We know, we know, summer doesn’t officially kick off until June 21st, but since school is almost out for many students and the sun is shining quite brightly, we figured it was time to get ready!

Many folks, and certainly the media, tend to associate summer with going to the beach.  While soaring temperatures do send crowds of overheated fun-seekers to the nearest body of water available, not everyone gets to find Nemo in the big blue ocean.

Whether your cooling off involves the big blue, a river, a lake,  a man-made dam, or the backyard hose, here is a helpful list of summer fun equipment and some tips to make sure you enjoy it in the most healthy way possible.

well•ness

The word wellness is everywhere. Everyone is talking about wellness. Jillian Michaels of The Biggest Loser launched a wellness cruise. Oprah stayed in port and launched her 8 Pillars of Wellness. Even Russell Brand jumped on the bandwagon and is talking about meditation. Corporations now have “Wellness Coordinators” and there is a thriving “wellness industry”…but at the end of the day, do we really know what wellness means?

Dictionary.com defines wellness as the state or condition of being in good physical and mental health.

The World Health Organization goes much further in its definition: wellness is the optimal state of health of individuals and groups.  There are two focal concerns: the realization of the fullest potential of an individual physically, socially, spiritually, and economically, and the fulfillment of one’s role expectation in family, community, place of worship, workplace, and other settings.

Wait, what?

Full potential?  Social role?  You might be thinking “I thought wellness was eating more vegetables and getting off the couch three times a week.  I thought wellness just meant, you know, being healthy.”

If you’ve ever suffered from an injury involving a muscle you know how discouraging it is to be told to rest and wait it out.  While rest and applying ice is an important part of recovery, there may be other options to help quicken the healing process.  Instrument-Assisted Soft Tissue Therapy is a means of treating chronic soft tissue injuries (muscle, ligament, fascia) using stainless steel tools.  While it may sound scary and even painful, it’s something that can provide relief to people suffering from muscle strains, sprains, tendonitis, shin splints, and carpal tunnel just to name a few.

We've all seen the brightly colored tape that adorns professional athletes and have wondered what it is and what it does. It's called Kinesio Tape and has been around since the 1980s, but it has been  gaining popularity in the professional sporting world over the last few years. Athletes wear it to ease strained muscles, improve contractibility of the muscle, and improve overall performance. However, Kinesio Tape isn't just for the athlete and is highly successful in treating everyday complaints such as shoulder pain, knee pain, back pain, and much more. The possibilities are endless because of the theory behind why Kinesio Tape works.

i spa is pleased to announce the latest addition to our health care family. We would like to welcome Dr. Katie Hicks, D.C. to our team as our new chiropractic physician!  Dr. Hicks is a graduate from Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida and we believe she will be a great fit in our wellness community.  She believes in overall health and is passionate about how chiropractic can help achieve this.

It is an incredible privilege to be a practitioner in the field of Health and Wellness.  Yes, it’s true that the hours can be long and managing the business takes a lot of energy, but it’s worth it.

Every week we help dozens of patients improve their health and wellness.  Whether we are healing through Massage and Acupuncture, or transforming lives through our Weight Loss Program, we are helping our patients live better lives.

Looking back at 2013 we are proud of what we accomplished.

Through office visits, special events, and this blog, our practitioners have shared a wealth of knowledge about their specialty areas and latest developments in health and wellness.

Do you remember the article about Love and how it is critical to well being? How about our tips for protecting your skin over the summer?  We explored the pros and cons of Gluten, praised the power of veggies, and explain what protein is all about. There were personal stories of healing and overcoming challenges.  One of our favorite blogs was The Meaning of Fall. The response has been wonderful and we look forward to sharing more in the coming year.

Our Weight Loss Program, Ideal Protein, continues to grow.  In 2013 our participants lost over 1,000 pounds combined.  ONE THOUSAND POUNDS – that’s the weight of a small car!  These pounds represent over 25 lives transformed.  Can you imagine walking around 20, 30, or 40 pounds lighter?

Whether you ascribe discovery to Columbus, Cousteau, or Captain Kirk, in the spirit of celebrating breaking barriers and reaching new frontiers, we share with you five big medical breakthroughs achieved in 2013.

These medical breakthroughs have used technology, research, and human persistence to our advantage, helping us achieve better living. Medical discoveries that were once unimaginable are now set to change lives all over the world. Here is a pick of the top five health discoveries that the year 2013 presented has presented so far.

Every October, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we publish a blog about Breast Health. It’s usually an article about discoveries, mammogram options, best practices, etc.  This year, we have decided to do something different.

We chose to share, with permission, a personal story submitted by a patient of i spa Health Studio. This story is very real and we think many women, and even men, will be able to relate.

Six years ago my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. She never told anyone about the lump and only called two days before her surgery to remove her left breast. My mother, so young and lively at 54, was losing a symbol of femininity in order to survive.

Her story is not a sad one.  After a mastectomy and aggressive chemo and radiation, she bounced back.   Now six years later, she is strong and still loves to go dancing on Friday nights.

But that experience left a mark.