Success in any field in this world most often comes to those who constantly seek to better themselves. This betterment can take many forms, from physical fitness to continuing education. Any efforts at self-improvement represent a positive mindset and a pursuit toward a more fulfilling and successful life. Many people, however, fail to realize that all the varied aspects of our lives are completely interconnected. While most recognize this to some extent, the depth and breadth of this interconnectedness can be incredibly subtle. Seemingly unrelated decisions frequently impact our lives in ways we never thought possible.

Exercise, for example, connects to physical health, mental health, and emotional health. Countless studies prove all three conclusively, and most people know this already. Less well known, your physical fitness can impact your financial health as well, sometimes by as much as tens of thousands of dollars per year. This may seem odd, but plenty of direct and indirect costs and benefits to physical health stand as evidence of this fact.

Obesity has become a nationwide epidemic. A number of factors contribute to this, including the quality of food readily available, the frequency of exercise, and the dramatic increase in eating out over the past several decades. As a culture, we constantly push the unrealistic model-standard beauty image, while simultaneously bombarding one another with messages encouraging eating out, indulging in junk, perpetuating laziness, the list goes on.

The resulting obesity causes and correlates with dozens of life-threatening conditions, causing increased annual medical expenses. Less directly, it can also increase life insurance premiums, increase grocery expenses to accommodate the higher caloric daily intake, and higher annual costs for eating out more frequently. Over the course of a year, this can end up costing thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars.

Many of our small, daily health decisions end up costing a great deal over the long term. Taking good care of your body is one of the best investments a person can make for themselves, often in many broader-reaching ways than we would ever assume at first glance.

Take a look at this infographic from InvestmentZen and see some of the top health choices that end up costing a lot of money over time.

KIMA is an urban healing space that combines physical therapy and preventative medicine with integrative and holistic wellness services. By focusing on root cause resolution we treat the cause of pain and not the symptoms.

Moving into the new year we at KIMA are excited to offer several advanced therapeutic practices. In addition to our traditional PT expertise, this post will acquaint you with the unique tools and methods with which we help to guide our patients to a pain-free existence. Here’s what you can expect from us in 2017:

Your story is important

When you meet with your Therapist for the first time, they will ask you about any past physical trauma or pain and consider emotional trauma and how thoughts and beliefs play a role in the experience of pain. Together, you and your PT will discuss goals and reach an understanding of what is meaningful for you on your journey to optimal health and well-being.

Evaluation

Physical Therapy sessions are indeed physical, but they are not in any way rigorous and are often very pleasant. Based on your story, the site of your pain and your goals, your therapist will use a clinical reasoning approach to assess your body’s mechanics and simple movements. For example, let’s say you’re experiencing hip pain when walking. Your PT may ask you to perform a simplified movement such as standing and slowly transferring your weight onto the painful leg. The PT will identify which parts of the body struggle to transfer the weight in order to determine a chain of causality that ultimately leads to hip pain.

Getting to the Root Cause of Pain

Traditional Diagnosis

The source of pain may not always reside in the painful area itself – although you may experience pain in your hip, the cause of the pain could be located elsewhere – your ribcage, pelvis, or even feet. A good Physical Therapist will apply their honed clinical reasoning skills to test (and retest), investigating the potential root cause of the specific pain.

For example: Let’s say that while transferring weight onto the painful leg your Therapist observes that the arch collapses into a flat foot and the thigh/knee region rotates inward. This inward rotation puts a  strain on the hip labrum (cartilage of the hip joint) leading to the complaint of hip pain with walking. A complete ‘movement diagnosis’ might look something like: “Labral tear in the hip secondary to a hip internal rotation control dysfunction that is driven by the foot.”

A good PT will  address the cause of the pain – the lack of control at the foot – and craft the patient’s therapy around the cause rather than the symptoms.

Advanced Tools

Technological advancements have allowed Physical Therapists to incorporate research-grade equipment into their diagnoses and treatment, providing higher quality care for their patients. Biofeedback in particular is very useful as it is important that the patient not only understands why they are doing the exercises but know they are doing them correctly. A major goal of PT is to help the patient feel something new in their body and carry the newly learned strategy into their daily movements.

Real-Time Ultrasound

Real-time ultrasound machines are biofeedback tools that allow PTs to look at the deep stabilizing muscles of the core.

These muscles are largely responsible for the stabilization of the spine. Hands-on techniques to monitor usage of the deep core musculature have proven to be ineffective in many cases. Real-time ultrasound is an extremely useful tool as it provides clear pictures in real-time. Patients and PTs can identify which cues elicit optimal contraction of the deep stabilizing muscles such as the transversus abdominus and multifidus to can reduce back pain. Once these cues have been identified, they can then be incorporated into patients’ daily exercise or activity routine to eliminate symptoms of pain.

Breathing Analysis

Millions of people worldwide suffer with the profound and misunderstood symptoms and deficits of learned dysfunctional breathing habits. Symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, brain fog, and muscle tension are often caused by dysfunctional breathing. These poor habits are highly correlated to chronic pain. The physical therapist can identify these dysfunctional breathing patterns and triggers using an instrument called a CapnoTrainer.

The patient breathes into a nasal cannula and the data enters into the CapnoTrainer and is represented as a graph on a computer screen. Using this real time biofeedback the Therapist and client work together to learn new breathing behavior patterns and reduce pain.

Protokinetics & ZenoMat Gait Analysis

Using this cutting edge science we can measure components of our patients walking or running that our eyes cannot see. For example, we can precisely identify where the foot strikes on landing or calculate in milliseconds the difference between the time spent on the right foot vs the left, or the exact stride distance to identify asymmetries.  Once we have determined where the patterns are non-optimal we can prescribe exercise or shoes to optimize mechanics and eliminate pain. We do baseline testing at the initial evaluation and re-assess as the patient progresses on their healing journey and in their sports specific training program. Click here to learn more about gait analysis.

3-D Live Motion Capture and Analysis

The ability to correct faulty movement patterns is central to rehabilitation and performance optimization. The Noraxon system gives KIMA access to research grade 3-D live motion capture and analysis combined with multi channel EMG, all done wirelessly.  These machines can measure joint angles, movement speeds and muscle activation and inhibition during practically any movement; from something as simple as standing up to something as complex as a baseball pitch!

Advanced Treatment

Once a comprehensive evaluation has been completed and the root causes of pain identified, a personalized therapy plan can be created by the Therapist with the client’s goals in mind.

Manual Therapy:

Manual therapy is the application of an accurately determined and specifically directed manual force to the body, in order to improve mobility in areas that are restricted; in joints, in connective tissues or in skeletal muscles. An integral part of a physical therapy session is hands on technique. At KIMA there are many therapist with advanced certification in manual therapy.

Therapeutic Exercise

Therapeutic exercise is the scientific use of bodily movements to restore normal function in injured tissues or to maintain a state of well being, (also called corrective exercise). The therapist will identify the site and direction of uncontrolled movement and where in the body the problem is driven from and prescribe an exercise program based on their findings.

Clinical Pilates

Clinical Pilates is a distinct form of Pilates that is performed by a licensed Physical Therapist. Pilates emphasizes your body’s core muscles. These are the deep, internal muscles of the abdomen and back. When the core muscles are strong and doing their job, as they are trained to do in Pilates, they work in tandem with the more superficial muscles of the trunk to support the spine and movement. Pilates develops much of what exercisers actually need — strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, coordination, balance, and good posture — with a much lower chance of injury than with other forms of exercise.

Yoga Therapy

Yoga therapy is the adaptation of yoga practices for people with health challenges. Yoga therapists prescribe specific regimens of postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation techniques to suit individual needs. Medical research shows that Yoga therapy is among the most effective complementary therapies for several common ailments including  illness, a temporary condition like pregnancy or childbirth, or a chronic condition associated with old age or infirmity. More information on Yoga Therapy can be found here.

GravityFit

GravityFit is a revolutionary science based system of whole body exercise and rehabilitation that originated from a lifetime of research on core stability by world renowned expert Professor Carolyn Richardson.

The GravityFit system of exercise and rehabilitation was developed to target and strengthen the anti-gravity  muscles, such as the transversus abdominus, so that you can stay fit and strong on the inside. It focuses on restoring the shock-absorptive spinal curves and muscles that maintain length in the spine. More info on GravityFit can be found here.

APOS Therapy

KIMA is one of the few centers worldwide offering this cutting edge, personalized treatment for conditions like knee and hip osteoarthritis. The program involves the use of a foot-worn device with adjustable mechanical pods on the bottom.

Through gait analysis our certified Apos Therapist is able to redirect the ground reaction forces traveling up and compressing painful joints.  This realignment helps to decrease the muscle bracing or co-contraction around arthritic joints and specifically deloads painful areas. Next, the micro-instability offered by the convex pods optimizes information sent to the central nervous system, stimulating the antigravity stabilizing system. Patient progress is measured across several follow-ups throughout the first year of treatment using gait analysis. By restoring alignment and improving gait patterns, AposTherapy can help our clients live better with chronic conditions like osteoarthritis of the knee. More information on APOS Therapy can be found here.

Whole Body Vibration

Vibration has been used as an exercise and therapeutic tool since the late 1800s. Today you will find two types of vibration training platforms Pivotal and Linear. A Pivotal vibration platform moves like a seesaw, exerting its influence on the body in an alternating right and left motion. If we envision our body moving instead of the platform, the legs and pelvis moves up and down alternatively. This unique tool is particularly beneficial for activating “anti-gravity” joint and spine stabilizer muscles (deep muscles that elongate the spine against gravity and help reduce pain for functional activities) such as the pelvic floor, multifudus and transversus abdominus. These important deep muscles shut down from pain caused by poor posture. Whole body vibration reactivates these muscles by adding gravitational load, stimulating these muscles that are protecting and supporting our joints. Whole body vibration benefits include increasing muscle power, flexibility, balance, reduced fall risk, general proprioception, postural stability, increased bone density, increased circulation and oxygenation, pain reduction, and even hormone production.

A Linear vibration platform moves up and down in one uniform motion, exerting its influence on the body by moving both legs at the same time. There is an amplified ability to recruit 1000’s of muscle spindles at once and can achieve fatigue of a muscle group within three minutes. This tool is very useful following surgery or any injury involving muscle atrophy. More information on whole body vibration can be found here.

Essential Oils

Certified, Pure, Therapeutic Grade (CPTG) Essential Oils provide simple, natural, and effective solutions to pain and help restore and enhance not only physical, but emotional well-being. Essential oils have been used for centuries and with advancing technology and improved quality, they can be effortlessly incorporated into manual therapy techniques with better results than without these high quality oils. Essential Oils present an organic and science-based alternative to pharmaceuticals and aide patients in their recovery.

Book a consultation with us today!

Tracey Vincel, PT, MPhty,

At KIMA we are proud to possess several cutting edge technologies that allow us to supplement our clinical examinations with greater detail and provide patients with the best possible treatment. One of our most powerful tools is the Protokinetics Zeno; a 20 foot long forceplate that generates key insights into how you walk, run, even jump and cut.

How it works

As you walk the length of the forceplate, Zeno collects metrics including the speed, step & stride length of your gait in addition to finer measurements like toe widths and outward angles. Ultimately, Zeno reveals how weight is transferred across your foot, how your foot strikes the surface, and how your body’s center of mass moves from foot to foot.

How it helps

Improved Walking

By comparing the results of your Zeno analysis against established normative walking data, your specialist can provide higher-quality feedback and treatment to optimize your walking gait and its relationship to your general physical well-being.

For sufferers of chronic lower limb pain, the gait data provided by Zeno is a major component of the assessment for Apos Therapy. Through gait analysis one of KIMA’s certified Apos Therapists will be able to redirect the ground reaction forces traveling up and compressing painful joints, decreasing the muscle bracing or co-contraction around arthritic joints and de-loading painful areas. By restoring alignment and improving gait patterns, Apos Therapy is very effective with chronic conditions like osteoarthritis of the knee. KIMA is one of the few centers worldwide offering this cutting edge, personalized treatment for conditions like knee and hip osteoarthritis.

Improved Running

In conjunction with treadmill video and real-time 3D motion analysis, Zeno completes our three-tiered custom tailored running assessment. This assessment is often used specifically for return-to-running programs (following injury), but is extraordinarily useful in general diagnostic workups – how running contributes to your overall biomechanical well-being.

October 2016 Kitzbühel, Austria :Tracey Vincel and Patricia Ladis co-founders of KIMA Center for Physiotherapy and Wellness join 500 delegates from 45 different countries to participate in the 10^th anniversary Global Wellness Summit. “Back to the Future“ was the theme, and the Tyrolean Alps the backdrop for this historic event.

 It was an inspiring 3 days of connecting and collaborating with senior executives, owners of wellness businesses, physicians from around the world and others recognized as distinguished leaders in their fields. The Summit agenda featured high-profile speakers and addressed the timeliest issues such as Medical Wellness, Happiness and Wellbeing, Sustainability, Architecture on the cutting edge, Industry Research, Neuroscience and Beauty, and the Future of Integrative Medicine. The GWS certainly offered the vibrancy and relevancy that has become its trademark. Here are a few highlights:

WELLNESS AT IT WAS MEANT TO BE: Dr. Franz Linser, CEO, Linser Hospitality GmbH Austria. http://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/wellness/wellness-as-it-was-meant-to-be/

With a theme of “Back to the Future” Franz Linser spoke about the visionary doctors of the 1960’s like Dr Halbert L. Dunn, Dr Jack Travis and Don Ardell who described Wellness as active health promotion through lifestyle change, embracing life as a whole…. not pampering and beauty. They defined health as proactive, connecting, living naturally healthy, living in natural rhythm, living in healthy surrounding, cherishing the gift of life and being grateful. They understood that the happiest people were surrounded by family and friends and lose themselves in daily activities. Franz suggests that we need to “go back to where we were” – back to the future. Obesity has doubled since 1980, birth rates are decreasing, and we have an epidemic of depression.. Are we living or surviving? Life expectancy has risen and in the FUTURE we need to live the vision of the founders correctly and transform for our world. We need to create an authentic wellness ambiance, transform “doing to BEING” and create biomes in which sensitive human beings can grow.

THE ECONOMY OF WELLNESS:Katherine Johnston and Ophelia Yeung, Senior Research Fellows at the Global Wellness Institute present on the 3.7 trillion Wellness Economy. http://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/research/two-researchers-with-a-lot-of-balls/

The https://www.globalwellnessinstitute.org is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization with a mission to empower wellness worldwide by educating public and private sectors about preventative health and wellness. Through its four pillars, research, initiatives, roundtable discussions, and wellnessevidence.com, the GWI serves as a “hub” that informs and connects key stakeholders capable of impacting the overall wellbeing of our planet’s citizens. Wellness is a verb about action….the active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to the state of holistic health.

The largest wellness economy is Beauty and Anti-Aging at $999 billion followed by Healthy Eating Nutrition and Weight loss at $648 billion, Fitness and Mind-Body at $542 billion, Preventive and Personalized medicine and Public Health at $534 billion, Complimentary and Alternatives Medicine at $199 billion, Wellness Lifestyle Real Estate at $119 billion, Spa at $99 billion,Thermal /Mineral Springs at $51 billion and Workplace Wellness at $43 billion. Why is wellness growing? 3 reasons: 1. Economic – more people who have money to spend 2. Health chronic disease is increasing 3. Shift in our collective consciousness

BACK TO THE ROOTS TO MANAGE THE FUTURE: Dr. Harald Stossier, Medical Director, VIVAMAYR Medical Clinic, Austria spoke about Salutogenesis which means to do whatever is necessary to remain healthy and about Dr F.X. Mayr (1875-1965) and his medical diagnosis system which spoke of a diagnosis of health not just disease. http://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/preventive-personalized-medicine/back-to-the-roots-to-manage-the-future/

Dr. Mayr succinctly posits “the intestines are to man what the roots are to the plant. Only when these roots are kept in an optimal condition of nourishment and cleanliness, will the plant (man) itself thrive and remain in optimum health”

Thus Dr. Mayr counts among the few medically-trained nutrition experts who acknowledge that the human body is never built on what it ingests but solely on what it digests and absorbs. In fact, Dr. F.X. Mayr made it a lifelong study to investigate and map in intricate detail the intimate relationship between intestinal health and cleanliness and overall health as well as beauty, and here particularly the beauty and smoothness of the skin. Dr. F.X. Mayr’s research results are all related to wrong food choices and dietary habits such as too much food for the body’s energetic requirements, food that is not properly (insufficiently) chewed and thus not pre-digested, food that is hard to digest, unwholesome processed, or food consumed at the wrong times (such as late at night). Each of the above can or will lead to intestinal and consequently/eventually bodily toxicity.

THE FUTURE OF INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE Panel with Dr. Elke Benedetto-Reisch, Medical Director, Lanserhof Group, Austria, Dr. Harry F. König, Head of Medical Care, Brenners Park Hotel & Spa, Germany,Dr. Imke König, Spa Director, Schloss Elmau Luxury Spa & Cultural Hideaway, Germany and Dr. Christine Stossier, Assistant Medical Director, VIVAMAYR Medical Clinic, Austria http://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/preventive-personalized-medicine/integrative-medicine-is-this-the-future/

What is integrative medicine? Integrative medicine is an approach to care that puts the patient at the center and addresses the full range of physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual and environmental influences that affect a person’s health. Integrative medicine is grounded in the definition of health. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity

Dr Imke Konig spoke specifically on happiness and positivity. She studies neuroscience and how the brain works and how happiness happens and explains that “Emotion” is lacking in western medicine where the patient is divided into physical or psychological. As a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine she teaches that “the emotions are one of the biggest and most dangerous pathogens”. We are in a world where “ I must do this or I must do that but do you have to do that or WANT to do that?” Consider doing sport to stay healthy? What you like to do? So important that you like what you are doing – to stay happy. Many patients battle with diet and are told to eliminate lot so foods but we need to consider “not just what food we eat, but are we enjoying food?” We are going against nature – we need to consider what we want to do to become happy? HOW do we do this? Think about what you LIKE to do and consider what you HAVE to do because of what others EXPECT you to do? Especially woman running a household, what we call meditation or flow is what we concentrate on one thing. Imagine if there were no expectations?

Dr. Elke Benedetto-Reisch addresses the “power of the mind”. The mind influences every cell of the body. The medical and science approach is merging with mindfulness – body and mind are deeply connected. The field of Psychoneuroimmunology bridges psych aspects of life endocrine and immunological data and shows evidence for deep impact for mindfulness on our health.

The Panel also touched on the idea of wellness only being available to those that can afford it. What do you really need? Do you really need luxury? The most important things are things like fresh air, walking in the forest, being kind and compassionate to others… things that doesn’t cost anything.

TIME CAPSULE CREATED: http://www.globalwellnesssummit.com/wellness/introduction-to-the-time-capsule/ To commemorate this historic 10th Anniversary Summit, delegates were asked to contribute their predictions for the future of the wellness industry, which will be sealed in a “10th Anniversary Time Capsule” in a ceremony on the final day of the conference, to be opened at the Summit in 2026.

THE CAPNOTRAINER AND CAPNOPLUS

The past decade has seen an explosion of knowledge in our understanding of pain and how it affects the body. Some of the most powerful discoveries have been in the realm of chronic pain, and how pain may linger even though the original injury may have resolved. This is attributed to the brain laying down a pattern of connections known as a Neurotag, which functions in a similar way to when it lays down a series of instructions for performing complex movements. Or, put another way, it’s like a macro on your computer.

Anything that triggers the Neurotag will end up causing pain experienced somewhere in the body. We know that damage in the tissues doesn’t have to be present for someone to feel pain, since the pain experience is generated by the brain, and that one of the things that can trigger the pain neurotag is changes in breathing and body chemistry. Sound interesting? Read on.

Meet the CapnoTrainer.

In addition to getting oxygen into your body and getting carbon dioxide out, breathing also serves an important role in regulating your body chemistry. Things like pH levels, electrolyte balance and hemoglobin chemistry are all impacted directly by the concentration of carbon dioxide. To maintain a stable chemical axis, CO2 levels at the end of the exhale should be maintained consistently between 35-45mmHg.

Fig. 1. The CapnoTrainer

Changes in breathing patterns (for example, aborting your exhale) are a learned behavior that can be triggered by a stressful situation, particular person or even a thought and can exacerbate, perpetuate, or cause a wide variety of symptoms, including chronic pain, muscle tension and headaches.

The CapnoTrainer is a cutting-edge technology tool, now available at KIMA, that can record and display, in real time, exhaled carbon dioxide levels for learning and teaching new breathing behaviors. In so doing a patient can learn about their breathing patterns, facilitate optimal respiration and observe its effect on the body’s chemistry and potentially symptoms. Clients discover how they have learned to breathe, how their breathing affects them, and how to effectively self-regulate breathing behavior based on learning rather than a prescriptive exercise.

The CapnoPlus

We have also taken delivery of the CapnoPlus, a complimentary biofeedback technology that allows live monitoring of heart rate variability and EMG activity (monitoring the path of the electrical pulse across the heart). This information, when used in tandem with the CapnoTrainer, provides us with a system for measuring, monitoring & retraining some of the known triggers for chronic pain.

About Heart Rate Variability: Under normal, healthy circumstances, there is a certain and desirable level of variability in the timing of your heart beats. Your heart is not totally metronomic, and the variations between beats are small, but nevertheless measurable. Of note is that this variability DECREASES under conditions of stress, anxiety or emotional strain. It reduces when you are worried. The CapnoPlus can detect this, and when used with the CapnoTrainer, allow us to get snapshot of the chemical and physiological environment you are in when these things occur, and provide a valuable training tool when learning how to prevent it.

In addition to a comprehensive physical examination, use of the CapnoTrainer & the CapnoPlus gives us the opportunity to delve a little deeper into one of the lesser-appreciated factors affecting or contributing to the chronic pain experience.

By Derek Mansfield
KIMA
Sports Physical Therapist

Derek is an Australian-trained Sports Physiotherapist with more than 17 years’ experience. He completed his undergraduate training at the University of Melbourne in 1995, and his Masters of Sports Physiotherapy at Latrobe University in 2012. Derek has worked with elite & recreational athletes in sports as diverse as cycling, rugby union, fencing, tennis, diving & basketball. Check out his full bio here.

Book your appointment with Derek at KIMA today.

Tracey Vincel is the co-founder of the KIMA Center for Physiotherapy and Wellness and a renowned pain prevention specialist. We met Tracey last year at the Global Wellness Summit and we were immediately inspired by her wealth of knowledge and depth of passion. Get to know the enlightened wellness guru here!

*This blog post originally appeared on budhablog.com*
BuDhaGirl: Tell me a little bit about KIMA…

Tracey Vincel:  KIMA is a physical therapy and wellness center in New York City that my business partner Patricia Ladis and I founded 10 years ago. KIMA is a Greek word that means fluid motion, it is also an acronym for kinesthetic integrative movement analysis. We named our practice KIMA because we are restoring fluidity back to the body, mind, and breath. By looking holistically and individually we treat the cause of pain as opposed to symptoms. We use cutting edge technology like capnography, real-time ultrasound, whole body vibration, 3D motion and EMG analysis, research grade gait assessments, and APOS therapy. We offer a wide range of services including physical therapy, massage therapy, clinical Pilates, therapeutic yoga, Feldenkrais, acupuncture, and mind body psychology including hypnosis and mindfulness training. Learn more at kimawellness.com.

BDG: Why did you begin KIMA?

TV: We set out to build a sacred space in NYC to not only heal from pain but to plant the seeds for our clients to deeply connect to their bodies mind and breath so that pain and suffering could be prevented.

BDG: How did you first discover BuDhaGirl?

TV: My business partner Patricia Ladis and I first discovered BuDhaGirl while in Mexico City attending the Global Wellness Summit – an international gathering that brings together leaders and visionaries to positively impact and shape the future of the global wellness industries. We were among the 450 delegates that received a set of Serenity Gold All Weather Bangles.

BDG: What is your favorite piece of BuDhaGirl jewelry?

TV: The All Weather Bangles. In the spirit of BuDhaGirl I gave three of my bangles away at the Summit to another delegate and I wear the remaining six almost every day. They are so light, I can wear them even while treating patients.

BDG: What intentions do you set with your BDG jewelry?

TV: Negative emotions are diametrically opposed to positive ones, they immediately fight each other for dominance. By nurturing one we are able to conquer over the other. When I was in India last year, I learned this struggle as the internal battle between gods and demons. By nurturing the goddess like qualities within us we overcome our lower natures. I love setting intentions that connect me to my inner goddess and cultivate my feminine energy.

Some examples:
Today I will stay centered/grounded – finding a place beyond measurement of worth, judgment and comparison.
I  will find my center my sacred self unburdened and unmovable.
Today I will always have enough time to do everything I need to do.
Today I will let go of everything I have no control over.
Today I am a swan (the enlightened person, the text of India say, is like a swan. If you give milk mixed with water to a swan, the majestic bird is able to extract the milk and leave aside the water. The enlightened person has the ability to nurture her world with the good by disposing it of the unwanted)
Just as a tree doesn’t strain to grow, and just as a river doesn’t struggle to flow to the sea, I manifest my purpose naturally through effortless effort.

BDG: Why is mindfulness important to you?

TV: We need to balance our level of knowing with our level of being. For me mindfulness is less about the mind and thinking and more about the heart and feeling. This practice of getting into the “being” is something I cultivate in my daily life because it brings me a sense of peace and tranquility. This feeling helps me to connect more deeply to myself, others around me and to the larger universe. It makes me feel more alive.

BDG: What actions do you take everyday in order to be in the present?

TV: I begin my day with a short yoga, pranayama and meditation practice. Throughout the day if I feel myself getting pulled into that “busy” mindset I stop and use one of my favorite essential oils to ground myself and take a few moments to just “Be.” When I see a friend or colleague that I want to connect with, even if I am very pressed for time, I stop and enjoy speaking with them even for few moments. I enjoy walking to and from my apartment on Washington Square Park to my office on 22nd Street. Not talking on the phone or thinking about what I need to do when I get to the office but just noticing everything around me bringing attention to the flowering trees, the people, the statue of Gandhi I pass in Union Square.

BDG: Who is the quintessential BuDhaGirl to you?

TV: The quintessential BuDhaGirl connects to her higher consciousness and lives the Dharma code of truth, purity, nonviolence, and discipline that lifts us from the level of the ordinary and manifests that God/dess within us.

The quintessential BuDhaGirl makes quality choices in her life based on fulfilling her highest potential, she sets her intention in the morning and manifests her purpose naturally and effortlessly throughout the day. She fills her world with positive, flowing current of life and leaves no room for hatred unkindness or want.

BDG: What are your favorite words of wisdom?

TV: “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Speak or act with a pure mind and happiness will follow you as your shadow, unshakable” – Buddha

BuDhaGirl All Weather Bangles (Silver & Gold) are available to purchase at KIMA Front Desk.

Meet Patricia Ladis. Patricia is a co-founder of the KIMA Center for Physiotherapy and Wellness and is a Sports Rehabilitation Specialist. We met Patricia last year at the Global Wellness Summit and immediately recognized essential BuDhaGirl qualities within her. Read on to learn how this business owner and mother of three stays in the present and mindful every day.

*This blog post originally appeared on budhablog.com*

BuDhaGirl: How did you first discover BuDhaGirl?

Movement and Stillness have consistently been a theme for me. At first I considered them as separate entities… trying to balance my busy work days moving physically and mentally from meetings and patients, with time to be still meditating and just going for a walk during lunch. I love to practice calligraphy and to do watercolor scenes in nature to embody the art of stillness.

Here are the symbols for “Motion” and “Stillness” that I painted while in Japan last year:

  

I then began to realize that it was possible to combine the two, staying still, mindful and present in my busy daily movement. Mastering this is at the heart of practice of tai chi and yoga. Last week I was skyping with a good friend and colleague Jeremy McCarthy the Group Director of Spa at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group who I met in 2014, at the Global Wellness Summit in Marrakesh, Morocco. We discovered how we both love contemplating this idea.

Jeremy is our guest in this blog on Movement and Stillness:

The greatest irony of modern life is that the two things we need more of are movement and stillness. Our bodies and minds evolved to live a life of balance between activity and rest, but modern lifestyle seems to prevent us from doing either very well.

Modern conveniences and technology, for example, have stifled our movement patterns. We use cars, elevators and escalators to move us from point A to point B. When we do walk, we do so on paved paths that have been cleared so we don’t have to be concerned with uneven surfaces or obstacles to move over, under or around.

And we spend much of our time sitting in chairs, a modern (relatively speaking) invention designed to keep us comfortable. But we are becoming all too aware of the toll we are paying (“sitting is the new smoking” as the recent headlines tell us) with weak core muscles, shortened hip flexors, and poor posture.

The chair, along with the toilet, has made the “squat” inaccessible to the modern adult. This was a primal movement pattern that our ancestors could comfortably settle into for hours. I realize some will shrug, appreciating the modern contraptions that allow us to forego these more primitive means of movement. But again, we pay a price with tight calves and weak backs.

Luckily, the awareness of the need for movement is high, and so we try incorporating more of it into our lives. But participating in sports or following a specific fitness regime still locks us into limited movement patterns that cause imbalances and injuries in the body. We need a return to a diversity of movement that helped us evolve to the magnificent creatures we are today.

Only recently are we starting to recognize that, in addition to movement, we need stillness. Our bodies and minds need time to recover. Being “sedentary,” which many of us are, is not the same as being “rested,” a state that seems to elude us.  We spend plenty of time with our bodies not engaged, but we try to squeeze productivity into every waking second by plugging our minds into technology.

Our ancestors did not have the option of constant productivity. They were forced into downtime during long walks in search of food and water, lengthy meal preparation times, and simply having more time at leisure (something we lost during the industrial revolution.)

Today, our new devices and technologies allow us to be connected every waking minute. But just because we can, doesn’t mean we should. We need to find time for disconnection, time for silence, and time for reflection. Not only does the body need time to rest, but the mind also needs time to recover and to process the vast amounts of data that come through in the age of information.

So we find ourselves in a strange contradiction, needing simultaneously to practice more movement and more stillness.

Some strategies you can try for increasing movement are:

• Bring more variety to your movement. Change your workout every week. Don’t play one sport, dabble in several. (See The Price of Specialization by Ido Portal.)
• Practice moving through nature in varied and unpredictable ways. (See MovNat and Parkour for inspiration.)
• Work on new movement patterns that have become lost to you: a squat, a handstand,or  a cartwheel, for example. Always push the boundaries of your physical capabilities.

Some strategies for incorporating more stillness into your life are:

• Start a meditation practice.
• Create a stillness ritual that starts an hour before bedtime.
• Spend time with your family where you do nothing but be present for them.
• Practice a technology-free night in your home.

What do you need more of in your life? Movement, stillness… or both?

Introduction by Tracey Vincel, PT MPhty
Guest Blog by Jeremy McCarthy

Tracey is a Registered Physical Therapist and Co-founder of KIMA Center for Physiotherapy and Wellness. Check out her full bio here, follow her on Twitter: @TraceyVincel

Jeremy is Author of The Psychology of Spas and Wellbeing and Group Director of Spa at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. You can purchase his book here and read more of his blogs at psychologyofwellbeing.com

There are many reasons to look forward to Spring. Besides being able to spend more time outside our New York City apartments, the early Spring days bring the promise of Summer, and with that, a variety of fresh, local, and seasonal produce. Eating seasonally provides a range of health benefits. By purchasing produce during its peak season, you are enjoying food when it is at its best flavor and contains its highest nutritional value. Spring represents a time of renewal and growth. It is a time to refresh the body and mind and support our detoxification organs. Synergistically, Spring is also the time when bitter and astringent greens are available. These bitter greens, like dandelion, nettle, arugula, watercress, and mustard support the liver, purify and detoxify our tissues. Now that springtime is here, this is the perfect opportunity to naturally give your body a spring-cleaning!

Photo credit: Francesca Alfano (Tribeca Greenmarket)

HERE ARE 5 SPRINGTIME FOOD TIPS:

1. GO FOR THE GREENS: In spring, focus on the tender, leafy vegetables and fill you plate with an abundance of them. They are plentiful this time of year and their use has always been associated with freshening, cleaning, and building the body. Some local greens to include are dandelion arugula, parsley, chard, spinach, watercress, pea shoots, turnip greens, mache, endive, and kale. Other green spring vegetables include asparagus, artichoke, fiddleheads, nettles, and leeks. Greens are a nutritional powerhouse and are high in Vitamins A, C, K, folate and calcium.

2. SPEND LESS TIME IN THE KITCHEN: Spring is a time to use minimal cooking techniques, such as light steaming, minimal sautéing, or blending. This helps to seal in nutrients and enzymes. Add more raw foods or lightly cooked foods into your diet by tossing raw radishes or fresh herbs into your salads or whip out the blender for some seasonal soups. Hooray, less time spent in the kitchen!

3. LIGHTEN IT UP: After a long winter of eating heavy foods, spring is all about ridding your diet of heavy foods, so say goodbye to that truffle mac and cheese. Spring is the time to focus on fresh light foods. Your diet should include more raw foods, salads, live ferments, fruits, sprouts, green juices, and wild edibles.

4. ADD SOME SPICE: Pungent, warming and drying spices such as ginger, turmeric, garlic, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, cumin, fennel work to eliminate toxins from the body. These stimulating spices also help to release the dullness of Winter from our bodies and mind. Ginger and turmeric are some of the most powerful anti-inflammatory foods and are available during this time.

5. SHOP OUTDOORS: Farmers markets are finally beginning to look more colorful and diverse. This is the perfect time to venture away from Fresh Direct and take a trip to your local farmers market for the season’s best bounty. We recommend shopping the Union Square Market or using this guide to find a farmers market close to your home.

By Francesca Alfano, MS
Certified Holistic Health Coach, Cooking Instructor + Author of Sprouting From The Soul

Based in New York, Francesca has her M.S. in Clinical Nutrition and Integrative Health from Maryland University of Integrative Health. She prides herself on educating, inspiring, and empowering her clients. Francesca encourages clients to “start where they are“, and has a thorough understanding of the importance of food for nutrition, health, and pleasure. Francesca features a mix of her plant-based recipes, wellness and nutrition tips, and all things SOULful on her blog. Francesca is on a mission to bring more whole foods to your plate and nourishment to your soul by providing you with the right tools and knowledge to show that eating healthy can be simple and and satisfying. Find her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter where she shares tips and strategies for living a healthier lifestyle. Check out her full bio here.

Contact us to book your consultation with Francesca at KIMA.

HOW INCORPORATING NEW TECHNOLOGY AND DATA USE INTO PHYSICAL THERAPY IS ENHANCING PATIENT OUTCOMES. 

We live in an increasingly data driven world, and the healthcare industry is certainly right up there at the forefront in its insatiable thirst for measurement. More than ever, insurance companies, legislators, the medical field and the public are demanding greater detail in numerical representations of patient attributes such as pain, strength, flexibility and function to make decisions about patient care.

The challenge in physical therapy is to learn which of the available technologies can provide us with the most useful information, and can aid in the decision-making process and, ultimately, improve outcomes for our patients.

Consistent with our aims of providing the very best care for our patients, KIMA has invested over the past several months in a number of new technologies, which we believe represent the absolute cutting edge of data capture and analysis. Today’s post is the first in a series of 4 blogs, designed to introduce these new devices to you, and demonstrate what they are capable of.

NORAXON MyoMotion & MyoMuscle

A core component of effective physical therapy practice is the ability to quickly and accurately analyze a patient’s movement pattern. It is well established that the way someone performs a particular movement is often a contributing factor to either the onset of an injury, or may prevent it from healing. Whether the cause or effect, the ability to correct faulty movement patterns and technique is central to concept of rehabilitation and performance optimization.

The Noraxon system is a remarkable piece of kit that gives KIMA access to research-grade 3-D live motion capture and analysis, combined with multi-channel EMG, all done wirelessly. In a level of detail that is rarely found outside research laboratories, we can now dive down into any physical performance and see joint angles, movement speeds, muscle activation, inhibition or over activity during practically any movement, from something as dynamic as a baseball pitch down to something as simple as standing up from a chair, all in real-time.

Now, not only can we see how an individual performs a movement, but what muscles they are using to perform it. This information, combined with a detailed clinical evaluation, gives us the ability to ascertain, at a very high level of detail, not only what might be going wrong, but why. Powerful stuff.

A few examples of how we’ve been able to successfully integrate the Noraxon system into our physical therapy practice so far:

• Analysis of jump technique of a volleyballer, to optimize landing biomechanics & minimize injury risk – the result of which has been the development of specific cueing and exercises to target deficits in movement control
• Checking muscle activation patterns to ensure an exercise is targeting the correct muscles in the hip joint
• Assessing throwing biomechanics with an emphasis on ensuring correct timing of scapular and shoulder joint stabilizer muscle activation and monitoring shoulder rotation angles in real-time
• Looking for clues as to the cause of shin pain during jogging by analyzing variables of a runner on a treadmill

For over 25 years, Noraxon U.S.A., Inc. has been a leader in manufacturing and distributing high-end measurement and training devices, such as EMG, gait analysis, biofeedback, and 2D/3D motion analysis that enables a unique approach to a fully equipped analysis and therapy concept for evidence-based clinical and research applications.

By Derek Mansfield
KIMA Staff Physical Therapist

Derek is an Australian-trained Sports Physiotherapist with more than 17 years’ experience. He completed his undergraduate training at the University of Melbourne in 1995, and his Masters of Sports Physiotherapy at Latrobe University in 2012. Derek has worked with elite & recreational athletes in sports as diverse as cycling, rugby union, fencing, tennis, diving & basketball. Check out his full bio here.

Book your appointment with Derek at KIMA today.