business spotlight

by Wendy Nadherny Fachon

With more than 20 years of clinical experience, Jewel Sommerville, DAOM, founder of Holistic Health Rhode Island, practices Japanese and Chinese acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine to effectively assess, diagnose and treat many conditions. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have been an integral part of East Asian Medicine (EAM) for more than 5,000 years. Diagnosis in EAM is based on the movement of qi, the life force or energy of the individual. Qi travels throughout the body along pathways, called meridians, that generally correspond to our internal organ systems. EAM works to remove blockages and replenish deficiencies that cause pain and physiological disorders. While the Western medical community continues to try to decipher how EAM works from a biomedical perspective, both the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health support its efficacy. Chinese herbal medicine is plant and mineral-based. The formulas can be used safely and with little to no side effects. Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can be integrated with Western medicine for a more holistic treatment.

While people typically seek acupuncture for treatment of pain conditions and musculoskeletal injuries, it is highly effective for mental disorders, addictions and immune dysfunction. Coronavirus pandemic management measures spawned a related pandemic of depression, anxiety and stress, along with a greater need to keep immune systems strong. “The spiritual, physical and mental-emotional Jewel Sommerville aspects of our health are interwoven,” says Sommerville, “and this became more evident over the past year.” She adds, “I was drawn to East Asian medicine because it allows me to treat the whole person, and it places importance on the patient-practitioner relationship. Each case is personalized and empowering. Treatment will be individualized. I may use only acupuncture with some patients, while I may integrate acupuncture and herbs or adjunct therapies with others.” Holistic Health Rhode Island is located at 990 Main St., Ste. #4, East Greenwich. For more information, call 401-398-2933 or visit HolisticHealthRI.com. See ad on page 10.

by Ronica O’Hara

nikkizalewski/AdobeStock.com On his deathbed, Apple founder Steve Jobs looked for a long time at his children, his sister and his wife, then moved his gaze to the space behind them. “Oh wow! Oh wow! Oh wow!” he gasped. No one can know for certain what he was experiencing, but his words point to the deep, mysterious potential of our final hours—the awareness of which can transform our life long before its end. “An awareness of dying, of death, can wake us up to life. It helps us live a life that’s rich and full and meaningful. When we deny the truth of dying, we live less wholeheartedly, less completely,” says Frank Ostaseski, founder of the pioneering San Francisco Zen Hospice Project and author of The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully.

The pandemic has 51 percent of us thinking more about our own mortality, a survey shows. The subject of death has been slowly opening up in America: TV programs like Six Feet Under and Alternative Endings: Six New Ways to Die in America present dying and grief more realistically; thousands of small conversational gatherings called “death cafes” are being held each year; people are designing their own funerals and choosing green burial sites; and the field of “death doulas” is emerging to help families navigate the legal and emotional shoals. Half a century after the release of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’ seminal book On Death and Dying, palliative care to ease pain is offered by two-thirds of American hospitals, and Medicare funding for end-of-life hospice care has grown tenfold over the last two decades.

Yet for many, death remains the last taboo—85 percent of us have not discussed our last wishes yet with loved ones. Thousands of studies in the emerging field of experimental existential psychology have found that when reminded subconsciously of death, people tend to drive faster, drink harder, smoke more and get meaner to out-groups in attempts to lower their anxiety.

But when we look death squarely in the face, that anxiety recedes, the research concludes. Gratitude, self-honesty and the humility of recognizing our place in the larger whole are also proven antidotes. With less fear, we are better able to take the proactive, concrete steps that ease our passage—getting clear on our values and desires, having important conversations, attending to final decisions and opening to our spiritual process. Although death has its own ways and means, these four processes can make it more likely we will die as we would like to.

Defining What We Value “Deeply

consider what your priorities in life are,” says Tarron Estes, founder and CEO of The Conscious Dying Institute, in Boulder, which has trained more than 6,500 doulas since 2013. “Ask yourself, if I had only three months to live, what’s important to me spiritually, emotionally, physically? What do I still need to do or say?” She recommends Stephen Levine’s book, A Year to Live, for exercises and meditations for that process.

“Don’t wait until the time of your dying to discover what it has to teach you,” advises Ostaseski, who has sat beside more than 2,000 hospice patients in their last hours. “When I’m with dying people, the things that are important to them are not their spiritual beliefs, but are more about relationships—‘Am I loved? Did I love well?’ Those two questions are useful inquiries now. They help us to discover where value and meaning can be found.”

By applying our values to the dying process, we can start sorting through options. Do we want to die at home or in a hospital? What medical procedures will we accept or decline? What measures do we want to be taken to sustain our life? Who do we want to be at our side? And what do we need to say before that time? Having Important Conversations As daunting as the prospect of an end-of-life talk with family and friends may seem, it can start with simple words like “I want to talk with you about something important to me.” Without spelling out our desires, death can become inadvertently medicalized: Nine in 10 of us say we want to die in our homes, but only two in 10 do. “The default systems are all to treat, treat, treat, until someone finally says, ‘No,’ so many people end up on a high-tech conveyor belt to the ICU,” says award-winning journalist Katy Butler, author of The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life. Among people that undertake such talks, 73 percent describe the experience as positive, reassuring and productive. A downloadable Conversation Starter Guide (TheConversationProject.org) provides practical guidance for these critical conversations.

Taking care of business—the paperwork aspects of death known as advance directives—spares loved ones from having to make tough decisions later. A last will and testament precludes pain and infighting among family and friends. A living will specifies what treatments are wanted under what conditions. A medical power of attorney designates a trusted person to make medical decisions if a patient is not capable. A Do Not Resuscitate order approved by a doctor means emergency medical workers are less likely "There is no to give CPR, which frequently causes trauma and broken ribs in elderly or frail reason not to patients. Either cremation or a burial can be decided upon; environmental opfollow your tions such as a forest burial in a wooden casket can be explored. Local hospice heart.” options can be surveyed in advance; nonprofits generally are rated better than profit-making groups. Opening to the Spiritual Process Whether or not we have religious beliefs to carry us through waves of loss and sorrow, death can spur spiritual insight. “In dying, we withdraw from our outer circles and come into the inner circles of our lives—the relationships that matter most to us,” says Ostaseski, who has worked four decades with hospice patients. “There’s a growing silence that has us becoming more contemplative and reflective. Our sense of time and space changes and we enter into a kind of free flow. The boundaries we have lived by begin to dissolve, and we start to feel ourselves as part of something larger—not as a belief, but as a natural occurrence. Often people realize themselves to be more than the small, separate self they had thought themselves to be.” Joan Tollifson, a Zen-trained spiritual teacher and author of Death: The End of Self-Improvement, concurs: “When the future disappears, we are brought home to the immediacy that we may have avoided all our lives. With no future left to fantasize about, the focus of attention may finally be fully on right Now, the only place where our life ever actually is. Really getting that ‘This is it,’ there may be a sudden recognition of the absolute preciousness and wonder of every simple ordinary thing and of the people around us, just as they are, with all their flaws and foibles. Old grudges and resentments often melt away, and love shines through. “All the things which may have been part of our self-image—independence, physical strength, cognitive sharpness, good appearance and so on—have either disappeared or are rapidly collapsing, which invites the discovery that none of that really mattered, that what we truly or more fundamentally are is not

dependent on any of that.

“The greatest gift we can give to a loved one who is dying,” says Tollifson, is to “simply be present, listen, follow your heart, trust the process. Everything else will follow from that. There’s no right or wrong way.”

It can be difficult to know what to say to a loved one near the end, but hospice workers recommend five phrases that have deep healing potential, even if a person seems unconscious: “I love you,” “Thank you,” “Please forgive me,” “I forgive you,” and “Goodbye” or “Until we meet again.” As Butler points out, the first four phrases can be said any time in our lives.

Increasingly in hospice care, loved ones are encouraged to sit with the body after the death, touching it, sharing stories, perhaps gently bathing it and dressing it in favorite clothes. “Touching the body, feeling the coolness, makes the death real to the family,” Ostaseski says. “Research shows that people that went through that process still grieved, but they were able to be with the emotion and not be overwhelmed by it.”

Facing the reality of death—as hard and heartbreaking as that can be—can free us to truly live life, said Jobs. After his terminal cancer diagnosis, he told Stanford students in a commencement address, “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Health writer Ronica O’Hara can be contacted at OHaraRonica@gmail.com.

JUDITH ARASI NEDA Proficient, Certified in Dementia Care and Bereavement, Certified Reiki l and ll Judi.Doula@Gmail.com JudiArasi.com 508-517-0236

As a natural caregiver, I continue my passion for providing emotional, physical, and spiritual care. My training allows me to educate and support patients and their loved ones beginning with the initial diagnosis and continuing through end of life stages. I provide recommendations for physical comfort, advocate with your medical/ hospice care team, and guide patients to their “next place”. A wonderful Chaplin once told me that “people will die the way they lived” and so to honor each individual with dignity and love. BONNIE EVANS, MS, RN, GNP-BC NEDA Proficient Bristol, RI Bonnie@BonnieEvansDoula.com BonnieEvansDoula.com 401-835-5624

With experience as a nurse practitioner in hospice and palliative care, I offer an additional layer of non-medical support to help guide, educate and comfort clients and their families as they navigate issues around illness, death and dying. My vision is to create the expectation that there is continued growth, connection and beauty until our last breath. This support can begin with diagnosis and extend to assist caregivers with grief and loss following a death.

by Vandana Pitke

Homeopathy, a holistic and individualized natural medicine, offers many remedies for the treatment of migraines and headaches. Each case is studied in detail and a treatment plan is tailored according to an individual’s symptoms. Lifestyle habits, food and eating habits, sensitivities and affinities and weaknesses all are studied and considered while choosing a right remedy for the given disease condition. Here are a few remedies which can be considered in the treatment of migraines.

Violent, throbbing kind of pain with redness/plethora of the face is the typical symptoms picture of belladonna. Pain can be made worse by light, noise and lying down mostly in afternoon, and feels better with pressure.

This remedy can be helpful if a person has a heavy or “splitting” headache, with a constant pain which settles mostly over one eye or even spreads to entire head. Pain is worse from slightest motion, even from moving the eyes, and the person wants to lie completely still and not be talked to or disturbed at all. Nausea with a heavy feeling in the stomach and vomiting may occur. The person can have a very dry mouth, throat and lips and usually is very thirsty.

The nux patient is quick, active, nervous and irritable. Typically, they do a good deal of mental work and are very zealous and impatient and fiery with mental strains. They spend much of their time in prolonged office work and overstudy, with its cares and anxieties. This sedentary, indoor life and mental strain seeks stimulants, teas, coffee, wine, possibly in excess.

Damp weather, thunderstorms and alcohol are the factors that can trigger the headaches. Pain begins at the back of the head, extending upward or to the forehead. Headaches preceded by dimness of vision or other visual disturbances. There can be a sensation of a band or hood bound tightly around the head, heaviness of head and the eyelids. They may experience depressing emotions, such as fright or anger from bad news.

Migraines (often on the right) that are worse from grief or emotional upsets, worse from sun, during summer, sunstrokes, or occur just before or after the menstrual period, in young girls. The headache feels like “a thousand little hammers are knocking on the brain” and is often worse from straining the eyes or with more screen

time. Aura can start with feeling numb or tingling in the lips or face before the headache starts, and the eyes are very sensitive to light. The person often feels better lying in the dark and after sleeping.

Right-sided migraines with tension in the neck and shoulder, extending to the forehead with a bursting feeling in the eye. Jarring, light and noise aggravate the pain which is sharp, splitting, knife-like or throbbing like a flash of lightning. The headaches improve after vomiting, from burping or passing gas and are mostly better after sleep. A person who needs this remedy often comes down with migraines after missing meals and can also have digestive problems and allergies.

Left-sided migraines with dizziness and nausea, worse from missing meals and worse near menstrual periods or during menopause, often responds to this remedy. Pain may come in shocks or jerks, and the person feels worse indoors and from lying on the painful side. They may feel indifferent to those loved best and cry when telling of symptoms.

Cimicifuga or actea racemosa is indicated for migraines with throbbing pains as if waves or opening and shutting sensation in the brain is being felt. Brain feels too large along with shooting pains in the eyes. Headaches are often associated with the menstrual period or uterine/ovarian pathology or come on after long-term study or worrying. The muscles of the neck feel very stiff and painful. The person feels mentally dull and gloomy, or even fearful, during a migraine. Pain is worse from motion, more/ heavy bleeding and improved by eating.

Stitching, like electric sparks, burning or pulsating pains, usually on the frontal part of the head. Pain, as if the head is about to burst, when coughing and speaking loudly. Shaking in brain at every step and at every movement of the head is characteristic of this remedy. Stiff neck and shoulders accompany the headache that makes the motion painful. Headaches get worse from stooping, motion and cold stormy weather and can feel better by lying with the head propped up.

Vandana Pitke is a board-certified homeopath with Om Homeopathy. She holds in-person and online consulations. For more information, call 401573-3757 or visit OmHomeopathy.com. See Resource Guide Lising on page 36.

Crossword on page 39

by Tamara Luck

As the seasons change, cravings for comfort foods, often synonymous with cozy cold weather, seem to rise. These changes in eating habits are perfectly normal, reflecting the different nutrient and energetic needs of each season. In the hot summer, our bodies require more water, asking for more hydrating foods, like fresh fruit and vegetables. As the weather cools down, our bodies require more warming and grounding properties, found in foods like root vegetables. Changing our diet to match the seasons helps to fuel the internal digestive fire during harsh New England winters.

This concept of warming digestive fire is described in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine. This digestive fire has been characterized as the fuel for the gastrointestinal tract and beyond, fueling the whole body. This digestive fire is naturally dampened in the winter months by the intense cold weather. A variety of foods and spices can be used to sustain internal warmth, balancing out our entire bodily systems, such as digestions, energy production and mood.

During the winter, ditch the raw salads and cold smoothies for warmer meals. Fully cooked meals, like soups and stews, are easier to digest, requiring less effort from the digestive organs to break food down, promoting regularity and decreasing gas and bloating. In cold weather, the body utilizes a significant amount of energy just to stay warm. Cooked meals will save the body energy by helping to warm it from the inside out.

One meal that is often overlooked as the seasons change is breakfast. During the colder months, prioritize eating cooked foods for a morning meal. For example, try cooked vegetables with eggs, oatmeal or lentil porridge for a warm and well-balanced breakfast. Other grounding foods include root vegetables, ghee and spices such as cinnamon, ginger and turmeric. Get creative in the kitchen by adding turmeric to rice or cinnamon to coffee for extra warming action.

As usual, mother nature knows best. These grounding foods are locally in season during the winter. Root vegetables, like potatoes, squash and pumpkins are abundant throughout the winter. Eating in-season produce not only balances the body’s energetics, but also provides more nutrient density than out-of-season produce.

These intuitive cravings for comforting foods do not need to be associated with winter weight gain. We can feed our digestive fire while still eating a nutrient-rich, anti-inflammatory diet. Focus on incorporating whole foods and eliminating ready-to-eat processed foods.

These whole foods can also be incorporated easily into comfort foods. For example, use chickpea pasta mixed with non-dairy milk, ghee and cooked butternut squash for a creamy, protein-packed version of macaroni and cheese. Or use organic bone broth for homemade chicken soup to avoid high amounts of sodium. Lastly, focus on drinking teas or sipping on warm water throughout the day instead of relying on sugary lattes.

Eating seasonally will not only greatly improve digestion, but also provide the necessary nutrients to keep the body balanced throughout the winter.

Tamara Luck, RDN, LDN, is an integrative and functional dietitian in Waltham, MA. She is currently accepting new patients at Johnson Compounding and Wellness for virtual nutrition appointments. Schedule a free, 15-minute introductory call at NaturalCompounder.com/Tamara. See ad on page 3 and Resource Guide on page 36.

8 oz of non-dairy milk 1 tsp Chaga or other functional mushroom 1 Tbsp raw cacao powder ½ Tbsp honey or maple syrup 1 pinch of sea salt Cinnamon to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan on the stove on medium heat. Whisk together until all ingredients are well combined. Transfer to a mug and top with a few shakes of cinnamon.

by Sara Garvin

The pressures of modern life are continual. Work deadlines, traffic, the daily grind and being connected all day, every day, along with the state of the world, contribute to our everyday stress and anxiety levels. Fortunately, with floating, a decades-old trend has come around again, and new research is carrying it to a new audience.

Floating involves lying on one’s back in a small shallow pool super- saturated with Epsom salt so it is dense like the Dead Sea making floating effortless. The tank is kept warm, at body temperature, dark and quiet, and most people find it very relaxing.

Anxiety is the most common mental health issue in this country. According to the National Institutes of Mental Health, an estimated 31 percent of U.S. adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives—and this research was done prior to a worldwide pandemic. But recent research from the Laureate Institute of Brain Research (LIBR), in Tulsa, Oklahoma, shows real promise for floating as a treatment for anxiety.

During the study, 50 participants reported significant improvements in serenity, happiness, relaxation and overall well-being after only one hour-long float session. The participants were divided into anxious and non-anxious groups; half floated, while the other half settled into a comfy recliner and watched a nature documentary. After a week, the groups switched.

The study participants reported much higher levels of serenity and relaxation after floating and much lower levels of muscle tension and in-themoment anxiety, compared to the nature documentary experience. And the effects persisted about 20 hours after floating, which is about four times the length of many anti-anxiety medications. One participant, identified as Subject 14, reported, “It was amazing. It was like floating on air. No cares in the world. No worries.”

The brain dedicates 30 to 40 percent to processing what we see, and taking all of the other senses into account; a full 50 percent of our gray matter is always handling what it gets from the outside world. Dialing down that load allows the brain to rest. In another study published this

year, functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after floating suggests that floating allows the brain to let go of the hard work of constantly keeping track of our current states. Letting go is a theme that crops up in float enthusiasts’ anecdotes.

Interestingly, while the brain may be relaxing away from its tight control over bodily perception, the LIBR study participants reported increased awareness of their heartbeats and their breathing. “I really felt I was one with my heartbeat, and I could hear it,” said one subject, “but it wasn’t like when I’m having an anxiety or panic attack. So, it wasn’t a negative thing. It was a very in-tune-with-myself kind of feeling.”

Ever-increasing digital connectivity might hinder a strong body-mind connection, but there are ways to reclaim it. A complicated problem, and a complicated environment, requires a full and varied toolbox. Floating is an excellent tool. Some float to feel grounded and to strengthen their connection to their bodies. For many, that sense of connection expands outward, encompassing their communities, the environment and the well-being of the world around them. That’s a lot of positivity and light for a box of darkness and salty water.

Sara Garvin is a co-founder of FLOAT Boston, located at 515 Medford St., Somerville, MA. For more information on the benefits of floating, call 844-44-FLOAT or visit FLOATBoston.com. See ad on page 27 and Resource Guide on page 35.

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