4 Bodies you need to take care of

Good Day everyone,

It has been a while since I have written anything. I have been busy studying and learning from the people I have been working with.

I have really learned about health and wellness looking at what I call the different bodies.

Energy body

Emotional body

Mental body

Physical body

And how each can affect your health individually and in combination with each other. If one is affected it can and will over time affect the other ones.

That is why it is so important to look after each body and make sure they are in harmony.

To give you some examples

Energy Body – is the body that takes on positive and negative energy be it your cell phone, computer, power wires, positive or  negative people, places or things just to give you an example.  Will affect your energy body positively or negatively depending on the situation.

Emotional body—when you think of emotions of being positive, happy, grateful, in love vs being negative mad, sad, depressed.

Mental body- this is important like a muscle you have to work it out but not over due it. Make sure you are living towards a dream and enjoying the journey.

Physical Body – This is one that is most talked about in the media, books, articles…etc using the physical body you have to make sure you are exercising and using your body daily. If you do not use it you lose it. Also you have to make sure you do not over train.

The reason why I wanted to give you a little foundation about this is because working with people all across the world I have found that if you do not harmonize all bodies then the issue will come back.

I have seen this with health issue, business, relationships challenges you name it.  When I first started working with people I was working on the Physical by making sure people were eating the right foods, sleeping properly, hydrating themselves, exercising properly, then I would work on the mental emotional challenges because I know hormonally the body was balancing out nutritionally.  I had some success but I found that there were certain people that would fall back into the same routine.  Which I would have to go back through the process and make sure they were on track until I started to work on all the bodies. Once I incorporated energy work and balancing with all the other coaching my success rate increased. The people were getting better result while feeling amazing through the process.

What I recommend if you are dealing with any life challenges is to do this first work on the

1 st Energy body- have some energy work done from a Reiki Practitioner to help you get balanced out

2 nd Physical body – get on the right nutrition plan and exercise program to help balance out your energy, hormones and focus

3 rd Mental body – have an over arching dream that you are working towards by learning your Legacy, your values and setting proper goals

4 th Emotional body- make sure you doing the above and your emotional state will change if not see a professional that can help teach you why your emotions are not serving you and how you can manage them.

I am going to go into more detail for each body and how to achieve success in each area.

Love & Chi,

Brandon Krieger,
Clinical Director, Holistic Lifestyle Coach, Reiki Practitioner & Professional Speaker

For more information contact Ultimate Sports Therapy at info@ultimatesportstherapy.com or visit us at www.ultimatesportstherapy.com/reiki.html

The Benefits of Jumping Rope

Training in boxing for numerous years has made me accustom to warming up and using a jump rope for conditioning in training.  I think I have used almost every type of rope imaginable from multi-coloured beaded ropes, leather, PVC rope to 2 to 5 pound weighted ropes and enjoyed learning foot work, doubles, triples, crossovers and 180 to 360 turns.   There are many benefits to taking up jumping rope.  It can be used as a very cheap and easy way to train the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems or as variety to spice up any training program as well as an activity for the enhancement of any sports or athletic program.  I also use it in mid to late stages of healing and into a return to sports phases of rehab.

To elicit an aerobic training response with rope jumping you must maintain a consistence speed that holds your heart rate between 70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate – your maximum heart rate can be calculated by taking 220 and misusing your age i.e. if you were 30 years old you take 220 – 30 which gives you a maximum heart rate of 190 beats per minute in peak exertion.

However rope jumping has its best benefits in a power phase of training when the anaerobic system is being utilized.  In this phase the greatest gains are capitalized on to peak competitive advantage in speed which is quickness over a sustained period of time,  agility which is one’s ability to accelerate, decelerate and make quick changes in direction as balance, speed and control is maintained and in an  athletic explosiveness.

The best surface to jump rope on is a hard non-slip surface.  Soft surfaces provide more give but require more energy to push off which slows down the speed and momentum much like running in sand does.  This will increase muscular endurance and strength but does not capitalize the plyomentric effect of speed rope work.   This works by using gravity to store potential energy in the muscles which immediately turn this stored energy into kinetic energy.

But what rope is best?  Just as with choosing any other exercise equipment quality and material matter.  Jump rope made from leather have been around for 90 years but waste energy on turning the rope and the rope is not adjustable making one have to turn the rope in wide circles if to big or hunch over if the rope is to short promoting poor posture and injury.  Thick cord, beaded, heavy, cotton or nylon ropes are made from slow turning materials and slow the speed of each turn create drag therefore no matter how fast you try and turn the rope the rope will not turn fast enough to benefit hand and foot speed needed in sports.  A speed rope like a hyperformance swivel ball bearing rope will help develop and produce lightning fast reflexes.

An easy guide to measuring your rope to ensure it is the right height for you is to stand on the center of the rope with one foot and pull the two handles to measure up with the armpit.  A more experienced jumper can use a shorter rope, one that extends from the foot to the upper chest.

Happy skipping!

Book; Jump Rope Training techniques and programs for improved fitness and performance by Buddy Lee

For more information contact Ultimate Sports Therapy at info@ultimatesportstherapy.com or visit us at http://www.ultimatesportstherapy.com/osteopathy.html

Carolyn Zepf
osteopathy (current study) & Certified Athletic Therapist, Keynote & Professional Speaker

Why Osteopathy?

Ever since I took action to enhance my career by studying osteopathy at Canadian College of Osteopathy my patients have been asking me what exactly it is I’m studying.  Some of my patients have been adventurous and attempted to put a defining word to what it is which usual ends up being “osteo means bone right? or “oh osteopathy, you do treats on bones?”  My answer is always “yes along with the rest of the body.”

The profession of osteopathy is so vast in its entirety that it is difficult to give a brief explanation as to what exactly it is, but I am going to attempt this great feat!

Let’s start by saying that osteopathy is a science and an art.  Curious statement I know, but when you see that it is a science because it requires a keen and in depth knowledge of anatomy and an art because through the use of trained hands an assessment of the entirety of the patient can be gained that statement starts to make sense.  Osteopathy comes from the word “osteome” which means structures of all living matter i.e. bone, soft tissue, organs, veins, arteries, etc.  and “pathos” which translates into “a profound emotion” or “an emotion which needs to be expressed”.   So when you put “Osteome” and “Pathos” together to form the word “Osteopathy” you have a word that implies that the whole person and how they express themselves must be taken into consideration as that person is treatment in their entirety.   It is the job of the osteopathy to restore mobility to each system so the body can be balanced both in its internal and external environments.

Over the past 3 months I have been incorporation osteopathic techniques into my patient’s treatment plans with great success.  I had a new patient a few weeks back that came into the clinic with a hamstring strain that normally takes 6 weeks of rehab to heal.  In three treatments over a week and a half I used a few osteopathic techniques to regain balance in the lower back, hip area and balanced out the body to create homeostasis.   My patient can back for their 4^th treatment and had regained their normal range of motion back in their hamstring and their pain was down from 6/10 to 2/10 and I had not even touched their hamstring yet!  Another patient I had not seeing in a while came in last weekend for treatment after a car accident.  Their body was achy and they were visibly tired.  I did an hour treatment for them.  A few days later they came in and looked wonderful.  Their colour was back and the dark circles under their eyes where gone along with their stooped posture.

If you have not had a change to be treated osteopathically now is the time.  If you are unsure as to what an osteopath can treat just remember an osteopath is able to assess anything in the body and works with other health care professionals to ensure your greatest quality of health.

For more information contact Ultimate Sports Therapy at info@ultimatesportstherapy.com or visit us at http://www.ultimatesportstherapy.com/osteopathy.html

Carolyn Zepf
osteopathy (current study) & Certified Athletic Therapist, Keynote & Professional Speaker

Ultimate Sports Therapy Annual Pot Luck Holiday Party

Brandon Krieger Holistic Lifestyle Coach Clarifies Ultimate Sports Therapy’s Name

I see so many people looking at our name Ultimate Sports Therapy and really thinking a few things. Like they only treat extreme sports and wouldn’t be able to help me with my injury.  The other one I hear is don’t you only treat athletes?

I can completely understand how Ultimate Sports Therapy’s name can give people that impression.

When we developed Ultimate Sports Therapy we really wanted to become the leaders in Holistic Therapy. The word Ultimate for us means to be the best of the best at Holistic Therapy. Now people think of Sports as football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, boxing, mixed martial arts. I am sure we can all agree our definition of someone that plays sports is considered to be an athlete. Now what if I told you that everyone is an athlete because we all have to squat, twist, lunge, bend, push, pull and walk. With that definition if anyone moves they are an athlete.  Last but not least Therapy, we have decided to take a holistic approach to therapy not just looking at the injury but looking at the whole person. We look at the nutrition, sleep, hydration, stress levels, mental, emotional, posture and the injury as a whole. This way when someone gets treated we make sure we are treating the cause not the symptom.

Now when you hear the name Ultimate Sports Therapy you will know we are working towards being the Best in Holistic Therapy for all people.

Brandon Krieger,
Clinical Director, Holistic Lifestyle Coach, Reiki Practitioner & Professional Speaker

For more information contact Ultimate Sports Therapy at info@ultimatesportstherapy.com or visit us at www.ultimatesportstherapy.com/lifestylecoaching.html

Myofascial Technique for Back Pain

Most people have no idea what techniques their therapist uses during their treatments.  Have you ever gone to your physical therapist and asked for them to use a “Myofascial technique” on you to get rid of your back pain?  I would guess no you have not.   That being said it is important to have some idea of treatment methods and how they work.  Let us began by looking into what a Myofascial technique is and what it can do to improve your pain.  First and foremost we must discuss fascia.  Fascia is an expansive connective tissue that covers every muscle, blood vessel, bone, nerve, organ, the brain and spinal cord and is present at a cellular level.  The function of fascia is that of support both dynamic and static, transportation system for fluids, and in healing through the laying down of scar tissue.    Injury or overuse can lead into fascial restrictions which will cause poor cellular function, disease, pain, and dysfunction throughout the entire body and in some causes lead into seemingly unrelated symptoms.

So what is a Myofascial release technique?  Your therapist would by using their hands exaggerate the tension in your fascia with a constant light traction and while maintaining this traction they would follow those tensions until a still point was reached – a still point is a point at which there is no movement.  At this point they would assist the tissue to an improved range of motion.  This technique places the tissue into a position of ease.  By doing this the fascia will unwind and relax which will help normalize tension, return mobility, increased circulation in blood flow and waste removal and overall vitality to the injured area.

For more information contact Ultimate Sports Therapy at info@ultimatesportstherapy.com or visit us at http://www.ultimatesportstherapy.com/osteopathy.html

Carolyn Zepf
osteopathy (current study) & Certified Athletic Therapist, Keynote & Professional Speaker

Cleanse or Not to Cleanse that is the question

Cleanse or not to cleanse that is the question

Now a days so many people are talking about cleansing and fasting.  People are cleansing for all sorts of reasons be it for weight loss, colon, kidney, liver, gall bladder…etc. I am all for cleanses I just see too many people jumping right to cleanses before building the foundation first.

Our body have a natural elimination system that works on getting rid of the waste that our body creates from it natural processes. Now when people add more waste to the system, the elimination system can get over worked and not function optimally.  This is when cleansing is needed to help clear out what the natural system is having a hard time removing.

Before doing any cleanses people need to first look at their lifestyles. How they eat, sleep, their stools, exercise, and hydration. If these are not providing your temple with optimal health a cleanse is not going do anything except clean the pipes for a short period of time. Then they are going to get clogged up again once you go back to your hold habits.  Our bodies work on natural rhythms and if you do not establish those natural rhythms back, the body is not going to know how to eliminate. The tubes will get backed up and then you will be doing a cleanse again and again.  Think of your body as trillions of tubes that all work together. Our body has a natural way of cleansing these tubes, but through our lifestyle, stress, poor quality foods and eating habits our tubes start to get damaged.

Now if you were a plumber looking at dealing with this in your house, you would first try to clean the tubes with some liquid cleanser. If that did not work you would use a something stronger or even a wire brush to scrub. If that did not work you would replace the pipe.

This is no different than how people look at their bodies. They go through the same process not realizing it is what they are putting down the pipe in the first place that is clogging the pipes. Then they are not looking moving the fluid (exercise) and only putting the best food and water down the pipes which helps keep the pipes clean.

I have worked with lots of people who first initially came to me because they wanted a cleanse because they had a certain health challenges. I put them on a healthy eating plan, they started to exercise, reduced the stress and the body started to cleanse naturally.  The people went through a detoxification and saw a lot of changes in their body.  Now if a tube is blocked and needs some help after that then I would recommend going on a cleanse because then they have the proper eating, exercise, stress levels and hydration that will keep the body healthy.

I would recommend first create a healthy lifestyle of proper eating, exercise, reduce your stress and hydration. Then if needed go on cleanse to care the tubes.

For more information contact Ultimate Sports Therapy at info@ultimatesportstherapy.com or visit us at www.ultimatesportstherapy.com/lifestylecoaching.html

Brandon Krieger,
Clinical Director, Holistic Lifestyle Coach, Reiki Practitioner & Professional Speaker