May/June 2013

Access Dance for Life! www.accessdanceforlife.com

May/June 2013 Access Dance for Life! is an online resource promoting health and wellness in dance for students, parents, and teachers.

2 May Newsletter – Happy Spring !?!

Here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, spring seems to be very s l o w l y blossoming, in fact as I write this introduction it is SNOWing outside my window. And, admittedly, producing this newsletter has been a longer process than the usual. To be honest, sometimes life gets in the way. That said, ONWARDS AND UPWARDS! This month we are looking at some alternatives methods of treatment and diet The physiotherapy team at the RWB inform us on the history of acupuncture and explain how it can be a positive addition to physiotherapy treatment. Natalie Duhamel talks about the popular Gluten Free nutrition options. As we move into the final month of the dance season we touch check in with our goals, and discuss the concept of developing our mindfulness through dance. th

TEAM DANCE-ABILITY 2013 is hitting the pavement on Sunday, June 16 to participate in the Free Press 10K walk, supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities! This fundraising event provides support for developing welcoming, secure housing for this specific population – opening doors and raising awareness. Will you join us? Donations can be made online through THIS LINK. As always, a great, big, grateful, THANK YOU to the people contributing to this newsletter. Your enthusiasm and passion for your work is a motivating force behind this project. So very grateful for your participation!

Join us on Facebook and twitter (@AccessD4L), or subscribe to receive blog and newsletter updates by email.

Sharing this with your studio/students? If you are viewing this on ISSUU there is a download link just beneath the viewer (.pdf format).

Wishing you wellness in dance, and life!

Founder, AD4L

In this issue…

Pg. 2-3 Pg. 4 Pg. 4 Pg. 5-6 Pg. 7-8

Acuptuncture: An Introduction Spring Check Up! Go TEAM DANCE-ABILITY! Gluten Free, Is it for me?

Encouraging Mindfulness in Dance

Please note that the articles and opinions in this newsletter are intended to inform students, teachers, and parents, and should not replace consultation with your family doctor, sports medicine doctor, dietitian, or other health professionals.

3 Acupuncture: An Introduction Authors: Janine Didyk , Kevin Dyck, and Sam Steinfeld, (physiotherapists with RWB).

Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that has been around for more than 4000 years.

The basic theory of acupuncture is that a vital energy or life force, know as Qi (pronounced chee), is the source of muscle movement and blood flow and if that flow is disturbed the result is a deficiency, excess or stagnation of qi resulting in disease. Acupuncture, through the insertion of needles into specific points in the body, serves to restore proper flow of qi and return the body to a healthy state.

The philosophy of acupuncture is based on Taoism. We have often heard of the complementary forces yin and yang. In acupuncture, yin conditions are thought to occur due to a lack of qi (pale face, cold extremities, slow pulse and depression) while yang conditions are the result of excessive qi (red face, fever, fast pulse and agitation).

Acupuncture needles are very thin, flexible and come in a variety of different lengths. The needles are inserted into the body at specific locations known as acupuncture points. These points are found throughout the body and run along meridians in the upper extremity, lower extremity and central line of the body. Each of the 12 regular meridians are associated with an organ system in the body. For example, the large intestine meridian, traditionally named Yangming, originates at the corner of the index finger, ascends the arm to the shoulder, crosses the shoulder blade, moves upward along the neck to the top lip where the final point ends at the opposite nostril. In TCM the large intestine meridian is used to treat disorders of the abdomen, teeth, and skin. In a Western musculoskeletal approach, the large intestine meridian is used to treat upper extremity pain such as tennis elbow.

Treatment with acupuncture may require that needles be inserted either in the direct area or a far distance from the location of pain. For example, a point located between the thumb and index finger on the back of the hand may be used for elbow or shoulder pain.

Acupuncture needles may be stimulated by hand, with electrical stimulation or with moxa. Moxibustion is the practice of burning moxa (dried mugwort) on the acupuncture needle itself or directly on the skin.

Clinically, acupuncture is used to treat pain and inflammation. Acupuncture is able to decrease redness, swelling, tenderness, and at the same time stimulates healing. In an acute injury, acupuncture may allow symptoms to lessen to a level at which safe rehabilitation exercise can be accomplished. In a chronic pain condition where conventional pain-relieving techniques may fail, acupuncture as a neuromodulator is able to alter how the nervous system functions.

From a scientific perspective, the insertion of an acupuncture needle stimulates type II and III muscle afferent nerve fibers which send impulses to the anterolateral tract of the spinal cord and then to higher brain structures in the midbrain and the pituitary- hypothalamus complex. Stimulation in the spinal cord and brain causes the release of substances such as enkephalin, dynorphin, monoamines, norepinephrine, and beta- endorphins.

These chemicals act as the body’s own natural pain relievers.

4 As with any treatment technique, possible side effects or adverse reactions may occur with the use of acupuncture. Acupuncture is relatively safe and low risk. Common adverse effects reported include aggravation of symptoms, pain during insertion or removal of needles, minor bruising and drowsiness. More serious adverse effects are rare and include hepatitis and pneumothorax. Using sterile, onetime use needles is standard practice among acupuncture practitioners. Infection risk factors are found in patient populations with advanced age, diabetes, immunosupressive therapy, artificial joints, prosthetic valves and active infection/cancer. Generally, people with pacemakers and women in early pregnancy should not have acupuncture.

It is important to feel comfortable with your decision to have acupuncture. Your acupuncture practitioner should provide you with information regarding the possible risks associated with treatment and request that you sign an acupuncture consent form. During your treatment, which may last from 15-30 minutes, you will be asked to remain still. The number of treatment sessions and the number of needles used in each treatment varies and will depend on the condition being treated and your responsiveness to the treatment.

The next time you find yourself dealing with pain consider acupuncture as a treatment option.

Common Injuries Treated with Acupuncture • • • • • • • •

Acute sprains and strains Repetitive strains (carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendonitis) Myofascial pain Headaches Osteoarthritis Degenerative disc disease Post hepatic neuralgia Neuropathic pain

Note: Acupuncture can be an appropriate treatment for children & teens, with parental consent.

J. V.L 1935-2013

Love you mom.

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Spring Check-Up Now that spring is here (or is at least on its way…) Have you checked in with your goals lately? Take a moment to reflect on the following questions.

• • • •

What did you wish to accomplish this year?

Have you reached those goals?

If not, what has prevented you from reaching the goals you set for yourself?

Re-assess your goals; do they need to be modified to reflect a more realistic vision? Has your vision changed for yourself?

And, most importantly, how have you progressed this season?

Are certain steps more easily performed? Do you have a better understanding of certain concepts in class?

Has your performance ability changed/grown/improved?

Focus on what has been accomplished, and then look at what needs more work or perhaps needs to be rethought or redirected. Use this as a guide for setting your goals for this summer or next year!

We are putting on our Walking Shoes!

June 16th, 2013

‘Team Dance-Ability’

Will be participating in the Manitoba Marathon’s Free Press 10K Walk, supporting individuals living with intellectual disabilities.

JOIN US by making your donation online, go to http://www.active.com/donate/manitobamarathon2013/AD4L

6 Gluten free, is it for me?

Author: Natalie Duhamel Have you noticed a gluten-free section in your supermarket or health food store? Gluten-free diets are rising in popularity. Why is this? Could it be the star power behind gluten-free celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and the Old Spice Guy? Or are there some actual benefits to going gluten-free? Keep reading to find out!

Are you confused about what gluten is, anyway? In simple terms, gluten is a protein that exists in some carbohydrates like wheat, barley and rye, spelt, faro and kamut. It’s often used as an additive in processed foods as a stabilizing agent, or to boost the protein content on the nutritional label. It helps give elasticity to dough, helps bread rise, and gives baked goods a chewy texture. It’s the “glue” that holds regular pasta together.

Why would you want to consider going gluten-free? In Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health, Dr. William Davis discusses the many and surprising different ways in which gluten sensitivities can manifest. From skin rashes to rheumatoid arthritis, to headaches and fatigue, to autism to dementia, gluten can be the culprit or at least a strong contributing factor.

Some people will say that gluten-free is just a fad. I too was skeptical at first. But after doing some research and my own self-experiment, I’ve come to truly believe that many people really benefit from a gluten-free diet, even if they do not have Celiac disease.

Celiac disease is a genetic disorder that prevents a person from digesting gluten. Even if you don’t have Celiac disease, you may have some degree of difficulty digesting gluten. That’s what’s called a gluten intolerance or sensitivity. When you go to the doctor’s office to get tested for a gluten reaction, they are usually only testing for the Celiac reaction, not for sensitivity.

Gluten intolerance or sensitivity, once thought to be very rare, is actually more prevalent than most people think. Many people feel bloated and get unexplainable rashes now and then, but most people don’t make the link back to the amount of gluten they may have eaten in a given day or week. According to Dr. Mark Hyman, an estimated 99% of people who are sensitive to gluten don’t even realize it.

So how do you know if you are sensitive to gluten? Remove it from your diet for at least 10 days in a row. You have to eliminate it 100% for this to work. This can be harder than it looks! You have to read labels, as gluten is hiding in all sorts of food items like soups, sauces, and beverages. Then, on Day 11, eat some gluten and notice how it makes you feel over the next 48 hours. If there’s no effect, you’re good to eat gluten. If you have any symptoms like gas, diarrhea, bloating, rashes, lethargy and more, you’ve got a problem with gluten and may want to consider taking it out of your diet permanently.

Finally, here is a big tip about gluten-free foods: Just because a label says “gluten-free”, it doesn’t mean it’s a health food! Many gluten-free replacements are full of corn and rice, which can spike your blood sugar and make you feel rotten. The best gluten-free foods are the ones that don’t come in packages: fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, fish and eggs.

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For more information on Celiac Disease and Gluten intolerances…

If you’d like a more in-depth article on gluten, check out this link to an article that Dr. Mark Hyman wrote for the Huffington Post.

Here is a link to the Canadian Celiac Association where you can find out which foods are acceptable on a gluten-free diet.

For more information on Health Canada’s new fool allergen labeling regulations (particularly for gluten and sulphite intolerances and sensitivities) click on this link.

Important to Remember!

Reading labels not only informs us on what is really in our food, but is also an essential habit for individuals who live with food intolerances and sensitivities. When eating out – be proactive. Go online and check out the menu, call ahead to ask about ingredients –be safe and confident about your choices!

Online Nutrition Resource Links (Click on the blue text)

Ideas for creating new lunch ideas…

Lunchbox Rescue and Kiwi Lunch Guide Healthy snack ideas for everyone…

Integrative Nutrition Healthy Snack Guide Ideas for simplifying life and changing Habits…

Zen Habits

8 Mindfulness: Cultivating and practicing our awareness through dance.

Author: Jacqui Davidson Mindfulness def. To be aware, to take heed or care. To be alive, alert, cognizant, conscious (Barber et al. 2006).

Shapiro, Carson, Astin, and Freedman (2006) break down the concept of mindfulness into three elements: Intention (purpose) Attention (paying attention) Attitude (mindfulness qualities) Each of the components is intertwined with the next, making mindfulness a cycle or a moment-to-moment process (pg. 375).

In today’s technology driven times it is difficult to remove the distractions that permeate our daily life. From cell phones, tablets and laptop computers, IPods, and consistent connected to the internet 24/7 and social media feeding us information around the clock and without hesitation – even when we try to filter or remove the distraction it easily sneaks its way back into our daily lives.

But when we dance (&teach), we step into the studio and are required to disconnect from those distractions. It is the one place where we can, and need to, let go of the technology and truly BE in the moment.

As I write this I am connected to the Internet and my phone is sitting beside me – so I am not one to say that I have learned how to completely remove distraction! But when in the studio, our connection to the outside world via Internet and the distractions of life need to be turned off. When we begin that first exercise of the class – we gradually refocus our thoughts in the present and leave our concerns and distractions at the door.

Progressing and the need to perform at our best require that we do so.

In recent years I have found that often a students’ ability, or inability, to remove distractions and cultivate mindfulness can either encourage or prevent progress. Whether that student is 50 years old or 14 years old, when you bring distraction into the studio with you, progress is inhibited. When a student IS able to cultivate attention and mindfulness, that student is also developing the ability to direct their focus, to self-motivate, and develop a more intuitive self-awareness.

Mindfulness via dance.

Intention: Intention is the ‘why’ factor. When students are distracted and do not bringing all of themselves to their work take a moment to ask, Why do you dance? Why do you attend dance class so regularly? Bring their attention to their intention for participating in the class.

Attention: Paying attention to the internal and external factors, the ability to observe ourselves in our practice. Dance is an excellent method of developing our ability to observe. In the studio this is a students ability to know what to do internally – the counts, the exercise given and corrections to be applied. External observation is the ability to sense whether or not you are executing the movements

9 effectively. Another layer to the notion of attention is being aware of what might internally prevent you from achieving. Being able to say, ‘I often think I will never be able to achieve this movement/step/variation/goal, and I realize that this very thought prevents me from progressing’.

Attitude: The qualities we bring to mindfulness, or how we filter our observation of self. We can observe ourselves with coldness and harsh criticism, or we can observe with compassion, interest and an open heart. When we observe with patience, understanding and compassion for ourselves we are more likely to learn from failures and to appreciate our successes.

When students view their progress through a negative, critical filter they see only what the negative.

The focus is on comparison rather than being aware of the self and their responsibility in their work.

When we see what we have accomplished, that we have made progress in our goals and work, we are then more accepting of what may still need to be worked on and view our progress through a more positive, kind, supportive lens. That latter approach cultivates a more focused, purposeful, and enjoyable learning process.

In dance, as in life, when we work to develop and nurture mindfulness a feedback loop is perpetuated by four positive shifts in our perception. These shifts are: Self-regulation, Values clarification, Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral flexibility, and Exposure (Shapiro et al. 2006, pg. 377). In their book, Super Brain, Deepak Chopra M.D. and Rudolf Tanzi Ph.D. (2012) summarize the advantages of mindfulness similarly: “You can handle stress better.

You free yourself from negative emotions.

Impulse control becomes easier.

You open a space for making better choices.

You can take responsibility for your emotions instead of blaming others.

You can live from a place that is more centred and calm. “(pg. 255-256) Developing the practice of mindfulness in dance, students’ begin to pay closer attention to their internal preparation and state of being. They become more aware of their stressors and are better able to manage their stress, and be open to discussion and guidance. With this direction their awareness is then brought to how they work, as opposed to what there are learning (eg. how many tricks they are learning, what exam level they are studying). The learning experience is deepened and becomes an active, non-judgmental, process in which students become more attentive and interested, resulting in an increased satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment.

Shifting our perception towards a more mindful approach to dance teaches us to ‘go with the flow’ more easily; to take correction merely as feedback rather than personal criticism, and to adapt to change within the class structure or choreography – as well as in life. This change in our perception connects us to the larger, more global picture of our place in the world, and in the world of dance and impacts our ability to appreciate correction, emotions and experiences, in and out of the studio, as opportunities to learn and grow.

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Take moment to direct attention. At the start of an exercise ask students to close their eyes. Direct them to feel the alignment of their body, the strength of their legs, the lengthening of the spine. Cue them to pay close attention to their breath – taking the time to take a few deep breaths, feeling the ribcage expand and release while expelling all unnecessary thoughts. Lastly, cue students to keep this awareness as they open their eyes and begin the exercise.

Strive to lead by example. Consider your Intention in your work. Work to pay attention to both the internal and external factors in your attention. Strive to bring a positive, supportive, kind attitude to your own observations of your work, and life. Admit to your students’ when you feel you may have reacted harshly or allowed the worries of your day into the studio.

Start a discussion. As mentioned previously, take a moment to ask your (older) students – Why do you dance? What do you enjoy about dancing? Help students to make the connection to their intention (the why), and guide them through the process of directing their attention (keeping them focused on the positive). Discuss the importance of staying positive when we consider our progress and pay attention to what happens when we allow ourselves to be harsh and negative of ourselves.

Cultivate a supportive and encouraging studio environment. Find ways to encourage students, parents and staff to maintain a positive focus in all conversations. Being realistic is important but it can be presented mindfully, with compassion and kindness.

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