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publisher’sletter This Month’s Theme: HEALTH AND WELLNESS

S

pecifying a Health and Wellness month for a monthly Health and Wellness Magazine does, in a way, throw something of a double spotlight on what these concepts really mean. Within the pages of Natural Awakenings, the overall approach to health and wellness includes holistic avenues to diet, lifestyle, spirituality, and healing as well as traditional, integrative and preventative medicine, all working together to promote and maintain optimal wellness. The hallmark of this inquisitive, inclusive approach to health is the notion of each individual taking full and complete charge of their own well-being. When this happens, results follow. The person becomes fully invested in their own health decisions and can bring the full weight of their imagination, creativity, spirituality, and faith to bear. With all of that working for us, getting well and staying healthy can be a lot less of a chore, and much more of a joy, than we had thought.

To that precise point, in our article "The Joy of Health," Dr. Dean Ornish makes a devastatingly clear and compelling case for preventative medicine by making one thing clear: that the approach should never be about forcing yourself to do something you don’t want to do, but, instead, a focus on the rapid and often amazing positive changes that can happen to one’s body and mind when a few simple diet and lifestyle changes are undertaken.

In other words, improving your health and well-being can be all about carrots, with no need for sticks.

I found this to be true myself in a remarkable way this time last year when just a few treatment sessions with Reiki and Karuna Master Mary Morales totally eliminated my nicotine cravings, and I was able to quit a three-pack-a-day cigarette habit that I never thought I'd be able to break. I haven't smoked since December of last year, and have had no cravings, no withdrawal, and willpower–not a problem.

One of Mary's areas of expertise is in utilizing crystals to augment energy healing, and in this month's issue she begins the first installment of a two-part series on the metaphysical properties of crystals. Look for more from and more about Mary in the months to come.

Quitting smoking has dramatically improved my health status, but it has done so much more than just that to improve my life, across the board. And herein lies a potential distinction between health and wellness. Health is measurable by medicine and markers, mostly set by others. Wellness, to me is much more, and is the true goal of all our good works and positive efforts toward improving our selves and our state of being. For the most insightful definition of wellness, we turn to a professional wellness counselor. Holistic Healthcare Practitioner Michele Monticciolo, a longtime friend and contributor to Natural Awakenings in Huntsville, is returning to active practice after a year of caring for a loved one, full time. She defines Wellness rather eloquently, and I cannot think of a more positive note for me to end on, and for this month's issue to begin: "Wellness is a state of BEING comprising what we typically think of when we think 'health': bodies that are free of disease, and that have vibrancy and longevity.

But to be truly well means your focus isn't on achieving those things at all. Being well means feeling passion and purpose, and being a conscious creator of your life.

These are the three main components that take us out of our earthly worries and into a realm where health, vibrancy and longevity are merely side effects. When we choose to put our focus on what we truly love, and unfailingly continue this focus, the rest effortlessly takes care of itself."

contact us Publisher/Editor Tom Maples Tom@AlabamaAwakenings.com Cell: (404) 395-9634 Fax: (256) 217-4274 New Business Development Advertising Sales Cindy Wilson Cindy@AlabamaAwakenings.com Cell: (256) 476-6537 Fax: (256) 217-4274 Design and Production Karen Ormstedt (256) 997-9165 Alabama Awakenings 14 Woodland Ave Trinity, Alabama 35673 © 2011 by Natural Awakenings. All rights reserved.

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

Natural Awakenings is a free publication distributed locally and is supported by our advertisers. It is available in selected stores, health and education centers, healing centers, public libraries and wherever free publications are generally seen. Please call to find a location near you or if you would like copies placed at your business.

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

We welcome your ideas, articles and feedback.

SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions are available by sending $15 (for 12 issues) to the above address.

Natural Awakenings is printed on recycled newsprint with soybased ink.

January 2011

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contents 18

11 wisewords 12 healthykids 15 fitbody

Natural Awakenings is your guide to a healthier, more balanced life.

In each issue readers find cutting-edge information on natural health, nutrition, fitness, personal growth, green living, creative expression and the products and services that support a healthy lifestyle.

8 FIVE STEPS TO BETTER HEALTH

17 consciouseating 18 naturalpet

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23 greenliving 26 healthbriefs 28 globalbriefs

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29 ecobriefs 30 healingways 33 inspiration

advertising & submissions HOW TO ADVERTISE Display Ads due by the 12th of the month, 5pm CST. To advertise with Natural Awakenings or request a media kit, please contact us at 404-395-9634 or email editor@alabamaawakenings.com.

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS* Newsbriefs due by the 12th of the month, 5pm CST. Limit 50-250 words. Content limited to special events and other announcements. No advertorials, please.

Articles and ideas due by the 5th of the month, 5pm CST. Articles generally contain 250-850 words, with some exceptions. No advertorials, please.

CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS Calendars and Ongoing Calendars due by the 12th of the month, 5pm CST. Calendar - Limit 50 words; Ongoing Calendar - Limit 20 words. Up to three Ongoing Calendar entries per organization. Please follow format found in those sections.

ADVERTISE WITH US TODAY 404-395-9634 -or- editor@alabamaawakenings.com * All submissions are subject to editing and will be printed at the publisher’s discretion. Article space often fills in advance. Deadline dates refer to the month prior to next publication and may change without notice due to holidays, shorter months, or printing schedules.

How Integrative Medicine Can Make Health Care Simpler, More Effective and More Affordable

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by Marco Visscher, Ursula Sautter and Carmel Wroth

11 THE JOY OF HEALTH

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A Conversation with Dr. Dean Ornish on Lifestyle Changes that Foster Well-Being

by April Thompson

12 RAISING HEALTHY EATERS How to Train Children’s Palates from the Cradle On

by Jeannette Bessinger and Tracee Yablon Brenner

15 EXERCISE NOW! Stick-With-It Tips Keep Your New Year’s Resolution Going

by Gretchen Rubin

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17 FOODS THAT FIGHT PAIN A Tasty, Colorful Banquet

by Michelle Schoffro Cook

20 WHO’S WHO In the Valley Our Spotlight on Exceptional Businesses in The Valley

by Kimberly Ballard

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30 HONORING OUR LIFE FORCE Energy Medicine Helps Restore Balance and Harmony

by Linda Sechrist

32 METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CRYSTALS AND MINERALS

by Mary Morales

newsbriefs Ionizing Detox Footbaths Come to The Healing Arts Center

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ichele Monticciolo NC MH is tickled pink to be back with her friends at Healing Arts again. Beginning on Jan 3, Mondays (and soon on Saturdays too) Michele will offer Ionizing Detoxifying Footbaths, as well as Wellness/Nutritional Counseling. Michele is a certified nutritionist and herbalist; she will be accompanied by her friend Monique, a nurse and Reiki practitioner.

The women hope to provide their clients with a unique, satisfying, whole-care experience.

“This is the first time Ionizing Footbaths have been offered at The Healing Arts Center, and everyone’s very excited. The footbaths promote accelerated detoxification through ionization. Additionally, negative ionization creates greater alkalinity in the body, and has been shown to be an effective mood elevator, stress reliever, and energy booster,” says Michele. “We also plan to offer next-step care to those who wish to address their lifestyle and nutritional needs and achieve greater wellness.”

First-time “footbathers” will receive a complimentary 15-minute wellness evaluation. Footbath clients interested in getting a complete wellness workup will receive significant discounts on appointments.

“Our goal is to help people feel empowered about their wellness, because wellness truly is available to each and every one of us. During this time of New Year’s Resolutions, why not resolve to feel better and healthier than you ever have before?”

To schedule appointments, call 255-684-0687, or email Michele@NewFocusNewYou.com. You can also leave a message for Michele and Monique by calling The Healing Arts Center at 256-534-2954. See CRG on page 39.

A Spiritual Community supporting the practice of knowing God in the heart of every person.

ONGOING SERVICES AND CLASSES! New Thought Classes

Tuesdays, 6:30-9:00pm Wednesdays,10:00am-12:00pm

Revealing Services Sundays 9:45am

Celebration Services Sundays 10:30am

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Tuesdays & Wednesdays 6:00pm Sundays 8:30am

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Effective Communication Opens New Office in Huntsville

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ffective Communication, Huntsville’s most progressive specialists in speech and language delays and disorders for adults and children, has opened a new location at 285 Chateau Drive in Huntsville, located just across the street from Crestwood Hospital. With space for individual and group therapy, the new facility leaves adequate room for expansion, as Effective Communication pushes early intervention as the preferable approach to speech and language issues, making children the center focus of their practice.

According to owner Traci Ingram, M.S. CCC/SLP, Effective Communication has added three new licensed speech therapists to their staff in order to make speech and language services more accessible in Madison County.

Sharing the facility with two medical practices that benefit patients with speech and language delays, Effective Communication provides an immediate, “right down the hall” source of therapy for patients with ear, nose, and throat issues.

“Parents are looking for effective treatment for their children when they see them struggling with speech or learning difficulties,” Ingram says. “Parents are the experts on their children and are key to helping us understand the problems. By building partnerships with the parents, we design an interactive treatment plan that benefits the child and involves the parents.”

Effective Communication’s team of Board certified speech therapists provides

Rev. David Leonard Transforming Lives and Making the World a Better Place www.cslhuntsville.org

308 Lily Flagg Rd.

883-8596

January 2011

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a warm, friendly learning environment for the child with an intense but child focused therapy program. Parents, pediatricians, pediatric dentists, daycare providers, tutors, and educators are all important factors in helping identify early signs of a child’s speech and language disorder.

Traci Ingram relocated Effective Communication to Huntsville from Atlanta in 2005. She graduated Cum Laude

from the University of Alabama and earned a B.S. in Education majoring in Communicative Disorders with a Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology.

For more information, visit Traci Ingram’s website at www.effectiveslp.com.

Protect Your Home Against Radon – A Silent Killer

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labama Radon Education Program with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a nationwide campaign to educate Americans about the dangers of radon exposure and to encourage them to take action to protect their homes and families. In our state, the Alabama State Radon Education Program is conducting programs during National Radon Action Month in January.

There are 15 Zone 1 counties in Alabama where radon has a higher risk of causing health problems. Radon is present at elevated levels in Clay, Calhoun, Cleburne, Colbert, Coosa, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall, Morgan, Shelby, and Talladega County homes. Radon is a naturally occurring, invisible, odorless, tasteless gas that is dispersed in outdoor air, but which can reach harmful levels when trapped in buildings. Scientists have long been concerned about the health risk of radon, but never before has there been such overwhelming proof that exposure to elevated levels of radon causes lung cancer in humans.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that radon is responsible for more than 20,000 lung cancer deaths per year. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. and the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. “However,” says Pat Smith from the Alabama State Radon program “because you can’t see or smell radon, people tend to downplay the health effects and ignore

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S.H., Birmingham, AL “My life and my comfort level have improved so much. I thank God for Susan.”

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the possibility that there might be a silent killer in their homes.”

Testing homes for elevated levels of radon is simple and inexpensive. Radon test kits can be purchased at local county Extension Offices for $5.00. Radon problems can be fixed by qualified contractors for a cost similar to that of many common home repairs such as painting or having a new water heater installed.

The Alabama State Radon Program urges Alabama residents in high risk counties to take action during this year’s National Radon Action Month by testing their homes for radon. Radon poses a serious threat to our community’s health, but there is a straightforward solution.

For more information on radon, radon testing and mitigation, and radon-resistant new construction, call Patricia Smith at 256-710-7702 or 256-766-6223, visit their website at www.aces.edu/radon or visit EPA’s National Radon Action Month Web site at www.epa.gov/radon/nram. See ad on page 22.

Make a "Stop Doing" List for Better Health

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o you have your New Year’s Resolution list ready to go? If you don’t, you're not alone. It’s just the beginning of the year, and it seems like there’s already so much to do. Instead of generating yet another “to do” list, let’s come up with a “stop doing” list! We can keep the things we are passionate about and that bring us joy, happiness, and inner peace, and get rid of things that make us feel tired, stressed, or depressed.

Here’s a popular New Year’s resolution: “I want to lose 20 pounds this year.” Just the thought of that makes many of us feel anxious and stressed. Instead of going down that road of misery, let’s stop trying to lose weight and replace that with making better choices about what affects our bodies. You can decide to stop spending an hour on a boring treadmill to be fit! (Let’s face it, that’ll only last about a week.) Instead, find an activity that you enjoy and keeps you moving, and be consistent with it, but don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day or two. We all have bad days occasionally!

Haven’t found a fun activity to keep you moving? Give Cardio Ballroom a try.

You’ll learn to dance and have so much fun doing it, you won’t even realize you’re burning a ton of calories and working your way to a slimmer, healthier you!

Find out more about options for staying active and healthy through dancing at www.MadisonBallroom.com or www.GabrielaDance.com. See ad on page 29.

Learn the Seven Steps to Spiritual Fitness

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he Center for Spiritual Living is holding a class based on the book, Spiritual Fitness, by Caroline Reynolds. The eight-week book study workship is described as a “transformative spiritual workout.”

The Seven Steps to Spiritual Fitness include: *Build Confidence and Stay Motivated *Detox Your Negative Thoughts and Emotions *Learn To Communicate Authentically *Understand the True Gifts of Your Relationships *Learn To Meditate Effectively *Discover Your Purpose in Life *Acquire 7 Tools to Stay Spiritually Fit Reverend David Leonard will offer this class Tuesday evenings beginning January 11, 2011 at 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm and Wednesday mornings beginning January 12, 2011 at 10:00 am – 12:00 am for 8 consecutive weeks.

The Center for Spiritual Living is located at 308 Lily Flagg Road, Huntsville, AL 35802. Contact them at 256-883-8596 or email dlhcrs@aol.comfor more information.

See ad on page 5.

Bring Abundance and Prosperity into Your Life

T

he Center for Spiritual Living will be offering what is billed as “one of the most powerful prosperity courses ever offered”: Prosperity Plus, Opening Yourself to a Greater Flow of Good.

This course material was developed

by Mary Morrissey. Mary has more than 30 years experience of empowering individuals in achieving new heights of spiritual aliveness, wealth and authentic success. Learn to live each day from a state of abundance and prosperity.

Cultivate prosperity consciousness as Reverend David Leonard facilitates this 10-week class beginning Thursday evening, January 12, 2011 at 6:30pm.

There is an initial investment of $50 for course materials.

The Center for Spiritual Living is located at 308 Lily Flagg Road, Huntsville, AL 35802. Contact them at 256-883-8596 or email dlhcrs@aol.com for more information. See ad on page 5.

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• Confidential individual sessions • Corporate workshops on stress • Speaker for your organization • Be a hostess of a small group class • Gift certificates available

January 2011

7

Five Steps to

Better Health How integrative medicine can make health care simpler, more effective and more affordable.

by Marco Visscher, Ursula Sautter and Carmel Wroth

Suffering from headaches and depression? Don’t let a doctor put you on drugs; instead, look for the underlying causes. High cholesterol? Try the Mediterranean diet, with a glass of organic red wine a day. The best way to win the war on cancer? Eat healthy, exercise and develop company, at the center of attention, and it puts the an active social life. An increasing number insurance focus on the sources of illness and not the symptoms.

Health care costs are continually rising, but people are of physicians are realizing that this type not getting any healthier. Here is a five-point prescription for of approach, geared to prevention and a the future of health care that applies the tenets of integrative conservative use of medications and technology, medicine to make today’s health care simpler, more effective not only increases patients’ vitality, but saves and more affordable. lots of money.

1. Emphasize Illness Prevention

I

n the words of Dr. Dean Ornish, founder and chairman of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute, in Sausalito, California, “It is time to change not only who is covered, but also what is covered.” There is an overemphasis, he says, on treating symptoms and on the idea that caring for our health is primarily the responsibility of medical experts, rather than of individuals themselves.

Zhaoming Chen, a neurologist and chairman of the American Association of Integrative Medicine, describes the way things currently work. “We only treat the disease after it occurs.” With figures showing that 95 cents out of every dollar spent on health care goes toward treating illness, he notes that “The best way to reduce the costs is prevention.”

Integrative medicine puts the patient, not the doctor or the

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About half of all American adults have a chronic illness, according to the Partnership for Solutions, a John Hopkins University-led initiative to improve care for Americans with chronic health conditions. Ornish claims that three-quarters of the more than $2 trillion recently spent on health care in a single year went to treat these kinds of conditions, including obesity. “All of these can be not only prevented, but even reversed through diet and lifestyle intervention,” he says. “It just seems so obvious to me that this is where we should be putting our focus.”

There is a long way to go before prevention is on the national agenda. While prevention is indeed better than cure, we tend to reward those who find solutions for existing problems rather than those who ensure that those problems don’t occur. “Prevention is boring,” says Ornish. Rather, “We need to focus on living better.”

2. Promote Healthy Foods

and herbal medicine that can supplement and even replace conventional methods. Such complementary treatments work to nourish, nurture and augment the body’s own defenses. One alternative healing method that’s now beginning to find its way into hospitals is acupuncture, which has been shown, among other benefits, to help relieve pain, stress and nausea during pre- and post-operative care.

Beth Israel’s Department of Integrative Medicine is bringing acupuncture into the hospital free of charge as part of a fellowship program for Chinese medicine practitioners. “The future of acupuncture is to be a part of best practices in the conventional setting,” says Arya Nielsen, a nationally board-certified acupuncture specialist who leads the Another way to reduce program. “The research is just too good.”

3. Focus on Lifestyle Changes costs is to use alternaThe goal is to train both acupuncThe majority of health problems and tive and complementary turists and conventional doctors in the risk factors for illnesses stem from the benefi ts of this technique so that it can therapies such as homechoices we make: how much time we be incorporated into Beth Israel’s best invest working, exercising and relaxing; opathy, naturopathy, yoga practices.

“Even if physicians have time time spent with friends and outdoors; and herbal medicine that to read the acupuncture studies, what and whether we consistently take the really makes it gel is when they see the can supplement and even stairs or the elevator. results on the patient they treat,” says The Sanoviv Medical Institute, in replace conventional methNielsen.

“The proof is in practitioners Rosarito, Mexico, is located on a beautiods. Such complementary working side-by-side and people being ful stretch of the Pacific coast, an hour able to experience what this therapy can treatments work to noursouth of San Diego. The recommended do.” stay for most patients is two weeks. ish, nurture and augment Chen points out that chemotherapy, While there, they learn about and exthe body’s own defenses. surgery and radiation dramatically perience a lifestyle based around stress change a patient’s life, and people need reduction, emotional well-being, healthy strong support from family and friends eating and exercise. Many patients come in with cancer or to adapt to these changes.

Chen believes that treating cancer multiple sclerosis; others come just to detoxify and clear should involve both conventional and alternative medicine. out the accumulated effects of stress. The program includes “Patients also need some lifestyle changes: smoking cessadietary changes, supplements, daily exercise and a stress tion, minimizing alcohol intake, adopting a low-fat, high-fimanagement plan supported by psychological counseling ber diet.

Besides that, because [conventional] treatment may and daily meditation. cause nausea and pain, patients may benefi t from acupuncA 2004 study in The Lancet showed that lifestyle ture, meditation, yoga and Tai chi. This will help them cope changes—quitting smoking, healthier eating habits, moderwith pain better.” ate alcohol consumption and regular exercise—can prevent Roberta Lee, a pioneer of integrative health care and primary care physician at the Beth Israel Medical Center Department of Integrative Medicine, in New York City, believes the first prescription any doctor should write should be about diet and lifestyle. “You can never lose by maximizing lifestyle management,” says Lee, pointing out that many conditions not easily diagnosed or cured in a conventional framework can be improved by dietary and lifestyle changes. “There are specific diets that promote wellness,” she says. “They reduce inflammation, [and] increase fiber, vitamins and minerals that come in the form of a lot of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.”

90 percent of today’s cases of heart disease, which currently accounts for more premature deaths and higher health care costs than any other illness, according to Ornish.

“When lifestyle is offered as a treatment, it’s as effective and often more effective than what we’re now doing, at a fraction of the cost,” says Ornish. “We pay for all these interventions that are dangerous, invasive, expensive and largely ineffective, and yet interventions that have been scientifically proven to reverse disease, are a simple change of lifestyle.”

4. Use Alternative Therapies Another way to reduce costs is to use alternative and complementary therapies such as homeopathy, naturopathy, yoga

5. Treat People, Not Diseases As Nurse Béatrice Fleury pours a steaming infusion of yarrow over a piece of cotton and then wrings it out, the aroma of the medicinal herb wafts over to the hospital bed where Eliane Perrot is waiting for her body wrap. When the compress and a hot water bottle have been gingerly applied to her lower back and secured by a soft cloth sash, she leans back with a contented sigh. The compress will help her liver better metabolize the toxins that have accumulated in it after months of breast cancer therapy. The wrap’s warmth will also create a sense of temporary well-being, a precious feeling for the frail, exhausted, 65-year-old.

January 2011

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Alternative treatments like the yarrow of William Novelli, a professor at Georgewrap are the order of the day at the Paraceltown University’s McDonough School of sus Spital, in the Swiss town of Richterswil, Business and the former CEO of AARP. outside of Zurich. Founded in 1994, the Kenneth R. Pelletier, clinical professor clinic is one of a handful of hospitals in Euof medicine at the University of Arizona rope devoted to complementary healing. In School of Medicine and the University of addition to orthodox treatments and drugs, California School of Medicine, has been the conventionally schooled doctors here putting numbers behind the arguments for also use therapies and medications based on integrative health. Pelletier has studied the the holistic approach to medicine inspired cost-effectiveness of corporate programs to by the anthroposophy of Waldorf education promote health and manage disease among founder Rudolf Steiner. employees. The programs encompassed ev“If you want to understand a person’s erything from subsidized gym memberships disease and support his self-healing powand smoking cessation classes to biometric ers, it’s of central importance to look at the screening and serving smaller portions in human being as a whole—body, spirit and company cafeterias. Pelletier found that “What we now have is not soul,” says Paracelsus Medical Director Erich companies with such programs in place a health care system; it’s a Skala. “This may require more time and realized healthier, more productive workeffort, but it’s how you treat the causes, and forces, fewer sick days and less staff turnover. medical delivery system.” not just the symptoms.”

He estimates that it takes, on average, Dr. Daniel Dunphy, of the San Franjust over three years before firms see a financisco Preventive Medical Group, believes cial return on this kind of investment. “These Dr. Daniel Dunphy, the Paracelsus approach is what the United reviews clearly indicate that comprehensive San Francisco Preventive States needs. “You have to take time to get to interventions do evidence both clinical- and Medical Group know the patients and listen to their stories,” cost-effectiveness,” says Pelletier. “There’s a he counsels. “I want to know their personal very good payback. It makes us think about history, their traumas, how they do at work, health as an investment.” what they eat and at what times of the day—and then I know what More money, more pills and more technology don’t necessarto do about their problem.” ily lead to better health. Advocates of integrative medicine generally take a “less is more” approach—less needless medications and medical procedures and more prevention and healthy personal lifeThe Bottom Line style changes can add up to big financial savings and big improveOf course, the bottom line in the debate about health care is ments in an individual’s quality of life. cost. Proponents of integrative health argue that the promotion of preventive steps such as eating healthy food and making positive Marco Visscher is the managing editor of Ode, Ursula Sautter and lifestyle changes, as well as using complementary methods to treat the whole person and not just the disease, will result in “… the big- Carmel Wroth are contributors. Adapted from an article that first gest return on investment this nation could ever have,” in the words appeared in Ode, the magazine about positive change.

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progress, and if the changes are enough to accomplish your goals, great; and if not, then you can do more.

wisewords

THE JOY OF HEALTH

Who seems to benefit most from this approach, and to what degree?

A conversation with Dr. Dean Ornish on lifestyle changes that foster well-being

by April Thompson

F

or more than 30 years, renowned medical doctor Dean Ornish has led pioneering clinical research proving that making simple changes in the way we eat and live can radically transform our health. He directed the first randomized, controlled trials demonstrating that lifestyle changes may halt or reverse the progression of even severe coronary heart disease, as well as early-stage prostate cancer. In collaboration with Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn, Ph.D., Ornish also showed that healthy lifestyle changes can increase telomerase, and thus lengthen telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that control how long we live.

Ornish is the founder and president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. He is the author of six bestselling books, including Eat More, Weigh Less and most recently, The Spectrum.

What sparked your interest in preventive medicine?

I got interested in doing this work when I was learning how to do bypass surgery as a medical student. We’d cut people open, bypass their blocked arteries and tell them they were cured; then they‘d go home and continue to do the same things that caused the problem in the first place—smoke, overeat, drink too much, work too hard and so on.

More often than not, their bypasses would get clogged up again, and we’d cut them open again and bypass the bypass, sometimes multiple times. That became a metaphor for an incomplete approach for me. Sometimes you need to use drugs and surgery in a crisis, but ultimately, you must address the underlying cause.

What is the concept behind The Spectrum and how does it differ from other lifestyle programs?

The problem with most lifestyle-oriented health programs is that they are restrictive, all-or-nothing, fear-based approaches. If you go on a diet or exercise program, sooner or later you’re going to go off of it. Then people feel like they’ve failed; it makes it hard to maintain Sustainable changes, on the other hand, are based on joy, pleasure and freedom. In our research, we found that the more you change your lifestyle, the more you improve and the better you feel. The better you feel, the more likely you are to continue these changes.

The Spectrum is not a diet; it’s an overall way of living. If you overindulge one day, you then eat healthier the next.

Let’s say, for example, that you want to lower your cholesterol or get your diabetes under control. You begin by making moderate changes that you choose. There’s no pushback because you set the pace. We’ll help track your

One of our most interesting research findings was that the primary determinant of improvement wasn’t how old or sick people were, it was how much they’d changed their diet and lifestyle.

The body has a remarkable capacity to heal itself if we simply stop doing what’s causing the problem. We’ve seen hundreds of thousands of patients slow or reverse the progress of life-threatening diseases when they make good changes.

Such lifestyle changes can work not only as well as drugs and surgery, but oftentimes better, and at a fraction of the cost. Plus, the side effects are all good ones.

You stress the importance of individual lifestyle changes, but what about changing our sick health care system?

We do need to look at the politics of health care and hold our leaders responsible for some of decisions that have created the mess we’re in.

For example, after 16 years of lobbying, working with Medicare and members of Congress, we learned a few months ago that Medicare is finally covering our program for reversing heart disease. It’s game changing. If Medicare covers it, all the other insurance companies will follow their lead, and we can make these sorts of programs available to people who most need them, rather than just those who can afford it.

If we change reimbursement, we change not only medical practice, but also medical education. Otherwise, I could do a thousand studies with a million patients and it would always remain on the fringes of medical practice.

For more information visit pmri.org or OrnishSpectrum.com.

April Thompson is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C. See AprilWrites.com

January 2011

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healthykids

RAISING HEALTHY EATERS How to Train Children’s Palates from the Cradle On

by Jeannette Bessinger and Tracee Yablon Brenner

after problems have taken hold. Parents can begin cultivating healthy eating habits in their children right from the cradle. childhood obesity that is creating a health Establishing a few key parental practices can have long-ranging benefits for the family.

The first tip is to keep a neutral attitude about food, even crisis for our kids. if it’s counterintuitive. When introducing solids to a child, it is helpful to present the foods in a relaxed, neutral way, with ccording to the Nestlé Nutrition Institute’s often no pressure to eat them. As the youngster grows, avoid labelreferenced Feeding Infant and Toddler Study (FITS), ing certain foods as good, bad or even healthy to sidestep the many U.S. children are eating a poor quality diet too response, “This is good for me? I don’t like it!” high in calories and too low in nutrition. About one in three Parents do well to remain patient. It can take up to 15 older babies and toddlers are not eating a single vegetable presentations before a child is willing to try something new, on a given day, and eating habits don’t improve as children and then several tastings before they decide they like it. get older.

It also helps to offer a variety of flaToday’s typical American diet is clearly vors from a very young age to familiarize “The first three years not working. According to a benchmark children with many dimensions of tastes of a child’s life are a and textures. Though babies initially prefer National Cancer Institute study, only 1 percent of all children between the ages of tastes above all others, as youngsters window of opportuni- sweet 2 and 19 years met all requirements of the grow, their preferences tend toward what is U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide ty for forming lifelong, familiar. When introduced early on to varipyramid. Sixteen percent of the children ety and consistently offered healthy whole healthy eating habits.” foods, including all the veggies, these come met none of the pyramid recommendations.

In 2010, the American Dietetic Association to comprise their preferred diet.

Dr. William Sears, author, (ADA) reported that upwards of 23 milprofessor of pediatrics at the lion U.S. children and adolescents are now Continuing Practices University of California-Irvine overweight or obese and currently at risk School of Medicine and found- It’s always wise to offer food to children for other health problems associated with only when they are actually hungry. When er of AskDrSears.com obesity. That’s nearly one in three children. kids eat a continuous flow of simple carbohydrates, such as white crackers and sweetened cereals Early Training or even 100 percent juices, it keeps their blood sugar levels Nationwide efforts to address these health issues have demslightly elevated, which can create problems. onstrated that early prevention is easier than intervention Nutritionists see firsthand how such a diet prevents the

America is in the midst of an epidemic of

A

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Protective Food Practices Q 80 percent rule: Don’t worry too much about what your child is eating outside the home. If s/he is eating a varied diet of high quality whole foods at home 80 percent of the time, everyone’s on the right track.

Q Make the connection: Help a child understand the relationship between our food supply and the natural world. Visit an organic farm or help young ones start a garden.

Q The pristine pantry: Put the child in charge of what foods they actually eat at a meal while parents stay in charge of the foods available. Keep unhealthy foods out of the house.

true hunger signal from turning on fully, which in turn can cause little ones to act finicky about certain foods, especially vegetables. It can also prompt them to eat less of more nutritionally balanced foods on their plate at mealtimes.

In children who have any type of blood sugar sensitivity, the more sweet foods they eat, the more they will tend to want. If a parent wants to offer a sweet snack, include some additional fiber, protein or healthy fat to balance it, because these nutrients act as a time-release mechanism for sugars and will help to regulate a more natural appetite rhythm.

According to the ADA’s Pediatric Manual of Clinical Dietetics, vegetarian children tend to be leaner than their non-vegetarian peers; it doesn’t mean that simply eliminating meat is a recipe for obesity prevention. According to the ADA, a varied and appropriately planned vegetarian diet can meet all of a growing baby and toddler’s nutritional needs. But it is even more crucial to keep the blood sugar levels balanced in vegetarian toddlers, because they aren’t receiving proteins from animal sources.

On the plus side, young vegetarians are more likely to eat a broader range of fiber and micronutrient-rich fruits, veggies and beans.

To encourage reluctant youngsters to eat more vegetables, try roasting them, especially green produce and root veggies. Also serve a new vegetable in a way similar to one that they already like; e.g., baking homemade sweet potato fries cut in familiar shapes. Kid-size veggies like minibroccoli trees or baby carrots have appeal. Dressing up plain veggies with dips and shakers of a mild herb, spice, Parmesan cheese, ground seeds or wheat germ adds to the fun.

Finally, encourage toddlers to help out in the kitchen by asking them to wash and sort the veggies or arrange them in a pretty way on the platter.

If children are involved in preparing foods, they are more likely to eat them.

Jeannette Lee Bessinger, an awardwinning lifestyle and nutrition educator, and Tracee Yablon Brenner, a registered dietitian, founded RealFoodMoms.com.

These certified health counselors have co-authored two practical guides for families: Great Expectations: Best Food for Your Baby and Toddler and Simple Food for Busy Families.

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Healthy Eating at Every Age

by Jeannette Lee Bessinger and Tracee Yablon Brenner

Best Solid Foods at 6 to 9 Months

Best Foods at 9 to 12 Months

Q Cooked and puréed vegetables such as carrots, green beans, green peas, pumpkin, spinach, zucchini and summer and winter squash

Q Add new cooked and puréed vegetables such as beets, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and eggplant

Q Cooked and puréed fruits such as applesauce, apricots, peaches, pears, prunes and raisins Q Raw and mashed fruits such as avocados, bananas, melons and papayas Q Soft-cooked whole grains such as iron-fortified brown rice cereal, oats and pearled barley Q Protein foods such as plain full-fat yogurt or small amounts of tahini (sesame seed butter—always thin and mix seed butters with other foods to prevent choking) Note: At 6 to 7 months, choose one per day; 8 to 9 months, choose two per day, including cooked and puréed lentils and split peas and, if not allergic, egg yolk, hard cooked and mashed, or cooked into hot cereal, not more than three times a week, as well as medium, soft or silken plain tofu mashed (1 to 2 tablespoons), also not more than three times a week.

Tip: When introducing a baby to new foods, include as many vegetables as fruits to help train tiny taste buds to enjoy the bitter, sour and astringent flavors, as well as the sweet ones.

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Q Add new raw and mashed fruits such as kiwi and mango Q Add soft-cooked whole grains such as amaranth, millet and quinoa Q Include cooked and minced whole grain pastas such as brown rice, quinoa and spelt Q Add more proteins, such as ground, hormone-free beef, lamb, chicken and turkey; introduce with caution in case of allergies: mild, soft cheeses (not raw) such as cottage, ricotta, cheddar and provolone; beans such as cannellini, navy, great northern (add a small amount of kombu or epazote to cooking water to increase digestibility of beans) Tip: Baby’s pincer grip develops between 9 and 12 months, so retain small, soft pieces of food in their purées to pick out with small fingers.

Q Include milk and whole eggs Q Add healthy fats such as small amounts of butter, ghee, coconut oil, chopped olives and coconut milk Tip: At this age youngsters feel a new adventurousness about foods, putting all manner of things into their mouths.

Take advantage of this window by offering a broad range of different food experiences.

Best Foods at 18 to 36 Months Q From this point on, children can eat all types of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and other types of protein foods

Best Foods at 12 to 18 Months

Q Families at risk for food allergies can cautiously introduce allergenic foods such as fish, seafood, peanuts or tree nuts after 36 months, while monitoring their reception

Q Expand types of proteins to encompass fish such as wild Alaskan salmon, sardines, tilapia, cod (one serving per month to minimize ocean toxins), skipjack or chunk light canned tuna (no-sodium, no more than one serving per week)

Tip: Many toddlers go through periods of finicky responses to foods. Be patient, relax and trust that over the course of a week, rather than any single meal or day, children are likely getting their basic nutritional needs met.

fitbody

COMING IN FEBRUARY

EXERCISE

NOW!

STICK-WITH-IT TIPS KEEP YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION GOING

RELAX & RECHARGE

by Gretchen Rubin

E

xercise is a key to happiness, as well as fitness, according to mounting research. Newsweek reports that people who exercise are healthier, more energetic, think more clearly, sleep better and have delayed onset of dementia. Studies by the Karolinska Institute, in Sweden, and California State University are among those that further show why exercise leads to relief from anxiety and mild depression. Researchers at Leeds Metropolitan University have also demonstrated that people who exercise perform better at work.

More, although it’s tempting to flop down on the couch when you’re feeling exhausted, exercise is actually a great way to boost energy levels, a conclusion supported by a metastudy conducted by the University of Georgia. They concluded that feeling fatigued is a reason to exercise, not a reason to skip exercise.

But even when you admit that you’d feel better if you exercised, it can

be hard to adopt the habit. My idea of fun, for example, has always been to lie in bed reading, preferably while also eating a snack—but I’ve managed to keep myself exercising over the years by using these tricks on myself:

Find ways to de-stress and create more balance in your life in our February edition.

1 2

Always exercise on Monday. This sets the psychological pattern for the week.

If at all possible, exercise first thing in the morning. As the day wears on, you’ll find more excuses to skip exercising. Get it checked off your list, first thing. It’s also a nice way to start the day; even if other things don’t get done, you’ve accomplished that.

3

Never skip exercising for two days in a row. You can skip a day, but you must exercise on the next day, even if it seems to be inconvenient at that time.

4

Give yourself credit for the smallest effort. One man I know

For more information about advertising and how you can participate, call

256-476-6537 January 2011

15

said that all he had to do was put on his running shoes and close the door behind him to get going. Many times, by promising myself I could quit 10 minutes after I’d started, I got myself to start—and then found that I didn’t want to quit, after all.

5

Think about context. Examine the factors that might be discouraging you from exercising. Perhaps you are distressed about the grubby showers in your gym or recoil from running if it’s cold outside. Try alternatives.

6

Exercise several times a week. If your idea of exercise is to join games of pick-up basketball, you should be playing practically every day. Twice a month isn’t enough.

7

Find a way to exercise that doesn’t always require you to shower afterward.

Each week, I really get into a challenging weight-training session, but it’s in a format that doesn’t make me sweat.

8

Look for affordable ways to make exercising more pleasant or satisfying.

Could you upgrade to a nicer or more

convenient gym, buy yourself a new iPod or pedometer, or work with a trainer? Exercise is a high life priority, so these are worthwhile ways to spend some money if they help get you moving.

9

Think of exercise as part of your essential preparation. It readies you for times when you want to be in especially fine form—whether in performance (to be sharp for an important presentation), appearance (to look good for a wedding or another formal occasion) or mood (to deal with a stressful situation).

10

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Don’t decide it’s only worth exercising if you can run five miles or if you can bike for an hour. A woman I know scorns exercise unless she’s training for a marathon—so she never exercises. Even going for a 10-minute walk is worthwhile. Do what you can.

11

Suit up. Even if you’re not sure you’re going to exercise, go ahead and put on your exercise clothes.

Pack your bag. Put the dog’s leash by the door. Get prepared. If you’re ready to go, you might find it easier just to go ahead and exercise. Sometimes a trivial thing, like not knowing where your shoes are, gets in the way.

12

Don’t kid yourself. Paying for a gym membership doesn’t mean you necessarily go to the gym. Having been in shape in high school or college doesn’t mean you’re in shape now. Saying that you don’t have time to exercise doesn’t make it true.

People often ask me, “So, if I want to be happier, what should I be doing?” and I always say, “The first thing to do is to make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep and some exercise.” It’s a stance backed up by research psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness. Good exercise is a good place to start, and makes it easier to act on other personal happiness-inducing resolutions.

Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, blogs daily at HappinessProject.com.

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consciouseating

health practitioner for possible herbdrug interactions.

Turmeric Turmeric (Curcuma longa), the yellow spice commonly used in Indian curries, is well known for its anti-inflammatory properties and for suppressing pain without harmful side effects. Its main therapeutic ingredient is curcumin.

Research from institutions such as the University of California, San Diego, and Cornell University indicate that curcumin appears to be a safe, natural alternative to COX-2 inhibitor drugs.

FOODS THAT

FIGHT PAIN A TASTY, COLORFUL BANQUET

by Michelle Schoffro Cook

W

hile many foods taste great, they can also be powerful healers, naturally packaged in vibrant, multicolored disguises.

Plus, these foods won’t cause the nasty, common side effects that often accompany the use of drugs. Here are some fabulous-tasting favorites that can yield extra benefits.

Cherries Muraleedharan Nair, Ph.D., professor of natural products and chemistry at Michigan State University, found that tart cherry extract is 10 times more effective than aspirin at relieving inflammation. Only two tablespoons of the concentrated juice need to be taken daily for effective results. Sweet cherries have also been found to be effective.

Other Berries Nair later found the same anti-pain compound in other berries, specifically

blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.

Celery and Celery Seeds James Duke, Ph.D., author of The Green Pharmacy, found more than 20 anti-inflammatory compounds in celery and celery seeds, including a powerful flavonoid called apigenin. Add celery seeds to soups, stews or as a salt substitute in many recipes.

Ginger Ginger reduces levels of pain-causing prostaglandin in the body and has been widely used in India to treat pain and inflammation. A study by Indian researchers found that when people who were suffering from muscular pain were given ginger, they all experienced improvement. New research from the University of Georgia supports these findings. If you’re taking medications, check with your

Fatty Fish Many fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and herring contain omega-3 fatty acids that convert in the body into hormonelike substances that decrease inflammation and pain. According to research reports from arthritis specialists associated with the National Institutes of Health, omega-3 is an effective antiinflammatory agent; ingesting fish oil acts directly on the immune system by suppressing 40 to 55 percent of the release of cytokines, compounds known to destroy joints. Many other studies similarly demonstrate that eating moderate amounts of fish or taking fish oil supplements reduces pain and inflammation, particularly for arthritis sufferers.

Flax Seeds and Flax Oil Freshly ground flax seeds and coldpressed flax oil contain plentiful amounts of the omega-3 essential fatty acids. Do not cook with flax oil, however, as it then can have the opposite effect of irritating the body’s tissues and causing pain.

Raw Walnuts and Walnut Oil Raw walnuts and walnut oil also contain powerful omega-3 fatty acids that fight pain and inflammation in the body.

When it comes to relieving pain, food really can be the best medicine.

Michelle Schoffro Cook is a registered nutrition consulting practitioner and doctor of natural medicine. Her latest book is The Phytozyme Cure. Learn more at DrMichelleCook.com/HealthSmartNews.

January 2011

17

naturalpet

PAIN-FREE

Solving your health puzzle

PETS NATURAL WAYS TO PROVIDE RELIEF

Herbs Vitamins Massage

by Dr. Matthew J. Heller

Reflexology Natural Foods Clinical Herbalist Auricular Therapy Magnetic Therapies Nutritional Counseling Electro-Dermal Testing

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Tennessee Valley

P

roviding pain relief for pets is important, whether they are recovering from an injury or surgery or suffering from a chronic problem. But recognizing signs of pain in animals is tricky because it’s subjective and its expression varies with each animal.

Some pets are stoic when faced with horrible injuries, while others howl over minor ailments.

Humans complain, grumble and often self-medicate to alleviate their aches. A pet may need help and be communicating, “I hurt!” if any of the following signs are evident.

Q Being unusually withdrawn, inactive, restless or exceptionally clingy

Q Refusing to walk stairs or not rising quickly when called Q Avoiding physical contact, such as being lifted or carried Q Whining, whimpering, howling or meowing constantly Q Biting or continually licking a particular part of the body Q Flattening ears against the head Q Loss of appetite Changes in behavior may be the only way a cat or dog will communicate its plea for relief from pain.

Keep in mind that in nature, predators seek out animals that display signs of pain or injury as a preferred target, so it’s natural to hide pain as a protective measure. In the event of a trauma, illness or surgery, seek diagnosis and assistance from a trusted integrative veterinarian.

Mounting evidence from institutions such as the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association and American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture supports the use of

In decades past, veterinarians were taught that some feeling of pain could help an injured or post-operative pet to stay quiet enough, long enough to heal.

More recent studies, to the contrary, show that minimizing any pain generally aids the recovery process.

Primary source: Purina Pet Institute alternative modalities to effectively manage pain and provide relief. Some of the most common include the following approaches.

Nutraceuticals These non-drug nutrients play a significant role in strengthening normal body tissues, repairing damaged tissues and improving efficient body metabolism. Pet guardians may use vet-recommended nutraceuticals for up to six to eight weeks to manage low levels of pain.

Homeopathic Remedies

thritis. They are available in capsules, powders and tea pills.

In medical terms, acupuncture can assist the body to heal itself by effecting certain physiological changes, such as increasing blood circulation and relieving muscle spasms. General conditions treated by acupuncture include arthritis; back pain; muscle pain and spasms; and stroke. A simple acute problem like a sprain may require only one treatment, where more severe or chronic ailments may require multiple sessions.

Animal Chiropractic Veterinary Spinal Manipulation Therapy, also referred to as animal chiropractic, is applied to correct common misalignments in the spine, restoring motion to the spine, as well as proper nerve and muscle function.

Misalignment may be caused by trauma, overexertion or the normal wear and tear of everyday life. Proper adjustment allows the body to fully function and better heal itself. The number of adjustments required to alleviate pain varies based on the severity of the disease or injury.

Pain management requires a team effort, but the result—a pain-free pet that feels happier and healthier— is worth it.

Dr. Matthew J. Heller is a holistic veterinarian and owner of All About PetCare, in Middletown, OH. For more information, call 513-424-1626 or 866-YOUR-VET, or visit AllAboutPetCare.com.

Homeopathic remedies, sometimes referred to as homotoxicology, comprise the use of plant and animal materials to stimulate the body into action; homeopathy is often explained as, “Like heals like.” Specifically, exposure to a large amount of a toxin (e.g., poison ivy or arsenic or anthrax) would likely cause specific physical problems, but in a small, controlled dose, it may stimulate the body to heal similar problems.

We regularly apply Traumeel, manufactured by Heel, a blend of 12 homeopathic remedies for temporary relief of minor aches and pains associated with bruises, sprains and injuries such as dislocations, fractures and trauma. It can also ease pain associated with inflammation and arthritis. Forms include dissolvable tablets, ointments and drops.

Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) is a holistic approach that considers each being as a whole—body, mind and spirit—and takes into account both diet and environment. For the practitioner, disease is the result of an imbalance of the body’s energy flow, which needs to be redirected, rebalanced and restored.

Herbal formulas are prepared for pets suffering from musculoskeletal injuries due to an acute trauma, like a sprain or back injury, or a chronic discomfort, such as ar-

January 2011

19

INTHEVALLEY This month Natural Awakenings is proud to spotlight Progressive Family Medicine and Synergy Airflow & Ventilation, LLC

by Kimberly Ballard

Instead of Just Dieting, Start Out the Year Detoxifying and Reverse Aging CHAD GILLIAM, M.M.S. PA-C, PROGRESSIVE FAMILY MEDICINE

T

here is nothing new about beginning a weight loss program after the first of the year, but how about a detoxification and anti-aging regiment? Surely after ten straight weeks of sheer depravity that begins with Halloween candy and ends with a couple of turkeys, a large honey-based porker, innumerable glasses of holiday cheer, and a pumpkin pie, your system could use some cleaning up!

Many people experience sudden outbreaks of acne, constipation, and a lack of energy, all of which leads to a feeling of bad health. The virtual family of medical and naturopathic physicians at Progressive Family Medicine can recommend a number of effective programs to jump-start your body afresh in 2011.

20 2 0

This family practice consisting of Dr. Deb Gilliam and her husband Howard, both Doctors of Chiropractic (D.C.) and Naturopathic Medicine (NMD); and their son, Chad Gilliam, M.M.S. PA-C, a certified physician assistant with a Masters in medical science, suggests the Toxinout Broad-Spectrum Detoxification Program. “Detoxifying the body after overindulging during the holidays, will make you feel better and give you more energy to start out the New Year,” Chad says.

The three-week protocol consists of one week of the Toxinout® Heavy Metal/Toxin Removal and Liver Detox Support to rid the body of heavy metals, including lead and mercury. It detoxifies the blood, the liver, kidneys, and other organs. The second week

All A ll photogragphs © The National Trust for Historic Preservation

Our Spotlight on Exceptional Businesses in The Valley consists of DetoxiGreen® Daily Detox & Antioxidant Support with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, and green phytofoods. These elements support the natural detoxification processes of the body and replenish the nutrients used up by the process, while recharging the immune system through power-

“Detoxifying the body after overindulging during the holidays will make you feel better, and give you more energy to start out the New Year.” ful antioxidant support. The third week introduces the Flora Protect® Daily Probiotic Supplement that protects the intestinal flora by replenishing the most important strains of friendly bacteria in the intestines.

In addition, Progressive Family Medicine offers the most advanced nonsurgical options for anti-aging on the market today. From Vitamin C and Mineral IVs, to the use of a new technique employing LED lights – technology

invented by NASA. to stimulate elasticity and restore natural collagen levels in the skin, the noninvasive process removes crow’s feet and fine lines. It even helps with skin problems like acne.

Madison residents often complain of a shortage of doctors; but Chad, one of the four Doctors Gilliam sons, is currently Madison County’s youngest and most eligible young med school graduate. Currently seeking new patients to build up his part of the practice, Chad offers successful treatments for men suffering from low testosterone and andropause using Testosterone Replacement Therapy.

He has also found exceptional success with Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy for women with problems related to menopause.

Start the year out with more than a weight loss and exercise program… detoxify and reverse aging with the many services available at Progressive Family Medicine in Madison!

CONTACT: Progressive Family Medi-

cine, Chad Gilliam, M.M.S. PA-C, 256-722-0555, 1230 Slaughter Road, Ste. C, Madison, AL 35758. See ads on pages 10 and 40.

Synergy Airflow and Ventilation are 21st Century Energybusters TODD WITT, SYNERGY AIRFLOW & VENTILATION, LLC

O

n the surface, they sound a bit like the Ghostbusters of the wasteful energy industry. Similar to the Ghostbusters' Giga meter that measured psychomagnatheric energy, Synergy Airflow & Ventilation sets up a fan in front of your house that measures and pinpoints air leakage. Instead of a pair of Ecto Goggles, Synergy uses an infrared camera that sees through your walls and takes pictures of hot and cold spots, highlighting where your insulation

is lacking. Synergy A&V has an entire arsenal of energy-busting tools and gadgets that detect moisture, mold, mildew, and bad air, as well as poor insulation and ventilation. They also flag areas that may cause premature failures of your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.

“Essentially, we come in and perform an energy audit on your home,” says Todd Witt, owner of Synergy A&V. “We have some highly sophisticated equipment and tools to help, and we are

HVAC designers, so we recognize poorly constructed air conditioning and heating configurations. We also perform pressure and airflow tests to make sure you are operating your home to the highest level of energy-efficiency for cost savings, but also to ensure you have proper ventilation throughout your home.”

Poor ventilation and airflow can cause problems equivalent to getting slimed … literally. For instance, when the carpet cleaner comes to your home and uses chemicals to deep clean your carpet, they leave behind moisture. Moisture, if it doesn’t dry out in a well ventilated atmosphere, will cause mold and mildew in places you cannot see. Dust mites, the number-one cause of allergies in humans, thrive in these environments. Now imagine your children lying on the floor

“We do a twelve-page visual inspection of your insulation and provide you with an objective opinion about what you need to do.” watching television where those slimy creatures are thriving!

“Another area where we can help, and that the average homeowner never thinks about, is insulation,” says Todd.

He points out that some people do sense cold spots and believe they need to add some insulation in an area. When the worker comes out to do the job, if he doesn't air-seal it first, you have wasted time and money. "We do a twelve-page visual inspection of your insulation and provide you with an objective opinion about what you need to do.” Todd says.

“We also provide a detailed report about the life of your home.”

Synergy A&V makes recommendations and does some of the minor work, but they do not sell products and equipment, or perform the renovations. “We know and recommend professionals who will get the job done properly.”

January 2011

21

Living green is making sure the air in your home is healthy for your family to breathe. Test your home for radon and build radon-resistant.

It’s easy. That’s living healthy and green.

For more information call: Pat Smith, AL State Radon Coordinator 256-710-7702 or 256-766-6223

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were? ~ Satchel Paige

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Tennessee Valley

Todd believes one of the biggest misconceptions about energy efficiency involve windows. “Sometimes windows are truly old and may need to be replaced, but a great deal of the time, the problems homeowners believe are caused by their windows, we can fix for a couple thousand dollars. You do not need to spend $10,000 to $20,000 on new windows. In fact, that is usually the last thing we look at in terms of helping you fix the problems.�

If you are thinking, ‘Nah, I just built a new house, I’m clean!,’ then you need to think again. “Builders build houses much tighter these days than they used too, but in some ways, this is just as bad because tighter mean less room for ventilation.�

Furthermore, Todd cringes when he hears owners of new builds boast about their Energy Star ratings. “Energy producers, energy suppliers, builders, subcontractors, architects, building inspectors, home inspectors, real estate agents, bankers, appraisers, and most of all, homeowners have got to understand the basic principles of building a home that performs,� Todd explains. “The simple truth is that the Energy Star designation does not ensure this. “The Energy Star program is the U.S. government’s seal of approval of energy efficiency and in 2008 one out of every five homes built received the designation.� Since Todd goes into new and old homes alike on a regular basis,

he sees what he does not want to see and his customers do not want to hear. “In theory, it all sounds great, but in practice, many of these homes actually have increased, not decreased, energy costs. Plus, many of the homes built to current Energy Star requirements will experience major comfort issues, moisture and indoor air quality issues, high radon concentrations, and premature HVAC compressor and fan motor failure.�

According to Todd, the current Energy Star for Homes program is another example of a government program that starts with good intentions. “But without proper understanding, and with improper execution and undue outside influence, it fails.�

Todd is passionate about his work, so every time he and his crew slap on their proton packs, you know in the end your home will be better for it!

CONTACT: Synergy Airflow & Ventila-

tion, 256-686-0168 or 256-616-2264; www.wetestothersguess.com ___________________ Kimberly Ballard is a Professional Writer & Marketing Consultant and is available for consults. Call 256-653-4003 and receive a free press release with any marketing project. Visit www.KimberlyWritesCreative.com, or email Kimberly@ KimberlyWritesCreative.com.

greenliving

A GREENER WAY TO DRY CLEAN New Eco-Friendly Methods Help the Planet

by Brita Belli

Dry cleaning may be convenient—but until now, it has not been a friend of the environment.

I

t makes no sense. First, there are the harsh chemicals used to clean the clothes. Most facilities continue to use PERC (short for percholorethylene), a suspected carcinogen that is released in cleaners’ airborne emissions, from where it can eventually contaminate soil and groundwater. With as many as 35,000 dry cleaning facilities nationwide, this poses a major public health and environmental concern.

Additional commonly used drycleaning chemicals with toxic repercussions include petroleum-based solvents like Pure Dry, EcoSolve, and GreenEarth, a silicone-based solvent that breaks down into sand, water and carbon dioxide.

Beyond the chemicals, standard dry-cleaning practices come with lots of built-in waste; the most obvious being the ubiquitous plastic garment covers and disposable hangers.

A New Era Aware of their planet-harming public image, dry cleaners, many of which are small, family-owned businesses, have set out to reinvent themselves in recent years. Unfortunately, sometimes this involves little more than adding the word “organic” or “green” to a company’s name. To be clear, customers must inquire whether or not a particular cleaner uses PERC or one of the other harmful chemicals to determine if a green-sounding name has merit.

The good news is that more dry cleaners across the country are actually shifting to alternative cleaning methods that leave less impact on the environment. A new certification agency called the Green Cleaners Council (GCC) is helping to lend weight to a cleaner’s green claims.

Green Rollout

2011 Launches Electric Rental Cars Enterprise Rent-A-Car leads the competition in rolling out the first round of rental electric vehicles this month in eight markets supported by charging stations. Customers can initially rent these gas-free vehicles in Los Angeles, Knoxville, Nashville, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

The cars can be charged using a standard 110-volt home outlet or a 220-volt or 480-volt commercial charging station. Most EVs can travel about 100 miles on a single charge, accommodating the travel habits of the typical commuter that averages 30 to 40 miles a day.

“With airport and neighborhood locations within 15 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population, [we can] test the market viability of new alternative fuel technologies like the electric vehicle with daily commuters nationwide,” says Lee Broughton, director of sustainability for Enterprise Holdings, operator of the Enterprise, Alamo and National brands. The company already manages the world’s largest fleet of fuelefficient vehicles, including nearly 7,000 gas/electric hybrid vehicles.

Additional corporate sustainability initiatives include Enterprise Institute for Renewable Fuels’ research into biofuels aimed to reduce both energy use and energy cost by 20 percent over the next five years.

For more, visit KeysToGreen.com.

January 2011

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Dry cleaning is not always necessary; clothing makers often place the “dry clean only” label on tags because they can list no more than one cleaning method and can be held liable if an item is damaged when the owner follows a listed procedure.

Yet many of these items can be safely washed at home, either by hand or using a washing machine’s delicate cycle.

Union of Concerned Scientists

Fresh Technologies

Keeping Our Thyroid Healthy

T

he thyroid, one of the most important glands, influences many body functions, including maintaining energy levels, sleep and metabolism. To function properly, it needs the right nutrients, foremost among which is iodine, a basic building block of thyroid hormones.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, iodine deficiency is on the rise in the United States, and choosing foods wisely is crucial. Sea vegetables, such as kelp, wakame and nori, the seaweed used for making sushi, are good sources of iodine and many other key minerals that support thyroid health.

Zinc, iron and copper are essential to producing thyroid hormones, and antioxidants like vitamins A, C and E are necessary for neutralizing physical oxidative stress, a condition that often occurs along with poor thyroid function. Selenium, a trace mineral needed only in tiny amounts, is readily supplied in foods like Brazil nuts, peanuts, fish, eggs, parsley, oats and mushrooms, as well as the noted sea vegetables.

Source: Adapted from WomentoWomen.com.

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One alternative to traditional drycleaning, known as CO2 cleaning, uses liquid carbon dioxide—the type used to carbonate soda—as its active solvent, mixed with dry cleaning detergent.

During the cleaning process, the excess CO2 released is captured and reused.

Even better, an Environmental Protection Agency-approved wet cleaning method uses water and “environmentally preferable detergents” to safely clean delicate clothes, and emits no air pollution, nor does it leave hazardous waste behind. The only negative environmental impact with this approach is the use of additional water.

The EPA estimates that 10 percent of the industry has shifted to wet cleaning, a number that’s on the rise.

Intriguingly, all cleaners have the capacity to wet clean at least some items using existing equipment, the agency reports, and some 3,000 establishments are likely offering some degree of wet cleaning (based on equipment sales).

Ann Hargrove has the distinction of operating the first wet cleaning business in the United States. Today, she is a member of the GCC, providing the environmental certification the industry has lacked. Much like other green standards groups, the council rates dry cleaners based on a long list of environmental attributes. After verifying claims, the council awards cleaners between one and five leaves, based on their green credibility.

“The nice part about what we’re doing,” says Hargrove, “is that once cleaners fill out the form, we give them their ratings and give them an itemized list: ‘Here are some things you can do….’”

She says no cleaner can earn a fiveleaf rating while using PERC, but adds that new equipment is expensive and smaller steps deserve recognition, too.

The GCC website offers a state-by-state listing of its certified green cleaners—yet many states still have none listed. The EPA provides another, more comprehensive, greener cleaners guide, which lists CO2 cleaners and wet cleaners by state.

A Florida-based company, Sudsies, exemplifies the kind of entrepreneurs who have taken up the green cleaning challenge. It has earned a four-leaf rating by offering wet cleaning and instituting a recycling program (Sudsies.com).

“We use plastic hangers made from recycled plastic that can also be recycled,” says Sudsies CEO Jason Loeb. The company also has reduced paper and plastic bag use and prints its brochures on recycled paper.

With the economy down, Loeb says it’s a tough time for the industry to take major green steps, so incremental ones may be the order of the day. He observes, “For now, most of those with the time and money to invest in eco-friendly practices limit their investment to the use of a particular dry cleaning solvent, rather than moving to evaluate all areas of their environmental impact.”

The Green Cleaners Council’s mission to evaluate more cleaners should spark more widespread interest while helping customers to readily differentiate the green-in-name-only cleaners from those committed to cleaning clothes in a whole new way. It’s up to us to create demand.

Brita Belli is the editor of E – The Environmental Magazine.

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healthbriefs

Natural Relief for Colds and Flu

W

ith cold season in full swing, it’s good to know that we don’t have to rush to the nearest drug store to get relief. Using natural remedies—many of which may already be in the house—can be just as effective. Although such steps don’t claim to cure what ails us, they can bring comfort and often shorten the duration of illness by strengthening the immune system. Here are six helpful tips: Herbal Teas: Chamomile can help cold and flu sufferers relax and get muchneeded rest. Hot ginger tea, spiced with cinnamon and a dash of cayenne, will keep the body feeling warm when we have the chills.

Sage: Gargling regularly with sage tea disinfects the mouth; sage-based inhalations further reduce inflammation of the mucous membranes.

Garlic: Garlic is a natural antibiotic that also stimulates the immune system and wards off complications such as bronchitis.

Homeopathy: The homeopathic remedy Arsenicum album helps when one feels chilly and exhausted. Belladonna is suggested when the symptoms are sudden and intense. Bryonia alba relieves headaches, coughs and irritability and Allium cepa is good for watery discharge.

Consult a holistic practitioner to determine potency and doses.

Humidifiers: Nothing irritates sensitive nasal passages and sore throats like dry air. Add a few drops of eucalyptus food-grade essential oil to a humidifier to help open airways and clear congestion.

Moist heat compresses: When plagued by a throbbing head and difficulty in breathing through the nose, try applying warm moist compresses— perhaps with a drop of peppermint food-grade essential oil—to the cheeks and sinuses.

Sources: AssociatedContent.com, eHow.com, HolisticOnline.com, WebMD.com

Build Muscle with Weightlifting Lite

W

e know that maintaining muscle mass is important to good health, especially as we age. But is it really obligatory to lift heavy weights to keep muscles in shape? Not necessarily, says a new study conducted at McMaster University, in Ontario, Canada, which shows that effective muscle building also can be achieved by using lighter weights and pumping until the muscles in the targeted area are fatigued.

“Rather than grunting and straining to lift heavy weights, you can grab something much lighter, but you have to lift until you can’t lift it anymore,” says Stuart Phillips, associate professor of kinesiology at the university. “We’re convinced that growing muscle means stimulating your muscle to make new muscle proteins, a process in the body that over time, accumulates into bigger muscles.” The new paradigm contradicts current gym dogma and is welcome news for those who cannot lift heavy weights or simply don’t want to.

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WHY JUNK FOOD IS AGING Here’s another reason to kick the soda habit. Research published online in the FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) shows that high levels of phosphates may add more fizzle to sodas and processed foods than previously thought. New evidence shows that ingesting these accelerates signs of aging by increasing the prevalence and severity of age-related complications, such as chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular calcification and severe muscle and skin atrophy.

When the researchers fed mice with a high phosphate diet, the mammals died prematurely. Dr. M. Shawkat Razzaque extrapolated that, “Keeping the balance of phosphate in the [human] diet may be important for a healthy life and longevity,” speaking for his team at the Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

This gives us all yet another reason to read food and beverage labels.

The Scent that Helps Us Sleep

I

nsomnia, feelings of restlessness and irritability are widespread symptoms that negatively impact our quality of life. But there’s an alternative to sleeping pills and sedatives, say German researchers. At RuhrUniversität-Bochum, they have discovered that a nose full of jasmine scent is as effective in soothing, relieving anxiety and promoting sleep as the most commonly prescribed medications.

In their study, the researchers worked with mice that inhaled jasmine scent released into their Plexiglas cage, and then ceased all motion and sat quietly in a corner. The researchers explained that the calming scent molecules proceed from the lungs into the blood, and then are transmitted to the brain, where they affect neurons responsible for the sleep-wake cycle.

When the mice were injected with a chemical variation of jasmine, the results were similar. In working to balance neurotransmitters in the brain, the researchers suggest that the scent of jasmine acts as strongly as a range of today’s psychotropic drugs.

Remarks Bochum cell physiologist and smell researcher Hanns Hatt, “The results can also be seen as evidence of a scientific basis for aromatherapy.”

Rethinking Calcium Supplements

N

ew research warns that calcium supplements can be associated with a 30 percent increased risk of heart attacks. The findings were consistent across trials and were independent of the age and sex of those researched, as well as the type of supplement. The researchers stress that these findings only pertain to calcium supplements, and not to higher dietary intake through calcium-rich foods.

—Source: British Medical Journal, 2010

Mushrooms for Health

A

new Agricultural Research Service study reports that mushrooms may play an important role in maintaining health.

Researchers found that white button mushrooms may promote immune function by increasing production of antiviral and other proteins that are released by cells seeking to protect and repair tissue. —Source: United States Department of Agriculture

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BRAIN FUNCTION LESSENS WITH OBESITY New research from Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine confirms that being overweight adversely affects the brain function of older women in terms of their memory, reasoning and other mental skills. The surprise is that the effect appears to be even more pronounced in women who carry excess weight around their hips, known as pear shapes, than those who carry it around their waists, called apple shapes.

January 2011

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

Vital Signs

Lifetime Educational Achievement is Up Worldwide Worldwatch Institute reports that people all over the world are completing more years of schooling than ever before, according to the latest data out of Austria. Just over 3 billion, or 61 percent of the global population 15 years or older, had finished at least some secondary schooling during their lifetime as of 2010. That’s up from 36 percent in 1970 and 50 percent in 1990, and includes those who went on to even higher education. Having advanced to secondary school or beyond indicates that individuals are better prepared for the future.

Sources: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and Vienna Institute of Demography

Survey Says

Most Scientists Don’t See Science and Spirituality at Odds Research for a new book, Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think, reports that a significant number of scientists from elite universities do not see much of a conflict between their work and their faith. (Those who do see such conflict tend to be atheists or agnostics.) Author Elaine Howard Ecklund, a Rice University sociologist, also learned that the younger scientists, who are more likely to be religious, feel less of a sense of conflict than their older counterparts.

While believing scientists, who comprised 70 percent of the nearly 1,500 survey participants, may feel beleaguered by their non-believing colleagues, Ecklund found that the strongly anti-religious views found among “new atheists,” such as Oxford University Biologist Richard Dawkins, are in the minority. “What religious scientists fail to realize, however, is that a significant proportion of their colleagues, [even if] not religious themselves, are open to talking and thinking about matters of faith,” she comments.

Scientists who say they are “spiritual, but not religious” range from those who find their secular spirituality in nature or teaching science, to those engaged in such practices as yoga and meditation. Ecklund writes that such spiritual entrepreneurs may help in bridging the perceived gulf between science and religion, because they see their practice of spirituality as flowing into their scientific discipline, yet they tend to avoid politicized science-religion conflicts.

Source: Religion Watch

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Nature’s Cure

Monarch Butterfly Behavior Hints of Self-Medication As with many species, Monarch butterflies’ bright coloring warns predators of the insects’ potential toxicity, which in many cases is true.

Biologists have now discovered that female Monarchs infected with a particularly noxious parasite will choose to lay their eggs on a more toxic version of milkweed, their basic food foliage, which works to reduce pass-along parasite infection in their offspring and is harmless to the larvae.

“These experiments provide the best evidence to date that animals use medication,” says Jaap de Roode, the biologist who led the Emory University study. Some scientists theorize that animals’ practice of self-doctoring by using nature’s medicine cabinet may be more widespread than we realize.

Our attitude toward life determines life’s attitude towards us. ~ Earl Nightingale

ecobriefs Green Marketplace

Environmentally Conscious Behavior is Encouraging With more organic foods and sustainable products becoming available, it’s a bit easier to go green these days, and consumers are responding. The latest annual study by the Natural Marketing Institute finds that we are increasingly taking bags with us to the store, avoiding brands that don’t reflect our values and making better transportation choices, including carpooling and using public transit.

Reliable Source

Americans Trust Scientists for Information on Global Warming A national study of what Americans know about the causes and effects of global warming, along with potential solutions, reveals a general acknowledgement of our limited understanding. According to the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, only 10 percent believe they are “very well informed,� while 75 percent say they would like to know more about the issue. Likewise, 75 percent want America’s schools to teach our children about climate change, while 68 percent would welcome a national program to make us all better informed.

Overall, 63 percent of the Americans surveyed believe that global warming is occurring, but only about half of our citizens make the connection between human activities and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Just 25 percent have ever heard of ocean acidification.

Meanwhile, a large majority incorrectly thinks that global warming is somehow related to the hole in the ozone layer and that banning aerosol spray cans and stopping rockets from punching holes in the ozone blanket are viable solutions to the problem.

Gigantic Grid

Global BeneďŹ ts of World’s Largest Public Computing Project A recent big idea has IBM’s World Community Grid tapping into the computing power of millions of linked personal computers to help solve the global water crisis. Scientists from China, Brazil and the United States will make use of formerly idle processing capacity among volunteered PCs to develop water filtering technology, clean up polluted waterways and find treatments for water-related diseases.

While the idea of aggregating thousands of individual computers to create a virtual supercomputer to process data is not new, Grist.org reports that it’s the first time the approach has been used to tackle one of the planet’s bigger environmental problems.

To do that, the scientists need to run millions of computer simulations as part of their Computing for Clean Water project. “They believe they can collapse tens or even hundreds of years of trial and error into mere months,� says spokesperson Ari Fishkind.

To join the Clean Water or Clean Energy projects, download the software at WorldCommunityGrid.org.

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healingways

Aid to Conventional Treatment

HONORING OUR

LIFE FORCE ENERGY MEDICINE HELPS RESTORE BALANCE AND HARMONY

by Linda Sechrist

I

n William James’ famous hypothesis, “A new idea is first condemned as ridiculous, and then dismissed as trivial, until finally, it becomes what everybody knows.” In the field of energy medicine, the experiences of pioneers such as medical intuitives Caroline Myss and Donna Eden, natural healer Dr. Carolle Jean-Murat and Doctor of Chiropractic Eric Pearl validate James’ postulate.

Initially disregarded by allopathic medicine, the energy medicine these healers practice operates on the belief that changes in the “life force” of the body can affect human health and heal-

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ing. They maintain that applying this energetic perspective allows them to clinically assess and treat what they refer to as the body’s electromagnetic fields, in order to achieve a healthy balance in the body’s overall energy system.

The modality has to do with energy pathways, or meridians, that run through our organs and muscles. The idea is to uncover the root causes of imbalances and harmonize them at an energetic level before they completely solidify in the physical body and manifest as an illness. Such imbalances may be brought on by, for example, such things as emotional stress and physical trauma.

As recently as 1990, the idea of using any form of energy medicine, such as acupuncture, Reiki, Touch for Health or the services of a medical intuitive in a hospital setting would have been considered preposterous. Today, however, more medical institutions are combining these types of treatment with traditional allopathic medicine.

For example, Children’s Memorial Hospital, in Chicago, a research-oriented emblem of Western medicine, now employs a Healing Touch therapist.

The hospital, which perennially ranks among America’s premier hospitals, is the principal pediatric teaching hospital for Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, a leading U.S. cardiovascular surgeon, was the first to include a Reiki practitioner in his department at Columbia University Medical Center, in New York City. The New York Times reports that Oz allows the use of Reiki during open-heart surgeries and heart transplant operations.

More Insight Medical intuitives say they can recognize problems in the flow of the body’s energies and are able to accurately predict the kinds of physical problems that are likely to emerge before any symptoms are detected. Eden, who has had a lifelong ability to make health assessments that are confirmed by medical tests, can look at an individual’s body and see and feel where the energies are not flowing, out of balance or not in harmony, then works to correct the problem.

“I was 22 before I discovered that everyone didn’t make their decisions after first seeing and sensing energy,” says Eden.

Carolle Jean-Murat, a California licensed obstetrician and gynecologist who now practices as a medical intuitive and healer, left her 30-year allopathic practice to focus on natural healing. Today, the native of Haiti specializes in helping women restore their mental, physical and spiritual health.

“I am a healer who has the capacity to

see, feel and hear whatever a client is going through, because I see them as a whole: energy, body, mind, soul and emotions,” says Jean-Murat.

Dr. Eric Pearl, author of The Reconnection: Heal Others, Heal Yourself, demystifies the healing process. He teaches others (75,000 and counting) how to activate and use what he refers to as an all-inclusive spectrum of healing frequencies.

“Reconnection teaches people how to transcend the ego and its judgment, and reach a state of nonjudgment observation,” explains Pearl.

“Many of them describe their experience simply as an internal activation of an advanced level of consciousness, in which awareness allows the perception of a multi-dimensional universe.”

Pearl posits that as part of our growth as human beings, “We not only discover that we have become more, we understand that we can’t stand in fear, lack and limitation, and we can only offer ourselves as a vessel for healing for ourselves and others when we reside in oneness and love.” Pearl believes that it is part of everyone’s life journey to discover that they are an empty vessel, born to be filled with Spirit. By letting go of beliefs that block our ability to deeply understand this, we can harmonically converge with the lives of others at the level where we are all energy, as physics indicates.

These practitioners agree that, while we all have some subtle sense of an animating force within us that is pure energy, we often ignore it. We go about our daily lives using this life force to perform our activities until it becomes depleted and illness manifests in a physical or emotional imbalance. While professional energy medicine practitioners are specifically trained to sense and honor the body’s animating life force and recognize its excesses and deficiencies, they also believe that we can all learn how to work with this important facet of our being. It is our birthright to realize balance and harmony, and we can do this by learning to re-establish a healthy flow of communication within the body’s subtle energy system.

Linda Sechrist is a Natural Awakenings editor and freelance writer.

I’m Stuck!

We say it in despair, desperation, denial. We say it when we can’t, won’t or simply don’t move on.

by Anneli Rufus

W

hether we’re striving to eat healthier, spend less or listen more, we refer to our stuckness with exquisite metaphors: We say “I’m frozen, paralyzed, marooned.” We say, “I can’t get started” or “I just can’t stop.”

When we make New Year’s resolutions, we are promising to become unstuck. But only 63 percent of us manage to keep those resolutions, according to a University of Washington study. The researchers reported that 40 percent of the participants kept their resolutions on the first try; for the others, it took multiple attempts.

The passive verbs we use to describe being stuck infer that it isn’t our fault. The hardest bit is admitting that our own choices got us here and keep us here. Sure, accidents occur—but humans are uncannily skilled at affixing balls and chains to our own ankles and swan-diving into quicksand.

Becoming unstuck means first accepting a harsh truth: that we’re lazy, scared and/or strangers to our true selves. Laziness often comes disguised as denial or avoidance.

Reforming means making a change, and change is strenuous. So, try this: Think of becoming unstuck as a new sport or exercise you want to learn. Think of your weak, sore spots as muscles—mental, spiritual or financial ones—and find safe, small ways to “exercise” them gradually.

Like any form of fitness, this takes more than one muscle and more than one day. Move ahead gently and keep track of progress.

Change means the terrors of risk and exposure, trading the familiar for potential failure. So, try this: Think

of becoming unstuck as moving to a non-English-speaking country. How would you prepare—or help a friend prepare—for that? By calmly researching the destination before making the leap: Learn its language. Study its maps. Reach out to kind folks who already live there. Have coping strategies in place to deal with issues that will inevitably come up.

Change means facing our own limitations; our own breadth. Can we change? Yes, but how much? The answer requires clear-sighted selfknowledge and crucial honesty. So, try this: Imagine the contest American Idol, with a twist; make it about the desired change. Then, imagine yourself as both contestant and judge.

Give constructive criticism—and gracefully take it.

Clinical Psychologist and study researcher Elizabeth Miller, Ph.D., concludes: “The keys to making a successful resolution are a person’s confidence that he or she can make the behavior change, and the commitment to making that change.”

Remember: We do get to try again and can make behavior changes throughout the year, not only at New Year’s.

Anneli Rufus is the author of Stuck: Why We Can’t (or Won’t) Move On (AnneliRufus.com).

January 2011

31

Metaphysical Properties of Crystals and Minerals

By Mary Morales, Reiki and Karuna Master

A

mong all gifts Mother Nature has blessed us with, my very favorite without a doubt are all crystals and minerals. To me they are Mother Nature’s “silent children,” but if you learn how to listen, you’ll realize they are anything but silent. The wonderful world of crystals is full of magical and practical uses.

They may be best known for their healing powers, but crystals also have other attributes. One particular quality of crystals that is often overlooked is their metaphysical properties.

Crystals can be used to meditate, to access past lives, to

better oneself, to contact spiritual guides and higher beings, to gain ancient knowledge, to clean and reprogram quartz, to open the crown chakra and third eye, and much more. When it comes to crystals, the possibilities are endless!

In this issue, as Part 1 of 2, I will begin with an alphabetized list of specific crystals with metaphysical properties. Most crystals have metaphysical attributes as well as generalized healing power.

Here’s some advice: When working with crystals, always wear a grounding stone such as Hematite or Calcite.

METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CRYSTALS —A

—F

ABALONE: Calming, serenity, psychic development, intuition.

attunes one to other planes, and because of this, is used for out of body travels.

FELDSPAR: Helps locate misplaced objects, understand messages from within.

AJOITE: Peace, harmony, connection with “all there is,” transformation.

CHALCEDONY: Protection, stability, honesty, eases communication, psychic work, clairvoyance.

FIRE AGATE: Grounds and balances.

CHRYSOCOLLA: Friendly stone, love, light, overall well-being.

—G

ALABASTER (Gypsum): Concentration, tension relief.

AMETHYST: Overall spiritual work, dream recall, meditation, common sense, helps with addictions. Healing. For all It does, I call Amethyst the Queen of All Stones.

—B BARITE: Dream work.

COPPER: Energy and mental agility, transmit thoughts over long distances.

—D DANBURITE: Cleansing, purifying, strengthens the mind, nerves, life force.

BERYL: Great for energy work.

DIABASE: Makes one potent, powerful, capable, strong.

BERYLLIUM: Altered states, meditation, and cosmic consciousness.

DIOPSIDE BLACKSTAR: Creativity, logic, assists in learning.

BUSTAMITE: Removes and clears energy blockages, meditation. Powerful stone for all types of energy work.

DRAVITE: Inner peace, protection.

—E

—C

EMERALD: Represents earth, promotes love, joy, general clairvoyance.

CALCITE: Astral travel, intuition, purifying, grounding stone, wisdom, mental growth.

ENSTATITE: Loyalty, devotion, memory and channeling abilities.

CARNELIAN: Peace, harmony, male aspect of the spirit. CAUTION: this stone stimulates sex drive.

CELESTITE: Mental tasks, concentration,

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EPIDOTE: Increases or improves upon, emotional and spiritual growth.

EUCLASE: Benevolence, selflessness, generosity.

FLINT: Loyalty, courage, self reliance, inner powers.

GALAXITE: Aura stone, energetic stone, balances the aura, astral travel and protection.

GEODES: Truth, knowledge, inner peace.

GLENDONITE: Learning, discovery, understanding.

GOLD: Purifies, balances, masculine energies, removes negative energies.

GRANITE: Helps us go with the flow, find our highest path, and teaches us to live in a state of grace.

Watch next month's issue of Natural Awakenings for Part 2, Metaphysical Properties of Crystals, F to Z. Mary Morales is a Reiki and Karuna Master with an energy healing practice based in Decatur, Alabama.

You can contact her at 256-580-3108 or email at KungaLhadon@aol.com for more information. See ad on page 37.

inspiration

Dueling New Year’s Lists

by Scott Blum

I

was fortunate to spend time with an enigmatic man completely changed my life to be named Robert during a very special period of my the person I always wanted to life. Robert taught me many things during our be. The second list contains days together, and this time of year all the things I could do, by reminds me of one particular interaccepting my current life action we had. and taking realistic steps “Now that you are becomtowards the life I want to ing more aware,” Robert said, lead.” “you need to begin to set “Let me see the secgoals for yourself, so you ond list,” he said. don’t lose the momentum I handed him the second you have built.” list, and without even looking “Like New Year’s resoluat it, he ripped the paper into tiny pieces tions?” I asked. and threw it in the nearby garbage can. His “That’s an interesting idea,” he disregard for the effort I had put into the list smirked. “Let’s do that.” annoyed me at first, but after I calmed down, By then, I was used to his cryptic I began to think about the first list in a different responses, so I knew something was up belight. In my heart, I knew the second list was a cause of the way his eyes sparkled as he let out “What you should cop out, and the first list was the only one that an impish laugh. really mattered. or could do with “Tonight’s assignment is to make two “Now, the first list,” Robert said, bowing lists,” Robert continued. “The first is a list of all your life no longer his head and holding out both of his hands. the New Year’s resolutions you want to keep, I purposefully handed him the first list and matters. The only held his gaze for several seconds, waiting for and the second is a list of all the New Year’s resolutions you will keep. Write the want list thing that matters, him to begin reading the page. After an unfirst, and when you have exhausted all of your usually long silence, he began to crumple the from this day ideas, then write the second list on another paper into a ball and once again tossed it into sheet of paper.” the can without looking at it. forward, is what That night I went home and spent some “What did you do that for?!” I couldn’t you must do.” time working on the two lists. The want list felt hide my anger any longer. overwhelming at first, but after a while I got Robert began to speak in a quiet and asinto writing all the things I had always wanted sured voice. “What you should or could do to do if the burdens of life hadn’t gotten in the way. After with your life no longer matters. The only thing that matters, nearly an hour, the list swelled to fill the entire page and from this day forward, is what you must do.” contained nearly all of my ideas of an ideal life.

He then drew a folded piece of paper from his back The second list was much easier. I was able to quickly pocket and handed it to me. I opened it carefully, and found commit 10 practical resolutions to paper that I felt would be a single word floating in the middle of the white page: both realistic and helpful.

“Love.”

The next day, I met Robert in front of the local food co-op, where we seemed to have most of our enlightening Scott Blum is an author and co-founder of DailyOM.com, conversations. “Tell me about your two lists,” Robert said, as a source of nondenominational inspirational content and the familiar smirk crept onto his face. courses by luminaries in their fields. For more information, “The first list contains all the things I should do if I also visit ScottBlum.net.

January 2011

33

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Retail Solutions

Have You Had a Spiritual Experience?:2:30-4:00

Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle Plastic Bags Studies tell us that plastic grocery bags consume less energy to produce, transport and recycle than paper grocery sacks. The problem is that the vast majority of them do not get recycled.

This modern “urban tumbleweed” clogs our gutters, kills wildlife and makes the world less beautiful. Worldwatch Institute estimates that the United States throws away 100 billion plastic shopping bags every year. Here are 24 ways to prevent that.

Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q

Bring reusable totes and plastic bags to stores.

Go through the self-checkout to add more items to each bag.

Put items in a purse or briefcase or carry them out.

Use a plastic grocery bag to clean up behind the dog and scoop out the litter box.

Donate bags to a local dog park and animal shelter.

Wrap homemade bread in a clean, plastic grocery bag to keep it fresh.

Reuse plastic bags to pack lunches.

Line a cutting board for easy cleanup of messy jobs; collect vegetable shavings.

Use a clean bag as a non-stick surface for rolling out dough.

Substitute twisted bags for rope or plastic zip ties.

Use plastic bags as packing material, instead of Styrofoam packing peanuts.

Line paint trays with plastic bags before pouring in paint for easy cleanup.

Keep bags in the trunk of the car for emergencies.

Reuse plastic grocery bags as camping trip garbage bags.

Pick up bags at the park or along the road to collect garbage and recyclable litter.

Keep plastic grocery bags in the diaper bag.

Donate bags to local libraries, thrift stores and daycare centers.

For travel, wrap a plastic bag around the toiletry bag to contain spills.

Tie bags around both feet to keep shoes clean when traversing a muddy area.

Protect work surfaces with plastic bags when doing messy crafts.

Make recycled fabric tubes stuffed with plastic bags to block drafts and save energy.

Cut the bags into loops and knot them together into plastic “yarn,” to make braided rugs, woven baskets and crocheted bags.

Fuse plastic bags together to create plastic fabric.

Support companies that use recycled plastic, from makers of handmade African crafts to designer chairs and composite decking.

Saturday, January 29 PM. free introductory workshop for people of all faiths. Explore the meaning of your experiences with dreams, visions, inner sound and light, and divine love. Renasant Bank (Community Room), 4245 Balmoral Dr. SE, Huntsville (Off Airport Rd. next to Logan’s). 256-534-1751;www.eck-alabama.org.

Friday, January 14 All Has Meaning: 7:30-8:00 PM. Inspiring stories and insights from Harold Klemp, spiritual leader and acclaimed author of more than sixty books on Eckankar. Learn for yourself why all has meaning for the Soul going home to God.Free. Comcast Cable Channel 3 (Huntsville). For info: 256-534-1751; www.eck-alabama.org.

Saturday, January 8 Community HU Song—1:30-2:00 PM.Join others in singing HU, an ancient love song to God that can help and uplift you in countless ways. Held each Saturday. Huntsville ECK Center, 900 Wellman Avenue, #3 (Five Points). 256-534-1751; www. eck-alabama.org

Source: Adapted from RusticGirls.com

Reusable totes can be an environmental boon, vastly reducing the number of disposable bags that wind up in landfills.

If each bag is used twice a week, five reusable bags can replace 520 bags a year.

Source: Nick Sterling, research director, Natural Capitalism Solutions

January 2011

35

ongoingevents SUNDAY Al-Anon – For those who have a loved one faced with a drinking problem. 256-885-0323. AAHuntsvilleAL.org.

A Course in Miracles Study Group– 9:15am. Shared reading and group discussions. Extra books available.

Light of Christ Center, 4208 Holmes Ave, Huntsville.

256-895-0255. LightOfChristCenter.org.

Unity Church Service– 10:30am. Practical Christianity from a transformative new thought metaphysical perspective. Our doors are open with love for all.

Unity Church on the Mountain, 1328 Governors Dr SE, Huntsville.256-536-2271. UnityChurchOnTheMountain.com.

Celebration of Spirit– 11am. A different service each week including ritual, music, and a message in an open, loving environment.Light of Christ Center, 4208 Holmes Ave, Huntsville. 256-895-0255.

LightOfChristCenter.org.

Kadampa Meditation Group– 3-4:30pm. Sunday book study class.Books-A-Million, University Dr, Huntsville.3rd Sunday at Unity Church on the Mountain, 1328 Governors Dr SE, Huntsville. 256-5362271. UnityChurchOnTheMountain.com.

Power Yoga – 4:30-5:30pm. Marcy White. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville.256-6539255 or 256-533-7975.YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

MONDAY Detox Footbaths, Nutritional Counseling, Wellness Coaching.Wellness is always available, if we know the tools to access it! Contact Michele Monticciolo NC MH via email Michele@newfocusnewyou.com or call Healing Arts at (256) 534-2954 for your consult or appointment.

Al-Anon – For those who have a loved one faced with a drinking problem. 256-885-0323. AAHuntsvilleAL.org.

Reduce Stress with EFT – Private phone sessions.

To schedule, call Self Healing Awareness with EFT, 256-774-3392. Info: TapIntoHealing.com.

Spring City Cycling Club– Times and schedules at SpringCity.org.

Level 1 Pilates– 7-8am. All levels. Michelle Camper. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville.

256-533-7975. YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Mixed Flow Yoga– 8-9:30am. Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

pace incorporating exercises that will challenge one’s strength, flexibility and coordination. Body Language Pilates, 305 Jefferson St, Ste C, Huntsville. 256-7045080. BodyLanguagePilates.com.

Basic Bellydance– 5:30-6:30pm. Mon-Thurs. Intro to basic bellydance technique.Nomadic Tapestry, 1219 B&C Jordan Ln, Huntsville. Class info: NomadicTapestry.com.

Beginner Yoga – 5:30-6:30pm. Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

Intro to Yoga– 5:30-6:30pm. Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

Affinity Circle– 6pm.A safe space where individuals can open up and reveal what they are experiencing in life. Confidentiality is assured. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville.256-883-8596.

Conscious-Living.org.

Level I Yoga– 6:30-8pm. All levels. Tom Musgrove. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville.

256-533-7975. YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Yoga with Mitzi – 6:30pm. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville. More info: 256-361YOGA or MitziConnell.com.

Activating and Utilizing Your Psychic Power – Thru Nov 15.7pm. $100. Light of Christ sponsored. Contact: 256-881-2658 or Fayeglas@Knology.net.

NEWtritional Health Care Conference Call –7pm.

Listen to Roy Williams,owner of NHC, talk on the weekly health topic. Ask him questions on how NHC products can help you reach your optimum health.

Call 760-569-6000 and enter PIN number 411810 #.

To hear previous week call: 760-569-6099 and enter PIN number 411810 #. Visit MyHealthyKingdom. com/10003 (Invitation # 10003).

TUESDAY Al-Anon – For those who have a loved one faced with a drinking problem. 256-885-0323. AAHuntsvilleAL.org.

Reduce Stress with EFT – Private phone sessions.

To schedule, call Self Healing Awareness with EFT, 256-774-3392. Info: TapIntoHealing.com.

Sierra Club Hikes – Tuesday night hikes’ around Huntsville.Alabama.SierraClub.org/NA.html.

Spring City Cycling Club – Times and schedules at SpringCity.org.

Mixed Flow Yoga– 8-9:30am.Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

Energy Lunch Lift– 12pm. Group Resonance Healing.

Donations accepted. The Center for Directional Healing, 3322 S Memorial Pkwy, Ste 532, Huntsville.256-8820360. DirectionalHealing.com.

Pilates– 9-10am.Michelle Camper. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville. 256-533-7975.

YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Intermediate Mat Class– 5-6:15pm. Work at a faster

Yoga with Mitzi – 9am. The Art of Yoga. All levels welcome. Huntsville Museum of Art, 300 Church

36

Tennessee Valley

Ave S, Huntsville. More info: 256-361-YOGA or MitziConnell.com.

Power Yoga – 9:10-10:10am. Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

Level I Yoga– 10:15-11:30am. Tatum Crigger. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville.

256-533-7975. YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

LunchtimeBellyBasics– 11:30am-12:30pm.

Nomadic Tapestry, 1219 B&C Jordan Ln, Huntsville.

NomadicTapestry.com.

Power Yoga– 5:30-6:45pm. Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

Beginner/Intermediate Mat Class– 6-7:15pm.

This class adds more exercises from the series and will challenge one’s mind/body connections. Body Language Pilates, 305 Jefferson St, Ste C, Huntsville.

256-704-5080. BodyLanguagePilates.com Meditation – 6pm. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville. 256-883-8596. ConsciousLiving.org.

Science of Mind Classes (Accredited) – 6:30-8:30pm.

Reverend David Leonard. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville.256-883-8596.

Conscious-Living.org.

Yoga with Mitzi– 6:45pm. Candlelight Yoga. All levels welcome. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500 Pratt Ave, Huntsville.More info: 256-361-YOGA or MitziConnell.com.

WEDNESDAY Al-Anon – For those who have a loved one faced with a drinking problem. 256-885-0323. AAHuntsvilleAL.org.

Reduce Stress with EFT – Private phone sessions.

To schedule, call Self Healing Awareness with EFT, 256-774-3392. Info: TapIntoHealing.com.

Spring City Cycling Club – Times and schedules at SpringCity.org.

Level 1 Pilates– 7-8am. All levels. Michelle Camper. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville.

256-533-7975. YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Align and Define Yoga– 8-9:30am.Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

Level I Yoga– 9:15-10:30am. Erin Kennedy. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville. 256533-7975. YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Practical Spirituality Class – 10am-12pm. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville.

256-883-8596.Conscious-Living.org.

Science of Mind Classes– 10am-12pm. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville. 256883-8596.Conscious-Living.org.

Meditation– 6pm. Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville. 256-883-8596. ConsciousLiving.org.

Power Yoga– 6-7pm. Marcy White.The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville. 256-533-7975.

YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Yoga with Mitzi– 6pm. Yoga Flow. All levels welcome. Chiropractic Wellness Depot, 8210 Stephanie Dr, Huntsville.More info: 256-361-YOGA or MitziConnell.com.

Satsang– 6:30pm. Satsang with a video of Gangaji.

Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville.256-883-8596. Conscious-Living.org.

PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) – 6pm. Second Thurs.Parents, friends, and gay community members welcome. Bring snack. Huntsville Public Library.256-881-0939.

Yoga and Wine –6pm. All levels welcome. Presented

by Yoga with Mitzi and The Huntsville Museum of Art, 300 Church Ave, Huntsville. More info: 256-361YOGA or MitziConnell.com.

ZumbaDance Class – 6:30pm. Donations accepted.

Center for Spiritual Living, 308 Lily Flagg Rd, Huntsville.256-883-8596. Conscious-Living.org.

Level I Yoga– 6:45-8:15pm. Tom Musgrove. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville. 256533-7975. YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Salsa 101 Dance Class– 8pm. Get the moves, feel the heat! Madison Ballroom, 9076 Madison Blvd, Madison, AL 35758.GabrielaDance.com.

THURSDAY Al-Anon – For those who have a loved one faced with a drinking problem. 256-885-0323. AAHuntsvilleAL.org.

FRIDAY

Spring City Cycling Club – Times and schedules at SpringCity.org.

Piliates– 9am. A fusion of Pilates and Hanna Somatic work teaching one to access and strengthen one’s deepest connections bringing balance to one’s spine and overall posture. Body Language Pilates, 305 Jefferson St, Ste C, Huntsville.256-704-5080.

BodyLanguagePilates.com.

Pilates– 9-10am. Michelle Camper. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville. 256-533-7975.

YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Power Yoga– 9:10-10:10am. Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

Level I Yoga– 10:15-11:30am. Tatum Crigger. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville.

256-533-7975. YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

TBE Nooner Toastmasters–11:45am-12:45pm.

Practice public presentation and meeting etiquette.

TBE Building #1, Sparkman Dr/Lakeshore Dr, Huntsville.Nancy Wade: 256-797-0700 or NWade@ LJStyle.com.

BellyKids– 4-5pm. Shahala Liz.Nomadic Tapestry, 1219 B&C Jordan Ln, Huntsville. NomadicTapestry.com.

Mixed Flow Yoga– 5:30-6:45pm.Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

Spring City Cycling Club – Times and schedules at SpringCity.org.

Level 1 Pilates– 7-8am. All levels. Michelle Camper. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville.

256-533-7975. YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Slow Flow Yoga– 8-9:30am. Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

tapping session. To schedule, call Self Healing Awareness with EFT, 256-774-3392. Info: TapIntoHealing.com.

Sierra Club – For weekend hike, canoe, backpacking and other activities, visit Alabama.SierraClub.org/NA.html.

Spring City Cycling Club – Times and schedules at SpringCity.org.

Level I Yoga– 9-10:15am. Tom Musgrove. The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville. 256533-7975. YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Yoga with Mitzi– 10am. The Artof Yoga.All levels welcome. Huntsville Museum of Art, 300 Church Ave, Huntsville. More info: 256-361-YOGA or MitziConnell.com.

Renewable Energy (RE) & Off-Grid Living – 10am4pm. First and third Sat each month. Take steps to live the dream. Learn RE Basics. Benefit from a decade of experience. See an off-grid home in action. Reduce one’s carbon footprint. $75/class. Giles County, TN. Register: 931-565.4006 or Pharos@ardmore.net.

Level I Yoga– 11:30-12:45pm. Bobbie Brooks.The Yoga Center of Huntsville, 500-A Pratt Ave, Huntsville.

256-533-7975. YogaCenterOfHuntsville.com.

Community HU Song – 1:30-2pm. Join others in singing HU, an ancient love song to God that can help and uplift one in countless ways. Huntsville ECK Center, 900 Wellman Avenue, Ste 3, Five Points. 256534-1751. Eck-Alabama.org.

Power Yoga– 9:10-10:10am. Laughing Lotus Yoga, 303 Second Ave, Decatur. BodyInBalanceStudios.com.

Ballroom Dancing– 7pm, Beginner Group Class. 8pm, Dance Party. Madison Ballroom Dance Studio, 9076 Madison Blvd. 256-461-1900.MadisonBallroom.com.

Parapsychology Group– 7pm. Fourth Fri each month. Meets at Unity Church, 1328 Governors Dr SE, Huntsville. Info, contact Joyce Sons, 256-852-8994.

Cardio Ballroom– 10am. Mega calorie burning dance fun! No more treadmill! Madison Ballroom, 9076 Madison Blvd, Madison, AL 35758.GabrielaDance.com.

Public Clearance Session– 7pm. Third Fri each month. Learn effective healing through reception and application of Divine energies. Light of Christ Center, 4208 Holmes Ave, Huntsville.256-895-0255.

CLASSIFIEDS

SATURDAY Al-Anon – For those who have a loved one faced with a drinking problem. 256-885-0323. AAHuntsvilleAL.org.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY CURRENTLY PUBLISHING NATURAL AWAKENINGS MAGAZINES – For sale in Austin, TX; Lexington, KY Manhattan, NY; Pensacola, FL; Southwest VA and Ventura/ Santa Barbara, CA. 239-530-1377.

Feel Good Tapping Party – Be the host of a group

L’BRI PURE n’ NATURAL Naturally… the best skincare product.

Denise Brown Independent Consultant

256.755.6822 de456brown@aol.com www.denisebrown.lbri.com

January 2011

37

“Let’s work together to find what works for you.�

McMinn Clinic

James E. McMinn M.D. Introduces...

Life Center

at McMinn Clinic now offering: t Stress Relief Seminars t Neurofeedback t Yoga, Pre-Pilates, Tai Chi t Meditation Classes t Massage t Acupuncture

205-868-1313 Homewood Plaza 3125 Independence Dr., Suite 108 Homewood, Alabama 35209

www.McMinnClinic.com

ALL WATER IS NOT CREATED EQUAL

COMMUNITY resourceguide

COLON HYDROTHERAPY CENTER FOR OPTIMAL WELL BEING 7910 S. Memorial Pkwy, Suite F-2, Huntsville 256-489-9806 phone 256-489-2873 fax 866-488-9806 toll free The Center for Optimal Well Being is dedicated to improving your health with colon hydro-therapy and body empowerment services. Sessions are conducted in clean, comfortable and relaxing private suites with soft lighting and aromatic fragrances.

Our staff is clinically trained and certified by the International Association for Colon Therapists.

JARVIS NATURAL HEALTH CLINIC 1489 Slaughter Road, Madison 256-837-3448 I-ACT Certified colon Hydro Therapists. Do you know that 80% of your immune system is in your colon? Bathe your body from the inside to improve health. Colon irrigation aids in soothing and toning the colon, which makes elimination more effective.

ELECTRODERMAL TESTING HEALTHY CHOICES LLC 3322 S. Memorial Pkwy, Suite 526 Huntsville, AL 35801 256-679-1997 healthychoicesLLC@gmail.com Healthy Choices LLC provides Electrodermal Testing and the Detoxifying Ionic Footbath.

Electrodermal Testing uncovers the root cause(s) of health issues and designs a protocol to help the body heal itself.

The Detoxifying Ionic footbath helps excrete toxins out of the body bringing you back into balance.

EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUES SELF-HEALING AWARENESS WITH EFT

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Judith Pum, EFT-ADV Practitioner 256-774-3392 www.tapintohealing.com Tap into healing. Specializing i n w o m e n ’s e m o t i o n a l / physical issues: anxieties, fears, relationships, stress, weight.

Painless, drug-free, easy-tolearn technique. Individual, group, or phone sessions.

ENERGY HEALING CENTER FOR DIRECTIONAL HEALING Susan Spalding, Director 256-882-0360 www.directionalhealing.com Free the energy within you! Take your health and your life to a new level with Directional Healing. Clears, cleanses, balances, rejuvenates through resonance healing.

EUROPEAN FACIAL TREATMENT EUROPEAN MEDICAL ESTHETICS CLINIC 17 Years in business Huntsville, Alabama 256-880-0709

FAMILY MEDICINE PROGRESSIVE FAMILY MEDICINE Chad Gilliam, M.M.S. PA-C 1230 Slaughter Road, Suite C, Madison, AL 256-722-0555.

Progressive Family Medicine provides medical care for patients of all ages and uniquely blends Natural and Prescription medicines together to help speed the patient’s recovery. Progressive Family Medicine is the patient’s clinic of choice when they would like to understand how natural medicines work along with prescription drugs.

FENG SHUI FENG SHUI BY TRUDI GARDNER Trudi Gardner, M.S. (256) 772-6999 Tygard2000@aol.com An interior design philosophy that invites serenity and reduces stress. Feng Shui design concepts brings positive energy into your home and office to encourage P r o s p e r i t y, We l l B e i n g , Harmony, and Balance.

IN-HOME MASSAGE CLOUD NINE Evening and Weekend Appointments 256-337-6989 Finally, someone who makes housecalls! Swedish, Ortho and Deep Tissue massage in the privacy of your own home. Gift Certificates also available for any occasion.

JIN SHIN JYUTSUŽ JIN SHIN JYUTSU OF HUNTSVILLE Sandra Cope Huntsville 256-534-1794, 256-509-3540 Certified Jin Shin Jyutsu Practitioner. An easy, effective way of restoring health and well-being by balancing the body’s energy pathways to enhance the body’s natural healing abilities.

MASSAGE CENTER FOR THERAPEUTIC MASSAGE AND BODYWORK 1634 Slaughter Rd., Madison 256-430-9756 Our vision is to provide professional massage services in a comfortable clinical environment to Madison and the surrounding area. Student massages available for 1/2 the regular rate.

Lic. E1311.

PILATES

JACI HOGUE

305 Jefferson St., Ste. C 256-704-5080 sybil@bodylanguagepilates.com www.bodylanguagepilates.com

256-656-4108 jaci@alabamarolfmethod.com www.alabamarolfmethod.com

Our goal is to teach individuals how to take control of their health and well-being through the Pilates method, creating a wholesome person of sound mind, body, and spirit. Private, semi-private and group training on the equipment is available along with group mat classes.

A complete system of body education that balances the physical body, improves posture, and helps resolve chronic pain. Created by Dr. Ida P. Rolf in the 1950s, Structural Integration has been scientifically validated and has withstood the test of time, as millions of people have enjoyed the remarkable benefits.

YOGA CENTER OF HUNTSVILLE

SUSAN K. JEFFREYS

MASSAGE SCHOOL MADISON SCHOOL OF MASSAGE THERAPY, LLC 1634 Slaughter Rd, Suite C Madison, AL 35758 256-430-9756 www.madisonschoolofmassagetherapy.com Our training will change your life forever in a new career as a Professional. Student massages available for 1/2 the regular rate. AL Board of Massage School Lic# S-117 AL State Board of Ed. School Lic# 1200I

MUSIC THERAPY HEALING SOUNDS MUSIC THERAPY Stephanie Bolton, MA, MT-BC 256-655-0648 www.imageryandmusic.com Huntsville, AL- based music therapy practice focused on improving personal health and wellness using guided imagery and music techniques.Currently providing workshops and individual consultations.

STRUCTURAL INTEGRATION

BODY LANGUAGE, INC.

500-A East Pratt Ave. 256-533-7975 www.Yogacenterofhuntsville.com Our focus is on core stability, neutral alignment and patterned breathing. It restores the natural curves of the spine, relieves tension and enhances self-confidence. We feature certified instruction in group and individual training.

REFLEXOLOGY JIM BARNES, CERTIFIED REFLEXOLOGIST REFLEX ACTION 124 14th St. Suite D3, Decatur, AL 35601 256-227-2920 256-309-0033

Advanced Practitioner Lic.#249 Dr. Ida P. ROLF method 2336A Whitesburg Drive Serving Huntsville since 1995 256-512-2094 www.rolfguild.org “When the body gets working appropriately, then the force of gravity can flow through. Then spontaneously, the body heals itself.� Ida P. Rolf

VETERINARY ACUPUNCTURE ACUPUNCTURE FOR ALL ANIMALS Vikki Trupin, DVM 256-710-5378 VTrupin@Ardmore.net IVAS (International Veterinary Acupuncture Society)-certified since 1994. Treatments in the clinic or in your home.

NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE ASSOCIATES Dr. Deb Gilliam, N.M.D. 1230 Slaughter Road, Madison, AL 256-722-0555 Dr. Gilliam treats a variety of health problems with chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, heart disease, hormone replacement and thyroid issues being at the forefront. Dr. Gilliam sees patients from around the world due to the reputation she has earned by treating hard to treat medical conditions. Dr. Gilliam works to find the cause of medical conditions and does not simply treat the patients’ symptoms.

SHAMAN HEALER KATY GLENN WILLIS 256-426-0232 katyglennwillis@yahoo.com KatyShamanHealer.blogspot.com Spiritualy Assisted Intuitive Readings, Energetic Healing and Balancing for People and Pets, World Culture Shamanic Training, Spirit Midwife: Assistance for individual and caregivers during Death & Dying Process. Forty years of training and experience.

YOGA YOGA CENTER OF HUNTSVILLE 500-A East Pratt Ave. 256-533-7975 www.Yogacenterofhuntsville.com We teach yoga postures and principles designed to bring strength, flexibility, openness, and awareness into the body.

Classic yoga postures, modifications are introduced to give the student many options in developing a personal practice.

NUTRITION & WELLNESS DETOXIFYING FOOTBATHS, NUTRITION, WELLNESS COUNSELING Michele Monticciolo, NC MH CertiďŹ ed Nutritionist, Herbalist, Holistic Healthcare Practitioner 256-426-0982 Michele@ NewFocusNewYou.com

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.

Voltaire

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