This is just time of year to take a look at that reoccurring problem – how do you keep passion alive? Because it’s February, you may be thinking of “romance” when I say “passion.” But I mean it in a larger sense. I’m talking about energy that drives our lives.

This is time of year when life may look like getting up, shaving, doing laundry, feeding dogs, and having same fights with same people over same things. It can be uninviting and uninspiring, a case of “been there, done that, and not too thrilled about prospect of going there and doing it again.”

Whatever zap of energy we got from New Year and New Year’s Resolutions has likely worn off. If we’ve dropped our resolutions, there’s a letdown. If we’ve achieved them, there can also be a letdown. I think of woman who told me once, “I lost 30 lbs. and still my life isn’t perfect.”

It isn’t about life being perfect, it’s about life BEING. Let’s take a look at that. What woman meant was that losing 30 lbs. made her look and feel better, and did a lot for her health, but baby still cried, secretary still missed deadline, traffic still piled up, she still didn’t like her mother-in-law, dishwasher still needed to be emptied, and she still was unable to streamline her projects at work she way she’d like to.

So how do we recharge our batteries when they’re running low? Here are some tips.

WORK OUT

Putting out energy brings in energy, and important thing is that this isn’t just physical. Work out MENTALLY by starting a new course, online or on-site. Continual learning throughout life is one of hallmarks of resilient people. Get in on this early and stay with it.

Work out EMOTIONALLY by taking focus off yourself, and helping someone else. If you’ve got blahs and start focusing on that, you can dig yourself into a hole. If you turn outward, toward others, you’ll soon become interested in world about you and that’s it’s own antidote.

Recently, I had unique privilege to interview Miriam V. Mills, (M.D., FAAP) from Young People's Clinic in Tulsa, OK. Dr. Mills is credited for directing landmark research project (at Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine) on study of Osteopathic manipulative treatment for ear infections in children. The study was first publicized in MD (allopathic) literature and more recently in Sept 2003 issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Dr. Mills remarked: "Osteopathic manipulative treatment was developed by Andrew Taylor Still (who was himself an MD, but who established osteopathy) over 100 years ago. One of his students, William Garner Sutherland, expanded manipulative treatments to include head and related structures, which is called osteopathy in cranial field. There is not one "technique" that is used, but a variety of approaches, depending on problem encountered. This has been taught for over 50 years. The experience of most practitioners of these methods find remarkable benefit from them, though there has been little in literature to document these experiences.

I am a pediatrician in private practice (Young People's Clinic, PC, in Tulsa, OK (www.youngpeoplesclinic.yourmd.com/miriammills), and I find that in my general pediatric practice, having used these manipulative techniques for last 10 years (as am MD, I learned these techniques after being in practice already awhile), I have less problems with colic and feeding problems, headaches, ear infections, and complications of upper and lower respiratory infections. I admit fewer children to hospital and have to refer fewer children for sub-specialist care than my pediatric colleagues.

Since development of osteopathy in cranial field, other practitioners (including chiropractors, massage therapists, and physical therapists) have utilized some of same methods, going by name of `cranio-sacral therapy.' I cannot vouch for exactly what these methods are, or their effectiveness, as they are not what was studied in my research."

According to Dr. Mills, study was performed under controlled, blinded groups of children across four (4) sites in nation. Of these groups, 32 children were in control group and 25 were in treatment group. The study produced phenomenal findings. The culmination of a six-month observation period demonstrated that there was a statistically significant difference in (within treatment group) episodic ear infections.