February 2021 Natural Awakenings Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley CT

EE R F

HEALTHY

LIVING

HEALTHY

PLANET

SPECIAL EDITION

HEART-CENTERED LIVING

SAVOR LIFE

WITH POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

TOOLS FOR INNER PEACE

EXPLORING MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION

HEART HEALTHY

HOW TO PREVENT HEART DISEASE

FURRY LITTLE PETS BRING JOY THE NUMEROLOGY OF 2021 EXERCISES FOR HYPERTENSION

February 2021 | Fairfield County/Housatonic Valley Edition | eNaturalAwakenings.com February 2021

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Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

eNaturalAwakenings.com

203-856-9566 www.203TLC.com

203 TLC

203 TLC is a community of accredited health and wellness providers offering a wide variety of services and products.

Founded in 1997 by Beth Leas, the TLC Tribe is Fairfield County’s largest holistic health resource - a vibrant and growing community of over 90 Members, committed to living consciously and offering healthy lifestyle opportunities. We offer high quality private sessions, products, workshops, classes and resources designed to help you live life well.

Energy Healing/Meditation/Tarot Beth Leas 25+ Years Experience Private Sessions, Workshops, Events In-person or by phone bethleas.com 203-856-9566

Lyme Disease Healing Gregg Kirk, Lyme Recovery Clinic & Detox Center Heal from chronic illness through all-natural herbal treatments, intensive detox, cleanses & energy healing.

528 Post Rd, Darien Gregg.Kirk@gmail.com 203-858-9725

Spiritual Counseling Katherine Gray Silvan, LMSW Clear Light Spiritual Counseling Interfaith Minister, Reiki Master Inspirational Speaker katherinesilvan.com 203-912-5252

Essential Oils Wayne Leiss, LMT Centering Our Lives Through Touch. dōTERRA Essential Oils and Symphony of the Cells™ Protocols 20 Fifth Ave, Apt A, Danbury Wayne@WayneLeiss.com WayneLeiss.com 203-994-1207

Life Coach/Hypnotist Thea Litsios, CHy Life Coach, Hypnotist, Teacher of Active Dreaming Remote sessions available 203-693-1493

Meditation & Counseling Meg Reilly, MS, CH Counselor, Workshop Facilitator, Writer, Poet Services in person or by phone megreilly360.com 203-952-6272

Salt Cave Salt Cave of Darien Salt therapy, massage, meditation & yoga 555 Post Rd, Darien Info@SaltCaveofDarien.com SaltCaveofDarien.com 203-658-7667

VISIT US

Transformation Coaching/Healing Katie Augustyn, MA, CPC Transformation Coach, Shamanic Practitioner, Spiritual Evolution Trainer, Energy Healer, TV Host TransformationCenterCT.com 203-820-3800

www.203TLC.com www.TribeTLC.com FB: Tribe TLC

Get to know us at TLC’s monthly networking breakfast!

Looking for a relaxed group of professionals offering a supportive community, free networking events, many affordable marketing opportunities, and FUN? We meet on the first Tuesday of every month, at Valencia Luncheria, 164 Main St, Norwalk, CT, from 8:30 -10:00am.

Come the first time as Beth's guest - and if you find your time with us worthwhile, we invite you to become a TLC Member.

Please RSVP to Beth Leas at: 203-856-9566 (call/text) orTLCBethLeas@gmail.com so she can reserve your place.

February 2021

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Natural Awakenings is a family of 50+ healthy living magazines celebrating 26 years of providing the communities we serve with the tools and resources we all need to lead healthier lives on a healthy planet.

Contents 12 2021: A NUMEROLOGICAL 12

VIEW

14 POSITIVITY—THE P IN

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

15 GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER

16 15

16 LIVE A HEART-HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Integrative Cardiologists on Preventing Heart Disease

20 HALTING HYPERTENSION

32

24

Exercises to Lower High Blood Pressure

21 ROMANTIC

RELATIONSHIP TOOLKIT

22 TOOLS FOR INNER PEACE

Exploring Mindfulness and Meditation

24 HEARTFELT EATING ADVERTISING & SUBMISSIONS HOW TO ADVERTISE To advertise with Natural Awakenings or request a media kit, please contact us at 203-885-4674 or email Advertising@eNaturalAwakenings.com.

Deadline for ads: the 12th of the month.

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Visit eNaturalAwakenings.com.

Deadline for News Briefs: the 12th of the month.

CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS Visit eNaturalAwakenings.com. Deadline for magazine calendar listings: the 12th of the month. Website calendar listings may be entered at any time.

REGIONAL MARKETS Advertise your products or services in multiple markets!

Natural Awakenings Publishing Corp. is a growing franchised family of locally owned magazines serving communities since 1994. To place your ad in other markets call 239-434-9392. For franchising opportunities call 239-530-1377 or visit NaturalAwakenings.com.

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Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

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Best Foods for a Heart-Healthy Diet

28 SHEFALI TSABARY

on Conscious Relationships

30 BIG LOVE FROM

SMALL ANIMALS

The Joy of Furry Little Companions

DEPARTMENTS 6 ad index 6 news briefs 10 global briefs 11 health briefs 15 inspiration 20 fit body 22 healing ways

eNaturalAwakenings.com

24 conscious

eating 28 wise words 30 naturally healthy pet 32 calendar 33 resource guide 35 classifieds

letter from publisher “Hope” is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops - at all ~ Emily Dickinson

I

was so inspired by the cover image this month. In most mythologies and folklores, the feather is associated with the purity of the heart and soul. It can also signify travel in the physical as well as the spiritual sense, and be a symbol of hope.

Erica Mills When I think of February, I think of all of the things humankind can focus on, with purity of heart and soul. It’s a short month, but we fit so much into it. Many families have Winter break, it’s Black History Month, plus Presidents’ Day and Valentine’s Day. There is so much to think about and reflect upon, both historically and in the present time.

This is also a month that Natural Awakenings of Fairfield County and Housatonic Valley has typically done its Natural Living Directory, but this issue felt different.

For the past 10-plus years, we have published the directory in January or February, as a way to start off the new year with this helpful resource. This year,

it didn’t feel like the right time.

Once again creating the new normal as the world ebbs and flows, the focus this month just made sense. This issue is focused on the heart in a multitude of ways. From heart health, to ways of the heart, to opening your heart, to loving yourself or someone else—there is something for everyone that we hope inspires you and guides you through the month.

So, while we’ve all become very used to creating an ever-evolving “new normal” this last year, we’re doing the same. We will be publishing the local 2021 Natural Living Directory in the May edition. This will also give us more time and energy to reach local businesses who have been continually evolving throughout the pandemic. We hope this new normal will be something to look forward to—a bright spot. The directory issue will provide all of the same opportunities to learn about a new practitioner or service, and hopefully try something new. With community support, this resource will be just as great as it always has been, and hopefully serve as a reminder to focus on our health and wellness always--not just in the beginning of the year.

I hope you enjoy the heart-centered issue and take a minute to set intentions for how you will show love to yourself and those around you in February and beyond.

All the best,

HEALTHY LIVING HEALTHY PLANET

FAIRFIELD COUNTY/ HOUSATONIC VALLEY

Publisher Erica Mills

Editor Michelle Bense

Design & Production Kathleen Fellows Erica Mills

Contributing Writers Marlaina Donato

Greer Jonas Ronica O’Hara Julie Peterson April Thompson Sandra Yeyati Distribution Man in Motion LLC

CONTACT US

54 Danbury Rd, #354, Ridgefield, CT 06877 Phone/Fax: 203-885-4674 Erica@eNaturalAwakenings.com eNaturalAwakenings.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriptions are available by sending $30 (for 12 issues) to the above address.

NATIONAL TEAM

CEO/Founder Sharon Bruckman COO/Franchise Sales Joe Dunne

Art Director Josh Pope

Layout Gabrielle W-Perillo

Financial Manager Yolanda Shebert Asst. Director of Ops Heather Gibbs Digital Content Director Rachael Oppy

National Advertising Lisa Doyle-Mitchell Administrative Assistant Anne-Marie Ryan Natural Awakenings Publishing Corporation 4851 Tamiami Trail N., Ste. 200 Naples, FL 34103 Ph: 239-434-9392 • Fax: 239-434-9513 NaturalAwakenings.com © 2021 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. 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.

Check with a healthcare professional regarding the appropriate use of any treatment.

Natural Awakenings Magazine is ranked 5th Nationally in CISION’S® 2016 Top 10 Health & Fitness Magazines

Natural Awakenings is proudly printed in Connecticut at Trumbull Printing on recycled newsprint with soy-based ink.

February 2021

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display advertiser index

news briefs

203TLC 3 The Angel Cooperative/ Angel Wing

17

Chamomille Natural Foods

27

Natural Awakenings Singles

29

Nature’s Temptations

27

Nature’s Way Health Foods

27

New Morning Market

27

Optimal Health Medical/ Henry Sobo, MD

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Exciting Updates for Turning Point Healing Arts & Education Center

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urning Point Healing Arts & Education Center was renovated during the month of December, and Collaborative Natural re-opened for in-person appointments Health Partners 36 on January 4. “The divine plan is The Computer Fairy 17 leading us to shift and adjust how we work, how we teach, how we see clients and how we re-envision the mission of what we provide in person and via a distance/virtual platform,” Cristina Sarno Artist/ Your Pet’s Portrait Paintings 31 explains Reiki Master Teacher JoAnn Inserra.

During this pandemic, the team has learned that much of what they do can be done Hilda Demirjian 7 virtually because it is intention that makes it all possible. “Our clients and students come eNaturalAwakenings.com for the people, the practitioners and our expertise, not the place. Our gifts have been Website 35 heightened and renewed in many wonderful ways,” says Inserra. “The Center is really our knowledge, our services and our gifts operating remotely in a safe and appropriate way.”

Final Journey LLC 31

Inserra, Stacey Decea (Evidential Psychic Medium) and Jann Elliot (Certified Zero Balancer) HGH Gel 23 will be remaining at the same location. Deana Paqua (Shamanic Practitioner) is remaining part of Institute for Ayurvedic and the team. They will still be offering distance healing sessions and virtual readings.

Naturopathic Therapies 11

“It has been wonderful to get back and continue to assist my clients and students on their healing journeys. It is more important than ever to stay grounded, protected and Intimacy Retreats 23 have your energy flowing freely in harmony and balance. If you are not ready to return in KnoWeWell 2 person, I am still offering distance healing sessions, virtual Reiki Shares, classes and mini retreats via zoom,” Inserra says.

Lectio 360 8

Turning Point Healing Arts & Education Center is continuing to follow the Connecticut The Market 27 State Guidelines for COVID-19 for personal care services. Anyone interested in having an Natural Awakenings in-person session can call 203-438-3050 to discuss the protocols being followed to provide as 2021 Natural Living Directory 19 safe an environment as possible.

Robin Ordan, LCSW

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Ann Reeves

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Victoria Shaw, PhD

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Wellness Institute/ Marvin Schweitzer, ND

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Wellness Metaphors/ Nancy S. Scherlong

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Soul Healing Journey

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Sustainne 25 Total Look Salon & Spa 9

Touch of Sedona Whole Foods 6

7 27

For more information, call 203-438-3050, JDuncan@TurningPointReiki.com or TurningPointReiki.com. See Community Resource Guide Listing, page 34.

2021 Natural Living Directory Coming in May

N

atural Awakenings Magazine will present the 2021 Natural Living Directory this May. This special edition (formally printed in February) will be distributed throughout Fairfield County and the greater Litchfield County region in May and will be kept and referenced all year by our 30,000+ readers.

This issue will include our regular health and wellness content as well as a holistic glossary, wellness profiles and an enhanced community resource guide. The wellness profiles will provide in-depth information, highlighting the wealth of local health resources in our community that support a healthier, natural path to wellness. The Community Resource Guide listings will be a reference tool that can be likened to a Holistic White Pages for the region.

“For the past 15 years, Natural Awakenings has provided this tool to our readers that they can utilize to help them live their healthiest lives,” says publisher Erica Mills. “Make sure to pick up your issue or bookmark the link to our digital guide and search for easy reference.”

Natural Awakenings is offering early bird specials as well as advertising incentives through March 12. The issue deadline for material will be April 12.

For advertising information or to submit listings, visit eNaturalAwakenings.com/NLD or call 203-885-4674 for details. See ad, page 19.

Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

eNaturalAwakenings.com

Learn to Love Yourself with The Self Care Network For Women Touch of Sedona

Unique Boutique & Spiritual Center

T

he Self Care Network For Women is all about learning to love oneself through the good and the bad times—especially during this tumultuous time of uncertainty. The core of their efforts is to bring self-healing, empowerment and greater purpose to the lives of women. The work they do is aimed at providing a holistic approach to empowering women who need that little extra nudge to reach their full potential.

A couple of years ago, creator and founder of The Self Care Network for Women, Jenora Ledbetter, MA went through an exceptionally hard time. In a matter of months, she experienced a gut-wrenching breakup, was laid off from a job, experienced the near-death of a close family member and dealt with a death of pet.

One of the biggest lessons she learned going through those experiences was that she really had no idea how to take care of herself.

“I neglected to take the time to understand me and what sorts of things helped me to feel nurtured, supported and cared for. I worked hard over the years to develop self-awareness on how to provide myself with the tools necessary for my growth and selfnourishment,” says Ledbetter. “The number one tool in everyone’s tool box that they should use daily is that they love and trust themselves. Loving and trusting yourself means that you stay true to yourself no matter how painful or joyful the moment.”

Once Ledbetter developed that tool, she realized that she had found a passion to help other women like herself find and develop that tool as well. It started with her coaching a friend or coworker through a difficult time and it led her to develop The Self Care Network for Women.

The Self Care Network wants to empower women to reach new heights and to fix the crown on their heads. Their motto is: “We are all queens. Wear your crown boldly and powerfully.”

For more information, email TheSelfCareNetworkForWomen@gmail.com or visit TheSelfCareNetwork.org.

Whatever we are waiting for–peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance–it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart. ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

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Great Hollow Nature Preserve Teaches Tree Identification and Photo Skills

news briefs

Holistic New Day Counseling Services Opens in Ridgefield

J

essica Lima, MS, LCSW has opened a holistic psychotherapy practice, Holistic New Day Counseling Services, in Ridgefield. “Through my own experience, I have seen the unique role holistic modalities can play in the healing process and I am passionate about sharing those practices with my clients,” says Lima.

Often in the traditional psychotherapy model, a diagnosis is developed that becomes the Jessica Lima focus of the therapeutic process.

Lima’s approach differs in that it centers on the mind/body/spirit connection. She has been trained in integrative healing modalities which include mindfulness, Reiki, energy healing, Lightning Dreamwork, herbal medicine, nutrition and meditation.

“In today’s world, too often we are looking for a quick fix or the next big treatment when the answer is right in our own backyard, so to speak. We need to focus on the basics such as nutrition, sleep and movement. Sometimes all it takes to change your mindset is to get up and move. A walk in the forest can do wonders. The ethereal energy of the forest is so transformative,” explains Lima.

Lima is offering sessions to clients in person at the office, as well as through video conference. She has experience working with both children and adult clients.

Connect at 203-260-5769 or HolisticNewDay@gmail.com.

See Community Resource Guide Listing, page 34.

Lectio 360

A Contemplative Practice to Improve Self-Awareness and Serenity

A

t Great Hollow Nature Preserve, in New Fairfield, people of all ages are invited to learn something new about nature—whether through a tree identification workshop or joining their nature photography club.

Identifying trees by their leaves can be easy, but how do you tell one species from another during the six months that trees in the Northeast have no leaves? On February 13, from 10 to 11:30am, Naturalist John Foley will teach some basic skills for identifying trees and shrubs during the winter by looking at subtle details in their bark and branch structure.

There will also be a discussion of invasive species and the many emerging diseases that trees in our region now face. The group will be hiking some of Great Hollow’s trails, so appropriate footwear and attire are a must. Attendance is limited to only 12 people to allow for social distancing, and advanced registration is required. The workshop is free for members, with a suggested donation of $5 for non-members.

The Great Hollow Photographers Club (GHPC) was formed by members of the local community who have a shared interest in nature photography. The goals of the club are to use photography to support the educational and conservation missions of Great Hollow Nature Preserve, improve the photographic skills of members through the sharing of knowledge and experience, and to provide a forum for members to engage in their hobby.

The GHPC is open to all ages and skill levels, and both video and still photography. The GHPC regularly leads workshops and other events for the public, so keep an eye on the Great Hollow events calendar for these fun opportunities to learn about and engage in the art of nature photography.

For more information, call 203-546-7789, email Info@GreatHollow.org or visit GreatHollow.org. Location: Great Hollow Nature Preserve, 225 CT-37, New Fairfield.

Family and Child Psychotherapy Support and Guidance • Divorce Anxiety • Parent/Child Conflict Attachment and Bonding • Trauma • Grief Professional/Executive Coaching

Regular Online 30-Minute Sessions Conveniently Scheduled and Designed to Fit Into Your Day

Learn More and Register at www.lectio360.com

Robin Ordan, LCSW 203-561-8535

www.robinordanlcsw.com Located on the Old Greenwich/Stamford Border

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Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

eNaturalAwakenings.com

Family Fun Events at Woodcock Nature Center

T

he Woodcock Nature Center, a nonprofit nature center located at 56 Deer Run Road in Wilton, is offering many upcoming programs for family fun. The center is situated on 179 acres of state-protected land with three miles of trails traversing a mixture of habitats, including woods with stands of maple, beech, oak and hickory trees, a pond and wetlands.

On February 24 from 4:30 to 6pm, Mindful Outdoor Guide Cindy Olsen will host the “Mindful Winter Forest Walk”. Olsen, of Cindy By Nature, will lead a mindful winter walk in the forests of Woodcock Nature Center. Participants should wear extra layers of clothing to stay comfortable while gathering safely to enjoy the winter sunset. Olsen will provide blankets, seat cushions, hot tea and other warming comforts. ($20 per attendee.)

On Thursdays and Fridays in February and March, from 9:45 to 11:15am, the Center hosts “Mommy & Me and the Natural World”. Toddlers and their caregivers will explore the natural world through nature walks, animal encounters, stories and art projects. Each class will include outdoor activities related to that day’s nature theme.

For ages 1 to 3, with a caregiver.

On February 4 and 25 and March 11, from 1:30 to 3pm, the “Into the Forest: Nature School Series” will be held for ages 3 to 5, with a caregiver. This program brings children into nature to help build confidence, obtain basic wilderness skills and most importantly, allow them to get dirty and have fun outdoors.

The Center’s building houses local and exotic snakes, frogs and lizards, as well as a few rehabilitated birds of prey. They also offer summer camp, after school and other programs for children and school groups.

Body, Mind, Spirit Smoking Cessation Program Online

C

ertified Hypnotist and Life Coach, Thea Litsios, will be offering an online program to help participants quit smoking, starting February 4, from 7 to 8pm, and for four consecutive weeks. The program includes one 30-minute individual hypnosis session via Zoom.

“With our health a priority right now, many who have smoked for years are now ready to give it up,” says Litsios. “It has been shown that being a smoker can increase the chances of a heart attack, and it can also increase the chance for a more severe case of COVID-19 and possible hospitalization.”

Join Litsios for a four-week online program using the powerful tool of hypnosis to assist you in becoming a non-smoker. Together, explore how awareness of each aspect— body, mind and spirit—play an important role in eliminating a strongly engrained habit, like smoking. “At the end of the fourweek program, with your commitment and full participation, you will be a non-smoker!” she says.

Thea Litsios

For more information, call 203-693-1493 or visit TheaLitsios.com/programs.

See ad, page 3 and Community Resource Guide listing, page 33.

For more information, call 203-762-7280 or visit WoodcockNatureCenter.org to see Programs and Events.

February 2021

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global briefs

The particles’ effect on the human body is not yet understood. Another study revealed that some plastic is expelled from the body in feces. But there is also evidence that it gets absorbed, and that the tiniest particles can enter the bloodstream and lymphatic system, which could affect immune response and aid transmission of toxic chemicals.

Tiny Invaders

Researchers at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, estimate people that drink bottled water ingest an additional 90,000 microplastic particles annually compared to 4,000 microplastics for those that drink only tap water. Food is contaminated with plastic as well, which we also ingest. The researchers took data from 26 studies that measured plastic in salt, beer, sugar, fish, shellfish, water and urban air, and combined it with U.S. dietary guidelines to calculate how many particles people likely consumed annually. The results are 50,000 particles per year for adults and 40,000 for children. When inhalation is included, the estimate rises to between 74,000 and 121,000 particles per year for adults.

Even these figures are likely underestimated, because the foods in the studies make up only 15 percent of the typical American caloric intake.

Victoria F. Shaw, PhD, LPC

Intuitive & Consultant LPC Shaw, PhD, F.Psychotherapist Victoria

Intuitive Psychotherapist & Consultant Combining the best of traditional

psychotherapy with intuitive guidance in Combining the best of traditional psychotherapy with working with children, teens and adults. intuitive guidance in working with children, teens and adults.

Offices in Wilton, Westport and Fairfield.

Offices in Wilton and Westport www.victoriashawpsychotherapy.com

www.victoriashawintuitive.com VictoriaShawPsychotherapy.com • VictoriaShawIntuitive.com 203-254-3403 •• vfshawphd@gmail.com 203-254-3403 vfshawphd@gmail.com

51 Ethan Allen Hwy (Rt 7), Ridgefield, CT PURVEYORS OF POSITIVITY

A Unique Lifestyle Boutique Featuring the first Shungite Room in the USA. HOME • BODY • SOUL

Introducing…

THE ANGEL WING, A DIVINE SPIRITUAL CENTER The Angel Wing is available to rent for individual or group sessions, workshops, classes, retreats, or for any therapeutic practice including yoga, meditation, reiki, massage, musical events, and more. Optional rental spaces include a large open room and/or an intimate private room with massage/reiki table.

• Wide selection of crystals & jewelry • Candles, essential oils, incense & soap • Feng Shui & home decor • Spiritual gifts, statuary, decks, books & cards • Private & group readings, reiki, guided 49 Ethan Allen Hwy (Rt 7), Ridgefield, CT meditation, sound therapy & energy work (Located next door to The Angel Cooperative) 203 -4 31-2959 • WWW.THEANGELCOOP.COM

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Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

eNaturalAwakenings.com

Outdoor Fun

Childhood Immunity Enhanced

by Natural Environment

visionpic/Pexels.com

victoria strukovskay/Unsplash.com

Plastic Particles Ingested in Food and Water

At the University of Helsinki, in Finland, a new project recorded in the journal Science Advances found that switching a child’s playground from gravel to natural forest floor could foster a better immune system within a month by exposing them to a greater variety of skin and gut bacteria. The researchers studied 75 children between 3 and 5 years of age at 10 daycare centers in two Finnish cities to see how a change in their playing environment altered their skin and gut microbiota, as well as immune markers in their blood.

Four centers turned their gravel playgrounds into fields of forest floor, soil and grasses, while three already had that setting. Three others kept their existing gravel playground. One month after the changes were made, scientists collected samples of skin, blood and feces from the children. In just a few weeks, microbiota of the children at the renovated daycare centers quickly shifted to become more like the microbiomes of children that attended centers that already had more natural play surfaces. The children at the renovated daycare centers developed a higher ratio of the anti-inflammatory proteins to proinflammatory proteins in their blood, indicating that their immune systems were in better shape.

health briefs

Consider Melatonin to Lower COVID-19 Risk

cottonbro/Pexels.com

Melatonin, a hormonal sleep aid that can be purchased for a few dollars at local pharmacies, appears to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19 by 30 percent, report researchers from the Cleveland Clinic.

Among African Americans, a group disproportionately impacted by the virus, the risk was reduced by 52 percent. For the study, published in PLOS Biology, researchers used artificial intelligence to compare the host genes and proteins of the novel coronavirus to those of 64 other diseases across a range of categories. They found 34 drugs for possible repurposing, then combed through 27,000 patient records to find which drugs had in fact lowered the risk of contracting the virus. “We’re excited about these results and to study that connection more, but large-scale observational studies and randomized controlled trials are essential to confirm what we’ve found here,” says lead researcher Feixiong Cheng.

Is your Soul calling to be in alignment with your Divinity?

If your Soul says YES, please join us to transform your mind, body, and spirit!

An Enhanced Year of Healing 2021/2022 with Eilis Philpott

Master Healer and Teacher

Module II Rebirthing Breathwork

Monthly, July - December 2021

Module III Akashic Field Healing

Monthly, January - April 2022

Module I 13th Octave & 13th OctaveLaHoChi Monthly, July - December 2022 z

See website for more information.

You may participate in any one or combination of modules.

The Academy for Soul Healing supports the growth and expansion of humanity, individually and on a global scale. "I foresee many students from the Academy becoming teachers of this integrated way of service."

academyforsoulhealing.com • SoulHealingJourney.com Eilis@SoulHealingJourney.com • 203-767-5954 Fairfield, CT

krishnan/Unsplash.com

Eat Chili Peppers to Live Longer

Regular consumption of chili peppers can reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 26 percent and from cancer by 23 percent, suggests a review of 4,729 studies involving 570,000 people. Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic reported to the annual scientific session of the American Heart Association that frequent chili eaters also had a lower risk of dying from any cause by 25 percent compared to those that rarely or never ate the fruit. Because it was difficult to measure the type and amount of chili pepper eaten by the Americans, Italians, Chinese and Iranians in the study, no quantities were specified. Previous studies have found that chili pepper has antiinflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer and blood glucose-regulating effects due to capsaicin, its active ingredient.

February 2021

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2021:

As 2020 reached its final passage in December, we can reflect on the initiation to the third decade of the 21st century.

Who knew what to expect? At the beginning of the year, numerologists looked at all the “2s” in 2020. This is the number of cooperation, relationships and moving into a more intuitive and trusting place of the divine feminine, rather than the assertive ego and divine masculine. The promise was to meet in the middle and grow together, rather than “what is in it for me”.

Perhaps it was too much to expect and the extreme happened—the shadow of the “2”. We were forced to go inside, wear masks and told not to connect with others.

A Numerological View

by Greer Jonas

A

lthough we cannot predict the future, nor the end of the pandemic, let’s take a look at the promise of 2021 in our world.

The 5 ignites the fire of action, change and a pursuit of freedom. Its energy promotes social interaction. But how can this be in the midst of a pandemic?

Compared with the slow and methodical global 4 of 2020 (2+0+2+0=4), the 5 should help us remove the inertia.

Yes, change is upon us and the new energy should speed up the process. Hopefully, COVID-19 will be eradicated soon, allowing the economy to recover and businesses to revive and flourish. Individuals around the world can return to their jobs and their lives, embracing their loved ones freely.

Once we are in a more stable place, the “5” energy will ignite a social life beyond the computer chats and mobile texts. It will also influence social change, if we do not go back to hiding in our own world of work and love life.

12

The 4 represents building, security, stability and the home. Instead, the shadow appears—the destruction of normalcy, the breakdown of systems and businesses. The health and sense of security of the people of the world has been compromised.

Perhaps, the lesson of 2020 is karmic.

The challenge is to have faith rather than fear.

The lesson is not to withdraw, or despair, but to seek creative ways to support and connect with family and friends. In place of hiding, communities from around the world gather online, teaching and participating in courses that feed the hungry spirit. A spiritual path is sought where we acknowledge our earth and look at a higher meaning to life.

2021: What Happens Now? The shadow of 5 is to go back to the “I”— either panicking or ignoring what is going on around you. Searching for freedom and change, we need to find a happy medium to our viewpoints and take action to collectively shift this global “pandemic”.

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We are not just talking about healing physically and mentally—but socially, environmentally, spiritually and politically. This may be a wake-up call toward recovering our humanity.

Spacious Peace by Greer Jonas

2021 What Happens Now? by Greer Jonas

2020 and the Shadow

Personal Year 2021 To find one’s personal year theme, add the month and day of birth to the current year. The formula is to add each number separately and reduce the sum to one digit (except master numbers such as 11 and 22).

So for someone born December 12, we would add 2021 like this: 1+2+1+2+2+0+2+1 = 11 personal year Using the simple descriptions below, let’s ask ourselves: “How will I welcome freedom and change without feeling restricted? Do I have the willingness and bravery to embrace my life as I include others—or will I choose the same old habit that does not serve me?”

Below is a brief description of the theme and the shadow of each personal year.

1

A year of new beginnings, leadership, taking action and inspiring others.

Shadow: Retreat or follow others without standing for one’s own beliefs.

2

About forming relationships of all kinds, love, business, family and cooperation.

Shadow: Being non-communitive and inflexible.

3

A year of expressing oneself creatively and uniquely. The key is to take an original, non-judgmental approach to whatever moves us—be it art, music, writing, dancing or speaking. Shadow: Seeking safety and an uninspiring life.

6

Divine Portal by Greer Jonas

All about the heart and birth. It is a time to connect with family, friends and doing service in some way. This could be a year of birthing something new. Shadow: Withdrawal, selfjudgment and caring about what others think.

8 4

A year of building something new with the foundation of organization, perseverance and skill. Shadow: Stubborn and controlling, wanting everything to be one way without flexibility.

5

The same personal year as the global year.

This is a time to embrace change and freedom while sharing oneself with people and seeking opportunities. Shadow: Hiding, feeling anxious, not allowing self to relax.

The year of charismatic leadership and empowerment. The opportunity to advance and share goals, rather than being afraid to be out there in the world, is key.

Shadow: Being overbearing, insisting that one is right and everyone else is wrong, embracing power rather than empowerment.

9

A year that will present transformation and change, as well as completion. It may feel like a whirlwind of seeing the truth in all aspects of life. The lesson is acceptance.

Shadow: Being fearful, not respecting oneself and one’s changes, fear of judgment, feeling lost.

11

In the master 11 year, one’s inspired ideas can be momentous in life and

the life of others. Here is a choice to lead without apprehension and self-judgment.

Shadow: Forgetting one’s humanness and vulnerability, resulting in challenging oneself and becoming fearful or frustrated.

22

The master year of building relationships of all kinds. It may be a powerful time to achieve love or to build a business. Shadow: Retreating, being disappointed, not believing in self.

Greer Jonas is an intuitive numerologist who conducts online readings. She is also a teacher and an artist. Connect at GreerDJonas@ gmail.com, Numerology4YourSoul.com and GreerJonas.com.

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A time of bonding with the inner self.

It is a spiritual and intuitive period to seek the unknown with fascination.

Shadow: Retreating, not sharing one’s voice and unique personality.

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February 2021 13

positive psychology series

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For the next several months, we’ll hear from Ann C. Reeves about aspects of Positive Psychology. This month, she starts with the “P” of the Positive Psychology acronym, PERMA-V.

Positivity—the P in Positive Psychology

by Ann C. Reeves

P

ositive Psychology (PP) is the scientific study of optimal human functioning and its research encompassing neurobehavioral, cognitive behavioral and physiological science. The acronym used in PP is PERMA-V.

P stands for Positivity, which may not include happiness, but more a deep sense of well-being, and it is also related to the quality of one’s engagement with life, sense of meaning, resilience, relationships and feelings of personal achievement. Any one of these can be a gateway to feelings of increased well-being. Seeking positivity is a choice we can choose to make.

The brain has an inborn negativity bias related to ensuring survival over danger. The part of our brain that mediates feelings and emotional memories is not as smart as we think. Often bypassing the help of the smart forebrain, it responds most readily to and believes what it has been told—a feeling memory bank. If we grew up in critical families, the message of “you’re not good enough” is reinforced and, over time, the brain believes it. It then affects everything, reaching into all parts of our life.

Barbara Fredrickson, of the University of North Carolina, developed the Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions.

She discovered that increasing positive emotions opens our hearts and minds to encourage more creativity and receptiveness, and broadens our ideas about possible actions. In contrast, negative emotions tend to close those aspects.

Fredrickson found that only one positive event could lead 14

Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

to a greater likelihood of finding another positive experience, and that is what broadens and builds. She also realized that this is impossible all the time and recommends we try to construct a 3:1 ratio. She proposes that for every negative feeling or experience we haves, we try to construct three positive reactions or experiences as a way to undo the negativity bias.

We can achieve more voluntary control over negative thinking by looking at our past, present and future. In a notebook, create three columns for PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE. Starting with the past, even in the presence of negative memories, write down what was good: a grandparent, neighbor, teacher, private adventures in nature, creating pictures or stories. For the present, write down what currently gives pleasure, meaning or satisfaction, without focusing on the challenges that are present. Lastly, look beyond the current situation to something that might be hopeful or optimistic: a dream, a creative project, a trip, a commitment to something larger than oneself. Just by doing this exercise, we take attention off the negative and prime our brain toward more positivity.

Another concept in PP is savoring. As with food, it means stretching out the moment, an opportunity to increase the intensity and duration of positive emotions, as explained by PP founder Martin Seligman. One strategy is to plan something each day that we know will bring pleasure: going to a certain restaurant, listening to a favorite kind of music, going to a museum, reading a book that captures our interest, volunteering for an important cause or making art.

Then, when we undertake that activity, we should practice savoring it, becoming aware of the specific ways that this activity pleases us—intellectually, through the senses, or through a feeling of competence and ease. Spend a little more time going deeper into that enjoyment, into appreciation and even gratitude. Savoring is another way to influence the negativity bias that we often carry, and another way to practice mindfulness.

A fourth approach is to keep a “What Went Well” Journal.

Each night, write down three things that went well that day. It could be the kindness of the postal worker that waited on us, or that we were in a roughly made parking lot and found a yellow flower coming out of the crack in a rock. Or, we had been meaning for weeks to declutter a certain area and this was the day it got done. After each of the three, we should write down what we did to contribute to it being something that went well. Maybe we were more attentive and took the time to look at and appreciate that flower, or we did not allow ourselves to become distracted from a household task, or we established eye contact with the postal worker and gazed for a bit before turning away.

This one strategy, when researched, has had very positive results in terms of reducing anxiety and depression. It primes the brain for the positive. There are now many excellent books written about PP and positivity to discover additional strategies.

Ann C. Reeves, Psy.D is a Licensed Psychologist in Wilton.

Connect at 203-451-6208, AnnReevesPsych@optonline.net or AnnReevesPsychology.com. See ad, page 23.

See the next article in this PERMA-V series, focusing on the E for Engagement, in the March issue.

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how do we do it? How do we live a heart-centered life, and why bother anyway? Let’s begin with how.

inspiration

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Heart-Centering Techniques

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

W

by Meg Reilly

e have certainly come through a challenging year with a worldwide pandemic and, in the U.S., the tumult of a presidential election season for many months before and the period after.

Sometimes the winds of change felt more like being buffeted by a hurricane. Just turning the calendar to 2021 was a relief, a declaration of hope, an act of grace. But, as Chaucer wrote in 1395, time and tide wait for no man. It’s already February. So, the question today is as imperative as it was 626 years ago: How are we going to stay engaged with this world? How do we want to participate? Or, as Mary Oliver so starkly put it, “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

No matter what last year threw at us or what lies ahead, a recommendation for facing life’s challenges is to do it heart-first.

This isn’t to suggest we abandon reason and good advice and just leave our path to whimsy. Evaluation of the facts before us and sound reasoning are the bedrock of good decision-making. It’s easy to see the logic in the sequence of taking care of oneself so we are able to take care of others or make meaningful contributions to our community or co-workers. But if our goal includes honoring our “one wild and precious life,” grounding our decision-making in a heart-centered way enriches life even more.

Many early cultures considered the heart to be the seat of human consciousness, thought and wisdom—not the brain. Now, modern science tells us that the heart has its own brain, that there are neurons in the heart that communicate with neurons in the brain. Rather than the brain running the whole show, communication between the head and the heart is a two-way street, with decisions being negotiated, as Lew Childre and Howard Martin describe in The Heartmath Solution. Once more, modern science has caught up with the ancients.

So, whether we look at this as science, as spirit or as energy,

Changing our ways takes work. Happily, heart-centered living begins with something we are already doing—breathing. We can picture ourselves in a typical trying situation: rushing somewhere, having the same old argument, staring at the scale that hasn’t budged after a week of dieting. Perhaps we find that we’re habitually berating ourselves for not planning better, or getting snared by the same insult or failing to accomplish that goal.

The first step is to simply catch ourselves in the act, pause and take a breath. Then, turn attention inward, to the middle of our body, to our physical heart. Once we’ve shifted that focus directly to our heart, bring the attention, thoughts and response down from the head and into the heart. As we take the next few breaths, imagine breathing with the heart. Focus energy and attention there for about 10 seconds.

The next step is to conjure up a memory. Surprised? This may seem like going in a completely different direction, but trust the process. We should think of something that makes us smile, feel happy or joyful, and while recalling the event, summon the feeling. For a moment, feel that way again. Don’t work too hard at it. It should be simple and quick (and, with practice, will become much more so).

Now, drawing on intuition, sincerely reevaluate the event that triggered the response in the first place—only this time, do it from the heart. Ask the heart what would be a more effective, stressreducing response. And, trusting the answer, proceed from there.

Benefits of a Heart-Centered Approach

That is just one technique (called Freeze Frame) among many. In addition to the HeartMath Institute, there are dozens of reliable resources, many free online, with simple tools to practice a more heart-centered approach to life, including Metacenter.org, CharterForCompassion.org, PositivePsychology.com and Mindful.org.

But why should we? Is anything really going to change if we make the effort to change our approach to life? In short, everything will change.

Energetically, a heart-centered person exudes loving-kindness.

Once we begin to shift our actions on the inside, others will note a change on the outside. With practice, a dedicated heart-focused practice will naturally expand outward, and others will feel it. Psychic energy fields extend well beyond our physical heart and body.

Stress reduction is an inevitable by-product of a heart-centered approach. The body’s production of distress-related hormones drops while eustress-related hormones increase. It sounds science-y, but it just means we’ll feel happier.

Practicing a heart-centered life makes room in our day-to-day interactions for more authenticity and happiness. And, remember, it is a practice. We’ll definitely get better at it with repetition, but there will be times when it simply doesn’t come as easily and we need to give ourselves a break. The good news is, by then, we’ll be much better at directing loving-kindness toward ourselves and moving on.

Meg Reilly, MS, CH can be reached at MegReilly360.com and Lectio360.com. See ad, page 8.

February 2021 15

Live a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle Integrative Cardiologists on Preventing Heart Disease

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by Ronica O’Hara

C

ardiology has made mind-boggling advances in efficiently repairing everything from clogged arteries to floppy mitral valves and even replacing the entire failing heart itself. Yet the stubborn fact remains that almost half of all Americans suffer from cardiovascular disease, killing one in four of us, and those numbers are rising.

Research shows that simple lifestyle changes can prevent 80 percent of these deaths, but many cardiologists typically reach for a prescription pad rather than explore diet, exercise and other prevention options with their patients.

“Medicine can be life-saving, but optimal heart health can’t come from medicine alone,” says cardiologist Stephen Devries, co-author of Integrative Cardiology. “There is a common belief among many physicians that patients generally don’t want to make lifestyle changes—an assumption that is often dead wrong and refuted by surveys of patients that show that the majority are looking to do exactly that.”

Los Angeles restauranteur and musician Gianni Neiviller, 54, is such a case. When he found holistic cardiologist Cynthia Thaik three years ago, he had already endured four major surgeries for gut illnesses; was suffering from obesity, high blood pressure, anxiety 16

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and depression; and was heavily abusing alcohol and marijuana. Thaik ordered tests that uncovered sleep apnea, and she encouraged him to turn to an all-organic diet, take vitamin and mineral supplements, exercise and practice mindfulness and meditation.

“At first it was all fairly hard, but as I started losing the pounds, my mind became more clear, and little by little, it all started getting a bit easier,” Neiviller says. He lost 86 pounds within a year, got sober and ceased taking blood pressure medication and using a sleep apnea machine. He now walks six miles a day; practices a hybrid

regimen of qigong, yoga and meditation; and is switching to a holistic health career.

“When people try to push my buttons, they rarely succeed these days,” he smiles.

Rebounding into vibrant health is what integrative cardiologists like Devries and Thaik strive for. Also known as preventive or holistic cardiologists, they focus on guiding patients to change long-held, harmful, physical and emotional practices.

Although they are comparatively few in number—probably no more than 100 nationally—these doctors are vocal and influential, imparting valuable advice about preventing and reversing heart disease through daily lifestyle choices.

Heart-Happy Eating Substantial research affirms that one major line of defense against heart disease is what we put into our mouths every day, yet only 8 percent of cardiologists consider themselves capable to give nutritional advice, a survey showed. To counter that, Devries co-founded the Gaples Institute, a Naperville, Illinois, nonprofit that offers free nutritional training online to the public and nutritional accreditation for medical clinicians. Devries, who trained at Dr. Andrew Weil’s Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, lectures internationally and recently authored What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Cholesterol.

“People have a lot more power over their heart health than they realize,” he says.

According to Devries, the name of a diet is not as important as the anti-inflammatory foods it should contain, such as “a wide variety of vegetables and fruit, plenty of beans, whole grains in place of refined,

minimizing or eliminating meat (especially processed meat like bacon and sausage), minimizing added sugar (especially from sugar-sweetened beverages) and using small amounts of the most healthful oils, like extra-virgin olive oil.” And the evidence is increasing, he says, of “minimizing or eliminating animal products and getting most or all of your protein from highquality plant sources like beans, tofu, whole grains and nuts. Fish is one exception for which there is good evidence.”

He’s backed up by a November 2020 study of 220,000 adults published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. It concludes that those with diets high in red and processed meat, refined grains and sugary beverages had a 46 percent higher risk of heart disease and a 28 percent higher risk of stroke compared to those consuming anti-inflammatory diets rich in green and yellow vegetables, whole grains, coffee and tea.

Devries suggests that gradual, incremental changes to the diet may be easier than abrupt and dramatic choices. For example, he might recommend switching from sugary soda to flavored seltzer first, then trying lemon water and black tea with milk before opting for plain, green tea. Sipping a cup of green tea at least every other day reduces the risk of heart attacks and dying of heart disease by one-fifth, Chinese researchers report in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Powerful Supplements As a young cardiologist frustrated by the revolving-door nature of his patients, Stephen Sinatra came upon an obscure

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1982 study of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) that he realized could have saved the life of a favorite patient. This catalyzed his intensive studies into nutrition and bioenergetics that produced 17 books, including the bestselling Reverse Heart Disease Now and The Sinatra Solution. He helped formulate the new field of metabolic cardiology that proposes preventing and treating cardiovascular disease with nutraceuticals to improve energy production in heart cells.

In addition to suggesting a high-potency, multi-nutrient, fish oil, magnesium and vitamin C for prevention, he recommends four key nutrients that produce and use adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body’s basic cellular fuel:

YCoQ10 is synthesized in the body, but

declines with age and statin use. It protects from the free radical damage linked to inflammation. Dosage: 90 to 250 milligrams (mg) daily for prevention, 180 to 360 mg for hypertension and 300 to 600 mg for heart failure.

YL-carnitine ferries fatty acids to be

oxidized to make ATP and moves toxic metabolites out of heart cells. Dosage: 1,000 to 1,500 mg in divided doses to prevent deficiency and up to 3,000 mg for heart disease.

YMagnesium, required in all reactions involving ATP, is depleted by some gastrointestinal medications and diuretics.

Dosage: at least 400 mg.

YD-ribose is a naturally occurring sugar

derivative of ATP that hastens energy regeneration. Dosage: five to seven grams (gm) daily as a preventive, seven to 10 gm daily for heart failure.

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In other nutrient news, adults that took glucosamine/chondroitin every day for a year or longer had a 65 percent reduction in cardiovascular-related deaths, reports West Virginia University researchers that analyzed 16 years of data from 16,686 adults.

Smart Testing Preventive cardiologist Joel Kahn, the author of Your Whole Heart Solution and The Plant-Based Solution, says that lab tests typically prescribed by cardiologists and other doctors are inadequate.

“Standard lab tests have not changed in 30 to 40 years, but science has,” he says. “For example, inflammation is now understood to be a fundamental process for most chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer. A simple lab test, hs-CRP, is available to measure inflammation. Very few doctors add this to their panel. When it is high, it leads to a search for why there is inflammation and diet, lifestyle and other measures to resolve it.”

After 25 years as a cardiologist treating heart-attack emergencies, Kahn, who is vegan, went back to college to study preventive cardiology and set up the Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity, in Bingham Farms, Michigan, which focuses on dietary counseling and preventive screenings. His list of “must have” tests includes:

YAdvanced cholesterol panel for a breakdown of LDL-cholesterol particle number and size, which is highly predictive of cardiovascular problems.

YLipoprotein(a) cholesterol to detect a risk-elevating genetic form of cholesterol that’s present in about 20 percent of those tested.

YHigh-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) to identify

metabolites that govern such functions as oxidative stress, inflammation and vascular reactivity, reports a new study in Circulation.

Just one hour a week of strength training significantly lowers the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart disease death, another study found. And simply holding thigh and calf stretches for 45 seconds for a total of five minutes daily improved arterial blood flow, reports a study in the Journal of Physiology.

Sipping a cup of green tea at least every other day reduces the risk of heart attacks and dying of heart disease by one-fifth, Chinese researchers report in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

The Emotional Heart As a child in Myanmar, Thaik witnessed hands-on healing at a clinic she visited with her physician mother, but holistic care only entered her life after 20 years of practice as a frustrated cardiologist, when she was laid low by severe anemia that required transfusions and surgery. Today, the Harvard-trained cardiologist is the author of Your Vibrant Heart and founder of the Holistic Heart Healing Center, in Los Angeles, which integrates the medical model with lifestyle strategies and approaches like homeopathy and acupuncture.

“I very much believe that we are both physical beings and energetic or spiritual beings. Our physical makeup is closely intertwined with our mental and emotional makeup,” Thaik says. She counsels patients to practice the following:

YHemoglobin A1c (HbA1C) to obtain the three-month

measure of sugar in hemoglobin, a marker of both diabetes and heart disease.

YMindfulness. “A mentor of mine, (life coach) Mary Morrisey, taught me to avoid the three Cs—complaining, comparing or criticizing. If you attempt to do this for even an hour, you will find that it is actually a hard task. Practicing this allows us to be acutely mindful of our thoughts.”

YVitamin D to identify deficiencies linked to a higher risk of

YGratitude. “I wake up every morning and before my feet hit

inflammation of blood vessels.

hypertension, heart failure, angina and heart attacks.

the floor, I make this statement five times and fill in five different answers: ‘I am so happy and grateful now that ...’”

Move It or Lose It The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (brisk walking, water aerobics, gardening, tennis, dancing) or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (running, jumping, swimming laps), as well as musclestrengthening activity (weights) at least two days a week.

Only 20 percent of adults exercise for the full 150 minutes per week, which may be why physical inactivity is a major factor in an estimated one-third of heart disease deaths. “I like to frame it as ‘being active’, because exercise sounds onerous,” Devries says.

“Even a small amount of activity goes a long way—walking at a gentle pace 30 minutes a day confers very significant benefits. Up to a point, more can be better, but only for some people, and only to a point.”

Even moving a few minutes daily can add up. Doing 12-minute bursts of vigorous exercise favorably impacts 80 percent of the 18

Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

YReleasing. “I believe the most important ingredient to health and healing is the ability to release—to forgive self and others, to let go and abandon all of our negative thoughts, our self-limiting beliefs, our notions of right and wrong, our feelings of injustice and being wronged.”

She advises, “When we can abandon all these beliefs and allow ourselves to float or drift unimpeded—imagine yourself on a tube in a lazy river—that is when healing within our bodies begins, when our parameters of stress and the hormones and neurotransmitters associated with stress start to down-regulate, and we can literally feel a wave of relaxation passing through our bodies. This will lower our heart rate, blood pressure, adrenaline and cortisol levels, thereby mitigating our risk of a heart attack or stroke.”

Ronica O’Hara, a natural health writer, can be contacted at OHaraRonica@gmail.com.

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exercise with less intense recovery periods.

“I recommend my patients get 30 minutes of HIIT four to five times per week. The design of a HIIT program must meet the person where they are at in their level of fitness.

Whatever physical activity you choose, try to do it outside,” he says. “This way, we get the synergistic benefits of exercise and sunshine to lower your blood pressure. I’ve always told people that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.”

Halting Hypertension Exercises to Lower High Blood Pressure

A

by Marlaina Donato

n estimated 75 million American adults have blood pressure high enough to require management, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For people with hypertension, tempering stress responses and limiting consumption of sodium, caffeine, alcohol and sugar can make a difference. Fortifying these lifestyle changes with aerobic exercise, yoga and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can also help prevent and manage worrisome blood pressure readings.

Integrative cardiologist Jack Wolfson, in Paradise Valley, Arizona, points out that the development of hypertension is multicausal. “We are not genetically programmed to develop high blood pressure. Studies over the last 50 years confirm that physically active people have a lower risk of developing high blood pressure. For those with high blood pressure or people with a condition known as pre-hypertension, there is a blood pressurelowering effect of physical activity.”

Aside from the value of strength training, walking, cycling and jogging, the Mayo Clinic recommends everyday movement in the form of household chores such as raking leaves, tending a garden or pushing a lawnmower. Cross-country skiing, skating and swimming also pack an aerobic punch. Experts agree that an active lifestyle strengthens the heart, demanding less systemic effort to pump blood, and healthier blood pressure is a result.

Lifestyle Emphasis, Targeted Fitness “It’s been fascinating to watch clients come in extremely anxious about their high blood pressure number. A few months after consistent training and maintaining a healthier diet, there is a significant change within the body,” says Los Angeles fitness trainer Dominic Kennedy, creator of the new wellness app Dominic Effect. Kennedy recommends beginning with a brisk walk outside or on the treadmill and according to comfort level, bumping up the time each day. He underscores weights for those ready for strength training. “For many of my clients with high blood pressure, I superset their exercises so their heart rate is pumping. You will be surprised how aerobic weight training can be.”

Wolfson testifies to the benefits of HIIT, which alternates short periods of intense aerobic 20

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fit body

Yoga for Stress Management Wolfson is also an advocate of yoga for its parasympathetic nervous system support. Research published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2018 shows that yoga, breathwork and stretching all positively impact blood pressure, with the greatest improvements evident from yoga and deep breathing.

“Yoga, no matter the type, is known to promote a sense of calm in the body and mind. A regular practice will help to reduce the effects that stress causes. It may or may not be the only step necessary,” says New York City yoga instructor Gail Grossman, author of Restorative Yoga for Life. She emphasizes personal preferences and staying within your comfort zone, noting, “If you feel stressed because it’s difficult, it won’t benefit you. I personally think restorative yoga, breathwork and meditation are the best practices for high blood pressure.”

For Grossman, there is no such thing as too much yoga, but she recommends not getting overwhelmed with the commitment and having professional guidance for pranayama, or breathwork. “Do what you can. A practice does not have to be a full class, especially in restorative yoga. If you can commit to 20 minutes a day, you will see results, if you are consistent.”

Kennedy underscores that investment pays off. “Many clients have come to me months later when they are in a more normal range and say, ‘We wish we would have started this sooner in life,’ but it’s never too late to start a fitness program. A good personal trainer or coach will help you do it in a safe way and get your body back in shape and healthy.”

Marlaina Donato is an author and recording artist. Connect at AutumnEmbersMusic.com.

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Romantic Relationship Toolkit

by Diana Daffner

What’s in YOUR Romance Toolkit?

T

and delight them by he dictionary using theirs. defines romance Do they yearn as “a quality of for “words of afmystery, excitement firmation”? Be sure and remoteness from to pick a meaningful everyday life”. This Valentine’s Day card, is the quality that or, better yet, write Valentine’s Day is an original. Is an “act meant to celebrate, as of service” the best couples hope to focus gift they can receive? and ignite the fire of How about a coupon their attraction. There book with offers of are many resources what might be done for couples committed for them around the to intimacy. So, what house or on their “tools” are we using pet project? If their this year? language is “physical We can start by Richard & Diana Daffner touch”, that coupon learning our partner’s preferred “love language”. Gary Chapman’s book might include some deliciously book, The Five Love Languages, has helped different offerings. And if their preferred love language is indeed “gifts”, we would be millions bring themselves into harmony wise indeed to remember that this month. with their partners. Knowing that our A counselor, coach, therapist or own preferred love language may not be other mentor can help us develop our the same as our partner’s, we can honor

communication abilities. This includes the importance of using “I” language, taking responsibility for how we think and feel in emotional situations. A relationship is enhanced when we issue more compliments than complaints. A recommended ratio is five positive comments to one negative, even including that slippery slope of “constructive criticism”. Do we know how it feels to be really heard, and to truly listen to our partner?

Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication can teach us a sense of how to communicate OFNR, by clearly sharing what we Observe, how we Feel, what we Need and what we want to Request from our partner. Practicing such forms of communication can deepen our bond with our partner.

Another avenue for deepening this bond is to explore Tantra or sexual practices. Tantra is an ancient spiritual teaching that encourages the mindful embrace of all life. A couple can gain much from experimenting with the joy of sacred loving and shared ecstatic intimacy. Maybe we have already read about or reviewed different ideas of sexual turn-ons and pleasure with our partner.

The most important question is: Are we remembering to use whatever tools are in our toolkit? How do we hold each other accountable for their use? Do we strive to be conscientious and conscious about applying what we’ve learned?

Don’t let these tools get rusty. We should take an inventory of what’s in our toolkit, and use them wisely and often.

Valentine’s Day comes only once a year.

Romance is a lifelong endeavor.

Diana and Richard Daffner authored Tantric Sex for Busy Couples: How to Deepen Your Passion in Just Ten Minutes a Day. The Daffners have led workshops for over 20 years to help couples discover meaningful joy. They now offer their entire workshop on video. Connect at 941-3496804, Diana@IntimacyRetreats.com or IntimacyRetreats.com.

NOTE: Natural Awakenings readers can use code NA20 to receive a 20 percent discount on the video program.

February 2021 21

into the future, it can create not only anxiety because I fear the unknown, but also worry about all the ‘what ifs’. When I find myself lost in the past, it can bring me sadness and regret. I have learned from mindfulness that these are just mental habits.”

Cara Bradley, a mental fitness coach in Philadelphia and author of On the Verge: Wake Up, Show Up and Shine, says, “To be mindful is to show up to experience the moment as it is, with all your senses—when we eat, when we walk, whatever we are doing.”

healing ways

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Diving Deeper

TOOLS FOR INNER PEACE Exploring Mindfulness and Meditation

T

by Marlaina Donato

he practices of mindfulness and meditation, although closely related, offer individual, science-backed benefits for both body and psyche. Mindfulness has been shown to amp up immunity and increase gray matter in the brain, and 2018 research published in Experimental Biology shows that just an introductory hour of meditation using breathwork and awareness of thoughts significantly reduced anxiety. The study indicates that when applied regularly, mindfulness minimizes arterial pressure and cardiovascular health risks associated with long-term nervous system stress.

Immersion in the Moment

Mindfulness—cultivating present-moment awareness by noticing body sensations, thoughts and details in our environment—not only makes life more enjoyable, but enables us to acknowledge life experiences and emotions without aversion and judgement.

Mindfulness techniques are now being used in psychotherapy for insomnia, eating disorders and addictions. Physiological benefits are also significant. Harvard Health Publishing, referencing the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, highlights mindfulness for cardiovascular and gastrointestinal conditions, as well as clinical depression.

For healing arts practitioner Evelyn Hall, in Santa Cruz, California, mindfulness is a lifestyle choice. “When my mind runs off 22

Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

While mindfulness can be the simple act of noticing the geometric design of a flower or the variety of tastes on a dinner plate, meditation brings awareness to the deepest levels of consciousness through a variety of focused techniques, including breathwork, chanting, visualization or gazing at a candle flame.

Contrary to common assumption, meditation need not be associated with religious structure. Neuroscientist Tony Nader, who heads the global Transcendental Meditation (TM) organization in 100 countries, underscores, “When you say meditation, there are numerous kinds of meditation with different origins. It can’t be assumed that just because meditation involves the mind that it involves dogma, or that meditation is religious because it has its roots from the Eastern traditions. Over time, some traditions integrated aspects of these ancient techniques into their own religions, yet not all meditations are religious.”

Meditation can bring us into the eye of the storm. “The ocean is a great analogy for understanding different approaches to meditation. Just as the ocean can be turbulent on the surface with innumerable waves and quiet at its depth, so, too, the mind is active on the surface with innumerable thoughts, but it is also naturally, profoundly quiet, deep within.”

TM, taught in personal, one-to-one instruction by a certified instructor, is one of the most thoroughly studied approaches and does not involve breathwork or repetition of chants. “There are 600 scientific research studies about the effectiveness of the Transcendental Meditation technique to develop the full brain—actually, the full potential of the human nervous system,” says Nader.

Today, meditation has moved into the mainstream, with more than 2,500 digital apps offering quick, convenient access to every type and tradition. With names like Calm and Headspace, they were downloaded by more than 52 million first-time users in 2019—and that was before the anxiety-inducing pandemic. Most can be easily customized: InsightTimer, for example, offers 45,000 free meditations that can be sorted by need, duration or style.

By practicing meditation, mindfulness is also cultivated. “You can think of it as a workout for your mind, a way of becoming familiar with our mind and training our mind,” says Bradley.

Meditation can simply help to lower blood pressure or boost memory, yet it can bring mindfulness to a more spiritual level. “In a meditative state, I can feel how everything around me is alive and communicating with their own tongue and song,” says Hall. “I feel peace, no longer lost in wishing, praying or pleading that things be different. I am free from the burden of having to do something.”

Marlaina Donato is a body-mind-spirit author and composer of visionary music. Connect at AutumnEmbersMusic.com.

eNaturalAwakenings.com

HIGHER SELF MEDITATION

Nancy S. Scherlong, lcsw,ptr, m/s Coaching, Psychotherapy, Expressive Arts Workshops

by Gregg Kirk

here is an area in our energy bodies that is located just behind our heart chakras, which appears like a baseball-sized orb in the very center of our energy field. This area has been referred to in biblical writings as the “Kingdom of Heaven within you”.

It is both an energy center and portal that is a combination of a person’s expression of their individual nature in this lifetime, while being perfectly mixed with energy from the Creator. It is also where a person’s consciousness connects to their energy body and where the Creator connects to us.

For the sake of discussion, we’ll call this area the Higher Self Orb.

What follows are instructions for a new kind of meditation, whereby we bring energy and wisdom in through our Higher Self Orb center. This area feels more safe and secure than drawing in energy or messages from outside of ourselves, and it helps establish our energetic autonomy.

• Focus on the orb. Begin by focusing on this area just behind the heart chakra while spinning energy around your energy body in a horizontal circle like a hula hoop of energy. As you spin the energy, feel this orb open up with love, healing, light and warmth. Allow this energy to expand around your body and eventually outside of it. Spend some time contemplating and basking in its goodness.

• Go within. Once you’ve done this, you can actually look into the center of this orb and put your consciousness inside of it, as a place of sanctuary and healing. Do this if you are having a bad day or are feeling overwhelmed energetically. Spend some safe time inside this orb and begin to let limiting thoughts and beliefs leave you.

They don’t belong here.

• Feel your limitless self inside this orb. Try this on, like a set of clothes. You are much bigger, stronger, brighter and more magical than you have been led to believe, and it is here that you can tap into the true nature of who you are—and feel how amazing you really are. Contemplate and discover what your role is in this lifetime.

We can spend as much time as we need inside the orb, and then draw our consciousness back out into the physical body when we are ready to rejoin the material world. But, we’ll bring with us our newfound wisdom, energy and magic nature that we felt while spending time inside the orb.

Gregg Kirk is an author, energy healer and Lyme disease advocate who runs a clinic in Darien, where he incorporates herbal treatments to help patients with Lyme disease. Connect at LymeRecoveryClinic.com and GreggKirk.com. See ad, page 3.

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conscious eating

Heartfelt Eating Best Foods for a Heart-Healthy Diet

by April Thompson

H

ypertension affects nearly half of all Americans, increasing the risk for heart disease and stroke, the leading cause of death. We can help mitigate that risk and have a healthy “change of heart” by revamping our diets.

Find more recipes at eNaturalAwakenings.com 24

Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

eNaturalAwakenings.com

While food fads are constantly changing, the basics of a heart-healthy diet have not, says Cheryl Strachan, a registered dietitian in Calgary, Canada, and founder of SweetSpotNutrition.ca. Strachan notes the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet has been used to help lower blood pressure and with other heart disease risk factors since its development in the 1990s. The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans and low-fat dairy foods. While it includes lean meat, fish and poultry, it limits sugary foods and fatty meats.

The Mediterranean diet, says Strachan, is another proven regimen for heart health, citing a five-year Spanish study in The New England Journal of Medicine that found the incidence of cardiovascular events was 30 percent lower among participants on this diet, supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts, compared to those assigned a reduced-fat diet.

A Mediterranean diet doesn’t necessarily mean eating dishes specific to that region.

“It’s the type of foods that matters: a largely plant-based diet focused on whole grains such as the bulgur in tabouli, legumes, nuts, seeds, olive oil and some animal products like fish, poultry and dairy,” says Strachan.

Michael Greger, a Seattle physician and author of the bestseller How Not to Die, disagrees that meat-based proteins have a place in a heart-healthy diet. “Only one way of eating has ever been proven to reverse heart disease in the majority of patients: a diet centered around whole-plant foods,” says Greger, adding that the most critical risk factor is elevated LDL cholesterol. “To drastically reduce LDL cholesterol levels, we need to drastically reduce our intake of trans fat, which comes from processed foods and naturally from meat and dairy; saturated fat, found mainly in animal products and junk foods; and playing a lesser role, dietary cholesterol, found exclusively in animal-derived foods, especially eggs.”

Michelle Routhenstein, a preventive cardiology dietitian and owner of Entirely Nourished, a nutrition counseling practice in New York City, likes to meet clients where they are rather than trying to force a drastic switch they can’t maintain. “Often, people get very broad advice, like ‘Adopt a

plant-based diet,’ but when it comes to the heart, you have to find a way of eating you can commit to long term. I start by asking what foods bring them joy, as well as their food dislikes, history and culture.”

For Routhenstein, an optimal diet for the heart includes a healthy balance of good fats, lean protein and the complex carbs that are important sources of fiber.

“Research has shown that every additional 10 grams of fiber per day can decrease the risk of coronary heart disease by as much as 25 percent,” by helping the body remove excess cholesterol, says the dietitian and author of The Truly Easy HeartHealthy Cookbook: Fuss-Free, Flavorful, Low-Sodium Meals. While fatty foods are sometimes scapegoated for poor health, unsaturated fats are “really good for blood vessel health,” she adds.

Nutrients for Heart Health Potassium is a key mineral for heart health, as it can help the body remove excess sodium, lower blood pressure and improve blood flow and blood vessel health. Yet research shows less than 2

percent of Americans get enough. Beans, sweet potatoes, lentils, beets and avocados are among many potassium-rich foods with multiple heart benefits.

There is a growing awareness of the importance of inflammation-fighting omega-3 fatty acids, particularly in fish like wild salmon, arctic char and sardines.

Routhenstein also advocates omega-9 fatty acids such as in tahini and avocado. Omega-9s have been shown to help increase HDL “good” cholesterol and decrease LDL “bad” cholesterol while protecting blood vessel health.

Heart attacks often seem to occur suddenly simply because the damage happens gradually and quietly, warns Routhenstein.

“Heart disease is progressive, so over time a poor lifestyle and diet can damage blood vessels and accelerate hardening of the arteries that lead to heart attacks,” she warns. “Some damage may not be entirely reversible, but it’s never too late to optimize heart functioning.”

CONNECTICUT'S LOCALSUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE DESTINATION IS SUSTAINNE.COM Our actions and decisions today will shape our future. Visit us to get inspired and shop responsibly.

Connect with Washington, D.C., freelance writer April Thompson at AprilWrites.com.

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Servings for the Heart Quinoa, Edamame and Carrot Salad with Ginger-Sesame Dressing courtesy of laura flippen

Edamame are whole, young, green soybeans that are mildly grassy in flavor. They have about five times the folate—a highly important cardiovascular nutrient—of mature soybeans. Edamame’s flavors pair well with fluffy quinoa, crunchy cabbage and carrot slaw, and combine seamlessly with the spicy, toasty notes of the ginger-sesame dressing.

Blueberry and Pumpkin Seed Yogurt Bark

Yield: 2 servings

courtesy of laura flippen

½ cup quinoa 1 cup water 1 cup edamame, fully cooked and chilled 2 Tbsp ginger-sesame dressing 1 cup shredded carrots 2 cups shredded cabbage In a small pot, bring the quinoa and water to a boil. Lower the heat to low, cover and simmer for 8 minutes.

Add the edamame to the pot and cook for an additional four minutes, until the water in the quinoa pot has been absorbed and the edamame is tender.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the quinoa and edamame with the dressing, shredded carrots and shredded cabbage and serve.

Tip: There are three ways to make this easier: batch-cook the quinoa; thaw, cook and shell the edamame and keep overnight in the refrigerator; and buy prepackaged slaw. Just assemble.

Ginger-Sesame Dressing Typical sesame dressing is high in sodium from the soy sauce; even the low-sodium varieties are high in salt. This dressing is well-balanced, low in sodium and adds flair to just about any dish. Toasted sesame oil is aromatically pleasing and adds immediate flavor that is balanced by tangy rice vinegar, zesty ginger and crunchy sesame seeds.

2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil 2 tsp rice vinegar

2 tsp fresh grated ginger 2 tsp unsalted sesame seeds

In a small bowl, mix the sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger and sesame seeds until well combined. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one week.

Flavor tip: For added heat, add ½ teaspoon of hot sauce and 1 teaspoon of lime juice to balance it out.

26

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eNaturalAwakenings.com

This dessert is for lovers of froyo, ice cream or frozen treats. Plain yogurt is blended with refreshing mint, sweet blueberries and a hint of honey­—all topped with crunchy pumpkin seeds. This bark can also be an easy breakfast alternative that balances high-quality protein, dietary fiber and heart-healthy fats. Eat this delicious snack in a bowl to catch the yogurt bark liquid goodness as it melts. Add a drizzle of dark chocolate for extra decadence.

Yield: 6 servings 2 cups nonfat plain yogurt 1¼ cups blueberries, divided 1 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh mint 1 tsp honey ¼ cup raw, unsalted, pumpkin seeds Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, making sure the edges are covered. In a medium-size bowl for a food processor, combine the yogurt, 1 cup of blueberries, the mint and honey. Blend until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, evenly spread the yogurt mixture over the parchment paper.

Evenly add the remaining blueberries along with the pumpkin seeds on top of the yogurt mixture.

Freeze for 2 to 4 hours until the bark is fully frozen. The best way to check is to poke the middle of the pan with a fork to see if it has hardened. Once fully frozen, the edges should easily lift, as well.

Break the bark up into 12 pieces and freeze in an overnight container or a freezer-safe, zip-top bag for up to one month.

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wise words

Shefali Tsabary on Conscious Relationships

by Sandra Yeyati

at our new place of growth. If the other doesn’t want to grow and cannot do this inner work because of their own inner demons and resistance, then maybe you won’t be able to continue on, but you will be conscious enough to be able to release the other of the expectation to continue on. A healthy relationship is a relationship where each person takes responsibility for their own inner growth and their own inner wounds, doesn’t project their needs on the other, parents themselves into a state of wholeness and then releases the other to be free.

How do you define love?

O

ffering innovative approaches to mindful living, Shefali Tsabary, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, international keynote speaker and bestselling author of The Conscious Parent, Out of Control and her latest, The Awakened Family.

She has presented talks at TEDx, the Kellogg Business School, The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education, and SuperSoul Sessions with Oprah Winfrey, who has endorsed her work as revolutionary and life-changing.

Why do we have so much trouble with our romantic relationships?

Because we enter relationships without having entered a relationship with ourselves. We look to the other person and the relationship to fill us up, to give us what we are missing from within, and what we don’t realize is that the other person is there for the same reason. After the initial chemical, hormonal lust phase, we realize that the other person cannot be our parent figure and that they cannot fulfill our unfulfilled inner child needs. The disappointment is so great and the anger so livid that we spiral into hurt, disappointment and unmet expectations without realizing that the other hasn’t done anything. We typically 28

attract people who are going to be mirrors that show us how we need to reparent ourselves and force us to repeat childhood patterns. If we have an issue of unworthiness, that’s going to show up. If we have fear of rejection, that’s going to show up, and all fingers point to the imperative that we do our own inner work.

What does that inner work look like?

The first step is realizing that what’s happening in the relationship is really a reflection of the inner state of being, and therefore isn’t the other person’s fault that I’m feeling rejected, hurt or unworthy. We stop trying to change, fix or blame the other. We then hire a therapist or join a self-development course and begin to understand our inner wounds from childhood that are being repeated in this current dynamic. We have to do the work. It’s not easy. It’s not going to happen just because we made an intellectual decision. It’s a quest, a constant unfolding, unlayering, evolving and becoming more. The goal is your arrival into your most authentic self—into your whole, free self.

How do we remain in a relationship while doing this work?

We become more honest, more up front, more candid and ready to meet the other

Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

eNaturalAwakenings.com

Most of us love egoically, which is loving the other because they make us feel good about ourselves, and the moment they stop making us feel good about ourselves, we actually leave them. That’s why there’s so much divorce. That’s not love. Egoic love is possession, ownership and control. Most of us are mired in those kinds of relationships; the institution of marriage actually supports ownership, possession and control. True, or high love, is the understanding that the other is with you and you are with them to encourage each other’s growth and to see each other be their most authentic, free selves. If that includes being with us, we’re happy. If that includes not being with us, we’re as happy. That’s true love, because you’re in love with the other person’s essence and you’re more invested in the other person’s whole self rather than the self that you want to own and possess.

What is conscious intimacy?

Conscious intimacy starts with how intimate and honest you are with yourself— how sexually connected you are with your needs and your desires. The more unabashed, bare, spontaneous and transparent you can be with yourself, the more you will seek and be around partners who can hold that space with you.

For more information, including online courses, visit DrShefali.com. Her Free to Be course specifically addresses conscious relationship issues.

Sandra Yeyati, J.D., is a professional writer.

Reach her at SandraYeyati@gmail.com.

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The Monthly Naturally Healthy Pet Section Starts Here!

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natural pet

Big Love From Small Animals The Joy of Furry Little Companions

by Julie Peterson

P

For information on how you can be a part of a future issue, call

203-885-4674

or email Erica@eNaturalAwakenings.com 30 30

and very smart, which can be both terrific fun and problematic,” says Cobin, noting that “house-bun” curiosity, coupled with an intense need to chew, can wreak havoc on cords and other items within reach.

“They always have to chew to keep their teeth filed down, but that’s why you give them appropriate things to chew.” Ferrets, members of the weasel family, are also intelligent, and like rabbits, can be trained to use a litter box.

Buyer Beware Just because small animals seem simpler to care for, it should be noted that

Small and Sweet For first-time pet owners, veterinarians often recommend pets smaller than dogs or cats. These can include a variety of rodents such as hamsters, gerbils, rats and mice, although guinea pigs usually top the list for their general durability, especially with children. Smaller pets can be the furry friend that a family may long for without posing the long-term commitment and higher care costs of a dog or cat.

For those that prefer a small furball that isn’t a rodent, a rabbit may be appropriate. “House bunnies are curious

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eNaturalAwakenings.com eNaturalAwakenings.com

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News, articles, resources, events— all dedicated exclusively to happy, naturally healthy living for our furred, feathered and scaled animal companions.

eople think rabbits are quiet carrot-munchers, but they’re much more. Like many other small furry mammals, pet rabbits are expressive, intelligent and enjoy spending time with their humans.

Shana Cobin, a veterinary technician from Foster, Rhode Island, points out that just like dogs and cats, each rabbit is unique. Having had four house bunnies at different times, Cobin enjoyed getting to know each one. “They can be quite entertaining with their playful antics. My first rabbit, Koko, would come to me and lick my face,” says Cobin. “She also made a purring sound for me, which they actually make by grinding their teeth.”

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their health depends on specific diets, bedding, housing, exercise and grooming. Rabbits, for example, have delicate digestive systems. “Feeding the right diet is extremely important,” advises Cobin.

“A bunny’s primary diet should be hay, which helps grind down their teeth and is good for their digestion. Dark, leafy greens are also good.” As for carrots, Cobin says half of one is the most one rabbit should have in a day.

There is more to consider. “People need to think beyond the cute fluff ball,” says Jennifer Miller, a former volunteer with the Animal Humane Society in Minnesota. “Small animal cages need regular cleaning, and ferrets have a natural musky odor to begin with. People start out wanting the cuteness, then they get tired of the work and get tired of the smell. Surrendered animals can be difficult to rehome.” Before adopting a small animal, it’s wise to research the species’ specific care requirements and other information at HumaneSociety.org.

Annual veterinary checkups are something else to plan for, because many animals hide illness symptoms as a survival instinct. Having a small-animal veterinarian in place is important in case emergency care is required. “Zoological companion patients are unique and delicate. Their anatomy, physiology and behavior is vastly different from dogs and cats, yet they require the same or more expertise and care,” says veterinarian Scharlet Kelly, medical director at the VCA Acacia Animal Hospital and Pet Resort, in Escondido, California.

Health Helpers In 2019, the journal Aging & Mental Health published a survey that concluded

Cristina Sarno Artist YOUR PET’S PORTRAIT PAINTING

pets benefit older adults by “providing companionship, giving a sense of purpose and meaning, reducing loneliness and increasing socialisation.”

According to Jeremy Barron, M.D., medical director of the Beacham Center for Geriatric Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, in Baltimore, “Owning a pet provides an amazing array of health benefits.” Indeed, numerous studies have shown that petting an animal can lower blood pressure and heart rate, soothe PTSD, decrease stress hormones and boost serotonin.

Simply put, petting animals is not only good for people, it feels good, too.

“Love can come in small packages,” says Liz Warner, a retired teacher in Richmond, Virginia, who adopted Laverne and Shirley, two Peruvian guinea pigs, to keep her company during the isolation of the pandemic.

“I enjoy brushing their long coats and giving them their necessary haircuts.

When I hold them, they kind of purr.

It’s comforting.”

Cobin agrees that pets provide comfort and add joy to the home. “Bunnies do this thing called a binky. My most recent rabbit, Vivian Bucket, would just be hopping around and then she would dart, jump up and twist in the air. It’s what rabbits do when they are happy and playful, and it’s adorable.”

Julie Peterson writes about health and wellness from rural Wisconsin. Reach out at JuliePeterson2222@gmail.com.

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( 203 ) 645-5570 www.finaljourneyllc.com

203-216-1900 • CristinaSarno@gmail.com January February 2021 2021 31 31

events calendar

ongoing events

NOTE: All calendar events must be received online by the 10th of the month and adhere to our guidelines. Email Editorial@eNaturalAwakenings.com for guidelines and instructions. No phone calls or faxes, please. Visit eNaturalAwakenings.com to submit online.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3 Free Introduction to Herbalism Class – 6:30-8:30pm.

Offered by Twin Star Herbal Education director Lupo Passero and other area herbalists. Learn several traditions of herbal healing including herbal support for stress, and the medicinal uses of popular garden plants and wild weeds. You will also learn how to make herbal remedies at home with herbs that grow right in your own back yard. No charge. TwinStarTribe.com.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6 Plant Talk Group – 12-1pm. First Saturday. Plant enthusiasts are welcome. February we will embrace a heart-loving immune boosting herb, rose. We will take a deep dive with this plant and learn medicinal preparations, spiritual remedies, and ways to work with the plant you have never heard of. All participants receive a recording and detailed notes. No charge for new members. Info@Root2RiseWellness.org.

Root2RiseWellness.org.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10 Plant Wisdom Wednesday–The Medicine Wheel: Honoring the Four Directions – 6:30-8:30pm. With

2021

Natural Living Directory Fairfield County/ Housatonic Valley Edition

COMING IN MAY

Chris Turtle Harris. We all have ancestry that connects us to Mother Earth and her cycles. Modern times have caused many of us to lose sight of these connections. Turtle comes to us with the wisdom of Native Ceremony and is willing to share the teachings as he lives them in his spiritual life. This class will be held online. $35. TwinStarTribe.com.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 Toll Free Telephone Book Club for Women with Cancer – 7-8pm. Open to people nationwide who have or have had breast, ovarian or gynecological cancer.

Book to be discussed: The Oysterville Sewing Circle,

by Susan Wiggs. Discussion leader: Amy Curran Baker. Pre-registration required. No charge. For information or to register, call Support Connection: 914962-6402 or 800-532-4290. SupportConnection.org.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 Grounded Goodwife School of Herbalism & Wellness: Will You Accept this Rose? – 2-4pm. DIY vanilla-rose facial mask and vanilla extract. This 4-ounce instant hydrating mask, made with real rose petals, gently soothes and tones with a plumping effect. In-person. $15 per participant, all materials provided. Grounded Goodwife, 785 Main St North, Woodbury. 203-942-0774. GroundedGoodwife@yahoo.com. GroundedGoodwife.com.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16 Learn to Draw Animals – 4-6pm. Program presented

by Support Connection, Inc. Open to people nationwide who have or have had breast, ovarian or gynecological cancer. Learn to create pencil illustrations of a variety of animals of your choosing. No experience necessary, all skill levels welcome. Instructor: Lauren Hollick. Pre-registration required. No charge. For information or to register, call Support Connection: 914962-6402 or 800-532-4290. SupportConnection.org.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21 Building a Badass Immune System – 2-4pm. 2/21, 2/28, and 3/7. A healthy immune system defends the body against bacteria, viruses, fungi, and toxins.

We’ll teach you how to protect yourself from outside invaders. DIY remedies to include: Rose Hip-Elderberry Syrup; Winter Wellness Eleuthero-Hibiscus Infusion; Five Watchmen Cacao Chaga Brew. $95 per person. Grounded Goodwife, 785 Main St North, Woodbury. 203-942-0774. GroundedGoodwife@ yahoo.com. GroundedGoodwife.com.

Contact us to learn about marketing opportunities and become a member of the Natural Awakenings community:

203-885-4674

Erica@eNaturalAwakenings.com

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Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

sunday Virtual Live Streaming and On Demand Meditations – 10:30-11:45am. Experience inner peace and lasting happiness by learning to control your mind through the practice of meditation. Classes include guided meditations and practical advice to carry into daily life.

Everyone is welcome, no meditation experience necessary. $5-$12. MeditationinConnecticut.org.

wednesday Aleph Talks by Dr Bart Stuck and Rev Marjorie Partch – 7-9pm. An ongoing weekly online lecture series discussing linkages between science and religion through mysticism. Email BartStuck@gmail.com explaining why you wish to participate and will receive remote lecture access information. Offered through the Unitarian Church in Westport CT. No charge. AlephTalks.com.

friday Reiki 1st Degree Workshop: Online or In-Person – 10am-5pm. First Friday. With Gigi Benanti, Reiki Master/Teacher (24 years). Learn Reiki 1st Level (Western Style). Learn how to use Reiki for self-healing and healing for others. Two manuals and certificate included.

Zoom link will be given with e-mail and payment.

Please call to register. Also held on the first Saturday.

No drop-ins. $135. Angelic Healing Center, 7 Morgan Ave, Norwalk. 203-852-1150. AngelHealReiki.com.

saturday Saturday Dharma and Morning Meditation – 7:308:15am. Every week we will discuss various works on topics such as self-study, meditation, self-improvement, mindfulness, joy and much more. The discussion will be followed by a 30-minute guided breath-based meditation. Proceeds are donated to our charity of the month. $10/cash. Yoga Culture, 105 Mill Plain Rd, Danbury. 203-730-0250. WeAreYogaCulture.com.

Reiki Second Degree Workshop: Online or InPerson – 10am-5pm. Fifth Saturday. With Gigi Benanti, Reiki Master/Teacher (24 years). Learn Reiki Level 2 (Western Style). Learn how to send reiki distance healing, deepen your use of Reiki for yourself and others and more. Two manuals and certificate included. Also held on the last Friday. No drop-ins. $225. Angelic Healing Center, 7 Morgan Ave, Norwalk. 203-852-1150. AngelHealReiki.com.

Please create your free online account at eNaturalAwakenings.com. Enter calendar listings, offers and any other information you would like to share about your business or community group.

It’s easy and only takes a few minutes. eNaturalAwakenings.com

community resource guide

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE

Connecting you to the leaders in natural healthcare and green living in our community. To find out how you can be included in the Community Resource Guide email Advertising@eNaturalAwakenings.com to request our media kit.

AYURVEDA NEERU KAUSHIK, ND, MS ACU, MS, MA Institute for Ayurvedic and Naturopathic Therapies 805 Kings Highway East, Fairfield 203-331-9111 DrKaushik@AyurvedicInstituteCT.com AyurvedicInstituteCT.com

A combination of Ayurveda and Naturopathy is used to create a unique treatment plan to regain and maintain health. Based on one’s particular body constitution (dosha), a plan may include supplements, diet/ nutrition suggestions, lifestyle management, detoxification, hydrotherapy, 0zone therapy, Panchakarma. See ad, page 11.

BREAST THERMOGRAPHY ALBA THERMAL IMAGING LLC Safe, painless early detection 71 East Ave, Ste D, Norwalk 203-856-1421 AlbaThermalImaging.com

Thermography can detect breast disease at its earliest stages and monitor and assess pain in any part of the body. Safe, painless, non-invasive, FDA registered.

EDUCATION THE INSTITUTE OF SUSTAINABLE NUTRITION 113 Simsbury Rd, West Granby 860-764-9070 Joan@TIOSN.com TIOSN.com

We offer a unique certification program blending the science of nutrition with the hands-on components of sustainable gardening practices. We use food and herbs to make kitchen medicine, teach basic culinary skills, and practice foraging for and using nutrient-rich wild food. Now enrolling.

INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE PHYSICIAN

BETH LEAS

If not now, when? Inspire change on all levels—greater physical ease, emotional freedom, peace of mind and spiritual connection. 20 years of intuitive healing experience with adults and children of all ages. Reiki, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Tarot. See ad, page 3.

Advances in Regenerative Medicine allow Dr. Sobo to offer cutting-edge technologies such as PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) treatments and adult stem cell therapy. Dr. Sobo’s integrative approach addresses a variety of conditions such as: food allergies, Alzheimer’s/ dementia, chronic fatigue syndrome, weight loss, hormonal health, fibromyalgia, anti-aging medicine, and MTHFR-Genetic Mutation.

See ad, page 13.

Transformative Healing • Tarot 203-856-9566 BethLeas.com TLCTarot.com

WAYNE LEISS, LMT

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20 Fifth Ave, Apt A, Danbury 203-994-1207 Wayne@WayneLeiss.com WayneLeiss.com YN

ELE

I SS

Black Rock Holistic Health Center has the most feminized Organic CBD Oregon Seed products on the market. We offer CBD oil, as well as CBD Buds.

Organically Grown in Washington County, NY. CBD oil and Buds to help deal with pain, anxiety, stress and insomnia.

Using Functional Medicine, Dr. Sachs prevents and treats chronic illnesses by addressing their underlying root causes, remaining respectful of the uniqueness, complexity and intuitions that make us human. Trained at Mt. Sinai Medical School and Yale University Hospital in Internal Medicine, in 2003 she opened Functional Medicine and Integrative Care LLC. She has great success with IBS, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, autoimmune problems, toxicity and more, by creating individualized, realistic and comprehensive personalized wellness plans. She consults in her New Milford, CT office, and also by phone or video using telemedicine.

Optimal Health Medical LLC 111 High Ridge Rd, Stamford 203-348-8805 DrSobo.com

CBD Dr. Kristine DeMarco 203-333-6544 BlackRockHolisticCBD.com

Functional Medicine and Integrative Care LLC 15 Bennitt St, New Milford 860-354-3304 • TSachsMD.com

HENRY C. SOBO, MD

ENERGY HEALING

ESSENTIAL OILS

BLACK ROCK HOLISTIC HEALTH CBD

TAMARA SACHS, MD

Centering our lives through touch. Essential oils address

stress reduction, pain relief and overall well-being. They are used in topical, internal CENTERING OUR LIVES and aeromatic applications.

THROUGH TOUCH Improve physically, emotionally and spiritually as I teach you about the benefits and uses of massage with natural and pure dōTERRA Essential Oils. See ad, page 3.

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LIFE COACH/HYPNOTIST

THEA LITSIOS, CHY

Life Coach, Hypnotist, Teacher of Active Dreaming Remote sessions available TheaLitsios.com • 203-693-1493 Use the power of your whole mind to transform your life: Hypnosis for weight loss, smoking cessation, stress relief, and past life review.

Certified teacher of Active Dream work. Individual dream consultations available, as well as workshops and monthly Dream Groups. See ad, page 3.

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it. ~John Burroughs February 2021 33

NATUROPATHIC PHYSICIAN NEERU KAUSHIK, ND, MS ACU, MS, MA Institute for Ayurvedic and Naturopathic Therapies 805 Kings Highway East, Fairfield 203-331-9111 DrKaushik@AyurvedicInstituteCT.com

MEDITATION CENTER FOR MINDFULNESS & INSIGHT MEDITATION

9 Picketts Ridge Rd, West Redding 203-244-3130 • ReddingMeditation.org We teach and practice Mahasati meditation. Mahasati meditation cultivates self-awareness through attention to the movement of the body and, at more advanced levels, to the movement of the mind. No prior meditating experience is necessary. Ongoing weekly meditation classes, retreats and events.

Please check monthly event calendar or visit ReddingMeditation.org for updated information.

METABOLIC OPTIMIZATION MARVIN P. SCHWEITZER, ND Wellness Institute 1 Westport Ave, Norwalk 203-847-2788 DrMarvinSchweitzer.com

We help you unleash your own body’s ability to heal. Cutting edge evaluations and 25+ years experience help to determine precisely which individualized therapies – including energy medicine, oxygen therapies, homeopathy, botanicals, nutrition, allergy/toxin testing and treatment are used to nourish, cleanse, balance and repair. We collaborate with you in a caring environment. See ad, page 25.

METAPHYSICAL STORE

A combination of Ayurveda and Naturopathy is used to create a unique treatment plan to regain and maintain health. Based on one’s particular body constitution (dosha), a plan may include supplements, diet/nutrition suggestions, lifestyle management, detoxification, hydrotherapy, 0zone therapy, Panchakarma.

See ad, page 11.

MARVIN P. SCHWEITZER, ND Wellness Institute 1 Westport Ave, Norwalk 203-847-2788 DrMarvinSchweitzer.com

We help you unleash your own body’s ability to heal. Cutting edge evaluations and 25+ years experience help to determine precisely which individualized therapies – including energy medicine, oxygen therapies, homeopathy, botanicals, nutrition, allergy/toxin testing and treatment are used to nourish, cleanse, balance and repair. We collaborate with you in a caring environment. See ad, page 25.

.

PSYCHOTHERAPY

HOLISTIC NEW DAY COUNSELING SERVICES

Jessica Lima, MS, LCSW Holistic Psychotherapy/Coaching 158 Danbury Rd, Ridgefield 203-260-5769 HolisticNewDay@gmail.com Jessica will align with you on your journey to emotional and physical well-being. Combining her traditional psychotherapy background with her certification in integrative healing, she will work with you in exploring a more holistic approach to feelings of anxiety, depression, stress and more.

THE ANGEL COOPERATIVE

51 Ethan Allen Hwy (Rte. 7), Ridgefield 203-431-2959 TheAngelCoop.com Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube The Angel Cooperative is a unique lifestyle boutique featuring the first and only Shungite room in the USA. Wide selection of crystals, jewelry, candles, essential oils and soaps.

Spiritual gifts, statuary, oracle decks and tarot and home décor. Available in The Shungite Room: readings, Reiki, meditation, sound therapy, energy work and workshops. See ad, page 10.

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ROBIN ORDAN, LCSW

Family, Child, Individual and Couples Therapy Old Greenwich/Stamford 203-561-8535 • RobinOrdanLCSW.com Robin has more than 18 years of experience working with families and children.

Specializing in divorce, parent/child conflict, grief, attachment/bonding, child development and parenting. See ad, page 8.

Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition

eNaturalAwakenings.com

NANCY SCHERLONG, LCSW

Coaching/Psychotherapy/Consulting Offices in Danbury and Ridgefield 914-572-3167 WellnessMetaphors.com Manage stress with relaxation techniques. Rediscover your creativity through writing and the expressive arts. Resolve trauma with EMDR, IFS or SE. Or book an experiential workshop! Nancy has over 20 years of experience with children, families, groups, adults and corporate wellness programs.

See ad, page 23.

REIKI GIGI BENANTI, USUI REIKI MASTER Angelic Healing Center 7 Morgan Ave, Norwalk 203-852-1150 AngelHealReiki.com

Gigi is an experienced Reiki Master/Teacher. She offers all levels of Reiki training monthly.

All classes and Reiki sessions include the latest techniques including Karuna, Angelic and Jikiden Reiki.

TURNING POINT REIKI LLC

JoAnn Inserra Duncan, MS, RMT 100B Danbury Rd, Ste 101, Ridgefield 203-438-3050 TurningPointReiki.com TurningPointShare.com JoAnn uses intuition, experience and a deep spiritual connection in her Reiki, IET and Reconnective Healing sessions. Specializing in care for individuals with cancer, Lyme disease and back pain. All Reiki levels taught.

SHAMANIC PRACTITIONER EMBODY THE SACRED

Deana Paqua, MA, LMT Ridgefield and New Milford Deana.Paqua@gmail.com EmbodyTheSacred.net Offering classes, training programs, healing sessions and mentoring in cross-cultural energy medicine and contemporary shamanism for healers, spiritual seekers and the energy sensitive. Learn self-healing, self-empowerment and trauma transformation through the sacred.

Life can be a rocky road. The challenge is not to let it grind you into dust, but to polish you into a brilliant gem. ~John Milton Fogg

SOUND HEALING HUMMINGBIRD SOUND YOGA

Barbara (Bobbi) Soares New Milford • 860-946-9470 BSoares@LightOfTheNewMoon.com HummingbirdSoundYoga.com Facebook @HummingbirdSoundYoga Barbara (Bobbi) Soares, MA, CYT, is a sound yoga and vocal yoga teacher, blues/jazz singer, and Reiki master, certified in several modalities of energy and sound healing. She offers hummingbird sound yoga and sound healing immersions for groups and private sessions. Using earth, dance and symphonic gongs, bowls, tuning forks and humming-for-health meditations, her goal is to help individuals experience becoming “one with sound” to promote a deep relaxation response that balances energy and encourages healing.

TRANSFORMATIVE HEALING KATIE AUGUSTYN, MA, CPC

Transformation Coach - Shamanic Healer TransformationCenterCT.com 203-820-3800 TransformationCenterCT@gmail.com Katie will assist you in reaching your true potential and heal what has been holding you back. You will experience real selfacceptance and start to live in alignment with who you truly are so you can create a life you love, a life of meaning and purpose. See ad, page 3.

BETH LEAS

Transformative Healing • Tarot 203-856-9566 BethLeas.com TLCTarot.com

If not now, when? Inspire change on all levels—greater physical ease, emotional freedom, peace of mind and spiritual connection. 20 years of intuitive healing experience with adults and children of all ages. Reiki, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Tarot. See ad, page 3.

SOUL HEALING JOURNEY, LLC Eilis Philpott Fairfield • 203-767-5954 Eilis@SoulHealingJourney.com SoulHealingJourney.com

Eilis is a master healer and teacher and certified in numerous modalities as both a practitioner and teacher. She offers soul-level healing, which clears any blocks, obstacles and challenges that are preventing you from living your life to its fullest potential.

See ad, page 11.

WELLNESS CENTER THE ANGEL WING, A DIVINE SPIRITUAL CENTER

Located next door to The Angel Cooperative 49 Ethan Allen Hwy (Rte. 7), Ridgefield 203-431-2959 • TheAngelCoop.com Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube The Angel Wing hosts workshops, yoga classes, retreats, energy work sessions, readings, Reiki and guided meditations.

It is available to rent on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis. Optional rental spaces include a large open room and/or an intimate private room with massage/Reiki table. See ad, page 10.

What a

to sitesee!

SALT CAVE OF DARIEN

555 Post Rd, Darien 203-658-7667 Info@SaltCaveofDarien.com SaltCaveofDarien.com

Our wellness destination offers a rich lineup of therapies: community salt cave sessions, special events with local healers, lunchtime meditation class, coffee chatter sessions and weekly yoga and stretch classes.

See ad, page 3.

SALT OF THE EARTH THERAPEUTIC SPA

787 Main St S, Woodbury 203-586-1172 • NaturalSaltHealing.com Combining an array of natural therapies that have been used since ancient times with today’s technology, Salt of the Earth Spa provides a sanctuary for deep transformation, healing and grounding for mind, body and spirit.

classifieds BOOKS RECOGNIZE AND HEAL YOURSELF Through the Power of the Spirit.The human being is an energy field of the Spirit—The spiritual forces are also healing forces that can be requested. GabrielePublishing-House.com. Toll-Free: 844-576-0937.

HELP WANTED IMMEDIATE PT FLEXIBLE POSITION: Apprentice/assistant for yoga sound healing studio. Experience in social media, online delivery and live recordings. Enthusiasm for hands-on garden and grounds projects for concerts, small events. Resume/interest/references to PO Box 2186, New Preston, CT 06777.

NATURAL AWAKENINGS HAS A

NEW

WEBSITE We’ve launched a brand-new, comprehensive online hub for all things healthy and sustainable.

Check us out to see the exciting features we’re rolling out for readers and advertisers alike.

How can we help your business succeed?

eNaturalAwakenings.com

If you are interested in digital advertising opportunities with online placements available on a firstcome, first-serve basis, contact:

Erica@eNaturalAwakenings.com

February 2021 35

Collaborative Natural Health Partners

Your Best Health starts today.

In Network with: Aetna, Anthem, CTcare, Cigna, Harvard Pilgrim, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage, Oxford

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Comprehensive Primary Care Naturopathic Medicine Acupuncture Advanced Diagnostic Testing IV Nutrients, Bioidentical hormones & compounded medications

Connect with us from anywhere!

ctnaturalhealth.com

Telehealth & Virtual visits available Fairfield County & Housatonic Valley Edition eNaturalAwakenings.com

(860)533-0179