Ep. 24: Neil King - The Ins and Outs of Stress, Posture & Circulation - King Chiropractic Institute
Neil King founded the King Chiropractic Institute in 1984. The mission of his office is “To maximize the health of the world through prevention, education, and chiropractic in a kind, caring, and compassionate environment.” What we truly love about Neil is that he has dedicated his life to helping people be their best selves.
In this episode, we ask Neil what we can do to become stronger and healthier. His passion is contagious as he shares his love for life along with tips on having better posture, blood flow, combating stress and how to stretch and take breaks to overcome the hazards of sitting too long and being hunched over.
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Show Notes
[01:05] Neil has been in practice for 34 years. When people come into Neil's office, he asks them what they've been doing and asks them about diet and their specific exercise.
[01:35] They encourage people to be specific about how much they walk etc. They also want people to be specific about their goals.
[02:13] The first things that they ask are what are your goals and what are you doing towards those goals.
[02:22] They also ask them to share their day and whether they get up at the same time in the morning. They ask about sleeping position, pillow, mattresses, and more.
[02:40] What do you do first thing in the morning? Do you drink water? What do you do at the office?
[03:55] The most recent study that I found says that people respond to an average of 186 texts a day. 34% of the world's text are sent from the US. All of these things add up to people's healthy or unhealthy habits.
[04:16] Even going to the gym daily isn't negated by sitting for the rest of the day.
[05:14] The evolution from computers to laptops to phones isn't great for posture.
[05:46] It's the rare person who holds their shoulders back and their head up with relaxed shoulders and jaw.
[08:13] When using a standing desk have a footrest and alternate legs. Most of us aren't symmetrical, and it will help stimulate blood flow.
[10:09] It's good to have a slight bend in your knees when standing. Leaning is one of the worst things that people can do. It can irritate your back.
[11:05] Searching for symmetry. Being symmetrical in our bodies is something that we can change. Being symmetrical is healthy and attractive.
00:13:11] Practice varied sports and switch sides.
[14:48] Address problems early, because years later problems can happen.
[15:39] Remind yourself of your posture throughout the day. Take breaks and move around. Slide back in your chair and put an arch in your back. Focus on pinching your shoulder blades down.
[19:38] Pinch your shoulder blades together and put your arms straight out with your palms up. Then make backwards circles and open up your chest.
[21:32] Keep your jaw level and slide your head back.
[23:10] Keep your arms and wrists relaxed in the workplace. The top of the viewing screen should be level with your eyes.
[24:35] The best position for sleeping is on your back with your knees bent. Secondary is on one side or the other with a pillow between your knees.
[25:35] Neil is a huge fan of firm mattresses, so that the muscles can rest at night.
[26:27] Hydration is so important.
[29:04] You can improve function and make lifestyle changes that will help with problems caused by arthritis.
[29:26] Walk for a minimum of 22 minutes a day.
[29:59] Sitting is the new smoking because of decreased blood flow.
[32:56] Because our backs are so rounded from sitting, we need to put a bit of an arch in our backs.
[34:18] Neil is a proponent of starting with slow exercise and then stretching afterwards. He likes 20 second holds.
[36:37] If you dedicate yourself to gentle stretching, the return is incredible.
[39:41] Over-the-counter painkillers are designed to be used for a very short period of time.
[41:09] It's much more powerful to try something like an anti-inflammatory diet and breathing and breath work.
[41:54] Research shows that a large majority of headaches are originated in our necks.
[42:43] Every minute we have the opportunity to make the choice to take care of ourselves.
[43:17] Everyone should read Many Lives Many Masters and The Four Agreements.
[46:38] Keep learning.
[49:02] Neil hopes that everyone can find something to do that they love. One of the most incredible things for him is the people that he meets.
Links and Resources:
“I am the most excited about getting to know people when they come into my office.” -Neil King
“Most people spend too much time in a forward flexed posture. We rarely run into people who are sitting up too straight.” -Neil King
“You can train yourself to have good posture, but you have to remind yourself to do it.” -Neil King