Q: What made you decide to become a naturopathic doctor?
A: I’ve always wanted to be a doctor (besides the few months I wanted to be an Olympic gold medalist or the few years I wanted to be Elle Woods in Legally Blonde). I realized that my love for puzzles, science, and getting to know and interact with other humans would make me a really great doctor. I did hospital rotations while in undergrad and was not inspired to continue on that career path. Instead of entering that system and attempting to change it, I found a branch of medicine that combined all my love for modern technology and science with the expanded holistic tool box that can target specific biochemistry and make people better. I knew in that moment I was destined to be a Naturopathic Doctor.
 
I chose to go into Cardiology because of my curiosity and fascination with the heart’s physiology (I’m a details person, I couldn't resist!). I chose to stay in the specialty because I found there was a lot of fear-based decision making on the patient’s end to make quick decisions, especially when they are being told there are life-altering consequences on the line. During my internship, I found that if the doctor and the patient were all on the same page about risks, benefits, possibilities of adverse events, set specific guidelines and goals we could all work together to positively benefit their heart health. That's my practice philosophy – to have open lines of communication, collaborate with my patients, and have clear expectations and goals we are working towards. When we all do our part, your heart reaps the rewards.
 
Q: Tell us about a time you really connected with a patient and went above and beyond to meet their needs.
A: I’ll never forget a patient I followed in my internship, Q. He had been seeing my attending physician for quite some time with several heart issues (valve disease, arrhythmias, hypertension and eventually an enlarged heart) and we were working through all the holistic therapies in our tool box to get to the root cause, mitigate risks of adverse events, and ultimately heal his heart. He was getting better, so much better. His blood pressure came down, his arrhythmias were under better control, and his heart was healing.
 
There came a point in his treatment where we had to discuss risks and benefits of getting his valve replaced, and analyze the benefits his valve was getting with our current therapies. We ultimately decided that it would be the best decision to get the valve replaced and we (yes, we!) started interviewing surgeons. We advised him on his surgical options, and picked one we thought would be best for him and sought out to find a surgeon who could do it, and do it well. I followed that patient into the surgical room to observe and then post-surgery put him on a great healing protocol! He recovered quickly and was back to being the best version of Q possible!
 
Q: What is your favorite meal?
A: My favorite meal is chicken jambalaya, extra spicy. My grandma used to make that meal for me all the time as a child and when I came home from college, and it holds a lot of nostalgic memories for me. She spent her last Christmas eve teaching me how to make it the ‘right’ way, the way grandma always made it.
 
Q: How do you spend your free time?
A: I spend as much of my free time outdoors as I can! One of the biggest draws for me to move to Minnesota was the availability of year round outdoor activities! My husband, Sam, and I love to go skiing in the winter, and spend our summers hiking, camping, and hanging out at the lake. There’s just something about being in nature that reenergizes my spirit.

Authored by Vanashree Belgamwar, Ayurveda practitioner

Three main causes:

1) Misuse of intellect (prajnaparadha)

• Prajna means "wisdom" or "intelligence", and apradha means "offence." So the literal meaning of prajnaparadha is "an offence against wisdom."
• That is, doing things without discriminating as to whether it is favorable or harmful for the body or mind. These actions may be verbal, mental or physical.
• The actions generated by prajnaparadha aggravate the tridosa and stimulate the rajas and tamas gunas, allowing diseases to become established.
• Excessive/atiyoga forms of this include talking too much, or excessive thinking, reading, mental work or physical activity.
• A deficiency (hina- yoga) of these actions is not undertaking these activities sufficiently, like not speaking at all or very little, and not working or engaging in any intellectual or physical activity.
• Incorrect (mithya yoga) forms include gossip, lying, inciting violence and irrelevant, illogical or harsh speech. Actions that are motivated by greed, anger, material attachment, envy, ego, fear, grief or delusion also are mithya-yoga.
• The physical form of this includes the suppression of natural urges or performing unnatural activity such as smoking cigarettes, driving recklessly or participating in dangerous sports.

2) Misuse of senses (Asatmendriyartha samyoga)

• Astmaya means "improper," indriya means "sense organs," artha is "the objects of the senses" and samyoga means "to combine" or "to link."
• Asatmendriyartha samyoga refers to improper contact of the senses with their objects, and results in an over stimulation or deficiency of sensory activity.
• This harms the body- mind, which requires moderation and harmony internally and externally for healthy functioning.
  
  

3) Seasonal variations (parinama or kala)

• The external environment can trigger disease by unbalancing the body through unnatural or extreme variations in temperature, rainfall or wind.
• Excessive or atiyoga of parinama is extraordinary or unexpected climatic conditions, such as excessive heat in summer or cold in winter.
• Deficient/hina-yoga: seasonal conditions include very mild temperature variations are not experienced.
• Incorrect/mithya-yoga parinama occurs when conditions are opposite to the normal season, such as being cold in summer or warm in winter.
• Parinama or kala also refers more generally to the effects of time, and natural physical transformation that occur over time. For example, seasonal influences on the dosas, and the disorders associated with specific phases of life and aging are all in this category.

Authored by Dr. Q

Authored by Dr. Anna

Question: How many times have you played out some version of the cycle below?

This is so real. Right down to the Cheetos.

Many of us play out some version of this cycle most of our adult lives. And let’s face it: this approach has a short shelf life. We get the temporary and hopeful high of “I’m doing something about this!!” followed by the swift slap of disappointment when it turns out maybe it wasn’t realistic to think we could wake up to work out everyday at 5:45 AM when we haven’t A) worked out or B) gotten up before 8am in literally months.

Insert self-berating comments and disparagement here that inches us towards the “F it’s” where we abandon the initiative all together and submit to our Cheeto eating ways before cycling back to “the decision” to get it together...lather, rinse, repeat.

My job is to help people be realistic and successful in their change attempts and yet I find myself over and over again getting caught in the enticing quick fix fantasy of a self finally improved. And through trial, error, and repetition I’ve been able to recognize this delusion more quickly and steer myself towards an approach that actually helps me to make changes that stick. This is where I turn my head manually away from self-improvement that plays itself out in a ideal perfectionism land, toward self-acceptance and self-compassion in the face of the realities, messiness, and resistance encountered by all of us in the process of changing anything.

So what does this mean? It means taking your goal list and cutting it in half. It means being realistic in your expectations of what you can do. It means baby steps that, when made, you applaud with fervor. It means offering self-compassion and validation when you slip. It means holding ourselves in high regard even when we only make it to day 2 of Whole 30 (wow the examples just flow, not mine of course). It means surrendering - not to our bad habits but to our humanness and the fundamental truth that basically I’m good enough. Could I get a little better? Yes. Am I going to be a person who (insert complete opposite personality and traits here)? Likely not.

I use the “good coach” metaphor a lot with my clients. When I think of some of my best coaches I recall that they pushed me hard but within reason of what I was capable of based upon my current skill level at the time. I knew they believed in me and kept an eye on and belief in my full potential. Perhaps most importantly, their support and encouragement wouldn’t waiver when I messed up. We need this inside of us when we try to grow and change and yet many of us have a brutal internal critic that pounces on us the minute we even try, the minute we mess up, the minute we don’t sustain for as long as planned. It makes it super duper hard to take the risk to change when under such intense critical scrutiny.

But I don’t want to get complacent. I want to keep improving myself you say. You can. The fact of the matter is that a foundational bed of self-acceptance creates the conditions in which these changes, hopes and dreams are most likely to come to fruition and take. Furthermore, knowing that we have our own self support no matter what creates a safe emotional environment to risk in the first place.

6 Things You Can Do To Approach Change Differently:

1) Set Yourself Up To Win - Just like asking a 2nd grader to read high school material would be a set up for failure- asking ourselves to perform, complete, achieve, sustain something that is several steps ahead of where we are currently just sets us up for failure. For most of us, change happens one teeny tiny inconsequential step at a time directly in front of where we currently are.

2) Enter Radical Self Acceptance - The thing is. Sometimes it’s really hard to accept where we currently are. We don’t want to look at our budget or our weight or our job or our social life because it’s loaded with regret, or shame, or loss. Radical Acceptance is a concept that I come back to again and again as it does not mean we like something it just asked that we accept it radically (it has to be radical because it’s so challenging to do) so that we can move forward. Try something. Think about something you are really struggling with right now. Bring this to mind and place your open palms on your lap facing the sky. This gesture symbolizes that you are open to the reality of your present situation (you may still hate it so hard) but you can nonetheless be open..and see if your chest doesn’t open a little. If a bit of lightness enters. Now repeat this a million times as you stay with yourself each baby-step of the way.

3) Turn Your Actual Head - Okay maybe not actually. But imagine a forked road ahead of you. One is the typical path of self-improvement the other is self-acceptance. Actively choose to accept yourself while still holding your best interest and goals in mind. Keep re-directing yourself back to that path over and over and over again.

4) Be Realistic About the Change Process - On average people have a messy and repetitive route through the stages of change. It takes time and circling through. It’s not a light switch were we just decide and it happens. It’s a process- and not a linear one. That’s how it is for all of us. Oh, and the amount of time you think you should be able to accomplish or achieve x,y,z--double it--at minimum.

5) Expect Resistance - Resistance to change is natural, expect it, embrace it, work with it. Remember that cornstarchy gak we made in 3rd grade science? How when you applied force it was hard and unmoveable yet when you’d relax your hand it would melt through your fingers? Treat resistance like gak in your own change process. Loosen your grip and let it come and go. The harder you fight and force the more likely it will stay stubbornly unmoved.

6) Connection Helps - Whether you are trying to change a habit or heal a long-standing wound. Don’t go it alone. Gather your supports and accountability buddies to help you through whatever you are facing. This could be a best friend, a therapist, a journal, an on-line forum.

​Vanashree is an Ayurvedic practitioner and recent addition to our team.

Authored by Amy Daws, CMT, ShT

​One of the most common areas of discomfort that I hear from my clients is low back tension, especially in the winter. Between shoveling, trying to stay upright on the ice (or not), wearing heavy boots, and huddling to stay warm your back can get the brunt of it. Many of us have suffered from tension in our low backs ranging from stiffness to debilitating pain at some point in our lives. Low back pain can also be caused by injury, accidents, repetitive stress and/or poor posture. Massage is a great way to ease low back pain, strain, tension and stiffness. Stretching between sessions may help you recover faster and prevent re-injury. These simple 5 stretches address and target a few of the most common muscles groups that can contribute to pain in the low back.*

When should I to stretch??
Listen to your body. If you tend to feel stiffness in your low back in the morning, then try doing these stretches right away when you get up or after a shower. If you work a desk job, then try doing these stretches during a break time or at the end of the day. Make a commitment to stretching for a couple minutes each day.

​Cat/Cow Pose

These foundational yoga poses are a great way to get gentle movement in your spine. Start on all fours and slowly arch your back like a cat (Cat Pose). Next slowly release your spine until it is flat (Cow Pose). You should not feel any pinching in your low back when doing Cow Pose. If you do, back off a bit and focus on pulling your tailbone away from your head to create extension in your spine instead of compression in the low back. Throughout the movement, focus on engaging your abdominal muscles.

​Start in a lunge with your knee on the ground. Make sure that your bent knee is not in front of your toes. Your hands can either be on your bent knee or on the ground. Try to keep your spine as straight as possible. If this is enough of a stretch stay in this position. If you feel like you want more of a stretch, slowly twist towards the side of the bent knee. Place a hand on the bent knee leaving the other hand on the ground to stabilize.

Authored by Marian Kimball Eichinger, LAc

Many women and men suffer from hormonal imbalances which can cause a variety of unpleasant symptoms such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, hair loss, weight gain, hot flashes, low energy, and infertility to name a few. Hormone balance is necessary for a healthy metabolism, menstrual cycles, sleep-wake cycle, growth and stress management. Hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are common culprits in conditions like perimenopause, dysmenorrhea, PMS/PMDD, poor libido and insomnia. Insulin, T3 and T4, cortisol, adrenaline, and follicle stimulating hormone can cause chronic and sometimes debilitating conditions such as diabetes, PCOS and hypothyroid when imbalanced. Remedies for hormonal imbalances range from hormone replacements, birth control pills, synthetics, and steroids to diet and lifestyle changes.

Another option could be acupuncture.  Acupuncture is an ancient, non-drug approach for regulating the body, treating and preventing disease and it can be very effective at treating the symptoms and underlying causes of hormonal imbalance.

Acupuncture is a means to regulate. As an acupuncturist, I turn a trained eye to identify imbalances within any bodily system whether it be digestive, respiratory, vascular, muscular, immune, or hormonal. While sometimes it is helpful to be told that a patient has a specific hormonal imbalance, my primary focus is on symptoms, and through the paradigm of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) I translate those symptoms into imbalances of Qi and Blood, or Yin and Yang. Symptoms can also inform which organ system (Kidney, Heart, Lung, Spleen or Liver) the imbalance derives from.
I begin each treatment with a detailed discussion of symptoms (onset, location, duration, severity, time of day or night, what makes it better or worse, and triggers) which helps determine the root of the imbalance. For example, depression, insomnia, and palpitations can point to the Heart system; fatigue and weight gain can point to Spleen; night sweating, hair loss and infertility can point to Kidney; irritability and anger point to Liver; and sweating during the day and frequent colds or allergies can point to Lung. After this differential diagnosis, I am armed to identify specific acupuncture points and protocols for each patient and the treatment begins.

Acupuncture and herbal therapies help by regulating, balancing, nourishing the affected organ systems. However, acupuncture is not a quick fix medicine. Depending on how long the condition has lasted it may need several weeks or months of regular treatments to improve. Dietary and lifestyle changes may also be necessary. Your job as a patient is to be honest, patient, and mindful of your symptoms and how they are changing and reacting to the treatments. My job is to listen and observe, reflect, connect and treat accordingly. Overall, acupuncture can help you feel more grounded, calm, balanced, rested, and restored.

If you know or suspect that you have a hormonal imbalance, make an appointment and see how acupuncture can help.

Authored by Tara McCoy, CHC

​Health coach and book nerd, Tara McCoy, is a voracious reader. Her mission is to find the most insightful and life-changing wellness and personal optimization tips and deliver them to you in digestible, actionable bites. She reads broadly from psychology, medicine to spirituality - hunting down the  best nuggets of wisdom so you don’t have to. Each month, she’ll review a book and dish out the top insights gleaned.

Authored by Bri Dunbar, LAMFT 

I hear a lot of talk about the self-care practice of setting boundaries. I also hear a lot of misunderstandings about how to skillfully set boundaries in ways that effectively serve a purpose and are respected by those around us.
 
Unfortunately, as a society, we seem to have misappropriated the idea of boundary setting as a means for keeping difficult people at arms length or as a method of avoiding the work of repairing a complicated relationship. This process lacks intentionality and discernment. Sometimes “boundary setting” can even be applied reactively and vengefully to punish someone who has enacted a perceived injustice upon us.
 
So, how can the narrative of boundary setting be shifted? How can we think of boundaries differently in order to use them effectively? How can we apply and communicate our boundaries in a way that grows from true self-care practices?
 
For me, the critical shift is the idea that the setting of a boundary has more to do with protecting something INSIDE the boundary lines and is less focused on what we aim to keep outside. Let’s apply an analogy.
 
Picture a beautiful backyard oasis. The greenery is lush. The noise level is low. The sunshine is warm. You have tended to this space with great care and are proud of what you have created. This represents your wellbeing, your healthy inner life, the bounty of your good self-care practices.
 
Now, picture the space outside of your backyard. A dirty alley filled with trash. Loud and obnoxious neighbors. An overgrown and weed filled eye sore. This represents whatever (or whomever) in your life feels life a threat to your wellbeing.
 
Imagine there is a tall cedar fence that separates your beautiful and well-tended space from the ones that surround you. The fence is solid and strong, but pleasant to look at. It smells good and enriches the space you’ve created. This represents your boundary. The fence exists whether you view it from inside your yard or outside. And serves the same simple purpose; to delineate between the two environments. But, with a focus on what you value and what you want to protect, as opposed to what you want to keep out, you shift the tone of boundary setting. Step INSIDE your yard and view the fence from that perspective to understand how it serves you best. Yes, the fence does block your space from the unpleasant environment beyond the fence, but that’s not its primary purpose. Its primary purpose is to allow you to better enjoy what you have built and grown INSIDE your own yard.
 
This visualization gives you a chance to filter your boundaries through the lens of healthy habits and relationship dynamics. It comes from a place of true self-care and self-love. This removes reactive responses from the process of boundary setting, and extracts any unhealthy intention to act punitively in putting up a boundary in your life. That new warmth radiates when expressing these boundaries to others in your life and the line drawn may be better understood, better received, and better respected.  
 
This is, in my opinion, the healthiest application of boundaries. To protect something that you value, something that you have worked hard to nurture. Not, solely, to keep something toxic out
 
What boundaries have you set recently, does anything change when you apply this analogy? Is there new awareness about why this boundary would be beneficial? Is there new language to communicate that to any relevant parties?
 
Also, just a reminder, fences have gates! Part of the practice of setting a boundary may also be to leave a bit of intentional flexibility and permeability to let others in as you see fit when circumstances change.
 
Happy boundary setting! :)

Authored by Jesse Haas, LN

​Americans tend to gain 1-2 pounds a year throughout their adult lives. For the majority of us, those pounds get packed on between Thanksgiving and New Year...and we don't lose it with our resolutions. A couple pounds here and there really isn't going to have a significant effect your health, but 10 pounds every decade adds up by the time you're 60. This means that keeping your wellness focus through the holiday hustle and bustle is not only a worthy effort, but can help you prevent heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and other chronic health conditions associated with high body mass. Your future-self will thank you! 

What is it about the holidays that can completely dismantle healthy habits?! For me, it's the limitless sweets, bottomless wine, and the packed social calendar that disrupts my exercise, meditation and sleep schedule. Putting your finger on what derails you is the first step in preventing the fall down the slippery slope.

Here are some strategies I'll be using this year to holiday-proof my wellness goals. I may not be in control of what food is offered to me, but I sure am in control of what I put on my plate. 

1. Eat at regular intervals to maintain your blood sugar, reduce your experience of stress and curb your cravings. Don't skip a meal to save your appetite for a feast. This is a recipe for emergency hunger and poor impulse control. Instead, have a meal every 3 hours or so. If you're traveling, pack healthy snacks that are high in protein and fat, such as nuts or protein bars (with 5 or fewer ingredients and at least 10 grams of protein). These simple foods can be life savers!
2. If you're creating a meal in a buffet setting, wait to serve yourself until all the food is displayed so you're not tempted to return to the table over and over to taste everything that strikes your fancy. 
3. Fill at least half your plate with colorful veggies and leafy greens. Will you be a guest at a party? Offer to bring a big green salad or veg-heavy dish to share. Even if you don't have much time or space to cook, you can help health-ify the options. Veggies platters with guacamole and/or hummus will do the trick in a pinch!
4. Eat the "best for you" food offerings first to crowd out the foods you still want to taste but that aren't as healthful. Start by polishing off those veggies you filled your plate with! 
5. Eat slowly and mindfully. Take a deep breath before diving in and put your fork down between bites so you can enjoy the flavors and textures that are in your mouth.
6. Keep an arm's length distance from you and finger food to help prevent mindless eating. A handful here and a handful there will add up by the end of the holiday marathon!
7. No food is on the "naughty" list. Choose the dessert that looks the best to you and consider sharing it with your table-mate.
8. Above all: do NOT berate yourself for forgetting or ignoring strategies 1-7. Trying is succeeding.

Authored by Erica Wallace Moore

It's that time of year again. The holiday season is right around the corner. While this season jingles with activity, for some of us, this time of year can be physically, mentally, and emotionally overwhelming.

Let's face it, you're down to the last push before the end of the year. A year that has already challenged and matured you. And for the next two months you may be spending a lot of time with friends and family. You may be at tables weighed down by meat, mashed potatoes and pies. You might even host a dinner or two. You will eat a lot. And you will shop. You'll spend money. Your boss or your significant other might expect your presence at a holiday party. You've got a tree to put up and decorate, or you've got plane tickets for a week's worth of travel.

That's a lot of doing.

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love this time of year. 

The annual ritual of connecting with family is so deeply set in my Root Chakra going all the way back to my childhood. But I too have my moments. Times when I need a break from the insanity of the holidays. 

Staying grounded and protecting your energy can seem impossible at this time of year, but I promise it's a worthwhile skill to practice cultivating. 

If you're looking for ways to stay perfect through the holidays, this ain't it. But what you will find here are several practical ways to stay present and sane through the holiday season:

1. Set Boundaries
I cannot stress how important this practice is. You might experience the pressure of being pulled in many directions, decisions, as well as the pressure to say yes to everything. If an activity feels like too much than it's worth, ask yourself whether or not it's really worth doing. Additionally, setting boundaries for your budget and your meals can help you remain present as you step toward the new year.

2. Set Aside Alone or Down Time
After any considerable amount of doing, your body needs moments to be. For all the doing that the holidays requires, create intentional space for yourself to just be. This also includes rest and indulging in your self care. Give yourself a gift.

3. Set a Meaning
Have you ever had a holiday when you ask yourself: "Why am I doing all this stuff? What does it even mean?" Sometimes it's so easy to go through the motions of expectations that we lose meaning. Decide what the holiday season means to you and honor it. Does the season mean family, thankfulness, caring? Or perhaps it reminds you of loss. Don't ignore the emotional significance of the season. Maybe you can give to a cause or charity, volunteer, or create a new ritual. Write a letter or light a candle to a loved one. 

4. Set Up a Holiday Journal
This one is simple: whatever frustrations arise for you, write them out. You may find yourself more aware of your holiday triggers and be able to be more gentle with yourself.

5. Set Time for Creativity
Part of the holiday frustration for me is the amount of consumerism that we all get invited to partake in. I find it comforting as a reminder that though my children want gifts from the toy store, I'm still at my core a co-creator of the universe. Whatever your creative gifts are (baking, cooking, sewing, crocheting, knitting, drawing, writing, singing, acting, dancing, photography, etc), throw yourself into your creativity. 

6. Set Goals for the New Year
Setting a goal for the new year helps to keep you present and grounded because you can be reminded that the holidays are temporary and you still have this big, great life to live. And you get to pause, reflect and ritualize your presence and your new beginnings into the new year.

​If you're really looking for a way to ground yourself, or if you are new to the idea of what it means to be grounded, I would absolutely love to work with you! Or perhaps you are looking forward to the new year and you desire new goals and new intentions in which case, I would also love to be able to work with you! 

Authored by Tara McCoy, CHC

My red flag moment was when I found myself scrolling through my iPhone on my meditation pillow. In a laughable yet not uncommon moment my phone worship became undeniable. Through this daily meditation practice, I was committing to training my attention each morning. Yet I also had the habit of checking my phone immediately after my sit, often before I had even left my cushion. As proud as I was of my dedication to my morning practice, it became clear that the remainder of my days often felt like one big training in the art of distraction.

I became interested in attention largely because of the personal consequences I’ve noticed as it’s diminished. With the ubiquity of smartphones and social apps, I’ve noticed my attention span waning (and let’s be honest--mine wasn’t top notch to begin with). A few examples include difficulty finishing books, feeling the need to multitask during movies, and most disturbingly, decreased tolerance for “slow talkers” and lulls in conversation. When you’re used to the predictable and always entertaining input from a device the mysterious, often meandering process of human connection can feel too risky, time-consuming and even boring. Anyone who’s ever attempted a meaningful conversation with someone more interested in their instagram feed knows how damaging this distraction can be.

My movement teacher Katy Bowman teaches that one hour of exercise each day doesn’t offset 23 hours of being sedentary. We are evolved to move with frequency throughout the day and this movement frequency is arguably more important to health than one intense bout of physical activity. I wanted to apply this logic to my meditation practice. A brief attention training in the morning is wonderful, but couldn’t possibly be offsetting the massive splintering of my attention the rest of the day. Perhaps some of my efforts would be better spent reorganizing my 23 1/2 hours to be less of a worship of distraction, which means seriously examining my current relationship with technology.

If our attention is our most valuable and increasingly rare resource, it makes sense to be intentional about how we interact with the devices that strip it of its acuity. And the blame cannot be entirely on those of us who find ourselves unable to control our digital addictions. Some of the brightest minds at the most prestigious companies (Facebook ahem) use the most effective behavioral strategies to keep you clicking, scrolling and liking. Yet, rejecting technology completely is a luxury that many of us cannot afford.These tools can enhance the ability to pursue things like entrepreneurship, education and social connection. In our increasingly tech-enabled world, resistance can seem futile. Yet going with the flow and keeping up with societal norms does not ensure a healthful relationship with our gadgets. Like many other health behaviors, it seems you must deviate outside the cultural norm to protect your health and happiness.

So, in my quest to confront my tech-addiction I’ve been experimenting with ways to still engage with technology but set stronger boundaries that prioritize what’s actually important in my life---things like quality of attention, presence and relationships. I honestly had low expectations for my compliance with this new strategy but it’s been surprisingly easy once I started feeling the benefits. Here are some things I’ve been experimenting with:

• Set rules about when I turn my phone on and off each day. I do a digital sunset at the same time each night and don’t turn my phone on in the morning until after my meditation practice. This has drastically improved the quality of my sleep and increased the consistency of my meditation practice. This is coming from someone who used to look at my phone first thing after waking up! Change is possible!
• Beware of the iPhone effect. Research has shown that keeping your mobile device in sight during a conversation significantly lowers empathy level and the quality of conversation. Don’t leave your phone out if you’re talking to someone. This is an easy switch that can significantly improve your relationships.
• Take your most addictive social apps off your phone--- it’s amazing how boring your phone quickly becomes. Or as a compromise try keeping those apps on the last page of your iPhone so you have to scroll for a bit to open it. This gives your slow brain and willpower some time to kick in and decide against opening the sites. I took Facebook and Instagram off my phone. I’m not ready to quit Instagram all together and can’t easily post via my laptop so I now allow myself to re-download the app one day a week if I want to make a post. A bit clunky but worth the sense of freedom I’ve felt.
• Have phone free blocks where you leave your phone at home or hide your device for periods of time.
• Check out these additional resources for further inspiration and ideas on living a less distracted and deeper life. The books Deep Work by Cal Newport and The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. A couple quick videos--- Kelly McGonigal’s advice for breaking tech addiction (2 min video) and  Brian Johnson on the digital sunset . Also, Dallas Hartwig's More Social, Less Media Movement. 

Surprisingly quickly my phone has lost its allure. You can only check for a text or email so many times before it gets boring. I knew that something had shifted when I left my phone at home and I didn’t notice for a couple hours. A month ago that would have been unthinkable. The quality of my relationships has increased and my attention feels stronger. Slowly my tolerance for boredom and silent moments has improved. I even took a nap the other day as I couldn’t turn to Instagram scrolling as my go-to way to relax. The only drawback I’ve noticed so far is the pain of looking around, finally ready to connect, only to notice how distracted most people are.

Authored by Tara McCoy, CHC

Confession: I haven’t exercised regularly in a year. Sure, I’ll go to a yoga class here and there and sometimes will go on a really short jog, but I don’t adhere to a regular exercise regimen. And I don’t feel guilty about it. In fact, I feel pretty great! As an ex-collegiate competitive track and cross country athlete, I can’t say I feel grossly out of shape or that my figure has significantly changed since my college glory days. What’s inspiring my new movement perspective? Two things: the science of NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) and the mindfulness research of Ellen Langer. Let me explain.

In our culture, there is a prevalent myth: physical movement doesn’t contribute to your health and fitness unless it happens in a gym as “formal exercise”. Yet in cultures known as hot spots of longevity or health (check out Dan Buettner’s Blue Zones book for more), there is rarely an overt concept of exercise. Rather, movement is integrated into daily living as a necessary, utilitarian part of life—opposite of our sedentary or, at best, “actively sedentary” culture. The regular exercisers among us likely fall into the actively sedentary status: you get your daily recommended exercise but are mostly sedentary for the rest of the day. For example, someone who goes to the gym for 45 minutes in the morning but sits at a desk job the rest of the day. We now know this single bout of movement in a sea of sitting doesn’t cut it. Sobering new evidence shows higher amounts of daily sitting are associated with greater risk of all-cause mortality (even if you exercise). With new emphasis on the dangers of sitting for uninterrupted periods of time, scientistsare finally studying the importance of “smaller” forms of movement that break up long stretches of sedentarism throughout the day. In the literature, these smaller movements are known as Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, or NEAT.

How would your daily life change if you knew reducing sitting and increasing NEAT might be more vital to your health than engaging in formal exercise? I’ll talk more about how to transform your movement routine at the end of this article.

Beyond NEAT, my other movement inspiration comes from the mindfulness researcher Ellen Langer. She concisely defines mindfulness as the simple act of actively noticing things resulting in increased health, competence, and happiness. Langer studies how our perceptions and beliefs (which can be changed with mindful awareness) directly impact our physiology. Her work quantifies the power of the mind-body connection by illustrating how our perception impacts everything from blood sugar levels, the aging process, and potentially cancer remission states. A powerful study she conducted with hotel maids tested the physiological impact of the perception of whether something “counted” as exercise. Initially, most of the hotel maids reported they didn’t exercise regularly. Langer took several measures of their fitness levels which concurred that most had the markers of a sedentary lifestyle. She and her colleagues then told half the maids that, in fact, their job duties, such as cleaning rooms, scrubbing toilets, and vacuuming, actually exceeded the surgeon general’s recommendation of a half-hour of physical activity daily. In other words, they were told their cleaning activities “counted” as exercise. The other half of the maids served as a control group. A month later, researchers retested the biomarkers (weight, blood pressure) of both groups. The control group’s markers had stayed the same, but the group that now believed themselves to be regular exercisers had lost weight and significantly reduced their blood pressure without changing their level of physical activity! For in-depth details on this study, check out this New York Times article.

So how can these two fascinating bodies of work improve your fitness routine?

First, radically expand your definition of exercise to include and prioritize NEAT: all-day, low-impact movement.This will minimize the harmful effects of sitting and allow you to meet your daily movement requirement more easefully.

Second, be mindful of the fact that all movement “counts as exercise”. This awareness means you’ll be more likely to take the stairs, change up your commute, and seize every opportunity to move. Plus, your belief in its effectiveness actually improves its measurable physiological benefits.

Want to revolutionize your exercise routine? Take these 4 steps.

1. Change your mindset to recognize all forms of movement count toward greater health and energy, not just “formal exercise”. Start seizing every opportunity to move, no matter how small, with the knowledge that it’s significantly contributing to your health. Challenge yourself to move as often as possible throughout your entire day.
   
2. Take movement breaks. To minimize the risk associated with extended periods of sitting, make sure you’re taking a movement break at least every 25 minutes. Set an alarm at first to solidify the habit. Or download an app like Move to remind you to take a movement break at regular intervals. Even just standing up and sitting back down has been shown to reduce damage. Everything counts!
   
3. Rethink furniture. At the very least, occasionally sit on the floor. If you’re feeling hardcore, consider getting rid of some of your furniture, forcing you to floor sit. Use bolsters and pillows to make it comfortable. Floor sitting basically allows you to get the benefits of a yoga class (diverse joint configurations, stretching and shifting) while just hanging out. When you get up off the floor, try to do it using as little support as possible. It turns out the ability to get up and down off the floor without using your hands, arms, or knees to help boost you is a pretty accurate predictor of life expectancy. Work this skill daily by conscious floor sitting, paying particular attention to working on the ability to spring up and down without support. Check out Katy Bowman’s furniture-free home or this badass guide to going furniture free for inspiration.
   
4. Walk a lot! Measuring your steps is one of the best ways to encourage all-day movement. Walking is the key movement our bodies evolved to do, and there are myriad consequences when we don’t get our daily intake of walking. Aim for at least 10,000 steps a day. If you’re not already measuring your steps via your iPhone or pedometer, I can’t recommend this highly enough. For a free option, I love the app Moves.

Take a look at your daily routines. How can you add more simple movements throughout your day? Can you change your environment to ensure you’ll move more? Can you rework your perception to acknowledge that any mini-movements throughout your day truly count? With a little bit of awareness and planning, you can increase the effectiveness of your daily life and decrease the risks of common behavior. Happy moving!!

Authored by Bri Dunbar, MA LAMFT RYT200

potentially harmful. ​For example, depending on whether or not you have low or high self-esteem, repeating positive affirmations can make you feel worse about yourself. This is likely because in people with low self-esteem, the affirmative statements too strongly oppose their self-identity, which can trigger contradictory thoughts that only further reinforce their negative self image. 

On a more encouraging note, Wilson, shares several surprisingly simple techniques that are proven to induce quick and lasting changes in the realms of happiness and well-being. Rather than focusing on superficial transformations, these techniques seek to transform our internal narratives. The theory is that these narratives create the lens through which we view the world, and thus dictates the actions we take. By changing the lens, we can easily change our behaviors.
 
These updated “self-help” tools are powerful because they don’t require long term, one-on-one counseling but can be done on your own, often in a single intervention.
 
Here are a few of the potent transformative tools that you can try today!
 
STORY EDITING
 
With story editing you can permanently change your internal narrative using simple self-directed exercises. This internal narrative change leads to lasting behavior change that is sustained over time.
 
Here are 2 writing exercises that use story-editing to increase well-being.

• Best Possible Selves Exercise:

Think about your life in the future and write for twenty minutes, on four consecutive days, about what your life would look like if “everything has gone as well as it possibly could” and your life dreams come true. More instructions here.
 
College students who did this exercise reported greater satisfaction with their lives and greater optimism up to 3 weeks later. The group that had done the Best Selves exercise also visited the health center significantly less than the control group.

• Pennebaker Writing exercise: This writing exercise is helpful when you are worried and upset about something and are having trouble letting it go. This technique was developed by James Pennebaker, a pioneering psychologist who has extensively studied the connection between writing and health.

 
Write about the problem you are currently experiencing for at least 15 minutes a day for 3-4 consecutive days, ideally at the end of the day and without interruption. You can write longhand, into a computer or even use a voice recorder. Write for yourself only and do your best not to worry about grammar or style. More detailed instructions here.
 
The Pennebaker Writing exercise or “expressive writing” has been studied extensively. Some benefits of this exercise are enhanced immune function, lower blood pressure, decreased heart rate, lowered anxiety, less rumination and fewer depressive symptoms.
 
 
DO GOOD, BE GOOD
 
In this strategy, rather than trying to change your thoughts or emotions, you first change your behavior, which then triggers a change in self-perception and interpretations. This new self-perception makes taking positive actions more likely in the future. This is a variation of “fake it until you make it”.
 
One way to do this is through adopting TINY HABITS, a behavior change method developed by Stanford psychologist BJ Fogg. By creating tiny, consistent shifts in action towards the new behavior or identity you’d like to craft you can change your self-perception and emotional state.
 
For example, if you meditate for 1 minute every single day, sooner or later you will build your identity as someone who is a meditator and dedicated to self-care and health. This will allow you to expand the time spent in meditation as well as more easily build other health habits.
 
STORY PROMPTING TECHNIQUES
 
Story prompting techniques direct people towards new narratives by using subtle prompts that elicit new interpretations of reality.
 
Examples of story prompting techniques are mindset interventions, such as growth mindset interventions in educational settings. Another example is the power of stress perception mindsets to determine how stress impacts our health. The new science of stress shows that our perception of stress (whether it’s seen as a challenge or a threat) determines how it impacts us on a physiological level.
 
You can experience the power of a single intervention of story prompting by watching this Ted Talk which prompts you to adopt a stress positive mindset. This act alone can change your mindset and drastically improve your relationship to stress in the long-term.
 
My take-aways focused mainly on tools related to personal well-being (discussed in chapter 3) but if you’re involved in education, activism, or shaping culture in anyway, read his whole book as it’s packed with resources and interventions relevant to those realms as well.

Authored by Amy Daws, Massage + Shiatsu Therapist
 
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Late Summer season is a sweet spot of balance and also a highly transitional time of year. It is the turning point from the rising Yang energy of the Summer to the descending Yin energy of the Fall and Winter. This time of year is associated with the Earth Element and closely linked with digestion of food and experiences. During this time of year, it can be helpful to focus on activities that allow you to feel grounded and nurtured.
 
Digestion is one of the key functions of the Earth Element, making this element intrinsically tied to the ability to nourish and nurture oneself. The Earth Element is made up of the Spleen and Stomach Organ System. The Stomach’s main function is to “rot and ripen food and fluids,” preparing it for “transformation and transportation” by the Spleen. Both of these processes allow for energy from food to be converted into energy (Qi) in the body. The most commonly treated symptoms in TCM are tiredness and weakness from deficiency in either of these organ systems.
 
To support the digestive process, start with focusing on what you are eating. Foods that are warm and cooked are more easily processed by the Spleen and Stomach. Chew your food. The more you chew your food the more easily it can continue to be broken down by your digestive system and converted into energy (Qi). Turn off the TV and computer while you are eating. Focus your intention on the process of eating. Taste your food and be aware of how certain foods make you feel. Allow yourself to feel full and content after eating. Rest and allow yourself to assimilate the act of eating before moving to the next activity.
 
In addition to the digestion of food, the Spleen and Stomach are also strongly linked to the digestion of experiences. Taking time to assimilate and digest experiences can help you to feel more grounded. Take time to process the day in a way that works best for you. This could include journaling, creating art, walking or meditation. Focus on establishing or reestablishing routines. You could do this by focusing on waking and going to bed at the same time each day, engaging in physical activity in a way that supports you in feeling strong and stable, and taking time to be in nature. These are just a few ways that you can support the Earth Element during this time of year.
​

Authored by Amy Daws, CMT
 
Many people wait to get bodywork until they feel pain. I don't mean a little discomfort, I mean PAIN. Either there is an incidence of acute pain (ie: "pulled a muscle") or pain that has built up over time. Often clients schedule appointments with me when the pain has gotten to the point where they just can't manage it anymore.
 
What if you started getting bodywork before it got to the point of "I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE"?! 
 
I know, I know, you're busy and it's expensive and you have to plan ahead, but face it: you will feel better in the long run and have far less incidences of intense pain if you schedule regular (usually monthly) bodywork sessions as a part of your healthcare plan.

 
The Benefits of Regular Bodywork:
 
1) Bodywork increases body awareness. Regular bodywork sessions help you connect to and feel your body. The busyness of our culture often forces us to focus on getting s*%t done. In order to do this we are often also required to suppress feeling of fatigue, stress and pain. Increasing your body awareness may help you identify how your body responds to stress and help you make changes that will lead to a more balanced life.
 
2) A full body massage is like a full body scan. Each time you go in for a bodywork session you have the opportunity to feel all of the areas of your body in one fell swoop. You can identify how those areas of your body feel at that moment and also how they change from session to session.
 
3) Regular bodywork helps you connect the dots. You will start to see the patterns of tension in your body and feel how they are related to your activities. Do you often have the same three spots along your neck, shoulder and arm that hurt? Do these areas hurt more when you do a certain activity like using the computer? Noticing pain patterns and being able to connect them to motions you do in daily life is a major key to living pain free. Modifying your movements can help you break down tension that is building up and curb repetitive stress injuries.
 
4) Bodywork decreases overall stress and tension. Having a monthly bodywork routine along with other self care techniques for stress management allow you to release stress and tension that is stored in the body and just plain RELAX! This means less built up stress and tension which, in the long run, can lead to disease or chronic pain.
 
5) Regular appointments allow you to form a relationship with your therapist...and better bodywork sessions. Working with the same therapist over time lets you have a constant external barometer on your body. The therapist can get a strong sense of what patterns of tension you hold in your body and how they vary from session to session. Working with the same therapist over time also allows for greater depth in your sessions and success in achieving of your goals.
 
6) Regular bodywork often helps you in ways you didn't plan for or know existed. Regular bodywork helps increase circulation, regulate sleep and digestive functions, and general balancing of the body. It may help break down emotional issues that you struggle with or feelings of disconnectedness. Regular bodywork can have profound effects on the way that you live in the world that you did not expect or even anticipate.

As a bodyworker trained in Therapeutic Massage and Shiatsu, sessions with Amy focus on addressing your immediate concerns as well as the root cause.  She takes the time to listen to your concerns and all aspects of your health.