INTEGRATIVE WELLBEING
Bringing vitality to life!
Wellbeing is the integration of body, mind and spirit. Everything you do, think, feel and believe has an impact on you, and the flow of energy between you and the world in which you live.
When the flow between you and the world is balanced, you feel good and have positive energy. When there is an interference – for example, to your health, your relationships, your career, and/or your spiritual practice – you most likely feel out of balance. The efficient flow of energy is essential to wellness. Dis-ease, on the other hand, is the result of interference with this flow.
My goal is to help you focus on optimizing your health and wellbeing. Together, we will determine where there is an imbalance, address your unique needs, and create a plan to restore balance.
HEALING WITH HERBAL MEDICINE
Clinical herbalism is a system of medicine that uses herbs and other plant-based substances as the source of healing formulas. Herbal medicine, unlike Western Medicine, uses whole plant extracts rather than isolated phytochemicals because the whole herb has more value than its individual constituents. Very seldom are single herbs used.
Herbs have been used for health care for millennia and medicinal plants can be found in every region of the world. Approximately 25% of modern medicines are still derived from plants first used in traditional medicine, e.g., Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, ethnomedicine, etc.
Good herbal medicine treats people, not diseases. In herbal medicine, not only is your body seen as self-healing, but there is an important relationship between your physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. As a clinical herbalist, I work with you to identify a protocol of herbal medicine, along with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations, to restore vitality to your life.
THE MEDICINE WHEEL
The medicine wheel is a Native American symbol of the wheel of life and considered a powerful symbol of holistic healing. The four directions represent the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of one’s life experiences. By understanding and addressing these four areas, you can learn how to embrace change and grow. The healing process is cyclical in nature, and will allow you to achieve greater balance and wellbeing in your life.
NORTH - SPIRITUAL
Black is the color of north, the vast universe, the winter season and the great the void. North is the magnetic forces of the earth, the unknown, the unformed. It is a time to understand how all things fit together. North is about completion and fulfillment. North is where our SPIRITUAL wisdom comes from, if we wish to seek it.
WEST - EMOTIONAL
White is the color of the west where is sun sets over the water and evening emerges. West brings forth your EMOTIONAL self; flowing like life-giving rains to nourish the earth. It is about deep inner thoughts, silence, and healing. Just as trees release their leaves in the fall – it is a time for letting go. West awakens personal growth and renewal.
EAST - MENTAL
Yellow is the east and the rising sun – bringing us a new day and birth of new ideas. It is where the daybreak star, the star of knowledge, appears. It is the air and the MENTAL processes that see us through complex situations. Like the season of spring, east awakens new beginnings and change.
SOUTH - PHYSICAL
The south is red like the sun at high noon. A summer sun whose warmth brings forth all that sustains us. South is what is seen in the brightness of the day – the present. It is your outer life and a time for balanced development of the PHYSICAL body. South welcomes the dancing fires of energy and passion.