Women’s Wellness Series

This May, join Natural Awakenings and KnoWEwell for a women’s wellness event entitled Overcoming Stress: How to Balance It All. Each Tuesday at 8 p.m., top integrative and functional medicine experts in women’s health will present cutting-edge insights into the many ways that stress can impact hormones, thyroid function, fertility and libido, and also provide tangible recommendations to improve skin care, aging, sleep and mindset.

The speakers are: Anna Cabeca, board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, author of The Hormone Fix; Trevor Cates, naturopathic doctor, author of Clean Skin From Within; Anne Marie Fine, naturopathic doctor, author of Cracking the Beauty Code; Carrie Jones, functional medicine physician specializing in hormone and thyroid health; Jaquel Patterson, naturopathic physician, success coach, author of Women and Lyme; Carol A. Penn, board-certified physician, mindset coach, author of Meditation in a Time of Madness; Arti Chandra, functional medicine physician and board-certified in Integrative Medicine; Jaclyn Smeaton, naturopathic doctor specializing in hormone health and reproductive medicine; Kela Smith, holistic-integrative fertility and hormone doctor; Jyl Steinbeck, personal trainer and lifestyle expert.

The $59 event fee includes all Tuesday evening sessions. To learn more and register, visit Tinyurl.com/SCPAstress or scan the QR Code. See ads, below and on page 2.

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H2L Studio Birthday Party

H2L Studio, offering all-level friendly classes for Barre, yoga, Pilates, cycling, TRX, bootcamp and HII, will hold their eighth birthday celebration from 7 to 10 a.m., April 1, with a morning of free classes, beginner workshops and more.

Cycle Relay 2017

Owner Courtney Farinelli says, “The late morning will be all about our Cycle Relay Event benefiting the Four Diamonds Fund. This is the perfect opportunity to try a class and meet several of the instructors! Check out the schedule on our website and sign up! We’ll have door prizes, free giveaways, snacks, new merchandise and package sales!”

First class is free, then $15 each. Location: 2151 Fisher Rd., Ste. 103, Mechanicsburg. For more information, call 717-697-4425, email H2Lstudio717@gmail.com or visit h2lstudio. com. See ad, page 11.

Think Like a Woodsman Sonnewald

Natural Foods is collaborating with Chad Redding to host a monthly Walk with a Woodsman series in 2023. There is a shared belief that the benefits of living gently on the land, foraging for wild foods, treating land and all life with respect and grace transcend generations, communities and lifestyles. Scheduled dates are April 8, May 13, June 10, July 8, August 12 and September 9, with Wilderness Skills from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and a Foraging Walk from 11 a.m. to noon. Redding is the proprietor of Ruck Rabbit Outdoors, which supplies an assortment of crafted, curated, refurbished and surplus outdoor gear. Monthly topics include Firecraft—firewood selection, processing, tool use and more; Wild Teas—collecting, identification and brewing; Sheltercraft, low-impact shelters for emergency and camping, tarp pitches and ridgeline concepts; Emergency Bundle Bow build demo; Water Gathering—handling and filtration; and Camp Lighting.

Sonnewald is concerned about the health of the planet and the impact of food choices, constantly seeking to carry as many locally and regionally produced products as possible.

Admission is free. Location: 4796 Lehman Rd., Spring Grove. For more information, call 717-225-3825, email Info@Sonnewald.org or visit Sonnewald.org. See ads, pages 23 and back cover.

Making Connections –A Gallery Event with Melissa Colucci Psychic medium, practitioner of psychometry and intuitive card reader

Animal Communications at Mella Luna

Dawn Tule, LCMT, owner of Mella Luna Healing, is teaming up with Matthew Scott, owner of Carlisle Creative Vibes, to bring new services such as in-person animal communication sessions and canine massages on the last Sunday of each month, starting from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., April 30. Walk-ins are welcome. The animal does not have to be present for the animal communication sessions. They can be done using a picture of the animal, which allows Tule to connect with an animal in the physical or in spirit. Appointments are encouraged, but not required.

Melissa Colucci

Melissa Colucci will conduct a Psychic Gallery event entitled Making Connections from 3 to 5 p.m., April 16, at ReWeaving Balance. Colucci can connect to loved ones in spirit in a gallery setting, and will do her best to work with as many participants as possible, but individual readings are not guaranteed. Attendance is kept to a minimum. She will teach a class in Psychometry 101 from 2 to 4:30 p.m., April 29, and will instruct attendees how to connect to objects using their clair senses—clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, clairalience, clairgustance and claircognizance—with tools and guidance. Colucci advises, “We all have the ability to tap into the expansive energy of the universe and retrieve information. All things are possible when you trust and listen to your inner voice!”

Cost is $40 for the gallery and $50 for the class. Location: 5A Harrisburg Pike. 717-943-4833. For more information, email ReWeavingBalance@gmail.com or visit ReWeavingBalance.earth. See listing, page 38.

Location: Carlisle Creative Vibes, 152 N. Hanover St., Carlisle. For appointments, call 223-269-0519 or visit CarlisleCreativeVibes.com; for more information, call 717-486-7823, email dtulemassage@yahoo.com or visit MellaLunaStudios.abmp.com. See listing, page 37.

Feel “Lighter”

De-Stress With Sauerkraut

A new study published in Molecular Psychiatry has shown that eating more fermented foods and fiber daily for just four weeks significantly lowered perceived stress levels. Forty-five participants with relatively low-fiber diets were split into two groups.

One group met with a dietitian that recommended a psychobiotic diet, which included six to eight daily servings of fruits and vegetables high in prebiotic fibers, such as onions, leeks, cabbage, apples, bananas and oats; five to eight daily servings of grains; three to four servings of legumes per week; and two to three daily servings of fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha. The control group received only general dietary advice based on the healthy eating food pyramid.

Thegroupfollowingthepsychobioticdietreportedfeelingless stressedcomparedwiththoseinthecontrolgroup.Moreover, significantchangesinthelevelofcertainkeychemicalsproducedbygutmicrobeswerefoundintheseparticipants.Some of these chemicals have been linkedtoimprovedmentalhealth, whichcouldexplainwhytheparticipantsreportedfeelingless stressed.Thequalityofsleepimprovedinbothgroups,butthose onthepsychobioticdietreportedgreatersleepimprovements.

Pomegranate May Offer Skin and Gut Benefits

Pomegranate fruit has been widely used in traditional medicine, and a new, randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine looked at the effects of taking pomegranate extract for a period of four weeks on different aspects of skin and gut health. Using facial imaging, researchers found the group that received the pomegranate extract had significant reductions in wrinkle severity and a decrease in the rate of forehead sebum excretion. They also found beneficial effects to the gut-skin axis, noting that participants in the pomegranate extract group had a higher abundance of Eggerthellaceae in the gut with accompanying wrinkle reduction. The scientists concluded that the skin benefits from pomegranate extract may be due to the potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of phytochemicals, as pomegranate contains more than 100 bioactive constituents.

Navigating Job Loss

by Ali Long

Layoffs occur constantly. While we may have become used to hearing this news and are told that it’s a “normal occurrence” and “not to be taken personally,” for those it happens to (and their families that rely on their income, benefits, etc.), it is neither a normal day in their life nor easy to process. If this happens to us or someone we know, here are some helpful steps to follow.

n Take time to pause and think about what we enjoy doing most, what gives us a strong sense of purpose and what type of company, industry or work culture we prefer, then target the job search on that.

n Practice self-care. We have experienced a major, stressful life change and therefore need to take care of ourselves physically and emotionally. If we’re tired, take a nap. If we’re sad, listen to uplifting music. If we’re stressed, take a walk or exercise. If we’re overwhelmed, journal or pray. If we’re anxious, meditate or do deep breathing exercises. The bottom line is that it’s okay to take time for ourselves.

n Network. Most people find their next job through networking with others versus sending application after application. Connect with people that work where we want to work.

n Invest in self-development: Sign up for training, pursue a degree or hire a coach to support the next steps toward our goals.

Once we have landed, help others network or simply share what worked for us so they can learn from our experience.

Ali Long is the owner of Energetic Transformations, LLC. She specializes in coaching aspiring, new and experienced leaders through personalized growth journeys focused on greater self-awareness to enhance their personal and professional life. For an initial free 30-minute consultation and more information, visit et4u.org or email Transformnow333@gmail.com. See listing, page 37.