I’m a huge proponent that you need to see the right person for the right job. In order to get correct service or information, you need to seek out someone who has knowledge and experience with the subject matter at hand. Like Lyme and Tick-borne disease. If you seek out a medical provider who does not have a lot of experience, you will not get the best medical attention, proper diagnosis or treatment. You might get lucky and get a positive blood test immediately but if not, if your test comes back negative and your medical provider does not...

Did you know there is a plant medicine to support any ailment you can think of? The natural world around us has much healing to offer if we just open our minds and hearts and listen. As we move into the long winter months, I start to think of what I can do to support my family’s health and wellness through this health-challenging time period. This is the time of year we spend a lot of time indoors and don’t get to move our bodies as much. We tend to eat more comforting foods and engage in too much...

Our thoughts come in 2’s; yours, mine, everyone’s and they’re not always positive. Let’s take a look at how our thoughts set us up for worry and doubt. “Did I do my best?” / “I could’ve done better.” “Am I good enough?” / “It feels like they’re judging me.” “Hope my car doesn’t run out of gas.” / “If only I had filled the tank.” We have 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts per day and according to research, as many as 98% of them are exactly the same as we had the day before. Talk about creatures of habit! Even...

The holiday season is upon us. As calendars fill up with social events through the next two months, our bodies can also start to fill up; with stress, and sugar, and all of those things that we rarely eat, or that we only eat in moderation. How can this year be different? If the holidays have become times of stress for you, then what will you do this year to take control? Cookies and little, crumbly nibbly things abound at this time of year. Simply applying the puritanical “self-restraint” model won’t cut it. There are larger forces than good...

Every day we see hundreds of images of people in television, movies, advertisements, and our own community. It is very easy to fall into the trap of comparing oneself to others, and negative body image has become a common practice for many of us. Despite knowing it’s not a healthy practice, it’s tough to avoid – especially since there’s so much to look at on social media. The desire to “fit in” and measure up to what people see as the “perfect body” can significantly increase the risk of developing an eating disorder. However, there is no need to...

At times in life we lose track of the expansiveness of the universe. We sit in our cubicles hard at work, and we begin to feel that this is life: these four walls, and the immediate work in front of us. But Donna Bunte of Donna Bunte Whole Health, located in Greenwich, Connecticut, wants those of us who feel this way to recognize that we are all apart of this vast universe that extends far beyond these four walls. She believes in order to feel whole again, one must reconnect with nature, and learn to be still. Having traveled...

Just thirty minutes from downtown Phoenix, Scottsdale is a small desert city known for its spas, outdoor trails, shopping, nightlife, and more than 200 golf courses. Farther north, trails wind through McDowell Sonoran Preserve, a desertscape of hills, rock formations and cacti. Nearby is Taliesin West, architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s former home and studio. Downtown’s Old Town Scottsdale has 1920s buildings and 19th-century olive trees. Originally opened on December 20, 1956, Hotel Valley Ho has classically cool roots and stands as a modernist icon in Downtown Scottsdale. Owned by John B. Mills, along with Robert Foehl and his wife...

The simplest way to get someone who does not see how wonderful they are to realize their true potential is modeling and reflecting back. You cannot make a person see themselves in any way that they are not ready to see. However, rather than getting frustrated with them or trying to manipulate them to change (which would be coming from a place of judging them unfavorably) you interact with their highest self in all situations. You and I have heard this before but it bears hearing many times: we cannot make other people change; we can only control our...

Smoothies are my favorite and so good for you! It’s a simple way to incorporate a healthy meal into your diet, I promise! Here are a few reasons why they are so beneficial: Beneficial in these ways: Fat buster; hydrating; craving reduction; better digestion; antioxidant loaded; immunity boosting; better sleep; brain boosting; detoxing; lowers risks of diabetes, cancer and heart disease; hormone balancing and much more! They are a great way to “hide” vegetables for people who don’t like them. Most people think that smoothies are just made of fruit, but the truth is that it’s also easy to...

We need to change some thinking around…and we might as well start with “aging” since it’s something we’re all doing. The other thing we all do is move. Life is movement and we have some peculiar notions about what happens to it as we age. I can’t do what I used to do—sound familiar? It reflects an accepted decline model that’s worth poking at, for it may be a little askew. Now I’m not suggesting aging doesn’t bring limitation and decline. But here’s the good news: Our limitations in movement may have more to do with how we’re doing...

“I REALLY REGRET WORKING OUT TODAY.” – NO ONE.   There is a collective thread of life experience that stitches us together – as a species. Things we all experience – regardless of what divides us. Most of those things are positive – it’s why all over this planet, we celebrate births, and love – we dance, sing and gather in groups. We can resonate with someone over a shared emotion, without anything else in common. It’s a knowing glance between two mothers who don’t speak the same language or a brief moment of comfort between a child on...

Stress can become such a part of daily life, that most of us don’t even realize how much it is affecting us. Stress is the underlying mechanism of almost all disease. Constant stress causes blood flow to hasten and become turbulent, damaging blood vessels and instigating heart disease. It keeps your body in “flight or fight” mode where it is prepared to escape the threat. When this is triggered, digestion is sub-optimal, leading to tons of gastroenterological discomfort such as heartburn, bloating and constipation. Stress causes cortisol to be pumped at high levels. Originally intended to help us with...

In spite of breast cancer NOT being the leading cause of death among all women, it seems to be the disease that sparks the most fear and distress. Perhaps it’s due to our breasts being a blatant and visible definition of our femininity, both in attracting male attention and also in nurturing our children. They seem to have a life of their own as evidenced by so many of us calling them “the girls” or “the tatas”. We don’t generally refer to other body parts with a special name. For the past 12 years, I’ve considered it to be...

Music is therapeutic. No matter what emotion you’re experiencing, there’s music out there to either join you where you’re at or point you in a new direction. When you’re down, music can be there to validate the inner turmoil or send in some good vibrations to break it up. When all is wonderful in the world, music can be there to help you flow more fully with the energetic groove of the day. Have you ever been having an “I’m on top of the world” kind of day and then YOUR song comes on the radio? It just kicks...