As the first day of spring nears, we will shift from a time of stillness and rest to a time of growth. This may not make sense to or busy modern lives, where winter, or any time of the year for that matter is rarely considered a time for slowing down. However, according to Chinese medicine, we are a part of nature and thus, must learn to take cues from nature in order to feel and function at our best.

Many more people are starting to question what we eat and how it may impact our health, the health of future generations, as well as the environment. However, the question of what we are putting directly on our skin and scalp every day is also one worth exploring, as the skin is our largest organ and another potential avenue of toxin absorption. The CDC states, “Dermal absorption is the transport of a chemical from the outer surface of the skin both into the skin and into the body.” If a chemical successfully penetrates through to most superficial layers of the skin, it therefore has the potential to enter our bloodstream and cause systemic damage or toxicity away from the site of entry.

If you know much about Chinese medicine, you know that “food as medicine” is not a trendy new ideology, but rather an integral principle of Eastern medicine that has existed for thousands of years. In fact, there has never been a hard and fast line differentiating that which was considered to be food or medicine. Many of the herbs we use in Chinese medicine are food products and we can often find them in grocery stores.

Food…. What the Heck Should I Eat? That is actually the name of a FANTASTIC book by Dr. Mark Hyman that we frequently recommend to patients looking to pursue healthier eating habits. While we adamantly believe there is no one single diet that is perfect for every human on this planet, Dr. Hyman’s extensive career in nutrition and Functional Medicine has resulted in an abundant amount of research into healthy eating, food quality, and even the political infrastructure of the food industry in the United States. Keeping up with every new diet our society touts as the next best thing is challenging to say the least. Which pattern do you pick to lose weight or stay healthy? Fad diets come and go so frequently it seems as though by the time you learn all about your latest choice, suddenly there is a new, better, and more effective option.

Gua Sha- The term and technique have been around for thousands of years, although its popularity is just recently coming to the forefront of the health and beauty industry. But what is it? Practitioners believe that gua sha releases unhealthy bodily matter from blood stasis within sore, tired, stiff or injured muscle areas to stimulate new oxygenated blood flow to the areas, thus promoting metabolic cell repair, regeneration, healing and recovery.”

As October is breast health month, we wanted to give you the low down about self-breast exams and some breast health products we know and love.

Self-breast exams are something every woman should be informed about. Some masses are so small that they will only be detected via regular mammograms or ultrasounds, but checking yourself at home and knowing what to look for is an equally important tool when it comes to non-invasive preventative health measures…

I have mostly always been fascinated by the body and interested in health and wellness, and that’s largely because as a young adolescent and teenager I experienced lots of health issues that doctor’s either dismissed as normal, or diagnosed as idiopathic (meaning- they had no idea about the cause or why things were happening)!

Today I’ve decided to talk a little bit about miscarriage. Why? Let’s bring a little awareness into this small corner of our world. Let’s talk about something many women still don’t discuss to this day. I understand there are many possible reasons behind the silence- grief, shame, hurt, disbelief- whatever it may be, every woman who chooses to be quiet has her reasons. Just as every woman who chooses to talk about it also has her reasons.

Lymphatic magic… the best kept secret to our health. It’s time to expose its importance!

I have been doing massage for 18 years and esthetics for 12. The lymph system was not a big piece of my education; however, the more I learn about it the more I wonder why we didn’t dive deeper into this system! Let’s jump in and explore some of the basics.

I’ve had a lot of people ask me what I think about Botox. I always struggle to answer, because while I have strong opinions about it, I don’t want people to feel judged. You’re not. As I stated already, I’m cool with it if you’re cool with it. That being said, I suddenly feel like I’ve missed an opportunity to share some valuable information and, as a health care provider, I feel a little bit like I’ve been doing a disservice to those of you who’ve asked. So no more of that. I’m putting this out into the world for anyone to read.