St. George Health & Wellness Magazine January/February 2021

FITNESS | NUTRITION | CULTURE | HEALTH | ACTIVE AGING | MIND/BODY | ECONOMICS | FAMILY

Art Heart with

See Page 16

INSIDE: Can Chiropractors and Pain Management Physicians Co-Manage Your Pain? / 43 New Year’s Recipe for Wellness / 50 A New Hope for Battling Postpartum Depression / 62

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 SaintGeorgeWellness.com

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sghw | TWA EB LL EL NO EF SCSO N T E N T S Health and Fitness

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 On The Cover: The Fool, Bronze Sculpture Artist: Kimber Fiebiger

Dr. Patrick Carroll’s Great Advice for a Happy New Year................................ 18 Featured Story The Three Best Things about THINK GREEN / Richard Prazen Mountain Biking........................................ 20 Art with Heart: Nonprofit Art Around the 4’6” x 5’ x 30” Putting Insomnia to Sleep.............................. 24Welded Corner Installs New Sculptures Soon...... 16 Steel [bench was also created by the artist]

Mind and Body

Soul Reading Required.......................... 44 A New Hope for Those Living with Depression................................ 48

Community and Culture

Letter from the Editor................................................ 7 Mayoral Message........................................................... 8 Trailblazer Nation: Letter from the President................................................11 Rocky Vista University: Letter from the Dean....................................... 12 Dixie Technical College: Letter from the President............................... 14 Art with Heart............................................................ 16

Are You Ready to Start Your Life’s Ovation........................................................ 22 Holding on to Hope................................................ 32 The Power of the Human Touch..................... 36

Virtually the Same............................................. 28 New Year, New Strategy.................................. 30 Rescue Alert: The Peace-of-Mind Service..................... 35 Can Chiropractors and Pain Management Physicians Co-Manage Your Pain?....... 43 Are Your Ready to Get Your Hiking Knees Back?................................... 46 Live Long. Live Well. (Live!)........................ 47 New Year’s Recipe for Wellness.................... 50 Great News for Medicare Patients Needing Hip Replacement Surgery..... 54 What is Glaucoma?........................................... 58 Start the New Year Pain Free........................ 61 A New Hope for Battling Postpartum Depression............................. 62

Nutrition

Over the Ridge............................................................ 38 Family Wealth Transfer......................................... 59

Dining Guide...................................................... 26 Celebrating Forty-Two Years of Custom Goodness.................................. 27

No Yellow Brick Road?

Follow a Better Path......................... 52

How Hypnotherapy Changes the Brain............................ 55 A Quality of Life Initiative................... 56 Am I an I or a We?................................ 64 Take Control in 2021............................ 65

The way way we we talk talk about about sexual sexual violence violence matters. used to to foster foster a a culture culture of of The matters. Our Our words words can can be be used safety, respect, and before it happens.

Oror to to show support for safety, and equality equality that thatstops stopssexual sexualviolence violence before it happens show support survivors, shutdown and practive to practice healthy for survivors, shutdownharmful harmfulmisconceptions, misconceptions, promote promote consent, and healthy communication with with children.

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St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2015 5

s ghw | MWEEELTLONUERS SS T A F F

Brendan Dalley Editor

W. Jared DuPree, PhD, MBA Executive Editor

Brigit Atkin Author, Mind and Body

Matt Eschler, PhD, LMFT Author, Community and Culture

Tiffany Gust, MS, CISSN Author, Health and Fitness

Lyman Hafen Author, Community and Culture

Marianne Hamilton Author, Health and Fitness

Richard Harder Author, Mind and Body

Kelly Kendall Author, Community and Culture

Bentley Murdock Author, Nutrition

Chad Olson, MS, LMFT Author, Community and Culture

For information on advertising or other inquiries, visit our website at www.saintgeorgewellness.com, email stgeorgewellnessmagazine@gmail.com or call us at 435-319-0273.

The publisher is not responsible for the accuracy of the articles in St. George Health & Wellness Magazine. The information contained within has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Neither the publisher nor any other party assumes liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on this material. Appropriate professional advice should be sought before making decisions. Outside of our staff authors, articles written by providers or professionals are invited authors and represent the opinions of that particular individual, business, group or organization. If an article is a paid advertisement, we will place the word “Advertisement” or “Advertorial” to identify it as such. ©Copyright 2021.

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FROM THE EDITOR

Wow, what a year! Rather than trying to recap the craziness of 2020, I prefer to focus on what I have learned and how I can prepare for the future.

I recently read a quote from Tom Rath, author of Life’s Great Question: Discover How You Contribute To The World, that I believe can make us all better during 2021. He said, “A growing body of evidence suggests that the single greatest driver of both achievement and well-being is understanding how your daily efforts enhance the lives of others.” Rath went on to suggest that the definition of a meaningful life included “connecting and contributing to something beyond the self.”

So how can we achieve this “connecting and contributing” when we can’t do what we are used to doing?

The answer is simple—at least in writing; we do things differently. How do we do things differently? In my observation, there are two basic incentives for change: • We can have it mandated or forced on us (which seemed to be the choice in 2020).

• We can choose to change.

The former change method usually comes with push back while the latter change method usually comes with growth and improvement.

How do we choose to change? First, it starts with the desire to change. Then, decide what it is you want to change. What is the outcome you intend to achieve? In this case, the desired outcome would be to live a more meaningful life by “connecting and contributing to something beyond the self.”

This next step toward change is where a lot of people get stuck, especially since 2020 has turned everything upside down. Most people—myself included—feel more confident when they know exactly what to do and how to do it. In the past, we could go visit a sick neighbor or volunteer for a service activity.

There were always “things” that we could do, but now some of those “things” have become off-limits.

These limitations have moved us into unfamiliar territory. What now? Here’s a little secret I learned from a mentor of mine. She said, “Stop trying to find the answers that will solve your problems. Instead, start asking better questions that will lead you to new solutions.”

This is my challenge to you. Start asking yourself better questions, and then diligently seek for the new answers. You might start with, “How can I connect with someone more meaningfully this year during these current circumstances?” Start asking “how questions” that don’t seem to have any immediate answers, and see what thoughts come into your mind as you ponder on those questions.

You can apply this same trick when reading the articles in this month’s issue by asking yourself how you can be better and/or make others better by what you have just read. I look forward to hearing about your results.

Be well, be happy, and let’s all do our part to make this year great!

Brendan Dalley Editor

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 7

M A Y O R A L M EE SS SS AA GG EE

I recently had the opportunity to deliver my sixth annual State of the City address during a St. George Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon. It was great to communicate to a large audience about our City’s accomplishments and what we have planned. I think you’ll agree it is a great time to live in St. George. Our optimism is overflowing.

Those unable to attend can watch the State of the City in its entirety at www. sgcity.org. For those who don’t have an hour to spare, I’d like to offer a condensed version. It is broken into two sections: City Accomplishments and More Happening Ahead.

City Accomplishments What is resilience? Dr. Ernestine Briggs-King of the Duke University School of Medicine and the National Child • IRONMAN announced raceor will comefollowing to St. George in September 2021.

This will bring Traumatic Stress 70.3 Network definesitsit world as “thechampionship ability to recover adapt a traumatic event.” She further explains an influx of athletes and their supporters to our city. Recent hosts of the world championship include Nice, France, and thatTaupo, resilience includes “handling coping with New Zealand.

This is aorbig-time event.adversity in a way that fosters growth and strength.”

• What The St.factors George Regional AirportDr. runway project points was completed on time within theasbudget.

TheShe’s day itnot reopened, lead to resilience?

Briggs-King to connections to and other people being key. alone.

American Eagle via SkyWest added a new flight to and from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Remember, the Most researchers agree, and really, it doesn’t take a lot of research to know that hard things are easier to bear when we more people fly out of St. George, the more flights come to St. George. have someone we can lean on. If you’ve seen billboards along I-15 the past few months, you know that suicide prevention • As our City has grown, so has our need for more firefighters. In 2019, we hired nine new full-time firefighters thanks to looks lot like spending timehelps connecting with another thea SAFER grant, which pay their salaries for person. several years.

people who settledsignificant much of water-saving the West, including corner of Utah, understoodgolf this.

Here which in Washington • The We have implemented measuresour at each of our four city-owned courses, are already irrigated reuse water. group—musicians and blacksmiths, farmers and craftsmen. They came from all over County, theywith were a diverse • Attainable is a significant andThey we are meeting itthat headtheir on. We formed the Housing Action Coalition the world andhousing spoke several differentchallenge, languages. understood survival required working together and to collaborate on ideas and educate the public. embracing their diversity.

• We hosted four Neighborhood Open Houses in different areas of town.

Connections with people may be a bit more difficult right now, but we are creative, caring people and fully capable of More Happening Ahead finding ways to see the people behind the literal and metaphorical masks we wear. Over the coming months, let’s make it • Our City campus is undergoing extensive renovation. City Hall and the police station will be updated and enlarged, and ouraindividual missionswill to find and kind ways to connect with others. parking structure givesafe us an increase of more than seventy parking spaces.

• This While we will be another hosting two IRONMAN 70.3 events PhD, in 2021, we will bring backinthePsychology full-distance IRONMAN brings us to pieceseparate of research.

Dr. Sherry Hamby, published an article Today entitled in 2020.

This 140.6-mile endurance test was here from 2010 to 2012.

“Sense of Purpose—The Most Important Strength?” ( January 31, 2020). In the article, she details a research project • FireatStation being remodeled and willthat become a full-time this spring. aimed findingSix theistop nine or ten strengths lead to resilience.station The results were surprisingly consistent: “A sense of • Desert Color to andcontribute Desert Canyons master-planned are vertical in southern George.

Desert Color was purpose appears to well-being more thandevelopments other strengths,” she concluded.

I seeSt.that exhibited throughout honored recently for its water-conservation measures. our community.

• Sand Hollow Aquatic Center is getting a new roof, Snake Hollow Bike Park will see improvements, and the Missing Linkholidays Trail—part the Virgin Riverbeyond North Trail system—is construction.

The oftenoflead us to think ourselves.

These under past couple of months, we have seen so many examples of• this, fromfour basket brigades andOpen otherHouses meals provided need onSunRiver Thanksgiving to ToysCenter; For Tots and9Coins for We have Neighborhood scheduledtointhose 2020:in Feb. 27 at Community April at Vernon Park; Sept.Virtual 10 at South Mountain Church; Oct. 22 at 2450 Eastour Park.

KidsWorthen at Christmastime. fund raisers haveCommunity been the norm since COVID-19 hit, and residents have opened their This article is just a taste of thenon-profit eighty-five slides(ie: in other my State of theeven Cityinpresentation. is sotimes muchforgoing on in St. hearts and their wallets to help groups people!) the middle ofThere difficult themselves.

George! As we move ahead with plans to make this City the best place in the world to work and play, my colleagues and I feel Wetoallserve do better when we are great needed—when honored the citizens of this community.we are part of something bigger than ourselves. We have friends and neighbors who need us. Let’s continue to look for opportunities to help others in this new year, whenever and however we are able.

JonHere’sPiketo a safe, kind, healthy, and resilient 2021!

Mayor, City of St. George

Jon Pike

Mayor, City of St. George 8 www.saintgeorgewellness.com 8 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

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St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | March/April 2020 11

New Year!

Although 2020 fewa unforeseen I Happy am thrilled to announce that brought as parta of landmark challenges, we came together as Trailblazers, adapted quickly, and partnership, Dixie State University and the Greater Zion grew stronger through it all.

Now, we are eagerly leaning into this Convention & Tourism Office have entered into a strategic fresh new year with so much to be proud of as a university community. marketing agreement that will result in Greater Zion receiving I’d first like to commend our 109th graduating class, the largest more than $2 million in annual marketing exposure and class in our institution’s history, for earning 3,228 degrees collectively.

Trailblazer Stadium being renamed Greater Zion Stadium.

It was an honor to celebrate these graduates in December at the 109th Commencement Ceremony held in Greater Zion revenue Stadium The 20-year, $10 million agreement maximizes on Dixie State’s campus.

These Trailblazers have truly embodied generated by visitors—not Washington County taxpayers—to the spirit of Dixie, working hard to achieve their goals and staying create a superior experience for both visitors and residents. optimistic as they reached a significant educational milestone in the The partnership is truly a win-win-win situation for everyone; it midst of a worldwide pandemic. I am confident they will continue to promotes the area nationally, builds the community, and fuels carry on DSU’s tradition of excellence as they venture out into the economic growth by bringing more people to our gorgeous world well prepared and poised for success, blazing new trails well corner of the world. into the future. alsoofexcited to share that we Office recentlywill launched oura visitor 2020– AsI’m part this effort, the Tourism establish 2025 strategic plan, Trailblazing Distinction, which will guide our center at the stadium and information kiosks at other key institution as we grow into an open, inclusive, comprehensive, locations on campus to showcase visitor activities to all those polytechnic university. This road map to our future will not only who attend events on the Dixie State campus. Additionally, elevate the University’s offerings and set us apart from any other Dixie State will better be able to tell prospective students institution in the nation, but it will also help us implement initiatives what an amazing backyard full of abundant recreational opportunities they will have when they attend DSU. The timing of this partnership couldn’t be more perfect, as it will assist Dixie State during our transition to NCAA

that will greatly benefitConference our students.

Western Athletic As part of this this plan, is making starting July, DSU Dixie State learning accessible by will take on competitorsremoving based barriers and providing access to everywhere from Washington, everyone in an effort to serve the California, Arizona, and New needs of our community. We are also Mexico to Illinois, Missouri, and providing active and applied learning Texas. This will give Greater Zion experiences in education, science, access to audiences technology, engineering,it would health otherwise leave unreached. sciences, humanities, business, and the arts to offer a comprehensive Plus, partnering with that Greater polytechnic education will Zion is a natural fit for Dixiea prepare our graduates to make State University.

Tourism significant impact onThe our world.

To Office’s to “Inspire Greater. read thevision complete strategic plan, visit strategicplanning.dixie.edu.

Experience Greater. Live Greater.”

Richard “Biff” Williams As you can see,with great things are on the horizon foractive Dixie State aligns perfectly Dixie State’s “active learning.

President of life.”

University!

Thank you forBoth joining us on this journey and forofyour approach to education. philosophies take advantage the Dixie State University continued support and commitment to our remarkable students and beautiful, world-renowned destination we live in by encouraging their long-term success. Together, we will continue to work hard to students, visitors, and residents alike to learn by exploring. ensure that every day is a great day to be a Trailblazer.

Here at the University, we recognize that valuable learning experiences take place inside and outside of the classroom. By taking advantage of experiences available in Greater Zion, we St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 11 all can grow academically, actively, and holistically.

ROCKY VISTA UNIVERSITY MESSAGE

The year 2020 has been unlike any other with all the challenges we have faced due to this global pandemic. Many of us have suffered physically, emotionally, and economically. Many of us have lost family members, friends, or patients to COVID-19. This particular holiday season, we are all being asked to help our nation contain the spread of this virus so that 2021 can be a better year for all of us. As an American citizen and a grateful member of our local community, I am trying my best while maintaining a positive mindset. It is not easy, but overcoming challenges never is.

The start of a new year is the time when we usually commit or recommit to personal goals and think about things that are important to us. While this is wonderful, what if we were this mindful more frequently throughout our lives rather than just once a year?

Our thoughts and actions can often define us as a person. Sometimes we are thoughtless in our words and actions, which may lead to feelings of regret. If we are deliberate and intentional in every word we say and every action we take, I’m sure our lives would look quite different. Personally, I think it is impossible to be deliberate and intentional with every single thought, word, and action. However, if we practice this several times a day, it would be a very mindful decision to increase our mindfulness!

Mindfulness is about being deliberately “in the moment.” Being mindful allows us to focus on intentional thoughts and actions. Implementing mindfulness a few times a day may help us reach our goals. It could also bring some peace, joy, and motivation in small amounts each day. In this issue, Emily Jensen, one of our fourth-year medical students, writes a wonderful article about mindfulness. Her article walks us through the importance of mindfulness and suggests easy ways to incorporate it into our daily lives. I invite you to read the article and learn with us!

We are honored to be a member of this amazing community and look forward to continuing our service to the residents of southern Utah. To learn more about our osteopathic medical school, please visit our website at www.rvu.edu.

To your health,

David J. Park, DO, FAAFP, FACOFP

Vice President and Dean of the Southern Utah Campus 12 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

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DIXIE TECHNICAL COLLEGE MESSAGE

Were you as glad as I was to kick 2020 to the curb? Like many of you, I anticipated that 2020 would be some sort of wonder as a year of perfect or 20/20 vision. Perfect. Vision.

Perhaps 2020 was a year to help us refocus and develop better vision or at the very least, develop a better perspective on what we were seeing then and how we could go forward and see things more clearly into the future. Perhaps we were taking a great deal for granted. Perhaps we did not actually see all of the good things in our daily lives.

In that regard, 2020 gave us a chance to appreciate what we have by showing us how fragile our circumstances are and how quickly things can deteriorate. COVID-19 showed us how susceptible the entire world was to a simple virus. It showed us how, with all of the wonders of modern medicine, our healthcare community could be confounded and taken to its knees. It showed us that what we thought were solid, stable economies could be crushed within weeks. It showed us that we needed to be wise in having important supplies on hand because store shelves could empty in a matter of hours.

For many, it showed that we were no match for the devastating and destructive power of a tiny but wily microscopic bug.

As if that wasn’t enough, 2020 gave us all kinds of sudden natural disasters, from raging fires to floods and from earthquakes to hurricanes, typhoons, and tsunamis. And to all of that, add political strife, riots, racial division, and unrest like our country hasn’t seen in decades. Is it safe to say that 2020 opened our eyes to a great deal, forcing us to see what we would rather not have seen?

Good riddance to 2020!

Welcome, 2021! With this new year comes an opportunity to show what our enhanced vision has done for us. May we appreciate more. May we recognize that every single day is a gift and that health and strength are bonuses. May we recognize that work is a blessing and that the work of others blesses our lives each day in very obvious and specific ways.

I’m especially tuned in to the work of others. I’m mindful every time I flip a light switch, turn on a tap, or adjust my thermostat, and I silently give thanks for our electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians. Seeing our stellar police force risking their lives every day to protect our peace makes my heart swell. It swells when I see an ambulance and know that skilled EMTs and paramedics are at work saving a life. For the brave and compassionate people who keep our healthcare offices, pharmacies, and hospitals open and do everything they can to make us well, I give thanks.

I’m thankful for the genius brains that can fix my computer, create beauty, or design apps for my phone. For those who craft a lovely meal, design a home or commercial building, drive a big rig, fix a big rig or a car, weld or machine the things we use every day…yes, for all of those fine folks who are happy contributors to the communities we call home, they have earned my deepest appreciation. I see them— everyone, everyday. Many of them are Dixie Tech graduates!

It is my hope that 2021 will be a year of corrected vision…one in which we can all look, see, and appreciate the fine people who make our lives comfortable, safe, and good. I invite you to join me in saying to all who find joy in their chosen work, we see you! Perfectly!

Kelle Stephens President of Dixie Technical College

14 14 www.saintgeorgewellness.com www.saintgeorgewellness.com

dixietech.edu

dixie

technical college

We

practice what we teach St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | May/June 2018 15

Art Heart with Think Green Artist: Richard Prazen

NONPROFIT ART AROUND THE CORNER INSTALLS NEW SCULPTURES SOON

By Marianne Hamilton

A heavy metal rocker, thrashing on his guitar.

A fourteen-foot woman, rotating in space.

A smiling green frog, reclining on a bench.

What could this trio possibly have in common? The greater St. George community will find out in March when the new Art Around the Corner (AAC) outdoor sculpture galleries make their debut.

THINK GREEN / Richard Prazen

4’6” x 5’ x 30” Welded Steel [bench was also created by the artist]

While AAC typically installs new art each spring, the COVID-19 pandemic put the 2020 installation on hold. But the Art Around the Corner board of directors believes the time is right to update the sculpture galleries.

“It’s a new year, and we feel like the community needs to see engaging, uplifting artwork, now more than ever,” said Marilyn Kanas, AAC’s marketing coordinator.

“We’re excited that residents and visitors can enjoy this collection in a very safe environment – outdoors! And as always, it’s available 24/7, absolutely free.”

Since 2004, the nonprofit, all-volunteer Art Around the Corner Foundation (formerly the Pioneer Center for the Arts Foundation) has selected and installed 3D artwork in St. George, all of which is available for purchase or lease. In its earliest years, AAC placed mostly bronze sculptures at various locations throughout the city. Roughly a decade ago, the AAC team opted to centralize the outdoor sculpture gallery in Town Square and along Main Street.

Today, “satellite” galleries are also installed at City Hall and Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital.

“We felt it would be easier and more fun to place the sculptures in one area where people could take a leisurely stroll and see them all,” recalled St. George City Council member (and former AAC Chair) Dannielle Larkin.

“It’s always rewarding to see families, couples, and singles out for a walk around downtown, enjoying the art.”

Bad to the Bone Artist: Richard Prazen

16 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

The 2021 collection includes a diverse array of sculpture styles and materials.

Along with bronze figures created by such world-renowned sculptors and longtime AAC contributors as Karen Coburn, Cheryl Collins, and Gary Lee Price, the community can look forward to multiple works crafted in aluminum and welded steel.

Orem resident Deveren Farley—whose “Giant Spider” prompted lively dialogue during its 2018–2019 installation (and versions of which have since been purchased by two local businesses)—will invite the community to “Get Your Mind Rolling” with his kinetic metal powerball machine, complete with bright yellow lacrosse balls twirling inside.

After Richard Prazen’s seven-foot clock gave St. George “A Window in Time” over the past two years, the Salt Lake Community College metal art professor will be bringing his “Bad to the Bone” heavy-metal musician and “Think Green” frog to town, showcasing Prazen’s expertise in welded steel and his whimsical sense of humor. Prazen also has been commissioned by the City of St. George and Washington County to create a towering metal sculpture, soon to be placed in the Main/ Tabernacle roundabout, to commemorate the September presentation of the 2021 Ironman 70.3 World Championships.

galleries make our beautiful city even more so.”

Michelle Graves, Deputy Director of Arts and Events for the City of St. George, added her thanks to her colleagues and the AAC team. “We are so blessed to live in a community that supports the arts,” Graves said. “We are even more blessed by the accessibility of impressive public art that adorns our community.

We owe a debt of gratitude to Art Around the Corner for their huge volunteer efforts to invigorate our public spaces each year.”

As always, the nearly thirty pieces of new artwork will have something for everyone – and ideally, something that will be both memorable and conversation-prompting.

Said Larkin: “My friend Kathy Thayne left St. George for a few years to serve a religious mission in Africa. When she pulled back into town and saw the sculptures, she burst into tears.

She said she hadn’t even realized how much the beautification of our space had meant to her until she was without it for a time.” Then Larkin added, “I’ve always felt that art isn’t just for our eyes; it enhances our hearts and our souls as well.”

“Spring is a time of rebirth, which makes it the perfect time to see the new sculptures being installed in St. George each year,” said Mayor Jon Pike. “The City is fortunate to have the hard-working Art Around the Corner volunteers doing their best to enhance the quality of life here. The outdoor sculpture

The Fool Artist: Kimber Fiebiger

Good Morning Sunshine Artist: Reven Marie Swanson

About the Author Marianne L. Hamilton is a veteran journalist whose work appears in regional and national publications, and a marketing writer for Fortune 500 corporate clients. When not race walking, hiking, or teaching water aerobics, she is a member of the St. George Arts Commission, Board Chair of Art Around the Corner, and is the Special Events Manager for Docutah. She and her husband Doug are also co-administrators of the St. George Wine Club, and race directors for the Huntsman World Senior Games.

More information about Art Around the Corner (as well as sculpture purchasing and leasing details) can be found at: www.artaroundthecorner.org

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 17

Dr. Patrick Carroll’s Great Advice for a Happy New Year

By Amey Vance

18 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

In case you haven’t noticed, the year 2020 had a virus. Too bad we can’t uninstall and reboot for 2021. Instead, the best things we can do (at least in the beginning of this year) are still wear a mask, wash our hands frequently, watch our social distance, and stay home when sick.

“Wearing a mask when in a public place is the single most important thing people can do to stop the spread of coronavirus,” said Dr. Patrick Carroll, Medical Director of Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital. “Now, more than ever, we need everyone’s participation in wearing a mask.”

Who should wear a mask?

Everyone over the age of two who is in a public setting and around other people who don’t live in the same household should be wearing a mask. Researchers have predicted that 80 percent or more of a population wearing masks would do more to reduce the spread of COVID-19 than a strict lockdown. If others around you are not masking, wearing a mask still reduces your risk of catching and subsequently spreading the virus.

“Science continues to show there are overwhelming benefits to wearing a mask,” said Carroll. “In areas of the country where masking became mandatory, COVID-19 cases decreased significantly—as much as 75 percent in some instances. For masks to be most effective, the

entire community needs to participate, not just our most vulnerable populations.”

What kind of mask should be worn?

Any mask that covers the nose and mouth will be beneficial. The best mask is one that can be worn comfortably and consistently. Evidence continues to show that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted through inhaled droplets. Wearing a clean mask over the nose and mouth substantially reduces risk of exposure to the virus—and exposing others, if asymptomatic.

“Wearing a mask is a simple sacrifice we can make to potentially save thousands of lives,” said Carroll. “Face coverings do a really good job of decreasing cases. Now is the time to take action, wear a mask, and decrease active cases in our community. Together we can work towards this common goal.”

When should masks be worn?

Face coverings should be worn whenever social distancing in a public setting might be difficult. A coronavirus-infected person wearing a mask can reduce COVID-19 exposure to others by as much as 95 percent. Staying at home when sick reduces the risk of exposure to others even more.

“This pandemic isn’t over yet,” Carroll said.

“We learned a lot about protecting ourselves in 2020. We still have a ways to go with this

pandemic, and we need to continue wearing masks when out in public. We all want things to be back to normal. Wearing masks while enjoying life as much as we can right now will help get us there.”

Why should masks be worn?

“Think about protecting elderly relatives or others at high risk,” said Carroll. “Wear a mask this year because it works and because it’s the right thing to do.”

Let the LiVe Well Center help you Get Well, Stay Well and LiVe Well for the rest of your life.

652 S. Medical Center Drive, Ste. LL10 • St. George, UT 84790 • (435) 251-3793 St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 19

The Three Best Things about Mountain Biking

By Jay Bartlett

First off, this is a very unofficial list. It’s a subjective list, if you will.

Depending on mood, situation, or whim, the top three not only have the ability to be shuffled but also to be replaced. Anyhow, on with it! #1: The Thrill Now, I’m not suggesting seventy-foot gap jumps or bombing down the side of a mountain where one mistake could be your last.

Thrilling? Yes, of course, if you’re into that. By far, most people find their thrills in a more “mild” way. A beginner, for instance, may get a huge thrill by just making it through their first few rides, even if they have to walk the “hard” parts, whereas an intermediate rider finds thrills everywhere, from cleaning a piece of trail they’ve never been able to ride or completing a section of trail faster than they ever have.

(Fast is subjective as well.)

Morgan Harris, the godfather of mountain biking in Washington County, once told me, “If you see air under my tires, it means I’m crashing!” Although he generally wouldn’t be considered a “fast” rider, to see Morgan climb and descend a slickrock problem is a master class in technical prowess and comes with its own set of thrills. #2: The Scenery Sure, you can see some pretty great things just driving down the road, but if you’re a mountain biker, a hiker, an equestrian, or a dirt biker, you know well how distance and isolation can bring out the glow and beauty of a view. There’s no doubt that the chemicals that course through you when you put in an effort to get to a place enhance the views. Recently, after riding for hours on Gooseberry Mesa, I spent a wonderful twenty minutes eating a sandwich and soaking

in great views wherever I looked, both micro and macro. Sometimes, the scenery can only be taken in at a glance because the riding demands your attention, but a quick look at Zion’s West Temple or a peek at an unusual rock formation can be quite satisfying. Mountain bike trails are often built within or adjacent to some of the most beautiful places on earth, so it’s just natural to take in the view.

About the Author

Mountain bike veteran,

amateur filmmaker, and lover #3: Riding Partners of long rides, Jay Bartlett has There is certainly a comradery that been riding trails in Southern comes with a shared love of the sensations Utah for over thirty years. of a given activity. When a group gathers Jay has over a decade of experience as a bike mechanic back together after an especially fun at St. George’s oldest bike shop, section of trail, the whoops of joy, stories Bicycles Unlimited. of the ride, and laughter prove that everyone felt many of the same things while pedaling their bikes. A sense of community and adoration develops. These are your people!

It’s no small thing that I met my girlfriend of many years while on a group ride, so I definitely have a soft spot for my riding partners!

There you have it: the top three reasons to mountain bike. Feel free to move them around, edit them, or add your personal favorites because there are many, many things about riding mountain bikes that can fill your own top three list. Truthfully, I could have easily done a top ten, but I’m only allotted so many words per article. So get out, hit some trails, and craft your own top three (or ten) best things about mountain biking!

Let’s Ride!

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Are You Ready to Start Your Life’s Ovation?

Three Signs You or Someone You Know is Ready for Senior Living

By Emily Havens, Ovation Executive Community Relations Director Whether you aspire to learn a new hobby, to spend more time in service to others, or to dust off that home fitness equipment, almost everyone has a goal in mind this year—other than celebrating the end of a turbulent 2020.

About the Author Emily Havens is the Executive Community Relations Director for Ovation Sienna Hills. Prior to developing her marketing career, Emily spent three years at The Spectrum and Daily News as a local journalist. Emily has garnered several awards from the Associated Press, Utah Press Association, and Nevada Press Association. In addition to her contributions to journalism and the digital marketing world, Emily is also a local nonprofit chapter president.

As you make plans for the new year, have you imagined a whole new, hasslefree life? Perhaps you have loved ones who are curious for an exciting way to celebrate retirement or who have had a significant shift in health and are stepping into a new stage of life.

Three Signs You Are Ready for Senior Living

1. Y ou are seeking an active, social, life-long learning environment.

Senior living communities are notorious for putting emphasis on social activities, and Ovation is no exception.

These communities offer experiences that likely would have been out of reach or that make you say, “I would never have thought to do this for myself.” Brain and mental health are just as important as physical health, and retirement communities offer activities to keep you active and your assets sharp.

2. Y ou are concerned about your health or the health of a loved one.

Perhaps you feel healthy and strong, but you simply are worried about the “what ifs.” What if my spouse has a stroke tomorrow?

What if I suffer a fall next week? Do I have a plan? Getting a plan in place is imperative to having a successful transition into senior living at any stage.

22 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

3. You are clear on your priorities.

Take a hard look at what is most important in your life. Perhaps maintaining your yard and enjoying the view from your porch is important to you. Now ask yourself: Why? Is it truly the act of staying up on yard work, or is it that you enjoy having purpose and moving your body? Get realistic about your priorities, and remind yourself that hundreds of successful people like you move into retirement communities and wish they had done so sooner.

What is a retirement community?

Every retirement community has its distinguishing features. At Ovation—southern Utah’s newest, luxury community—you can choose from multiple floor plans in our fully-independent apartment homes or villas. The campus features a three-story, state-of-the-art building offering assisted living and memory care apartments in a luxury setting.

With many amenities—including housekeeping and nurses on staff 24/7—our retirement community offers a hassle-free lifestyle with a financial plan that is easy to manage. You can leave all the troubles of home ownership in the past!

Dare to start 2021 living completely hassle-free.

Dare to aspire to a new start in a new community with a new outlook on life’s journey.

Dare to live your life’s Ovation.

Call 435-429-0000 to secure your new residence in a place like no other. With our 90-Day Grand Opening Guarantee, we promise to deliver you a luxury lifestyle grander than your wildest 2021 plans.

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C U LT U R E

sghw |

WELLNESS

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 23

n I s o g m n i t n t i u a P to

The Biggest Piece of the Health and Wellness Puzzle

By Bentley Murdock

We’ve all been there before, lying in bed, tossing and turning, rehearsing our mountainous to-do list for the next day. We’re inundated with mindless mental chatter: groceries, errands, worries, fears, and a slew of details that keep our minds erratically cyclical. It becomes maddening, particularly when we look at the clock and...it’s morning.

Many influencing factors create this reality, and one incredibly helpful way we can all start preventing it is a little activity I like to call Brain Vomit. When insomnia kicks in, take out a blank sheet of paper, and write down everything on your mind—every list, worry, goal, fear, highlight, success, memory, failure, symptom, victory, irritation, and pain-point.

Try not to censor, edit, or critique any aspect of your expressive writing. Let it come out of you organically and as genuinely 24 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

raw as you possibly can allow it to be. Let it all out, and see what shows up. It just might be more productively therapeutic than a deep psychotherapy session (which we all desperately need, especially after surviving 2020).

When you have to start thinking hard about what to write next, you’re done. Look over the sheet, and thank it all for arriving. Embrace it all equally, and acknowledge each point as valid. This is crucial to the logical mind because it reassures us that all details can easily be referenced and addressed in the morning. In a way, you’re tricking yourself into a dozen justifiable reasons to dismiss it all and to simply go to sleep.

As you begin implementing this practice on a more regular basis, you’ll be amazed how differently you’ll feel going to sleep and waking up.

About the Author

Bentley Murdock is a certified wholistic nutritionist, transformational trainer, and #1 best-selling author.

With over twenty years of experience in wholistic lifestyle healing and wellness coaching (specializing in disease-symptom reversal and prevention), Bentley regularly incorporates the critical role that plantsourced, whole-food nutrition plays in all sustainable healing. As Director of Wellness with Alive & Well HealthCARE, he meets with local and remote clients on a personal level, educating them about taking full ownership and responsibility for the healing and wellness they desire. Bentley and his wife Michelle work with private clients from every walk of life, focusing on topics from family wellness and relational healing to home birth and intentional parenting. For more information, call 866396-8742, email Aloha@ HealisticVitality.com, or visit HealisticVitality.com.

When talking about resetting the sleep cycle, it’s mandatory that we bring up the body’s remarkable circadian rhythm—the body’s natural time clock built into each of our pineal glands and subconscious brains. Believe it or not, our bodies and minds always know exactly what time it is, but our senses and logistical reasoning cause us to doubt this incredible ability. We say things such as “It’s not that late” or “I don’t even feel tired yet.” We talk ourselves out of healthy sleep routines when we justify certain activities as more important than deep, nightly, critically-reparative sleep, disregarding that its presence represents over a third of our entire lives.

These behaviors shut down our own delicate circadian rhythm muscles and thus cause them to atrophy. Denying sunlight from your pineal gland (found in the center of the forehead) actually tells the subconscious mind that the sun, in fact, has not risen yet, and careful readjustments to our internal clocks must be made. Over time, we find ourselves sleeping all day and staying up all night for a hundred seemingly justifiable reasons. When the pineal gland receives brilliantly alerting blue light from abundant electrical sources and device screens of all kinds, it becomes undeniably certain that the sun is the source of this light and that it must be noonday. It then readjusts itself as if such were reality, and the cycle of madness continues.

One of the only sustainable remedies to this is to throw a massive wrench in the spokes, and force yourself to wake up at dawn to greet the real sun. Let the morning sun’s rays interact with your pineal gland, and acknowledge to yourself that this is the beginning of the day. The first few days of doing this will be rough (to say the least), but you’re fundamentally restructuring your perception of what your body needs. You’re getting back in touch with reality, allowing communication between you and your body to be fully reinstated.

In a short amount of time, you’ll find yourself collapsing in bed at around 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. because your body knows that it certainly cannot maintain its routine of waking up early to greet

the sun while staying up all night. Something has to give, and if we secure a stronghold on those priceless morning hours, we’ll find our natural and healthy bedtime arriving when it should. In time, you’ll find that you are more and more productive in those wee morning hours when most are still desperately trying to chase a few more minutes of frantic, unrestful sleep via the snooze button.

Another reason this time frame is so important is because when the body is trying to repair every night, it requires deep (REM) sleep cycles. If we’re awake during this window, it can’t happen. We start to rack up “sleep debt,” which is the body literally keeping a tally of how many hours it should have been allowed to sleep. Sooner or later, this debt has to be paid. This is why, all of a sudden, people get exasperatingly ill and end up sleeping for eighteen hours straight. The body refuses to put up with the detrimental charade of pretending it can somehow get by on a few hours of sleep every night. We all know what it feels like when the body finally says, “Seriously? This is ridiculous, and I’m not putting up with it any longer.”

Other factors that are incredibly disruptive to general sleep health are what and when we choose to eat and drink. A late dinner with heavy, fatty meat, a decadent chocolate dessert, and an alcoholic night-cap or a caffeinated drink while devouring hours of nightly news on a cell phone or iPad is quite possibly the worst pre-bedtime routine ever.

It might actually take the body a full twenty-four hours to digest and fully process the meal alone, leaving no energy or fluids for the nightly cleanse and detox process that it is trying desperately to maintain. A light and early dinner, positive relational interaction, a great book (the paper kind), warm tea, soft lights, no devices, no caffeine or alcohol, no heavy dessert, a little brain-vomit or gratitude-journal writing, and a nice bath (with an early bedtime in mind all along) are all phenomenal ingredients for creating the ideal bedtime routine.

Oh, yeah. And one last thing: Turn off the news.

Forever. =:o) St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 25

Dining Guide St. George

Angelica’s Mexican Grill

101 E. St. George Blvd., St. George, UT 84770 | 435-628-4399 Mexican | Vegetarian and Vegan Options | Family Friendly | $ Mon.–Thurs., 11:00 a.m.–8:30 p.m.; Fri.–Sat., 11:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.; Closed Sun. Located Downtown on St. George Boulevard, Angelica’s Mexican Grill serves fresh, made from scratch authentic Mexican food. The flavor driven and nationally recognized menu provides everything and more that you would expect from a Mexican restaurant, including street tacos, Mulitas, Tortas, Sweet Carnitas, Machaca, and their famous salsa bar. Vegan and Vegetarian dishes are always available. Seating is available inside and also outside on the spacious patio. Catering & To-Go ordering available.

Benja’s Thai and Sushi

2 W. St. George Blvd. #12, St. George, UT 84770 | 435-628-9538 Thai | Sushi | $$ Mon.–Sat., 11:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.; Sun., 1:00 p.m.–8:00p.m.

Hungry for sushi? Hungry for Thai curries? Benja’s Thai and Sushi, in the heart of downtown at Ancestor Square, will satisfy your craving with fresh sushi, curries, noodles and a great beer and wine menu. Stop in with business colleagues, friends, a date or the whole family, and be sure to come hungry – in addition to curries, noodles and sushi, Benja’s salads, soups and sticky mango rice are not to be missed.

Cappeletti’s

36 E. Tabernacle, St. George, UT 84770 | 435-986-4119 Italian | Steak | Seafood | Contemporary | $$ Lunch: Tues.–Sat.,11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.; Dinner: 5:00 p.m.–9:30 p.m.

Centrally located in historical downtown near Town Square, Cappeletti’s is a favorite for casual business lunches, friend and family gatherings and romantic evening dining. Authentic Italian pastas like gnocchi Bolognese or cannelloni will comfort and satisfy, but if you’re not in the mood for pasta, the fresh fish of the day, tender Black Angus flat iron steaks, market fresh meats and poultry are all prepared daily and presented beautifully. In this quaint and cozy family owned and operated restaurant, plan to settle in for warm, friendly Italian cuisine with an Argentinian flair, and leave satiated in body and soul.

Katering Koncepts, Inc. – Full Service Catering & Event Rentals

1495 S. Black Ridge Dr., Suite A210, St. George, UT 84770 | 435-574-0059 Menus include buffet options, breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizers, and gourmet lunch boxes.

Call Katering Koncepts when it just has to be Perfect! We will customize any menu just for your event. Serving the St. George and surrounding Southern Utah areas. Katering Koncepts sets a new standard in private, corporate and wedding events. We have a full line of rentals including tables, chairs, linens, formal dishware, decorations, dance floors, tents, serving dishes and many other items to help make your event a success. Call us or visit our website at www.kateringkoncepts.com for a complete list.

Magleby’s

1450 Hilton Dr., St George, UT 84770 | 435-652-9600 American / Dine-In | Catering | $$ Mon.–Sat., 7:00 a.m.–9:00p.m.; Closed Sun. With over thirty years of catering experience, we guarantee to make your next event magical! Everything we do we do with love, and you won’t find another catering company with as many homemade recipes or fully customized options. If you’re looking for a culinary experience creatively tailored to fit your event, we’re at your service.

26 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

Pizza/Pasta Factory

Pasta Factory: 2 W. St. George Blvd. #8, St. George, UT 84770 | 435-674-3753 Pizza Factory: 2 W. St. George Blvd. #8, St. George, UT 84770 | 435-628-1234 Pizza Factory Express: 1930 W. Sunset Blvd., St. George, UT 84770 | 435-634-1234 Pizza Factory Pineview: 2376 E. Red Cliffs Dr., St. George, UT 84790 | 435-688-2656 Pizza | Pasta | Dine-In | Take-Out | Delivery | Salad Bar | $$ Mon.—Sat at 11:00 a.m.

The Pasta Factory, with its year-round, climate controlled outdoor patio dining wows with custom-made pasta, soups, sandwiches and salads. The Pizza Factory offers three locations with the best and freshest salad bar in town; homemade soups, sandwiches, famous bread twists and Southern Utah’s favorite pizza combinations.

Red Fort Cuisine of India

148 S. 1470 E., St. George, UT 84790 | 435-574-4050 Indian | Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free Options | Healthy | $$ Mon.–Thurs., 11:30 a.m.–9:00 p.m.; Fri.–Sat., 12:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.; Closed Sun. Located in the shopping and dining hub just north of St. George Boulevard, Red Fort Indian Cuisine is the only authentic Indian restaurant in St. George. The flavors are unique and harmonious, and many of their menu items are vegan, vegetarian or gluten free. Stop by and experience the delicious flavors of authentic East India. The elegant and inviting atmosphere paired with their kind and friendly staff, is sure to provide for a relaxing, enjoyable dining experience.

The Painted Pony

2 W. St. George Blvd. #22, St. George, UT 84770 | 435-634-1700 Steakhouse | Seafood | Contemporary | Healthy | $$$$ Lunch: Mon.–Sat., 11:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; Dinner: 4:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.; Sun., 4:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.

In the heart of Ancestor Square, the Painted Pony delights with an upscale menu, full beer and wine list, cocktails and exceptional service. Prepare for a sensory experience with complex flavors, top-notch presentation and a beautiful atmosphere. Evening ambiance complete with soft lighting, fresh flowers and patio dining. Locally sourced, organic, vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options are available for every palate.

Twenty-Five Main Café

25 Main Street, St. George, UT 84770 | 435-628-7110 Cafe | Coffee Shop | Gourmet cupcakes | $ Mon.–Thurs., 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.; Fri.–Sat., 8:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m.

Visitors step from the streets of St. George to an atmosphere reminiscent of a Soho cafe when they stop by this counter-style downtown gem for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Delectable salads, panini sandwiches done to perfection, and pasta are the featured menu items, but most diners frequent the café for its cupcakes. Twenty-Five Main is perfect for a business lunch or breakfast, a get-together with friends or a quiet spot to relax in the evening before absorbing the downtown art-walk in St. George.

PIZZA FACTORY

The Pizza Factory St. George, located in the historic Ancestor Square, has become one of the most well-known tourist stops in southern Utah over the past forty-two years.

“We have customers who say they plan much of their vacation around coming to The Pizza Factory when they come to town,” stated Bill Randall, founder and owner of The Pizza Factory in St. George.

The idea for The Pizza Factory originated during the early 70s when a group of friends travelled to southern Utah for a ski vacation.

Finding there wasn’t a pizza parlor in the area, they declared that “the need created an opportunity.” Subsequently, the first Pizza Factory opened its doors in Cedar City, Utah, in 1974. Through the years, the menu offerings have been refined to now include Chicago-style deep-dish pizzas, specialty pizzas, sandwiches, calzones, a fresh salad bar, and deluxe desserts, including custombuilt cookies, smoothies, and more.

ST. GEORGE PIZZA FACTORY TO CELEBRATE FORTY-TWO YEARS OF “CUSTOM-BUILT GOODNESS” in combination with the numerous sauces and toppings available. “Everything is done to order. You can have it your own way— custom-built. We also create our own sauces, and we make them fresh daily. The Pizza Factory provides the one-and-only Factory ambience while dining in our comfortable atmosphere,” Randall explained.

After buying out some of the original owners, Bill Randall and Bill Kringlen opened up shop in St. George, Utah, on August 20, 1979. “We’re here because we love southern Utah and the people,” Randall stated. “We have a personal involvement with the community and want to continue providing a great place and environment where people can come and enjoy lunch and dinner.”

The Pizza Factory provides its customers with an enjoyable dining experience by making its pizza with only the finest ingredients and toppings possible. “Our emphasis has always been on quality,” Randall continued. “That’s what our customers like, and I guess that’s why we are still around after all these years.”

In 1994, Randall and Brad Nelson established The Pasta Factory, a restaurant that allows its customers to create their own signature pasta dishes or to pick one of the many freshly made entrees or salads on the menu. With eight made-to-order specialty entrees in addition to fourteen different types of pastas and seven varieties of sauces and six selections of toppings, your meal will be the ultimate dining experience. The Pasta Factory provides a comfortable, Europeanstyle atmosphere while dining inside, or you can opt to dine outside underneath the shade of a canopy.

Over the years, two more Pizza Factory locations have been added, one at Pineview Plaza and one on the corner of Dixie Drive and Sunset Boulevard. These locations offer a combination of the Pizza Factory’s signature, custom-built pizzas as well as their create-your-own pasta dishes. They provide dine-in, take out, drive thru, and delivery.

For more information, call The Pizza Factory at 435-628-1234, or go online and check out their amazing custom-built menu items at stgeorgepizzafactory.com.

Menu choices are unlimited with a myriad of sauces and topping combinations from which to choose. The Pizza Factory offers nine made-to-order specialty pizzas St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 27

By Marianne Hamilton For competitive athletes, few experiences rival Race Day. Tucked into a horde of jittery, heel-bouncing colleagues in the chilly pre-dawn hours, the adrenaline overload is palpable.

Seconds tick down, the gun goes off, and YES!!! You’re one with a joyful, mobile community.

But…what about now? With the global pandemic making large gatherings verboten, athletic directors have had to get creative. “Virtual” being the buzz-word in everything from education to entertainment, it has become the standard for athletic competitions as well.

Here in southern Utah, St. George Races (SGR) was among the first organizations to jump on the virtual bandwagon. “When our races started getting canceled due to COVID last year, we were looking for a solution that would still involve people and give them something to live for,” said Aaron Metler, recreation supervisor for races

and special events. “We got an email from Vacation Races, who are always ahead of the curve, and they announced they were making some upcoming races virtual. We took that idea and…well, ran with it.”

About the Author Marianne L. Hamilton is a veteran journalist whose work appears in regional and national publications, and a marketing writer for Fortune 500 corporate clients. When not race walking, hiking, or teaching water aerobics, she is a member of the St. George Arts Commission, Board Chair of Art Around the Corner, and is the Special Events Manager for Docutah. She and her husband Doug are also coadministrators of the St. George Wine Club, and race directors for the Huntsman World Senior Games.

28 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

Instead of asking athletes to simply complete a specific distance on any day, Metler and his team devised an entire virtual race series, which they christened Flatten the Curve. During the month of May, participants were encouraged to run, walk, or roll (via bicycle or rollerblade) as many miles as possible. An online leaderboard tracked each athlete’s distance; awards were given for mileage milestones (20, 50, 100 miles, etc.) along with a unique, mask-shaped medal.

“It was a lot of fun during that dark period,” recalled Michelle Graves, deputy director of Arts and Events for the City of St. George, Utah. “We were amazed that we had 1,141 participants with almost every state represented and people from Europe and Asia as well. That gave us a lot of momentum in our department.” So strong was that momentum that St. George Races extended its virtual series throughout June (via the Forget the Couch challenge) and July (with Fly the Coop).

The new year marks the debut of SGR’s Flex Series, a hybrid virtual/in-person collection of events being staged throughout 2021. Registrants will have the option of completing twelve races of varying lengths in any location they prefer at any time throughout this year. Said Graves, “We think it will be really fun for families and very small groups to train together, do their race whenever they want, log their times, and then get their medals and awards…all while staying safe.”

The Huntsman World Senior Games has also launched a virtual option under the EPIC Virtual Events name. This month saw the launch of their new Beast Series, an annual slate in which athletes will complete a 5K run or walk each month and then post their times. Finishers’ medals and apparel for 2021 will feature members of the animal kingdom (grizzly, shark, hippo, etc.) that personify strength, agility, and endurance. And while the organization’s mission is to foster worldwide peace, health, and friendship in the 50+ set, under the EPIC banner, this new series has no age limitations.

Games CEO Kyle Case explained, “We wanted to make our series super-easy and fun, with no barriers to entry. We’re starting with our base of contacts, but everyone of every age is welcome to take part. We hope our athletes will grab their kids and grandkids, participate, and then proudly display their medals.”

Rhondalon Crawford, a Huntsman World Senior Games power walker, traditionally depends on St. George Races events to train for the Games. After COVID shuttered her usual competitions last year, Crawford was delighted to learn that she could still compete virtually. “I’m not good about getting myself

“I loved it; I received four medals and some other cool swag,” Himelright adds. “Plus, I was able to make new friends and once again feel the excitement of competition.”

With widespread COVID immunization still months away, mass-gathering races are also off the books. In the interim, virtual races will be an attractive option. “As people navigate through the wasteland of canceled events, they’re missing that sense of togetherness,” Case said. “We realize we can’t recreate that virtually. But we don’t want to lose sight of health and wellness, being active, and maintaining our fitness levels.

That’s our goal for 2021.”

Just after finishing his solo St. George Marathon, Tri-Fit Physical Therapy owner Lance Himelright takes five.

THE Power walker Rhondalon Crawford models just a few of the many medals she’s earned since she began participating in virtual races during the pandemic.

out there, so it was really great to have a reason to do so. Each day I’d think, ‘OK, I have to put in my miles and log them,’ which was very motivating. My goal was always one hundred miles a month. If you just do three miles a day for thirty days, you get there really quickly.”

More information about the St. George Races Flex Series can be found at https://www.sgcity.org/races/sgrflex.

Visit thisisyourepic.com for details about the EPIC Virtual Events Beast Series.

After completing the SGR series, Crawford found multiple virtual series’ being offered worldwide. Her medals racks now sport an array of large, colorful mementoes signifying her power walking achievements. “I pick the races that offer the coolest medals,” she laughs.

Tri-Fit Physical Therapy owner Lance Himelright, an avid triathlete and marathoner, took to his wheels during last year’s virtual summer series. “The St. George Races program gave me a chance to stay active,” he said. “I mentioned the program to my staff and patients, and many of them participated, too. Getting a medal for each event was motivation in itself. I’d look each day at the leaderboard to see where I was, and that motivated me to work harder.

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 29

New Year, New Strategy

By Tiffany K. Gust, MS, CISSN, Certified Health and Wellness Coach

What drives you to change your behavior? What is the one thing that motivates you to engage in wellness behaviors? What is your wellness vision? When did you feel the healthiest in your life, and what action items did you engage in then that you can incorporate now? These are all questions you might want to consider as you set goals for improving your health this year.

Self-Efficacy and Readiness to Change According to the Transtheoretical Model (TMM) of Behavior Change, there are five stages that can be identified:

1. The first stage is precontemplation. In this stage, people are not even thinking about making any changes and don’t see the importance or practicality of making changes in their lives.

2. The second stage is called contemplation. During this stage, they may start to consider the benefits If you would like to learn of changing their behaviors, but they still aren’t ready to commit to any new behaviors. more about health and 3. W hen they enter into stage three, the preparation stage, they are ready to adopt the changes they wellness coaching, visit have been contemplating. They are open to education and may start to make plans to engage. the LiVe Well Center at 4. The next stage is action! They are taking all the right steps to make these behaviors a part of their Intermountain Health lifestyles by setting goals and making progress. This stage lasts for less than six months.

Care, call 435-251-3793, 5. The final stage is maintenance. The changes have now become a part of their lives and regular routines. or email Tiffany Gust at Sometimes, events such as an illness, injury, and stress can cause you to slide back into the previous stages tiffany.gust@imail.org before you are aware of it. The bliss of maintenance can fade quickly if you aren’t careful. today.

According to Alexander Link, the shift back and forth between stages may be caused by internal (e.g., changes in self-efficacy) and external (e.g., commitments to family, work) factors. It’s important to identify triggers and build strategies that can help prevent relapse. Bringing awareness to your current behaviors can help you maintain positive behavioral changes.

30 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

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It’s difficult to live in a world with so much uncertainty. These strenuous times can take a toll on anyone, but challenges don’t define who we are. In fact, rising above the adversities that emerge in life can demonstrate a lot more about a person than any trial they are facing.

In 2020, when Dixie State University athletes transitioned to NCAA Division I Athletics in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, they experienced this lesson first hand.

The first season for Dixie State University as D-I Trailblazer student-athletes was scheduled to begin on September 5, 2020, but it was postponed due to COVID-19. So, to showcase the DSU athletes rising above this difficult time, Dixie State University released their mash-up music video of “Rise Up” and “I Lived” created with tenor trio GENTRI as a way to inspire others to keep going.

“We wanted to do something really special for you guys,” Dixie State’s Vice President of Marketing & Communication Dr. Jordon Sharp said during the initial video unveil to those who starred in the video. “The story we are telling is your story – what it takes to become a Division I athlete.”

The project that originally started in January was intended to showcase the athletes’ drive, motivation, and work ethic – attributes that elevated them to their current standing as Division I athletes. But when COVID-19 swept the nation, the video, like many things, came to a halt.

“Moving to Division I athletics during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was difficult for all involved,” Sharp said, “so it was our goal to create a piece that paid tribute to our athletes’ determination to carry on and recognized the resilience of the human spirit.”

Once the University was able to resume filming, the story of the athletes’ tenacity and drive was even more applicable to all people living in this unprecedented time, underscoring that anyone can rise up and overcome life’s unforeseen obstacles.

About the Author

McKinley Page is currently a student at Dixie State University. She is majoring in Media Studies with an emphasis in Public Relations.

McKinley is working for the University as a Public Relations Intern at University Marketing & Communication and hopes to continue her career in higher education or other public relations opportunities following graduation. She is expected to graduate in August 2021.

According to Matt Black, DSU videographer and director of the music video, undergoing the filming process while following all necessary health and safety guidelines was unlike anything Dixie State University had ever experienced before.

“Most of the big scenes were filmed before the pandemic began, but many of the scenes featuring a limited number of individuals were not, so working under COVID-19 guidelines with 400 athletes in forty locations was a unique challenge,” Black said. “The results were definitely worth it.”

Dixie State University students and athletes continue to stay hopeful, positive, and motivated to press forward in these tumultuous circumstances, and the music video exquisitely showcases that.

“I hope people are inspired after they watch this music video,” said GENTRI member Bradley Quinn Lever. “I hope that they take the lyrics to heart and get a sense of motivation, positivity and perspective and that we all go out and live life to the fullest and work hard to make things happen.”

To watch this inspiring music video, visit dixie.edu/riseup.

HOLDING ON TO Dixie State University releases music video to inspire all individuals to rise above life’s challenges

32 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

HOPE

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And that’s where Rescue Alert of Dixie comes in! We provide an affordable, reliable medical alarm system.

If you should get down and not be able to get up, Rescue Alert will be there to assist you.

Rescue Alert of Dixie is about two things. First, it is about independence— living where you want to live and doing the things you want to do. Second, it is about peace of mind, not only for the person wearing the small, light-weight, water-proof button but also for all those who care about them.

Did You Know?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), • Each year, one in every three adults age sixty-five and older falls.

• Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries.

• Twenty to thirty percent of people who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries, such as lacerations, hip fractures, or head traumas. These injuries decrease mobility, reduce the ability to remain independent, and increase the risk of early death.

• Most fractures among older adults are caused by falls.

• Many people who fall, even if they are not injured, develop a fear of falling. This fear may cause them

to limit their activities, which leads to reduced mobility and loss of physical fitness. In turn, this increases their actual risk of falling.

forget that they are wearing a help button.

If they have been using it for a year or two before they need it, they tend to remember it in an emergency situation.

• People who fall are four to five times more likely to be admitted to a longterm care facility for a year or longer.

Unfortunately, the first fall is often devastating; falling down and possibly injuring yourself then waiting several hours to be discovered takes a tremendous physical and emotional toll.

The News Isn’t All Bad Studies have shown that the quicker someone can receive help from a fall, stroke, or any medical emergency the better the outcome will be. Recovery will be quicker and quality of life after a fall will be much better for a person who spends less time in a hospital.

Wisdom says, “Get the service before you actually need it.” Sometimes new subscribers

Get the best, affordable, most reliable medical alarm available. Rescue Alert has a response center located right here in St. George, Utah, and it is locally owned and operated. Our friendly, certified emergency medical dispatchers are ready to help you. Call 435-986-1735 today to see how you can have this peace-of-mind service in your home for pennies a day.

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 35

2021 is here with a resounding feeling of hope and a fervent wish that the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel may not be a train! Seriously, I think we are all breathing a sigh of relief to finally be able to put last year behind us.

About the Author Connie enjoys working with local Hospice Groups and Veterans Associations. The military is very close to her heart, with her father being a Pearl Harbor Survivor, and her sweetheart retired Navy.

Helping support local hospice groups is very rewarding for Connie, and she feels being a part of the Spilsbury team is an awesome opportunity.

She is the mother of seven daughters and nineteen grandchildren, who are “the joy of her heart”. She loves being of assistance to those in our community who do so much for each of us.

Recently, my friend Karen shared a meaningful holiday experience with me and described how it By Connie Zdunichhealing and filled her with joy. Due to health issues, she had been sheltering at home had provided for nearly a year and was beginning to feel a bit lost and disconnected going into the holiday season.

However, the cards, texts, and calls she received during the holidays lifted her spirit and left her feeling encouraged to reach out to her neighbors and “pay” her joy forward.

A plan of what this might look like came together in her mind. She decided that when she took her daily stroll, she would tape a note to random doors in her neighborhood. Some of her neighbors were strangers who had moved in within the last year. Although she had waved to them from a distance, she had not become acquainted with them.

So…here is the rest of the story; the joy started to spread! As she was leaving her house one morning, Karen was delighted to find a note on her door. Through this letter, one of the new move-ins introduced herself and included a photo (with no mask!). The new neighbor wrote about the difficulty of moving from another state in the middle of the pandemic without knowing anyone but her niece, who lived across town and worked all week.

A wonderful friendship developed between these two ladies, and together they have continued to reach out to those around them. They have now found a small group of quilters, one of which is a very talented gentleman. Members of the group make individual quilt squares, and their new friend Jack pieces the squares together into baby quilts that are then donated to those in need.

The amazing and inspiring part of this story is the power of the human touch, even from afar! One kind and thoughtful person decided to share her joy in a handwritten note taped to a new neighbor’s door.

Now, the world is a brighter place. Karen’s life is richly blessed by new friendships. And by continuing to reach out in this crazy world we now live in, new friends have come together, sharing their talents and bringing a small gift of comfort, love, and joy into the lives of others who are struggling. Once again, we see a shining testament of the goodness, hope, and joy that continues to resound in our communities.

Amazing people, mindful of those around them, are willing to step up and reach out to lift others.

Welcome, 2021. We are ready for you!

The Power of the Human

By Connie Zdunich

36 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

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When I was a very little boy growing up on 600 South in St. George, I’d step out my front door and look eastward down the dusty street to where it disappeared into dense brush and creosote.

Sometimes I’d walk to that ragged edge of town where the thicket began and look beyond it to the long flat ridge stretching north and south on the east rim of the valley. I was reluctant to enter into that desert jungle, but I dreamed of someday getting to the foot of that black ridge and climbing to the top. I wondered how many days it would take me. I was consumed by the mystery of what might lie on the other side.

A million years ago, a volcano erupted just north of St. George.

Of course, St. George was not St. George at the time. In fact, the picturesque little valley where the heart of the city now sits lay deep beneath multiple layers of sedimentary rock. Molten lava flowed southward through two wide gullies then stopped, hardened into shiny black basalt rock, and sat firm through the ages as water, wind, and time stripped away the surrounding landscape. These days, those hard-capped ridges form the east and west rims of the St. George valley and have become the firm foundation for homes with views unrivaled in all the world.

I was not the first to look upon that black ridge on the east side of St. George and rub my chin. Well over a century and a half ago, when my ancestors ventured into the Virgin River Basin, they had to figure out a way to get wagons across it. At some point between the mid 1850s and late 1861, when the company of more than 300 families arrived, some sort of road must have been roughed out over

the ridge. Later, in the early 1900s, a tunnel was built through the ridge north of where Interstate 15 cuts through it today. The tunnel was used for decades, but its importance began to decline about the time my earliest memories kicked in. When the cut that we pass through today was blasted out of the ridge and the highway was rerouted through it, the tunnel became a relic.

As I grew older, my friends and I began to venture further into the thicket along the foot of the black ridge. We could have never imagined a Target, a Lowe’s, the headquarters of an airline, or a sprawling and towering Intermountain Regional Medical Center in that enchanted forest where we wound our way through the maze of brush, chasing rabbits the day long. Sometimes we would venture up the side of the ridge and find a spot with a fine view of the valley. We would build a sturdy fort of basalt rock and catch lizards and horny toads. But by then we were mostly on the lookout for Russian tanks.

As I grew older, I began to wonder where it was that the pioneers first crossed that ridge. From history, I knew it was somewhere down toward the southern end. I knew the first few wagons came over the ridge in late November 1861, and most of the rest of the long caravan arrived on December 1.

On a bright winter day several years ago, a friend called wondering if I knew where the pioneers had crossed the ridge when they first entered the valley. I told him I thought I had a general idea, but I certainly could not pinpoint it. He said he’d just made a wonderful discovery and wanted to show it to me. We agreed to meet in the Medical Center parking lot on the morning of December 1.

Over the Ridge

By Lyman Hafen

38 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

days. In nothing but a wagon box and with only a few quilts—and not a man-made structure in sight—Agnes Pymm endured labor and miraculously gave birth in that vicinity on a cold December day much like this. With her husband John by her side, her painful sighs and the cries of the newborn baby would have been audible from the parking lot of what is now one of the most advanced medical centers in the Southwest.

When we reached the bottom we drove to the edge of the modern road and waited at the curb for the endless line of traffic coming off Foremaster Ridge.

He was waiting for me at the appointed hour. I offered to take my car, but he only chuckled and told me to hop into his little SUV. We pulled onto 700 South and headed east up Foremaster Ridge.

When we topped out, he made a hard left across the center line and jumped the curb into the basalt, creosote, and sagebrush. We bounced through the sharp black rocks for several yards until we came to the remains of an ancient road. We pulled onto the road and began to follow it down the ridge.

We rumbled down the remnant of road, marveling all the way at what the valley must have looked like to those weary travelers on that first day of December in 1861. I recalled, as we worked our way down, that a baby had been born nearby during those first

Finally, we threw safety and sanity out the window and spun off the pioneer road onto 700 South, whipping into a narrow opening between cars, barely avoiding a collision.

About the Author

Lyman is the author of a dozen books intent on connecting landscape and story in the American Southwest. He is executive director of the Zion National Park Forever Project, and is past president of the national Public Lands Alliance.

He’s been writing and publishing for more than 35 years, with several hundred magazine articles in publications ranging from Western Horseman to Northern Lights, and was the founding editor of St. George Magazine in 1983.

He’s been recognized on several occasions with literary awards from the Utah Arts Council, and won the Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. He lives in Santa Clara, Utah, with his wife Debbie, and together they have 6 children and 15 grandchildren.

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 39

40 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | March/April 2018 41

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Can Chiropractors and Pain Management Physicians Co-Manage Your Pain?

By Dr. Russell Jepson, DC Accidents and injuries, if not treated properly, can affect your health and the function of your body for the rest of your life. Studies show that, on average, 80 percent of the population will suffer from back pain at some time in their lives, and for a lot of these people, their overall lifestyle—as well as their health—will be affected over a long period of time.The pain can be a slow buildup of lots of small injuries, whether it is work-related or sports-related injuries, lifting injuries, or even injuries from a motor vehicle accident. These all require the body to absorb a quick force that can have a negative effect on the joints of the body.

Back pain is your body’s alarm system going off and saying, “Hey, there’s an underlying problem going on in here.” And in a way, that is good. It’s good to know something is wrong because then you can take the steps to help the problem. Most of the time when someone experiences pain, it is because there is some type of inflammation going on that irritates the nerves. A lot of times, this irritation is the result of injury, inflammation, spinal misalignment, or some kind of inflexibility.

Any joint that loses its normal alignment or range of motion will eventually go through a degenerative process if left untreated.

Chiropractors go through a rigorous, four-year postgraduate doctorate program, giving them the skill and clinical competency to manage these joints and treat all types of pain. Their diagnostic

abilities and their whole-body approach create an effective partnership with other medical providers. Chiropractors offer a safe, complementary option to pain medication and surgery.

Southwest Spine & Pain Center in St.George, Utah, has added a new division called Southwest Sports Spine and Injury Center. This is a center where injuries of all kinds can be supported with chiropractic care, physiotherapy treatments, and therapies specifically designed to treat pain, sports injuries, and auto accident injuries. The focus of this center is to collaborate with some of the best pain physicians in the area and offer the patient a wide variety of care.

About the Author Dr. Russ Jepson graduated with his Doctorate of Chiropractic from Parker University in Dallas, Texas. Prior to chiropractic school, he attended the University of Utah with studies in exercise kinesiology.

He has a double bachelor’s degree in anatomy and health and wellness.

Dr. Jepson is a chiropractic sports and pain specialist with over eleven years of clinical experience. He owned and operated a very successful clinic in Austin, Texas, before moving to St. George, Utah.

Outside of the clinic, Dr. Jepson spends time with his wife and four children and enjoys golfing, fishing, coaching his children, and woodworking.

Chiropractic management in this clinic is led by Dr. Russell Jepson. Dr. Jepson is one of the top chiropractors specializing in sports injuries, auto injuries, severe back pain, and disc injuries. He comes to this new clinic from Austin, Texas, with over eleven years of clinical experience. His treatments focus on proper biomechanics and on restoring optimal balance and removing pain with a variety of techniques. He uses gentle chiropractic adjustments when needed with advanced therapeutic exercises, several muscle release techniques, ultrasound therapy, electric muscle stimulation, and cupping, and he will be adding spinal decompression therapies soon.

This team of providers is proving that medical treatments and chiropractic treatments can be combined effectively and will yield a highly effective result.

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Jepson, visit https://www.southwestspineandpain.com/providers or call 435-688-1665.

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 43

l u So Sole Reading Required

By Emily Jensen, OMS IV, Rocky Vista University

If you are going to take time to read this article, you have to promise me you will be fully present and engaged the whole time. This is going to require some effort on your part as the reader, and I want to set you up for success. Remove any distractions, take a deep breath to clear your mind, and let’s get started practicing mindfulness.

About the Author Emily Jensen, OMS IV, is a current Rocky Vista University medical student and OPP fellow at the southern Utah campus. Emily is a fourth year medical student. She has added the fellowship to her education, spending an extra year with hands-on training, teaching, and learning new techniques.

What I want you to do is focus on your breath. Don’t change anything about how you are breathing.

Just simply notice what the air feels like as it enters and exits your body. If thoughts come to mind, let them come and go without holding onto them. You are here to simply observe this moment. Notice how your airway breathes life in and out of your body on its own. What do you feel with each inhale and exhale? Can you feel it affect other areas of your body? Stay here for a moment, keeping your attention focused on your breath. Close your eyes if you want to. Stay however long you need to and read on when you are ready…

Great job! Do you feel any different after that short exercise? What was the difficulty of it for you?

It is okay if it was hard to focus on breathing. If you have not practiced mindfulness before, it can seem a little uncomfortable and even difficult, but I promise that incorporating mindfulness into your life is worthwhile.

Mindfulness is a beautiful way to reconnect our brain, body, and soul—the three components of health. It has been practiced for thousands of years, and the research on its effects is abundant. A few of its many benefits include the ability to cope with stress, build up stress resilience, alleviate chronic pain, reduce depression relapses, decrease cravings, and increase feelings of compassion towards others.

Wherever you fall in the above categories (I think stress claims us all to some degree), incorporating mindfulness into your life is a valuable tool to have and apply throughout this new year.

There are a variety of ways to practice mindfulness, from a Yoga class to apps, from YouTube videos to official courses. Pick one to try out to find the best fit for you. How often should you practice it? It depends on you! I would suggest checking in with yourself throughout the day to see whether or not you need to hit the refresh button on yourself by spending a few minutes practicing mindfulness. I promise you’ll be glad you did.

44 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 45

By East West Health

Are You Ready to Get Your Hiking Knees Back?

Here in southern Utah, we are blessed with an amazing recreational playground.

Have you had the opportunity to hike Observation Point in Zions National Park?

This hike starts on the east side of the park a short distance past Zion Ponderosa. At the conclusion of your hike, you will be rewarded with a breath-taking view of nearly every major attraction in the park. On the hike, you will encounter steep hills as you trek through the picturesque Echo Canyon. You will ascend nearly 2,000 feet, and you will need some water and healthy knees to get you there and back.

If you don’t feel like you could take this hike or participate in a physical activity you previously enjoyed because of knee pain, there is good news: a noninvasive treatment— accepted by most Medicare and TRICARE and some Blue Cross insurances—that might work for you. It’s called Stem Cell Recruitment Therapy®.

Stem Cell Recruitment Therapy® is a revolutionary procedure that rejuvenates, regenerates, and lubricates ailing joints, helping to increase mobility while decreasing pain. Although our bodies have natural, built-in healing capabilities, this therapy helps promote your body’s own healing capabilities for repairing diseased and damaged tissues. By using a combination of growth factors and other endogenously synthesized molecules, it helps to reconstruct and regenerate new, healthy tissue without surgery.

What does this mean for you? It means you can finally enjoy that hike to Observation Point, take some amazing pictures, and make some lasting memories with friends and family!

46 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

By David Cordero

About the Author David Cordero is the Communications and Marketing Director for the City of St. George. A southern Utah resident since 2006, David has extensive experience in writing, public relations, marketing, and public speaking. He has also served in a variety of volunteer capacities over the years, including Utah Honor Flight, American Legion Post 90, religious education, and coaching youth sports. Email him at david.cordero@sgcity.org.

Rob Kramer, Director of the Institute for Continued Learning (ICL) at Dixie State University, was in the midst of creating a five-year strategic plan. ICL provides classes for retirees to keep their minds and bodies from unnecessary atrophy—of vital importance in a community with a high number of residents identifying as senior citizens.

Kramer wondered if what they had been doing was enough. Could ICL achieve more? “I knew we could do more than just cure boredom,” Kramer recalled.

“We could do more to stimulate people’s minds, bodies, and spirits. We could save people’s lives.”

This desire gave birth to the Live Long.

Live Well. (Live!) initiative, which has the goal of increasing longevity, improving health, and increasing the overall life satisfaction of the residents of Washington County—with an emphasis on people over age fifty. Kramer found a champion for his concept in Nancy Hauck, Associate Provost of Community & Global Engagement at Dixie State University, and together they formed a committee involving Intermountain Healthcare’s LiVe Well Center and the City of St. George.

In January 2020, Live! began a six-month survey to gauge the health and wellness of the community. The unforeseen COVID-19 pandemic tossed a wrinkle into things, yet 2,400 responses were recorded. The study produced these key results:

• The over-fifty population in St George is already one of the healthiest groups in the United States. They report feeling better about their physical, cognitive, emotional, and financial health than younger generations.

• 80 percent of respondents report practicing thirty minutes a day of exercise on average, compared to an average of only 5 percent for the U.S.

• A higher than average number of respondents eat well, focusing on vegetables and fruits; however, they still consume too much sugar and too many snacks.

“This survey revealed that St. George is already a health-conscious community, so it will not take much for us to become one of the healthiest communities in the world,” Hauck said.

A Call to Action: Community Health Challenge As a follow up to the survey, Live! is launching its first community challenge, which encompasses three components: social/emotional, physical, and cognitive.

1. Social/Emotional Each day, consider what you are grateful for. Send three messages of appreciation—via text, email, mail, or phone—to three different individuals. Research has demonstrated that this is one of the most powerful ways to improve mood, increase overall happiness, and enhance relationships.

2. Physical Health Commit to moderate exercise for thirty minutes per day for five days a week. Engaging in aerobic exercise is the best way to reduce the risk of dementia and keep your body healthy. Also, commit to daily gardening, walking, or hiking in nature five times a week.

Vitamin D obtained from sunshine is essential for staying healthy and boosting the immune system, and spending time outdoors reduces blood pressure, stress, and depression.

3. Cognitive Learn something new. Take a class at Dixie State University through ICL or Community Education. Classes are also available through the City of St. George or through Intermountain Healthcare.

Exercise your mind by learning a new language or learning to play a new instrument.

Live Long. Live Well. (Live!)

To join the challenge or to find out more information, go to the Live! website at livelong.dixie.edu/Challenges.

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 47

A New Hope for Those Living with Depression:

WHEN ANTIDEPRESSANT MEDICATIONS AREN’T WORKING, HOPE IS NOT LOST!

By Premier TMS If you’re battling depression and not seeing results with antidepressant medications, chances are you’re feeling utterly hopeless and don’t know where to turn next. NeuroStar TMS is a non-drug depression treatment that can work when antidepressant medications don’t. TMS does not have the same side effects associated with traditional antidepressant medications. The most common side effect is a headache or slight discomfort at or near the treatment site, which goes away after the first few treatments.

This treatment is a literal lifesaver for many sufferers who have tried countless antidepressants to little or no avail, all while enduring numerous side effects. Compare that to TMS, where 68 percent of patients see a reduction in their depression symptoms and 45 percent achieve remission. Yes, that’s right—45 percent of patients no longer have depression when they complete TMS therapy.

TMS stands for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, which uses magnetic pulses—similar to what is used in an MRI—to stimulate areas of the brain that are underactive in people with depression.

The precise magnetic pulse delivers the right dose of treatment to the right location every time. You are awake and alert during treatment and can resume normal activities immediately afterwards.

TMS is FDA-cleared. More than 2.5 million treatments have been performed. Most major insurance companies, including Medicare, cover TMS.

48 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

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Elsa and Rich’s Path with TMS Elsa’s husband, Rich, hid his depression from her for years. When she found out about his silent struggle, she encouraged him to seek help. When antidepressant medications didn’t work, she began to research other options and found NeuroStar TMS Therapy. Rich’s journey with TMS was successful. Elsa started to notice changes in Rich after a few weeks. Everyone is different, but subtle improvements were a sign that things were heading in the right direction. Rich’s treatments were scheduled daily for about six weeks. Following treatment sessions, Rich and Elsa always tried to do something fun together, which kept them moving forward.

Today, they have a new lease on life!

“Neurostar treatment has changed my life. It’s given me life.

It’s given me joy. It’s given me opportunity.” – Colleen “I had taken eleven different medications without any relief. NeuroStar treatment has helped me bring my life back with a happiness that I’ve never experienced before.” – Todd “When you’re depressed, you’re always fighting to live and to survive the next day. NeuroStar made such a difference. All of a sudden, I feel empowered; I feel strong; I feel like I’m not a victim anymore.” – Debbie

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 49

New Year’s Recipe for Wellness

1 Cup Health and Safety

• Wash y our hand s.

• Cover your cou gh.

• Stay sm oke free.

• Get va ccination s and yearly ex ams.

By Coleen M. Andruss, MD

From the Thanksgiving Day kick-off to New Year’s Day, the holiday season is a long, tempting food fest designed to make you gain weight. With the stress and high-emotion of the holiday season in the past, it is time to take control of your health with this new year’s recipe for wellness!

2 Cups Sanity

aring e-time by sh m t u o e rv a • C oritizing. ties and pri ili b si n o sp re stay calendar to • Create a time. g nd mana e organized a dget, financial bu • Create a it. and stick to nology. elf from tech • Free yours l media.

Avoid socia

1 Cup Strength

3 Cups Healthy Cooking

3 Cups Healthy Eating

50 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

no! Do less, • Learn to say not more. plan for • Have a coping rs, such as emotional trigge ls. music and smel

•P lan ea sy recip es.

• Modif y recipe s using yogurt, substitu and bro tes (app th).

• Redu lesauce ce suga , Greek r and fa creams t. Don’t c o o k with s • Cook auces a healthy nd sources • Grill, of lean roast, o p r ro steam. tein (ch • Eat h ealthy c icken, s eafood arbs (w wild ric ). hole gra e, bean in s, swee s); avoid produc t potato the “wh ts that ,q stimula • Limit te appe ite hazards” (w uinoa, sodium tite). hite flo , and u • Use o ur se herb live oil, s a n c d a s n • Cook p o ic la e o s il fo , or coc less volu r flavor. onut oil me to p • Prepare instead revent of butt leftove foods o er. rs. n a full you coo stomac k. h. Don’t taste e verythin g

g out. rather than eatin ery • Eat at home d protein at ev an , es bl its, vegeta illed ch it, fru • Eat more fru s, se nuts, hard chee meal. Snack on . us with veggies m m hu or ion. shrimp, petite suppress ap es id ov pr ct tra GI e th in • Bulk ch bite. joy and savor ea • Eat slowly. En ad of what you te at you need ins • Focus on wh . shouldn’t have n’t overindulge. satisfied, but do el fe to e ulg nd • I stomach! s Listen to your ereating. It take it promotes ov on’t skip meals; event hunger than it does to •D to pr fewer calories it occurs. deal with it once

8 cups Water

7 cups Beauty Sleep

ter! Add ns of wa to k n ri • D lemon. es; liquid ur calori o y k n ri d • Don’t no bulk. provide s e ri lo a c p hol. Kee limit alco r o id e o ic v s • A s, a the rock ou drinks on ge and y ra e e bev th s te u il d r. sip longe

• Lack o f sleep p romotes hormone s that inc rease appetite and weig h t gain.

• A reco very nigh t is documen ted to be helpful if there is la ck of slee p .

• Avoid caffeine (c h o colate, o the-coun verter pain m eds, coff etc.). ee, • Don’t e at right b efore bed .

4 cups Physical Activity

• Recommit to your regula r exercise rout ine.

• Engage in winter sportin g activities (ski, snow shoe, hike, sled, ice skate).

Mix all ingredients together and blend them with a spirit of gratitude. Taste daily to improve mood, relieve stress, and increase smiles, energy, and motivation. At the end of each day, take a spoonful of deep breathing for relaxation.

Weigh yourself daily and become a bit obsessive.

Occasionally, add a few tablespoons of social interaction to enhance happiness and beat the blues. Approach the new year mindfully, and be confident that you can maintain a strong and healthy body. Note that the leftovers from this recipe will never spoil; indulge often so that you can enjoy happy, healthy habits and a more vibrant physical, mental, and spiritual life forever.

About the Author Dr. Coleen Andruss practiced as an internist for ten years and has specialized in weight management for twenty-six years. She and her staff have personally experienced weight management issues and have a compassionate understanding of patients in the Healthy Lifestyles program. Dr. Andruss’s internal medicine background helps her to see underlying medical problems when formulating individual plans that work.

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 51

By Brigit Atkin We just made it through a doozy of a year. 2020 took us on a ride few of us imagined possible. I don’t want to go into the details of it; I just want to ask a few questions.

What did you learn? Did you change for the better or for the worse? Are you more compassionate than you were a year ago, or have you become cynical and bitter?

As we move into a new year, what will we pass through? Some roads have more lions and tigers and bears than others. I wonder if Dorothy questioned the road she was on. If I were in Oz with her, I would imagine I would have suggested trying a less troublesome path than her “yellow brick road.”

If lately you feel like wicked people are forever blocking your way and houses of trouble are falling from the sky, now is a good time to reassess your path. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying includes an enlightening poem that describes the need to change tracks and find another path:

{

1. I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost….I am hopeless.

It isn’t my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

2. I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I am in the same place.

But it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

No Yellow Brick Road?

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3. I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in….. it’s a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

4. I walk down the same street.

There is a hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

5. I walk down another street.

{

Are you staying on the troublesome road because it’s the only path you know? Are you staying because it’s the most difficult path, and you think difficult is good? Is there a better road you could take? Bitterness, blaming, and resentment are just some of the mindsets that will keep you on the path of potholes.

But learning from tough times can foster love, forgiveness, kindness, and resilience that will put you on a smoother path as you navigate through this next year.

We don’t know what 2021 will bring. It might be more of the same; it might get worse. These are facts that are outside our control. But we can and we must control our thoughts, actions, and words. We can step out of fear and into faith. We can be grateful, even in awful circumstances. We can forgive those who have created sorrow and pain.

You have the power to be happy in difficult times. You’ve had the power all along, my dear.

About the Author Brigit Atkin – Brigit of Brightworks uses alternative healing methods to help improve the lives of others facing challenges and difficulties. She is certified in SimplyHealedTM method and was trained by founder Carolyn Cooper herself.

For more information, visit www.brightworksbybrigit.com

Follow a Better Path

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 53

Great News for Medicare Patients Needing Hip Replacement Surgery

By Maria K. Todd, PhD, MHA, SGSC Director of Business Development Great news! Patients no longer need to be admitted to a hospital for hip replacement surgery as of January 1, 2021!

explained Dr. Hicken. “Because muscle is moved out of the way rather than cut into, patients enjoy quicker healing and less pain.

Unless the patient is frail and needs to be hospitalized, Medicare has followed the current trend that has been increasing over the past eighteen months to move hip replacement surgery cases to the independent outpatient facility setting.

The reason? Lower costs to patients and taxpayers with minimal, if any, reduction in safety and outcomes.

Because of concerns about COVID-19, most inpatient surgeries around the nation have been suspended indefinitely, causing patients to wait in pain. Going forward, cases that will be approved for hospital inpatient stays are limited to significantly difficult revisions, very sick patients, and emergency traumas.

St. George Surgical Center (SGSC) surgeons have been performing hip replacement surgeries since 2018 in the outpatient setting with excellent safety, low infection rates, great clinical outcomes, and very high patient satisfaction.

SGSC is also the only independent outpatient surgery facility in southern Utah that is licensed for overnight stays, and in a few weeks, SGSC will receive an upgrade to its robotics technology to increase accuracy and precision on both total and partial knee replacements and eventually, total and partial hip replacements.

Gregory J. Hicken, MD, trained at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota, which has consistently been ranked in the top three centers for orthopedic surgery for the last twenty years. He worked with many of the thirty-plus consultants there on complex joint reconstruction problems and has been using computer navigation and robotics for the past twenty years to increase the accuracy and safety of joint replacement surgery. He pioneered new methods of pain control and moved a majority of his joint replacement procedures to outpatient surgery centers without compromising quality of care or comfort.

Most of the hip replacement surgeries performed at SGSC are done by “direct anterior approach.” According to Dr. Gregory J. Hicken of Elite Healthcare of Southern Utah, the surgeon determines if the patient is a good candidate for this procedure.

“While not everybody is a candidate for direct anterior approach hip replacement surgery, it is a modification of a seventy-year-old surgical approach,” he said.

The direct anterior approach has several advantages over the way other surgeons in St. George perform the procedure. “For one thing, the direct anterior approach to hip replacement is muscle sparing,” 54 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

“Using the direct anterior approach, no hip precautions are required after the surgery and the risk of hip dislocation after surgery is significantly less than with other approaches,” continued Dr. Hicken. “While the patient usually recovers quicker than with other surgical approaches, when total hip replacements are compared a year after surgery, there’s not a significant difference. By comparison, there tends to be a higher rate of trochanteric bursitis and limp following the anterolateral approach and a higher rate of dislocation following the posterior approach.”

The implant that is used at SGSC is mobile bearing.

This implant increases the stability of the hip and lengthens the longevity of the implant by decreasing wear.

“With home help support, patients recover better at home with family nearby,” added Dr. Hicken. “SGSC’s patients also benefit from the new and improved pain management approaches used at SGSC that use fewer opioid medications.”

Robotic-assisted technology does not add extra cost to the patient or insurer. Patients with traditional Medicare and a secondary insurance usually have zero out-of-pocket cost to have their hip or knee replacement surgery at SGSC. They will receive additional advantages and services not otherwise available in southern Utah.

To learn more, join SGSC and Dr. Hicken for Lunch with the Doc at 11:30 a.m. on January 22, 2021, at Magleby’s Restaurant where the doctor will explain the advantages of robotics-assisted hip and knee replacements and answer questions from the audience.

There’s no cost or obligation to attend. RSVP to 435-705-7039 to reserve your seat. Don’t wait! Seating is limited, and half the seats are already claimed!

How Hypnotherapy Changes the Brain

By Erin Del Toro, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist The first time I saw a hypnotherapist, I was nervously trying it as a last resort. I’d seen some results after four years of traditional therapy, but I felt like I’d come up against a wall that was keeping me from necessary progress.

About the Author Erin Del Toro is a certified Clinical Hypnotherapist for True North Mind Management. She is passionate about combining eastern and western medicine, changing the effects of trauma, and helping others unlock the power of their true potential.

When she’s not reading and learning about the mind, she enjoys spending time with her daughters, training for ninja warrior competitions, and staying active in the great outdoors of Southern Utah.

In that first session, hypnotherapy surprised me by taking my trauma processing, self-awareness, and self-love to new heights. For four months, I continued hypnotherapy sessions and worked with my regular therapist to amplify my progress; then I felt like I was finished with both, at least for a time. It seemed shockingly quick, yet I felt more stable than I had been in years. I didn’t know how it worked, but at the time, I was simply happy that it did. Now as a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist, I love how science-based yet soul-healing the process is.

Unwanted or negative feelings, actions, and behaviors are common effects of dominant pathways in the brain that have formed in response to some type of trauma. Traumas can be as big as sexual violence or the death of a loved one or as small as a parking lot fender bender or feeling badly about being overbearing with your child. The pathways which form from traumas are made up of neurons in the brain and are called neural pathways.

The more serious the trauma, the more likely it is to create strong neural pathways quickly.

When the mind processes trauma, hormones are released with the feelings happening at the time. The hormones and new neural pathways link together, making the memory of the event more vivid to the mind and more dominant in the structure of the brain and body. We usually don’t know that these unwanted neural pathways are activated, but we often do notice the negative feelings they create.

Too many stress hormones in the body can become overwhelming for our systems to handle, causing anxiety, depression, physical symptoms, loss of self-esteem, PTSD, and compulsive and deviant behaviors that spill into our everyday lives. For relief, the brain must learn to change by deactivating the unpleasant neural pathways of the past.

The brain’s ability to change is called neuroplasticity. Over the past twenty-five years, there have been major advancements in understanding neuroplasticity. There’s still so much to discover, but we know that our minds are primed for change and growth when we are babies and children.

As we grow to adulthood, the ability to easily change and form neural pathways begins to reduce, and only very specific and rare catalysts stimulate heightened opportunity for the brain to change. One of these is processing information in a deeper state of consciousness, and one way to get there without the use of psychedelic drugs is hypnosis.

Hypnotherapy is nothing like a hypnosis show. A clinical hypnotherapist is trained to help clients enter and stay in a state of hypnosis, slowing brain waves and promoting a deep state of relaxation, hyperfocus, and neuroplasticity.

With the brain open to change and with the guidance of the therapist, the person in hypnosis more easily: 1) Understands the root cause of their problems.

2) Heals from traumas and unwanted feelings, behaviors, habits, thoughts, and beliefs.

3) Subconsciously restructures the pathways that have formed incorrectly.

After a session with a clinical hypnotherapist, clients have a lot of information to process. Journaling, talking to trusted loved ones, or working your feelings through with your own therapist is highly recommended for optimal establishment of new neural pathways and to ensure the old, unwanted ones shrink and disconnect.

To learn more about hypnotherapy, visit www.truenorthmindmanagement.com.

To schedule an appointment for a hypnotherapy session, call Erin at (435) 429-2560.

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 55

Making New Year’s Resolutions That Last -

A Quality of Life Initiative

About the Author Richard K. Harder is an adjunct instructor at Dixie State University in the School of Business and Communication, and senior adjunct instructor at the College of Business and Public Management, University of La Verne in California.

He holds a master’s degree in management from California State University, Los Angeles, and degrees in business and hospitality management from San Francisco State University and the City College of San Francisco. He is principal of Richard Harder & Associates Leadership Development and Consulting Services and Lead Smart Training in St. George. His professional mission as a consultant/educator is to assist leaders in their effectiveness at managing individuals, tasks and teams, while improving quality of life for themselves and their families.

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By Richard K. Harder It was an early foggy and damp February morning. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to get up earlier and exercise more often.

By the way, a resolution, by definition, is “a firm decision to do or not do something.”

My intended routine was jogging for better heart health. The thought of an invigorating early morning jog three times per week seemed like such a worthwhile “resolution,” so I resolved to begin this routine.

I was determined that this would be another favorable feature of my lifestyle.

The alarm went off at 5:30 a.m., much earlier than my previous wake-up time. I readied for my new initiative by pushing the mattress off my back, jumping into my jogging gear, strapping on my running shoes, and driving to the nearby high school track to begin my new venture.

I walked onto the track and looked up to notice the misty fog whirling about the illuminated streetlights.

The wind and early morning damp sent a chill over my wakening body, at which point I said, “I am probably the only person in this entire city about to run twelve laps around that track at this early hour of the morning. This is stupid.” I scrambled back to the car, drove back to the house, and jumped into a bed that was still as comfortable and warm as when I left it ten minutes earlier.

Does this sound like “a firm decision to do or not to do something?” Not really. It lacked essential ingredients without which most resolutions will never last. And this is the message of this quality of life article: making New Year’s resolutions that last.

Research shows that the most common New Year’s resolutions are increasing physical fitness, saving money, eating healthier, losing weight, reducing debt, improving relationships, building character, and

smoking cessation. Studies also reveal that 55 percent of all resolutions are health related. These intentions seem like meaningful and sensible personal resolutions.

Unfortunately, most resolutions made are never achieved. According to a study conducted by the University of Scranton, just 8 percent of people achieve their New Year’s goals, while most fail to keep these resolutions. Unrealistic expectations are one of the main reasons that New Year’s resolutions fail.

Here are five simple steps what will help you to make lasting resolutions: 1. Put your resolutions in writing and share them with others whom you trust and who can provide encouragement.

2.

Keep the number of your resolutions to a minimum; three or four is best.

3. Make your resolutions specific and realistic. For example, a resolution to save money might read, “I will save 10 percent of my after-tax income from my paycheck on the first and fifteenth of every month.”

4. Be passionate about your resolutions. This mental energy increases the probability of achieving resolutions that have high value to you and your closest loved ones.

5.

Have fun with your resolutions and celebrate achievement.

It is energizing and motivating to be on the pathway of personal progress and success. Humans are naturally inclined to relish personal development physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Lasting and meaningful resolutions strengthen self-confidence, self-image, self-esteem, and overall health.

Make sure that your new year’s resolutions do not go into “one year and out the other.”

Enjoy your New Year’s resolution journey and “always bear in mind that your resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” (Abraham Lincoln).

GET NOTICED

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A Featured Sponsor receives: • Link to website (link of your choice) • Description of business • Spot for videos • Section to list services and amenities • Staff and bio • Photo gallery • Map • Address, phone, website, and email • Social media links • Hours of operation Annual contract required. Monthly online payments will be processed online. $49 one time setup fee.

Southern Utah Health & Wellness Directory has a link on the St. George News website, which has over 400,000 unique users and 145,000 readers each month. By promoting health and wellness articles on their website, St. George News helps drive traffic to this site.

Contact Information:

Call 435-467-2103, email brian10e@icloud.com, or go to www.stghealth.com St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 57

What is

Glaucoma?

By Dr. Ryan Robison

We often see patients who haven’t had their eyes checked in several years. They think there is no reason to be checked sooner because they don’t think they have any problems. However, from time to time, some of these patients do have something going on with their eyes of which they are unaware. This is often the case with a disease like glaucoma.

Glaucoma is when the pressure in the eye is causing stress to the optic nerve. This stress causes a subtle, progressive, and irreversible loss of vision. It is the second leading cause of blindness in the world and affects over three million Americans, but only half of those affected know they have it. There are typically no symptoms for glaucoma because there is no pain associated with it. It’s very rare to be able to feel the pressure building up inside the eye. It develops slowly and sometimes without any noticeable vision loss for many years until the damage is already done.

Glaucoma cannot be prevented. If diagnosed and treated early, it can usually be well controlled, and any major loss of vision can be avoided. Risk factors for glaucoma include family history, age (over sixty years of age), race (African-American, Asian, and Hispanic), head or eye trauma, and prolonged use of steroid medications in any form.

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Treatments focus on lowering eye pressure through the use of eye drops, surgery, or both. Individual responses to the various drops and different surgery options vary, and finding the right combination can be difficult. Sometimes, effective treatments need to be modified because the eye no longer responds to the medication or surgery like it once did. Because of these intricacies, close monitoring is critical and may require frequent office visits.

The incidences of glaucoma are rising with the aging of the baby boomers and increasing longevity. Seeing your eye doctor regularly is your best defense.

Call 435-673-5577 to schedule your appointment today, or go to www.SouthWestVision.com.

About the Author Dr. Robison is a native of St. George, Utah. He is a graduate of Dixie High School, Dixie State University, Brigham Young University, and Pacific University College of Optometry. He has memberships in the BYU Management Society, American Optometric Association, and the Utah Optometric Association. He has served on the Board of Directors for the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce and SouthWest Federal Credit Union. He has served as President of the St. George Exchange Club. He and his wife, Josie, are the proud parents of four beautiful children.

Family Wealth Transfer

By Thomas J. Bayles, JD, MBA The American Dream is a common and widely known concept among those in our community. It is a belief that through hard work and dedication, anyone can accumulate knowledge and wealth.

What happens after the American Dream is achieved? Most families fail to preserve the wealth they have gained. By the end of the second generation, as much as 70 percent of a family’s wealth has not been preserved, and this statistic rises to 90 percent by the end of the third generation. You may think the cause of this damage to family wealth is poor tax planning or bad investment management, but it is more commonly due to the lack of trust and communication around group decision making. Family relationships have the strongest bonds, whether they be full of kind or harsh feelings. While family culture is hard to change, a family can establish a shared connection and identity while building resilience, if done right.

Families must have family meetings to choose interdependence, build trust, create a family mission statement, and practice group decision making. These meetings will create an atmosphere for families to share experiences, participate in activities, learn of common values, goals, and hopes, and practice traditions that will create a place of belonging and reinforce commitment to fortify relationships. Family education through family meetings are the key to preserving the wealth of those who have achieved the American Dream.

If your family derived its wealth from a family business, there are important steps to consider if your goal is to keep the business in the family. Merely leaving ownership of the business to family upon death without discussion or training is a recipe for disaster. Careful evaluation of a business succession plan should be formulated well in advance of retirement in order to ensure the successful generational transfer of a business. Initial considerations should include solutions if a key family member passes away. There are numerous additional considerations including voting rights, lifetime transfer of stock, inheritance, estate taxes, the role of life insurance, and cash liquidity, among other items. Significant effort should also be put into discussing and transferring business decision-making while key family members are still working in the business. A trusted family advisor, such as an experienced estate planning attorney, can be helpful in the succession planning process.

In the world we live in now, children hunger for a sense of belonging but have a difficult time finding a connection outside of the home. It is important that your home is a safe place for your family to feel comfortable enough to share their successes as well as their struggles. A strong family bond will help each member feel included. Once that bond is established, tough discussions will be easier to resolve, and the American Dream will live on for multiple generations.

About the Author Thomas J. Bayles is an attorney at ProvenLaw, PLLC. The company name is new to the St. George market, but Mr. Bayles has been an attorney in St. George, practicing in estate planning and business succession planning for over twenty years. ProvenLaw is a legal group providing trust, estate, tax planning and litigation, probate, trust administration, and business succession planning in the state of Utah. ProvenLaw exceeds our clients’ expectations by offering unmatched expertise, client service, and quality work. With more than ninety years of collective experience, ProvenLaw promises consistency, knowledge, clarity, constant communication, resolution, and peace to our clients. If you would like to visit with us about your planning, please visit our website at provenlaw.com, or give us a call at 435-688-9231.

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 59

Drug Free, Pain Free Therapy

$99 Introductory Visit

60 www.saintgeorgewellness.com

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | March/April 2020 61

Pain Free

Start the New Year

By Dr. Ward Wagner

Are you able to do the things you enjoy or is there pain in your back, neck, or legs that keeps you from living your best life? Do you have a herniated disc, multiple herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, facet syndrome, or any other type of spinal problem?

Spinal decompression with the help of laser technology could be the answer you are looking for.

You are not alone if you have back pain. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, 80 percent of adults experience low back pain at some point in their lifetimes. Back pain is one of the most common reasons for missed work, accounting for more than 264 million lost work days in one year.

Spinal discs are responsible for a significant number of incidents of back, leg, neck, and arm pain syndromes. Since the discs do not have their own blood supply, they do not receive fresh blood and oxygen, making it difficult for healing to take place when an injury occurs. Spinal decompression takes pressure off the spinal discs, which helps promote the movement of water, oxygen, and nutrient-rich fluids into the discs to enhance healing.

Spinal decompression is a noninvasive procedure that does not require surgery. What is more, the combination of decompression therapy and laser therapy provides a treatment that is unmatched in its effectiveness. Together these therapies promote increased production of adenosine triphosphate (which floods the cells with energy and aids with healing), decrease inflammation, improve the function of your nerves, and boost healing time through improved intracellular metabolism.

Spinal decompression is highly recommended by Neurological Research. Their study found that of 778 patients receiving spinal decompression therapy, 92% said that they showed improvement.

If you suffer from neck or lower back pain, cervical or lumbar spinal decompression can be delivered in a controlled and proven method. Decompression therapy is very affordable and less expensive than surgery. Because not all conditions qualify for decompression treatment, comprehensive screening methods are conducted to determine if spinal decompression therapy is right for you.

If you would like to find out more about spinal decompression to help alleviate your back or neck pain, contact Dr. Ward Wagner at Dixie Chiropractic, 435-673-1443.

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 61

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St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 63

Am I an I or a We?

By Beatrice Dye

Howard Jensen always knew he was adopted. Raised in a suburban neighborhood in upstate New York, he had good parents and a fairly uneventful life. All of that changed in his 30s when he made a routine inquiry requesting his birth records from the adoption agency that had handled his adoption and was told that somewhere in the world, he had an identical twin brother.

Howard said he always felt like he was missing something, but he didn’t know what it was. “You couldn’t touch it. You couldn’t feel it.

Something was there,” he said.

Two years later, Howard was reunited with his twin brother Doug, and the two were surprised by the similarities in the lives they led while involuntarily estranged. After being reunited, both brothers agreed that it seemed like they had known each other all their lives.

The twin bond is an intensely strong bond and perhaps goes deeper that we understand with the current sciences. I know this bond quite well because I am a twin. My sister Aeva and I were born just minutes apart. Because we were premature, we were placed in separate incubators in the NICU; I was the smallest, weighing just under five pounds. As I struggled to gain weight, breathe, and hold my body temperature, my mother requested that I be placed in the same incubator as Aeva. As soon as I was back within touching distance of my twin, my vitals stabilized, and I began to thrive.

Being a twin gives me many advantages that others my age do not have. For instance, on the first day at a new school, I never felt the anxiety of entering the building alone. When playing on a soccer team with my sister, I never experienced any emotional outcome of a game alone—win or lose. When I lost a loved one or a pet, I had a companion who truly understood my grief. Throughout my life, with nearly every hardship or happiness I encountered, I had a companion experiencing it with me.

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I think this is what fascinates people about twins. When people see twins, they see the possibility of eliminating the pain and loneliness of individuality while still remaining individual. However, this is not the case. While I am grateful to have a twin, there are a slew of complications that come with it, and they all revolve around the quest for individuality.

About the Author Consider this exchange—detailed Beatrice Dye is a sophomore by the mother of twins in “Some at Dixie High School, where Twinsights”—between her twin daughter she is a member of the debate team. Her hobbies include E and their pediatrician while the other playing tennis, singing, and twin, T, was at home. The dialogue went being active outside. When like this: she is not studying or hanging Dr: What’s your favorite color? out with her friends, she enjoys spending time with her E: My favorite color is pink, and T’s family, her dog Albus, and her favorite color is blue. pet cockatoo Archie.

Dr.: What do you like to eat for dinner?

E: I like toast, and T likes pizza.

This pattern continued throughout the appointment. T was not at the appointment and the doctor never once asked about her. Still, E made sure T was, at least by name and basic information, present.

For teenagers, the struggle to establish an individual identity is universal, but for twins, it is more difficult. Besides having to find themselves outside their parents’ control, twins must also find their personal identity outside of their twinship. For some twins, it can be a time that presents the risk for more serious mental health problems and a more serious kind of rebellion as they struggle to make this double separation.

These challenges can often be intensified by a society that often views twins as a “set” or a “pair.” Some twins confess to believing that separated, they are less than a whole human being and together they are an unusually powerful human being. And because they rely on each other so implicitly during their early developmental years, they often do not fully develop critical or rewarding skill sets or talents.

Everyone has twins in their lives, whether that be in the form of close friends, relatives, co-workers, or schoolmates. So what can you do to help them feel more like individuals?

• Avoid comparisons when possible. Don’t give twins labels such as “the smart twin” or “the athletic twin” as this greatly adds to the competitive tension between them and diminishes their individuality.

• Don’t be afraid to spend one-on-one time. Though twins have a close bond, they still need healthy and fulfilling relationships outside the twinship. Feel free to pursue a relationship with one twin instead of approaching them as a set.

• Make each twin feel special on birthdays and other occasions. Do your best to make each twin feel recognized and important when it comes to these events.

• Change your mindset. Start thinking of twins as two individual people, not a matched set.

I am so glad to have the companionship of a twin! As I now work toward establishing my individual identity, I’ve learned that my twinship does not define who I am. My individuality is a birthright and responsibility that I courageously seek, define, and honestly claim.

l o r t n o C e k a T !

1 2 0 2 n i Eschler

By Matt

The year 2020 has been a wild, claustrophobic ride for most of us. We wonder what possibilities 2021 could have in store for us. If we listen closely to the 24-hour news cycles, we are tempted to find relief in the possibility that vaccinations for COVID-19 will be widely available, that some sporting events may come back to life, and that travel may become a safe endeavor.

Nationally and in our own neighborhoods, we are fascinated by the arguing forces both for and against mask wearing. We are anxious about the political contest for our presidential election. We wonder if our students will be learning from expensive screens or sitting in live classes, and we collectively feel a little “cabin fever” from staying at home most of the time. In fact, if you take a deep breath and think about it, 2020 was a year of uncertainty and unanswered questions: Can I go into this store without a mask? Am I being judged because I am wearing a mask? What is really going to happen if this pandemic continues?

According to one research study, adults in 2020 reported considerably higher rates of anxiety and depression. Disproportionate amounts of stress and anxiety can be managed by following three easy-to-be-accomplished guidelines.

1. Breath! Simply slow everything down.

Look around the spot where you are standing or sitting, notice what is around you, and breath! This is a centering exercise. It will slow down your thoughts and your heart rate. Oxygen is awesome for stress.

2.

Limit the time you are spending on social media, watching television, and reading the news. For most of us, catching up on the news twice a day for a half hour is enough to remain aware. Listening, reading, and arguing on various platforms are not healthy stress-reducing activities. Instead, keep a gratitude journal. Go online and habitually post a #bethankful note.

3. Step back from what you are not able to actively control (masks, vaccines, quarantine mandates, school systems) and analyze your area of stewardship.

What can you direct, guide, manage, or control? Where do you have expertise?

Do your work in these arenas. If you are not an expert on vaccines, do not waste time arguing vaccinations. Listen to the experts you trust, and stay focused on managing what you can oversee.

If you want to travel, find a healthminded travel agency online, and map out the places where you can legally and ethically travel. This activity will be much more productive than going to an online

platform to argue over travel restrictions over which you have no control.

Anxiety feeds on shallow breathing and increases when you search for avenues of control or rules to enforce that are outside your purview or area of influence. Feelings of powerlessness—of having no voice—cause us to feel frustrated, angry, and anxious. A careful concentration on where you have a voice, how you can monitor the guidelines, and when you can adjust will bring about a sense of peace and reduced anxiety.

Coping with stress and anxiety in healthy ways will make you and your community stronger!

About the Author Matt lives in St. George, Utah, where he and his wife, Chris, are enjoying their life with each other. Since their children have grown up and moved out to pursue their dreams, Matt and Chris travel the world.

They want to visit 200 countries before they are done. Matt and Chris are active in their community and enjoy working out, training for marathons, and spending time participating in numerous activities with their adult children. Matt received a PhD in psychology. He is focused on the arena of resolving personal conflicts and improving interpersonal relationships. In addition to his doctorate degree, Matt has earned a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy, studied criminal justice and received a category one license with Peace Officer Standards and Training, and received a degree in the Arts of Business Management. Matt is a professor at Dixie State University and hopes to be part of the positive growth of southern Utah.

St. George Health & Wellness Magazine | January/February 2021 65

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