“Walk a mile in my shoes.”
Four weeks ago I became an Invisalign patient!
I’ve been using Invisalign for my patients since the product was introduced. Many of the cases worked great. Some did not. On the whole I was very happy with the product. Now I am thrilled with it.
I’ve worn braces twice in the past so I know what’s going on from a personal basis. Here is what I found out by wearing the product myself.
1. There is about 1/3 of the pain and discomfort of orthodontic treatment with Invisalign. The initial tightening is only slightly annoying. There is no irritation from braces on my lips or tongue!
2. I can eat with the Invisalign aligners in my mouth, even hard things like nuts. This fact makes it easier to get the required 20 – 22 hours of wear each day.
3. I keep a long piece of dental floss in the Invisalign case so that after a meal I can floss my teeth and replace the aligners immediately to maintain the required hours of wear.
4. I change to the next aligner at nighttime when I go to sleep. New aligners are difficult to remove initially. By the time morning comes, the new aligners are easier to remove.
5. After a week the aligners need to be brushed with toothpaste to reduce odour.
When I show my patients my “invisible braces” they are impressed for many reasons. But the Invisalign patients are thrilled that I’m using the same product that I recommended for them.
I never would have know these things if I didn’t wear them myself. Now I’m walking in their shoes and I feel great about it.
Let’s talk about a wonderful addition to a morning routine to get you started on your day.
Be a “holy roller”.
Use a foam roller, which is a long tube of firm Styrofoam about two feet long and eight inches in diameter. They come in many sizes and shapes. In fact, I have three different rollers; one for gentle morning rolling, one for more punishing muscle releases at night time and a small travel roller. Here is a good web site for instructions.
The instructor will raise your heart beat just by watching if you are interested in “buff male trainers”.
Here is a neat salad that my daughter Jessica brought to our house for dinner last month.
Spring mix’ lettuce
1 package of blackberries
Very thinly sliced red onion
Candied walnuts (sauté walnuts in a little sugar and butter until the sugar is brown – cool on wax paper)
Goat’s cheese
Dressing:
1 part grape seed or walnut oil
1 part white wine vinegar
1 part maple syrup
Jessie
How does one meditate?
The benefits of meditation are documented all over the Internet. I do it regularly and I recommend it strongly. Here’s how I do it.
I find a comfortable spot to sit and be alert. I like to sit on the floor with my legs out straight in front of me and my back supported by a footstool. Sometimes I do cross my legs in a Yoga position, but not always. My hands are relaxed on my thighs; I close my eyes and hold my head alertly upright but relaxed.
I start to clear my mind of all thoughts. As thoughts pop into my head I mentally lift them out of my mind and move them to a place outside of my head. I ask my Angels to hold these thoughts for me until after my meditation. I ask the Angles to give the thoughts back to me after the meditation in a more “solvable” form. If you are not comfortable with asking Angels for help, just put the thoughts out of your head for now.
I do this for one thought after another until there are no more thoughts left. When my mind is blank I have reached the meditative state. Cool!
I feel or listen to my breathing and I feel the “love” that the universe is made of flood into me. I allow it to happen because just the fact that I was born makes me worthy of being loved. I don’t have to have done anything at all to be worthy of that.
After about 20 – 30 minutes of meditating I slowly accept the thoughts back that I placed out of my head. Surprisingly, solutions are often attached that I didn’t think of before. Fancy that.
Have a great day!
Stan
