Active Learning Comes to Life University – Alexandra Gerdel, DC Student

QEP may seem boring, but the rewards are phenomenal

This winter marks the beginning of  the implementation of Life University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). Headed up by Dr. Kathryn Hoiiris, the QEP Director, working along with many others across the Faculty and Administration, QEP has become something to talk about at Life. In early February, the QEP committee will have its first series of meetings with SACS, the accrediting agency for the University.

The most important thing for students to know about QEP is that its aim is to create a learning environment that allows students to actively participate and be engaged in classes, rather than just being “lectured.” These types of learning activities are referred to as Active Learning Strategies (ALS). While many of the upper quarter students currently enrolled at Life University probably won’t get to see all the global benefits of our QEP and the potential changes in the learning curve and the curriculum at Life, there are some perks for current students.

If you were around the Socrates Café during the four QEP giveaway days or if you played the weekly QEP stakes in Life News, you may have already won some of the free QEP goodies just by answering a question or two about the QEP. Current students may also begin to see the immediate effects of the numerous Life faculty members who are using or exploring a wide variety of Active Learning Strategies and implementing them in classes throughout the College of Chiropractic and the College of Undergraduate Studies.  Faculty will be including more and more opportunities for students to “get interactive” in the classroom setting.  Get ready to say goodbye to some of those “sage on the stage” lectures and, instead, be engaged in more “guide on the side” learning experiences.

And remember that the QE in QEP stands for Quality Enhancement, which makes it a Plan to Enhance the Quality of YOUR education.

 

The Nutrition Club Is Cooking One Up – Melissa Stewart, Undergrad Student, Nutrition Club

A Big Event is coming to campus

Want to know what the Nutrition Club has in store this quarter? Look no further! Coming Thursday, March 3, 10-2 is our annual Health and Wellness Fair in honor of National Nutrition Month. We will feature vendors from different wellness venues, special speakers and fun for kids. All students on campus are invited to bring their children for our special kid’s presentation and crafts.

The Nutrition Club is a great club for students in any program at Life. We offer educational discussions on nutrition and dietetics topics, fun events and a way to socialize with like-minded students to network for the future. If you are interested in learning what Nutrition Club membership can do for you, email us at nutritionclub@life.edu

Want to know what the Nutrition Club has in store this quarter?

The Nutrition Club is a great club for students in any program at Life.

Innate Enterprise and SICA Present – Alexandra Gerdel, DC Student

The All-Star Event

Every winter Innate Enterprise—a club dedicated to communication, leadership and service in the chiropractic profession—brings some of today’s greatest chiropractic leaders in for an afternoon of philosophy, advice and inspiration.  This year they have teamed up with the Student International Chiropractic Association (SICA) to create an unforgettable afternoon with four doctors from all different arenas of practice and the world.

On Saturday, Februray 26^th seven doctors will share the stage and their knowledge with the students, faculty and staff of Life University. Past events have included big names like Dr. JC Doornick and Dr. Terry Yochum, (of the famous Yochum and Rowe two volume text read heavily by chiropractic students in Dr. Fox’s classes.) This year’s line up proves to be even more power filled than previous events.

Dr. Austin Cohen: A 2009 Life graduate practicing in the Buckhead area. Before even opening his practice, Dr. Cohen had been featured on CNN twice. His passion for chiropractic and advice for students still in school is both infectious and invaluable.

Dr. Liam Schubel: A Life University graduate who made his way internationally – he owns and operates eleven clinics in Peru. Come hear his stories from practicing outside of the country and learn about the new PEAK opportunities in one of his many offices.

Dr. Jim Dubel: The founder and leader of New Beginnings, a powerful philosophy weekend based in solid straight chiropractic principle that is held in New Jersey several times a year. He has been a licensed chiropractor since 1980 and offers a wealth of knowledge and insight for chiropractors young and old.

Dr. Drew Rubin: Life University’s own Dr. Rubin not only owns and runs his own clinic, but teaches advanced pediatric courses and works as a clinical doctor in the pediatric unit of the Center for Optimum Health and Performance. Known for energetically awakening his 7 AM classes with philosophy from the Green Books, Dr. Rubin is an inspiration to be reckoned with. His fiery dialogue on chiropractic should not be missed.

Drs. Cirone and Clarino: A husband and wife team who graduated from Life University in 1999 and currently practice in Sugar Hill GA. Between the two of them they care for all types of patients from pregnant moms and infants to athletes to those with chronic disease. They are members of the ICA and will join us to share their knowledge and chiropractic philosophy.

Dr. Susan Brown: the creator and developer of Bio-Geometric Integration (BGI) Dr. Brown will be joining us for some hands on learning and philosophy to round out a jam packed afternoon. The opportunity to learn some of the principles and methods from the creator of a quickly growing technique among the chiropractic profession and Life University doesn’t come around often.

The All-Star Event will be held on February 26^th from 1-5 PM in room C127. Tickets are $10 for students and $30 for doctors. Seating is limited.  To purchase a ticket look for a table in the café or speak to Kevin Kustarz, Michelle Huvenaars, Josh Gagric, Melissa Bettess, Alexandra Gerdel or any other member of Innate Enterprise or SICA.

Do not miss the opportunity to be inspired by and learn from a powerful group of doctors who are out making a difference in the world, and sharing from the same stage for one day only!

What is WARRIOR? – Michelle Huvenaars, DC Student

Read further for the answer to this question and more

That’s a great question…especially now. In the last issue of the Vital Source, Lauren Liebold shared a story from her personal journey with WARRIOR Coaching and WARRIOR Club. Because of the snow week, we were unable to answer this question at Club Day. Nonetheless, this is THE quarter to be asking that question because WARRIOR Club has so many opportunities for you to experience what WARRIOR is.

*Our club meetings will be taking place Mondays from 5-7 PM in C149.

*We had our first video call in January, and for every month this year we have a different chiropractor lined up to speak with us and answer our questions. The next one is February 2nd at NOON in C108.

*The founders of WARRIOR Coaching, Drs. Ed Quirk and Yurij Chewpa, and fourth year WARRIOR, Dr. Michael Heskett, will be hosting a Student Night to ignite your passion and renew your focus, at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel on Thursday, February 10th from 7-9 PM. It is FREE to attend, but only a limited number of spots are available, so please register by emailing warriorclub@life.edu.

*If you would like to check out a seminar for yourself, there will be one day seminar on Friday, February 11th from 4 AM – 4 PM.

As always, you can check out www.warriorcoaching.org or email warriorclub@life.edu for more information.

 

The Gloria Ivy Breast Cancer Association – Kelly Milano, DC Student

Life students gets active after watching his mom’s battle

When Damarius Pernell, 9^th quarter DC student found out his mom (Gloria Ivy) had breast cancer in 2008 just after he started the DC program, his life was flipped upside down. Having been raised by his mother in a single parent household, this news was absolutely devastating to him and he knew he had to do something. After watching her struggle with the disease and the misconceptions that he heard people express, he knew he couldn’t just sit and do nothing. He started the Gloria Ivy Breast Cancer Association as a way to spread awareness, find a cure and support those needy individuals with breast cancer. To Damarius, it’s not about doing research or himself working towards a cure, but it’s about helping those with the disease. His goal with GIBCO is to help create support groups, do fundraisers and help in any way he can, including toy drives at Christmas time to give to the children of cancer patients.

Gloria Ivy Breast Cancer Organization has several Life University students sitting on the board of directors, including Danielle Jones, whose mother is also a breast cancer survivor. The organization is also a great way for student to get involved and also stress healthy lifestyle as well as to empower and enrich the lives of women who are struggling with breast cancer.

In November, Damarius also began a women’s clothing and accessory store in his home town of Indianola, Mississippi. Damarius states he was “tired of ladies in my home town having to go so far for nice clothes.” He states that there were no boutique type stores and no where to buy nice plus size clothing without having to drive a long distance to the stores. He saw the need and decided to capitalize on it while helping his female family and friends. He created Jewel Box Boutique that provides nice clothes for all types of women, regardless of size, and provides that at a reasonable price. The store also carries jewelry, handbags and shoes. Damarius plan is that when his mom retires in 2 years, she will take over the Indianola store and he will open another one. Currently he is working on an online store and states that all Life students will get a discount once it’s open for business. He is also in communication of starting a second Jewel Box Boutique in Louisiana and would like to see multiple stores open in the future.

Blue Jacket Envy – Kelly Milano, DC Student

A color of approaching success

At some point in our schooling ‘career’, we all go through it. There’s no set point as to when it happens, but it will happen to each of us. We venture through the doors of Life University, full of excitement and anticipation. We look forward to helping people and being part of true healthcare. We don’t care that we’re at the bottom of the totem pole because we’re here, and that’s all that matters. At some point, something changes. Suddenly, we see all the blue jackets around us and it hits us…Blue Jacket Envy!
It usually starts to really affect us when we first step into cadaver labs. We suddenly think, “This better all be worth it!!”  Then we remember the covetous blue jacket! We see new interns in the bookstore trying on jackets, smiling and snapping pictures to adorn their Facebook pages and to email to family and friends.  We walk past them in the hallway and feel a sense of jealousy. All we want is to legally put our hands on patients and adjust them. We want to give them what we feel will be the perfect adjustment, to free them from their ailments, clear the fog from their brain and even have angels singing our praises. We’re sure that when WE get to put on that blue jacket, we will have officially arrived and heaven will be silent for a moment and watch as we step into student clinic for the first time.  For that brief minute, we lose sight of the anatomy, physiology, full spine, mo-pal, pathology, skel radd and the dreaded CLET exam which stand in the way of us and our clinic experience. All we see is that blue jacket.
We are suddenly snapped back to reality as the professor hands us a scalpel and tells us it’s our turn to cut into the 82 year-old female cadaver in front of us. How in the world did we end up in a cold room full of bodies??
The blue jacket is horrible, but it’s a symbol that we have finally arrived. We are finally going to be doing what we are here to do. We are finally going to adjust our patients, feel the feeling of their cervical spine between our fingertips, the feel of their ligaments as they spring back into tension as we motion the body and to watch in amazement as our patients go from headache to smiles in a matter of minutes after our adjustment. This uncomfortable, stiff, polyester jacket brings us one step closer to outpatient clinic and eventually a practice of our own.  We don’t realize the responsibility that comes with the blue jacket, however. We may not fully realize that we will literally be holding someone’s life and wellbeing in our hands. We don’t realize the countless hours that will be spent in clinic, waiting, finishing paperwork and waiting some more for a doctor to sign off on our work. But, we assure ourselves that all the waiting will be worthwhile because…we will be doing it in our blue jacket!!
This process of Blue Jacket Envy is important in the journey!  It keeps us focused on the task ahead and keeps us pushing forward. Be warned…there will inevitably be a time while you are at Life when you want to quit, when you feel the stress and pressure and feel you are going to crumble underneath the weight.  But seeing a new round of students buying their blue jackets brings us back to reality and keeps pushing us forward. The blue jacket is a symbol for all those around us and we must keep pushing on. It’s one of the big accomplishments that will be felt by each and every one of us and one that sets us apart from those around us or those who are coming up behind us. Blue Jacket Envy! It’s worth it!

Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V – James Beuerlein, DC Student

The Failure of Academic Integrity

A lot of articles have been written on the subject of academic integrity: whether it’s ranting about cheating on tests, signing the attendance for someone else, or collaborating on assignments intended to be done individually. While all of those topics probably merit re-mentioning, I want to focus on a different aspect: books and notes.

One of the marvels of the Internet is the ability to share files with anyone at any place in the world. This ability unfortunately espouses the following common delusion: “Well, if I can simply download it from the Internet, it must be FREE!” It could be music, movies, books, or software. Whatever the lure, it is all-too-easy to compromise our ethics by “sharing” someone else’s copyrighted material or intellectual property.

Unfortunately, establishments are no safe-havens from the onslaught of piracy – rather they are temples built in its honor! I mean, who actually BUYS Photoshop? Really? It’s not like I make money by using it; it’s just for personal use. Except for that one time… never mind. Isn’t it only against the law if you sell it to someone else?

Another thing is all these books. The administration must think we’ve all got money trees back home. “Anyway, do you know how much we pay to go to this school? Are you kidding? They OWE us! Can you believe the nerve these people have to ask us to buy books that are $50, $80, $200 a pop? Ludicrous! Thank Jesus for the PDF copy of Guyton’s Medical Physiology that an upper-quarter buddy of mine passed me! Like I was going to actually PAY for that thing? Don’t be ridiculous. All of this basic science stuff is a bunch of BS anyway. We only have to know it for Boards. It’s not like I’m ever going to use Embryo in practice anyway…”

Frankly, a major paradigm shift occurred for me shortly after arriving at Life. I was introduced to AmeriPress. What a great idea! I mean, some over-achiever actually TAKES NOTES, sells them to AmeriPress, and I buy them for like $12 per class. Total life-saver: I honestly didn’t know how I was going to cope with checking Facebook, watching movies from PirateBay on my iPad, AND trying to keep up with copying down the slides during lecture. “Where’d I get what? Oh, THIS copy of the AmeriPress notes for Endocrinology? No, I didn’t buy them per se. I got a scanned copy from a friend of mine in the next quarter. He bought them… I think… or, he knows the girl who bought them… Yeah, she posted them all to her Mobile Me account, so we can totally use them.

Hey, there’s also a bunch of old tests on there too. Definitely saved my bacon on the final exam last quarter. About 2/3 of the questions were in there verbatim. I know; it’s basically all I studied. You know, I heard someone had a copy of the midterm too, and they didn’t share it with anyone. What a punk! I mean, who does that?”

Ok. I’ll stop. I think you get the point, and I’d be willing to bet you know – just as well as I – that these conversations require no effort of imagination at all. I’ve heard it said that those who will cut corners here and there will do the same thing once they begin practice. It honestly makes me a little fearful about the future of our profession. In case you think I’m blowing these “trivial” things way out of proportion, answer me this: At what point do we receive a functioning moral compass: When we walk across the stage to receive our diploma and a “Dr.” in front of our names, or when the state mails us our license? When are we going to grow a freaking SPINE?

We’re all sick of hearing about “integrity” here at Life, so it seems that we’ve just abandoned it entirely. I think it all comes down to how much you value your own character. I’m sure we’ve all heard that an objects’ true value can be defined by how much you’d be willing to pay for it. So, tell me: How much is your character worth? Is it worth $68.50? (The price of Clinically Oriented Anatomy on Amazon.com) Is it worth $12.00? (A set of AmeriPress notes)  Or how about $4.99? (Renting “Dinner for Schmucks” from Blockbuster)  The reality is this: Whatever point you sacrifice your integrity is the value you place on your character. Found that new Usher song on torrent site? Congratulations! You just sold your character for $0.99.

The Power to Change Lives – James Williams, UG Student

Why you should coach your patients

Teach a person to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime ends the Chinese proverb. This old adage may sound cliché, but we can all use its timeless power. Bring to mind for a moment something you want to change in your life and need help with. How would it feel to have a teacher who supports you in your endeavor, won’t criticize or judge you, and wants you to succeed?

What if this teacher helps you discover exactly how to make that change happen, in a way that you choose is right for you, free of any agendas; would you want them on your side? How about if they sat with you to identify the barriers to your success and how to overcome every one of them – is that someone to have in your life?  We have them right here at Life U.

The best teachers are coaches

Instead of being teachers in the traditional sense, the Life Coaching program interns teach you to fish. They help you to catch hold of your inner strengths, which at times are obscured by the muddy waters of doubt, guilt, and fear. Using a skill named process coaching, the interns will talk you through your inspirational and motivational blocks, and assist you in transforming them.

After a coaching session, the rules of how to get what you want are imperceptibly rewritten, and you’re more at ease about following through with any goals you set for yourself. It’s as if you can see the challenge ahead with your eyes wide open.

You’re still the same you underneath; no one has waved a magic wand, but something is subtly different. There’s a sense that your inner strength has been nourished at a deep level, and the fears you felt in the past have diminished and been replaced with a quiet knowingness that you will succeed. Together with your coach, you talk through the barriers to success, one-by-one, and identifiy what you’ll do to overcome them. The process of talking makes you comfortably aware of the fears, instead of letting them lurk disruptively beneath the surface. Your coaching session creates a gentle sense of peace and confidence inside you.

Coaching boosts motivation to change:

The beauty of coaching is that change actually happens between sessions. Process coaching is only one of many types of coaching which helps people make life-transforming shifts. Its great power comes from making you aware of the thoughts and feelings needed to clear your path to feeling intrinsically motivated. If emotions scare you, ask yourself these two questions: How can you change without feeling motivated? How can you feel motivated without knowing what feelings you need to access?

From an emotional standpoint, coaching is unlike therapy or counseling. Rather than emphasizing the past, coaching instead focuses on the present and future, which makes the experience lighter, more inspired, and insightful.

Delivering exceptional service – How you can use coaching:

You can also give the gift of this powerful experience to your clients and colleagues. When you leave Life U, at some point you’ll be either an employer or an employee. Whichever you become, others will need your help many times throughout your life. As soon as you hear a knock on the door for your assistance, you have several choices:

1. You can tell them what to do, which will probably be reminiscent of their parents, schoolteachers, and other authority figures or experts. This kind of relationship is what most doctors have with their patients and is built on inequality. It’s a relationship where one person knows more than the other, which is built on power and authority.

2. You can leave them to get on with it and discover how to do it themselves. This is unsupportive and your actions would say that you’re not willing to help;

3. You can coach them through it, working side by side as a partner. To do this you listen and ask questions. Each of your inquiries will help the other person to discover and decide what to do for themselves. They’ll appreciate you helping them to learn for themselves, and for being right there with them.

You can either coach people to fish for themselves, or give them a fish by telling them what to do. With the latter, you make them dependent on you and create an unhealthy relationship built on need and codependency. As a health or business professional, you’ll also experience the ongoing frustration of people abdicating self-responsibility and not following through with your recommendations. This is exactly the way that doctors, managers, exercise and sports trainers, and many nutritionists have been practicing for a few decades.

Instead of dictating what people need to do, acting as if we know what is best for business, and for the patient’s body, we must empower people by fully including them in the decision making process. Change then becomes a beautiful journey of discovery embarked on together by the client and coach.

Real people – Real benefits:

What you are about to read may sound controversial. It is meant in the spirit of helping you think wider than what you’re taught so we can help more people, more effectively: What good is it to give a patient a medication, adjustment, nutritional plan, or exercise program if you fail to coach them through the blocks to implementing it in their life?

• The chiropractic patient will keep returning to your office having vertebra or groups of vertebra out of alignment; chiropractic treatments can be fully preventative when patients are coached on how to be aware of their body, what good posture feels like, what muscles to stretch and strengthen which are contributing to subluxations, which mobility exercises to perform, and how to move their body safely to prevent repeated misalignments.

• A nutritional patient’s compliance with their meal plan will be low because a stressful event happened soon after they were given their plan, and they resorted to their old comfort-eating habits. These individuals need coaching through the emotional blocks to eating healthily on a consistent basis, and they need to learn new ways to cope with stress instead of relying on food if they’re going to stay on their eating plan consistently.

• The exercise client will keep saying their lack of energy or not having enough time were the reasons for them not going to the gym or performing their rehabilitation exercises frequently enough. These individuals may benefit from their trainer coaching them through their values, which helps people to identify what is truly important to them. When the client is clear that exercising is vital for their health and happiness, they can be coached through the barriers to making it a top priority, and exercise more regularly.

• Then there’s the business partner or colleague who can’t seem to pull their weight at work and seems unmotivated, resulting in you or others having to do more work. Maybe they need coaching to understand what they need to feel more motivated so their productivity can return to normal?

In each of these cases, the patient, client, or colleague knows what they should be doing, and feels tension because they’re not following through. As a coach, you can help reduce that tension by coaching them through their motivational blocks and watching them talk themselves into changing. We help people change by involving them every step of the way and giving them power to choose what is right for them. Our agenda is not always best or right for our clients.

If you’re not coaching, you’re persuading

Persuading others to change and do what we think is right for them is most likely to fail because the other person has not been invited to be part of the process. Just imagine someone telling you what to do with your life, not listening to your needs or what’s important to you, let alone whether you can or want to do what they’re suggesting. What would that feel like? To add further tension, the person fails to tell you how to do what they’re suggesting.

Every person who dispenses advice or recommendations, whether as a doctor, practitioner or friend is doing just that. It’s akin to dropping a fishing line into the ocean and blindly hoping a fish will bite. It’s far better to teach a person to fish for their own success and be right there with them, than keep throwing them a fish and saying, “Here, now eat this, just don’t ask me how.”

Coaches give life adjustments:

Chiropractors adjust patients‘ spines, nutritionists modify nutritional habits, and exercise science majors alter people’s workouts. Life coaches give life adjustments so that change happens smoothly and with a greater probability of success. Having life coaching skills will improve the results you and your patients experience, whether you’re a chiropractor, nutritionist, exercise science practitioner, or business major. The coaching program at Life University has been revamped for 2011 to help you learn real, usable skills. It is worth taking next quarter; dip your toes in the water by starting with the introduction to coaching class.

How could you life benefit from a life adjustment? Every Tuesday, between 5:30-6:30PM in room 114 in Annex B / CUS, the Life Coaching club has skilled student interns available to help you get more out of your life. It is open to all members of the Life community, and all we ask from you is a $1 charitable donation.

Come and visit us, call 678 653 2080 or email ThatsLifeCoaching@gmail.com for more information.

The War on Funnel Cakes – Alexandra Gerdel, DC Student

The Lights of Life delicacy found guilty of causing serious IBS on campus

At Let’s Talk last quarter I heard Bill Jarr announce that funnel cakes would no longer be advertised at Lights of Life. I took the comment as a sign that the administration finally recognized the inconsistency of an institution committed to creating a paradigm shift in the arena of health and wellness serving fried dough smothered in powdered sugar and deep fried candy bars during the event that serves as our biggest contact with the outside community. I was so excited I even posted on FaceBook that words I’d written over a year ago about this very issue had been listened to and that changes were finally happening towards making our school a spitting image of what we preach: health and wellness.

Imagine my disappointment when a few days after I heard Mr. Jarr announce that funnel cakes would not be advertised, not only had the funnel cake stand taken up residence on our new green space, but in addition to the yellow monstrosity already advertising funnel cakes and deep fried candy bars, there was a new red and white banner tied to the chain link fence reading “FUNNEL CAKES.” Before I go on, let me clarify two things: one) this article is in no way intended to attack Mr. Jarr, I may have misheard or misunderstood what he said, I am merely stating how this occurred for me when what I “heard” turned out to be false from my perspective; two) I know many who will be upset at my attack on funnel cakes, I only ask that those of you already getting red in the face hear me out. My qualm isn’t with any one person or the fact that people love funnel cakes, my war declaration is a matter of integrity.

Life University has made a promise: “…Life University education will produce leaders who exemplify humanistic values and, in a world where change is constant, provide innovative approaches to direct that change to elevate society and evolve its health care system.” (www.life.edu/OurMission) The commitment of our school is to create transformational leaders ready to make an impact on the world, specifically in the arena of health and wellness. So the question stands, shouldn’t our campus and community set the tone for what that kind of transformation and impact looks like?

I return now to my issue with funnel cakes and the many other horrendously delicious and artery clogging foods served during our annual Lights of Life festival. Does it make sense that a community of future healthcare leaders and a school committed to elevating society and evolving its healthcare system throws that message out the window and supports the sales of some of the most unhealthy food imaginable for one month out of the year? This phenomenon represents IBS. For all my bodily function minded colleagues, my use of IBS here does not mean Irritable Bowel Syndrome, (though I’m sure funnel cakes are very capable of causing that). However, what I am referring to is something known as the Integrity Baseline Syndrome (this term was coined by Landmark Education).

We’re all familiar with integrity, one of our eight core proficiencies: doing what you say you’re going to do, by when you say you’re going to do it and having all your actions congruent with the words you speak. All of us have the potential to have 100% integrity in everything we do, but very few of us actually do. Every time you sell out on your word, your message or do something that isn’t congruent with you or what you stand for, your integrity baseline falls from 100%, to 95%, to 60% etc. Whether it’s for money, or because something is too hard, or because you’re embarrassed to admit something, or too scared to take a stand, the majority of people who claim to live with integrity live their lives with a percentage of integrity that is far less than 100%.

As a university, our integrity baseline is currently far below 100% when it comes to a commitment to create a paradigm shift in the worlds view of health and healthcare. As long as we continue to sell funnel cakes and fried candy, have vending machines on campus, serve soda in our cafe and allow companies like Papa Johns and QuikTrip to hand out free food on campus the shift we’re talking about will never be realized, because our words have no integrity or action to back them up. Would apartheid have been lifted if Nelson Mandela had sold out on his word or his message when he got into office? Would the Civil Rights movement ever have succeeded if Martin Luther King hadn’t stood for what he believed in at any cost?

To create a paradigm shift like the one we’ve started to envision on this campus, we must live and practice the type of integrity Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela possessed. With Lights of Life, we have the opportunity to begin making a stand in the transformation of one small part of our world—of our campus and of the community to which we belong. Would it not be more in line with the mission and promise mentioned earlier to utilize the event that brings more outside visitors to our campus than any other time of year, to educate them on how to eat well and feel well during the holidays? To provide them with recipes and samples of food that both tastes incredible AND is good for you?

A commitment to health isn’t a “whenever I feel like it” type of agreement. It’s full time, it doesn’t take a vacation, and it definitely doesn’t disband for the holidays. I like the direction Life University is heading. I like the promise. I like the mission. However, if we’re really going to create the kind of shift in thinking Life University claims to be committed to, it’s time to get our act together and raise our integrity baseline back up to 100%.

I want to be able to say I graduated from a school that said “screw you” to the high fructose corn syrup and aspartame ridden food and soft drinks of vending machines. I want to be able to reference the Life University community as one that has taken the world by storm and created the type of thinking that truly promotes health and wellness in all aspects. And most of all, when I walk across the stage in December to get my Doctor of Chiropractic degree, I want to do so knowing that the reign of funnel cakes and the promotion of unhealthy food on this campus has been squashed once and for all.

As Mahtmah Ghandi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Our university has a vision of a future for the world of health care. It is one I am inspired by and intend to carry with me out into the world when I leave. This vision is also the reason I’m calling our university out. In the immortal words of the movie Empire Records, “the time to hesitate is through.” I’m declaring war on funnel cakes, deep fried candy bars, vending machines and anything else incongruent with the image of health and wellness we claim to embody on this campus. As they say in another of the greatest movies of all time, Wedding Crashers, “Rule number 76: no excuses. Play like a champion.” Now, who’s with me? Please send any comments to submissions.vs@gmail.com or post them on our facebook page.

 

The Possibility of YOU – Kim Snider, DC Student

A students perspective on Landmark Education

Dear friends and future leaders of Life University,

I invite you to consider a possibility. A possibility to tackle any issue in your life, and resolve it. A possibility of freedom from procrastination and the “If only…” conversations going on in your head. A possibility of getting out of your own way and creating the life you envision for yourself, your family and those around you. This weekend I was enlivened to those potentials and more at the Landmark Education Advanced Course.

Landmark Education is a company that has dedicated its entire existence to the training and development of empowering people like you and I to “Live Life Powerfully and Live a Life You Love”. This is a course lead by a highly trained Landmark Forum Leader who creates an encouraging environment to confront any walls, barriers or dams that you are, or are not, aware of that you have built up in your life and BREAK.THEM.DOWN!

What is created from the Landmark Forum are Global Leaders. Naturally, hearing this term of Global Leaders, made me think of the leaders on this campus and I realized that I couldn’t keep this incredible seminar a secret!

So I would like to share with you 10 results that are in my life because I did the Landmark Education Forum:

1) I am a woman with a childlike curiosity of the world.

2) I am the role of human-being rather than human-doing.

3) I reconnected with my sister for the first time in 6 years.

4) I am a more patient driver (Yes, no joke!)

5) I distinguish that I own my feelings, they don’t own me.

6) I have more meaningful conversations.

7) I appreciatively recognize and admit the greatness of those around me.

8) I realize that I am powerful and take responsibility for my actions, thoughts and the greater well-being of humanity, including my future patients.

9) I am committed to attending more mission trips in order to contribute to something bigger than myself.

10) I FINALLY understand the term to “GET OUT OF MY OWN WAY!”

Landmark Education is not a counseling session. Counseling gives you tools to handle a current situation you are dealing with. The Landmark Forum is the possibility which gives you power to be effective in the current moment, always. I can promise you one thing, this is unlike any seminar or counseling session you have ever been to.

Many people on campus have attended the Landmark Forum, so begin talking about what you have read here and I guarantee you will find someone to attend an intro session with. You can also visit their website (http://www.landmarkeducation.com/) and keep your eyes open on campus because Landmark will be holding an intro session later this year.

No matter what program you are in, what classes you teach or what stage in life you are this program is for you. My invitation to you has now been stamped, addressed and sealed with love. Now, are you ready to take on the possibility of you and will you join me in taking on the possibility of life?

 

From the Chief Content Editor – Alexandra Gerdel, Chief Content Editor

The Untimely demise of my anti-television life

I believe everyone has at one point in their life gotten so lost in the fantasy world of a movie, book or TV series that their own lives become boring and empty by comparison. They spend all of their time lost in deep thought and daydreams, counting the hours, minutes, seconds before they can watch more and daydream more about the world about which they fantasize constantly. It has been a very long time since something has literally transported me from my own reality to the fantasyland of another world, thereby rendering showering, eating and socializing completely unnecessary and, to be honest, somewhat of a nuisance. Fortunately, being in the Doctor of Chiropractic program has kept me too busy to find a great book or TV show to lose myself in. That was, until this past break.

On my return flight from Vermont to Atlanta, my two and a half year stint of not having a TV show addiction was sadly ended by the evil conniving of the Delta Airlines in flight entertainment planner.  Although I fought the urge and really tried not to look at the mini TV screen positioned perfectly for my viewing pleasure, it only took about two minutes before I found myself not only watching, but completely enamored with a random episode from somewhere in the middle of the first season of Glee.

As soon as my plane touched down in Atlanta, I rushed home ecstatic to watch as many episodes of Glee as I could find, only to have my hopes crushed by Hulu and their 90 second preview teasers to encourage a subscription to Hulu Plus.  Defeated, I went to bed devising a plan to somehow watch all the Glee I could handle (for free) before another quarter started. Thanks to Netflix and a whole lot of snow and ice, this plan came to fruition, and before I knew it I was even more addicted to Glee than I could have ever imagined. Yes, I am almost embarrassed to admit that as a 26 year old soon to be doctor of chiropractic, I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning night after night, watching episode upon episode of 20-something actors pretending to be singing and dancing teenage misfits. Misfits trying to find themselves in the scary, unfriendly world of high school while sticking to the social code that separates jocks and music geeks.

It’s really difficult to say what has me so hooked on Glee. It could be the ridiculous storylines of each and every episode. The writing somehow manages to satirize the black hole of high school stereotypes while simultaneously making the viewer care about the characters. Or it could be Sue Sylvester’s (Jane Lynch) endless one-liners about Will Schuster’s (Matthew Morrison) hair. For example: “I don’t trust a man with curly hair. I can’t help but picturing birds laying sulfurous eggs in there, and I find it disgusting.” But I think the part of Glee that really stole my reality for approximately one full week and all Tuesday evenings until Season Two is complete, is that it reminds me of how much I am a real life Gleek.

If you look around our campus, you could say that everyone here is a Gleek. I don’t mean in the sense that we all secretly want to burst into song and bust a move, but more in the sense that Life University is different from other universities. For those in the chiropractic program we stand in the face of adversity. Our friends and family don’t necessarily understand why we’re becoming chiropractors, the world might not consider us “real” doctors. Despite the battles that have already been won, we still have to fight like hell to earn the respect of those outside our chiropractic bubble. Glee represents the same concept, a group of people being true to who they are and what they believe, no matter what others think, say or do. Understanding this, and why we are here doing what we do, is key to our future and success as individuals and as a profession.

I am a Gleek and I am proud of it. Embrace the Gleek in you, and if you feel like it, join me on Tuesdays at 8 PM for an hour-long escape to fantasyland!

Only One Brick in the Backpack – Jason Feltz, DC Student

Recapping Dr. James Chestnut’s Visit and Message

Students had been anticipating the arrival of Dr. James Chestnut from the moment Dr. Riekeman announced last fall he would be speaking at Life in different venues, including: Assembly, a dinner with students in PLI, and at Life Leadership Weekend. Many students were familiar with Chestnut’s popularity but most did not know the content of Chestnut’s speeches. The feedback following the events of that weekend demonstrated the quality and power behind his message.

The premise of Chestnut’s presentations came from his new book The Wellness & Prevention Paradigm. Through simple analogies and terms, Dr. Chestnut was able to present his viewpoint of health-care and the role of chiropractic to a crowd of prospective students along with their parents, current students, faculty members and field doctors.

On the Friday night of Life Leadership Weekend, Dr. Chestnut proclaimed on stage that health is our greatest asset, but then noted that humans are the sickest species on the planet. He continued by saying that humans are animals, and over the centuries we have disconnected from that reality and have developed an unconscious feeling of superiority over all other animal species. According to Dr. Chestnut, “We are all animal species, and the human species is very sick whereas other animal species don’t get sick unless their environments are dramatically altered. It is ridiculous to think that humans are getting sick from genetic problems. Our genes have really not changed at all in the last hundred years and yet disease and sickness rates are skyrocketing.” He explained that all animal species, including humans are genetically made to be perfect for adaptation and survival.“The two most important questions we should ask ourselves is: why are we sick and what do we need to do in order to stay well? Because humans have separated themselves from animals, they have fallen into a prevailing belief system that humans are sick because of bad luck, bad germs, or bad genes. That’s bad science. It is not those that cause us to be sick, but it is bad choices. We are marketed today to believe that our choices don’t have consequences to us.”

Dr. Chestnut explained the gravity of our healthcare situation. He stated that 80% of the workforce in the United States has been diagnosed with a chronic condition. When someone is diagnosed with a chronic condition, they are almost certainly prescribed medications for that condition. Chestnut asked the audience how often a chronic patient comes off medication, the response being “never.” He further mentioned that there is only one guarantee when a patient is prescribed medication that it is a precursor of more prescriptions to come. Those statistics are critical to insurance companies and the future of our current healthcare system.

Chestnut went on to explain that we need to awaken a wellness and prevention paradigm and bring awareness to our current belief systems. He iterated that there is no better profession to lead this revolution than chiropractic. He asserted that for years, we in the chiropractic community have been fighting the wrong fight. “The chiropractic world wants to fight the medical community with philosophy and the medical world wants to fight us with research and science. We should be fighting science with science, because the science is on our side.”

To Chestnut, what is determined to be successful in the management of a patient is different between chiropractic and the medical community. Success in the medical world is the creation or blockage of a chemical reaction, where the patient’s long-term progress is irrelevant. Chiropractic measures success in the short and long-term progression of a patient’s health and their ability to adapt to their environment. He continued to say the medical profession doesn’t care about patient outcomes when they are knowingly prescribing more and more drugs and surgeries that reduce health and vitality, and that chiropractic must serve their patients and monitor the progression of their outcomes, otherwise we become allopathic in our care. With the overload of the current healthcare system and the financial burden that insurance companies face, the system is doomed to collapse under its current paradigm. It will be up to the individual chiropractor in his/her community to bring about health and vitality to the patient.

Dr. Chestnut introduced his Wellness & Prevention Paradigm by stating that reforming the current paradigm will not lead individuals to get well and stay well. Offering drugs and surgery as a solution for chronic disease is illogical, unsupported by science and hopeless for the patients. The only logical solution that is evidence-based is lifestyle intervention. This places the responsibility of the patient’s health outcomes on them. He indicated that “Chiropractic care with lifestyle is better than lifestyle alone. Medical care and lifestyle is worse than lifestyle alone. In the world we live in now, it is a distinct possibility that maybe getting adjusted with no other advice about lifestyle might not cut it. What determines if you are going to be sick or be well is how you eat, move and think. When people are dying from the way they eat, move and think they are committing suicide by their life choices. Until those bad choices are changed, a person has no chance of being well.”

In addressing chiropractic’s role in the wellness and prevention paradigm, Dr. Chestnut defined “Wellness in practice is the removal of the toxic interferences to and the provision of the necessary materials for the genetic expression of homeostasis.” In Chestnut’s viewpoint, if chiropractic is not leading the wellness paradigm to return people to health, there is no other field going to do it right. He proclaimed, “Wellness is a responsibility, not an opportunity. A wellness practice isn’t a marketing tool to generate more income, but rather an opportunity to produce the highest of health outcomes.”

He continued to stress the importance of chiropractors living the wellness they would be preaching as many chiropractors today are hypocritical in lifestyle choices, some of which don’t get adjusted themselves. He said that some chiropractors are focused only on the subluxation and are denying the patient an opportunity to increase their vitality that they won’t find anywhere else. He made the analogy that humans are treading in deep water today with a backpack strapped upon their backs. Each stress they incur is a rock dumped into the backpack, and unless that stress is removed, the patient is sinking lower into the water. He stated, “The subluxation is only one of the bricks that is weighing down that backpack.”

After concluding his speech Dr. Chestnut received a standing ovation. His materials, including his new book The Wellness & Prevention Paradigm sold quickly. For many of the prospective students and their families accompanying them it was a transformational experience.

Dr. Chestnut had mentioned to the students of PLI that he had never found an institution or chiropractic setting in which he could call his home, and to him Life University has become that home. He has become a LifeForce doctor and will be directing prospective students to Life because he believes the mission, principles and philosophy of the institution will align with his paradigm. He also has designed a wellness certification program for students and doctors.

For more information on Dr. Chestnut and his materials, visit www.thewellnesspractice.com. Look for updates on Dr. Chestnut’s modules and influence coming to Life University.

 

From the Publisher’s Desk – Jason Feltz, Student Publisher

The death of Subluxation?

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Becoming Role Models of Health – Nico Staples, DC Student

The Essentials Of Maximized Living

There comes a time as you progress down the road to becoming a doctor when you make a choice whether or not to be a role model of what you will be teaching. For the Maximized Living Student club choosing not to be a role model of the principles of health is out of the question. So in order to encourage, not only the members of the club, but the students of Life University as a whole to change their unhealthy habits the club started the 30-Day Weight Loss/ Muscle Gain Challenge. What makes this challenge different is that they do it all together as a team, using a clear roadmap to lead them to success. The challenge starts off with a presentation and explanation of the roadmaps, rules, and regulations. Maximized Living’s Nutrition Plan Book is the roadmap being referred to; inside are the keys to healthy nutrition. To further the outstanding directions of this book there are two different options to follow. In the challenge the club focuses solely on the Advanced Plan – one of the keys to help reverse sickness and dis-ease in the body. The main rules of the plan are to cut out sugar, bad fats, and toxins; then increase healthy proteins, good fats, and vegetables.

Alongside the life-changing eating habits is a regular regimen of exercise. The Maximized Living Club gives guidance to everyone about workouts developed by a Maximized Living Doctor. The work-outs are simple to do and only take a good 20 minutes to complete at the most. The results from the workouts and the nutrition are undeniable.

The first 30-Day Challenge was during fall quarter 2010. The results were truly astounding, with a total of over a 100 pounds lost by the club. What is truly fascinating is that a lot of the club members actually gained muscle weight but lowered their body-fat percentage. The key to success is the dedication of the students in supporting each other with helpful hints, and even trading recipes they enjoyed. The varieties of healthy foods that can be made according to these guidelines even include a chocolate cake made without sugar and flour. The food is absolutely delicious, and the perfect fuel for a healthy body.

As James Chestnut says in his book The Wellness Prevention Paradigm, “Adopting a healthy lifestyle, a genetically congruent lifestyle, is the only viable solution for wellness and prevention. It is also the most evidence-based healing solution for those already suffering with chronic illness, and it SAVES LIVES, SAVES MONEY, and can SAVE HEALTHCARE.” That is exactly what the Maximized Living Club is trying to do with the 30-day challenge and the Maximized Living 5 Essentials. We are trying to model the principles of health in preparation of being able to truly teach it to our future patients. The passion these students share for Chiropractic and a bettering Lifestyle is truly inspirational. The second 30-day challenge started January 31^st of winter quarter 2011. I encourage all students at Life University to check it out, to join in and to try to start living a healthier, congruent lifestyle along with the principles of Chiropractic. Doing this will show the world that Chiropractors have the keys to long-lasting health and are dedicated to saving the people of this world from sickness and dis-ease.

Producing Miracles and Results – Alexandra Gerdel, DC Student

An introduction to the Pierce Results System

Do you ever feel frustrated by the reliability of motion palpation and guessing where a subluxation is, based on what you feel, a leg check, or tight muscle fibers? Have you ever wondered what you’re really feeling? Or wondered if it’s really truly possible to find THE subluxation causing problems, versus a vertebrae that may be fixated but isn’t necessarily the main problem? Can you objectively prove that you have helped a patient and removed their subluxation?

The Pierce Results System provides a protocol for analysis and adjusting that takes all the guesswork out of your patient care and allows you to deliver the right adjustment, in the right place at the right time. The system combines the use of three important aspects of analysis to develop the when, where and why a patient needs to be adjusted.

Plain film x-ray: In the Pierce System, we use plain film x-ray to tell us why we’re adjusting a patient. Cervical and lumbar films give us information on the state of the spine. Through a series of rules and analyses, developed by Dr. Vern Pierce, we are able to tell how long the spine has been injured, how long it will take to correct itself, and how much correction we can expect it to achieve.

Video-fluoroscopy: In addition to using plain film x-ray, the Pierce Results System uses video-fluoroscopy, or motion x-ray, to see exactly how the spine is moving. This tool allows those using the Pierce system to know exactly where to adjust without any guessing. This tool is the biggest reason Pierce produces the results it does, as quickly as it does, because seeing the motion or lack of motion in the spine allows you to adjust exactly where needed. This means adjustments are less frequent and hold longer, allowing your patients to get to a state of optimum function much more quickly than other techniques.

Instrumentation: Instrumentation is probably the most important aspect of the Pierce Results System. Full spine digital thermography is used every time a patient comes in to get checked. The significance of this extra step is that instrumentation tells the doctor exactly when to adjust. This allows the body time to adapt to the adjustment. Rather than constantly over stimulating the nervous system by osseously adjusting a patient every time they come in, the Pierce System uses a scan of how the nervous system is functioning to determine if the patient needs to be adjusted that day. If the nervous system is in flux, no pattern is established when a patient comes in, so there is no need to forcefully adjust the patient at every visit. There are other lower force techniques utilized in the Pierce System, such as Logan Basic or holding pressures on areas of concern found on video fluoroscopy, that are utilized to continue facilitating the changes made by the first or most recent adjustment.

Allowing the body and nervous system to dictate when to adjust, along with having a system and protocol to follow for the order of what vertebrae to adjust, is the biggest reason the Pierce Results System produces changes in people’s spines and health as quickly as it does. While the results that have been produced in patients under Pierce care are incredible, the system is also strongly grounded in the concept of subluxation as the cause of dis-ease, and educating patients on the importance of getting their nervous system checked regularly. In the Pierce Results System, structure is function. The system is streamlined to effectively restore spinal structure and integrity so the nervous system can function at its optimum level. When structure and function are restored, miracles are produced. Diseases disappear, quality of life drastically improves and medical doctors are perplexed, wondering what happened when their patient no longer needs drugs or surgery.

There is much more to the Pierce Results System than can be explained in a single article. If you have questions or are interested in finding out more about Pierce, come to Pierce Club. The club meets Tuesdays from 11-12p.m. and Wednesdays from 5-7p.m. in room CUS-109.

Where to Meditate in Atlanta – Carley Edwards, DC Student

Unwind, de-stress, and get away from it all

Most students are stressed out on a regular basis with tests, clinic, part-time jobs and family responsibilities. A breakdown is certain every quarter around weeks six and ten and break never seem to be long enough for full recovery. Practicing meditation has been shown to reduce stress and boost immunity. Studies have shown meditation can eliminate headaches, relieve hypertension, asthma, GI and skin disorders and reduce premenstrual syndrome symptoms. A study done at Harvard Medical School used an MRI to visualize parts of the brain involved in memory and attention. After only 20 minutes of meditation, those areas of the brain became more active.

The Shambhala Meditation Center of Atlanta, located in Decatur, offers free meditation instruction. Shambhala is a Tibetan form of Buddhism. The center includes Shambhala training, yoga, and programs for family and children. The center offers meditation instruction every Sunday from 10 to 11:30 am followed by open discussion for 45 minutes, which is free of charge. There is also meditation instruction from 7 to 8 pm on Tuesday nights with open conversation until 9:30 pm also free of charge. One Saturday per month there is a three-hour class on how to meditate. The cost is $50 and includes a book. The next class will be held February 12. Childcare at the Shambhala Center is in the works and should be offered soon. For more information visit www.atlanta.shambhala.org

The Kadampa Meditation Center Georgia (KMC) in Sandy Springs offers lunchtime meditation every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 12 pm. Tuesday is for advanced meditation and Wednesday and Thursday is for beginners.  Each class is $5. Kadampa is also a Tibetan form of Buddhism particularly famous for their practice in Dharma. A new class at KMC is called Prayers for World Peace, held every Sunday at 10 am.  Free meditation classes are offered every first Saturday of the month. A one-day class with American Kadampa Buddhist teacher Melanie Boyd will be held on Saturday February 12 from 11am to 4 pm. This class will contain a discussion on the benefits of cherishing others and how to solve life’s problems and increasing happiness. Its main focus will be the power of love. For more information visit www.meditationforeveryone.org.

Monday evenings at 7 pm, free Sahaja meditation is offered at the Mountain View Library in Marietta. Sahaja began only a few decades ago but is practiced in 90 different countries. It is based on self-realization and helps a person to become more moral and balanced.

Most yoga centers in the Atlanta area offer meditation classes and can easily be found online. No one has to be Buddhist or advanced in meditation to attend any of these centers. Anyone is welcome no matter which religion they follow, if any at all.

Please let Vital Source know where you mediate by commenting here or visiting our Facebook page.

Probiotics – James Beuerlein, DC Student

This issue’s supplement scoop

There are a lot of supplements and food products marketed to the health-conscious – touting their benefits because they contain probiotics, prebiotics, or synbiotics. So what are they? What do they do? What are they good for? Where can I find them?

According to the World Health Organization, PRObiotics are “Live microorganisms which when administered in adequate amounts confer a health benefit on the host.” Most commonly these organisms are bacteria, though certain yeasts and bacilli are also utilized. In the diet, probiotics are often found in fermented foods to which live, active cultures have been added. Otherwise, they can be taken in supplement form.

Though the names can be confusing, PREbiotics actually refer to “non-digestible food ingredients that stimulate the growth and/or activity of bacteria in the digestive system.” In other words, prebiotics are food that we can’t digest but GI-inhabiting flora can. On the other hand, SYNbiotics are nutritional supplements combining probiotics and prebiotics.

What do probiotics do? As a vital part of our symbiotic existence, humans play host to billions upon billions of microorganisms at different points along our digestive tract. Many are mutually beneficial, helping us digest things that our own enzymes cannot. Others can be pathogenic or produce harmful toxins. We maintain a delicate balance between the “good bacteria” and “bad bacteria.” When that balance is upset, probiotics may be used to help restore balance and assist digestion. Though they do not consist of the same bacterial strains already in our normal gut flora, they can reduce the effects of the harmful microorganisms through competitive inhibition and contributing to elevated immune function. This can be especially helpful after “good bacteria” have been wiped out by an administration of ANTIbiotics.

So, what are they good for? In addition to the benefits listed above, probiotics have been shown to aid digestion as well as contribute to the following functions: managing lactose intolerance, preventing colon cancer, lowering cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, improving immune function, preventing bacterial infections, reducing inflammation, improving mineral absorption, managing urogenital health, alleviating Helicobacter pylori infections (which can cause peptic ulcers,) Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea (AAD) Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and colitis.

Sounds great, where can I get them? Probiotics can be found in supplement form from high-quality companies like PB8, Garden of Life, and Mercola, or they can be ingested through diet (though on a much less-potent dosage) from foods like goat’s milk yogurt, kefir, Bragg’s apple cider vinegar, and kombucha tea. Many probiotic supplements list their dosages in terms of “billions of microorganism” with pills containing anywhere from 2 to 20 billion. Consult your doctor before taking probiotics. Probiotics could have potentially negative effects on people who are severely immunocompromised.

Café Intermezzo – Carley Edwards, DC Student

A European experience for Atlanta residents

Café Intermezzo is as intoxicating as its name. Perhaps it’s because they’re famous for their coffee. After all, coffee itself is dark and seductive and has been a luxurious commodity for centuries. So it’s no wonder a place called Café Intermezzo would be any less invigorating. Don’t be thrown by its antiquated almost ominous appearance. With gelato imported from Italy and organic cinnamon from Sumatra, exotic is an understatement. Café Intermezzo attracts a variety of characters, including the nocturnal party-goers, and couples tucked away in a dark corner trying to converse separated from the chaos.

Café Intermezzo has the largest, espresso/cappuccino maker in the world. The idea for Café Intermezzo was to recreate the coffeehouses of Europe – a place for people to rendezvous, read, and sit around contemplating life. The beverage list is a small novel containing chapters of coffee, tea, hot chocolate, wine, champagne, whiskey, single malt scotches, cognacs, brandy and much more. There are even two types of absinthes offered including the original French Absinthe, Pernod Absinthe Superieure.

Café Intermezzo may sound sophisticated but one doesn’t have to be a connoisseur to enjoy the menu. Lunch at Café Intermezzo includes an assortment of crepes, Panini’s, soups and salads. The dinner menu includes fish, chicken, pasta, Italian gnocchi, shrimp piccata, lasagna and several other dishes. Breakfast is served all day with enticing dishes like crab cakes Benedict, salmon crepes, and French toast with bananas and walnuts.

Many visit Café Intermezzo for their pastries, pies, cheesecakes, tarts and cakes. There are so many in fact that a tour is given to describe them all.

The original Café Intermezzo opened in 1979 in Dunwoody. The second location on Peachtree Street opened in 1987. There is now a location at Hartsfield -Jackson on concourse B. Hours for each location vary, however, Café Intermezzo is open every day of the year, including holidays. For more information visit www.cafeintermezzo.com. Let Vital Source know about your experience at Café Intermezzo by commenting or visiting our Facebook page.

 

Ask The Coach #2 – Life Coaching Club

Ask The Coach is a new, regular column in the Vital Source. In each edition, Life’s top intern life coaches provide guidance and support in response to students’ questions about pressing life issues. You are welcome to submit your question to faculty member Dr. Cherry Collier at: cherry.collier@life.edu, who will maintain your confidentiality by keeping your identity anonymous.

What would you like help with? What are you juggling in your life that you need a fresh perspective on? Get writing!

Q: “I am a full time student and very focused on my classes…to the point where my spouse is telling me we do not spend any time together anymore. How can I remain focused on my classes but also show my spouse how much I care about our relationship? I need help balancing the two”.

A: Wow, that sounds stressful!  Let me first recognize the courage you had to have in order to take on pursuing your education while also being in a committed relationship.  I see that your commitment to school is very important right now, but since you also don’t want that to take away from your relationship with your spouse, I think you and I should work collaboratively to come up with a plan that helps you feel balanced.
I would like you to participate in an exercise called the “Future Self.”  To start this exercise, find a comfortable position in a place where you won’t be interrupted for at least ten minutes.  While focusing on the in-and-out of your breath, let yourself relax further and further.  Next, I want you to imagine yourself after you have graduated.  Imagine what your appearance looks like, the look on your face and notice how you feel.  Then, let your current self approach your future self and start a conversation.  Share with your future self everything about how you currently feel, including your concerns and what you desire to happen.  After you have fully expressed yourself, pay close attention to the sage advice your future self will give you.  Let your future self tell you how you made it to graduation and what you did in order to get there feeling balanced.  Since you and your future self are the same person, you can trust this advice.  Make sure to find a way to remember what your future self tells you so you can go to that advice whenever you need it on your educational journey.
I hope this exercise helped lead you closer to your goal of feeling balanced.  However, if you find yourself needing more, please come visit The Coaching Club on Tuesdays at 5:30pm in CUS room 206 to speak to a coach in person.

 

Be A Raw-Foodie – James Beuerlein, Senior Staff Writer

I’m sure we all have friends or acquaintances who are either vegetarian, pescetarian, or even vegan, but taking it one more step to the extreme are the Raw Foodies. These health-nuts live on a diet of mostly, or sometimes exclusively, raw foods. In most cases this also includes vegetarianism or veganism, but some raw foodies actually eat raw meat, fish, or eggs. Primary food groups for raw cuisine include vegetables, beans, nuts, and fruits. They do this because of the added nutritional benefits of uncooked food, and some have startling results.

Recently, I was delighted to read an article about Bernando LaPallo, a 109-year-old African American who has lived on a diet of almost exclusively raw plant-based foods since he was 4 years old. That’s 105 years! What’s more: he’s still in amazing health! He wrote a book called Age Less, Live More. I highly recommend you check out the article and attached videos to see his powerful story: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/10/are-you-using-this-powerful-antiaging-secret.aspx

The reasons for following this raw food regimen are manifold. Firstly, if food is never heated many of the beneficial proteins and “live” enzymes (not denatured) are left intact, providing more useful fuel than cooked food. Secondly, any food cooked in water will inevitably lose some of its water-soluble vitamin and mineral content (boiling vegetables.) Additionally, heating some foods, especially in microwave ovens, can even create carcinogenic compounds which are consumed by the patron.

An indirect benefit to eating raw food is that it is inherently a commitment to eating high-quality food! Raw foodies are aware of the hygienic benefits of cooking – namely, destroying or killing harmful microorganisms – and therefore must be all the more diligent to ensure their food is fresh, clean, and free from pesticides or other contaminants. Not only do they consume added nutrients by not cooking their food, but they also get the best nutrient-rich, toxin-free foods to begin with.

One thing I really admire about Raw Foodies is that they’re so stinking creative when it comes to preparing their dishes. You would be amazed how many of your traditional favorites can be made raw.  For instance, the Chocolate Banana Nut Recipe in this issue is ALL RAW. As was the Raw Pumpkin Pie a few issues back. A personal favorite of mine is Raw Spaghetti. The noodles are simply made from spiralized zucchini, and the sauce is a raw sun-dried tomato and garlic sauce. Divine! I’ve also made a raw alfredo sauce to use instead of the tomato sauce.

There are a few restaurants nearby offering raw menu items. First and closest to campus is the Cafe at Life Grocery on Roswell Road. They have AMAZING sandwiches, which you can order served on raw onion bread. Don’t forget the raw smoothie! Another restaurant in Atlanta is R. Thomas. A terrific place open 24hrs. They’ve got lots of raw options on the menu, including a Raw Apple Pie for dessert.

So, what is the application here? Is it realistic to go all-raw cold-turkey? Probably not. What I recommend is to experiment with some raw recipes and find foods you really love. Check out these restaurants, buy a raw cookbook, or search online. Personally, I strive to eat about 50% raw. It doesn’t always happen, but I try…

Another great resource for all things raw is David Wolfe. You may have seen him in the documentary “Food Matters.” He’s got a great newsletter and even offers a certification course in Raw Nutrition. Buy his raw Sacred Chocolate. Trust me. One of the best decisions you’ll ever make. http://www.davidwolfe.com

Now stop killing your food, because it’s killing you! Eat raw!

Chocolate Banana Nut Smoothie – James Beuerlein, DC Studnet

From the Vital Source Recipe Book

By now you may have noticed my tendency towards sweets. It’s true, I’m a sucker for desserts. Fortunately, there are TONS of recipes out there for healthy treats – this one comes from Dr. Josh Axe’s Real Food Diet Cookbook. It’s fast, easy, filling, nutrient-rich, and fabulous!

1 c. unsweetened coconut or almond milk
1/3c cashew or almond butter
1 banana, peeled
2 tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa powder
2 ice cubes
Stevia to taste (perhaps not necessary)

Blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Here’s what you’re getting in this naughty little indulgence: Coconut and almond are terrific sources of healthy fats. Almond butter is also a good source of proteins and L-arginine, which promotes the production of testosterone and HGH. Banana of course is rich in minerals like potassium as well as fiber. Cocoa powder is an awesome source of antioxidants. In fact, cocoa is one of the most antioxidant rich foods known. What you’re left with is a delicious, chocolatey shake that is gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and almost sugar-free (banana.) Yum. Enjoy!

Interview With The Golf Ball Slayer – Jason Feltz, DC Student

A Student Reveals His Unusual Talent

Maurice Allen is your typical 2^nd quarter DC student. While he is fresh in the DC program, he is adapting to a demanding curriculum and is molding himself to be an effective time manager and future chiropractor. But something else is demanding of Maurice’s time. While he is a full-time student, Maurice is also a professional long-drive golf competitor.

Sponsored by Life University and Bang golf, Maurice travels the country competing against the world’s best long-drivers. At 5’8”, Maurice is much shorter than the average competition in the field. Competitors will criticize Maurice’s address and setup to the ball as it is atypical, but when the ball leaves the clubface they are dumbfounded. On average, Maurice hits the ball over 400 yards compared to the average player on the PGA Tour at 287.7 yards. As an avid golfer, I had to take an opportunity to interview Mr. Allen who is literally splitting golf balls.

Q. How did Maurice Allen become a long-drive hitter?

A. Throughout my life I had participated in almost every sport available, from track, soccer, volleyball and baseball. After high school I went to the University of South Florida on a track scholarship. After two years of competing in track I decided to play football for the university and played wide receiver, running back, and kick return. After I suffered a broken tibia and fibula I transferred to FAMU to return to track on a more competitive team and became an all-American in the 4×100. In 2004 I made it to the Olympic trials but tore my hamstring in three places in tryouts. In 2006 I went to training camp play football for the Arizona Cardinals and didn’t make the cut, the experience was great however.

Q. What is the longest drive that you have hit in and outside of competition?

A. In competition I hit a golf ball 442 yards and at a practice facility I hit 461 yards.

Q.What does it take to hit a golf ball that far?

A. I think it is a combination of power, torque and precision. Swing speed has a lot to do with the compression of the ball. I just hit a golf ball last week with a club head speed of 161mph. On that monitoring system, that is the highest swing speed ever recorded in the world. That information is being submitted now to be the official record as the previous was 159mph.  The average golfer in the PGA Tour has a speed of 110mph and Bubba Watson has the highest on tour at 128mph. To be honest, I don’t how I generate that much torque and power. I’m still new to this sport and I’m still learning how to swing.

Q. How many events do you compete in each year?

A. Well the second half of 2010 is when I began competing. This year I plan on playing in all seven of the LDA Tour events, all five Southern Swing events and four international events in Sweden, the UK, Italy and Paris.

Q. What do you do to train?

A. I go for a run twice a day, one at 4:30am and the other in the evening for a half hour at a time. I lift weights three times a day, morning, lunchtime and evening. I practice cone drills, speed work with hands and plyometric exercises weekly. I hit 300-500 golf balls every day. Training and school is my life because endurance is the key to competing in these long-drive contests. You have several rounds a day of swinging a club as hard as you can, and you can’t afford your arms to turn weak. In addition to my training I get adjusted twice a week.

Q. Who is your biggest competitor?

A. I think it would have to be myself. There are athletes that are most noted in my sport and I will recognize my competition, but I don’t notice them when I’m competing. I can be hard on myself sometimes because my goals and standards are high. I’m still new to this sport and I know I’m far from perfecting what I know is possible. My goal is to hit the ball 500 yards on a flat plain with no wind. The world record is 539 yards from an elevated tee and a helping wind.

Q. What other goals do you strive for in long-drive?

A. I want to set every record possible in the sport and be the face of long-drive. I also would like to win every event in a single season and be the first to do that. I’ve had to overcome my competition and commentators saying that I couldn’t make it to where I am today. They said I didn’t have the height or the golfing background to produce and I’m here today. Winning a competition at one time was my goal, but my mind has moved beyond that step, I know that winning is inevitable and I’m set to prove the doubters.

Q. What led you to chiropractic and Life University?

A. Track and field introduced me to chiropractic, because at FAMU it was mandatory to be adjusted once a week. It also fits with my training regimen and outlook on physical fitness. What brought me to Life was an old classmate of mine at FAMU who encouraged me to stay after class to listen to a guest speaker. That speaker was Mackel Harris and what he told that room convinced me to come to.

Q. What makes you pursue being a long-drive hitter and a chiropractor?

A. I look at the talents that I have and thank God every day for the opportunities that I have encountered. There are people out there that would wish and sacrifice for the opportunities that I have, so wasting them would be an injustice to them and myself. People deserve the chance to be great and some need help getting there. I like to uplift people to help them reach their potential, and I think chiropractic is a perfect outlet for that.

Maurice hasn’t played much regular golf. I have played with him twice and in case you were wondering, on a moderately difficult course he shot scores of 85 and 87. That’s not too bad for a beginner!

Bump, Set, Dunk It! – Jason Feltz, DC Student

Winter INTRAMURALs Are a Big Hit For Students

As spring is still a couple months away, students are crawling for activities to do during the winter gray skies. This quarter’s intramural sports of basketball and volleyball have drawn the largest participation yet with over 200 students participating on 18 different teams between basketball and volleyball.

With the weather delay at the beginning of this quarter the athletes are enduring condensed schedules and practices, but it hasn’t stymied their competitive drive.

Intramurals provide a competitive environment for students to form new friendships and build competitive squads that may later participate in the 2011 Chiro-Games. Life’s championship beach volleyball team for the Chiro-Games is participating in this year’s league and they are favored to win it. There are several other teams that are vying for that top spot including Staff Infections, a team composed of staff and faculty at Life.

Look for results to be posted as the intramural season draws to a close. If you are interested in participating in upcoming intramural sports and/or preparing for the Chiro-Games, visit Life Athletic’s website and/or contact Jenni Bennett from the Athletics Department.

 

Champions And Pride In The Making – Jason Feltz, DC Student

Why the Chiro-Games can never go away

Memories define chapters in your life, and surely our time here at Life University is a chapter we are all writing. For most of us, we’re in a constant battle between education, retention, testing and time. A lot of us forget to have fun while in school, and one day when I look back on my journey at Life, I want the memories to be filled with more fun experiences. Before the fall of 2009, my focus had been on the struggle of getting through the DC program, but a shift in my thought processes and inner-determination brought me to build something missing from Life that would impact the environment here. In planning and bringing Life to the Chiro-Games, some of the best memories I have experienced while being a student here have come from them.

I will always remember the unseasonably cool weather we faced this past trip to Cocoa Beach, with the wind just as strong as it was in 2009. Ask any student who participated in the games, and they will have a list of memories to share. I remember the fun people I got to know and have since become friends with. I won’t forget the brotherhood all of us athletes felt as none of us were strangers to one another. A bunch of Life students can pack into a van, each of them never having met each other, and have the best riding experience on a trip. Such was the story and my experience to and from the Chiro-Games. Out of all 128 attendees from Life to the games, many friendships were formed.

At the awards ceremony, we screamed loudest for our players and chanted “Ole!” as the gold medal winners were announced for Life in both men’s and women’s soccer. Most of us needed a couple days to recover our voices thereafter. But the lingering, inescapable memory during that ceremony was the dominance of Parker on the podium. Upon receiving the overall golden trophy after placing in the medals for every event, all the Parker athletes rushed to the stage and hoisted their athletic director, Steve Weller, into the air while repeatedly chanting their school’s name. It wasn’t only Parker’s athletic dominance that bothered me that evening, it was the school pride those athletes were displaying. They have a summation of feelings that I and others have been trying to create here at Life. In an effort to bring that same pride back to our campus, I will be taking on one last project before I graduate next year; I want to establish competitive club sports around all the events held at Chiro-Games. While some sports have already developed clubs on campus, I want to sit with leaders of each to help organize and ready them for some competition. I’m going to push to have these clubs compete in intramurals and Atlanta-area leagues and competitions to face the best talent possible. I don’t want to bring home anything less than the gold trophy in my last Chiro-Games in 2011, so I need your help. If you play or have played a sport, get involved in an athletic club on campus. I know we have the best athletes of all the chiropractic schools, but we left a lot of our best athletes home this year as each had a particular reason not to go. The games will always be held in the fall and it will always land on our midterms being that we are on a quarter system, so preparation ahead of time is the key.

Chiro-Games is a building opportunity for Life University as we are becoming more and more committed to these events. We can all bask in the connections we built and felt with one another, but an even bigger reward that we can build together is pride.

As we turn a page in this life chapter, never forget those feelings and connections that were developed at the games. Remember to share your experiences and encourage others to be a part of this growing movement. This is the community that Life needs, and it starts with us. If we relish the moments we created, we all will contribute to this growth of pride and family on this campus.

Valentines Fun

Print off these games and enjoy!

Winter Storm Hits Hotlanta – Carley Edwards, DC Student

City shuts down, flights cancelled

When news of the potential snowfall began airing, southerners lined up at grocery stores all over metro Atlanta. Hardware stores ran out of supplies on Saturday January 8^th while grocery stores couldn’t keep their shelves stocked. However, most people took the warning lightly, even up until the snow began falling Sunday evening. Vehicles were abandoned on interstates as people underestimated the effects of the storm.

The Atlanta area got two to three inches of snow on the Sunday evening before the first day of the quarter, while some areas in the Georgia Mountains got five to six inches. Add to the snow a layer of ice and Georgia was placed in a state of emergency by Governor Sonny Perdue in coordination with Governor-elect, Nathan Deal. With only ten pieces of snow removal equipment in the entire metro Atlanta area, chaos was inevitable. Fifty-eight pieces of equipment were on the roads by Tuesday evening to clear snow. In the end 115 trucks were needed. In some areas mail delivery completely ceased and parts of interstate 285 had to be completely shut down. Temperatures didn’t rise above freezing until Friday afternoon.

Over a thousand flights were cancelled at Hartsfield-Jackson airport. Airlines didn’t hesitate to cancel flights as early as 8 pm Sunday night. Delta cancelled 330 flights Sunday and another 1400 on Monday. Airtran Airways cancelled flights in and out of Atlanta with flights still limited by Wednesday as the storm made its way to New England. Several students couldn’t get flights back to Atlanta until the end of the week.

In conjunction with other schools in the area, Life University cancelled classes and all activities for the entire first week of school. Most students felt having the week off from classes was bliss, while some were infuriated by the end of the week. Students who didn’t receive direct deposit were stressed about not having access to their living expense checks while bills were piling up. Luckily some generous staff members came in Friday to hand out checks from 1-3 pm. Dr. Sheres was available on the Martin Luther King JR holiday for a few hours to help students with registration. Club day was cancelled altogether and students could just feel the pounds accumulating as the Wellness Center remained closed until Tuesday January 18.

The academic schedule for the winter quarter had to be revised without shortening the material to be covered. Details for each college is available on the Life website. Many students were concerned about OSCE testing not being pushed back. This meant less time to prepare. DC classes were scheduled after 1 pm on both OSCE days instead of being cancelled altogether. Clinic hours have been extended until 3 pm every Saturday for the remainder of the quarter and interns are given until the first day of spring quarter to finish requirements.

How did the winter storm affect you? Vital Source wants to know. Share experiences here or on the Vital Source Facebook page.