Columbia Natural Awakenings 0920

EE R F

HEALTHY LIVING

HEALTHY PLANET

EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING Self-Care for Tough Times NATURAL ANTIVIRALS

STRENGTHEN YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

SPICE UP HEALTH

USING HERBS FOR FLAVOR AND MEDICINE

YOGA EVERY BODY for

September 2020 | Columbia Edition | ColumbiaNaturalAwakenings.com

September 2020

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Columbia Edition

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September 2020

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Contents 16 YOGA FOR EVERY BODY

Adaptive Ways Ease Pain and Immobility

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18 SPICE UP HEALTH

Using Herbs for Flavor and Medicine

21 EMOTIONAL

WELL-BEING IN THE PANDEMIC AGE

Self-Care Strategies for Tough Times

26 CARS GO VEGAN

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Leather Interiors are on the Way Out

28 NATURAL ANTIVIRALS Help in Staying Strong and Healthy

30 RAISING RESILIENT KIDS How to Help Them Bounce Back

32 FINDING THE RIGHT TUNE FOR PETS

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Music Calms the Animal Soul

33 HAPPINESS HELPERS Five Ways to Be More Positive

DEPARTMENTS 7 community news 12 health briefs 14 global briefs 16 fit body 18 conscious

eating 26 green living 4

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8 healing ways 2 30 healthy kids 32 natural pet 33 inspiration 36 calendar 37 natural

directory 39 eco tip

Natural Awakenings is a family of more than 70 healthy living magazines celebrating 25 years of providing the communities we serve with the tools and resources we all need to lead healthier lives on a healthy planet.

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HEALTHY LIVING HEALTHY PLANET

COLUMBIA EDITION

letter from publisher

Sailing …

“Well, it's not far down to paradise, at least it's not for me. And if the wind is right you can sail away and find tranquility. Oh, the PUBLISHER Annette Carter Briggs canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see. Believe me.” Happy EDITOR Sara Gurgen DESIGN & PRODUCTION Kristina Parella September, NA readers! This month is recognized as National

Billy Briggs Classical Music Month, so I offer to you as a personal prelude the CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Odell Williams opening lyrics to one of my favorite songs, Sailing, by Christo Kristi Antley pher Cross—timeless, deeply inspirational, soul-stirring and SALES & MARKETING Annette Carter Briggs motivational. Oftentimes, when the issues of life and its perplexing challenges come my WEBSITE Kristina Parella way, I pull out my “secret weapon” (music) to protect and defend my personal faith, hope Billy Briggs and optimism, from which I draw fresh cups of living water and inspiration every day.

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What about you? Do you feel that music is an important and strategic ally in your PO Box # 2812 quest to walk in the sunlight of optimism, and as Cross phrased it, “believe” without waColumbia, SC 29202 vering? There is no doubt that music can be powerful and impactful—the billions of conEmail ColaPublisher@NaturalAwakeningsMag.com sumer dollars spent each year on CDs, iTune downloads and concerts attest to that fact.

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It’s a matter of science, too! Clinical studies have revealed that listening to music can NATIONAL TEAM help reduce pain and anxiety, relieve stress, and revitalize one’s psyche and mental health.

CEO/Founder Sharon Bruckman It has even been used effectively in the treatment of brain injuries and seizures. A 2011 COO/Franchise Sales Joe Dunne study by researchers from McGill University, in Canada, found that listening to music

National Art Director Stephen Blancett increases the amount of dopamine produced in the brain—a mood-enhancing chemical.

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Music is soup for the soul! Friends, my challenge and mandate to you moving for Asst. Director of Ops Heather Gibbs ward in your sailboats of life to traverse the open seas of everyday living can also be found Digital Content Director Rachael Oppy in the chorus of Cross’ iconic song, Sailing. Let’s sing it together: “Sailing takes me away to

National Advertising Lisa Doyle-Mitchell where I've always heard it could be. Just a dream and the wind to carry me … soon I will Administrative Assistant Anne-Marie Ryan be free.” Live your life between these lines. I wish you well and wellness … in every way.

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community news

Namaste Yoga Offers In-Person and Zoom Classes

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amaste Yoga is now offering in-person and Zoom classes while utilizing thorough and effective safety protocols. The popular Irmo fitness studio offers four Zoom class options and one outdoor option each week.

Namaste Yoga also offers 20 weekly in-studio classes.

Health and safety protocols include the following: • • • •

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• • •

Class participants must bring mats and props to class.

The studio mats and props have been temporarily removed.

If applicable, individuals will be asked to take any personal mats and props with them after each class (instead of storing them in the supply closet).

Attendees must provide their own water bottles.

Water, tea and candy have been removed.

Doors to the studio will be locked between classes to allow for space sanitization. A hospital-grade cleaner is used. Teachers will prop open the studio door when ready to receive students.

Shoes and personal belongings should be left on the floor close to the front door. The cubbies are taped off for now.

Attendees are asked to use the hand sanitizer located at the front desk before entering to start the class.

In the waiting area and practice room, tape is used to mark safe social distancing. Please maintain safe distance. Please note, class participants cannot gather in the studio before or after class. After class, attendees must leave the studio immediately to give teachers the time to mop and wipe down surfaces before the next class begins.

Class size is limited to eight people to maintain a safe 6- to 8-foot distance while practicing.

The studio’s back door will remain open during class to improve ventilation.

Restrooms should only be used if absolutely necessary. After use, hands must be washed for 20 seconds before returning to the waiting area or practice room.

Location: Namaste Yoga, 1085-A Lake Murray Blvd., Irmo.

For more information, call 803-315-9442. For a full class schedule, visit IrmoYoga.com. See ad, page 17.

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community news Arbonne: Great Growth Opportunities Await You

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hat would you do if you had the opportunity to make money while making a difference and having fun at the same time? “Since I have been an independent consultant with Arbonne, I have been able to build a successful business and earn extra money while working a full-time job,” says Sasha Davis. “Helping others has been very rewarding! The business model is simple, featuring low start-up costs and three ways to earn. I love using Arbonne’s products because I know they are made with clean formulations, and I want to share the products and/or business with you!”

Call or text Sasha Davis at 803-665-4352 to set up a Zoom call. See ad, page 17.

Saluda Shoals Park Hosts Drive-in Movie Night

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t’s movie night for all ages! On Saturday, September 12, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., the Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission (ICRC) is hosting its Drive-in Movie Night at the fields of Saluda Shoals Park.

Beginning at 8:45 p.m., park guests will enjoy unique arts and crafts, featured by local vendors, and food provided by a local food truck. As a note, movie attendees are asked to remain in vehicles during the movie.

Cost: $15 (per vehicle). Location: Saluda Shoals Park, 5605 Bush River Rd., Columbia. For more information, call 803-772-1228 or visit icrc.net.

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ICRC Hosts Its September Jazz Series

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eady for some jazz? The Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission (ICRC) is hosting its Summer Jazz Series on Fridays at Saluda Shoals Park. Friday, September 11, will feature the Tony Lee Group.

On Friday, September 18, Flat Out Strangers will take the stage. And on Friday, September 25, the Mark Rapp Group will entertain guests.

For music aficionados of all ages, festivities will take place on the deck of Saluda Shoals Park's Environmental Education Center from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Beer and wine will be available for purchase as well.

Cost: $10. Location: Saluda Shoals Park, 5605 Bush River Rd., Columbia. For more information, call 803-772-1228 or visit icrc.net.

The Rooted Community Celebrates National Yoga Month

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oin The Rooted Community in celebration of National Yoga Month. The Rooted Community will be offering outdoor classes in Columbia at the Hampton Preston Gardens, Hollywood Park and The Market on Main. Activities include free classes, such as live music and yoga, art and yoga, meditation and movement, and walking local labyrinths.

For more information or to register, visit TheRootedCommunity.com and sign up on Mindbody. Also follow The Rooted Community on social media. See ad, page 10.

Mini-Grants for Conservation Education

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aculty and staff members of public, private and alternative schools in Richland County are eligible to apply for grants in amounts of up to $1,000 to support campus conservation projects and youth environmental education initiatives through the Conservation Education Mini-Grant Program. Two award cycles are available. Applications received by September 30 will be considered for fall funding (2020). Applications received by February 1, 2021, will be considered for spring funding (2021).

Project work and the expenditure of funds must be completed by June 15, 2021.

All schools located in Richland County (including the city of Columbia) are eligible to compete for Conservation Education Mini-Grants. Mini-grants may be used to support conservation-related student projects, including, but not limited to, virtual learning opportunities for students; take-home activities promoting environmental stewardship; outdoor classrooms; school gardens; nature trails; wildlife habitats; rain barrels; composting initiatives; air quality campaigns; litter cleanups; rain gardens; erosion control; and streambank restoration.

For more information, visit RichlandCountySC.gov.

Dominion Energy South Carolina Continues Popular Small Business Program

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mall businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout South Carolina continue to benefit from Dominion Energy’s Small Business Energy Solutions Program.

The program recently increased incentives from 80% of project costs to 90% of costs—up to $6,000—for eligible small businesses and nonprofit customers to install energy-efficient lighting and refrigeration upgrades.

The Small Business Energy Solutions Program is available to Dominion Energy South Carolina’s small business and small, nonprofit customers with five or fewer electric service accounts and an annual energy use of 350,000 kilowatt hours or less.

For more information about how to participate or how to complete program eligibility details, visit DominionEnergySC.com/smallbusiness or DominionEnergy.com/south-carolina/ save-energy/small-business-incentives.

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community news Icon Wellness Is Open, Safe and Serving Clients

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con Wellness is taking many safety measures to protect and continue to care for its patients.

Appointments are spread and spaced, surfaces are sanitized, and masks are being worn. Now more than ever, individuals are working from home in strenuous postures while being more sedentary. This is the perfect reason people need to get their spinal health checked out.

Icon Wellness is now currently offering the most advanced spinal decompression in the state. The DRX9000 machine is groundbreaking for treating herniated/bulging discs, degenerative joint disease, facet syndrome and more. This innovative treatment is available for neck and low back areas, and can be adjusted to focus on specific spinal levels.

Other services include traditional chiropractic, rehab, personal training, and laser-liposuction and cellulite-reduction treatments. Blue Cross Blue Shield and state/federal insurance plans are accepted.

For more information, call 803-704-4264. To schedule an appointment online, visit IconChiro.com.

ICRC Hosts Its Backyard Saturday

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aturday, September 5, from 1 to 3 p.m., the Irmo Chapin Recreation Commission (ICRC) is hosting its Backyard Saturday event at Saluda Shoals Park, located at 5605 Bush River Road, in Columbia. Taking place at Leo’s Landing Playground, families can enjoy memorable experiences of nature through fun learning activities and an explorative hike. As a note, this fun-filled event is geared toward children up to 7 years of age.

Cost: $5 (parking fee). For more information or to join the ICRC Backyard Buddies mailing list, call 803-772-1228 or email RKennerly@icrc.net. Also visit icrc.net.

Natural Roots: Safe, Effective and Eco-Friendly Pest Control

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atural Roots is the Midlands’ premier eco-friendly, organic pest control company. The company’s mission is to effectively eliminate, eradicate and/or remove unwanted pests utilizing organic, non-synthetic pest control products that have minimal impact on the environment.

Natural Roots specializes in humane nuisance wildlife removal, with an emphasis on rats, bats, squirrels, possums and raccoons. These are the most common critters that tend to cause significant damage to attics and crawl spaces.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 803-915-9011 or visit NaturalRootsPestControl.com. See ad, page 23.

October Recycling Event

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n Saturday, October 3, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the counties of Lexington and Richland are hosting a recycling drop-off event for residents in the parking lot of Irmo High School, located at 6671 St. Andrews Road, in Columbia.

A free event, the list of acceptable items includes electronics, household hazardous waste, pesticides, scrap metal, tires, shreddable paper and more. In addition, Goodwill will be collecting donations on-site.

For more information, including a complete list of acceptable items, call the County of Public Works at 803-576-2400. Also visit RichlandCountySC.gov/home/events.

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kudos Clemson Extension Is Launching Streambank Repair Workshops

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he Clemson Extension is launching a new statewide program for streambank repair. This program will be offered for both homeowners and professionals in two different formats. Information includes live stake installation, plant selection, natural erosion control material, grading and upland best management practices. Pending COVID-19 developments, workshops will begin in the dormant season (October to March).

For more information, visit Clemson.edu.

Local Midlands Schools Win Green Steps Awards

Congratulations to the 2020 S.C. Green Steps Schools Top State Award Winners.

The Midlands schools are: Irmo High School (Lexington County)/Overall School of the Year; Harmony School (Richland County)/Protect School of the Year; and Linda Byars (Lexington County)/Mentor of the Year.

Keep the Midlands Beautiful; Sonoco Recycling; and the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Office of Solid Waste Reduction and Recycling established Green Steps Schools in 2003 as part of South Carolina’s Resource Conservation Challenge. The S.C. Green Steps Schools Initiative encourages K-12 schools to take annual steps toward establishing and maintaining model quality sustainability projects. Schools qualify for awards when they work with qualified mentors and submit videos or pictures with detailed captions showing their students learning, doing and teaching others about their projects.

Kudos to all of the winners!

City Roots Hosts September Harvest Dinner

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ity Roots is hosting its September Harvest Dinner on Monday, September 7, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at 1005 Airport Boulevard, in Columbia. Dinner guests will enjoy a family-style, fourcourse farm-to-table dinner featuring seasonal ingredients from local farmers and artisans. They will also enjoy a welcome cocktail by Black Rooster and wine pairings by Advintage.

Safety is the first priority! City Roots has taken measures to ensure that attendees are seated with parties of their choice to help reinforce social distancing protocols. Guests are asked to wear a masks upon arrival and until seated.

Cost: $75. Location: City Roots, 1005 Airport Blvd., Columbia. For more information, email Vanessa@F2Productions.com.

See ad, this page.

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Oak Wood Extract Can Lessen Post-Surgical Effects Hysterectomy surgery is sometimes necessary and may result in postoperative fatigue, headache, nausea, depression or pain. In a study reported in the journal Nutrients, researchers from Slovakia’s Comenius University gave 66 women recovering from a hysterectomy either a placebo or 300 milligrams of oak wood extract. Eight weeks later, those given the oak wood extract had lower oxidative stress, better energy and mood, and a greater ability to perform physical tasks and participate in social activities compared to the placebo group, which mostly saw declines in those areas.

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A brief, hands-on reflexology treatment after a major heart operation can have a significant impact, scientists at Iran’s Tabriz University of Medical Sciences report. Immediately following coronary bypass surgery, 60 of 120 male patients received a 15-minute foot reflexology treatment from nurses. The researchers found that foot reflexology decreased patient agitation and reduced the average amount of time spent on a ventilator.

Consider Mindfulness for Multiple Sclerosis Mindfulness training may help the estimated 1 million Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS) manage their emotions and process information quicker, according to a new study from Ohio State University. Researchers split 62 people with MS into three groups. The mindfulness group learned such practices as focusing on the breath and doing mental “body scans”. A second group underwent adaptive cognitive therapy training with computerized games that focused on skills like paying attention, switching focus and planning.

The third group was a control. After four weeks, those in the mindfulness group were more likely to report being better able to handle their emotions than those in the other groups. The mindfulness group also had higher levels of cognitive processing speed, a reduction in the time it takes to complete mental tasks, along with increased understanding and response times.

moc.slexeP/suileiruasucram

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Try Foot Reflexology After Heart Surgery microgen/AdobeStock.com

health briefs

amber-engle/Unsplash.com

Boost Fun Nutrition with Microgreens Halfway in size between sprouts and full-grown plants, microgreens are bursting with nutrients, but have been mostly relegated to garnishes at upscale restaurants. Researchers at Colorado State University, exploring their acceptability, fed 99 people six separate types of microgreens: arugula, broccoli, bull’s blood beet, red cabbage, red garnet amaranth and tendril pea. The redcolored varieties—beet, cabbage and amaranth—received top marks for appearance, but broccoli, red cabbage and tendril pea scored the highest overall grades. The subjects found the greens were fun (“funfetti”), colorful and attractive. Microgreens, which can be grown quickly indoors year-round with minimal water, offer a possible solution to sustainably feeding the planet, the researchers pointed out.

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global briefs

Starchy Solution A Plant-Based Alternative to Plastic

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Keeping Half the Earth Natural

A study led by the National Geographic Society and the University of California (UC), Davis, published in the journal Global Change Biology compared four recent global maps of the conversion of natural lands to anthropogenic (human activity) land uses. It concluded that if we act quickly and decisively, there is an opportunity to conserve about half of the planet’s ice-free land. The developed half includes cities, croplands, ranches and mines.

The authors note that areas having low human influence do not necessarily exclude people, livestock or sustainable management of resources. A balanced conservation response that addresses land sovereignty and weighs agriculture, settlement or other resource needs with the protection of ecosystem services and biodiversity is essential. Approximately 15 percent of the Earth’s land surface and 10 percent of the oceans are currently protected in some form.

Lead author Jason Riggio, a postdoctoral scholar at the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, says, “The encouraging takeaway from this study is that if we act quickly and decisively, there is a slim window in which we can still conserve roughly half of Earth’s land in a relatively intact state.”

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Japanese manufacturer Kuraray has introduced a renewable and sustainable starch-based barrier film called Plantic.

The plant-based packaging material can be recycled or composted to achieve a circular product cycle. Conventional packaging made from multiple layers of plastic can cause recovery issues, and perishable food imposes unique demands on wrapping. Plantic packaging washes away or decomposes after use. It includes compostable coffee pouches, as well as a barrier layer to package meat, seafood and poultry products with continuous protection against oxygen and other gases that spoil food. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that one-third of all produced food is wasted in the supply chain.

Tasty Trap

Sea Turtles Attracted to Deadly Ocean Plastic

Loggerhead turtles may think they’re biting into a favorite food when they encounter some synthetics, a study of 15 turtles in the journal Current Biology posits. Ocean plastic is often covered with algae and other marine organisms (biofouled), making it smell delicious to them. At least 1,000 die every year because they swallow plastic or get tangled up in it. Exposed to different odors in the lab, the loggerheads responded to the smell of turtle food, distilled water, clean plastic and biofouled plastic. The team found that the turtles had similar responses to biofouled plastic as to their normal food.

Kayla Goforth, a Ph.D. student in biology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who worked on the study, says, “So they have to come up to breathe. And we know that they can detect airborne odors. So when they find that there’s an odor of interest in the air, they’ll spend an increased amount of time at the surface with their nostrils out of the water. And we found that the turtles spent more time with their nostrils out of the water when there was this biofouled plastic odor or a food odor.” davidtroeger/Unsplash.com

Planetary Planning

environmental spotlight

Catching Up with COLUMBIA WATER

by Mimi Draft

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Salute to Essential Workers: his year has come with many challenges. Many people are still adjusting as the world continues to adapt to restrictions and modified operations due to COVID-19. Columbia Water is always thankful to have the support of our customers and dedicated employees. Like medical and food service professionals, utility providers must work year round to provide communities with necessities that keep people safe and offer the essentials needed to thrive.

Columbia Water’s essential crews include the staff at the City of Columbia Customer Care Center, Columbia Canal Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Lake Murray Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Wastewater Maintenance and Management, and our Wastewater Treatment Plant. In an effort to provide our customers with best in class water utility services, these facilities operate 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Columbia Water is grateful to all professions that have helped to sustain life and well-being in the Midlands during these tough times.

Over 50,000 New Meters with FREE Smartphone App: Columbia Water is excited to announce over 50,000 new digital water meter installations! With the new automated meter infrastructure (AMI) project, Columbia

Water customers have access to the free EYE ON WATER app. EYE ON WATER provides real-time updates on water usage and potential leaks.

“The 50,000-meter benchmark is a great indicator that our project is working to serve the needs of our customers,” notes Assistant City Manager of Columbia Water Clint Shealy.

AMI and EYE ON WATER align with the city of Columbia and its goal to provide high-quality municipal services as outlined

by Envision Columbia, set by the City Council in 2017. Columbia Water strives to offer optimal customer service.

all 150,000 metered accounts are expected to be complete in March 2022.

Columbia Water customers can find out when AMI digital meters will be available in their neighborhood and learn more about the AMI project at ColumbiaSCWater.net/meterupgrade.

Going Back to School: As summer winds down, many children around the country are preparing to go back to school. For parents looking to enrich environmental education at home, here is a list of websites that have great educational supplements for K-12 students: • MyAmericanFarm.org • Birds.Cornell.edu/k12 • WaterEducation.org/water-kids Planting in the Fall: Are you thinking about planting a fall garden? It’s important to know your plant hardiness zone. A plant hardiness zone helps to determine the viability of your crops based on winter weather patterns in your area. According to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, the Midlands area falls in Zone 8.

If you’re planning to plant this fall, leafy greens, like collards or kale, are noted to sustain well through autumn, and winter pansies and chrysanthemums are said to bloom well in the fall season.

AMI meters are expected to provide: • More accurate meter readings • Real-time alerts with the EYE ON WATER app about possible water leaks • The ability to better manage water use—with online and smartphone visibility

Be sure check out these water-saving tips when maintaining your yard through the fall: • Consider installing a rain barrel to save water and decrease rain water runoff • Be sure to only water your lawn to about 1 inch of water • Limit the amount of fertilizers and additives to your garden, as these items can impact local water quality in lakes and rivers

AMI started to address water utility customer concerns about effective billing practices with municipal services. The technology utilizes cell towers to transmit information from a digital water meter to billing centers. New meter installations for

For Columbia Water updates and news, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@ColumbiaSCWater), Facebook and Instagram.

See ad, page 7 September 2020

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says Ramat, who underscores the importance of listening to the body. “I learned the hard way 17 years ago when I first became a teacher. I am gentle with myself if I am unable to do a pose and embrace the modification. I go deeper in my poses now than when I was younger.”

fit body

Freedom Through Support

Yoga for Every Body Adaptive Ways Ease Pain and Immobility

by Marlaina Donato

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aming chronic pain, restoring energy reserves, improving heart health and relieving symptoms of depression and anxiety are only a few of the science-backed perks of spending time on a yoga mat. However, misconceptions about this ancient practice can make yoga seem intimidating for individuals that could benefit the most from it.

Adaptive yoga, designed for people challenged by injury, chronic pain, autoimmune disease or debilitating conditions like multiple sclerosis, can foster perhaps unexpected gains through the use of props, chairs, wall space and even countertops. From wheelchair-bound veterans to seniors with compromised balance, adaptive yoga offers new horizons for achieving well-being.

Yoga’s gentle influence goes beyond physical benefits. A 2017 British study published in the Journal of Pain Research found people with spinal cord injuries that took sitting yoga classes twice a week for six weeks were less depressed, more self-com16

Columbia Edition

passionate and more mindfully in the moment than those in a control group.

Empowerment, Not Perfection “Yoga is for any body, no matter the size, shape or color. It’s not about designer clothing, athletic ability, talents or perfection in the pose. Adaptive yoga is a movement to change this misconception and mitigate the anxiety to try yoga,” says Mindy Eisenberg, a Detroit-area certified yoga therapist and author of Adaptive Yoga Moves Any Body: Created for Individuals with MS and Neuromuscular Condition and the accompanying Adaptive Yoga Cards. For Eisenberg, the focus is about the internal experience, healing and most of all, “the sense of joy that comes from a regular practice.”

Ora Ramat, owner of the Wagging Tail Yoga Studio, in Bethel, New York, witnesses remarkable, everyday mastery in her students through adapted poses. “Many of my students are 40 to 95 years young, and the range of modification I do with them is endless,”

ColumbiaNaturalAwakenings.com

“Our students have a wide range of health conditions including spina bifida, arthritis, MS, cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, paraplegia, epiphyseal dysplasia, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, chronic back pain and more,” says Miranda McCarthy, CEO of Wavelength VR (WavelengthVR.com), a healthcare company that produces a library of science-supported content for pain management without medication. The London-based creator of Adaptive Yoga LIVE, which offers seated online classes, knows firsthand how yoga can change lives.

“Until I found adaptive yoga, I felt like I was constantly at war with my body,” she says. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 2 and the youngest recipient of bilateral hip replacement surgery in the U.S., McCarthy thought she knew her body inside and out. After 40 surgeries and decades of rehabilitation and medication, she went through a radical shift in perspective.

“When I discovered adaptive yoga, I soon realized my relationship with my body had only just begun.”

Eisenberg highlights the internal process that adaptive yoga can catalyze: “The energy and sensation that yoga students feel on the inside is much more important than what the pose looks like on the outside.” Items such as chairs, blocks, straps, blankets and bolsters are used to make traditional postures more accessible to those with physical challenges and to ensure safety. “Using props is not a sign of weakness or inferiority. We even use ambulatory devices such as a cane as a prop.

Those who require assistive devices cease to see them as a hindrance. In fact, they become an accessory,” says Eisenberg.

For McCarthy, the biggest takeaway is simple, yet profound self-acceptance. “I no longer judge myself or compare myself to able-bodied people. I gained a newfound

love for my body and a love for myself.”

Eisenberg affirms, “It’s exciting to realize that our bodies are so much more capable than we thought, and we learn that we are not defined by our individual disease or limitations. As my teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn says, ‘As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than wrong.’”

Marlaina Donato is an author and composer. Connect at AutumnEmbersMusic.com.

Online Yoga Resources Free adaptive yoga classes online from Miranda McCarthy.

AdaptiveYogaLive.com YogaJP, YouTube chair yoga classes for people in wheelchairs.

Tinyurl.com/WheelchairYogaClasses

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Yoga and MS, book from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. omsyoga.org

Adaptive Yoga Benefits from Miranda McCarthy n Increased strength, balance and flexibility—both mental and physical n Discovery of a subtle level of mind-body sensation not impeded by disability n Improvements in the quality of breathing n A sense of lightness and freedom within the body n An increased ability to manage stress n A deepened sense of wholeness and connection with others September 2020

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conscious eating

Vinegars are one of Bellebuono’s go-to methods to incorporate herbs into a diet, infusing fresh or dried herbs into red wine or apple cider vinegar for salad dressings and other uses. “Vinegar is great at extracting minerals from herbs and making them more bioavailable,” she says.

Drying herbs does not diminish their medicinal properties, but rather concentrates their essence, as it removes excess water, according to Bellebuono.

“Dried and powdered herbs are a great way to preserve the garden harvest and add herbs into everyday dishes. You can throw a teaspoon of turmeric, a wonderful anti-inflammatory herb, in spaghetti sauce or oatmeal, and you won’t even notice it,” she says.

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Best Herbal Buddies

SPICE UP HEALTH Using Herbs for Flavor and Medicine

by April Thompson

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erbs add lush flavor to all kinds of dishes, and they are culinary friends that bring the benefits of helping to restore and maintain health. “Food is medicine, and herbs bring out the medicinal properties of food,” says Kami McBride, of Sebastopol, California, author of The Herbal Kitchen: Bring Lasting Health to You and Your Family with 50 Easy-to-Find Common Herbs and Over 250 Recipes. “The spice rack is a relic from another time when we knew how to use herbs and spices to optimize health and to digest our food.”

To get a medicinal dose of an herb, consider making teas, vinegar extracts or pestos, says Brittany Wood Nickerson, the Conway, Massachusetts, author of The Herbalist’s Kitchen: Delicious, Nourishing Food for Lifelong Health and Well-Being. “Parsley, for example, is a nutrient- and vitamin-rich herb. If you garnish with parsley, you won’t get a significant amount of vitamin C, as you would if you make a pesto from it.”

Salads can also pack a healthy dose of herbs into a meal, says Martha’s Vineyard resident Holly Bellebuono, an herbalist and author of The Healing Kitchen: Cooking with Nourishing Herbs for Health, Wellness, and Vitality. “So many herbs, including violets, mints and red clover, can just be tossed fresh into a salad, offering both fiber and minerals.”

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While Mediterranean herbs like oregano and basil are often at the front of the spice rack, Nickerson also suggests lesser-used herbs such as sour sumac, anise-accented tarragon and versatile, yet often discarded orange peels, which can be added to soups along with fennel seed and bay leaves for a complex flavor. Thyme is another of Nickerson’s favorites, a hearty herb for fall dishes that’s also a powerful antifungal and aids with digestion, lung health and detoxification.

While some may think of parsley as a garnish, “It offers incredible freshness and livens up almost anything,” says Nickerson. “I use it as a vegetable and make a salad of its leaves or add handfuls of it into a quiche. Parsley is loaded with vitamins and minerals, and has detoxification properties.” Adding it near the end of cooking maintains its vibrant flavor and color, she notes.

McBride loves versatile herbs like mint and coriander that can be used in sweet and savory dishes with antimicrobial properties that help fight colds and flu. She also keeps salt shakers on the table filled with spices like cardamom, an antibacterial, anti-spasmotic and expectorant, to sprinkle onto beverages and dishes. Bellebuono also recommends infusing honey with herbs such as sage or oregano that support the immune system.

Herbal-Aided Digestion All herbs, whether leafy, green culinary herbs or spices like coriander and clove, are carminative, meaning they help digest food, McBride says. “Digestion can use up to 40 percent of your day’s energy, which is why you often get a nap attack after a big meal. Every meal needs a carminative, even if it’s just black pepper, which is one of the problems with most fast food.”

Pungent and bitter herbs, in particular, support digestion and absorption of nutrients and make them more bioavailable, says Nickerson: “Activating the taste buds dedicated to sensing bitter stimulates the digestive system.” A salad of bitter greens, for example, can help prepare digestion of a heavier meal to come, whereas a post-meal aperitif can help with digesting the food afterward.

“It absolutely adds up when you add small doses of herbs to your meals every day,” McBride advises. “Many Americans suffer from gastrointestinal inflammation from modern diets and lifestyles, and herbs can help reverse that. Your gut gets a little healing every day.”

April Thompson is a Washington, D.C., freelance writer. Connect at AprilWrites.com.

Some Herbal-Aided Delights of the fruit, just inside the membranes.

Leave the sections whole or cut them into bite-size pieces.

Toast the pumpkin seeds in a skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until they are lightly browned, have puffed up and begin to pop—4 to 7 minutes.

Combine the oil, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, shallot, tarragon and salt in a bowl and whisk together. Stir in any grapefruit juice that may have puddled on the cutting board while sectioning the fruit.

Spinach & Grapefruit Salad with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds The floral notes of tarragon in the dressing and the juicy, sour grapefruit invigorate the senses and wake up the digestive processes.

Recipe and photo from Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen by Brittany Wood Nickerson.

Yields: 4 to 6 servings 8 oz spinach (about 4 packed cups) 1 large or 2 medium-size grapefruits ½ cup pumpkin seeds Dressing ½ cup olive oil 1 Tbsp lemon juice 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp finely minced shallot 1 tsp finely chopped tarragon Pinch of salt Tear the spinach into bite-size pieces, if necessary, and place in a large bowl.

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Pour the dressing over the spinach. If any dressing is left over, it will keep in the fridge for up to a week. Toss the spinach well, then add the grapefruit and pumpkin seeds and toss gently again to combine.

Cut the top and bottom off the grapefruit so that the flesh of the fruit is exposed so it sits flat on a cutting board. Cut the peel and pith from the fruit using a sharp knife or vegetable peeler.

Set the grapefruit on one of its flat ends on a cutting board. The sections of the fruit will face up. Cut out the sections, slicing from the outside toward the center

Mint and Feta Bruschetta with Chive Blossoms Yields: 4 servings as an appetizer ½ cup fresh chive blossoms (can be substituted with other edible flowers or left out) 1 French baguette ½ lb feta cheese, crumbled, or a vegan alternative 1 cup chopped fresh mint ½ cup minced chives (can be substituted with scallions) 2-4 Tbsp olive oil Salt and freshly ground black pepper September 2020

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Preheat the oven to 325° F. While the oven is heating, pull apart the chive blossoms, removing the central stem and plucking the tiny purple florets.

Set the baguette in the hot oven and bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until the edges are crispy, but not browned.

Meanwhile, combine the feta in a bowl with the mint, minced chives and chive florets. Add enough of the oil to moisten then season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cilantro Pesto Yields: about ½ cup 2 Tbsp (heaping) walnuts 2 cups packed cilantro leaves and stems (one large bunch) 2 garlic cloves 2 Tbsp olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix well.

A happy family is but an earlier heaven.

Drain and rinse the walnuts. Combine them with the cilantro, garlic, oil and salt to taste, and a few grinds of pepper in a food processor. Blend until smooth.

~George Bernard Shaw

Remove the baguette from the oven and slice along the diagonal. Arrange on a platter with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the bruschetta mixture on each slice. Drizzle with a little more oil and serve.

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Note: For the bread to be crisp throughout rather than soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, slice it on the diagonal to start with, brush each piece with olive oil and bake on a baking sheet at 325° F for 5 to 7 minutes until crispy.

Recipe and photos from Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen by Brittany Wood Nickerson.

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Soak the walnuts overnight in enough water to cover them. (This makes them easier to digest and helps remove some of the bitterness in the skin.)

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Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary. The pesto will keep for 5 to 7 days in the fridge or for 6 months or more in the freezer.

Recipe and photo from Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen by Brittany Wood Nickerson.

Natural Awakenings recommends using organic, non-GMO (genetically modified) and non-bromated ingredients whenever possible.

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Emotional Well-Being in the Pandemic Age Self-Care Strategies for Tough Times

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s the pandemic ravages our country, we are engulfed by a sea of challenging emotions, including fear, loss, anger, disappointment and grief.

Compounding the suffering, past emotional traumas and pent-up desires are surfacing and crying for attention. One way to navigate these treacherous waters is by first enveloping ourselves in self-compassion.

Next, we can gather the courage to face our fears and experience unpleasant feelings in order to heal them and let them go. Then, we search for and internalize positive emotional states to rewire our brains for positivity. This noble voyage promises immense rewards along the way.

by Sandra Yeyati

The Cocoon of Self-Compassion

Some of us chase self-esteem like the Holy Grail, yet it eludes us when we need it most.

Faced with a failing grade or cruel insult, our self-worth withers. We can’t understand why we lost it or how to get it back. When we attach our self-worth to achievements or comparisons with other people, self-esteem becomes unstable and unreliable.

Enter self-compassion, the life-changing perspective of showing kindness to ourselves in any and all situations—a supportive best friend that lives within us and can be accessed any time, every day. A pioneer and

expert in this topic, Kristin Neff believes that self-compassion has three components: a decision to be kind to ourselves, a mindful awareness when we are in pain so that we can seek some relief and a sense of common humanity or connectedness.

We already know how to be compassionate, says Neff, an associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and co-author of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook. “It’s linked to the parasympathetic nervous system, which is a natural part of our organism. We’re tapping into this way of feeling safe, which is through care, bonding and connectedness.”

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helplessness, anger, embarrassment, disappointment, frustration and vulnerability.

“The choice is to stay aware of and in touch with as much of your moment-to-moment experience as possible and not get lost in avoidance,” she explains, adding that there are more than 30 behaviors, thoughts and emotions that we employ as distractions, including substance abuse, social media, pornography, exercise, obsessive thoughts about body image, humor and denial.

“Be aware of what you’re aware of,” she advises. “If we know that we don’t like feelings, and we know we’ve been engaged in using ways to distract ourselves, then our challenge is to be more awake and aware of

Finding Confidence Through Unpleasant Feelings

Nobody likes to feel sad or embarrassed.

We’d rather have an ice cream cone or turn on the TV. But for Dr. Joan Rosenberg, a prominent psychologist and speaker, uncomfortable feelings present an invaluable opportunity for people to transform into confident individuals that relate to the world around them with authenticity and resilience.

In her book 90 Seconds to a Life You Love, Rosenberg offers a formula—one choice, eight feelings, 90 seconds—to experience and move through eight of the most common unpleasant feelings: sadness, shame,

Making Courage a Habit In her book The Courage Habit, life coach Kate Swoboda presents a four-part method for people to face their fears, release the past and live their most courageous life.

Access the body. Practice any body-centric activity like mindful meditation, exercise or dancing every single day to release stress and anxiety, become centered and more present, and clear the mind.

Listen without attachment. When your self-critic offers a warning or criticism, hear the words, understanding that this is fear trying to protect you and deciding that it’s misguided and not true.

Reframe limiting stories or beliefs.

Amend your internalized self-critic’s messages to be more respectful and supportive. If it says, “You’re stupid to try that,” revise it to, “I’m smart because I’m willing to try.”

Create community. Reach out to like-minded individuals that are supportive of the changes you are trying to make.

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Encouraging our friends when they’re feeling down or hugging our moms in the morning is hardwired into us. When we decide to be kind to ourselves, it’s easy to think of what we would say: “I’m sorry you failed that test. You’ll do better next time.

How can I help you?” To lend perspective, add a statement about our common humanity, counsels Neff. “This is hard for everybody. You’re not alone.”

We must be aware of our pain before we can comfort it, and many of us try to suppress or resist pain, choosing to numb it with distractions like alcohol addiction or compulsive shopping. Others may get lost in the storyline of what’s happening and succumb to suffering with no apparent way to obtain relief. Self-pity or self-criticism may creep in.

Mindful awareness is the antidote to these emotional extremes, because it helps us become aware that we are experiencing pain and to stay with that pain long enough to make a conscious decision to take care of ourselves. “One easy thing is physical touch,” says Neff. “The first few years of life you have no words, so the body is programmed to respond to touch as a signal of care. Put your hand on your heart or your stomach, or hold your hand. This changes your physiology, activates your parasympathetic nervous system, helps you calm down and helps you feel physically supported. Sometimes, that’s an entryway for people.”

those times we do it, and as soon as we start to do the thing and become aware, that’s when we make the decision to stop and ask, ‘What’s really going on?’”

Discoveries in neuroscience suggest that most of us come to know what we’re feeling emotionally through bodily sensations. We might feel heat in the neck and face when embarrassed or a sinking feeling in the chest when disappointed. As feelings get triggered in the body, a rush of biochemicals in the bloodstream activate these sensations and are flushed out of the bloodstream in roughly 90 seconds.

“Most people have the impression that feelings linger a whole lot longer and that they’re going to be overwhelmed by it and never come out of it if they start. But when they understand that what they’re trying to avoid are uncomfortable bodily sensations that help you know what you’re feeling emotionally, and that these are short-lived, most people will start to lean into them, and once they do, their life changes,” Rosenberg says.

To move through bodily sensations, which may come in multiple waves, take deep, slow breaths. Try not to tighten up or clench the jaw and swallow. Notice the location and nature of the bodily sensations to help identify which of the eight unpleasant feelings it might be, and be curious as to what might have triggered it. All of this will take a few moments. With practice, identification will become faster, easier and more accurate.

“If I have more time, then I can think about whether this is connected to anything else. Is it just one thing that triggered it, or is it like something else that’s happened before?” Rosenberg says. This level of awareness leads to a calming effect, clearer thinking, improved decision making and, perhaps most importantly, an ability to speak authentically.

“If we don’t handle the eight feelings, we don’t feel capable in the world,” she says.

The ability to speak adds to that empowerment. “From asking someone to stop a behavior so that you feel safer to telling someone you love them, asking your boss for a raise or letting people know about yourself and your work to garner opportunities and desired experiences—it cuts

across every aspect of our lives and is absolutely crucial to our sense of well-being.”

Rewiring the Brain for Positivity

Discoveries in neuroplasticity have revealed that the brain changes throughout life well into adulthood. It’s designed to learn not just ideas and information, but skills, attitudes, feelings and moods. Rick Hanson, a clinical psychologist and author of several books, including Hardwiring Happiness and Resilient, contends that we can develop greater happiness, just like we can develop greater depression.

“There’s a lot of research that shows that through deliberate little practices spread out through the day or sometimes more formal practices like psychotherapy or meditation, we can actually produce physical changes in the brain that are now measurable with things like MRIs,” he remarks.

Hardwiring happiness is easy, pleasurable and doesn’t take a lot of time. “If you take

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Building Up Our Happiness Quotient

Slow down, breathe and see the big picture. This simple practice brings us into the present moment, reduces the stress activation in the body, disengages us from verbal chatter and negative reactivity, and buys us time to see more clearly.

Take three breaths, making the exhalation longer than the inhalation.

care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves,” says Hanson. “Little steps gradually move us forward a breath at a time, a minute at a time, a synapse at a time.

Bit by bit, we grow the good inside while gradually releasing the bad.”

“Our power to positively influence who we are in small, genuine ways every day is really important to compensate for the brain’s negativity bias, which makes it like Velcro for bad experiences, but Teflon for good ones,” he says. “We evolved a negativity bias over the 600-million-year evolution of the nervous system. Learning from

negative experiences and mistakes was a critical survival skill, so we have a brain that is designed to scan for bad news, overreact to it and fast-track it into memory. It’s not our fault, but it is our responsibility to deal with it by first, feeling the negative without reinforcing it and second, focusing on the positive and taking it in. Gradually, you can give yourself a brain that’s like Velcro for the good and Teflon for the bad.”

Five-Minute Challenge Take in the good. It could be a flower blooming, birds singing or a nice exchange with another person. Slow down, take a few breaths and let it sink in for a minute or two.

Focus on something to cultivate. Perhaps it’s patience or gratitude. Look for opportunities to have an experience of this quality and internalize it for another minute.

Marinate in pleasant feelings. Cultivate a sense of calm, contentment or warm-heartedness for a couple of minutes.

Sandra Yeyati, J.D., is a professional writer.

Reach her at SandraYeyati@gmail.com.

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These exercises are recommended by psychologist Rick Hanson:

September 2020

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Cars Go Vegan Leather Interiors are on the Way Out

by Yvette C. Hammett

C

onsumers are becoming more conscious about their purchases in light of the ongoing climate crisis exacerbated by animal-based agriculture.

As they begin to make better choices in what they consume, wear and drive, vegan car interiors are becoming more popular. The environmental impact of producing leather, foam and other materials is being replaced in some instances by alternatives that are becoming more readily available to environmentally conscious consumers.

The Toyota Prius line uses Sof-Tex synthetic leather or other synthetic cloth upholstery which bolsters its reputation as a sustainable automaker. Mercedes Benz and BMW are offering customers plant-based alternatives and Tesla has been dropping leather from its upholstery choices for a while now, with the Model 3 and Model Y already sporting vegan-only interiors. The Volvo Polestar 2 also comes standard with vegan upholstery, along with recycled wood. And the 2020 Range Rover Evoque, Velar and Jaguar I-Pace SUVs all offer consumers vegan interiors.

Research and development is ongoing in this realm to create faux leather

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that not only looks good, but is actually more durable and easier to maintain than leather. Vegan “leather” is being produced from cork, glazed cotton and even bark cloth, so it’s not just a matter of replacing animal-based products with unsustainable plastic.

With funding from Honda and Ford, Bharat Bhushan, Ph.D., director of the Nanoprobe Laboratory for Bio- & Nanotechnology and Biomimetics in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs of Ohio State University, Columbus, developed a faux leather that has the potential to be used on both seats and dashboards.

“I work in technology to repel water and oil from a variety of surfaces,” Bhushan says. “Leather gets very sticky when it is hot, so we thought it would be great to repel water or any other contaminant to avoid that stickiness and help it remain clean.” The side benefit, he further notes, is that it’s an alternative to animal hide.

Audi Head of Design Marc Lichte, whose twin daughters are both vegan, says vegan leather is a huge selling point for customers and that both the Audi e-tron GT and Q4 will be animal-free. Faux leather will replace the

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green living

traditional leather, and all cushions, window trim, armrests, headliners and center consoles will be manufactured with recycled materials.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) made a major push in the past few years to increase production of vegan-based car interiors. In 2016, PETA conducted an investigation into JBS, the world’s largest leather supplier, which sells to car companies from GM to VW and more. “What it found was that the supplier severely mistreats the cattle being raised for the leather with hot irons on the face, electrocution, beatings and cutting their throats while they are still conscious,” says Jennifer Behr, corporate responsibility officer for PETA. “When consumers are shopping, they should take that into consideration. Those interiors came from a cow that lived a miserable life and died a painful one.”

Beyond that, cattle represent a climate risk. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published a study showing that knowledge of the environmental ramifications from cattle is not well known by the average consumer. “The livestock industry is the source of a broad spectrum of environmental impacts,” the study states.

“The first and most important is climate change.” It’s estimated that 18 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the livestock industry. Enlightened consumers are using that information to determine what they purchase, from food to cars.

BMW spokesperson Oleg Satanovsky says vegan options are not new for his company; they’ve been around for decades, but options have been updated.

BMW uses a material called SensaTec, a new brand name for its non-animal-sourced upholstery “to reflect the more upscale design and feel of the materials,” he contends.

“We look to nature for clues” to develop alternatives, Bhushan says. His research was based on the lotus leaf and its resiliency—it’s both water and oil repellant. “A single species like that can be used for many things,” with little or no environmental impact.

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Yvette C. Hammett is an environmental writer based in Valrico, FL. Connect with her at YvetteHammettHull49@gmail.com.

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healing ways

Natural Antivirals

Help in Staying Strong and Healthy

by Ronica O’Hara

infection from becoming symptomatic or severe,” explains Leo Galland, M.D., a global leader in functional medicine and author of Power Healing: Use the New Integrated Medicine to Heal Yourself.

Eating healthy foods, sleeping seven to nine hours a night and exercising at least 150 minutes a week are also key in fortifying our natural defenses against viruses. Steps still necessary for COVID-19 protection include hand-washing, mask-wearing, social distancing and sterilizing objects and surfaces.

Scientists report that some vitamin and mineral deficiencies appear to be linked to poor COVID-19 outcomes, while adequate levels help combat other viruses. ConsumerLab.com, which provides comprehensive research overviews and information on nutritional products, lists these natural supplements as potential aids against COVID-19, although at this early stage, none have been proven to work:

I

n these sobering times, we must use every weapon in our arsenal against invasive viruses, including often-overlooked natural remedies with antiviral properties. As is also the case with pharmaceutical agents, natural approaches have not been shown to stop an aggressive virus in its tracks, but they may ameliorate symptoms. “Nutrition and supplementation are unlikely to prevent an infection, but they may help prevent the

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Vitamin D: According to Galland, vitamin D “stimulates your immune system to produce factors called defensins and cathelicidins that kill viruses.” People with levels below 30 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) were 45 percent more likely to test positive for the coronavirus and 95 percent more likely to be hospitalized, Israeli researchers found. Getting three 30-minute sessions of sun exposure a week and eating D-fortified

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Baseline Protectors

foods raise levels, and supplementing with up to 2,000 international units daily is generally considered safe.

blood pressure, congestive heart failure, kidney disease or low potassium levels are advised against its use.

Zinc: “Zinc throws a wrench in the viral replication machine and helps fight infections by boosting the production of antibodies,” says Nicole DeMasi, an integrative dietitian nutritionist in Los Angeles. Zinc lozenges may ward off the coronavirus in the upper respiratory tract. The recommended dosage is 15 to 30 milligrams (mg) a day for up to two weeks.

Astragalus: Known as huang qi, astragalus “is one of the most powerful herbs used in Chinese medicine for people with weakened immune systems,” says Tsao-Lin Moy, a New York City acupuncturist and herbalist. It’s best taken as a hot or cold tea using tea bags or the root itself.

Vitamin C: A cup of orange juice, tomato juice or a kiwi supplies most of the minimum recommended intake of vitamin C, a vital supplement for white blood cells that fight viral infections. Supplementing with 1,000 mg daily is also safe. Intravenous megadoses are being studied for critically ill COVID-19 patients, but no evidence exists so far that higher levels prevent infections, reports ConsumerLab.com.

Potassium: A critical antiviral mineral and electrolyte, low levels of potassium were found in 61 percent of 175 Chinese patients hospitalized with COVID-19, making them more prone to heart damage, reports the Journal of the American Medical Association. Foods that boost levels include potatoes, squash, lentils, spinach, avocados, bananas and raisins.

Supplemental Supporters

When choosing supplements proven to be effective, “Much of what we know and can apply is based on our previous research on viruses of the past,” says Monisha Bhanote, M.D., an integrative physician in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Here are some good choices.

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Melatonin: Known best as the hormone that regulates sleep, melatonin also supports antiviral immunity and helps control inflammation in viral infections. A study of 11,672 people tested for COVID-19 found that those taking supplemental melatonin were less likely to test positive, and a clinical study is underway to see if 2 mg a day helps protect healthcare workers. Typical dosages range from 0.3 to 3 mg.

Licorice Root Extract: This herb contains a substance called glycyrrhizin that makes it hard for a virus to attach to and invade a cell and hinders its ability to replicate, slowing the spread from one cell to another. Chinese doctors used it with other traditional herbs to combat COVID-19, and studies have shown it effective against an earlier coronavirus, as well as against HIV, herpes, viral hepatitis and respiratory infections.

For dosage, follow package directions. People with high

Andrographis: This herb has long been used for colds and throat infections in China and India, and may prevent flu viruses from binding to cells. In a Swedish study, flu patients that took an andrographis extract along with Siberian ginseng recovered more quickly with fewer complications than those given a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved flu medication. Because of its potency, it’s best to consult a health practitioner to avoid interactions. The recommended dosage is 400 mg twice a day.

Fightin’ Foods

To lower the inflammation linked to poor viral outcomes, integrative physician Monisha Bhanote, M.D., recommends a predominantly whole foods diet with at least five to seven servings of vegetables and two to three servings of fruit a day.

Quercetin-rich foods, such as apples, onions, broccoli, raspberries, parsley and celery are especially important, she says, because the bioflavonoid enhances zinc’s antiviral actions: “It functions as a zinc ionophore, chelating zinc and transporting it into the cell cytoplasm.” Quercetin can also be taken as a supplement in doses ranging between 500 and 1,000 mg daily.

Garlic has potent antiviral and antibacterial properties, and can be cooked into food, eaten raw in salads and dressings or obtained from capsules of allicin, the active component.

Green tea has epigallocatechin gallate, a compound with “a wide range of antiviral activity, especially in the early stages of infection, by preventing viral attachment and entry into the cell,” says Bhanote. Aim for three to five cups a day.

Ronica O’Hara is a Denver-based health writer. Connect at OHaraRonica@gmail.com.

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Raising Resilient Kids How to Help Them Bounce Back

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by Ronica O’Hara

n these turbulent times, children need to know how to confidently weather and deal with changes no matter what life hands them, say many psychologists. Studies show that when kids are resilient—having the ability to recover quickly from difficulties—they are less fearful and anxious, more confident and empathetic, and better able to handle cataclysmic events like 9/11.

Resilience can help them deal creatively with everything from cyberbullying to societal change. A Florida Atlantic University study of 1,204 children found that those that agreed with such statements as, “I can deal with whatever comes my way,” “I am not easily discouraged by failure,” and, “Having to cope with stress makes me stronger,” were less likely to be bullied in person or online and better able to cope when it occurred.

Resilience can be taught and learned at any stage in a child’s life, studies suggest. Some useful strategies include:

1

Let them know they’re loved and supported. One stable, committed relationship with a supportive adult such as a parent, grandparent, aunt, teacher or coach is what a child needs to be resilient, according to research from Harvard’s Center for the Developing Child. This can be particularly important for children raised in lessthan-ideal circumstances. “It is absolutely critical for African-American children to learn resilience due to the current climate of hostility and racism, the inherent disad-

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Make resilience a household word.

When San Diego child psychologist Bruce Thiessen’s daughter Kassidy was 4, he’d pretend to be the wolf in The Three Little Pigs, howling, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!”

She would reply, “Go ahead! I’ll rebuild it tougher and stronger!”

It was his way of embedding resilience in her, which he and his wife Roxie have reinforced with books, movies and songs. “Making the theme of resilience dominant in multiple activities will make an enduring, indelible impression on your child,” he says.

3

Be a good example. “The most important thing to cultivate resilience, mindfulness and any other emotions really, is for parents to practice and model these things themselves,” says Christopher Willard, Ph.D., a Harvard lecturer and author of Raising Resilience: The Wisdom and Science of Happy Families and Thriving Children. Adults need to bounce back from setbacks, whether it’s a social media mistake or a lost job, and find ways to reframe what happened in a positive light.

To convey that attitude to a child, ask at dinner or bedtime, “What was the rose in your day? The thorn? What did you learn? What would you do differently next time?” The parent can model responses to these questions by sharing their own rose and thorn.

4

Let them figure things out. “As tempting as it may be to step in every time you see your children struggling, allowing them to figure things out on their own builds resilience,” says Katie Lear, a Davidson, North Carolina, therapist specializing in childhood anxiety. “On the flip side, when a parent hovers or immediately steps in to solve a child’s problem, the child may interpret

Resilience is Just a Deep Breath Away Mindful Means to Resilience BounceBack Breathing

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vantages in education and household income they are born into and hostile, crime-infested neighborhoods where they live,” says Damon Nailer, a Monroe, Louisiana, motivational speaker and author of Living, Loving, Leading. For children in all circumstances, he says, it’s important to “teach them that setbacks, failures, losses and adversity help you to learn, grow and become stronger.”

Mindfulness—being in the moment without judgment—has been linked to youthful resilience, numerous studies show, perhaps because it allows a child to take a deep, calming breath in the midst of a trying event. “Mindfulness training really does create new brain connections that boost resilience to stress,” says Christopher Willard, a Harvard lecturer and author of Growing Up Mindful. When children learn mindfulness, he says, they “can better self-regulate their emotions, and stress is less likely to overwhelm them and lead to mental health issues like anxiety or depression.” Getting a child started on mindfulness can be as simple as teaching them a breathing exercise.

Chocolate breathing: Imagine you are holding up a mug of hot chocolate. Breathe

in through your nose like you are smelling it, then exhale through your mouth like you are cooling it off. Repeat for a minute or two.

Bumblebee breathing: Sitting comfortably, breathe in through your nose for a

count of four. Exhale, making a buzzing or humming sound. Repeat 10 or more times.

Mountain breathing: While inhaling through your nose, raise your arms high

above your head and bring your palms together, imagining you are as high as a mountain. Then ground your feet into the floor, imagining roots going deep into the earth. Exhale through your mouth while lowering your palms together in front of your chest. Repeat several times.

Count breathing: Closing your eyes and sitting quietly, count “one” to yourself as you exhale. With the next exhale, count “two” and so on up to “five,” start back at one again, and repeat for at least five minutes.

that behavior as, ‘I don’t trust you to be able to do this without help.’” Asking a child how they plan to solve a problem rather than questioning why the problem happened in the first place is a way to teach them creative problem-solving, advises Lynn Lyons, a Concord, New Hampshire, psychotherapist and co-author of Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents.

5

Teach thankfulness. Feelings of gratitude bolster resilience, studies show. For example, college students that performed gratitude-inducing

exercises reported feeling better able to handle academic challenges. “Teach your child to look for the gift within every problem,” advises C.J. Scarlet, author of Heroic Parenting: An Essential Guide to Raising Safe, Savvy, Confident Kids.

“That’s often hard to do in the midst of challenges, but just knowing there will be a gift found at some point can help your child to ride out the storm with greater patience and confidence.”

Ronica O’Hara is a Denver-based health writer. Connect at OHaraRonica@gmail.com.

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natural pet

Finding the Right Tune for Pets Music Calms the Animal Soul

S

ometimes it takes a little dog to bring about a big truth, as Cheryl Christine, a professional musician and composer in Ridgeland, South Carolina, learned. “I was playing the piano at a party and the owners had a hyper little dog. After a while, I started playing some of the music from my CD and the dog stopped, turned around and came up to me, and just sat there and listened. The owners were shocked.”

The mood of dogs and cats can be improved by hearing the right kind of tunes, but it’s important to choose their music wisely, because they are more highly attuned to sensory cues than humans.

Resounding Research The nicest notes for animals have been well studied, especially dogs. Colorado State University researchers found that auditory stimulation with music can be helpful or detrimental. Results of a study in the Journal of Veterinary Behavior suggest that dogs sleep more and bark less when they listen to classical music; and they shake more and rise to their 32

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feet when exposed to heavy metal music, possibly from nervousness.

Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., a zoologist and certified applied animal behaviorist in Wisconsin, wrote her dissertation on the effect of different types of sounds upon working domestic animals. “What is important is not whether the music is ‘classical’ or ‘heavy metal’, but whether it includes a set of acoustic features that appear to be universally associated with soothing or stimulating internal states,” states McConnell in her blog, TheOtherEndOfTheLeash.com.

McConnell explains that, “Pure tones and regular rhythms are associated with positive states.” On the other hand, harsh, noisy tones and irregular rhythms are linked with negative ones. She adds, “A tempo matching an animal’s resting heart rate (or respiration) tends to be calming.”

Composers and musicians are currently writing music specifically for animals with the aim of reducing stress from noise or separation, assisting with healing, controlling overeating and soothing irritability.

serejkakovalev/AdobeStock.com

by Julie Peterson

Christine was volunteering at a local animal shelter that played country music for the cats. “I wondered what their reaction would be if I wrote some meditative music with different tones—beta/alpha waves—to present to them alternative sounds,” she says. She composed some music and experimented with it in the cat room, noticing that the animals reacted positively to certain tones. That eventually led to a CD for cats, and then one for dogs, with the proceeds donated to the ASPCA and the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, in New York City.

Harmonies for Hounds The Rescue Animal MP3 Project, an organization that has donated free MP3 players filled with music to more than 1,420 animal shelters and sanctuaries, was founded by Pamela Fisher, a holistic veterinarian in North Canton, Ohio.

Calmer animals are more likely to be adopted, and the music is designed to provide a relaxed environment for animals so they can better cope with stressful housing conditions. The MP3s contain a variety of music and artists, including selections like Canine Lullabies, by Terry Woodford, therapeutic music expert; Pet Calm, Pet Healing, by hypnotherapist Rick Collingwood; and Harp Music to Soothe the Savage Beast, by Alianna Boone, who states, “The structure of the harp is considered to be the most healing instrument next to the human voice.”

Pet owners may need to listen more closely. “We so often focus on other aspects of their environment—Is their dog bed comfy? Does it look pretty to us?—and fail to attend to the impact of sound on our dog’s environment (not to mention our own),” writes McConnell about new animal-music studies.

There are many melodic medleys for pet parents, but buyer beware. “If you’re to spend your money on this, make sure you are looking at music backed by research,” advises Christine.

For more information, visit Cheryl Christine.com.

Julie Peterson writes about wellness for people, animals and the environment.

Reach her at JuliePeterson2222@gmail.com.

inspiration

HAPPINESS HELPERS Five Ways to Be More Positive

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by Brad Aronson

tudies show that when we see the positive more often, we’re happier and kinder to ourselves and to those around us. Luckily, we’re not locked into one way of viewing the world. We can choose to see things in a more positive fashion.

Here are some steps we can take to teach ourselves to look for the positive more often.

Eventually, the brain can get into the habit of doing this without any prodding.

Compliment at least one person every day. Maybe we can begin the day

by sending a short email or text telling someone why we appreciate them. Besides reshaping how we see the world, we might make someone’s day.

Keep a gratitude journal. Every

night, write down three things to be grateful for. Researchers have found that people that regularly keep track of what they’re grateful for are happier. We can also have a nightly family discussion about what happened that day that we’re thankful for.

Perform a daily act of kindness.

When we perform a kind act every day, we start noticing other opportunities to be kind, creating a cycle of positivity in our minds. Think small—a thank-you note or letting someone cut in front of us in traffic.

Be mindful of who and what we expose ourselves to. The people we

spend time with and what we watch, listen to and read all send messages to our brain that influence how we see the world.

Train the brain for positivity. Here is a simple 10-minute exercise that can train the mind to think differently:

• Get a pen and paper. Take only

three seconds to look around the room and remember everything that’s red. Then take only a few seconds to write a list of everything you remember that’s red. Finish this step before continuing.

• Now write down everything that is blue. Chances are that like most

people, we won’t remember the blue things nearly as well because we weren’t looking for them. We see what we look for, and that’s as much an asset as a shortcoming.

Training the brain to be more positive takes time, but it’s a priceless opportunity to change our perspective and become happier.

Brad Aronson, a tech entrepreneur and investor, is the author of HumanKind: Changing the World One Small Act At a Time. Connect at BradAronson.com.

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calendarofevents NOTE: All calendar events must be received by September 10 (for Oct issue) and adhere to our guidelines.

To submit listings, email ColaPublisher@NaturalAwakeningsMag.com. Costs $20 for 35 words each month.

ALWAYS CALL AHEAD BEFORE ATTENDING EVENTS TO AVOID LATE CANCELLATIONS AND CHANGES At the Table Online, Zoom and Facebook Live Classes–Sharon is offering Zoom cooking classes for all ages (kids’ class teaches cooking fundamentals and healthy food choices), Zoom plant-based cooking classes, and family and group online Zoom cooking parties. Info/cost: Call Sharon at 803-2385876 or visit AtTheTablellc.com.

Canvases With Candace Virtual Art School–We are providing art “at-home” kits. Our kits include online instruction with live teaching and interaction.

Enrolling students daily hoping to connect to the home-school population and collaborate with their learning styles and structures. Join on Facebook at Facebook.com/canvaseswithcandace, or contact Candace at 718-924-1752 or CanvasesWithCandace@gmail.com.

Dowdy Rudolph Chiropractic–We are open and spacing appointments consciously. We are sanitizing our office and waiting areas throughout the day and wearing personal protective gear. Call 803-3766293 to schedule an appointment.

Jubilee Resumes Sunday Services–11am. Practicing safe distancing and wearing masks. Jubilee!

Circle, 6729 Two Notch Rd, Columbia. Info: RevCandace@JubileeCircle.com, JubileeCircle.com.

Rooted Community Yoga Classes–Sundays, 10am–All Levels Flow with Lindsay; Mondays, 6pm–All Levels Flow with Anne; Tuesdays, 6pm– Yoga Sculpt with Aria; Wednesdays, 9:30am–Pilates with Jessica; Thursdays, 9am–All Levels Flow with Pam; Fridays, 10:30am–All Levels Flow with Anne; Saturdays, 9am–Dynamic All Levels Flow in the Park with Aria. The Rooted Community, 141 S Shandon St, Columbia. Info/cost: Call Anne Miller at 803-730-3976.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5

Backyard Saturdays–1-3pm. Families enjoy memorable experiences of nature through fun learning activities and an explorative hike. Ages 0-7 years.

Cost: $5. Saluda Shoals Park, 5605 Bush River

Rd, Columbia. Info: 803-772-1228, RKennerly@ icrc.net, icrc.net.

Reiki Level I Class–Holistic Wellness and Counseling Center, 519 E Main St, Lexington. Preregistration is required. Info/time/cost: Call Joy Stagg at 803-575-0811.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7

September Harvest Dinner–6:30-9:30pm. Fourcourse farm-to-table dinner featuring seasonal ingredients from local farmers and artisans. Cost: $75. City Roots, 1005 Airport Blvd, Columbia. Info: Vanessa@F2Productions.com.

FRIDAYS SEPTEMBER 11, 18 & 25

Summer Jazz Series–7-9:30pm. Sept 11, the Tony Lee Group; Sept 18, Flat Out Strangers; Sept 25, the Mark Rapp Group. Beer and wine are available for purchase. Cost: $10. Saluda Shoals Park, 5605 Bush River Rd, Columbia. Info/tickets: 803-7721228, icrc.net.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

Drive-in Movie Night–6:30-10:30pm. Food provided by a local food truck. Cost: $15 per vehicle.

All ages. Saluda Shoals Park, 5605 Bush River Rd, Columbia. Info: 803-772-1228, icrc.net.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

Movement, Music and Meditation–4:30pm. Join Miller and Nicki Anahata Musick for an all-levels yoga practice, a walking meditation, and live music. Hampton Preston Gardens, 1615 Blanding St, Columbia. Info/cost: Call Miller at 803-730-3976 or visit TheRootedCommunity.com.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

Yoga on the Lawn–10am. Join Anne Miller for this all-levels class. Market on Main, 1320 Main St, Columbia. Info/cost: Call Miller at 803-730-3976 or visit TheRootedCommunity.com.

Reiki Level II Class–Holistic Wellness and Counseling Center, 519 E Main St, Lexington. Preregistration is required. Info/time/cost: Call Joy Stagg at 803-575-0811.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

Flow into Fall–4:30pm. Join Anne Miller for a centering walk on the labyrinth and then a fall painting session with Connie Jones Manely. The Rooted Community, 141 S Shandon St, Columbia.

Info/cost: Call Anne Miller at 803-730-3976 or visit TheRootedCommunity.com.

ongoing events sunday Writing as a Spiritual Practice–10am-12:30pm.

Every 2nd Sunday. Visit the website or email to see if this is temporarily offered online. Spiritual Director Candace Chellew-Hodge, published author and songwriter, leads workshop to help participants use creative writing as a way to grow their spiritual practice. Bring pen and paper or laptop for writing exercises. Free, but donations are accepted.

Jubilee! Circle, 6729 Two Notch Rd, Columbia.

Info/register: RevCandace@JubileeCircle.com, JubileeCircle.com.

Learning to Flourish and Empower–8:30pm.

Every Sunday. Zoom and discover Arbonne. Be the best you can be. Earn extra money while helping others. Info: Call Sasha Davis at 803-665-4352.

monday

Restoration Health and Wellness for Functional Fitness–8am. Every Monday. Virtual class with John Harris. Train your muscles for performing the daily tasks of living. Raise your heart rate and work on strength, balance/coordination, power, range of motion and mobility. Sign up on Mindbody at The Rooted Community. Info/cost/details: 803-730-3976.

tuesday

Healthy at Home Facebook Live–7pm. Every Tuesday. Please join Ms Tracy for her Healthy at Home segment live on Facebook. Info: Call Ms Tracy at 833-678-7229 or email OriginalOriginshw@gmail.com.

wednesday

Debtors Anonymous–6-7pm. Every Wednesday.

Visit the website or email to see if this is temporarily offered online. Debtors Anonymous offers hope for people whose use of unsecured debt causes problems and suffering. Find relief by working the DA recovery program based on the 12-step principles.

Free, but donations are accepted. Jubilee! Circle, 6729 Two Notch Rd, Columbia. Info: RevCandace@JubileeCircle.com, JubileeCircle.com.

It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. ~Mahatma Gandhi 36

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thursday Restoration Health and Wellness for Functional Fitness–6pm. Every Thursday. Virtual class with John Harris. Train your muscles for performing the daily tasks of living. Raise your heart rate and work on strength, balance/coordination, power, range of motion and mobility. Sign up on Mindbody at The Rooted Community. Info/cost/details: 803-730-3976.

Arbonne Zoom–8pm. Every Thursday. Are you looking to make extra income and want to be a part of a community where you can flourish and be the best you can be while empowering others to flourish? Info: Call or text Sasha Davis at 803-665-4352.

friday

A Talk on A Course in Miracles–6:30pm. Every 2nd Friday. Visit the website or email to see if this is temporarily offered online. Facilitator Gina Gibson continues a series of monthly talks. Q&A to follow. Free, but donations are accepted. Jubilee!

Circle, 6729 Two Notch Rd, Columbia. Info: RevCandace@JubileeCircle.com, JubileeCircle.com.

saturday

Yoga in the Park–9am. Every Saturday. Join Aria in Hollywood Park, 216 S Gregg St, Columbia. Info/ cost: Call Anne Miller at 803-730-3976.

Writing as a Spiritual Practice–10am-12:30pm.

Every 2nd Saturday. Workshop held in person at Jubilee and online. Minister Candace Chellew-Hodge, published author and songwriter, leads workshop to help participants use creative writing as a way to grow their spiritual practice. Bring pen and paper or laptop for writing exercises. Free, but donations are accepted. Jubilee! Circle, 6729 Two Notch Rd, Columbia. Info/register: 803-569-6385, RevCandace@ JubileeCircle.com, JubileeCircle.com.

Columbia Resilience Integrated Health Community Clinic–10am-2pm. Every 1st Saturday.

CranioSacral Therapy, energy-based modalities, self-care techniques, and a simple meal are offered by trauma-trained practitioners for the relief of chronic stress and post-trauma care. Suggested donation: $15/session. First-come, first-served.

Only six participants permitted in clinic at any one time according to COVID-19 guidelines. Call for waiting times. St Mark United Methodist Church, 3200 Lyles St, Columbia. Info/appointment: Call Pamila Lorentz at 803-749-1576.

Health on Digital Radio–1pm. Every Saturday.

Health, Hope and Healing digital radio broadcast.

WDRB media on iHeart Radio or TuneIn app.

Info/cost: Call Ms Tracy at 833-678-7229 or email OriginalOriginshw@gmail.com.

Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you’re living? ~Bob Marley

naturaldirectory 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 Natural Directory, call 803-233-3693 or email ColaPublisher@NaturalAwakeningsMag.com.

ACUPUNCTURE THE ACUPUNCTURE CLINIC

William D. Skelton, DAc 620 Sims Ave, Columbia 803-256-1000 • SCAcupuncture.com

Bill Skelton is dedicated to helping people live happier, healthier, active lives with safe, gentle and effective techniques.

He has 38 years’ experience and trained in the Republic of China.

Call to schedule an appointment. See ad, page 6.

AROMATHERAPY GARNER’S NATURAL LIFE

4840 Forest Dr, Ste 15-A, Columbia Trenholm Plaza, in Forest Acres 803-454-7700 • GarnersNaturalLife.com

Improve your level of stress, depression and mood with natural products from a locally owned family business. Our knowledgeable staff will guide you using aromatherapy for pain, anxiety, energy enhancement and more. We carry several brands of essential oils, including doTERRA. See ads, page 3 and back page.

CHIROPRACTIC CHIROPRACTIC WELLNESS CENTER INC

Dr. Shelly Jones, DC 5209 Forest Dr, Ste C, Columbia 803-771-9990 • DrShellyJones.com

Webster Technique certified, Dr. Jones provides family chiropractic care, health information and wellness resources to support the body’s natural ability to heal, allowing one to feel better and enjoy living a more active lifestyle! Call to schedule your appointment or discuss bringing our onsite chiropractic care and health-education services to your business, school or athletic team.

DOWDY RUDOLPH CHIROPRACTIC LLC Dr. Dowdy Rudolph, DC 1444 Barnwell St, Columbia 803-376-6293 • DowdyRudolphChiro.com

Dr. Gerald Rudolph, DC, focuses on finding the root cause of your problems and not just treating your pain. He utilizes digital X-rays to help diagnose problems, spinal adjustments to stimulate proper movement of spinal and extremity joints, active therapeutic movement exercises to correct movement disorders, and spinal decompression to help relieve numbness and tingling down your arms and legs. Dowdy Rudolph Chiropractic also offers a state-of-the-

art full-body lounge hydromassage table that can help you feel more rejuvenated and relaxed. See ad, page 24.

FLEX CHIROPRACTIC

Dr. Angela Larson Dr. Felicia Danio 1811 Bull St, Columbia 803-252-0108 • FlexChiros.com

With more than 22 years of experience in the chiropractic i n d u s t r y, o u r t e a m i s knowledgeable, experienced and courteous. Combining a passion for healing and alleviating pain with two decades of good oldfashioned know-how, we give you the customized chiropractic treatment you truly deserve. Our vast list of services includes: decompression; Pro Adjuster; pregnancy care; newborns, infants and toddler care; massage therapy; ultrasound; Kinesiology taping; and cold laser. Call today to schedule your appointment with Dr. Larson or Dr. Danio. Let our team help you achieve a happy, healthy life through chiropractic care!

COLLABORATIVE LAW LAW OFFICE OF SHANNON K. BURNETT

109 N Main St, Blythewood 803-786-1758 • ShannonBurnettlaw.com Shannon.skblaw@gmail.com

Shannon Burnett helps families through legal issues that normally tend to tear families apart. She works in a collaborative fashion with other trained professionals to minimize the damage done to your family; it is her goal for your family to achieve a successful outcome and healthy resolution.

COLON HEALTH SPRING RAIN HYDROTHERAPY

Linda Salyer 120 Kaminer Way Pkwy, Ste H, Columbia 803-361-2620 • LSalyer@ymail.com

All disease begins in the colon.

Constipation; slow, sluggish bowel; gas and bloating? A colonic will help to rid you of these problems. Colonics promote good digestion, help speed metabolism, help lower cholesterol, and help relieve joint pain. Linda Salyer is IACN certified and a retired nurse. Saturday appointments available with an additional small convenience fee. See ad, page 9.

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CRANIOSACRAL CHI ENERGY BALANCE

Pamila Lorentz, MSW, RN, LMBT 1544 Highway 6, Gaston 803-749-1576 ChiEnergyBalance.com

Pamila is a former hospice and home-health nurse who now provides CranioSacral Therapy (CST), energy balancing, and sound vibrational healing techniques at her clinic in Gaston and in in-home settings. CST and sound healing are "light touch" therapies that are offered while the client is fully dressed and resting on a massage table or chair. CST has a profound positive effect in facilitating relief of conditions related to chronic stress, physical and emotional trauma, and neuromuscular and nervous system impairment. Group sessions for sound and vibrational healing are limited to three participants due to COVID-19 guidelines. Individual home sessions are offered with restrictions. Remote energy healing sessions are scheduled according to the client’s need. Schedule appointments online at ChiEnergyBalance.com or text to 803-749-1576.

DISTANCE HEALING JOY LEE CONNOR, LMT (SC#1229)

Touch for Health Instructor and Consultant Reiki Master, A Course In Miracles Teacher Chopra Instructor, Meditation, Yoga, Ayurveda 803-447-6499 • JoyLeeConnor@BellSouth.net

Joy is committed to being the "Light of the World" during this time of need, offering miracles (shifts in perception). When we see differently, our mind, emotions and even our body can shift, change and HEAL. While Joy has practiced as a Licensed Massage Therapist in the Columbia area for many years, she has also worked with friends and clients around the globe doing healing work. By phone, FaceTime, email, Joy offers healing sessions and consultations from 20 minutes to two hours.

ECO-RICH SKIN CARE PRODUCTS JUST WANNA MELT LLC Misty Rawls • 803-331-0063 Info@JustWannaMelt.com JustWannaMelt.com

A green skin care company that creates high-quality, non-GMO, all-natural products that are gentle to the skin and safer for the environment. Our brands include ingredients such as organic oils, butters, flowers, herbs, botanicals, local grains, beeswax and honey. Find our products at such stores as Garner’s Natural Life, Four Oaks Farm, Wingard’s Nursery, Whole Foods and more. For a complete list of retail locations, visit our website.

Yoga is just good for you. ~Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38

Columbia Edition

HEALTH FOOD STORE MURRAYWOOD HEALTH FOODS

Richard Beale, Owner • 803-732-3847 7001 St. Andrews Rd, Irmo In Murraywood Shopping Centre Hours: Mon-Sat, 10am-6pm

Locally owned and proudly serving Irmo and the Midlands area for more than 25 years, Murraywood Health Foods is a health and specialty food store featuring the very best natural product brands, vitamins and minerals, herbs and homeopathic remedies. The store also carries natural and organic gluten-free foods and health and beauty products. Call today for more information or to schedule a special appointment.

See ad, page 14.

HEALTH & WELLNESS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH INC

120 Kaminer Way Pkwy, Ste J, Columbia 803-798-8687 • AboutYourHealthSC.com

Our main focus is health education and health-enhancing services. One-on-one nutritional counseling, Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Reams pH testing, parasite programs, aqua-chi footbaths, far infrared sauna, weight-loss programs, and thermography. Hardto-find natural, organic, whole food nutritional supplements, raw foods and natural household items. See ad, page 27.

ORIGINAL ORIGINS HEALTH AND WELLNESS Tracy R. Jacox • 833-678-7229 OriginalOriginshw@gmail.com OriginalOriginshw.com

Ms. Tracy has over 30 years of experience in the medical field.

The mission of Original Origins Health and Wellness is to educate, equip and empower the community to adopt a predominately whole food, plant-based lifestyle, which will improve and optimize your quality of life, health and wellness while preventing, delaying, reversing or eliminating chronic illnesses. Original Origins can assist you with maximizing your health and wellness holistically! Our wide range of services include health coach partnering, comprehensive health evaluations, comprehensive cooking experiences, and a comprehensive kitchen evaluation. Your health is your wealth! See ad, page 28.

HOLISTIC FOOT CARE SWEET FEET FOOT CARE

Mona Patterson/Master Pedicurist 9153 Two Notch Rd, Ste 11-C, Columbia 803-394-4421 • SweetFeetCare.com

Columbia’s foot care service with a holistic approach. Here at Sweet Feet Foot Care, we focus on Preventive Care, Effective Pedicure Treatments and Cleanliness. With advanced knowledge and skills, we help correct disorders of the feet and lower limbs with pedicure treatments and orthotics. Services are ideal for Diabetics, Seniors and Knee- and Back-Pain Issues. Gel manicures available. Call today to learn more about our services. See ad, page 22.

ColumbiaNaturalAwakenings.com

INTEGRATIVE & HOLISTIC MEDICINE EXPECT WELLNESS

Dr. Rachel Hall 130 Suber Rd, Columbia 803-796-1702 • DrRachelHall.com ExpectWellness@sc.rr.com Find us on Facebook for great health tips.

Integrative/Holistic medicine consults for anyone wanting to approach their health more naturally. Dr. Rachel Hall is board certified in both family medicine and integrative holistic medicine.

Together we will focus on finding the root of the problem, not just treating symptoms.

Call today for a consult if you are looking to achieve balance. In-house diagnostic labs and therapies. See ad, page 4.

SPIRITUAL ECKANKAR THE PATH OF SPIRITUAL FREEDOM

Contact Dee 803-749-2459 • ECK-SC.org Meetup.com/columbia-spiritual-seekers.com

Eckankar has suspended ALL group events worldwide through May 31 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will update this information as changes occur on our websites listed above and in this Natural Awakenings of Columbia listing. See ad, page 13.

THERMOGRAPHY ABOUT YOUR HEALTH INC

120 Kaminer Way Pkwy, Ste J, Columbia 803-798-8687 • AboutYourHealthSC.com

Our main focus is health education and health-enhancing services. One-on-one nutritional counseling, Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, Reams pH testing, parasite programs, aquachi footbaths, far infrared sauna, weight-loss programs, and thermography. Hardto-find natural, organic, whole food nutritional supplements, raw foods and natural household items.

See ad, page 27.

VITAMINS & SUPPLEMENTS GARNER’S NATURAL LIFE

4840 Forest Dr, Ste 15a, Columbia Trenholm Plaza 803-454-7700 • GarnersNaturalLife.com

At Garner’s Natural Life, we offer the purest, most innovative highquality natural products. With more than 130 collective years of wellness experience! Allows us to encourage your healthy choices. See ads, page 3 and back page.

Connect with us naturally!

eco tip

surgical masks and latex gloves because they jam machinery. Some dedicated providers box up used face masks and gloves and send them to TerraCycle.com, where they are sorted manually and sustainably recycled.

The cost for a small box is a hefty $148; MindBodyGreen. com suggests asking grocery stores or retailers to stock some for the community to use.

Instead of recycling, the World Health Organization recommends throwing single-use masks, gloves and wipes into a covered trash can or bin immediately after use so they are handled as regular trash. Ideally, they should be put in a resealable plastic bag first in consideration of frontline sanitation workers that can become ill from handling virus-infected materials. No mask, glove or wipe should be flushed down a toilet.

Homemade Solutions

Mask Eco-Disposal

narstudio/AdobeStock.com

How to Dispose of Antiviral Wear

Discarded face masks and gloves littering streets, beaches, parks and parking lots are a sad sight of the times, creating eyesores and more importantly, major contamination risks to pick up and discard. With 88 percent of the world’s population living in countries that have required or advised use of face coverings, disposable face masks number in the billions, especially the commonplace, single-use polypropylene variety.

Along with disposable gloves and sanitary wipes, they are clogging sewers and waterways worldwide and showing up in fish bellies and on ocean floors.

What Not to Recycle

Recycling, the go-to strategy for environmentally conscious citizens, is unfortunately not a good option.

Even in ordinary times, local recyclers won’t accept

For masks, the eco-solution that harbors the lowest carbon dioxide footprint is one made of cloth that is machine-washed and dried after each use at a high temperature or washed by hand in a bleach solution (five tablespoons per gallon of water). University of Chicago researchers found certain fabrics filter out viral aerosol particles almost as effectively as the medical N-95 mask: a layer of a tightly woven cotton sheet combined with two layers of polyester-spandex chiffon, natural silk or flannel, or simply a cotton quilt with cotton-polyester batting . See cdc.gov for instructions for using sew and no-sew masks, and many DIY videos can be found on YouTube using T-shirts, socks and napkins.

Another good eco-strategy is to buy sustainable face masks made from recycled or organic materials (GoodOnYou.eco). In lieu of recycling to help the planet, a donation can be made to an eco-organization that deals with plastic waste, such as PlasticPollutionCoalition.org or OceanConservancy.org.

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