The Challenges of Aging Parents: As my parents have aged, and moved into more dementia (yes, both of them), my sibs and I have gone from frequent visits to their midwestern town, where they were beloved, to far more regular caregiving. In a herculean effort, we managed to pack up them and 15 suitcases of their most important belongings and get them on a plane to California…
Read MoreWe live in a culture with unrealistic and harmful ideas that we should be perpetually happy. This is not just unrealistic, it is harmful. Life is all about the ups and the downs. No person can experience great joy and ecstasy who has not also been deeply sad, or experienced grief. Still…. Our culture offers quick fixes (addictions, really) to all negative feelings. Eat this. Watch this. Do this. Buy this. Read this. Drink this. Take this.
Read MoreI don't know about you, but I have had a VERY busy spring—at work and at home—with multiple family members in need of support and medical care. And like any normal human, I sometimes hit my caregiving LIMIT and am just simply grumpy and ungrateful. When this happens, I pretty much write my own prescription, with the help and assistance of my friends and family (and especially my wonderful husband). I need to be alone and in nature
Read MoreI was spending some sweet time with my husband Doug recently, and he was helping me clarify my dreams for my work in the world. His significant encouragement and “boots on the ground” assistance with helping me give my gifts, brings me to tears just writing about it. It is, perhaps, the primary way I feel loved in the world, and he frequently gives me the leg up I need to be a brighter light, a more effective healer, a “good enough” mother, a raw example of a woman trying to do life with scraped knees and a loud song (not always on key).
Read MoreWinter rain and snow can contribute to an explosion of wildflowers and tree blooms—wonderful to look at, but a little hard on the pollen-sensitive. If you are welcoming the spring colors through itchy eyes and a runny nose, this article is for you.
Read MoreMany of my patients struggle with the holidays—whether alone and feeling at a distance from the holiday intensity, or flooded by sometimes challenging family and friends. Here’s a simple guide to finding peace, calm and real joy in this season.
Read MoreAs the cold of winter sets in, we spend more time indoors in close quarters, sharing warmth, companionship, and nascent viral infections. Coughing and sneezing spread viruses into our shared airspace. And blocking that cough or sneeze with our hands allows for the sharing of viruses with a friendly pat or handshake.
Read MoreAnxiety is like an enemy that steals the joy from life, which is painful for the anxious person and for all the people who love them. In this blog, I want to share some of the non-prescription secret weapons I use to help all the patients in my office find more peace on their paths to getting free of anxiety.
Read MoreI love lavender! And I went to the lavender museum in Coustellet, France and learned some new things that I'd like to share with you.
Are any of you feeling the impact of less light and shorter days on your mood and well being? I certainly am and I'm also hearing about it from my patients and friends. Ten to twenty percent of people have milder forms of depression associated with the onset of winter. This year I have gone all out—in the integrative sense—trying to support my own mood this winter and have had significant success. I wanted to share with all of you what I've learned from my research.
Read MoreLearn to make three different chocolatey snacks that are free from refined sugars!
Read MoreWe are all gifted with innate body wisdom. Being bodywise means connecting to the great intelligence that has evolved in our bodies through millennia of evolution. This embedded body wisdom kept us safe, helped us forage for food, and helped us find good mates.
Read MoreOur bodies are “talking” to us all the time—telling us with sensations, both pleasure and discomfort—what we need to feel safe, satiated, and at our optimal vitality. Being "bodywise" means listening to what our bodies are trying to tell us and making choices that help us live a life our body loves.
Read MoreI am so lucky to live in California, and to live by the beach, but I’ve been needing to be more careful of late, since taking up beach volleyball. My sun exposure just went through the roof, and I’ve been getting creative about how to have fun in the sun and still maintain the health of my skin!
Read MoreI am seeing an epidemic of anxious, stressed out teens, in my office and in my community. And I am not alone. There has been a significant increase in the number of teens and young adults with anxiety and depression in U.S. since the 1940’s. Why are young people becoming increasingly anxious and what can we do to help?
Read MoreI was blessed this past week with being asked to give two talks on BodyWise in Hawaii, and in between talks got to bask in the natural beauty and aloha spirit of the islands. I was touched by a few messages I received while there, that I wanted to share with you.
Read MoreYou probably don’t spend much time thinking about inflammation in your body, but inflammation is a buzz-word in the medical community these days is because it is such an important part of health and wellness.
Read MoreThis is a new diagnosis in my practice. And one with which I am, unfortunately, intimately familiar. Here are the symptoms: Waves of sadness and despair, with or without crying. A feeling that the solid ground has been pulled out from under you. A sense of isolation from the people in your country. Waking up in the morning okay, until you remember the election results — and the onset of tightness in your chest and grief. It’s like someone you love (your country, your hope, your belief in goodness) has died.
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