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Welcome to the 116th edition of the Have Lifelong Wellbeing monthly newsletter. September will mark 10 years! Thank you for being a loyal subscriber.

If you are a new reader, please know it is my life's passion to erase pain from the world and empower lives to age with strength, truth, wisdom, and joy. I am humbled by your trust in me to provide content of value and I will continue to strive to that end.
- Eileen

UPCOMING EVENTS

If you have been reading my content for any period of time, you are quite familiar with how passionate I am about providing information that is not well known but SHOULD be. I hope you enjoy this month's topic...

What have you done?

Before I begin, I want to thank you if you're still viewing and training in the first ever Virtual Challenge that began last Monday. The Reverse Sitting Pain Virtual Challenge hosts nearly 5 hours of content including effective strategies for prolonged sitting without pain and transformative movement education.

The emails and posts from people tell me the challenge is helping people get out of pain. This is the reason I do what I do. If you missed it and want to check it out, you can still view the recordings. There is still some time as I extended access through May 6. Click HERE.

Now, onto the topic...

This month completes a 3-part series with the question: What have you done?

I realize this question may bring up childhood memories of when a lamp was broken by playing ball in the house and the echo of your mother asking the same question. But this question is not about being in temporary trouble with a parent.

I am asking for your answer to "what have you done" because it's pivotal to your chances of moving without pain and aging without decline. If you are not living both of those realities please review the other two parts to this series by clicking the green links below as you may find your solution there. Contact me if you have questions. Your success matters to me. This is why I do what I do.

To review briefly, I began this series with the question, “Where are you?” in the March newsletter. Did you take some time to answer? 

Last month, in the April newsletter, I asked, “What have you heard?” Did you ponder this just a little? 

It’s important for you to review these past two questions and understand the power the answers hold for your future if you missed them. Your answers are what directly culminate in how you answer this month’s question, “what have you done?”

If you remember, the first question was asked so you would take an honest look at your current status. What you have done is directly impacted by realistically knowing where you are.

You would be astounded at how many people I have worked with who have ignored pain issues or health issues or balance issues for weeks or months, even years! I won’t repeat what was written in March, but I will ask you to answer this question honestly if you haven’t yet done so. 

If you don't know your status when it comes to real-life movement and stability, you may want to take advantage of the MPA by clicking HERE. Take the Movement Performance Assessment designed to show you where your culprits may be hiding. There is also an introduction to 3 plane training. They're both free!

The second question also influences your answer to “what have you done” in a profound way. If an expert told you “It’s because of your age” or “it’s hereditary” or “it’s arthritis and can't be cured” that will directly impact your decision making around your lifestyle and healthcare choices. If you believe what you’ve read or heard or been advised (regardless of whether it’s accurate or not) your actions will reflect your beliefs. 

I recently heard from a person I care about whose wife sustained a hip fracture that required surgery. She had physical therapy for 7 months and she is now having knee pain because arthritis has ‘moved into’ her knees. His statement, not mine. 

Since the knee is a simple hinge joint, stuck between the hip and the ankle with no place to go, this is a serious misunderstanding and lack of knowledge on so many levels that I was very upset to hear this. 

But, what they were told (or heard or read) is directly impacting the choices they are making, for better or for worse! 

Unfortunately, a lot of mainstream knowledge is for the worse...

I have taught mostly unknown truths about arthritis many times in my free events. It seems it would be a good idea to host an event specifically on arthritis. Please watch for this coming in June! There is so much inaccuracy and misunderstanding touted, including how the medical profession diagnoses and advises their patients who have joint pain. They only know what they've learned. 

Case in point. I just read a statement made by the Arthritis Foundation on their website. "The saying, "You are what you eat," doesn't apply to an arthritis diagnosis. Nothing you ate or didn't eat gave you swollen, achy joints."

So, why have I seen so many alleviate stiff, painful joints by changing how they eat?!

The very same website goes on to state, "But eating the right foods, prepared correctly, can help improve your health and tame inflammation".

Are you confused? How can food improve the situation if it has nothing to do with the diagnosis???!!!

This is exactly why I asked you the question last month, “what have you heard?”

So... back to this month’s question. “What have you done?”

What have you done based on where you are now in your health, your strength, your balance, your posture, your ability to do everything you want to do?…

What have you done based on what you have heard (and believe) about health, fitness, aging muscles and bones, balance & stability, posture, etc…

“What have you done for your physical fitness?”

I remember working with a woman who believed she was active enough because she did a lot of housework. The reason I met her is because she was experiencing chronic pain and her family wanted her well. She was seeing a chiropractor, massage therapist, acupuncturist, and a couple of other specialties I don't recall, yet her pain was not getting better. 

When asked about exercise her response was "I hate exercising but I do a lot of housework."

I am the first to state housework can be physical, yet we need to admit we use a lot of machines when we clean where we simply push a button. We aren't going down to the river and beating our clothes with a rock. We use a lot of gadgets that make cleaning easier physically. 

Cleaning may require some squatting and lifting occasionally, but it's not consistent, resistive exercise to clean a home unless you are doing deep cleaning and moving furniture, clearing out closets, reorganizing the garage, etc. 

Yes, if you have chronic pain, it can be painful to simply vacuum, but that's not what we're talking about right now. 

The best part about this wonderful woman's story is that she got better with consistent 3 plane movement training and some self-care for her fascial health.

She learned that other people can't restore physical function in her body; only she can do that. 

Your story may be the opposite of this woman. You may be exercising regularly and still have pain or balance issues. If you believe (based on what you were told) that exercise is supposed to hurt or you need to do isolated exercises to work all your body parts, what you have done during physical exercise has been influenced by misunderstanding authentic human movement and function.

This is just as important to know when it comes to fitness advice or exercise ‘experts’ who promote specific exercises for this problem or that problem.

That misunderstanding is what leads to things like tendonitis and joint pain. Here's an example. Since your hamstrings are what assist your knee to straighten AND control your knee rotation when you walk, why do we shorten them against resistance in repetition? Just asking...

“What have you done for your pain issues?”

You may be a very happy person with NO pain issues but I bet you know people who have pain. I recently heard someone state his son and wife have knee pain due to arthritis. He stated all the information about arthritis is that it can't be cured so their lives continue to be limited by pain.

Ouch! That's being an unwilling victim to mainstream knowledge. 

It's a safe bet they have not trained in 3 plane movement, ensured their ankles and hips are fully functioning in both mobility and stability, or done self care for their fascial health with a lower body compression sequence.  

It's also a safe bet they have only had specific, targeted treatment to their knees and perhaps prescribed anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDS) or corticosteroid injections. 

Sadly, NSAIDS have been shown to be useless for knee osteoarthritis in clinical studies (1), but they are still recommended. Corticosteroid injections have shown to worsen joint health over time, yet they are still being done.  

As a matter of fact, a 2017 very well done study reported significantly greater cartilage volume loss and no difference in knee pain over a 2-year treatment period(2). 

There is also the logical  thought (yes, logic still applies here) that medically manipulating inflammation with steroids does not address weakness, imbalance, or any other possible reason for the pain. 

My last comment on knee pain and arthritis being blamed:

Your knee is actually your lower hip and your upper ankle. Please let that sink in for a minute.

Your thigh bone makes up your hip AND your upper knee. Your shin bone makes up your ankle AND your lower knee. This is why you MUST look at ankle and hip function when knee pain is experienced. That look MUST include a 3 plane performance assessment of both mobility and stability if you want to discern the CAUSE of the knee pain accurately. 

Now, the real question to ask is, "Who does that?!" Practically no one...

I can honestly state I have observed many people in their 60's, 70's and beyond experience improvement in knee pain when training their body as a whole and not simply beating up their knees with isolated treatments, stretches, injections, etc.

You don't take your knee off and put it on the shelf when you go to bed.

YOU ARE A WHOLE BODY

AND 

EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING ELSE.

“What have you done about your health and overall wellness?”

I know we covered the fact there are so many conflicting opinions about what a healthy diet consists of that mass confusion has become the end result. 

Hopefully, you saw value in my advice last month to ask that all important question when you are being told what to do, what supplement to take, or how to eat.

How many people has that person advising you helped, and how long have they been doing that? 

If you don’t know the answer and you aren’t seeing the results you desire, it may be time to rethink what you have done and seek truth that works. Just sayin’.

I have seen many people eliminate their need for medications and literally reverse disease conditions by making the right changes to how they nourish their bodies. 

The human body has a phenomenal ability to heal when provided the right things. The trick is knowing what the right things are and then doing them. 

“What have you done about aging?”

Yes, no matter our efforts to the contrary, we all age (unless we die before our time). You won't believe how many times I heard from an older patient in a hospital setting tell me, "Don't ever get old, honey." My answer was always the same as I met their eyes with compassion, "What's my other option?"

Of course, there is the very real possibility of aging without decline. Just because you hear over and over again, "what do you expect at your age?" doesn't make it true. 

Unfortunately, because we see things that commonly occur, we think they're normal. Sadly, a "falsehood" repeated often enough begins to sound like truth, but hopefully, you know better if you attended the boot camps on Aging Without Decline, Reverse Aging, and Power Aging.

If you haven't experienced these educational and physical training events, you don't know what you're missing.  

Suffice it to say that aging is NOT destined to be a decline into a life of near misery. Losing strength, stability, mobility, memory, and control of bodily fluids is NOT a rite of passage before we go below ground.

I want to repeat right here and now that 

this is a lie from the pit of hell! 

I wrote this last month and it is critical for you to read this again. 

All the dire and dark ‘prophecies’ about aging are not really about age-related issues at all. They are really time-related issues. What I mean is your body responds to the actions you take over time. 

It's not your age, it is how long you have been sitting and not exercising. I blew the myth of age-related lean muscle loss out of the water in the Power Aging Boot Camp. 

I showed the clinical studies that 'prove' the statement it's age-related lean muscle loss actually show it's due to being sedentary. NOTHING to do with aging in actuality. Active people in their 80's did NOT show lean muscle loss. 

Don't you think it's important to know this stuff so you will make better decisions and experience improved outcomes as you age?

It's not your age, it's how many fast food meals or junk foods or high fat foods you’ve eaten and how many veggies you haven’t eaten over the years.  

It’s not your age, it’s your actions that you've taken based on your beliefs. It's what you have done (or haven't done) over the years that impacts your later years. No one ever sets a goal to go to a nursing home. It happens by default!

The GOOD NEWS is that it's never too late to change what you are doing and soon what you have done will influence your present and your future for the better!. 

Your body has an innate ability to improve on a cellular level no matter your age. You can RESTORE your health, BUILD your strength, IMPROVE your balance, and more no matter your age. 

Your past can truly become a thing of the past. 

In just a few weeks or months from now, 

how will you answer the question, 

"What have you done?"

June's Newsletter to come: Truths About Arthritis!

References:

1. Jan Magnus Bjordal, et al. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, including cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors, in osteoarthritic knee pain: meta-analysis of randomized placebo controlled trials. BMJ 2004;329:1317

2. Timothy E. McAlindon, DM, MPH1; et al. Effect of Intra-articular Triamcinolone vs Saline on Knee Cartilage Volume and Pain in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis. A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2017;317(19):1967-1975. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.5283

This recipe is one that I often share during LIVE events. It's a little bit of work but it's a keeper. Enjoy😊!
                                           
Servings: 4  (makes about 15 falafel)                                                                       
Falafel

• 1 small onion, finely chopped 
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced 
• 1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained/rinsed 
• 1 egg substitute (see below) 
• ½ cup bread crumbs (can use gluten free) 
• 2 teaspoons cumin 
• 1 teaspoon sea salt 
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
•  ½ teaspoon black pepper 
• Lettuce leaves for the wraps 
• Tomato, cucumber, red onion slices for the wraps

•  1 tablespoon ground flax seed 
• 3 tablespoons water

Roasted Red Pepper Spread (makes 2 cups)

• 1 15-oz can great northern beans, drained/rinsed 

• ½ cup roasted red pepper, coarsely chopped 

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced  

• zest and juice of 1 lemon 

• sea salt to taste

Directions for falafel

Preheat the oven to 400’ F and use parchment paper on a baking sheet. If you have an air fryer, they will come out crispy and no parchment paper needed!

Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse briefly until just combined. Use a ¾ ounce scoop to form about 15 balls and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten each one to form a patty that is 2-3 inches in diameter.

Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops of the patties are golden brown.  Assemble the lettuce wraps, place the sliced tomato, cucumber, and red onion on the lettuce. Top with two or three falafel patties and top with the roasted red pepper spread.

Directions for egg substitute

For each egg, combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed (measure after grinding) with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir well, and place in the fridge to set for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the result should be a sticky egg-like substitute. A quick and easy egg replacement, featuring freshly ground flax.

Directions for spread

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and puree until smooth and creamy.

Want peace & joy instead of fear & stress?