Earth-Friendly Delights for Mom

by Marlaina Donato

This year, consider putting an ecological spin on Mother’s Day by showering her with gifts that honor Mother Earth. Here are some sustainable gifting ideas.

Flower Power

Lavish her with an eco-friendly bouquet. Conventional blooms that are flown in from South America can be riddled with fungicides, carcinogen-laden floral foams, sheens and other hazardous chemicals, not to mention the huge carbon footprint required to bring them here. Locally grown, organic flowers at farmers markets, sustainable florists and small-business greenhouses are produced with fewer or no chemicals, support pollinators and require no jet fuel to get to mom’s doorstep.

Choice Chocolates

Satisfy mama’s sweet tooth with organic, fair-trade chocolate that helps cocoa farmers earn a living wage and does not promote deforestation. Opting to buy ethical chocolate prevents child and slave labor and provides women equal pay as well as opportunities to own a business. Look for certified, fair-trade labels as well as non-GMO and organic certifications.

Bling Blessings

Adorn her with ethically sourced and sustainable jewelry created from recycled precious metals, Fairmined Ecological gold and conflict-free gemstones. Beautiful, one-of-a-kind creations can be found at local artisan fairs or online from eco-conscious jewelers. Look for sellers with sustainable jewelry certifications and those that use recycled, upcycled or reclaimed materials.

Climate Café

Fill her cup with bird-friendly, shade-grown, fair-trade coffees and teas that offer a healthier caffeine fix while protecting bird populations and canopy cover. Choosing products labeled Rainforest Alliance Certified or Bird Friendly helps to ensure the habitat for 40 species of migratory songbirds that winter in plantations.

Local Luxuries

There are so many ways to support the local economy while treating mom to an unforgettable experience that makes her feel extra-special. Give her a gift certificate for a massage, aromatherapy session or makeover at an organic salon. Treat her to a fabulous dinner at a vegan restaurant. Subscribe her to receive a monthly produce box from a community-supported agriculture outlet. Pack a healthy picnic and spend the afternoon together at the park. Create a gift basket of goods made by local artisans, including beeswax candles, pottery or body treats like handmade soaps and lotions.

A More Convenient Form of Health Care

Holistic Integrative Health is a new telemedicine practice that aims to treat chronic disease by treating the root cause. Founder John D. Gonzalez, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, ANP-C, holds a doctoral degree in nursing, is a licensed and certified adult nurse practitioner, acute care nurse practitioner and certified Integrative nutrition health coach.

He explains, “I founded the business in 2022 because I have witnessed the limits of traditional, allopathic medicine personally and professionally. I was disappointed with seeing the progression of chronic disease and decided there has to be a different way. I found functional medicine and realized that I could do something to help myself and the community, therefore I found this business to do help people maintain and regain their health.”

Gonzalez provides the evaluation and management of chronic health conditions such as metabolic syndrome, hypertension, hormonal imbalances, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, autoimmune diseases, high cholesterol and others. “I provide health coaching and nutrition counseling in addition I offer visits for HIV prep prescription and monitoring,” he advises.

As a telemedicine practice, Holistic Integrative Health offers home visits as an option and limited weekend and evening hours. Gonzalez says, “I do my own health coaching and nutrition counseling, so patients are speaking with a licensed provider, not simply a nutritionist. It is commonplace that NPs, physicians, etc. do not do their own health coaching or nutrition counseling. Labs can be done in their home in most instances.” His most pressing task now is to get the word out about his unique professional services.

Holistic Integrative Health is located at 820 S. MacArthur Blvd., Ste, 105-119, in Coppel. For more information, call 469-312-0355, email Info@HolisticIntegrativeHealth.net or visit HolisticIntegrativeHealth.net.

Esoteric Healing in Houston

Soufiane Sattva, an intuitive energy healer specializing in energy cleansing, chakra balancing and alignment, crystal body layouts, reiki and tuning forks, is the owner of Wind and Water Healing Currents. He is a certified crystal healer in the Hibiscus Moon method, sound healer, reiki practitioner shamanic intuitive guidance practitioner.

After realizing his gifts, Sattva began studying with many teachers to understand their methods of healing. He says, “After a year of seeking and learning under many accomplished healers, I was ready to start my own practice. I look forward to expanding into a healing facility with multiple modalities in the future.”

He provides a unique “sattva session”, a combination of reiki, crystal body layouts and sound healing to return participants to their true self and divine essence. “We begin the session with the client standing in a large Tibetan bowl, and as I ring this bowl I ring another large bowl around their energy field and end with a Tibetan bowl on their heart chakra.” Explains Sattva. “We then move to the massage table, where I test the spin of each chakra and intuitively lay a crystal on each chakra. I follow this with reiki over each chakra and further integrate the work with a sound bath to remove any stuck energy.” He advises, “I listen and allow people to express themselves without the fear of judgement. I hold space for others in a safe place.

In addition to daily private sessions and facilitating events in town Sattva will conduct sound meditations in Beltane on May 1; a gong activation on May 5, a lunar eclipse and full moon men’s circle with Bhavin Misra and John Marshall on May 16, a sound bath and embodiment with Kristina Woods on May 22, a celebration of the International Day of Yoga and summer solstice an June 21.

Wind and Water Healing Currents is located at 7951 Katy Fwy., Ste. N, in Houston. For more information, call 713-9930550 or visit tinyurl.com/SOUFIANESATTVA

Calling All Babies

Kelli Washington and Tychia Beaty founded nonprofit Maternity Journey in 2018 as an organization dedicated to improving the narrative surrounding prenatal and postpartum experiences in limited-resource communities. Washington says, “Our experiences supporting families in all walks of birth and postpartum and witnessing first-hand the pregnancy and parenting disparities that breed the Black maternal mortality and morbidity crisis we face today drove us to a mission of providing free maternity support and resources to communities in Houston.”

They believe that families should not have to scramble for funds or resources during such a sensitive and sacred time in their life. Maternity Journey programs ensure that young, firsttime, single mothers are granted adequate support throughout their maternity journey to truly shift the narrative.

Their Kenzie Keeper Program (KKP) was created to provide doula support The Get&Give program ensures the needs of families are met so they can provide children with the materials they need to thrive. Support circles for expecting and experienced moms and dads offer holistic support for their emotional and educational needs. The birth collective, the heart of the organization, comprises six birth doulas and educators.

Washington has always been infatuated with pregnancy and babies. “As a child, my favorite shows were A Baby Story, I didn’t know I was Pregnant and 16 and Pregnant,” she I was amazed at how our bodies can grow little humans and feed them and raise them. I knew that when I grew up, my profession would be in the field of birth and babies!”

Maternity Journey is located at 6250 Westpark Dr., Ste. 305, Houston. For more information, call 832-521-8207, email Info@MaternityJourney.org or visit MaternityJourney.org