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Stress
The Vagus Nerve: Your Body's Secret Superhighway
If there's one thing I've learned in my decades as an integrative medicine physician, it's that the vagus nerve is the unsung hero of the human body. This remarkable cranial nerve may not get the same flashy attention as some of its more well-known counterparts, but trust me, when it comes to overall health and wellbeing, the vagus nerve is where it's at.
The Vagus Nerve: Your Body's Control Center
Think of the vagus nerve as the superhighway connecting your brain to the rest of your body. It's th…
Striving for Balance?
Recently I had to take my own advice again. And doing so meant pulling back from some things and paying more attention to others. Life balance is not static – it is a state of constant adjustments. And has this past year been an opportunity to practice that or what?
When I was healing from chronic Lyme disease several years back, I was reminded of this inspiring commencement speech given by the former CEO of Coca Cola, Byran Dyson in 1996. I understood then that in order to save my he…
Surfing Our Emotions
As much as I meditate, seek to communicate consciously, and strive for balance and wellness in my life, I’m still human and my emotions swallowed me up like a big wave over the past couple of months – tumbling in the churning swirl as I sought to get more solid footing and figure out which way was up.
And I know I’m not alone. Even before the pandemic, in the United States we were having a mental health crisis – with almost half of adults experiencing a mental illness during their lifetime.…
12 Ways to Stress Less For The Holidays
1. Prepare food ahead of time
It’s a busy time of year and plenty of goodies are around, making it easy for us to grab something that may not be the healthiest choice. I find I do best when I plan my meals ahead for the week – or at least for the day. Even if you are planning on ordering food for delivery/take-out plan ahead so that you can choose something that will be yummy and nourishing and not just fast and easy. If you’re having a hard time resisting temptation or just want to start t…
Forgiveness and Gratitude
Tis the season for gratitude and Thanks-giving. And it’s also a good time to practice forgiveness. Both forgiveness and gratitude have been linked to enhanced happiness and well-being. While practicing forgiveness can be a process that takes effort, daily gratitude practices can be relatively easy to accomplish.
The Freedom of Forgiveness
Throughout life, we experience disappointments and hurts both big and small. But when we are unable to forgive, we hold on to the negative feelings – kee…
Aromatherapy for Calm and Focus
Our sense of smell is truly amazing. It is said that the human nose can identify more than 1 trillion scents! And these aromas can have powerful effects on our mood, our thoughts, and even our behavior.
Have you ever smelled a certain food cooking and been transported to a memory in childhood? Or gotten a whiff of someone’s cologne/perfume that reminded you of a past significant relationship?
Our sense of smell is coordinated with receptors in the nose that link up through the first crania…
Media Fast
Take a Media Fast
[Excerpt from “Resilient Health: How to Thrive in Our Toxic World” by Valencia Porter, MD, MPH]
“…while it may seem informing and even empowering, the media in all forms is designed to influence your behaviors, thoughts, and feelings—sometimes to the point of manipulation.”
For most of my life, the television was a constant fixture and was on any time that I was home. But when my daughter was an infant, I suddenly became more aware of the constant stream of violence …
What Makes One Person Sad and Another Happy?
King Solomon asked his most trusted minister Benaiah to find a special ring that he wanted to wear for a festival. He said, "It has special powers. If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no suc…
Top 7 Tips for Managing Stress
Struggling with stress and feeling over-whelmed? Incorporate these 7 tips into your regular routine to get your body and mind back on track.
Meditate. Learn and practice a meditation or relaxation technique on a daily basis. Breathe deeply. As a start, check out my guided So Hum meditation.
Exercise. Integrate flexibility, strength building, and cardiovascular activities into your daily routine. Even if you can only fit in 15 minutes of walking, it is worth it.
Eat well. Favor an anti-inflamma…
Top Supplements for Stress - Adaptogens
Are you starting to feel the over-buzz of the holiday season? Time stretched too thin? Endless list of things to do and people to take care of? Well, you are certainly not alone. Here are a few of my favorite natural supplements to help get you through the holiday chaos and a 10% discount on high-quality supplements. What are adaptogens? This unique class of herbs help your body ADAPT to stress by increasing your resilience and normalizing body functions. In addition, these herbs often have …
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