The strong reactions I get when I ask someone to give up coffee continues to amaze me. Not give up indefinitely. Not abstain for a year. But for thirty days. A blink of the eye when compared to the length of a lifetime. So it may be hard to imagine that I like to subject myself to this torture at least once a year. Actually, like might be a bit of a stretch, but I do think it’s a good
Just a few short weeks ago, we welcomed a new year. And with it, came new (or recycled) resolutions. It’s as though making a resolution is a right of passage. But how many of those new year’s goals and resolutions do you actually achieve and maintain? How effective has setting a new year’s resolution been to improve your life? Now that the excitement of the new year has dissipated, let’s be honest about your resolutions. If you’re like the vast
It’s that time of year when traveling is a part of most families’ holiday experience. Whether it’s by plane, train, or automobile, staying healthy while traveling can bring its share of challenges. Early last month I flew out to Arizona for some additional craniosacral training and while I was enjoying one of my favorite past times of people-watching, it occurred to me that I take for granted all the tricks I’ve learned along the way to ensure a healthier traveling experience. While
We live in a society that has been taught to think that healing comes in a small pill. All we need is to find the right pill or the right combination of pills and we’ll get better. However, “heal” is of Germaic origin (heilen), meaning to make whole. If we look at the old English roots, hǣlan means to restore to sound health. Therefore, healing historically has been about restoring a person to wholeness. So I’d like to challenge how
A large part of having and maintaining a healthy life is change. Change can be drastic, big and even scary. If you’re farther off course from that healthy lifestyle you desire, the necessary impending changes can be paralyzing, sometimes to the point where you take no action. If we only focus on the end goal and become overwhelmed by the big changes we need to make to fully integrate the new lifestyle we want, we may overlook and dismiss the small and
Think birth control pills are 100% safe and side effect free? Think again
Homeopathy (ho-me-op-a-thy) is an individualized system of medicine that I use frequently with patients due to its efficacy, low-cost, and lack of drug interactions or side effects. Even though this medicine has been around long before penicillin, and was actually quite popular among doctors in the early 1900s, it is so different from our current conventional approach, that I often find patients confused about some key differences with receiving homeopathic care. Dr. Timothy Dooley wrote a wonderful book explaining homeopathy
The body is an amazingly complex system, governed by a network of chemical highways. The best part about this system is that we don’t ever have to consciously think or be aware of it in order to live. For example, doing a “detox” or “cleanse” has become quite popular but many of us do not realize that our body is constantly detoxing as a normal part of life. Detoxification is a natural process that is required in order to help your body eliminate
Last month we held an open house to celebrate Serenity’s one year anniversary (which was technically September) and honor naturopathic medicine week. There was great food, great people, and great live music (check out the videos on our YouTube channel). This event gave me a much-needed opportunity to reflect on this past year, so pardon the brief deviation from the typical health-related article. First, I am so grateful to everyone that attended, both in person and in spirit, and can’t wait until
Since moving to Frederick in August, I’ve been having such a great time identifying and using native herbs. But many of these plants are probably ignored by most people, thought to be weeds. This hobby of mine is formally known as wildcrafting. Wildcrafting is the harvesting of plants or herbs from the “wild” but sometimes these plants are right outside your front door. Or down the street at Baker Park. While it’s relatively easy to get into, wildcrafting does have some ethical and logistical