Natural Awakenings Washington, D.C. November 2016

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November 2016

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natural awakenings

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letterfrompublisher Dear Friends, contact us Publisher, Editor in Chief Robin Fillmore Contributing Editors Jessica Bradshaw Randy Kambic Editorial Intern Rachel Feidelman Design & Production Irene Sankey Sales Director Laina Poulakos Outreach Director Samantha Hudgins Natural Awakenings of Washington, D.C. Phone: 202-505-4835 4938 Hampden Lane, #214 Bethesda, MD 20814 Robin@NaturalAwakeningsDC.com NaturalAwakeningsDC.com ©2016 by Natural Awakenings. All rights reserved.

Although some parts of this publication may be reproduced and reprinted, we require that prior permission be obtained in writing.

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We do not necessarily endorse the views expressed in the articles and advertisements, nor are we responsible for the products and services advertised.

We welcome your ideas, articles and feedback.

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I am thankful for November—particularly this November. My son is getting married this month. We are joining together two families while helping to support the growth of a new branch in our family tree. In addition to having a great party planned and getting everyone together, the wedding will be a wonderful expression of the love shared by two of my favorite people in the world.

Aaron and Diane have been together since their freshmen year of college. I have watched them grow through college, handle their first jobs (and second jobs) and then a move together to Germany for a great work opportunity, as well as the chance to see Europe for a few years. So in this month when we are attuned to giving thanks, I am particularly grateful for the chance to celebrate their future together.

This month in Natural Awakenings, we focus on several themes. I have to admit that my mind was blown when I first read our feature on the powerful ways to avoid mental decline. Alzheimer’s disease scares me. I have vivid memories of my grandmother’s inability to remember my name in the years before she died.

Friends have slowly watched their parents lose their identities through this disease that seemed all but inevitable. But, perhaps there is hope on the horizon.

Research now being done to address the sources of damage to the aging brain is encouraging; namely, identifying potential nutritional and hormonal deficiencies, as well as environmental triggers. I used to joke with my husband that I hoped that the self-driving cars were common by the time I needed one. My new hope is that this research about keeping the aging mind sharp and disease-free blossoms into solid answers for each of us. Our feature provides information about some of the research being done, as well as suggestions for lifestyle changes and supplements that seem to be helping so many.

Along with our focus on healthy aging, we turn to natural beauty this month.

We offer tips on how to give a “One-Person Pamper Party” and introduce you to our region’s most innovative leaders in natural beauty and self-care. In my interview with Pilar, of Studio Pilar, she offered the important insight that so many of us take great care to eat only the healthiest of foods. However, we don’t necessarily apply the same care when we slather on lotions and chemicals over the largest organ in our body, namely, our skin.

Each of the highlighted entrepreneurs offer a different take on getting to natural beauty. We encourage you to enjoy and indulge in all that they have to offer.

Feel free to pamper yourself a bit, while getting healthy.

Our team at Natural Awakenings is thankful for our advertisers for sustaining us with great articles and access to their wonderful businesses and practices. We are equally thankful for you, our readers, who devour the magazine cover-to-cover and share the important insights with their friends and family. We hope that you have a gratitude-filled month.

Peace,

Robin Fillmore, Publisher

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

contents 6 6 newsbriefs balanced life. In each issue readers find cutting-edge information on natural health, nutrition, fitness, personal 9 healthbriefs growth, green living, creative expression and the products 12 globalbriefs and services that support a healthy lifestyle.

18 naturalwellness 14 STAY SHARP 22 consciouseating Powerful Ways to Avoid

Mental Decline 24 moneymatters 12 26 natural

beautyspotlights 18 KELLY BROGAN 14 ON THE TRUTH 27 healthyback Natural Awakenings is your guide to a healthier, more

by Lisa Marshall

directory 28 naturalhealing 30 healthymind 24 3 1 treatment

spotlight 32 yogadirectory 33 calendar 38 resourceguide

advertising & submissions HOW TO ADVERTISE To advertise with Natural Awakenings or request a media kit, please contact us at 202-505-4835 or email Robin@NaturalAwakeningsDC.com.

Deadline for ads: the 15th of the month.

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Email articles, news items and ideas to: Robin@NaturalAwakeningsDC.com. Deadline for editorial, news briefs and health briefs are due by the 10th.

ABOUT DEPRESSION Why Meds Don’t Work and What Does

by Kathleen Barnes

19 ONE-PERSON

PAMPER PARTY

Natural Ways to Refresh and Renew

by April Thompson

20 WORKPLACE WISDOM Mindfulness in Corporate Life

by April Thompson

22 WHOLE PLANT FOOD 101

Exploring the Heallth Benefits

by Gwyn Whittaker

25 THE ART OF BLESSING

Sanctifying Everyday Life

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by Dennis Merritt Jones

28 CLOUDY BRAIN FOG

CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS Submit Calendar Events online: NaturalAwakeningsDC.com within the advertising section.

Deadline for calendar: the 10th of the month.

Natural Ways to Deal with This Common Symptom of Our Fast-Paced Modern Lifestyle

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Natural Awakenings Publishing Corp. is a growing franchised family of locally owned magazines serving communities since 1994. To place your ad in other markets call 239-449-8309. For franchising opportunities call 239-530-1377 or visit NaturalAwakeningsMag.com.

29 A GAME OF SCALES

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by Isabel Sharkar

A Dance of Judgement and Self-Doubt

by Elizabeth McMillan

30 iREST MEDITATION

A Tool to Meet the Stress of Life and Increase Well-Being

by Karen Soltes

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November 2016

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newsbrief A Farewell Tribute

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atural Awakenings Publishing Corporation’s family of 95 magazines bid a fond farewell to company President Larry Levine, with many joining in on a call and sending notes, prayers and good thoughts prior to his passing on September 23. Levine enthusiastically contributed his all with a host of talents focused on forwarding our collective mission of providing publishers and readers with the tools needed to help us all create a healthier, more sustainable world together.

Founder and CEO Sharon Bruckman honors her Larry Levine partner, saying, “Our home office and publishers are truly saddened to lose the beautifully loving, guiding light that Larry generously shared with us throughout the past 12 years. His impact on our lives and Natural Awakenings‘ success will continue to bless our readers. We will miss him dearly.”

One of Levine’s last gifts to the company was recommending Pat McGroder as vice president of franchise development. “We welcome Pat, already feeling blessed by the 24 years of experience he brings in highly successful publishing and franchising endeavors,” says Bruckman. McGroder will now also assume some of the operational responsibilities formerly managed by Levine.

For more information, call:239-434-9392 or visit NaturalAwakeningsMag.com.

Pat McGroder

DC Supersonic Kirtan for All

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irtan is call-and-response chanting of sacred sound accompanied by the playing of musical instruments. This enlivening spiritual practice is an integral part of the tradition of devotional yoga called Bhakti yoga that originated in India many centuries ago. Join the DC Supersonic Kirtan All-Stars for a transcendental kirtan party that will rock your socks off. The party takes place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on November 5, in Rockville.

You don’t need to be from India, or do yoga, or have a great voice or subscribe to any particular spiritual belief to enjoy kirtan—just bring your open hearts, dancing feet and clapping hands. Come chant with them and stick around for free vegan cookies afterward. Kids are welcome. Chant sheets for the mantras are always provided.

DC Supersonic Kirtan is characterized by soulful and ecstatic chanting of ancient Sanskrit mantras, infused with both modern and traditional melodies and some of the most rockin’ live drumming you will ever experience.

Suggested Donation: $10-$15. Location: Thrive Yoga, 1321 Rockville Pike, Ste. B, Rockville. For more information, visit them on FB at Facebook.com/ DC-Supersonic-Kirtan-124750257577382/timeline/.

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Why Massage Therapy is One of the Fastest Growing Professions

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assage therapy, as a profession, is growing three times faster than the national average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In part, this is due to the peer-reviewed journals and healthcare professionals that are discovering the amazing medical benefits of therapeutic massage.

Potomac Massage Training Institute (PMTI), noted as one of the top schools in the country, is now accepting applicants for their professional training program, starting in February. They are holding information sessions from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on November 16 and December 14 for those interested in learning more.

Whether it’s increasing mobility and quality of life in clients with arthritis, or relaxation and rejuvenation for clients with stress and anxiety, massage has been proven to help. Professional athletes and exercise enthusiasts are taking advantage of the improved recovery and performance.

Additionally, a growing trend in the greater D.C. area is for employers to bring in massage therapists regularly, because they realized that happy and healthy employees are more productive and enthusiastic. PMTI works with employers to provide licensed massage therapists for seated massages in the workplace.

To experience the amazing work that can be done by PMTI therapists (and students), their massage clinic offers the best low-cost massages, with rates for one-hour massages at $39 (from students) or $59 (from graduates).

Location: 8380 Colesville Rd., Ste. 600, Silver Spring. For more information, call 202-686-7046 or visit PMTI.org. See listing, page 27.

Satprem’s Dolphin-Healing Rose Wellness Center Welcomes Adventure on the Red Sea, Egypt Functional Chiropractor

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here are only a few places where one can swim freely with wild dolphins and the Red Sea is one of them. In April, Satprem will offer the Dolphin-Healing Adventure.

Everyone who commits to the Self is welcome. The dates for these adventures are either March 30 to April 6 or April 6 to April 13.

Up to 18 people per trip will share seven days of silence, laughter and exchanges on a boat in the Red Sea. Together they will meditate, swim and snorkel with dolphins in their own living environment and have healing circles. Satprem will also give “whole-istic” healing sessions to those who want and need it. Every day will be spent at sea, with fresh air blowing in your face, swimming, reading, snorkeling, dancing, relaxing and connecting to yourself and nature.

There will be two people sharing an en-suite cabin. Delicious vegetarian food will be cooked by two chefs. Alcohol and cigarettes are not welcome but with all the activity and healing taking place, no one will miss them at all.

Participants arrange their own flights to Hurghada, Egypt, where they will meet as a group. From there, the participants select their snorkeling and diving equipment and then drive through the scenery of the Egyptian dessert to the yacht, and the Dolphin Adventure begins.

Included in the trip: all transfers, six nights all-inclusive in double-cabin on boat with meals, snacks, drinks, daily-guided mediation and small healing circles. Not included are individual sessions, larger healing circle, flights, Visa and the cancellation fee.

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For more information, including pricing, call 518-7887062 or 518-280-0509 or email IKieraHealing@gmail.com.

Location: 2944 Hunter Mill Rd., Ste. 101, Oakton, VA. For more information, visit RoseWellness.com. See ad, page 16.

ose Wellness Center in Oakton, Virginia, is pleased to welcome Dr. Vishal Verma, DC, CCSP, to their team of integrative wellness practitioners. Verma provides functional chiropractic services for all kinds of chronic and acute pain management.

As well as being a doctor of chiropractic, Verma is a boardcertified chiropractic sports physician, specializing in orthopedics, biomechanical evaluation, neurolDr. Vishal Verma ogy and rehabilitation services. He will be working closely with the Rose Wellness team of integrative wellness practitioners as they strive to provide comprehensive integrative and functional medicine services to the community.

He focuses on treating root causes using gentle chiropractic, physical therapy, cold laser therapy, soft tissue therapy and rehabilitation for fast effective results.

He prides himself on providing one-on-one personalized care to his patients and working with the medical physicians concurrently for optimal outcomes.

Verma has helped thousands of patients experience a pain-free life. He grew up in northern Virginia and attended George Mason University and had a private practice in the area, providing cutting-edge technologies and care. He has been in Las Vegas the past three years practicing at a wellness center specializing in functional medicine and conservative pain management.

Ultimately, the love of family brought Verma back to northern Virginia permanently, where he will be living with his wife and daughter. He looks forward to making a difference in your life and bringing functional integrative chiropractic care to the forefront.

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men. ~Roald Dahl

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newsbriefs Unique Talents for Your Health

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eck Back & Beyond Healing Arts is excited to have the unique talents of Nathalie Depastas, MS, MMQG, LMT, Lic.AC, on their wellness team. Depastas is a licensed acupuncturist, shiatsu, massage therapist and medical qigong practitioner with more than 30 years of experience.

Qigong is a mindbody practice that improves one’s mental and physical health by integrating postures, movement, breathing techniques and focused intenDr. Nathalie Depastas tion. Shiatsu is a form of Japanese bodywork based on the theoretical framework of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Shiatsu means “finger pressure”. Today, Shiatsu has a number of different styles. Some concentrate on acupressure (acupuncture) points, while others emphasize more general work on the body or along the pathways of energy to influence the qi that flows in them.

The body is its own greatest healer, yet, when illness takes hold, the forces that heal are commonly depleted or diminished. Depastas is highly skilled and intuitive using these ancient treatment modalities to stimulate strong healing forces within the body. With qigong, she teaches her patients movements that also build these same vital healing forces at home or office.

Location: 10560 Main St., Ste. PH-1, Fairfax. For more information or to schedule a group or individual session with Nathalie Depastas, call 703-865-5690, email NeckBackAndBeyond@ gmail.com or visit NeckBackAndBeyond.com. See ad, page 16.

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Resolve Neck and Back Pain with Rolfing Structural Integration

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he human body was not designed to be hunched for hours in the same position, whether at a computer at work or watching TV at home. This static position develops poor posture that can cause as much trouble as repetitive motions that strain muscles.

When we sit for long periods, the resulting shape gets locked in the body’s fascia, the connective tissue that surrounds every muscle, like vacuum packing. In sitting, the hip flexors are shortened, the spine is often compressed, and if we are at a desk, our head is likely thrust forward, weighing on the neck and back.

When locked in place by a habitual posture, the fascia loses its resilience and we feel trapped in a pattern that stresses our muscles, joints and nerves, causing discomfort, pain and ongoing poor posture.

Stretching or other exercise is not always a practical solution. A great way to jump-start a positive change is a series of Rolfing Structural Integration sessions. In this hands-on method, a Certified Advanced Rolfer evaluates the body’s alignment—identifying how the fascia is restricted, causing pain and posture problems—and frees it to sculpt the body back into its natural state of balance and ease, mainly using hands and forearms. These experts also advise patients on better sitting posture and more efficient body movement.

Source: Anne F. Hoff, certified advanced Rolfer and member of the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration faculty in Boulder, CO. For more information on Rolfing, call the Rolf Institute at 303-449-5903 or visit Rolf.org. See ad, page 22 .

healthbriefs

Giving Thanks for CBD

Self-Care Water Rituals

by Teresa Boardwine ater is essential to our health, and every cell in our body. Rituals performed using water are as ancient as man. Water changes it’s structure as it takes on the energy of words directed at it, noted Masaru Emoto.

Therefore, praying over our waters, then drinking it and bathing in it can be rituals for a busy modern woman.

Self-care rituals include making a tea to drink throughout the day. In herbal medicine, one can create formulas to add nourishing herbs such as nettles, damiana, holy basil (tulsi), lemon grass and lemon balm. Simply boil water, steep one-quarter cup of the herbal blend for 20 to 30 minutes, strain, add honey and drink.

This tea ritual is a wonderful way to revitalize the body, mind and spirit. Water is the essential element, replenishing and cleansing. As you prepare the tea, pray for peace, safety, clarity and health, and these will become a part of the tea you consume.

Bathing is another opportunity for a self-care ritual using water as the cleansing element. It is deeply relaxing to sit in a hot tub of water with the addition of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate), to relax the muscles and draw out toxins.

The ritual begins with the drawing of the bath as the water runs in. Pour in some essential oil for revitalizing mind, body and spirit; lemon is uplifting, rosemary for memory, lavender for relaxing—to shift your disposition while taking your cares away. It is a perfect place to meditate, pray or allow the emotional dump. It only requires 30 minutes to reset your mental outlook, restore your physical sense of well-being and relax before bed.

Water, our gift—a necessity and a ritual—is the essential ingredient to restore health, clear skin, maintain our waste elimination and refocus our day. Let’s give gratitude for water.

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Teresa Boardwine, RH (AHG), is the founder of Green Comfort School of Herbal Medicine. She has been an herbalist for 23 years and is registered with the American Herbalist Guild. For more information, email at Green.Comfort@gmail.com or visit GreenComfortHerbSchool.com. See listing, page 21.

by Katherine Leo n this month of thanks, it is a good time to share health success stories with cannabidiol or CBD and hear why so many are thankful for the cutting-edge research and tremendous relief offered by this safe, effective ancient healing remedy. Here are just a few of the many testimonials that have been received.

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■ I am thankful that I found CBD. It helps with my sleep, mood and overall well-being. - Mike ■ I am thankful for CBD oil now that I have released weight, have my cellulitis under control and off mood meds. - Lee ■ I am so happy and grateful for the CBD salve. It helped with a rash when nothing else did. - Kat ■ I’m so happy and grateful that someone shared her CBD salve with me. I was stung on my eyelid.

Within minutes the pain and swelling went down. - Marie ■ These oils are amazing! No more hot flashes. So thankful for CBD! - Veronica ■ The CBD vape helped me quit smoking. I smoked for over 30 years!

Wow, so very thankful. - Pat ■ I love my CBD! I have so much energy now. I’m thankful that it balances out my body. - Sara

These are a few of the many success stories people are having with CBD oil and could be just what you need to be thankful for this year.

For more information, visit CBD RevolutionUS.com. See this month’s ad for a list of ailments that CBD helps. See ad, page 3.

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healthbriefs

Bring up the Spice for Health

by Laina Poulakos picy cayenne pepper has many health benefits, in addition to providing a tasty zing to chili and other flavorful dishes.

There is so much more to this pepper, as the caspsaicin in cayenne is an active ingredient that brings many health benefits.

Cayenne is used in many muscle rubs to soothe pain. Just mix a few dashes of cayenne and a few teaspoons of olive oil to concoct a soothing rub to be used after a hard workout.

Another benefit of cayenne—it can be used to suppress the appetite and burns calories. It does this by increasing the body temperature and improving circulation.

Cayenne is also beneficial when suffering from a cold or flu. It is a powerful decongestant, by stimulating the release of mucus. Just sprinkling cayenne on food will provide health benefits when attempting to fend off a cold as the weather gets chilly.

Plus, cayenne is helpful in regulating blood sugar, which can help diabetics.

Last, but not least, the capsaicin in cayenne is helpful with skin conditions such as psoriasis, helping with the symptoms of itching.

With so many health benefits to this pepper, it is worth having it in the spice rack and the medicine cabinet.

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Laina Poulakos is the founder of Mother’s Nature Store and a certified aromatherapist and herbologist. For a consultation and products, call 703-851-0087 or visit MothersNatureStore.com. See ad, page 31.

Gut Bacteria Linked to Toddler Temperament

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Pressmaster/Shutterstock.com

hio State University researchers have discovered a correlation between bacteria in the gut and behavior in toddlers. Scientists studied the bacterial microbes in stool samples from 77 girls and boys between the ages of 18 months and 27 months, while mothers filled out a questionnaire describing their children’s level of emotional reactivity.

The study found that positive behavioral traits occurred more frequently in children with the most diverse types of gut bacteria. These included mood, curiosity, sociability and impulsivity. The correlation was particularly strong in boys.

Lisa Christian, Ph.D., a researcher with the Ohio State Institute for Behavioral Medicine research, and her co-author, Microbiologist Michael Bailey, Ph.D., plan to use the information to help uncover some mysteries related to the origin of chronic illness. “There is substantial evidence that intestinal bacteria interact with stress hormones; the same hormones that have been implicated in chronic illnesses like obesity and asthma,” explains Christian. “A toddler’s temperament gives us a good idea of how they react to stress. This information, combined with an analysis of their gut microbiome, could ultimately help us to detect and prevent chronic health issues [from developing] earlier.”

Source: Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science 10

Washington, D.C.

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

The Power of Numbers: Group Fitness

by Rachel Feidelman hen going to the doctor for a yearly checkup, being told to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day is pretty standard advice. When told to do so, the image of endless rows of treadmills at the gym often comes to mind.

However, taking fitness from a personal requirement to a group interest proves extreme benefits.

Group fitness, whether it be attending a class at a local gym, running an organized 5K with some friends or anything in between, makes it much more difficult to back out or come up with excuses. A 2012 Indiana University study revealed that married couples who went to the gym separately had a 43 percent drop out rate in one year, while those who went together averaged a mere 6.3 percent.

More than the accountability factor, when working out in a group setting, it is not unnatural to push oneself harder than when alone, in an often-subconscious attempt to outshine others. When running next to a friend, it’s difficult not to compare speeds, leading to an overall increase in the speed of both people in the long run.

Additionally, attending community events and classes provides diversity in one’s workouts that may not be achievable after getting stuck in the same old routine of going to the gym every day.

Above all else, exercising with other people, strangers and friends alike, provides the chance to be social and connect with others on a level that is becoming increasingly rare today. With technology dependence higher than ever before, putting down the iPhone and sharing a fun workout with others who have similar goals is a benefit that cannot be measured.

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Rachel Feidelman is a junior at the University of Maryland, studying journalism and economics.

Undrey/Shutterstock.com

Exercising Women Have Fewer C-Sections

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recent study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that regular exercise during pregnancy can reduce the rate of Cesarean deliveries.

Conducted by Thomas Jefferson University Medical College researchers, the study followed more than 2,000 pregnant women split into two randomized groups. Half of them exercised 35 to 90 minutes, three to four times a week, while the others did not. Just under 18 percent of the women in the exercise group ended up having Cesarean deliveries versus 22 percent in the non-exercising group.

Exercising during pregnancy also appears to improve gestational health.

The study participants that worked out regularly experienced a lower incidence of both hypertensive disorders and diabetes mellitus.

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News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefits all.

Thanksgiving Lite

Turning the Tide for Turkeys

photo courtesy of the Farm Sanctuary

Turkeys and Thanksgiving go together for 88 percent of Americans surveyed by the National Turkey Federation.

Each year, more than 46 million turkeys provide the entrée for gatherings, yielding leftovers for sandwiches, stew, chili, casseroles and turkey burgers. In 2011, 736 million pounds of turkey were consumed in the U.S., while a few lucky birds avoided the chopping block.

The pardoning of a White House turkey began in 1863 when President Lincoln’s son, Tad, interceded on behalf of the bird and its life was spared. Now a tradition, two dressed birds and one live turkey are delivered to the White House each year. The live bird is “pardoned” and lives out its life on a historical farm.

At the Farm Sanctuary, turkeys get sponsored or adopted instead of eaten.

“Turkeys are friendly and follow you around like puppy dogs. They’ll try to sit on your lap to be petted,” says Gene Baur, president and co-founder of the sanctuary’s New York and two California locations. “At our Celebration for the Turkeys, we feed them cranberries, pumpkin pie and squash. People visit to see them enjoy it.

Guests’ snacks are vegan.”

Hundreds of turkeys have been adopted and given a lifelong home since the program’s inception in 1986. More than 8,000 people pledged to sponsor a turkey living at the sanctuary in a recent year, proving it’s not necessary to be a president to pardon a turkey.

Source: FarmSanctuary.org/giving/adopt-a-turkey

Message Received

Conventional Grocery Chains Go Organic Arina P Habich/Shutterstock.com

The Kroger grocery chain, with nearly 2,500 U.S. stores, including subsidiaries Ralphs, Fry’s, King Soopers and Food 4 Less, has decided to go all in on the organic food market as a follow-up to the 2012 release of its Simple Truth brand of organic foods.

Kroger President Michael Ellis says, “We’re really just answering the customer’s call for more and better,” giving Whole Foods Market more competition.

Walmart has also begun to satisfy the growing health concerns of its shoppers by integrating organic options in its supermarkets. Now the challenge is for organic farming—which intentionally works to minimize agricultural impacts on the health of people and the planet—to meet the greater demand nationwide for healthier foods. Although implementation will vary depending on climate, experts advise that it begins with farms adopting healthy soil practices. It’s up to consumers to keep the momentum going.

Source: Healthy-Holistic-Living.com 12

Washington, D.C.

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Stoned Doggies Dangers vs. Benefits of Pet Marijuana

As of June, half of the states and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of medical marijuana for humans.

People wonder if it’s also suited for pets, too, and need to investigate the parameters and consequences carefully.

“It’s not legal in any state for veterinarians to prescribe or recommend medical marijuana,” says Dr. Carol Osborne, owner of Ohio’s Chagrin Falls Veterinary Center & Pet Clinic. “Done properly, it could have applications, but it’s not standardized, dosage amounts are unknown and without U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation, there’s no guarantee what you think you’re buying is what you get.

“Dogs that get into the stash or sneak-eat marijuana-laced food can experience wobbling when walking, trembling and potential seizures,” Osborne notes. “I haven’t heard of any cases of death, but as with any prescription drug, practice responsible ownership by keeping it out of the reach of curious children and pets.”

“THC [tetrahydrocannabinol] in marijuana produces the high,” explains Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Robert Silver, author of Medical Marijuana & Your Pet: The Definitive Guide. “Dogs are extremely sensitive to THC, much more so than any other species studied.”

Silver believes there are uses for cannabinoid oil, derived from hemp, which has very low levels of THC; pet owners in an end-of-life situation with no hope of recovery have used it to ease pain, stimulate appetite and add quality to final days.

Reference: Tinyurl.com/PetMedical MarijuanaGuide

Stark Mark

Zoo Zapped

Source: Nature.com

Safer Citizens

Germany to Ban Fracking Permanently txking/Shutterstock.com

The German government has ruled to ban the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for shale gas in the country, but will allow test drilling in certain circumstances, reports Reuters. The industry has lobbied to continue fracking, which involves blasting chemicals and water into underground rock formations to release trapped gas, but strong opposition has persisted throughout the nation, with a powerful green lobby warning of possible risks to drinking water. Germany follows France and Bulgaria, which have already permanently banned fracking.

Buenos Aires Moves Animals to Nature Reserves The 140-year-old zoo in Buenos Aires is shutting down to give the animals a better life. Mayor Horacio Rodríguez Larreta agrees with activists that keeping wild animals in captivity and on display is degrading, so the zoo’s 2,500 animals will be moved to more suitable living environments in nature reserves around the country.

Older animals and those too sick to be relocated will remain in their current home, but not displayed.

The 45-acre zoo will be transformed into an eco-park to give children a place to learn how to take care of and relate with the different species. It also will provide refuge and rehabilitation for animals rescued from illegal trafficking.

Sarunyu_foto/Shutterstock.com

Record carbon dioxide levels will surpass the symbolic threshold of 400 parts per million (ppm) this year and will likely never fall below it again in our lifetimes, according to a new study published recently in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The findings highlight urgent concerns about global efforts to curb climate change as outlined in the Paris agreement negotiated last December and signed in April by nearly 170 nations. Carbon concentrations have passed the 400 ppm limit before, but never permanently.

The authors state, “In the longer term, a reduction in CO2 concentration would require substantial and sustained cuts in anthropogenic [humanly influenced] emissions to near zero.” The determined safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a maximum of around 350 ppm, according to climate advocates.

Billion Photos/Shutterstock.com

Carbon Dioxide Passes Climate-Warming Threshold

Source: Ecowatch.com

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carla castagno/Shutterstock.com

STAY SHARP Powerful Ways to Avoid Mental Decline

by Lisa Marshall

A

slow descent into dementia seemed inevitable for a 66-yearold man that had been misplacing his keys, missing appointments and struggling at work. He failed doctor-administered cognitive quizzes and tested positive for a gene variant linked to an exponentially higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease. A brain scan revealed scattered clusters of sticky, amyloid plaque—a hallmark of the disease. His hippocampus, or memory center, had shrunk to rank in the lowest 17 percent of men his age.

Told there wasn’t much that could be done, he sought the help of University of California, Los Angeles Alzheimer’s researcher Dale Bredesen, a neurologist and founding president of the independent Buck Institute for Research on Aging. He recommended a personalized, 36-point plan, including a high-fat/low-carb diet, intermittent

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fasting, strict sleep schedule, select dietary supplements and other lifestyle changes. Within three months, family members reported marked improvements in his memory. At 10 months, brain scans revealed his hippocampus had grown 12 percent.

“Such improvements are unprecedented,” says Bredesen, who described this and nine other hopeful cases in a provocative paper published in June in the journal Aging. “These are the first examples of a reversal of cognitive decline in pre- and early Alzheimer’s patients.”

Addressing the Sources

Bredesen is among a small but growing group of researchers, physicians, caregivers and patients challenging the conventional wisdom that the road to dementia goes one way, with no cure or repair of damage done. They argue that the key to both prevention and

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reversal, at least in early stages, is to pinpoint its numerous drivers—from nutritional and hormonal deficiencies and exposure to infection to environmental toxins and harmful drugs—and attack them simultaneously. It’s a stark departure from the classic, often unsuccessful, one-pill treatment approach. Of the 244 clinical trials for Alzheimer’s drugs between 2002 and 2012, all but one failed.

“Imagine having a roof with 36 holes in it, and your drug patched one hole. You still have 35 leaks,” says Bredesen, who believes his synergistic approach—the Bredesen Protocol—can likely make Alzheimer’s drugs work better or render them unnecessary. Skeptical colleagues point out that Bredesen’s paper described only 10 case studies, not a clinical trial. “It is intriguing, but not enough to make recommendations to physicians or patients,” says Keith Fargo, Ph.D., director of scientific programs and outreach for the Chicagobased Alzheimer’s Association. “The current consensus in the scientific community is that we do not have a way to reverse dementia.”

While agreeing that a larger study is needed, Neurologist David Perlmutter, of Naples, Florida, whose bestsellers Brain Maker and Grain Brain promote nutritional changes for supporting brain health, considers Bredesen’s study revolutionary. “To reverse Alzheimer’s in one patient is monumental, much less 10,” says Perlmutter.

They recently presented together at a conference organized by Sharp Again Naturally, a New York nonprofit that educates patients and caregivers about natural means of slowing and reversing cognitive decline.

After losing her mother to Alzheimer’s, the nonprofit’s co-founder, Jacqui Bishop, 74, stopped her own frightening decline by changing her diet and getting her thyroid hormone levels under control via supplements.

Now she’s helping others do the same.

She says, “We are trying to change the conversation from one of despair to one of hope.”

Mending Body and Brain

Key to Bredesen’s approach is the notion that instead of being one disease, Alzheimer’s consists of three sub-types

with distinct drivers: inflammation or infection; harmful environmental exposures; and/or lack of neuron-nurturing hormones. To determine which one to target, he tests patients for blood-sugar, inflammation and hormone levels, heavy metals and critical nutrients such as D and B vitamins. Then he crafts a personalized plan.

He notes that the 10 years it can take to progress from subtle decline to full-blown Alzheimer’s provides a huge opportunity. “Ideally, we want people to come in when they have mild impairment or are asymptomatic,” says Bredesen, advising that tests be done for the APOE4, or “Alzheimer’s gene” in one’s 40s. “People have not wanted to know in the past because they’ve been told there is nothing they can do about it. We completely disagree.”

One way to stay cognitively sharp is to eat fewer carbs (which boost blood sugar) and eat more fat, says Perlmutter.

“There is a clear relationship between elevated levels of blood sugar and increased risk of Alzheimer’s.”

One study, published in 2013 in the New England Journal of Medicine, tracked 2,067 healthy adults for seven years and found that the higher their average glucose level, even if they weren’t diabetic, the more likely they were to develop dementia. For instance, those with a level of 115 milligrams per deciliter were 18 percent more at risk than those measuring 100 milligrams per deciliter.

A 2012 study published in Neurology followed 266 adults for four years and found that those with higher blood sugar saw certain areas of the brain shrink 6 to 10 percent more than those with lower blood sugar. Gluten can also be problematic, advises Perlmutter, when it’s inflammatory and driving brain degeneration.

In contrast, good fat, like that in avocados, fatty fish, coconut oil and walnuts, serves as a foundation for neurons and an efficient, clean-burning fuel source for the brain. This is particularly helpful in someone with early-stage Alzheimer’s, says Bredesen, because the disease can make it harder for the brain

to use sugar for fuel. In some cases, both doctors recommend an extremely low-carb, or “ketogenic” diet (fewer than 60 grams of carbs per day). Starved of carbohydrates, the liver produces fat-like compounds called ketones, a brain-fuel source shown to stimulate growth of new neural networks.

Bredesen also recommends 12 hours of fasting each night, with zero food intake within three hours of going to sleep. Fasting promotes a process called autophagy, by which the brain essentially cleans itself of damaged cellular material. Eight hours of sleep is also vital. According to University of Rochester research, the space between brain cells opens up during sleep, allowing cleansing channels of fluid to flow more freely. “If you were operating your house 24/7 with no time to rest or clean, it would be disastrous,” says Bredesen.

“The same is true of your brain.”

Also, they say, keep teeth clean because bacterial infections, including those in the gums, have been shown to hasten formation of neuron-killing plaque. Also critically examine the prescription drugs being ingested. A recent study of 74,000 people published in JAMA Neurology found that regular use of heartburn drugs like Prilosec and Nexium increased dementia risk by 42 to 52 percent. Meanwhile, anticholinergic drugs like Benadryl and statin drugs prescribed to manage cholesterol have also been linked to increased dementia. “We see ‘statin brain’ all the time,” observes Perlmutter, who says once patients go off the drugs, they tend to get better.

False Hope or Sound Advice

Fargo says researchers are keenly interested in many of the ideas in Bredesen’s paper. Although it’s too early to endorse them, numerous studies are underway. But he wonders if some patients that assert that they’ve reversed dementia actually suffered from something else, like sleep apnea or depression.

Bredesen stands by his research, asserting that the 10 patients in his paper had all been formally diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or its precursors. One

Thanthima Lim/Shutterstock.com

Lifestyle changes can prevent and slow cognitive decline.

Some say they also reverse it.

Get-Smart Supplements Curcumin: This potent constituent in turmeric (the yellow spice that gives curry its flavor) has been shown to combat many of the problems that contribute to brain degeneration, including inflammation, free radical damage and high blood sugar. It also boosts growth of new brain cells.

Take 500 milligrams (mg) twice daily or eat a diet rich in curry.

DHA (docosahexaenoic acid): This omega-3 fatty acid serves as a key building block for brain cell membranes. Take 1,000 mg daily (derived from fish oil or algae) or eat lots of fatty fish.

Coconut oil: It’s rich in medium-chain triglycerides, an efficient, clean-burning fuel source for the brain. Take one or two teaspoons daily.

Probiotics: These help fortify the intestinal lining, reducing the gut permeability and inflammation that can impact cognitive health. They also support production of key neurotransmitters and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor brain growth hormone. Look for supplements or foods containing Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus brevis, Bifidobacterium lactis and Bifidobacterium longum.

B vitamins: High levels of the amino acid homocysteine have long been linked to increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease; have levels checked and if they’re elevated, B6 and B12 can reduce them.

Source: David Perlmutter

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69-year-old entrepreneur that was planning to close his business after 11 years of mental decline is now expanding it. A 49-year-old woman that scored poorly on neuropsychological tests showed no signs of cognitive decline when she was tested again nine months later. In all, more than 100 people have participated in the program. “We have people that are fourand-a-half years out and doing very well,” he says, noting that such strategies aren’t likely to work for someone with advanced Alzheimer’s.

In some cases, the results may be more subtle, but for those caring for a sick loved one, any positive progress means a lot. Paul Tramontozzi knows.

After his father, then 75, was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, the New York City financial advisor attended a Sharp Again Naturally meeting seeking advice. “I was skeptical, but when the answer you get from everyone else is, ‘There’s nothing you can do,’ you become more willing to listen.” He took his father off his cholesterol medication, fed him spoonfuls of coconut oil daily and put him on

Resources Alzheimer’s Association, alz.org Buck Institute for Research on Aging, BuckInstitute.org David Perlmutter, DrPerlmutter.com MPI Cognition, MPICognition.com Sharp Again Naturally, SharpAgain.org a specific supplement regimen. His balance improved and he could participate in family outings again. “If you had told me a few years ago we’d be able to take Dad to a restaurant for his 80th birthday, I would have said, ‘No way.’ But we did.”

Tramontozzi says his father isn’t cured, but the advice he obtained facilitated more time together and insights on how to avoid a similar fate. “These are all things a healthy 37-year-old should be doing right now anyway. I just wish we’d found out earlier.”

Lisa Marshall is a freelance health writer in Boulder, CO. Connect at LisaAnnMarshall.com.

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To see people struggle through class but still come back day after day is amazing. It’s wonderful to be a part of their stories and to know that they are becoming at peace with themselves.”

wisewords

Kelly Brogan on the Truth About Depression

Why Meds Don’t Work and What Does

by Kathleen Barnes

I

ntegrative medical doctor Kelly Brogan, a women’s health psychiatrist and author of A Mind of Your Own, has turned the world of neuropsychiatry on its head by revealing that depression can be reversed without a single prescription drug. She asserts that depression is not caused by imbalanced brain chemistry, but by lifestyle choices that unbalance the entire human physiology. That’s why conventional antidepressants generally don’t work. She instead prescribes eliminating foods that trigger inflammation in order to rebalance all body systems.

According to the National Institute for Mental Health, depression annually affects 15.7 million adult Americans, or about 8.3 percent of the population.

What’s your stand on the illness model of medicine and how you arrived there?

My training as a conventional doctor was predicated on a disease care model that offers patients only one solution—a prescription. We have never had a shot at true wellness, having handed over our health to corporations loyal to their shareholders, rather than to us.

Conventional medicine is based on the notion that we are born broken and need chemicals to feel better; the body is a machine that needs recalibration; and doctors always know what they are doing. After investing thousands of hours

researching what would aid my own journey back from health challenges, I saw how we have been duped.

Health is our natural state, and we can restore it by natural means. The way to prevent and reverse illness is to communicate with the body in a language it understands. It’s so simple, yet society considers it an act of rebellion to consider this kind of lifestyle.

Which science supports your conclusion that antidepressant drugs don’t work for most patients?

Taking an antidepressant for depression is like taking a Tylenol for a shard of glass in your foot. Wouldn’t you rather just remove it? Antidepressants don’t work the way we think they do and come with risks, including impulsive violence and debilitating withdrawal. They also can distract from an opportunity to identify the real cause of symptoms, one that is entirely reversible, in my experience.

Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and Lexapro are commonly prescribed to treat depression by boosting serotonin levels.

There are many studies debunking their use and effectiveness. The 2012 Ottawa Hospital Research Institute study led by Paul Albert, Ph.D., concluded, “Direct serotonin-enhancing effects of antidepressants disturb energy homeostasis and worsen symptoms.”

As far back as 1998, Irving Kirsch, Ph.D., an expert on the placebo effect at Harvard Medical School, published a meta-analysis of the treatment of 3,000 patients, finding that drugs improved depression in only 27 percent of the cases.

What’s the link between women, high blood sugar, diabetes, obesity and depression?

When I meet a patient that complains about irritability, anxiety, foggy thinking, fatigue and insomnia, I visually plot her day-to-day symptoms on a mental graph. I find that the sugar rollercoaster accounts for the vast majority of diabetes, obesity, depression and other symptoms troubling my patients, especially women.

Sugar disturbs mental health in at least three ways: It starves the brain by causing blood sugar highs and lows that can eventually cause insulin resistance, diabetes and even Alzheimer’s disease; promotes inflammation, which is closely linked to depression; and derails hormones by raising levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body’s effort to balance blood sugars.

Depression also has roots in thyroid imbalances, which are common in women more than 40 years old, and in food intolerances, especially to gluten, soy and corn, that can affect the brain in unpredictable ways.

Is there a general protocol that seems to work best?

While there are no quick fixes, I see turnarounds every week because I help my patients see the benefits of simple choices like avoiding wheat and wheat products. You need a month of serious commitment to quit sugar, alcohol, coffee, wheat and dairy. Then you discover you aren’t an irritable, tired, forgetful person, which is its own incentive toward feeling better. It’s the basis to make choices with your own fully informed consent. Applying such information leads to long-term change and healing.

Kathleen Barnes has authored numerous natural health books, including Food Is Medicine: 101 Prescriptions from the Garden. Connect at KathleenBarnes.com.

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One Breath at a Time

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W

e have a primary need for oxygen—from our skin and lungs down to our cellular level. Even our molecules and atoms need us to breathe, Breathing keeps blood oxygenated so it can pump and flow through the body. Welloxygenated blood also helps the body distribute and absorb vitamins, especially vitamins C, D and the B’s. Vitamins A and K (found in the same food as C, D and B’s) help your blood maintain its oxygen levels.

What a wonderfully symbiotic relationship. These vitamins are also key with maintaining your physical health and emotional well-being in In the cold and dark months of winter.

How amazing! Our bodies know better than we do that breathing well helps us live well.

Breathing deeply and fully helps maintain your lung health. When you breathe shallowly, you only use the portion of your lungs closest to your trachea and bronchus. The exterior part, the part that all the mucus likes to settle into, becomes weak and dirty, covered with hardening mucus and easily infected nodules. Shallow breathing makes you more susceptible to colds, viruses, pneumonia, bronchitis, etc. Like any muscle, use it or lose it. We really have to work harder at this in the winter than the summer.

Another interesting thing about breathing fully: If you maintain a “core” posture, you are all set to breathe well. Your back is straight and

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your shoulders are relaxed. Especially in times of stress, it is important to breath fully, deeply and slowly. This keeps the “fight or flight” prone adrenaline at bay and allows your body to remain in a relaxed state of full focus.

On a Spiritual note, whether you are practicing yoga breaths or shamanic breathing, you will find kindred purposes for these deep breath techniques. When you inhale deeply, you send oxygen to every cell in your body. By holding our breath, you give your body a chance to absorb this oxygen and discharge accumulated debris and carbon dioxide. A slow exhale allows for full body release of these toxins before your next cleansing breath is begun.

Deep and full body breathing is literally and exactly that.

A lovely breath meditation is to think of all the plants that provide us with life-preserving oxygen. Our air is a gift from them, filling each breath is love and blessings from nature. As we exhale carbon dioxide, we return the blessings by providing our plant brethren with their life affirming breath. This is a loving and symbiotic relationship that fills all participants with the Breath of Life. CHRONIC PAIN Bonita Woods is the founder of Bonita Woods Wellness Institute, a nonprofit mind-body-spirit wellness education center, in Falls Church. For more information, visit BonitaWoods.org. See ad, page 16.

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One-Person Pamper Party Natural Ways to Refresh and Renew

by April Thompson

Pampering ourselves isn’t a luxury so much as a necessity to refresh and renew mind, body and spirit.

A Spa Specialty

Spas have been synonymous with pampering throughout the ages. “Every civilization around the world has had some kind of communal gathering place for people to practice ‘self-healing’,” says Jeremy McCarthy, group director of Spa & Wellness for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and author of The Psychology of Spas & Wellbeing.

From ancient Greek bathhouses to Japan’s beloved natural hot springs, spas have long served as sacred places of healing and restoration. Indeed, many treatments provided at today’s eco-spas draw inspiration from traditional uses of herbs, honey and olive oil to care for skin and hair. Locally, natural spas’ pampering services may range from botanically based facials and mud masks to herbal body wraps and hot stone massage.

More Pampering Spots

While busy people tend to put off selfcare, there are treats to suit any schedule or budget—from getting a quick manicure or pedicure at a neighborhood eco-nail salon to visiting a yoga or wellness center.

For a quick, healthy pick-me-up, visit an organic juice bar. Opt for businesses that feature fresh, whole ingredients rather than pre-mixed powders or sugar-laden juices; to give the immune system an extra lift, add a natural booster shot of ginger or turmeric. Most

grocery stores now carry cold-pressed juices that can pack as much as six pounds of produce into a single bottle.

An honored ritual that continues to restore spent spirits is drinking a cup of tea. Whether sipped at home, as part of a British high tea featuring Earl Grey or as part of a traditional Japanese green tea ceremony steeped in Zen, tea time allows us to slow down and savor the moment along with the aromas in our cup. Also, antioxidant-rich tea is fortifying.

Salt room visits, another healthy pleasure that has spread throughout the U.S., dates back 150 years to an indigenous Polish practice. Research indicates that salt therapy, or halotherapy, can help improve conditions such as asthma and allergies and support the immune, nervous and lymphatic systems (see Tinyurl.com/ SaltRoomPampering). Universally restful salt rooms also offer a unique sensory experience.

Another highly accessible way to treat body and mind is to move in a joyful way. Consider taking up a playful new class for de-stressing and stretching such as trapeze yoga, conscious dance or any other dance.

Aerial yoga, using suspended trapezelike supports, helps lengthen the spine and strengthen muscles in ways not easily achieved on the ground. Dance delivers health and fitness bonuses in the midst of having fun.

If we’re not in the habit of pampering ourselves, it’s time to stretch our beliefs about what we deserve. We’ll find bliss is an attainable luxury.

Connect with freelance writer April Thompson, of Washington, D.C., at AprilWrites.com. natural awakenings

November 2016

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healingways

WORKPLACE WISDOM

Mindfulness in Corporate Life

by April Thompson

T

he workplace can be filled with stress, egos and distractions that challenge the productive and happy atmosphere we desire. Both employees and employers are adopting mindfulness to help cope and transform both themselves and their work environment.

Rooted in Eastern philosophies like Buddhism, most workplace mindfulness programs have stripped the techniques to a secular form more appealing to skeptics or adherents of other religions. The key practice—simply known as “sitting” or meditation—involves focusing our attention on our thoughts, breathing, emotions or bodily sensations for a set time period, while the term mindfulness refers to the ability to be aware of the present moment, whether meditating or in a business meeting.

While Fortune 500 companies like Procter & Gamble, Aetna and General Mills have instituted formal mindfulness programs, Michael Carroll, meditation teacher, executive coach and the author of Awake at Work, says that the mindfulness revolution has been largely seeded from the ground up. It’s emerged through people exploring the practices in their personal lives, and then bringing them to work.

Personal and Professional Benefits

Jacqueline Gallo, operational excellence manager for Whitcraft Group, a manufacturing plant in Eastford, Connecticut, discovered meditation 12 years ago while seeking solace during a traumatic time. Today, Gallo does three short sits a week and occasionally participates in 10-day retreats. Whitcraft doesn’t offer meditation to employees, but Gallo says mindfulness enables her to be available to her staff and solve problems without getting “swept off my feet so easily by all the desires, agendas and emotions confronted at work.”

Carroll cautions that it’s not about trying to eliminate our own or others’ emotional agendas or personal biases at work; rather, individuals use mindfulness to become more conscious of and relaxed about them. “Meditation helps develop agility in viewing… to self-regulate, drop fixed mindsets, become self-aware,” explains Carroll, who has coached university presidents, CEOs and nonprofit executives in mindful leader20

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ship techniques. “You learn things from a competitor’s perspective or pick up on social cues you may miss if you instead had a fixed lens on a situation.”

Corporate Acceptance

While meditation may be on the upswing in the workplace, it was a battle to legitimize it, according to Tara Healey, program director for mindfulness-based learning at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC). A longtime meditation practitioner, Healey started the Mind the Moment program a decade ago while serving as an organizational capacity building consultant. Surveys had shown that employees were overwhelmed and dissatisfied, but lacked the skills to rectify their situation.

“The leadership said, ‘Great, let’s do it, but not tell anyone,’” relates Healey. She notes that meditation, a core component of her multifaceted mindfulness course covering everything from workplace stress to mindful listening, wasn’t accepted in the workplace at that point.

Today, 30 percent of her company’s 1,050 employees have completed a six-week class introducing them to the power of mindfulness; some go on to participate in a guided monthly group meditation practice or use company meditation rooms for individual practice. The health services company also offers the course to its member companies throughout New England. To date, more than 12,350 people in 174 companies have participated, encompassing varied fields from higher education and health to finance and technology. A survey of employees showed that initially 99 percent felt it was a good use of their time; another taken six months later found that 87 percent were still using the techniques.

HPHC informatics analyst Stephanie Oddleifson, who took the course nearly 10 years ago, says it transformed her way of thinking and behaving in the workplace and furnished a set of practices she uses every day. In times of conflict, “I was so quick to make up stories in my head and jump to conclusions previously,” she says. “Now I’m able to pause before responding and observe my thoughts without getting caught up in them. I can diffuse tense situations with humor and not take things personally.”

Additional research substantiates the anecdotal evidence for meditation’s workplace benefits. In 2015, scientists from Canada’s University of British Columbia and Germany’s Chemnitz University of Technology compiled data from 20-plus neurology studies, finding significant correlations between meditation and areas of the brain related to capacities for self-regulation, introspection and complex thinking. A Rice University study specifically found a positive relationship between workplace mindfulness, job performance and employee retention.

While workplace mindfulness programs vary and may incorporate helpful talks, encouraging readings and group discussions, Healey and Carroll both caution that reading or talking about mindfulness or meditation is no substitute for the practice itself, which many find challenging. “You won’t taste the benefits just reading about it,” remarks Healey. “The practice will come into play come showtime.”

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Whole-Plant Food 101 Exploring the Health Benefits

by Gwyn Whittaker

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hree years on pain medication, and two weeks on this food, and all my pain is gone.” So begins only one person’s transformation to a whole-plant food lifestyle—one that millions are now embracing as they discover that growing older doesn’t have to mean pain, medication, obesity and chronic illness. As Dr. John McDougall likes to proclaim, “It’s the food!” that is causing the massive obesity epidemic, and millions of deaths each year from preventable diseases such as heart disease, breast, prostate and colon cancer and diabetes.

The health benefits of whole-plant foods are becoming the new awakening of the population seeking good nutrition; that is, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans/nuts and legumes, while avoiding highly processed foods, animal products (meat, dairy, eggs and fish) and the highly addictive salt, sugar and fat, including oils. As the tobacco industry executives reeled from awareness of the long proven, but long-delayed recognition by the government of the carcinogenic nature of smoking, they quickly moved into the food industry and began utilizing the addictive aspects of salt, sugar and fat to maximize calories purchased.

The most widely viewed documentary on Netflix, Forks Over Knives, documents two doctors’ journeys as they search for the optimal human diet. Dr. T. Colin Campbell, one of the world’s most respected cancer researchers, is chronicled as he conducts his epic The China Study, one of the largest human data collections ever done on diet. His team, funded by the Chinese Premier who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, searched for correlations between what people ate and what diseases they had.

With huge volumes of data collected 22

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by hundreds of workers across major cities, town and rural villages, cancer maps were generated that vividly portrayed the strong impact of diet on the pervasiveness of breast, prostate and colon cancer. The locations with whole-plant lifestyles were almost devoid of these cancers. Genetics was eliminated as a factor as the population was almost exclusively Chinese.

His work impacted Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a heart surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, who had been startled by the rapidly rising number of heart disease patients that he was seeing. Esselstyn had begun working with his patients on changing their diets to low-fat, wholeplant diets and the results were a miracle for those who adopted this lifestyle.

Not only did they stop having events and drop their cholesterol, but angiograms actually showed the regeneration

of partially collapsed arteries after several years. Many believe that heart disease is inherited; the uplifting message is that while genetics may be a loaded gun, lifestyle can be the trigger, and it is entirely possible to take control of one’s health through the adoption of a whole-plant food diet.

More than 75 percent of Americans today are overweight or obese, and almost 90 percent of the population is pre-diabetic. The great news for those who have always struggled with their weight and this disease is that a normal weight can be achieved, not through calorie counting or portion control, but by taking things out of the diet that are causing harm. Like a cigarette smoker who quits (not just cuts back), the black lungs will turn pink and it will be like he never smoked.

Eliminating meat, dairy, eggs, fish, along with all oils, enables the same benefit in returning to a healthy weight and the reversal of Type 2 diabetes, which can be entirely reversed within 30 to 45 days on a whole-food plant diet, as shown in Dr. Neal Barnard’s book, Preventing and Reversing Diabetes.

Gwyn Whittaker is CEO of GreenFare Organic Café, 408 Elden St., Herndon. To learn more about their 21-day KickStart program, developed by the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), visit GreenFare.com. See ad, page 20.

Change the World One Body at a Time Training Coming Soon to a Region Near You May 30, 2017 – Bellingham, WA June 12, 2017 – Atlanta, GA August 7, 2017 – Holderness, NH September 18, 2017 – Charles Town, WV September 22, 2017 – Brookfield, WI

303-449-5903 • info@rolf.org • www.rolf.org

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businessspotlight

Organic Skincare Products and Facials in Vienna A Spotlight on Studio Pilar

by Robin Fillmore

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estled in her Vienna studio, Pilar is leading the way for women to uncover their true beauty by sharing her expertise and knowledge about natural and organic skincare products. For more than 14 years, Pilar has been discovering and sharing the real secrets of feeling beautiful by carefully cultivating a menu of products and services that support and sustain her growing clientele. Studio Pilar, which recently moved from another location, is the area’s leading location for high-end, organic, natural beauty products and hand-crafted facials.

Although in northern Virginia for the past 14 years, Pilar has been learning and growing in the field for more than 20 years. Her training as a jeweler and an artist in Portland, Oregon, led her on a journey that she initially did not think she would take. As she discovered that she could apply her creativity to help women uncover their true beauty in a holistic and inspiring way, she understood that this was to be her path. In those 20 years, she has seen a growing awareness of the need to be as mindful of what is put on the skin, the body’s largest organ, as what is put into the body for nourishment.

In the early days, most of her clients sought organic skincare because their skin was reacting to products in the stores. Eventually, more and more women started paying close attention to all aspects of their health, including using the best possible products on their skin. She notes, “My greatest en-

joyment of being in this field is that my clients come to me because they are proactive in their life. They are already wellness-oriented so they already think about what they eat and how they take care of themselves. I try to take it a step farther and help them to think about their environment—to help them be more thoughtful and to be a part of the process to uncover their beauty.”

To that end, Pilar is uncompromising when it comes to the products that she uses and sells. She has a very strong vetting process for any product that is used in Studio Pilar—specifically strong requirements when it comes to the ingredient profile. “I only buy hand-crafted products from small American vendors.

There is an uphill battle because these are products that most people haven’t heard of or seen before. For those who appreciate small crafted food—similarly, there is a lot of vitality and energy to

these carefully chosen products.” By introducing these beautiful little bottles of joy, Pilar is helping people realize that they can have a beautiful experience and they don’t have to compromise.

Along with the desire to share these products with her clients, she offers education on what types of organic products, and ingredients, work the best. Pilar doesn’t sell any product until she has personally tested it and has a clear understanding of who and how a specific product can help. During the retail hours of the studio, customers are encouraged to feel and try any product, along with getting recommendations of what would work best for their particular skin type. Likewise, Pilar’s two-hour facials are uniquely individual creations.

Counting over all her years, Pilar has done more than 50,000 facials and no two have been the same. She notes, “I have found that everybody is unique— each woman is going to have a unique experience in how their skin responds.”

The true joy in Pilar’s work is uncovering and revealing the beauty of each individual. For so many years, the emphasis was on looking younger.

Today, Pilar and so many others understand that women who work on all aspects of their bodies, and realize that the body has the capacity to heal itself, is the true source of beauty.

“Youthful skin really shows how a person treats herself.”

Location: 143A Church St., NW, in Vienna, Virginia. Retail hours are Saturday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Appointments for facials can be made online at Studio-Pilar.com. See listing, page 21.

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moneymatters

2017

through your employer, you must spend most or, in the majority of plans, all of the funds you have in the account by year-end. Unused funds may be forfeited.

Take your required minimum distribution (RMD). For those at least 70 ½ years old and who have a 401(k) or traditional IRA retirement plan, you must take the required minimum distribution (RMD) from the account by end-of-year.

Other actions you might want to consider taking before the close of the year include:

■ Increase your emergency fund to have at least three, if not six, months’ worth of expenses in the bank.

Year-End Financial Planning

by Barry Wind and Jeremy A. Pearce

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s the holiday season approaches, many often think of the shopping trips to take, travel plans to make and cookies to bake. Often overlooked in this hectic time of the year are the critical financial tasks we can do before 2016 bows out, so that 2017 is indeed a happy new year. Below are a few end-ofyear recommendations to help get—and keep—your financial life in order.

Plan ahead for April 15, 2017.

There are several ways to minimize your 2016 tax bill if you take action before the end of the year.

■ Maximize your retirement contributions. You can contribute up $5,500 ($6,500 if 50 or older) to your traditional or Roth IRA. Contributions to your traditional IRA may be deducted from your federal taxes. If you participate in a 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plan at work, you can reduce your taxable income in 2016 by contributing up to $18,000 ($24,000 24

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if older than 50) to your plan. If you cannot contribute the maximum, contributing as much as possible is still a great way to build for a secure retirement and reduce your tax bill.

■ Make charitable donations. Qualified contributions to your favorite charitable organizations or supporting new ones can reduce taxable income. If you donate investments that have increased in value, you may be able to directly donate these investments and receive the tax deduction as well as avoid paying capital gains on the investment.

■ Organize your tax materials. While April 15 may seem like a long way off, it pays to start organizing your tax files now, including collecting relevant receipts and income statements.

Liquidate your Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA). For those of you who have a FSA for health care expenses

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■ Organize and identify all of your important legal and financial documents and information, such as wills and power of attorney forms, bank and investment accounts, insurance policies and safe deposit box location.

■ Review your budget and spending for 2016 and identify areas where you can spend less and contribute more toward your financial objectives.

■ Review your insurance needs and determine if additional home, life, disability, health or long term care insurance is needed.

■ Review and update, if needed, your beneficiaries on your insurance policies and retirement accounts.

Finally, if you have a financial advisor, or accountant or are thinking of bringing one on, now is a great time to have a face-to-face meeting.

Career changes? Need to start college savings for a child? You may want to review and update your adviser on any changes over the past year, get ready for the upcoming tax season and plan for 2017 and beyond.

The holiday season is almost here. Be sure to make room between the parties and celebrations to take the necessary steps for a brighter financial future.

Barry Wind and Jeremy A. Pearce are

Investing involves risk including loss of principal. Different types of investments carry varying degrees of risk and clients and prospective clients should be prepared to bear investment and original principal loss.

Investing, including socially responsible investing, does not guarantee any amount of success. These are the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of Cambridge Investment Research, are for informational purposes only, and should not be construed or acted upon as individualized investment advice.

Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor. Cambridge and SharePower Responsible Investing, Inc. are not affiliated.Securities offered through Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor.

Cambridge and Share Power Responsible Investing, Inc. are not affiliated.

No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world. ~Robin Williams

inspiration

Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock.com

financial advisors in the Washington, D.C. area, specializing in socially responsible investing with SharePower Responsible Investing, Inc. Comments and questions can be sent to BWind@ EmailSRI.com and JeremyAPearce@ EmailSRI.com.

The Art of Blessing Sanctifying Everyday Life

by Dennis Merritt Jones

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ost blessings are done quietly, in the silence of one’s own mind and heart; most often others don’t even know about it. How a blessing is done is not as important as the fact that it’s done mindfully.

There is nothing magical or mystical about conferring a blessing—it’s simply confirming the presence of God, divine Spirit, at the center of that which is being blessed.

Masters, teachers, sages and saints from every spiritual tradition have used blessings as a way to consecrate, sanctify, purify and heal. Wedding ceremonies, memorial services, christenings and everything in-between have at one time or another been blessed. Anyone can offer a blessing. Ernest Holmes, author of Science of Mind, defined a blessing as constructive thought directed toward anyone or any condition.

He says, “You bless a man when you recognize the divinity in him.”

When things are good, it can seem easy to neglect the practice of blessing ourselves and others. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting—a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in

every fair flower and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.”

We can always bless what’s good in our lives, but blessings can become even more meaningful if we remember to bless the bad times as well, when we most need to remember the truth that good is present then and there, too.

Getting in the habit of embracing daily blessings is a good spiritual practice as we evolve and go forth and bless our world as we have been blessed. It’s a matter of remembering that the real blessing has already been bestowed; the gift of life itself. Take a moment to contemplate this and seal it in consciousness by silently affirming, “I am blessed and I am a blessing.” I Am is a name of God. In the words of Mary Baker Eddy in introducing her seminal work, Science & Health, “To those leaning on the sustaining infinite, today is big with blessings.”

Dennis Merritt Jones, D.D., of St. Petersburg Beach, FL, is the author of Your (Re)Defining Moments, The Art of Uncertainty and The Art of Being, the source of this essay. He has contributed to the human potential movement and field of spirituality for 30 years (DennisMerrittJones.com).

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naturalbeautyspotlights

NYR Organic with Randi Cohen Coblenz

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Green Comfort School of Herbal Medicine

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ince 1994, Teresa Boardwine, has been on a mission to educate and empower others to heal themselves using herbal medicine—both on the inside and outside—through her teachings and consultations at Green Comfort School of Herbal Medicine. Teresa, the founder of the school, is a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild, which is the professional organization setting the standards for herbalism in America. Her school is located in a yurt in the lovely Blue Ridge Mountains of Northern Virginia, near the Shenandoah National Park.

She offers a wide array of classes and workshops, teaching her students the foundations of herbal medicine and the handson art of apothecary preparations like; tinctures, cordials and elixirs. The curriculum is best experienced by the senses and interaction with the plants, students in the class and the elemental beings of the mountains. Her gifts as an educator enable her to fulfill her deep passion—to connect people and plants. Beginning in the new year, Teresa will be offering two new courses; Farmocology and Western Energetics of Herbalism.

Health and beauty go hand in hand as one must tend to the culture of the internal soil to have clear vibrant skin. Herbal Spa Day is one class in the 10-month Herbal Apothecary course allowing the students to make all natural products and experience a spa day for themselves. They begin with a foot bath after making our bath salts and adding an essential oil of choice. While the students indulge their feet, Teresa begins preparing the hot water for the facial steam. Each product is made from edible herbs and foods and put together in the laboratory setting to demonstrate and for the students to partake. In this class, they eat spa foods, drink herbal teas for cleansing and have green smoothies to benefit the skin by feeding it. These recipes are available in an Herbal Spa booklet online at LuLu.com.

For decades, Teresa has delighted in teaching her many students and clients the healing benefits of medicinal herbs, in and around the greater D.C. metro area. She encourages each one to find health and beauty in the world of plants.

For more information about classes, visit GreenComfort HerbSchool.com. See ad, page 21.

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NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

eal’s Yard Remedies, otherwise known as NYR Organic, is a growing international phenomena, showing to everyone from Europe to Asia and everyone in between that organic skincare that comes from an ethical corporation can be a thriving international business. Locally, Randi Cohen Coblenz has been an extremely successful independent consultant who is growing her team in the northern Virginia area, Organic Skincare Essentials to provide those interWe believe in safe cosmetics ested in purchasing the products or becoming consultants themselves.

NYR Organic started in a small depot in central London and has been driven by the passionate belief that health and beauty should be more natural and less synthetic. Since then, the business has become London’s leading beauty and wellness company. With a flagship store in Covent Gardens, it has a presence in Dubai, Japan and across Europe, and now in the United States. The company is dedicated to sustainably harvested ingredients and uses essential oils to make the most wonderful skin care available anywhere. Ethically sourced, NYR Organic is a company unlike any you’ve seen—dedicated to saving the planet, one blue bottle at a time.

Known for their luxurious skincare products, NYR Organic also offers cosmetics, bath and shower scrubs and soaps, oils and other aromatherapy accessories, as well as lotions for moms and babies and products for men.

The heart of NYR Organic is the good that this thriving company does for the world and supports numerous programs and projects that support people, including the Holistic Mom’s Network, the Rodale Institute; the planet, with Green America; and animals, with PETA and the Humane Society. As a company, they have never engaged in testing their products on animals.

Cohen Coblenz is available for vendor events or health and wellness conferences and can provide individual as well as group consultations. They are offering great holiday and special occasion gift sets are available with convenient online shopping.

Detox your skincare

For more information or to purchase products, visit US.NYROrganic.com/Shop/RandiCohenCoblenz. See listing, page 21.

Vows & Wows Wellness Spa

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n 1999, Bonnie Patterino opened up this private home secret treasure, a peaceful space that has beckoned thousands of happy spa clients to enjoy her oneon-one attention. As a licensed esthetician and makeup artist, her primary goal was to offer personalized service, nurturing care and results. Her passion fueled her desire to set herself apart from what was commercially available to the masses.

From the beginning, her focus was on offering the best dermo-corrective skin care treatments and products available onsite, and going on-location to do wedding day makeup with her custom-blend mineral makeup. As a color and image consultant, she delighted clients with flattering style tips and brought out their inner goddess and outer beauty.

Over time, Bonnie has studied with some of the best mentors in the world to expand her knowledge and offerings. Her experience led to a new focus of emotional and physical health and getting to the root causes of symptoms or discomfort. Since the skin is our largest organ, it shows us signs of poor health and imbalance from stress, poor diet, busy lifestyles and hormonal changes. She emphasizes the many reasons to not feel guilty about focusing on beauty, because beauty truly comes from within.

Now, Bonnie focuses on adding holistic care, energy therapies and education to enhance the results of her therapeutic offerings. Her Wellness Spa menu has expanded beyond what most commercial businesses provide because she delivers more than expected. She has become an international best-selling author, speaker and Life Transformation Coach, who adds her energy alignment therapies and GPS Your Path methods to help others. Bonnie usually works by referral only, so take this opportunity to call for an appointment.

Location: Germantown, MD. Call 301-515-0470. See both websites at VowsAndWows.com and GPSYourPath.com.

See listing, page 21.

Healthy Back Director y

NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER

10560 Main St, Ste PH-1, Fairfax, VA 703-865-5690 NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com NeckBackAndBeyond.com Neck Back & Beyond in Fairfax, VA offers chiropractic and naturopathic care, acupuncture, massage, colon hydrotherapy ( c ol on i c s ) , re f l e xol o g y, lymphatic drainage and more.

See ad, page 14.

POTOMAC MASSAGE THERAPY INSTITUTE 8380 Colesville Rd., Ste. 600 Silver Spring 202-686-7046 • PMTI.org

Whether you are looking for a new career, interested in continuing your education to expand your knowledge as a massage therapist, or drawn to take an introductory class on massage and bodywork for yourself, family and friends – come join the circle at PMTI. Classes and workshops available, as well as $39 student and $59 graduate 1-hour massages.

Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. ~Francis of Assisi

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naturalhealing

Cloudy Brain Fog Natural Ways to Deal With This Common Sympton of Our Fast-Paced Modern Lifestyle

by Dr. Isabel Sharkar

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rain fog is common and affects thousands of people, both children and adults. It has become an undesirable side-effect of our fastpaced, modern lifestyle. Forgetfulness, confusion, trouble concentrating, communicating and remembering information, disorganization, having a hard time finding the right words to finish a thought, mental cloudiness and fatigue, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), irritability, insomnia, moodiness, depression, anxiety and generally feeling “off” are all but a few symptoms of brain fog.

Sound familiar?

Unfortunately, brain fog is not easily diagnosed and has a surplus of reasons for its existence. Brain fog is rooted in a lifestyle that promotes inflammation and hormonal imbalances, exacerbated by physical and emotional stress. Inflammation, at the root of most diseases, is caused by low-grade over-activity of the immune system and is tied to mental disorders like depression, Alzheimer’s 28

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disease and dementia.

As seen in pregnancy brain and menopause, changes to the three primary hormones that determine your mood (dopamine), energy (serotonin) and focus (cortisol) may lead to brain fog. Additionally, low thyroid function, adrenal insufficiency, CFS, dehydration, heavy metal exposure, infected root canals, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels), bowel toxicity, constipation, Candida overgrowth and imbalance, parasites, Lyme disease and viral infections may all affect the brain, weaken the mind and contribute to brain fog.

Nutritional and biochemical imbalances affect the brain and central nervous system (CNS) of the body. Leaky gut can lead to leaky brain, which makes a clean diet a necessity. Processed food, factoryfarmed meats, nutrient deficiencies, sugar overload, alcohol consumption (which suppresses the CNS), refined carbohydrates, caffeine overdose (which stresses the adrenals), gluten and other food sensitivities and food

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Unfortunately, brain fog is not easily diagnosed and has a surplus of reasons for its existence. Brain fog is rooted in a lifestyle that promotes inflammation and hormonal imbalances, exacerbated by physical and emotional stress. additives all need to be managed.

To get a head start on alleviating brain fog, start tidying up your diet.

Cut out refined processed sugar and gluten, test for food sensitivities and follow a strict elimination diet. Stay away from low-fat diets, grains and GMO foods. The human body requires a steady supply of amino acids and essential fatty acids to make all the brain chemicals needed to think clearly, so eat plenty of healthy fats and grass-fed organic protein. Also, load up on organic veggies and fruits as they realign hormones and reduce inflammation. Remember how your gut and brain are intertwined and powerfully connected? Your gut is your second brain.

Exercise to produce natural endorphins and break a sweat to releases toxins from your body. Moderate and regular exercise can help balance hormones, improve insulin resistance and help you sleep better.

Get a hold of stress by engaging in relaxation practices like deep breathing, massage, meditation, journaling, praying, reading and yoga. Spend time outdoors every day in nature.

Improve your sleep hygiene and get adequate rest every night. Most importantly, to release dopamine and enhance your mood—do something fun every day and laugh out loud!

Isabel Sharkar, ND, is a licensed naturopathic physician and co-owner of Indigo Integrative Health Clinic, in Georgetown. For more information, call 202-298-9131 or visit Indigo HealthClinic.com. See ad, page 2.

healthyeating

formation about how your weight changes.

For example, are your jeans snug? Do you need a belt?

by Elizabeth McMillan Can you close the top button with ease? These weight to change. Problems with wahere it is, staring at you, callare some quester retention can also alter our weight. tions that we can ing your name, asking you to Retaining water can be due to high step on it—asking you to judge ask ourselves salt intake or other health concerns, yourself, to question what your goals instead of relysuch as problems with the kidneys, are, and what you’ll allow yourself to ing heavily on hormonal changes or cardiovascular indulge in today. The bathroom scale the bathroom disease. Suffering from constipation or scale. Your can either be an accountability partnot eliminating daily can also cause ner or your worst enemy. Even worse, favorite pair of excess water weight. In addition, not it can cause serious OCD behavior, jeans could be eliminating is the main cause for that self judgement and self-doubt. Time the only honannoying belly fat. and time again, it is important not to est scales you

Finally, weight fluctuations can be need. Think of weigh yourself daily, and here is why. due to a change in our muscle mass.

The scale measures our entire your favorite While exercising, there is a tendency weight and this includes fat, muscle, pair of pants as to gain muscle while burning fat. organs, bones, water, etc. Since the that friend that Often people get discouraged because can objectively, scale measures everythe scale does not change even though and without personal bias, give you thing we are made they are going to the gym regularly. of, our weight can subtle hints that tell you your weight This is because muscle weighs more fluctuate signifiis changing. than fat. Knowing what encompasses cantly throughout

While the scale is not the best the weight on the scale will help prothe day. Body measurement of health status, it is vide some insights as to why there is weight can useful for the long-term picture. fluctuations in our weight. change anywhere Having a baseline weight can hold There are other ways to check from one pound you accountable as to whether you our health status besides the scale. up to an amazare a healthy weight or overweight.

The most accurate method is calcuing 12 pounds However, if you are trying to lose lating your body fat percent. This is in just 24 hours. weight, only weigh yourself once a done by taking measurements and For instance, after week. It is good to weigh yourself in calculating out the projected body a sweat-producing the morning after a bowel movement, fat percent. Similarly, a bioimpedworkout, there will preferably unclothed. Just always ance scale will measure body fat be weight loss. keep in mind that the scale is only a percent by sending a small electrical However, later part of the big picture; do not let it pulse through the body to calculate in the same define you. body fat. A healthy body fat percent day, closer to for women is 18 to 25 percent and the evening, for men the number is lower, around a weight gain Elizabeth McMillan, MS, CNS, prac12 to 20 percent. The percent ratios could be seen. tices integrative nutrition therapy are rough guidelines that allow you

One of at Rose Wellness Center in Oakton, to take note and consult with your the main reaVA, specializing in digestive health, healthcare practitioner to determine sons for weight chronic inflammation, energy optiwhat is an ideal goal for you. fluctuation is mization, autoimmune conditions,

Another way to determine weight diabetes and weight problems. For water. Drinking progress is with your wardrobe. A a lot of water at more information, visit RoseWellness. nice pair of jeans can offer a lot of in- com. See ad, page 16. once can cause

A Game of Scales

A Dance of Judgement and Self-Doubt

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healthymind

iRest Meditation

A Tool to Meet the Stress of Life and Increase Well-Being

by Dr. Karen Soltes

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nxiety has become pandemic in our world today, impacting adults and children at exponential rates as the stresses and demands of daily life increase. Children are being diagnosed with anxiety disorders at younger ages and often treated with medications.

At the same time, meditation is increasingly being incorporated into a number of healthcare and educational settings, as a way to increase relaxation, increase resiliency and improve an overall sense of well-being. The potential benefits of meditation as an effective non-drug mind-body approach to addressing anxiety and other psychological conditions—including insomnia, PTSD, depression and substance abuse—is further supported by an ever-increasing body of research.

iRest Yoga Nidra is one such research-based transformative practice of deep relaxation and meditative inquiry that is being utilized in Veterans Affairs hospitals, military bases, hospitals and clinics, hospice, home-

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less shelters, community programs and schools. A growing body of research shows that iRest effectively reduces PTSD, depression, anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain and chemical dependency, while increasing health, resiliency and well-being.

The 10-step protocol of iRest addresses anxiety in a variety of ways. As one is led through the practice, iRest provides the tools to proactively address feelings, emotions and beliefs that may contribute to one’s sense of tension and anxiety, and enables a person to feel into their underlying sense of wholeness and calm even in the face of difficult circumstances.

Through cultivating an Inner Resource as a foundation of the practice, it reminds the student/client of the feeling of safety and well-being that has been overshadowed by life’s challenges. iRest develops the capacity to welcome sensations in the body.

In the simplicity of rotating attention around the body in a systematic way, relaxation naturally occurs without

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“trying” to relax.

Many practitioners have seen, firsthand, the benefits of iRest in both children and adults. One of the greatest initial challenges that many overcome is insomnia. When sleep improves, there is a natural cascade into benefits across a number of areas in one’s life, including decreasing anxiety, improving mood regulation and a developing general sense of well-being.

As one relaxes the body, it opens the door to access and address the feelings or situations in life that are challenging, helping one to develop the skill of being responsive to life rather than reactive. Even veterans who have struggled with the invisible wounds of war for decades have shown a decrease in the symptoms associated with PTSD, measured not only by their self-report but also by decreases in cortisol, which is correlated with the stress response in the body.

While iRest is most often taught in a group setting, it can also be utilized with individuals to address specific concerns and incorporated alongside other interventions by psychotherapists, yoga therapists or other health professionals. iRest incorporates diverse evidence-based practices for anxiety, such as Systematic Desensitization, EMDR, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Progressive Relaxation.

iRest helps individuals deal with difficult emotions and beliefs by reconnecting with their deep, innate sense of wholeness and essential well-being that remains untouched by life’s events and circumstances. Many people report that they experienced a sense of increased relaxation in their very first iRest session. Once learned, iRest is a cost-effective intervention that can be practiced regularly at home with the use of recordings, and is a tool that can be used independent of the healthcare system.

Karen Soltes, LCSW, RYT, is a senior iRest Yoga Nidra teacher and trainer.

She will be teaching an iRest Yoga Nidra Level 1 Training, April 5-9, 2017, at Maryland University of Integrative Health. See ad, page 44.

treatmentspotlight

Non-Surgical Body Slimming and Contouring in Falls Church

Pema Choepel Mallu, DVM, CVA, MAc, LAc

Compassionate Care for your Pet We view your animal as a whole and focus on the root of the disease for projected long term healing

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he industry of body contouring and slimming without surgery has exploded in the past decade. This is particularly good news for those men and women that eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly but are still unable to rid themselves of stubborn fat areas, primarily in the thighs, hips and waist. The wildly popular, FDA-approved Zerona laser treatment is now available at Shaans Chiropractic, in Falls Church.

Zerona is a cutting-edge treatment that provides a safe and effective non-invasive circumferential reduction of the waist, hips and thighs. It works as the laser creates a pore in fat cells, enabling the fat to leak out and be processed by the body, as waste. The cell, itself, is not destroyed and can still secrete beneficial hormones. In fact, the side effects are so minimal, there is no downtime associated with a treatment, although it is recommended that the patient drink between eight and 10 glasses of water and avoid alcohol and caffeine.

The research on Zerona has been very promising. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-site clinical trial, clients treated with the Zerona laser lost an average of 3.72 inches from their waists, hips and thighs without any dietary changes, exercise requirements or supplements. It is recommended that a full treatment, to achieve the best results, consists of six 40-minute treatments every other day for two weeks.

“Zerona is the future of effective body contouring without surgery. We are delighted to offer our clients a noninvasive body-contouring option with impressive, proven results. Clients can continue their daily routines immediately following a Zerona treatment, and there is no downtime, pain or negative side effects associated whatsoever,” notes Dr. Shu Shahverdi, of Shaans Chiropractic.

The results are permanent. Once the fat cells have been targeted, they are completely destroyed, although it is important for the patient to maintain a healthy lifestyle to avoid putting on additional fat.

Throughout his career, Shahverdi has rarely seen a procedure this promising for reducing fat—and the popularity of Zerona is growing rapidly. Shahverdi has been practicing as a chiropractor and sports medicine physician for many years in the northern Virginia area. Known to his patients and friends as Dr. Shu, he earned his Doctorate of Chiropractic degree from Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas, Texas, and his postdoctoral specialty in Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician from Palmer College of Chiropractic West, in San Jose, California.

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Acupuncture • Dentistry Stem Cell & PRP Therapy Food & Ozone Therapy • Herbs Chiropractic • Homeopathy Surgery • Lab • X-Ray • Laser Therapy We now offer grooming Services

240-715-6570

12627 Wisteria Drive, Suite C&D Germantown, MD

HolisticVeterinaryHealing.com

For more information or to book a consultation, call 703-237-2161 or visit ShahverdiChiropractic.com. For more information on the Zerona laser, visit MyZerona.com. See ad, page 13. natural awakenings

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Yoga Directory BIKRAM YOGA IVY CITY

EAST MEETS WEST YOGA CENTER

RAJ YOGA CENTER

BYIC is located off New Yo r k Ave., in the old Hechts Warehouse District, near My Organic Market, Planet Fitness, BicycleSpace and Hierarchy CrossFit. It boasts plenty of parking (in the lot and on the street), a 1,700-square-foot hot room and radiant heat panels. Call this your home away from home. A range of classes are offered at this location including Bikram Hot Yoga (60-minute and 90-minute sessions) and hot Pilates.

East Meets West Yoga Center is a premier studio located in the Tysons Corner/Vienna, Virginia area. We provide a safe, tranquil and supportive environment to practice, allowing individuals to open to the possibilities of what could be. Our teachers/ educators are a community of knowledgeable, dedicated yoga practitioners with years of experience, open to teaching a variety of yoga styles to allow each student to flourish. We celebrate the uniqueness of each student, where students’ requests are heard and responded to positively. We offer classes in hatha, vinyasa, gentle, prenatal and so much more.

New student Special -$20 for 2 weeks. Welcoming, serene yoga center. Daily classes: Kundalini yoga, vinyasa and children’s yoga.

Meditations, music and tea.

Beautiful uplifting space to rejuvenate, strengthen and relax mind body and soul. See ad, page 41.

1510 Okie St, NE 202-288-5745 Info@BikramYogaRiveric.com BikramYogaRiveric.com

BIKRAM YOGA RIVERDALE PARK 6202 Rhode Island Ave, Ste 200, Riverdale Park, MD 301-699-1300 Info@BikramYogaRiveric.com BikramYogaRiveric.com

BYRP is located minutes f r o m t h e University of Maryland, College Park and the historic Hyattsville Arts District. This location boasts plenty of onsite parking, a large community space for events and a state-of-the-art hot yoga room that utilizes the latest technology to heat the room and help you work up a sweat. Bikram Yoga Riverdale Park is your community yoga studio, an oasis away from home.

BIKRAM YOGA TAKOMA PARK 7324 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD 301-270-4777 Info@BikramYogaRiveric.com BikramYogaRiveric.com

8227 Old Courthouse Rd, Ste 310 Vienna, VA • 703-356-9642 YoginiDawn@yahoo.com EastMeetsWestCenter.com

EXTEND YOGA

12106 Wilkins Ave, Rockville, MD 301-881-3330 Arlet@ExtendYoga.com ExtendYoga.com We e x t e n d a w a r m welcome to all that come through our door. We are a community that is accessible to everyone— all ages, body types, ability and experience.

Whether you are new to yoga and simply exploring what’s possible, looking for a breakthrough or looking to break a sweat, we have something for everyone.

LOTUS POND CENTER FOR YOGA AND HEALTH

813-961-3160 MelissaLotusPond@gmail.com YogaTrainingNorthCarolina.com

BYTP is located in the heart of Takoma Park is your community studio. It boasts a spacious hot room and a cozy community area where you can meet and greet fellow yogis. Parking is available on the street as well as in the lot in the back of the building. The heating system uses radiant heat panels to heat your bodies from inside out, from bones to your skin. Come try a class today and get all hot and unbothered. New classes are being offered, including a 1-hour-long express classes and hot Pilates.

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B e i nspi re d, i nspi re others. Immerse yourself in a 200-hour yoga teacher training atop the Blue Ridge Mountains at The Art of Living, AprilMay, 2017.

22821 Silverbrook Center Dr, Unit 160, 2nd Fl, Sterling, VA 703-376 3433 Info@RajYoga.org • RajYoga.org

THRIVE YOGA

1321-B Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 301-294-9642 Thrive@ThriveYoga.com ThriveYoga.com Offering more than 45 cl a s s e s p e r week, in hot yoga, vinyasa, hatha, Yin, restorative, prenatal, beginners, aerial yoga, therapeutic yoga, meditation, yoga nidra and more.

YOGA WITH NYA

Nya@YogaWithNya.com YogaWithNya.com

yoga with

Nya Alemayhu is a yoga instructor in Washington, D.C., dedicated to building community through sharing ∙ priva the practice of yoga. Nya ∙ specia ∙ sunday comm offers private instruction at and workplace yoga. See ad, ∙w page 23.

yogaw nya@yogaw washington, dc ∙ 20

calendarofevents NOTE: All calendar events must be received via email by the 10th of the month and adhere to our guidelines. Email Robin@NaturalAwakeningsDC.com for guidelines and to submit entries.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8

Stress, Hormones and Health – 9:30-10:30am.

Join us to learn what you can do for more energy, better performance, better sleep, manage weight, a decrease need for medicines and better sex drive.

Regenasyst Wellness and Health, exact location will be given at time of registration, Fairfax, VA. Register: 703-454-9326 x0.

White Light Energy Awakening Meditation – 7-9pm. Bonita Woods will lead tonight’s meditation to infuse our souls with white light healing energy that will nourish our dreams and aspirations with divine blessings. $10. Bonita Woods Wellness Institute, 140 Little Falls St, Ste 111, Falls Church, VA. Info: BonitaWoods.org or Meetup.com/Northern-Virginia -Nutrition-Wellness-Education/Events/vgnxklyvpblb.

Expanding One’s Spiritual Consciousne­ss – 10am5pm. With Reverend Lowell Smith. Everyone has psychic and intuitive skills. Learn what yours are and how to tap into them in this extraordinary all-day workshop. $65. Bonita Woods Wellness Institute, 140 Little Falls St, Ste 111, Falls Church, VA. Register: BonitaWoods.org or MeetUp.com/Northern-Virginia-Nutrition-Wellness-Education/Events/234595682.

Info: Bonita@BonitaWoods.org.

Living Blame-Free: Breaking Through High Level Enemy Images – 10am-6pm. Through Nov 6. An intensive, interactive workshop to help you reduce the presence or impact of blame in your life. (Based on the principles of NVC). $500-$600.

Peace Circle Center, Dupont Circle, DC. Register: EventBrite.com/e/Living-in-the-Blame-Free-Statewith-Francois-Beausoleil-Two-Fall-2016-Intensives-on-Finding-Joy-and-Tickets-23923037449.

Info: Facebook.com/Events/337792273220613.

Stitch Together and Unwind – 12:30-4:30pm.

Join for an afternoon of knitting and Restorative Movement to foster wellness, comfort and community. Two shawl pattern kits will be available with helpful instructors. The class will end with 1 hour of Feldenkrais, a mind-body approach to fitness to improve posture, reduce stress and discover ease in movement. $20 (suggested donation) and $25/ complete shawl kit. Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 Natural Perfume-Making Workshop – 10am12pm. With Mary Kearns of Herban Lifestyle. Enjoy a hands-on lesson on crafting your own natural perfume. After an explanation of the properties of various essential oils and absolutes, enjoy formulating your own personalized scent using perfume-grade ingredients. $70. Gala Artisans, 10417 Armory Ave, Kensington, MD. Register: 301-933-2912. Info: GalaArtisans.com/Gala/EventsWorkshops.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7 MUIH Webinar: Herbal Enthusiast to Herbal Expert – 12-1pm. Move your passion for herbal medicine into a viable career. Learn about emerging jobs and more. Free. Maryland University of Integrative Health, Online. Info: Events@MUIH.edu.

Gray Hair Back To Its Original Color Without Chemicals – 6:30-8pm. Natural hair stylist and consumers natural solutions for chemically damaged hair and product description and performance best practices. $39. Taja One at Praisner Library, Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD. Info: 240-224-1111.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9 Sexuality and Intimacy for Women with Cancer – 6:30-8pm. The impact of cancer treatment takes a toll on women’s bodies, including challenges with sexual function, body image and reproductive dreams. Join sex therapist Sage Bolte for a discussion on communicating sexual changes, desires and needs and learn to reconnect and get to know your body again. Free. Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10 Holiday Vision Boards for Young Adults with Cancer – 3:30-5pm. Life coach and young cancer survivor Jenn McRobbie will guide this workshop aimed at helping you set intentions for a peaceful family gathering through the use of a vision board: a graphic depiction of your hopes and dreams.

Free. Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training – 6-9pm. Through Nov 13. This program is perfect for the avid yoga student who wants to become a yoga teacher or anyone that wants to deepen their personal practice. Scholarships available. The Mindfulness Center, 4963 Elm St, Ste 100, Bethesda, MD. Register: 301-986-1090 or Roxanne@TheMindfulnessCenter.org.

Menu Re-Mix: Holiday Favorites – 6-8:30pm.

In this hands-on cooking class, you will prepare healthy re-mixed versions of your favorite holiday side dishes that will be a hit at any get-together and that you will feel great about eating. Learn how to increase nutritional content in recipes, to make healthy substitutions and helpful tips to follow when cooking for someone undergoing chemotherapy. $30 (suggested donation). Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202483-8600 and SmithCenter.org.

Essential Oils for General Health and Well-Being –7pm. In this free class, learn the basics about using essential oils to promote healthy and happy living.

Neck Back and Beyond, Mosby Bldg., 10560 Main St, Ste 204, Fairfax. RSVP requested. 703-865-5690 or NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11 Mommy’s Playdate – 2-3pm. Join us for our first monthly meet-up for mommies. Babies and daddies, of course, are welcome. Let us gather and support each other in motherhood, wisdom and love. Free. Be Here Now Yoga, Healing and Well-

ness, 411 8th St, SE .Info: 202-643-8875 or Info@ BeHereNowYogaDC.com or BeHereNowYogaDC.com/Workshops/?Mobile=False&Options%5 Bids%5D=629&options%5Bsite_id%5D=212346.

Race Demystified – 5:30-8pm. Race is one of the most difficult topics in our country. This 1 and a ½-day seminar helps to unravel the fear and leads to a deeper understanding of this very important topic. $250. Hosted by the author of 11 Reasons to Become Race Literate at The Sorrento, 2233 18th St, NW. Register: EventBrite. com/e/Race-Demystified-Tickets-28471009556. Info: WholenessinDiversity@gmail.com.

Singles Sangha – 7-10pm. A welcoming community of people who gather to experience a shared connection with others who are, by choice or by circumstance, single at this time in their lives. All varieties and ages of single people are encouraged to join. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown. Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

Friday Night Candlelight Yoga – 8-9:30pm.

Through gently energetic and continuous flow we release tension and balance energy, while soft candlelight sets an ambiance to calm the mind and explore inner depths. The Mindfulness Center, 4963 Elm St, Ste 100, Bethesda, MD. Register: 301-9861090 or TheMindfulnessCenter@gmail.com.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 Herbs from Your Kitchen – Health, Gardening, Foodie Tips and Luncheon – 9am-1:30pm. Explore health benefits and satisfaction of growing herbs. Enjoy herby holiday veg, vegan, raw and paleo healthy lunch plus, get informative handout, recipes and class.

Seats limited. $72. Prior Unity Garden, a short walk to the Vienna Metro, James St, Fairfax, VA. Register: 703-281-7743. Info: PriorUnityGarden.com.

Ortho-Bionomy - Exploration of Movement Patterns – 9am-6pm. Through Nov 13. Ortho-Bionomy is a gentle, effective system of positional release techniques used to reduce pain and increase mobility. 16 CEUs. $325. Info: 202-686-7046 or Info@ PMTI.org or PMTI.org.

Kids Cooking Adventures – 10am. Join Ms. Darline as she teaches you how to create yummy meals and snacks. You get to eat what you make. $5. Dawson’s Market, 225 N Washington St, Rockville, MD. Info: DawsonsMarket.com.

Pre-Black Friday Open House – 11am-3pm. Special sales and free nutrition talks. Golden Health Pharmacy, 46950 Community Plaza, Ste 112, Sterling, VA. Info: GoldenHealthPharmacy.com.

Facing Grief – 2-4pm. With Sarah Brooks of A Path Ahead. Join grief counselor Sarah Brooks, LPC of A Path Ahead Grief Support to explore

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what strategies facilitate resilience and recovery.

Learn how you can experience significant growth through profound loss. $20. Bonita Woods Wellness Institute, 140 Little Falls St, Ste 111, Falls Church, VA. Register: BonitaWoods.org or Meetup.com/Northern-Virginia-Nutrition-Wellness -Education/events/234602697.

Dharma Maha Sadhana – 3-6pm. With Hannah Allerdice-Bricker. Please join Hannah as she shares her Guru’s teachings in this class which combines spiritual discussion, challenging asana and a devotional Dharma Asana Satsang Jam. There will be chanting, breathing exercises, meditation, asanas and yoga nidra. $28/nonmember and $22/BHA members.

Be Here Now Yoga, Healing and Wellness, 411 8th St, SE. Register: BeHereNowYogaDC.com/ Workshops/?mobile=false&options%5Bids% 5D=604&options%5Bsite_id%5D=212346.

Info: 202-643-8875 or Info@BeHereNowYoga DC.com or BeHereNowYogaDC.com.

Open Fireside Chat Awakening Circle – 7:309:30pm. Co-founders of the DC Awakening Collective, Cullen Kowalski and Bennett Crawford, would like to share with you direct experiences with meditation in the context of full-time embodied awakening. $5. Samsara House 2023, 36 R St, NW, Bloomingdale. RSVP: Wakeup@SamsaraHouse.org. Info: Bit.ly/OpenFireside or SamsaraHouse.org.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13 Pop-Up Meditation at Bloomingdale Farmers’ Market – 9am-1pm. For anyone wondering what meditation is all about, but doesn’t know where to start. This powerful introduction to meditation class could be for you. Sign-up on the spot for one or more fifteen minute experiences of free guided meditation. Info: Wakeup@SamsaraHouse.org.

Children’s Sangha – 4:15-5:30pm. For 5-12-yearolds, accompanied by parents. The class provides young children with a Buddhist framework to explore their inner life, understand the causes of emotional stress and develop peace, wisdom and kindness. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown. Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 Why Isn’t My Thyroid Hormone Working For Me Anymore? – 7:30-8:30pm. In this free event, discover the most common causes of low thyroid; why it’s destroying other tissues in your body as well as the thyroid; and why taking thyroid replacement medicine may not help. Why a personalized approach is needed. Regenasyst Wellness and Health, Fairfax, VA, call for registration and location will be given. Register: 703-454-9326x0.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16 Super-Charge Me Dinner and Movie – 7-8:30pm.

Enjoy the film Processed People over an organic, whole plant food dinner at GreenFare. Learn about why our society needs to shift our diet to achieve health without pain and medication. $25. GreenFare, 408 Elden Street, Herndon VA. Register: GreenFare.com.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17

specialevent Solar Job Fair GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic and MDV-SEIA are co-hosting this job fair.

Meet face-to-face with top solar industry employers who are hiring. This event is a great opportunity to network with people in the solar industry.

Thursday, November 17 • 1-6pm.

GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic and MDV-SEIA at Renaissance Downtown Hotel, 999 Ninth St, NW. Register: SolarFocusConference.org/Job-Fair.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14

MUIH Integrative Health Graduate Fair – 6:308:30pm. If you’re considering an academic program at MUIH – either in the spring or fall or beyond – please join us for this special event designed to be fun, inspirational and informational. Free. Maryland University of Integrative Health, 7750 Montpelier Rd, Laurel, MD. Info: Events@MUIH.edu.

Biodynamic CranioSacral Therapy – 9am-6pm.

Through Nov 17. Series Continues with Part 7. 32 CEUs. $695. Info: 202-686-7046 or Info@PMTI. org or PMTI.org.

Sweating for Our Sanity: Moms Fitness Guide to Surviving the Holidays – 7-9pm. Local mom Laura Waller, founder of PowerFull Fitness, will talk about simple solutions for making an active

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lifestyle a realistic part of family life. Holistic Moms Network at Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, 4444 Arlington Blvd, Arlington, VA. Info: Facebook.com/HMNArlingtonVA/?fref=ts.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18 Weekend Meditation Retreat (Advanced Meditation Seminar M200 - 8hrs) – 6:30-9:30pm. Through Nov 19. Be guided deep into the realms of personal awareness and integration. As the practitioner, learn to deepen your practice and learn to guide others to do the same. The Mindfulness Center, 4963 Elm St, Ste 100, Bethesda, MD. Register: 301-986-1090 or TheMindfulnessCenter@gmail.com.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19 The Connection Practice Intensive (Part 2 and 3) – 8:30am-6pm. Through Nov 20. Part 2– Creating connection with others part 3- Restoring peace through mediation. 16 CEUs. $199. Info: 202-6867046 or Info@PMTI.org or PMTI.org.

Don’t Fall into Winter: Yoga Nidra Workshop – 2-4pm. Mindfully move into the holiday and winter seasons with more kindness, patience, a clearer intention and ease. iRest Yoga Nidra meditation workshop.

No experience necessary. $35 preregister or $40 day of drop in. Shira Oz-Sinai at Blue Heron Wellness, 10723-B Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD. Register: ShiraOzSinai.com/Dont-Fall-Into-Winter.html.

Essential Mindfulness for Daily Living Workshop – 2-5pm. Many of us are experiencing a great deal of stress and adversity these days because of the never ending demands and pressures of everyday life. This workshop could be for you. $45 pre-registered or $55 at the door. East Meets West Yoga Center, 8227 Old Courthouse Rd, Ste 310, Vienna, VA. Register: EastMeetsWestCenter.com. Info: Wakeup@SamsaraHouse.org or Bit.ly/EssentialMindfulness.

The Healing Power of Your Voice – 4-6pm. The body craves pitches and rhythms that facilitate internal harmony. Sound can re-establish coherent frequencies in our bodies, refresh our energies and improve our health. Learn how to use your own voice to do these things. $25. Bonita Woods Wellness Institute, 140 Little Falls St, Ste 111, Falls Church, VA. Register: BonitaWoods.org or Meetup.com/Northern-Virginia-Nutrition-WellnessEducation/events/234769274. Info: 703-992-9606 or Bonita@BonitaWoods.org.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20 Devotional Chanting with the Harmonium –

3-5pm. Join Hannah Allerdice-Bricker for this special event. In this workshop, we will have the opportunity to learn three chants on the harmonium.

In so doing, we’ll learn the beauty and power of mantra. $28/nonmember and $22/BHA member.

Be Here Now Yoga, Healing and Wellness, 411 8th St, SE. Register: BeHereNowYogaDC.com or BeHereNowYogaDC.com/Workshops/?mobile =false&options%5Bids%5D=602&options%5Bsi te_id%5D=212346. Info: 202-643-8875 or Info@ BeHereNowYogaDC.com.

However, all postures will be done 3 times. $22 (included for monthly auto debit customers). Bikram Yoga Riverdale, 6202 Rhode Island Ave, Ste 200, Riverdale Park, MD. Info: BikramYogaRiverIC.com.

day and find out about some recipes and ideas to use them in your everyday life. Free. Maryland University of Integrative Health, Online. Info: Events@MUIH.edu.

Melt the Gravy – 4-6:15pm. See previous listing for details. $22 (included for monthly auto debit customers). Bikram Yoga Ivy City, 1510 Okie St, NE. Info: BikramYogaRiverIC.com.

plan ahead

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2

Monthly Kirtan – 7:30-8:30pm. Join us for our monthly Kirtan at BHNY. Kirtan is a call-andresponse chanting performed with instruments in India’s bhakti devotional traditions. By donation.

Be Here Now Yoga, Healing and Wellness, 411 8th St, SE. Register: BeHereNowYogaDC.com/ Workshops/?mobile=false&options%5Bids%5D= 602&options%5Bsite_id%5D=212346. Info: 202643-8875 or Info@BeHereNowYogaDC.com or BeHereNowYogaDC.com.

Melt the Gravy – 11am-1:15pm. See Nov 25 for details. $22 (included for monthly auto debit customers). Bikram Yoga Takoma Park, 7324 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD. Info: BikramYogaRiverIC.com.

The Connection Practice (Part 1) – 6-9pm.

Through Dec 3. Social and Emotional Intelligence for all. 12 CEUs. $199. Info: 202-686-7046 or Info@PMTI.org or PMTI.org.

Planksgiving – 11:30am-1:45pm. See Nov 24 for details. $22 (included for monthly auto debit customers). Bikram Yoga Riverdale, 6202 Rhode Island Ave, Ste 200, Riverdale Park, MD. Info: BikramYogaRiverIC.com.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27

MONDAY, DECEMBER 19

Jazz Brunch – 11am-2pm. An all you can eat brunch buffet that includes an extended breakfast hot bar, salad bar, a locally-made bagel and lox station, a made to order omelet station, waffle station, dessert and a free mimosa. $16.99/adult and $6.99/ kids ages 4-10 and kids 3 and under are free. Dawson’s Market, 225 N Washington St, Rockville, MD. Info: DawsonsMarket.com.

Laughter Yoga – 6:30-7:30pm. Please join us for a playful and fun practice that has been proven to reduce stress and strengthen the immune system. The session ends with a silent meditation. Free. Arlington Central Library auditorium, 1015 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA. Info: ArlingtonLaughterYoga@yahoo.com.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22 Why Are My Joints and Muscles Hurting Me? – 7:30-8:30pm. Learn what causes arthritis and related conditions, like Systemic Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis; and what you can do to end the pain and avoid the damaging and high risk medications used to treat these problems. A personalized approach is best. Regenasyst Wellness and Health, Fairfax, VA, call for registration and location will be given. Register: 703-454-9326x0.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24 GreenFare Thanksgiving – 11am-7pm. Enjoy a delicious organic dinner at GreenFare or make plans to carry a ToGo dinner to your non plant-based dinner. $65/adult before Nov 1 or $75/adult before Nov 15 or $85/adult after Nov 15. GreenFare, 408 Elden Street, Herndon, VA. Register: GreenFare.com.

Planksgiving – 11am. Pre-turkey workout designed to keep you fit throughout the holiday season. Enjoy an ab bursting plank series with a total body workout using high intensity interval training coupled with Pilates principles. $22 (included for monthly auto debit customers). Bikram Yoga Ivy City, 1510 Okie St, NE. Info: BikramYogaRiverIC.com.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25 Melt the Gravy – 9:30-11:45am. Post-turkey workout designed to shed the excess calories from your Thanksgiving feast. We will use the traditional Bikram series of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28 Laughter Yoga – 6:30-7:30pm. Please join us for a playful and fun practice that has been proven to reduce stress and strengthen the immune system. The session ends with a silent meditation. Free. Arlington Central Library auditorium, 1015 N Quincy St, Arlington, VA. Info: ArlingtonLaughterYoga@yahoo.com.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29 MUIH Webinar: Promoting Health in Communities and Workplaces – 12-1pm. This webinar will provide participants with an overview of the two new areas of concentration for MUIH’s Master of Science in Health Promotion Program: Workplace Health and Community Health Education. Free. Maryland University of Integrative Health, Online. Info: Events@MUIH.edu.

MUIH Webinar: Culinary Herbs – 1-2pm.

Explore the powerful daily medicines in your herb and spice cabinet. Learn the many ways you can use these tasty medicines for all meals of the

CPR/First Aid – 10am-5pm. Red Cross approved.​ $80 for all or $45 for one part only. Info: 202-6867046 or Info@PMTI.org or PMTI.org.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29 Fire and Ice: New Year’s Yoga Retreat to Iceland – Through Jan 5. Join teachers Sonia Azad and HawaH as we chase the Northern Lights, soak in natural hot springs, snowshoe through epic vistas and have daily yoga classes on an unforgettable journey to one of the world’s most beautiful untapped treasures. $2,700-$3,300. One Yoga Global, Iceland. Register: Goo.gl/PnZwv8. Info: Info@ OneYogaGlobal.com.

register now THURSDAY, APRIL 6 Dolphin Healing Adventure – Through April 13.

Dolphin healing Adventure Red Sea, Egypt, everyone who commits loves dolphins, commits to the self is welcome. Price upon request. GRID Alternatives Mid-Atlantic and MDV-SEIA at Red Sea, Hurghada, Egypt. Register: 518-208-0509 or IkieraHealing@gmail.com. Info: IkieraHealing.com/ Healing-Offers/Dolphin-Lovers.

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ongoingevents

Mindfulness Meditation – 7-8pm. 2nd and 4th Wed. $15 donations accepted. Info: 202-686-7046 or Info@PMTI.org or PMTI.org.

NOTE: All calendar events must be received via email by the 10th of the month and adhere to our guidelines. Email NAcalendar@naturalawakeningsD.com for guidelines and to submit entries. No phone calls or faxes, please. Or visit swfl. naturalawakeningsmag.com/advertising to submit online.

Teen Sanga – 7:30-9pm. 2nd and 4th Wed. The teen sangha provides a framework for exploring one’s inner life, understanding the causes of emotional stress and realizing the possibility of inner freedom. We explore key Buddhist teachings and how they can be helpful in navigating life’s inevitable challenges. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown.

Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

sunday Sunday Morning Meditation Class – 10:30am12:30pm. With Hugh Byrne. An oasis in a busy week, including 30-minute guided meditations, a 10-minute walking meditation and 30-minute discussion. A mini-retreat. Drop-ins welcome. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown. Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

Teen Peer Support Group – 4-5:30pm. 3rd Sun. This peer-run teen support group is open to youth between the ages of 13-17. Awesome for crystals, indigos, intuitives. The group offers a safe place for youth to make friends, receive support and celebrate accomplishments. Free. Bonita Woods Wellness Institute, 140 Little Falls St, Ste 111, Falls Church, VA. Info: BonitaWoods.org or Meetup.com/Northern-Virginia-Nutrition-WellnessEducation/Events/vgnxklyvpblb.

Mindfulness in Recovery – 6:30-8pm. This group is open to new meditators and seasoned practitioners alike with a common interest in the intersection of Buddhist teachings and 12-Step recovery.

All 12 Steppers are welcome and we ask that participants have at least 90 days of continuous recovery and a working relationship with a home 12-Step recovery group be established before attending your first meeting. This group is not a replacement for our individual 12 Step programs. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown. Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

monday Early Morning Meditation – 7:30-8:15am. A beautiful way to start your day, with a 30-minute meditation and optional 15-minute discussion following. Drop-ins welcome. A project of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW).

The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown. Info: LivingMindfully.org.

Gentle Yoga – 10:30-11:45am. Gentle yoga classes to help reduce stress and balance the mind, body and spirit. All experience levels welcome. $10/ class or $25/month (suggested donation). Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

High Vibrational Crystals – 7-9pm. 3rd Mon. With Cara and Joey of Transformative Crystals.

Come learn about high vibrational stones. High vibrational stones combined with meditation are very powerful crystals that open and help expand the higher chakras. $15. Bonita Woods Wellness

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Institute, 140 Little Falls St, Ste 111, Falls Church, VA. Info: BonitaWoods.org or Meetup.com/ Northern-Virginia-Nutrition-Wellness-Education/ Events/vgnxklyvpblb.

tuesday Early Morning Meditation – 7:30-8:15am. See Mon for details. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown.

Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

Chair massage – 9am-2pm. Have a wonderful massage and eat your cake too. $10/10-minute massage and $20/20-minute massage. Capital City Cheesecake, 7071 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD. Info: Massage2Day.net.

Chair Yoga – 12-1pm. You are invited to relax deeply as we move through a series of gentle seated and supported poses that promote self-care. $10/class or $25/month (suggested donation).

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

Meet the Locals – 4-7 pm. 2nd Tues. Come sample products from our favorite local vendors while you enjoy a glass of beer or wine. Free. Dawson’s Market, 225 N Washington St, Rockville, MD. Info: DawsonsMarket.com.

Experiential Meditation Training – 6-7:30pm.

1st and 3rd Tues. This two-part series will deepen your meditation practice by exploring new tools with Smith Center co-founder and executive director Shanti Norris. This training will clarify the myths about meditation and help bring you to a deep state of peace and relaxation. Free. Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600. Info: SmithCenter.org.

Gentle Yoga – 6-7:15pm. See Mon for details. $10/class or $25/month (suggested donation).

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

wednesday Early Morning Meditation – 7:30-8:15am. See Mon for details. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown.

Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

Outside the Lines: A Creative Art Studio – 10:30am-12:30pm. 1st and 3rd Wed. Facilitators will help reclaim art-making as a healing tool through guided creative projects. $10/session (suggested donation). Smith Center for Healing the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Register: 202-483-8600.

Info: SmithCenter.org/Calendar.

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

thursday Early Morning Meditation – 7:30-8:15am. See Mon for details. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown.

Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

Chair Massage – 9am-2pm. See Tues for details. $10/10-minute massage and $20/20-minute massage. Capital City Cheesecake, 7071 Carroll Ave, Takoma Park, MD. Info: Massage2Day.net.

Gentle Yoga – 10:15-11:30am. See Mon for details.

Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

friday Early Morning Meditation – 7:30-8:15am. See Mon for details. The Center for Mindful Living, 4708 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 200, NW, Tenleytown.

Info: Living-Mindfully.org.

Move, Learn, Create – 11am-12:15pm. Stretch your creative capacity, feel good and connect with fellow participants. Featuring a variety of dance styles, the class is a well-paced and refreshing experience for all. $10/session or $25/month (suggested donation). Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, 1632 U St, NW. Info: 202-483-8600 or SmithCenter.org.

Friday Wine Tastings - Taste the Vine – 5-7pm.

Join us in our Indulge Dept for a wine tasting featuring a different vineyard each week. Free. Dawson’s Market, 225 N Washington St, Rockville, MD. Info: DawsonsMarket.com.

saturday Pilates Mat – 9-10am. Full-body workout Pilates mat class. $19. Elements Center, 2233 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 217, NW. Register: ElementsCenter.com.

Meditation – 10am. Class will introduce participants to the practice of mindfulness meditation.

Instructors guide participants through practice, including techniques for breath awareness, relaxation and development of nonjudgmental awareness. $20. The Mindfulness Center, 4963 Elm St, Ste 100, Bethesda, MD. Register: 301-986-1090.

Info: TheMindfulnessCenter.org.

Saturday Samplings – 5-7pm. Every Saturday enjoy perfectly paired food with beer. Dawson’s Market, 225 N Washington St, Rockville, MD. Info: DawsonsMarket.com.

WANT TO CONNECT WITH OUR READERS? THREE-MONTH EDITORIAL CALENDAR AND MARKETING PLANNER

Uplifting Humanity

D E C

plus: The Holidays

Readers Are Seeking These Providers & Services: Assisting Ministries • Books/Guides/Media Charities • Community Services • Ethnic Crafts Fair Trade Goods • Gift Baskets/Certificates Native Plant Nurseries • Personal Development Tools Spiritual Healing • Sustainable/Natural Toys Thrift/Resale Shops • Volunteer Programs ... and this is just a partial list!

Health & Wellness Issue

J A N

plus: Affordable Complementary Care Readers Are Seeking These Providers & Services: Acupuncture • Alternative Healing • Chiropractic Energy Healing • Fitness Centers/Gyms Integrative & Natural Healthcare Providers Herbalists • Holistic Dermatology • Massage Natural/Organic Foods • Physical Therapy Weight Loss • Wellness Trainers • Yoga ... and this is just a partial list!

Conscious Dying

F E B

plus: Children’s Dental Health

Our Readers Are Seeking These Providers & Services: Earth-Friendly Burial Services • Estate Attorneys Estate Auction Houses • Faith & Charitable Ministries Family Counselors • Financial Planners • Florists Hospice & Care Facilities • Sacred Dying Doulas Holistic Dental Care • Orthodontists Periodontists • Alternative Pediatric Physicians ... and this is just a partial list!

Contact us to learn about marketing opportunities and become a member of the Natural Awakenings community at:

202-505-4835

or email Robin@NaturalAwakeningsDC.com. natural awakenings

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communityresourceguide Connecting you to the leaders in natural health care and green living in our community. To find out how you can be included in the Community Resource Guide, email Robin@NaturalAwakeningsDC.com to request our media kit.

ACUPUNCTURE 10560 Main St, Ste PH-1, Fairfax, VA 703-865-5690 NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com NeckBackAndBeyond.com Neck Back & Beyond in Fairfax, VA, offers chiropractic and naturopathic care, acupuncture, massage, colon hydrotherapy (colonics), reflexology, lymphatic drainage and more. See ad, page 16.

SHAWNA SNYDER

Rose Wellness Center 2944 Hunter Mill Rd, Ste 101, Oakton, VA 571-529-6699 Info@RoseWellness.com RoseWellness.com Shawna Snyder is a licensed acupuncturist specializing in pain management. She effectively relieves pain by custom tailoring a comprehensive treatment plan to achieve optimal results. See ad, page 16.

ARCHITECT

HELICON WORKS ARCHITECTS

7108 Holly Ave, Takoma Park, MD 301-404-5578 • Bill@HeliconWorks.com HeliconWorksArchitects.com Helicon Works Architects is a green architecture and natural building collaborative in the D.C. metro area. We create healthy and ecological homes for our clients. See ad, page 9. e

AROMATHERAPY

MOTHER NATURE’S STORE 703-851-0087 Laina_Poulakos@hotmail.com MothersNatureStore.com

C e r t i f i e d a r o m at h e r ap i s t and herbalist offering lifestyle consultations and handmade products, including soaps, balms and beard oils. Reach a better state of body and mind.

See ad, page 31.

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2946 Sleepy Hollow Rd, Ste 2-A, Falls Church, VA • 703-237-2161 Contact@ShahverdiChiropractic.com ShahverdiChiropractic.com Chiropractic preventive care, naturally. See ad, page 13.

BEDROOM FURNITURE SAVVY REST NATURAL BEDROOM

NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER

.

SHAANS CHIROPRACTIC AND SPORTS REHAB CLINIC

258 Maple Ave East, Vienna, VA and 12242 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 703-255-7040 (VA) or 301-770-7040 (MD) Maddie@SavvyRest.com • SRNB.com Savvy Rest Natural Bedroom is the premier retailer of Savvy Rest organic mattresses and bedding, a Virginia manufacturer and retailer of fine bedroom furniture.

See ad, page 3.

BOTANICAL GARDENS MEADOWLARK BOTANICAL GARDENS 9750 Meadowlark Gardens Ct, Vienna, VA 703-255-3631 KTomlinson@Nvrpa.org • Nvrpa.org

Wolf Trap in Vienna.

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, a public garden for all the senses, a place of peace and reflection. Near

CANNABIS PRODUCTS CBD REVOLUTION US

202-730-9443 CBDRevolutionUS@gmail.com CBDRevolutionUS.com We increase public awareness of hemp health/CBD that enables the mind and body to work at their optimal state thereby promoting ultimate health, wellness and longevity.

We are an innovative community, passionate about empowering individuals to balance their health and wealth while becoming leaders in the cannabis movement. We spread the truth about the benefits of an amazing plant in our modern culture, teaching people how to get healthy without the high. See ad, page 3.

CHIROPRACTOR NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER

10560 Main St, Ste PH-1, Fairfax, VA 703-865-5690 • NeckBackAndBeyond.com NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

Neck Back & Beyond in Fairfax, VA, offers chiropractic and naturopathic care, acupuncture, massage, colon hydrotherapy (colonics), reflexology, lymphatic drainage and more. See ad, page 16.

DR. VISHAL VERMA, DC, CCSP Rose Wellness Center (571)529-6699 RoseWellness.com

Dr. Verma specializes in functional ch i ropr a c t i c c are for p ai n management and active restoration of the body. He treating root causes using gentle chiropractic, physical therapy, cold laser therapy and rehabilitation for fast effective results. Dr. Verma treats back, neck, spine and joint pain, sciatica, sports injuries, fibromyalgia, and various other chronic and acute pain conditions. See ad, page 16.

CLEANING MAID BRIGADE CAPITAL REGION

4813-A Eisenhower Ave, Alexandria, VA 800-515-6243 Marketing@Maid-Brigade.com MaidBrigade.com

We are Green Clean Certified so you can have peace of mind that your home will be healthier for you, your pets, and the environment. See ad, page 11.

COACHING GPS YOUR PATH

Life Transformation Coaching Germantown, MD 301-515-0470 GPSYourPath.com Bonnie Patterino is an international best-selling author/speaker and one of the world’s leading Hand Print Analysts. Her methods have helped thousands find purpose, vitality and well-being.

COMPOUNDING PHARMACY GOLDEN HEALTH PHARMACY

46950 Community Plaza, Ste 112, Sterling, VA 703-430-8883 ElsaLam@GoldenHealthPharmacy GoldenHealthPharmacy.com Prescriptions with personal attention (we accept all insurance). Compounding pharmacy for special medications and your pet’s special needs. Integrating pharmacy services with nutritional support. Juice Bar, holistic health and wellness workshops, cooking classes for disease management and an infrared sauna with acoustic sound therapy. See ad, page 20.

CONSULTING GRACE PRODUCTIONS

Grace Ogden, Principal 301-445-6771 • GraceProductions.co Grace Ogden leads this consulting and event production firm that supports progressive social change with an awareness of why spiritual principles and practices matter.

GROCERY GLUTEN-FREE/VEGAN

HOLISTIC PARENTING

BONITA WOODS WELLNESS INSTITUTE

HOLISTIC MOMS NETWORK ARLINGTON/ALEXANDRIA CHAPTER

140 Little Falls St, Ste 105, 110, 111, Falls Church, VA 703-992-9606 • BonitaWoods.org

BWWI promotes mindbody-spirit wellness education and personal health evolution. Holistic medical, nutritional and spiritual counselors offer private sessions, workshops and classes. See ad, page 16.

HARMONY LIFE COACHING HIGHEST HARMONY HEALING AND COACHING

HolisticMomsArlAlex@gmail.com HolisticMomsArlAlex.blogspot.com

National nonprofit organization supporting parents in their natural lifestyle choices. Local chapters: Arlington/Alexandria, Burke/Springfield, Loudoun, NoVA/Fairfax, Montgomery County and Harford County. National: HolisticMoms.org. Local: Bit.ly/1rHHgaT.

MINDFUL HEALTHY LIFE

Rev Carol Anandi Richardson M.Div., MPH Body-Mind-Spirit Coach, Mystic Healer, Speaker, Author 12803 Twinbrook Pkwy, Ste 204, Rockville, MD • 269-365-8939 Carol.Dodson.Richardson@gmail.com HighestHarmony.Guru

571-358-8645 Jessica@MindfulHealthyLife.com MindfulHealthyLife.com Online lifestyle magazine for D. C . - are a n atu r a l minded families. Event calendar, resource directory, blog. News, events, giveaways, profiles, tips for holistic healthy living and mindful parenting.

Mastermind Stars: Mindfulness and Movement Programs for students, teachers and families. See ad, page 7.

HOMEOPATHY MICHAEL LISS

EDUCATION BONITA WOODS WELLNESS INSTITUTE 140 Little Falls St, Ste 105, 110 & 111 Falls Church, VA 703-992-9606 • BonitaWoods.org

BWWI promotes mind-bodyspirit wellness education and personal health evolution. Holistic medical, nutritional and spiritual counselors offer private sessions, workshops and classes. See ad, page 16.

FAT REDUCTION THERAPY ZERONA FAT REDUCTION

2946 Sleepy Hollow Rd, Ste 2-A, Falls Church, VA • 703-237-2161 Contact@ShahverdiChiropractic.com ShahverdiChiropractic.com Effective non-invasive fat reduction therapy. See ad, page 13.

Rose Wellness Center 571-529-6699 • RoseWellness.com

HEALTHY PETS

We are your one-stop destination for all things natural regarding your pet’s nutritional and grooming needs. Shop online or visit one of our stores locations in Rockville, MD, Herndon, VA or Ashburn, VA. See ad, page 18.

Michael Liss is a Doctor of Classical Homeopathy and an integrative health practitioner. He specializes in using homeopathy to help you find relief from various emotional and physical health problems including addictions, s u b s t a n c e a b u s e , a n x i e t y, depression, allergies, asthma, childhood ailments, migraines, hair and skin disorders, immune deficiencies and sinus disorders.

See ad, page 16.

HERBS

INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE

WHOLE PET CENTRAL

Info@WholePetCentral.com WholePetCentral.com

SULTANA AFROOZ, DO

MOTHER NATURE’S STORE 703-851-0087 Laina_Poulakos@hotmail.com MothersNatureStore.com

Certified aromatherapist and herbalist offering lifestyle consultations and handmade products, including soaps, balms and beard oils. Reach a better state of body and mind. See ad, page 31.

Rose Wellness Center 2944 Hunter Mill Rd, Ste 101, Oakton, VA 571-529-6699 Info@RoseWellness.com RoseWellness.com Dr. Sultana Afrooz specializes in diagnosing and treating patients who have been chronically ill from effects of tick borne infection, mold toxicity and environmental toxicity. See ad, page 16.

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SUSHMA HIRANI, MD

Rose Wellness Center 2944 Hunter Mill Rd, Ste 101, Oakton, VA 571-529-6699 Info@RoseWellness.com RoseWellness.com Dr. Sushma Hirani uses an integrative approach to wellness, utilizing conventional medicine and evidence-based complementary therapies. She strives to treat the whole person an d e mph a s i z e s nut r it i on , preventive care and lifestyle changes. Dr. Hirani specializes in the treatment of chronic issues such as hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, menopause and women’s health issues. Patients love her compassionate care and personalized attention. See ad, page 16.

INTEGRATIVE NUTRITIONIST ELIZABETH MCMILLAN, MS, CNS Rose Wellness Center 571-529-6699 RoseWellness.com

Elizabeth McMillan is a boardcertified clinical nutritionist specializing in functional nutrition.

She believes in finding the root cause of aliments and creating a personalized dietary plan to restore optimal wellness. Elizabeth specializes in diab etes, fo o d s ensitivities, gastrointestinal health, autoimmunity and metabolic syndrome issues. See ad, page 16.

MEDICAL BARNARD MEDICAL CENTER

INDIGO INTEGRATIVE HEALTH CLINIC 1010 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 660, DC 202-298-9131 IndigoHealthClinic.com

The body has an innate ability to heal itself and achieve balance from everyday stressors through non-toxic, non-aggressive and highly effective modalities. See ad, page 2.

ROSE WELLNESS CENTER

5100 Wisconsin Ave, Ste 401, NW 202-527-7500 BarnardMedical.org

The Barnard Medical Center partners medical care with the latest advances in prevention and nutrition to create a healthcare plan designed just for you. If you need to treat and reverse diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, or other chronic conditions, we will help you revolutionize your health.

Better eating habits are often the key to better health.

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE ANNE BERKELEY, ND 1915 I St, Ste 700, NW 202-798-0221 MedicineToThrive.com

Dr. Anne Berkeley is a licensed, boardcertified naturopathic physician offering individualized health care to your entire family with an emphasis on prevention and wellness.

PRESCRIPTIONS GOLDEN HEALTH PHARMACY

46950 Community Plaza, Ste 112, Sterling, VA 703-430-8883 ElsaLam@GoldenHealthPharmacy GoldenHealthPharmacy.com Prescriptions with personal attention (we accept all insurance). Compounding pharmacy for special medications and your pet’s special needs. Integrating pharmacy services with nutritional support. Juice Bar, holistic health and wellness workshops, cooking classes for disease management and an infrared sauna with acoustic sound therapy. See ad, page 20.

2944 Hunter Mill Rd, Ste 101, Oakton, VA 571-529-6699 Info@RoseWellness.com RoseWellness.com

.

TAKOMA PARK ALTERNATIVE CARE

SEVENOAKS RETREAT CENTER

Suffering from chronic pain, fatigue, allergies, stress? Whatever your health challenges, Rose Wellness Center can help you get on the path to real wellness. We help identify hormone, metabolic, digestive, nutritional and food sensitivity issues to get to the root cause of your health problems, where true healing begins. Our services include digestive and women’s health programs, hormone balancing, acupuncture, Lyme treatment, homeopathy and thyroid management. See ad, page 16.

Pediatric and adult evaluations for D.C. and MD by certified medicinal cannabis specialist.

Tr e a t m e n t / d o s i n g recommendations; nonpsychoactive protocols available. No residency restrictions for MD program. See ad, page 18.

A serene and beautiful sanctuary for retreats where mindfulness and healing can occur. The lush grounds, forest and walking trails are inspirational and tranquil with wildlife and the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains nearby. See ad, page 19.

TAKOMA PARK ALTERNATIVE CARE 6930 Carroll Ave, Ste 412, Takoma Park 301-328-3045 Info@TakomaCare.com TakomaCare.com

Pediatric and adult evaluations for D.C. and MD by certified medicinal cannabis specialist.

Tr e a t m e n t / d o s i n g recommendations; nonp s ycho a c t ive proto c ols available. No residenc y restrictions for MD program.

See ad, page 18.

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MEDICAL MARIJUANA

6930 Carroll Ave, Ste 412, Takoma Park 301-328-3045 • TakomaCare.com Info@TakomaCare.com

POLARITY THERAPY NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER

Janice M Johnson 703-865-5690 NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com NeckBackAndBeyond.com

NaturalAwakeningsDC.com

Allow me to join you in creating your own individualized treatment program, which provides a safe and supportive experience for your healing process, with Polarity Therapy and Swiss Bionic Solutions MRS 2000 (Magnetic Resonance Stimulation) pulsed electro magnetic fields (PEMF). See ad, page 16.

RETREAT CENTER 403 Pathwork Way Madison VA 22727 SevenoaksRetreat.org 540-948-6544

SHIATSU THERAPIST NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER

Natalie Depastas 10560 Main St, Ste PH-1, Fairfax, VA 703-865-5690 NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com NeckBackAndBeyond.com Nathalie Depastas is a highly skilled acupuncturist and Shiatsu therapist with 30 years of experience in Chinese medicine, including medical qigong. See ad, page 16.

SPIRITUAL LIVING UNITY OF FAIRFAX

2854 Hunter Mill Rd, Oakton, VA 703-281-1767 • UnityOfFairfax.org Admin@UnityOfFairfax.org

minded individuals.

At Unity of Fairfax, we offer a welcoming, safe environment to explore one’s own relationship with God in a community of like-

THERMOGRAPHY NECK BACK & BEYOND WELLNESS CENTER

10560 Main St, Ste PH-1, Fairfax, VA NeckBackAndBeyond@gmail.com NeckBackAndBeyond.com • 703-865-5690 Neck Back & Beyond in Fairfax, VA, offers chiropractic and naturopathic care, acupuncture, massage, colon hydrotherapy (colonics), reflexology, lymphatic drainage and more. See ad, page 16. .

UNITY OF GAITHERSBURG

111 Central Ave, Gaithersburg, MD 301-947-3626 Admin@UnityOfGaithersburg.org UnityOfGaithersburg.org We are a vibrant spiritual community awakening love, joy and abundance in all. We honor all people and inspire them to live out their potential.

SPORTS REHABILITATION SHAANS CHIROPRACTIC AND SPORTS REHAB CLINIC 2946 Sleepy Hollow Rd, Ste 2-A, Falls Church, VA • 703-237-2161 Contact@ShahverdiChiropractic.com ShahverdiChiropractic.com Shaans Chiropractic is a topranked provider of effective patient-centered care for many types of sports injuries, including injuries involving the musculoskeletal system and nervous system. See ad, page 13.

Calendar A wonderful resource for filling your workshops, seminars and other events.

VETERINARIAN - HOLISTIC HOLISTIC VETERINARY HEALING

Pema Choepel Mallu, DVM, CVA, M.Ac. L.Ac 12627 Wisteria Dr, Ste C/D, Germantown, MD 240-715-6570 HolVetHealing@gmail.com HolisticVeterinaryHealing.com We offer integrative compassionate veterinary care. We view your animal as a whole focusing on the root cause of dis-harmony for long-term healing. See ad, page 31. .

WOMEN’S HEALTH

BEAUTY VANTAGE, LLC

207-338-2177 BeautyVantage@MyFairPoint.net BeautyVantage.com In spite of the widespread acceptance of cosmetic and surgical procedures, the drawbacks remain at cross purposes. Breast implants and fat transfer are needlessly injurious in light of the dramatic, perennial results that can be organically achieved with Natural Woman “plant-vs-implants” formula. Stay Natural and stand out in a plastic world!

raj yoga center Home of Kundalini Yoga!

Two styles available: n Calendar of Dated Events: Designed for events on a specific date of the month. n Calendar of Ongoing Events: Designed for recurring events that fall on the same day each week.

Contact us for guidelines so we can assist you through the process.

We’re here to help!

Sterling, VA (703) 376-3433 info@rajyoga.org rajyoga.org • Kundalini Yoga • Children’s Yoga

• Vinyasa Yoga • Concerts

• Workshops • Medita�on

• Fun, Friends • Music & Tea!

202-505-4835 NaturalAwakeningsDC.com natural awakenings

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