Walk With Your Doc!!
In May, Mosaic Home Care Services was excited to host one of the most well received events in recent memory:
Dr. Scott Levine, a brain based chiropractor, from the Vita Health Clinic came to Mosaic. Dr. Scott Levine took his “Walk with Your Doc!” talk to both our Markham and Toronto Community Resource Centre’s to re-teach the community how to walk properly.
Dr. Scott Levine’s talk taught the community about the power of proper walking on stimulating the brain and the spine to promote a healthy posture, avoid degeneration and pain in the body and retrain the brain.
The “Walk with Your Doc!” event provided the community with useful information on proper walking techniques and three simple exercises to improve walking.
Dr. Scott Levine started the talk by informing attendees about the relationship between walking, the brain and the spine.
Walking is the best way to activate the brain and activating the brain is good for health while reducing stress.
According the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health institutions, 90% of disease are caused by stress and is one of the world’s largest health problems.
Stress affects us in three different ways: chemical stress, physical stress, and emotional stress.
Managing each of these three types of stress is important to our well-being. Another great way to promote health that Dr. Scott Levine mentioned was drinking lots of water.
Only 1 in 20 people drink the recommended eight glasses of water a day.
After describing the importance of stress management and drinking the right amount of water daily, Dr. Scott Levine went into greater detail on how to walk.
Dr. Scott Levine talking about proper walking techniques at the Mosaic Toronto Office at the CNIB.
To learn how to properly walk, Dr. Scott Levine took everyone back to the basics.
He described how babies had to crawl before they could walk, and that the motion they make activates the brain.
Activating the brain helps to create “super highways” in the brain that are good for our health, and these can be created by changing the stimulus to the brain by walking.
Dr. Scott Levine told the community that a proper walking technique involves a cross action pattern, similar to when we crawl, that engages our spines as we walk.
Moving our spine in this fashion is also good for our brain helping to reorganize the brain and activate, stimulate and build those “super highways” in the brain.
To start walking properly, Dr. Scott Levine mentioned to move your shoulders as you walk, as this helps to create that cross action pattern that is good for our spine, and to not hold things in your hands as this restricts our shoulders from moving freely.
After an informative talk on the brain, the spine and proper walking techniques, Dr. Scott Levine made attendees put to practice what they learned and showed everyone 3 simple exercises to help promote proper walking techniques that are good for our brain and spine.
Let’s get moving! Attendees at the Toronto Office learning how to walk properly with Dr. Scott Levine.
Dr. Scott Levine showed attendees three simple exercises to help promote proper walking techniques for better posture and brain health.
These simple techniques can be down for 10 minutes a day, with the hope that they will spill over into everyday walking to get individuals to walk properly all the time.
The first technique looks to get the spine more involved in walking by engaging the shoulders and the hips to create the “cross pattern”.
This exercise is great to engage the spine when walking.
The second technique looks to improve push through our feet when we walk and to get the butt engaged when we walk.
Start by sticking your foot out as if an airplane were to land, then following through and then pushing off with your big toe. This exercise looks to engage the butt and get a better walking stride
The third and final technique looks to improve strength in the legs and calves by introducing a bounce in your step.
Dr. Scott Levine recommended doing these exercises for about 10 minutes a day to develop proper walking techniques. These three exercises are a simple way to improve your walking to ensure you are engaging your brain and spine while you move!
This summer is a great time to commit yourself to becoming healthier through walking. Dr. Scott Levine and other members at the Vita Health Clinic will be hosting summer walks.
Walks at Vita are every Tuesday at 12:10 and will focus on different health topics, just meet right in front on the sidewalk.
Mosaic will also be hosting pole walking this summer at both Markham and Toronto locations.
These are great opportunities to learn and get healthy at the same time! For more information on the Vita Health Clinic summer walks contact Dr. Scott Levine at 416 – 962 – 2000 or drscottlevine@vitahealthclinic.com. For more information on Mosaic’s Pole Walking Club this summer contact Mosaic at 905 – 597 – 7000 or email Kevin at kevin@mosaichomecare.com. This summer make a commitment to get yourself moving!
