Meg Smeaton

Structural Integration is a body work therapy created by Ida P. Rolf, Phd in the 1950s. Unlike massage, Structural Integration focuses not on the muscles but on their protective layer called fascia (connective tissue). The fascia surrounds the muscles, bones and organs in the body. The fascia gives muscles their shape and bones their structure. Structural Integration aligns and balances the body by lengthening and repositioning the fascia. Misalignment can occur often as a result of gravity, injury, poor postural habits or emotional issues. The fascia then contours to the structure…enter Structural Integration.

There is a Ten session series (known as the recipe) performed to achieve integration though “spot work” and is often performed for acute problems. Research reveals that this process creates a more efficient use of the muscles, allows the body to conserve energy, reduces chronic stress and spinal curvature, enhances neurological functioning and creates more economic and refined patterns of movement in its recipients.
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Meg Smeaton, Rolf Practitioner, studied Structural Integration at the Guild For Structural Integration in Boulder Colorado. Meg is also a certified Yoga instructor in the area and often gives clients yoga instruction to compliment the Structural Integration process. She has an office at The Edmund Center, Main St, Cornelius and is currently accepting new clients. 704-439-6035. For more information on Structural Integration and Dr. Rolf please visit www.guildforstructuralintegration or www.megsrolfandbodyworks.com.

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The event will be at Jetton Park, 16000 Jetton Road, Cornelius, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, and will include a fitness walk, blood pressure screenings, and fifteen differently-themes health stations.

Pre-registration for the event is open through April 15 and costs $3. Registration on the day of the event costs $5. Lunch is included.

For more information or to pre-register, please contact the North Mecklenburg Senior Center at 704-892-4041.

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4/5/2010 Under a canopy of willow oaks, Shane Nantz kicks up a cloud of pollen as he mows the front yard of his west Charlotte home Monday evening. (TODD SUMLIN - Charlotte Observer)

Monday brought a bad day for breathing as pollen peaked and smog threatened.

Since early March, this year’s oak pollen count has been twice as high as last year, a Charlotte allergist said, and cedar pollen has been even higher. People who are allergic to such wind-blown pollens are suffering.

“It’s just been a tremendous burst of pollen, like a cloud almost,” said Dr. John Klimas of Carolina Asthma and Allergy Center. The practice records pollen concentrations.

Air-quality forecasters, meanwhile, issued the year’s first Code Orange smog alert for the Charlotte region. That level is potentially unhealthy for children with asthma and other people sensitive to smog.

Through 5 p.m., smog levels stayed at Code Yellow levels. They’re expected to stay in that moderate range today.

It all happened as one of the coldest winters in years abruptly leapt into temperatures typical of mid-June. Monday’s temperature hit 87 degrees, 17 degrees higher than normal.

“Three weeks ago I was freezing – then, boom, it was like summer,” warehouse worker Eddie Johnson, 27, said after playing basketball in Freedom Park.

Winter rain and warm springs can both increase pollen amounts, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology says. The Charlotte area has had both. Windy weather also increases pollen counts as pollens are spread throughout the air, it says.

The oak-pollen count was 109 percent higher through Friday than in the same period last year, Klimas said. Cedar pollen was 169 percent higher. The greenish pine pollen that’s covering cars and sidewalks can irritate eyes but is not an allergen.

Tree pollen afflicts Charlotte allergy sufferers from February through late April. Grass pollen is in the air from late April through June.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America ranked Charlotte third last spring on its list of most challenging U.S. cities to live in with allergies.

In addition to itchy eyes, runny noses and sneezing, pollen allergies can induce “presenteeism” – showing up for work but being unable to fully engage. “It really affects the quality of life,” Klimas said.

Charlotte’s pollen will remain at high levels through at least Thursday, a pollen.com forecast said.

This story from The Charlotte Observer appears on DavidsonNews.net as part of our local news partnership.

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A friend and I decided to take a late evening trip to Starbucks the other night for a wintertime favorite, hot chocolate. I approached the counter, ordered and was immediately confronted with some bad news: My favorite, the salted caramel hot chocolate, had been discontinued. When I asked the obvious “Why?” I was told that it had too many calories. I was unable to confirm the exact calorie counts, but the barista told me that the “tall” cup alone contained around 500 calories, while the “venti” had somewhere in the ballpark of 2,000! That’s 2,000 calories for one beverage! That’s the average recommended daily calorie count for an adult female.

I suppose that’s not so bad so long as you don’t plan on eating for the rest of the day. Granted, it was one of the tastiest things I’ve ever had. I guess it’s just as well that Starbucks decided to take such a calorie-atrocious item off of their menu.

RELATED LINKS

Jan. 5, 2010, WashingtonPost.com, “Chain restaurants such as KFC, Uno and Starbucks are finding that calories count”

Starbucks.com, nutrition information page

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