July 2024 Newsletter
Thank you for reading the newsletter. If you have a friend who would enjoy it, please invite them to subscribe. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, subscribe here.
When does a bothersome sensation become a symptom? How do you decide when the discomfort you’re experiencing needs expert attention to be resolved?
Some patients only ask for my help at the point when they can barely move. Others present their physical concerns while assuring me that, despite them, they can go about their day normally. People seem to have differing perspectives on how proactive or how tolerant to be of pain.
For some, it comes down to this: which is more bothersome, the pain or the treatment? Is the pain livable compared with the effort of getting it gone, an effort that may or may not be successful?
But this is an incomplete cost-benefit analysis of the options. Let’s not forget the benefits of seeking care for a problem you’re experiencing. It could be resolved within a few visits. You could remove an annoying pain that distracts you from things that really matter. You could be able to do more things that you enjoy.
Chiropractic could get you from where you are, with aches and pains you just put up with, to feeling better than you thought possible. In my first few months as a chiropractic patient, I would hop in the car afterward thinking, Wow, I didn’t realize I could feel so good! It’s a feeling I have yet to take for granted. Have you ever experienced that after a chiropractic adjustment? And if you haven’t–wouldn’t you like to?
Yours in health,
Announcements
Check out an article by Dr. Phillips published in Dynamic Chiropractic, a magazine for chiropractors, entitled It’s Complicated: Examining Our Relationship with Science.
☀️😎🌻Expanded summer hours continue through July!🌻😎☀️ Sequoia Chiropractic’s clinical care hours are now:
Monday 9am - 12pm and 3:30pm - 6:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 6:30pm
Thursday 3:30pm - 6:30pm
Friday 9am - 4pm
To get on the schedule, leave a voicemail or text ANY TIME and Dr. Phillips will return contact as soon as possible. You can also fill out the contact form to request a callback.
Heads up! Sequoia Chiropractic will be closed August 5-9, 2024 while Dr. Phillips visits family in Chicago.
Sequoia Chiropractic is offering an exclusive new service for newsletter subscribers. Receive a FREE 15-minute nutrition consultation with Dr. Phillips via phone or video call. To get started, fill out this form. You’ll receive advice on foods and/or supplements based on your health goals.
Are you a woman living with cancer? Join the Living Beauty Cancer Foundation and attend free events that provide you with support and community. Living Beauty members are invited to attend an online workshop with Dr. Phillips covering simple remedies for pain relief on Wednesday, July 24th at 5pm (PDT).
If your business or organization would like to arrange a guest talk or article by Dr. Phillips, email drphillips@sequoiachiro.com.
Did you know Sequoia Chiropractic has special rates for families and groups? Leave a voicemail or text at 626-346-0977 to get started, or fill out the online inquiry form.
Check out Sequoia Chiropractic on social media
Book Recommendation
In each newsletter Dr. Phillips recommends a book or two pertaining to health. You can find them at your local library, or to purchase a copy, head to Sequoia Chiropractic’s bookshop.org storefront.
The Sleeping Beauties
Suzanne O’Sullivan
This is by far one of the most fascinating books about illness that I have ever read. The author Suzanne O’Sullivan, a neurologist, recounts her exploration into individual case studies of psychosomatic sleep disorders. (The term psychosomatic describes an illness that has an unconscious psychological component.) What I love about this book is O’Sullivan’s ability to zoom in on the particulars of the individual at the center and then zoom out as she considers the community and the social context. While we live in an age of biomedical reductionism, in which the goal is to identify the singular cause of a disease or disorder, the author here embraces the inherent complexity of such things and wrestles with it in a way that gets us closer to the truth, even if we don’t find all the answers. If you’re a fan of Oliver Sacks, you’ll relish this book.
Health Affirmation
Your body is as much a part of you as your mind, your personality, and your experiences. If you ignore the needs of your body, it affects the rest of you, too. Meeting the needs of your body is in no way self-indulgence–it’s simply you taking care of you.
Nutrition Spotlight
Vitamin D synthesis is the closest we get to making what our body needs from sunlight. When exposed to the sun, skin synthesizes vitamin D. We can get it from food too: fish, mushrooms, or any kind of milk (even plant milk alternatives) provide some vitamin D.
As someone who consumes these foods and gets plenty of sun, I was shocked when recent bloodwork revealed I was low in vitamin D. Despite the surprise, I knew exactly what to do: get out the Orthomolecular’s Liquid Vitamin D3 with K2. I now take a couple of drops a day to get the 2000 IUs recommended by my doctor to restore normal levels.
Let this be a reminder to get your annual checkup and check your vitamin D level. If it’s low, hop on to Fullscript and I’ll set you up with the best vitamin D supplement I know and love. Orthomolecular vitamin D can be taken directly, or you can add the drops to a beverage (it’s flavorless). It’s combined with vitamin K2 to ensure that the large dose of vitamin D will not pull calcium out of your bones, which can be a risk otherwise.
To receive Dr. Phillips’ expert nutritional guidance and personalized recommendations, sign up for a free 15-minute nutrition consultation by tapping the button below.
Explore Sequoia Chiropractic’s Fullscript catalog of favorites and take advantage of the 10% discount by tapping the button below.
One More Thing
The Nap Ministry was created in 2016 by Tricia Hersey (aka the Nap Bishop) under the framework of rest as resistance to white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. She asserts that humans are divine beings with value separate from our productivity, and that it is our inherent right to rest.
While Hersey maintains an online presence on social media and her blog, she has also published a book, Rest Is Resistance, along with a Rest Deck to facilitate deprogramming oneself from grind culture. She travels all over the world speaking on her framework and hosting site installations for visitors to retreat from the day and rest in a beautiful space.
While Hersey’s message is aimed toward Black women, it is a message for us all to appreciate and live by. I encourage you to explore what she has to say about our divine right to rest.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
See you in mid-August for a back-to-school issue!
Thank you for reading the newsletter. If you have a friend who would enjoy it, please invite them to subscribe. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, subscribe here.
