Natural Nutmeg September 2012 by Natural Nutmeg Magazine/Essential Naples Magazine

September 2012

Natural Nutmeg Connecticut's Resource For Living Naturally

Don’t Hide the Colors Bernie Siegel, MD

The Epidemic of Learning Disabilities

Vicki Kobliner MS, RD, CD-N

Chronic Pain A Silent Catastrophe Gene Gresh, RPh

Exercise Myths, Facts and Pearls

Paul D. Tortland, DO

Self-Compassion: It’s More Motivating than Criticism or Ice Cream Alison Caldwell-Andrews, PhD NaturalNutmeg.com

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Featured Content The Epidemic of Learning Disabilities... Is It Something in the Air? Vicki Kobliner MS, RD, CD-N 12 Chronic Pain... A Silent Catastrophe Gene Gresh, RPh 26 Exercise Myths, Facts and Pearls Paul D. Tortland, DO 36

ur mission is to provide valuable insight, information and resources that will allow our readers to maintain a healthy, active, sustainable lifestyle. Natural Nutmeg contains timely information on natural health, complementary and alternative medicine, nutrition, fitness, personal growth, green living, and the products and services that support good health.

Editor-in-Chief

Deb Percival Deb@naturalnutmeg.com

Self-Compassion: It’s More Motivating than Criticism or Ice Cream Alison Caldwell-Andrews, PhD 41

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ADVISORY BOARD

News&Notes 6 Prescription for Living Bernie Siegel, MD 9

Know Your Herbs 34 Calendar 44 Resources 47 4

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

Ann Aresco, N.D. Deanna M. Cherrone, M.D. Debra Gibson, ND Andrew Gregory, DC Lauren Gouin, ND Kenneth Hoffman, LAc, CCH David Johnston, DO Roberta Kline, MD Vicki Kobliner, MS, RD, CD-N Tom Moorcroft, D.O.

Natural Nutmeg Magazine P.O. Box 447, Avon, CT 06001 Ph. (860)206-9500 Fax (860)263-8505

Healthy Self 20 Supplements 101 24

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Dr. Diane Hindman Chris Hindman Publisher@naturalnutmeg.com

In keeping with our concern for the environment, Natural Nutmeg is proudly printed on recycled paper with soy based inks. Natural Nutmeg is a free publication supported solely by our advertisers and distributed throughout Connecticut. Please call for a location near you. (860) 206-9500 or email to publisher@naturalnutmeg.com. © 2007-12 by Natural Nutmeg, LLC. All rights reserved. Parts of this publication may be reproduced and reprinted, we require that permission be obtained in writing. We do not necessarily endorse the views expressed in the articles and advertisements, nor are we responsible for the products and services advertised. We welcome your feedback.

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ow many of you are tired of hearing that little voice in your head? You know the one, it keeps telling you that you’re not good enough, not smart enough, that you’ll never reach your big goals and dreams. How would it feel if you never had to hear that voice again? Pretty amazing, right? As a life coach, we often refer to this voice as a gremlin or in more technical terms, a limiting belief. The gremlin is really just doing its job, which is to protect you from pain, trauma, emotional distress or failing – which often causes pain, trauma or emotional distress! The problem arises when this voice gets a little too loud and starts to compromise your opportunities and growth. How do you know if you are being controlled by limiting beliefs? Ask yourself the following questions and if you answer yes to one or more, you may need to have a conversation with your gremlin: 1. Do you get stuck on the dot and find reasons why you can’t move forward (i.e., you don’t have a business card or website, you don’t have a proposal ready, you don’t know everything there is to know about your product, you’re not sure it’s the right time, you don’t have your elevator speech memorized)? 2. When you have the opportunity to meet someone or talk to someone who could be very influential in helping you achieve a dream, do you make excuses as to why you can’t call them or meet them? 3. When you think about accomplishing your big goal or dream, do you feel an inordinate amount of fear and does the voice tell you it’ll never happen?

4. When you do accomplish a goal, do you find yourself unable to accept praise from yourself or others and do you tell yourself it was no big deal? If you’ve answered yes to any of these, here are some strategies to help you manage your limiting beliefs. 1. Write down 5 positive affirmations about yourself, your talents, and what you can offer to the world. Post these somewhere that you can see them regularly and verbally say them to yourself every day. 2. Challenge yourself and do the thing you fear the most. The more you are controlled by fear, the harder it is to eliminate limiting beliefs. Every time you do something that scares you and you get a positive response, it’s a huge victory for your self-confidence. 3. Anytime you feel fear or you feel stuck, it’s an opportunity for you to check in with yourself and find out why. Does the gremlin have a good reason for protecting you? 4. Focus on your dreams. Make a list of all of the things you want to manifest this year. Don’t worry about how it’s going to happen or if you think it’s unrealistic, just write down everything. Some of the wildest dreams will give you the energy to manifest the smaller ones. Just like your positive affirmations, read them every morning and every night. I find that focusing on what I really want allows me to be fearless in taking the steps I need to take to manifest these things. And remember, eliminating those limiting beliefs and turning the voice of the gremlin down takes time. After all, you didn’t form those beliefs overnight, so be gentle and compassionate with yourself. In health and happiness,

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news & notes Lightworkers Healing Method New Book and Classes Now Available

he Lightworkers Healing Method (LHM) is a healing system with an exceptional goal: to align us with our soul’s life purpose. It improves our present life by working with our past and future lives as well as our higher-dimension Guides, Angels, and Lightbeings in a powerful process that results in lasting change. LHM can improve any aspect of life and return us to our natural state of joy and fulfillment, with loving relationships and vibrant health and finances. Nothing is off limits. Lynn McGonagill, the physical-dimension LHM Founder and Teaching Channel, is the author of The Lightworkers Healing Method: BE Who Your Soul Wants You To Be, available now for preorder at Amazon.com. She explains, “Channeling Divine healing is not a gift; it is a teachable, learnable skill. The LHM Avatars lovingly lead you through the process on every page. Everyone ‘gets it’ and you can too. This book can support healing at both the individual level and for those working in the healing arts. Its overall purpose is to help a critical mass of people live their soul plans. In that way, we can help heal the planet. As we each do our part, the world transforms.” Level 1: The Foundation Sept. 8-9, 2012. Level 2: Letting Go of the Past Oct. 6-7, 2012 At The Hampton Inn Conference Center, Natick For more information, or to take a freely shared online introductory class, go to www.lightworkersmethod.com. Lynn is offering these workshops nationwide, beginning with the Boston area in September. Course credits are available. See ad on page 15.

10th Annual Comcast Connecticut Women’s Expo: The largest event in the Northeast dedicated to women

he 10th Annual Comcast Connecticut Women’s Expo will take place on Saturday, September 22 and Sunday, September 23rd from 10 - 5 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. Attendees will experience: Shopping with Hundreds of Unique Vendors, FREE Samples, Prize Giveaways, Celebrity Appearances, Fashion Shows, Book Signings, Psychic Readings, Dance Demonstrations, Beauty Makeovers, and FREE Health Screenings by St. Francis Hospital. Discover new beauty breakthroughs, meet your favorite daytime soap opera stars, meet WWE Superstars plus, visit over 400 Exhibits and enter to win Grand Prize Giveaways. This years’ Comcast Connecticut Women’s Expo is bigger and better than ever before with many new exhibitors, sponsors and stage events. The soap opera star appearance from Days of our Lives and the WWE Superstars will surely draw a record crowd. Attendees will have an entire weekend full of unique shopping and entertainment this year” says Nick Curci, President of Connecticut Expos. “We are sensitive to the impact that the current recession is having on the families in the Northeast, so we are offering FREE admission to all attendees who visit our website at www.ctexpos.com where they can print a FREE Admission Pass to the Expo.” The Connecticut Convention Center is located at 100 Columbus Blvd in Hartford, CT. Admission is $10.00 at the door (Kids 12 and under, free). A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Visit www.ctexpos.com for event details and to download a FREE Admission Pass. See ad on page 8.

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Sow Fresh Organics: Delivering More than Just Fresh Harvests

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ach Thursday, Kedhar and Karen Thiruvalam, husband and wife owners of Sow Fresh Organics, www. sowfreshorganics.com , deliver fresh, local, organic produce to their customers across Connecticut. They work with over a dozen small farms throughout the state to bring their harvests to the homes of their customers, people that might not otherwise have known about these farms. “We saw a need to help connect the smaller farms with people who either don’t know about the farm, or can’t feasibly travel to the farms each week,” says Karen Thiruvalam. “We also love the enthusiasm of the small farmer and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to watch them expand. We can’t wait to grow right along with them!” Sow Fresh Organics opened its ‘doors’ June 28, 2012 and already has received such a welcome response from members of the community, farmers and customers. When designing their business model they kept in mind the newly popular CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm program, but structured their offerings with a twist. On their website customers can choose from three produce boxes, an all-fruit box, an all-vegetable box, and a fruit and vegetable mixed box. Each come in varying sizes depending on the customer needs. “We like to think of ourselves as an online farmer’s market,” says Kedhar Thiruvalam. More than a delivery service of organic foods, Sow Fresh Organics was formed with the idea of encouraging others in the community to support each other, to give back and to choose the healthier options for themselves and their families.

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Natural Nutmeg September 2012

prescription for living

By Bernie Siegel, MD

Don’t Hide The Colors

f you want to know the power of love read Corinthians XIII. Love is blind because it does not see our faults. If you love your enemies they are no longer your enemies and you take their power away. Anyway I could not help but deliver this sermon in the hopes that it will help some of you to survive. One more story from our cancer support group which meets in Woodbridge. A woman said she started telling her parents she loved them after developing breast cancer and joining our support group. She said every morning before she left home she would say I love you to her folks and they never answered her. Three months later Betty came in all smiles. I asked her what happened. She said, “I was late for work today so I ran out of the house and my parents came out in the street yelling you forgot something. I told them I had my lunch and purse and asked what did I forget? They said, “You didn’t say I love you today.” Then came the tears and hugs and healing of many old wounds. So what I prescribe is that you call or email the people who drive you crazy for three months and let them know you love them. Then skip a day and they will get in touch with you complaining that they didn’t hear from you today. I am reminded of something else I read. A child was sitting in a chair and someone asked him to get up but he refused to let go of the arms of the chair and get up. It struck the person that when we are unable to let go of our attachments, as this child refused to get out of the chair, how limiting and destructive we are to ourselves and our lives by our insisting on holding onto things. Someone I know always says, “That’s my nature.” It’s her excuse for her behavior and my saying you could have a second nature hasn’t helped change her. Maybe someday a disaster will awaken her to what is important in her life and change her attitude and nature.

Let me close with a similar message from nature. For me the fall is a very spiritual time of year. God said it was to raise money for the New England states so I pointed out how our Creator was missing the message. For me the green leaves represent our early years when we are busy making the family tree happy and fitting in and not causing any trouble or being noticed for our differences. Then the fall of your life arrives and you realize you are mortal and will be hanging onto the tree of life for a limited time, which varies for each of us and is not something we can know in advance. So what do you do? You get rid of the green cover up and show your own uniqueness, individuality and authenticity and become the beautiful unique leaf on the family tree you were born to be. So don’t hide the colors and the talents which reside within you. As Jung said the wish to be normal is desired only by those who feel inadequate to begin with. Bernie holds a support group in Simsbury at Wisdom of the Ages the first Wednesday of each month from 7-9pm. Wisdom of the Ages, a special place to nurture your spiritual side. It's filled with items to calm the mind, heal the body & empower your spirit. They also provide massages & monthly meditation classes. Wisdom of the Ages is owned by Bernie's son & daughter- in-law, Keith & Jane Siegel. Located at 1408 Hopmeadow St. Simsbury. Please call for info or to register for Bernie's group. (860) 651-1172, www.wisdomoftheages. biz,berniesiegelmd.com. See ad on page 21. Bernie also runs a Woodbridge Support Group which meets the Second and Fourth Tuesday evenings of each month at Coachman's Square, Bradley Road, Woodbridge, CT. Contact: Lucille Ranciato at 203-288-2839 or email her at lranciato@yahoo.com.

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Are You Pushing Your Child Too Hard? By Audrey Bennett LCSW, LADC

ummer will be ending soon and the kids will be going back to school. That often means major changes in schedules and ramping up the multi-tasking functions of both children and parents. In the past 15 years there has been a greater push to get children involved in sports, classes, activities, etc. When organized in a balanced way, activities can bring great self-esteem, joy and expression. However, many children are involved in multiple activities to the extent that some children are on the brink of exhaustion and are being negatively impacted by multiple stressors. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that having children involved in school and extracurricular activities is very important, and adds necessary life and social experiences. But at times, parents push their children too hard toward “doing” and the end result is that a child forgets to “be”. Without a healthy balance of “doing” and “being” children end up with a loss of personal identity.

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Here are ways to identify if your child is experiencing an inordinate amount of stress: • Lack of energy • Complaining about having too much to do • Withdrawal from normal every day functioning • Upon waking - being “tired” • Day dreaming • Crying jags • Short tempered and bursts of anger • Change in appetite (more or less) • Interruption in normal sleep patterns (more or less) • Decline in experiencing joy about life • Decline in grades This list is also characteristic of Depression. The reason for the similarity is that if a child or an adult is exposed to chronic stress, it can lead to a major depressive disorder. One of the reasons is that neurotransmitters in the brain become depleted by dealing with chronic stress. The brain actually changes. If you notice these untypical symptoms in your child and the child is doing a lot of activities,

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ask your child if they are “stressed out” from having to do so many things. You may consider withdrawing the child from one or more of the activities to open up time for the child to “be”. Remember that rest is also part of the equation for good health. Is your child getting enough rest time or are activities keeping the child up till late hours for several days in a row? Children are constantly observing their peers and other adults and then “trying on” aspects of who they want to become. If one’s identity is emphasized on constant stress and movement they run the risk of being disappointed and depressed. A child who is inordinately stressed out may become confused about their worth, question if “I’m enough” and feel the need to please their parents even if they are not comfortable with an over rigorous schedule out of fear of “disappointing” their parents. Fears and confusion about one’s worth and doing something one does not want to do will lead to resentment. Finally, ask yourself if you have your child involved in activities which support their needs or if you have them involved to support your needs. If your need is to have your child keeping up with others, it is likely the child’s needs are not being met. Each child is an individual and may need a much different balance than the next. Take time to talk to your child, find out what type of healthy balance they need academically, socially and individually. Make the decision to enroll a child into any activity based on the child’s need. If you suspect your child may have chronic stress and wonder if they might be depressed, simply asking a child “are you depressed?” is not enough. If you observe the symptoms listed above occurring for more than a few weeks, contact a professional who can assess the possibility of clinical depression. Remember that children especially cannot easily formulate verbally what they are experiencing, and you will likely see behavioral changes before you will hear them talk about what they may be going through. Audrey Bennett LCSW, LADC. Is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor. She is also the Director of the Center for Holistic Practices and Psychotherapy 963 Queen Street Southington, Ct. (860) 276-5843. See ad on page 22.

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The Epidemic of Learning Disabilities... Is It Something in the Air? By Vicki Kobliner MS, RD, CD-N

ccording to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in six American children are currently diagnosed with a developmental delay. In the past decade, ADHD has increased by a third, autism has increased more than 300%, and 9% more children suffer from seizure activity than a decade ago. While genetics play a part in these disorders, increases of this magnitude cannot be explained by DNA alone. The National Academy of Science has estimated that environmental factors such as toxic substances cause or contribute to one quarter or more of the learning disabilities and developmental delays in our children today.

Chemicals in the Environment In many cases, these delays may be linked to derangements in the function of the thyroid gland or other endocrine systems. The thyroid gland produces hormones required for healthy nerve and brain growth. It regulates development and metabolism, and alterations in thyroid function are linked to neurodevelopmental delays, psychomotor delays and lowered intelligence. More than 82,000 chemicals are registered for use in this country, yet fewer than 7% of them have been thoroughly tested. They are found in furniture, personal care and cleaning products, water bottles, lawn care and agriculture, and plastic packaging, to name a few; in many cases these items interfere with thyroid function and can lead to learning disabilities.

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

Developmental delays have skyrocketed as the number of environmental toxins has grown. According to Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician and Director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, “A large number of the chemicals in widest use have not undergone even minimal assessment of potential toxicity and this is of great concern….Knowledge of environmental causes of neurodevelopmental disorders is critically important because they are potentially preventable.” Contemplating our ever increasing exposure to toxins and the risks that come with them can be frightening but there is no need to panic. We can continue to live healthfully without encasing ourselves in a bubble (which might contain some of those same toxins anyway!) by knowing our enemies and making educated choices as to how to avoid or minimize them. Check the list below to learn which substances to avoid and what alternatives are best.

Artificial Food Additives Colorings, flavorings, sweeteners and other artificial ingredients are a major component of the American food supply, most specifically in processed foods targeted at children. Yet these substances have been shown to affect behavior, mood and attention in children whose developing brains are most susceptible to their negative effects. While the link between ADHD and artificial food additives was discounted a decade ago, more recent research has turned this on its head, finding evidence that these unnatural ingredients do indeed affect children’s ability to think and learn. The impact of these nutrientempty additives is only getting worse since children eat five times more of these substances now than they did two decades ago. Choose foods and beverages free of artificial ingredients. The growth of the organic food industry is a boon to people seeking better alternatives to processed and artificial foods. While the best choices are still unprocessed fruits, vegetables, animal proteins, nuts, seeds and whole grains, and foods prepared naturally at home, there are many tasty additive-free packaged foods available today for busy families.

Pesticides Atrazine, Lindane and Endosulfan are just a few of the toxic pesticides sprayed liberally over farmland to increase crop growth. Their specific purpose is to kill the living organisms that eat the crops, yet these toxic effects are not limited to bugs and pests. The serious adverse effects to the nervous and reproductive systems in humans are well documented. Children exposed to organochlorine pesticides showed decreased psychomotor function and mental function, including memory, attention, and verbal skills. In another study, children born in agricultural areas where pesticides were applied had lower performance on numerous neurobehavioral assessments as compared to children from non-agricultural areas. Limited evidence also points to a link between pesticide exposure and autism. Buy organic food, both produce and animal protein. Organically grown fruits and vegetables are not sprayed with toxic pesticides, and pasture-fed or organically raised animals have not been fed pesticide-laden feed. If you choose to buy conventionally grown food, wash it thoroughly before eating, and check the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists of the most and least contaminated foods. Use only natural lawn care and pest management products.

Antibacterial Triclosan Triclosan is the chemical commonly found in antibacterial washes, soaps, dishwashing liquid and household cleaners. It has become increasingly popular in the past few years and is found in many public facilities in a move designed to reduce the incidence of

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Taking Care

With Cynthia Ebanks, R.N. Providing, support, guidance and inspiration for families challenged by illness, injury and dementia.

Sensing Care Experienced dementia care providers can all too easily remember the “bad old days’ when a diagnosis of dementia resulted in a level of care and quality of life that was, frankly, deplorable. The assumption by most authorities was that the decline in mental abilities in dementia was global; that is, that every part of the brain and every mental ability was affected at the same time and to the same degree. Past a certain point, the person was assumed to be incapable of understanding any sensory input. Care provided was focused on the physical needs of these patients, ignoring their mental needs. In many cases, those with dementia were essentially warehoused on large nursing home wards. We now know that the senses do not degrade in lockstep, and the input from your senses is integrated. Each sense contributes to an overall impression of your environment, so that sights and sounds, for example, work with each other. As caregivers, we can take advantage of this to provide patients with mental stimulation that improves quality of life. The new tool called multi-sensory stimulation. This simply means combining sensations at the same time. Multi-sensory stimulation therapy is designed to not merely engage the patient but to also help them relax. In many institutional settings, multi-sensory stimulation is provided in special rooms, with equipment that addresses all the senses. For example, a room having a vibrating chair, soft comfortable furnishings, aromas from incense or essential oils, soft and changing light patterns, and music. While this sounds expensive, you may have many of the components for such a space already. The goal of multi-sensory therapy is to address the patient’s total needs, according to their own preferences and wishes. Listen to the messages and always act from a place of love and concern

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viruses and other easily transmitted infections. This pervasive use of antibacterial agents is misguided, as proper hand washing with soap and water is equally effective without the undesirable health consequences. Triclosan is absorbed through the skin and has been identified in the breast milk and plasma of nursing mothers. While few good studies have proven that Triclosan causes learning disabilities or other adverse effects in humans, animal studies have clearly linked the chemical to hormonal disruptions, including sex and thyroid hormones. To avoid Triclosan, do not buy products containing it and rely on thorough hand washing to protect against germs.

Bisphenol A (BPA) BPA is found in plastics (including water bottles, baby bottles, food storage containers, and children’s toys), canned food, dental sealants and cash register receipts. BPA is a plasticizer that mimics estrogen in the body. It is a known endocrine disruptor which alters sexual development as well as behavior and neurologic function. In doses considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency, it can interfere with hormone receptors in the brain that play essential roles in mood and cognition. In addition to reproductive havoc, BPA produces memory impairments in animals. In children, prenatal exposure is associated with behavior changes, while adults and children may experience depression, sleeplessness, mood changes and weight gain. BPA will leach into food and liquids when heated, so never let plastic touch food in a microwave or drink from plastic water bottles that have been exposed to the hot sun. To avoid BPA, choose glass containers for food storage, buy canned goods only if the label states “BPA free”, use stainless steel, glass or BPA free bottles (especially if

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breast feeding), and don’t touch cash register receipts if you don’t need them.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) VOCs are gases emitted from certain solids or liquids. Examples of items that emit VOCs include paint, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, glues and adhesives, copier equipment and pesticides. The familiar ‘new car smell’ is actually the smell of VOCs, and these compounds can linger for months. Concentration of VOCs may be 10 times higher indoors, especially in newer, wellinsulated homes where air circulation is minimized. Many VOCs have long-term adverse health consequences including cancer, respiratory and immune system impairments and are implicated in the onset of learning disabilities. Low-VOC paints and adhesives are now available in home supply stores and are a better choice. To minimize the effect of VOCs that cannot be avoided, open windows and doors in cars, new homes, and in rooms with new carpet or paint to let them outgas. Run fans to direct air outside the home more quickly.

PolyBrominated DiphenylEsters (PBDEs) PBDEs are used as flame retardants, and their toxicity is well known. The use of PBDEs has been banned in multiple countries and in some states in the USA. They are used in upholstery, car seats, carpets, children’s clothing, and electronic equipment, and work their way into household dust. The paradox here is that children’s items such as car seats and pajamas (which use a PBDElike chemical) are designed to protect our babies against burns, yet these infants are the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of the compounds. Ongoing research has linked these chemicals, even in low doses, to deficits in brain development, behavior change, and delays in sensory-motor development in mice and rats. In one human study, a higher level of brominated flame retardants in the cord blood of babies born to mothers in the aftermath of 9/11 was associated with delays in both mental and physical development, and prenatally exposed children have demonstrated impaired fine motor skills and attention. Higher levels of PBDEs are correlated with lower scores on developmental tests. To minimize exposure, buy mattresses and fabrics made of wool which can be naturally flame retardant, and use a vacuum

with a HEPA filter to trap the toxic dust. Household furniture, electronics and clothing purchased prior to 2006 are more likely to contain PBDEs, so if you love yard sales or hand-me-down clothes, only accept products made after that year.

Perchlorate This chemical, which is found in rocket fuel and explosives, easily leaches into drinking water. In 2010, scientists tested almost 500,000 newborns and found that those living in areas with perchloratecontaminated tap water were more likely to have a dysfunctional thyroid gland. Perchlorate interferes with absorption of iodine by the thyroid gland and decreases thyroid function. While perchlorate occurs naturally in the environment, the levels to which we are exposed are not safe. It is difficult to avoid perchlorates, but adequate iodine intake will help support the thyroid. Consume iodized salt, seaweed, and consider a multivitamin with iodine as well as selenium. Have drinking water tested for perchlorates, and limit contact with fireworks and other explosives.

Lead A heavy metal which is naturally found in the earth’s crust, the adverse effects of lead exposure on brain development have been known for years. Lead in paint and gasoline has been banned for decades, but more recently lead contamination has become a concern again. Tainted products from China, including make-up, toothpaste, dishware, children’s toys and lunch boxes, have been identified as containing dangerous levels of this toxic metal. This is of great concern since ongoing research has shown that while true lead toxicity can cause brain damage and death, subtle but meaningful

changes in brain function and IQ occur even at far lower levels. In addition to undermining IQ, low level exposure is implicated in reduced attention, hyperactivity and aggressive behavior. While no amount of lead can be considered acceptable, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reduced the threshold for lead in children by half in response to these concerns. Homes built before 1978 may have been painted with leaded paint and those before 1960 had even higher lead levels. A lead inspector can test a home for lead or home kits can be purchased at building supply stores. If lead is discovered, professional removal is important since the lead dust produced by removal can actually increase its toxicity. Make sure plumbing does not include lead pipes, and leave shoes outside since lead in soil can be easily tracked into the home. Use a home testing kit on toys and household products and check www. rivcoclpp.org/Services/LeadRecalls.aspx for recall information.

Mercury Found primarily in contaminated fish and seafood, mercury is present in smaller quantities in fluorescent light bulbs, thermometers, thermostats, batteries and sneakers which light up. It is also pervasive in the air near coal burning plants. Mercury is a heavy metal with profound effects on brain and behavior; it alters memory and causes a variety of potentially severe learning disabilities. Children and developing fetuses are at greatest risk of harm to the central nervous system from mercury toxicity. Avoid eating large predator fish such as swordfish, king mackerel and orange roughy. Since these fish are long lived, they build up greater mercury stores. Eat smaller fish once per week or less, and choose wild over farmed fish, which are exposed to less

Save the Date Angelically Guided Energy Healing Classes in the Northeast! Do you want to be who your soul wants you to be, and help others do the same? You can learn to channel Divine healing; it is a teachable, learnable skill, not a gift. Healers and serious spiritual seekers can learn the Lightworkers Healing Method (LHM), an Angelically guided energy healing system with an exceptional goal: to align us with our soul’s life plan. LHM applies to any arena of life: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, financial, or interpersonal. Nothing is off limits. Level 1: The Foundation, Sept 8-9 Level 2: Letting Go of the Past, Oct 6-7 The Hampton Inn Conference Ctr., Natick, Ma Level 1 & 2: Combined Workshop Retreat Jan 27 - Feb 1 Kripalu Center in the Berkshires

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industrial waste. Insure any fish oil supplements are guaranteed free of mercury and PCBs. Do not buy thermometers, light bulbs or other mercury containing products, and if mercury is spilled in the home, remove children immediately, before attempting any cleaning efforts. Protecting children’s brains from a toxin-filled environment can be a challenge since few chemicals can be tested for toxicity in infants and children, making a thorough understanding of this vulnerable population limited. In addition, since chemicals are generally tested in isolation, not in the potentially synergistic combinations to which children are exposed, it is difficult to quantify the effect of these early exposures. Yet, as noted above, there are many positive actions that can counteract the potential harm from noxious chemicals. • Removing or reducing the sources of toxins from our food, water and air supply is the first step.

• Supporting the body’s natural detoxification systems with nutrient-rich, clean, healthy foods instead of processed, additiveladen junk food. • Using pocketbooks and political voices to advocate for better control of environmental toxins. Vicki Kobliner MS RD, CD-N is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Holcare Nutrition (www.holcarenutrition.com). Vicki works with infants, children and adults with digestive disorders, food allergies, ADHD, autism and other chronic illness, and provides fertility and prenatal nutrition counseling. Vicki has extensive experience in using dietary modification, appropriate supplementation and functional lab testing to achieve optimal wellness. She can be reached at 203.834.9949 or vicki@holcarenutrition.com. See ad on page 21.

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“ I personally promise that you will receive a pain-free and stress-free dental appointment, or your money will be cheerfully refunded. Livingstone Dental Excellence is one of only 1500 holistic dental offices out of 150,000 dental practices in the U.S. You will receive prompt, professional service and will be treated like our own friends and family. Livingstone Dental Excellence even offers its’ own in-house dental benefits plan for about $25 per month, per person. I personally promise you will be thrilled with your results, or I will keep working until you are.” -Thomas Livingstone, DMD

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Doctor’s Notes

By Nancy O’Hara, MD Gail Szakacs, MD

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

In the Treatment of Concussion and Post Concussive Syndrome

oncussion or Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) is a major public health issue affecting an estimated two to four million people annually in the United States due to sport and recreation-related activities. Up to 90% of concussions go undiagnosed or untreated, adding to the gravity of this public health crisis.

Children at Risk Since younger athletes take longer to recover due to ongoing brain development, and given the potential for cumulative damage and progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with mTBI, concussions in children and adolescents are of particular concern (with the highest rates of mTBI in children occurring in football, ice hockey, and girls soccer). Military personnel, college athletes and professional athletes represent other populations at significant risk.

Symptoms Concussions are not structural injuries, but the associated trauma triggers significant brain dysfunction in the setting of a normal brain. Headache, nausea, visual disturbances, and balance abnormalities are among the common symptoms of mTBI that often subside within seven days of injury. Up to 90% of people do not experience loss of consciousness and although headaches are the most common symptoms, they do not usually occur without other symptoms, and may not correlate with severity of injury.

A Second Impact Can Be Fatal The often fatal condition of Second Impact Syndrome (SIS) can occur if a person sustains a second concussion prior to complete symptom resolution and healing from an earlier concussion. Younger people are particularly vulnerable to SIS due to their ongoing brain development and slower recovery rate.

Post Concussive Syndrome Another concern with mTBI is the potential for prolonged, severe, and cumulative effects that can evolve into Post Concussive Syndrome (PCS) and last for many months after injury. PCS does not appear to be associated with the severity of initial injury and can present as intractable headaches, memory impairment, cognitive abnormalities, worsening anxiety and/or irritability, depression, and insomnia. Regardless of how mild the initial injury was, PCS can result in severe debilitation and interfere with regular school, job or military activities.

An external injury to the brain promotes an immunoexcitotoxic reaction in brain cells, in which glutamate receptors are over-stimulated and trigger gradual destruction and neuronal loss. This process is associated with swelling and decreased cerebral blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain. Over time, calcium and other cofactors in the brain accumulate and cause toxicity, cell death (apoptosis), and eventually cognitive impairment, poor memory, sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, and other debilitating clinical symptoms.

Treatment The only acknowledged treatment for mTBI is cognitive and physical rest, and most treatment protocols for PCS merely focus on symptomatic treatment of headaches, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and other associated problems. This symptomatic treatment, however, ignores the underlying and progressive nature of the disease process and often has side effects that exacerbate symptoms and worsen overall long-term prognosis.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Case reports and emerging research studies propose a role for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) in promoting relief from PCS symptoms, faster brain healing, and better overall prognosis. Since HBOT can reduce inflammation and the immunoexcitotoxic reaction described above, HBOT may significantly benefit people with PCS. The Center for Integrative Health in Wilton, CT is a consultative practice which integrates the care of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), other Neurodevelopmental Disorders, various chronic medical illnesses (including allergies, Lyme Disease, PANDAS, other autoimmune disorders, gastrointestinal problems, metabolic disorders, and malnutrition), and other problems such as Post Concussive Syndrome (PCS). Their comprehensive center offers a variety of functional medicine interventions, including Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) for use in a primary or adjunctive role in the treatment of PCS and other acute injury or chronic illness. * Workshops on preventing, recognizing, and treating concussions and PCS are planned over the next several months – clinicians, coaches, parents, and athletes of all ages are encouraged to attend. Dr. Nancy O’Hara and Dr. Gail Szakacs dedicate their practice to the integrative care of children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder, other Neurodevelopmental disorders, and various chronic medical illnesses. Dr. O’Hara is board certified in Pediatrics and Dr. Szakacs is board certified in Internal Medicine. To contact The Center for Integrative Health, please visit our website (www.ihealthnow.org) or call 203.834.2813. NaturalNutmeg.com

Beyond The Hourly Rate: How Shifting Your Mindset Could Shift Your Business

By Marcie Mauro, CMBMC®, MMSC®

o you feel like what you earn in your wellness business reflects the true value of your services? Do you experience the ‘glass ceiling’ on your income that working on an hourly rate (dollars for hours) creates? Perhaps you’re afraid that if you were to raise your fees, no one will pay; or you may have even discounted your fees in order to entice clients. You are not alone, and it’s not your fault because no one has shown you otherwise. As a Purpose-driven entrepreneur you came into the wellness industry because you have a mission that you want to share with the world. You know that what you offer has the potential to change lives in a major and positive way. What I see time and again with “big mission” entrepreneurs I work with is undercharging and overworking which leads to burnout necessitating a breakthrough. Here’s why: If you’re like the majority of practitioners, you charge by the hour or session. This is how most of the service world operates because it makes logical sense – people are paying to spend time with you while utilizing your service. That’s not entirely true, however. So you may be thinking, “what do you mean, and what do I do?!” There is a lot, actually, so much so that the process can be overwhelming when you are trying to create a big impact in your bottom line; in the quality of your life and life of your business. To help with this feeling of overwhelm, I want to share with you some valuable mindset nuggets from the first step in my system for helping entrepreneurs create the life of their dreams and the business to support it. Your mindset is the powerful starting point for your success; it is what brought you to this level in your business and what will bring you to the next. Before looking at mindset, let’s take a deeper look at the problem. The ‘dollars for hours’ model can result in significant roadblocks for you in creating the prosperous business you once aspired to build. You land in a ‘catch 22’ where in order to grow your business (and your income) you need to work with higher volumes of clients. The trouble is, with only 24 hours in a day you can’t spend all of them in one-on-one service delivery. It is customary for all businesses to raise their fees on a regular basis, though the wellness industry in particular tends to stay at the same pay rates year after year. It can be a struggle to justify raising your fees when your prospective clients don’t quite ‘get’ the true value of what you do; and when the practitioners around you don’t charge their worth. Here is the first mindset shift to make: Have you ever asked yourself: “realistically, how many clients can I serve in one day without feeling exhausted, physically, mentally, or spiritually?” In an ideal world, if making money were not important to you, how many clients would you see in a day …and for how many days per week? How close are these numbers to what you’re actually see-

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

ing in your business? Your answers here provide insight around your potential for burnout and potential for your income breakthroughs. When you are solely trading ‘dollars for hours’ you become completely limited to the amount of income you can generate dependent on time. It is recognized that as a heart-centered entrepreneur your career means more to you than just a paycheck. However, if you’re not making adequate income it creates a tremendous amount of stress in every area of your life which keeps you from fulfilling your greater purpose. Think holistically how this might impact the quality of service you provide? If your energy is focused on where your next clients are coming from, if they will show up for their appointments, if you’ll be able to pay your bills this month, or if you’ll have the energy to take care of yourself and your family then you cannot provide the high-quality service you set out to deliver. You even risk possibly giving up your dream of having a prosperous business you love and creating deep transformation for people. As you read the following mindset statements, notice where you feel acceptance and where you feel resistance. Realize that both are opportunities for growth.

6 Key Mindsets of Prosperous Wellness Entrepreneurs: 1. I don’t need to charge by the hour or session. 2. People will invest in what they value. If they see the value in your service, they will be happy to pay your fees. 3. People invest in results, not the process. When describing your services, paint the picture of the transformation your service creates rather than focusing on the step-by-step process of how you get there. 4. Clients invest in themselves through me. 5. Raising my rates will allow me to help people in a bigger way. When you leverage your time and energy, you are able to show up more powerfully and create the best results for clients. 6. I am worthy of making a great living doing what I love. *Bonus Mindset! Feeling valued in my work will create harmony within me, within my family, and within my community. Now that you’ve read through some of the key mindsets, go back and read each bold statement aloud and imagine what your life might be like if you led from this place of authenticity and it were true. By genuinely operating from these prosperity mindsets you will quickly notice a difference in how you are as the leader of your business.

You may be wondering that though these mindsets would create shifting for you, are they enough to break free of trading dollars for hours? I hear you! To support you with much more depth and practical action, I’d like to invite you to a complimentary workshop to give you some step-by-step strategies towards building the business of your dreams. Guess what the best part is? Because I know how busy you are, I’m making it easier than ever to attend by offering it as a teleclass which means you can get all of the business-building details from the comfort of your home. All you need is a telephone and something to write with – no worries about traveling, finding childcare, or giving up half of your day. This 75-minute content-rich, virtual workshop will get you well on your way to charging what you’re worth, and getting it! Sign up for this complimentary virtual workshop, “Simple Strategies for Charging Higher Fees That People Will Pay For, Even in a ‘Tough’ Economy” by visiting TheFemineProsperityPath.com/Events

Mobile Medical, llc dr. HeatHer M. Veronesi naturopatHic pHysician 191 Albany Turnpike,Suite 301 PO Box 193,Canton, CT 06019 860-601-1318

Marcie Mauro, CMBMC®, MMSC® is the founder and owner of The Feminine Prosperity Path LLC, a company dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs (and heart-centered men) earn more doing what they love so they can skyrocket their business and help more people than they ever imagined. Marcie is a dually certified business coach through the International Association for Women in Business Coaching (IAWBC) and is also completing credentialing as a Certified Money, Marketing, and Soul Coach®. www.TheFeminineProsperityPath.com. See ad on page 20.

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Healthy Self

Ashley Burkman, ND Lauren Gouin, ND

Estrogen and the Immune System

t is well known that females have more circulating estrogen than males. There are several physiologic reasons for this, the predominant being menstrual-cycle regulation for purposes of reproduction. Recent research on the differences between the female and male immune systems has zeroed in on estrogen being responsible for the robust responses the female immune system mounts when compared to the male. Estrogen comes in three forms; estrone, estradiol and estriol, which are produced in the ovaries as well as in fat tissues and adrenal glands. (Body composition and stress certainly play a role in hormone balance!) Estriol is the only estrogen that is produced from the placenta during pregnancy. Estradiol is the strongest and most abundant of the estrogens during a woman’s reproductive years.

A Double-Edged Sword Scientists have found that estrogen promotes stronger immunity down to a genetic level, upregulating more expression of immune-promoting genes! However, the strength of women’s immune systems does have potential for problems as well. Women are more prone to developing autoimmune diseases, i.e., diseases which occur when the immune system mounts an attack against its own tissues. Estrogen has been shown to increase pro-inflammatory responses against pathogens, thereby giving females a better chance of resisting infection. However, this is a double-edged sword when it comes to autoimmunity, where an overactive immune response to the body’s own tissues can create irreparable damage.

Common Autoimmune Conditions, Female to Male Ratio. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis 10:1 Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) 9:1 Sjorgren’s syndrome 9:1 Grave’s disease 7:1 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) 3:1 Multiple sclerosis (MS) 2:1 It is no coincidence that estrogen imbalances can affect several organ systems. There are receptor sites for estrogen found throughout the body including the brain, liver, heart, bone, breasts and uterus. Estrogen is not exclusively a female hormone; males have smaller amounts of circulating estrogens which are shown to aid in the development of sperm, improve memory and protect the cardiovascular system. Better Hormone Balance = Better Health The intimate relationship between estrogen and the immune system cannot be disputed. But, can improving hormone balance really help restore equilibrium to an immune system that has gone awry?

Essential Reiki Weekends Learn the Ancient Art of Healing Reiki I $150 Reiki II $150 Reiki III $300 Full Weekend / Prepay $600 November 16, 17, 18 For More Information Visit www.essentialreiki.com

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Celebrate Your Life With D’Hartma Soul Transference Channeling Session with Lynn LaFountain A Rare Opportunity to Share in the Message of a Master Guide November 30 www.dhartma.com

860-482-2974 • Credit Cards Gladly Accepted 20

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Ladies, Want to Know the Secret Formula For a Thriving Wellness Business? Your Unique Brilliance • Proven Business Strategies Step-by-Step Coaching Support • “A month after starting with Marcie, I had my first 5-figure month! I am now on a trajectory to make more money this year than I ever have!” Dr. Irene Blinston, PhD • “With Marcie’s coaching, I got two new private clients and created a group teleclass, all in a matter of weeks.” Kelly Eckert, MS, ACC

Call by September 30th for a Complimentary Discovery Coaching Session: “How to Charge What You’re Worth & Get It!®”

877-305-3357

Email: Marcie@TheFeminineProsperityPath.com

Did You Know Many Autoimmune Diseases Go Into Remission During Pregnancy? Calming down estradiol and upregulating the other estrogens can have a tremendous influence on the immune system, improving anti-cancer and auto-immune properties. Though this happens beautifully during pregnancy, there are ways to promote good estrogen balance in any season of a woman’s life.

Holistic Gynecology

Additional services include: Energy medicine, Meditation, Nutritional & Psychological Counseling

drkline@rklinemd.com

l www.rklinemd.com

Estrogen Excess Symptoms of estrogen excess include breast tenderness, menstrual cramping, irregular vaginal bleeding, decreased libido, sugar cravings, weight gain, emotional liability and depression. Contributing factors to increased endogenous estrogen (estrogen produced in the body) include obesity, diabetes, certain medications, and estrogensecreting tumors of the ovary or adrenal glands. Exogenous estrogen (estrogen from the environment) also has been shown to create symptoms of estrogen excess. Exogenous estrogens can come in the form of phytoestrogens, plant estrogens like soy, or xenoestrogens, including chemical estrogens from plastics or pesticides.

On...Nutrition and Chronic Illness... “Chronic illness comes from too much stress and too little nutrition. Any ailment can be improved with a healing, nourishing diet.”

HolcareNutrition

Vicki Kobliner, MS RD | vicki@holcarenutrition.com

3 Hollyhock Rd. • Wilton, CT • 06897 • 203-834-9949 • holcarenutrition.com

Estrogen Deficiency Symptoms of estrogen deficiency include hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, fatigue, frequent headaches, ir-

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A Shaman’s Way Do you want to get in touch with your spirit and soul? Let me help. I offer effective energy work, healing and workshops to cleanse, strengthen and reenergize the mind, body, spirit and chakras to promote wellness, balance and a healthy life force.

Julie Palmer ashamansway@gmail.com www.ashamansway.com

regular vaginal bleeding, emotional instability, depression, osteoporosis and episodic tachycardia. Contributing factors to estrogen deficiency include menopause, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), anorexia nervosa and extreme exercise training. There are several ways to assess estrogen levels, including taking a sample of blood, urine or saliva. With several factors playing a role in why estrogen dominance or deficiency develops it is important to discuss your symptoms with your health care practitioner to determine your particular goals and treatment.

The Metabolism of Estrogen Overall balance of estrogen and the types of estrogens are certainly important, however, balancing estrogen metabolism also is a key component of supporting a happy immune system. Estrogen has three choices when being metabolized in the body: 2-hydroxyestrone, 4-hydroxyestrone and 16-hydroxyestrone. Without getting too deeply into the science, the healthiest path for estrogen to take is 2-hydroxyestrone. The more pro-inflammatory pathway is 16-hydroxyestrone. We know that certain autoimmune conditions, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus, have higher amounts of immunepromoting estrogen metabolites and lower amounts of anti-inflammatory metabolites. These metabolites can be evaluated in a

urine test and may give more insight than simply looking at total estrogen levels. Current clinical trials are evaluating types of estrogens and estrogen metabolites and their effects on breast cancer, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases, from lupus to Sjogren’s syndrome.

How Do We Balance Estrogen? Estrogen balance comes from balance in nutrition, lifestyle, stress, detoxification and specific nutrients. For some women, increasing leafy greens and B vitamins may be the answer to balancing estrogen. Other women may need to reduce stress and improve body composition. Assessing the estrogen equilibrium and then the underlying cause of any imbalance will not only solve hormone symptoms, but also help prevent cancer and autoimmune disease. Dr. Ashley Burkman and Dr. Lauren Gouin are a board certified naturopathic physicians at Connecticut Natural Health Specialists, LLC. They are accepting new patients for their family practice in Manchester, Connecticut. To schedule an appointment, please call (860) 533-0179. See ad on page 7.

Center for Holistic Practices & Psychotherapy

“The Community Hub for Holistic Health and Well Being”

Aura Soma: Five Day Color Therapy Training

This is a workshop not to miss for healers, practitioners and anyone interested in the simple yet amazing art of color therapy. Rarely offered in the US. October 6th -11th. (5) days, 8:30 - 5pm. $700.00, includes materials. Deposit of $200 required by 9/13. Facilitated by Victoria Silks.

Pachakuti Mesa Apprenticeship Weekend I: Sept. 21st-23rd

“A Call to Heal” Friday - Sunday. Please see our website for details and to register. $300.00. With initiated teacher Audrey Bennett.

www.centerforholisticpractices.com • (860) 276-5843 963 Queen Street, Southington, CT 06489 22

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

Massage... A Luxury or a Necessity?

assage is considered a luxury for many people, but with all the stresses of today’s world, it is a necessary way to find relaxation for the mind and body. Are you stressed? Do you need to relax? Massage can be both relaxing and therapeutic, helping the body to reap various benefits. These benefits are numerous, so I will only touch on some of them in this article.

causing scar tissue. Muscles also have a tendency to become very tight (hypertonic) when a person is stressed. This muscle tension obviously occurs in different places for different people. Massage helps to alleviate the muscle tension and allows the muscle to become more relaxed. This may be helpful for people with headaches, low back pain, upper back pain, etc.

Relaxation

Pain Management

Massage has the wonderful ability of bringing the body from the fight/flight (stress induced) mode to the rest/digest (parasympathetic) mode. There are many different types of massage that can cause the body to relax. Some examples would be Swedish, Acupressure, Integrated, and Prenatal massage.

This is an area where massage helps the body to release endorphins which are natural pain relievers and helps those who suffer from constant pain to have temporary relief. Unfortunately, pain is becoming more common today and massage could become an important addition to those who suffer from it.

Circulation

Sleep

A person can help their body to have better circulation with massage. By “milking” the muscles and tissues through various massage strokes, it helps the body to have a temporary increase in circulation and brings fresh blood to areas that may be suffering from lack of circulation. This helps the muscles to work better and move easier. This is great for everyone, but especially pregnant woman who can experience edema during the latter stage of pregnancy.

Do you suffer from insomnia? There are many that do, but anybody who has had a massage knows that when they get off the table, they are tired and could go to sleep right then (if they haven’t already fallen asleep on the table). Massage is a great way to help assist people in sleeping because the parasympathetic nervous system is activated causing that tired and sleepy feeling. It helps calm the mind and body.

Range of Motion (ROM)

A good massage should be both relaxing and therapeutic. Sometimes it may have to be more of one than the other depending on what the body is telling the massage therapist. Intuition and palpation of the muscles and tissue greatly helps a massage therapist to know how best to help the client. It should be an important part of your overall wellness/fitness plan. So now you need to do your body a favor and get a massage!

Range of motion is an important part of massage as well. It helps to keep the joints working and moving properly, helps stretch the muscles and tendons to increase the ROM when restricted. This is great to use in cases with rotator cuff issues, sciatica, athletes, and more. Joints can have a tendency to become stiff with limited movement. ROM done over a somewhat short period of time (depends on severity of joint issues) can help increase joint mobility. Many people don’t even realize what their joint mobility is like until they have ROM done during a session.

Submitted by Christine Cosby, LMT, owner of Touch of Serenity Massage in Granby, CT. She is nationally certified and a proud member of the AMTA organization. To make an appointment, call 860-888322-2084 or email @ chris@tosmassage.com. See ad on page 6.

Muscle Tension When muscles have been worked hard during an athletic event, it is good to have a massage soon after, so that the muscles can repair more quickly and perform efficiently for the next workout. Exercise is very important for the body, but it can also damage the muscle fibers

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Supplements 101

Debra Gibson, ND

Those Fabulous Phospholipids

educe your risk of Alzheimer’s disease, balance your stress response, brighten your mood and focus your brain, improve cholesterol levels, protect your heart, and help keep your overworked, toxin-clearing liver healthy, all with common foods or readily available supplements! Fat-containing nutrients known as phospholipids do all this and more. Phospholipids are fats bound to glycerol and phosphate, a biochemical structure which allows them to exist happily in both water and oil – one end likes water, the other end of the phospholipid likes lipid, or oil. This unusual characteristic gives phospholipids unique properties in the human body (they are also found throughout nature, in plants and bacteria as well as in animals). Phospholipids do things like carry nutrients around in the blood stream and help to keep bile liquid (an important factor in preventing gall stone formation), but the primary job of phospholipids is to form cell membranes. We depend on these lipids for our very existence, because without them, we would be unable to create the cells of which we are made.

Dietary Sources Soybeans, egg yolks, sunflower seeds and wheat germ are dietary sources of phospholipids, but for therapeutic effect, supplement formulas are available which provide higher potency of the individual phospholipids than would be possible to obtain from food (unless you don’t mind eating about thirty pounds of soybeans per day for an effective dose!). There are four types of phospholipids used in supplements, each of which performs a different function in the body and has its unique contributions to health. The two which are most often used for clinical benefit are Phosphatidyl choline and Phosphatidyl serine. 24

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

Phosphatidyl Choline and the Liver Phosphatidyl choline, or PC, is a concentrated phospholipid derived from lecithin (lecithin itself may contain as little as 20% PC; concentrated Phosphatidyl choline formulas contain about 40% PC, and highly concentrated “essential phospholipid” formulas contain 75% - 94% PC). Numerous well-conducted studies over the past four decades have demonstrated the dramatically protective and regenerative role of PC for the liver, in conditions ranging from fatty early stage liver damage, to later stage inflammatory liver disease, and for damage to the liver due to viruses such as hepatitis, toxins (including chemical toxins, highly toxic mold and deadly mushrooms), pharmaceuticals, and liver damage from diabetes. In a German study involving forty subjects with fatty liver disease related to alcohol ingestion, statistically significant improvement in blood tests measuring liver damage was found in the twenty experimental subjects after only eight weeks of taking 1350 mg of PC per day, compared to the group of twenty which had taken a placebo. (Actually, improvement was found after only two weeks, but increased over time). Even more dramatic results were obtained in a several year-long study involving baboons, who as primates suffer alcohol-induced liver damage similar to that of humans. In this study, a PC-ingesting group of alcohol-fed baboons, while they did have early stage liver damage, did not progress to more serious stages of liver disease over a period of six years or more; the unfortunate control group, fed alcohol without PC, progressed to cirrhosis and death. When three of the experimental PC-ingesting group were taken off it as they continued to be fed alcohol, they, too, rapidly progressed to cirrhosis and death within one to two years. Sad as the lives of these animals were, the results of

this study provide hope for people with liver damage, and other studies involving humans have shown significant benefit even for laterstage liver disease. Therapeutic doses of PC range from about 1000 mg to 4000 mg per day or more; for treatment of later stages of liver disease, intravenous PC has been found to have benefit, followed by oral dosing when liver function has improved.

Phosphatidyl Serine and the Brain Phosphatidyl serine (PS) is found in high concentrations in the membranes of nerve cells, or neurons, where it is essential to maintaining the membrane fluidity necessary for proper function of protein receptors embedded in the neuronal membrane; it also promotes healthy cell metabolism, the normal life processes of cells. It helps cells communicate with each other, and facilitates the transfer of biochemical messages from outside to inside cells. Phosphatidyl serine influences levels of the brain messenger (neurotransmitter) acetyl choline, as well as dopamine, serotonin, and the stress hormones cortisol and norepinephrine. It is thought to reverse the aging process of the brain, increasing nerve cell number and size, and improving neuron plasticity. It promotes better brain function, particularly with respect to cognitive function: memory, learning ability, and concentration. And because of its modulating effects on stress hormones and neurotransmitters, it can play an important role in managing ADD and ADHD, chronic stress, sleep disorders, anxiety, and depression.

PS and Alzheimer’s Disease PS has been the focus of numerous studies that report significant benefits for age-related cognitive decline (also known

as cognitive slippage), and for Alzheimer’s disease. In studies of people with Alzheimer’s disease, doses of 200-400 mg per day improved memory, motivation, anxiousness, and thinking ability. Although improvement was greatest for those at early and moderate stages of the disease, some studies have shown benefit even for severe AD. It’s very likely that taking PS earlier in life could be a form of insurance against cognitive loss and risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Help for Insomniacs Phosphatidyl serine has been used with excellent results in naturopathic medical practice to establish a healthy pattern of sleep. Particularly when sleep is disrupted after having fallen asleep or when sleep is light or frequently interrupted (sleep latency problems), PS in doses of 200 mg at bedtime can promote better quality and length of sleep. The length of time required to achieve improvement varies, and can range from two days to two or three months; the degree of improvement can also be affected by other neurotransmitter and stress hormone imbalances, and by inflammatory influences. But if staying asleep or poor quality sleep is the issue, a three-month trial of PS can have wonderful benefit, in my clinical experience. The phospholipids are safe (toxicity is virtually impossible to achieve even at several times the therapeutic dose), have side effects limited to gastrointestinal symptoms in the occasional person, and do not interact with medications (except by reducing their toxicity!). With all they do for us, they really are fabulous! Debra Gibson, N.D. practices naturopathic family medicine in her Ridgefield, CT office. She can be reached at 203-431-4443 or at drgibsonsoffice@sbcglobal.net. See ad on page 11.

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Chronic PainA Silent Catastrophe (Part One)

By Gene Gresh, R.Ph, FIACP

In other words, we can experience pain without an identifiable cause. Many cases of chronic pain are thought to originate from an actual injury, however the pain persists long after the injury heals. You might say everyone knows what pain is, because they A classic example is a condition known as phantom limb pain; a experience it and it hurts. It usually means something is wrong in the patient who has had an amputation might complain of pain in a limb body; an injury, damage or maybe an infection. This damage results that no longer exists. in an impulse to the brain leading to a pain response from the brain Another example is a condition identified as post-herpetic neuback to the tissue. ralgia. This occurs in a patient who had a recent shingles outbreak This was pretty much the definition of pain during my formal and the severe debilitating pain then pertraining. Since then it has become increassists long after the shingles has disappeared, ingly clear that this explanation may be We’ve tried to treat chronic pain perhaps lasting for years. Until now, this somewhat accurate for acute pain, but is it patient has been very difficult to treat. the same way we treat acute accurate for chronic pain? Current science I cite these examples because they are says no. pain and it is very clear well-documented and accepted forms of In the past, since we thought we unchronic pain, and we have a clue as to the that approach doesn’t work... derstood what caused pain, our treatment cause of the initial pain. choices were simple and straightforward. The real problem is the patient who We tried to treat chronic pain the same continues to have severe pain after an injury has healed, or even way we treat acute pain and it is clear that approach doesn’t work. worse, who never had an identifiable injury to begin with. There isn’t Recent discoveries have shed light on how chronic pain differs from any measurable way to make a diagnosis. How can the doctor justify acute pain and why chronic pain has been so difficult to treat. using pain medicines, especially narcotics, in this case? How can Acute pain typically has a known cause and seems to serve a the doctor differentiate between a patient asking for narcotics to treat purpose – it alerts us to a problem, which gives us an opportunity their pain versus a patient asking for narcotics to abuse them? to find a remedy. It usually subsides in a short time with or without How many patients have been treated for their acute pain injury treatment, rarely lasts longer than a few weeks or months, and disapwith narcotics and then told that the injury should have healed and pears when the underlying cause is resolved. they no longer need pain medicine – yet the pain persists? How Chronic pain, on the other hand, can be entirely different. It many patients experiencing real pain are sent to the psychiatrist generally serves no purpose to the body and may or may not have a because no physical cause could be found so it must be “all in their known cause. It often gets worse for no apparent reason. head”? One of the biggest difficulties in identifying and treating pain Pain Without an Identifiable Cause has been that pain is purely subjective; it can’t be physically measured. We are forced to rely on and accept what the patient says. The most current science reveals that in many cases of chronic pain there are changes in the nervous system that alter the way the nerves function. It appears that these changes allow for the transmission of a pain signal from the brain without a corresponding input.

What is pain?

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Advancements in Identifying the Source of Chronic Pain The good news is that scientists recently have documented actual changes in the nervous system, especially in an area of the spinal cord known as the dorsal root ganglion, in which they have identified physiological changes that are present in chronic pain conditions even when there is no known cause for the pain. These abnormalities include increases or decreases in certain chemicals, over-activation of certain nerve pathways, and involvement of nerves previously not associated with pain. Today, with this new evidence, even our understanding of acute pain is changing. This new data provides the supporting evidence for the use of many other drugs in the treatment of pain beyond the ‘normal’ pain meds. Historically, pain was treated based on its cause, location and severity and opiates were the primary drugs for treatment. The most popular assessment tool was the 0 to 10 scale where 0 is no pain and 10 is the most severe pain imaginable. Mild pains and headaches were treated with Aspirin, Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen. When we got into more severe pain we used stronger tools called opioids. These drugs are often referred to as narcotics and include drugs that vary in strength and are often related to morphine, which is related to opium. The more severe the pain the stronger the narcotic. This method is flawed and the 0 to 10 scale is not always a proper assessment of pain. Opioids have been used and abused for centuries. “Used” refers to their medicinal properties in which they bind to receptors in the body referred to as opioid receptors and thus block the sensation of pain. That is, they interfere with the impulse and response somewhere in the central nervous system or so we used to think. These same receptors are known to slow down the motility of the stomach; they can be used to treat diarrhea, or they can cause constipation. “Abused” refers to the non-medical use in which they are used for their hallucinogenic or euphoric properties. These opioids are among the oldest known drugs and have been the standard of care treatment of pain for a very long time. Sounds pretty simple. On the surface, it appears that pain is well understood and straightforward to treat. But when we actually look

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below the surface an entirely different picture emerges. In fact, we are failing miserably in our ability to efficiently treat pain.

Roughly 1/3 of the US Suffers from Chronic Pain According to the Institute of Medicine of the National AcadLg mkt

emies Report, in 2011 at least 100 million adult Americans had chronic pain. This estimate didn’t include acute pain or children. The entire population is estimated to be about 311 million people; according to the study almost one-third of the population suffered from chronic pain. This same report estimates the cost to treat pain in the United States to be between $560 and $635 billion a year. One hundred million Americans suffering with chronic pain are more than those with Diabetes (25.8 million), Coronary Heart Disease (16.3 million), Stroke (7 million) and Cancer (11.9 million) combined (total 61 million). These numbers are staggering. To say that we are dealing with an epidemic of chronic pain is an understatement. It doesn’t stop there. When we look at the problem of prescription drug abuse associated with the opioids the issue becomes tremendously complicated. And it gets even worse when we look at the effectiveness of 1/6th our treatment.

The Saddest Fact A 2002 Review published in The Clinical Journal of Pain reveals that, “None of the currently available treatments eliminates pain for the majority of patients.” This may be the saddest, most concerning fact in the Journal. Report after report indicates that many pain patients, unhappy with the lack of success of therapy, tend to visit multiple physicians in search of a solution to their pain. This same process is identical to a behavior known as drug seeking. The stories and experiences of the patients we have worked with are horrendous. Here we have a standard of care in which patients diagnosed with pain are routinely prescribed addictive drugs classified as narcotics and the measurable result is that they usually don’t work, at least not completely.

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A patient in pain is taught that the tool to treat the pain is a narcotic. They take this treatment and yet they are still in pain. Human nature drives us to avoid pain. Patients then seek another doctor or attempt to get medicines that will work because they are still in pain. This is a system that not only encourages drug seeking behavior but creates it. Patients whose only goal, at least originally, was to seek pain relief are now caught in a Catch 22 situation. The patient’s very desire to pursue pain relief has resulted in a social stigma so catastrophic that it, in addition to their pain, can destroy their lives. This problem is very real and could be one of the most significant silent catastrophes of our time. How many of these patients turn to other street drugs or alcohol to try to alleviate their pain?

The Black Sheep What I have described thus far is the problem. When we look at the actual numbers we can see why it may be called a silent epidemic. We are not hearing about it like we hear about Cancer and Cancer research, Alzheimer’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis or any of the other so-called accepted diseases. Chronic pain is like the black sheep that nobody wants to talk about. Many doctors and pharmacists are shying away from even treating chronic pain patients because of their fear of government regulators looking over their shoulders. These regulators are not necessarily concerned with proper patient treatment but rather are searching for patterns of abuse. As mentioned earlier, how can we tell the difference between drug seeking for abuse and drug seeking for pain relief? Fear of loss of license and livelihood on the medical side is an absolute reality which many patients don’t realize. Our lack of understanding the problem has been a huge obstacle in the way of solving it. Recent advances in both our understanding and in the available tools to treat pain have opened the door to more options in successful pain control.

Recent Advancements in Treatment In part two of this article, I will discuss the recent advances in the scientific literature leading to a better understanding of pain, including the fact that we now understand that there are many types of pain and some don’t respond well to the opioids, but rather respond well to other types of medicines. Also, the development of a process known as “the Carling method” which is a process developed by Maureen Carling, RN of Williamsburg, Virginia, which incorporates tools to better identify the type of pain or pains and then match the appropriate medications to the types of pain unique to each patient. Additionally, there have been significant advances in the field of compounding pharmacy leading to revolutionary delivery forms available to titrate and deliver these medicines in a very targeted delivery method resulting in a process of customized pain therapy producing results never seen before. As Dr. Francis L. Comunale, Director of Pain Management at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, commented, “This multimodal process using the Carling method of pain assessment and customized transdermal pain gels could change the face of pain management forever!” Gene Gresh R.Ph., FIACP owns and operates Pioneer Health Compounding Pharmacy in Vernon, Ct. where he practices in the art and science of pharmacy compounding in collaboration with functional medicine. This practice includes the ability to research, formulate and create customized medications and therapies to help solve the unique health needs of each patient. Gene has been awarded full fellowship with the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacy and certification in Functional Medicine from the Institute of Functional Medicine. He also maintains a membership with Professional Compounding Centers of America and Connecticut Pharmacists Association. See ad on page 2.

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Mastering Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

ultiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a condition in which even the smallest exposure to a chemical substance can cause an unpleasant or potentially disabling reaction. The trigger can be an external or internal environmental chemical that is inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through the skin. The reaction varies greatly and may include headache, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, shortness of breath, joint pains, muscle pains, irritable bowel, or symptoms in any other part of the body. MCS is acquired after an acute exposure to a high-dose chemical or to multiple low-level exposures. People likely to develop MCS are females (70% to 80% affected), those with certain carbohydrate/ food cravings (related to leaky gut), those hyper-reactive to new environmental stimuli, and those with a parental history of substance abuse (genetic link). While 2.5% to 4% of the general population is diagnosed with MCS, 10% to 30% of people report minor symptoms such as headache or shortness of breath after exposure to an environmental chemical. If symptoms are bad enough, persons with MCS may experience a world that becomes turned upside-down. Not only can reactions to toxic chemicals develop, intolerances to substances considered nontoxic also appear. When this happens, sensitivities may occur at any time and persons with MCS may find they can no longer handle the routine of their daily life. They may not tolerate their grocer because of cleaning agents used. They may avoid their doctor because the receptionist wears perfume. They may even change jobs, relocate, or work from home to maintain the ability to focus.

Dealing with MCS So what can people with MCS do to better function in their daily lives? Unfortunately, there is no magic pill. In fact, jumping up and seeing your doctor may not be the most helpful first step, and may not be tolerated if someone is sensitive to the fumes of motorized vehicles. Evidence reveals that the best initial approach is through self-management. Key self-management strategies are chemical avoidance, prayer/meditation, and rotational diets. Supplemental 30

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

approaches that assist in recovery are manual therapy and detoxification support. Chemical avoidance is by far the most effective, albeit potentially most difficult, approach. The idea behind chemical avoidance is to spend the majority of time in an environment that is maximally contaminant-free. For best effect, comprehensive avoidance is key since continued low-level exposures perpetuate the sensitized state. Here are some tactics to employ when incorporating chemical avoidance: • Change the heating and cooking system in your home from gas to electric. • Use ceramic tile rather than carpet. • Use untreated cotton-based fabrics rather than synthetic fabrics in clothing and home furnishings. • Use non-scented products for cleaning and personal-hygiene. • Store items with chemical odors outdoors away from living space. • Refrain from pesticide use indoors and outdoors. • Maintain a mold-free environment. • Use air filters to reduce particulate, chemical, dust, and mold levels indoors as an adjunct. While some of these suggestions may sound extreme, the majority of patients with MCS have found these to be the best strategies in managing symptoms, and they are truly worthwhile to those who are sensitive.

Prayer and Meditation The next most helpful approach is prayer and/or meditation. Regardless of particular spiritual or religious beliefs, setting an intention to heal, whether through prayer, yoga, self-hypnosis, imagery, journaling, or other mind-body interventions, is a highly effective approach. By helping people find a source of external support and by bringing balance and harmony to the mind, body, and spirit, these methods help affected persons find a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, and maximize their own healing potential.

A Rotational Diet The most useful dietary change to implement is a rotational diet, where any given food item is eaten only once every four to seven days. In someone with food intolerances, continual activation of the immune cells of the gut through ingesting the same foods daily can lead to an inflammatory process. Inflammation results in a leaky gut that allows bacterial toxins, incompletely digested proteins, and waste material to enter into the blood stream. As these materials circulate throughout the body, they can account for numerous chronic symptoms including chronic fatigue, headaches, joint pains, muscle pains, and abdominal discomfort, to name a few. The symptoms often are not linked to food since the food item responsible is usually craved and eaten too frequently to identify the cause-and-effect relationship.

Manual Therapies People who develop some of these musculoskeletal symptoms may benefit from manual therapies. The gentle approach used in Osteopathic Manipulative Technique (OMT) is a good place to start, as OMT can be effective on any region of the body and may also alleviate symptoms from other disease or acute injury. By helping to balance the nervous system, OMT may help to raise the threshold needed to trigger one’s chemical sensitivities. Other manual therapies worth trying are chiropractic with applied kinesiology, massage, and energy-based therapies such as Healing Touch, Reiki, and acupuncture.

Detoxification

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Finally, detoxification via sweat from use of saunas or good old exercise may be beneficial. The heat generated helps release stored toxicants from fat cells that are then excreted through the skin. Exercise also has long been known to improve mood, increase oxygenation of tissues, and improve physical tolerance of pain stimuli. Certain supplements may aide the detoxification process. Those found to be helpful in MSC include acidophilus, magnesium, vitamin C and E, and milk thistle seed. A low dose to start is recommended as many people with MCS have a lower threshold of tolerance. In summary, mastering Multiple Chemical Sensitivity may be difficult but doable through self-management strategies. For those who need further support, manual therapy and detoxification procedures may aide in recovery to a full and active life. Hannah Eucker, DO is a board certified osteopathic physician in Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. She currently works at the Osteopathic Wellness Center in Ridgefield, CT where a holistic, hands-on approach is incorporated with nutritional guidance and mind-body support to achieve optimal health and healing. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit www.osteopathicwellness.net or call 203-4389915. See ad on page 28.

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Food Appreciation 101

t’s necessary to know about the nutrients our body needs, but it is also important to take them in a relaxed manner and to enjoy and appreciate our food. This is important from both a mental and physical perspective. When we sit down to a meal or snack with family, friends, or even by ourselves, taking the time to appreciate the food helps to not only calm our mind, but also to increase our saliva and stomach acid. This begins the process of breaking down the food we are eating, therefore helping us to better digest and absorb our nutrients. Some people choose to say a short blessing over their food; others prefer to savor the rich colors, textures and aromas before eating. Regardless of how we choose to cherish our food, by taking our nutrients in with healthy, appreciative energy, our spirit is nourished as well. Eating is a symphony for our senses. It provides a tapestry of visual delights in a variety of shapes and colors, a rich harmony of textures and tastes, and a bounty of aromas and scents to please every palate. Additionally, it’s not only the eating that presents an opportunity for appreciation, but the environment, the company, and most importantly, our feelings about the food that provide us with the difference between a life enhancing or a life depleting experience.

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Be mindful of your eating environment and companions. Even with todays fast pace, it’s possible to infuse enjoyment into your eating activity. Regardless of what and where you’re eating, take a few minutes to plan for and enhance your experience. Consider an attractive place setting with a colorful plate, elegant glass, and a lovely napkin. These simple pleasures can be introduced into just about any eating experience with minor preparation but significant impact. Of course, in order to truly appreciate, or fall in love with your food, it’s a good idea to have an understanding of what it’s all about and how it fits into your life. I’ll be discussing the different types of nutrients our bodies need, how to recognize and combine them most effectively for optimal health, and most importantly how our relationship with food influences how it affects us. So get ready to fall in love with food. You’re about to learn how food can inspire, stimulate, and satisfy, and to discover just how seductive a well-balanced, healthy diet can be. So, what exactly is a healthy, well balanced diet? It’s a diet high in whole, unprocessed foods, rich with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. A healthy diet is one that provides all the nutrients that your body needs to maintain health. Simple right? Yes, but not always easy if you don’t know what the nutrients are. You may be asking, “What’s seductive about a healthy well balanced diet? How about this? A life with increased energy, fewer aches and pains, and without major chronic illnesses. Does this interest you? Read on. A healthy diet can be life changing, but it can also require some changes in your life, like your eating habits. These adjustments can put you temporarily out of your comfort zone, even though you know there are good reasons to change patterns that no longer serve

you. So let’s break it down into some basic steps to get you started. You may be surprised at how varied and tasty a healthy diet can be! Remember, since developing a romance with food and eating healthy is a life-long experience; give yourself permission to take the time to learn this way of eating. If you have kids, be sure to include them in the process. An important role as a parent is to provide for the health of your children, and offering them a diet high in fresh, whole nutrients (including love) will nourish them and help them stay healthy.

Here are some simple steps to begin: • Make an effort to eat foods in a rainbow of colors in their natural, unprocessed state. The less processing, the more the food value.

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• Remember to chew (19 times a mouthful!) your food and stay present in the moment so that you can truly enjoy what you’re eating. • Eat in as quiet and relaxed a setting as possible • Appreciate what you are eating and offer thanks • To eat the foods you love, love the foods you eat! Next month we’ll be discussing the seven essential nutrients necessary for a healthy diet! Dr. Marie Mammone graduated from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon with a doctoral degree in Naturopathic Medicine. In addition to her teaching and lecture schedule, Dr. Mammone supervises a 14-day detox/cleansing program throughout the year. She specializes in gastrointestinal disorders, celiac disease, allergies and eczema. To Contact Dr. Mammone, N.D. email mariemammone@aol.com or Call (860) 529-1200. See ad on this page.

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Natural First Aid Remedies: Broken Bones

t goes without saying that a broken bone requires immediate medical attention. If you suspect you’ve broken a bone, don’t guess; go to the nearest emergency room at once. While en route or waiting, try my favorite nerve-calmer: Rescue Remedy, a Bach Flower Remedy easily found in health food stores. • Place 4 drops Rescue Remedy in ½ cup water. • Sip the mixture immediately after the injury and at 15-minute intervals, until calm. • Continue to take Rescue Remedy several times a day for the next few days. • If you’re giving Rescue Remedy to a family member with a broken bone, don’t forget to make some for yourself! Certainly, resetting and casting the bone is of prime importance. But here we have an excellent example of how natural healing can complement modern medicine beautifully:

Dr. Christopher’s Complete Tissue, or Quantum Herb’s Bone, Flesh & Cartilage (similar formulas) To promote the healing of broken bones and surrounding tissue, I recommend one of these healing formulas 3 times a day (either 3 capsules of Complete Tissue, or 2 droppers, diluted in a little water, of the Quantum formula). My patients’ bones healed more quickly than their doctors expected and, even more importantly, more strongly.

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Why do these formulas work so well? They are cleansing and calming to the injured tissue as well as bone builders and cellular healers.

Bone-Loving Tea • Combine 1 teaspoon each dried chamomile flowers (Matricaria recutita), oatstraw (Avena sativa), and horsetail leaves (Equisetum arvense). • Cover with 1 cup boiled water and steep for 30 minutes. • Strain and serve in 1 cup doses, 3 times a day. Can be gently sweetened with honey. • Take Bone-Loving Tea 3 times a day for 3 months to additionally promote a stronger healing of the broken bone and its surrounding tissue. • For children, you can make the flavor of this tea more interesting by adding some of your child’s favorite fruit juice instead of the honey.

Bruises, Sprains and Sport Injuries If you or your children are athletically inclined, opportunities abound for the onion to strut its healing stuff. Onion, high in sulfur compounds, is known for its ability to open channels, encouraging the thinning and flowing of fluids (as in tear ducts, something all cooks know about!). But it does far more than that: by virtue of its ability to discourage aggregation of blood cells, it can actually reduce the swelling associated with forceful contact of all kinds… sports injuries, falls, bumps, etc. Applying ice will reduce swelling, but the onion also minimizes pain and promotes healing by moving stagnant cellular material, which was called forth to protect the body at the moment of impact. As a result, you can expect less bruising, pain and swelling. When one of my sons was injured on the playing field, I restrained myself from running out to my ‘baby’ to wrap him in something strange. (Remember, even 10 years ago, any kind of natural remedy was considered odd by most people.) So I allowed the coach to apply ice and a give my son a rah-rah pat on the back, but as soon as we got home I whipped out my trusty onion.

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• Affix a ¼” slice of yellow onion (Allium cepa) to the bruise using surgical tape, then covering with plastic wrap if desired. • Leave on for several hours or overnight. You’ll be amazed to see how soon the onion reduces the pain, inflammation, and residue black and blue of the injury. This also works well for sprained fingers. One caveat: never apply onion directly to broken skin. If you’ve

ever done so (even inadvertently, in the kitchen), you know that this can hurt far more than the injury itself.

Castor Oil The oil of the castor bean (Ricinus communis) helps speed up lymphatic flow and reduces inflammation, helping to reduce black and blue discoloration and pain. • Apply a thin layer of castor oil to the bruise twice a day.

St. John’s Wort Bruiseaway The anti-inflammatory and nerve toning properties of St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) reduce inflammation and sensitivity at injured nerve endings (as in a pinched finger or stubbed toe). • Apply a thin coating of the oil of St. John’s Wort to the affected area 3-4 times a day. • If desired, moisten gauze with the oil and affix to the injured area with surgical tape.

Arnica Oil Arnica (Arnica montana) is well known throughout Europe for its analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. I find it works best when used immediately after a bruise, sprain, or strain. Apply as described in St. John’s Wort Bruiseaway.

Dr. Christopher’s Complete Tissue Ointment The herbs in this wonderful ointment soothe injuries and relieve discomfort. Moreover, even a child can easily reapply this several times a day, if desired, thereby taking an active part in the healing process, which fosters emotional as well as physical comfort. That said, we all know that your kisses to the bruised area are just as essential at any age (okay, at least until graduate school) as the primary healing agent! Andrea Candee, MH, MSC, is a master herbalist with a practice in Westchester County. She lectures throughout the country and at corporate wellness centers about taking charge of your health naturally. Media expert and author, her award-winning book, Gentle Healing for Baby and Child (Simon & Schuster), received The National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval. Andrea is noted nationally for her unique and successful approach to Lyme Disease and works with The Liphe Balance Center in Weston, CT. She may be contacted through her website, AndreaCandee. com. (to receive her free e-letter, click on Did You Know?), or at 877-856-7680.

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Exercise Myths, Facts and Pearls

By Paul D. Tortland, D.O.

see it every day when I work out at the gym—well-intentioned exercisers doing things that are either ineffective at the least, or potentially harmful at the worst. Let’s set the record straight by addressing popular myths about exercise, and offering evidence-based facts and a few helpful pearls, to help you get the most out of your exercise efforts. Rule #1: There are exceptions to every rule! The discussion that follows applies to the vast majority of us. However, there will always be a few people for whom the rules simply do not apply, simply because of the uniqueness of the human condition. Also, there may be a few select or unique circumstances for which the general rules do not apply. This is either because of a specific exercise or training requirement for a given purpose (such as training for a biathlon), or because of medical conditions that force the modification of an exercise program. Let’s look at some popular myths, and then offer some facts and pearls. Myth #1: Exercise is a great way to lose weight. This well-entrenched myth is simply false. Exercise is actually an inefficient way to lose weight. While exercise is wonderful and important for many reasons, losing weight is just not one of them. Here’s why: Facts: Our bodies can burn three types of food for fuel—carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Carbohydrates are sugars, including sugar found in fruit and dairy, as well as the starches and sweets we typically associate with carbs. We will always burn available carbohydrates before burning any meaningful amounts of stored fat or protein. This is because carbohydrates are easily burned, whereas proteins and fats must first be broken down to sugar before they can be used, a process that is biochemically much more intense and demanding.We store 3500-4000 calories of carbohydrates, mostly in

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

the liver and muscle. That’s about 3 days worth. When you exercise, and the readout on the treadmill indicates that you just burned 240 calories, that is almost exclusively stored carbohydrate, irrespective of whether or not you were exercising in the so-called fat-burning mode (more on that later). Burning 1 gram of carbohydrate yields 4 calories, so that 240 calories equals 60 grams of carbohydrates you burned off. Then you go home and down a glass of orange juice, followed by a bowl of multi-grain cereal with skim milk. Eight ounces of OJ has 26 grams of carbs (all as the sugar fructose). A serving of Kashi Heart to Heart cereal (serving size = 3/4 cup) has 26 grams, and 1 cup of skim milk has 12 grams of carbs, respectively. So you just ate a ‘healthy’ breakfast containing 64 grams of carbs, which replaced the carbs you burned in your workout! While you may not gain weight, you will be very frustrated in your attempts to lose weight. (Incidentally, 4 grams of carbohydrates is one teaspoon of sugar. So those 64 grams of carbs equal 16 teaspoons of sugar!) To burn meaningful amounts of fat you must first burn down virtually ALL of your stored carbohydrates, and THEN exercise some more to start burning stored fat. Given that running a marathon burns about 3600 calories, and one pound fat contains about 4000 calories, to lose a pound of fat you first need to run a marathon, and then before eating any carbs you need to run another marathon to burn the fat! Granted, this is an oversimplified example. But the point is that exercise largely burns carbs, and careful dietary strategies are what help burn the fat. Pearl: Fitness is 80% nutrition and 20% perspiration. If your goal is to lose weight, decrease your daily carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams a day, and eliminate ALL simple carbohydrates. Carbohydrates raise insulin levels, and insulin is your main fat storage hormone. Increase your protein intake to avoid loss of lean muscle mass. The average sedentary person needs 0.5 gram of protein per pound

of lean body weight per day, spread throughout the day. If you exercise you need to increase your daily protein intake to as much a 0.8-1.0 gram of protein per pound of lean body weight. Finally, don’t skip meals or drastically cut calories. Our bodies are designed to preserve calories. By skipping meals and going on ultralow-calorie diets we trigger our metabolism to hang on to calories in the form of increased fat storage. Eat frequent smaller meals rather then a few large ones, and have the bulk of your carbohydrates in the morning, so you’ll have the rest of the day to burn them off. Myth #2: Lifting heavy weights will cause women to bulk up. Fact: Women have too much estrogen and too little testosterone to bulk up. In fact, the error I see most commonly among women is that they do not lift weight that is heavy enough. Neither do they lift long and hard enough to get the full benefit from resistance training. Weight training in women leads to a toned, smooth, refined and sexy look, not a man-like look. Female body builders look like men because they take male hormones— illegal testosterone and anabolic steroids—to look like that. The top female fitness models look nothing like those androgenized females! More on weight training later.

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Myth #3: Doing lots of crunches will give me a ’six-pack.’ Fact: While doing lots of abdominal work will give you strong abs, you will not get the so-called six-pack abs look until your body fat is at least under 12%, and really not until it’s 10% or lower Myth #4: Getting strong abs will give me a strong back. Fact: Getting strong abs gives you, well, strong abs! You only get a strong back by exercising your back muscles. However, the abs and the low back muscles together form a muscular girdle that helps support the back and midsection. And you need both components of that girdle—the back and the abs—to be strong.

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General Fitness Pearls/Tips Don’t do cardio and weight training in the same session. If your goal with weight training is to build strength and/or size, you are undermining your goal if you do more than a few minutes of cardio warm-up. Intense cardio work will deplete muscle glycogen stores. Glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrate. If you burn muscle glycogen with too much cardio your muscles will have insufficient energy to fuel the weight training session, and you will be spinning your wheels, never really getting ahead. Even worse, you can start breaking down muscle protein to help fuel the weight training, which is obviously counterproductive.

Instead, do cardio and weight training on alternate days. If you absolutely must do both cardio and weight training in the same session, do the weight training first, followed by the cardio. If your schedule forces you to choose between cardio and weight training, choose weight training. You burn more calories for every minute spent doing intense weight training than you do performing cardio. This morning I did just over an hour of intense weight training. My heart rate monitor indicated that I burned 736 calories! Not only will weight training burn more calories but it also will improve bone density, increase muscle tone, increase muscle mass, and decrease peripheral vascular resistance (which will help reduce blood pressure). In addition, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest; muscle is the engine that burns calories. Fat-burning Cardio?

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Conventional Wisdom has long dictated that exercising at 60-70% of your age-adjusted maximum heart rate puts you in the fat burning zone. This is a complete myth. Bottom line: the harder and faster you go, the more calories you burn. Period. (Recall our discussion above about carbs being burned predominantly during exercise.) Instead, try High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). Warm up at a comfortable pace for 4 minutes. Then perform high-intensity intervals for 2 minutes by going all-out (100% effort) for 30 seconds, followed by a 90-second recovery at a reduced pace (75-80% intensity). Do a series of 8 such intervals, for a total of 16 minutes. With a 4-minute warm up and a 2-minute cool down you will have performed a much more effective cardio session and burned far more calories in much less time. Fueling for Fitness As mentioned earlier, fitness is more about nutrition than exercise. Working muscles need to be fed, and there are very narrow windows of time in which such feeding optimally needs to occur. For weight or resistance training workouts, you should have 20-30 grams of protein 30-60 minutes before your workout. This is vitally important if you exercise in the morning, because you have essentially fasted for the previous 8 hours. For example, on my weight training mornings I get up at 4:45 am, down a protein shake with some added carbohydrates, and hit the gym when they open at 5:30. Just as importantly, you need to refuel after exercise. There is a critical window of 30-45 minutes immediately after exercise during which your muscles are craving to be replenished. What you eat post-exercise depends on what you just did. If it was a weight training session, then 20-30 grams or more of protein with 20-30 grams of carbohydrate—but no fat—is ideal. The carbs raise insulin, which, in this scenario, acts as a weak growth hormone to stimulate muscle protein uptake and growth. But fat inhibits this uptake. On the other hand, if you just did cardio only, then a balanced meal of carbs, protein, and fat is adequate—never pass on the protein! You should both start and end your day with protein.

General Weight Training Pearls Form is Everything All too often I see folks in the gym using poor form when lifting weights. They ‘cheat’ to lift the weight, and they have improper posture or body position. At the very least this compromises the effectiveness of the exercise, and at the worst it’s an invitation to injury. If you need to cheat to perform the exercise, you’re using too much weight.

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Cadence is Critical The second most common mistake is ‘rocking and rolling’ with the weights. All too often I see people lifting and lowering as though they were in a race! The two key components of weight training are 1) using enough weight, and 2) time under tension. Time under tension refers to the amount time spent with the muscle under the tension of the weight. If you raise and lower the weights too rapidly there is not enough exposure of the muscle to the tension stimulus. There are two aspects to every lift: raising the weight (the concentric phase), and lowering the weight (the eccentric phase). By far, the eccentric phase—lowering the weight—is the most critical for stimulating muscle strength and size. Therefore, you need to spend much more time in the eccentric, or lowering, phase. My general recommendation is a lifting cadence of 1 second up, 3-4 seconds down, always with the weight under control and with good form.

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Go to Failure Ironically, muscles only grow stronger and bigger when they are subjected to microscopic tears. This stimulates the natural repair process, resulting in increased strength and size. The key, therefore, is to use enough weight, and to perform enough reps and/or sets to bring the muscle to, or near to, failure—where you cannot perform another repetition. Too many people quit way too early to reap the maximum benefits of the exercise. Beginners, or those who have had a long absence from weight training, should not start out going to failure. Rather, gradually work up to failure loads over a 4-6 week period.

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The smaller muscles help stabilize the joints when you exercise the larger muscle groups. Therefore, generally you should exercise the larger muscle groups first—the chest, back, legs—before working the smaller muscle groups of the arms & shoulders. If you fatigue the smaller muscles first you won’t be able to lift enough weight to benefit the larger muscles.

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Back-to-Back Days Muscles need roughly 48 hours to recover from a bout of resistance training. Therefore you should not weight-train the same muscles on back-to-back days. Always allow at least a day of rest in between. Prevent Staleness Our bodies adapt quickly to the stresses we place on them. After 6 weeks or so of doing the same weight training routine gains and progress will start to level off. I suggest slightly altering your routine every 6-8 weeks to keep the stimulus fresh. On the other hand, if your goal simply is to maintain your status quo, then there is no need to cycle your program. Size, Strength, or Endurance? To gain size, use heavier weights and fewer repetitions (as few as 6 reps). For strength, or for a nice balance of strength and size, 10-12 reps is a good range. For more endurance aim for 12-15 reps or more. But remember to use a slow cadence and use weight that is heavy enough to get to failure. Dr. Tortland is a nationally recognized board-certified sports medicine expert. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, and the team physician at the University of Hartford and Avon High School. He can be reached at Valley Sports Physicians & Orthopedic Medicine in Avon and Glastonbury, www.jockdoctors.com. See ad on page 3.

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

Self-Compassion:

It’s More Motivating Than Criticism or Ice Cream By Alison Caldwell-Andrews, PhD

aille walked into my office feeling beat up by life. Prone to too much guilt and struggling against anxiety and depression, she felt like she could never become the person she ‘should’have been already. She told me she couldn’t reliably keep commitments to herself or her family. She became visibly uncomfortable when talking about letting someone down “yet again”, and it was painful to hear her bitter self-criticism. Gaille wanted help in learning how to do more. But what she really needed most was self-compassion. Here’s an analogy: If Gaille was a building project under construction, self-compassion was the needed rebar in her foundation. Gaille wasn’t raised to be kind to herself. Her parents were hard on themselves and had high expectations for her. She agreed with those expectations, and contrary to popular magazine ‘wisdom’, the solution to her self-described failure wasn’t to change what she wanted of herself by lowering expectations. Rather, the solution was to strengthen her so she was able to reach higher. Previously, every time she stretched she would sink a little farther. Firming up her foundation was the first step in helping Gaille achieve her goals. Rather than first toning down depression and anxiety, Gaille’s therapy began by cultivating positive emotions. Foremost was self-compassion, an emotion that has been shown to reduce the negative impacts of stress-induced cortisol and increase the soothing power that comes from relaxation-

inducing hormones such as oxytocin. Selfcompassion is a relatively new therapeutic component that has received a fair amount of attention in England, thanks to the work of Paul Gilbert, and a lesser amount of attention here in the United States despite the valuable work of researchers such as Kristin Neff at UT-Austin. Like many women (and women tend to struggle with self-compassion more than men), Gaille responded in three ways that are typical of people who are low in selfcompassion behaviors: 1. She criticized herself, in some cases harshly and incessantly. 2. She increased her sense of isolation, thinking things like “Nobody else is this bad” and “I don’t deserve these friends.” 3. She was stuck in a cycle of endless ruminating and worrying. In fact, Gaille would often lay awake in bed, going over and over the problems she saw in herself, and feeling horrible about her apparent inability to get over herself and make positive changes. The shame, guilt, disappointment and anger she felt reduced her ability to be kind to others, and was destroying her health. It was not surprising that she had trouble with irritable bowel syndrome, or that her frequent colds interfered with her work and attempts to exercise. Suffering is hard and we all do too much of it. Some of us were taught to suffer by parents or grandparents who were probably simply doing their best. But this legacy not

only feels emotionally crippling, it can also get in the way of our long-term growth and goals. Over the past several decades we have jumped on the hope that self-esteem is the answer to an impoverished sense of self. We prop up our self-disregard with affirmations, we create artificial successes so our children will feel good about themselves, and at the end of the day we still feel empty. This is because we are facing a spiritual problem, not a success problem. Part of the spiritual problem is we do not understand how to treat ourselves with compassion, nor do we even know what that means. All the affirmations in the world won’t fix a lack of self-compassion. And all the self-esteem in the world won’t help you when you are faced with repeated discouragement and you are unable to find the motivation to do what you know would help you. The key is simply this: the way to get yourself to do what you need to do isn’t to beat yourself harder. Rather it’s to learn to be self-compassionate. Before you jump to conclusions about what that actually means, let’s talk about a few things that self-compassion isn’t. 1. Self-compassion isn’t self-indulgence. This is probably the most common misunderstanding about self-compassion that I run into. If you increase your level of self-compassion, you won’t be in danger of ditching work, eating chocolate cake and watching the Price is Right all day. That’s selfindulgence (well, self-indulgence for some, punishment for others!). You’ll actually find NaturalNutmeg.com

your motivation increasing because you’re reacting to attempts at achievement with encouragement rather than criticism. 2. Self-compassion is not entitlement or self-pity. Ever notice how we tend to say “when things get back to normal”? What is normal anyway? When I look at my life, the elusive “‘normal’” doesn’t happen often enough to technically qualify as normal! Instead, I find myself in the midst of challenges and frustration. And when I really take a moment to think about it, I prefer it this way. Life has a lot to teach me, and I’m not going to learn it sitting by the pool while someone else fills my drink! We’re all in the same boat. The times in our lives that are filled with peace and prosperity, love and success, are not common moments. Bad things happen to all of us. If I want to comfort myself with a bowl of ice-cream, that might be morally okay but it shouldn’t be confused with self-compassion. Self-compassion isn’t about what you “‘deserve’” or about entitlement. And self-compassion isn’t the same thing as self-pity, where you focus on your own problems and tend to forget that those around you experience problems too. Life is difficult for everyone and remembering that we all share the human experience will increase your compassion for others, and will help you be gentler with yourself. 3. Self-compassion is not artificial. You don’t tell yourself things you know aren’t true. You don’t tell yourself you are good at something when you don’t believe you are. 4. A self-compassionate mind doesn’t feel sorry for itself, and doesn’t justify or excuse itself. If you’re late for an appointment, selfcompassion will suggest that instead of saying “I’m such a jerk,” or “I

can’t help it, I’m always late,” you might say:“I figured out what got in the way of being on time and now I know how to fix it.” You’ll feel encouraged. You might have some regret but no self-recrimination. The thing is this: getting down on yourself is like putting a hole in your gas tank. It leaves you with less get-up-and-go and you can’t make the changes you need to make. It’s entirely ineffective as a problem-solving method. In addition, it’s hard on relationships; you end up using others to prop yourself up, and this can wear out friendships. In addition, self-criticism can become seductive. We might believe it will help us avoid worse harm, or will keep us safe on the straight and narrow. Bringing up the painful incidents over and over in our memory only makes the problem worse – we become vulnerable to depression and we end up essentially paralyzed and unable to change or let go. Many people have the belief that the ticket to achievement is to be hard on themselves: If they are tougher on themselves, they will be more likely to take action and make the needed changes. But this kind of self-talk actually increases anxiety and hopelessness, and it erodes motivation. It’s like using a cattle prod – in the short run it will get the cattle moving, but it doesn’t create lasting motivation. So instead of kicking yourself when you make a mistake, try instead to gently understand why you might have made that mistake. Accept your inherent mortality and humanity, and recognize that you are not alone. We all make mistakes. 5. Self-compassion is not the same thing as self-esteem. Selfesteem is feeling good about oneself, often in a way that relies on recent achievements, self-confidence or superiority. Self-compassion, however, is the behavior of treating oneself kindly, respectfully and with empathy. It promotes emotional resilience in a way that selfesteem cannot. It’s doing what’s in your own best interest, gently and without letting yourself off the hook. People with high levels of selfcompassion tend to take more personal responsibility than people with high self-esteem, and they have a more stable sense of selfworth. Because kindness to self doesn’t fluctuate based on external circumstances, people with self-compassion are better able to buffer themselves against life stressors, are less likely to get angry at others, and are more able to tolerate opinions that differ from their own.

So what IS self-compassion? 1. Self-compassion is acceptance of oneself as you are, both your limitations and strengths. 2. Self-compassion is treating yourself with warmth, respect and empathy, the way you might treat someone you really love. Imagine you disagree with a close friend or you are disappointed by his or her behavior. You probably don’t outright reject that friend just because you had a disagreement. The compassionate approach would be to respect your friend’s differences, and continue to accept him or her with respect and empathy. So it is with yourself. You might disappoint yourself sometimes – and if so, I give you a hearty welcome to the human race! – but there’s no use in rejecting yourself and wallowing in shame. This kind of suffering just gets in the way of change. 3. Self-compassion is essentially a way of living that involves doing what is in your own best interest. Hear me clearly: this is not to be confused with selfishness. Self-compassion allows you to focus on living more effectively by doing what works. Often this means taking better care of your body, being kinder to those you love and generally being a nicer human being. 42

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

Dr. Neff, self-compassion researcher at UT-Austin , proposes three key components: • Self-kindness: being warm and understanding about your own difficulties and pain, rather than being harshly self-critical. • Common humanity: recognizing that as humans we all have imperfections and make mistakes. It’s framing our frailties in terms of our shared humanity. • Mindfulness: taking a non-judgmental stance toward any emotions you might have and seeing things clearly without ignoring and without exaggerating. Self-compassion isn’t weakness. In fact, research demonstrates that people who are kind and gentle to themselves are better able to handle stress, and they recover more quickly from difficult life events. People with higher levels of self-compassion have a higher sense of self-efficacy and are less likely to fear failure. Even better, they tend to be more successful in achieving personal goals (such as quitting smoking). And of course, people with higher levels of self-compassion are much less likely to be depressed or anxious. A quote from Dr. Neff adds a further dimension: “Another advantage of self-compassion is that it is available precisely when self-esteem fails us – when we fall flat on our face, embarrass ourselves, or otherwise come in direct contact with the imperfection of life.” Self-compassion doesn’t just drop on you out of the sky. It’s a behavior that anyone can learn. Really. It’s just a matter of practice. Even if you are beginning with very little self-compassion, this can change. I guarantee it – if you practice this behavior correctly, and often enough, you will develop the skill of self-compassion. And your life will, indeed, get better. No one wakes up in the morning thinking “I’d like to suffer the whole day.” Not even French intellectuals. Try a little Self-compassionate Change. It can happen.You can be there. Dr. Caldwell-Andrews is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist offering examination, diagnosis, treatment and consulting services for persons confronted with a range of emotional, behavioral and relationship problems. Individual and group therapies are offered. In addition, Dr. Caldwell-Andrews is an entertaining and informative public speaker on topics of mind-body health and motivation. For more information visit www.caldwellandrews.com. See ad on page 35.

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September Community Events Calendar Saturday, September 1st Grief Support Group. 10am – 12pm. Free. Bring a non-perishable food item to donate to the local food bank in Southington. This group is for people who have lost loved ones to death and are seeking support in their grief process. Facilitated by Audrey Bennett LCSW. Center for Holistic Practices 963 Queen St., Suite C, Southington, Ct. www.centerforholisticpractices.com. 860-276-5843.

Thursday, September 6th Biomat healing & detox clinic free educational seminar with Donna Grimm, RN. Learn how the biomat clinic at Glastonbury Naturopathic Center can improve your health, detoxify, and prevent illness. Receive a free introductory session on the Biomat, and enjoy organic raw treats! 6-7pm. Call 860-657-4105 to reserve your space. Glastonbury Naturopathic Center 18 School St. Glastonbury. www.naturopathicwellness.com. Information Session on The Graduate Institute’s (TGI) Master of Arts in Learning and Thinking. 4pm. Learn about TGI’s cutting edge MA degree in Learning and Thinking. This degree program is designed for working professionals. Session held at Wesleyan University (Room 413 Fisk Hall) Call (203) 874-4252 or visit www.learn.edu/events to register.

Friday, September 7th Meditation with Light and Sound. Also Sept. 28. 7 – 9pm. $15.00 . This group meets every other Friday and utilizes various forms of Sound instruments and colored lights as a means of deep relaxation and stress reduction. Each week we use one or more of the following: Crystal Singing bowls, drums, rattles, bells, etc. Facilitated by Audrey Bennett .Center for Holistic Practices 963 Queen Street Suite C Southington. http://www.centerforholisticpractices.com. 860-276-5843 Gallery Night. 6:30p.m. – 8:30p.m. $45.00. Enjoy an intimate evening of learning about angels and guides and experiencing intuitive readings with medium and certified Angel Therapy Practitioner®, Priscilla Bengtson. Everyone in attendance will receive a message. Seating is limited and preregistration is required. Held at The Healing in Harmony Center, 99 Citizens Drive, Glastonbury. To register, please call 860.301.1468 or visit www. healinginharmonycenter.com.

Saturday, September 8th Psychic Saturday. 10–4pm. $25.00 for a 20-minute reading. Receive a private reading with Medium Priscilla Bengtson. Other readers may be available also. Receive guidance from your angels, spirit guides and loved ones. Pre-scheduling is highly recommended. Held at The Healing in Harmony Center, 99 Citizens Dr., Glastonbury. To pre-schedule an appointment, please call 860.301.1468 or visit www.healinginharmonycenter.com.

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

Traditional Chinese Medicine Theory Terminology Course. (May be a Stand Alone Class) *pre-requisite for Chinese Herbology Program* w/ Laura Mignosa 9:30- 4:00 (28 NCTMB CEU) $459.00. Also Sept. 9, 15 & 16. This is a powerful course for anyone interested in the Differential Diagnosis of Traditional Chinese Medicine and its uses today. Connecticut Institute for Herbal Studies 912 Corbin Ave. New Britain, CT. 06052 www.CTHerbschool.com. Usui Reiki Level 1. 12pm $125.00 Purple Turtle Wellness 1 Grist Mill Rd Simsbury. With Reiki Master Carol Hipkins. 860-413-3592. www.onthepathofhealing.com.

Sunday, September 9th Angels 101: Connecting and Healing with the Angels. 10am. – 12:30pm. $50.00 (Register for both classes this day & pay only $70.00). Led by Priscilla Bengtson, certified Angel Therapy Practitioner®, participants will learn about the angels, how to work with them and experience a guided meditation. Held at The Healing in Harmony Center, 99 Citizens Drive, Glastonbury. To register, please call 860.301.1468 or visit www.healinginharmonycenter.com. Pray. 1:30p.m. – 3p.m. $35.00 (Register for both classes this day and pay only $70.00). Oftentimes we would like to pray and either can’t find the words or just don’t know how. Many of us grew up learning and repeating pre-written prayers. Explore what prayer is, how to use it and how to do it for yourself and others. Held at The Healing in Harmony Center, 99 Citizens Drive, Glastonbury. To register, please call 860.301.1468 or visit www. healinginharmonycenter.com.

Monday, September 10th Open House at The Graduate Institute (TGI). 5:30pm. Learn about TGI’s cutting edge Masters degree programs for holistic adult learners. 171 Amity Road in Bethany, CT. Call (203) 874-4252 or visit www.learn.edu/events to register.

Tuesday, September 11th 40 Days to Personal Transformation. Inspires deep examination of personal behaviors with goal towards healing of mind/body/spirit through the practice of yoga. Program divided into 6 weekly themes. www.centerspacewellnessstudio.com for more information. Developing Your Intuition Series. 6:30-8:30 pm. Tuesdays through Oct. 10. Cost $ 97 for entire 5 session series. Tap into your innate ability of “knowing”. Learn how to “tune in” to your inner voice. Through the use of meditation, knowing and experiential exercises you will begin to master the technique of accessing your creativity and intuition at will. 36 Cheshire Rd, Wallingford. Contact Gayle @203-265-2927, or sunnispirit@sbcglobal.netor visit. www.return2love.net.

So you want to be a Medium? 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. $45.00. Participants will learn the differences between mediumship and psychic ability, how to receive messages clearly and how to know who you are working with in the spirit world. Held at The Healing in Harmony Center, 99 Citizens Drive, Glastonbury. To register, please call 860.301.1468 or visit www.healinginharmonycenter.com.

Wednesday, September 12th Healing in Harmony Night. 5p.m. – 7p.m. FREE. Stop by the center for a FREE healing service. Participants will sit individually with a healer and receive an 8 – 10 minute healing. No reservation required. You will be served in the order in which you enter the center. The healing services are offered one night each month. Held at The Healing in Harmony Center, 99 Citizens Drive, Glastonbury. For information please call 860.301.1468 or visit www.healinginharmonycenter.com. Wholistic HCG Fat Loss Program Educational Seminar. $20 per person. Learn how you can lose up to 30 pounds in 40 days with our unique, safe and effective, medically supervised weight loss program! 6-7pm. Call 860-657-4105 to reserve your space. Glastonbury Naturopathic Center 18 School St. Glastonbury, CT. www.naturopathicwellness.com.

Thursday, September 13th Free Wellness Talks at Glastonbury Naturopathic Center. “The Ins and Outs of Colon Hydrotherapy” with Connie Jones, I-ACT Certified Colon Hydrotherapist. Learn how you can lose up to 30 pounds in 40 days with our unique, safe and effective, medically supervised weight loss program! 6:30-7:30pm. Call 860-657-4105 to reserve your space. Glastonbury Naturopathic Center 18 School St Glastonbury. www.naturopathicwellness.com. Prana Flow Yoga with Lyndsay Meiklem. 9am11am. $80. Continued Education for Yoga teachers and hours for Teacher Trainees. Please call for preregistration. Sacred Rivers Yoga 2934 Main Street, Glastonbury CT. 860-657-9545. www.sacredriversyoga.com.

Friday, September 14th Sustainable Health & Wellness - two-day Grand Opening event. Beginning Friday evening, 6 - 9pm. We offer a variety of services including massage, yoga and Pilates, Naturopathic Medicine, and Acupuncture. Stop in for a tour of the facility, refreshments, raffles and special promos, as well as an art showing by local artist, Laurie Tavino. For more information about our wellness center and our Grand Opening event, visit our website at www. SustainableHW.com or call at 860.217.1171. We are located in the Mill Building at 2 Tunxis Rd., Tariffville, CT.

Traditional Usui Reiki certification classes. Reiki 1 - Fridays, Sept 14 & 21- Both classes are 4-8pm, and both are required for certification. $75 each class. Classes are held at A Hand in Healing, 244 Main ST., Farmington. Practitioners receive personalized instruction, ample practice time, manual and certificate with lineage. Call 860-676-8500 to register. www.ahandinhealing.co Cheryl Case is Reiki Master teacher since 2000 and believes in small classes, limit 3 p/class!

Saturday, September 15th Sustainable Health & Wellness - two-day Grand Opening event! 9 am - 5 pm. We offer a variety of services including massage, yoga and Pilates, Naturopathic Medicine, and Acupuncture. Dropin for FREE classes and lectures, running all day, as well as complimentary smoothie samples and chair massage! There will also be special massage and class promotions and raffle prizes. For more information about our wellness center and our Grand Opening event, visit our website at www. SustainableHW.com or call at 860.217.1171. We are located in the Mill Building at 2 Tunxis Rd., Tariffville, CT. Lightarian Reiki Budda Boost. Pre req. for Lightarian Reiki Levels 1-6. $50.00 Purple Turtle Wellness, 1 Grist Mill Rd Simsbury. Raised your vibrations with this Reiki with Reiki Master Carol Hipkins. 860-413-3592 www.onthepathofhealing.com Codependent Recovery Support Group. 11 am – 12:30 pm. $15.00. Support group for anyone who is or has been affected by someone elses dysfunctional behavior. The group includes learning self care techniques including meditation, acupressure, and other forms of stress reduction in the last half hour. Facilitated by Audrey Bennett LCSW. Center for Holistic Practices 963 Queen Street Suite C Southington, Ct 06489. http://www.centerforholisticpractices.com. 860-276-5843. Build your own Fairy House. 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. $35.00 plus $10 paid to instructors. It’s a funfilled day with the fairies as you build a natural material fairy house for your outdoor area. Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult. Materials provided and you can bring your own. Held at The Healing in Harmony Center, 99 Citizens Drive, Glastonbury. To register, please call 860.301.1468 or visit www.healinginharmonycenter.com

Sunday, September 16th Women’s Empowerment Meditation. 10a.m. – 12:00 noon. $25.00. This guided meditation is specifically designed to the energy of the group. We invite in our angels and guides to help us release those things that keep us stuck. Held at The Healing in Harmony Center, 99 Citizens Drive, Glastonbury. To register, please call 860.301.1468 or visit www.healinginharmonycenter.com. Reiki I. 9:00am-1:00pm $125 Reiki is the science and art of activating, directing and applying natural, universal life energy, to promote energy balancing, healing and wholeness. It attunes you to

receive the universal, life force energy. Learn to do Reiki treatments on yourself and others.Materials/certificate included. 36 Cheshire Road, Wallingford. To register or formore information please contact Gayle @203-265-2927, email sunnispirit@ sbcglobal.net, or visit www.return2love.net

Monday, September 17th Group Past Life Regression. 6:30pm-8:30pm $20An effective way to discover reasons for current fears, recurring dreams and personality tendencies. Through exploration of your past lives, learn some of the reasons you are repeating patterns, why you were born into your particular family or why you have certain behaviors. 36 Cheshire Rd, Wallingford. No previous experience necessary. To register or formore information please contact Gayle Franceschetti, 203-265-2927 203-265-2927 email sunnispirit@sbcglobal.net, or visit www.return2love.

Tuesday, September 18th Aromatherapy for Beautiful Skin, with Dr. Helene Pulnik, ND LAc. Learn how to make and use Essential Aromatherapy blends for Beautiful Skin! Class includes Healthy Skin Essentials talk, Individualized Skin and Chinese Facial Analysis, Take Home personal Aroma Skin Oil. Class Fee: $50 per person, pre-paid. 6-7pm. Call 860-657-4105 to reserve your space. Glastonbury Naturopathic Center 18 School St. Glastonbury. www.naturopathicwellness.com. Reiki Share and Healing Circle. Open to all. With Reiki Master Carol Hipkins at Purple Turtle Wellness, 1 Grist Mill Rd Simsbury. $10.00 Donation. 6:30-8:30pm. 860-413-3592. www.onthepathofhealing.com. Look for us on meetup.com.

Thursday, September 20th Biomat Healing & Detox clinic. Free educational seminar with Donna Grimm, RN. Learn how the biomat clinic at Glastonbury Naturopathic Center can improve your health, detoxify, and prevent illness. Receive a free introductory session on the Biomat, and enjoy organic raw treats! 6-7pm. Call 860-657-4105 to reserve your space. Glastonbury Naturopathic Center 18 School St. Glastonbury. www.naturopathicwellness.com. Embody Yoga with Maggie Rueda. 3pm.-5pm. $175. Continued Education for Yoga teachers and hours for Teacher Trainees. Please call for preregistration. Sacred Rivers Yoga 2934 Main Street, Glastonbury CT 860-657-9545 www.sacredriversyoga.com. Core Stabilization & Strengthening Class. No Cost. 1:15pm-1:45pm. Instructor: Carol Gordon, PT, IMTC. This one hour class offers the student basic core stabilization and strengthening techniques that can be performed easily at home or hotel room. The Institute of Integrative Manual Therapy, 1 Northwestern Drive, Suite 101, Bloomfield, CT 06002.. To obtain additional information or to sign up for this class, please contact Amanda Albrecht at AmandaAlbrecht@InstituteofImt.com or call 860 243 5220.

Friday, September 21st “A Call To Heal-Releasing the Past” Shamanic Apprenticeship Weekend. Also Sept. 22 & 23. Friday 6:00 pm – Sunday 1:00 p.m. $300.00 Pre-registration required. The Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of Cross Cultural Shamanism. Bring a feather, a shell, and 4 stones and a center piece to represent your highest divinity. Audrey Bennett has apprenticed with Oscar Miro Quesada and Alberto Villaldo. Center for Holistic Practices 963 Queen Street Suite C Southington, Ct 06489. http://www.centerforholisticpractices.com. 860-276-5843. Meet your Angels and Guides. 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. $50.00During this workshop you will learn about your primary spiritual guides and guardian angels. Through meditation, we will meet them and receive information from them on how they would like to work with you. Held at The Healing in Harmony Center, 99 Citizens Drive, Glastonbury. To register, please call 860.301.1468 or visit www. healinginharmonycenter.com.

Saturday, September 22nd The 10th Annual Comcast Connecticut Women’s Expo will take place on Saturday, September 22 and Sunday, September 23rd from 10:00 to 5:00 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. Attendees will experience: Shopping with Hundreds of Unique Vendors, FREE Samples, Prize Giveaways, Celebrity Appearances, Fashion Shows, Book Signings, Psychic Readings, Dance Demonstrations, Beauty Makeovers, and FREE Health Screenings by St. Francis Hospital.

Sunday, September 23rd Positive Empowerment Group. 4-5:30 pm. $ 25. Gather together as a group and use our group energy to empower beliefs that increase strength and energy. When we use compassion and positive self talk we become empowered rather than depressed and anxious. We are in a time when we realize weare the ones who are going to improve ourselves. Call Gayle, 203-265-2927 or sunnispirit@ sbcglobal.net. 36 Cheshire Road, Wallingford, CT 06492. www.return2love.net. Love Your Dog? This event is for you! Rachael is a pet intuitive and can tell you about your dogs likes and dislikes, how their med’s are affecting them and their physical condition. Carrie is a reiki and shamballa master who will give your dog reiki! Limit of 12 half hour appointments between 11-3, Fee is $40. Please call A Hand in Healing, 244 Main St., Farmington to register your pet! 860-676-8500.

Monday, September 24th QiGong. No Cost. 1:15-1:45pm Instructor: Risa Brophy, MQT. Qigong translates to “energy work” and is a gentle system of exercise practiced for health, healing and increased vitality. Note: Please, eat your lunch before or after this program. 1 Northwestern Drive, Suite 101, Bloomfield, CT06002. To obtain additional information or to sign up for this class, please contact Amanda Albrecht at AmandaAlbrecht@InstituteofImt.com or call 860-243-5220.

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Calendar Tuesday, September 25th Transcendental Meditation Introductory Lecture Free! 6-7pm. Call 860-657-4105 to reserve your space. Glastonbury Naturopathic Center 18 School St. Glastonbury, Ct. Learning to Let Go. 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. $35.00. If you are someone who hangs onto emotional issues, lives with pain or needs to release a habit, this workshop will introduce you to the simple technique of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Held at The Healing in Harmony Center, 99 Citizens Drive, Glastonbury. To register, please call 860.301.1468 or visit www.healinginharmonycenter.com Fascinated by the Tarot? Join Denise Joy as she shares the secrets of the Tarot with you. This six week course will teach you about the Major Arcana, the Minor Arcana, the meanings of the suits and numbers, and how to use them to gain access to the hidden realms. Sept 25, Oct 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30. $175 for 6 classes, must be paid at first class. Classes at A Hand in Healing, 244 Main ST., Farmington. Call to register 860-676-8500 www. ahandinhealing.co.

Wednesday, September 26th Wholistic HCG Fat Loss Program Educational Seminar. $20 per person. Learn how you can lose up to 30 pounds in 40 days with our UNIQUE, safe and effective, medically supervised weight loss program! 6-7pm. Call 860-657-4105 to reserve your space. Glastonbury Naturopathic Center 18 School St. Glastonbury, Ct. www.naturopathicwellness.com.

Thursday, September 27th Community Evening. Topic: Neuro Fascial Process (NFP) for Self Care. Learn Self-Help Tools No cost. 6-7:30pm Instructor: Ayelet Connell-Giammatteo, Ph.D., PT, IMTC. The evening is for anyone who has interest in either improving or preventing problems, and for professionals who may want to be aware of more options for their clients and/ or themselves. 1 Northwestern Drive, Suite 101, Bloomfield, CT 06002. To Register: Call (860) 2436571, E-mail: MaryFarrell@InstituteofIMT.com.

Saturday, September 29th 25th Annual Farmington River Clean-up. 9:30am -2pm. FREE. The Farmington River Watershed will host the 25th Annual Farmington River Clean Up. Volunteers will be provided with gloves and bags to help clean up the banks of the Farmington River. Volunteers report to 749 Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury CT or 41 Bridge Street, Collinsville, CT. Breakfast and Lunch provided by area restaurants. For more event information visit frwa.org or call (860) 658-4442.

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

Sunday, September 30th Concentration Meditation. 6-8pm. FREE. Concentration Meditation (samatha) is an ancient meditation dating back thousands of years. The Buddhist tradition has preserved and transmitted it down through generations of yogis (mediators). For some, the path of concentration leads to states of deep absorption called Jhana. Beginners & advanced yogis are welcome! Sacred Rivers Yoga 2934 Main Street, Glastonbury CT 860-657-9545 www.sacredriversyoga.com

Sunday, October 7th Traditional Usui Reiki certification classes. Oct. 7 & 14- Both classes are 3-7pm, and both are required for certification. $75 each class. Classes are held at A Hand in Healing, 244 Main ST., Farmington. Practitioners receive personalized instruction, ample practice time, manual and certificate with lineage. Call 860-676-8500 to register. www. ahandinhealing.co Cheryl Case is Reiki Master teacher since 2000 and believes in small classes, limit 3 p/class!

Saturday, October 20th Little Flower Yoga - Children’s Yoga Teacher Training. Gain a deeper understanding of child development, create lesson plans that meet children’s needs, and knowledge to teach in a safe, engaging and compassionate way. www.centerspacewellnessstudio.com for more information.

Ongoing events Monday Tong Ren Healing Class. 7-8pm. $10/Class. Instrutor, ming wu ph.D., A doctor of chinese medicine, studied tai chi in china and us for 40 years. He studied tong ren healing with master tom tam since 1994. Wu healing center , 45 south main st., Suite 100, west hartford, ct. 800-990-9332. Www. Wuhealing.Com.Tel: 978-461-2168. (Office). 978790-8888 (Cell). Athlete Yoga. 7:30 Pm. This one hour class is designed to help any level of athlete open up tight areas while also enhancing recovery from strenuous activity. It will focus on breathing techniques, stretches to release tight areas, and poses targeted to help with balance and stability. Sacred rivers yoga 2934 main street, glastonbury ct 860-6579545 www.Sacredriversyoga.Com

Tuesday Qigong/Tai Chi Classes. Exercise to heal program by lee holden as seen on pbs - learn how to gain more energy, balance your energy, balance emotionally physically and spiritually. Feel great! Marcey Hickey certified instructor. 7:30pm September 18 - october 30 7 classes $65.00. Suffield by the river, 7 canal road, suffield, ct. Call 860-844-8535 to register.

Reiki Share And Healing Circle. 3rd tuesday of every month open to all $10.00 Donation with reiki master carol hipkins at purple turtle therapeutic massage and wellness 1 grist mill rd simsbury ct 06070. 8 Week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (Mbsr) Program. 6.30- 9pm. Sept 4th-oct 30th Redding, CT and Pleasantville, NY. $350 (Early bird registration $295 before aug 10th). The program includes foundational training in meditation, group discussion and practical teachings to apply mindfulness in daily life. To sign up and reserve a seat in our spring program starting in september and to get more information on how this program can help you, call Alisha at (917)972–7291 or visit www.mindful-spirit.com Yoga for Back Care with Kathy Conyers. Series of (5) pre-registered $75.00 can take single class $15.00 pre-registered or $20.00 drop in. This Yoga class includes practices to help mobilize the spine, improve function and increase range of motion. Simple yoga postures will be practiced repetitively to strengthen weak muscles and release contracted muscles that support the back. Center for Holistic Practices 963 Queen Street, Suite C, Southington, CT. www.centerforholisticpractices.com. Or call 860-276-5843.

Wednesday “Walk-In Wednesdays.” 9am-11am. $10 Sample integrative health coaching session; free to first four who walk-in each wednesday. Experience a 15-minute sample health exploration with nina, integrative health coach and registered nurse. Appointments recommended. New england integrative health associates [neiha] 345 north main street, west hartford-www.Neihact.com. Contact nina arnold at 860-869-7137 or via email at narnold@neihact.com. Life Force Yoga With Daune Kemp. August 1, 8 and 15, 5:30 – 6:30. Paid in advance $65.00 For series or $15.00 Drop in rate. Located at the center for holistic practices and psychotherapy 963 queen street southington, CT 06489. (8600 276-5843 or contact Audrey at (860) 819-8570. Http://www. Centerforholisticpractices.Com. Vinyasa Core Fusion. 6pm. This class is designed to synchronize movement through yoga postures with breath, generating heat and opening the energy lines within the body. Students will experience a dynamic flow from one asana to the next, as they learn to tune into their own body and link their movement with their breath. Sacred rivers yoga 2934 Main Street, Glastonbury CT. 860-657-9545 www.Sacredriversyoga.Com. Yoga Therapy Series Class. 10:45am. to 11:45am. It is ongoing. You can buy 6 classes for $70. The class is free to those who have Multiple Sclerosis. This class is gentle, relaxing and strengthening. The movements incorporate yoga and Feldenkrais techniques. Listen to your body and its wisdom as you increase blood circulation and oxygenation. Sacred Rivers Yoga 2934 Main Street, Glastonbury CT. 860-657-9545. www.sacredriversyoga.com.

Thursday Groaning Grads, Worried Moms ‘N Dads. Weekly support group. 7:30- 8:15pm. $11.00. When “coming home” is the only choice for the new grad or recently unemployed “twenty-something.” Communication strategies. Proactive planning. Trumbull; call Allison B. Spitzer, N.A., 203.261.7615. Qi Gong With Dr. Anne Mitchell. Qigong is a healing practice similar to tai chi. Qi gong qualifies as weight bearing exercise and will help osteopenia and osteoporosis. It will strengthen your core muscles and stabilize your spine. Common benefits of qi gong are serenity, clarity of mind, focus, strength pain relief. Classes are thursday at 5:30pm in our 2 Broadway, North Haven location. Call to sign up and reserve a spot. 203-239-3400. $10 Cash per person, bring a friend and you each get 1/2 your first visit. Qigong/Tai Chi Classes. Exercise to heal program by lee holden as seen on pbs - learn how to gain more energy, balance your energy, balance emotionally, physically and spiritually. Feel great! Mar-

cey hickey certified instructor. The Purple Turtle - 1 Gristmill Rd., Simsbury, CT. 6:30pm. September 13th - October 25th. 7 classes $80.00. Call 860844-8535 to register.

Friday Tibetan Singing Bowls Vibrational Healng “Gong Bath.” Every 1st friday of every month until december 2012. July 6, august 3, sept 7, oct 5, nov 2 & dec 7. First Congregational Church of Granby, 219 North Granby Road (route 189), Granby, Ct for more info call: 860-844-8535. $10.00 Donation suggested. Please bring pillow, mat, blanket & water bottle.

Qigong/Tai Chi Classes. Exercise to heal program by lee holden as seen on PBS. Learn how to gain more energy, balance your energy, emotionally & physically, free yourself from pain and stiffness, strengthen your immune system, relax, rejuvenate and get a great night’s sleep. 9:30-10:30 Am september 22 - october 27 - 6 weeks $60.00. Marcey Hickey certified instructor (free class 9/8 9:30 am). St francis care at enfield, 7 Elm Street, Enfield, CT. 860-714-7432 or 860-714-4450. Gluten Free Support Group. First sunday of each month, 3-4pm. Facilitated by Lisa Viele, holistic nutrition consultant, 860-933-4138. Centerspace Wellness Studio, 46 Lebanon Avenue, Bozrah. 860-886-

Saturday Ellington Farmers’ Market. 9am.-12pm. May 5thoct. 20th. Arbor park, main st., Ellington. Providing a variety of products that are grown, harvested, produced or handcrafted in connecticut. Weekly themes, entertainment and guest vendors in a lovely country setting. Weekly schedule available at ellingtonfarmersmarket.com.

Community Resources ACUPUNCTURE Stan Baker, L. Ac., Dipl. Ac.

35 Nod Road, Suite 106, Menla Holistic Health, Avon, CT. • (860) 836-1068 Stan Baker is a fully licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Medicine practitioner with offices in Avon, CT and Springfield, MA. He has been a practitioner in the Oriental healing arts for 25 years. He specializes in difficult cases including back pain/sciatica, headache/migraine, allergies, and arthritis. He is also a teacher of advanced Chen Tai Chi, Aikido and Sun Do Mt. Yoga. See ad on page 25.

Glastonbury Naturopathic Center

CHIROPRACTIC Chiropractic Health Ctr. of Glastonbury

2934 Main St.,Glastonbury, CT 860-657-8800 www.glastonburychiro.com Dr. Patrick DeFranceso, founder, is a board certified chiropractor with more than 20 years experience assisting patients. To deliver the highest standard of care Dr. DeFrancesco utilizes the state-of-the-art digital x-ray, the latest chiropractic tables and equipment. The office also offers therapeutic massage, nutrition counseling and monthly workshops. The team at the office creates a comfortable and fun loving environment where individuals and families can reach and maintain optimal health and wellness with safe, natural and effective chiropractic care. Feeling good has never been so simple! See ad on page 39.

Dr.Helene Pulnik, ND LAc. 18 School St., Glastonbury,Ct 6033 (860) 657- 4105, naturopathicwellness.com

Dr. Pulnik is a licensed, board certified Acupuncturist and Naturopathic Physician with over 25 years experience as a healthcare professional. She specializes in acupuncture for infertility, womens' health, migraines, anxiety/stress/ insomnia, arthritis, back & neck pain, sciatica, allergies, chronic sinusitis, and more. See our ad on page 16.

Sophia Natural Health Center

Kenneth Hoffman, L.Ac., CCH 31 Old Route 7, Brookfield, CT 06804. (203) 740-9300 • SophiaNaturalHealth.com Combining Chinese Medicine with modern science, we restore health by identifying imbalances that cause illness. Acupuncture, Allergy Elimination, Chronic Pain Relief, Hormone Balancing, Thermography, Detoxification. See ad on page 21.

Westside Chiropractic

557 Prospect Avenue, West Hartford,CT (860) 523-5833 • westsidechiropractors.com Our mission is to provide chiropractic care, naturally based generalist, primary or specialty health care, for persons of all ages. We are committed to educating our patients about their health and wellness and providing them with tools for self improvement. We seek to work in partnership with you to achieve good health and well being in a way consistent with your way of life. Visit our location in West Hartford See ad on page 10.

ALLERGY TREATMENT

Advanced Allergy Relief CT Anne Mitchell, ND (203) 239-3400 www.aarct.com North Haven & W. Hartford

Eliminate your allergic reactions using a technologically advanced treatment that corrects the body’s response to the offending food, pollen, mold, perfume, pets, etc. No medications. Noninvasive. Child-friendly. See ads on pages 11, 39.

Glastonbury Naturopathic Center 18 School St., Glastonbury, Ct. 06033 (860) 657- 4105, naturopathicwellness.com

Dr. Helene Pulnik, ND is a certified Advanced Allergy Therapeutics Practitioner. Advanced Allergy Therapeutics (AAT) is a clinically proven treatment that is highly effective in relieving the many symptoms associated with allergies, food sensitivities, environmental sensitivies, IBS, headaches, skin problems and more. The AAT treatment does not rely on the use of medications, herbal remedies or supplements. The treatment is safe, painless and available to all ages including infants. See ad on page 16.

COLON HYDROTHERAPY Glastonbury Naturopathic Center 18 School St., Glastonbury, Ct. 06033 (860) 657- 4105, naturopathicwellness.com

Constance Jones is New England’s senior Colon Hydrotherapist. During her 30 years of practice, she has performed nearly 50,000 colonics. Connie is certified through both the International Association of Colon Hydrotherapists (I-ACT) and The National Board for Colon Hydrotherapy. She creates a nurturing, serene, and safe environment, and maintains your utmost privacy and comfort. www.cleanmycolon.com. See our ad on page 16.

DENTISTRY The Canaan Gentle Dentle & Implant Center Dr. Thomas Livingstone 3-5 Railroad St. North Canaan, CT (860) 824-0751 livingstonedentalexcellence.com See ad on page 16.

Dr. Steven Hinchey

2249 New London Turnpike South Glastonbury, CT. (860) 633-6518 www.dentistryfordiabetics.com/drhinchey See ad on page 22.

Kevin Norige, D.M.D.

112 Deming St., South Windsor, CT. (860) 644-0113 Dr. Kevin Norige has been in practice for almost 30 years in South Windsor, CT. His services include Invisalign, Perio Protect, Lumineers, Snapon Smiles and Snap-it, Global Mini Implants, and non-surgical periodontal treatments. He is a member of the ADA, CSDA, and the Hartford Dental Society. He is a clinician with the CT Mission of Mercy Dental Clinic and also serves as a facilitator to dental students at the Univ. of CT. See ad on page 19.

Dr. Roman Fedorciw Dr. Mehran Massoumi

80 Shunpike Road, Cromwell, CT• 860-635-4666 www.smiledrs.com Our office respects the inseparable relationship between doctor and patient while providing the best that dentistry has to offer in a relaxed environment of professionalism, skill and ability. Every patient’s well-being and oral health are at the heart of our team’s commitment to you and your family. See ad on page 43.

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Resources HEALTH FOOD STORES

Green & Sustainable Interior Design

Parkade Health Shoppe

Put It Together, llc

Manchester Parkade, 378 West Middle Tpke, Manchester, CT • 860.646.8178 M-Sat 8am-9pm • Sun 9am-6pm The Manchester Parkade Health Shoppe is an information and service-oriented health food store that has served its community since 1956. Owner, Michael Dworkin, P.D., M.S., a Registered Pharmacist and State Certified Clinical Nutritionist, is available for consultation by appointment. Our other staff nutrition consultants provide customers with in-store guidance in choosing vitamins, herbs, sports nutrition products, natural body care, natural and allergen-free foods, and life style changes. Many of our products are discounted every day. Ask us about our gym and other special discounts. See ad on page 7.

HYPNOSIS Diane Bahr-Groth, C. Hy., TFT, Dir. 1177 High Ridge Road, Stamford, CT. (203)595-0110 • mindbodytransformation.com

Mind Body Transformation Hypnosis is a Certified Hypnotist specializing in fast and effective methods for weightloss, stress, fear, pain, smoking, etc. Hypnosis, Thought Field Therapy™, Time Line Therapy™ & NLP. Call for a free consultation. See ad on page 37..

Mind Matters Hypnosis Center Lisa Zaccheo, MA, BCH, BCI Board Certified Hypnotist & Instructor 50 Albany Tpk. Canton, CT www.mindmattershypnosis.com (860) 693-6448

You’ve heard people say that we only use 10% of our mental capacity. Imagine what you could do with access to the other 90%!!! Lisa has helped thousands of people, just like you, safely and easily tap into the other 90% of the mental power that’s located in the subconscious mind using hypnosis and other advanced tools. Start making a list of what you’d like to change, then pick up the phone and get started.

HYPNOTHERAPY/NLP

Judie Ricciardi Heritage Center,464 Heritage Road, Suite 1B Southbury, CT 06488 • 203-263-7836 putittogetherllc@cs.com www.putittogetherllc.com M-Th 9:30 am-4:30 pm, Fri. until noon As a green, sustainable and environmentally aware interior designer and Feng Shui practioner, I am able to enhance your environment by helping you select furnishings, fabrics, carpets with fewer to no VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Harmonious and balanced environments bring Peace, Good Health and Good Fortune into your home or office.

LIFE COACHING PEAK Results Coaching

Jeff Forte, CSIC, CME 2389 Main St., Glastonbury, CT 06033 (860)633-8555 • peakresultscoaching.com Is the happiness you want in your life eluding you? Do you feel stressed because of the pro lems that you can’t seem to overcome? It doesn’t have to be that way. I will show you step by step exactly what to do so you can create the happiness and peace of mind you want in your life. These little known secrets will put you on the path to getting the results you want guaranteed. I am a Certified Strategic Interventionist Coach and Marriage Educator. Clients frequently come to me when nothing else seems to work, or when something must change now. Call today and learn what to do. See ad on page 37.

MASSAGE Larry Joyner

80 Shunpike Road, Suite 204 Cromwell, CT 06416 www.larryrjoynerlmt.com CT. License #6565 Massage Therapy for Body, Mind and Spirit. Blending intuitve hands with the art of massage and energy work. Relieving stress and giving totaly body relaxation. See ad on page 9.

All that is, was first created in the mind. Nishanto Kane is a certified Eriksonian Hypnotist, Master NLP practitioner, Reconnection practitioner, Aura/Chakra Analyst. She has over 25 years experience in assisting many to stop smoking, release self-sabotaging habits, develop beliefs to attract abundance and well being, eliminate per allergies, anxieties, phobias, weight gain, stress, alcohol abuse, insomnia, improve school grades and more. Offering Chakra analysis - this amazing scientific state of the art technology allows you and the practitioner to view your aura. Through interpretation you can learn to bring yourself into physical, mental and emotional balance.

CT Natural Health Specialists

Lauren Gouin, ND 135 Center St., Manchester, CT (860) 533-0179 • www.ctnaturalhhealth.com Dr. Lauren Gouin is a naturopathic physician with a family practice in Manchester. Dr. Gouin is accepting new patients and is in network with most insurance companies. For more information, visit www. ctnhs.com. See ad on page 7.

100 Danbury Road, Suite 102, Ridgefield, CT 06877 (203)431-4443 Natural family healthcare using nutrition and biochemistry; herbal, homeopathic, and energetic medicine; lifestyle transformation and detoxification, to promote well-being of body, mind, and spirit. See ad on page 11.

Glastonbury Naturopathic Ctr. 18 School Street, Glastonbury Dr. Helene Pulnik. (860) 657-4105 naturopathicwellness.com

Glastonbury Naturopathic Ctr. is a multi-disciplinary healthcare center focusing on natural alternatives for individuals to achieve and maintain optimal health. Dr. Helene Pulnik, ND, LAc. is a board-certified licensed Naturopathic Physician and Acupuncturist with over 25 years experience as a healthcare professional. Offering Naturopathic Medicine, Colon Hydrotherapy, Acupuncture, Cleansing & Detoxification Programs, Weight Management Programs. See ad on page 16.

Dr. Henderson runs our weight loss program here at the Life Center and is internationally recognized for her work with diabetes, hypertension and kidney disease. The first step toward health is improving our relationship with food and choosing to properly nourish ourselves. Dr. Henderson uses all the tools of naturopathic medicine to help us reach our health goals, including achieving a healthy weight. She also uses botanical medicine, flower remedies, homeopathy, acupuncture, exercise therapy and detoxification to guide individuals to attain their health goals. See ads on pages 11, 39.

Natural Nutmeg September 2012

The Wellness Institute Marvin Schweitzer, ND 1 Westport Ave, Norwalk, CT (203) 847-2788

Dr. Schweitzer treats all ages with natural therapies including homeopathy, herbal medicine, enzymes, nutritional supplements and more. His advanced cutting-edge technologies evaluate underlying causes and create individualized treatment plans. ASYRA, Ondamed, BrainPaint, footbaths, acupuncture and oxygen therapies are used to achieve optimal health. Allergy desensitization, detoxification programs, immune system support, Lyme disease issues and other wellness protocols are included in his personalized care. See ad on page 5.

West Hartford Naturopathic Medicine

301 N. Main St., West Hartford, CT (860) 232-9662 • www.DRAIETA.com Dr. Frank Aieta, founder of West Hartford Naturopathic Medicine, is a board certified licensed Naturopathic Physician who specializes in the treatment of both acute and chronic disease utilizing the most advanced natural therapeutics. He offers a wide range of natural, non-toxic treatments which include: Acupuncture, Spinal Manipulation, Clinical Nutrition, Detoxification, Pain Management, Herbal Medicine and Natural Hormone Balancing. See ad on page 15.

NUTRITION

Holcare Nutrition

Vicki Kobliner MS RD 3 Hollyhock Lane, Suite 2A, Wilton, CT 06897 203-834-9949 • www.holcarenutrition.com Vicki Kobliner MS RD, CD-N is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Holcare Nutrition. Vicki works with infants, through adults with chronic illnesses, digestive disorders, food allergies, ADHD and autism and provides fertility and prenatal nutrition counseling. She is a contributing author to A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in Americas Children. See ads on page 21.

PHYSICIANS, M.D.

A Life Center

2 Broadway, North Haven, CT 1007 Farmington Ave, Ste 7A, West Hartford, CT 203-239-3400

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE

Debra Gibson, ND

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE

Nishanto Kane...MindDesigning

Hypnosis, Master NLP Practitioner, Aura/Chakra Analysis, Enneagram Profile, Astrology Chart Interpretation, Belief Change Sessions. Simsbury, Ct. (860 658-9678) www.minddesigning.net

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE

Kensington Naturopathic Medical Ctr.

Dr. Ann Aresco 355 New Britain Rd, Kensington, CT (860) 829-0707 • drannaresco@comcast.net kensingtonnaturopathic.com Centrally located in Connecticut, Kensington Naturopathic Medical Center provides comprehensive family healthcare. Our team of specialized health professionals is dedicated to facilitating our patients’ optimal health, and offers a wide range of services, including supplementation, homeopathy, acupuncture and Chinese herbs as well as nutrition, holistic health counseling and weight loss/life style changes. See ad on page 35.

Advance Biomedical Treatment Center, LLC

Eileen C. Comia, M.D. 701 Cottage Grove Road Ste., C-10 Bloomfield, CT 06002 • 860.242.2200 Fax 860.242.2212 • www.AdvBioMedTx.com Dr. Eileen Comia is a board certified Internal Medicine specialist with16 yrs of experience in private practice. In 2002, she founded Avon Therapeutic Center (now Advance Biomedical Treatment Center) specializing in Integrative Medicine. She offers a unique practice using Functional Medicine in the treatment of chronic illnesses. She is a seasoned Defeat Autism Now! Practitioner of 10 years and a member of ACAM (American College for Advancement in Medicine). See ad on page 43.

PHYSICIANS, M.D. Natural Health & Healing, LLC

Deanna M. Cherrone, MD 60 East Main Street, Avon, CT. (860) 677-4600 • naturalhealthandhealing.net Dr. Deanna Cherrone, founder of Natural Health & Healing, is a board certified Internal Medicine p hy s i c i a n wh o h a s changed the focus of her practice from traditional Internal Medicine to Functional Medicine. Functional Medicine is a science based approach to health care that involves looking at each patient as a whole being with interconnected systems that function best when they are all in balance. See ad on back cover.

Tamara Sachs, MD

Functional Medicine & Integrative Care 15 Bennitt St., New Milford, CT (860) 354-3304 • www.tsachsmd.intranets.com See ad on page 31.

OSTEOPATHIC PHYS. Osteopathic Wellness Center, LLC

David L. Johnston, DO • Lisa Preston, DO 158 Danbury Road, Ridgefield, CT 06877 (203) 438-9915 • www.osteopathicwellness.net Gentle, natural, hands-on, osteopathic medical care for infants, children and adults. Childrens’ health and development, birth trauma, musculoskeletal pain and injuries, nutrition and wellness counseling, stress reduction, immune support, allergies. Most major insurances accepted. See ad on page 28.

PSYCHOTHERAPIST Soul Support Counseling Nancy M Brockett, PhD, LPC West Hartford, CT 860.223.2232 soul-support.org

Feeling stressed, confused, anxious or depressed? Imagine yourself breaking free from worries and fear and then confidently doing what you haven't been able to before! We work together from the perspective of the whole self to get to the heart of what’s troubling you. Using painless, drug-free treatments, Dr Brockett helps you uncover and build on your own inner strengths so you can free yourself from negativity and live with more joy in your life. See ad on page 27.

Inner Change Holistic Counseling

Deni Weber, MA, LPC, DCEP Weston, CT. • 203-544-6094 • DeniWeber.com With compassion, intuition and wisdom Deni guides individuals on their journey of regaining lost power leading to renewed purpose, wellbeing, and emotional balance. Specializing in mind-body therapies with clinical certifications in Body-Oriented Psychotherapy and Energy Psychology she works with adults, teens and children healing traumatic stress related to Abuse, AD/HD, Learning Disabilities, Chronic Illness, Lyme Disease, and Autistic Spectrum.

Qi Gong Wu Healing Center

45 South Main Street, Suite 100, West Hartford, CT Tel: 978-790-8888 www.wuhealing.com Ming Wu, Ph.D., Doctor of Chinese Medicine, Qi Gong Master. Qi Gong Certified Associate Instructor Training Program.

RELATIONSHIP COACH

SKINCARE Anew You Skincare & Wellness Center

Melissa Martin, 16A Ensign Drive, Avon. (860)284-9730, www.anewyouskincare.net Melissa@anewyouskincare.net We are committed to strengthening your overall well-being and skin health through the use of excellent quality products and extraordinary services that produce amazing results. Only natural ingredients are used, including plenty of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential oils! We want you to be "WOWED"! See ad on page 19.

PEAK Results Coaching

Jeff Forte, CSIC, CME • Relationship Coach 2389 Main St., Glastonbury, CT 06033 (860)633-8555 • peakresultscoaching.com Do you want a more fulfilling marriage but don’t know what to do? Are you feeling stuck in an unhappy relationship that seems doomed to fail? You can change all that starting now. I will show you step by step exactly what to do to create the love and connection you want in your relationship. You will learn exactly what to do to rebuild trust, and re-ignite the passion. Imagine the feeling of being in love all over again. I am a Certified Marriage Educator, and clients frequently come to me. When nothing else seems to work or when something must change now. If you want to know what works, call today. See ad on page 37.

RETREAT CENTERS Still Waters Pond, LLC

280 Shetucket Turnpike, Voluntown, CT 06384 860-543-3244 • stillwaterspond.com Still Waters is an emerging retreat center for groups of 10 to 20. Nestled among 100 acres of pine forest and situated on a private, 10acre pond, we provide comfortable and artfully rustic lodging: two cottages, a five-bedroom guest house and Art & Yoga Studio. Hosting one group at a time. Meal options and private tours available. See ad on page 12.

THERMOGRAPHY Sophia Natural Health Center

31 Old Route 7, Brookfield, CT 06804. (203) 740-9300 • SophiaNaturalHealth.com As the hormone experts, we specialize in women’s health, natural hormone balancing, breast cancer prevention and thermography utilizing the highest definition camera in the area with interpretations from MD specialists in the field. Thermogram results include a free 15-minute phone consultation. See ad on page 21.

X to Rays, LLC

Suzanne Pyle, MS, CCT 35 Boston Street, Guilford, CT 866.986.7297 or 203 331-2878 www.xtorays.com Suzanne is a board certified clinical thermographer. She offers totally safe (no radiation), painless (no compression), 97% accurate FDA approved breast cancer screening. With a masters in Nutrition, Suzanne also advises on breast and body health. Scans for thyroid, lung, liver, gall bladder, pancreas and ovaries are also available. Call for locations throughout CT.

SCHOOLS Connecticut Institute for Herbal Studies

LauraMignosa, NCCH 912 Corbin Ave, New Britain, CT 06052 (860) TCM-2705 • www.ctherbschool.com. Founded in 1992, the CT Institute of Herbal Studies focuses on Traditional Chinese Medicine and offers a Certified Herbology Program with a foundation in both theory and clinical diagnosis as practiced in China today. See ad on page 28.

The Graduate Institute

Leslie Cahill, Director of Admissions, Recruitment. (203) 874-4252 • www.learn.edu. The Graduate Institute is an accredited institution of higher education that offers Master of Arts degrees in emerging fields of inquiry. Degree programs include: Experiential Health and Healing, Peace Studies, Oral Traditions, Holistic Thinking, and Conscious Evolution. Classes meet one weekend per month and programs are offered in Hartford, Bethany, New Milford, and Stamford, CT. For more information or to find an Information Session near you, call (203) 8744252 or visit www.learn.edu. See ad on page 33.

VIBRATIONAL/ ENERGY HEALING Lightworker of Vibrational Energy LLC, L.O.V.E. Gayle Franceschetti Med,CHt. 36 Cheshire Rd., Wallingford,CT 203-265-2927 • www.return2love.net

Gayle Franceschetti is the founder of the L.O.V.E. Institute and is an acclaimed intuitive counselor and healer, Reiki Master, certified Hypnotherapist and past life regressionist. As an open channel for Divine Energy, Gayle integrates the power of universal love, compassion and understanding in all her workshops and healing sessions. Gayle conducts healing and mentoring sessions in person, by phone and hosts a variety of workshops and power journeys throughout the U.S. and around the world.

VIBRATIONAL/ ENERGY HEALING The Healing in Harmony Center Priscilla Bengtson, ATP® 99 Citizens Drive, Glastonbury, CT 06033 (860)632-8434 www.healinginharmonycenter.com

The Healing in Harmony Center, a spiritual healing, counseling and education center, offers programs and services that help individuals acknowledge and develop their own gifts to the highest level. Owner Priscilla Bengtson is dedicated to helping people live a joyous and fulfilled life and offers classes and workshops that help people achieve this. Private sessions are offered for intuitive, trance channel and angel readings, medical intuitive readings, trance healing, hypnosis, reiki, mandala healing, and health coaching. A free healing service is offered once monthly. See ad on page 6.

VETERINARY CARE Mobile Pet Vet

Kim Rio, DVM (203)584-1210 • www.mobile-pet-vet.com Mobile Pet Vet is a veterinary housecall practice providing wellness care for dogs and cats. By treating pets at home we reduce their stress and their exposure to infection. Pets with chronic health problems such as diabetes, kidney disease and other endocrine disorders often benefit from home-based care. We spend time developing an individualized treatment plan for each animal and we offer a full range of laboratory services. Our flexible scheduling accommodates busy pet owners. See ad on page 15.

WEIGHT LOSS A Life Center

2 Broadway, North Haven CT 1007 Farmington Ave, Suite 7A, W. Hartford CT 203-710-6605 • alifecenter@ yahoo.com Are you frustrated because you want to lose weight but cannot figure out how? Do you exercise but it doesn’t seem to help? Are you sabotaging yourself by overeating or emotional eating even though you have the best of intentions? Get off the dieting merry-go-round and FINALLY achieve your ideal weight? The Life Diet matches your nutrition to your metabolism. Most Insurances accepted. We offer a medically supervised weight loss program with whole foods, individualized nutrition, meal planning, and weight loss coaching. See ad on pages 11, 39.

YOGA / PILATES CENTERS Sacred Rivers Yoga

Paula Scopino LMT, E-RYT 500 IAYT, Owner / Director 2934 Main Street, Glastonbury, CT 06033 PH. 860.657.9545 • FAX. 860.657.3161 www.sacredriversyoga.com. See ad on page 6.

Sacred Movement Yoga

10 Sims Road (Bishop’s Corner, next to iParty) West Hartford, Connecticut 06117 860.990.2555. www.mysacredmovement.com. Offering anusara, power, vinyasa, gentle, chi, beginner, prenatal, kids and meditation classes visit our Facebook page!

NaturalNutmeg.com

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Natural Nutmeg September 2012