

As a Kinesiologist a large part of my work with clients includes looking at the emotional aspects of the issue at hand.

Often the word to describe the emotion is very specific. Last week I was working with a lady who needed more “joy” in her life. I had been testing “happiness”, which we had considered as the same, but “joy” definitely tested as the correct word.

There are subtle differences between the two feelings.

Happiness and joy are closely related and frequently occur simultaneously. They both bring feelings of contentment, pleasure and satisfaction, but the reasons for these feelings are where differences lie.

Happiness is an outward expression of bliss and elation and comes from material things and earthly experiences, for example good food or company. Whereas joy is a more inward experience of peace and contentment, from spiritual experiences like feeling connected to a god or people. Joy requires an ongoing process of living a moral, more selfless lifestyle, caring for others and expressing gratitude on a regular basis.

Because happiness is based on outward circumstances, it is often more fleeting. Whereas joyfulness takes longer to cultivate, it is a stronger, longer term state less influenced by life’s ups and downs.

It’s worth your time, effort and energy to cultivate more happiness and joy in your life. There are health benefits, including; stronger immune systems, lower heart rate and blood pressure, fewer aches and pains and longer life spans.

Here are some simple hints to integrate more happiness and joy in your life. Read More…

It takes more than one thing to heal

18/11/2021 • Uncategorized • by Rena

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8 Dimensions of health

People often think of healing only in terms of physical health but there are more aspects that should be considered!

Holistic health is linked to the choices and actions we take to bring together different dimensions to work in harmony: nurturing the spirit, engaging the mind as well as addressing physical aspects of good health. Importantly, it is also an awareness of the physical, social and cultural environments in which we live.

Eight dimensions of wellness should be considered when we strive to heal ourselves from injury or illness, neglecting one will eventually adversely affect another. Read More…

Adapting to change

24/02/2021 • Change, General wellbeing, goals, Mental wellbeing, Positive attitude, self care, stress, Uncategorized • by Rena

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If 2020 was the year of cancelled plans and forced change, what does 2021 hold for us?

The risk of infection and prospect of lockdowns and border closures means uncertainty is our constant companion, at least for now.

We are not in total control of anything. But being resilient and adaptable are qualities that have helped humans survive for centuries; these are the same qualities we need to navigate the changes forced on us over the past year.

Two maxims I use to view change in a more positive light are: “Whatever happens I’ll be ok” and “What if this is the best thing that could have happened?” Read More…

Getting stuff done

21/03/2019 • General wellbeing, Mental wellbeing, self care, self sabotage, Uncategorized • by Rena

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A few weeks ago, I worked with a client who was struggling with procrastination. You know, that great thief of time.

She had a series of assessments she needed to hand in to complete her course; she frequently found herself being distracted and avoided getting them done. A few days after our session she contacted me to say she had already finished five, and was well on her way to completing the rest.

I often work with clients who feel stuck or blocked, who struggle with procrastination and avoid uncomfortable tasks. They sabotage their own ability because they don’t feel ready, or lack the confidence, energy, time or motivation to make that first move and then follow through.

This is a subject I feel somewhat of an expert on – there was a stage where the “pro” in procrastination could have referred to me. Here are some of the ideas and techniques I use to keep procrastination at bay.

Just start!

Above my desk I have a hand-embroidered sign that simply says “Start”.

This has been an invaluable reminder when it’s time to write another blog and I find myself sitting at my desk staring at a blinking cursor on a blank computer screen. To just type notes and develop ideas gives me a base to build my next article.

Sometimes the pathway or process to completion only comes to light after you get started. Read More…

3 Ways to Achieve Better Health

31/08/2017 • General wellbeing, Kinesiology, Mental wellbeing, Nutrition, physical • by Rena

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When the physical, bio-chemical and emotional sides of your life are working in harmony, balance is achieved. Kinesiology uses this “Triangle of Health” to provide equilibrium and complete bodily health.

Kinesiolgists use muscle testing to detect and correct imbalances related to stress, nutrition, learning problems, injuries and energy. By looking at the whole person and the way they function and interact with their environment – rather than focusing on symptoms or named diseases – Kinesiologists can determine how your health and well-being is affected by imbalance and make necessary corrections.

Let’s look at how imbalance can affect your health. Read More…

What is muscle testing?

02/07/2017 • Kinesiology • by Rena

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A Kinesiologist’s main ‘tool of trade’ is muscle testing, but many people have difficultly understanding and explaining what it is and how it works, so I am going to try and clarify it here. Basically a kinesiologist uses muscle testing to find what and where the imbalances causing ill health are occuring in your body, and from there how to bring it back into balance to acheive your ideal health and wellbeing. So what is muscle testing and how does it work?

Goal setting

30/09/2016 • Uncategorized • by Rena

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Why set goals?

Setting goals helps to give your life direction and purpose. It helps to organise your time and resources so you can create the life you want to live. They help you to focus your energy in a positive direction.

How do I get started?

A great first step to take in goal setting is to brain storm a list of what you would like to achieve. At this stage don’t think about what is possible or likely, just make a wish list.

Another of my favourite ways to find the goals to put your heart and soul into, is work out a picture of how you would like your life/lifestyle to look in 5 years’ time. Don’t get bogged down in the name of a specific location, but you can be very specific about; climate, style of home, social life, travel, employment, ability to regularly walk on the beach/bush/mountains. Make your picture as detailed and complete as possible. Read More…

Magnesium

30/09/2016 • Uncategorized • by Rena

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So there you are peacefully asleep, happily in the land of dreams, when…. Whammo!!!! You’re viciously woken by extreme pain in your calf and your foot is pointed in a position that would be the envy of a ballerina. You silently scream and try not to thrash about too much so you don’t wake your partner. You sit up a knead away at your calf and then stand and try limping around to get the calf to release the cramp….

I know many of you will be familiar with the scenario above and will already be taking a magnesium supplement to try to reduce the frequency and severity of muscle cramps. But do you know how magnesium works to alleviate cramping? And, did you know there are many other benefits of ensuring you have adequate levels of magnesium in your system?

Balancing our energy is like balancing our finances

30/09/2016 • Uncategorized • by Rena

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When it comes to our finances, ideally we want the flow of money to be higher income than expenditure. If the flow is in the right balance we have “left overs” that we can bank and keep in reserve for harder times. If the hard times go on for a long time we use up all our reserves and start going into debt. The further into debt we slide the harder it is to come out of. We know that once our finances are back into the right balance we know that it will take time to firstly get out of debt and then to build up reserves again.

In our youth our bodies are quite good at producing more energy than is expended, and we can easily build up reserves. When we hit a period of extra demand on our energy, we have the reserves there to handle the extra drain. For example when we’re young we can pull a series of all-nighters for work or uni and survive quite well afterwards. Unfortunately, this can lull us into a false sense of security, we mistakenly think that because we managed so well in the past, we can continue to use up our energy without acknowledging it needs to be replenished at some stage.

As we age, our body becomes less efficient at energy production and our ability to produce more energy than we use is diminished. If we are moderately healthy, we may be producing enough energy to sustain our normal day to day energy expenditure but not enough to build up reserves. Many of us have health issues that mean our ability to produce energy is so diminished that we are not even producing enough to sustain our “normal” activity. If we continue to drain our energy faster than it’s replaced, we will start heading into energy “debt”. And, the longer we continue this pattern, the further into debt we slide.

We are like our mobile phones!?!

30/09/2016 • Uncategorized • by Rena

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When you buy a mobile phone it comes with default settings. Over time you download a variety of apps to help you to use the phone more efficiently. When something happens and your phone needs repair, it usually comes back with the default factory settings and you have to download all your favourite apps again.

The advantage is that now you know which apps are the most useful and you only download those, not bothering with the ones that you rarely or never use. You might also download a few new and different ones because you want to test them out and see if they will be helpful. So now you have a phone that is functioning even better than before.