Costco Connection - June 2008

MEMBERconnection: FOCUS ON HEALTH

Getting back to our roots

PHOTO BY DEBORAH ADDICOTT

OUR SOCIETY IS so advanced out on a quest for answers.
we should give ourselves a pat The acupuncturist and
on the back. And we would, if dance instructor found them in
our backs didn’t hurt so much. the last place she expected: the
How is it that, despite all developing world. In her travels
our wondrous achievements, to Ecuador, India, Thailand,
we not only haven’t figured out Africa and Brazil, Gokhale, a
how to deal with back pain, but resident of Palo Alto, California,
the problem is getting worse? observed people living in rural
That question, and the fact societies and discovered that
that after several years of ther- they had a “preindustrial” pos-
apy and unsuccessful back sur- ture that was natural, relaxed
gery she was in a constant state and, most important, pain-free.
of misery, prompted Costco “In the past century, our
member Esther Gokhale to set anatomical stance in industrial-
ized societies has shifted
radically,” says Gokhale.
Combining her observations
with instruction from back
specialists around the world,
including Institut Supérieur
d’Aplomb in Paris, which focuses
on anthropologically based
posture modification, Gokhale
developed 8 Steps to a Pain-
Free Back (Pendo Press, 2008;
www.egwellness.com).
“There’s a body wisdom, a
kinesthetic wisdom that we’ve
lost, that we need to get back
Esther Gokhale to,” says Gokhale, whose exer-
cises focus on posture and

Being conscious of your posture decompressing the spine. “We is one of the first steps to don’t have to accept back pain having a pain-free back. as inevitable.”—T. Foster Jones

PHOTOS BY PEGG Y WASHBURN

Gifts to comfort those in pain

COSTCO MEMBERS Ginger Hines and Sandra Rorem have both had family members with life-threatening illnesses. It occurred to the women that while their colleagues and friends wanted to do something, no one knew exactly what to do or send. Hines says that most people send flowers, but when her father was being treated the last thing he wanted was to watch flowers fade and die in his room.

So the two women, with 40 years of health-care experience between them, came up with the idea of CareGifting ( www.CareGifting.com).

At their Web site people can buy gift collections or create their own gift packages. The collections are put together with cancer patients, nursing-home residents, caretakers and even new moms in mind.

Individual items include hats, robes, books and healthy snacks, to name a few—all with an emphasis on natural and organic products.

Hines says that what sets the Seattle-based business apart is their practice of including educational materials. For example, an article about the benefits of journaling comes with a journal.

Hines tells The Connection, “Our Web site is intended to celebrate, comfort and connect people—mostly around health occasions.”

—Stephanie E. Ponder

Adam@Home by Brian Basset

SPECIAL TO THE CONNECTION. ADAM IS © B Y BRIAN BASSE T, UNIVERSAL PRESS S YNDICA TE

We want to hear from you

IF YOU HAVE a note, photo or story to share (it should be about Costco or Costco members in some way), you can send it to “The Member Connection,” The Costco Connection, P.O. Box 34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088, or e-mail to connection@costco.com with “The Member Connection” in the subject line. Submissions cannot be acknowledged or returned.

Success is nothing to sneeze at

WHEN COSTCO member Adena Surabian’s 1-year-old daughter experienced an alle rgic reaction to the chemicals, pe r-fumes and dyes in the prod ucts she was using, Surabian cha n-neled her frustration into c reating her own line of skin a nd hair products, Nature’s Bab y Organics ( www.naturesbaby products.com).

The research and devel op-ment process took two year s.

Today each of Nature’s Bab y Organics 19 products, from body wash to diaper cream , has full ingredient disclosu re, is clinically tested and pedia - trician recommended. Sixtee n are 70 percent USDA certif ied organic and three are 95 pe r-cent USDA certified organi c.