Blog of Jon Grossart, Certified Rolfer

How Common is Low-Back Pain?

Jon Grossart — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:16:47 +0000

Here is an interesting article I just saw this morning. Basically, it’s saying that 8/10 people have back pain in their lives. That’s a whole lot of people. Some of it has to do with sedentary lifestyles, but a lot has to do with the fact that we do a lot of activities that our bodies just weren’t created for — like sitting, computers, driving, walking in shoes. Over time, all of this adds up and can create stress.

http://www.livescience.com/health/low-back-pain-100308.html

Of course, I recommend Rolfing or other similar body work things, but even simple activities likes stretching and getting your body up and moving can be a great help.

Well this is one way to improve posture

Jon Grossart — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:56:02 +0000

Well, a good friend sent this picture to me awhile back. Apparently, there is a store here in Portland selling this contraption. It is definitely one way to help your child have better posture.

Of course, another way would be to engage your child in learning how to move properly (or quite frankly, in today’s sedentary society, move at all). There are of course times when some health care treatments are needed, but many times, bigger problems down the road can be avoided by a little upfront work. And hey, getting yourself moving with your kids isn’t a bad idea.

Placebo effect measured in fMRI machine

Jon Grossart — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:13:54 +0000

I find this pretty interesting. The placebo effect is super powerful. And regardless of what western medicine wants to believe, it plays a role in all forms of healing. If it can be combined with actual beneficial treatments, all the better. It’s the same as having “positive intentions”.

The article can be found at New Scientist.

Dr. Andrew Weil recommends Rolfing

Jon Grossart — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:59:15 +0000

Check our what Dr. Andrew Weil says about Rolfing!!

Neat article on “Fox Walking”

Jon Grossart — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:15:10 +0000

I just found this interesting article about walking the “fox walk”. I haven’t read it fully, but I thought I would link to it. I don’t think bunions are caused by shoes necessarily, but by bad food mechanics (which aren’t really helped by shoes). I found the link via this article about barefoot running on Neatorama.

I personally love the Vibram FiveFingers shoes. I’ve been wearing them for 3 years or since they first came out. And I have gone running with them. It is tricky to walk in a city environment with them though. They don’t provide any padding, so walking on concrete can cause sore feet more quickly than when wearing shoes, even for people who have mobile, well-adapted feet. But it does really allow you feel how you use your feel.

A good, mobile walk does involve a 3-D movement of the hips as well as twisting of the spine at several different depth levels (think of 3 varying length springs within one another).

If you have any shoe questions, send me an email or leave a comment.

OK…so I’m really bad at posting

Jon Grossart — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:30:14 +0000

But I do have a reason. I’m not a huge fan of divulging personal information on the internet. Personally, I think people who blurt their whole lives out on Facebook/Twitter/etc. are just asking for privacy issues down the line. Criminals are even using it to know when people are out on vacation so they know when no one will be home. Social media can be good and connecting, but it can also go too far in personal disclosure.

Anyway, I digress. I don’t like lots of personal info out there in an uncontrolled area for people to just keep around. So I don’t post much. Plus, I want to make this blog useful to the readers, so I’m not sure what I should be writing about.

Any one have any ideas about what they’d like to see on this blog? Feel free to ask me questions about what you’d like info on.

Thanks.

So I’m not good at posting

Jon Grossart — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 05:02:51 +0000

I’m not the best poster. Sorry to all my readers. I am going to make an effort to have some more posts coming up soon. I’ve been up to a lot of things lately, so I have a bunch to actually post about. Stay tuned.

Happy May Day

Jon Grossart — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:30:43 +0000

Happy May Day, Portland. It’s a nice, sunny day out, so make sure to get out there and enjoy some sunshine.

Stressful Times

Jon Grossart — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:03:40 +0000

There are a lot of stressful things going on in the world right now, with no real end in sight. Modern society has a problem with stress. Animals deal with stress immediately and show much less long term effects than humans. It’s easy to stop being stressed when the tiger is no longing stressing you. It’s a lot harder to stop being stressed over modern worries–money, jobs, homes, anonymous Wall St. bankers, etc. There is no “real” threat to our bodies, so the stress just continues and so does the bodies response. This leads to cortisol imbalances in the body, which over time, stresses the adrenal glands.

Since the body is basically stuck in a flight-or-flight response for essentially and never ending period of time, we just get worn out. Our immune system is also on a state of alert this whole time looking for potential wounds and invaders to heal, which may or may not be there (no tiger bites, after all). It will eventually run out of energy to be so vigilant and SOMETHING will slip through whether that be a cold, flu, or even something as challenging as cancer.

Now is the best time to do something for yourself and your body. Go meditate, sing, take a walk, etc. Do something that relaxes you and gets out of the daily grind to give your whole being a chance to relax. For me, I know I’m most relaxes when I’m spending time in a nice, mossy forest. The Columbia River Gorge is one my favorite places to be in the Portland area. Of course, if you can’t manage a whole day out in nature, maybe just take a few minutes in your local park or just walk around the block. Your body and immune system will thank you.

Beautiful, Verdant Portland

Jon Grossart — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:04:53 +0000

Why do I love Portland? Because it’s February, and even though the weather is still cold, things are springing to life.

I am originally from Chicago, and grass starts to turn green around April. Grass (what little there is) barely turns brown here if at all, and it starts to grow again in January.

I mean, come on people…it’s February and trees and bushes are all ready starting to bloom….that’s AMAZING.