Happy Holidays! And all the best for the new year!
So much has been happening over here at your friendly neighborhood chiropractor, but let me start at the beginning:
Yes! It’s true we are moving… Just next door. We will be offering you the same great service, in a new location. We are growing, and so as of 1/1/2025 we will be located at 653 Terryville Ave, Bristol CT, (It’s the brick building directly beside the office that we have occupied for over 30 years!)
Moving means a larger more comfortable space and better parking. As a result, we can and will be offering expanded services, flexible hours and more providers. We will continue to give you the same outstanding care that you have come to count on over the past 30+ years plus so much more
To celebrate over 30 years of serving Bristol CT, we would like to offer you, our loyal patients, 30 days of gifts over this holiday season and into the new year. Just Click Here to repost our social posts and unlock your FREE gifts!
But wait… there’s more! 🙂 Our generous office warming gift to you: Take a full $30 off one month of Optimal Life Weight Loss, (many patients loose as much as 25 lbs. in three months!) + Get a FREE Optimal Weight Evaluation. ($130 Value.) Conditions apply. It’s easy to redeem your gift, just call us in office 860-589-1491 for details and to schedule for free.
…One More Thing! You are cordially invited: Please do come join us in our new office on Jan 29th 2025 for our NEW YEAR OPEN HOUSE. Come have some snacks and a drink with us; Meet our staff and providers; Get samples, prizes and surprises; Enjoy free services; Get started on your journey to make 2025 your healthiest year yet!
Thank you so much for all your continued support. We appreciate you.
Regards in health,
Dr. Davia H. Shepherd and your Saporito Chiropractic Family
 *Disclaimer: Please remember that it’s impossible for me to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of my articles. I’m superwoman it’s true, but even that is beyond my capabilities. So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your health care provider. Please know that we are happy to address your personal concerns, just call us in office 860-589-1491, to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for reading. We appreciate you.
“NOPE! It’s not about new year, new you! I’m not talking about some airy fairy weird weight loss fad. It is true that many of our patients have used our Optimal Life Wellness Protocols to lose as much as 25 lbs, and over 11 inches, but to be clear, this is about your health, and without our health not much else in our lives will be able to function well!
Your health is important! It’s true! You do have to put on your own mask first. But, where to start? What can you do that will be easy but will have a big benefit? The answer is: use an inside and out approach!“
Toxins build up in our bodies over time through the air we breathe, the foods we eat and the stress we put our bodies under on a daily basis. The master filter in our body – the liver – works to cleanse the body of these toxins to keep them from disrupting the normal functions and operations of the body; essentially, keeping you healthy. Unfortunately, the overabundance of toxins our bodies build up, causes undue stress on our liver; and often the liver can’t keep up with the demand. It needs help to remove these toxins and keep you healthy. Think about it, If your filter isn’t working well, the whole body is affected.
The old way of taking care of health involves us waiting until things are going very wrong before we throw some drugs and/ or surgery at the problem. Medications and some procedures can be potentially life saving, it’s true, BUT… what would happen if we were able to get out ahead of all of it? What if there is a better way? What if you could improve your long term overall quality of life just by taking care of some simple things today?
I know this all too well! Maybe you know the story of how I pushed my body so hard that I ended up with a weird autoimmune diagnosis? You also may remember that it was clinical nutrition therapy (not the multiple drugs, nor my 2 surgeries,) that pulled my health back from the abyss!
I’m going to share the three steps I took to resetting my body and repairing the damage that was done. The truth is, most people look at the start of a new year as an opportunity to do something good for themselves. Many, though, do not get past the “thinking about it” stage. They do nothing, and next year this time their health is a little bit or a lot-a-bit worse! Sigh….
So here’s the protocol that worked for me:
Start with a high powered natural antioxidant supplement:
This supports the body’s native detoxification enzymes; Helps clean up free radicals which are already causing damage to organs and systems in the body; and protects from the effects of new harmful free radicals.
Include a powerful natural anti-inflammatory supplement:
This helps to reduce generalized inflammation (which is the underlying cause of over 70% of the diseases associated with aging even including some cancers!) By extension there is also support for the immune system.
Add in a supplement that supports healthy liver function and repair:
Supports a healthy liver. Supports the body’s natural ability to produce detoxification enzymes, which scavenge harmful toxins in the body. Helps to cleanse and detoxify the liver and blood. Helps excrete toxins that accumulate over time. Helps maintain healthy glutathione levels while also supporting normal glutathione synthesis.
BONUS: My #1 concern is always overall health an wellness, but as a happy coincidence, patients on Optimal Life Protocols tend to lose on average 25 lbs. of unhealthy FAT (NOT muscle mass,) in as little as three months.
Simple, right? I’m happy to share the entire step by step protocol with you. Just keep in mind that these are general suggestions and that when it comes to health it’s not one size fits all. That being said, if you want a detailed protocol tailored to your personal needs, call us today at 860-589-1491 for your free wellness evaluation!!!
My gift to you for the new year is a FREE, no obligation, wellness evaluation. Just call us in office 860-589-1491 to schedule your 20 min session. Come in or join in virtually through our telehealth portal. Bring your questions and lets talk about what may be best for you.
Wishing you a happy and healthy new year.
Regards in Health,
Dr. Davia
*Disclaimer: Please remember that it’s impossible for me to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of my articles. I’m superwoman it’s true, but even that is beyond my capabilities. So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your health care provider. Please know that we are happy to address your personal concerns, just call us in office 860-589-1491, to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for reading. We appreciate you.
If you’ve read anything I’ve ever written, or if you have met me, you know that it is my fervent desire to always be focused on happiness. My happiness to be sure, but also to use my platform as a way of spreading happiness, joy and …love… and all that airy fairy stuff.
Well guys, here we are in the middle of something that we couldn’t have predicted a year ago. We are social distancing; all but essential businesses are shut down; we are cloistered in our homes; we may be running out of toilet paper; and hand sanitizer hoarders are now a real thing. Those of you who have been preparing for the zombie apocalypse are probably doing the “told ya so dance” right now.
For someone like me who’s always talking about happiness, how do I even deal with this level of crazy that we are finding ourselves a part of right now? I deal carefully, thoughtfully and deliberately. What I know for sure is that we can maintain our happiness in this troubled time. I’m not talking about putting a happy face sticker on a terrible situation. What I mean is reaching for inner peace instead of panic. I’m not suggesting we spend our days LOLing at those hilarious quarantine memes and gifs, even though they are super funny. What I am suggesting is being able to reach for inner joy in times of crisis and being unshakable in our determination to think the best thoughts we can in each moment no matter what each moment brings.
That sounds difficult. How does one even go about doing that?
Please know that I’m not in any way simplifying the reality of this and for those adversely affected I want you to know that my heart goes out to you in this time. What I have found is that in times of good and plenty and in times of adversity, sticking close to these 5 steps for happiness has been sustaining and life giving for me. I am writing this in the hope that it may bring someone some peace in this time.
1) What do you believe?
It took me a long time, many years in fact to come to this way of thinking. I grew up in a very traditional sort of family and so I was never taught that we create our own existence. Sure I learned that if you put your mind to it you will succeed and that hard work results in success, but at no time was I taught that thoughts become things. That what we focus on is what manifests. It took me seeing that first hand and even playing with the manifestation process to actually realize that what we are putting out there energetically is what we get back. I’d tried all the other ways of being that I was taught and I wasn’t seeing the results and so I decided, ok, this screwy idea sounds…well… screwy but I might as well try being happy and focusing on inner peace and watching to see what happens. I had in the past just had emotions based on what was showing up in my life. If things were great and the sun was shining, then I’d have a big smile and if things were going to the dogs, then my mood would be too. This ground breaking idea of not letting the circumstances of your life be the reason you feel the way you feel just seemed crazy to me, but reading book after book by guru after guru saying the same thing encouraged me to at least give it a 30 day money back trial. That was many 30 days ago. And TBH there have been ups and downs on this journey. Every day is a new day with this and that leads me to step 2.
2) Practice
What I can absolutely say is that I’m still a work in progress every single day. Like I said, I didn’t learn this way of being growing up. What I learned and what was modeled to me was: There are some things that are just beyond your control. What I know now is I always have control over my emotions and how I choose to feel in any given situation. That doesn’t mean that unpleasant things don’t happen at all or that I look at the world through rose colored glasses. It means that because I am practicing every day to maintain my inner peace, on the days when I need it most I’ll be better able to weather the storm. It’s just like anything else.
I remember when my baby (now 5 years old and in kindergarten) was learning how to creep. That little sweetie made me laugh so hard! He could only creep backwards. He was determined though, if he wanted to go get something, he would calculate its location in his little baby brain and then back his way towards it. I’m pretty sure that in 11 years when he goes for his driving test he will ace reversing! Anyway, he kept trying to go forward, and one day he got a little green talking dog stuffed toy named SCOUT. Scout had been programmed to say his name, it had flashing lights, and it could sing songs for him that included his name and all kinds of features that are catnip to babies. When he saw Scout for the first time, his desire to creep forward had never been greater, he had tried and tried, he had practiced, sometimes getting a few inches forward before moving backward again, but this time all his practice paid off: he moved forward all the way across the room, grabbed Scout (who promptly went into his mouth,) and he hasn’t looked back since.
I’m constantly sharing stories of my crazy kids and their shenanigans but I share this to say that reaching for inner peace during a crisis may not come easily, but we have this overwhelming desire to feel better when things are at their worst and so it’s probably the perfect time to practice. But how? You can practice emotions. True story!
Let’s try this: close your eyes and think about something for which you are truly grateful. It could be hugs from your kids, amazing support staff or a lovely life partner. Whatever it is that is meaningful for you, close your eyes and focus in on the gratitude you feel. The object of your desire may not have been in the room with you while you visualized your gratitude, but that did not stop the warm feelings from flowing into you did it? We can do this with almost anything, it just takes knowing how, focus and practicing.
3) Morning and daily routine
I’m going to share with you what worked for me; What helped me to build my happiness muscle. And I’ll say again, we are all a work in progress, especially me, but I’m better today than I have ever been. This was recommended by one of my most trusted mentors and I have to say this may have been the game changer, no, life changer for me.
a) Morning RoutineThere is a little space in the morning when I wake up, when I know I’m awake but before I start planning my day and going off on all my tangents. I try my best to get control of my thoughts in this space and consciously project thoughts of appreciation and gratitude. Appreciation for another day, for health, for my family, for my internal plumbing working the way it should as I rush off to the bathroom. Once I’m squared away, I try to introduce some movement / exercise. Usually yoga works well for me at this time and then I spend a few minutes meditating. I do a spot of journaling and then I listen to something inspirational to help set the tone for my day. This means for me that I have to get up a bit earlier so as not to be disturbed by my little ones but the time is worth it, and I notice that on the days that I miss incorporating this routine, that navigating challenges is a little harder. I also avoid all media, social and otherwise during this time. The emails will still be there when I’m done!
b) Daily RoutineOne of my mentors is a coach and teacher of universal law. She introduced me to deciding how I want to feel before I move into each different portion of my day. For example walking into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for my kids before getting them on the bus, I want to feel efficient and in flow; As I drive to work I want to feel safe and secure; As I treat patients I want to feel in flow and knowledgeable; when I return home to my family I want to feel love and joy …and patient; going to bed I want to feel relaxed and in gratitude. You can break this down into even smaller chunks of time, but what this ensures is that you are at all times paying attention to how you feel.
c) Don’t beat yourself upThere are days when my morning “glow, “lasts longer than others. On some days I’m rushing so much that I’m not paying attention to how I want to feel and wander into uncomfortable emotional territory. On some days, things just overwhelm me. That’s ok. Let us please not beat ourselves up for not being happy enough! Every day we have an opportunity to continue our practice and every day our happiness muscle builds and gets stronger, helping us handle the toughest situations with ease calm, peace and grace.
4) Taking care of you
We’ve all heard that you can’t pour from an empty cup and that you should put your mask on first before helping others. These are not just platitudes. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try to reach for happiness, it may elude us because of something physiological. Have you ever noticed that when you feel healthier, well rested, well hydrated, when you are fed, you have exercised and when you have avoided negative people places and things, that you just feel amazing, like you could conquer the world?
Let me just put on my physician and recovering researcher hat here for a minute to let you know that yes there is a change in your brain and body chemistry in response to all these things. I won’t bore you with the details, at least not in this article. Just look it up on PubMed though, I kid you not, these things affect how you feel, not just physically but also emotionally. So let’s make sure we are doing all we can to maintain our health in this time. Let’s lay off the quarantine snacks for a minute guys! Now is the time to infuse our diets with healthy plant based foods, (great news, so far the produce aisles continue to be STOCKED, there is a run on TP but not on fresh veggies!) Let’s not skip meals even though we aren’t on our regular schedule. Let’s supplement our health with key nutrients. In times like these a quality multivitamin, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, a quality antioxidant, omega 3’s and probiotics, to name a few, can go a long way. Make sure we are getting quality sleep. With our schedules upended, we may be tempted to stay up late nights binging streaming TV, or reading or whatever. That is fine, just make sure you are getting enough quality uninterrupted sleep. In the colder months we can be tempted to let our hydration fall by the wayside. Don’t forget however, that we are about 70% water and we can’t run many of our repair reactions nor can we eliminate waste successfully without water. So drink up during this time. Try to get about ½ oz per pound of body weight – that is on average about 64 oz per day.
We might find that we have more time in our schedule for moving our bodies, so let’s do it. Exercise releases endorphins as well as dopamine and serotonin in some cases. These are all chemicals produced by our bodies that can help us feel better naturally. Doing some yoga, going for a walk in nature, joining a virtual group exercise class, going for a run or even lifting weights in the basement all count towards helping us feel better. And as for keeping the negative influences in life to the barest minimum, well, that’s just good sense. All that being said, if you suffer from not just situational depression, but clinical depression, incorporating these ideas as well as working with a professional counselor can be tremendously beneficial.
5) Community
I’m a firm believer that we don’t have to go it alone and that everything is easier with a collective of likeminded supportive individuals. On our journey to improving our lives through this season that we are currently in and beyond, success is so much more likely when we can ask the audience or phone a friend. In this time when social distancing is mandated, let’s look for opportunities for heart and soul connecting. It is my hope that we exit this crisis better than we were at the very beginning. That we rediscover what is truly of value in our lives, that we look for the opportunity and silver linings in all of this and reach for innovation and deeper purpose.
My offer to you: I am the curator of “The Happiness Mastermind.” Most of us go to webinars, listen to talks, read articles and all sorts of other self help activities, and at the end of the day we go back to living our lives as usual. For most of us moving forward successfully is most likely when we have a container of support, and that is what the happiness mastermind provides.
If you would like to go through the step by step, exactly how to live a happier life even in times of trouble, and you would like to have a group of likeminded supportive individuals for accountability, conversation and support, then I invite you to join us.
To our Saporito Chiropractic Family, Reaching out to all of you with love in this challenging time. Based on guidelines, we continue to support the community as “Essential Providers.” We are open on a limited basis to help our patients with severe pain during this difficult time. And available through our tele-medicine portal to support all of our patients.We are taking every precaution regarding disinfecting and protecting patients. If you need to be seen in person, please, do not head directly to our offices. Please call on the phone at 860-589-1491 for triage and further instructions. Thanks so much for your support and understanding. Be safe and be well.
Are you a senior? Do you know any seniors? Are there any seniors that are close to you that you may be concerned about? If you answer yes to any of these questions, you are not alone and statistics show that you are within 90% of the entire population. 🙂 I am of course kidding, but my topic today: “Falls” is no laughing matter. Here are some REAL statistics:
Annually, 40% of older Americans over 69 y/o fall at least once. That’s almost 1 in every 2 seniors falling. The cost of falls is alarming. Up to $30 billion! Add to that the fall out from falls (pun intended 🙂 musculo-skeletal injuries, broken bones and the emotional scars, and falls seem to be an important event to avoid.
If you think those stats are bad, here are some more which will knock your socks off (metaphorically of course.) Studies show that there are 4 predictors for seniors going from living independently to living in a long term care situation. They are: Urinary incontinence; Dementia; Social Isolation and, you guessed it: Falls and fall related injuries.
Of course there are so many reasons a person, senior or junior, may fall. These include factors such as overall physical health, vision hazards, environmental slip and trip hazards and of course strength and balance.
If you know anything about me, you know I love to bring you information from the studies that have been done by greater minds. I love to see the evidence, and while doing my research for this article, I found a study looking at recommendations for fall prevention. Here are some of the expert recommendations: EXERCISES, GAIT STABILIZATION, vision assessment, medication assessment, and supplementation including one of my favorite vitamins: VITAMIN D.
So, as usual, I know what you are thinking: Dr. Shepherd, what do seniors and falls have to do with you? Well, (also as usual,) i’m glad you asked! Seniors need to understand their risk of falling and the importance of maintaining their balance. Fortunately, a visit to your local chiropractor (like me,) may be all that is required. “Computerized dynamic posturography,” – testing offered by your local physical medicine doctor such as a chiropractor, is an easy way to determine balance, postural sway and fall risk. Once the assessment is made, specifically tailored rehabilitation exercises can help patients at risk of falls to be safer. This presents an outstanding balance and fall risk solution.
If this speaks to you or makes you think of someone you know, please feel free to reach out to us in office we are happy to help in any way that we can.
Disclaimer: Please remember that it’s impossible to diagnose you and treat you just by you reading one of our articles. I’m superwoman it’s true, but even that is beyond my capabilities. So before you engage in any health and wellness activities, do consult your health care provider. Please know that we are happy to address your personal concerns, just call us in office to schedule your personal consultation; and thanks ever so much for reading. We appreciate you.
