June 2020 Natural Awakenings

EE H E A L T H Y L I V I N G R F

HEALTHY

PLANET

TRAVEL IN PLACE

Stay Local for Fun and Respite

ART OF SEEING

Appreciation for Art and Slow Living

FEEDING HAPPINESS

Feel-Good Foods Lift Moods

June 2020 | Greater Hartford County Edition | NAHRT.com June 2020

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Many Paths Many truths One Bridge

BRIDGE HEALING ARTS CENTER Bridge Healing Arts Center is a diverse holistic wellness center, offering the community many choices of complementary and holistic healing modalities, workshops, events, and classes on their journey to wellness.

Meet some of the Bridge community…

Chinese Medicine

Hypnotherapy

Donna M. Gordon, RMT, Tui Na Acupressure, Usui Ryoho Reiki, Qi Gong Therapy, Tong Ren Healing, Tai Chi and Qi Gong Instruction myheartsourcewellness@gmail.com www.heartsourceintegrative.com 860-978-2938

Massage Therapy

Carl Brown Hypnosis Licensed Hypnotherapist Easily change limiting beliefs.

You can have, be, or do anything you want! www.carlbrownhypnosis.com 860-309-9004

Psychic/Mediumship/Events/Workshops

Eric Rodgers, Licensed Massage Therapist, Massage and Anatomy/Physiology Instructor, Myofascial Release, Soft Tissue Mobilization, Cupping, Reiki • erodglmt@gmail.com www.ericrodgers.amtamembers.com 860-748-7443

Keiko Broyles, Psychic Spiritual Medium Willows Healing Path, LLC - Owner Tested Member of Shay Parker’s Best American Psychics • Usui Reiki Master Teacher keiko@keikomedium.com www.keikomedium.com • 860-280-5548

Reiki/Intuitive Readings

Reflexology/Reiki Tara Cornish, Certified Reflexologist, Usui Reiki Master/Teacher, Aromatouch, Bio-Well Health Scans, Infrared Therapy.

Farmington & Torrington Locations Taraholistichands@gmail.com www.HolistichandsCT.com • 860-921-8307

Deborah Lyons, RMT Owner/Operator of The Lotus Petal, LLC Reiki Master Teacher, Spiritual Counselor, Psychic/Medium, Nutrition Health Coach LotusPetalReiki@gmail.com www.TheLotusPetalReiki.com • 860-335-4060

Our Village is Growing!

There is currently a wide variety of services available at The Bridge Healing Arts Center.

Please visit our website at www.BridgeHAC.com for a complete list.

If you are a practitioner who is interested to move your practice to The Bridge, please be in touch today!

We have limited space available for you to join our growing village!

��� Main St. | Farmington, CT �6��� | bridgehac.com | 86�-���-���� | info@bridgehac.com 2

Hartford County Edition

NAHRT.com

LAUNCHING SOON!

ONE ONLINE DESTINATION FOR TODAY’S TRUSTED “WHOLISTIC” KNOWLEDGE, RESOURCES AND COMMUNITY A NEW

PARTNERSHIP

KnoWEwell.com

A Top 50 Healthcare Company 2019

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REQUEST AN INVITE

June 2020 The KnoWEwell Collaborative with benefits for all in the “wholistic” health and well-being ecosystem.

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Contents 15 A CONVERSATION

WITH ROSEANN CAPANNA-HODGE

20

on Re-Entry Panic Syndrome and the New Docuseries PROVEN

16 TRANSFORMATIVE STAYCATIONS

Finding Respite and Fun Close to Home

20 THE ART

24

OF SEEING

Appreciation of Art Encourages Living Slow

22 YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD MIND, BODY, SPIRIT EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION MASTER OF ARTS DEGREES

Sixth-Year Equivalent, 30 Credit Planned Programs ONE WEEKEND A MONTH

• Integrative Health & Healing • Consciousness & Transpersonal Psychology • Learning & Thinking • Writing & Oral Traditions

24 EVERYDAY

ADVENTURES

26

Taking to Vans & RVs for Life on the Road

26 FEEDING

HAPPINESS

Lift Your Mood with Feel-Good Foods

• Organizational Leadership Voted #1 Holistic School!

THE GRADUATE INSTITUTE Locations Throughout Connecticut!

WWW.LEARN.EDU • 203.874.4252 4

Hartford County Edition

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DEPARTMENTS 7 news briefs 12 health briefs 13 global briefs 14 eco tip 15 wise words

24 green living 26 conscious

eating 28 resource

guide 30 display ad index

Natural Awakenings is a family of nearly 70 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.

16 14

45 S. Main Street, West Hartford, CT

$ 32 New Student Special: Tai Chi & Qigong

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To Register for Workshops CALL 978-790-8888 center@wuhealing.com wuhealing.com

ADVERTISING & SUBMISSIONS HOW TO ADVERTISE To advertise with Natural Awakenings, please contact our sales team: Ads@NAHRT.com or 860-507-6392.

Our fax is 860-357-6034.The due date for ads is the 10th of the month prior to publication.

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Submit articles, news items and ideas to Editor@NAHRT.com or call 860-507-6392. The due date for editorial is the 8th of the month prior to publication.

CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS Submit ALL calendar events on our website at NAHRT.com.

The due date for calendar is the 10th of the month prior to publication.

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.

June 2020

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HEALTHY LIVING HEALTHY PLANET

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GREATER HARTFORD COUNTY EDITION Publisher Nicole Miale

Managing Editor Patricia Staino

Editor Michelle Bense

Design & Production Kathleen Fellows

Erica Mills

Contributing Writers Meg Reilly Patricia Staino

Sales & Marketing Shirley R. Bloethe Nicole Miale

Social Media Amy Hass

Website Erica Mills

CONTACT US 137 Danbury Rd, #323, New Milford, CT 06776 Ph: 860-507-6392 • Fax: 860-357-6034 Publisher@NAHRT.com • NAHRT.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

National Editor Jan Hollingsworth

Managing Editor Linda Sechrist

National Art Director Stephen Blancett

Art Director Josh Pope

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

National Advertising Lisa Doyle-Mitchell Natural Awakenings Publishing Corporation 4933 Tamiami Trail N., Ste. 203 Naples, FL 34103 Ph: 239-434-9392 • Fax: 239-434-9513 NaturalAwakeningsMag.com © 2020 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 printed on recycled newsprint with soy-based ink.

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Hartford County Edition

letter from publisher

NAHRT.com

anaging Editor Patricia Staino and I were laughing recently about the rampant ubiquity of the phrases “unprecedented times” and “new normal.” As Patricia pointed out, since we’ve been dealing with these strange situations and protocols for many months now, at what point do they become just the way things are and no longer worthy of note? I’m not sure the exact answer to that question, but I am pretty certain we’re still not there yet.

As clichéd as it may be, these do still feel like unprecedented times to me. It feels like we’re all part of a massive human experiment, having vastly different experiences with the sole common denominator that very little is as it used to be, regardless of where we each started.

Nicole Miale

This pandemic has exposed anew that when we rip away social veneers and step out of the busy-ness of daily routine, each person’s individual landscape looks and feels very different. Every soul has a story to tell, equally valid, powerful and important. We have a choice in how to react to this reminder of uniqueness: we are able to offer compassion and understanding (including to ourselves!) or may be tempted to judge and divide. I have witnessed behavior and received gifts of great kindness and I have heard about and observed selfish acts that troubled and shocked me. Now that the human condition has been so utterly exposed in its glory and flaws, the question is what comes next?

Compassion and suspension of judgment, including for self, are my wishes for us all as we move further through this shared human experience. Hopefully the virus will fizzle away and be a memory in short order, allowing us each to rebuild what is important to us, in the ways we find acceptable. The only way to find out is for time to pass.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not wishing my days away, no matter how fraught they may currently be with uncertainty and confusion. I am striving to be mindful to appreciate the goodness in each day, for days like these may never come our way again. If we pay attention and can be gentle with ourselves and others, in between what was and what will be we may find inspiration and hope we didn’t know we were seeking. These seeds could well be the tender shoots to be nurtured next on our life’s journey.

We hope you enjoy this month’s selection of articles, focusing on inspiration and exploration of new habits and horizons. Thank you for choosing to share your precious time with us and our advertisers, contributors and distributors. We are grateful to have a place in your community, especially at such an unprecedented time.

With love and light,

See our display advertiser index on page 30, making it easier to find the resources you need.

Align with Source via Zoom

news briefs

Natural Awakenings Publishing Corp.

Partners with KnoWEwell Collaborative

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atural Awakenings Publishing Corp.

(NAPC) is entering into a partnership with KnoWEwell, P.B.C., and is a Founding Patron of The KnoWEwell Collaborative.

KnoWEwell, a 1% for the Planet company, received the Top 50 Healthcare Companies award from the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare. Founder and Chief Executive Officer Kimberly Whittle says, “It’s one centralized private, secure online platform to inspire and empower individuals with today’s knowledge, evidenced-based resources and collaborative ‘wholistic’ community to help them address the root causes of chronic diseases and achieve optimal health and well-being.”

Whittle points out that KnoWEwell is “the missing link designed to provide people with peace of mind throughout their life journey―a collaborative with personal and professional benefits for all in the ‘wholistic’ ecosystem: individuals, families, providers and organizations. Our purpose is to improve the health of humanity and our planet.”

NAPC and KnoWEwell are perfectly mission aligned, adds Whittle. “Natural Awakenings’ well-researched, practical information about the latest natural approaches to nutrition, fitness, personal growth and sustainable living played a significant role in fueling the wellness revolution. We’re grateful to collaborate with them.”

NAPC Chief Executive Officer Sharon Bruckman says, “Our Natural Awakenings family of 60 publishers is excited about the new resources and opportunities this new partnership brings to our community of readers, providers and organizations. We are honored to be playing such a significant role in the launch and future growth of this incredibly sophisticated platform which will result in tremendous benefits to members.”

For more information, visit NaturalAwakenings.com. See ad, page 3.

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nnaita Gandhy, an advanced spiritual healer, has begun to hold classes via Zoom. Originally from India, Gandhy is now living in Connecticut and helping others to align with Source.

Some classes currently being made available include “Aligned with Source,” held Saturdays at 10:30am, in which attendees develop personal spiritual empowerment; and “5D: Shifting from the Third Dimension in Preparation for FifthDimensional Reality,” held Fridays at 5pm.

All classes are by email invite only.

Classes are free to those who cannot afford to pay, with donations requested of those who can.

If interested, contact Gandhy at AlignWith Source@gmail.com. For recordings of her classes and mediations, visit AlignWith Source.blogspot.com/p/presentations.html.

Thousands of Years of Food Wisdom in Twelve Months

The Institute of Sustainable Nutrition

Offering a One-Year Certification Program in Sustainable Health & Nutrition This Innovative School Integrates the Science of Nutrition with:

Practicing Sustainable Gardening Methods

Preparing Traditional Kitchen Medicine

Learning Kitchen Culinary Skills

Identifying Nutrient-rich Wild Plants

Embark on this life-altering journey and be part of the movement to change the paradigm of our food for future generations. Join our experienced staff one weekend a month as you use hands-on education to delve into and explore diverse aspects of how food and herbs enhance the health of your clients, friends, family, yourself and the environment.

Now accepting applications for 2020-2021 | Call 860-764-9070 today! | West Granby, CT | www.tiosn.com June 2020

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Celebrate the Strawberry Moon at Home

news briefs

Benefit Fairs to Reopen in Plainville

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he benefit fairs at the VFW Hall in Plainville are restarting on July 19. All CDC protocols will be followed by attendees and vendors with both indoor and outdoor booths.

Attendees will learn about health and wellness products and services. There will be approximately 45 readers and vendors and a free raffle will be held at 2pm at Shirley Bloethe the front entrance. Vendors will include readers, food, Reiki services, personal trainers, naturopaths, home services, essential oils, clothing, healing modalities, therapists, jewelry, chiropractors, home cleaning, natural and personal care products, crystals, skincare, reflexology and more.

The event will be open from noon until 4pm. Indoor limitations will be in place for physical distancing. A suggested cash donation of $5 will benefit the Plainville Food Pantry since it is not yet able to collect canned or boxed goods due to COVID-19 restrictions.

For more information, contact Shirley Bloethe at 860-989-0033; email YourHolisticEvents@gmail.com for vendor information or visit YourHolisticEvents.com. Location: VFW Hall, 7Northwest Dr (Off Rte 10 on Farmington town line), Plainville.

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lissful by Melissa and Mondazzi Books will host a virtual full moon circle to celebrate the strawberry moon, the sweetest full moon of the year, on June 4 from 6:30 to 8pm. This mini retreat will be filled with guided meditation, breathwork, journaling and gentle yoga.

Treat yourself to a magical evening filled with connection with likeminded souls. Make this a sacred time to practice self-care, light a candle, get a cup of tea, and cuddle up with your favorite journal.

Class is $20 per person.

For more information email melissa@blissfulbymelissa.com, call 860-863-1155, or visit Mondazzi.com or BlissfulByMelissa.com.

Register at Paypal.me/blissfulbymelissa/20 to receive the Zoom link.

Online Yogic Philosophy Classes

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he Jiiva Center will present “Yogic Philosophy Lesson 3: ASTEYA The Art of Generosity” as an online event on June 12 from 7 to 9pm. Taught by the Center’s founder, Berta Provosti, the third lesson in this life-changing series focuses on the third yama—asteya—and discusses the value of being naturally generous, not coveting or envying what others have, and how this practice connects us to the vastness of life and the Universe’s abundance. Attendees will learn that if they eschew stealing and greed, feel contented with what they have, and keep serene minds, all heath will come to them.

To register and receive the Zoom link, visit JiivaCenter.com/onlineworkshops.html. Location: 2900 Main St, Ste 1A, Stratford.

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Mention this ad and receive • Detects how the breast is functioning or malfunctioning and has $25 oFF the ability to provide women with a future risk assessment. your next • Suitable for women of all ages and breast types including large appointment. or small breasts, dense breasts, and women with implants.

Call today to schedule!

ctthermography.com 860-415-1150

2 Forest Park Drive, Farmington, CT 06032 • 212 New London Turnpike, Glastonbury, CT 06033 8

Hartford County Edition

NAHRT.com

Online Breathwork, Meditation, and Yoga Workshop

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ainted Inc. and Yogi Ray Mizia will present a four-week workshop on breath, mindset, asana, and their favorite bio hacks. The Be + [positive] series—available to all skill sets, backgrounds and identities—will demystify yoga and spark a positive mindset and daily ritual. Classes begin June 2, and will be held on three following Tuesdays, from 7 to 8pm.

Mizia is a locally trained yogi who will guide students through breathwork, meditation, and yoga practices designed to ramp up mindset, energy and focus. Classes will cover a brief history of yogic lineage, belly breathing, ujjai (alternating nostril breathing), mindset, mantra, asanas, flow, bio hacks, sleep, diet and routine.

A weekly drop-in offering of $10 to $15 and a full course offering of $50 is suggested, but no love offering will be turned away. Contact Tainted Inc. if you need additional financial support. Donations support the practitioner and the community studio of Tainted Inc.

In addition, Tainted Inc. will present virtual hatha yoga classes every Monday night from 9 to 10:30pm. The class will teach techniques for visualization and body awareness, breathing and poses for toning and relieving the physical and energetic systems.

The attendees will learn to safely exist in their bodies by clearing away energetic blockages in both the mind and body.

Both pranayama (breathing techniques) and the asanas (poses) aim to energize and relax the body simultaneously. In this relaxation and awareness, the body is revitalized, and neural pathways are rewired.

Donations are welcome; 50% of donations will go to the NAACP and ACLU while the other half will help sustain the creative studio space at Tainted Inc. in Hartford. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

To register and receive the Zoom link for the 4-week workshop, email Andrea.TaintedBeauty@gmail.com. For more information about Ray Mizia, follow him @the_ray_xp on Instagram.

For more information about the hatha yoga classes, visit TNTInc. com/new-events/2020/5/11/virtual-hatha-yoga. The Zoom link is US02web.zoom.us/j/6072494611, and the meeting ID is 607-249-4611. For more classes and offerings like this, please follow @taintedinc on Instagram. Location: Tainted Inc., 56 Arbor St, Ste 301A, Hartford.

Experience the Energy and Enjoy the Benefits of UnIveRsal WHITe TIMe Receive guidance and support for advancing your spiritual development.

Release anxiety, stress and past traumas. gemstone healing • energy work • sound • guided visualization Schedule an introductory session today.

Bradford Tilden Universal White Time 860-830-5841

Info@CrystalMusicHealing.com www.CrystalMusicHealing.com Facebook.com/CrystalMusicHealing

A g n e t a B or s te i n A st rologe r

• Natal Interpretation • Relationships • Business Consultation • Transits - Updates For appointments: 860 -983-5666 www.agnetaborstein.com

Maintain your youth

with Homeopathic HGH Transdermal Gel Maximum Strength Somatropin Unique and affordable alternative designed to support your pituitary gland!

Usage may

• Improve Bone and Joint Health • Improve Sleep • Increase Muscle and Reduce Fat Contact Shirley R. Bloethe

860-989-0033 or www.PassItOnLLC.com

We care deeply about people, helping them to eat well and be happy.

Visit ShopRite Today in Canton Owned and Operated by The Joseph Family

June 2020

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Infant Massage Class via Zoom

news briefs

A Contemplative Practice for Modern Times

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Lectio 360

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f you’re looking for a contemplative self-care practice that will fit into your busy schedule, try Lectio 360. Lectio, meaning “readings,” and 360, meaning “complete” or “full circle,” come together in this meditative practice conducted by Meg Reilly, a holistic counselor and certified hypnotist. Using inspired poetry and writing from Confucius to Mary Oliver, from Rumi to Rilke, selections are recited aloud repeatedly. You are invited to simply listen and attend to your own internal process and be guided to your own insights or moments of illumination. All you have to do is receive.

Lectio 360 is a space for you to tune into your own inner dialogue with a heart-centered openness and no judgment, to take time for yourself – getting out of your own way to allow the inspiring words of the reading to connect with your current feelings. Journaling is encouraged. Adapting to current practices of social distancing, each 30-minute session is conducted online via Zoom. Sessions are held twice daily, at noon and 4:30pm, two days a week: Tuesday and Friday.

Reilly has been writing a weekly blog for eight years focused on helping readers live with compassion for themselves and others. She sees private clients and facilitates self-discovery workshops using the art of drawing your personal mandala. Her counseling website is MegReilly360.com.

Registration is required: all information is at Lectio360.com.

A Zoom link will be sent. No payment is required; however, a suggested $5.00 donation is accepted via PayPal or Venmo.

go deep 10 Hartford County Edition

NAHRT.com

ittle Antz Physical Therapy in West Hartford will host online infant massage classes every Wednesday at 7:30am. Classes, which are donation-based, accommodate babies from birth to precrawlers. Parents and caregivers will learn infant massage techniques, discuss topics on baby cues, bonding, relaxation and more.

Each week the class will focus on a different part of the body.

For more information, call 860-251-9754 or email Info@LittleAntz. com. To reserve your spot in advance and receive the Zoom link, visit LittleAntzPhysicalTherapySchedule.as.me. Location: 776 Farmington Ave, West Hartford.

Weekly Virtual Divination Readings

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very Sunday at 11am, Sacred Card reader and advisor Mallory Mason will lead a virtual group reading and discussion. This weekly offering focuses on rotating themes: money and purpose; secrets and relationships; karma; and passion and love. Attendees will explore the world of divination and connect with other like-minded individuals who share in the curiosity and wonder of the stars.

An offering of $10 to $25 is requested, but no love offering will be turned away.

To receive the private Zoom link, text 617-901-5024. For more information about Mallory Mason, follow @universe.decoded on Instagram.

The Human Relations Program at Hartford Family Institute offers a beautiful path to enriching your experience of life. www.hartfordfamilyinstitute.com/hrp | (860) 236-6009

Upcoming UWT Healing Events

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radford Tilden of Crystal Music Healing has been appointed as the Universal White Time (UWT) Healing Ambassador for the northeastern United States. UWT is a special healing modality that works with vibrations of unconditional love and creative forces that originate from beyond our Universe to heal and uplift humanity and Mother Earth to higher dimensional consciousness. It is a powerful tool for personal Bradford Tilden empowerment and spiritual growth.

The two main branches of UWT are energy healing and gemstone healing. Tilden has been building a community of gemstone practitioners in Connecticut since 2014 and has recently become a Level 2 Energy Healing Teacher. He is excited to offer these new classes to the local spiritual and holistic community. Anyone can learn UWT, although people are usually called toward it, wanting to grow spiritually or having innate healing abilities that yearn to be cultivated.

Upcoming in-person classes include: Universal White Time Gemstone Healing Level 1 June 13 to 14 from 9am to 6pm Braultree Wellness Center 9 Three Oaks Plaza, 415 Killingsworth Rd, Ste 9A, Higganum, MA

cover artist

Paisley Hearts Michael Wertz

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ichael Wertz says he has always found the act of melding the art of illustration and commerce exciting. “I love to direct that passion into crafting an emotive experience that words cannot,” explains the Oakland, California, illustrator. “For me, it means I’ve created an image that distills a moment of clarity.”

Wertz’s bold, energetic visions leap from his imagination through the pencil he always uses to begin an illustration and finish as digital collage, monoprints or screen prints. He has been creating images for publishers, designers, advertising agencies and musicians since 1995, when he graduated from the California College of the Arts, in Oakland.

The artist’s colorful imagery, commissioned by dozens of national clients, has been featured in Communication Arts and American Illustration and recognized by the Society of Illustrators. Today, Wertz runs a printmaking shop called Inky Oxnard, in West Oakland, and lives nearby as a “… friend to the fourpawed and a lover of all things brightly colored, including love.”

View the artist’s portfolio at Wertzateria.com.

Universal White Time Energy Healing Level 1 August 21 to 23, Friday from 6 to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6pm The Red Barn in Durham, 352 Main St, Durham Universal White Time Energy Healing Level 1 Sept 18 to 20, Friday from 6 to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 6pm The Red Barn in Durham, 352 Main St. Durham

In addition to those, Tilden offers an opportunity to shake off the vestiges of social distancing and recharge your life-force energy with healing and soothing sounds. The Sonic Alchemy Concert will take place July 25 from 7 to 8:30pm at Avant Garde Holistic Center at 358 E. Main St, Branford. Cost is $15, RSVP recommended: Call 203-481-8443 or email AvantGardeCT13@yahoo.com.

You also can experience the energy and enjoy the benefits of UWT—which include releasing anxiety, worry and fear, healing past traumas, and aligning with your greater purpose—with distance healing sessions. Class sizes are limited and on rotation.

For more information or to register for any program, call 860-830-5841, email Info@CrystalMusicHealing.com or visit CrystalMusicHealing.com. See ad, page 9.

massage | yoga | natural facials | holistic healing (860) 512-0433 | tri-citymassage.com | 220 Hartford Tpke, Vernon, CT

THANK YOU

To the healthcare professionals who are risking their lives during this epidemic, thank you for fighting COVID-19 on the front lines.

June 2020

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Decrease Bone Fractures with Natto

Consume Olive Oil to Fight Off Aging

In what might be good news for teetotalers, researchers at the University of Minnesota found that it’s not the resveNatto, a fermented soybean ratrol in red wine that increases the life span of cells of those following the Mediterranean Diet, dish of Japan, offers postmenopausal women protec- but the fat in olive oil that activates the critical pathway which prevents age-related diseases. tion from bone fractures, “This pathway has been linked to almost all concludes a new study of [aging diseases]. It’s the roots,” says Doug in The Journal of Nutrition.

Studying 24 years of records Mashek, Ph.D., a professor in the departments of medicine and biochemistry, molecular of 1,417 Japanese women biology and biophysics. His studies suggest older than 45, researchthat the benefits of olive oil are most proers found that compared to those women that rarely ate nounced when coupled with fasting, limiting natto, those that consumed one to six 40-gram packs a week had 21 percent fewer fractures and those consum- caloric intake and exercising. “We found that the way this fat works is it first has to ing more than seven packs had 44 percent fewer fracget stored in microscopic things tures. Tofu and other soybean products had no effect on fracture risk. With its strong smell and sticky consistency, called lipid droplets, which is how natto is an acquired taste, but is also one of the few plant our cells store fat. And then, when the fat is broken down during exercising or sources of vitamin K2, which activates bone-building fasting, for example, is when the proteins. Other studies have linked it to healthier gut signaling and beneficial effects are flora, lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels, and a realized,” Mashek explains. stronger immune system.

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the Holistic chamber of commerce is an international organization focused on supporting holistic, complementary, alternative and sustainable professionals, practitioners and businesses in connecticut.

cBd Wellness

Dr. David Tolk, Tolk Wellness Center. Advanced chiropractic; expertise in nerve rehabilitation, NET, & applied kinesiology. Medical Director for OakLeaf Wellness + Health. Vitalibis CBD products.

102 Hopmeadow St, Weatogue, CT Info@TolkWellnessCenter.com 860-651-3521

crystal dreaming/Healing K.T. ‘Suli’ Sullivan Release traumas, fears, blockages & negative energies with Crystal Dreaming™ Sharing the Light Wholistic Center, LLC 395 W. Avon Rd, Avon SharingtheLightWC.com 860-936-0012

drum Building

Reiki

Ed Hare, Fast Eddie Drums Purchase a pre-made drum at Sharing The Light in Avon or sign up to build your own drum. Classes held monthly & by private appointment. sharingthelightwc.com 860-936-0012

Cheryl Case, Sharing the Light Wholistic Center, LLC Reiki sessions and training, Peace Attunements, AngelLink Classes, Buddha Reiki 395 W Avon Rd, Avon SharingtheLightWC.com Cheryl@SharingtheLightWC.com 860-936-0012

12 Hartford County Edition

NAHRT.com

Four connecticut chapters aVOn President, Cheryl Case 860-936-0012 Avon@HolisticChamberOfCommerce.com HolisticChamberOfCommerce.com/Avon mOnROe President, Sierra North 203-518-5808 Monroe@holisticchamberofcommerce.com HolisticChamberOfCommerce.com/Monroe Hamden President, Lilian Martinez 203-808-1124 Hamden@HolisticChamberOfCommerce.com HolisticChamberOfCommerce.com/Hamden Willimantic President, Lisa Day-Lewis 860-593-5002 Willimantic@HolisticChamberOfCommerce.com HolisticChamberOfCommerce.com/Willimantic

K321/Shutterstock.com ANTONIO TRUZZI/Shutterstock.com

health briefs

global briefs

Splashy Solution

Generating Electricity from Rain

A surprisingly high voltage can be generated from raindrops using a field-effect, transistor-style structure, reports a new study from the City University of Hong Kong in the journal Nature. A single drop can muster 140 volts, enough to briefly light up 100 small LED bulbs. The new design couples an aluminum electrode with an indiumtinoxide electrode layered with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a material with a quasi-permanent electric charge.

When a raindrop hits the PTFE/tin surface, it bridges the two electrodes and creates a closed-loop circuit that helps fully release any stored charges. The technology could handle sustained rainfall, as well. If there are continuous drops, the charge accumulates and eventually hits a saturation point.

Building rooftops could supplement some of the electricity used inside, and electric boats could extend their range.

Mental Relief

Mix and Match Studio/Shutterstock.com

Mindfulness Training May Reduce Paranoia

In news that may be useful for people dealing with the stress of the global pandemic, researchers from the University of London have found that just one week of practicing mindfulness—moment-to-moment awareness— reduces feelings of paranoia. The research, published in the journal Mindfulness, was based on questionnaires of 494 people, enabling researchers to find a correlation between paranoia and judgemental thinking. They found that higher levels of nonjudgement predicted lower levels of paranoia, even in individuals that had a predisposition for it. Then, 68 people were selected and divided into two groups: one that was asked to go through a prerecorded, guided mindfulness session once per day, and one that acted as a control. The session consisted of a quick body scan, mindful breathing and awareness exercises. The results showed a drop in judgmental thinking and paranoia in the mindfulness group.

June 2020

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Biking During the COVID-19 Crisis Regular Tips Apply to Pedaling During the coronavirus crisis, biking is especially recommended, as it provides exceptional aerobic and cardio exercise, relaxation and because it maintains social distancing.

Keeping in mind proper equipment, fitness, safety and other factors can make it even more fulfilling during this difficult period.

Choose the right bike. Those designed for roads and pavement are generally lighter and have more gears than mountain bikes, which have more shock-absorbing features, plus more lower gears to help traverse inclined terrain. Urban and commuting bikes feature a slightly more upright riding position that allows better sightlines and improved visibility by motorists.

Use a bike shop with mechanics that test and adjust the bikes they sell, including determining the proper seat height—which facilitates proper alignment of hips and a full rotation—and the ideal distance from the handlebars to the seat tube.

Back, knee or hip pain may develop if a cyclist has to stretch his or her legs to get to the pedals, according to the League of American Bicyclists. A biker doesn’t get proper leg extension if

the seat is too low. The legs should be almost, but not totally extended at the lowest point in pedaling.

Safety takes many forms.

Even well-marked bike lanes don’t guarantee safety, so use caution.

Some motorists are careless about entering bike lanes and don’t correctly stop at crosswalks or look behind before opening doors. Keep at least five feet from the sides of cars to avoid being hit. Don’t weave in and out of traffic, always don a helmet, signal turns and watch out for runners and walkers. Use the stop signal (left arm extended downward) to alert bikers that may be traveling behind.

Proper pedaling can help prevent strains. In addition to

ensuring they’re employing proper leg extension, it’s advised that bikers pedal a little faster in a lower gear; ideally, 75 to 90 revolutions per minute, which is easier on the knees with less muscle fatigue than traveling slower in a higher gear.

Routine maintenance includes “cleaning and lubing the chain, replacing brake pads, and changing and fixing a flat tire,” according to major bike and outdoor retailer Recreational Equipment, Inc. (rei.com). The website has helpful tips on tools to obtain, along with basic information on bike maintenance, cleaning and fixing a flat tire.

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eco tip

wise words

A Conversation with Roseann Capanna-Hodge

on Re-Entry Panic Syndrome and the New Docuseries PROVEN You coined the term “Re-Entry Panic Syndrome”… what is it?

What can people do if they think they have Re-Entry Panic Syndrome?

Now you are in the docuseries, PROVEN, with Dr. Andrew Weil.

Can you tell us more about that?

I am so grateful to be a part of this major documentary series that is taking a deep look at all the complementary and alternative therapies scientifically proven to treat mental health issues and physical disease.

There are so many highly effective and clinically proven therapies out there that people just don’t know about. So many times when people come to my Ridgefield center to reduce or reverse their mental health issues, they always ask me, “Why haven’t I heard about biofeedback or neurofeedback before”? The answer is, unfortunately, many mental health providers and physicians don’t know about these treatments and thus aren’t sharing that information. And people and kids are getting physically sicker and mental health issues are skyrocketing. The average age of onset of an anxiety disorder is age 6, and now one in six people are on a psychiatric medication, yet people are more anxious and depressed than ever. The good news is that with the internet, people are becoming the CEO of their own healthcare and finding ways to deal with and even heal their issues.

With the average delay between onset of mental illness symptoms and treatment being 11 years (NAMI, 2019), we need to and can intervene sooner. There is so much a person can do for themselves or their child before it bubbles over into a larger - Counseling issue. The notion that our genetics define - Play us is an antiquated one and this Therapy documentary shows people all that they can do toFunction - Executive improve their mental and physical health.

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Many are feeling worried The first thing to do for a or anxious about reperson who has anxiety entering the world after of any kind, is practice quarantine but some are good self-care, so you panicked. Re-Entry Panic can lessen your stress and Syndrome is worry about sleep better, which will re-entering your commureduce your overall nity, job, or school after anxiety. Be mindful pandemic quarantine and intently practice due to the fear of becoming ill. It is fear stress management techniques daily. Then attempt to get out in the community in that stops you from resuming your normal some way that you feel most comfortable life. The fear of becoming ill if you leave (maybe walking on your street or going to a your home is overwhelming and results in park) and for short amounts of time. physical, behavioral, or emotional distress.

If you can’t tamp down your re-entry Physical symptoms can include shortworries on your own, then it is time to seek ness of breath, chest pain, panic attacks, help from a licensed mental health prosweating, nausea, and racing heartbeat. vider. At our Ridgefield center we have been Behavioral symptoms can include avoidNeurofeedback & Biofeedback working virtually with clients with anxiety ance, becoming upset when others -close to - QEEG Brain aroundMapping re-entering the world and have them re-enter after quarantine, difficulty begunBio-Regulation to work with some clients in person. sleeping, irritability, and general change - Advanced Therapy (BRT) in behavior. Emotional symptoms can With our trademarked, REPS Protocol™, we - Short-term, Intensive Therapy include worry, mood fluctuation, anger, teachBe people how Course to break free from their - Behavioral Support - It’s Gonna OK™ How can people watch theReboot® Prog emotional upset or tearful bouts. re-entry panic with four steps: Respirate, - 360° - EFT/Tapping PROVEN docuseries?

Envision, Positivity, and Stress ManageFor a limited time, you can watch the PROVEN ment. We guide people who feel anxious or How is anxiety different from documentary series for FREE. You can sign up panicked through each of the steps so they Re-Entry Panic Syndrome? here: LW255.isrefer.com/go/proven/drch/ can return to work or resume their life in Anxiety is your brain or body’s response way that feels comfortable for them. to stress that can be triggered by a mulFor more information about Dr. Roseann titude of things. The stressor can be real Neurofeedback, Evaluation Therapy You have done so much to Capanna-Hodge, integrative & and pediatric or imagined or a perceived threat. With educate others about how mental health expert, and her integrative Re-Entry Panic Syndrome, your anxiety mental health center in Ridgefield, call effective holistic therapies are is specific to fear of leaving your home 203-438-4848, email Info@DrRoseann.com for mental health with almost due to worries about illness related to or visit DrRoseann.com.

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Transformative Staycations

Finding Respite and Adventure Close to Home

by April Thompson

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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. In Colorado parks, people can, for example, river raft in the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area; boat, fish and hammock camp in Jackson Lake State Park; and rock climb in Eldorado Canyon.

Parks can be discovered and trail maps downloaded by visiting TrailLink. com, run by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. It provides searches for nearby trails using parameters such as distance, types of activity and wheelchair accessibility.

Its smartphone TrailLink app is free to download and $30 per year for unlimited customized use.

State, local and regional parks across the country offer rich educational opportunities for kids and adults alike, including naturalist-guided activities, bird and botany walks, lessons in local history, ecology and geography, and more. Several states offer free admission to all state-run parks, including Hawaii, Tennessee and Illinois. Stateby-state listings of fees and policies can be found at Tinyurl.com/StateParkPasses.

Making a Quick Getaway

Weekend forays into natural and rustic settings can be ideal escape valves for people needing a simple, quick change of venue.

Camping, of course, is always an option, but for those that want to be in nature in a more comfy fashion, using “cabin” as a search word works well in websites like Airbnb.com and TripAdvisor.com. The option of glamping—or glamorous camping—offers surprisingly luxurious stays outdoors in tents, pods and domes; check out Glamping.com.

Getaway.House offers woodsy outposts in 10 locations equipped with “tiny house” cabins around the country designed for quick escapes from cities. “If you were at your desk in need of an escape, you could cut out early and be there by 6 p.m.,” says Vice President of Marketing Rachel Mansfield. The private experience, with no check-in desk or communal areas, enables it to continue operating safely during the pandemic. The cabins, designed to blend in with their natural surroundings,

PH888/Shutterstock.com

S

taycations—sticking close to home for new travel experiences—was a growing trend even before the COVID-19 pandemic turned it into a practical necessity for many of us. Staycations reduce costs, minimize travel time and also lower our carbon footprint by eliminating international travel. Happily, they don’t reduce the pure pleasure of finding new adventures, exploring untrammeled nature, seeing the familiar with fresh eyes and meeting people from all walks of life.

All of that is close at hand, and especially when compared to foreign jaunts, the price is right.

A good place to start is by checking out state and regional parks, often overlooked gems offering scenic miles of trails for hiking, biking, birding, fishing, picnicking and other activities. “Whether mountains, prairies, rivers, forests in the country or heart of the city, there is always a state park waiting to welcome you, no matter what kind of recreation you enjoy,” says Jason Clay, spokesperson with

Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

are equipped with food for purchase, stove, books, radio, firewood, fire pit and Adirondack chairs, as well as a map for local hikes and adventures.

“I did a getaway at a point in my life where I wanted some time alone, away from commitments, to figure out what my next chapter in life was going to be,” says Paige Conner Totaro, of Alexandria, Virginia, the founder of Unquote Travel, a web-based tour agency focusing on small group, off-the-beaten-track adventures. “You can change your environment without going very far, and that in turn can change the way you think about things.

Little things like sleeping on the other side of the bed can help you shake up your brain.”

and locals worldwide,” also offers foodie fun and off-beat adventures.

Kelly Kniewel stumbled onto tour guiding after experiencing burnout in her previous career in the beverage industry.

An Airbnb Experiences host, Kniewel now leads small group tours of Chicago, introducing locals and visitors alike to many of its little-known facets. “I’ve fallen in love with my city all over again doing these tours,” says Kniewel, a self-proclaimed history geek.

She loves to take guests inside Art Deco and Beaux Arts buildings they may have passed before without realizing the gorgeous art and architecture that exists inside, such as the library-turned-cultural

center, Chicago Cultural Center, boasting two impressive glass domes, one designed

by Tiffany Glass. Another favorite excursion is taking guests on a water taxi tour.

“It’s a cheap and unique way to see Chicago. The water, both the Chicago River and Lake Michigan, is so much a part of who we are as a city.”

During the limitations imposed during the COVID-19 period, Airbnb and other websites began offering experiences online, allowing people from all over the world to connect and make pastries with a Swedish baker, draw with a Mexican cartoonist, learn about apartheid from a South African or experience a day in the life of an American Olympic bobsledder.

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Local Attraction

Local-led excursions are another way to see our home turf through a new lens.

Airbnb Experiences, offered virtually everywhere that Airbnb lists lodging, are one-of-a-kind tours and classes designed and hosted by locals with unique expertise.

Experiences run the gamut from neighborhood tours on foot or bikes with athletes to museum tours led by local artists or art historians. Many include a hands-on learning component, like how to make mosaics in a community art space or cook a local delicacy from a family recipe. Similar tours and experiences can be found on TripAdvisor’s Things To Do listings.

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John Fackenthal, of Rockville, Maryland, has hosted more than 100 couchsurfers from 29 countries, and loved every experience. “I had a big apartment in the heart of Washington, D.C., when I first started hosting, but lived alone and felt a little isolated. I wanted to bring back the youth hostel feel from travels in my younger days, where you’d hang out with fellow travelers and go hiking, share a meal or play cards,” he says.

A web developer, he recalls such memorable guests as a carpenter in his 60s from the Pacific Northwest that helped him with fixer-upper projects, a pair of pro volleyball players from the Czech Republic and two young women from China that prepared him a massive traditional Chinese feast “with all four burners going,” he says. “It’s restored my faith in humanity.

I’ve encountered nothing but wonderful people, all with such different personalities and backgrounds.”

Be a Weekend Farmer

Agrotourism, in which working farms open the barn doors to visitors for day or overnight trips, has the added advantage of supporting local agriculture. Agri18 Hartford County Edition

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Iakov Filimonov/Shutterstock.com

tourismWorld.com and FarmStayUS.com provide listings for farm stays worldwide searchable by type, such as Christmas tree farm, vineyard, orchard, dude ranch or alpaca farm.

The 40-acre Taos Goji Farm and EcoLodge Retreat, in Taos, New Mexico, is one such venue. “My husband and I returned to the land nine years ago after many years working as professionals in stuffy offices.

The farm has been developed for our family and others who wish to be close to nature and to live off of the land,” says coowner Elizabeth vom Dorp.

The farm is open for paid guests, as well as to the volunteers known as “Wwoofers” that come through Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms to help raise goji berries, fruits, vegetables and free-range chickens. All cabins date from the early 1900s, including an old dairy barn converted into a duplex and five sheep herder cabins. The farm is surrounded by a national forest, so many guests visit to enjoy hiking, biking, fishing, rafting and ballooning.

“Families with children love to come and pick berries, collect eggs and pet the animals. We have rescue alpacas, sheep, goats, chickens and turkeys,” says vom Dorp.

While the world may still be at the mercy of unfortunate circumstances this summer, travel is ultimately a state of mind. By staying open, curious and present, there are always new encounters and discoveries underfoot very close to home.

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

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Iakov Filimonov/Shutterstock.com

Hosting travelers can bring new meaning to a staycation, offering a rich opportunity for cross-cultural exchange without any exchange of currency. The popular CouchSurfing.com connects travelers with locals offering free use of a couch, air mattress or spare bedroom. Available in more than 200,000 cities worldwide, it has 14 million members and sponsors local language exchanges, dance classes, hikes and dinners, so there are opportunities to make new friends and have new experiences even without offering a place to sleep. (During COVID-19 restrictions, these activities were moved online.)

Similar organizations that offer opportunities for local hosting (including low- or no-cost lodging) include Servas. org, established in 1949, which stresses world peace and cultural exchange, and pre-interviews potential guests and hosts to ensure safety; GlobalFreeloaders.com, a free registry for hosts and guests that do their own online screening and matching;

and EvergreenClub.com, in which hosts provide a bed-and-breakfast homestay for travelers over age 50 for $20 a night.

An exciting option for homeowners is HomeExchange.com, a $150-a-year service that allows people in far-flung places to switch homes, either directly or through a staggered point system so they can truly live like locals.

Iakov Filimonov/Shutterstock.com

Traveling the World Without Leaving Home

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19

THE ART OF SEEING Appreciation of Art Encourages Living Slow

by Patricia Staino

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

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efore we can see, we need to look.

But what does it mean “to look”?

Think back to your last art gallery visit. How long did you gaze at each installation? Did you give the object your full attention? Or did you slow down briefly,

focus your phone, click a photo, then move on to the next work?

The average person spends less than 17 seconds looking at a work of art; but are they really looking? More importantly, are they seeing? Observe any visitor walk-

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ing through a museum and it’s a clear the 17-second threshold is optimistic. If they do spend that much time in front of a painting, they read its descriptive placard rather than contemplate the artwork.

In a world of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, we’ve come to expect a fully engaging, multi-sensory assault on our senses, no matter the situation. In that context, spending 10 minutes focused on a single, silent, stationary object is an uncomfortable experience for most people. More alarming, taking 10 minutes to really see something may be viewed as an imposition on our time. That’s precisely why the small details of life are often missed and little appreciated.

Enter the “slow” movement. It’s been creeping up on us over the years. More than a decade ago, mindful chefs started touting the pleasure of “slow food”. Now there are similar movements around slow travel, slow reading, slow cities and slow money. Most have managed to gain just a toehold within niche populations here or there, but often they experience pushback because much of the “civilized” world is unwilling to give up the luxuries and convenience necessary to live slowly.

If done with intent, looking at art may produce a relaxing, meditative state, and Slow Art Day was born to show museum visitors how to achieve such mindfulness.

Launched in 2009, Slow Art Day was the brainchild of Phil Terry, founder of the Reading Odyssey and CEO of Collaborative Gain: “My wife kept dragging me to museums. I did not know how to look at art. Like most people, I would walk by quickly,” he said.

His first “test” of the slow art concept was spending an hour in front of Hans Hoffman’s Fantasia in The Jewish Museum.

He found it such a powerful experience, he brought along friends on subsequent experiments, finally deciding to launch and promote Slow Art Day in 2009.

The now-annual event usually takes place in April, and a number of Connecticut museums and arts organizations take part, including Clare Gallery in Hartford, ARTworks Gallery in Norwalk, the Norwalk Arts Commission, and Florence

Griswold Museum in Old Lyme. The participating museums (around 200 worldwide) choose a number of works from their collections, and visitors commit to spending no less than 10 minutes with each work, viewing, contemplating, taking notes, and sketching. Organizers encourage viewers to look closely at a work, then back up and view from a distance. Terry reminds viewers “there is not a right or wrong way…be naïve, be patient, allow the experience to unfold…breathe.”

Turns out that may be easier said than done. Until recently our common goal was to do as much as we could in as little time as possible for the maximum amount of payoff. We don’t know how to live slow. Foreign correspondence arrives instantaneously via email; Amazon delivers just about anything within hours; any data we need can be accessed in seconds. How can we possibly justify 10 minutes looking at art, an activity with no immediate, tangible takeaway?

Art requires the viewer to seek, find

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and maintain a personal connection. The artist hopes we will stop, consider, think, and see. That pause, that engagement, sets apart, for example, the completely white canvas by Robert Ryman, dubbed “Twin,” in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, from a random doodle in a notebook. The viewer’s gaze and consideration are necessary components of a masterpiece.

Art asks something of the viewer. The mood and emotion conveyed and elicited, the ongoing conversation between the viewer and canvas, the impact a work has on the viewer long after they’ve left the gallery—that is the true purpose of art, and it can’t be achieved in 17 seconds. True art, once seen, must be consumed, digested, and contemplated, or it has not achieved its purpose.

Have you ever seen photos of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa at the Louvre? Most show the modest-sized painting against the stark white wall at the far end of a hall crowded with a sea of tourists—10 to 20 deep on

How to Look Slowly

hile COVID-19 cancelled this year’s Slow Art Day, you can plan your own slow walkabout once your local art museum reopens, or practice during quarantine by choosing a favorite item in your home.

Here are some tips for how to look and how to see: n If possible, choose a smaller museum. You’ll feel less pressure to “see everything,” and smaller crowds are more conducive to spending more time with a work. n If the museum offers folding chairs or stools to borrow, be sure to pick one up so you can relax in front of the artwork. n Spend at least 10 minutes observing the work. Look at it, section by section. Get as close to it as the gallery sensors will allow, then move back to view from a distance.

Notice colors, brushstrokes, shadows, reflections, imperfections. n Empty your mind, breathe deeply, and view the work passively. What do you discover when you aren’t consciously looking for something? n Start a gallery journal. Keep track of the works you view. Leave at least a page per work, then freewrite as you observe, and sketch if you are so moved. n If discussing the work with a group, leave the gallery area after 10 minutes to chat. This will require you to draw from your memories of the work rather than glance at it for prompts. n Write a poem immediately following the viewing, capturing your raw reaction and your memories of the work. n After your visit, learn a little about the artist, the time period, the subject matter, and any other social context. Do these align with what you assumed about the work based on your observations? n Plan a return visit and examine the same work(s) again. Has your view of the work changed? What do you notice now that you didn’t notice the first time?

some days—all holding their cameras above their heads and blindly clicking to grab the photo they will post on Facebook to prove they’ve seen the Mona Lisa. But have they? Once they’ve captured the painting digitally, they turn and walk away, none the better for having been there. And if they are lucky enough to go to Paris twice (or more) in their lifetime, it’s a sure bet they won’t return to visit her, complaining it’s not worth fighting the crowds.

But for art fans, returning again and again to visit favorite works is like seeing an old friend. New details emerge upon repeat visits: the brushstrokes, the light, the hidden messages, the movement. For them, visiting their favorite artwork is a once-ina-lifetime experience, each time they go.

For the rest, looking at art should at least serve as a form of momentary meditation.

Spending time with a work of art moves you beyond the surface, the first impression, your mistaken idea that you must understand what the artist was saying. Because when you take the time to look, you find what speaks to you. You experience the palette, textures, light, vibrations and movement. You note how its impression changes at various times of day, how it means something different at a new stage of your life. The work becomes your own and its meaning is found within you—in light of your memories, your emotions, your biases. The next time you see that work, which could be weeks or months or years from now, you may feel something completely new as you gaze at it. The artwork has remained the same, but you’ve changed, and you begin to see and feel and understand the work as you never could before. You’ve grown older and wiser, and so, magically, has the masterpiece.

To enjoy a work of art is to mindfully live in the moment. As artist Marcel Duchamp once said, art is completed by the viewer. Give it more than 17 seconds.

Patricia Staino is the managing editor of Natural Awakenings’ Hartford and Fairfield County editions. Connect at PatriciaStaino@gmail.com.

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So how does this work?

Seph Fontane Pennock has some ideas.

He is a founder of PostitivePsychology.com, a website where he curates an immense library of commentary, advice, tests and coursework on topics related to positive emotions, gratitude, mindfulness, compassion and much more. Here are some suggestions Pennock offers on his website to strengthen gratitude: Count your blessings. Yup, the most oldfashioned one of them all. Take a moment or two and list three things that you are grateful for. That’s it! Do it often – daily or at least four to five times a week.

YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

T

by Meg Reilly

he comedian Bill Maher has quipped, “I don’t know it for a fact…I just know it’s true.”

If you’ve always had a gut feeling that people who seem to be a little kinder than most—a little more grateful or caring toward others—also seem to be happier people, you’re right. But unlike Maher’s joke, there actually are facts that back this up, and the good news is you don’t just have to be born that way. You can make small changes in the way you act outwardly that will benefit you inwardly.

They might even change the world.

Martin Seligman, considered the founding father of positive psychology, began his work in the 1960s and 1970s by developing a theory of “learned helplessness,” which he soon connected to depression. His work had profound social implications. Think of someone you know who gave up on themselves because they were conditioned to think there was no chance of changing their circumstances, whether 22 Hartford County Edition

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economic, educational, social or personal.

They just stopped trying. Maybe you’ve even felt this way. Happily, Seligman went on to theorize that if learned helplessness can lead to depression, maybe we can learn to be resilient and that can lead to optimism. Dr. Seligman is now the leader of the Positive Psychology Center (PPC) at the University of Pennsylvania, which has the goal of creating a science and profession that heals psychological damage (the crux of his early research) and builds strengths to enable us to achieve the best things in life (the focus of his last several decades of work).

The PPC focuses on three areas.

The first one is positive experiences, and this is where your ability to create change in your life comes in. The second one is positive individual traits–that person mentioned earlier who always seems to look on the sunny side of life. The third one is bold and expansive: creating positive institutions, workplaces and communities.

Send a handwritten thank you note. It takes a little time and you don’t type it out or text it – you use your own hand, real paper and a stamp. It can be to anyone for anything. Do it once a month.

Remember a negative event. This may sound counterintuitive but the idea is to remind yourself that you’ve had times that seemed bad and this is not one of them. Plus, you got through it!

Say thank you in a specific, meaningful way. We’ve grown so accustomed to the quick emoji (smile, thumbs up, etc.) response or even the cursory verbal, “Thanks.” Instead you could text something just a little bit longer, as appropriate, like, “Thanks for the feedback. Feels good to be seen.” Or at the drive-up window, look the server in the eye for just one whole second and say, “Thanks for my coffee. It smells great.”

Keep a gratitude journal. There are hundreds of little practices you can do to incorporate kindness or compassion toward others in your daily life, and while that certainly pertains to the benefit of the recipient, there is a solid and growing body of research on the physical and emotional benefits to the actor, the giver, to you as you act kindly toward others.

Acts of kindness and moments of gratitude repeatedly return upon the giver. Caring makes us feel good. St. Francis said, “It is in giving that we receive.” In fact, it is in connecting to others that we often feel most alive ourselves. Our (very) human natures vibrate with the uplift that comes with caring – caring for a person, for a cause, for an ideal. And while this may not come naturally or easily at first, it’s worth the effort. It takes practice to make a change but as Martin Seligman said, “When we take the time to notice the things that go right, it means we’re getting a lot of little rewards throughout the day.”

If you’ve always had a gut feeling that people who seem to be a little kinder than most—a little more grateful or caring toward others—also seem to be happier people, you’re right.

When you make the effort to make someone else’s world a little better, even if it’s just for a moment or two, and you do it simply because it’s a kind thing to do – no expectation of anything back – something very wonderful begins to happen.

You do get it back. When you notice how that feels good to you, you begin to understand the wisdom of Gandhi’s admonition to be the change you wish to see in the world. When you are the change, your world changes, and your world really is the whole world.

Throughout time, people have known this, maybe not for a fact, but they just knew it was true. Six thousand years after Lao Tzu said, “Compassionate toward yourself, you reconcile all beings in the world,” Bill Watterson wrote in Calvin and Hobbes, “You know what’s weird? Day by day, nothing seems to change. But pretty soon…everything’s different.”

Meg Reilly, MS, CH, can be reached at MegReilly360.com and Lectio360.com.

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Certified Holistic Practitioner

617-435-7798 Wethersfield, CT

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6th Bi-Annual

Passport to Health & Wellness presented by the Holistic Community Professionals

Statewide Benefit * HoliStic expo

Sunday | August 23 | 10 am - 5pm

75+ Exhibitors and Speakers! iant!

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DoubleTree by Hilton 42 Century Drive, Bristol, CT 06010

FREE DRUM HEaling 4-5pm Speakers all day Free Raffles • Drumming gRanD PRiZE: A Hilton Overnight Stay for Two!

FREE aDMiSSiOn Donations Accepted * All door donations to benefit:

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Holistic Community Professionals

www.HolisticCommunityProfessionals.org June 2020

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green living

EVERYDAY ADVENTURES Taking to Vans and RVs for Life on the Road

by Sandra Yeyati

M

any Americans choose to travel in recreational vehicles (RVs) or well-equipped vans with all the comforts of home—no hotels, just the open road and a tank full of gas.

Cindy Jane is a Florida naturalist, vegan advocate, accomplished artist and wife to land surveyor Kevin Georgeson. Now 50 years old, she’s had a dream since she was 18 to travel the country in a van, visiting state and national parks, hiking trails and spending quality time in nature. She envisions setting up an easel and painting in inspiring settings. “It’s about getting out of that social norm of always knowing what the next day is going to be like, doing the same thing every day. I like a little bit of the unknown, the unexpected.

I want to see things. I want adventure. I want the freedom that comes with going,” she says.

The couple purchased a 2018 Ford Transit van with low mileage and a little 24 Hartford County Edition

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warranty left on it. Together, they are customizing it to create a comfortable home away from home to satisfy Jane’s wanderlust. Crafty and resourceful, they voraciously watch YouTube videos to learn the ins and outs of solar panels, electrical hookups, kitchen countertops, insulation and 1,000 other details that go into a successful buildout. They’re taking their time to do it right after investing thousands of dollars already. To document their progress and hopefully inspire others, they record videos on Jane’s smartphone and post them to her website (ArtfulVeganNomad.com).

Val and Nick Wheatley are veteran nomads, having travelled the world for almost four years in all kinds of rides, including the 1994 Ford Bronco they drove across the U.S. for six months.

Camping outdoors was challenging, and they vowed never again to travel in a vehicle without a bed. They purchased

a Ford Econovan to explore New Zealand and sold it three months later when they left. In Germany, where beautiful campgrounds and free public lots with inexpensive electric and water hookups are plentiful, a rented RV was the way to go. With experience, the couple has come to prefer converted vans or smaller RVs, thanks to their fuel savings and easier maneuverability in cities and on narrow country roads.

According to the Wheatleys, traveling and living in close quarters has its drawbacks. Cleaning out portable toilets and taking showers at truck stops can be challenging, but for the avid explorers, these inconveniences were always eclipsed by jaw-dropping scenery and cultural immersion in new countries. “Because we had wheels and time, we got to see some cool stuff off the beaten track that most people that were visiting for a weekend or week never see,” says Val.

Offering tips, tricks, candid descriptions and inspiring photography of their many world-trotting experiences, the couple’s travel blog (WanderingWheatleys.com) tallied more than 600,000 visitors last year. Through online advertising and affiliate programs, they earned enough money for living and travel expenses. “The world actually isn’t a scary place at all. People all over the world in every culture are friendly and welcoming,” Nick says.

For those looking to connect with fellow travelers, there are numerous recreational clubs that offer base camps, programming and social opportunities.

One such club is Sisters on the Fly (SistersOnTheFly.com), an all-women outdoor adventure club founded in 1999 by Maurrie Sussman and her sister Rebecca Clarke with a penchant for small, vintage trailers that are restored and embellished by their owners.

With 9,000 active members and an organizer in each state, these resourceful

and festive ladies hold more than 1,000 events nationwide every year, including fly fishing, guided tours, kayaking, mountain climbing, biking and more. “It’s about being outdoors and meeting amazing women. We love going into the national parks, taking back roads and visiting all the small towns,” Sussman says.

Living in an RV or van full-time has become an attractive option for many people, including college kids looking for inexpensive housing or retirees on limited incomes. “I think more and more we’re seeing people who value their time more than a bunch of possessions,” says Jane. “Maybe that means working less and living more frugally, so you see a rise in minimalism and van life.” For a wealth of information on vans and RVs as full-time options, as well as in-depth interviews with van lifers, visit Bob Wells’ YouTube channel CheapRVLiving.

Sandra Yeyati is a freelance writer. Reach her at SandraYeyati@gmail.com.

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ACUPUNCTURE & AYURVEDA

June 2020

25

conscious eating

Feeding Happiness Lifting Moods with Feel-Good Foods

W

by Marlaina Donato

hether it’s a pandemic, a breakup or a busy day with the kids, heading to the kitchen for a carb fix or a pint of ice cream is a common knee-jerk response to stress. It’s easy to get caught in a whirlpool of poor eating when our bodies need nutritional support more than ever.

Sustained or chronic stress can reduce levels of dopamine and serotonin—neurotransmitters linked to feelings of both satiety and happiness. “When serotonin levels are normal, it leads to both emotional satisfaction and a sense of fullness after a meal,” says Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Maria Marlowe, in New York City and Dubai. “Conversely, when serotonin levels are low, it can lead to depression and a tendency to reach for sweet and starchy foods.”

Experts agree that concentrating on weight loss or super-strict diets during times of adversity might do more harm than good. “Focusing on the need to lose weight during crisis will only do two things—make you feel guilty if you’re not eating what you think you’re supposed to and potentially make you eat more out of guilt,” says Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Jennifer Neily, in Dallas.

Opting for healthier versions of favorite comfort foods is a doable compromise that can prevent endorphins from plummeting after the usual temporary spike.

“With the right ingredients and recipes, we can satisfy our cravings for sweet, salt, creamy or crunchy with healthier upgrades of our favorite junk foods,” says Marlowe.

Avoiding Extremes

Eating to stay healthy during hard times can tickle the taste buds without a lot of invested time. Marlowe’s go-to favorites like homemade banana ice cream or chocolate truffles not only take minutes to prepare, but fortify the brain. For must-have salty favorites, she suggests opting for snack foods seasoned with unrefined or pink Himalayan salt, fresh guacamole, salsa, olives or

Stress-eating sparks only temporary physical and emotional fulfillment. “When your brain is in need of energy, it can mimic the symptoms of depression and anxiety,” notes Tara Waddle, holistic life coach at The Center of Balance, in Greeley, Colorado. “Finding healthier substitutes that are less processed can make a huge impact.”

26 Hartford County Edition

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Friendly Fare

pickles. Filling a seaweed sushi wrap with avocado can be a satisfying and easy snack.

For easy-exotic, Marlowe says, “I always keep coconut milk and unsweetened curry paste on hand to whip up a red Thai curry, my favorite 15-minute dinner.

Simply add fresh or frozen vegetables and protein of choice and you have a satisfying, flavorful meal that is faster than delivery.”

Waddle’s healthy comfort foods include nuts of different flavors, dried fruits and baked Brussels sprouts with nitritefree bacon, black pepper and a sprinkle of nutmeg. “The food you consider comfort food is comforting because it’s familiar,” she says. “When you start eating healthier food more often, it will become comfort food. Just keep trying new things.”

Keep it Simple

The kitchen can be our greatest ally during any life-storm, but having a stress-free strategy is key, especially paying attention to emotional states. “Ask yourself, ‘Is it head hunger or belly hunger? Above the neck or below the neck?’ If it’s the latter and that’s truly what is desired, don’t deny yourself, but choose with conscious understanding. Savor the flavor,” says Neily.

Marlowe recommends easy meal planning and maintaining an eating schedule. “This helps remove some of the stress and decision fatigue that comes with figuring out what to eat in the moment, especially with random ingredients in the fridge.” Food shopping can be an instant junk food trap. Waddle’s approach is a sure way to outsmart impulse buying based on habit. She says,“Start with the produce department first. This fills your cart with fresh foods and your cart will be full by the time you get to the snack aisle.”

Self-compassion can be one of the most important, yet overlooked considerations. “Regardless of what you choose to eat, be gentle with yourself,” notes Waddle.

“The guilt of eating poorly is more damaging than the food.”

Marlaina Donato is an author and a composer. Connect at AutumnEmbersMusic.com.

Sweet Recipes for Healthy Snacking Toppings (choose a few) photo courtesy of Maria Marlowe

Cacao nibs, Cacao powder, Sesame seeds.

Shredded coconut, Pistachios, crushed, Walnuts, crushed, Acai powder, Goji powder, Maqui powder, Pomegranate powder Add cacao powder, dates and coconut to a blender. (A bullet blender works well.)

Blend until a paste is formed, which should only take a few seconds. Roll about a tablespoon or so of paste into a ball. Repeat.

Choose a topping, sprinkle it onto parchment paper and roll date ball in it to coat.

Five-Minute Chocolate Truffles Truffle

3 Tbsp cacao powder 1½ cups dates, pitted 3 Tbsp shredded coconut, unsweetened

Banana Ice Cream 2 overripe bananas ¼ tsp vanilla extract Add-Ins: choose as many as desired 2-3 tsp cacao powder 1 Tbsp almond butter

2-3 tsp carob powder 3-4 pitted dates ¼ tsp cinnamon 1 cup frozen strawberries 6 mint leaves 1 Tbsp coconut flakes (or coconut butter or shredded coconut) 1 Tbsp ginger 1 Tbsp almond butter or almonds ½-inch peeled ginger piece Peel bananas, break in half and put in a zip-top freezer bag. Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight. Place all ingredients (banana base plus the add-in ingredients of choice) into a high-speed blender such as a Vitamix, and blend on high until soft-serve ice cream consistency is reached, which should be in about 30 to 60 seconds.

Taste to determine whether any more addins are needed and re-blend if desired.

Spoon out and serve.

Source: Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Maria Marlowe

June 2020

27

community resource guide

EDUCATION

Connecting you to the leaders in natural healthcare and green living in our community. Create your Community Resource Guide Listing online at NAHRT.com.

ACUPUNCTURE

CHINESE HERBALIST

VITALIZED PERFORMANCE GROUP

212 New London Tpke, Ste D, Glastonbury 860-800-6775 VPGWaves.com Vitalized Performance Group specializes in GAINSWave/ Shock-Wave-AcousticSound therapy and holistic treatments.

GAINSWave/ Shock-Wave-Acoustic-Sound therapy for sexual wellness and performance is often combined with classical acupuncture and other Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatments, including acupressure, cupping, tui na, herbs and Gua Sha. See ad, page 14.

Dr. Ming Wu 45 S Main St, Ste 100, West Hartford 978-790-8888 Center@WuHealing.com WuHealing.com Chinese herbal therapy accounts for the majority of treatments in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Dr. Wu is a master herbalist with decades of experience and thousands of years of wisdom. The herbs he prescribes help stimulate the body toward self-healing. See ad, page 5.

COLONICS VITALIZED PERFORMANCE GROUP

ASTROLOGY

212 New London Tpke, Ste D, Glastonbury 860-800-6775 VPGWaves.com

DEE RANDIS

Watertown 860-274-1690 MetaphysicalCntr.net Dee Randis is an astrologer and psychic medium with over 40 years of experience specializing in personal and relationship counseling. She provides guidance on business matters, real estate decisions, legal issues, as well as missing persons. She does private parties and organizes well-attended holistic/ psychic fairs.

BODYWORK

Vitalized Performance Group specializes in GAINSWave/ShockWave-Acoustic-Sound therapy and holistic treatments. VPG is the only clinic in CT to offer the LIBBE device, a unique option for those who want to have semi-private colon hydrotherapy without a therapist in the room the entire time. See ad, page 14.

DIABETES EDUCATION LAURA ESTAN, RD,LDN,CDE

WU HEALING CENTER

Rich Kevorkian LMT Certified Tui Na Therapy 45 S. Main St, Ste 100, West Hartford 860-462-3934 RichKevork@yahoo.com WuHealing.com Tui na is a hands-on body treatment that uses Chinese Taoist principles in an effort to bring the eight principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine into balance in the body. Tui na is a treatment strategy for both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions, as well as non-musculoskeletal conditions. See ad, page 5.

28 Hartford County Edition

WU HEALING CENTER

NAHRT.com

10 Grassmere Ave, Ste 300, West Hartford 860-930-0308 Laura.EstanRD.CDE@gmail.com Specializing in mindfulness based Diabetes health coaching and holistic medical nutrition therapy in my handicap accessible office, in-home and by telephone and internet sessions for your convenience. Private insurance and Medicare accepted, State Medicaid sliding scale available.

Call now for a complimentary 15 minute session!

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.

See ad, page 7.

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE TAMARA SACHS, MD

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

HOLISTIC HEALING CENTER SHARING THE LIGHT WHOLISTIC CENTER, LLC

395 W Avon Rd, Avon 860-936-0012 Cheryl@SharingTheLightWC.com SharingTheLightWC.com Sharing the Light is your premier healing destination specializing in Traditional Usui Reiki Practitioner certification classes and sessions with Reiki Master Teachers; Crystal Dreaming; singing bowls; tuning forks; tai chi; yoga; reflexology; drum building; psychic readings; and AngelLinks. Visit website to view our calendar of events that includes programs with full-time and part-time practitioners.

See ad, page 17.

HOLISTIC & WELLNESS CENTER RAYA CLINIC

200 Queen St, Southington 860-621-2225 RayaClinic.com Our 30-year-old Wellness Center consists of a team of doctors combining chiropractic, acupuncture, nutrition, food-sensitivity testing, physical therapy, cold-laser, spinal decompression and neuropathy treatments.

HORMONE SUPPORT COLLABORATIVE NATURAL HEALTH PARTNERS

315 East Center St, Manchester 860-533-0179 • CTNaturalHealth.com The clinic offers the best of both worlds; our physicians are trained in both conventional and natural approaches for diagnosis and treatment of many conditions. We combine science with the wisdom of nature to address the causes of disease, not only the symptoms. See ad, back cover.

MEDIUMSHIP KEIKO BROYLES

NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE COLLABORATIVE NATURAL HEALTH PARTNERS 315 East Center St, Manchester 860-533-0179 CTNaturalHealth.com

NICOLE KLUGHERS, ND, PHARMD, MSAC

Vis Wellness Center 1845 Silas Deane Hwy, Rocky Hill (234)2-ACU-DOC DrNicoleKlughers.com Info@DrNicoleKlughers.com Dr. Nicole Klughers offers comprehensive naturopathic care to restore optimal health and prevent disease. Dr. Nicole’s approach addresses the root cause of symptoms with all-natural solutions such as “Food as Medicine” with individualized nutrition, herbal medicine, nutrient therapies, acupuncture and more.

In-depth assessment is often done with detailed testing to evaluate the status of nutrients, hormones, inflammation, food sensitivities, toxins or digestive function.

VITALIZED PERFORMANCE GROUP

I am a Psychic Spiritual Medium and also a certified Usui Reiki Master and teacher.

As a natural psychic and medium, my sincere wish and desire is to promote healing for people in both the physical and spirit worlds.

I am a tested member of Shay Parker’s Best American Psychics. See ad, page 2.

The practice of naturopathic medicine includes modern and traditional, scientific, and empirical methods. Vitalized Performance Group specializes in GAINSWave/Shock-Wave-Acoustic-Sound therapy and a variety of holistic treatments used by naturopathic physicians to support the body’s innate ability to heal. See ad, page 14.

TWO COYOTES WILDERNESS SCHOOL

P.O. Box 711, Monroe TwoCoyotes.org Facebook.com/TwoCoyotes Instagram.com/TwoCoyotes Two Coyotes Wilderness School is a nonprofit nature organization dedicated to creating a healthier, more connected future by connecting people to nature, community and their personal empowerment. We offer year-round, wilderness-based mentorship programs, including summer camps, for all ages.

HEALTHY PLANET

Receive sustainable and natural solutions for health conditions to address the cause of disease, not only the symptoms. We combine science with the wisdom of nature. See ad, back cover.

Willows Healing Path, LLC 860-280-5548 Keiko@KeikoMedium.com KeikoMedium.com

NATURE SCHOOL

HEALTHY LIVING

212 New London Tpke, Ste D, Glastonbury 860-800-6775 VPGWaves.com

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY THE HAPPINESS CLUB

Audrey Carlson 860-841-5894 AudreyBCarlson@cox.net HartfordHappinessClub.com Come to Hartford’s Happiness Club monthly meeting on the first Thursday of every month from 7-8:30pm, at Town and County Club at 22 Woodland St in Hartford. Happiness is a choice… make it yours.

2020 EDITORIAL CALENDAR Connection JUL •• Food Gut Health Out AUG • Education of the Box

• Prospering through Transition

Arts SEP • Expressive and Movement

• Emotion Quotient

Exploring Other OCT • Realms • Transcending Physical Health

Sugar Challenge NOV •• The Stress Management • Community & DEC Connection

• Get Your Glow On

DEPARTMENTS HEALTH BRIEFS | GLOBAL BRIEFS ECO TIP | GREEN LIVING HEALING WAYS | FIT BODY CONSCIOUS EATING HEALTHY KIDS | WISE WORDS INSPIRATION | NATURAL PET

June 2020

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PRIMARY CARE

THERMOGRAPHY

COLLABORATIVE NATURAL HEALTH PARTNERS

CT THERMOGRAPHY HEALTH SCREENING CENTER

315 East Center St, Manchester 860-533-0179 CTNaturalHealth.com

The clinic offers the best of both worlds; our physicians are trained in conventional and natural approaches for diagnosis and treatment of many conditions. We combine science with the wisdom of nature to address the causes of disease, not only the symptoms. See ad, back cover.

QUANTUM PSYCHOTHERAPY PSYCHOTHERAPY HEALING SERVICES, LLC Celeste Emelia Mattingly, LCSW West Hartford 860-586-8700 Fax: 860-236-1909 CMattingly100@comcast.net CelestialEmpowerment.com

April Beaman, CTT, RDH Farmington 860-415-1150 April@ctthermography.com CTThermography.com

Thermography is a FDAapproved, radiation free, notouch screening procedure.

Used as part of a routine health screening program, thermography can increase the chances of detecting breast abnormalities, disease and cancer up to 10 years earlier than traditional methods. See ad, page 8.

TRANSFORMATIONAL HEALING SIMPLY PEACEFUL HEALING LLC Joan Witherell, RMT 2433 Main St, Ste 6, Rocky Hill 860-685-0604 JoanWitherell@gmail.com

The Sanctuary for Celestial Empowerment is a safe, uplifting, high-frequency environment for individual psychotherapy, Tachyon Anti-Aging and Reconnective Energy Healings, workshops and more. Distance healings, evenings and some Saturday appointments available. Celeste accepts insurance including Medicare and Husky. See ad, page 4.

Joan has a professional office in Rocky Hill, where she offers Angel & Tarot Card Readings, Reiki Healing Sessions, Reiki Certification Training, Transformational Life Coaching Sessions and she also facilitates a variety of inspirational classes.

YOGA YOGA CENTER OF COLLINSVILLE

TAI CHI/QIGONG WU HEALING CENTER

Dr. Ming Wu 45 S. Main St, Ste 100, West Hartford 978-790-8888 Center@WuHealing.com WuHealing.com Tai chi and qigong focus on empowering Chi, enhancing health and healing the mind, body and spirit using diverse bodywork therapies. Develop physical and mental fitness with calmness, balance and awareness. Dr. Wu is now offering regular classes, workshops and retreats for all levels. See ad, page 5.

10 Front St, Collinsville 860-693-YOGA (9642) info@YogaCenterCollinsville.com YogaCenterCollinsville.com

Experience yoga in the vibrant surroundings of historic Collinsville. Morning / evening classes available: Beginners, Gentle, Mixed, Advanced, Yogalates, Belly Dance and Yoga for Kids. Drop-ins welcome! New student special: $50 for one month of unlimited yoga classes. See ad, page 13.

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~Maya Angelou 30 Hartford County Edition

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display ad index Agneta Borstein

9

BRIDGE Healing Arts Center 2 Collaborative Natural Health Partners CT Thermography

32 8

Enlightenment Counseling Center 20 Go Organic LLC The Graduate Institute Hartford Family Institute HGH Gel

17 4 10 9

Holistic Chamber of Commerce 12 Holistic Community Professionals 19 The Institute of Sustainable Nutrition 7 KnoWEwell 3 LifeWorks Wellness Center

27

Natural Awakenings’ New Website: NAHRT.com

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Natural Awakenings’ Singles 25 Passport to Health & Wellness Holistic Expo

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Psychotherapy Healing Services 4 Sharing the Light Wholistic Center LLC

17

ShopRite 9 Skye Roberts Acupuncture & Ayurveda

25

Tap into the Light/ Justin Speller

23

TriCity Massage & Wellness 11 Universal White Time/ Bradford Tilden

9

Vitalized Performance Group 14 Wu Healing Center Yoga Center of Collinsville

5 13

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COLLABORATIVE NATURAL HEALTH PARTNERS COLLABORATIVE NATURAL HEALTH PARTNERS

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Dr.Dr.Amanda Gomes Amanda Gomes Naturopathic Physician && Naturopathic Physician Nutritionist Nutritionist